To promote its new Levels coffee system, Seattle's Best Coffee is hosting a live 24-hour interactive comedy show featuring actors and directors from Second City. "We wanted an exciting, big launch," said Michelle Gass, Seattle's Best president. "The spirit of this brand is to create a disruptive idea that builds emotional connection to the brand. It's not about saying, it's about doing. Why not make it fun …
Spotlight On NW Creative: Instrument
Instrument is a digital agency on the move. Since relocating to Portland, Oregon from Burlington, Vermont in 2006, the firm has grown considerably. Today, Instrument employs 28 people and works on Nike, Microsoft and other blue chip clients from its custom designed offices at Alberta Central. A few of those 28 people were recently employees of Portland design firm, Gridplane. The two companies announced a merger …
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Low Prices. Every Day. On Everything.
When it comes to advertising, Wal-Mart is no Target. Here are two new ads that highlight this fact. “We have lost our customer confidence … in having the lowest price,” said Duncan MacNaughton, chief merchandising officer at Wal-Mart. “Our company is determined to create the best one-stop shopping experience and low prices on the right products backed by a clear, consistent ad match policy,” added …
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Your Home Is Not A Barn
Adzookie is a free mobile advertising network with a plan to get noticed. The company's CEO, Romeo Mendoza, is looking for houses to turn into Adzookie billboards. In return for the exterior surface rights to the house, Adzookie will pay the homeowner's mortgage for the duration of time--anywhere from three months to one year--that the billboard is in place. Michael Bevel of Forbes doesn't care for the idea. …
Outstanding Mission Statements: 16th In A Series
WorkIsNotAJob is a design studio that neatly wears its mission on its sleeve. Here's a screen grab from their About page that helps illustrate what I mean by that: "Work is your love made visible." That's a particularly nice thought. Hat Tip: Brain Pickings …
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Yet Another Facebook Story: An Open Book In Prineville
Google wants to do no evil, but they're not the only Silicon Valley player committed to moving the needle for good. According to The New York Times, Facebook's new data center in Prineville, Oregon will run on specially-designed stripped-down servers that are 38 percent more efficient and 24 percent cheaper than those sold by major server makers. While Google has remained fairly tight-lipped about its …
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$3 Billion In Billings Kind Of Says It All
Jordan Zimmerman's escalation as an ad man is becoming the stuff of legend in South Florida. According to the Sun Sentinel, who designated Zimmerman its 2010 winner of the Excalibur Award, the intensely driven CEO of Zimmerman Advertising gets up most mornings before 3 a.m., rides his bike 25 miles, hits the gym and then puts in 11-hour work days, taking time out for dinner with his family. Because he loves his …
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It’s Not An Email You’re Sending Out, It’s An invitation To Connect Via Story
Mike May, Head of Insights at Real Magnet, shares some insights into the art of email marketing with Email Insider from MediaPost. He likens the process of writing an email to that of writing a novel. Writers embarking on a new work do not just sit down at a keyboard and start pecking out the great American novel. Storytelling is a craft, and the act of actually writing a novel is usually preceded by months of …
Attention: All Staff
Tourism Queensland, with the help of SapientNitro, has devised a B2B travel campaign that pits businesses head to head to compete for a $1 million custom travel package to Queensland, Australia. Entrants need to create an entertaining 60-second video that demonstrates why their business deserves to win, and why they think Queensland is the ultimate reward for their staff. The contest, which closes on May 1, is …
Whatever The ROI, Brands Are On Facebook For Good (Now What’s The Plan?)
It's 2011. Chances are you're recommending, and executing, Facebook campaigns for your clients. But why? Is it because all the cool kids are doing it? According to Fortune, Facebook isn't all that wonderful of a medium for brands. Razorfish's recent 2011 Liminal study points out that consumers prize a few things when engaging with a company. They want a modicum of trust, a feeling of being valued, a sense of …
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