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How We Got Here
Category: General
Author: Karen Kallestad
Posted on Tuesday, August 10, 2010
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A recent Ad Age story featured advertising professionals talking about how they got they got their start in the industry. So that got some of us thinking -- how did we get our start? Whether you're a newbie or a veteran, what brought you to this business in general and Odney in particular?... more
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Discuss (1 Comment )
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Killing Kin
Category: Social Media
Author: Karen Kallestad
Posted on Thursday, July 01, 2010
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The Microsoft/Apple comparisons are inevitable - Kin is to iPhone as Zune is to iPod. What killed the Microsoft Kin? Maybe it was pricing, maybe it was a poor product, or maybe the market is just saturated. But their marketing didn't help.
Kin was rolled out with an ad campaign featuring "Rosa," a Kin user of course, going around the country meeting the people in her online social network. The ads ranged from dull to... more
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Why are we top 10?
Category: General
Author: Karen Kallestad
Posted on Tuesday, June 29, 2010
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For the past three years, we've been chosen as one of the top ten places for young professionals to work. What's your definition of a good workplace?
From a professional standpoint, I love the fact that we're always looking ahead to the next thing. Not mindlessly jumping on bandwagons just because it's the latest trend, but thinking about how we can use new technologies, techniques and opportunities in meaningful ways. We keep trying new ideas... more
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Discuss (1 Comment )
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Watching the Watchers
Category: Media
Author: Karen Kallestad
Posted on Wednesday, May 12, 2010
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How much TV do you watch, and how do you watch it? Live as it's broadcast, recorded on DVR, streaming video from an online source? According to a recent article in The Economist, with all the options available today, the favorite way to watch TV hasn't changed much. We still tend to plop down on the couch and watch what's on now.
The Economist article is based on "watching the watchers" - actually watching people... more
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Will it Blend, and Will You Buy?
Category: Creative
Author: Karen Kallestad
Posted on Monday, April 05, 2010
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With all the buzz about the iPad, only the folks over at Blendtec are answering the question they ask about so many new products: Will it blend?
Yes, they shoved an iPad into their blender, and why not? Over the years they've also blended an iPhone and an iPod, along with a video camera, golf balls, a bag of marbles, laser pointers, hockey pucks and more. After all, just about any blender (except my... more
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Super Bowl Ads: Good, Bad, In Between?
Category: Creative
Author: Karen Kallestad
Posted on Monday, February 08, 2010
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There were the usual "what the heck was that" moments in the Super Bowl ads, and lots of pantslessness, for some reason. One ad that I thought really worked was the one for Google. It told a story through the use of the product, showing how Google integrates seamlessly into your life.
What do you think? What stood out for being good, bad, or for not standing out at... more
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Discuss (3 Comments )
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What's Your Super Bowl Routine?
Category: Creative
Author: Karen Kallestad
Posted on Thursday, February 04, 2010
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The Super Bowl has become, yes, the Super Bowl of advertising, with thirty second ads this year going for $2.5 to $3 million. I understand there's also some sort of sporting event that's played to fill in the gaps between the commercial breaks. I'm not a football fan but I do pay attention to the ads. If I didn't, how could I possibly join in the water-cooler chat in the office the following Monday?
So Dean... more
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Changing diapers
Category: Social Media
Author: Karen Kallestad
Posted on Monday, January 18, 2010
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Changing diapers can be tricky. Just ask Procter & Gamble. P & G recently rolled out its new, improved line of Pampers Cruisers. The new diapers are thinner, more absorbent, and no longer have a mesh liner. Because the new version was initially available in only a few markets, the marketing campaign was put on hold until the nationwide rollout. The packaging was identical to the old version, which meant that parents had no way... more
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Get the door. It's . . . cardboard and ketchup?
Category: Creative
Author: Karen Kallestad
Posted on Thursday, January 14, 2010
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We definitely believe in honesty in advertising. It's the right thing to do, and it's the smart thing to do. The new Domino's Pizza ads are creating some industry buzz about whether they're too honest. The ads include comments about the poor quality of their pizzas: "Crust tastes like cardboard," "sauce tastes like ketchup," "void of flavor."
The story behind the new strategy is spelled out in a mini-documentary at pizzaturnaround.com.
Domino's selling point has... more
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Great Terrible Ads
Category: Creative
Author: Karen Kallestad
Posted on Monday, December 14, 2009
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I blogged recently about great terrible ideas - ideas for ads that are clever, funny, entertaining, but don't sell the product. There's a television ad running now that strikes me as a good example of a great terrible ad. A man is seated at a table in a playroom with two young girls. He asks one if she wants a pony, and when she says yes, he gives her a toy pony. He asks girl... more
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Discuss (3 Comments )
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What's New and What's Tried and True
Category: Interactive
Author: Karen Kallestad
Posted on Monday, October 05, 2009
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You're blogging, mini-blogging, leading discussion forums, friending people on Facebook and then twittering about your new Facebook friends. Do you still need opt-in e-mail? Yup.
There's a lot of buzz right now about newer social media tools. But opt-in e-mail is still one of the most efficient and cost-effective ways to keep in touch with your customers. It's inexpensive, versatile, and lets you be as precise as you like in targeting your audiences.
Newer social media... more
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Great Terrible Ideas
Category: Branding
Author: Karen Kallestad
Posted on Friday, August 28, 2009
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You've read the creative blueprint, talked to the client, talked to the marketing consultant and researched the industry. You know the target audience, you know the messages that work, you know the product, its brand positioning and its unique selling point. You have everything you need . . . except an idea.
Then you get one of those great "Eureka!" moments that creative types live for. Dancing pigs . . . in hats! What a great... more
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Put Your Best Facebook Forward
Category: Social Media
Author: Karen Kallestad
Posted on Thursday, August 20, 2009
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Oh, those hilarious photos of you on Facebook. You know, the ones taken after you'd had a few too many tequila shooters. Your friends think they're so funny. The human resources director who just interviewed you for your dream job might find them not so much funny as . . . informative.
A recent CareerBuilder survey found that 45 percent of employers are now using social networking sites to research potential hires. That's up from 22... more
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Go Ahead and Tweet
Category: Social Media
Author: Karen Kallestad
Posted on Monday, August 10, 2009
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Take a break and Tweet a little. Friend someone on Facebook. Update your blog. A recent Australian study showed that "workplace internet leisure browsing," or what your boss may refer to as "goofing off," actually increases productivity.
In a study of 300 workers, 70 percent of those who used the internet at work engaged in leisure browsing. The most popular online leisure activities were searching for product information, reading news, playing games and watching YouTube... more
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Twitter vs. Google?
Category: Social Media
Author: Karen Kallestad
Posted on Monday, June 15, 2009
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Could Twitter someday top Google in driving web traffic? Venture capitalist Fred Wilson thinks it's a possibility. Speaking at the recent 140 Characters conference, Wilson noted that he's seeing a change in the referring sources for online traffic. While Google is still by far the biggest referring source, Twitter and Facebook are rapidly increasing. In the past, people shared links through e-mail. These days they're more likely to share through social media, which propagates the... more
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Search Engines Top Yellow Pages
Category: General
Author: Karen Kallestad
Posted on Monday, June 15, 2009
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Looking for a local business? Chances are you're letting your fingers do the walking - on your keyboard. A recent study from comScore and TMP Directional Marketing shows that, for the first time, search engines topped printed Yellow Pages or White Pages among customers looking for local businesses. Preferred sources among the survey respondents:
1. Search engines: 31%
2. Print Yellow Pages or White Pages: 30%
3. Yellow Pages websites 19%
4. Local search websites: 11%
Last year's statistics... more
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Web To Go
Category: Social Media
Author: Karen Kallestad
Posted on Monday, June 01, 2009
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Is your website mobile? Many of its users are. As more users take the internet with them on web-enabled cell phones and other devices, website owners need to adapt to new ways people are accessing information online.
Website owners often make the mistake of thinking of mobile as just another way for people to access their regular website. The mobile environment and the mobile user's needs are different. It's not just a smaller screen. A... more
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