Hasta La Creative!

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) — Chief creative officers at large U.S. agencies, on average, billed $964 an hour to clients in 2008, while top account and media executives billed an average of $533 and $478 an hour, respectively. Those are just a few of the enlightening figures contained in a soon-to-be widely available 117-page survey conducted by the 4A's that details labor billing practices at ad agencies around the country.

Database marketing is now about the customer. Who woulda thunk it?

Merkle, a long-standing and highly reputable database marketing firm, has repositioned themselves in the industry. Following their release of Integrated Customer Marketing, Merkle has now adopted a new brand, “Customer Relationship Marketing Agency.”

There’s a lot of jargon associated with this switch. For example, look to the explanation in MediaPostNews “Marketing Daily”:

Integrated Customer Marketing helps companies become more customer-centric by informing the total customer experience , from strategic life-cycle management and marketing mix optimization to comprehensive program development and the optimization of individual campaigns.

What does that mean? I work in advertising and find that confusing. Talk about spin. Well, here’s my take: The idea, from where I’m standing, seems to be that Merkle is transitioning from merely being a resource of information for their clientele to a full-service consultation firm. They formerly offered “information.” Now, they offer “consultation.”

This change was long coming for the company; they have now joined the movement of agencies offering “full-service” solutions. With the state of our spending, that’s what companies are looking for: the one-stop shop or more bang for their buck.

Rena Prizant is a Copywriter, Ad Creative, SEO Gal, and mammal in the Chicago area. Visit www.RenaPrizant.com or @WriteLeft.

MINNEAPOLIS (AdAge.com) — Into the cultural breach came "Hank" and "The Middle," which had their prime-time premieres on ABC last night. Based on their demographic delivery, early indications are that those watching the least expensive form of programming don't want to be reminded they might not be able to afford a movie (let alone a five-dollar box of popcorn).

Check out this clip of an interview with "Mad Men" creator Matthew Weiner from "Talk of Fame." He's fairly unapologetic about his portrayal of a lily-white ad universe. The show may be rife with historical inaccuracies, but the total lack of diversity is spot on. Weiner, though, hints that there may be some attempt to grapple with race at some point. And critics of the industry will just love his last line to the interviewer: "There are still no people of color in advertising."

(TrendHunter.com) Decades before ‘Mr. and Mrs. Smith’ and ‘Dancing With the Stars’ popularized the tango for the masses, this dance has been a symbol of passion and sexiness on the streets of South America. Its exact origin…

(TrendHunter.com) I’m sure for almost all men, lingerie of any kind is out of this world, but Agent Provocateur has decided to take it one step further with its latest line, ‘The New World Order.’ Featuring a galactic photo…

Découverte du portfolio en ligne de Julien alias Plasticbionic, un graphiste freelance basé à Nantes et âgé de 26 ans. Hébérgé sur la plateforme Cargocollective, il y présente des travaux réussies en typographies et print. Exemples dans la suite

Previously on Fubiz

• DHL Address
• CCTV Ink Commercial
• Leonard Gren

(TrendHunter.com) For the Rue Du Mail Spring 2010 RTW collection in Paris, France, designer Martine Sitbon displayed one of her strongest lines yet with an optically confusing array of artistic little black dresses.

The…

Hoje é dia de VMB na MTV, ao vivo, a partir de 21h30, e estarei lá representando o Brainstorm #9 na hora de fazer cara de Fernanda Montenegro.

Se você ainda não votou, tem só mais algumas horas (até as 20h, eu acho) para escolher o Blog do Ano, que é claro, na sua digníssima opinião, é o Brainstorm #9, certo?

Se falar que vai votar no Jovem Nerd ou Papel Pop, terá seu comentário deletado! Já não basta aguentar os fãs do Azaghal e do Phelipe Cruz me mandando replies no Twitter.

Então é isso. Em busca de uma posição digna no ranking, vota lá. E uma informação de última hora, até onde sei, a premiação de Blog do Ano vai ser logo no primeiro bloco.

Post originalmente publicado no Brainstorm #9
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A partir das 21h, darei uma aula/palestra para os alunos do curso Ações Inovadoras em Comunicação Digital, realizado pelo Centro de Inovação e Criatividade da ESPM (CIC/ESPM).
Desde o dia 15 de setembro, o curso aborda os principais tópicos sobre inovação digital e atividades no mundo do ‘marketing 2.0′. O objetivo principal é estimular os alunos a pensar mais em como as novas tecnologias podem beneficiar o posicionamento e o relacionamento de uma marca para com os seus consumidores.
A Evolução da Revolução, nome que eu dei para a minha apresentação, mapeia na teoria e na prática os porquês da importância que o digital tem sobre todos nós. Histórias, reflexões e cases estão na pauta.