USA Today knows how to write a lead. There's a new twist on consumer-generated marketing: Ellen DeGeneres-generated marketing. Chris Bryant, 23, now starring in his own Nike ad, got the gig thanks to the funny woman's interest in his unusual abilities. With Bryant appearing as a guest on her show, she rang Nike CEO Mark Parker during the broadcast and pushed the company to make an ad. The rest, as they say, is …
Zip Zap
Sell to a holding company and your agency brand will forever be in danger. According to Ad Age, Zipatoni, a prominent marketing services agency, is no more. The 22-year-old St. Louis shop -- best known for zany promotions and retail work -- is being folded into Interpublic Group of Cos.' sibling Rivet, the shops announced today. Toronto-based FCB Direct is also folding into Rivet. The new Rivet, based in Chicago, …
Don’t Bogart That Pay Dirt, My Friend
Rumors are flying that News Corp., fresh off its acquistion of Dow Jones, wants to marry the business persons' newspaper to LinkedIn, the soc net for suits. Apparently, Rupe is willing to pay nearly double the sum he shelled out for MySpace. But get this...according to Wired, Dan Nye, CEO of LinkedIn said it would take "a lot more" than a billion dollars for the company to sell out. It's hypothetical and incredibly …
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‘Tis The Season For Agency Holiday Cards
...this one is from Dailey and Associates [via bad banana blog] …
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First You Report, Then You Sell Ads
5280 is a lifestyle magazine serving the Denver market. The title's editor and publisher, Daniel Brogran, writing in Folio describes his magazine's commitment to investigative journalism. To do this kind of work, we've had to more than triple our staff and increase our editorial budget by nearly $1 million per year. But we've seen a tremendous return on our investment. In the last four years, 5280's paid …
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Data Rules (But Not By Itself)
Adweek has outlined what it considers to be the top ten industry trends for 2007. This one, in particular, caught my eye: DATA IS KING "Content" is no longer the be-all, end-all in the digital age. The growing number of social networks and marketers interested in targeted, relevant messages has given rise to a new proclamation: data rules. Excuse me Adweek, are you high? Data doesn't grow on trees. Content pulls …
It’s Official, We’re In The Media Arts Business
By changing his title from chairman and chief creative officer to global director of media arts, TBWA's Lee Clow is making a point about the future direction of the agency business. "The next few years, which I have described as the next 'creative revolution,' are going to be the most exciting the advertising business has ever seen." [via Adweek] …
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Leanin’ On The YouTubes
Just about every agency in the world still leans on a brochureware site to tell its story. There are some notable exceptions—Hill Holiday scrapped the corporate site altogether in favor of a blog. Other agencies are augmenting their brochureware site with things like a MySpace page or YouTube account. Of course, several now have blogs. While Agency Spy was bored with the content in the following video from Arnold, I …
G-Wizards Dance While The Emperor Feasts
In today's Sunday Business section, one will find a long article about Google's "cloud computing" strategy. Google is betting that consumers and businesses will move from being chained to one's desktop to a more flexible internet-based system of working. cartoon by Tom Bower With the proliferation of mobile internet tools, and the fact that one will increasingly rely a handful of devices, rather than one desktop …
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No News Is The News
Thanks to George Parker for finding this AOL News spot: Yes, it's funny. But it's also scary. This shit is considered 'news' now? …