Newspapers for High School Students
“The Tribune and Chicago Public Schools plan to announce the introduction this fall of a new weekly publication and complementary interactive Web site, tentatively called "The Mash." I had a similar idea about four years ago for The LA Times – The Trib’s sister publication. Oh well, ideas are a
Milk and Eggs Strategy
My latest business development philosophy is called milk and eggs. Provide a service or product your customer needs and make it really easy for them to acquire it. Once you’ve built goodwill, you can then upsell other services they want. Here’s the thing. To develop new business, you need to
Brand: Heaven or Hell
Recently just finished up a brand audit for a client. Now is the exciting time… capturing the essence of their brand in a presentation for the board of directors. We have all the information we need, problem is we were getting lost in a barrage of bullet points. Then I
Greyhound – Party like a Rockstar
So, I’m flipping through a Vibe Magazine earlier today getting myself ready for some focus groups next week and I notice an ad for Greyhound. The ad said Greyhound would help me party like a Rockstar. Really ?! Ok, since I’m still in my research-gathering zone, just finished developing a
Kanye West Travel
I first heard about Kanye launching a travel website a few weeks back, it piqued my interest – because of my love of travel. At least once a year, I take an international trip with a group of college buddies; only rule we have is it’s always gotta be a
Sears says – I need an Around The Way Girl
Doesn’t make sense? Neither does the LL Cool J-Sears partnership. James Todd Smith aka LL Cool J is working on a line of kids clothing for Sears. When you’re done laughing, read on … it’s a clothing line for teen and tween girls. Allow me to go down memory lane
Getting a leg up in the advertising world
As the adage goes, the average American is exposed to 3,000 advertising messages per day. I’m not sure how accurate that number is, but I probably pay attention to fewer than 10 ads a day. Most advertising (tv, radio, new media, etc.) is bad and usually ends up being white
Buy a car, get a gun
That title tells the whole story. A MO. car dealership is offering a free gun with the purchase of a vehicle. Wait a minute!! Why would I want a gun with a new car? How is this a complimentary product? I suddenly have images of drive by shootings…that is not a
Countrywide CEO gives customer the finger
True story. Well, sort of. Here’s the deal. A Countrywide customer struggling with mortgage payments decided to be proactive and email a few people at the company to work out a favorable payment plan. "My number one goal is to keep my home … I am turning to you for
Let’s make it a Netflix night
I think that’s a play on the Blockbuster slogan. The Netflix slogan, "There’s a movie waiting at home," doesn’t quite roll off the tongue. Anyhow, like Paul Pierce, Netflix is the truth. I’ve been a proud member since ’05 and like many people I’ve been wondering if the end is
Wachovia
So, I’m driving to work yesterday morning “switching four lanes, screaming through the sun roof money ain’t a thang” listening to the Steve Harvey show and this woman from Wachovia says something about a promotion where you can earn 16% interest for the summertime. WHAT!?! I pulled up the website