February 20, 2009
For this Hot Sheet author, the taste, texture and gooey Oreo goodness of a McDonald’s McFlurry are reason enough to indulge. The 71-gram-of-sugar delight – from its innovative spoon placement to its near-miraculous ability to cling to a half-frozen physical state – needs no assistance appealing to the taste buds of us flavor-happy Americans. But – nevertheless – that’s exactly what it received last week when NBC’s hit comedy “30 Rock” made the dessert a major plotline between co-stars Alec Baldwin and Salma Hayek. Advertising industry watchdogs didn’t miss a beat, quickly questioning NBC for its seemingly shameless, revenue-driven product placement. Or was it? Read More
February 20, 2009
Did today’s U.S. auto industry CEOs attend the same business school as National Basketball Association (NBA) owners? As the 2009 NBA trade deadline ended yesterday, notice the unfathomably massive salaries for obviously mediocre players: Brad Miller of the Sacramento Kings at $12 Million per yearand Chris Wilcox at $6.7 Million per year. Wow. Meanwhile, the NBA’s league office has quietly loaned $175 million to its struggling franchises. With 15 teams receiving such b-ball welfare, one has to ask: How is that these teams are struggling when their employees make such monstrous paychecks? Read More
February 19, 2009
With consumer confidence in the tank, companies now more than ever have to be strategic in the way they market themselves. Skeptical buyers certainly don’t want to feel as if they are being sold… not as financial portfolios plummet and reports of doomsday continue. With that in mind, one advertising veteran recommends implementing testimonial campaigns to promote an image or sell a product.
They’re authentic and more credible. This week, John Williams, president of LogoYes.com, contributed a story headlined “Use Stories to Add Oomph to Your Brand” to MSNBC.com. To view testimonial, storytelling campaigns created by Paolucci Communication Arts, click here.
February 17, 2009
For the once seemingly bullet-proof coffee chain that is known for its long lines around 8am, even Starbucks is being forced to find new sources of revenue – even if it means finding a way to package their high-end brand into the instant-coffee world. With more and more people reluctant to spend money on a cup of coffee from Starbucks each morning and opting to brew their own, Starbucks is launching “Via,” their new instant-coffee product. Read More
February 16, 2009
Richard Florida, famous for authoring The Rise of the Creative Class, writes auspiciously in The Atlantic about “How the Crash Will Reshape America.”
“The places that thrive today are those with the highest velocity of ideas, the highest density of talented and creative people,” he says. He then sketches which areas are better poised to survive and thrive. For example, “Los Angeles has a broad, diverse economy with global strength in media and entertainment.” As for New York, because “the extraordinary income gains of investment bankers, traders, and hedge-fund managers over the past two decades skewed the city’s economy in some unhealthy ways,” the financial crisis may ultimately help New York by reenergizing its creative economy.” Read More
February 13, 2009
Alec Baldwin’s Hulu.com Super Bowl commercial continues to make waves. The Wall Street Journal this week explored some rather puzzling demographic reports about the content-rich site: “When the company launched its public site last March, the largest age group visiting the site were those Internet visitors over 55 years old,” according to the Journal. Strange, right? Especially considering the overwhelming number of twenty- and thirty-somethings that have seemingly dominated the interactive web world.
The Journal, however, quickly explains the trend, and the answer doesn’t surprise this Hot Sheet reporter. Read More
February 13, 2009
Valentine’s Day is here, and what’s typically “peak-season” for greeting card companies has subsided thanks to glum economic times. But that’s not the case for Andrew Shaffer and his irreverent greeting card company, The Order of St. Nick. Read More
February 12, 2009
Bill Gates once said: “If I was down to my last dollar, I’d spend it on public relations.” It seems that’s how more and more corporate marketing executives around the country feel as well. Click here for an article from BtoB magazine to read how some companies are putting the power of PR to work for them.
February 9, 2009
Even Republican-leaning lobbyists such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and National Association of Manufacturers are urging Republican lawmakers to get behind the stimulus package supported by President Obama, reports Politico and Huffington Post. Senator Arlen Spectre, one of very few GOP senators supporting the package, “pointedly read from a Chamber of Commerce endorsement, on Friday. The National Association of Manufacturers has weighed in, telling Republicans that votes on the bill “including potential procedural motions” may be considered for Read More
February 9, 2009
This joke’s set-up is tantalizing, but the punch line leaves so much to be desired. With apologies to Alanis Morissette, the U.S. media last week dubbed it’s own version of “Ironic” – at once slowly and painfully discrediting famed Olympian Michael Phelps for marijuana use all while managing a fantastic PR campaign for the drug itself. When a British tabloid last Saturday published a photo of Phelps smoking pot, the athlete almost escaped public humiliation as the story competed with the over-arching media blitz of the Super Bowl. But just hours after Santonio Holmes’ championship-winning catch, Phelps and children around the globe were pulled into an ugly debate about drug use and privacy. Read More
