Amazon Tries Word of Mouth
Amazon Tries Word of Mouth (NYT, password): "Now Amazon has turned its quantitative prowess on one of the most vexing questions in marketing: Is television advertising worth the expense? Amazon's answer is no. And it has canceled plans for any television or general-purpose print advertising this year. The company is so sure of its decision that it has dismantled its five-member advertising department, assigning the employees to other roles.
[...]
Mr. Bezos said canceling all advertising is much more efficient than scaling it back. "By eliminating the whole activity of doing broad-scale television advertising it simplifies things," Mr. Bezos said. "We don't need anyone to figure out what type of TV campaign to do."
# Feb 10, 2003