When Ad Age runs a headline like this: DraftFCB Bolsters Analytics Practice there shouldn't be anything funny about it. After all, clients demand ROI and if agencies can provide it, more power to them. But one half of DraftFCB used to be able to sell ideas that a CMO didn't need a computer print out to analyze. Therefore, there is something funny about the headline and the story behind it. …
Advice For Clients
I'm a big fan of Steve McKee's articles in BusinessWeek, but I often wonder if anyone takes his advice to heart. His new one is called "Get the Most Out of Your Ad Agency" and it's full of tips for small business owners who work with agencies. Here's one tip: Value risk. For advertising to be attention-getting, it has to be different. And anything different is risky. In every other avenue of your business you know …
A Soc Full of Nets
After signing up for CityTrex, Dopplr and GoodReads this weekend (and sprucing up my Upcoming.org page), I have to ask, how many freaking soc nets can one person join before the utility wears off? Despite the clear value in each individual offering, there has to be a limit, right? Of course, it's a big part of my job to know what's happening out there in social media land, but still. And the thing is, I'm not even …
Polaroid Slides Down Far Side of Bell Curve
Newspapers and record companies are experiencing the awesome power of disruptive technology, but not like Polaroid. image courtesy of Look Closer According to The Boston Globe, Polaroid plans to make only enough film to last into next year before shuttering its factories. Polaroid chief operating officer Tom Beaudoin said the company is interested in licensing its technology to an outside firm that could manufacture …
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Reality’s Place in Marketing
The New York Times is looking at the rise of "off-air reporters" armed with video cams on the campaign trail. Originally hired to cut expenses — their cost is a fraction of a full television crew’s — these reporters, also called “embeds,” have produced a staggering amount of content, especially video. And in this election cycle, for the first time, they are able to edit and transmit video on the fly. As a result, the …
Yet Another Facebook Story: You Can Check Out Any Time You Like, But You Can Never Leave
According to The New York Times, the Facebook group “How to permanently delete your facebook account" has almost 4,300 members and is steadily growing. “It’s like the Hotel California,” said Nipon Das, 34, a director at a biotechnology consulting firm in Manhattan, who tried unsuccessfully to delete his account this fall. “You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave.” “The thing they offer …
Suttonistic Thinking
Cherryflava points to a story in Architectural Record about design firms working to foster a culture of innovation. Hire naive misfits who argue with you; encourage failure; avoid letting client input limit your vision; and fully commit to risky ventures. This is an extreme approach to fostering innovation in an otherwise relatively static office environment that was proposed by Robert I. Sutton. Writing in the …
Yahoo! Resists Redmond’s Overtures
The Wall Street Journal was working late last night, as they posted a short but important business story at 2:29 a.m. Yahoo Inc.'s board plans to reject Microsoft Corp.'s unsolicited $44.6 billion offer to acquire the Web giant, a person familiar with the situation says. After a series of meetings over the past week, Yahoo's board determined that the $31 per share offer "massively undervalues" Yahoo, the person said. …