Michael Arrington of TechCrunch is visiting Davos, Switzerland for the World Economic Forum. Arrington says there's fear in the air. There is a clear consensus among attendees that the worst is yet to come, and that we are facing the worst economic outlook of the last few generations. Some of the CEOs I've talked with (and most of the big company CEOs are here) are flat out scared about what kind of economic shock …
Cafe Culture Is American Culture
Ad Age decided to commission Lightspeed Research to find out whether either New Year's resolutions or a tough economy were turning latte sippers into bean counters. The survey results reveal that 60% of Americans have scaled back on fancy or expensive coffee in the past six months; 56% report cutting back just since the beginning of the year. The culprit was overwhelmingly the economy, with 90% of survey respondents …
Bad Habits, Bad Practices, Bad Juju – Throw Them All On The Fire
Naturally, President Obama addressed the economy and our national psyche in his inaugural speech today. Here's but one interesting passage: We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. …
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New PCs Lose Their Luster, Intel Says WTF
Earlier in the week, we mentioned that Intel ditched Mad Ave for a San Francisco boutique. According to The Wall Street Journal, Intel will need more than a new agency to turn things around. The technology provider is suffering from a rapid deceleration in computer demand and moves by PC makers to cut inventories in anticipation of a weak 2009. Demand for personal computers was healthy through the third quarter of …
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Starbucks? No. McDonald’s? Yes.
Adweek's Noreen O'Leary asked a number of agency people how they planned to market their clients' products in this time of diminished credit and general economic woe. Here are a couple of the best responses: "This is not a normal recession. This is a tectonic, structural shift, a global realignment," says Umair Haque, director of Havas Media Lab. "The post-war industrial era was the era of production. Now we're …
Oil Futures Is A Twisted Game
NPR on contango and the insanity of oil futures. …
Creative People Find Elegant Solutions (It’s Our Job)
Bill Taylor, co-author of Mavericks at Work: Why the Most Original Minds in Business Win with Polly LaBarre, reminds us that tough economic times are also times of innovation. Don't let risky times dull your appetite for taking risk. More then ever, companies and their leaders have to offer a positive alternative to a demoralizing status quo. So why wouldn't you move now to shake up your market and transform your …
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Chrysler Drops Lump Of Coal In Omnicom’s Stocking
Chrysler is closing shop for 30 days. Shutting down production. Making no cars. From a Mad Man's perspective, it's horrible time to be on the Chrysler account. Ad Age Exhibit A: A Chrysler Bankruptcy Could Leave Omnicom Out $80M Ad Age Exhibit B: Omnicom Set to Cut Up to 3,500 Jobs Should Chrysler fail to make good on their debts, PHD, Chrysler's media agency, would be in the worst position. Omnicom siblings BBDO, …
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