Risley Ranch

Hello Twitter

Yes, I'm way late to the party, but I decided to give Twitter a try.  My colleague, Dustin, and his awesome presentation yesterday at our brown bag, convinced me.  Follow me if you like.

Technorati Tags: Twitter, microblogging

Get mobi

I'm no mobile expert -- that title belongs to guys like Mark and Dustin at our shop -- but I saw an online show today about Admob, and I was super impressed.

Fast Company magazine (one of my favorites) has launched Fast Company TV, and they have social media guru Robert Scoble hosting.  It's an awesome site.  And the first show I saw was an interview between Scoble and Admob founder and CEO Omar Hamoui.  You gotta watch this video, and make sure to watch the end where he runs a demo.  Too, too cool.  Maybe this is old news, but I was impressed.

I think the most prophetic thing Hamoui said was that we have yet to tap into the next phase of mobile advertising -- local targeting.  Although Admob can target in a variety of ways, it can't yet geo-target.  In the next two years, however, when devices are installed with GPS standard, look out.

Technorati Tags: advertising, marketing, mobile, mobile advertising, Fast Company

Inspiration for the day

Noted jazz musician Herbie Hancock wrote an article in United Way's Hemispheres magazine.  On a 15-hour flight across the Pacific Ocean, you'll read anything, so I picked it up.  I loved this paragraph:

"Reinvention is relishing the idea of looking for a new way of doing something, so you present something that's fresh.  Exercising your creative abilities is one of the most important aspects of a human being -- or organization.  The more you explore looking at things differently and creating another way to look at things, the more choices you'll have to invent a new framework, a new environment.  Consequently, you'll be able to do something others have not."

Crisis communications & advertising

The Kansas City Ad Club was nice enough to invite me to speak at a luncheon meeting today.  The subject was crisis communications management.  I think it's great that traditional advertising had this topic on its agenda.   The lines are blurring among disciplines, no doubt.

Download crisis_ad_club_4208_blog.pdf

Thanks to Jeremy Ragonese at Boulevard for inviting me, Rachel at the Ad Club for hosting, and to all who attended and endured the full hour.

Think. Then do.

Mike Manuel's wisdom came through in spades in this post.  The killer line:

"...knowing how to distribute something so it's "findable" is a small tactical fix, but knowing how to create something that's "shareable" is a big strategic advantage."

If I can put an even finer point on it:  "Think. Then do."  Strategy is thinking.  Tactic is doing.

I can sense the irritation in Mike's post, and I share it.  Social media has become more pervasive in client conversations, but the thinking behind why (or if) we should do it hasn't caught up to the hey-let's-do-something traditional mentality.  Therefore, it gets minimized to a bunch of "attention getting" tactics with no meaning.  No strategy.

Think. Then do.

technorati tags: strategy, viralvideo

If you're an ad man, Mad Men is a dark and scary show

I don't watch much TV.  But my colleague, Andy, said I should check out Mad Men on AMC.  It's a show about an ad agency in the 60s.  Love the production value/creativity, but man, it's depressing!

All I can say is, I'm glad I wasn't an adult in the late 50s/early 60s.  This show has completely destroyed my clean-cut fantasy of the ad world during its hey-day.  If that's the way everyone acted on Madison Avenue...whoa.  Women in their place (the home).  Children in their place (seen and not heard).  Account Executives in their place (buying the client booze and hookers).  Creatives in their place (coming up with all the ideas).  And cigarettes and hair-gel everywhere.  That's the same industry I work in!  (I do envy the whisky-at-work lifestyle, however.)

The show reminded me a little bit of Glengarry Glen Ross.  I couldn't finish that movie...it was too dark, too depressing.  I got that same feeling after watching last night's episode of Mad Men. 

All I can say is, Don Draper is no Larry Tate.  I think I'll skip the show so my fantasy is left in tact.

Barkley & Sonic Props

I was pleased to read this review from Bob Garfield in AdAge today.  Congratulations to our Sonic team for all their hard, effective work.

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Another new voice in the blogosphere

Mark Logan, VP of Interactive at our shop, has started a blog about mobile marketing.  If you're into mobile (and if you're a marketer, you should be), you'll want to follow this blog.  Mark knows mobile.

Welcome buddy.

technorati tags: mobile, marketing, Barkley

It was nice just to be nominated

So I'm ranked #132 on Todd And's Power 150 Marketing Blogs.  In by the skin of my teeth.  Neat idea by Todd.  I know if I were more religious with posting I'd rank a little higher, based on the fact I've been doing this since 2004.  If you're looking for good marketing blogs to follow, this is a good place to start.

technorati tags: power150, toddand

One little word...

can change your whole perspective.  Ernie Schenck, a Barkley board member and free-agent advertising guru, answered questions about the state of the industry on our Online Community recently.  I love this comment he had in response to advertising's role in social media:

"Look, the new branding landscape is all about two-way communication and consumer involvement and asking for permission. What that boils down to is respect."

I think it sums up all of marketing going forward.  Respect.  Respect for the people we're trying to have a conversation with.

technorati tags: schenck, advertising, marketing, respect