RISK TAKING IN MARKETING

EXCERPTED FROM: PERSPECTIVES ON MARKETING
Is a risky concept worth trying if failure means potentially losing the account (or, for a marketing director, losing your job)?
Risk-taking is a major part of life and can bring tremendous rewards. It’s important to remember, however, that risk-taking can be extremely dangerous if the risk involves tampering with something that [...]

MAKING MONEY BY NOT MAKING DECISIONS

I must admit, it has been painful for me to watch the Brett Favre story play out every August for the past few years.  The “will he retire or will he play” conversations dominated sports talk radio across the country and were covered across all sorts of national and local news programming for weeks.  As a passionate [...]

WHO NEEDS A BIG GIRAFFE?

I will be the first to admit that when I saw Whoopi Goldberg’s name connected to a Toys R’ Us program in a recent Brandweek article, I cringed a little bit.  Trust me, with three small kids, I spend my fair share of time walking their aisles looking at Bakugan toys, Polly Pocket dress up [...]

WHEN TALENT GOES TO THE DOGS

by Michael Hand
Over the past few weeks, sports pages have been filled with coverage of Michael Vick’s release from prison after bankrolling a dogfighting ring.  The former Atlanta Falcons quarterback is certainly a gifted athlete but speculation continues on whether or not he will get a shot to wear a uniform (with shoulder pads and helmet, not orange [...]

NOT AMUSED BY AMUSEMENT PARK ADS

By Michael Hand
As the long holiday weekend gets ready to hit us and I think about the possible outlets of activity for my kids, the use of advertising by theme parks has certainly come to mind.  Who are they trying to connect with??  What kind of message/image are they trying to convey??

Watching the late night [...]

TRIDENT: A LITTLE HAPPINESS GOES A LONG WAY

by Michael Hand
The most recent issue of Brandweek (6/13) reported on how the Trident brand was getting back into the TV advertising world with a new campaign.  The new tagline, “a Little Piece of Happy” , hits on the common human truth that the small things in life matter.  As we wait to read about [...]

HOLLYWOOD COMES TO THE CORNER STORE

by Michael Hand
Want to know what the next biggest movie will be??  I will give you a simple hint, find a retail location packed with young adult male consumers and walk over to the area filled with ice cold slushee goodness served in cups bigger than your head.  Yeah, that’s right – 7-11.  Forget the [...]

SHOULD AN AGENCY BE EXPECTED TO DO SPEC WORK OR PRESENT CREATIVE AS PART OF THE PITCH?

EXCERPTED FROM: PERSPECTIVES ON MARKETING
As a client I not only think an agency should be expected to do creative work as part of the pitch, I demand it. Business pitches cost money—I get that—but the only way to truly assess an agency’s capability is to see some of its work. I fully expect to put [...]

WHAT IS THE BEST CAMPAIGN EVER RUN?

EXCERPTED FROM: PERSPECTIVES ON BRANDING
I really wrestled with this question more than I thought I would. The catch for me was to focus on true “campaigns.” I did not want to speak to the single ad that broke through and made a ton of noise in the market, but was not a part of a [...]