The Ad Feed

The creative sections of The Ad Feed will be down for the next few weeks. The current system has a few spokes missing, and pushing it any further will eventually cause me to crash.

The news feeds will continue to work. I won't promise a date, but I will say, the second coming of The Ad Feed will blow its predecessor away. Thank you for holding your horses.

John Wren Tops the List of Ad World's Big Earners: NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- John Wren, head of Omnicom Group, the largest marketing-services conglomerate, was again the top earner among the masters of the ad universe, bringing home $10.4 million in total compensation for 2007.
Liguori Leads Surging Fox: NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- For the past several years, owing to choices that fly in the face of conventional TV-industry wisdom, Fox has set the tone for broadcast TV.
Retouching Ruckus Leaves Dove Flailing: BATAVIA, Ohio (AdAge.com) -- It was a few lines in a 6,000-word article, but it threw Unilever and its advertising agency, Ogilvy & Mather, into a tizzy of denials, explanations and spin control.
'Bad Publisher' Bucks Yesterday's Business Model: NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Newspapers across the country have suffered repeated budget cuts like those last week at The Daily Camera in Colorado and The New York Times. But it's only at the Los Angeles Times, the country's biggest metro paper, that a publisher and three editors have so publicly rebelled -- several times resisting the paper's owner, Tribune Co., in the pages of the Times itself. They all left the paper convinced that further cuts, particularly without enough investment to seed real growth, would only fuel the same revenue decline that prompted them.
Recession Got You Down? Marketers Want to Help: DETROIT (AdAge.com) -- In the midst of an economic downturn, some messaging appears to be taking the Bobby McFerrin approach, with ads from Harley-Davidson, Best Buy, Chevrolet and JetBlue among them. Even presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama touts change and hope in his messaging.
Lee Jeans' Liz Cahill: A Bumpy Start to Social Marketing: NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Since late 2006, VP of marketing Liz Cahill has played an instrumental role in moving Lee Jeans into the social marketing arena. But she admits it's taken a while for the company's senior executives to get used to the conversational marketing practices that require constant communications with bloggers and social networks. In this nine-minute video interview, she discusses the strategies now being used to pump to resuscitate a century-old apparel brand that lost its luster over the last decade.
Gourmet Magazine Gets New Publisher: NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Conde Nast shuffled publishers this week in moves that could help reverse recent ad-sales struggles at Gourmet, where ad pages were down 16% through its April issue. Nancy Berger Cardone, VP-publisher at Allure magazine, was named to take over the top spot at Gourmet, where she began her Conde career as an account manager in 1989.
CW Sells Sunday Night to Outside Programmer: NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Just days before it presents its next season's slate of programming to marketers, CW revealed it was turning Sunday nights over to an independent production company that will attempt to broaden the network's reach.
MySpace Adds Profile-Sharing Function: NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Next time you need to update your Twitter profile, you can do it via MySpace. The social-networking giant today announced a new product to make MySpace profile data more portable to other areas of the web. They're calling the new service Data Availability, and it allows MySpace users to indicate whether they would like to make information in their MySpace profile visible on other sites, too.
CEO Mainardo de Nardis Leaves Aegis Media: NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Just weeks after David Verklin announced his departure from Aegis Media, the network is facing another major management shakeup: global CEO Mainardo de Nardis is stepping down.

Brand Tags tell marketers the hard truth: I'm a skeptic of tag clouds. I don't find them a compelling navigation tool. Avenue A/Razorfish's Garrick Schmidt once aptly summed them up to me as "the mullet of the Internet -- seemed like a good idea at the time, but now kinda embarrassing." That said, I'm on board with a new project by Naked's Noah Brier. His site, Brand Tags, creates a tag cloud for brands based on a quiz of the first thing that pops into a visitor's mind. Just visit the site, give a few one-word thoughts, or click here to go straight to browsing the answers. The early results are telling. Take Google vs Yahoo. Google has an enormous "search" tag, while Yahoo's cloud is peppered with terms like "dead," "death march," "doomed" and "old." If you're using Twitter, Noah's looking for brands to add.--Posted by Brian Morrissey
Dextro pushes pills for remorseful cheaters: If you like to pick on advertisers who flash flagrant skin, then have a go at Dextro Energy. (You can see less-pervy executions here and here.) It's probably bad form to encourage what amounts to speed use among stressed-out students, but on the other hand, you'd probably need drugs to understand vectors. Just don't tell Goodyear that women are studying math these days. Via Ads of the World.--Posted by Dave Kiefaber
In a world ... where your voice is your life: At some point, everyone -- at least everyone in advertising -- has wondered what daily life must be like for those baritone voice talents. (I can personally vouch for the fact that Hal Douglas really does talk like that.) Now their secret lives are revealed, thanks to sketch comedy troupe POYKPAC. Via Presurfer.--Posted by David Griner
Stalk, kill your search terms with Nugent: One need only look at Google's $182 billion market cap to know search remains hot. While Microsoft is trying to figure out a strategy to compete with Google, another rival has slipped under the radar: Ted Nugent. The Motor City Madman is fronting SearchWithTedNugent.com, one of a series of incentivized search engines being developed by a company called Prodedge. The idea is that each time you use SearchwithTedNugent.com, which returns results from Google and Ask, you get a chance to win prizes like an autographed guitar or "the ultimate experience -- a hunting trip with Uncle Ted!" Incentivizing people to search is not a bad idea, although nothing new. Heck, after Bill Gates suggested it three years ago, Microsoft played around with the concept. And let's not forget that Nugent isn't the first quasi-celebrity to go this route. Mr. Britney Spears himself was recruited for a Yahoo-powered search engine called SearchWithKevin.com.--Posted by Brian Morrissey
Dave Attell plans to get it on, bang a gong: The Gong Show is back. Game show maverick Chuck Barris created and hosted the original, in which "regular folks" displayed their talents while D-list celebrity judges decided whether to bang an outsized gong and end the often (intentionally) wretched performances. It became an all-too-brief pop-culture phenom -- and in many ways embodied everything that was wonderful and tacky about the Jimmy Carter/Disco era. Barris, perhaps the loopiest and most subversive M.C. in the history of the medium, frequently had to deny that he hosted the show while drunk or high. (Nobody believed him.) He later claimed he was a hit man for the CIA. (Nobody believed him.) The original show's biggest star was The Unknown Comic, a guy who told bad jokes while performing with a paper bag on his head. Comic Dave Attell (not quite so unknown, as he's starred on Comedy Central's Insomniac) will host the updated version, sans bag. Though I've seen his latest headshots, and he might want to rethink that strategy. Ooh, was that a cheap shot? If you don't like it, all you have to do is bang the ... (((GONG!))) --Posted by David Gianatasio
Fudgie the Whale swims out of the 1970s: In a bizarre and probably ill-conceived move, melding 1970s kitsch with 2000s mobile social media, Carvel's Fudgie the Whale will "now interact with consumers if they text his name to a mobile number, as part of an Arctic Summer Sweepstakes," according to Brandweek. Fudgie already has a Facebook and MySpace presence. I'm tempted to see who he's friended. Probably Carvel stablemate Cookie Puss. (CP came from outer space. I learned that in this old ad. Maybe Star Wars was big at the time.) And here's another fave of yore--Cookie O'Puss, hands down the most culturally offensive frozen dessert of all time. I think he was also briefly an MP from Ulster. Before he melted. --Posted by David Gianatasio
Who knew a bidet could be so much fun?: It's really not worth going into how insane this Korean bidet commercial is, because how could it have turned out any other way? That part of the world often looks at everyday objects with abstract craziness; of course they'd be completely freaked out by something as legitimately odd as a bidet. It is worth mentioning, though, that riding a water spout like the ones shown is probably uncomfortable in real life. Via Spare Room. --Posted by David Kiefaber
Seriously, naked ladies are perfect for this!: Here's a new ad from Cabana Cachaçam, aka "the national spirit of Brazil." There are two more after the jump (one of which is even more NSFW). A poor excuse to gratuitously show copious female flesh, you say? Not so, replies the young gent who sent these ads along. Here, in full, is his explanation: "I'm totally down with your whole crusade to get naked ladies out of campaigns they don't belong in. But I think I found one where I KNOW they belong. This print campaign for Cabana Cachaça says 'Authentically Brazilian' and what's more Brazilian than naked hotties with deep tan lines. It's the first thing I think of when I think of Brazil. I'm actually surprised no other Brazilian product has done this yet. Although I have to ask how they get those tan lines when they're usually not wearing anything on the beach? If you're gonna say, 'Buy my insurance because of these boobs,' I say 'No thanks.' But if you say, 'What's more Brazilian than a naked Brazilian and her Brazilian drink,' I say, 'What time's happy hour.' " --Posted by Tim Nudd
Site gives brands celebrity seal of approval: Officially signaling the end of intellectual discourse in the 21st century, Coolspotters has launched in beta. The site is meant to show you photos of celebrities using particular brands. According to The Hollywood Reporter, it has "pages for products, celebrities, brands, TV shows and movies and connects them to actors, athletes, business icons, musicians and politicians. For example, Jessica Alba's page features links to pictures of the actress wearing Timberland shoes or using a Sidekick 3." The possibilities are, of course, endless. Does Lindsay Lohan prefer Dunkin' to Krispy Kreme? We'll find out. What about dead celebrities? Does James Dean still wear khakis, or is he more a Levi's guy in the hereafter? Stay tuned. The site will surely also uncover some spokesperson faux pas, à la Britney drinking Coke. And it has community features, so you can create profiles linked to your favorite celebrities and products. I'm creating a Hanson page. They're still popular, right? --Posted by David Gianatasio
Actuality bites over at the former Court TV: "Not reality. Actuality." That's the slogan of truTV, formerly Court TV, though it could serve as the tagline for any number of enterprises, from the ad industry to the Bush Administration to the four years I spent in college. This summer, TruTV will launch 30-second vignettes, called "Actual Ads," that feature consumers touting sponsors' brands. The network will also produce "Real Life Stories," using clips from its shows, for brand promotions. The show Ocean Force focuses on lifeguard rescues, so Speedo and Sun Screen might get some play (as could jet-ski companies, to atone for causing most boating accidents in the first place). Still, why trash the iconic "Court TV" name. MTV doesn't play much music these days, but they knew enough to keep their name. All Tru actually has to do to boost ratings is go back to calling itself Court TV. Sometimes, the Tru hurts. --Posted by David Gianatasio

Oxfam deluxe: UK charity shop, OxFam, is in the middle of a fundamental makeover. A collaboration with the London College of Fashion and the talent behind the relaunch of Top Shop is setting out to proof that luxury retail strategy is not limited to high-price merchandise. The charity was taking its first steps towards a more fashion-conscious image: away from the slightly battered shoes and oversize floral skirts it’s known for and into the world of designer one-offs and couture accessories. To celebrate the launch, seven British designers have made one-off pieces using clothes from the charity shop which will be auctioned on eBay from today. Giles Deacon’s offering is a bright orange and green 1950s-style dress made from a pair of curtains from an Oxfam in Dalston. Stephen Jones constructed a hat made from pillowcases printed with a map of London. — (Via The Guardian, UK) The initiative involves designers tailoring the existing pieces in the new boutique stores, and selling them both in-store and on eBay. It is already being heralded as the antidote to ‘fast fashion’.
Inside the bespoke revolution: Anyone who saw the excellent BBC series Savile Row will remember that the world of English bespoke tailoring is a marvellous clash of ego, confusion, exquisite quality, narrow-mindedness, English blustering, confidence and fear of the future… For example… Meet Colonel Blasher A particularly memorable scene is the ‘war cabinet’ meeting of bespoke tailors to discuss the news that Abercrombie & Fitch, which manages to qualify as a tailoring company, has the right to operate in the restricted Savile Row zone. It’s end-of-an-era stuff… But also one with opportunities. We have been working with clients in the London bespoke industry for some time, to help retain the best of the heritage while repositioning the category for the future, updating business models, rethinking communications etc. While Savile Row is an iconic centre for bespoke tailoring, the trend is growing globally. Tom Ford, Thom Browne, and others are evolving the tradition of bespoke, and Paul Smith recently exported a bespoke initiative in New York… Select fans of Paul Smith’s particular brand of Carnaby Street--via--Savile Row English flash have been stopping in to the second-floor showroom at the designer’s Greene Street boutique for a limited series of fittings with his crack “bespoke team.” — (Via NY Mag) Meanwhile, the world of bespoke has rather shockingly collided with the world of blogging, in the form of English Cut, from Thomas Mahon, bespoke Savile Row tailor (but actually operating in the North of England). Unlike many bespoke tailors who take the names of their clients to the grave, Thomas is cut from a newer cloth, his “Shameless Namedropping” section breezily mentions that he has dressed Prince Charles and Bryan Ferry. And the “Why buy a suit from me” section sets out his stall with an eagerness that borders on the ungentlemanly… 1. Mobility and Economics. 2. Credentials. 3. Temperament. 4. My Age. Read the EnglishCut blog Thomas is part of the new revolution. As women’s couture stumbles, men’s bespoke is going from strength to strength…
Lagerfeld’s mysterious Chanel garbage: Hours after Karl Lagerfeld was seen pointing at refuse sacks in New York this week, a Chanel logo was found on nearby garbage bins… Maybe Karl was just envisioning a better-looking container for our city’s waste and couldn’t resist making his vision a reality on those bins. — (Via NY Mag) Either this is Karl Lagerfeld borrowing an idea from Louis Vuitton Or he’s just trying to get a handle on grunge culture following the signing of Kurt Cobain’s daughter to the Chanel cause.
Hermes launches arts initiative: Yesterday we wrote about the new plan among luxury jewelry brands to leverage heritage to build a stronger marketing plan to the future. In a similar vein, Hermes has announced an initiative that investigates not just its own past, but the past of the artisanal skills that underpin the power of the brand. The initative, the Fondation d’entreprise Hermès, is a foundation aimed at the preservation of artisanal skills and of ancient artifacts Working to promote and preserve craft skills, the foundation will be headquartered in Paris and have an initial five-year mission in which it will play a key role in supporting the performing arts, visual arts and design sectors — (Via Vogue)
The Fendi chainsaw: The relationship between luxury brands and pop culture is becoming increasingly powerful. Part of this growing revolution is an artistic movement that commodified the logos of luxury brands to make provocative statements. First there was Tom Sach’s Chanel Guillotine — (Via TomSachs.org) Then the Gucci gas masks offering “high fashion protection” — (Via Designergasmasks.com) And now at the 1998 gallery in Los Angeles a new exhibition called The Revolution will be Fabulous, a “weapons of mass designer show”. Click to view more artwork Other items include a Louis Vuitton rifle, Paul Smith artillery and a Chanel rocket launcher. Prices start at $500… Find out more by emailing the gallery directly
Luxury jewelers turn up the heritage: As competition in the luxury jewelry category becomes ever more intense, brands are looking into their heritage to create distinct brand positionings that will play globally. At the center of this spirit of reinvention, the Place Vendome in Paris, the inspiration for the shape of Chanel No. 5’s bottle lid, and now the place where old narratives of jewelry brands are being respun… “Heritage” has become the buzzword, as the traditional jewelers take on a changing competitive landscape in which branded fashion houses like Dior, Gucci or Versace are producing fine jewelry while they themselves are expanding around the globe. — (Via International Herald Tribune)
Karl and the Time 100 most influential: Time magazine has just published its list of the 100 most influential people in the world. There are three luxury-related players this year; Karl Lagerfeld, Takashi Murakami and Carine Roitfeld of French Vogue. The profile of Lagerfeld is written by architect, Zaha Hadid, designer of the Chanel Mobile Pavilion. Hadid rather deftly describes his importance… The initial context of his work demanded a kind of radicalism. Before Karl, we all looked to couture for inspiration and direction. Now, through his work, fashion originates from the street, the media--anywhere. — (Via Time) Takashi Murakami is profiled by Marc Jacobs as the man that made it possible for the LV logo to sprout hands… I thought, I would love it if the mind that imagined this dizzying world of jellyfish eyes, singing moss, magic mushrooms and morphing creatures would be willing to have a go at the iconic Louis Vuitton monogram. — (Via Time) And Carine Roitfeld (editor-in-chief, French Vogue) profiled by Hedi Slimane… Her definition of fashion is clearly hedonistic, embracing fashion’s immediacy but with a broad cultural vision that puts everything in perspective.” — (Via Time)
Dolce & GaGoogle: Google has just launched an interesting initiative where they have commissioned artists to design igoogle search pages. These new designs are provided by artists including fashion designer Oscar de la Renta, Nigo of The Bathing Ape, Dolce & Gabbana, and more. Now you can put the work of world-class artists and innovators on your personalized Google homepage. Then add your choice of news, email, games, and more for a page that's as useful as it is beautiful. — (Via Google)
Luxury consumers are ready for marketing 2.0: Luxury brands have struggled to create an online presence that reproduces their carefully controlled offline positioning, but according to new research, consumers are ready for - and expect - luxury brands to innovate and develop clear online experiences. The inherent contradiction between the ubiquitous accessibility of brands in the online world and the fiercely protected exclusivity at the heart of luxury consumer goods has to date remained an unresolved mismatch. — (Via BrandStrategy) You can view historically how luxury websites have approached their web design via the Internet Archive Way Back Machine Louis Vuitton, for example, has come a long way since its first web design in 1998… Visit LV 1998 website
Korean Air: Over the last few months, the previously low-key Korean Air appears to have found an almost limitless media budget, for TV, print and online advertising. With their new Tiffany blue color scheme and “Excellence in Space” positioning, they have raised their profile enormously. However, we have to wonder whether their new print ad is going to attract any new customers… It mentions their “180 degree reclining Kosmo Sleeper Seat” but the image features a a seat that looks like an unreclinable plastic shallow bucket seat, and while the model appears to be in the throes of relaxation, the reality of having a plastic spike resting against the back of your neck suggests the opposite. The ad might be communicating on the other tagline “From departure to arrival, witness the creation of your own private room”, in which case this is a metaphorical seat. Either way, it’s not a very helpful ad.

In the Age of TiVo and Web Video, What Is Prime Time?: The missing six million viewers who were watching prime television last May and have disappeared this year are still watching, but on their own terms.
Cablevision Offer Baffles Wall Street (Again): Wall Street is skeptical about why Cablevision wants to buy Newsday. But a deal is said to be imminent.
Craig (of the List) Looks Beyond the Web: In the face of the expansion of the classified ads Web site Craigslist, its founder, Craig Newman, is capitalizing on his success to promote causes he holds dear.
Advertising: Marketers Welcome Television’s Shift to a 52-Week Season: The writers’ strike this TV season was only the catalyst of the change to upfront week, when networks offer springtime previews of prime-time programs for the upcoming fall.
It’s Official: Jimmy Fallon Is Next for ‘Late Night’: Jimmy Fallon, the former cast member of “Saturday Night Live,” is to be named the host of NBC’s “Late Night” talk show.
PBS Revives a Show That Shines a Light on Reading: The 2009 version of “The Electric Company” is a weekly, more danceable version of its former daily self.
Citi’s New Slogan Is Said to Be Second Choice: Replacing a tagline that fizzled last year, Citigroup’s new slogan, “Citi Never sleeps”, had previously been scratched.
McCain’s TV Preferences Emerge: Office Farce, Not Soap: Presidential candidates long ago learned the power of pop culture, but this year they seem to be leaning particularly hard on it.
Playboy Has a Losing Quarter, and Its Chief Talks of Media Transformation: Playboy Enterprises reported that it had lost money in the first quarter of 2008, making it another casualty of the economic downturn and the squeeze between old media and new media.
Fox Business Refines Lineup in Daytime: Changes to the lineup of the network, which was introduced in October, will affect almost every daytime hour.

AXE Cottage: AXE Canada just released a new commercial to promote the exclusive 'AXE Cottage'. As we can see on the website, this cottage is full of women, but there's a lack of men. And that's where the AXE buyer comes in....
Heineken, the barrel and the comic strip: In Spain Heineken has launched a new campaign to promote its 5 liters beer barrel mixing music and comics. The TV spot very nice as it proposes different camera angles and text baloons like a comic book while playing a...
The Mentos KissCam: Mentos has launched the KissCam. Web interactivity reaches new levels... Use your webcam to kiss the girl (or the man) in the video. I can't decide whether it's a great viral or just a very silly idea by Perfect Fools...
Audi: Performance from every part: BBH and GT have recently released a mini-site for the new Audi RS 6. Even if you're not much into cars (like me), you'll better have a look, as the video experience is quite powerful. I especially enjoyed the sound...
The Absolut Line to the Top: In Australia, Tequila has just launched a new initiative as part of the Absolut World global action. It's the Absolut Line to the Top, a "secret view" on the office of Kevin Rudd, Australia's Prime Minister. Four CCTV cameras follow...
An ad or a video clip? Whatever it is it's cool: A video clip that's an ad... Sydney agency colman rasic carrasco has just launched a music video for top UK band Radiohead. The single 'All I need', from Radiohead's critically acclaimed latest album 'In Rainbows', became a perfect fit for...
Nokia 3110 Evolve(s): Nokia has recently launched a website to present its environmentally friendly phone, the 3110. The site doesn't tell much about the technical features of the phone, rather it focuses on the ecological aspects of the project, with a series of...
Nike: Take It To The Next Level: Nike just released the full version (2 minutes) of a spot for the upcoming UEFA 2008 European Championship football. The 'Take It To The Next Level' commercial is directed by Guy Ritchy and shows a first person journey through several...
Your perfect Harley Davidson weekend: In Benelux, Harley Davidson has launched a online marketing effort called "Your perfect Harley Davidson week-end". Through an interactive storytelling mechanism, visitors are asked to express their preferences and build up their ideal week-end, from Saturday to Sunday choosing from...
Time for a new revolution: From Nordpol Hamburg, a great Tv spot for the new Dacia....

Execs and Accounts: NBCU, Avenue A/Razorfish, Beyond Interaction: NBC Universal promotes two; Avenue A/Razorfish promotes Galligan in Austin; Beyond Interaction recruits a group account director.
FTC Airs Mobile Marketing's Dirty Laundry: A Federal Trade Commission town hall on mobile marketing examines privacy concerns over about location-based mobile advertising, improper disclosure of fees, and more.
Starcom Melds Performance Media Units: SMG Search, Directory Marketing and Halogen units now all report to the same director.
Questions for David Goodman, CBS Radio's President of Digital Media: CBS Radio raised the curtain on its new Web radio and ad platform recently. Goodman fills you in on the details.
An Ad Network Option Tailored for Concert Promoters: AdBrite and Live Nation roll out a branded service allowing Live Nation clients to place campaigns on the performance-based ad network.
TBA Creates Branded Entertainment Unit: TBA Global brings out TBA DEEP, a new division committed to branded entertainment.
Quantcast Makes Data More Applicable for Media Planning: A new, free service brings the audience measurement firm closer to its goal of being a must-have paid service for advertisers and agencies.
Revamped 'I Love New York' Campaign Spends Big on Digital: New York City stole Milton Glaser's famous logo from the state-wide tourism campaign that popularized it. Now Albany's trying to steal it back.
FIM Falls Short in Q1, MySpace Unveils Data Portability Project: FIM fiscal year revenues to miss projections by 10 percent.
ValueClick Quarter Strong, Despite Weak Spending in Some Segments: Finance, healthcare and pharma advertisers reduced spending, but telco and travel ad budgets increased.

Proclivity: A Software Solution To A Marketer's Problem: As readers of this blog know, I can be a bit of a skeptic when it comes to e-commerce marketing technologies created by techies or scientists. I feel that such marketing software is a little bit like diet pills--they promise...
Ads For Beyonce's Children's Line Are Promoting Itty-bitty Hoochie Mamas: Ads for singer Beyonce's new children's clothing line feature child models in high heels with heavily made-up faces. Is she encouraging children to want to dress up as prostitutes? I don't quite get it. Needless to say, the provocative pics...
Uma Thurman Sues Lancome: Uma Thurman is claiming in a lawsuit that Lancome, owned by L'Oreal SA continues to use her image in advertising and marketing, years after a licensing agreement expired. According to The Wall Street Journal, the $5 million + lawsuit, filed...
Where The Women In Dove's "Real Women" Campaign Re-Touched?: A new controversy over Dove's "Campaign for real beauty" ads is brewing as questions arise over the "pureness" of the images of women in the ad. The photographs of women of all sizes could have been significantly retouched, claims airbrush...
Goodby Silverstein & Partners Turns 25: The San Francisco agency Goodby, Silverstein & Partners is celebrating it's 25th birthday. I remember interviewing at their offices (then called Goodby, Berlin & Silverstein) on Front Street when they were a mere 10 years-old. I was hired by a...
Microsoft to Facebook: Care To Dance?: Microsoft has turned its amorous attention away from Yahoo!, directing a little love towards Facebook. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Microsoft's bankers put out subtle signals to Facebook, the social networking Web site, to see if it would...
Starwood CEO Hires Former Colleague To Run Marketing: Proving once again that maintaining business relationships are a key to success (for everyone involved), Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide CEO Frits van Paasschen has hired a former colleague--Phil McAveety, from his days at Nike, to be chief brand officer...
PowerAde Wants You To Desire Hydration and Electrolytes with Zero Calories: Coca-Cola is trying to energize its sports-drink line with a zero-calorie PowerAde to compete with category king Gatorade and win a greater market share of the sports-drink market. Print ads for the drink, feature tennis star Venus Williams. From USA...
5 Lawyers Punk'd Before Lunch: Diet Coke v. Coke Zero: Actual lawyers on hidden camera:
What is an Arby's, Anyway?: Ever wonder where corporate names come from? Despite most people's belief that Taco Bell is named after the bells in Spanish missions, it is actually named after founder Glen Bell of San Bernadino, CA. Toyota is an American-ized version of...

Paul Williams: How to Manage Problems You Can't Fix: Problems. Challenges. Opportunities. Whatever you call them at your company, we want them fixed. Our gut reaction is - come hell or high water - to find a solution. However, there are times when there is no fix. You're stuck with it. For example, your business may be experiencing a challenge with the current "economic condition" in the United States. Perceived or real, the challenge with the downturn/recession is that as an individual business there is nothing you can do. You have to deal with it. Another time when we face challenges beyond our power, is when performing SWOT analysis. You can manage the Strengths and Weaknesses and you can exploit the Opportunities. However, the Threats are out of your control... you're stuck with their reality. So what can be done? Your options are to... find a way to live with the problem, or find ways to flip the situation so it is seen as an asset versus a deficit.(1)Living with the ProblemAt first this sounds fatalistic; not a 'victory' situation. Nevertheless, the realization that you can't fix something can be liberating. It frees you to focus resources on things you can change. You manage recognizing the problem is simply part of your playing field. (2)Flip from Deficit to AssetA second option is to find a way to work the problem to your benefit. Change the deficit to an asset. This is called asset-based thinking.* Okay, so customer traffic has slowed at your business, perhaps this is your opportunity to shift your model from a focus on quantity to quality. Instead of relying on new customers from new traffic, perhaps you should look at your existing satisfied customer base. Can you re-connect with them and create higher satisfaction and incremental sales. There are a slew of approaches once you turn the problem on its head. Brian Clegg and Paul Birch in their book Instant Creativity recommend examining your situation in two stages to "make your problem state desirable." Ask first:How could you change the world to live with this problem?(This creates your first set of solutions) and then: How could you change the world so the problem goes away?(This creates a second set of solutions). They recommend taking the results of these two questions and combining to determine potential ways to manage the situation. While not all problems can be fixed, at least you can reduce your angst and hopefully find a way to flip the problem to benefit from it. *By the way... You can learn more about asset-based thinking at the "Asset-Based Thinking" website of Kathy Cramer and Hank Wasiak.
Mark Goren: How to Handle Negative Comments: Getting comments on a blog post is one of the most positive outcomes you can experience as a blogger. Comments are rewarding on so many levels. Think about it, your readers are... Moved to action by what you wrote Giving you feedback, either to improve your idea or validate it Interested and engaged Reaching out to you to let you know that they're listening Firing you up to post again and again and again This list, of course, can go on. But what happens when you get a negative comment? One that throws you off, crosses the line or just generally seems like the person made an appearance to stir the pot? Let's discuss. Negative comments generally fall into one of two categories: 1. Wholehearted disagreement with your post Description: Things may get heated during a debate like this, but no line is ever crossed. You do, however, feel like the person commenting is just trying to goad you on. Approach: Engage the person. Ask a lot of questions. If you're so sure about your point, get them to defend theirs. If you're being asked to defend your point, defend it -- but recognize the other person's point, particularly if they've made you rethink your position. If your guest just seems to want the last word and is becoming repetitive in their arguments, then let them have it and move on. But, remember, always make sure that they know that their input was appreciated. In other words, be the bigger person. 2. Rude, obnoxious, line-crossing behaviour Description: Pretty self-explanatory here. This can include the use of foul language, name calling, slurs -- generally things you wouldn't want said to your face. Approach: This is a little trickier to deal with. Do you address or completely ignore the comment? Do you delete it? First, you have to measure just how far the line was crossed in relation to your own standards. Sure, sometimes this will be quite obvious, but the important thing is that you set a standard and stick to it. For example, just this week Cathy Mosca reminded Tom Peters' readers of their "living room" rule, which means, "Don't behave in any way you would not behave towards guests in your home." Simple, efficient and sensible. I look at it like this: If someone writes something you wouldn't accept in your home, let them know with a warning, private email being best. If they really cross the line, either ignore them or kick 'em out. Remember, this is your blog. Though you should keep in mind that your actions are being measured and evaluated too. So be a good host at all times. Last point: there is no hard and fast rule on how to handle this issue. Blogs being blogs, so much is up to you to decide for yourself. If it feels right to you, that's all that really matters. If you're looking for more guidance, though, take a look at the replies I received when I put the question out to my Twitter followers. These are good answers from smart people. So, how do you handle negative comments?
Leigh Duncan-Durst: Crawling for Customers: I once had a co-worker recount the tale of her junior account position at a 4A's agency. Her account was for a well known brand of… well…tampons. Evidently, the team brainstorming sessions (comprised largely of men), yielded many unfortunate and hysterical marketing and product development ideas -- most of which I can't recount here. Needless to say, they made me (and would make most women) shudder. Perhaps the most memorable one was the group's enthusiastic vote to place of "audio alert" capabilities inside each product. The idea is that the product would beep when it was time to ... um… well, need I say more? Fortunately for the agency, my female co-worker threw herself in front of the conference room door and would not move until they promised not to take the "beep alert" idea back to the brand. The point is this: these guys were positive they knew the customer. Unfortunately, all the brand and product training in the world didn't take away personal bias that led to some really misguided ideas. The truth is, it's very easy to fall in love with our own ideas and perceptions of things - and settle into mediocrity or even craziness (see last post) when it comes to customer experience. In my work I spend a lot of time with "experience agents" - or the corporate executives, brand managers, product developers, designers, customer service managers, etc... who actually touch the customer and craft experiences for them. My job is to get them to think actively and differently about the customer, to open their eyes to experience opportunities and pitfalls, and help them resolve experience issues to drive loyalty and revenue. One really good question I have my clients ask themselves is how truly close to understanding their customers they really are -- versus how close they think they are. The problem is - the answer tends to be subjective. So, in addition to conducting context-rich research, we often try to answer this by putting ourselves in the customer's shoes as an honest way to answer the question. Case in Point: In addition to being an experience architect, I am the mother of a seven month old who has been incredibly sick for nine days now. As a result, my focus has not been on writing, tweeting or working… but on changing, bathing and hydrating a restless baby. In the course of doing so, I had a myriad of bad product experiences this week. This prompted me to ask: How many Huggies and Pampers brand or product managers have had to work in a daycare for a week? How many babies have the Aveeno Baby or other product managers at Proctor & Gamble and Johnson & Johnson actually had to wash using their product(s)? How many purple-stained onesies have the makers of Pedialyte had to clean? And I wonder, if these individuals actually got these assignments, if they'd actually design: Diapers that don't readily encourage leaks up the back of baby Easy-grip, non-tip containers designed for one-hand use, which naturally force baby wash to the bottom of the bottle so that it's easy to access and dispense with an easy-open lid and a no-leak dispenser. Non-staining flavored electrolyte formula for babies This type of research would seem intuitive - but evidently it is not. Now, it certainly wouldn't be expensive to conduct such research, and the outcomes could drive a windfall of innovative ideas that would improve brand and product experience and generate more loyal customers. If this formula is true: BRAND = CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE / TIME ...then how important is it that we experience our products as our customers would - rather than going from third-party research, our gut, or just plain ignorance. This would seem the only way to ensure the "aspirational brands" (brands we want to create) match up with our actual brand recognition. The experts tell me that, when it's time to baby-proof your house, my husband and I should get down on our hands and knees and crawl through our house at "baby height" to find any risks that may be present for our child. Perhaps we should all be doing the same with our customers. This is about more than research. We can conduct customer surveys and learn. We can test products and watch videos of our customers talking and learn. We can go out and talk to our customers and learn. But Getting back to basics, however, we can also put on our customer's shoes and walk a mile. We can roll up our sleeves and act as they would... and it's not that hard or expensive to do so. Maybe it's time for us all to get down and start crawling a bit more. What do you think?
Stephan Spencer: Drawbacks of Outsourcing to India or China: The cost savings of outsourcing low-level work overseas to countries like India, China, and the Philippines can look pretty attractive. But it's folly. The lack of language skills among the outsourced employees can lead to misunderstandings, lost credibility, customer service complaints and missed opportunity. I learned this first-hand. I tried outsourcing some of my personal work to a virtual assistant firm in India. I wasn't so much concerned with saving money as I was in freeing up the time I spent responding to email and performing other tasks that did not necessarily merit my personal involvement. Just like all of those companies that outsourced their call centers, I saw the error of my ways after seeing the difficulty my virtual assistant had with basic email communication. One of his emails to me, with the subject line of "Results can be even worthier than you pay!" sounded like spam and I almost deleted it by accident! His email continued "I am really exicted about our newly build relationship." Egad! It's not that delegating and outsourcing are bad or wrong -- on the contrary, as I wrote in a recent MarketingProfs article, farming out tasks that you don't absolutely have to do yourself is the key to greater productivity and reduced stress. The more work you can assign to others, the more time you have to concentrate on issues that genuinely need your attention. But be careful whom you outsource to. Do you really want someone who can barely speak English to answer your phone or handle your email? (Though it's not meant to be funny, this podcast interview with a Chinese virtual assistant company CEO amusingly illustrates this point.) In fact, do you really want that person to do anything of importance for your business? I sure don't -- so much so that I recently fired my India-based virtual assistant. The issue is not the country that you outsource to; it's the quality of the people doing the work, or at the very least, the quality of their language skills. Outsourcing to a country where the native language has to go back four branches to find a common ancestor with English is, I have found, rarely a good idea. I shudder to think of the aforementioned guy acting on my behalf, replying to my business-critical emails in Borat-speak. I realize now I could have avoided this whole debacle by taking some common-sense precautions, namely the ones recommended by Tim Ferriss and outlined in my above-mentioned MarketingProfs article. These are: Make enough inquiries to receive 20-30 proposals. Look to hire multiple virtual assistants; never hire a single individual -- you don't want your project to fail because someone got sick, took a vacation, or quit on you. Immediately delete any boilerplate form responses when evaluating initial responses. Test your VAs by assigning easy 20-30 minute tasks to the top 3-5 candidates. This will eliminate around 50% of them. Next, test them further by taking a longer project (20-30 hours), and assigning it to all three. Ask them to stop after three hours and send you what they've completed, and you will know who performs best. To reiterate, I'm in no way against VAs -- the concept is wonderful! But I needed to be a little more picky about which company and which individual VAs I chose. So with the above points in mind, I was able to find a much higher quality company based in Canada. The VA I chose there costs a lot more money, but I'm getting a lot more value out of her work. Now if my credit card company would only follow the same advice, I won't need a translator to talk to them...
Scott Monty: How I Think About My Social Networks: I've been getting a lot of requests for friends on various social networks lately. You probably have been too - there seems to be an explosion of interest lately, particularly on Twitter.I'm generally encouraged by this, as it means that the space is continuing to grow, rather than to wane like some short-lived fad. But at the same time, it can make life a little more complex or cluttered if you're not ready to deal with it. But social networks are inherently different from each other. How you use one may not reflect how you use another, nor will contacts be consistent across every one of them. I thought it might be instructive to share how I think about my social networks - particularly focusing on how I consider friend requests in each. I've linked to my profiles, if you'd care to connect with me on them. Facebook Ah, Facebook. One of the most visible and recognized brands in the social networking space, where "friend" is a verb. For me, Facebook is a combination of business and social contacts. I'll immediately accept a friendship request if I know you or follow you on another network. But that's not to say I'm exclusive in my friending. If we don't know each other, just introduce yourself and - most importantly - give me some context as to how you know me. LinkedIn I use LinkedIn as my professional social network. Like the old three-ring binders of business cards that I kept, LinkedIn is my real-time virtual collection of business cards. As you can imagine, my requirements for LinkedIn are a bit more stringent. If you'd like to connect with me on LinkedIn, we should have met or at least have had some meaningful interaction. I'll also accept introductions via people I know. Twitter Twitter is probably the loosest of all of my networks. I generally like connecting with more people there because I enjoy the exchange of ideas, links and quick personal interaction that it allows. While there are some people who add absolutely everyone back, I can't keep up with the pace and consider some of them spammy. Since there have been a good number of new followers, I'm having trouble adding some back. If you follow me and I haven't followed you back, don't take it personally. Just get my attention by sending me an "@" message and I'll be sure to add you back. It's as simple as that. I hope this post was a helpful insight about how I consider friend requests in each network. I'd be interested to know how you handle your own connections on your various social networks. Please leave a comment and educate me.
Ann Handley: 5 Real Reasons You Need to Come to Boston This June (*and a Bonus 6th!): Last week, my friend and colleague Susanne Sicilian sent an email highlighting the 5 Reasons Your Boss Needs to Send You to Boston. Among the reasons: One-on-one time with our speakers, exclusive (and free) research, "Usability Labs" on your Web Site, Email campaigns, and Social Media efforts that essentially amounts to free one-on-one tune-ups. "Take this list into the corner office now, and we'll see you in June!" wrote Susanne, who manages Events here.Now, I love Susanne. And if there was a word I could use that would suggest that she's more than correct in her reasoning, I'd use it here. But let's talk about the REAL reasons you should attend Boston this June: 1. Free schwag! Enough about the learnin'. Let's talk freebies: Marketo is giving away an Apple MacBook Air, Hubspot is offering free customized "Website Grader" reports. Plus, the MarketingProfs conference bag is an excellent opportunity to add to your tote bag collection. 2. Free food! Breakfast, lunch and dinner are included, so pack your appetite. Our conference guarantee: We won't send you home hungry. 3. New digs. Boston's Renaissance is brand new, which means that the hotel bedspreads and rugs will still be summer-fresh. 4. Susanne really needs this job. After a year of working at home within arm's length of the fridge, Susanne is terrified of squeezing into a business suit again. Don't put her through it. On to... 5. You need to get out. The single best thing about any good event is the way that it rejuvenates and inspires you out of any rut you didn't even know you were in. It gets you out of the office, out from behind your desk or PC, learning and listening and thinking about things in a whole new light. (If you need evidence of that, check this out.) It's an investment in terms of ROI. But more than that, it's an investment in YOU and the level of energy for your job and work that you can bring back. To paraphrase the MasterCardcommercials, that's priceless.... Click here to see the program details. Then click here to Register. Which leads to my bonus reason: 6. Discounts! Sign up to and submit code ESPK08 to get $200 off the price of registration (make it $350 off if you register before May 19). Good luck with the boss! And hope to see you in Boston.
John Wall & Christopher Penn: MarketingProfs Podcast: Press Releases vs. News Releases: In this Marketing Over Coffee we discuss 3 things to make your News Releases more effective, what to consider when adding "new media", and sales vs. marketing..... all that and more in this Marketing Over Coffee, a weekly audio program sponsored by MarketingProfs that covers classic marketing tactics and what's new on the technology front. Direct Link to File Show length 30:49 We add a new sponsor, Blue Sky Factory 01:20 Press Releases for inbound links, 3 tips to make them more successful, do News Releases instead, get testimonials 10:00 Mike from Grass Shack Events Media asks about for tips on how to build an email list. Make an offer, buy a list or leverage LinkedIn 18:42 Jake asks about using social media in the marketing mix. Where should you jump in? 23:05 Ken follows up on advice from last week, get and hold the attention of others, spin a story, or try low volume, high impact, direct mail 29:30 Marketing and Sales become the same thing. John continues the wedding tour, Scranton was fun, San Jose is Next Chris will post recordings from Podcamp NYC last weekend Podcamp, NME, Photo Expo, Gnomedex all coming up Our theme song is called Mellow G by Fonkmasters from the Podsafe Music Network Direct Link to File
Ted Mininni: Tapping into Great Ideas Right Under Your Nose: Business Week is running a series of what you might call "self-help articles for businesses." Before you yawn and think it's