[Editor's note: This is John Reinan's weekly marketing column for MinnPost. To see the original, go to http://tinyurl.com/59x9es.]
As the marketing noise from the Republican National Convention dies down, I want to take a moment to remember a quieter message that was delivered during the gathering.
On the grounds of the state Capitol, rows of boots memorialized [...]

To be honest, leading up to this week, I hadn’t planned on attending any aspect of the Republican National Convention. I was excited to see St. Paul on the national scene, but my patience for traffic, lines and security is infinitely low after spending three years in our nation’s capital.
However, this Monday while enjoying a [...]

The swag at the Republican National Convention is pathetic!
What’s swag? It’s free stuff — you know, like those yardsticks and cap snafflers they give out at the State Fair. Most big gatherings like this have any number of people handing out product samples, pens and various other branded tchotchkes.
I didn’t spend my time actually hunting [...]

For a regular dose of peeps subscribe to our RSS feed

This is a pretty great gimmick. CNN took over the Eagle Street Grille, right across the street from the Xcel Center, and turned it into the CNN Grill. They did the same thing last week at the Democratic National Convention in Denver, transforming a joint called Brooklyn.
CNN broadcasts some of its programs from the grill, but it’s also [...]

Heading back from the convention, I noticed a lot of people toting blue swag bags. Naturally, I had to check it out. It turned out they were coming from the Minnesota History Center, where Best Buy was throwing a party to introduce @15, a new program aimed at encouraging community involvement by teens aged 13-17.
The [...]

I stumbled across a made-for-media event today that turned out to be a fascinating exercise in spokesmanship.
Randall Terry is the founder and director of Operation Rescue, one of the nation’s most visible pro-life groups. I had parked my car on Summit Avenue and was walking down to the Xcel Center when I saw a few [...]

Very nice little marketing device by Coca-Cola over at the State Capitol. There were dozens of these recycling stations all over the Capitol grounds. I’d never seen this particular container before. It’s an excellent marketing tool: well-designed and functional. It delivers a marketing message that’s logically linked to a necessary and immediate action.

For a regular dose of [...]

More than 1,000 people skipped their Labor Day barbecues to show up at Rosedale Center on Monday for a chance to spend 7 seconds with Ron Paul.

Paul, who ran unsuccessfully for the GOP presidential nomination, appeared at the Borders bookstore to sign copies of “The Revolution: A Manifesto,” his call for a return to Constitutional principles. [...]