Tak Tik Boom

Why Clicks Matter

I used to be creative director on the Blue Cross account. We did some very nice advertising for Blue Cross. We even won some Clios (no thanks to me, I had great people working for me) -- back when Clios were worth something.

The primary objective of the advertising was simple -- to get people to apply for a Blue Cross policy.

The way we did it was to put 800 numbers in our TV spots and coupons

A few words on Triskele Books

This appeared, last week, on self-published award winner, Dan Holloway's new blog!

Businesses Clueless About Social Media

Over the years, some of the dumbest articles I've ever read about advertising and marketing have been published by Fast Company (examples: here, here, and here.) But this week I read a good one. It's called "Facebook Is About People, Not Brands--So What Is Your Company Doing?"

The article makes several important points about the cluelessness of businesses regarding social media:
According to a

The Itch To Pitch

My unrelenting commitment to bringing you the finest in firmly-held, ill-informed opinions has lead me down a dangerous path. I have forced myself to watch 3 episodes of The Pitch.

The things I do for you people...

Even though I have a very high opinion of the power of TV advertising, the truth is I almost never watch TV. (And even though I have a very low opinion of the power of web

The Facebook Massacre

I am mildly surprised that Facebook has dropped so far so fast.

Although I thought the Facebook IPO valuation was a cruel and stupid joke, and I predicted that it would dive, I really didn't think it would happen this quickly or dramatically.

As I write this, the value of Facebook shares has dropped almost 30% in two weeks. At a putative value of $100 billion, that's a loss of $30 billion in

Book Launch

I'd been anticipating this "event" for months, and now it's suddenly over. Triskele Books and Spirit of Lost Angels have embarked on the stormy seas of self-publication.

It all feels a bit like... what now? Of course, the answer to that is easy: get the hell on with writing the next book!

Just back from four days in rainy, noisy, crowded, Jubilee-crazy London, where the launch was held. It was wonderful to finally meet (for real) all the girls from my online writing group: Writing Asylum. They were all as lovely as I'd imagined.

If I'd ever had doubts about this self-publishing business, I'm sure now, whether the book swims or sinks, that I made the right decision.

To be involved in such close team-work, with all the mutual support and encouragement, is fantastic. To start with nothing but the simple notion of publishing quality books, and now, to see the months of sweat, frustration and angst finally come to fruition is very satisfying.

Thanks to all for their support and "Vive Triskele Books"!

TV Getting Ready To Die Again

After 10 years of injudiciously predicting the death of television, you'd think the advertising and marketing press would exhibit a little self-control on this subject. No such luck.

A new study was released recently and it was accompanied by headlines like these:
"Don't Mean To Be Alarmist, But The TV Business May Be Starting To Collapse" "UH OH: This Nielsen Data Suggests People Aren't