7 mayo 2010 – Gabriel Catalano®

Exxon Vision Is Perilously Short-Term

In Mein Kampf, Adolf Hitler outlined the crucial importance of an ‘effective emblem’, which he saw as ‘the first impetus for the interest in the movement’.

His adoption of the swastika was a vital ingredient in the rise of National Socialism in Germany and its eventual domination of much of Europe. It is impossible, therefore, not to include the swastika, along with the Coca-Cola swirl or the Ford oval, as one of the 20th century’s most iconic and important logos.

It is an uncomfortable inclusion. Any sane individual abhors everything the Nazis stood for, yet it is still possible to acknowledge the expert manner in which its brand identity was conceived without supporting the ends to which it was used. [Más…]

I have similar feelings about ExxonMobil. Over the past eight years, it has masterminded one of the most impressive global communications campaigns in the history of public relations. At the same time, however, the company’s success in obfuscating the issues in its response to global warming must surely rank as one of the most shameful exercises in corporate self-interest.

Despite mounting empirical evidence and the overwhelming weight of opinion from independent climate experts, ExxonMobil has managed to sow the seeds of doubt among consumers, the media and governments, thereby slowing any potential responses to global warming. It has achieved this through a combination of masterful PR, lobbying, strategic funding of NGOs and the leadership of its senior management.

In Mein Kampf, Adolf Hitler outlined the crucial importance of an ‘effective emblem’, which he saw as ‘the first impetus for the interest in the movement’.

How to Connect with Your Customers / VIP article, read ;)

Why is that engaging? By providing collaborative filtering, it directs the Rider (our rational side), while it motivates the Elephant (our emotional side) [see more about the metaphor]. The company that integrates both components while it shapes the Path gets the desired action.

This morning, I’m the keynote presenter at the J. Boye Conference in Philadelphia for the online communication track. We’re talking about how to connect with your customers. Not just reach, connect. It’s a different ballgame, one that needs to integrate what used to be — and still are — many company silos.

Imagine this scenario. A customer walks up to you asking to locate a technical support rep. Because you’re curious, while you find out the name and look around to see where that person is, you ask how you can help. The customer proceeds to give you a list of problems that need addressing. He looks and sounds really upset. Continuar leyendo «How to Connect with Your Customers / VIP article, read ;)»

7 Deadly Sins Represented with Web Design Colors

by Nick Burd

The Seven Deadly Sins represents vices and tendencies that were believed to be misdeeds in early Christian religion.

The sins are as follows: envy, pride, wrath, sloth, lust, greed, gluttony.

Each sin is said to be represented by a colour. For example, envy is best represented by the colour green, which — in many cultures — is also the symbolic color of money. Continuar leyendo «7 Deadly Sins Represented with Web Design Colors»

Excellent Examples of Using Photos in Web Design

May 7th, 2010 by Tyler Denis

Using photos as a design element and central piece in a web design is a great way to get a point across to the viewers or to just add more depth into the design. We are going to look at some examples of two popular ways of using photos in a web layout: using a large photo as your background and using a photo as the central focus in the header.

Using Photos in the Background of a Web Design

Using a photo as a background can give your website an added visual element, as well as depth and space. On the other side of things, if the photo is poor quality or unappealing, it can bring down the entire look of the web page. So not every photo will work, but if you get one that does, it can really make the website stand out. Continuar leyendo «Excellent Examples of Using Photos in Web Design»

THESLOGAN MAGAZINE / Latest news…


Marcas que venden estatus

La necesidad de reconocimiento y estatus está en el corazón de toda tendencia en el consumo. Estatus es el máximo motivo (escondido siempre), una fuerza subconsciente pero siempre presente en toda compra.

En una sociedad tradicional de consumidores, donde el consumo es uno de los principales (si no el principal) indicadores de éxito, aquellos que consumen más (y especialmente los que consumen lo más raro y lo más caro) son clásicamente los que consiguen más estatus. Continuar leyendo «THESLOGAN MAGAZINE / Latest news…»

Doing That Crap Is Going to Cost You

Crappy work can suck the life out of an agency and the money out of a client’s budget.

What is this «crappy work» of which I speak? That’s the hard part — defining it. I have struggled with coming up with a solid definition for crappy work. It isn’t any one type of account or job. Most of us really don’t know if an assignment is crappy until we’re handed the brief or attend a meeting. Generally speaking, we’re talking about assignments with so many restrictions and mandates that there’s no room for anything except to execute the client’s directions — in other words, the agency becomes no more than set of hands. We’re talking assignments where there’s no room for developing an insight or understanding that will deliver for clients the results they want and deserve.

Agencies (and Clients) Pay More for Shoddy Work

Posted by Derek Walker

Derek Walker

Paying more doesn’t get a client better work. In reality, crappy work tends to cost both the agency and the client more, a lot more than anyone realizes.

Oops. Uh … Attention all clients!! Please stop reading, and proceed to another post or article. This is insider information — agency eyes only! Please come back next post.

OK now that the clients are gone, let’s talk about one of the greatest lies in advertising — that great work costs more to come up with than crappy work. Continuar leyendo «Doing That Crap Is Going to Cost You»

jQuery Image Galleries & Sliders – Best Of

By Ryan Turki | Design

jQuery image galleries and sliders are very common on portfolio sites and are also useful for any other type of site for displaying images and photos. Also, provide a good user experience and make viewing images more pleasant and intuitive on your website. With the advent of powerful JavaScript frameworks like jQuery, Prototype, Mootools etc., the quality of JavaScript based image galleries and slideshows have improved dramatically.

Today we’ve prepared for you a good list of the best jQuery image sliders and galleries plugins that can provide you with the resources that you need to get a gallery or a slider on your site. Continuar leyendo «jQuery Image Galleries & Sliders – Best Of»

Chart Compares the Characteristics of Tech Fanboys

The editors at PCWorld and MacWorld have created an entertaining field guide that compares the common characteristics of tech fanboys or people, who are like blind devotees of some brand or a product.

Continuar leyendo «Chart Compares the Characteristics of Tech Fanboys»

PowerPoint Viewer for People Who Don’t Have Office 2010

PowerPoint Viewer, as you probably know, is a free application that lets you view PowerPoint presentations on your computer even if you don’t have Microsoft Office installed on your computer.

Free PowerPoint Viewer Continuar leyendo «PowerPoint Viewer for People Who Don’t Have Office 2010»

Yahoo Examines iPad Ownership Trends

Yahoo finds iPads help it reach 30-54 year-old men, assist Flickr

Even before the iPad was released, Yahoo started catering to potential users, releasing a Yahoo Entertainment app. It later partnered with Appolicious, too. Now, Yahoo’s taken a look at what sort of iPad owner audience it’s attracted, and it seems that Yahoo’s done best with wealthy-ish, middle-aged men who take lots of pictures.

Let’s start with the simplest subject: gender distribution. About 66 percent of iPad users on the Yahoo network are male, compared to 51 percent of regular Yahoo users in the U.S.

: Image via CrunchBase

By Doug Caverly

Yahoo finds iPads help it reach 30-54 year-old men, assist Flickr

Let’s start with the simplest subject: gender distribution. About 66 percent of iPad users on the Yahoo network are male, compared to 51 percent of regular Yahoo users in the U.S. Continuar leyendo «Yahoo Examines iPad Ownership Trends»

Where Does Location Fit into the SEO Equation?

By Chris Crum
Targeting Consumers Where They Are and Where They’ve Been

We’re living in an increasingly open and revealing world where people are eager to tell you where they are, where they’ve been, and where they’re going. Not everyone is so eager, but location-sharing is a rising trend that is not to be ignored. Naturally, the phenomenon will have a growing impact on search.
Remember when the industry was still trying to make sense of how social media and search fit together? It’s now fitting together in a variety of ways, and now we’re at a similar point with location and search.

Google Has Its Own Significant Amount of Location Sharers

At the Web 2.0 Expo this week, Google Product Manager Steve Lee revealed some interesting info about Google Latitude, the company’s location-sharing service, which has been around since long before location-sharing became such a huge trend. Foursquare – the location-sharing service you hear about most these days, has a million users. Latitude has 3 million active users, and this year it’s grown 30% per month each month so far. [Más…]

MG Siegler at TechCrunch says Lee hinted that Latitude would soon have a check-in component, something that has made services like Foursquare so popular, and of great use to local businesses. He also said that Latitude has taken some time to gain ground because of iPhone’s lack of the ability to run services in the background (so there isn’t a Latitude iPhone app), but the iPhone OS will have that ability, and Android usage is on the rise (apparently BlackBerry has been big for the service as well). Over 10% of All Android users are using Latitude.

Location as a Search Signal

Google has been very open about how much emphasis it is placing on mobile, and mobile and location-sharing go to together like corn flakes and milk. Smartphone usage will continue to grow. Therefore location-sharing will continue to grow. Android usage in particular is growing rapdily.

Diana Pouliot, Director of Mobile Advertising at Google recently said a third of all Google searches via the mobile web pertain to some aspect of the searcher’s local environment. The company has also been quoted as saying it thinks of location as a «hugely important signal.»

With Google’s newly redesigned SERPs, location-based searches will increase, or rather filtering searches by location will. With the «nearby» option more visible, it stands to reason more people will use it. At this point, I’m not seeing real-time location-based info here, but that may change in the future. Google will continue making tweaks and adding features, and having real-time info here may begin to make sense.

: Image via Wikipedia

By Chris Crum

Targeting Consumers Where They Are and Where They’ve Been

We’re living in an increasingly open and revealing world where people are eager to tell you where they are, where they’ve been, and where they’re going. Not everyone is so eager, but location-sharing is a rising trend that is not to be ignored. Naturally, the phenomenon will have a growing impact on search.
Remember when the industry was still trying to make sense of how social media and search fit together? It’s now fitting together in a variety of ways, and now we’re at a similar point with location and search.

Google Has Its Own Significant Amount of Location Sharers

At the Web 2.0 Expo this week, Google Product Manager Steve Lee revealed some interesting info about Google Latitude, the company’s location-sharing service, which has been around since long before location-sharing became such a huge trend. Foursquare – the location-sharing service you hear about most these days, has a million users. Latitude has 3 million active users, and this year it’s grown 30% per month each month so far. Continuar leyendo «Where Does Location Fit into the SEO Equation?»

LinkedIn Continues Adding Features to Recruiter

Customers who post through a job distributor or automated Job Wrapping process can edit the job in Recruiter as its posted and see the real-time profile match results.

The mini-profiles come in the form of a hover feature that appears on the Recruiter homepage and names in modules like «People who viewed this profile». Actions can be performed from within the mini-profile.

: Image via CrunchBase

By Chris Crum

LinkedIn Recruiter Gets Real-Time Profile Matches, Free InMails

LinkedIn has added several features to its Recruiter platform. These include real-time profile matches, mini profiles, and free InMails to 1st degree and fellow group members.

«We’ve offered a Candidate Match feature for a while, but now, if there are matches, you’ll get instant candidate recommendations in the job posting flow, says LinkedIn’s Prasad Gune. «What used to take 24+ hours in a batch process now takes just seconds and integrates into your workflow. You can go straight from the posting process to reviewing and reaching out to talent recommended by our proprietary technology.» Continuar leyendo «LinkedIn Continues Adding Features to Recruiter»

Yahoo Gives Update on Alliance with Microsoft Yahoo Microsoft Integration to Be Ready Before Holidays

By Chris Crum

We haven’t heard much about the long-awaited Microsoft-Yahoo Search Alliance in a while, but reminding everybody that the integration is still on the way, Yahoo posted an update today via its Search Marketing Blog.

The company says priority one is to make the transition to Microsoft’s adCenter as smooth as possible, and that includes the following steps:

* Protect the holiday period – We know how important the holiday selling season is to many of you, so our aim is to complete the transition in the U.S. and Canada before the start of the 2010 holiday season.
* Ensure a quality transition – If we determine that we cannot transition with quality before the holiday period, we’ll defer the transition until the early part of 2011.
* Provide a window-of-time – To provide as much flexibility as possible, we intend to offer a window of several weeks in late summer, during which you can choose the time to initiate and complete your transition.

By Chris Crum

We haven’t heard much about the long-awaited Microsoft–Yahoo Search Alliance in a while, but reminding everybody that the integration is still on the way, Yahoo posted an update today via its Search Marketing Blog.

The company says priority one is to make the transition to Microsoft’s adCenter as smooth as possible, and that includes the following steps:

Protect the holiday period – We know how important the holiday selling season is to many of you, so our aim is to complete the transition in the U.S. and Canada before the start of the 2010 holiday season.
Ensure a quality transition – If we determine that we cannot transition with quality before the holiday period, we’ll defer the transition until the early part of 2011.
Provide a window-of-time – To provide as much flexibility as possible, we intend to offer a window of several weeks in late summer, during which you can choose the time to initiate and complete your transition. Continuar leyendo «Yahoo Gives Update on Alliance with Microsoft Yahoo Microsoft Integration to Be Ready Before Holidays»

General Motors Is Racist. Period.

Target Market News posted the story below, which demonstrates once again that General Motors is full of shit. Back in 2007, former GM executive Mark LaNeve went on record to insist the automaker would continue to partner with minority advertising agencies. As it turned out, LaNeve was a fucking liar. Now another GM honcho actually admitted that White agencies would handle assignments usually awarded to minority firms. Wow. A corporation goes bankrupt—and begs for bailout money from the nation’s first Black president—yet still screws Black shops while conspiring with the White agencies responsible for producing work that has consistently failed to ignite sales. Only in America.

By design, most advertising is shiny and happy. Its creators not so much.

Would misery be my price for creativity? Despite any worries, I was not deterred. Even then, few things satisfied me as much as the creative process. It was easy dismissing morbid thoughts while in the midst of creation. Bit puzzling during down time but that’s what drugs and alcohol were for!

If artists and writers tend to be happiness-impaired then I think it’s fair to say so are many art directors and copywriters. For better and worse, do we not share the creative gene? Carry the argument one step further and a bittersweet irony emerges: that the advertising we make is shot through with optimism beyond what permeates the real world, especially ours. The myths we create for our clients are almost always universally positive. We bring good things to life, even if, as copywriters and art directors, we lead lives of quiet desperation.

“Funny, I don’t feel in good hands.”

Much has been documented on the correlation between mental illness and creativity. The starving artist is an unfortunate cliché. That he or she will be tormented by demons seems almost necessary, par for this particularly hazard-ridden course.

And so, as a young man, I wondered if by choosing writing, and then copywriting, was I in turn dooming myself to a life of anxiety and depression? Continuar leyendo «By design, most advertising is shiny and happy. Its creators not so much.»