God bless the children!

FU 2009!

Hey 2009, don't let the door hit you in the ass, you miserable bastard of a year.

You kicked my ass. I'll give you that. And, I was not alone is this ass beating. But, I'm in it for the long haul now - so, 2010 will feel my wrath.

Piss off.

Love, Tommy.

Branding Schmanding

AOL revealed a new "branding position" today. It's "Aol." The brightest and best minds in the business came up with this - so it has to be good, right? Once again, a big brand is finding out that the big companies (e.g. big ad agencies) are no longer the "safe choice." Makes me almost want to give up this business or at least puke a little bit.

AOL (sorry, I mean Aol.) better launch some new marketing efforts that strive to better connect their customers to themselves and to one another. It's telling that they have really have bet the farm on the fact that they will attract new advertisers. What's going to change there that will finally be of interest to advertisers? "Content" they say. Man, that train has left the station. Come on Timmy (Armstrong) try another one and please don't use the word "engagement" on us. AOL has been holding their customers back for years. They should be looking at implementing ideas/services/products that finally liberate and modernize them. Dear Tim; Don't try and grow your customer base just yet - first, help your current customers grow. Lead them forward and retain their business. Only then will those golden advertisers follow.

The Comeback (Part 1)

The MeNetwork is coming together nicely. Stay tuned.

The View From The Fall (Part 1)

“When you hit the beach, who do you want to be by your side?” – US Marine Corps expression.

 Watch them run for the doors when the times get tough. They scramble to try and find the “next thing” without taking any time to reflect on what went wrong or what could be done differently next time. It hurts. But, you cant really blame them. This is your mess, not theirs. They’re not supposed to be leaders anyway – you are.

You suddenly lose your big client and all the revenue associated with it. You can’t make payroll or pay the rent at the office – or the mortgage at home. People you’ve known and trusted for years seem to be hiding from you – not returning emails or phone calls. A cascade of badness envelops you. For the first time you understand what it means to have a “black cloud” over your head. It gets lonely and quiet fast.

To be a leader, you must thrive on the chaos that comes from experiences like this. It’s easy to feel sorry for yourself and to try and hide from the world. It’s harder to stand tall and take it. No, not just take it – but rather embrace it. This is the best lesson of all. This is that feeling that you never want to feel again. So, feel it. Really feel it – breath it all in and then come to understand it. Once you understand it, you can start to fix it. Imagine how much stronger you will be when you come out on the other side victorious.

 “Into each life some rain must fall, some days must be dark and dreary.” – Longfellow

The battleground at times like these isn’t with the creditors or the telemarketers calling ad nausea or even with the struggle to replace lost client revenues with new ones. The real battle takes place between your ears. You have to fight the doubt, absorb the punches that your self-confidence has taken and deal with the pain that comes from realizing that you’ve really been in this on your own – alone – from the beginning. Yes, it’s raining, it’s dark, it’s dreary and it can either drag you down or make you feel more alive than you have ever felt. 

Bogusky - AdAge Artcile

Alex Bogusky wrote a really smart piece for the 3/23/09 edition of AdAge.

Essentially he writes that it is the smaller, ego-less and agile agencies that will help create new opportunity, creativity and forward movement in tough times. 

I agree with Alex that with less overhead, red tape and financial pressure than the big holding companies, the smaller shops should take this unique time in the marketing industry to make strides forward. 

So if you're part of a smaller shop, get tenacious and be bold. Put your business development hat on and sell yourself NOW. That previously hard to reach window has finally opened for you to compete with the "big boys." What are you going to do about it? 

As Bob Dylan once said "When you ain't got nothin, you got nothin to lose." 

I forgot I had this damn blog...

So, the point was that I would update this blog with all my brilliance as often as possible. Of course, that never happened. Here's my shot at getting this thing back on track. But, if I write it, will they come? Doubtful. Anyway, by unpopular demand, I will start filling this blog up with my bullshit - starting next week. Cough.