I am registered for Innoventure 2007, and it feels pretty darn good.

It’s official: I’ll be attending Innoventure 2007 on March 27 and 28. (I’m pretty excited about it.) Muchas gracias to the fine, brilliant and pretty darned dapper hombres at Orange Coat for inviting me and making it really easy for me to register today. InnoVenture is an annual conference of innovators and entrepreneurs building personal [...]

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Our very first slightly international print ad.

It’s something we don’t do often here because we aren’t much into self promotion (at least not here) and there are far more interesting things to talk about out there than… what F360 is doing, but I will make a quick little exception today. The background: F360 started out a little over two years ago [...]

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Why are commercials shown during the Academy Awards better than those shown during the Superbowl?

Question: Is there a reason why commercials shown during the Academy Awards are better than those shown during the (overhyped) Superbowl? And I am talking about better by a fairly large margin here. Even the McDonald’s ad was good.

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The most absurd headline of the year so far…

This morning, I found this headline in my morning paper: “Man sentenced to die in ant-breeding scheme.” Once I got past absurdity of the ant-breeding scheme part, it hit me: This is for real. Somebody is actually going to be executed for having committed fraud. Wow. Here’s the article: Beijing – AP – “A chinese [...]

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"Ride first, work later."

Some brands have a hard time making clear statements about what they’re about. Others don’t. For the most part, I don’t think I am going out on a limb by saying that brands that embrace specific lifestyles (to the point of embodying them) tend to be a lot stronger than those that don’t. Why? Because [...]

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Happy Valentine’s Day

Still trying to get a few projects wrapped up here this week, which is why the posts have been a little light so far this week. Have a wonderful Valentine’s Day, everyone.

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Design Goodness – The absence of logos.

My last post (see below) showcased some pretty smart and exciting product designs, but upon looking over the images just a minute ago, what struck me was the complete lack of brand marks/logos on these products… which makes sense since they’re just concepts and haven’t actually been thrown into the market yet. As soon as [...]

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And now for some design goodness…

I’m a big fan of Core77, and especially since I have discovered IdeaList, which is probably one of the neatest sites I’ve run into in a while. (First of all, I love the name. Second, the ideas and design concepts being posted there are just too good not to share.) This is more of a [...]

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The evolution of creativity.

It’s Friday and I am trying to get some things finished up before the weekend, so here’s a piece on the evolution of creativity in the business world from David Armano’s Logic+Emotion blog (published in June of ’06). It is relevant to some of the conversations we’ve been involved with this week, and even if [...]

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Kaizen Upgrade: The argument for flexibility of execution, and the beauty of simplicity.

From David Burn, at Ad Pulp: Hal R. Varian, professor of business, economics and information management at the University of California, Berkeley explains “Kaizen, the practice of continuous improvement,” in today’s NYT. Kaizen doesn’t just mean a business should keep trying new things. Rather, it refers to a disciplined process of systematic exploration, controlled experimentation [...]

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This is where the magic happens.

Combat. Marketing. Product development. Movie directing. Playing live music. Driving to work. Racing triathlons. Going on a date. Meeting with a client. Filing your taxes. Surfing. Brand planning. Writing copy. Public speaking. Rock climbing. Fixing an engine. Sailing. Developing a campaign. Opening new doors. Starting your own business. Project management. Acting. Winning the Davis Cup. [...]

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You must keep asking why.

Before I begin, I want to congratulate Kristin and the folks at Pulse for having organized another great event last night. As usual, I ran into some of my favorite people and entrepreneurs in Greenville, including Orange Coat’s Mr. T and Fluor’s Paivi (above), which is always a treat. (We don’t deal in John, Steve [...]

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And now for some constructive advice…

Okay, so our last post was a bit harsh. I understand. Feathers were ruffled, egos were bruised, and some agencies were called out. I feel your pain. Really, I do. So as a gesture of good faith (and to balance the cosmic scales a bit), I thought it wouldn’t hurt to pass along this great [...]

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Giving traditional ad agencies a bloody nose AND a split lip

I was going to wait until next week to post this, but in light of last night’s lackluster lineup of multi-million dollar ads during the Superbowl (most of which were utter wastes of money), here is perhaps the most biting commentary on the relationship between many traditional ad agencies and the role they think they [...]

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Advertising: Did Super Sunday deliver?

Pre-Game: Ah, it’s Super Sunday in the US again. Football, hot wings, beer, and yeah, the TV ads. Since I’ll be skipping most of the game tonight, I’ll have to catch the ads on YouTube later. I hope they will be better than last year… and the year before that… and the year before that [...]

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The latest branding stats and insights from Interbrand

From the BrandBaker blog (I haven’t found the BrandPlumber or the BrandButcher yet, but give it time and we’ll have a whole village soon): “It is better to be the real bricklayer than a half-tailor” — Nizami Gandjevi, azerbaijani poet, 12th century. “When you build your brand it is vital to keep your differentiation idea [...]

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Why Designers Rule.

I found this nice little list of reasons why designers rule over at Design Stamp. (Thanks, Gagan.) While the argument in and of itself is saddly not proven in the world of business (Walmart being the biggest retailer in the galaxy kind of disproves the notion to some extent), it’s hard to argue with Gagan’s [...]

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Life comes at you fast.

Yep, life comes at you fast. Photo courtesy of the Greenville News.

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Cartoon Network scores again.

A week ago, most people in North America had never heard of Cartoon Network’s Aqua Teen Hunger Force. By this weekend, everyone will have. Like it or not, I think we can file this one under Mission Accomplished. Tyler would be proud, Interference. Proof at last that – for better or for worse – when [...]

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Hugh McLeod’s simple branding exercise.

Via B.L. Ochman’s Whats Next blog, here is Hugh McLeod‘s branding manifesto exercise for Stormhoek wines. I know some of you may still think that Mission Statements are the shiz, but… you know… wake up. Not to downplay the simplicity of a single-verse affirmation of your brand (a short and succinct mantra beats out a [...]

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