Creative marketing communications firm Bozell today announced the agency received multiple local industry awards for its advertising campaigns. Sponsored by the American Advertising Federation (AAF), the ADDY Awards are the advertising industry’s largest and most representative competition, recognizing creative excellence and the very best advertising worldwide. Read More

Are you raw and ready for a little seasoning? Well then, let us spice things up. We’re collecting applications right now for our summer internship program. There are openings in every department, so whatever you want to be, we’ve got a spot for you.

Learn more and apply at bozellintern.com

The game may have been a blowout, but more people watched it than Nielsen initially forecast. According to Nielsen live-plus-same-day data, Fox’s Super Bowl broadcast delivered an average 111.5 million viewers, besting the previous record holder set by NBC in 2012 by the slimmest of margins.

You’ve probably seen a host of top 10s on which spots were best. Read More

Chipotle is at it again. “Farmed and Dangerous” is a new web series to be aired exclusively on Hulu. The premise is that a new animal feed is made directly from petroleum, a product used in much industrial farming. The new product cuts out all the growing steps by having animals eat feed made from petroleum. “Acceptable side effects” include spontaneous combustion of the animals that eat the new feed. Oops. Check out the trailer here.

This is brilliant. There have been many successful web based shows that parody what can be found through networks. If not familiar with Burning Love, a parody of The Bachelor, there are many funny moments. Read More

I recently attended a webinar about how everything is now health related . The idea is that every brand and service is somehow connected with health, mental or physical. Or at least it should be. Then I saw an article that shares connecting with wellness, responsibility, and empowerment are how to reach Millennials in 2014.

Certainly 2013 had a focus on the Affordable Care Act and its impacts that are already spilling into 2014, but has this translated to a need to discuss everything in terms of health? Read More

We all have our own opinions about what makes for good ads, but there are undeniably some things that tend to crop up over and over again.

An ad can’t be good if it doesn’t get the point across in a way that resonates with and is compelling to the target audience. If it can achieve both of those goals and remain simple – it’s brilliant! Read More

There is an interesting trend in our office. All our smokers have either fully transitioned, or are in the process of transitioning, to eCigarettes or eCigs. With all the news about legislation to quell “vaping” in public, we are clearly not the only ones.

Since eCigs are truly a trend, and research is showing increases in their use, I wondered how people were talking about it in social media. Places like Twitter, Facebook, and personal blogs.

In the last 30 days there were just over 63,000 mentions of cigarettes online. But for eCigarettes and vaping, what users call smoking, there were over 97,500 mentions. eCigs are now the social media conversation, not just part of the conversation, around smoking.

The majority of the conversation is about where to find eCig products and specials or coupons. Sellers are definitely taking advantage of social media to get the word out about their products. In Facebook, there is some conversation about support groups, which is not as prominent in the other mediums. While in personal blogs, writers explore their thoughts about specific eCigs and the various juices they have tried.

The conversations that are less prominent, but important, are those about the impact on health from eCigs. According to people in social media, there is a tremendous amount of misinformation concerning eCigs. Few are specifically calling for research to help everyone understand the true health impacts, but many are arguing with the information they have, true or not.

In 2014, I foresee a larger request for research into the health impacts of eCigs. Legislators are seeking to make informed decisions and users seek continued unrestricted vaping. I also foresee greater conversation as restrictions are implemented.

Creative marketing communications firm Bozell received multiple international and local industry awards this fall for public relations, interactive and design. Read More

It truly is the little things. They make people feel something and then remember you. As a person, as an organization, and even as a brand this is true. I was reminded of this fact by a recent holiday stunt by WestJet out of Canada. They had Santa ask travelers what they wanted for Christmas and then made those wishes come true. There was clear joy in the faces of gift recipients.

WestJet did something relatively big. All the technology, time, buying of gifts, and coordination was a commitment. But the cost was probably small to gain loyal customers. By making a video of the stunt, even more people are exposed to what happened and might even want to fly with the airline when possible.

But even smaller acts make a big difference. Just saying thank you can turn an indifferent customer in to one that returns. There are so many fun options that can happen all year long.

• 31% of people will be out shopping this weekend, and another 31% are considering it

1. Almost a quarter plan to shop on Thanksgiving day
2. 69% plan to shop on Black Friday
3. 44% plan to shop on Small Business Saturday

• Cyber Monday should break some e-commerce records
• Shoppers, on average, will spend $737.95 on gifts this year
• Women are more likely to shop with a budget
• Tech purchases over this weekend are being called “the new Thanksgiving weekend tradition”
• For many, shopping this weekend is not their preferred time

1. 70% want to avoid crowds
2. 34% feel deals are not as good as advertised
3. 33% prefer to do other things

• 23% of people shop this weekend because it’s tradition
• 90% of shopping parents with smartphones and kids under 13 years old will be using their device to help shop this weekend and almost half will be checking for better prices elsewhere
• Millennials and Hispanics will be the most mobile savvy shoppers this weekend
• The vast majority of shoppers are not waiting for Black Friday to start shopping
• Only 27% will have finished their holiday shopping by December 1

People will be shopping this weekend, and more people than many other weekends throughout the year. They are using the tools available to them and many are trying to be thoughtful about purchases. Is everyone ready for this? We should know by Monday.

Numbers from National Retail Federation, comScore, Consumer Electronic Association, Consumer Reports, IAB, BiTE Interactive, Ipsos, SDL, and American Express