GuruBBQ is Tom Asacker's new joint. Every Wednesday he debuts a new episode, fully smoked and tenderly basted. When viewing this week's show, one will undoubtedly note Asacker's fine taste in ad blogs. Thanks for the shout out Tom! Addressing the lighthearted nature of his on-camera pursuit, Asacker says: If you want the "aha's" of discovery and great ideas, then you must have the "ha ha's" that come with the …
Awards Aren’t Important, But Cocktails With Friends Are
Drunken debuachery in Chicago. I'm stunned. Lewis Lazare and his bow tie attended the fourth annual Chicago Creative Club Awards recently. What he found there disturbed him. Here's what he found: Hundreds of local creatives who were well on their way toward total inebriation. As they have at CCC shows in years past, members of this city's ad industry proved they have no respect for their peers, their creative output …
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BYOBiz
Vermont's Champlain College--a private, baccalaureate institution that offers professionally focused programs balanced by a liberal arts foundation--has created a brilliant program for budding entrepreneurs. It's called BYOBiz, or "bring your own business." According to Burlington Free Press, 15 students started in the program this fall. National Public Radio's Marketplace says one student in the program, Ben …
DDB Taps Insiders To Lead Chicago Shop
Lewis Lazare keeps us up to date on who's doing what on the 38th floor of Chicago's "Big Stan," a.k.a. the Aon Center. Paul Tilley has prevailed. On Monday, DDB/Chicago announced Group Creative Director Tilley, 39, will assume the top creative post at the beleaguered agency with the title of managing director, creative. Tilley will become one of a new three-person management team that also includes James Lou, 37, as …
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No Escape From Commercial Space
The Escapist has an interesting feature on online guerilla marketers, or OMGs. Disguising himself as just another consumer turning to the internet for entertainment, advice and counsel, Jack prowls community forums looking for an opportunity to share his "opinion" of his clients' products and services. But his task isn't easy. Part of the reason many consumers are turning away from television in the first place is …
Think Fast. Think Aloud.
Business Week is providing eight rules for brainstorms. Here's one that makes sense: BRAINSTORMING SESSIONS ARE WORTHLESS UNLESS IDEAS LEAD TO ACTION Brainstorming is just one of many techniques that make a company creative. It is of little value if it's not combined with observing consumers, talking to experts, or building prototype products and experiences that provide an outlet for the ideas generated. I've worked …
D.I.Y. Video Continues To Roll
The San Francisco Diggers of the 1960s used to feed the hungry in Golden Gate Park between theatrical perfornances. But there's a new group of Diggers in the Bay Area these days. And The New York Times says they just got VC funding for a video production unit. In 2004, Jay Adelson, 36, and Kevin Rose, 29, started Digg, a fast-growing Web site that allows users to play editor by submitting links to news accounts …
Brand Impressions Formed At Retail (Few Things Are As Powerful In Business)
The Pacific Northwest is a fertile place. A place where good ideas take root. Today's New York Times Magazine looks at Umpqua Bank, a regional financial player that has made the wise decison to bank heavily on experiential and lifestyle marketing. With free wi-fi access, Umpqua brand coffee, a spacious seating area and flat-screen television monitors, the place has been designed to suggest a stylish hotel lobby where …
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