Radio station promotions are often lowest common denominator affairs. But the category reached a new low last week when Sacramento's KDND 107.9 The End, appears to have accidentally killed a woman with one of their ill-conceived concepts. According to News 10, a 28-year-old mother of three from Rancho Cordova was found dead in her home just hours after competing in the station's "Hold Your Wee for a Wii" contest. The …
“Improve The Customer’s Experience” Or Find Another Line Of Work
A Washington, DC-based blogger going by the screen name of "Woodstock" reads Gaping Void "with varying degrees of regularity." He says he's "revolted and compelled at the same time" by Hugh's content. Woodstock goes on to say, "I believe marketing to be one of the primary sources of evil in modern culture." What's interesting here is Hugh MacLeod's repsonse. You can replace marketing with management or even sales, …
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Time To Invest In The Web
According to The New York Times, print journalism took another blow to its midsection this week. In a broad retrenchment, Time Inc. announced yesterday that it would cut nearly 300 employees at its top magazines, including the most profitable publication, People, as it moves to invest more in its Web sites. The number of cuts — 289 in total — were deeper than expected, with 172 of them coming from the editorial side …
Brits Buy In
Barclays, the British financial services company claims to be a "proud partner in Brooklyn's renaissance." According to The Wall Street Journal, the well-heeled Brits are dropping $300 mil on the naming rights for the future home of Nets basketball. Barclays Center, at the Atlantic Yards in Brooklyn, is scheduled to be completed by the start of the 2009-2010 National Basketball Association season. Robert E. Diamond, …
Opportunity Knocks
Ad Age takes an accusatory tone in an article about top level creatives leaving one shop for another. McGarryBowen has been stealing Walt Disney Co.'s theme-parks creative work away from Leo Burnett, and now it's swiping some of Burnett's Disney creatives as well. The independent New York-based agency has hired Ned Crowley and Jonathan Moore as executive creative directors. The two held similar positions at …
Identity Theft Goes Maxx
This seems to be becoming a weekly occurrence. From The New York Times: The TJX Companies, the retailer that operates the T. J. Maxx and Marshalls discount clothing chains, has joined the ignominious list of companies that have had sensitive customer financial data pilfered by identity thieves. Yesterday the company, based in Framingham, Mass., said that as early as 2003 and during most of last year, an intruder had …
Ze Frank Goes To Hollywood
Spencer Morgan's New York Observer article on internet video star Ze Frank is highly informative. Here's some of what I learned by reading the piece: Mr. Frank has high powered Hollywood agents and will soon have a deal. United Talent Agency owner Nick Stevens said to him, "We’ll do this, we’ll do that, we’ll pump that area." DreamWorks is laden with waterfalls and free ice cream. In March of 2001, Mr. Frank was an …
Razorfish Extends Global Reach
Can interactive shops continue to grow and challenge traditional ad agencies for ownership of the big idea? Are I-shops capable of leading creative or merely executing and implenting it? If you're rooting for interactive, good news came today when Avenue A/Razorfish announced that it has secured a 19.4% stake in a Japanese interactive shop called Digital Palette, which is part of Dentsu, Japan's biggest ad agency. …