Advertising

August 25, 2010 by Simon Mainwaring

The title for this post paraphrases a quote from a Chinese salesman featured in a story on counterfeit products in the New York Times magazine last weekend. While the salesman was speaking directly to accusations regarding the legality of selling counterfeit sneakers, he touched on a much larger issue for marketers. Since the birth of […]

August 23, 2010 by Simon Mainwaring

As anyone who works in the advertising or entertainment business will tell you, their industry is undergoing seismic changes in the face of new technology that enables both business and consumers to create content at virtually no cost. This means old business models no longer apply, job titles are changing and most businesses are being […]

August 11, 2010 by Simon Mainwaring

Nestle’s PR disaster over palm oil harvesting continues to damage the brand. Despite the fact that Nestle dropped the palm oil harvesters responsible for the deforestation that threatened the survival of orangutans, a company called Sinar Mas, it’s Nestle’s handling of the issue on Facebook that keeps backfiring. The most recent issue is the fact […]

August 9, 2010 by Simon Mainwaring

There is no shortage of posts explaining how critical it is for brands to leverage social media, build a community and lead with a listening ear. I have written several myself. Yet the distraction of new technology – breathlessly hyped online – continues to lead many brands to believe that social media tools are an […]

August 2, 2010 by Simon Mainwaring

Last Friday I had to the privilege of speaking at the NCSA Annual Conference (National Collegiate Scouting Association) in Chicago. Not only did I get to meet some of the top athletes, coaches and scouts in the country, but I got to experience first hand what I believe is the most important trait that any […]

July 28, 2010 by Simon Mainwaring

Everywhere you look these days there’s another instance of a brand being caught out for disingenuous, duplicitous or unconscionable behavior. It’s almost as if they can’t believe either a) this Internet thing is here to stay, or b) that it requires transparency. So in an effort to shunt to process forward, let’s look at two […]