Hasta La Creative!

There may never be a snappier explanation of the "jobs" concept than late Harvard Business School professor Ted Levitt's famous utterance, "The customer is looking for a quarter-inch hole, not a quarter-inch drill."

LONDON (AdAge.com) — Smart marketers have always known there's value in being transparent and authentic in their word-of-mouth marketing. In the U.K., it has the additional value of keeping you out of jail.

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) — Not long ago, the main talent drag on agencies was luring young digital talent away from sexy alternatives such as video-game design or web publishing. Now there's another big question: How can agencies prevent their senior talent from being lured away by media start-ups holding out promises of big future payouts?

Today there are more affluent households than ever before, from more diverse ethnic and psychographic backgrounds, and they include a wide range of age demographics as well as various degrees of wealth. However, thanks to the flagging economy, many have one thing in common: They're not feeling nearly as affluent as they once did.

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) — The big three TV network newscasts lost about 1.2 million viewers last year, and advertising on their three big morning news shows fell to an estimated $1.03 billion. Given that rather sobering picture, maybe the discussion shouldn't be over whether Katie Couric will last at CBS through the election. Maybe it should be whether we need network-TV news at all.

LOS ANGELES (AdAge.com) — Goodbye, Starbucks the music producer and talent spotter. Hello, Starbucks the would-be tastemaker, digital-media operator and iTunes marketing partner.

DETROIT (AdAge.com) — Marketers often long for more control over sales channels and product development — and at GM, four new power brokers just got it. The country's third-largest advertiser announced April 16 that on June 1 it will eliminate five regional general managers and consolidate their sales authority to four newly created brand czars in Detroit

CHICAGO (AdAge.com) — To beat back Big Mac, Wendy's needed a sharp strategy, a consistent identity and marketing and menu innovation fit for a king. What it got was Nelson Peltz.

On Saturday night, Barbarian Group had the post-ROFLcon VIP party at their Newbury Street offices in Boston.

“While an ad placed above the fold is visible to 100% of site visitors, only about 60% of them actually see it.” Only about 25% banners below the fold are seen.
– Media Post