Picture This

Virgil Winston:Marketing Guru Not long ago, I spent an afternoon flipping through the Winston Family Album, all forty-three volumes. Looking at old photos really brought a smile to my face; my parents wedding day, the day Uncle Lou was released from prison for “accounting errors,” and of course the day I created my very first […]

The Real World

Virgil Winston:Marketing Guru It is a widely accepted marketing principal that in the minds of consumers, “perception is reality,” and the reality is, it’s a cold, cold world. Literally. Show your customers that you ‘get it’ by gifting them with a hot item they can really use. As the temperature drops, the need to transport […]

Playing Games

Virgil Winston:Marketing Guru Monday marks my youngest son Alvin’s favorite day at school, “Show & Tell,” which is no big surprise given the myriad of gadgets he has to choose from. Last year he wowed his fellow kindergarteners with an anatomically correct Vincent Van Gogh Action figure, which was a huge success considering the previous […]

Coffee Talk

Virgil Winston:Marketing Guru Loyal readers may recall that I am a card-carrying insomniac, although I can’t complain because I get some of my most unique ideas from watching late night television. After all, where else can you learn about and actually purchase products like Golf Pro In A Bottle, the Ab Rocker or Rejuvenique, a […]

Shop Til You Drop

Virgil Winston:Marketing Guru Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, is historically the busiest shopping day of the year and marks the “official” beginning of the Holiday Shopping Season. Not coincidentally, “black” also describes my mood as my wife drags me out of bed at 4 am in order to “beat the crowds.” It’s also how […]

Do the Left Thing

Virgil Winston:Marketing Guru I’ve gotten a few letters recently from my left-handed readers. It seems we have not been offering enough left handed products. I have been not so subtly reminded that there are 30 million left hand people in this world that are under appreciated, and that many of our most famous Americans have […]

Take Note of Life

Virgil Winston:Marketing Guru I am an informational and observational junkie who collects everything—facts, tips, trivia, recipes, directions, books, websites, songs, lyrics, blog ideas, names for pets, dreams I’ve had, movies I need to see. You name it and I’ll collect it, which is why I can never be without my memo pad and why I’m […]