Miracle Whip's current campaign

Advertising used to have one goal: to make you buy a product. But recent campaigns from big names like Miracle Whip and Domino’s are taking the opposite path. They are spending big chunks of time, space and money to tell us that lots of people hate them.Read full post...

Your core should be ready for emerging technology, even if your customers aren't.

Techno-changes in banking are coming at the industry with breathtaking speed. Just when you think you know what you should invest in to gear up for one trend, it is leapfrogged by another. As soon as you got done optimizing your website for online banking, mobile came along and required another round of investment and adjustment. Will it ever end? No.Read full post...

Social Media and Recruitment

Social networking recruitment has become the “must do” sourcing activity across all of HR. Whether it’s using Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn – the pressure to use these channels is greater now than ever. And without knowing it, recruiters and talent evaluators are falling into some significant legal traps.Read full post...

"Cyberspace Rules of the Road" PSA

OK, I’m not embarrassed to admit it. I enjoy watching Disney Channel’s Phineas and Ferb with my 7- and 10-year-old. There, I said it. I’m a grown woman and I still like watching cartoons.Read full post...

Hospitals are using Social Media

Some hospitals are early adopters; others are still waiting on the sidelines. Some are high-tech, while others are high-touch. I’m not talking about whether or not a hospital has the latest robot or a brand personality, I’m talking about a social media presence.Read full post...

Rethink. Retool. Readjust.

As more and more people do their banking technologically rather than in person, banks will need to adjust their branch strategy. They will need to morph into more consultative centers for personal and small business customers – with a human touch.

Personal and business banking is more complicated these days. Banks that can adjust to having branch staff able to deliver prompt, relatively unbiased and trustworthy counsel to customers will grow market share. If it’s customers that they give advice to, you may ask, “How are they going to improve share?” Well, if a checking customer wants to buy a home or a new car, and isn’t sure how to do it or what to look out for, you have a chance for a deeper relationship. And if the experience is helpful, your customers will talk to their friends. And here’s a crazy thought – advertise this consultative service as free, and open to anyone who wants advice, not only your existing base. Who knows, some of those non-customers might just want you to help them with that mortgage or SBA loan.

Working with an agency

How can a PR agency help you in your quest for the gold? How can they understand the constraints of hospital PR and the competitive, ego-rich environment you have to navigate every day?Read full post...

Get noticed by the media

So whatever happened to Dr. McDreamy? The world’s news cameras are at your door and you can’t wait to show off the medical miracles happening in your hospital. Here’s where the level head comes in.Read full post...

Make your healthcare story gold

You’re a hospital public relations professional and you want to get on the evening news. And you will — because you have Dr. McDreamy saving lives in your OR and Elmo visiting patients in your cancer ward. And yet, at the end of every news-crew-coordinating day, your executives demand a completely different level of recognition.Read full post...

Everyone "likes" a good deed

Barb and I spent an amazing weekend in New York last month. We saw a lot of shows, including one at Carnegie Hall. Later, while enjoying dinner across the street, we realized our camera had slipped out of Barb’s purse while we were watching the show. We called Carnegie Hall and they told us they’d keep an eye out for it. We called again the next morning, but no luck. So we told ourselves, eh, it was an old camera and we wanted a new one anyway.Read full post...

The AB&C Twitter Team

The AB&C Twitter team recently went to the #deltweet event at Firestone, a quarterly (ideally) networking event for Delaware tweeters. Nine of our tweeters attended the event, one of whom attended virtually via tweets, following the team and the deltweet hashtag. We kept @ChrisMarts updated and entertained while he lay sick in bed. “Oh @ABCadvertising twitter team, I feel like I am there (#deltweet) reading all your tweets,” he replied. Sure, we wished he were there — “hey @ChrisMarts The tweet team will miss you at #deltweet” — but it was nice to be able to include him via the channel that brought us all together.Read full post...

The art show will feature sculptures, paintings and live music

It’s time for AB&C’s fall art show — and we’ve got something special: “Four Spikers” is the first agency art show to feature four members from one very talented family.

Bill, Carol, Mike and Tom Spiker will all be displaying their art at the opening on Thursday, November 4, from 5 to 8 p.m., but the art will remain on display until the end of February. To support our community, the Spiker family will be donating a portion of their sales to the Delaware Community Foundation.Read full post...

Toyota relies on brand legacy during times of trouble

Talk about a summer of discontent. It seems that almost every week, another Toyota vehicle recall is announced. And it feels like no make or model year has dodged (pardon the pun) the recall bullet.

For instance, in April 2010, 50,000 Toyota Sequoias were recalled to reprogram the stability control system. In July, more than 400,000 Avalons and LX-470s got the hook for faulty steering column components. The latest recall involves a potential stalling problem affecting 1.3 million Corollas and Matrix cars. (I love it when a company spokesperson states the recall repairs will be performed “at no cost to consumers.” Oh, the generosity!)Read full post...

How much do online marketers really know about you?

“How did Facebook advertisers know I think James Franco is hot?”

Have you ever wondered if Google employees read your email? You’re not alone. Audience targeting in online advertising may seem creepy when you don’t understand how it works. And it’s even more threatening when the investigation of Google, Microsoft and Yahoo! by data-protection agencies across the world is all over the headlines.Read full post...

Making Hospital Commercials Memorable

What commercials stick out the most in your memory? Maybe it’s “Keep your hands off my Doritos!” Maybe it’s the Geico cavemen spots. What makes them memorable? That’s easy — they’re funny.

Now, when’s the last time you told a friend, “Oh, man, you should see this hospital commercial!” Exactly. Healthcare-related ads are typically very subdued: a panoramic view of a hospital floor, smiling doctors and nurses, high-tech equipment, etc. A soothing voice assures you that, as a patient, you’ll receive the best care possible. Ho-hum.

Is there another way to get that message across?Read full post...