The U.S. is a free market, but one can’t blame social capitalists for getting worked up when they see people feasting at the table of the less-than-privileged.

Does a company have the right to do whatever it wants with its money (what is left of it) when a lot of that money was, in hindsight, acquired somewhat unethically–at the very least, willingly taking advantage of people that don’t know better. Do they have a responsibility to cut back on the splurging to help their customers out.

I don’t think Countrywide needs to be shmooooooozing anyone right now. 95% of those in the loan industry are hungry–for closings, not beef.

Why don’t multi million dollar high profile companies have a VP of Common Sense on their payrolls.  Give some smart, independent minded person $150,000, guarantee them under contract so that they won’t get fired for speaking openly, pay the person to sit there, walk around, and say “Bad idea”.

At the very least, given the economic uncertainties and sympathy for those facing foreclosure, Countrywide’s brand is going to take a serious hit. Fire up the PR machine!

Went to the new Pompeii exhibit this past weekend at the San Diego Museum of Natural History. So did a lot of other people. It was crowded. But it was a good show. What made it most fun were the occasional bursts of graffiti on the exhibit walls. They were examples taken directly from the walls of ancient Pompeii. They were mostly about keeping your hair clean, putting charcoal around your eyes, etc. The original guerrilla ads (proving that insecurity and a desire to be beautiful are timeless). Here’s a little history on just how much graffiti was used in ancient times. People think advertising is new and hip. It’s as old as the hills.

As much as I try to appreciate Valentines Day for the made-up holiday that it is, I’m finding it harder to do so with each passing year. It seems that as consumers we are asked to spend enormous amounts of money in order to feel like we’re good Valentines. From flowers & chocolates to diamonds & pearls, it seems as though the bar inches higher. What ever happened to the simplicity of showing someone you care? At what point did our acts of kindness on February 14th begin their association with the dollar signs? When did our hearts get replaced by our pocketbooks? We’re so inundated with advertising messages telling us that material items prove how much we care about someone. When in reality, our ‘Valentine’ status shouldn’t be determined by what we get people; but rather, what we do for them. I encourage everyone who’s reading this to be an authentic Valentine and show your appreciation not with what money can buy, but with what money can’t buy. Whether it’s making your Valentines Day cards or simply spending quality time with someone, you’re giving a gift that’s priceless. Happy Heart Day!!!

As an homage to Pedal Powered (currently in Thailand on her honeymoon), I’d like to share an article that defines “what it is we pr people do.”

She’s been working for weeks on this piece about our client Vet-Stem with the writer from USA Today. Hard work pays off.

I’ve fallen in love with Hyperlinks.

Taking due diligence to research, read, and test the new wave of social media, I’ve learned how essential hyperlinks are for media. And you, the end user. Instead of getting attention by using my wordsmith magic to mold meaningful facts into a lovable read of breakthrough industry must-know, I can use a link.

Long, complicated releases of the past have transformed into clear-cut, interactive documents. I no longer have to explain which celebrities attended the Del Mar Racetrack this season. Or describe why its slogan is “Where the turf meets the surf.” I can let pictures and websites do the showing for me.
Now that I think about it, imagining PR without hyperlinks is like envisioning Britney without psychotic episodes–it just doesn’t happen.

Rob Davis of Voice of San Diego wrote one of the better articles I’ve seen in San Diego lately–not to take away from Rob, but the UT has set that bar pretty low. Regarding the California Coastal Commission’s rejection of the infamous Toll Road through South Orange County, he seemed to capture the essence of what the public meeting was all about.  In a a heated climate where certainly the opposition was more vocal, he managed to present the story in an insightful, honest and entertaining piece of journalism.  He didn’t fill his column with 650 words of sound bites.This is reporting of the future. Whether an event or occurrence be national or local,  we can easily get “the facts” from newswires, 10 second radio bits (I had already heard the results on the way to work) or other sources (Google) designed to pump out information efficiently and objectively to as many people as possible.   The value of journalism in our society is shifting from pure objectivity about the facts to objectivity about the nature and context of what occurred, why something matters, and the underlying issues that make the story relevant to the public at large. This is the responsibility of the media today–informing the public about the external realities of the situation. The newspaper is not dead.  It’s evolving.   I’m adding voiceofsandiego.org to my short list of “newspapers” that will survive the next decade.  Click here if you want some old fashioned boring coverage of the event.

The New York Times doesn’t think so, according to this article in today’s issue about declining ad revenues and shrinking profits.  Perfect follow-up to my blog rant the other day about how the San Diego daily paper is forced through staff cuts to rely on other people’s news reporting.  Good thing we all have our online news feeds to keep us informed — just don’t spill your morning coffee on the keyboard.

Trying for the dynasty, here…

Most effective: e-trade campaign
- message was on-point, clear and consistent: “Investing with e-trade is so easy, even a baby can do it.”
- take-away and call-to-action: I need to invest and I can do it easily with e-trade.
- appropriate use of humor and entertainment without sacrificing the message
- use of multiple ads (a campaign) reinforced messaging - didn’t confuse viewer or take away from messaging by adding topics or plots
Runner-up: Tide-to-go pen
- messaging on-point: “Stains speak louder than words. Tide-to-go can erase the stain so your words can be heard.”
- take-away: I need to buy a Tide-to-go pen, or my words won’t be heard if I get a stain.
- use of humor appropriate and catchy
- call to action pointed to a clever, memorable site: mytalkingstain.com

Least effective: salesgenie.com campaign
- I still have no idea what the company does
- take-away: I don’t care to know because I was too annoyed and confused by graphics (cartoons) and use of accents
- copy heavy on-screen messaging unreadable and probably unnecessary
- use of multiple ads further confused viewer by adding multiple plots/ scenarios

Runner(s) up: everything I forgot
- clearly not effective if I can’t remember the product, message or take-away

Just wanted to let everyone know about a Valentine’s Promotion the Bailey Gardiner advertising team launched this last Friday for Del Mar Plaza. It’s located at www.cupidofdelmar.com.

Just fill out the simple form on the website and Cupid will send an email to your Valentine letting him/her know exactly what you want for Valentine’s Day and what Del Mar Plaza store they can find it at. This project is a great example of a client asking us for “just a hand-out” and us coming back to them with a bigger idea. Please pass on to all local San Diegans—thanks!

So I got so fed up with the San Diego Union-Tribune and its coverage (or lack thereof) of relevant local, regional and national issues, that I decided to subscribe to the New York Times.

I already read the Wall Street Journal everyday, and was really conflicted when I realized as a marketing professional I need to continue reading my local daily newspaper. This is supposedly my way of staying connected to my community, abreast of issues that affect my city and region, and up-to-the-minute on the hots and nots of our bustling city.

I’m old fashioned, you see. I grew up in a household of voracious readers. My family poured over the San Francisco Chronicle as they slurped their morning coffee and ovaltine. My father did not even allow conversation at the breakfast table until he put down his wall of newspaper, so we could peer beyond it and see his morning mood. And this a tradition I continue to this day (not the wall/mood part). I like holding the newsprint, getting my morning coffee jolt as I wake up to the news of the day.

But here’s the rub. More and more I notice that the San Diego Union-Tribune’s news of the day is far from that — it’s more like news of the week-or-so. Due to budget cuts, the paper has unfortunately decided that they cannot supply the daily news — they would rather rely on someone else’s recycled news from yesterday, or a few days ago, or last week sometime. The editors are now relying on stories borrowed from news sources of higher respect, like, oh, the New York Times.

For example, I read with interest a New York Times front page of the business section story about the coffee industry and Starbuck’s struggle to stay competitive against strengthened mom-and-pops and even a dusted-off McDonald’s. Imagine my dismay when I opened the Union-Tribune the next day to see the exact same story in their “business section”, supplied by the New York Times news service, photos and all. Do they think we’re not paying attention? Does anybody care?

It’s a sad state of affairs and certainly an ongoing commentary about the dying newspaper business. Too bad the Union-Tribune can’t figure out how to lead itself into this new and evolving generation. Instead it makes silly statements about overhead costs, cuts long-time editorial staff and refuses to see the writing on its own wall. Even their online news outlet, signonsandiego.com, is more or less a rehash of the wire stories in the print version.

At least we’ve got Voice of San Diego and a few other news sites to help us stay informed. Guess my old habits will have to die, hard as that might be. Now my kids will have to wait for me to surface above my computer screen as I check the morning news online.

And it might be time to cancel my 20-year subscription to the good ol’ San Diego Union-Tribune.