A few months ago, I wrote a blog post about why regular old books are better than e-books.  I even made a snide comment about Borders’ e-book reader, which they released haphazardly in March of this year.  I don’t want to believe that this remark and the fact that I returned two books to Borders so that I could have enough money for food is what ran the company into the ground.  It probably had to do with some other stuff, too.  But I still feel sort of bad about …

Wading through my millions of unopened emails the other day, I noticed a “Change of Services” email from Netflix. I usually just delete those emails or let them fall to the second page and forget about them, but for some reason I opened it this time. I was startled and surprised to read the message it contained –prices were increasing by 60% starting in September. Lame.

The next day, I read an article about it on Reuters.com (“Netflix Price Raise Draws User Ire, Investor Glee”) and the Netflix spokesperson basically said …

This year, I was fortunate enough to attend the notorious Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest in Coney Island. I showed up, along with 40,000 other people, to witness the often-fellatial (yes, I just coined a new word) and sometimes-nauseating drama unfold as nationally-ranked contestants consumed as many hot dogs and buns (an important detail) as possible in ten minutes. I can tell you that, after standing in the crowd myself, people are really into this. And it’s all kinds of people too: meatheads, old ladies, …

After a weekend full of NFL Football I couldn’t help but think of the upsets that happened yet again. Last week it was the Seattle Seahawks beating the New Orleans Saints and now this weekend, the New England Patriots losing to the New York Jets. While aspects of professional sports branding is relatable to product branding, there is one big difference; LOYALTY.
As seen year in and year out, NFL fans are loyal to their teams through scandal, betrayal and bad seasons. Not all brands have that luxury. Once the …

Yesterday I saw the Tabio Socks online look book. I have to say it’s amazing. This innovative way to present a product opens a door. I feel we’ll be seeing a lot more innovative ways of showcasing products on online stores. Yes, Uniqlo has been doing it for a while now, but I dare to say, this is more impressive than anything they have done in the past. The main difference? This has an engaging story. Please visit the Tabio website and explore.  Click the pic to go to the …

Back in the early days (like what 50 days ago) of the massive oil leak BP wasn’t saying much. Like pretty much nothing. So of course a brilliant person out there started this twitter feed @BPGlobalPR His thought was, if they aren’t going to say anything I will.
It’s sarcastic, it’s truthful and it is absolutely the only funny thing to come out of the disaster in the gulf. Take a read and buy a free T-shirt for $25. I really think this jab at BP spurred BP to actually address …

We all have at least a couple brands that we have some sort of an affinity for. Maybe even one or two that we love. And perhaps even one that we are obsessed with. Off the top of my head, for me, it’s Apple, Frosted Flakes, Right Guard, Puma, Arby’s and Pizza Hut.
Here’s a list of the top brands with the best loyalty.
http://www.brandkeys.com/awards/
And here’s some folks that have made that ultimate commitment to their brands. Getting them tattooed on their bodies.
http://mattus.web-log.nl/vibe_visual_brand_experie/2009/07/ultimate-brand.html
- Sean Leonard

Ok, so clearly Patrick took notice of my previous post (at least someone did). I agree with you man. That Nike Ad is just bad. Period. I’m surprised it came from W+K. (or did it?) But then again, it created A LOT of buzz. Enough to deserve all caps. It’s been everywhere from SNL skits to everyone talking about it on the streets. And at the end of the day, isn’t that what advertising is supposed to do? I’ve heard any press is good press. But to come from Nike, …

Maybe it’s because I recently moved or because I’ve realized how little I actually watch TV, but I’d really love to dump DirecTV. Unfortunately, I’m under contract for 11 more months so I’ll have to wait until then to drop it. While I’ve been daydreaming about being free of the cost, I’ve looked into building/buying a really cheap computer that I dedicate to streaming Hulu and Netflix. Then it dawned on me that someone might have created a device that already did that. Ta-Duh: The Boxee Box.
(Click on the image to …

I recently went to a little lecture about iphone apps. While I’m still on the fence about the profitability of apps (me personally making a profit) I definitely am a firm believer that they are becoming part of the marketing mix. Our clients should have apps. They don’t have to make money from them but they will create happier customers because of them. (Client depending of course)  The guy who made the Hipstamatic app was there and spoke. Pretty cool stuff. But man how do you find someone to do …