Making an Impact

Austin-based database marketing firm, Direct Impact, recently announced that they have added OfficeMax and TiVo to their client list. For OfficeMax, the firm will develop strategy for the Reliable Office Supply Division and they will develop an interactive brand campaign for TiVo.

Also of note is the recent move of Tracey Brown from a Senior VP role to that of Chief Operating Officer. I had the pleasure of working with Tracey shortly after she joined Direct Impact and this previous Director of worldwide consumer marketing for AMD brought a tremendous amount of insight to our partnership.

Getting Quoted = Validation ?

"You liked my piece. God, I'm flattered. You know you write these things and you think someone's going to mention them and then the whole week goes by and the phone doesn't ring..." Frank Navasky in the movie You've Got Mail.

Daily (Ad) Biz quoted one of my recent posts to help make a point. My post was actually a mention of something I found at Foda Studio's site, but being mentioned without paying is always a good thing. (The topic of paying for posts will have to wait until another time.)

Thanks Daily (Ad) Biz, I'm flattered.

Face-to-Face

Email, blogs and other online forms of communications make it so easy to meet and interact with folks without ever pressing the skin and meeting face-to-face in a more traditional manner. The Austin Interactive Marketing Association event I attended this morning gave me a chance to meet a few folks who I have only met or interacted with online and a few other folks I hadn't see in a bit. John Engler, VP at UnsubCentral was someone that I hadn't met face to face until today. It was nice to touch base again with a few others including Charlie Ray, New Media Director at Lin Television at part of KXAN. He was with WhiteLion, an interactive design firm, previously. I was also able to chat a bit with Patrick Asbra, sales manager over at Datran Media.

So, the point is to go out and meet people face-to-face from time-to-time. The web is great tool and it does make most of the things we need to do more efficient, but a handshake and smile still needs to be a greatly used part of our toolset.

A Manifesto

I've always loved the saying regarding web design/coding that goes something like ~just because you can do it, doesn't mean you should do it~. I recently came across this "Manifesto" at Foda Studio that makes the point in a much more eloquent manner:

"Designers should not tell you they’re different because they use the latest technology, work closely with clients to develop creative solutions, or take time to learn about their clients.

All designers worth hiring owe these same minimal obligations.
And while current technology is expected, it’s not always appropriate.

One should hire designers who refuse glittering generalities—who are skeptical of assumption, hyperbole and preconception."

Event to attend...11/29/07

This Thursday, the 29th, the Austin Interactive Marketing Association is holding an educational breakfast. I posted about this event a couple of weeks ago, so you can get all the details here. I look forward to these events and hope to meet a bunch of new folks at this one. See you Thursday.

Who's Watching Who #11

As on the previous nine Sundays, here's a Who's-Who of folks that have contacted us and/or checked-out the blog and/or called to praise/complain, and/or any combination thereof over the past week.

Leo Burnett - Ad Agency - Worldwide
Texas State University - Southwest Texas State in my book - San Marcos, TX


Veteran Visitors who came back for more (and more):
Crispin Porter + Bogusky - Ad Agency - Miami and Boulder
GSD&M The Idea City - Ad Agency - Austin, TX
Porter Novelli - PR Agency - Worldwide
Sematech - Semiconductor and emerging technologies - Austin, TX
Twentieth Century Fox - Films etc - Los Angeles, CA
WPP Group - Agency Network - Worldwide


Been to the blog but don't see your company on the list? Shoot us an email or post a comment. If you email us, make sure you send it from your company email account so that we know it is the real-deal. Let us know what you think and maybe share a bit of info. The worst that will happen is that you get a free link to your site. Not a bad trade for a bit of good SEO if you ask me.

Go Scrooge Yourself

Viral marketing doesn't have to center on a cool/hip idea and it doesn't have to be ground breaking. Take last year's Elf Yourself campaign from OfficeMax. Basically you could add your head-shot to an elf body and then do various things with the end result. Making it dance on your screen or emailing it to friends were some of the more popular actions. The elf campaign got national news coverage with many talk show hosts and new anchors using their self-homage elves in their shows.

This year, OfficeMax hopes to get the same good results with a campaign titled Scrooge Yourself. Same idea as last year, upload a head-shot and you too can become the grouchy one himself. Toy, an advertising agency based in New York, is responsible for the Elf and Scrooge campaigns as well as several other less promoted campaigns such as North Pole Dancing, Shake the Globe, and Reindeer Arm Wrestling.

What ever happened to bowling elves over with penguins? Bah Humbug

Wednesday's Work Whereabouts #2

Here's the deal.

On Wednesdays I post a few online marketing, advertising, creative jobs.

Your end of the deal:
Job seekers: If you apply to one of my posted jobs, please tell them you heard about the job at Adomatica.com.
Job Posters: If you have any openings you would like for me to post, please send them my way. Also, If someone applies for a job and tells you they heard about it at Adomatica.com, pleae let me know.

That's a fair deal, right?

Here are today's postings:
Creative Services Manager / Director - Academic Superstore - Austin, TX

My Move to the Other Side

After 10 years on the client side, I've made the move over to an agency. It's obviously a rather big change. I'm looking forward to the challenges and new experiences. I'm sure I'll write about some of them from time to time on this blog.

Here's a bit about my new home: Based in Austin, Texas, Adlucent helps online retailers generate qualified sales leads, increase brand awareness, and streamline the process from search to conversion. Through item specific merchandising and conversion optimization services, Adlucent brings entire product catalogs to the forefront of the search engines. The company also utilizes historical data and predictive algorithms, offering a scaleable solution for tracking keyword performance and measuring product level return on investment. For more information, visit the company’s Web site at www.adlucent.com.

Who's Watching Who #10

Wow, has it been 10 weeks already? As on the previous nine Sundays, here's a Who's-Who of folks that have contacted us and/or checked-out the blog and/or called to praise/complain, and/or any combination thereof over the past week.

Intuit - Finance and Tax Software - Mountain View, CA
Sematech - Semiconductor and emerging technologies - Austin, TX
Twentieth Century Fox - Films etc - Los Angeles, CA
University of Texas- Hook 'Em - Austin, TX
WebEx - Web Conferencing - Santa Clara, CA

Veteran Visitors who came back for more (and more):
B&H Photo and Video - Say Cheese! - NY City
Crispin Porter + Bogusky - Ad Agency - Miami and Boulder
GSD&M The Idea City - Ad Agency - Austin, TX
LinkedIn - Online Networking - Mountain View, CA
McGarrah Jessee - Ad Agency - Austin, TX
Porter Novelli - PR Agency - Worldwide
WPP Group - Agency Network - Worldwide


Been to the blog but don't see your company on the list? Shoot us an email or post a comment. If you email us, make sure you send it from your company email account so that we know it is the real-deal. Let us know what you think and maybe share a bit of info. The worst that will happen is that you get a free link to your site. Not a bad trade for a bit of good SEO if you ask me.

Tocquigny Scores with SnatchLatch

Austin-based digital marketing firm, Tocquigny, has announced a new relationship with SnatchLatch. From the PRweb release: As part of an overall objective to build brand awareness and drive sales..., Tocquigny created the SnatchLatch brand and developed the packaging. Ok, so SnatchLatch is not a new contraception device, but spinning the story that way is more fun than talking about a trailer-locking device.

I wonder if the Tuna Two are behind the success of this hook-up?

Another (Agency) Blog

The Daily (Ad) Biz is a candid and sometimes opinionated look at agency life. I've been enjoying the ramblings for a few weeks. A couple of recent postings on PC (not computer related) ads and bad agency websites got me thinking about mentioning the blog here. This post in regards to agencies hitting the skids echoes some of the things I've been thinking and writing about lately.

Microsoft has $300 mil for you

Microsoft has started a review for their ~$300 million consumer creative assignment. Interpublic Group of Cos.' McCann Erickson, current agency of record for most of Microsoft's consumer in said to be in the running as well as my friends over at MDC's Crispin Porter & Bogusky. The media side of the new assignment will be handled by Universal McCann. Shocker: It is believed that this assignment will be to help improve Microsoft's image. The word is that Microsoft is hoping to fight back against the popular Mac vs. PC campaign. Microsoft reportedly didn't want this review to go public. Good Job Microsoft...just like Vista!

Austin's Adlucent Adds Ace

Austin-Based online marketing/advertising agency, Adlucent has brought on Robert Gilbreath (me) as Director of Operations. In his new position, Robert will be responsible for corporate strategy, client services, product management and operations. Robert brings over 10 years of e-commerce, online marketing/advertising, process management, and operations experience to the Adlucent team.

Prior to joining Adlucent, Robert was with online retailer Academic Superstore as Director of Online Marketing where he built and managed a department responsible for paid search, search engine optimization, email campaigns, affiliates, comparative shopping engines, and web analytics. Prior to his time at Academic Superstore, Robert was with McCoy’s Corporation, a building supply retailer, as part of the marketing team, where he was responsible for developing integrated marketing campaigns and acted as lead on e-commerce initiatives. Robert holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing from Southwest Texas State University and a Master of Business Administration in e-Commerce from St. Edward’s University.

Not "Going Viral"

Viral Marketing - Here's why I like it:
1. It can be relatively inexpensive.
2. It can give your brand/product/service a great deal of exposure.
3. It can energize your team and your customer base.

You notice that I used the word "can" in all those reasons.

Here's are the problems with viral:
1. It can be relatively expensive if it doesn't get traction.
2. It can give you no/low exposure and maybe even make you look silly.
3. It can be a bummer to the team when/if it fails.

Case in point: The Paul Frank "Be a Ninja" Video viral campaign that ends today. They only got four submissions including my personal entry. (Feel free to give me 5 stars and comment on how ~great~ my video is.) They are giving away a bike and a hooded sweatshirt. I only found out about the contest because I happened to go to PaulFrank.com to check out some shirts. I wonder if this was meant to be a huge campaign. I wonder if the Paul Frank folks are disappointed. I personally would have used the time and money they spent on this on some paid search, but that is just more my style.

PayPerPost Changes Name

Ted Murphy (Founder/CEO) recently announced that PayPerPost has changed it name to IZEA. PayPerPost will now be a product offered under the IZEA umbrella. I guess it is a play on the word idea, but the name IZEA makes me think of some company that went belly-up during the dot-com bust. The company secured $7 mil in funding back in June, so maybe they are going to be ok.

AustinIMA Educational Breakfast 11/29/07

Join online marketing experts for a thought-provoking panel discussion on how to take your lead generation efforts to the next level. You will learn:


* Techniques for building landing pages that produce measurable and meaningful results
* Strategies for leveraging Web 2.0 technologies.
* Essential elements required to establish a reporting, analytics and metrics baseline... and much more!

When: Thursday, November 29th 7:45 a.m. - 9:15 a.m.
Where: Omni Hotel, Downtown Austin - 700 San Jacinto Blvd.

Event info on Austin Interactive Marketing Association site is found here.
To Register, please use the registration page here

Wednesday's Work Whereabouts

Let's make a deal.

My end of the deal: Each Wednesday I'll post a few online marketing, advertising, creative jobs.

Your end of the deal:
Job seekers: If you apply to one of my posted jobs, please tell them you heard about the job at Adomatica.com.
Job Posters: If you have any openings you would like for me to post, please send them my way. Also, If someone applies for a job and tells you they heard about it at Adomatica.com, pleae let me know.

Seems like a fair deal, right?

Here are today's postings:
Creative Services Manager / Director - Academic Superstore - Austin, TX
Advertising Sales Manager - LinkedIn

GSD&M to Layoff

I know I give the GSD&M gang a hard time, but no kidding today. The Idea City announced that they would start laying off workers this week. Analyst are saying as many as 200 will be let go. GSD&M President and COO, Duff Stewart, was quoted in the Austin American- Statesman: "This is not about numbers, This is about people." Duff, I must disagree with you. This is about the numbers and the people, the number of people you will be walking out the door this week. My inside sources at The City say that lack of future planning and drumming up new business is as much to blame as losing some key accounts.

Maybe with 200 ex-GSD&Mers out on the streets, some new boutique shops will form.
Think McGarrah Jessee or The Butler Brothers.

Even More Good GSD&M News

Yes, it is true! GSD&M The Idea City has been tapped by none other then the Baton Rouge Area Foundation "to brainstorm with Louisiana leaders, tap perceptions of the region from out-of-state skeptics, research the region inside-out and deliver a game plan that will unfold in media ads by mid-2008". It's these types of big time deals that will keep all those who used to work on the ATT&T account busy. Full story here.

Don't Mess with Louisiana either.

Who's Watching Who #9

Today we post a Who's-Who of folks that have contacted us and/or checked-out the blog and/or called to praise/complain, and/or any combination thereof over the past week. It was a busy week.

B&H Photo and Video - Say Cheese! - NY City
McCann Worldgroup - Agency Network - Worldwide
MediaVest - part of Starcom MediaVest Group - Worldwide
Rubiconsoft - Owners of MyBuys.com - Redwood City, CA
St. Edward's University - Austin, Tx

Veteran Visitors who came back for more (and more):
Crispin Porter + Bogusky - Ad Agency - Miami and Boulder
GSD&M The Idea City - Ad Agency - Austin, Tx
McGarrah Jessee - Ad Agency - Austin, Tx
Porter Novelli - PR Agency - Worldwide


Been to the blog but don't see your company on the list? Shoot us an email or post a comment. If you email us, make sure you send it from your company email account so that we know it is the real-deal. Let us know what you think and maybe share a bit of info. The worst that will happen is that you get a free link to your site. Not a bad trade for a bit of good SEO if you ask me.

Saturday's Snapshot Scene #3

What better way to share your company culture with the world then by posting a ton of random photos on the web? Photo sharing sites sure make it easy for us to over-share don't they?

BazaarVoice - Guns and UGC -You better leave a good review
LinkedIn - INside linkedIN - They're all connected
Adlucent - Potatos and Pay-per-click on the Patio - How nice is that?!?

PowerReviews Lands $15 Million

Austin's own BazaarVoice isn't the only social marketing company raking in the funding these days. PowerReviews, out of Millbrae California just announced a $15 million new infusion from Lehman Brothers Venture Partners along with current investors Menlo Ventures and Draper Richards.

In the user generated review space, I'll watch for Bazaar and Power to fight it out as they appear to be the only ones really making any headway. I wonder if, BazaarVoice CEO, Brett Hurt has something up his sleeve. He basically invented the space and I don't see him sitting around while his biggest competitor gets more funding. Brett, shoot me an email or post a comment...give me the scoop.

The Lion and the Gazelle

Here's one of my favorite little stories:

Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning a lion wakes up. It knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death. It doesn't matter if you are a lion or a gazelle. When the sun comes up, you better be running.

Good News for GSD&M

No kidding! GSD&M actually made a positive announcement! GSD&M's Idea City has been tapped by Toshiba and DreamWorks to produce advertising in support of HD DVD. Television and print advertisements will launch in early November, using characters from DreamWorks Animation Shrek franchise, coinciding with the HD DVD release of Shrek the Third.

Coming soon to a theater near you...Shrek 4
Shrek fights off the evil Blue-Ray and BetaMax as he defends the Idea City.

I Called It

Facebook announced Tuesday that it would allow companies to target ads to users based on what they and their friends buy and do on the internet. They are obviously now able to take advantage of the massive amount of user data available. Questionable changes recently made at Facebook now make complete sense. Why would Facebook open their system to non-students? Why would they open up their system for developers to create new tools? These things create more interactions, more engagement and more user data.

This is all about getting "your message out to the conversations", said Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg when addressing a group of NY advertising-industry executives.

Crispin Porter & Bogusky Crush

You think you can read my blog up to five time a day without me noticing? I can tell you like me, but do you like like me? Stop teasing me! You have a standing spot on my weekly Who's Watching Who post. Don't you think that is worth a CP+B t-shirt, man-purse, or pair of flip-flops? Would someone at Crispin Porter & Bogusky please comment or email me, please!?! (Check out CP+B's website and hit the link on the far right for CP+B swag) Oh, a pair of shades would be cool too!

Happy to Contribute

A recent post on online marketing blog MarketingVOX said that Austin, Portland OR, San Francisco, and Seattle "are the top local markets for people who read or contribute to blogs."

From the post: "Not surprisingly, the cities that rank highly for bloggers are also prominent internet-usage markets. Austin and San Francisco adults, for example, are more likely than the average to have a broadband connection at home," said Gary Meo, SVP, Scarborough print and digital media services.

I'm happy to be an Austin based blogger and blog reader.

Who's Watching Who #8

Happy Sunday! Today we post a Who's-Who of folks that have contacted us and/or checked-out the blog and/or called to praise/complain, and/or any combination thereof over the past week. It was a busy week.


Princeton University - Smart kids like us

Veteran Visitors who came back for more (and more):
Crispin Porter + Bogusky - Ad Agency - Miami and Boulder
GSD&M The Idea City - Ad Agency - Austin, Tx
LCG - Search Engine Marketing - Austin, Tx
McGarrah Jessee - Ad Agency - Austin, Tx
Porter Novelli - PR Agency - Worldwide
Webtrends - Web Analytics Solutions - Portland, OR
William Blair and Company - VC ($$$) - Chicago, Il

Been to the blog but don't see your company on the list? Shoot us an email or post a comment. If you email us, make sure you send it from your company email account so that we know it is the real-deal. Let us know what you think and maybe share a bit of info. The worst that will happen is that you get a free link to your site. Not a bad trade for a bit of good SEO if you ask me.