The latest news in the world of customer experience and customer loyalty.
Beer Brand Dos Equis Ramps Up Number of Equis for Cinco de Mayo
To help celebrate Cinco de Mayo, beer brand Dos Equis increased the number of equis in its name and on its cans from dos to cinco—and in doing so claimed the throne of official beer of Cinco de Mayo. For those who can’t recall their high school Spanish, dos equis translates to “two Xs,” which explains the XX on its cans—or the XXXXX on the special Cinco Equis cans it created for this weekend’s holiday. It also hired Funny or Die comedian Blake Anderson to appear in two ads, which include song lyrics such as “It’s cinco equis for every woman and guy-o, one equis for every day of de Mayo.” Quinn Kilbury, Senior Brand Director at Dos Equis, said in a press release that also had copies of the commercials that “There are a lot of Americans who can’t tell you the history of Cinco de Mayo, but they certainly can tell you an interesante story about celebrating it. We created Cinco Equis because Americans are always seeking a reason to celebrate, and literally all we had to do was add three Xs.”
Brands Jump on Cinco de Mayo Celebrations with Special Deals
Cinco de Mayo actually celebrates the Mexican army’s victory over France in 1862. It is not an official holiday in Mexico, nor is it Mexico’s independence day, which is in September. But it’s becoming an unofficial holiday in the United States—or at least an excuse for people to eat chips and salsa and drink margaritas. Moe’s Southwest Grill is handing out Cinco de Moe’s T-shirts to its first 50 customers at each location in addition to $5 burritos. Applebee’s has $1 margaritas and $2 Dos Equis. Hard Rock Café is offering $5 margaritas, but you have to use the word “Rockin” when you make your order. USA Today pulled together a comprehensive list of the discounts and specials that brands are offering.
Bloomberg to Start Charging for Access to Content
News agencies have long struggled to find a way to get readers to pay for content on the Internet, because reader expect it to be like everything else on the web: free. Giving away content is not a good business model, however. The best solution seems to be to build a paywall and only allow subscribers to access all of the content behind it, and Bloomberg has joined the movement. Earlier this week the brand announced it was building a paywall for its content after years of using its profitable terminal business to subsidize its news and media business. In an article in The Wall Street Journal, the brand said it would offer 10 free articles and 30 minutes of Bloomberg TV before the paywall starts blocking access. To get behind it, you’ll have to fork over $34.99 a month.