First Person archive
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HomeAway.com targets “Vacation” audience
Now that I have a DVR I usually zoom through commercials, but there’s one that I’ve been watching lately. I missed its debut during the Super Bowl but, luckily for me, it’s been on pretty heavy rotation in the past couple of weeks. It’s for HomeAway.com and features Chevy Chase and Beverly D’Angelo reprising their roles as… Continue reading
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Return to the hive
If social media channels like LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and others are can’t-miss parties for marketers, then what to make of the dishes piling up in the kitchen sink and the thick coating of dust on the counters back home? Venturing off to schmooze and mingle is all well and good, marketers, but not if it… Continue reading
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Project Runway: naughty or nice?
The seventh season of Project Runway starts on Thursday, January 14, and I await it with the same feeling of anticipation and dread that I experienced when watching Star Wars Episodes I-III: I wanted to love these movies as much as I loved Episodes IV-VI, but they just kept disappointing me.
As for Project… Continue reading
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FLOR’s design contest wins hearts from carpet
I’m obsessed with FLOR. Everything about the company—from the cool, slightly Scandinavian-sounding name, to the environmental friendliness of its products, to its inspiring catalogs—makes me want to cover every surface in my house with carpet tiles.
And now FLOR has given me yet another reason to love it. Last month the company emailed me about its… Continue reading
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How do you read the Web? Eye-tracking data reveals 5 key findings!
I learned about eye-tracking technology in my newspaper days, when places like the Poynter Institute would strap headgear onto hapless readers to record where their eyes moved on the printed page. The data was always useful, since it shows what layout approaches and print elements attract attention and for how long—and also how eyes move… Continue reading
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What makes a successful infographic?
Recently, my colleague Bill Golden wrote a blog post about infographics resources. It prompted some discussion at Tendo about best practices for online vs. print infographics. Many of the graphics featured in this link, for instance, are fairly complicated and would be difficult to access online. If an infographic’s purpose is to make information more… Continue reading
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Video games as a marketing hook? Try me.
I’m not the target demographic for video games, and I rarely play them. I wasn’t a fan of online games, either—until someone sent me a link this week to TripAdvisor’s Travel IQ game.
The game was sapping my productivity until I decided it was worth blogging about as a great example of a company… Continue reading
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6 good infographics sources–and how USA Today fooled everyone
I distinctly remember some of the criticism of USA Today when it first launched: the color photography, the short articles, and all of those big infographics. That’s journalism? Do the editors have no faith in America’s ability to read?
One thing USA Today realized, even before the rise of the Internet, is that we humans have become increasingly visual creatures. Nowadays, with screens and information pervading every nook and cranny we inhabit, figuring out how to organize and present that information is more important than ever. Continue reading
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Local Dirt creates community, brings food close to home
I love when technology solves a real problem and brings together people or businesses that otherwise wouldn’t find each other, or, at least, wouldn’t find each other easily. That’s what Local Dirt is doing for those interested in finding, buying, and selling local food.
I find this interesting not only because I’m a consumer… Continue reading
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Apple’s subtle brand marketing triumph
In this humble marketer’s opinion, overshadowing the “there’s an app for that” TV commercials, the white-corded iPod billboards, the “I’m a Mac” print ads, and even the seminal 1984 George Orwell-inspired Superbowl launch commercial is Apple’s biggest marketing triumph, which cost $0.00 to produce and consists of just four words… Continue reading
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Seeing a brand in new light
I had one of those rare moments recently when an ad actually influenced my brand sentiment.
Maybe it stood out because it’s a rare occurrence for me. Or because it involved a brand I”m not particularly fond of. Or then again, maybe it was compelling creative. I think it was mostly the latter… Continue reading
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When cheap video = good video
Video doesn’t have to be expensive to be effective. In fact, sometimes cheaper is better.
Take the video glossary I recently ran across on Lawrence Berkeley National Labs’ site. Scientists for this Department of Energy lab look straight into what is obviously an inexpensive video camera and explain everything from green computing to dark… Continue reading
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A blog by any other name…
Blogging can be an intimidating word, especially when you’re not a writer or editor by profession. I’m the office manager at Tendo, so when my colleagues here ask me to contribute to the Tendo blog, my answer is either, “sorry, I don’t blog” or “I’m too old to join a new fad.” But am I… Continue reading
