Marketing Consolidation Should Favor Ad Agencies.
While the economy is tough, marketers retrench and watch expenses. Larger marketers tend to have lots of specialist companies on payroll: Ad agencies, PR firms, direct marketing shops, media buying...
View ArticleReturn on Strategy
Ad agencies make money selling stuff. Want a TV commercial? That will cost you $350,000. Want a billboard? $25,000. How about a direct mail program? $125,000. Website? $75,000, if we don’t have to...
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Davos for Marketers?
The World Economic Summit currently underway in Davos Switzerland should be recreated once a year for all the leaders of the advertising and marketing communities. We should probably throw in a few...
View ArticleFishing With Hooks and No Line.
After reading a Sony Vaio laptop ad this morning I clicked on the QR code. These little goodies are the rage, and rightly so, but many marketers haven’t quite figured them out yet. The worst attempts...
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Marketers as actors.
Acting is an interesting thing. Big name actors who don’t have the luxury of being able to hang with “regular people” often have to study them, so they can get into character. When in character,...
View ArticleI heart slogans.
The Catskills, a mountain range in NY State, has a promotional group seeking to improve its image among a new generation of tourists. To that end they are holding a contest to find a new slogan. A...
View ArticleBe fresh.
So I’m reading an article this morning in USA Today featuring interviews with some top hospitality CEOs, and their answers are peppered with language like: “price of entry,” “customer-for-life,”...
View ArticleThe power of but.
David & Goliath talks about “brave.” Jean-Marie Dru writes and talks about “disruption.” Lots of ad agencies try to find a word to describe themselves as outside the box thinkers. I was...
View ArticleUp in the Brand Planning Future.
At the end of the day when the Dow Jones Industrial Average (now poorly named) has gone up, journalists and pundits are quick to say why. Good earnings reports. Better unemployment numbers. And when...
View Article3 Keys To Successful Brand Planning.
In the curated social media world the most shared content tends to have numbers in the headline. In an effort coattail this phenomenon, following are three ingredients to successful brand...
View ArticleOne Dimensional Creatives.
Creative people, sadly, tend to be really creative in one dimension. Some are great writers, others wonderful designers, some skilled idea people. There are creative people who are wonderful...
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