Michael Arrington of TechCrunch is visiting Davos, Switzerland for the World Economic Forum. Arrington says there's fear in the air. There is a clear consensus among attendees that the worst is yet to come, and that we are facing the worst economic outlook of the last few generations. Some of the CEOs I've talked with (and most of the big company CEOs are here) are flat out scared about what kind of economic shock …
Bud Embeds Links In Super Bowl Spots
Three mil. is a hefty toll for a 30 second spot this Sunday. Naturally, brands want to get the most bang for their buck. In 2009, that means digital. Digital extends the spot via promotions or partnerships, archives the spot and in many cases builds anticipation for the spot. According to The Wall Street Journal, Labatt Breweries of Canada, a unit of Anheuser-Busch InBev that also handles Canadian advertising for …
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Year of the Ox
Bill Imada, writing in Ad Age, explains what the Year of the Ox--which began Monday--means to marketers. Since Oxen pull (rather than push), agency leaders will need to encourage their employees to incubate and produce stronger ideas that are more client-centric. Most corporate marketers claim that their budgets have been distressed or reduced; however, the agencies that find the best solutions to a client …
Is It A Service Or A Platform?
People are talking about Twitter possibly being worth a quarter of a billion dollars. Which people? Why, Sarah Lacy and Om Malik. Let's listen. …
KCI to LGA and Points Beyond
Y&R is reaching out to VML in Kansas City, hoping the shop can be its digital knight. According to Adweek: WPP Group's Young & Rubicam has forged a strategic alliance with sister digital shop VML that also gives VML a platform to become a global player. VML CEO Matt Anthonyw will assume the role of chief global digital officer for Y&R. Anthony, 49, also has joined Y&R's worldwide board. In his new global role, he's …
The Brass Brassiere Moves To The Burbs
Dana Anderson, a bold-face name in Chicago advertising, is the new senior VP-marketing, strategy and communication at Kraft Foods, according to Ad Age. Ms. Anderson is a past president and CEO of both DDB and FCB in Chicago, and has the distinction of being one of the first women in Chicago advertising to have risen to that level. She is a highly regarded agency executive known for her dynamic presentation style and …
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Look Out, Your Job Is About To Be Crowd Sourced
Phil Johnson is identifying scared cows and leading them to the slaughterhouse. Here's an interesting specimen... 3. Traditional Creative Departments The third sacred cow is the sanctity of the advertising creative department. Concepts like crowd sourcing have begun to move creative development beyond the walls of the agency. Just look at business models like CrowdSpring that let companies use the web to go directly …
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And (Economic) Justice For All
Red v. Blue. That's so over. We have a new clash of colors. Brown v. Green. The New York Times has more: "There's a bias in our Congress and government against manufacturing, or at least indifference to us, especially on the coasts," said Senator Sherrod Brown, Democrat of Ohio. "It's up to those of us in the Midwest to show how important manufacturing is. If we pass a climate bill the wrong way, it will hurt …
Today In Twitterverse: Tweet For Your Life
Twitter has evangelists, but few are more prominent than Tony Hsieh, the Tweet slinging CEO of Las Vegas-based Internet shoe purveyor, Zappos. photo courtesy of Laughing Squid After kicking it with Ev, last week in DC, Hsieh looked inward and was delighted by what he saw. At Zappos, we have 10 core values that act as a formalized definition of our company culture. Our core values weren't formed by a few people from …
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Pizza Pops Are Loaded
Marketing to teens can be a cherry assignment. All you have to do is stop thinking like an adult for a few hours, and WHAM, it comes to you. "It" came to the creative team at Cossette in Toronto. According to The Inspiration Room, Pizza Pops, the Pillsbury brand of pre-cooked snack produced by General Mills in Canada, is being promoted as a dangerous addition to teenage diets. The online campaign, "Citizens Against …