The Sandbox is Media Central's marketing and media blog. In it, we look at the trends and issues that affect our industry, from strategic planning to creative execution and beyond.
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A weekly compendium of interesting items from the world of media, marketing and advertising.
Transforming research roles
MediaWeek.com, Feb. 28, 2010 Research executives at the nation’s largest media shops are morphing into money-marketing managers, akin to the role of a McKinsey or Accenture consultant.
Join your Toronto marketing colleagues at the AMA Roundtable Breakfast for a discussion on the Canadian media landscape. You'll learn what's happening in media organizations currently and, perhaps more importantly, what will happen next as the ground continues to shift.
BY SIMON HOUPT
THE GLOBE AND MAIL Luxury brands can be so touchy.
This week Louis Vuitton sued Hyundai for a recent 2011 Sonata ad in which the South Korean car maker presented a landscape where luxury was affordable to all: Cops munched on caviar, crystal chandeliers hung in the street, and – uh-oh – a basketball was emblazoned with what appeared to be LV iconography. The suit alleges Hyundai aimed to create a false association between the companies and thereby, “benefit commercially from the fame and renown of the LVM Marks.” Oh, Louis, please get over yourself.
In this week's Adhocracy column, "Tim Hortons: Where commerce, culture intersect," The Globe's advertising and marketing reporter, Simon Houpt, explores the different approaches for the brand when viewed through the lens of its Canadian and U.S. audiences.
A weekly compendium of interesting items from the world of media, marketing and advertising.
HBC tries to build on Olympic momentum
THE GLOBE AND MAIL, March 1, 2010 In retail, scarcity can be a plus. If it gets people talking and tweeting about how to find your goods, that can lead to long-term gains.
The CMDC (Canadian Media Directors’ Council) is inviting media entrepreneurs who have an exciting new concept, to apply to present the idea live to a panel of industry professionals and an audience of 700 media delegates at the CMDC’s annual conference on April 8 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre – closing date for applicants is March 12th.
In this week's Adhocracy column, "Canada's rudimentary approach to ‘unselling' drugs," The Globe's advertising and marketing reporter, Simon Houpt, takes a look at the long-term investment in anti-drug advertising in the U.S. Houpt offers insight into the Montana Meth Project, a $30-million anti-drug campaign, which is credited with decreasing teen meth use in the state by up to 63 per cent. Comparable efforts in Canada? Not so progressive, Houpt maintains.
BY DIANNE NICE
THE GLOBE AND MAIL Slutty puppet banned
There will be no cleavage assaulting the decency of transit riders in Colorado Springs, not even if it belongs to a fuzzy pink puppet named Lucy. Billboard company Lamar Advertising has rejected posters for Avenue Q, the Tony-winning Broadway show making a local stop next month. A Lamar executive deemed the image of the Muppet-like character “inappropriate,” saying he rejects anything he would have to explain to his four-year-old or grandmother. We guess that rules out quantum physics and the Internet. We wonder if Junior and Gran are allowed to watch Sesame Street? That Miss Piggy is pretty chesty.
A weekly compendium of interesting items from the world of media, marketing and advertising.
How to avoid marketing mistakes (video)
THE GLOBE AND MAIL, Feb. 23, 2010 Marketing tips from a recent American Marketing Association event in Toronto on small- and medium-size businesses, featuring Kevin Higgins, Managing Partner, Fusion Learning; Razor Suleman, Founder and CEO, I Love Rewards; Marty Parker, Managing Director, Waterstone Human Capital. The Globe's Noel Hulsman moderated the event.
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In this week's Adhocracy column,"A case of ad déjà vu," The Globe's advertising and marketing reporter, Simon Houpt, tackles the topic of creative inspiration with a variety of examples where creative efforts have reflected work already done. Case and point is a Super Bowl spot for Coca-Cola that is posted on YouTube adjacent to a strikingly similar spot created for another brand in 2002.
BY DIANNE NICE
THE GLOBE AND MAIL What Toyota can learn from Tiger
Taking a page from the Tiger Woods Book of Damage Control, Saatchi & Saatchi has advised Toyota to put a sock in it when it comes to its public image problems. The agency says it's confident Toyota can eventually make a comeback, just like Mr. Woods is planning to do Friday, with his first public statement since news of his philandering caused him to put his golf career on hold in December. In the meantime, Saatchi & Saatchi has suggested the recall-plagued auto maker turn off the ad valve while it focuses on fixing its vehicles and not say anything until it has something good to say.
A weekly compendium of interesting items from the world of media, marketing and advertising.
Career nosedives: Lessons from Adam Giambrone
The Globe and Mail, Feb. 12, 2010 Globe reporter Wallace Immen takes readers through a step-by-step approach to getting a career back on track after a major derailment. Here, he consults the experts and reports on lessons to be learned from Mr. Giambrone's experience.
