Friday, March 24, 2006

Miss Moneycrappy

Ok...so the St. Louis Post-Dispatch has invited regular joes...and janes...to cover the St. Louis nightlife scene. A buddy of mine and I submitted our names to write for the paper...letting them know if they picked someone lame we'd call them out on it.

Well, the chick covering "nightlife" IS lame...lame as hell...and when I posted a response on the blog they edited it. Go ahead and remove it...but don't edit someone's blog post.

What a disgrace. If Miss Moneycrappy can't stand up to critisizm then get off the pot cuse' your shit stinks!!!!!!!!

spb

Thursday, March 23, 2006

Clients aren't that dumb...they just like to act like it

I haven't had anything to rant about in some time. I've been busy doing some pretty cool things here at the office, traveling and doing some new biz thinking...

Anyway...caught wind of a co-worker's sorrows this afternoon and something totally set me off.

Here are some basic truths in the ad/marketing biz:

1. Clients never have enough money
2. Agencies are all ways too expensive
3. The work needs to be done yesterday

Here's where I get pissed. You can't have it both ways.

If we (agency) ask for a budget and/or a timeline and you (client) tell us, "don't know, just get it done" then guess what...we're just going to get it done, and we're going to do it well (because God knows if the comp images aren't hi-res you'll be pissed). Clients forfeit their right to bitch about agency prices when this happens because a) you had the chance to give us a budget to work with and b) we're probably saving your ass.

I know this is a crazy fast business and I know there is a basic understanding of how much some things cost...but someone before me wrote...just because a print ad can be designed and emailed to a client in an hour doesn't mean the creative thinking to make it good can be squeezed into the same timeframe.

I'm out...SPB

Tuesday, March 21, 2006

Total PSFK rip-off

Piers and the folks over at PSFK let some "copy n' pasters" have it for simply ripping material off their wonderfully informative site. While this isn't a total rip off, I was really inspired by three different articles I found there today...so, I'm ripping them off!!!

First, the Aquabumps site....how cool. Something about surfers puts me in total awe...and I hate it. I don't hate them...I just hate how envious I am of their talent, of their lifestyle, of their attitudes...of their world!!! To me, surfers are like jet pilots...full of attitude, a self-confidence that boarders...or is...arrogance, and the look in their eye that they've experienced something in this world that we can only dream about. I hate them for that...and I want to be them for that.

The site (www.aquabumps.com) is kickass and more inspiration & inspiration than fluff. Plus, it's snowing on the second day of Spring, so the images will warm you from your desktop.

Second, Deus ex Machina. I've never been a bike guy...but if I was, this is the kind of bike guy I'd be. As the PSFK.com article says...it's not the black leather-Sturgis-badass-you don't understand-bull shit you get from most cycle makers. This is a passion for motorcycles from a different era. There is something far more pure and exciting about these types of bikes. The love and technique that goes into making them, riding them and celebrating them makes me want to throw down some plastic, pick one up and head to the French countryside.

Here's the site...www.deusexmachina.com.au...check it, don't wreck it.

Third, something for the display & event builders in my life...light from concrete. Pretty effn' cool....www.chromastone.com

I'm getting sick and working too hard again so I'm not sure when i'll get back...but enjoy.

sb

Wednesday, March 15, 2006

Great Quote

This from Rupert Murdoch, pulled from collaboratemarketing.com:

"Companies that expect a glorious past to shield them from the forces of change driven by advancing technology will fail and fall."

Well said.

spb

Friday, March 03, 2006

Wash Post on Blogging

New York Magazine covered it better and dug deeper, but it's still an interesting article about big business using and investing more to understand blogs, and thus, their consumers.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/02/AR2006030201829.html

spb

Thursday, March 02, 2006

Corporate Blogging

I've recently had some conversations regarding corporate blogging...and how in the wrong hands it can reek more havoc than any good could undo. Yet it's so damn intriguing and, when done right, is an incredible tool tying consumers and brands together.

Anyway, I came across a great quote on Johnnie Moore's blog from some other lad that I found interesting...enjoy.

"At the end, the lesson is one of a paradox. As the power shifts increasingly towards community, the corporation loses its grip on the traditional means of control. Yet, by letting go of control, the corporation creates an environment where the community willingly creates its own switching costs. Such changing market behavior, which is structural and permanent for any industry being usurped by the Internet, must be met with a corresponding shift in corporate mindset. "

word!

spb