Can Brands Buy Your Loyalty ? Latest estimates show that U.S. companies spend about two billion dollars a year on so-called "loyalty programs", which, in my humble opinion, are little more than frequency programs. That same estimate points out that the average American household is enrolled in as many as fourteen programs. A sad fact of life that the attraction of so-called loyalty programs is actually preferential pricing, the very “reward” these programs seek to avoid. Think about it.

The Magic of Coca -Cola, as Seen by Andy Warhol

This is one of my favorite quotes from anyone; it's from Warhol's 1975 book, The Philosophy of Andy Warhol.

What's great about this country is that America started the tradition where the richest consumers buy essentially the same things as the poorest. You can be watching TV and see Coca-Cola, and you know that the President drinks Coke, Liz Taylor drinks Coke, and just think, you can drink Coke, too. A Coke is a Coke and no amount of money can get you a better Coke than the one the bum on the corner is drinking. All the Cokes are the same and all the Cokes are good. Liz Taylor knows it, the President knows it, the bum knows it, and you know it.

As advertisers, we're almost always being asked to "tell the story better" and at the same time, we're usually asked to wedge in a few product points, data details, and other things typically extraneous to the story being told.

Keeping it simple becomes one of the biggest cahllenges as an advertiser. I don't have the answer, byt I do know all the questions.

Way too many media, advertising and marketing power brokers have landed in Cannes just in time for the annual International Advertising Creativity Awards (Lions) and Festival.

According to early reports, attendance for 2011 could increase by as many as 1,700 people compared to the Cannes event held in 2009, reflecting both the positive global economic environment advertising is enjoying around the world as well as increased emphasis on smart marketing and the return you can get on solid advertising campaigns.

There will also be many late night huddles on music, art, and their impending convergence.

What's In A Name ?

A little tired of advertising agency naming conventions.......where the weirder the better. A current (and far from complete) list of real live ad agencies names follows.

18 Feet & Rising
Frank Unlimited
Big Spaceship
Wexley's School for Girls
Firstborn
Evolution Bureau
Trailer Park


I'm sure there are more, I quit looking.

Where Can I Find Ads I'm Looking For? Maybe in a MOAT.

And now, a Search Engine for Ads

• This all new website www.moat.com is a new search engine for display ads, which shows you all the creative ad units currently running across the web; the website goes beyond just clicks and conversions
o Typical clickthrough rates on display ads are less than 10 out of every 10,000 visitors (0.1%); whereas about 500 of every 10,000 people (5%) spend at least half a second hovering their mouse of an ad, and 1,000 out of 10,000 (10%) touch the ad in some fashion without clicking on it
o Moat captures this data and delivers it to marketers so that they can test different images and wording in their display ads
• Moat also works on heatmap engagement and analytics, as well as a crowdsourced marketplace for display ad designers

USPS Pain in the Neck

You may NOT believe this, but there is a woman who hasn’t worked since 2005 due to a disability claim for a neck injury she claims to have suffered when lifting a letter tray while working for the United States Postal Service. As part of her claim that she was unable to work, she has (so far) collected $193,000 in disability payments.

The U. S. Postal Service Office of the Inspector General investigation found that the injured rural carrier has been traveling around the world…..... gained certification as an open water and advanced scuba diver.......… and engaged in hiking, snow skiing, bungee jumping .....… and horseback riding… she was even seen dancing after her disability claim was filed.

To make this story even better, she purchased a $150,000 boat and named it “Free Ride.”

That might have been the straw that broke the proverbial camel's back.

She was sentenced to eighteen months in prison and fined $193,000. Needless to say, her thirteen-year career with the Postal Service has come to an end.