Advertising Age

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    AdAge: Complete News

  • Tillman the Wonderdog Skates From YouTube to Real Ads

    6 Nov 2009 | 12:23 pm
    Armstrong Flooring wasn't just content to run some ads against the skateboarding-dog video on YouTube. The marketer, along with agency BBDO, New York, decided to create its own spot with a skateboarding bulldog.

  • Canadian Groups Enlist Parents on Climate Change

    6 Nov 2009 | 11:51 am
    In an effort to make the subject of global climate change more personal, two Canadian organizations have teamed up with marketing agency zig in a new campaign, "Moms Against Climate Change." The effort includes a public service announcement and a Web site, TakeActionOnClimateChange.com that encourage parents to take action leading up to the United Nations' Climate Change Summit in Copenhagen in December.

  • Hyundai-Kia Taps Havas' MPG for International Media Duties

    6 Nov 2009 | 11:04 am
    NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Hyundai-Kia has awarded a big chunk of international media buying business to Havas' MPG, according to executives with knowledge of the review.

  • Why Google Android Is Already Confusing

    6 Nov 2009 | 10:50 am
    Because so many different companies are involved in the mix, Android is at risk of becoming very confusing and fragmented. That's already starting to happen.

  • Scripps Buys 65% Stake in Travel Channel

    6 Nov 2009 | 10:06 am
    LOS ANGELES (AdAge.com) -- Scripps Networks is the new majority owner of the Travel Channel after acquiring a 65% stake in the Cox Communications cable network, valued at $975 million. The media company was the ultimate victor in a bidding process that included News Corp. and Time Warner, driving up the property's value from a reported $700 million back in August.
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    AdAge: All Blogs

  • Tillman the Wonderdog Skates From YouTube to Real Ads

    6 Nov 2009 | 12:23 pm
    Armstrong Flooring wasn't just content to run some ads against the skateboarding-dog video on YouTube. The marketer, along with agency BBDO, New York, decided to create its own spot with a skateboarding bulldog.

  • Canadian Groups Enlist Parents on Climate Change

    6 Nov 2009 | 11:51 am
    In an effort to make the subject of global climate change more personal, two Canadian organizations have teamed up with marketing agency zig in a new campaign, "Moms Against Climate Change." The effort includes a public service announcement and a Web site, TakeActionOnClimateChange.com that encourage parents to take action leading up to the United Nations' Climate Change Summit in Copenhagen in December.

  • Why Google Android Is Already Confusing

    6 Nov 2009 | 10:50 am
    Because so many different companies are involved in the mix, Android is at risk of becoming very confusing and fragmented. That's already starting to happen.

  • The Droid Gets Google.com Real Estate

    6 Nov 2009 | 9:05 am
    "Sesame Street" is not the only one getting plum placement on Google. Droid is as well, with 42 characters of promotion, right underneath Bert and Ernie.

  • How Would You Remake Mickey Mouse?

    5 Nov 2009 | 3:24 pm
    This is an amazing opportunity for branding experts, so we throw the question out to you, dear reader, so you can strut your stuff: How would you remake Mickey Mouse?
 
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    AdAge: Latest News

  • Ethnic Insights Form Foundations of McDonald's Marketing

    6 Nov 2009 | 2:04 pm
    PHOENIX (AdAge.com) -- The marketing at McDonald's is informed first and foremost by ethnic insights that shape the chain's marketing to African Americans, Asians and Hispanics. Then McDonald's lays those insights over work for the general market.

  • Hyundai-Kia Taps Havas' MPG for International Media Duties

    6 Nov 2009 | 11:04 am
    NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Hyundai-Kia has awarded a big chunk of international media buying business to Havas' MPG, according to executives with knowledge of the review.

  • Walmart CMO Says Marketing Is About the Customer, Not the Advertising

    6 Nov 2009 | 10:55 am
    PHOENIX (AdAge.com) -- For an Association of National Advertisers that's been trying hard to elevate the role of marketers in business, Walmart Chief Marketing Officer Stephen Quinn delivered a welcome message: Marketing played the central role in a turnaround for what may well be the predominant marketer of the moment.

  • Scripps Buys 65% Stake in Travel Channel

    6 Nov 2009 | 10:06 am
    LOS ANGELES (AdAge.com) -- Scripps Networks is the new majority owner of the Travel Channel after acquiring a 65% stake in the Cox Communications cable network, valued at $975 million. The media company was the ultimate victor in a bidding process that included News Corp. and Time Warner, driving up the property's value from a reported $700 million back in August.

  • For Moms, Offline Friends Still Wield Heavy Brand Influence

    6 Nov 2009 | 9:58 am
    NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Technology's influence is widely assumed to have morphed the over-the-fence backyard chat into mommy blogs and Twitter networks. But when moms are seeking product advice, it's not all social-media all the time.
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    AdAge: Agency News

  • Hyundai-Kia Taps Havas' MPG for International Media Duties

    6 Nov 2009 | 11:04 am
    NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Hyundai-Kia has awarded a big chunk of international media buying business to Havas' MPG, according to executives with knowledge of the review.

  • McCann Out of Running for Cadillac Account

    5 Nov 2009 | 7:32 am
    DETROIT (AdAge.com) -- Cadillac has narrowed the list of agencies in the hunt for its national creative account, and McCann Erickson has not made the cut.

  • Ikea Begins Creative Review to Integrate General Market With Hispanic

    4 Nov 2009 | 3:20 pm
    NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Swedish furniture retailer Ikea, nearing completion of a media agency review, is now examining its creative roster of U.S. agencies in what it calls a move towards "integration of general market and Hispanic creative."

  • Panasonic Calls Review for $40 Million Advertising Account

    4 Nov 2009 | 12:33 pm
    NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Embattled electronics marketer Panasonic is reviewing U.S. ad duties on its estimated $40 million account, currently handled by Kirshenbaum Bond Senecal & Partners in New York, executives familiar with the matter said.

  • Holiday Inn Puts Global Advertising Account Into Review

    3 Nov 2009 | 4:36 pm
    NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Holiday Inn is conducting a review of its global creative advertising account, and four networks will make final presentations in a bid for the hotel chain's business next month, executives familiar with the matter said. They are: Omnicom Group's DDB; WPP's JWT; Publicis Groupe's Saatchi-Fallon Group; and Interpublic Group of Cos.' McCann Erickson.
 
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    AdAge: Digital

  • For Moms, Offline Friends Still Wield Heavy Brand Influence

    6 Nov 2009 | 9:58 am
    NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Technology's influence is widely assumed to have morphed the over-the-fence backyard chat into mommy blogs and Twitter networks. But when moms are seeking product advice, it's not all social-media all the time.

  • Will Ferrell Jumps to YouTube for 'No Financial Gain'

    5 Nov 2009 | 11:56 am
    YouTube is bending over backward to accommodate content creators, and it just landed one it probably should have had a long time ago: Will Ferrell's Funnyordie.com.

  • U.K. Falls Behind on Online Privacy

    5 Nov 2009 | 8:54 am
    LONDON (AdAge.com) -- The U.K. government is facing international embarrassment over its failure to safeguard British citizens' privacy from behavioral targeting on the internet.

  • Social-Media Pranksters Had Fun With Walmart's Caskets

    5 Nov 2009 | 5:43 am
    A simple search on the social-media chatter around Walmart's new caskets reveal strong positive sentiment. What it can't tell you is that much of it was facetious.

  • Viral Video: Now That's How You Sell a Mobile Home

    5 Nov 2009 | 5:00 am
    NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Microbilt's "I Love Local Commercials" campaign dropped into the viral video chart this week, led by a dramatic pitch, created by YouTuber's Rhett & Link, for an Alabama-based mobile-home business.
 
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    AdAge: Madison + Vine

  • Nielsen IAG PlaceViews Product-Placement Activity Report

    6 Nov 2009 | 12:13 pm
    "The Jay Leno Show" was the highest-scoring show and AT&T the top brand in the latest Nielsen IAG PlaceViews product-placement activity report.

  • IAC's CollegeHumor May Go to Ben Silverman's New Venture

    4 Nov 2009 | 8:57 am
    NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- IAC is considering throwing CollegeHumor, in addition to cash, into Ben Silverman's nascent branded-entertainment company, Electus.

  • How Online Video Can Benefit Brands When It Comes to Search

    1 Nov 2009 | 9:00 pm
    NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Viral-video marketing, as it's traditionally been defined -- create a cute, funny, breathtaking or unexpected piece of content, seed it in the right places, and watch users pass it along -- has developed into a legitimate form of marketing. But what if marketers' fixation on all things viral is leading them to neglect other valuable and more consistently successful online-video strategies?

  • P&G Adapts Its Web Fashion Show for Hispanic Women

    1 Nov 2009 | 9:00 pm
    NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- In October Procter & Gamble debuted "De Moda," a U.S. Hispanic version of "The Thread," both designed to showcase about half a dozen P&G brands over 26 episodes for "De Moda" and more for "The Thread," which started a year earlier.

  • Top 10 Best-Selling Video Games

    30 Oct 2009 | 6:10 am
    Microsoft's "Halo 3: ODST" was the top video game in September. See the list for the top titles by units sold.
 
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    AdAge: Media Works

  • Scripps Buys 65% Stake in Travel Channel

    6 Nov 2009 | 10:06 am
    LOS ANGELES (AdAge.com) -- Scripps Networks is the new majority owner of the Travel Channel after acquiring a 65% stake in the Cox Communications cable network, valued at $975 million. The media company was the ultimate victor in a bidding process that included News Corp. and Time Warner, driving up the property's value from a reported $700 million back in August.

  • 'CSI's' Missing Persons Case

    6 Nov 2009 | 9:40 am
    MINNEAPOLIS (AdAge.com) -- This may be the toughest case for CBS's "CSI" yet: Where did its audience go?

  • Never Mind Virginia or Jersey. What Does Twitter Think About Brand Obama?

    6 Nov 2009 | 9:25 am
    This week was all about political branding -- and the effect that a certain national political brand may or may not have had on certain local political brands. What did the Twitterati have to say about President Obama, Jon Corzine, and Bob McDonnell?

  • CBS CEO Moonves: In 'Constant Conversations' With Oprah

    6 Nov 2009 | 9:08 am
    NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- CBS Corp.'s top executive said the company is "in dialogue" with daytime-TV queen Oprah Winfrey about the status of her long-running syndicated program, amidst speculation that the talk-show host could move her show to a cable start-up she has been working on with Discovery Communications.

  • Fear of Flying? There's an App for That

    5 Nov 2009 | 6:59 am
    People who are afraid of your product or service aren't usually a brand's core target, but that is not stopping Virgin from creating an app to help people overcome their fear of flying. For a more in-depth look at this Idea of the Week and other case studies, visit Ad Age and CMDglobal's Inspiration site.
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    AdAge: Talentworks

  • Tap Into the World of Multicultural Marketing and Find New Opportunities

    5 Nov 2009 | 12:34 pm
    There are many of us looking for jobs out there, and naturally we are encouraged to exhaust our resources. One of those less obvious resources is tapping into the world of multicultural marketing. Being a minority increases your ability to identify with other markets, in addition to mainstream markets, and this ability can lead to opportunities.

  • Kellogg Names GM's Betsy Lazar VP-Global Media

    4 Nov 2009 | 2:35 pm
    CHICAGO (AdAge.com) -- General Motors veteran Betsy Lazar is Kellogg's new VP-global media, both companies have confirmed. Ms. Lazar was previously executive director-media and advertising at GM.

  • Lori McFarling Named CMO of Discovery Education

    3 Nov 2009 | 2:49 pm
    Lori McFarling has been elevated to chief marketing officer of Discovery Education and domestic distribution at Discovery Communications.

  • Boss? Mom? How to Be Successful at Both in This Industry

    3 Nov 2009 | 1:44 pm
    Media and marketing firms are under increasing pressure to work smarter, faster and more cheaply. That, in turn, puts added stress on working moms in the high-octane advertising industry, of course. But you can keep it together. Doing so means developing goals that work for both you and your boss -- goals that help you succeed at work and at life.

  • Use What You Know

    2 Nov 2009 | 12:35 pm
    What may seem so simple to us may not be for our agencies and clients, and our value-add as employees is how we can leverage skills, such as our knowledge of social-media platforms, in our jobs.
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    AdAge: Jonah Bloom

  • What Will a Successful Media Company Look Like in the Future?

    1 Nov 2009 | 9:00 pm
    Some in media circles seem to be waiting for the return of yesteryear instead of using these turbulent times to make the changes necessary for their media businesses to thrive in the future.

  • Will.i.am Has Mastered the Art of the Continuous Campaign

    20 Sep 2009 | 9:00 pm
    Will.i.am is my marketer of the year. Most brands are still grappling like first-time makeout artists with the most fundamental shift of the last decade -- from marketer as message-pushing machine to marketer as creators of stuff consumers will actually pull toward them. But the Black Eyed Peas, having mastered that shift, are already showing an understanding of perhaps the second-most important change: from campaign to continuous conversation.

  • Help Remedies Overhauls OTC, Pushes for Better Health Care

    9 Aug 2009 | 9:00 pm
    Help Remedies could loosely be described as a marketer of over-the-counter drugs (and bandages). But it's also one of those potentially category-changing offerings that tries to solve a problem.

  • Seven Steps to Help Your Agency Fight Commoditization

    12 Jul 2009 | 9:00 pm
    Based on reader thoughts and some further discussion with industry leaders, here are seven ways to combat commoditization.

  • Agencies and Media Brands Turning Into Commodities

    21 Jun 2009 | 9:00 pm
    Commoditization may be the biggest threat facing agencies and media companies today -- yet we hear precious little about it, and few can articulate a strategy to combat it.
 
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    AdAge: The Media Guy

  • Never Mind Virginia or Jersey. What Does Twitter Think About Brand Obama?

    6 Nov 2009 | 9:25 am
    This week was all about political branding -- and the effect that a certain national political brand may or may not have had on certain local political brands. What did the Twitterati have to say about President Obama, Jon Corzine, and Bob McDonnell?

  • Life After the Pay Wall: Ignorance Ain't Bliss After All

    1 Nov 2009 | 9:00 pm
    Imagine, dear reader, you are in the future -- say, 2012 -- and living in a world where news is no longer free ...

  • Top 10 Lessons to Learn From NBC's Failing Leno Strategy

    25 Oct 2009 | 9:00 pm
    With apologies to David "Top 10" Letterman ... here's some lessons you can take away from NBC's Jay Leno experiment.

  • Twitter, Baby, Tell Me How You REALLY Feel

    23 Oct 2009 | 9:52 am
    The folks at Trendrr -- the social-media tracking service -- just introduced something called Twitter sentiment analysis. The idea is that, by mapping certain words against the feelings they are typically meant to convey, you can get a sense of not only how many people are tweeting about a certain subject, but how they generally feel about it. Let's see how the Twitterati feel about Jay Leno.

  • Citizen Journalism? Um, How About Crowdsourcing Journalism With Actual Journalists?

    22 Oct 2009 | 9:26 am
    Mother Jones, the nonprofit magazine of investigative reporting, has been around since 1976, but lately it's been getting plenty of fresh attention. Partly because it's a proven model for nonprofit journalism (the magazine gets support from subscribers, donors, advertisers and foundations) in a moment when old monopoly-driven for-profit business models for journalism, particularly at newspapers, are crumbling. But also because editorially, the magazine has been on a hot streak.
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    AdAge: Guest Columnists

  • World Series Marketing Winners and Losers

    5 Nov 2009 | 11:33 am
    The World Series has ended, the players and sport now go dormant for the winter, but brands begin brainstorming 2010 and future plans. Here is a quick snapshot of who increased their marketability over the past two weeks and who took a hit.

  • The Word 'Direct' Is Dragging Down Response-Based Marketing

    1 Nov 2009 | 9:00 pm
    Sometimes a brand identity can become so trashed it's virtually unsalvageable. This is clearly the case with the name "direct marketing."

  • Number Two No Longer Taboo for Marketers

    28 Oct 2009 | 1:57 pm
    It's official: The popularization of poop is a solid movement. And marketers smell an opportunity.

  • Do 'Teach' and 'Advertising' Belong in the Same Sentence?

    25 Oct 2009 | 9:00 pm
    Liberal-arts degrees are not only more interesting and personally rewarding in their own right, they are also more supportive of a career in advertising over the long run.

  • How to Build Better Car Marketing

    20 Oct 2009 | 11:16 am
    I'm not surprised by all the ad accounts going into review in the automotive sector. I predict there will be many more in the next 12 months. Most will blame it on the recession, but I think that's just an excuse. The fact is the business of marketing cars is too often mishandled because most agencies lack a fundamental understanding of how the industry operates.
 
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    AdAge: The Big Tent

  • What's That Comida Kraft Ad Doing on My Huffington Post?

    4 Nov 2009 | 12:37 pm
    I like the Huffington Post. I like Epicurious.com. I navigate the web in both Spanish and English depending upon what I'm seeking or what experience I'm looking to have. It's contextual. So I suppose the Spanish-language Comida Kraft ad that popped up on my Huffington Post page was a result of my online behavior. Even when you know you're being cyber-stalked, it's always a little startling when the stalker finds you.

  • Muse Releases White Paper About Diversity Communications

    4 Nov 2009 | 7:48 am
    Jo Muse has just released a white paper titled "The Challenge of Corporate Diversity Communication: Achieving Sustainability in Difficult Times." Muse notes that we're at an intersection in which a horrible economy may start to take its tolls on the few good examples of multicultural communication programs out there.

  • How Diversity Efforts Can Boost the Economy

    2 Nov 2009 | 8:34 am
    In today's ever-expanding global marketplace, for an advertising agency -- and the industry at large -- to effectively compete and prosper, its ranks must accurately reflect the world to which it caters. But there's an even more salient and basic reason to champion diversity and inclusion: the chance to re-energize the economy by giving a much-needed boost to small businesses.

  • CNN's 'Latino in America' Leaves Much to Be Desired

    27 Oct 2009 | 7:32 am
    As each segment of CNN's two-part documentary series "Latino in America" unfolded during the Wednesday night premiere, I felt like I was watching a special on immigration presented by Lou Dobbs. A more suitable title would have been, "CNN Presents: Undocumented in America."

  • Dolphins' Monday Night Fiesta Was Hispanic Done Right

    19 Oct 2009 | 10:06 am
    You can define "sidelines" in the old-school way and just keep letting opportunities to engage with Hispanic consumers go by because of (fill in your favorite Hispanic marketing phobia here) or you can define sidelines the way the Dolphins have and make them the hottest standing-room area in town
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    AdAge: Digital Next

  • Why Google Android Is Already Confusing

    6 Nov 2009 | 10:50 am
    Because so many different companies are involved in the mix, Android is at risk of becoming very confusing and fragmented. That's already starting to happen.

  • The Droid Gets Google.com Real Estate

    6 Nov 2009 | 9:05 am
    "Sesame Street" is not the only one getting plum placement on Google. Droid is as well, with 42 characters of promotion, right underneath Bert and Ernie.

  • Social-Media Pranksters Had Fun With Walmart's Caskets

    5 Nov 2009 | 5:43 am
    A simple search on the social-media chatter around Walmart's new caskets reveal strong positive sentiment. What it can't tell you is that much of it was facetious.

  • Why Digital Agencies Aren't Ready to Lead

    3 Nov 2009 | 9:43 am
    Any conversation about digital marketing these days includes at least one mention that traditional agencies just "don't get it." While this may be correct, what's equally true is that digital agencies are not ready to take the lead.

  • Facebook's Big Changes: Action Items for Marketers

    2 Nov 2009 | 9:28 am
    Facebook's latest round of updates announced this week will affect everyone: marketers, developers, publishers, consumers and anyone else remotely connected to its site and platform. And some of the changes will especially affect marketers.
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    AdAge: GenNext

  • Tap Into the World of Multicultural Marketing and Find New Opportunities

    5 Nov 2009 | 12:34 pm
    There are many of us looking for jobs out there, and naturally we are encouraged to exhaust our resources. One of those less obvious resources is tapping into the world of multicultural marketing. Being a minority increases your ability to identify with other markets, in addition to mainstream markets, and this ability can lead to opportunities.

  • Use What You Know

    2 Nov 2009 | 12:35 pm
    What may seem so simple to us may not be for our agencies and clients, and our value-add as employees is how we can leverage skills, such as our knowledge of social-media platforms, in our jobs.

  • How to Get Others to Go to Bat for Your Personal Brand

    26 Oct 2009 | 12:49 pm
    Personal brands don't benefit from brand parity, so you need to manage yours exceptionally. One way to do that is by cultivating personal-brand advocates.

  • Will the Transparency of Our Lives Damn Us or Legitimize Us?

    23 Oct 2009 | 7:43 am
    I feel sorry for everyone entering the workforce who is younger than myself. If I had been able to tweet and stalk people on Facebook in middle school, I'm not sure anyone would want to hire me. I would have left a digital trail wrought with misguided views, ill-informed statements and failed romantic relationships. I'm sure anyone else who has ever grown up would have done the same. So now that hiring managers are Googling as part of the screening process and everyone's life glows hot under the focused lens of their magnifying glass, what are the ramifications?

  • Why I Think Zach Canfield's the Zen Master of Advertising Recruiting

    21 Oct 2009 | 8:37 am
    It didn't take me long after meeting Zach Canfield to realize he's the Zen Master of advertising recruiting. As talent director at Goodby Silverstein, it's his mission to bring the most talented people in the industry to his firm and he takes it very seriously. After an hour or so of picking his brain for my own personal benefit, I knew I had to share his wisdom with the world.
 
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    AdAge: Good Works

  • Canadian Groups Enlist Parents on Climate Change

    6 Nov 2009 | 11:51 am
    In an effort to make the subject of global climate change more personal, two Canadian organizations have teamed up with marketing agency zig in a new campaign, "Moms Against Climate Change." The effort includes a public service announcement and a Web site, TakeActionOnClimateChange.com that encourage parents to take action leading up to the United Nations' Climate Change Summit in Copenhagen in December.

  • American Express Teams With United Way

    5 Nov 2009 | 1:30 pm
    With gift cards topping the list of what people want for Christmas this year, American Express is teaming up with United Way to offer a card that gives twice: Once to the recipient and once to charity.

  • Making a Strong First Impression

    5 Nov 2009 | 10:35 am
    Sometimes a bad first impression is all it takes to ruin a beautiful friendship between a nonprofit and a marketer looking to get involved in a cause. On Nov. 10, Scott Pansky, co-founder and managing partner of Allison & Partners, will offer some practical advice for getting past this critical first step as part of the Cause Marketing Forum's Master Series teleconference.

  • Take the Living Communications Challenge

    4 Nov 2009 | 7:09 am
    When it comes to going green, designers can take on a much bigger role than many might think. Zack Shubkagel of Willoughby Design challenges designers to take the Living Communications Challenge.

  • Catching the Smile Train

    2 Nov 2009 | 8:12 am
    Working for years in advertising, Brian Mullaney opened his own shop and rode the crest of the mid-1990s technology wave. After selling the $100 million shop, though, he had to figure out what to do next. And so he created the Smile Train.
 
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    AdAge: Events

  • Media Mavens Awards Luncheon

    30 Oct 2009 | 7:40 am
    For more info and registration, please visit www.adage.com/mediamavens Advertising Age will announce the 2009 Media Mavens Honorees in a special report in Advertising Age and o...

  • Ad Age Digital Conference

    25 Aug 2009 | 7:03 am
    A constant flow of innovation and information has changed the way we communicate not only with each other, but also how marketers reach consumers. Are you ready for this new world? Ad Age's Digital Conference offers deep discussions of digit...

  • CaT London

    22 Jul 2009 | 9:16 am
    CaT London...

  • Ad Age China Conference

    1 Dec 2008 | 7:43 am
    Advertising Age has carefully selected the best brand marketers to share their successes in cracking the code of marketing in China, as well as shepherding Chinese brands into the world marketplace. These global brand marketing leaders and China domestic...

  • IDEA Conference

    1 Dec 2008 | 7:37 am
    The IDEA Conference is not just a conference, it's a source of inspiration-a day full of provocative thinking and great workable business ideas, for people who understand that creativity and innovation are no longer solely the responsibility of the agency...
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    AdAge: Small Agency Diary

  • Is Your Agency a Few Phone Calls From Closing Shop?

    4 Nov 2009 | 11:55 am
    Four calls from being out of business. That's how a colleague summed up the plight of many smaller agencies. Or the agency business in general. We've seen some fantastic, talented, historic agencies shut their doors this year. Big and small. How can we better prepare ourselves to weather the storm if one or two or three clients pull out?

  • How You Can Redefine Your Agency in a Single Moment

    3 Nov 2009 | 7:45 am
    Game-changers don't just materialize out of thin air. You can't will them to happen. I suspect they happen like a lot of events in life: You pick a destination and then work your butt off. There's risk too. Losing a key client can be a game-changer. Too much success too quickly has crushed plenty of good agencies. An exciting game-changer for one person can be a game-changing nightmare for someone else.

  • So U Think U R Such a Professional? Plz!

    30 Oct 2009 | 8:22 am
    A memo went out to one of our clients last week that read more like a text message than a professional letter. You know what it looked like: Every third word was abbreviated, as though it was written on the run, from a cell phone. I was appalled, and could only imagine what the client must think: If we are writing to them in such a casual way, what else is being executed casually?

  • The Little (14-Person) Agency That Could

    28 Oct 2009 | 2:10 pm
    The documentary "Art & Copy" recently was screened here for a large audience of advertising professionals who work for small agencies. (That's the only kind we have in Albuquerque.) The audience applauded loudly when the final credits rolled up the screen. They were cheering the revolution of our industry, a revolution sparked by a small agency. A 14-person agency that wanted to do something better than what was being done. That agency was the reason I wanted to enter advertising.

  • What's the ROI of Putting Your Pants on in the Morning?

    20 Oct 2009 | 10:02 am
    Listen to the agency buzz, and we're all masters of measurement and analytics. Every agency worth its salt claims to not only solve its client's business problems but has the data and case studies to back it up. By the same token, CMOs cite producing measurable results as their No. 1 priority. CMOs want results and agencies deliver. Shouldn't everybody be happy? Not so fast.
 
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