http://adage.com/rss-feed.php?section_id=559 en-us 120 http://adage.com/rss-feed.php?section_id=559 http://adage.com/img/adage-logo-sm.gif http://adage.com/columns/article.php?article_id=140331
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.]]> http://adage.com/columns/article.php?article_id=140331 Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:33:11 -0500 http://adage.com/columns/article.php?article_id=140092
Sometimes a brand identity can become so trashed it's virtually unsalvageable. This is clearly the case with the name "direct marketing."]]> http://adage.com/columns/article.php?article_id=140092 Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0500 http://adage.com/columns/article.php?article_id=140011
It's official: The popularization of poop is a solid movement. And marketers smell an opportunity.]]> http://adage.com/columns/article.php?article_id=140011 Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:57:22 -0400 http://adage.com/columns/article.php?article_id=139930
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.]]> http://adage.com/columns/article.php?article_id=139930 Mon, 26 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0400 http://adage.com/columns/article.php?article_id=139802
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.]]> http://adage.com/columns/article.php?article_id=139802 Tue, 20 Oct 2009 14:16:07 -0400 http://adage.com/columns/article.php?article_id=139762
As The DMA dissects the state of direct marketing in San Diego this week, Mat Zucker, the executive creative director of OgilvyOne, offers a solution behind which the industry can rally right now: re-inject creativity. He updates five principles from David Ogilvy to help direct marketers rethink and redirect their business to better connect with consumers.]]> http://adage.com/columns/article.php?article_id=139762 Mon, 19 Oct 2009 11:21:45 -0400 http://adage.com/columns/article.php?article_id=139726
A trip to the American Girl store got me wondering why it's taken Walt Disney Co. so long to come up with the notion to revamp its stores to make them an interactive experience with features such as karaoke contests, mirrors that "talk" to kids as they walk by and film clips that children choose themselves.]]> http://adage.com/columns/article.php?article_id=139726 Mon, 19 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0400 jpollack@adage.com(Judann Pollack) http://adage.com/columns/article.php?article_id=139728
Suddenly, awards are not just a celebration of great work; it's pretty much the only place where great capital-J journalistic work gets any attention at all.]]> http://adage.com/columns/article.php?article_id=139728 Mon, 19 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0400 mlearmonth@adage.com(Michael Learmonth) http://adage.com/columns/article.php?article_id=139379
Nancy Hill, president-CEO of the American Association of Advertising Agencies, and Bob Liodice, president-CEO of the Association of National Advertisers, say the ad groups are drafting an "army" of willing participants to elevate the conversation on diversity and commit the industry to making a real difference.]]> http://adage.com/columns/article.php?article_id=139379 Mon, 05 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0400 http://adage.com/columns/article.php?article_id=139250
You know what might help the diversity effort in the ad industry? A TV show or online video series. OK, stop laughing. And put away your angry e-mails until I explain.]]> http://adage.com/columns/article.php?article_id=139250 Mon, 28 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0400 kwheaton@adage.com(Ken Wheaton) http://adage.com/columns/article.php?article_id=138934
With or without pay walls, with or without events, salons and corporate sponsorships, with or without community-oriented websites, newspapers are going to do two things: survive and diminish.]]> http://adage.com/columns/article.php?article_id=138934 Mon, 14 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0400 dklein@adage.com(David Klein) http://adage.com/columns/article.php?article_id=138854
Well, as you always kind of suspected, Bob Garfield hates advertising. He even thinks it will die, at least in its mass-appeal form.]]> http://adage.com/columns/article.php?article_id=138854 Mon, 07 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0400 http://adage.com/columns/article.php?article_id=138558
Even in the best of years, tackling health-care reform in the U.S. demands something approaching perfection when it comes to messaging and branding. Team Obama didn't come close.]]> http://adage.com/columns/article.php?article_id=138558 Mon, 24 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0400 kwheaton@adage.com(Ken Wheaton) http://adage.com/columns/article.php?article_id=138590
The outpouring of memorials and remembrances following the death of TV pitchman Billy Mays was a testament to the career he had built, while also speaking to the true reach of direct-response TV. He had achieved a kind of cult status that made him interesting to almost everyone, and contradicted the common misconception that only a select demographic watches DRTV.]]> http://adage.com/columns/article.php?article_id=138590 Fri, 21 Aug 2009 14:28:45 -0400 http://adage.com/columns/article.php?article_id=138191
My ex-partner Al Ries and I rarely disagree, but we do part company on his column titled "GM's Lutz Appointment Shows No Respect for Marketing." In my estimation this move supports what Dave Packard of Hewlett-Packard once said: "Marketing is too important to be left to the marketing people."]]> http://adage.com/columns/article.php?article_id=138191 Wed, 29 Jul 2009 13:41:38 -0400 http://adage.com/columns/article.php?article_id=138116
In these postmodern times, where every interaction with the customer is a marketing event, the real crunch point comes when the customer meets your customer-service department.]]> http://adage.com/columns/article.php?article_id=138116 Mon, 27 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0400 dklein@crain.com(David Klein) http://adage.com/columns/article.php?article_id=137821
Unlike most students in my college class, I was lucky enough to secure a job that started three weeks after my graduation day -- it was driving a Wienermobile.]]> http://adage.com/columns/article.php?article_id=137821 Thu, 09 Jul 2009 12:45:52 -0400 http://adage.com/columns/article.php?article_id=137590
Research reveals that when all companies within an industry are being tarred with the same brush, people tune out. For the financial-services industry, this can be a hidden opportunity because every brand has become, of sorts, a challenger brand. Everyone is equal.]]> http://adage.com/columns/article.php?article_id=137590 Mon, 29 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0400 http://adage.com/columns/article.php?article_id=137225
While there has been no recession in India, Indians seem to have been affected by the recession psyche.]]> http://adage.com/columns/article.php?article_id=137225 Mon, 15 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0400 http://adage.com/columns/article.php?article_id=137227
Over the past 30 years, as advertising has grown into a global business, Advertising Age has pushed beyond its U.S. base as well -- sometimes successfully, and sometimes not.]]> http://adage.com/columns/article.php?article_id=137227 Mon, 15 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0400 dklein@crain.com(David Klein) http://adage.com/columns/article.php?article_id=136965
When the marketplace changes, and it always does, it's critical to remain relevant and customer-focused. Innovation is essential, particularly these days.]]> http://adage.com/columns/article.php?article_id=136965 Mon, 01 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0400 http://adage.com/columns/article.php?article_id=133330
"We love to fly, and it shows." Yeah, sure. Heading into the peak travel season is a reminder of what a pain it is to fly. Not only for all of the usual reasons -- overbooking and overcrowding, invasive security procedures, creeping lines, inevitable delays, screeching infants -- but also because planes these days stink. Literally. They never smelled too good to begin with, what with that flotation device they call your seat nothing more than an absorbent cushion for the preceding passenger's vile gas. But it's worse now than ever before because, by virtually eliminating food on flights, the airlines have created ethnic-food warfare at 36,000 feet. I smell a marketing opportunity.]]> http://adage.com/columns/article.php?article_id=133330 Tue, 16 Dec 2008 17:25:38 -0500 adageeditor@adage.com(Robert Rosenthal) http://adage.com/columns/article.php?article_id=133057
Hollywood moguls watching the next Super Bowl may well choke on their cigars when they see the cavalcade of movie commercials on their TV screens in these frugal times.]]> http://adage.com/columns/article.php?article_id=133057 Mon, 08 Dec 2008 05:00:00 -0500 http://adage.com/columns/article.php?article_id=132549
I have a theory as to why my dad, Thomas Murray, hates "Mad Men." It's about advertising -- whereas my dad, at least in his own mind, never really was.]]> http://adage.com/columns/article.php?article_id=132549 Mon, 17 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0500 dmurrayil@earthlink.net(David Murray) http://adage.com/columns/article.php?article_id=131804
Barter is the original business model. Long before monetary systems were introduced, trade was the primary form of commerce. Now is the time to make barter a priority once more.]]> http://adage.com/columns/article.php?article_id=131804 Thu, 16 Oct 2008 17:29:40 -0400 http://adage.com/columns/article.php?article_id=130966
For millennial women the election may prove a watershed moment -- the moment when they discovered prejudice against their gender.]]> http://adage.com/columns/article.php?article_id=130966 Mon, 15 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0400 http://adage.com/columns/article.php?article_id=130519
We all admire the work D'Arcy did for Budweiser 30-plus years ago. But with innovative ideas and initiatives, A-B has managed to once again make Budweiser a relevant brand to the core audience and beyond.]]> http://adage.com/columns/article.php?article_id=130519 Mon, 25 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0400 http://adage.com/columns/article.php?article_id=129770
How can A-B ensure that its loyalists won't defect to Pabst or Miller? Here's my advice.]]> http://adage.com/columns/article.php?article_id=129770 Mon, 21 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0400 http://adage.com/columns/article.php?article_id=129624
Witnessing the exuberant demand for the iPhone made me wonder if this feat could be repeated in other categories, such as the auto business. What would an automaker have to do to seduce consumers to stand in line to buy a hot new car?]]> http://adage.com/columns/article.php?article_id=129624 Tue, 15 Jul 2008 12:06:50 -0400 http://adage.com/columns/article.php?article_id=129504
Magna Global last week announced that the age of the average network-TV viewer has reached the 50-year mark. This has caused no small amount of consternation in the media business and the trade press. This type of sky-is-falling reaction is both sad and foolish.]]> http://adage.com/columns/article.php?article_id=129504 Mon, 14 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0400