Author Archives 
Julie Jares gave up an exciting but not very lucrative travel-writing career to join Tendo. As a managing editor at the company, she has gained expertise in the auto world, the tech world, and perhaps most importantly, the South Park/SoMa restaurant world. A devoted sports fan, she also loves the company’s proximity to the Giants’ AT&T Park (or whatever they’re calling it now).
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Michelin abandons total secrecy
In our social media, share everything world, secrecy is out and transparency is in. No secret there, right? But even the marketers of the famously hush-hush Michelin guides are striving to find the right balance between communicating to their audience and maintaining their editorial integrity.
The company that doesn’t let its restaurant reviewers participate… Continue reading
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Fantasy football scores big through enthusiasm
Add it to the list of things you like, but don’t need to spend your hard-earned cash on: I’m thinking Kindles, satellite radio, and, of course, fantasy football.
But fantasy football—in which participants draft real players (and their stats) for a fantasy team and then compete against other fantasy teams—has become big business. Every… Continue reading
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The latest offline/online mashups get real
In the early days of the Internet, businesses with a physical location were referred to as “brick-and-mortar,” while those on the Internet had a “Web presence.” Obviously, that distinction doesn’t hold up anymore, but a recent Google campaign and a new iPhone app got me thinking about the convergence of the online and offline worlds… Continue reading
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Marketing a board game
The under-12 crowd probably doesn’t spend a lot of time playing Candy Land, but their parents did. And therein lies the genius of tomorrow’s marketing event in San Francisco: turning the crooked part of Lombard Street into a real-life version of the board game. The event celebrates the 60th anniversary of Candy Land, with kids from… Continue reading
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Jargon Watch: “The ocean that touches many shores”
“The ocean that touches many shores”
Definition: Used as a metaphor for a concept, solution—or even a person—that affects multiple things. “Our CRM solution has many applications for your business; it’s the ocean that touches many shores.” Continue reading
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5 things you need to know about conversational marketing
From the highest levels of government to the world of corporate marketing, we’re seeing that transparency and accessibility may be the watch words for 2009. Last month, one of the first moves by the Obama administration was to increase government transparency, including a memo directing government agencies to “adopt a presumption in favor” of Freedom… Continue reading
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Viral video at HP is more than entertainment
“HP Engineers Say It” series made us laugh and learn product proof points. Continue reading
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HeidiSays: Saying it well
During the holiday season, shoppers are inundated with catalogs, email promotions, and other retail marketing materials. I was out of town for several weeks in late November and early December and I came home to at least 10 catalogues in my mailbox, and countless email offers and reminders. Only one stood out from the pack… Continue reading
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New York state of mind
On Election Day, what word describes your state of mind? The New York Times wants to know. In a terrific use of tag cloud technology, the website has a page that asks readers to enter two pieces of information: the word that fits their mood right now and whether they support McCain or Obama (or neither). Then you can see—via… Continue reading
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J.Crew needs a clue!
For months I’ve been on J.Crew’s email newsletter list. I get a lot of email newsletters—everything from retail to marketing to auto news—so I’m used to deleting the occasional email that I don’t want to read. But a few months ago, I realized that my inbox was experiencing J.Crew overload. It seemed like I was getting at least… Continue reading
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Is the podcast dead?
Is the podcast dead? And what is a podcast anyway? Back in 2005, the New Oxford American Dictionary hailed it as the Word of the Year and described it as a “digital recording of a radio broadcast or similar program, made available on the Internet for downloading to a personal audio player.” That definition has… Continue reading
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A whopper about the Whopper
You’ve probably seen the ads: Burger King employees tell customers that the Whopper is no more. What?? The home of the Whopper has discontinued the Whopper?? Customers freak out, and Burger King eats up—and films—every minute of it.
One blogger says the ads are “breaking all the rules.” I’m not so sure. I thought the ad… Continue reading
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Elections and MySpace
It’s Election Day in San Francisco and I forgot to vote this morning. Mayor Gavin doesn’t need me, but Measure D might. To assuage my guilt about not supporting the city’s libraries with my vote, I’m brushing up on my presidential candidates so I’m not in the same predicament next year.
I consulted the MySpace Impact… Continue reading