Gaming the system – a cautionary tale

For those who haven’t taken the time to read the New York Times piece on J.C. Penney, and some of the ‘black hat’ SEO techniques that were used on their website, you owe it to yourself to take a look:

The Dirty Little Secrets of Search

Is This the Year?

For the past few years, a common question in the marketing world has been “Will things get better or worse this year?”

Recently, Tanzina Vega and Stuart Elliott tackled that question in an article published in the New York Times.  Give the article a read — it’ll be worth you time.

After Two Slow Years, an Industry Rebound Begins

Positive News on the Media Front

Two separate articles in the past week have both pointed to some positive news from the media side of this business:

Radio Revenues Rebound in 2Q, Auto Ads Up – via MediaPost

TV ad sales looking solid for second half – via The Hollywood Reporter

Give the articles a read and decide for yourself.  Are they right? Wrong? Are you seeing things out there these days that support these theories?

Asking the Wrong Questions

A quick read for a Monday morning…

Came across this post recently, and thought it was worth sharing.  Given the changing nature of marketing, advertising, communications and public relations in today’s environment, I thought it was worth passing along:

The 8 Wrong Questions PR Firms Are Asking About Social Media

From Our Friends at AdPulp – The Luke Sullivan Interview

David Burn over at AdPulp had a chance recently to interview Luke Sullivan, Copywriter, Author and Senior VP/Managing Group Creative Director at GSD&M in Austin, Texas.

The AdPulp Interview: Luke Sullivan

Take a few minutes and give it a read.  It’s as close as you’ll get around here to having a homework assignment.  Then, go back and read it again.  You’ll be glad you did.