OOH ... in Your Ipod

Plan B?

"Not long ago, planners were the undisputed rock stars of the agency business. But they're now mere mortals in "the middle of the maelstrom of everything going on"

Account Planners at a Crossroads

Survey Says ...

The Top 100 Brands

Chasing Technology

"That's why Continuum, IDEO, ZIBA and other design/innovation consultancies and being drawn into the brand business (IDEO just opened in New York, the land of the brand). With their deep roots in design tools and methodologies that are ethnographic and anthropological, they have a different way of connecting to the consumer ... What ad agencies need to learn is how to do this. They have to connect their clients to their customers, not the latest technology."

Are Big Ad Agencies So Clueless That Corporations Should Avoid Them?

So Much for the 'Seafood Lover in You'

"Kim Lopdrup, president of Red Lobster, says that the marketing initiative is part of a three-stage effort to revamp the brand. The first phase involved improving operations so that customers got what they ordered and did not have to wait too long. The second phase is aimed at changing the public image and perception. The third part will be dedicated to increasing sales at existing restaurants and perhaps adding locations."

In the Kitchen and on the Airwaves, Red Lobster Gets a Makeover

Fo' Sizzle

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Think Like a Tiger

"This psychological puzzle starts with the research of Stanford's Carol Dweck. Her latest book, Mind-set: The New Psychology of Success, should be on every business manager's bookshelf. Dweck has found that individuals succeed or fail based on how they think about intelligence. She says people have one of two mind-sets on the matter."

Leadership Is a Muscle

Feature Creep and the Modern Brand

"To judge by marketing hype and iPhone mania, most people live in perpetual anticipation of the next super product: a bigger plasma-screen TV, a sleeker BlackBerry, a more shock-absorbing running shoe. But the truth is, many consumers bemoan the incessant rush of innovation that pushes manufacturers to tamper with products the consumers feel are already perfect"

I Love It, It’s Perfect, Now It Changes

Name Game

"When the results came in, one consensus was certain: The best new brand names are clear and simple. Easy-to-associate names like aloft, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide's new hotel brand, stole the spotlight from more abstract monikers like Andaz, the new luxury hotel chain from Global Hyatt."

What's in a Name?

PUPPET AGENCY!

Episode 1: Junior's Advice


Episode 2: 20 Hours


Episode 3: The Network Logo

More on that Crazy London Olympic Logo

"The word I heard associated with it was hideous, and I'd have to go along with that. For the life of me, I can't imagine how you'd turn this stylized design into something people would want to wear, or use for navigational purposes or for a Web site."

Hideous -- or intriguing?

Is Apple's Architecture Troubled?

"It's absolutely true to argue that a naming architecture is no replacement for amazing products that people choose to talk about. But if you're going to pay all those lawyers and marketing suits to work on the names, they might as well be encouraged to lead, not to follow.

"Brand names aren't brands, not by a long shot. But they are valuable clues to consumers, as well as assets you own."

Sloppy naming

Dell Gets a Facelift

"In its latest step to jump-start lagging sales, the personal computer maker is rolling out a TV, print and online advertising campaign this week aimed at promoting its new line of colorful notebook computers."

Dell Pushes Reset Button on Its Image

Nussbaum on Design Thinking

"In the US, CEOs and top managers hate the word “design.” Just believe me. No matter what they tell you, they believe that “design” only has something to do with curtains, wallpaper and maybe their suits. These guys, and they’re still mostly guys, prefer the term “innovation” because it has a masculine, military, engineering, tone to it. Think Six Sigma and you want to salute, right? I’ve tried and tried to explain that design goes way beyond aesthetics. It can have process, metrics all the good hard stuff managers love. But no, I can’t budge this bunch. So I have given up. Innovation, design, technology—I just call it all a banana. Peel that banana back and you find great design. Yummy design. . The kind of design that can change business culture and all of our civil society as well."

CEOs Must Be Designers, Not Just Hire Them. Think Steve Jobs And iPhone.

Less IS More

"Sustainability is part of every packaging engagement today,'' said Jerry Kathman, president of LPK Inc., the Cincinnati brand-identity and package-design firm. "Everybody's interested in redesigning their packaging to make it smaller, including more recycled content or using more environmentally friendly inks."

Packaging goes green

Small Packs & Big Margins

"In just three years, sales of 100-calorie packs of crackers, chips, cookies and candy have passed the $20-million-a-year mark, making them a breakout hit on par with the SnackWells low-fat fad of the 1990’s."

In Small Packages, Fewer Calories and More Profit

Driving Design from the Top

"Democracy works well for running a country and choosing a prom queen. The best product designs, however, come from someone with a singular strong vision and the fortitude to fend off everything and everyone that would compromise it."

Even After Apple, Designers Dig Jobs

Turning Green into Green

"That vision of an eco-sensitive life as a series of choices about what to buy appeals to millions of consumers and arguably defines the current environmental movement as equal parts concern for the earth and for making a stylish statement."

Buying Into the Green Movement