Friday, September 12, 2008

Word of the Day

Today's word of the day: Surrogate

Definition of surrogate: one individual appointed to act for another.

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Ladies and gentleman, I am off to the west coast for a week. It is my hope my fellow coworkers will keep up on blogging while I am away.

I'll see you next week!!

Super Bowl, Commercial Bowl


Super Bowl talk already? This article isn’t staking a claim in which final two teams will go but rather who will advertise on what I call “Commercial Bowl Day.” Only 10 spots are left for the 2009 event even though there was a 10% price increase from last year. Can you believe it!?!

Watch the 10 best Super Bowl ads of all time (video on left will begin playing top 10).

What’s your favorite commercial of all time? Let us know by leaving a comment.


~ Michelle Hirsh, Felber & Felber Marketing

Oh, baby


High heels for babies is one of the new trends in babywear... and sadly enouugh I'm pretty sure this product will catch on. Celebrities such as Nicole Richie and Tori Spelling have already dress their soon to be divas in these heels.

Featured on The Today Show this morning, click here to visit A Heelarious Experience and see the array of products they have available.

A different way of advertising yourself

Ruth E. Rencevicz had a unique sense of humor and a busy life, no one could argue either of those facts. In her life, she was the switchboard operator at both Sears and BFG Federal Credit Union. Also, Ruth proudly served her country during the Cold War where she was largely responsible for the breakup of the Soviet Union near the end of the 20th century.

She had seven children, including one illegitimate child named Greg "The Donkey" King conceived when the circus was passing through town.

She was also an active community volunteer with youth in Tallmadge, Ohio, donating her time to yelling at neighborhood kids for "playing that rap music" at all hours of the day and night. She also served as a responsible mentor to the younger generations by throwing rocks at area teenagers dressed in loose baggy pants, exposing their underwear.

That's what her obituary says anyway.

In her actual life, Mrs. Rencevicz always had a smile on her face and seemed to find a reason to laugh no matter what - even when she was diagnosed with leukemia three weeks ago (despite her obituary saying her cause of death was complications resulting from her children making her old before her time). Her obituary has allowed thousands of Ohioans to laugh while getting a glimpse into this dynamic woman's life.

If you need a reason to smile today, please click here to learn a little nonsense about Ruth E. Rencevicz's life and a unique way of advertising yourself.

Thursday, September 11, 2008

You make the call

Help!

Our office is having trouble deciding which candy to keep here. So, we need your help! Please view our main blog page and vote for your favorite.

Thanks!

Against Marketer's Advice




Many of you know that I spend my weekends as a firefighter and paramedic. Often times we are called to someone’s home that needs help, but refuses to allow us to help them or transport them to the hospital. We try our best to convince them of the dangers of their situation, but often to no avail. If they are of sound mind and an adult, we often have no choice but to present them with a legal release and let them sign out AMA (against medical advice).

So, here’s a new term AMA (against Marketer’s advice). In marketing and advertising, it is easy to get swayed to make constant changes in your plan. As the next great medium or advertising offer is placed in front of you, resist. We encourage you to do your research or at the minimum, listen to the agency you hired for that purpose and try to stick by your plan. Know what you expect to happen and how you will measure the results.

There is no point in planning a 26 week campaign, only to kill it after just two weeks (or 2 ads!). Then, blame the creative, the TV station or worse yet, your sales people for a lack of results.

Plan your work and work your plan. Yes, make adjustments as needed, but trust in your advisors and let the plan play out.

- Rob Felber

A Recipe on Niche Marketing


Dear AIM readers:


I was sent this link by a colleague of mine and thought I would share with our Blog group. This proves the point that a good idea and out of the box marketing can pay off. Please visit http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5618417 and see what I am talking about.


I would love to hear your thoughts on this as well.


Bruce

We are all listeners


The Cleveland Cavaliers season just around the corner and drivers everywhere are already getting excited.

Why?

More billboards advertising WMMS 100.7's morning show, Rovers Morning Glory, are starting to pop up across town.

Personally, I know the first time I saw it (Just as I mentioned in the "Fear the Roo" blog) I laughed. I couldn't help it! Rover, a 32 year old male in less than great shape was comparing himself to our superstar, LeBron James. (Needless to say if these two ever went head to head there certainly would not be much of a game.)

Has anyone seen other examples of this "un-comparative" advertising?

Word of the Day

Today's word of the day: Bacn

Definition of bacn: the middle class of email; email which is not classified as spam because it is not totally unwanted, but isn't really wanted either.

Tuesday, September 9, 2008


In marketing, we often look at ourselves as the brand police – watching and controlling our clients’ brand so that its advertised or portrayed correctly. Well, this story takes it to a whole new level. The KFC secret recipe was being moved recently in order for other security measures and renovations to take place. So, they hired the big guns. Off-duty police officers and private security guards were hired to move the famous recipe that Colonel Harland Sanders developed in 1940. Not only is this recipe under heavy guard but it is only known to two people in the entire company. Talk about security.


Reinforcing your brand: not only did KFC highlight that their product is special, it’s so special it needs to be secured in a briefcase and handcuffed to a security expert. You may expect to see this in Prison Break, but is it necessary for a recipe? And what a public relations story! The press is all over this.

What are your thoughts? Does this make you want to eat KFC again and see what all the fuss is over the secret recipe?
Leave your comments here! I don't remember the last time I ate KFC and I'm not sure I'll eat it anytime soon... sorry KFC, the fuss over the secret recipe won't make me eat your chicken!


~ Michelle Hirsh, Felber & Felber Marketing





A different blog

Keeping the focus of this blog on marketing is at times difficult when hard times hit you and there is nothing else you can think about.

A dear family friend, Theresa Wilson, lost her battle with Alzheimer's on Friday afternoon. This was a long, hard struggle and mostly took its horrible pain out on the family and loved ones in her life. In reading Sue Wilson's blog (one of her daughters and the program director for WQMX) she wrote an amazing story of her life and the awful disease that claimed her mind and ultimately her life. Please click here to read her blog and here to read about Alzheimer's, now the sixth leading cause of death in America.

Rest in peace, Theresa.

Monday, September 8, 2008

Word of the Day

Today's word of the day: Deep linking

Definition of deep linking: the act of linking to a web page other than a particular site's home page.