http://blogs.aquent.com/aquentblog/ work inspired en-us Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:02:07 EST Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:02:07 EST http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/rss/rss.html Movable Type Pro 4.33-en 60 http://blogs.aquent.com/aquentblog/2010/03/keeping_your_brand_cool_in_a_crisis.html The name of the game is speed. With the insanely rapid pace of information on social media, keeping your brand intact by responding to consumer issues ASAP, or even before they happen, is absolutely essential. According to John Thomson, CEO... Wed, 10 Mar 2010 23:40:56 EST tag:blogs.aquent.com,2010:/aquentblog//11.2303 Julia Thahar Advertising Branding Marketing Social Media http://blogs.aquent.com/aquentblog/2010/03/biodegradings_in_the_bag.html Since the 1990's SunChips have been Frito-Lay's healthy option for their snack line.For years, however, the brand never really seemed to take off. In fact, sales seemed to stall over time.Then a few years back, their brand team discovered that... Tue, 02 Mar 2010 22:30:27 EST tag:blogs.aquent.com,2010:/aquentblog//11.2296 Tim Donnelly Advertising Agencies Branding Ecology Food and Drink Marketing Practice: Marketing Tim's A Day in the Life Blog http://blogs.aquent.com/aquentblog/2010/01/bing_apple_gets_a_little_sweeter_on_microsoft.html According to BusinessWeek, Apple is looking at replacing Google with Bing as their default search engine on their iPhone.Yes, it turns out the rivalry between "I'm a Mac" and "I'm a PC" isn't as strong when it comes to Apple... Fri, 22 Jan 2010 21:53:28 EST tag:blogs.aquent.com,2010:/aquentblog//11.2269 Tim Donnelly Advertising Branding Marketing Practice: Marketing Tim's A Day in the Life Blog http://blogs.aquent.com/aquentblog/2010/01/burping_the_midnight_oil.html You know, I have no idea what the people at am pm or their ad agency are thinking.The small print indicates that you'll only taste the ampm burritos twice, so I guess you'll be safe with a hot dog or... Thu, 07 Jan 2010 20:02:43 EST tag:blogs.aquent.com,2010:/aquentblog//11.2258 Tim Donnelly Advertising Marketing Tim's A Day in the Life Blog http://blogs.aquent.com/aquentblog/2009/11/marketing_as_a_conversation_isnack_20_versus_new_coke.html When I was at university, my all time favourite subject was Consumer Behaviour.I loved learning about the relationship between organizations, their brands and their customers.In those days though, most marketing messages were delivered via a one-way street - broadcast... Thu, 19 Nov 2009 07:33:45 EST tag:blogs.aquent.com,2009:/aquentblog//11.2203 Karen Thompson Advertising Branding Communication Digital Food and Drink History Market Research Marketing Marketing Management Marketing Technology New vs Old Media Practice: Marketing Practice: Media Practice: Online Marketing Public Relations Social Media Social Networking Technology Trends http://blogs.aquent.com/aquentblog/2009/09/taking_stock_are_the_penalties_for_abusing_image_rights_too_high.html There was an interesting article about the cost for online copyright violations in yesterday's Business section of the LA Times by columnist David Lazarus.In essence, Lazarus says the damage costs demanded by companies such Getty Images and Corbis, which could... Mon, 14 Sep 2009 16:09:23 EST tag:blogs.aquent.com,2009:/aquentblog//11.2180 Tim Donnelly Advertising Agencies Design Digital Practice: Graphic Design Practice: Interactive Design Tim's A Day in the Life Blog Web Design http://blogs.aquent.com/aquentblog/2009/09/its_fontastic_or_not.html It seems the favorite affordable store of Designers all over the world IKEA, has just stepped down a notch in they eyes of many of their fans.Yes, they've switched their font selection for both print and Web materials from Futura... Thu, 10 Sep 2009 15:46:01 EST tag:blogs.aquent.com,2009:/aquentblog//11.2175 Tim Donnelly Advertising Branding Design Practice: Graphic Design Sales Tim's A Day in the Life Blog http://blogs.aquent.com/aquentblog/2009/08/be_a_panelpicker.html Those folks at SXSW are so clever. Since 2006 they've let the online community vote on the panels they wanted to see for interactive portion of the event.And we'd be daft if we didn't tell you we wanted you... Tue, 25 Aug 2009 20:01:30 EST tag:blogs.aquent.com,2009:/aquentblog//11.2150 Tim Donnelly Advertising Agencies Career Communication Digital Film Interactive Design Local Networking Events Marketing Movies Music Networking Practice: Graphic Design Practice: Interactive Design Social Media Social Networking Technology Tim's A Day in the Life Blog Viral Marketing Web Design Web/Tech http://blogs.aquent.com/aquentblog/2009/08/thats_some_jelly.html I don't know if it's actually jelly.I don't want to know.If you'd like to see more disturbing images from yesteryear, I urge you to check out The 15 Creepies Vintage Ads of All Time at RetroComedy.com.Just don't call me... Fri, 14 Aug 2009 23:23:26 EST tag:blogs.aquent.com,2009:/aquentblog//11.2144 Tim Donnelly Advertising History Tim's A Day in the Life Blog http://blogs.aquent.com/aquentblog/2009/08/summer_aint_over_you_still_have_events_to_attend.html When you have kids you know when fall is coming - even in Southern California. I'm lucky enough to have a wife brave enough to take the children to Target for the yearly trip to pick up backpacks, crayons, pens,... Wed, 12 Aug 2009 21:44:22 EST tag:blogs.aquent.com,2009:/aquentblog//11.2141 Tim Donnelly Advertising Aquent News Design Events Experiential Marketing Food and Drink Local Networking Events Marketing Networking Tim's A Day in the Life Blog Web Design http://blogs.aquent.com/aquentblog/2009/08/its_about_time_its_about_twitter.html If you weren't surprised when Bloggers were paid to promote companies' brands, you won't be shocked when I tell you that a company has cropped up that pays "Twitter users for every sponsored tweet they send to their followers,"Personally,... Tue, 11 Aug 2009 15:47:27 EST tag:blogs.aquent.com,2009:/aquentblog//11.2139 Tim Donnelly Advertising Ecology Market news Marketing Tim's A Day in the Life Blog Trends Viral Marketing http://blogs.aquent.com/aquentblog/2009/07/locker_up.html Wed, 22 Jul 2009 13:42:00 EST tag:blogs.aquent.com,2009:/aquentblog//11.2121 Tim Donnelly Advertising Market news Marketing Practice: Marketing Tim's A Day in the Life Blog http://blogs.aquent.com/aquentblog/2009/07/wiener_dog.html Breaking News: Wienermobile crashes into Wisconsin homeI kid you not. Check out the Minneapolis-St.Paul Star Tribune article.In case you haven't seen the updated dog mobile in the last few years, here it is: Thanks to Kim Cunningham in our Minneapolis... Sat, 18 Jul 2009 00:14:21 EST tag:blogs.aquent.com,2009:/aquentblog//11.2118 Tim Donnelly Advertising Cars Celebrities Tim's A Day in the Life Blog http://blogs.aquent.com/aquentblog/2009/07/history.html While much of the world, and all of Los Angeles, has their eyes turned to the Staples Center a quieter revolution unfolds.Yesterday the financially troubled San Francisco Chronicle unveiled its redesigned newspaper (and Website) as a measure to try... Thu, 09 Jul 2009 03:05:00 EST tag:blogs.aquent.com,2009:/aquentblog//11.2106 Tim Donnelly Advertising At work Public Relations Technology Tim's A Day in the Life Blog Web Design http://blogs.aquent.com/aquentblog/2009/07/betcha_cant_click_just_once.html You know, I bet this Pringles banner ad that does better in a contest among peers than it actually does online.Or maybe I'm wrong.Maybe everyone like me passing it along is driving up clicks.Could be.Regardless, click away - it's fairly... Thu, 09 Jul 2009 00:54:07 EST tag:blogs.aquent.com,2009:/aquentblog//11.2108 Tim Donnelly Advertising Agencies Tim's A Day in the Life Blog Viral Marketing http://blogs.aquent.com/aquentblog/2009/07/play_with_your_food.html You know, I think it really takes people like these to inspire Commercial Directors (I love the chopping effect):... Wed, 01 Jul 2009 23:41:26 EST tag:blogs.aquent.com,2009:/aquentblog//11.2103 Tim Donnelly Advertising Tim's A Day in the Life Blog Video http://blogs.aquent.com/aquentblog/2009/06/aigaaquent_salary_survey_1.html I was planning on blogging about our annual AIGA | Aquent Survey of Design Salaries (which is a bit of a misnomer, as it includes Web Developers and Copywriters), but I don't know if I'm late already. See that's the... Mon, 15 Jun 2009 21:30:30 EST tag:blogs.aquent.com,2009:/aquentblog//11.2083 Tim Donnelly Advertising Career Career advice Design Freelancing Hiring talent Industry Resources Interactive Design Practice: Graphic Design Salaries Tim's A Day in the Life Blog Web Design Workplace http://blogs.aquent.com/aquentblog/2009/05/all_that_was_fit_for_print.html What does the world of print have to offer to the world of Web? A lot, actually. As more of the population shifts to reading their favorite periodicals online, Designers have to keep in mind that readers are still... Mon, 11 May 2009 21:31:50 EST tag:blogs.aquent.com,2009:/aquentblog//11.2054 Tim Donnelly Advertising Design Interactive Design Tim's A Day in the Life Blog http://blogs.aquent.com/aquentblog/2009/04/on_spec.html There's a heated argument raging, and we've heard it before, about the reality of both spec work and crowdsourcing creeping their way into the design community.At the CreativePro site, founding editor Pamela Pfiffner writes that "Spec Work and Crowdsourcing"... Tue, 28 Apr 2009 23:02:43 EST tag:blogs.aquent.com,2009:/aquentblog//11.2044 Tim Donnelly Advertising Aquent Branding Design http://blogs.aquent.com/aquentblog/2009/02/as_a_recent_college_grad.html As a 2-year-removed college grad, an adherent to no particular religion (other than The Religion of Non-Stop Awesomeness), and a relative newcomer to the Facebook scene, I was surprised to hear the WSJ report that giving up Facebook for Lent... Wed, 25 Feb 2009 16:40:05 EST tag:blogs.aquent.com,2009:/thetalentblog//5.1957 Advertising Branding Marketing Social Networking Trends http://blogs.aquent.com/aquentblog/2009/02/as_economy_declines_brand_identity_becomes_comfortable_1.html UPDATE! Seems I'm not the only one who didn't like the rebrand. Check it out here. As the recession wears on, popular brands nationwide are putting considerable effort - and dollars - into rebranding strategies designed to make us feel... Mon, 23 Feb 2009 19:28:46 EST tag:blogs.aquent.com,2009:/thetalentblog//5.1950 Advertising Branding Design http://blogs.aquent.com/aquentblog/2009/02/jack_goldenberg_is_a_creative.html Talent Spotlight Jack Goldenberg is a creative copywriter represented by agent Randi Martin in Aquent's New Jersey office who, since cracking into the industry over 30 years ago, has served as the creative muscle behind such influential product launches as... Sat, 21 Feb 2009 19:35:03 EST tag:blogs.aquent.com,2009:/thetalentblog//5.1943 Advertising Careering Copywriting Creativity Talent Talent Spotlight http://blogs.aquent.com/aquentblog/2009/02/forget_about_transparency_how_ome_kin.html Good news for all you wannabe Mad Men (and Women)! There's now an alternative to getting into advertising: becoming an advertisement. That's right. Anyone with untouched skin space and no self-image issues can now create an online profile and pimp...I... Thu, 19 Feb 2009 23:38:27 EST tag:blogs.aquent.com,2009:/thetalentblog//5.1939 Advertising Branding Careering Trends Viral Marketing http://blogs.aquent.com/aquentblog/2009/02/interactive_advertising_and_the_dearth_of_creativity.html A couple weeks ago, Mr. Randall Rothenberg published a manifesto on interactive advertising creativity, which I missed at the time but discovered thanks to a post by Alan Wolk on whether or not creativity still matters. Mr. Rothenberg's lengthy (by... Mon, 16 Feb 2009 17:03:26 EST tag:blogs.aquent.com,2009:/thetalentblog//5.1929 Matthew Grant Advertising Agencies Branding Creativity Interactive Design New vs Old Media http://blogs.aquent.com/aquentblog/2009/02/happy_valentines_day_from_aquents_alex_dr_love_weaver.html This post was written by Aquent's Alex "Dr. Love" Weaver. This is a picture of him. With Valentine's Day hard upon us, I couldn't help but sit back and reflect on all the great matches that Aquent has made since... Fri, 13 Feb 2009 23:36:30 EST tag:blogs.aquent.com,2009:/thetalentblog//5.1926 Advertising Aquent Branding History http://blogs.aquent.com/aquentblog/2008/12/get_hip_to_inbound_marketing.html If you don't know what inbound marketing is, then let the clever and, as it turns out, funny folk over at HubSpot school ya with this edutaining video:... Mon, 08 Dec 2008 15:48:50 EST tag:blogs.aquent.com,2008:/thetalentblog//5.1780 Matthew Grant Advertising Creativity Marketing New vs Old Media SEO Social Media Viral Marketing http://blogs.aquent.com/aquentblog/2008/07/apparently_the_united_states_i.html Looks like we're in a recession, my fellow Americans (if you happen to live somewhere else, more power to ya!). Home prices are dropping and foreclosures are up. Over 500,000 private sector jobs have evaporated since November 2007. We're even... Sat, 19 Jul 2008 13:29:52 EST tag:blogs.aquent.com,2008:/thetalentblog//5.350 Matthew Grant Advertising Careering Content and Content Management Copywriting Design History Trends http://blogs.aquent.com/aquentblog/2008/07/on_the_web_no_one_knows_how_fu.html We recently conducted a survey of internal staff asking them to name the marketing piece or campaign we've run that they liked the best. The most popular item named was a direct mail piece we sent out some years back... Thu, 17 Jul 2008 19:51:06 EST tag:blogs.aquent.com,2008:/thetalentblog//5.349 Matthew Grant Advertising Aquent History Interactive Design Marketing http://blogs.aquent.com/aquentblog/2008/06/the_digital_people_vs_the_trad.html If you're reading this blog, then you probably read this story in ADWEEK, "Agencies Seek the Right Mix." If you didn't read it, the article describes a kind of power shift in agencies from the "traditional creatives" to the "digital... Tue, 01 Jul 2008 01:29:55 EST tag:blogs.aquent.com,2008:/thetalentblog//5.340 Matthew Grant Advertising Agencies Aquent Creativity Design Design Management History Interactive Design Trends http://blogs.aquent.com/aquentblog/2008/06/give_it_away_part_2.html On the "giving it away as a business strategy"-front, check out this WSJ article on Google offering a free tool to measure web hits. I quote, "Existing ad-serving systems don't currently provide detailed Web-audience data about the sites where they... Wed, 25 Jun 2008 23:31:35 EST tag:blogs.aquent.com,2008:/thetalentblog//5.339 Matthew Grant Advertising Data Analytics Market Research Marketing New vs Old Media Trends Web Analytics http://blogs.aquent.com/aquentblog/2008/03/new_podcast_erik_hauser_talks.html Ever since I spoke to Erik Hauser last year I've been looking for an opportunity to speak with him again. He's optimistic, he's infectiously enthusiastic, and he has a lot to say on a lot of different topics almost any... Fri, 28 Mar 2008 19:03:50 EST tag:blogs.aquent.com,2008:/thetalentblog//5.310 Matthew Grant Advertising Branding Careering Creativity Experiential Marketing Interviewing Job Search Podcast Trends http://blogs.aquent.com/aquentblog/2008/02/integrating_broadcast_and_web.html Mon, 04 Feb 2008 18:45:50 EST tag:blogs.aquent.com,2008:/thetalentblog//5.287 Matthew Grant Advertising Interactive Design New vs Old Media Trends Viral Marketing http://blogs.aquent.com/aquentblog/2008/01/so_many_channels_so_little_tim.html The writing is on the FunWall: Marketing is undergoing an unprecedented and overwhelming proliferation of channels. This isn't new news, naturally. It's been going on for a while, what with computers in taxicabs and digital bulletin in elevators and all.... Tue, 15 Jan 2008 20:02:27 EST tag:blogs.aquent.com,2008:/thetalentblog//5.281 Matthew Grant Advertising Agencies Branding Careering New vs Old Media Trends http://blogs.aquent.com/aquentblog/2007/11/brand_narratives_and_other_tal.html The Advertising Research Foundation, which publishes The Journal of Advertising Research, released a white paper last month entitled, "On the Road to a New Effectiveness Model," (you can purchase it from the ARF here), which got written up in Brandweek,... Tue, 20 Nov 2007 17:19:19 EST tag:blogs.aquent.com,2007:/thetalentblog//5.266 Matthew Grant Advertising Branding Copywriting Creativity Marketing Trends http://blogs.aquent.com/aquentblog/2007/11/david_meerman_scott_on_the_new.html When I was at PodCamp in Boston a couple weeks ago I finally met David Meerman Scott, whom I'd wanted to interview at the time that we were doing the webcast with Paul Gillin. David has literally written the book... Thu, 08 Nov 2007 18:18:57 EST tag:blogs.aquent.com,2007:/thetalentblog//5.261 Matthew Grant Advertising Blogging Branding Careering Marketing New vs Old Media Podcast http://blogs.aquent.com/aquentblog/2007/10/mommycast_and_the_power_of_the.html The other day I had the good fortune of speaking with Paige and Gretchen of MommyCast, a popular podcast devoted to moms the world over and one that has been featured everywhere from Variety and USA Today to the BBC... Thu, 18 Oct 2007 20:10:59 EST tag:blogs.aquent.com,2007:/thetalentblog//5.255 Matthew Grant Advertising Blogging Marketing New vs Old Media Podcast Viral Marketing http://blogs.aquent.com/aquentblog/2007/10/world_of_warcraft_and_product.html There is plenty of stuff out there that you can read about in-game advertising. What's strange is when games become so popular that they can serve as the setting for real-live commercials, like in this one for Toyota Tacoma: Or... Fri, 12 Oct 2007 16:35:15 EST tag:blogs.aquent.com,2007:/thetalentblog//5.252 Matthew Grant Advertising Creativity Viral Marketing http://blogs.aquent.com/aquentblog/2007/07/can_marketing_create_world_pea.html When the government of North Korea recently closed all of its nuclear facilities at its Yongbyon nuclear complex, I'm not sure that Aquent played a role, but we had just sent out the direct mail piece pictured above, so... Fri, 27 Jul 2007 17:45:54 EST tag:blogs.aquent.com,2007:/thetalentblog//5.225 Matthew Grant Advertising History Marketing http://blogs.aquent.com/aquentblog/2007/07/does_humor_belong_in_marketing.html A few years back, Aquent began producing videos featuring expert opinions on issues faced by designers and marketers. One of those videos, which we created to coincide with Halloween, was called, "Transformational Marketing," and lovingly parodied a certain vulpine form... Wed, 11 Jul 2007 19:44:16 EST tag:blogs.aquent.com,2007:/thetalentblog//5.220 Matthew Grant Advertising Aquent Design Management http://blogs.aquent.com/aquentblog/2007/07/flash_fixation_and_flushing.html Because I don't live in New York, and have thus not yet seen the giant two-storied rears smiling down on passers-by from high above Times Square, I had to discover the Washlet via AdCritic Interactive. Of course, after that... Thu, 05 Jul 2007 19:30:36 EST tag:blogs.aquent.com,2007:/thetalentblog//5.217 Matthew Grant Advertising Flash Viral Marketing http://blogs.aquent.com/aquentblog/2007/06/5_things_about_wieden_kennedy.html 1. I checked out their "new" website (launched in April) the other day and was struck by the Yugo Nakamura-esque look and feel of it all. (I was trying to find out if he had anything to do with... Wed, 06 Jun 2007 18:44:27 EST tag:blogs.aquent.com,2007:/thetalentblog//5.204 Matthew Grant Advertising Agencies Flash Interactive Design http://blogs.aquent.com/aquentblog/2007/05/the_volcanic_force_of_usergene.html Brought to you by our Guest Blogger, Nomi. In response to my last post, commenter Rob weighed in with an interesting question: "Do you think that the evolution of user-produced media (YouTube, Current.tv, etc.) is a positive or negative trend... Mon, 14 May 2007 18:33:36 EST tag:blogs.aquent.com,2007:/thetalentblog//5.189 Matthew Grant Advertising Trends Viral Marketing http://blogs.aquent.com/aquentblog/2007/04/do_brands_undergo_gender_reass.html It all started when I got a Friend Request through my MySpace account from a woman who said she had known me in graduate school. I didn't recognize her from her picture for one simple reason: when I knew her,... Sat, 07 Apr 2007 13:06:56 EST tag:blogs.aquent.com,2007:/thetalentblog//5.168 Matthew Grant Advertising Branding Marketing http://blogs.aquent.com/aquentblog/2007/03/is_marketing_a_new_religion.html I'll admit it. Sometimes I find Seth Godin kind of preachy. Indeed it seems that, for him, marketing is preaching, or "evangelizing," as it's more commonly called in the church of the customer. "It's about spreading ideas that you believe... Sat, 31 Mar 2007 11:53:37 EST tag:blogs.aquent.com,2007:/thetalentblog//5.164 Matthew Grant Advertising Blogging Ethics http://blogs.aquent.com/aquentblog/2007/03/fresh_marketing.html Mike Wagner recently posted to his blog a piece on raw marketing. "Raw marketing" involves "a raw, direct, and honest invitation to become someone's customer," while the "cooked" variety makes him feel like "some marketer is trying to yank me... Thu, 15 Mar 2007 21:07:35 EST tag:blogs.aquent.com,2007:/thetalentblog//5.153 Matthew Grant Advertising Careering New vs Old Media Viral Marketing http://blogs.aquent.com/aquentblog/2007/03/overindulging_in_innovation.html At a recent marketing conference, the catchphrase was "innovation," as in, "We've entered the age of the 'innovation economy,'" or, "Today, innovation is the key to differentiation." Given the premium placed on innovation, a colleague who attended this conference wondered... Thu, 01 Mar 2007 22:03:38 EST tag:blogs.aquent.com,2007:/thetalentblog//5.147 Matthew Grant Advertising Careering Trends http://blogs.aquent.com/aquentblog/2007/02/godaddy_and_everybody_wants_to.html I addressed the question, "What is Marketing?" here a while back, and then most recently, here. The latter post inspired this thoughtful response from John Cass and got me thinking even more about the distinction between sales, advertising, and marketing... Wed, 07 Feb 2007 21:34:58 EST tag:blogs.aquent.com,2007:/thetalentblog//5.139 Matthew Grant Advertising Blogging Careering http://blogs.aquent.com/aquentblog/2007/02/gino_bona_part_2.html Several weeks ago I used this forum to congratulate Gino Bona for successfully pitching the NFL on an ad for the Super Bowl. If you, like me, did not get to see the game in its entirety and therefore missed... Mon, 05 Feb 2007 17:48:28 EST tag:blogs.aquent.com,2007:/thetalentblog//5.138 Matthew Grant Advertising Talent http://blogs.aquent.com/aquentblog/2007/01/ridiculously_successful_online.html The New York Times published an article this morning about the surprising success of the ubiquitous dancing cowboy ads created by Jennifer Uhls for LowerMyBills.com. I bring this to your attention, esteemed reader, because it reminds us that designing banner... Thu, 18 Jan 2007 22:17:05 EST tag:blogs.aquent.com,2007:/thetalentblog//5.129 Matthew Grant Advertising Aquent Interactive Design