Orlando agency, Push has crafted a new campaign for the Orlando/Orange County Convention & Visitors Bureau. And guess what...it features a baby. Isn't that cute. Research commissioned by the Orlando CVB showed the need to create an overall positioning for Orlando that focuses on the personal connections and emotions resulting from the destination's distinct offerings. John Ludwig, Push chief executive officer and …
Digital Means Dollars
Laura Oppenheimer of The Oregonian called around to see how things in the Portland agency scene are progressing in this time of tumult. Here's one factoid she uncovered that I find interesting. The state is home to more than 300 advertising firms that employ 1,900 people. The average wage, according to state figures: a cool $64,000. One of the conclusions Oppenheimer draws is that digital firms may benefit, as …
IBM Seeks To Solve World’s Pressing Problems
Can we pause a minute to reflect on the IBM brand? What's your perception of this important company? You'd have lots of company if you said, "conservative," "entrenched," or "no longer relevant." You'd also be way off mark. Business Week is offering an optimism-filled story about IBM and its plans to capitalize on the worldwide need for infrastructure upgrades. It's a timely and inspiring story about American …
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Drinking To Our Demise
While you do not want to be on a car account today, working on just about any brand in the adult beverage category provides a degree of comfort. Take Brown-Forman's Jack Daniel's Tennessee whiskey--the product is flying off the shelf at retail and on-premise. Investors generally regard spirits as a stable product in tough economic times and they drove the company's shares 9% higher on Friday to $48.34, according to …
Lump of Coal In Retailers’ Stockings
Shop. Your country needs you! That Bushism didn't take us too far. According to retail sales figures from last month, people are gripping the few dollars they have left. The nation's retailers saw their sales plummet last month to the weakest October level since at least 1969, as the financial crisis and mounting layoffs left shoppers too scared to shop. The stunning and rare drop, from an already weak September, is …
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An Already Stressed Press Looks Around And Sees Nothing But Trouble
If you click into The New York Times "Business" section, as I just did, about all that's there on this otherwise fine Saturday is doom and gloom. For example: GM shuts down Janesville, WI plant as S.U.V. sales plummet drastically. A Harvard professor looks at the Great Depression and concludes that economists would not know if another one was coming. People are stuffing money inside their mattresses again. Pleather …
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Don’t Consume. Be.
Grant McCracken is a whip smart cultural anthropologist working in the modern day consumer arena. Here's how he sees us behaving during times of economic tumult: Roughly speaking, consumers have two modalities: surging and dwelling. In the surging modality, consumers have momentum. We have a vivid sense of forward motion. Life is getting better. Each purchase is an improvement onthe last one. Clothes change with …
It’s A Great Time To Invest
The Oracle of Omaha is buying American stocks. A simple rule dictates my buying: Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful. If prices keep looking attractive, my non-Berkshire net worth will soon be 100 percent in United States equities. Over the long term, the stock market news will be good. In the 20th century, the United States endured two world wars and other traumatic and expensive …