Jeremy Pepper snapped us out of our navel gazing recently with a well-deserved question. “Can Social Media Do What It Claims?” One of the more exciting opportunities for social media is how it can enable non-profit organizations to boost awareness and support for their causes with powerful stories. Rather than...

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This is being posted here while Blogger holds the Bad Pitch blog hostage. I'll spare you the explanation of why I posted this. But I would like to extend my sympathies to the families of Bernie Mac and Issac Hayes. Subject: Is Samuel Jackson Next? Death Comes in Threes… From:...

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Last week there was a snafu at Blogger and a robot mistakenly identified a lot of blogs as being spam. Blogger claims to have fixed that problem. Then on Monday, the Bad Pitch blog was locked out. Nearly a week later, we’re still waiting to get access. Somehow it’s fitting...

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Richard Laermer’s 12th book* is, to quote Nettie Hartsock, “a decadent read.” The book is also now 100 percent FREE as Laermer and McGraw-Hill are offering full access to the book for gratis. “The World is Flat” author Thomas Friedman started giving his book away recently in iPod-friendly audio installments...

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From the “kids get off my lawn!” department: It bugs me when people treat social media as a final destination. Social media is part of a circuit that’s completed through personal interactions. Terms like lifestreaming imply that someone’s whole life is online. And, well, it’s not. This adds to my...

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This quote from futurist Alvin Toffler is an important reminder for any marketer with a sense of urgency. And in today’s economic climate we can assume that’s most every marketer. Consider Starbucks as they rush to establish a beach head of drive-thru locations at interstate highway exits across the nation....

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1) Nike 100 – Beijing, China | The Cool Hunter Nike turns its 100 innovations from the last 50 years into a museum and creates a shock and awe brand experience in the process. 2) Are You Developing a Social Media Monitoring & Engagement Strategy? | Voce Nation Mike Manuel’s...

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Come to the second Cincinnati Social Media Breakfast to listen, share, network and learn along with other area marketing and new media professionals. Making communications more effective with multimedia is the theme of the free morning event as the definition of content continues to morph and include everything from 140-character...

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Can a backstage pass create a connection between a brand and a consumer? The British Prime Minister and Lenovo are both trying to find out. Prime Minister Gordon Brown has had a Twitter Twitter account set up for some time now. Brown recently built on this for the G8 Summit...

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SlideShare is to PowerPoint as Flickr is to photography and YouTube is to video. But without detailed speaker notes, SlideShare can be like watching the TV when it's on mute. That said one of my presentations has been selected as part of SlideShare's Spotlight on PR 2.0. The presentation expands...

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Consumer packaged goods marketing has always interested me. So I was all ears when the DMI’s Brand Design Conference kicked off with a presentation from Scott Young, of Perception Research Services. Young discussed packaging and the environment from the consumers’ perspective. CPG brands have three (conflicting) challenges when it comes...

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The AP tells us that "some retailers are giving vinyl records a spin" (get it?). This reminded me of another long-lost recording format. As I wistfully combed the results of a Google Image search for the perfect image of an Eight Track, I found evidence of the first mash-up. The...

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Years ago en route to a client meeting I asked my then colleague, a hack turned flack, if writing ever gets any easier. My heart sank when this ex-journo told me writing is the hardest thing he does every day. But his point was writing is a labor of love....

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FedEx just announced it’s dropping the Kinko’s from its name and becoming FedEx Office to "describe the wide range of services available at its retail centers." FedEx purchased Kinko’s in 2004. Waiting four years to drop the name might seem odd for a company specializing in overnight delivery, but it’s...

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"Because the purpose of business is to create a customer, the business enterprise has two--and only two--basic functions: marketing and innovation. “Marketing and innovation produce results; all the rest are costs. Marketing is the distinguishing, unique function of the business." – Peter Drucker It’s up to us to make this...

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A reporter and I just discussed the PR industry’s use of Friend Feed. It’s for what I assume is a short, but well-intended story that shows the publication is tuned into PR nerds, er, early adopters. It just seems a bit early to be writing it. I’ve only been actively...

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This pitch from Chris at Ketchum is sexist. But it's also funny, short and timely. It’s for a smart guerilla marketing idea from Best Buy’s Geek Squad. ___ Not even the Geneva Convention can save us from the torture about to hit screens tomorrow. Sure “Sex and the City” will...

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Three random emails in my inbox this weekend have me scratching my head. YouIntern was lighting a fire under me, noting that the deadline to apply for an internship with Staples was today. Initially I was flattered by the misstep, and then I wondered if this wasn’t an unvitation. Well...

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In lieu of a Friday Flickr Fix, I’m serving up video. Last week I won a webcam and this video is the result of my special effects test. When I watched it, the Radiohead mashup came to mind. The two complement each other (and redefine goofy in the process). This...

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