February 4, 2010

_THINKING BEHIND BLINKING

Tags: blink by malcolm gladwell, book reports, curly hair, insight, instincts, judgment, judgments, malcolm gladwell, manhattan, marketing methods, professor randall, rape case, rsquo, speeding tickets

MB Crash TEst

Thanks to Professor Randall of the University of Endless Learning at RPK, book reports have come back from the halls of high school to haunt us. Luckily (for Prof. Randall), my book assignment was interesting. While it did not directly advocate or instruct principles of a course in Advertising 101, Blink, by Malcolm Gladwell, provided valuable insight that can be applied to marketing methods.

In his attempt to instruct readers on decision making - factors that go into making a decision and why, how to control and educate your judgments, when your instincts are applicable - Gladwell asserts:

‘Truly successful decision making relies on a balance between deliberate and instinctive thinking.’

The idea for Blink came to Gladwell after he decided to grow his hair long. He started getting speeding tickets, which he had never gotten before, and randomly pulled from lines at the airport for security checking. Worse, he was mistakingly accused as the suspect in a rape case by the police on the streets of Manhattan, simply because he and the suspect had long, curly hair in common. Gladwell then decided to investigate just what prompts judgment and decision making.

To learn about Gladwell’s findings - read this book! I recommend.

Marisa LaVallee
Strategic Coordinator

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January 20, 2010

_CHANGE IS THE ONLY ABSOLUTE

Tags: expectation, fear of the unknown, first job, mahatma gandhi, ops, possibilities

MB Crash TEst

“We must be the change we wish to see in the world.” _Mahatma Gandhi

Change is the only absolute.

This was the subject of a memo I received less than two years into my first job. It came from the president of our small-but-growing agency outlining some sweeping personnel changes designed to improve our offering by tapping into individual skill sets previously unknown or under-used. The moves didn’t directly affect my role or responsibility, but it forever changed the way I look at business and the world.

It was the single most empowering message I ever received. Fear of the unknown is replaced by a new world of possibilities. Wake up tomorrow with the expectation of change and you will not be disappointed. And after 25 years, every day is still a new opportunity. Change or die, indeed.

For me, it was five simple words. How about you? What has caused you to change the way you see things?

-Dwayne Fry
Commander / Creative Ops

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January 5, 2010

_WHAT ALL THE 'HUB' IS ABOUT

Tags: appliances, cool gadget, dashboard, degree days, electricity, furnace, hub, information wirelessly, mike randall, news flash, ops, seven more days, weather news

MB Crash TEst

Dear Weather,

News flash: We do not appreciate this bitter cold bite of Winter you have sent us of late. Since you’ve repeatedly ignored our pleas for 72 degree days, could you at least send us a cool gadget to make you more tolerable?

Cold regards,

Mike Randall
Captain, Strategic Ops

Dear Earthling,

You are in luck! The EnergyHub Dashboard has been built. It’s a small device with a screen that sends and receives information wirelessly to your furnace and appliances, letting you know how much electricity/gas is being used and how much it costs you! This little gadget has the ability to turn appliances on and off, as well as raise/lower the temperature.

Yours truly,

Weather

P.S. For your sarcastic closing, I’m sending seven more days of cold…

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December 14, 2009

_IF IT AIN'T BROKE, JUST MAKE IT OBSOLETE

Tags: antiques roadshow, courage, curiosity, desk fan, inventor, james dyson, melissa, republik, tarp, unemployment line, vacuum cleaner

MB Crash TEst

Looks like my trusty desk fan might be headed to the unemployment line soon. Or applying for a piece of the TARP fund. James Dyson, the inventor of the bag-less vacuum cleaner, has invented a fan without blades. If I turn it 90 degrees, will it make a beach ball levitate? Seriously though, I do admire his curiosity. And courage. Who knows, that fan on your desk might be worth something on the Antiques Roadshow?

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November 6, 2009

7-ELEVEN TO LAUNCH IN-HOUSE BRAND OF WINE

Tags: big gulp, burritos, buzz, cheap wine, half the fun, house brand, joke, Marketing, microwave, munchies, pun, revenue stream, stock, thunderbird, yosemite

MB Crash TEst

Excellent!
Insert Thunderbird joke here _____________.
Insert Mad Dog 20/20 joke here _____________.

All right. Now that that's out of the way, let me just say, it's about time! What a brilliant revenue stream. You buy cheap wine from 7-Eleven, and when you get the munchies, go back and stock up on microwave burritos.

Although I think they messed up one part - the name. The wine is called Yosemite Road. To me, Yosemite Road sounds like every other winery out there.

To me, half the fun would be arriving at a party with a bottle of Slurrrper(R) or The Really Big Gulp(R), or some other franchised name. People would ask, "Where did you get that? 7-Eleven?" And that's how the marketing buzz begins.

Pun intended.

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October 20, 2009

_DESPERATION MARKETING - OUR CARS WON'T KILL YOU

Tags: brand message, brand messages, consumers, desperation, luxury car sales, luxury cars, mcdonald, Mercedes, quot, tagline, volvo

MB Crash TEst

In efforts to combat flagging luxury car sales, Mercedes has decided to flag a different aspect of their brand: Safety.

Huh??!!

What's next, Volvo's going to counter their slipping sales with a new campaign featuring their performance?

I suppose their reasoning is that people already know M-B makes great luxury cars, so they wanted to tout something else.

Let me tell you something. The reason everyone knows M-B makes the best luxury cars is because their advertising has reinforced it all these years. Keep this up, and people won't even know what M-B stands for. Luxury? Safety? Low monthly payments?

Remember, once you have your brand message, don't depart from it! Even though you've spend years hammering it out, and you're sick of it, the consumer is not. And when you change brand messages, trust me, consumers won't remember your old one, and your original investment is lost. Does anyone remember McDonald's tagline before "I'm lovin' it?" Thank you.

Watch the TV commercial.

- Robert West
Commander in Chief

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October 7, 2009

_AMERICA ISN'T EVIL - THEY JUST NEED A GOOD PR FIRM.

We need to remind the world about our standard of living. Our poorest people live better than most middle-class people in other countries. Put it this way - as a whole, our poor people have plenty to eat, have cable TV, own cars, and drive them on well-maintained roads. Their poor people work hard labor 18 hours a day, are hungry, sleep on the ground, poop in an outhouse (if they're lucky) and have a life expectancy 25 years less than ours.

map

I suppose we get a bad rap when it comes to wars. Sure, America has interests. When we fight to protect them, we're condemned. However, other countries are not. (China and Russia, we're talking to you). America has the kindest, politest foreign policy of any great power in history. Really. America saved the world from the horrific and murderous Italian Fascist, Soviet Nazi, and Soviet totalitarianism regimes. When we do win a war, unlike any other country, we do not annex their territory - we help rebuild it. For example, we destroyed Germany and Japan in World War II, yet spent billions to help rebuild them. North Vietnam's biggest mistake was winning a war against us, for today, they are a poor impoverished nation. Had we won, we would have helped rebuild and modernize them, and maybe, put in a government friendly to us. Oooh - bad America!!

How about this for a PR campaign - imagine the world without the United States - like the scene in Back to the Future when the nutty professor gets out of a Canadian car. Or we could show the whole world speaking German, living under a socialist regime.

Then again, it might be difficult - I'm doubt if TVs, radios, and the Internet could have been invented under a socialist regime.

- Francis George
Commander / Creative Ops

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September 29, 2009

_TOO MUCH DRINKING IN STARBUCK'S BRANDING DEPARTMENT

Tags: 50 cent, ad agency, cheap coffee, coffee breath, cup of coffee, decisions, executions, funny ads, instant coffee, Marketing, mbas, nbsp, new friends, screw, starbuck, starbucks, stockholders

When you've made your stockholders rich by selling $4 cups of coffee, surely your next move would be of a similar strategy?

Wrong-O, coffee breath.Starbucks is introducing INSTANT Coffee. So, Starbucks is now saying, "Hey! Instead of stopping here in the morning for a $4 cup of coffee, get up 5 minutes earlier and make a 50 cent cup of coffee at home.

"I'll let that sink in while I talk about the ad executions. In my opinion, well-executed and memorable. I can see the conversation between Starbucks and their ad agency - "Hey! We'd like to shoot ourselves in the foot - we need your help aiming!"

In my opinion, I think these funny ads are going to cause people to flock towards the cheap coffee, while store sales drop. I can't believe marketing MBAs with $120,000 degrees are making these decisions.

When your brand is associated as being expensive, yet you have a loyal following, don't screw it up. Introduce a new brand. Make new friends without offending the old ones. Because once you've lost your good name, that's it.

- Dwayne Fry
Commander / Creative Ops

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September 16, 2009

_WALT DISNEY RE-INVENTED THE MOUSE. THE EGG SEEMED LIKE A LOGICAL NEXT STEP._

Tags: Al Ries, branding, Disney, The Republik

For the last 40 years, Famous brander Al Ries has been pounding the idea that line extensions are a bad idea. Tell him you use Arm & Hammer toothpaste, and he'll give you a dirty look hot enough to ignite your Ralph Lauren Polo curtains.

And we believe him. We've seen lots of crashes from poorly-executed line extensions. (And please don't take away the cases and cases of Pepsi Max we got on sale at Costco). But Disney making eggs? Poor old Walt is probably turning in his liquid-nitrogen-filled cryonic chamber.

Then again, we kind of like the mouse-shaped eggs sunny-side up. It'll go great with our Acura orange juice.

video

Watch the TV commercial. Yum!

- Mike Randall
Captain: Strategic Ops

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August 28, 2009

_CAFFIENATED TPS REPORTS

Tags: coffee, Design, Green, ink, no ink, printer, republik, Technology

Fox news has discovered a green product, and its not cash. (heyo!) Seriously though, a korean man has developed a printer that prints with used coffee grounds or tea instead of ink. It is, however, completely manual, so you may want to forgo printing out that Deer Hunter Script and stick with a plane ticket or something.

Either way, it doesn't require electricity which may prove useful when 2012 comes and we need to print out our own death certificates for the coming apocalypse.

"But will it run on human blood?"
- David Avis, Creative Ops.

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February 4, 2010

_THINKING BEHIND BLINKING

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January 20, 2010

_CHANGE IS THE ONLY ABSOLUTE

_BOOKMARK THIS

January 5, 2010

_WHAT ALL THE 'HUB' IS ABOUT

_BOOKMARK THIS

December 14, 2009

_IF IT AIN'T BROKE, JUST MAKE IT OBSOLETE

_BOOKMARK THIS

November 6, 2009

7-ELEVEN TO LAUNCH IN-HOUSE BRAND OF WINE

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October 20, 2009

_DESPERATION MARKETING - OUR CARS WON'T KILL YOU

_BOOKMARK THIS

October 7, 2009

_AMERICA ISN'T EVIL - THEY JUST NEED A GOOD PR FIRM.

_BOOKMARK THIS

September 29, 2009

_TOO MUCH DRINKING IN STARBUCK'S BRANDING DEPARTMENT

_BOOKMARK THIS

September 16, 2009

_WALT DISNEY RE-INVENTED THE MOUSE. THE EGG SEEMED LIKE A LOGICAL NEXT STEP._

_BOOKMARK THIS

August 28, 2009

_CAFFIENATED TPS REPORTS

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