Commentary

Who Let The Dogs In?

So bringing your dog to work isn't exactly new. It's not the norm though, either. But it has been shown to improve productivity, lower absenteeism, boost morale and make for generally happier employees. At New Jersey-based ad agency Mint Advertising, a dog doesn't just come to work and curl up under its owner's feet. No way. It gets its own office! Check out Lulu's digs here. Pretty sweet, if you ask me.

Earlier this week we shared with you Fallon Minneapolis' Starter Kit, an offering tailored to the needs of startups that aims to fuel them with a bit more than just a really cool PowerPoint deck and a logo. An admirable idea. After all, it makes sense to cater to an entity that could one day become an enormous client. What we didn't share is the promotional video that accompanied the launch of the Fallon Starter Kit. It may be the weirdest agency promo video you have ever seen. Yes, it hinges on a mashup of the cliched baby and light bulb metaphors but damn, does it get weird from there! Nice work, Fallon!

Did you know...in a recent RSW/US study, it was reported that 50% of marketers expect to "somewhat" or "significantly" increase their marketing spend in 2014? That's up from 38% in 2013 and 41% in 2012. Is that cause for celebration? We think so. And so does RSW/US President Mark Sneider, who has a bit of advice for agencies: "It is very positive to see more marketers intending to increase spending in 2014. And while this is great news for agencies, the implication is that they are going to have to stay on top of their new business activities to take full advantage of marketers looking to change firms outright -- or those exploring  project relationships. Fall asleep at the wheel and someone else will come in and grab your lunch!" Moral of the story? Don't fall asleep at the wheel.

Angry Birds is Angry. Yes. The game maker is quite miffed it was the center of a story earlier this week that stated the game maker's "leaky" app made it possible for the NSA and British Intelligence to siphon user information transmitted over the Web while a user played the game. Angry Birds maker Rovio issued a statement denying any collaboration with government entities. But that's not what the documents leaked earlier this week claimed. They simply said "leaky" apps make it easy for intelligence agencies to skim information even without game makers being aware. Basically, these agencies are tapping into third-party ad networks used by game makers like Rovio to gather the info, and Rovio was quick to point out any device that interacts with Internet and ad-enabled Web sites is prone to this problem. All of which begs a larger question. With all our industry's ad tech, just how easy are we making it for intelligence entities to glean personal information? And what can we or should we do about it?

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