For The Sake of Clarity - The Digital Tavern » Marketing & Messages

A Ten Year Old Merlot & Some Random Thoughts

allan — Fri, 10 Dec 2004 15:03:59 +0000

Trying to pick up the pace on the Digital Tavern, but I've been focusing on a rather large project that I'll fill you in on sometime in January. Patience and focus. Two of what have become my ubiquitous phrases when offering advice (solicited or not) to clients and friends.

So the Dr. tells me I've got to control my cholesterol. [...]

The Hugeness of Blogging by Ballmer

allan — Sat, 04 Dec 2004 07:04:59 +0000

Microsoft CEO tells Detroit Press columnist Mike Wendland that “Blogging is huge.” And that's why Microsoft hopes to take advantage of its popularity by launching MSN Spaces. Seems Microsoft is always playing catch up, but then again I never accused the Redmond behemoth of being innovative. Microsoft has tried to capture dollars and clicks from the successes of [...]

Scorsese and American Express

allan — Wed, 17 Nov 2004 03:39:14 +0000

I read with interest that fabled director Martin Scorsese directed a new American Express television spot that features longtime Scorcese collaborator Robert DeNiro. Apparently, Scorsese, DeNiro and other talent appearing in the new campaign, including Ellen Degeneres, all participated in the creative process. And its interesting the Scorsese would lend his directing hand to such a commercial effort. [...]

Branding: Making The Case For Unique Images & Design

allan — Wed, 01 Sep 2004 14:51:52 +0000

When it comes to image, identity, messaging or branding it's important to understand the essence of a company or product in order to identify and clarify its unique differentiators — those attributes and characteristics that distinguish a company or product from its competition. As a marketing professional I have a unique process I take companies through to aid them in [...]

RealNetworks Pleads With Apple To Go After Microsoft

allan — Thu, 15 Apr 2004 13:50:16 +0000

Ok. So maybe my title is a bit on the tabloid side of media hype. But according to an article in tomorrow's New York Times Rob Glaser, Real CEO offered to create a “tactical alliance” with Apple in an e-mail message to Steve Jobs.

Apparently there was a bit of “and if you don't” message [...]

Viral, Sticky, Eyeballs, Decapitation and Other Internet Lexicon From A Bygone Era

allan — Fri, 09 Apr 2004 08:17:14 +0000

I used to love those client meetings where the VP of Marketing in his self-important, authoritarian and demanding manner would remove his eyeglasses and shake them at our team when he explained he wanted to create a marketing campaign that would drive more eyeballs to his company's website. And the site itself would have to be “sticky” and that we [...]

What's In A Company Name Today?

allan — Tue, 02 Mar 2004 15:59:40 +0000

Notice the date today?

A few years ago when I was active in the company I co-founded, Wirestone, we competed in the internet professional services space, as it was called then. The biggest players included Razorfish, iXL, Sapient, Scient, Viant, agency.com, modem media and Organic.

Where are these companies today? [...]

Borrowing A Bit of Broadband Thanks To Open WiFi Networks

allan — Fri, 12 Dec 2003 14:03:09 +0000

Catching up on my blog reading this evening while I adjust to NYC time, I found an interesting new “cellphone” from Sony thanks to John Robb. But as John suggests such new gadgets could lead to regulation of WiFi networks. So the guy or company who's running an open Linksys access point here at 14th Street and [...]

Phones. Lawsuits. & Wanderlust Cured (temporarily)

allan — Fri, 14 Nov 2003 01:22:15 +0000

Good to be back. Though I miss the overall romance of life on the road as a free-spirited wayfaring traveler. Ah. But reality sets in. Stacks of mail. Bills to pay. Voice mail. Unfinished business. New business.

Settling in.

Back in March I wrote about cell phone number portability which now is approaching reality. And it's about time. Even [...]

Analog Creative Expression. Get Creative !

allan — Fri, 26 Sep 2003 15:05:47 +0000

When I worked at PRISCOMM and then Wirestone I had the opportunity to collaborate with a bunch of extremely talented and creative people. It was the people that I worked with the spurred the drive and gave me the energy to work so hard for many years.

The great thing about working in a creative business where much of [...]

Can Legislation Solve The Spam Problem?

allan — Thu, 25 Sep 2003 04:32:16 +0000

Wow. Can't tell whether Davis is posturing to take attention away from the Total Recall campaign and the short lived stall for the October 7th election. Maybe he's trying to make a mark. Some kinda mark.

But Davis signed a bill yesterday that calls for a hard no-tolerance stance toward that pesky unsolicited email we all seem [...]

The Name Game. When Your Legacy Drags You Down, Punt.

allan — Thu, 18 Sep 2003 15:54:17 +0000

Jaws dropped with mouths wide opened when in January 2000 we all learned that the tiny little internet company Steve Case started bought the largest media company in the country. It was as if Steve Case was saying “the new economy rules” and “the internet will be the driving force for media in the future.” It was like Segway [...]

More About Positions. And Those Secret Words In Your Diary.

allan — Tue, 02 Sep 2003 16:13:47 +0000

It's funny. Blogging as we all know is going mainstream. Some of you are probably a bit hurt, pissed and otherwise uncomfortable with the newfound fame “blogging” is experiencing. But as I've noted several times before, blogging is simply the promise of the internet — the same internet we all bought into in the mid-90's — finally realized. Call it [...]

When It Comes To Marketing and Sex, It's All About Your Position

allan — Tue, 02 Sep 2003 15:59:31 +0000

A couple years ago while flying to Boise, Idaho an airline attendant took interest in me as I started working on the Palm portion of my Kyocera SmartPhone. Within moments she was by my seat with her SmartPhone and exchanging a number of free or shareware Palm OS applications. After several minutes of fun dialog and communicative comaraderie
or [...]

The Price of Quality Research

allan — Wed, 27 Aug 2003 15:57:49 +0000

Last week I received a telemarketers call who identified herself as a representative from a national market research firm located in new Jersey. She explained that she was working for a large mortgage lender who was conducting a survey of homeowners who recently financed or refinanced their home. After qualifying me as a target she indicated that I would received [...]

Is It Time We Dropped The Word Blog?
Or, Blog By Another Name.

allan — Wed, 13 Aug 2003 16:30:01 +0000

It's 11:30pm the night of August 12th. But it's nearly 3am in New York and the delivery trucks are already dropping the Wednesday August 13, 2003 issue of The New York Times on the dirty sidewalks. Open the paper to op-ed page and once again we have Maureen Down writing about blogs. Rather Blah Blah Blogs.

She's jabbing a [...]

Homes For Sale At Wal-Mart & Watching The Circus on TV

allan — Tue, 12 Aug 2003 08:50:58 +0000

Philip Greenspun shares his insight on economic ratios today. I find the comparison fascinating.

[...]Forty years ago it cost $500 to buy a factory-made TV and $10,000 to have a nice house built from scratch on a plot of land, a ratio of 20:1. Today the TV costs $200 and assembling the local tradespeople and lumber will probably set

[...]

Why Tools Hinder Creativity, Innovation & Originality

allan — Fri, 08 Aug 2003 07:13:09 +0000

Forget Tools. Think. Think. And Think Again.

I started this post this morning as a comment on Dina's weblog regarding her Creativity Tools post. As I started to get a bit long-winded for a weblog comment, I figured why not just make it a blog post. And if I had yet my TrackBack feature installed we'd be in [...]

Clarity & Focus. What’s Your Elevator Pitch?

allan — Tue, 05 Aug 2003 07:55:17 +0000

Who are you? What exactly do you do? Why is this important? And why should I care? No. I'm not necessarily talking about you as a person. Rather simply inquiring about your company. Many of us who work for complex technology companies generally find it difficult to explain exactly what your company or product is and why it's important.

This [...]

Hijacked By Advertising. Nothing's Sacred.

allan — Fri, 01 Aug 2003 10:09:30 +0000

Jason Kottke didn't take too kindly to concepts outlined by Michael Sippy calling for new features for what could be in a future generation of Apple's iPod.

Sippey: [...] imagine similar functionality on the iPod: when you sync your catalog with iTunes, the device uses iSync to fetch new content to insert into the iPod UI: headline

[...]

Why Microsoft Is So Flattering.

allan — Wed, 30 Jul 2003 02:15:32 +0000

Microsoft is considering selling music online through it's Windows Media Player application.

Immitation & Flattery. Imitation is, after all, the best form of flattery. Or so the adage goes. Two other adages I hold closer to my heart are

The only things you regret in life are those that you don't do; rarely what you do.

Higher risk.

[...]

For The Sake of Clarity - The Digital Tavern » Marketing & Messages

A Ten Year Old Merlot & Some Random Thoughts

The Hugeness of Blogging by Ballmer

Scorsese and American Express

Branding: Making The Case For Unique Images & Design

RealNetworks Pleads With Apple To Go After Microsoft

Viral, Sticky, Eyeballs, Decapitation and Other Internet Lexicon From A Bygone Era

What's In A Company Name Today?

Borrowing A Bit of Broadband Thanks To Open WiFi Networks

Phones. Lawsuits. & Wanderlust Cured (temporarily)

Analog Creative Expression. Get Creative !

Can Legislation Solve The Spam Problem?

The Name Game. When Your Legacy Drags You Down, Punt.

More About Positions. And Those Secret Words In Your Diary.

When It Comes To Marketing and Sex, It's All About Your Position

The Price of Quality Research

Is It Time We Dropped The Word Blog? Or, Blog By Another Name.

Homes For Sale At Wal-Mart & Watching The Circus on TV

Why Tools Hinder Creativity, Innovation & Originality

Clarity & Focus. What’s Your Elevator Pitch?

Hijacked By Advertising. Nothing's Sacred.

Why Microsoft Is So Flattering.

Is It Time We Dropped The Word Blog?
Or, Blog By Another Name.