This spot is part of Barnes & Noble’s Read Forever™ campaign, billed as “a celebration of reading.”

And while this spot is specifically for the NOOK Color tablet, it doesn’t take away from the core of the company, the products they offer or what you do with those products.

In addition to the :30 version above, there’s also a :60 version:

Well done to everyone involved in creating this campaign.

And yes, dear readers, I know this is outside the typical realm of coverage on this site, but I felt it was too good not to share. Feel free to leave a comment and let others know what you think.

[disclosure]

But hear me out.

What is still one of the biggest issues facing agencies and marketing professionals today?  Talent.  Finding, recruiting and retaining talent.

More often than not, an agency’s future employees won’t just show up at the front door gift-wrapped and sporting a big red bow.  The shop has to go out and find the right person — that right fit for their agency, clients, type of business, etc.

Sure, you’ll get referrals from others from time to time, but in an age where good (if not great) talent is scarce, agency folks are much less likely to share with others in the business.

Sure, the mechanics of the marketing and advertising business can be taught in school, but there are nuances to the business that just don’t show up in a classroom environment.  And even those students who come out of a portfolio school such as Creative Circus or VCU Brandcenter may not be prepared for agency life — particularly in small agencies such as those here in Idaho.

So, how do we get around that?

One option — An intern “exchange program” similar to one that started in Portland a few years ago — COLABORATORY.  The Colaboratory program is designed to give interns a better understanding of the agency world, and specific disciplines within that environment, by spending time in three different agencies over the course of the program:

COLABORATORY takes place over 6 weeks in Portland, Oregon. 10 participants are selected and individually paired with 3 of the 10 agencies based on their strengths and interests. Interns spend 2 intensely focused weeks at each agency learning from all disciplines.

During the 6 weeks working at agencies across Portland, interns also form 2 competing teams to work on a real client project.

The 2 sides of COLABORATORY give interns a broad view of how agencies work, and at the same time let them learn how to collaborate.

A similar program could be established here in Idaho, and managed by the Boise Advertising Federation and / or Idaho Advertising Federation.

Another option — a professional exchange program of sorts.

This would be a bigger effort than a shared internship program such as COLABORATORY.  It would involve many agencies in several different markets, but could be managed by agency network organizations such as Worldwide Partners, Second Wind, MAGNET Global, Pinnacle Worldwide, etc.

Here’s roughly how I imagine it working:

• The agency network handles initial recruiting and screening of potential candidates
• Finalists interview in person at nearest partner agencies
• Selected participants spend 6 months with an individual agency, learning about the business and individual roles / responsibilities, while working for the agency and it’s clients.
• Upon completion of the 6 months, the participant is able to move to another partner agency, in a different location, and continue learning about the jobs, how different agencies function, etc.
• Program could last up to two years (4 agencies) — at any time, the current agency has the option to offer the participant a full-time permanent position.

These would be paid positions, of course, and all participating agencies would agree on common salary amounts throughout the course of the program.

In a lot of ways, this would be an apprentice program of sorts.

It would probably be best suited for those just out of school, new to the business, or otherwise able to be relatively mobile over the course of a couple of years (think moving to a different city every six months or so).  Also, it could be best suited for account service, client service, planning or related “client-facing” types of jobs — those where the skills aren’t (or can’t) be easily taught in a classroom environment.

But if it were successful, candidates would have the ability to learn from some of the best and brightest, and apply that functional knowledge wherever they go.  And this type of program has the ability to produce some of the most well-rounded and talented employees available for years to come.

Logistically, is it simple? No.

But, it’s just crazy enough that it might work.

The time when everyone and their dog, cat and goldfish makes their predictions about what the biggest trends will be in the coming year.  And, like every year, its a shot in the dark.  Sometimes those predictions are right, sometimes they’re horribly wrong.

That being said, this year I say we crowdsource the whole prediction thing.  I’d like to know what you, dear readers, think will be the big trends in 2010, and any predictions you’d like to make.

Comment away.

Several months ago, I made a conscious decision to stop writing about “layoffs, downsizing, staff reductions” or whatever other name you want to call it.  Why?  A few different reasons.

There’s enough layoff news going around already.  For the past year (and more), news of layoffs has been everywhere.  Name the medium, name the industry — it was there.  And that sort of news gets old.  Quick.

It puts a spotlight on those who have been affected, whether they’re ready for it or not.

And, quite frankly, it’s draining.  In many cases, these are friends and colleagues, and it’s hard not to let it get to you.

So there you have it.  If you’re looking for the latest layoff news, I’m afraid to say this isn’t the place you’re going to find it.

When it comes to marketing and advertising, good is just that — it’s good.  It meets the client’s objectives.  It pays the bills and keeps the lights on.  Good work breeds good work.

But is it memorable?

Bad work certainly is.

Let’s play a little game called recall.  The topic: Advertising for local car dealerships.  Television spots, specifically.  Glamorous, I know, but it serves the point.

When I mention the following Treasure Valley dealerships, do you remember what their recent spots looked like?

Meridian Ford
Dennis Dillon
Edmark Superstore
Team Mazda Subaru
Lithia of Boise

Of the five examples above, which garnered the most immediate or strongest response?  I would be willing to bet that it was Team Mazda Subaru.  You know the spots.  You’ve seen them.  Thanks to some effective media buying they’re hard to miss.  And that leads to the rest of the question:

If you’re not willing to be great, is it better to be bad than good?

Bad, in most cases, is just that.  It makes people cringe.  It elicits a strong reaction.  But it’s also memorable.  Despite your best intentions, I’m sure you can rattle off at least a half-dozen examples of bad advertising that you’ve seen over the years.  And in each case, I’d bet you can remember exactly who the ad was for, and what it was about.  Try as we might, bad ads are unforgettable.

But so are great ones.

The great ones do more than just meet the client’s objectives.  They influence an industry.  They change a culture.  As those who study this business come to realize, it’s the great ads that set, and in many cases reset, the bar by which others are judged.

Lest you think this discussion is limited only to television, it isn’t — it applies to all mediums.  The Bad / Good / Great distinction can take place anywhere.  In broadcast, online, direct, even face to face.

In all cases, Bad is just bad — memorable, but bad.  Good is effective and meets expectations.  Great is a game-changer.

So how do you define the difference between good and great?  What are you doing on a daily basis to push your own work from good to great?  Does it matter to you?

And just in case you were wondering what their opinion really was, here’s a short snippet from the piece:

The problem with award shows right now is that although they celebrate creativity, most of the time anyway, they rarely consider context or effectiveness. And often, it’s not possible to really know the effectiveness of a big-budget branding campaign. So at the end of the day, the judging criteria is wide-open.

Take the time to read the entire piece.  Then, whether you agree or disagree, leave a comment and let Felix know.

Yesterday, the news got out that the City of Portland has proposed a design contest to redesign PortlandOnline.

From Silicon Florist:

Now, you can try as hard as you might, but few things can be as insulting to people as telling them their work is worthless. Which is basically what the City is doing by asking for designers to work on spec.

Web developers, graphic artists and visionaries to transform the navigation and design of PortlandOnline, the city’s primary web presence. Winners will be fully credited on the website for their work – a website that receives over two million visits a month and includes over 140,000 pages.

That’s right. Or to paraphrase, that work that you do? It isn’t worth anything more than a link.

And today came a response from the Portland Advertising Federation’s President, Jerry Ketel –  The City Should Know Better:

This is simply the wrong way to go about designing an important communication tool in our fair city. The idea of this kind of contest is a perfect example of how much the city fathers value the contribution of the design community in Portland. I am certain that there is a very good Web design firm here in town who would work for pennies on the dollar to help the City of Portland to polish its presence on the internet. Not only would they provide design look and feel, but they would provide navigation and strategic expertise. This is Portland after all, craftsmanship is in our DNA. Our community wants to be a seen as a creative magnet in the world—it is a source of pride. So why don’t our elected leaders get that?

and:

Now is the time for the Portland creative services industries to rise up and plant a flag in the sand. We need to be recognized for the contribution we make to our city. We should start by writing letters and emails to the city about this disrespectful contest. And then we need to join together and strategize how we can become a force that cannot be ignored. It is time.

While this is not happening here in Idaho, it is an issue that shouldn’t be ignored.  I’d encourage those of you with contacts in the Portland area to get involved, and make their voices heard.  Contact the PAF or the City of Portland.

Jerry is right:  It is time.

It’s interesting that I’ve received reports from several sources about layoffs, however there has been no movement on the website(s) of the agency/agencies in question.

It makes the company look bad by not being forthright about their staff.

It also does a disservice to the individuals who were affected.  It has the potential to make it seem that the former employee is still there, effectively creating some confusion as to the circumstances surrounding their departure.

In the end, it’s just bad form, and we’ll leave it at that.

Maybe it’s the interviews that seem to end with more questions than answers.

Maybe it’s because Simon Shifrin takes a residential developer, and their agency, to task in a thinly veiled ‘you’re not being open and honest’ sort of way about their business motivations. Let’s not even get into the quoting (somewhat out of context) from the agency’s website, without any actual contact with the agency itself.

Or it could just be the “me too” reporting — writing about “green” activities, environmentally friendly stories and such is all the rage these days, so if the IBR doesn’t cover it, they must be behind the times.

This, my all accounts, is much more of an op/ed piece than business reporting. And I don’t think I’m alone in that opinion. Rick Carpenter, Robb Hicken et. al., you shouldn’t have let this story out the door the way it was published.

Of course, I could just be way off base. Been known to happen before…

Oh, and by the way Simon, it’s Stoltz Marketing Group, not Stolz Marketing Group.

Technorati tags: idaho business review, greenwashing, stoltz marketing group

Just over a week ago, I got word that Gary Vaynerchuk was going to be speaking at a Legion of Tech event in Portland, Oregon. For those who aren’t familiar with Gary, he helped grow his family’s retail wine business from annual sales of $10 million to $50 million, went on to start a video blog about wine – Wine Library TV, and is incredibly active in the social media space.

The event took place in the atrium of the Wieden + Kennedy offices in Downtown Portland. W+K should need no introduction. It is a massive building, both inside and out. A unique blend of concrete and wood, the physical space itself is impressive. There are a number of open-air walkways throughout the center of the building, with offices / desks / work spaces / meeting areas around the peripheral edges. It is incredibly cool without trying too hard.

While I was listening to Gary speak (an excellent talk, by the way. If you ever have a chance, you really should see him in person), I couldn’t help but notice all of the activity in the building. It was 7:00 Pacific time before the event even got started, and there were still many people in various parts of the building, working, talking, meeting, etc. And, by the time myself and the other stragglers were finally shuffled out the door, there were still people in the building working. I get the sense that there is a dedication to the work, the company, the clients, and the idea that becomes a part of the W+K culture, and those who choose to (or are lucky enough to) work there, adopt that dedication as their own.

Too often, the end result of all of those long hours is discounted by those who will never know the effort that went into making sure every little detail was perfect, that nothing was left to chance. The end-result of the work quickly becomes the target, often by those with absolutely no knowledge of what went into it behind the scenes.

But there they were, putting in the time to make sure that whatever the task or assignment was, it was getting done.

I have a tremendous amount of respect for W+K the company, and more importantly those inside the walls of the building who make it what it is, and those who have passed through the oversized doors that helped it become what it is today.

Part of the reason that I made the trip was simply for the experience. Odds are I’ll never have the chance to step foot inside those offices again (however if invited, I’d accept that invitation in a heartbeat), but it was absolutely worth it. It was a refreshing change, and a good chance to refocus. If given the chance, I’d do the same thing again.

The question ask you, dear readers is this: Within the scope of your own world, agency-related or otherwise, are you willing to put forth the effort to make sure that thing you are working on is perfect? Or, are you satisfied with less? Are you content to check out at 5:00 every day? How much better would the work be if you spent an extra half hour on it? How much better would it be if you spent an extra hour on it? What drives you, and where do you find that motivation?

Heavy questions, and ones that cannot be easily answered. But if they’re never asked, nothing ever changes.

P.S. Yes Gary, in spite of the way it may sound, I really was paying attention…

Technorati tags: gary vaynerchuk, legion of tech, wine library tv, wieden+kennedy

Jeremy is packing up and heading to Salt Lake City, Utah, and is on to bigger and better things, as they say.

But before his takes one final bow at the end of the day, I wanted to take a moment, on behalf of the entire marketing and advertising industry in and around the State of Idaho, to say one simple thing:

Thank you Jeremy for all that you have done.

In a world where change happens at incredible speed, Jeremy has been a constant presence. He has been with Drake Cooper for well over a decade, and has helped to shepherd both clients and agency through the highs and lows that have come along with it. A true professional in every sense of the word, Jeremy has been a tremendous asset to the agency, and his departure will leave some very, very large shoes to fill.

I’m sure there will be many toasts made inside (and outside) the walls of Drake Cooper today, stories shared, and maybe even a tear or two shed. But let me take this opportunity to add my own thoughts…

Jeremy, you’re a class act in every sense. You’ve been an excellent ambassador for your agency and this industry, and you will most certainly be missed.

Technorati tags: jeremy chase, drake cooper

Unfortunately, fairly or not, the fact of the matter is that the larger local clients do not always see the value that a local agency can provide.

Case in point: Blue Cross of Idaho.

Earlier this year, Blue Cross of Idaho chose the Minneapolis office of Weber Shandwick to help launch its new web-based health and well being initiative. The folks over at Red Sky PR first noticed this decision, and made comment about it on their PR Musings Weblog.

Another recent example: Balihoo.

In March, Balihoo named Affect Strategies as their Public Relations Agency of Record. Now, given Balihoo’s focus on large-scale media planning and buying, I can understand this decision. It is in their best interest to work with an agency that can provide the best exposure possible, particularly to media buyers and agencies that buy in large volumes, and a PR agency out of New York is certainly a wise choice. The cynic in me has to wonder, however, how much of this decision was driven by the addition of Michael Browner to their Board of Directors two days prior to the announcement. Pure speculation on my part, but the timing just seems suspect.

So without laboring on too much longer with the same old ‘poor us’ mentality, I’ll pose this question: What do local agencies need to do differently to either attract or retain these types of clients? Is it just a fact of life today’s business environment, or are there there areas that local, or even regional shops can focus on to differentiate themselves?

Now, the same question to those on the client side: What do out-of-town or out-of-state agencies offer that local or regional agencies don’t? Where are the local shops lacking?

Now that I’ve stirred the pot, I’m going to go ahead and duck for a while…

Technorati tags: blue cross of idaho, weber shandwick, red sky pr, balihoo, affect strategies, michael browner

Included in those was one from Edward Moore, President of the BAF, as well as a response from Shane Vaughan, one of the current BAF board members. My thanks go out to both of them for taking the time to respond on behalf of the BAF. Agree or disagree with what they have to say, they deserve credit for responding openly.

If you haven’t already, and are so inclined, take some time to read the original post as well as the comments to date. Then, by all means, add your own if you’d like.

Technorati tags: boise advertising federation, edward moore, baf, shane vaughan

From the BAF website:

The Boise Advertising Federation is the professional development organization for advertising professional in the Boise metro area.

Now, from the Boise Advertising Federation’s Articles of Incorporation:

The purpose or purposes for which the corporation is organized is to provide an educational and fraternal organization for the betterment of the field of advertising. To increase the understanding of advertising and its role among public life. To provide fellowship and culture among persons of the advertising profession.

So, my first question to the current board of the Boise Advertising Federation: What are you doing to provide an educational and fraternal organization for the betterment of the field of advertising? The guest speakers at the occasional luncheon is a good start, but what about those times in between? Where are the regular updates to the website? The newsletters? The articles that members may find interesting? Shouldn’t that be part of the “betterment of the field of advertising”?

Second question: How are you increasing the understanding of advertising and its role among public life? There may very well be some outstanding educational programs happening, but unless people know about them, their effectiveness is severely limited. Now granted, I know that the golf tournament last fall raised some money for the Boise State University and University of Idaho advertising clubs, but is that really enough? How often does someone from the Ad Fed go speak to those clubs? How often are those club members invited to events hosted and/or sponsored by the Boise Ad Fed?

Third question: Fellowship and culture among persons of the advertising profession? Now once again I’ll give credit to the occasional luncheon or social event as an opportunity for those in the advertising profession to get together, but is that really enough?

Fourth question: Why isn’t the Idaho Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America more involved with the Boise Ad Fed, or vice versa? Shouldn’t those same public relations professionals that are part of the PRSA be involved in the BAF also?

Now, should you think that this entire post is an attack on the Boise Ad Fed, it isn’t. It is just as much the responsibility of the members to get involved in the activities of the organization. That being said, however, the BAF has made it very difficult for anyone who may want to get involved to actually do so. On the current website, which has been under construction for god only knows how long now, there is no way for a potential member or interested party to learn more about the group, other than a phone number and an email address, that based on past experience, rarely gets checked.

Have I ever tried to call the phone number? No. What’s the incentive to do so? To try and get involved with a group that doesn’t seem to be doing much, given the outward appearance of their site?

Now, let’s look at it from another point of view — that of the prospective talent thinking about moving to Boise. If I were in their shoes, I’d be extremely leery about considering moving to Boise. Again, given the outward appearance of the organization on the website, it doesn’t seem that there’s anything worth moving to Boise for.

And what about a client looking to hire a Boise agency? Given the fact that the Boise Advertising Federation is supposed to represent the advertising profession, I’d imagine that a potential client would be incredibly put off by the way that the profession is represented locally, and instead would be inclined to look outside of the market to areas such as San Francisco, Portland or Seattle for an agency that can provide the services that they need.

At the end of the day, the Boise Ad Fed should be bringing greater visibility locally, regionally and nationally to the talent that this market has to offer. And there is quite a bit of talent in this market. Instead, though, it seems that the only purpose as of late is to serve as the gatekeeper to any regional or national ADDY awards shows. If you want to enter on a regional or national level, you must enter locally first.

I’m not alone in these concerns about the BAF. I’ve received comments from others expressing many of these same concerns. And again, my intention is not to lay blame on the organization, or lash out at them publicly. But these are valid concerns, and they’re being expressed by BAF members.

So, my challenge to you, the reader, is this:

If you’re a member of the Boise Ad Fed, get more involved. Call up the current President and ask what the group has been up to. Attend an event. Ask for more frequent email updates. Poke and prod the leadership into action, if need be.

If you’re an officer of the Boise Ad Fed, don’t wait for your members to poke and prod you into action. Be proactive. Send out updates on the Rockie Awards, brag about work that members, and member agencies have done recently. Get more people involved. Make the Boise Advertising Federation, and the website in particular, into the hub of activity that it deserves to be.

Also, be sure to take a look at Bart Cleveland’s take on advertising organizations over at the Ad Age Small Agency Diary.

And of course, everyone is welcome to tell me that I’m wrong, right, or just completely full of shit. Comment away.

Technorati tags: boise advertising federation, baf, boise state university, university of idaho, addy awards, rockie awards, bart cleveland, ad age, small agency diary

More specifically, within the past week I’ve seen an opening with the Idaho Lottery for a Marketing Director, and a Marketing Manager for the Boise Hawks Baseball Club.

Now the realist in me says that I’m reading way too much into things, but I have to at least pose the question. I’ve seen it happen entirely too many times in the past — a new marketing manager or director joins an organization, has their own opinions and personal favorites as to which agency they’d like to work with, and ends up yanking the account from the incumbent agency.

Will that happen with the Idaho Lottery? Doubtful. Within the past year they went through the entire RFP process and renewed their relationship with Drake Cooper. If I remember correctly, though, there were a few stipulations in the RFP guidelines that could open it back up again — one of which was a change in agency ownership / management or a change in leadership at the Lottery office (Disclaimer – I’m going off of memory here, so I could very well be mistaken).

The Boise Hawks? Well, that’s another story all together. Since the opening is not for the Director of Marketing, but rather someone that reports to the Director, it doesn’t seem as likely that this account would change hands, but then again, you never know.

So, the moral of the story — if you’re the incumbent, by all means don’t just sit back and expect business as usual. If you want to keep them, you’re going to have to defend your accounts virorously. And on the flip side, if you’re looking to pick off one of these accounts, this may be your best shot at doing so.

Technorati tags: idaho lottery, marketing director job, boise hawks, marketing manager job, drake cooper

Will it be finding and retaining clients? Growing the agency? Adapting to changes in technology?

Or will it be something entirely different? I’ve got my opinion, of course, but I’d like to hear yours.

Comment away.

Technorati tags: idaho ad agencies, agency business

Is it when the business becomes its own legal entity? If so, there’s a whole helluva lot more links that I need to add to the list.

Is it when the business becomes a brand, and that brand takes on a life of its own? If that’s the case, who gets to decide? Me? I think not. My opinions are just that. Opinions.

So, I throw the question out there to you, dear readers…where do you draw the line?

Recently, though, I’ve noticed a number of instances where the heart and soul of the business has left the building.

Take Blueline Grassroots Marketing, for example.

Just under a month ago, one of the founders of the company, Brian Critchfield, decided it was time to leave. Blueline was, by my own observations, his baby. He, along with others, started it, and grew it from it’s original group to the place that they’re at today. Then, in what I’d assume was not a sudden decision, he left. He decided that it was time to move on.

Now I’m sure there are a number of reasons for this, many of which you and I will never know about. That’s the case no matter when this happens. The point, however, is that in many ways, Brian was the heart and soul of Blueline. And with him gone, what’s next for them?

Now, it should be noted that this is not unique to our little world here in Idaho. For those of you who follow the new media/marketing world may know, last week CC Chapman decided that it was time for him to leave Crayon, a company that he helped to create. Again, I’m sure there are a number of reasons for this decision that the casual observer will never know about, but I have to call it as I see it — the heart and soul of that company has now left the building.

So, the question remains. When this happens where you’re at, and at some point in time it will happen, what are you going to do about it? Are you in a position to replace the talent that just left the company, or are you going to have to scramble to try and pick up the slack somehow?

As always, comments, questions, blatant cries that I’m full of shit are always welcome.

Technorati tags: blueline grassroots marketing, brian critchfield, navel marketing, crayon, cc chapman