Tedoo

Sean Combs via last.fm

Normally, celebrity-brand partnerships start like this…a brand needs a quick boost of awareness around a product or service.  The brand team enlists a boutique celebrity agency to find the right fit.  Boutique agencies evaluate a celebrity’s cultural appeal by using star indices and their own expert intuition.  “Star picking” is kind of like the NFL draft.  A-list stars get chosen fast and command massive fees.

This process [...]

Marketing guru Seth Godin recently wrote:  “Should I write blog posts that increase my traffic or that help change the way (a few) people think?”

Seth goes on to lament the ponzi scheme infested, culturally devolved online waters that we see prevailing today.

My fear is that the endless search for WOW! further coarsens our culture at the same time it encourages marketers to get ever more shallow.

Culture [...]

How much money is spent Globally on marketing promotion?

eMarketer recently reported (via PWC) that worldwide roughly 420 Billion was spent on advertising in 2009…by 2013, this # is expected to rise to $470 Billion.  This number does not include trade spending and other forms of marketing spend, however.

Interestingly, Forrester reports that today 70% of all marketing spending is locked into trade funds and other non-traditional areas.  [...]

What is a Brand Manager and how will he/she play a role in building the 21st century?

Given the tough business climate, mind bending tech. changes & dire need for innovation in the next decade & beyond, some (like Forrester) propose that we ax the command and control “Manager” part of the traditional Brand Manager title and go with something more relevant like “Brand Advocate.”  Ad Age followed up with a [...]

It’s Hard to be Humble, When your Perfect in Every Way…Country singer Mac Davis

Humility is Dead…

Like some of you out there, I enjoy watching the Apprentice.  It’s interesting to watch cut-throat competition and “The Donald” say “you’re fired” to smart people every week.  Watching “The Donald” push people past their limits is sadistically fun…humility was certainly never rewarded on the show, however.

Humility is a [...]