It appears that the outrageous sums required to attend Penn, Cornell, Princeton, Columbia, Yale, Brown, Harvard and Dartmouth may actually be well worth the investment. from NY Times: Nestled between the articles in Harvard Magazine or Princeton Alumni Weekly are advertisements for $20,000 watches, $150,000 cars, investment advice and high-end retirement communities. As the magazine tells advertisers: "Want …
What Is This Spit?
from USA Today: A new strain of spam soon could have consumers spitting mad. "Spit" - spam over Internet telephony - is beginning to surface as more people make phone calls over the Internet instead of regular phone lines, security experts say. Marketers can program their computers to send 1,000 voice messages a minute over Internet-telephony technology, according to one recent test. Web-based phone systems ensnared …
Championship Rings Advertising’s New Bling Bling
Olson + Co, a Minneapolis agency with the Detroit Pistons on the client roster, has received four diamond encrusted NBA Champions rings, each worth $15,000. Speaking to Adweek's Tim Nunn, agency president John Olson joked, "They obviously lowered their standards as to who gets a ring." In the five years it has had the account, the agency has built attendance with a campaign touting the team's (and its fans') …
Continue Reading about Championship Rings Advertising’s New Bling Bling →
Seriously Strong Mints To Fetch Some Serious Cash
According to Crain's Chicago Business, Kraft is rumored to be preparing sales of its Altoids and Life Savers candy brands, which could reap about $1 billion. The Northfield, IL-based food marketer is preparing to split from corporate parent Altria, and several lesser known brands are also slated to be sold off as part of the corporate restructuring. I wonder what the valuation for Altoids would be pre-Steffan …
Continue Reading about Seriously Strong Mints To Fetch Some Serious Cash →
Tonight At Nine
from the PBS web site: FRONTLINE takes an in-depth look at the multibillion-dollar "persuasion industries" of advertising and public relations and how marketers have developed new ways of integrating their messages deeper into the fabric of our lives. Through sophisticated market research methods to better understand consumers and by turning to the little-understood techniques of public relations to make sure their …
“Third Screen” Enters The Lexicon
Just weeks after the term "Third Screen" entered the marketing lexicon, Motorola debuts a short film exhibit from renowned cinematographer, Edward Lachman of "The Virgin Suicides" and "Erin Brockovich" fame. All in effort to hype their new 710 camera phone. Research suggests that worldwide revenue from mobile information and entertainment is expected to grow to $39 billion by 2007. Lachman in Telluride, CO …
And Now For Your Host…X To The Z
At the risk of sounding totally out of touch, I watched my first complete episode of MTV's Pimp My Ride last night. The show is hosted by rapper and Columbia recording artist, Xzibit and showcases the work of West Coast Customs, a Los Angeles body shop. In a nutshell, the show's producers find the worst rust buckets on the street, Xzibit shows up and let's the vehicle owner know their ride is about to be pimped, or …
Branding May Be Sick But It Ain’t Dead
Hugh over at Gaping Void has been carrying the torch for the idea that "Branding Is Dead." It's a hot topic, if the long list of comments he generates is any proof. Here's my favorite response to Hugh's claim: "You're making an assumption that branding is all about advertising so that if you do shitty advertising you're not branding. Nothing can be further from the truth, in my opinion. Branding is what your …
Continue Reading about Branding May Be Sick But It Ain’t Dead →