• ONLINE SPIN
    My Year-End Performance Evaluation
    It has been quite a year for our industry. We saw an unprecedented number of big account pitches, which turned out to be more of a rearranging of the deck chairs. Where Omnicom lost one, it won another; where WPP lost one, it won another, and so on. The only company that lost more accounts than it won was Publicis.
  • ONLINE SPIN
    7 Headlines We're Likely To See In 2016
    What will next year bring? I don't know, but I do have some good guesses on some of the headlines we'll see next. Here are my top seven:
  • ONLINE SPIN
    The Agency Review Process: And The Winner Is...
    I haven't done a final count, but it's safe to say the lion's share of the largest media accounts on the planet went into review over the last 12 months - and what happened was basically a game of musical chairs, with the same usual suspects getting picked. In this kind of situation, who really wins?
  • ONLINE SPIN
    Why I'm (Cautiously) Optimistic About 2016
    It's easy to believe the world is a stupid, cold and cruel place. We've been told as much by our leaders. On many days in our very recent memory, it's hard to argue that the world isn't going to hell in a handbasket. But all things are relative. And if we look at statistics alone, there's a very good case to be made that, despite all the false steps we make, we're actually heading in the right direction.
  • ONLINE SPIN
    In Honor Of My Dad
    My dad just passed away. I happen to think he was the best dad in the world. A day before he died, he asked me to write down a few words for his five grandchildren, to pass on after his death. It was one of the hardest, but also most beautiful, things I have ever had to do.
  • ONLINE SPIN
    Mobile Modes Of Production In Post-PC Era
    From a global perspective, to say that mobile devices are disrupting the digital media landscape somewhat understates the case. We have witnessed a major shift in how billions of people connect to the Internet, consume media and interact with each other. Less noted, but equally significant, are the changes being wrought by mobile modes of production. The smartphone is a fertile test bed of new experiments (in UX, communications, commerce) and mobile has become a major source of new innovations -- ones that often find their way to PCs.
  • ONLINE SPIN
    Yikes! The Thing!
    The Internet of Things is coming. Now the issues of privacy are floating to the top, more like scum than cream. We are warned by pundits to be wary of Things reporting our behaviors to the Internet. I'm not too worried about what they know, but, what will they say?
  • ONLINE SPIN
    Educate, Don't Oversell, To Battle Data Fatigue
    Buzzwords run rampant this time of year, as everyone readies their predictions for the coming 12 months. Pundits prognosticate about what trends and fads will gain additional traction or simply fade away. This time last year the biggest over-used buzzword was "Big Data" - and now that we're approaching the end of 2015, data fatigue has officially set in.
  • ONLINE SPIN
    Welcome To The World of Wicked Problems
    The world is becoming a wicked place. And not in the way you think (although that may be the case as well). I'm referring to the explosion of wicked problems: complex, dynamic problems that defy black-and-white solutions. These are questions that can't be answered by yes or no -- the answer always seems to be maybe. There is no linear path to solve them. You just keep going in loops, hopefully getting closer to an answer but never quite arriving at one. Usually, the optimal solution to a wicked problem is "good enough - for now." I believe the ability …
  • ONLINE SPIN
    Why Change Agents Are Destined To Fail
    As part of my day job, I often counsel clients who ask if they should bring in a change agent, like a new CEO or CMO who "thinks radically different from us." My answer is almost always a resounding "No."
« Previous Entries