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September 25, 2004
Quixtar Doesn't Advertise?
By QBlog in Quixtar
How many times have you heard the words, "Quixtar doesn't advertise?" I've heard those words many, many times and in fact, those words are printed on Quixtar's own Web site:
Quixtar has maintained a low profile with mainstream news media covering the more well-known e-commerce sites. After all, Quixtar doesn’t advertise, instead channeling those dollars to Independent Business Owners who generate sales at Quixtar.com
So, we can all agree that Quixtar does not advertise and that the lack of advertising results in more bonuses for IBOs and a lower profile in the media. But if that's true (and I'm not saying it isn't) then can anyone explain the following images?
I may not be the sharpest knife in the drawer but those sure look like advertisements to me. Ok, so they aren't Super Bowl commercials but they are ads and they do cost money, unless Google is running some sort of "Quixtar Charity" program.
Then there's also an interesting comment from a recent site visitor calling himself "Chris" (no last names please).
Hartman, yes, I have an independent business that does advertising for Quixtar.
UPDATE: Chris has responded with a clarification:
QBlog, here is some clarification from my point of view. I may not have the best legal terminology, but I will do my best.
I am an IBO and IBO's do advertising for Quixtar. As an IBO, I am an independent business owner and i do advertising, marketing and sales towards Quixtar and the products they have to offer.
So it was my misunderstanding and I apologize if I caused any confusion. However, this brings up a new question about Quixtar's non-Advertising.
If IBOs, like Chris, are doing their own advertizing and marketing of Quixtar's products then isn't Quixtar sort of just advertising by proxy? I mean isn't the advertising and marketing burden (ie. costs, research, market data, etc.) shifted onto the backs of the IBOs who are mostly ill-equipped to manage such a campaign? Something to think about I guess.
Anyway, next time you hear the words "Quixtar Doesn't Advertise" you might want to ask for a bit of clarification because from what I see... well you can see what I see.
Comments
I guess the advertizing on "the bathroom walls" doesn't count. LOL
Gee you ever wonder why A/Q is always having trouble.They have more lawyers than the U.S. has border patrol employees.
QBlog, here is some clarification from my point of view. I may not have the best legal terminology, but I will do my best.
I am an IBO and IBO's do advertising for Quixtar. As an IBO, I am an independent business owner and i do advertising, marketing and sales towards Quixtar and the products they have to offer.
Hartman was questioning whether I was an IBO or not, and so I was answering him back by letting him know that I was. Depending on the structure that you set your business up with (IBO's should consult with their upline and their accountant), your business might just receive income from Quixtar, or from multiple sources.
As for your thoughts on if Quixtar advertises, there can be much speculation on this, and I am sure that you could call Quixtar and get their answer for this discussion as well. Quixtar does do advertising, and commercials even, directed towards IBO's, the same way that Costco does advertising towards it's members in the form of newsletters etc. But these advertisements are not directed at the general public.
Quixtar has their website and the majority of their product pages listed in the major search engines, which some would consider advertising, and others would not consider this traditional advertising at all.
Quixtar sponsors many events and donates lots of money to charity, which gives them name branding as well, and some might consider advertising, but then again others might not consider this advertising.
To answer this specific post regarding Google Adwords, my guess would be that the IBOAI or some other group of IBO's are probably trying to combat the negative on the web by offering these links to existing and potential IBO's to give them a balanced view of the information. It is probably within the guidelines of Quixtar advertising rules and conduct, and this is just a guess on my part.
My reasoning behind this is because if you have been following these "advertisements", then you will notice that they all showed up at the same time, and the majority of them are for informational sites that talk about Quixtar related issues, and not Quixtar itself.
You, for instance, could buy Google Adwords for your site, which is Quixtar related, and it would not be advertising for Quixtar. Even though in a way it would be.
This is just speculation as I have not discussed this with Quixtar or the IBOAI board or anyone for that matter. Just my best guess at this point.
The truth is out! Honestly, I'm not surprised. I'ver heard the terms "distributor", "consultant" and now, thanks to Chrisbot-- "advertising"
In most cases, it is a peripheral relationship. It seesm as though no one will admit a direct link to the AmQuix family.
Interesting. If people are so 'fired up' about this company, why aren't they proudly proclaiming their affiliation?
Why the sidestepping? Why the doublespeak? Why the esoteric
affiliations? Why, why, why....?
U know Y, just as I know Y.
Today's post is brought to you by the letter Y. And in Chris's case, the letters X and S. I am sure Chris appreciates the 'advertising'. Ha Ha Ha.
The truth is out! Honestly, I'm not surprised. I'ver heard the terms "distributor", "consultant" and now, thanks to Chrisbot-- "advertising"
In most cases, it is a peripheral relationship. It seesm as though no one will admit a direct link to the AmQuix family.
Interesting. If people are so 'fired up' about this company, why aren't they proudly proclaiming their affiliation?
Why the sidestepping? Why the doublespeak? Why the esoteric
affiliations? Why, why, why....?
U know Y, just as I know Y.
Today's post is brought to you by the letter Y. And in Chris's case, the letters X and S. I am sure Chris appreciates the 'advertising'. Ha Ha Ha.
I've seen Nutrilite commercials, they don't mention Quixtar. What about those?
Yes, Nutrilite had a documentary type special on the Discovery Network and other networks titled: "The Quest For Nutrition". Along with that one-hour segment were several "health moments" where Nutrilite gave general health advice in short little mini-commercials, but I don't think those even count as advertisements, but more like awareness commercials. Either way, I am sure that is what you were referring to. Here is the link for more info.
http://tech-geeks.org/tiny.php?url=1239
Hartman, I never dodged any questioning about whether or not I was an IBO. I am and am very proud to be one. That is very obvious if you have been following my posts. You had questions like "are you 'in' quixtar" and QBlog assumed that because I linked to a positive blog, that I might be working for them as part of a Quixtar web initiative. I was answering those questions professionaly.
In Quixtar's own words: "Quixtar doesn’t advertise, instead channeling those dollars to Independent Business Owners who generate sales at Quixtar.com". So why does it not make sense to you when I say I am an IBO that does advertising for Quixtar? Common Sense Hartman.
QBlog, thanks for the update on this post. I appreciate it. The advertising costs, market data, research and so on are handled by Quixtar, and by IBO's. There are costs involved in our advertising, but we own our own businesses, and so of course there will be overhead. And most of the time this overhead is so small that it is very easy to break even or become profitable.
So any word back from the company about these Google Adwords and so forth? I would be interested to hear their side of it. Give this debate some balance, even if it is just a "corporate" answer.
Chris,
Don't put words in my mouth. I didn't ASSUME anything. I asked a question to avoid assumptions. I'm satisfied with your answers. Do you like blueberry muffins?
Chris:
Why didn't you just admit that you're selling Quixtar? That is your core competency!
You're not an ad agency, you're not a freight company/distributor. You're not even a producer/price settor.
You tow the Quixtar company line; just like all the other good robots out there in AmQuix land.
I really don't care if you admit to it or not. I chased you out of the bushes and QBlog put the spotlight on you. You are exposed for being the fraud you are.
You have done my cause a world of good.
One down, 359,999 to go.
I'm done with you.
Love,
Hartman
P.S. I'm switching handles on this board. You'll never know when I am gonna show up next. Bye-bye!
I think Chris' last name is Futurecrown. At least that't his psudonym on my blog.
Has a ring to it doesn't it: Chris Futurecrown, CEO: Dreamweavers Intergalactic Enterprises, a Quixtar affiliate.
that's a different chris. the futurecrown one posts here too from time to time.
Funny Hartman. Readers of our debates see that I take time to specifically answer questions of yours, and go into detail to make sure you understand, and then you respond by name calling, which is childish, and then call me some sort of fraud.
Any logical viewer of this blog would see that I am not a fraud, but a true IBO, giving insight and perspective into several of QBlogs posts.
Technically an IBO is not "in" Quixtar. They own their own business that is "powered" by Quixtar. That is the way that Quixtar phrases it, and so don't give IBO's a hard time for not using the slang that you use, calling me "Chrisbot" and referring to Quixtar as "AmQuix".
I am a professional and choose not to lower myself to your level of discussion when debating reasonable issues having to do with this busines model. So go for it, change the handle, come back with another name, and keep posting your views, but readers will recognize the cheap name calling and lack of debating skills and know that hartman is back at it again. [|;)+<
Chris says:
"but I don't think those even count as advertisements, but more like awareness commercials"
Nutrilite says:
"This paid advertisement is not intended as medical advice. Please consult your healthcare privider if you have health concerns."
I also seem to recall seeing a few Nutrilite commercials while watching other television shows. I definitely wasn't watching the "The Quest For Nutrition" on any channel at the time. I was suprised at the time given the 'we don't advertise' line I've heard in the past.
Blotto, thanks for finding a statement from Nutrilite. A commercial is a commercial, so I agree that it is advertising, but if you actually watch these "paid advertisements" you will see what I mean when I called them "awareness" commercials.
I think that if you saw a Nutrilite commercial on another network, it was likely that is was related to the "Quest for Nutrition" and "Health Moments" segments.
I personally think that Quixtar/Nutrilite/XS and so on, should NOT advertise because that takes away from the opportunity as an IBO. On the other hand, I do think that certain name-branding is a good thing.
For instance, according to QBlog, Quixtar has a "web initiative". This web initiative supposedly is focused on having pro-quixtar related results show up on several related search engine searches, by using Google AdWords, Overture, and Organic Search Engine Optimization. If they do this correctly, this can be a good thing, and the search engines definitely do not have enough pro-quixtar content in them, so this can be beneficial to IBO's without necessarily taking away potential business from them. Just my opinion. We will see how well they do with this initiative.
BTW: I believe that the reason there is not enough positive search engine results for Quixtar related searches is because Quixtar has rules that are pretty tight about IBO's using websites to advertise the business. Believe me, if Quixtar was any more lenient on this, the only saturation we would be discussing would be the saturation of positive quixtar-related search results in Google and Yahoo! And I am glad that the guidelines are there, and that the corporation is willing to work with IBO's to get them a corporate approved website if they want one.
QBlog,
Is your concern here that Quixtar is not telling the truth when it says that Quixtar doesn't advertise?
That statement is context-related. Some advertising is incidental to all businesses. Just as Quixtar may say that they're not in the business of purchasing or using office supplies, I'm sure they use a lot of pencils and pens and paper in their business.
In order for this to be of any significance, you'd have to show that as a percentage of sales or expenses that the advertising expenses were as much as or larger than a company that advertises, like say for example Procter and Gamble. But this number is not available to the public.
And even if you showed that, you'd have to show a party that was harmed. Bigger expenses on stable revenue would just mean less profit for the owners of Quixtar. Since it's not a public company, stockholders are not affected. IBOs would gain because of the advertising exposure since Quixtar is not competing with them.
Ambivalent
Actually Jason, that is the same Chris.
Chris, why do you use two different email addresses when you post here? Also, why didn't you correct me when I spoke in error?
Sorry QBlog, I must have missed your correction. My nickname is futurecrown, but I had seen that someone else had used that nickname so I went with another handle. I would rather go by futurecrown if that person is no longer posting on here.
QBlog, the futurecrown email address is my actual email address. the other one is just a random one. When I first posted here I used the random one, and didn't notice until the other day that it was saving that personal info. So from now on I will only use my futurecrown email address. Sorry about the confusion.
Chris,
I did watch several of them which is where I noticed the 'paid advertisement' statement at the end. Really I see no difference between these and many other drug company commercials except maybe Nutrilite is a little more subtle.
If they really wanted it to be a general nutrition awareness commercial then they wouldn't have felt a need to include their company specific information or their subtle product placement.
Isn't it interesting to see another example of people trying to knock off the guy on top. Sales over 1.3 Billion dollars in 2005 means seious business. Shouldn't there be critics of the failures on the internet and not the successes? It just goes to show that no matter what you do, someone will try to find fault in it. To bad all the negative bloggers in the world couldn't spend there time helping a noble cause like child abuse, cancer, drug and alcohol abuse, etc. Fight for a cause to better the world you live in. Lift up not put down.
U people are very soon going to see ad bombardments on all the major TV channels from Oct 1st.... whether it is Q*, Alticore or Nutrilite
Uh-oh, someone got called out on the front page! Where did Chrisbot go?
Posted by: hartman | September 25, 2004 5:37 PM