“When you have a lot of followers but not a lot of engagement, it looks weird. Instead of a good first impression, you are starting the business relationship communicating that you can’t attract a real following, so you’ve bought fakes to boost your social status.” – Oliver Talamayan via Forbes  Read More

The world of social is constantly changing and evolving. To keep up with all the latest news and trends, social media coordinators and managers need to stay on their toes. For Bozell, that’s where Sprout Social comes in. As the ultimate social management tool, this nifty software allows for time-effective coordination of social platforms for all clients – including monitoring, reporting, engaging and strategy-building. Read More

What is the greatest threat to innovation in an organization? Innovation coach and guest blogger, Dr. Michael Murray reveals it in this eighth post of his 10-part series.

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Great news! After a couple of iterations of testing and refining your potential solution, you’ve hit upon something that people seem to really like. You’re almost there, right? Well, not quite. Read More

As many of us in the ad business, I’m a fan of the AMC series “Mad Men” and eagerly followed the exploits of creative director and bad boy Don Draper. (I even have the special edition cigarette lighter case DVD set.)

And like many of my cohorts, I anxiously look forward to the commercials during the Super Bowl. Or I used to. But more and more, I expect to be disappointed with what I see. Read More

Advertisers aren’t the only ones spending big this weekend. American adults are expected to spend an average $81.17 for a total of $15.3 billion as an estimated 188.5 million people tune in to watch the New England Patriots vs the Philadelphia Eagles in the Super Bowl. That’s up 9% from last year. Read More

A friend of mine works for an ad agency in another state. Their account of 27 years – largest piece of business in the shop, billing over $27 million – went into review. The CEO announced, “They would defend.”

Bad idea.

I’ve been in that position. Read More

It was all the rage years ago – and every college student seems to start off believing it’s true. Subliminal advertising: hidden messages or images in ads designed to affect your subconscious mind, overwhelm you with a longing and desire for, well, you’re not quite sure. Because you never really saw it. Read More

Finally, a weight loss brand got it right. Pretty much any of us who have ever dieted have developed an aversion to weight loss brands body shaming us at every turn. Lean Cuisine was no exception. Then their business started to wane which was a wake-up call that they weren’t resonating with their target audience – predominately women. Read More

(500 words on words.)

Even in an Instagram-driven, character-count, soundbite world, advertising writing matters. Whether it’s on TV, radio, a magazine, newspaper (remember those?), an outdoor board, web page, a phone script – it all starts with the copy. Read More

In his previous two posts about the innovation process, guest-blogger, Dr. Michael Murray, discussed the first step, “Empathize” (Innovation: How to Do It, Part 2 and Innovation: How Empathizing Saved the Day).

The next step in the process is “Define”.  In this post, Dr. Murray describes techniques that will sharpen definition of the problem that innovation can solve.  Even some of the techniques Dr. Murray suggests are innovative, including drawing.  Yes, drawing. Read More