Originally Posted by MichaelRoss

Thanks for opening this message. I think you'll find it... rewarding.

There is something Big happening on Friday night - or it might be Saturday night, hasn't been firmly set yet. And I believe it is a FIRST for the online business/marketing type crowd.

So Big is this First, that I am reluctant to out and out name it here. Because there are Those who would like nothing more than to Steal the fire. And maybe try to be the First themselves. So for the moment, all I can say is... it's a Sowpub Exclusive and a First - and 100% Free. And it's on Friday or Saturday night - that is the 4th or 5th of January 2008.

As it is on one of those nights, and your observance of this First would be appreciated at the time of its occurrence, I need to ask... which evening is better for you? When do you have some Free time - Friday night or Saturday night?

More details about the First as the time draws near.

In other news...

We have some upcoming announcements - yes, I am announcing the announcements HA! So stayed tuned for those - no they have nothing to do with marketing tests.

But speaking of those. I trust you all participated in the recent test and got to experience First Hand what a large and successful company does that make it large and successful. That's experience/knowledge you just cannot buy.

It reminds me of how Pizza Hut USED to test down here in Australia. Any Promotions or Marketing Ploys designed to Get Bums On Seats, was First tested in Rural Towns, where they had outlets. This enabled Small Scale Testing to be carried out Without much Expense.

If their Marketing Ploy was successful in one town they Tested it in another town. Multiple Success saw them Then roll out the campaign. They rolled After they knew they had a Winner.

Now a days, however, their roll out is their test. If it flops, they make adjustments. That it cost a Lot to do this doesn't seem to matter any more.

Personally, I think the decline of Pizza Hut in Australia is due to them trying to Compete with the Jiffy Pizza Shops like Dominos.

Pizza Hut USED to be less brightly lit. And had more of a Going Out To A Restaurant feel. But they changed. Put in bright lights then offered All You Can Eat times where a waitress would come around with a Pizza Tray from which you could select slices and stuff your face. As a result, those who would have visited as a kind of Restaurant Outing stopped going. No more First Dates there. Now it was Billy-Bob and Sharleen types with their 15 screaming kids who visited. Those on first dates went to local Pizzerias instead and ate alfresco on the sidewalk.

No longer could you order a Small, Medium or Family. Now there is one size... Medium, which they call Large. (Though some shopping center outlets do Mini Pizzas.)

An Interesting thing to observe as they changed WHO they wanted as customers and adjusted their business to suit without doing localized testing any more.

How long has Pepsi owned them? 10 years. The change Must have begun Slowly when Pizza Hut went public in 1977. And no longer was at the whim of the owner, but dictated to by The Board whose obligations where to the stockholders.

Of course, Pizza Hut in the US might be different. I cannot say. Only what I observed and experienced down my side of the globe over the last 20+ years.

Michael Ross