If you believe the Republican National Committee, San Francisco has a brand identity problem. It's the city where liberalism has run amok, a liberalism best contained on that tiny peninsula. Here's what The New York Times is reporting: In the waning days of a highly charged election season, Republicans near and far are united against a common opponent: San Francisco. In ads and stump speeches, the city is repeatedly …
Control Is An Illusion Kept Alive By Ego
I think we all know people who hold too closely to ideas they consider their own. Ideas become like babies to these people, and babies need protecting. Barry Lowenthal of The Media Kitchen thinks it's a mistake, particularly for agencies, to behave this way. When people hoard information, they immediately limit the potential for idea generation. If, say, only two people have access to data, they become the only two …
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New Book Roundup: Nalty, Gallo, Meerman Scott and Verdino
The Marketing section of the bookstore has been overflowing with interesting new books trying to make some sense of the new world of advertising and marketing in these hyper-connected times. I'd like to mention the new ones that have come my way: In Beyond Viral: How to Attract Customers, Promote Your Brand, and Make Money with Online Video, Kevin Nalty offers some very good pointers for marketers who believe they …
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How Clean Can Catfish Be?
According to The Guardian, Catfish Farmers of America (CFA) and the Catfish Institute, are claiming that Chinese and Vietnamese catfish fillets are tainted with pollutants and antibiotics. The institute is calling for country of origin labels on catfish, and the farmers' body wants the Obama administration to inspect all imports. But a seafood industry trade body, the National Fisheries Institute (NFI), described …
GUESS by Marciano Is Not Just A Clothing Line, It’s An Aphrodisiac
There’s Big Money In Bad Ads
According to the Los Angeles Times, money from political advertising is filling the bank accounts of local TV stations. Candidates and supporters are caught up in a frenetic advertising blitz, on pace to drop a record $3 billion, according to analysts who monitor spending. Most of the money is going to an old-media workhorse: local TV stations. TV stations nationwide will rake in two-thirds of the campaign dollars …
Are Nasty Political Campaigns New? That’s A Negative.
Here, in the actual words of the day, are what some negative ads of 1800 might have looked like, courtesy of Reason magazine. That's some good copywriting. …
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How Do You Take Your Magazine?
Khoi Vinh, formerly of The New York Times is often asked his opinions on the cavalcade of publications rushing to the iPad. Here's what he has to say about magazines on the iPad: My opinion about iPad-based magazines is that they run counter to how people use tablets today and, unless something changes, will remain at odds with the way people will use tablets as the medium matures. They're bloated, user-unfriendly …
Brands Too Can Be Repurposed
An auction of office equipment and movie memorabilia was held earlier this year at the Movie Gallery/Hollywood Entertainment headquarters in Wilsonville. Now the bankrupt company is preparing to auction off its brand names, digital assets and customer information. According to The Oregonian, the Nov. 9 auction will be handled by the valuation firm Streambank of Needham, Mass. "The company has been operating for more …
Advertising To “Ideas People” Just Became A Bit Simpler To Do
Mediaweek reports that there's a new ad network in town, one that ties together highbrow audiences who read The Economist, Christian Science Monitor, Mother Jones, The New Republic, Talking Points Memo, Daily Kos, The Chronicle of Higher Education and other like-minded periodicals. The Ideas People Channel is the umbrella name for the network. Executives said the channel would launch with 11 million monthly unique …
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