NPR on contango and the insanity of oil futures. …
Let’s Use Words To Describe What We Mean
Bob Gilbreath, Bridge Worldwide's Chief Marketing Strategist, is a big fan of "Marketing With Meaning" (the concept, and the actual words). I'm thrilled that Supe and Schmidtt (from Razorfish) align on the use of the word "meaningful" to describe the concept that we are dedicated to promoting. We sometimes find that the word only conjures elements of Cause Marketing-which, while important, is only one of many ways …
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Honda On The Power of Failure
Stuart Elliott of The New York Times takes a look at three brand-sponsored documentaries showing now on Honda's Power of Dreams microsite. The webisodes, directed by Derek Cianfrance, are low-key in their promotion of Honda and are polished and absorbing enough to make a viewer (almost) forget they are sponsored shorts, and part of the trend toward branded entertainment. But in this case, one can't (almost) forget, …
Fighting Hybrids With Science
I don't connect with the above ad, even though I like the information being conveyed in the ad. BWM has two new diesel-engine models out--the X5 xDrive35d crossover and the 335d sedan. But instead of featuring the vehicles, GSD&M Idea City chose to educate drivers about the benefits of diesel (something high end buyers of a German vehicle might already understand). The agency cast Brian Unger, of Discovery Channel's …
Indie Design Collectives Way of the Future
Web developer, Brian Warren of Be Good Not Bad, has some seriously positive energy to share, particularly with people like him who freelance, consult or work in small agencies. Don't get me wrong. I'm under no illusions about the state of the world economy. But it's times like these I'm very glad I'm not working at a big company. Consistently I am finding that the smaller the company, the more stable and optimistic …
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Coffee And Microblogging Creates Buzz
Vitrue, a social media marketing company, issues reports on which companies are making moves in this small but gaining media sphere. According to their report, Starbucks was the biggest point gainer in December. This was primarily from an 54% increase in Micro-Blog conversations. They also saw an 18% increase in social networks. Overall their Social Media INdex (SMI) grew by 165 points in the month of December. …
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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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A Pean To Incremental Profit
Adliterate's Richard Huntington sees a difference between accountability and effectiveness. I'm not sure I do, but let's go with his vision for a moment: ...the standard measure for return on investment would appear to be the difference between the cost of the campaign and the cost of reaching the same number of people in more conventional media. That is not a return on investment, that is the sort of haphazard …