by Maura Mitchell      How many times have you heard, ”Digital media is killing TV”? It’s not true. Social media may be the best thing that happened to TV.  It’s driving ratings, viewer engagement, and all kinds of other positives. Introducing the newest trend:  Social TV.  At its simplest, it’s people watching TV together, even though they are not in the same room. Social TV leverages digital technology to build …Read More

by Drew McLellan     The end of the year is packed with posts that look back over what’s transpired and an equal number of pundits who project what the future will hold.  Both have their place…but often times, they’re both based on the writer’s bias and opinions.  That’s what I like about the work JWT does every year to produce their annual trends report. With ample empirical data gathered through …Read More

by Stephen Denny    ”When I got together with my founding team, whenever we were starting a company, we would never look at the big incumbent giant as competition.  Giants would rather die than change.” This quote is a gem.   It was delivered by a Silicon Valley entrepreneur with two very large successes to his name who is now a venture capitalist.  We were both on a panel discussion before a …Read More

by Carol Phillips     Brand marketers:  take out a sheet of paper. Ready?  Now write a crisp, clear definition for each of these terms:  brand strategy, brand platform, brand identity, brand positioning, brand personality, brand image, brand vision, brand essence, brand mantra, brand value proposition, brand promise. Extra credit:  define

by Patricia Martin Outside my office window, the crush of shoppers and twinkling lights on Michigan Avenue beckon me to knock off early and get into the holiday groove. Why not unplug? The year ahead shows every sign of being busy.  With marketing programs to be created and strategies to be hatched, why can’t I just relax?  Maybe the economy has made high anxiety the new normal.  Could be I’m …Read More

by Dorothy Crenshaw         When negative media coverage comes or a crisis occurs, no one among us in public relations can make it go away.  Yet a poor response invites reputation damage while proper handling can help mitigate or limit it.  Here’s my “Top 10″ list, from a communications perspective, of the most badly handled public situations of the year. 10.  Governor Sam Brownback. The Kansas governor earned a rep …Read More

by Matt Gill    In the last ten years,  I’ve met nearly 1000 Independent Consultants (IC’s).  There’s a trend I’m seeing as I continue to speak with such a large volume of IC’s – people are choosing consulting as a career path.  It’s not just the 65 year old who isn’t ready to retire. It’s everyone from recent grads who want to build a creative book quickly to the 30 and …Read More

by Veronica Fielding     New Certainty There’s a new certainty to join death and taxes: social media marketing will continue to evolve at breakneck speed.  With a spate of recent changes and announcements from four of the biggest players in the social channel, brands have even more options for connecting with their stakeholders.  Here is a quick summary of a few new things for every marketer to explore further: Google+ Now …Read More

by Guest Contributor Heidi Cohen     The holidays are a time to thank those who’ve helped and supported us.  Thank you!  It’s amazing how far those two little words can go.  Realize that, with the use of social media’s expanded communications methods, across one-to-many, one-to-one, and many-to-many platforms, there’s no reason this season not to reach out and thank your family, friends, customers, colleagues and social media contacts. On social media …Read More

by Joe Pulizzi I stumbled upon an old (Dec ’07) issue of Business Week featuring an article about Saatchi & Saatchi CEO Kevin Roberts, and the company’s struggles to significantly grow revenue.  More than anything, this article discusses the transformation that Saatchi and other large agencies continue to battle with to stay relevant. Times have clearly changed, and agencies, as well as traditional media companies, are still struggling to find …Read More