Category Archives: advertising

American Apparel is sexy. Really sexy!

These past few years I have, sadly, been very out of touch with video games because adult responsibilities have occupied my time; but that hasn’t stopped me from occasionally reading about them. Recently, I viewed an article on MSNBC about games that integrate sex into their game play.
Mass Effect, BioWare’s latest role-playing game, is one [...]

Print. Dead or Alive?

There is the ongoing debate whether print media is being phased out or if it is just as strong as it was 10 years ago. Even the top dogs in our industry and leading analysts seem to be split right down the middle, which makes me wonder what is really determining their opinions. In my [...]

Footballers Not the Only Ones Taking the Hits

I watched the Super Bowl not only as a huge Colts fan, but also as someone who loves to critique the creative marketing. While the Colts took a pounding from the Saints, women seemed to take the beating between plays during the coveted commercial time.
While there were definitely bright moments in the ads , [...]

It’s the Strategy, Stupid

Ok, so I don’t think people are actually stupid; I just know that not everyone takes the time to really understand marketing. Some people study engineering or computer science or excel in a craft. Others, like me, study public relations and marketing. One of the first things I learned is the importance of knowing [...]

How Netflix Revolutionized Movie Rental

Everyone has heard of Netflix in some way or another by now. The ads are everywhere and the service has rapidly become a household staple for many.  I finally took the plunge myself and purchased a membership. Like me, most people used to drive to Blockbuster only to find that the movie they wanted to [...]

SIGGRAPH Asia 2009 Highlights

xiik Interactive Marketing goes international! Yep, just recently I had the distinct pleasure and opportunity to represent the xiik geeks at my 4th SIGGRAPH conference ever and my second in Asia (last year I visited Singapore for the first ever SIGGRAPH Asia). This year the conference was held in Yokohama, Japan — an absolutely wonderful [...]

Five Resolutions Your Business Can’t Afford to Break

We all start out the New Year with aspirations for improvement personally and professionally. Here are five ways to build in structure to your high hopes for business success in 2010:
Evaluate Your Goals
How has your business changed in the last year? What’s 2010 going to look like for your industry? Do current sales meet your [...]

The Great Ghost Blogging Debate 2009

I dragged myself out of bed an hour and half earlier than normal to attend the second Indianapolis Social Media Breakfast on Thursday morning. Even as a morning person, getting out of bed was tough when the weather was a blustery twelve degrees; but I was too intrigued by the topic to miss the breakfast: [...]

“Okay, my site is live. Now what?”

Remember that one quote from the film Field of Dreams, “Build it and they will come?” Well, in the internet business that idea doesn’t translate well at all. We’ve seen this a thousand times: a business invests its hard-earned marketing dollars into a (hopefully) well-designed website and then groans that they aren’t getting the traffic to their site [...]

Droid Does. iDon’t?

Since we’ve been on the topic of Apple and its marketing strategies, it makes sense to discuss how attitudes about their beloved commercials are evolving. With Verizon and even the new Droid phone borrowing certain elements of Apple’s commercials, it’s becoming somewhat of a trend for companies to appropriate a competitor’s promotional ideas and twist them [...]