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Agencies Hate Working With Apple And Amazon

Speaking of agency dismay with things, it appears you are also dismayed with Apple and Amazon because they won't share the data you need to make an informed decision about whether or not to spend your ad dollars with them. But it's really no surprise. Unlike many other entities, neither Apple or Amazon needs to depend on ad dollars, as this is not their primary source of income. Currently, Apple's ad revenue is $257 million compared to its total revenue of $171 billion. Amazon takes in $614 million in ad revenue compared to overall revenue of $75 billion. Is it any wonder why they don't really want to work all that hard for your business?

Well, here's some big news. Okay -- so hey, it's not Nike, but come on, Reebok! Yes, San Francisco's Venables Bell & Partners has snagged the Reebok account as global agency for the brand. Of winning the account, VBP EVP Will McGinness said: "Reebok represents exactly the kind of opportunity that excites us most: an iconic brand led by a brave client with a genuine desire to challenge category conventions. Throughout the pitch we truly lived, ate and sweat the fitness lifestyle of the Reebok consumer. We share our client's belief in Reebok's potential and look forward to accomplishing great things together." Rock on, VBP!

So when and how do two ad guys become a hardware store? When it's Mattias Gunneras and Andrew Zolty from digital agency Poke -- two guys who invented a gadget for a bakery that when activated would tweet the availability of fresh baked goods. The two have extended that hardware dabble into a full-blown business called Breakfast. At Breakfast -- a top-10 most innovative company, according to Fast Company -- they have set out to integrate the Internet into the real world. They've built a system that connects the bicycle data of a cross-country biker to Twitter. They worked on that Conan O'Brien blimp people could check into as it crossed the country. They developed Instaprint, a wall-mounted printer that prints Instagram images with a given hashtag. They continue to innovate, most recently with B-Line, a rotary phone-like device connected to each of the firm's three partners that they sent out to their top brand prospects.

Oh, you agencies. Always jumping on the latest trend. Now social media is a bit past the trend stage but four or five years in with upwards of 87% of you, according to STRATA, implementing social media programs for clients, it's disheartening that just 54% of you indicate you would implement more social media programs if the value were more obvious. Have we really not yet figured out how to make social media work for brands? Or, as many a naysayer is wont to say, maybe it's just never going to work and we should all just go back to buying more TV ads.

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