the blog
We have a lot to say.
Admittedly, some of it probably shouldn’t be said in public, so we’ll keep it to the stuff that matters. Don’t expect us to only spew words or facts. We’ll tell you what we think, and more importantly, why it should matter to you.
CATEGORIES
Advertising in a Down Economy May Be Smarter Than you Think.
At some point during a recession, every business’s advertising budget or marketing plan has had a setback—budgets cut, projects cancelled, creative direction changed, whatever. Sadly, usually the first thing to get cut during economic hardship is the advertising budget. The good news? There is a ton of factual info and insight to back up the […]
Penn State: Smart PR and Stupid PR
While this whole, sordid, Penn State scandal continues to unfold, it occurred to me that just within this one situation, we’ve already seen two examples of how public relations is being used. One example illustrates how public relations should be used—as an invaluable communications tool during times of crisis. The other example illustrates a […]
Is Black Friday Becoming Too Sinister of a Marketing Holiday?
Waking up at the crack of dawn after Thanksgiving to save on a new flatscreen has become almost as much a holiday tradition as a plateful of turkey and mashed potatoes. And this past Black Friday was one of the most aggressive in marketing history. Stores even began opening their doors on “Black Eve,” meaning […]
The Lake and Stars Campaign Takes Things Too Far…
Call me a prude, but I’m really disgusted by the Lake And Stars lingerie ad campaign featuring a mom and daughter in sexually provocative poses…together! The Lake and Stars Fall/winter lingerie campaign broke this Fall and is getting some negative press, for good reason. Obviously appealing to a younger audience, it saddens me that they […]
Content is King: If it’s worthwhile to read, it’s worthwhile to click
With new algorithms constantly being generated by search engines like Google, Yahoo! and Bing everyday, generating new content has never ever been more critical to upping your website’s ranking on a search engine results page (SERP). Sure you can fire out a trillion spam messages all over the web, but don’t expect such an ill-inspired […]
Corporate Marketers Need a Better Network
Throughout my 25 years of work in the ad agency business, I’ve developed a strong network of fellow marketing professionals at other agencies and on the corporate-side. I’ve also come to realize that client-side marketing professionals don’t seem to have as strong of networks. Here on the agency-side, we seem to keep in touch with […]
Jedi Copywriting: My path as a Padawan learner
Recently I was at the Ad Club Creative Symposium, the creative gathering for St. Louis advertising agencies. And my favorite presentation was the speaking duet, John January and Tug McTighe, who discussed the parallels of a little known Sci-fi series, Star Wars, and modern copywriting. Surprisingly, the 2 universes are more corollary than I ever imagined. […]
Selecting an Agency Doesn’t Have to Give You a Headache
Recently, Harley Hammerman, CEO of Metro Imaging and Geile/Leon client, told the Business Journal that selecting an advertising agency to promote his business was a matter of relationships. A few days ago the ANA, the Association of National Advertisers, and 4A’s, The American Association of Advertising Agencies, published guidelines on how to conduct an agency search […]
Heartland Bank Finds Fun Way to Bolster United Way Giving
Heartland Bank, a client of St. Louis Public Relations Agency Geile/Leon Marketing Communications, decided they wanted to do a little more than just contribute to the annual United Way Campaign on an individual basis. So they decided that this year, each department would create an auction basket with donated items from clients, customers and themselves. Each […]
Following My Own Advice When Preparing for a Media Interview
There is nothing like being on the other side of an interview to make you think about what you do for a living. As Vice President of Geile/Leon Marketing Communications, a St. Louis public relations agency, I train people how to do effective interviews. But when it is personal, I wonder what to say and how it […]