Marketing 2.0 Paris: Paula Berg, Southwest Airlines

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Marketing 2.0 took place at ESCP-EAP University in Paris this year. It spanned both Monday and Tuesday.

I moderated a few panels and the wifi was down both days, so there was no way to cover the event in the detail I would've liked. Before my camera died though, I tried this thing where I just recorded random snippets of speaker talks.

This post is devoted entirely to Paula Berg, Manager of Emerging Media at Southwest.

I don't have particularly strong feelings about Southwest, but seeing her discuss its approach to consumers -- in both good times and bad -- made me wanna do the cattle call after all. She's good people, and it seems like she addresses situations with humility and openness instead of just reacting. Her presence at Southwest speaks more for its corporate culture than for any social media strategem.

See the goods below.

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by Angela Natividad    Apr- 2-09    
Topic: Brands, Campaigns, Events, Good, Industry Events, Opinion



iJustine Saves Marketing As We (Will) Know It

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See? There is life after internet stardom. Its not always an exciting life but it does pay the bills a bit better than making funny videos from your apartment.

Justine Ezarik (where were you during SXSW? Were you even there??) has been doing the online video thing for years. Over time - and hey, we all have to make a living - she's increasingly pimped products in her videos. And, for the most part, the work has been just fine.

Currently, she, along with seven other YouTube Elite, is pimping the Sanyo Dual Camera Xacti. Last Fall, she even stepped off the internet to appear in...OMG...a TV commercial for Mozy backup software.

Some claim Justine is selling out. Well, of course she is. Everyone does and there's really nothing wrong with it. To the high and mighty who decry these moves, the bills have to be paid somehow.

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by Steve Hall    Apr- 2-09    
Topic: Opinion, Social, Trends and Culture



Adrants Reader Says Chevrolet Camaro Site A Fail

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So on lazy Friday afternoon after a long and crazy (did we say crazy?) post-SXSW week, it's nice when a reader sends in a note doing our job for us. In reaction to the new Chevrolet site launching the new Camaro, a reader had this to say:

"Great idea having a soft launch. Only problem is the launching site is spectacularly lame! It actually looks like a bad version of Saab site circa 2002. I can't help wishing they took a more interesting route, like Attik did for Scion. Camaro has such a vibrant storied history and personality, to have this bland, poorly achieved minimal mushy mush is such a ridiculously horrible business decision."

Thanks, reader!

by Steve Hall    Mar-27-09    
Topic: Bad, Online, Opinion



Great Ideas Deserve Their Chance to Blossom and Grow

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Killed Ideas are a very sad thing. Prior to their untimely death, they spring to life and are the best thing that ever could have happened. Then, bothersome external elements begin to interfere and that perfection is challenged with a sometimes insurmountable challenge to survive.

In life, second chances are few and far between. When we get them, we should grab tightly and hang on for the bumpy ride ahead. Life, rightly or wrongly, is not always an easily traveled road.

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by Steve Hall    Mar-27-09    
Topic: Industry Events, Opinion



The Potential Unpleasantness of Advertising's Future Beckons

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A great article by Wharton School Professor of Operations Eric Clemsons entitled "Why Advertising Is Failing On The Internet" takes a deep look at the current state (shambles) of advertising and what the future looks like after we all bid adieu to the industry's current lameness.

In a nutshell, and this is not a new line of thinking, it's all about people seeking information (because it's readily available) rather than having it shoved down their throats (as it has been since the dawn of advertising.)

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by Steve Hall    Mar-22-09    
Topic: Opinion, Trends and Culture



Eepybird Interviewed, Guru Garbage, Leveraging a Falling DOW

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- Geeks are Sexy interviews Eepybird, the guys responsible for this wild wonder. Oh, and the Diet Coke & Mentos Experiment.

- "Igotapostcard is a continuous project where people practice the art of leaving self-addressed stamped postcards in public places to be picked up and personalized by others, who then return them."

- Headsmack indeedy.

- SXSW thought leader rage. And we're with 'im on this one.

- Young people want more entertaining ads. ORLY?

- LOL. "For every 100 points that the DOW drops within two months after the time of purchase," teesandtats customers "receive $5 dollars off of their purchase."

- Agency in a cardboard box.

- Google ads on iPhone apps. Imagine that.

by Angela Natividad    Mar-19-09    
Topic: Brands, Campaigns, Opinion, Promotions, Trends and Culture



Vampire Staked, Coke's Morning After, Obama 'Supports' Turkish Commerce

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- An account supervisor at Lowe in Zurich has asked us to yank a recent post featuring a vampire whose fangs are made of OB tampons. It's unapproved client work. (That means it's not running anywhere and, he says, it never will.) I guess this means God does exist.

- Quite possibly the most amazing brownies ever.

- Wisconsin rebrands. We're still not going.

- Coke Zero's The Morning After (always a promising title).

- George Parker says sorry for using one of his favourite pet names on Susan Bratton, but manages to get some pokes in about an interview she did with Julie Roehm. You remember her, right? No? Probably best.

- Obama's face for Turkish bank.

by Angela Natividad    Mar-17-09    
Topic: Agencies, Brands, Campaigns, Commercials, Opinion, Television



Carl's Jr. Urges Doctors to Have A Bourbon Before Surgery

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For a company like Carl's Jr. to say "Eat Responsibly" is a joke. Oh wait, it's supposed to be a joke or at least we hope it is because they've been hyping their fat-filled, artery clogging burgers for years.

It was one thing to watch a hot socialite seductively eat a burger while making love to a Bentley. It's an entirely different - and a bit disconcerting - to watch a doctor scarf down a Kentucky Bourbon burger between surgeries.

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by Steve Hall    Mar-12-09    
Topic: Brands, Commercials, Creative Commentary, Opinion, Strange



Barbie's Birthday Ride, Defiled Desserts, Neo-Con's Golden Child

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- White paper in comic book form.

- Meg Whitman for CA gov.

- Two sides of Arnold -- the disgruntled and the loyalists -- come to blows.

- Neo-conservatism's golden child.

- Barbie's birthday Beetle.

- Ugh, dude. Only in Iowa.

- "If they did do it, you'd expect them to be flaunting it. Unless there's no one left in the fucking building to do it!"

by Angela Natividad    Mar-11-09    
Topic: Agencies, Online, Opinion, Political



What Happened to the Beer Babes?

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Rising (falling?) YouTube starlet Jill Hanner wonders what ever happened to those beer ads where the beer was decided on how hot the girl was? It's a good question. Where have the Coors Twins gone? The Miller Lite Catfight girls? The St. Pauli Girl? Oh wait, she's still around.

But, seriously, it's like brewers pulled out and took a vow of abstinence or something. When was the last time beers and babes were in the same frame? Maybe it's a good thing since studies keep saying sex doesn't sell. And damn, a troll through the Adrants archives reveals we've trashed the tactic as well.

Or maybe it's just the normal course of things. After all, everyone needs a bit of a break between bouts.

by Steve Hall    Mar- 9-09    
Topic: Opinion, Racy, Video