• ONLINE SPIN
    How To Do Facebook: A Primer
    Create a Page. Add a cover image. Add a thumbnail. Add content. Ask your friends to like it. Secure your Page name.
  • ONLINE SPIN
    With Video, Fraud Is Very Viewable
    One thing's always bugged me the most in industry conversations about digital ad fraud. I mean, yes, finally, we're having those conversations, and that's great. But everyone seems set on totally separating the conversations about fraud problems between display ads versus video ads. The symptoms have been different. The tactics have been different. But I disagree: the fraud problems with display and video ads are just about the same. Except that when it comes to video, the situation may actually be worse.
  • ONLINE SPIN
    Owning Imagination: The Disney Master Class In Branding
    Last year I wrote about the Brooklyn Nets and the master class in branding they put on display in their new arena. But if you want to be truly schooled on how to manage a brand, visit Disneyland and see how longtime professionals do it.
  • ONLINE SPIN
    Slow Down To Speed Up
    I had the pleasure of being the keynote speaker at the Canadian Marketing Association's President's Dinner on Monday night. Being the provocateur and contrarian that I am, I decided to tell the room of 150 senior marketers to slow down, not speed up. Actually, the message was to slow down in order to speed up. I discussed my "real-time marketing is bulls...t" message: in other words, forget about real time and just concentrate on moving quicker.
  • ONLINE SPIN
    I'm Just Not That Into You: The Truth About Altruism
    OMG -- I'm up for a part in "Star Wars: Episode VII"! Before you get too excited: I'm not quite ready to draft the awards acceptance speech. For one thing, they haven't given me the role yet. For another, it's pretty unlikely they will give it to me -- especially considering you, your friends, your family, and pretty much everyone on the planet with 10 bucks to spare is also eligible for it. This opportunity -- the chance to shoot a scene with J.J. Abrams for the new "Star Wars" movie -- is one of several offered by Omaze, a …
  • ONLINE SPIN
    It's Time To Drive Complexity Out of the Digital Media World
    I spent a good chunk of yesterday at LUMA Partners' 6th annual Digital Media Summit. LUMA is made up of investment bankers focused on digital media -- and its founder, Terry Kawaja, well-known for his LUMAscape market maps, always puts on a good show. As Kawaja was announcing the launch of the newest (the 11th) LUMAscape -- for content marketing -- it really struck me that our industry is only getting more complex. What the LUMAscape maps communicate, more than anything else, is how crowded and confusing the digital media ecosystem is. This needs to change.
  • ONLINE SPIN
    Are Large Upfront Agency Commitments Replacing Strategic Thinking?
    Agencies are searching for a way to remain relevant in the data age of marketing. As a result of this quest, many are announcing "big strategic deals" with publishers like Facebook and Twitter. These deals are intended to guarantee publisher revenue in exchange for preferred levels of service, but isn't that what agencies are supposed to provide on their own? Why do agencies have to be "all-in" in order to achieve efficiency? Don't these kinds of deals infringe on the agency's ability to be nimble, strategic and flexible enough to find the right way to spend their client's money?
  • ONLINE SPIN
    Owning Your 'Leased' Channels
    In a recent article, Jason Loehr, director of global media and digital marketing at Brown-Forman, reflected on Facebook's now infamous drop in organic reach. He reasoned that platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, are not owned or earned channels -- but rather, they are "leased." The implication of this "borrowed space" mentality, Loehr continues, is that brands need to shift some focus back to channels where ownership is completely theirs. In essence, leveraging social media to "fish where the fish are" while doubling down on owned websites and online properties. A bold, no-nonsense approach. I expect nothing less from the …
  • ONLINE SPIN
    When Old Marketing Terms Hurt New Marketing Strategies
    I recently wrote about terminology I wanted to rid the industry of, with immediate effect. It was (to date) one of my best-read and most responded-to columns on MediaPost. But it is not just the over-usage of industry lingo that is bad for the industry. Even worse is that the industry is still holding on to marketing terminologies and definitions of yesteryear.
  • ONLINE SPIN
    The Digital Content Ecosystem Is Completely Broken
    This week, I read a column about Ad Block being the new DVR. I read one about digital ad fraud, ad-supported piracy, and non-viewability. I read one about the dire outlook for the New York Times' digital efforts, and one surmising that the end of the Times' print edition is nigh. The promise and the glory of digital is attribution: I know exactly where my views come from, where my clicks come from, where my sales come from. But that promise comes at a price: Maybe, just maybe, advertising was never worth what we paid for it.
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