I've been looking at making the move to a client side position and last week I had the opportunity to learn first hand just what that could mean. There's a Fortune 1000 company here in Portland that wants a Social Media Specialist to join their marketing team. Even though I've said several times that "there is no such thing as social media, there's only media people interact with and media people ignore," I pursued …
Finally, Microsoft Competes In The Image Arena
Steve Ballmer and crew loves what Crispin Porter & Bogusky is doing for Microsoft's external image and internal morale. In a New York Times feature, Sean Siler, 39, a software engineer at Microsoft who was featured in Crispin's "I'm A PC" ad campaign says, "I've never seen more pride at Microsoft. You walk through the campus, and you see people's laptops that have 'I'm a PC' stickers on them. I walk in the company …
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Zen and the Art of New Business Maintenance
Eric Karjaluoto of SmashLAB in Vancouver, BC is sharing an interview he did with business development consultant Blair Enns of WinWithoutPitching. Enns has a lot of great things to say. Witness: The only real way for a firm to shift the power is to eliminate as many substitutes to hiring their firm as possible. They do this by building a deep expertise. The easiest way to build deep expertise is to narrow the focus …
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Kruse’s Ship Is Called “Brand Love”
Last August I flew to ATL to pitch a room full of high powered marketing execs on BFG's ability to deliver exceptional content and online brand experiences. Carol Kruse, VP of Global Interactive Marketing at Coke put that meeting together for us. Here she is at Cannes speaking about some of the things that matter to her and other Coca-Cola brand managers: [via Adweek's Real Time Cannes] …
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Free Rides Are For Scholars, Not Failed Auto Brands
Not getting paid for work rendered is a real bitch. And according to The Wall Street Journal, there's some serious bitching going on right now. Monday's bankruptcy filing by General Motors sent chills down Madison Avenue as the car maker disclosed what it owed advertising and media agencies. The car maker disclosed that it owed ad and marketing firms at least $167 million as of May 31, according to court documents. …
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Talk Talk Walk
Best Buy is a company I loathe and will never support. The reason for my attitude is the $190 restocking fee Best Buy levied after I brought a PC back to the store in Lakewood, CO 18 hours after purchase. While Best Buy may have felt justified in that charge, I will never shop there again and I make it a point to to tell everyone I know what a horrible experience I had at Best Buy (seven years ago!). Given these …
Cheetos’ Big Balls
Consumed columnist, Rob Walker is wigged about the introduction of over-sized Cheetos. The bag describes its contents as "Dangerously cheesy taste in a dangerously cheesy ball!" The phrase "dangerously cheesy" has a trademark next to it. To me, the contents do look dangerous. But then even my inner 12-year-old finds Cheetos a little frightening, with the product's unnaturally glowing orange color, curious "dust" and …
How InBev Treats The King
Privilege belongs to the titans of industry. It's part of the package, as it were. Expensive dinners, golf outings, fine hotels, first class tickets or a ride on the corporate jet--it's all part of the deal. So, imagine the surprise Anheuser-Busch executives received upon discovering that InBev is the Wal-Mart of beer. According to The Wall Street Journal, construction crews arrived at One Busch Place a few months …