BG's BOOK REVIEW: A New Brand World

Author Scott Bedbury has been a part of building some of the world's most recognizable brands. As part of the marketing team at Nike during the 80's, he tells the story of how the athletic shoe manufacturer broadened their scope of products while working with little-known ad agency Wieden+Kennedy and developed the iconic slogan "Just Do It". After moving on to a small chain of coffee shops in the 90's, Bedbury illustrates how he used his past experience with Nike to help expand Starbucks into the mega-brand we know of it today.

This book is chock-full of case studies from past and present, successes and failures, to illustrate many of Bedbury's points. A New Brand World is a great read for students breaking into the field of marketing/advertising as well as seasoned industry vets.

iRadio? "Rock with Me, Moto"

Going toe-to-toe with Satellite radio and iTunes is an awfully tall order. But Motorola plans on taking them to task with iRadio, where you can stream over 400+ uniquely programmed stations or press a key to purchase music and download your tracks right to the phone.

Are they doing this out of spite after their relationship with Apple flopped (remember the Rokr)? Is this the answer to satellite's challenge of broadcasting to handheld devices?

Reuters/Yahoo! tell the story in full, but I agree with my good friend Macfixer -- Motorola has failed to really innovate with a new product here, and limit themselves to a small market segment. They're likely to get trampled by those that appeal to the masses. But we'll just have to wait and see...

Online Holiday Shopping Guide

For my first annual "Online Holiday Shopping Guide", I would like to share with you some of my recommendations for buying holiday gifts online...

ELSEWARES
Where else? A great collection of unique and creative gifts by independent artists. The site is easy to navigate, is professionally assembled and has great photos of their unusual inventory with detailed product descriptions.

Wishingfish
Fast shipping, ease-of-use and fun specials sent by email are what have made me a loyal customer. Some unusual gifts can be found here for your co-workers and loved ones. Oh, and their new Holiday Gift Guide makes it really easy to shop!

MXYPLYZYK
Stop trying to pronounce it. This NYC shop has earned it's great reputation by stocking the most unusual goods, let alone their incredibly fun all-Flash website! Add items to your cart and the shopping bag below the perched bird in the tree will keep tally. Considering all of their cool goods, you better keep tabs on your spending!

CB2
This is Crate and Barrel's funky and hip Chicago-only spinoff launched with little hoopla not long ago. Although their site leaves plenty to be desired, check out their "$25 tops" section for unique and affordable gift ideas!

Harry and David
The (classic) perfect gift for a business associate. Their site allows you to easily send to multiple recipients, each with their own address and personalized message. Even for under $25 you can get an incredible small basket with their famous fruit and sweets. Harry and David create classic gifts that will never be out of season.

Cherry Moon Farms
A division of ProFlowers, their baskets of fresh fruit and candy are attractively priced, but their outrageous shipping fees + tax takes the appeal out of their specials. Additionally, in this case the ability to easily send to multiple recipients is not possible. Harry and David still have this category locked down.

Report from Ad:Tech New York

I spent most of my day yesterday at Ad:Tech NY, strolling past booth after booth of sales and marketing folks pitching their services to me. Every other word you heard from passerby was "SEARCH this..." and "SEARCH that...". With so many "me too" companies all touting essentially the same product or service, it's remarkable how each claim their product or service is unlike any other technology out there. Hmmm.

However, I was impressed by Eyeblaster's latest technology and new reporting, Oddcast's really cool animated voice charicatures, Atlas' ever-expanding suite of services and... Google's free G-O-O-G-L-E magnets!

Colbert Report: Outstanding Television

That's right Daily Show fans, one of our favorite reporters has broken off from the team to claim his own place atop of "Mt. Late-Night News Satire". Stephen Colbert, host of Comedy Central's new "Colbert Report" serves us exactly the right mix of opinionated fake news, filled with tasty, comedic satire. The kind that sometimes oozes out of your sandwich and onto your shirt. Yum.

CIS Counseling NYC Website

UPDATE: The finished site can be viewed at ciscounseling.com

I've been working with CIS Counseling for a couple of years now, in the the capacity of a marketing consultant. They're a great non-profit counseling center in downtown NYC and have been very active with Project Liberty, NYC's response to post 9-11 recovery efforts. I'm currently assembling a simple website for CIS in an effort to develop public awareness within the community (NYC's 5 boroughs), and connecting with those in need of help with mental illness or substance abuse.

Our next steps are to develop printed marketing and promotional materials. We expect the website to launch within the next week. In the meantime, (as always) I welcome any constructive criticism.

BG's MUSIC REVIEW: Soulive - Break Out

BG's MUSIC REVIEW: 4 stars (out of 4) soulive.com

"Break Out" is an unbelievable new studio album from Soulive, with a totally new twist on their style of jazz. They bring the funk with some fresh sounding horns and sax, with the most tracks featuring vocals on a Soulive album to date. Some of the folks that help keep it soulful are Chaka Khan, Ivan Neville, Reggie Watts and Robert Randolph.

TV Guide's Broadband Connection

Yesterday Fusebox launched an online viral spot for TV Guide.com that I produced and directed.

Click here to view.

Once you complete all 3 questions (or click "skip game"), be sure to click the "Bloopers" button below. I've got to hand it to Steve, who came up with the concept, Lawrence our CGI artist and Dayoan for a great job in compositing the video and animations.