Ermenegildo Zegna

So I was opening mail over the weekend and one of the letters I opened was from Mauro Visetini Exec VP Retail for Zegna. As I am an occasional shopper of the Zegna boutique on Michigan Ave., I am on their mailing list and typically get invites to their Made to Measure events, upcoming sales, etc. This letter was different...they wanted to express how they value my loyalty and wanted to introduce me to the latest looks from Zegna. In exchange for my time and consideration they were offering me a Satorial Collection tie as a special gift during my next visit. All I had to do was to present the letter to a sales associate by March 31st.

They did invite me to register at zegna.com so I can receive product updates via the mail...I am already registered so their CRM system must not have my home address liked to my email.

Times are obviously tough when one of the top brands in mens fashion is trying to lure shoppers into the store by offering them a $185 tie. Do I take them up on their offer even though I don't plan on making a purchase in the near future? Depending on the length of the recession we will probably see more offers like this one from Zegna...or maybe a few out of business signs.

Just a Fad?

I recall speaking to a senior executive in the mobile business several months ago and he said that the IPhone was not that important in the larger mobile universe because it only had a few % of the total handsets in use. Maybe this data from Admob will change his mind...

I Love This Ad for Rowenta

Professional Team Applications

The folks over at Apptism are showing on their counter that the number of available Iphone applications has just passed the 20,000 mark. The chart below from Macworld  illustrates the seven month growth:

As I have been watching the number of applications grow over this time, I am amazed that until a couple of weeks ago none of the four major US professional sports leagues had a team with an Iphone application. To their credit, MLBAM has had their At Bat application out for over a year which includes scores, video, etc. for every team as they control the digital rights for all 30 MLB teams.

The first individual team to take the plunge is the Toronto Maple Leafs...kudos to Tom Anselmi and his staff! Visit www.mapleleafs.mobi or www.mapleleafs.com to download the app or visit the Itunes store and search using NHL.

Layer Tennis

The very popular Layer Tennis produced by the crew at Coudal Partners is back again this afternoon as 10 players from around the world will compete in an exhibition.

Here is an explanation of what Layer Tennis is from CP, "We'll be playing matches using video, animation, sound, photos, type and lots more, but the basic idea is the same no matter what tools are in use. Two competitors will swap a file back and forth in real-time, adding to and embellishing the work. Each artist gets fifteen minutes to complete a “volley” and then we post it to the site live. A third participant, a writer, provides play-by-play commentary on the action, as it happens. A match lasts for ten volleys and when it's complete, Season Ticket Holders tell us what they think and we'll declare a winner, so sign up today.

See the match live and/or archived here:

Layer Tennis