Media literacy is one of the most important factors in our ability to remain free. When news is "fake" and science is junk, only the supreme leader has the truth. It sounds like dystopian fiction, but fiction has a funny way of showing us the truth. Before we dive into an examination of the widespread use of propaganda in mainstream media today, let's focus on terms. John Silva, Director of Education at The News …
Will Turf Wars and Posturing Ever End?
Agencies, like any business that make things and/or produces intellectual property, are protective of their turf. It's natural to adopt a defensive posture, but is it healthy? Chris Wallrapp, president of Hill Holliday, wrote a powerful piece for Media Post's Agency Daily, in which he calls upon agency workers to adopt new practices and better habits. Agencies will only survive and thrive if we eagerly — …
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Advertising Agencies Have A Future, Maybe Even A Bright and Prosperous Future
Predicting the future of advertising is a vacuous exercise, but one that the business press consistently puts forward because people are concerned about the jobs they have today, and the jobs they may or may not have tomorrow. There's no question that the agency business fighting through a period of radical change to the business model. Last year, I interviewed Joe Olsen, CEO of Rova. He said, “Agencies …
Mark Read’s “Read” On the State of Advertising Today
The Adverati are once again gathered in Cannes for the annual ego festival. The business press is also in place, in case anything important happens. If nothing important happens, the press will fall back on what someone said. https://youtu.be/gdVh_HRcvZ0 According to Reuters, Mark Read, Co-Chief Operating Officer of WPP, and the holding company's former digital boss, said some things. The world’s biggest …
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Talent Is Talent, But Senior Creative Talent Is A Precious Human Resource
For clients who have it all figured out, I suggest working with a junior creative team. The client will dictate his or her desires, and the creatives on the account will do their best to please while spinning their wheels and costing the client more in the long run than the more experienced team. So, why are agencies and clients slow to hire senior creative people? You'd think that the most experienced people, as …
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Social Media Managers Are Brand Activists, Not Chorus Girls
Wired's Jessi Hempel says what no one wants to admit: Women are preferred over men for social media management roles. Social media managers usually command less respect than PR managers, while taking on responsibility for an increasingly important distribution channel. The career has been referred to as the Pink Ghetto. Between 70 and 80 percent of social media workers self-identify as women on the salary …
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The Wider the Pay Gap, The Less Respect the Men In Charge Have
Women in advertising are fighting for fairness. Did you know that 70% of young female creatives say they have never worked with a female creative director or executive creative director? With so few mentors within the business, young female creatives don’t receive the right skills, advice or tools to help them succeed. Nicola Kemp, the trends editor at Campaign is advocating for unmasking the ugly truths …
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In-House Advantage: Why Agency Creatives Are Taking Flight
We are witnessing one of the great migrations. Art directors and copywriters, like Sandhill Cranes, are in flight. Their destination? Client-side opportunities. "A lot of people right now are intrigued by being closer to the core business and being much more effective," says agency producer Jenny Gadd, who joined Airbnb last fall. According to Ad Age, she's one of many on the path to better. Alec …
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Are You Open to the Massive Business Opportunities in EQ?
Daniel Goleman’s seminal book Emotional Intelligence was a breakthrough in workplace dynamics. For the first time, we had to consider that intelligence alone is a poor metric for measuring or predicting career success. The thesis of the book is that an individual’s emotional intelligence quotient -- their skill in innately human attributes like empathy and ability to navigate social complexities -- is a better …
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Drop The Warrior Pose and Make Advertising Fun Again
How serious are you about your advertising career? Are you a hard-charging, award-winning pain in the ass? Many of you, I expect, can answer affirmatively to my non-rhetorical question. Mark Wnek would have answered, "yes," at one time. But not today. He's a new, more mellow man now. In fact, a former colleague thought he had a stroke. He did not. He woke up and hired a life coach. That's how change happens. …
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