Identity Marketing and Public Relations

The Grey Lady Sells Out — Existence Trumps Time-Honored Standards

Colleen Creagh Rosso — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 23:30:29 +0000

If ever there was a reason to believe that the newspaper industry is in serious trouble, it appeared in the form of an ad on the front page of the New York Times. Not a teaser — a full-blown ad. The New York Times has long been heralded as the bastion of journalistic ethics, including its [...]

Best wishes for a great 2010?

Mark Winter — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 17:12:25 +0000

I had a client tell me just before Christmas that he received a Holiday Card wishing him a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous 2010……2010, funny right? Maybe so…but certainly not ha ha funny. Our team is going into 2009 with our heads up and our shoulders down Our message to those who are planning on [...]

Movie of the Week

Tom Nixon — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 19:50:29 +0000

This week’s Movie of the Week Year is a good one—a tribute and a thank-you to our clients who have supported us and made our dream a reality for 10 great years. Thus concludes our 10 Ways to Say Thank-You campaign, in honor of our 10th anniversary, marked November 2nd, 2008. Here’s to 10 more, starting in [...]

What about the First Lady?

Erin Sabo — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 17:06:40 +0000

To add to both Colleen and Tom’s interesting exploration of the wildly successful Barack Obama “Brand,” I think our new First Lady deserves a little of the limelight. After all, Michelle Obama quickly became one of the most talked about figures in our society, and she is yet to disappoint her avid followers. She is [...]

The List of Best ‘Best of 2008′ Lists

Tom Nixon — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 13:53:16 +0000

Apropos my disdain for year-end list-making and myopic nostalgia, I present the Best ‘Best of 2008′ Lists List. (So I lied about signing off for 2008.) Share

Another Year Over…

Tom Nixon — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 03:33:26 +0000

It’s that time of year. Time to reflect, I guess. For the media, it’s a time to rehash the year’s best and worst stories. And they all do it…television, magazines, newspapers, radio…ad nauseum. For years, I’ve been trying to figure out why I dislike these retrospectives so much. I still can’t figure it out, but they’ve [...]

Movie of the Week, Christmas Pageant Version

Tom Nixon — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 13:52:13 +0000

This is what my colleagues get for allowing me to dominate the discussion around here lately: Happy holidays, all! Share

RE: TIME Magazine Announces 2008 Person of the Year

Tom Nixon — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 21:26:05 +0000

You bring up an interesting point, Colleen. It is one thing (and a great big thing) to build a brand. Quite another to maintain it, especially in the face of adversity. When Jack in the Box restaurants saw their brand armor chinking due to an E.coli scare, what followed was one of the most successful [...]

TIME Magazine Announces 2008 Person of the Year

Colleen Creagh Rosso — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 15:24:36 +0000

Today, TIME Magazine announced its 2008 Person of the Year — and, thank heavens, no reflective devices were necessary. While the editors would have us think that the choice was hotly debated and up-in-the-air until the last second, I think the first African American President of the United States in history had a leg up [...]

Best and Worst of 2008

Amanda Ming — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 17:12:35 +0000

In the fast-paced world we live in, news gets old in minutes. But come December we are ready to reflect on the year past. I must admit I thoroughly relish looking back and reminiscing on the interesting, best and worst, funniest and weirdest stories of the year. The end of the year is for the [...]

Re: Whither Print Media

Tom Nixon — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 17:06:19 +0000

Not as bad as some feared, but still not great news: Detroit’s newspapers announced Tuesday they plan to offer only three days of home delivery and will push their online editions in a fight for their survival amid slumping revenue industry wide. The Detroit Media Partnership expects to cut about 9 percent of its work force but [...]

How to Market in a Web 2.0 World

Tom Nixon — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 21:13:23 +0000

Interesting article courtesy of Wall Street Journal. They “interviewed more than 30 executives and managers in both large and small organizations that are at the forefront of experimenting with Web 2.0 tools. From those conversations and further research, we identified a set of emerging principles for marketing.” Read the whole thing, but here are the important [...]

Trust Us

Tom Nixon — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 12:45:50 +0000

Forrester research reveals that 86% of consumers don’t trust corporate blogs. Some interesting (if at times heated) thoughts on “one-way social media” here. Share

Movie of the Week

Tom Nixon — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 17:42:56 +0000

Since today is our mini- holiday party at lunch, this seemed apropos. Notice how Yukon Cornelius’s prospecting success might remind one of the Detroit Three’s efforts in Congress. “Nothin’.” Share

Whither, Print Media

Tom Nixon — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 14:58:04 +0000

Next week could be a sad moment in the history of Detroit media, and for me personally. I grew up reading the Detroit News and the Detroit Free Press. Long before the Internets and blogs and 24/7 cable news, my hometown newspapers informed me and my thinking, entertained me, and provided a window into the [...]

Burger King Is Telling a Whopper

Tom Nixon — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 02:04:41 +0000

When does an apparent PR gaffe become a publicity stunt? Burger King is currently “embroiled” in controversy surrounding their new ad campaign, profiling “whopper virgins” from third-world-like countries, where real hunger exists, displaying an unsettling lack of sensitivity to poverty and hunger around the world. The problem, critics contend, is that Burger King doesn’t acknowledge the hunger [...]

Open Web Award Winners

Tom Nixon — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 19:45:47 +0000

Ever wonder what/where the coolest, most popular sites and gadgets are on the Web (2.0)? Well, here are the Bloggers’ Choice Award Winners. Many are to be expected, but there may be some you’re not familiar with. Check it out. Share

Top PR Blunders of 2008

Tom Nixon — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 16:12:39 +0000

The Bulldog Reporter, a PR industry publication, has published its list of the top public relations blunders of the year. We’ve covered a few here at ID Tags. Enjoy: AIG All-Expense-Paid Retreats … Paid By You AP to Detroit Three: “old way of doing business just won’t fly.” Department of Veterans Affairs says “Shh!” To Veterans’ [...]

Newspaper Circulation Decline

Tom Nixon — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 13:21:14 +0000

We’ve lamented this in this space before, but it really hits home when you start hearing about: ‘Several Cities’ Could Have No Daily Paper As Soon As 2010, Credit Rater Says Newspaper and newspaper groups are likely to default on their debt and go out of business next year — leaving “several cities” with no daily newspaper [...]

And Now For Something Completely Different

Tom Nixon — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 15:18:12 +0000

Movie of the week: No one gets hurt; won’t make you laugh; no adorable dogs. But well worth a view… Share