Bottom line: I feel better about the Walgreens brand based simply on this seemingly minor customer service tweak.

I’m about to place a national brand in a positive light. But in the interest of full disclosure, our agency has not, and never has had, any relationship with this brand. In other words, we have nothing to gain by pumping up this brand within the hallowed halls of the AB&C blog-a-teria. So now that we have that straight, let the games begin!

The other night, I visited my local Walgreen’s pharmacy. I bought two greeting cards and a gallon of 2% milk. As the clerk handed me my receipt she said, “Thanks — and be well.” On my way out I thought, “Did she just say ‘be well’?” Suddenly, a warm, life-affirming feeling washed over me — just as it does when those cute little yorkies scamper across the floor at the Westminster dog show. What happened to the standard “Have a nice day,” I thought. Or even the beloved “Take ‘er easy”?Read full post...

Happy 30th birthday, Mac.

I had the TV on Sunday morning as I sat down to write about an Advertising Age article claiming that 80% of Super Bowl ads flop. In the background I hear Charles Osgood, host of CBS Sunday Morning, mention that this week marks the 30^th anniversary of Apple’s famous “1984” Super Bowl commercial. A commercial that ran only one time, mind you. That is the antithesis of a Super Bowl ad flop. Thirty years later and people are still talking about it. Amazing. Do you think that in 2043 people will be marking the anniversary of the Go Daddy commercial in which supermodel Bar Refaeli makes out with the nerdy Walter? Not very likely.

The one-minute commercial — directed by noted director Ridley Scott (Alien, Blade Runner, Gladiator) — was made for a then-unheard-of production budget of $900,000. It went on to garner millions of dollars worth of free publicity, as news programs rebroadcast it that night. It was quickly hailed by many in the advertising industry as a masterwork. Advertising Age named it the 1980s “Commercial of the Decade,” and it continues to rank high on lists of the most influential commercials of all time. “1984” was never ever broadcast again, adding to its mystique.Read full post...

About three months ago, I made the commitment and ordered my new “workstyle.”

It’s so easy to fall into certain work habits. Some can help us be very productive, while others merely turn into … well, bad habits.

As a young account executive sitting at metallic desk in a not-so-semi-private cubicle, I aspired to one day have my own office, with a wooden desk and a fine leather chair that rolled smoothly and maybe had a little sophisticated rock to it! Such are the frills that fuel little-boy-like dreams. The important stuff, particularly in my chosen profession — full-service advertising and public relations agency work — is to find yourself working in the best possible agency environment, with smart, interesting people who love what they’re doing and therefore work harder every day to be better! And over the last 35 years, I have been lucky to work with lots of great people — not the least of whom are my 70-some coworkers at AB&C, many of whom I have worked with for more than 20 years. As a friend would say, “all good stuff.”

But let’s not forget about the frills.Read full post...

Numbers. Lots and lots of numbers. Sometimes facts and data can be really intimidating. That’s why infographics are so valuable: When we see complex data represented visually, we’re better able to decipher and retain it, and therefore better able to share it with others.

In this video, designer Francesco Franchi explains what he calls “infographic thinking”: “What we are doing is a kind of visual journalism ­— it means a combination between graphic and narrative, so it is at the same time a representation but also an interpretation of the reality.” At best, infographics not only allows us to connect with the data almost effortlessly, but engages our critical faculties and invites us to interpret it.

For a very long time, infographics were used mainly for technical drawings, maps and scientific documentation. Now we are seeing them all over the web, in magazines, throughout social networking and in our newspapers. Many go viral within days of their launch, spreading information for everyone to easily access.

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Image courtesy of You Only Blog Once

Starting with the 2014 NBA season, teams will be allowed to sell advertising space on their home courts and backboards. No values have been set yet, but, according to Business Insider, the NBA believes this could be a $100+ million income-generator.

Just think, the next time Kobe’s sitting on the bench with a towel over his head, reminiscing about the good ol’ days when Shaq was around, he could be tapping his personalized size 14s on a Kia ad. Or when LeBron dunks on someone, he can reach for the stars — or the Starbucks ad at the top of the backboard. Why not, right?Read full post...

In a world where advertisements hawking everything from cars to cleaning products bombard our oversaturated brains at every waking hour, a little shock can go a long way towards driving a company’s message home. Witness Kmart’s most recent YouTube ads entitled “Big Gas Savings” and “Ship My Pants.” If you say the names of the commercials out loud (try it in a crowded office), you’ll quickly figure out the hooks. Both videos rely on “potty” words and a mischievous sense of humor to relate a message of convenience and savings.

Blurring the line between propriety and indecency has proven effective. More than 22,000,000 people have seen and heard Kmart’s message in the past month. Combined, the videos received 103,732 likes and only 4,411 dislikes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hL4lSavSepc

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“If journalists are gloomy about the outlook of their industry, printers are despondent.”

That was a 2013 keynote speaker’s headline for his topic, “The Future of Printers.” Subtitle? “Printers Sink.”

Offset press

In the U.S. in 2001 there were 50,000 traditional commercial printing companies (not including phone book and newspaper and magazine publishers). Today there are fewer than 20,000, and those that are still in business find their 1Q13 revenues down 25–50% from a year ago. The environment is brutal. Half the printers I used to work with are no longer in business — and I’m paying a lot less for the same kind of job to those that still are.

Printer-from-birth Chuck Paski at McClafferty Printing says printing “is a tough racket to be in. It’s a commodity now instead of a craft. The buyers know they can beat you up on price, and they’ll take their business down the street to save .” Paski has a state-of-the-art six-color press, but only four-color jobs are selling — whatever buyers can get for the cheapest price in the fastest time. McClafferty just added mailhouse services to its portfolio, so it can be a one-stop shop.Read full post...

Read your audience. Some people who stop by your booth just want a signature for their exhibit hall bingo card (daddy needs a new TV!).

I’ve been to all kinds of conferences and trade shows — big and small, East Coast and West. They provide an ideal opportunity to stay abreast of trends in rapidly changing industries. They’re also a great place to network and attract new clients, if you make the most of your time. These tips will help:

1. Be prepared. Have talking points about your company ready, as well as insightful questions for potential clients to help you assess their needs and how you can fulfill those needs.
2. Get the attendee list. If you have the option, try to get it before the event. This gives you a chance to research your prospects and zero in on who you’d like to talk with.
3. Mind your manners. It may be summer, and you may be in a beautiful hotel, but you’re not on vacation. Potential customers are all around you. Being that person who had a little too much to drink at the happy hour makes you — and your company — look very sloppy. If you can’t take care of yourself, how can clients trust you to take care of their business?Read full post...

Photo courtesy of Joe del Tufo

This little city has its problems. But the biggest problem is that too many people have given up. Not everyone — there are plenty of people who are committed to making Wilmington vital and vibrant. They open small businesses and restaurants. They bend over backwards to nurture an arts scene. They need your support.

Maybe you go home at the end of the workday and are afraid to come back downtown after dark. “Too much crime.” “Not enough parking.”

What if you changed your mind? What if you decided to get a bunch of friends together and check out the restaurants and enjoy the artistic and cultural events that are available in Wilmington? There are plenty of magazines and websites and Facebook pages where you can find information about all the events. There are plenty of email subscriptions to make getting that information even easier. It’s easy to find a variety of things to do. But for cryin’ out loud, do something.

Explore. A good time to start is the first Friday of every month, when venues all around town participate in the art loop. You might be surprised at the cool little shops and galleries and restaurants buzzing with people.Read full post...

This Facebook page of hers will last forever, and we’ll continue to share our thoughts of her by posting on it, making it a living memorial.

Since its inception, I have seen Facebook used in many ways: for self-expression, debating, celebration and, of course, connecting with friends and family. But I never imagined it as a way to remember a lost loved one or cope with death.

I have dealt with a lot of death in my life. I have lost many loved ones — including two sisters and my mom. It’s a very tough thing, and everyone deals with it in his or her own way. A little over a year ago, my cousin lost his daughter to cystic fibrosis. This is a chronic lung disease that is passed through families. Sadly, it severely shortens the life expectancy of the people who have it. The average lifespan of someone with CF is 37 years, but this figure has increased dramatically over the last few decades. My cousin’s daughter’s name was Christina. She made it to 27.

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Where are our mobile manners?

I worked in an advertising agency back in the early ‘90s when a new business win mushroomed into half of our agency business—cell phone advertising. I still remember a creative director asking me what it would take to get me to purchase a cell phone. He was looking for ad concept ideas. The big selling point at the time was “safety.” And I recall saying, “Why would I need one? I have AAA.”

It was the “in” thing then to have a cell phone. Now, 20 years later, it has become a necessity. According to a Synovate survey in 2011, “82% of Americans never leave home without their phones.”Read full post...

I’m all for target marketing, but this is a little invasive.

To anyone who’s faced with a cable bill in excess of $200 every month, news that Intel is planning on “blowing up the cable industry” with its own set-top box and unbundled cable service is big stuff. Instead of paying a fortune for 500 channels you rarely watch, Intel says they’ll allow you to subscribe to specific channels of your choosing. According to Intel, the set-top box will offer cable channels delivered “over the top” to televisions anywhere there is an Internet connection, regardless of provider. Consumers can subscribe to content per channel – maybe even by show. They even plan to enable consumers to use “Cloud DVR,” which would allow users to watch any past TV show at any time.Read full post...

Waiting an entire week to watch the next episode of your favorite TV show is beginning to seem as outdated as watching a show in real time. The DVR liberated millions of people from having to be in front of the television at a certain time on a certain day of the week. And now in an unprecedented move, Netflix recently released all 13 commercial-free episodes of its original show House of Cards – at the same time.Read full post...

Never make a concession without explaining it. If you change your position, you must be able to explain why or lose credibility.

We like to think of ourselves as excellent communicators; we’re in the business, right? But, according to a recent article in Ragan’s Health Care Communication News, we as communicators are really in sales. To be successful, we have to “focus on what [we] can give to others, and not what [we] can get.” Author Susan Young claims that an essential business skill is the art of silent listening – mentally slowing down and giving our undivided attention so that we are fully present and in the moment. In other words, don’t talk so much and really listen to what people are saying.Read full post...

Reason and imagination actually reside in both hemispheres of the brain.

No doubt you — like millions of others — are an avid follower of my posts on this site. Cast your memory back about a year ago. In “Feeding the thing with two brains,” I blogged about the attraction to life sciences marketing, likening it to balancing the “needs” of the two sides of the brain — the rational and the emotional. Well, now I’m writing about another aspect of this field that continues to fascinate: the potential to learn something new — or unlearn a “fact” you have known forever.

Imagine my amazement when I viewed a presentation via TED of an RSA Animate talk given by noted psychiatrist, author and brain expert Iain McGilchrist. In this artfully animated talk, he disposes of the old paradigm I quoted in my previous post: “The right brain is the seat of all that is rationale, and the left brain is the seat of the emotions.”

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