Enterprising Thoughts

• Post Recession Marketing: It Just Ain’t Going to be the Same!

  Published on April 11, 2011.

  Many companies, perhaps most, made adjustments to survive the “Great Recession.” Some succeeded. But to prosper in the post recession era will require, not only adjustments, but also a re-thinking of entire marketing strategies, including how we communicate with our key audiences.

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• Advertising During A Recession

  Published on March 15, 2011.

  If we pay attention, much can be learned about marketing from our current and hopefully declining recession.

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• The Agency Business as Fountain of Youth

  Published on February 3, 2011.

  Back in the 1950s and before, it was said that, “Advertising is a young man’s game.” After a couple of succeeding decades, the truism was amended to “Advertising is a young person’s game.” That was in recognition of the increasing leadership role of women in the industry. The operative word, of course, remained, “young.”

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• Fit, Unfit, or Counterfeit?

  Published on January 15, 2011.

  In my experience, there are three kinds of executives in business, perhaps especially in the agency business, which is where I spent most of my career. They are: fit, unfit, and counterfeit.

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• Words Also Have a History

  Published on October 11, 2010.

  Here’s a puzzle to start your day: What do barbed wire, billiard parlor, cussword, dust storm, ex-convict, Wild West, forty-niner, hayride, press notice, and race prejudice all have in common? All these terms, among many others, were first created and first put in print by Mark Twain. My entire working career has been based on my ability to put words

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• There’s a phrase for that

  Published on October 11, 2010.

  The other day, a friend used the phrase, “In like Flint.” I corrected him by saying the expression was actually, “In like Flynn.” Well, we decided, it depends on your age. He claimed the term came from the 1967 movie of the same name starring James Coburn. My recollection is that the term referred to Errol (do you know who

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• Plans, wherefore art thou plans?

  Published on October 11, 2010.

  Someone once told me, “Those who fail to plan, plan to fail.” And, so I’ve been saying the same thing to clients and prospects for years. Thus, it is not surprising that I have been writing, contributing to, editing, and amending all kinds of plans during my tenure in the agency business. Business Plans. Marketing Plans. Public Relations Plans. Media

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• A good idea is not enough

  Published on October 11, 2010.

  I once received an award for “The Best Idea That Didn’t Sell.” I guess that is sort of a left-handed compliment. Got the idea, but couldn’t pull it off. Truth be told: I tried to sell the idea twice. Failed twice, but have a little trophy to remind me of the failure. The idea? The Philadelphia Sports Street Stars. The

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• Putting Your Photo In Your Ad

  Published on October 1, 2010.

  If you read regional magazines, you may notice what appears to be an increasing trend of advertisers putting their own photos in their ads.

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