Something I just learned from a four day photoshoot…Everything has a story. Behind every door, every face, every object, every project. As a creative, if you aren’t coming up with anything for that ad campaign, poster, website, branding, or brochure – keep digging and pushing yourself. You have not gone far enough – that story is there, even though it may be shrouded by noise or a case of the blands.
And secondly, if you are sitting at the computer feeling stumped, Read More

Often times, when a company launches a sweepstakes, the grand prize and even some of the tactical elements don’t align closely with the brand.  I recently read an article in Marketing Daily, by Karlene Lukovitz, about the new Ghirardelli Chocolate sweepstakes, “Million Moments of Timeless Pleasure”, and I was impressed by the engagement, relevancy and integration that they are bringing to the initiative as they target a large audience and correlate the elements back to the brand.  Read More

I really really loved this latest post by Seth Godin. If we could dedicate more time to “wondering,” then more creative ideas would come forth. We spend a lot of time wandering and grasping at ideas and thoughts on the top of mind – especially when we are so slamming busy, we do not have time to stop to breathe. these moments of breath, air, white space – those are the times that brilliant ideas or at least seeds of brilliance come forth. Read More

… and now Lindsay?
Lindsay Lohan has sued E*Trade for $100 million, saying the “milkaholic” baby girl named Lindsay in one of their recent ads improperly invoked her “likeness, name, characterization and personality” and that Lohan has the same “single name” recognition as celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey.
If you haven’t caught this ad on TV, have a look: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEXZ2hfD3bU Read More

Peeps…a cultural phenomena. It’s hard to believe they were introduced half a century ago. I totally remember looking forward to them every year in my Easter basket. The lovely sugar-coated gooey goodness. Even though you had to open the entire pack of 12 to get 1 out, and the others solidified in a matter of hours, we loved our Peeps. AND we loved messing with them. We nuked them in the microwave, we put them through torturous “science experiments,” Read More

Amazing opportunities for transformation exist in the most difficult of times. And it’s those difficult times that can be the catalyst of greatness. Especially for those who can get past their fears and insecurities to take bold steps.
Apple (and Steve Jobs) is the poster child for bold. It seems everywhere you turn today you encounter another story of triumph for Apple, a company that has certainly faced its share of difficulty.
Think about this — Read More

Adam Lisagor is pretty awesome. I don’t know too much about him, just that:

He’s one of the funniest people on Twitter.
He developed one of the coolest apps available for the iPhone.
He’s 1/3 of one of the best podcasts on iTunes.
He is the world’s foremost Fishstick instructor.

He also has a blog rich in found content, which I unintentionally visited last night while sorting, Read More

In select markets, Google has recently launched a local business advertising platform. This new service is based on a flat monthly rate and offers powerful analytics to help business owners determine the effectiveness of their business listings.

Normally I’d have been impatient and irritated. But tonight curiosity got the better of me as I stood waiting in the grocery store checkout line behind a woman with the biggest stack of coupons I’d ever seen.  Yes, I’m an admitted geek when it comes to observing consumer behavior (most of us in marketing are), but tonight I wasn’t the only one watching.  See this woman was making it clear to all those around her that she was getting her entire cart of groceries for under $15. Read More

Space Mountain is closed at Disney World today. How do I know this while I’m sitting at home on a couch with what I assume is the flu? Email. That’s all. Just a simple little email. But there’s a reminder in that for businesses: word-of-mouth reaches pretty far and fast these days. I’m 1400 miles away from Orlando right now, and it took approximately two seconds for failure and frustration to reach me.
Word-of-mouth has always been a company’s biggest ally or largest nemesis based on whether or not it fulfills its brand promise. Read More