Just two and a half years after crowdsourcing agency Victors & Spoils was formed from Crispin's rib in Boulder, Colorado, the company has sold a majority stake to Havas. That's rapid return on investment. Which begs the question what is so special about this agency and its controversial business model? John Winsor, V&S's CEO has one answer. "Collaboration, co-creation and crowdsourcing are the future of not …
The Economy Isn’t Hurting WPP, Far From It
WPP, the world's largest marketing services company, earned record profits of more than $1.45 billion for 2011, up a whopping 43% from the year prior year. According to Ad Age, income at WPP was up was up 11.4% year-over-year to $16.05 billion. I'd like to ask that you pause, like I am, and consider this wealth. $1.5 billion after operating expenses, just last year. WPP will make more this year, and next …
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Downton Abbey And Many Other Programs Are Free With A Strong Antenna
Cable TV is an unaffordable expense for many American households. For others, cable is simply not the place to invest one's money or time. Benefitting from the both the cord cutting Gen Y crowd and the budget constrained "working poor" is Antennas Direct, a St. Louis company that expects to double last year's sales of about 600,000 antennas, according to The Wall Street Journal. The company's antennas cost …
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Have Your Hugged Your Bricks and Mortar Retailer Today?
Stepping out of the house can get costly when you are headed to the mall, the grocery, Costco, lunch, etc. Plus, there's much "work" involved, parking spaces to wait for, lines to stand in and so on. Of course, there is another way. You can see what Brown will do for you. According to a recent report from the Commerce Department, $61.8 billion of retail sales were transacted on the Internet in the fourth …
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One of Adland’s Stranger Marriages
Strawberry Frog has Leaped to What's Next, namely the acquisition of the firm by APCO Worldwide, a stakeholder-engagement firm (whatever that means). The strawberry frogs will no doubt want to know what it's like to work at APCO Worldwide. No worries, the stakeholder-engagement firm (whatever that means) has made a video to answer that. According to Stuart Smith of Politics of Marketing: The spin on …
Pepsi Says “You’re Fired”
Pepsi was the choice of a new generation and a foundational client for many in Adlandia. But some of those ad pros are being handed their jocks this week, as Pepsi prunes its list of North American agencies on the roster from from 150 to about 50. In related news, CEO Indra Nooyi also said Pepsi will spend an extra $500 million to $600 million to advertise its brands this year, with a focus on North …
2009 Was So Last Last Year
Privately held advertising and PR firms are defying the sluggish economy that has cast its dim shadow on many American industries. According to Forbes, Sageworks' data shows an average sales increase of more than 11 percent in the last 12 months. (Tweet Me) Is that your experience? Are you selling more services than you were at this point last year? If so, what do you credit the uptick in business …
Buffett Buys What He Believes In And Well Understands
"I'm not comfortable without an honest-to-God newspaper in my hand.” -The Oracle of Omaha Warren Buffett got his start in business as a paperboy. And a paperboy he remains. According to The Omaha World-Herald, Buffett will pay $200 million to buy the state's largest newspaper, a price that is well within his comfort zone. “It is a reasonable investment. There is no question it is affected by the fact that I …
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