Live your life like a celebrity
2008-02-18

Do you lie awake at night dreaming that you could have your name raked across the tabloids like your favourite z-list "celebrity"? Well your prayers have been answered and you too can have the excitement that tabloid queens like Jordan, and Goody live on a daily basis. YoBusted.com is a site that posts embarrassing pictures of you in compromising positions that your friends poached from your Facebook profile and won't take them down unless you pay a "membership fee". Hooray for extortion!

If you are in a picture and want it removed, then you must become a member of the site, which costs a hefty $20 per month or $50 per year. And as an added bonus, your soon to be ex-friend will receive a kickback if the photo they submitted causes you to pay the membership fee. Now you too can get to play the celebrity PR game that resulted from the devaluation of the value of celebrity culture. Flood the market with your own fluff pieces! Pay the occasional bribe! Do anything it takes to have your name in lights! If I were you I'd hold out for that endorsement deal.

Keep that wallet open
2008-02-18

You know the old saying. The brand that invests during a downturn fares better once the economy recovers that those who snap their wallets shut. Once you strip back all possible expenses, you are left with two choices, slash your marketing budget and hope your business survives or amp up your marketing efforts and stay ahead of the curve.

Now there's another factor to consider, and that's measurability. It's rewarding to know exactly how much money your company has earned as a result of your hard work. And value for money is all the rage these days. Everyone who's anyone is doing it. Cheques can be made payable to.

A crisis of economic proportions
2008-02-18

There's an old joke out there that goes, "When your neighbour loses his job, it's called an economic slowdown. When you lose your job, it's called a recession. But when an economist loses his job, it's called a depression." Well get the meds ready because economists are losing their jobs. Run for the hills!

The Wall Street Journal reports that the job market for economists is dire. None of the universities are looking for economics professors these days. That's pretty bad considering that investment banks have pretty much disappeared. It's a simple matter of supply and demand, as any economist will tell you.

I'm glad that I have this nice stable job in the media profession to weather this depression.

"25 things" you didn't really need to know
2008-02-18

1. Whether you like it or not, you've been tagged! 2. And now you have to send this random list of factoids to another 25 of your unsuspecting Facebook friends 3. I'm sure by now you've learned about 5,942 new things about your Facebook friends that you really didn't want to know in the first place. 4. Really annoying, right? 5. The trend hunters have finally picked up on this phenomenon sweeping the world. 6. Did I mention that it's a trend? 7. You know that once the trend hounds pick up the scent that the trend has had its day. 8. Time magazine's slant on these lists 9. Best line from the article, "My friends say that when they shave my back, I purr like a walrus" 10. Thank you for ruining my weekend. 11. The New York Time's take on this phenomenon. 12. I'm bored now, but am only halfway through the list. 13. There has to be a better trend out there to follow, something like "Models Falling During New York Fashion Week" 14. I gave my little brother his first haircut when I dropped my chewing gum and it got stuck in his hair. 15. Crazy, right? 16. I could go on, 17. And on, 18. And on, 19. And on. 20. Sorry, I've lost interest at this point. Feel free to make something up for the remaining five.

The internet is for grumpy people
2008-02-18

What's your problem? And why aren't you blogging about it? It seems as if the mediarati can't get enough of airing their dirty laundry. The normally reserved and demure Lilly Allen has had spats with both Mike Skinner and Perez Hilton in the past week and we, the general public, are now involved in their petty disputes through the website Twitter. Apparently, the spat began when Perez wanted to be cast in Lilly's next video, and she blew him off.

Excerpts from the Perez/Allen conversation:

Lily: oh, I'm sorry, we've already cast the jealous and bitter lonely old queen role. Next time eh?

Perez: Jealous of who? David Beckham, maybe. And if I wanted to be a f***** up Brit, I'd rather be Amy Winehouse - whose got talent.

Lily: god, you're like so obsessed with me its embarrassing.

Lily: its also number one everywhere else in the world douche bag. Go away you little parasite.

Perez: Aw, u can see I've lost weight! I am a littler Perez. But I'm still a big fat c*** - just like U! That's why I lova ya. Xoxo

Perez: P S Thanks for advertising on my website. I'll take your money (or the label's) anytime!

Lily: I know you will, and that's what makes you a cheap ass whore. Now leave me alone, stop following me, I'm working. Bye x x

Perez: It's not fair and I think you're really mean! You're supposed to care! It's not fair and it's really not ok.

So what happened next? Allen promptly banned Hilton on her Twitter page.

Oh and by the way, and Twitter gives you cancer.

Britain no longer the brand it once was
2008-02-18

And just like the label in the back of your shirt that suddenly became passé while you're oblivious to that fact, VisitBritain has been relegated to an administrative role in promoting the UK to a global audience.

Under recommendation from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, the tourism brand that promotes Britain called Visit Britain will be sidelined while the destination brands of VisitEngland, VisitScotland, VisitLondon and VisitWales will step into the limelight. Apparently, Britain will be promoted in markets where they have limited knowledge of the UK, like China and Brazil and the individual countries will be promoted in areas where there is better understanding, like Australia, the US and the continental Europe.

I never liked those labels in the back on my shirt. They make my neck itch. Next time, VisitBritain should have spoken with the Beckhams about branding.

Sell yourself in the name of commerce
2008-02-18

Been made redundant? Short of cash? Ever thought of pimping out various body parts to earn a bit of cash? Try this little marketing gimmick, hire out parts of your skin for corporate sponsored temporary tattoos.

"Terry Gardner, a legal secretary in California, returned home from work recently to find two police officers waiting. They said her brother had told them he thought she might be having a breakdown because she had shaved her head."

What a way to earn some extra cash. I'll have to take this into consideration the next time we plan out an integrated marketing strategy. Thankfully, the authorities were never involved when I shaved my head.

Guess what? We're still in a recession
2008-02-18

In this world of multiple 24-hour "all news, all the time" networks that compete for our attention, how many different ways can the news channels cover the fact that the world is in a recession?

"The problem for financial reporters (and consumers) is compounded by the failure of some of the more convenient tropes of business reporting. Many of the financial sectors' rock stars have turned out to be the biggest fools of all. Even "Wall Street" itself is no longer a synonym for financial wisdom. So when the Street reacts poorly to the latest federal bailout package, should we care about investors' verdict or simply assume that there weren't enough goodies to entice their baser instincts?"

When a newsworthy event is as colossal and as slow moving as this one, there are only so many ways that the media can keep reminding us about the state of the economy. It is possible that "pundit" looks to be one of the few career choices set to weather the storm.

How not to save the newspaper industry
2008-02-18

Ever since the dawn of time, the newspaper industry has struggled with giving away content for free. And with advertising revenue down across the board, and newspapers struggling to keep their heads above water, the newspapers have to dream up new revenue streams. One money maker under consideration is to start charging for users to view online content.

A person who wants a daily edition of a newspaper is hardly going to go through the hassle of signing up for a subscription for a single day, when they could find similar content for free in other parts of the web. Haven't we learned anything from the music industry? Just keep coming here, we'll tell you all you need to know about what is going on in the world today.