Monthly Archives: April 2013

Closing out the semester

I would like to close out this semester’s blog with a note about someone I worked with who gave her life working in communication. Anne Smedinghoff worked with me at US Embassy Kabul. She was killed in early April while … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | 5 Comments

Atlanta’s “World of Coke” – a shrine to a brand

We all know that when it comes to integrated marketing, Coke is pretty much the king.  From television to print ads, online content and more, Coke knows how to integrate it’s marketing channels. But Coke’s taken it one step further … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments

#prayforboston

I’m so saddened by today’s events. As a runner, I know what type of disorientation the body (and mind) experiences after such a long distance. Then to have your personal victory met with the harrowing echoes of screams and shards … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | 16 Comments

Facebook … Losing the Cool Factor?

Facebook is losing ground among teen users.  FB noted In its 2012 10-K report: We believe that some of our users, particularly our younger users, are aware of and actively engaging with other products and services similar to, or as … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | 13 Comments

Facebook on the Move

Facebook is on the Move Online communications have come a long way from impersonal and un-customizable chat rooms, to the fully integrated Facebook. (i.e. fan pages, businesses pages, advertisements) Facebook started off as a platform to communicate with friends and … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | 4 Comments

J.C. Penney: The Importance of Customer Research

Faced with dramatically plunging sales and a bleak future, this week the retailer J.C. Penney (”JCP”) fired CEO Ron Johnson just 17 months after he started with the company.  Notably, Johnson was the Apple executive who masterminded the retail experience … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | 13 Comments

The Wonderful World of Lilly Pulitzer

“It all started 50ish years ago with a simple shift dress in Palm Beach, Florida” (Herald Online, 2013). Well, not quite… It actually started 80ish years ago when Lillian McKim was born in Farmington, Connecticut. And what a beginning it … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | 20 Comments

What do companies do when consumers are #notbuyingit?

It’s all about leveraging the power of consumer engagement, right? From the opening pages of Brand Media Strategy to the Effie Award-winning Old Spice campaign to our evaluations of the integration of respective brands, 541 has focused significantly on engaging … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | 14 Comments

The Masters of Communications Program at the Annenberg School for Journalism and Communications at the University of Southern California focuses on teaching its students how organizations and people communicate. Language is the basis of communications and language is consistently evolving. … Continue reading

Posted on by schmulev | 15 Comments

Salad Dressing Just Got Steamy

Salad dressing just got steamy, sexy and sensual. Last week, Kraft introduced their new “Let’s Get Zesty” ad campaign for it’s Italian dressing. It features a hot guy cooking over an outdoor grill and it’s full of sexual innuendos, take … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | 11 Comments