Darticles no. 1

Chatter Is Mightier Than The Sword
by Todd Coats, Chief Creative Officer
Consider buying a product from a well-respected brand. Does your experience always live up to the brand promise? Now, if a brand doesn’t live up to your expectations, you have a mighty big soapbox to shout from. The social media revolution has exploded, and it’s giving consumers unprecedented power.

Obama, McCain and Branditics on the Run
I published a commentary piece in The News & Observer that attempted to capture the commoditization of the political process in the term ‘branditics.’

Engage Your Customers or Die
by Cord Silverstein, Executive Vice President, Interactive Communications
Think your advertising is doing its job? In a recent study, 76% of respondents did not believe that companies told the truth in their advertisements. You read that right: 76 out of 100 people do not believe the commercials they see on TV, hear on the radio or read in a newspaper, magazine or online.

Bank Marketing Goes Experiential: Appealing to all 5 senses
While wandering up 5th Avenue, we were shocked by the lines outside Lord and Taylor as people waited to catch a glimpse of animated store windows not so subtlety pimping this year’s holiday wares.

Media as Usual? In Your Dreams.
by Karen Albritton, President
I drifted into a sweet dream the other night watching Cosby re-runs on Nick at Night. I was back at my first agency putting together television buys the old-fashioned way — with stacks of Nielsen books, buying worksheets and a big adding machine.

You’re Screwing With My Memories! An Open Letter to Big-Time Television Advertisers
by Todd Coats, Chief Creative Officer
Quit the willy-nilly desecration of popular songs. In just one Monday night of couldn’t-care-less-to-see TV, I was hustled down musical memory lane by foolhardy pitchmen. They hocked all grades of things and tried to erase my sentimental memories in the process.