OSCON 2011, an O'Reilly conference on Open Source, was held in Portland this week. The event brought a plethora of Open Source advocates to the city, including a sizable contingent from Rackspace in San Antonio. Cloud Evangelist, Matt Wilbanks, made the trip and he took time from his conference schedule to explain how and why Rackspace appeals to and benefits the ad agency market. One of the biggest features of …
With Gigya, Social Media Integration Is A Pleasure, Not A Chore
How do brands, and their agencies, tame the social media marketing beast? If they're smart, they get help managing a process that is growing increasingly complex by the day. One company publishers and brands turn to is Gigya, a venture backed Silicon Valley-based company started by a team of Israeli technologists in 2006. Gigya helps companies make their websites and mobile sites/apps more social by offering a …
Continue Reading about With Gigya, Social Media Integration Is A Pleasure, Not A Chore →
Congrats To The Via Agency
Yesterday I declared, "W+K is in Portland, but not of Portland." Imagine my surprise this morning upon seeing the following declaration on The Via Agency's site... The Via Agency, of course, is located in Portland, Maine. It's also, as of last night's awards ceremony in Denver, Ad Age's Small Agency of the Year. Ad Age reports on Via's recent success: One of its most daunting challenges this year was …
S.C. Johnson Moves From DraftFCB
I'll present this without much comment, though I'm sure George Parker will have plenty to say about it. From Crain's Chicago Business: In a big blow, Chicago ad agency DraftFCB has lost its $65-million-revenue global account with S. C. Johnson & Son Inc., which is splitting the work between Chicago-based roster agencies Ogilvy & Mather and EnergyBBDO, Crain’s has learned. After seven months of back and …
Spotlight On NW Creative: W+K Keeps Local Talent At Arm’s Length
Iain Tait, Global Interactive Executive Creative Director at W+K, is looking for digital talent. But not just any digital talent mind you, W+K is "quite fussy," after all. I don't know Tait personally, but I can't help pausing to question the contents of his Tweet, for said contents could be offensive to Portlanders who might not like Tait's "remote corner" assertion, true though it may be. I also question …
Continue Reading about Spotlight On NW Creative: W+K Keeps Local Talent At Arm’s Length →
If You’re Not @gmail, Where You At?
I didn't realize Gmail needed more users, but I guess enough is never enough when you are in a competition with with Apple, Yahoo, Microsoft and Facebook. For more, see Google's Email Intervention microsite. …
Continue Reading about If You’re Not @gmail, Where You At? →
Advertainment Has To Sell, Or Brands Won’t Continue To Fund It
Jonathan Salem Baskin stirred the Ad Age pot by questioning the value of W+K's Old Spice "Man on a Horse" and "Mano a Mano in El Bano" campaigns in sales terms. "Every CMO needs to see this exercise for the time-waster it is," Baskin argues. "Cart without horse. Medium without message. Marketing without purpose. Is it really so unfashionable for brands to ask for the sale?" Yes, it is. Several people have …
Continue Reading about Advertainment Has To Sell, Or Brands Won’t Continue To Fund It →
The Big Engines That Could
BlogWell features eight great case studies on the best social media programs at large corporations. No agencies, no startups — just big companies sharing what they've learned. On the afternoon of August 9th, BlogWell will be at the Future of Flight Aviation Center in Mukilteo, Washington, just north of Seattle. The conference moves from city to city throughout the year. It will be in Atlanta this November. …
