Captain Digital

Random musings on politics, society, and pop culture from the Internet's marketing curmudgeon.

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Marketing, Advertising & Branding

Agency Management 101: Don’t Turn Your Clients Into Pets.

Most of what I know about marketing, you can divide into three groups: knowledge acquired by instinct, knowledge acquired by experience, and knowledge acquired by study. I wish I could say this next little marketing gem comes to me via instinct or study, but I learned this (sort of) the hard way: by experience. So here’s today’s lesson, campers:

Don’t turn your clients into pets.

(Some of you are thinking, “what in the HELL is he talking about,”  while others are saying “Amen, brother.” Allow me to explain… [Read more…] about Agency Management 101: Don’t Turn Your Clients Into Pets.

Zig Obama.

Barack Does Berlin.I’m a conservative. (Note I didn’t say “I’m a Republican.” In today’s world of RINOs – Republicans In Name Only – running the show, I can’t claim kinship…the word “Republican” has no real meaning any more.)

As a conservative, I’m against practically everything Obama stands for. You know – socialism, higher taxes, less national defense, more appeasement – that sort of thing. Frankly, Obama scared me silly from the begining, as I see him as the perfect candidate for this age of political parties held hostage by radical fringe groups and a mainstream media who has abandoned their traditional job as neutral observers and become a bunch of cheerleaders for a single candidate (Obama, if you’ve not been paying attentition to the blatant media bias). But last night, as I watched The Annointed One address a political rally in Germany (?!), I realized what REALLY scares me about this guy. [Read more…] about Zig Obama.

Everything that’s old is new (again).

I’ve actually been blogging for years – far longer than this blog has been up. While my old blog died with my old company, it occurred to me that it would be nice to have a lot of the old posts I’d written online. The answer is a bit of database manipulation, where I pull the old articles from an archive I have, and posting, then resetting the post dates. That way, the posts remain in their original, chronological order, and I’m not faced with old posts getting in the way of the new stuff. So, if you’re of a mind to look over some of my oldies (but, IMHO, goodies), feel free to scroll back to the older stuff. It’s not all there (yet). but as I get time to upload it, eventually, the old posts will live again.

How ideas happen.

I get to be creative for a living. In fact, my livlihood depends on me coming up with creative solutions to problems, and creative ideas in marketing, advertising and design. I’ve given a lot of thought to how ideas come into being, largely because the more ideas I get, the better off I am (within reason). There’s an old saying I like, “necessity is the mother of invention.” You could argue that it’s also the mother of creativity, or at the very least, the spark that lights the match of imagination. Case in point… [Read more…] about How ideas happen.

The Hardest Working Man in Merchandising.

The Godfather of Soul. Sort of. James Brown’s dead and gone (may he rest in peace), but his fame lives on. Which would be fine, except that now his estate is selling off his memorabilia, in order to satisfy some of his debts. That’s a shame, because I think it cheapens his memory. Now, Brown was certainly an eccentric at times, but he was undeniably an important figure, both musically, and racially. (Few remember in light of the almost self-parody he became later in life, how he actively worked to diffuse racial tensions in the early 60’s.) In the spirit of keeping his spirit – and his sense of humor – alive, I have an idea for his widow(s) and kids.

The James Brown Alarm Clock. [Read more…] about The Hardest Working Man in Merchandising.

There’s no place like Home (Depot).

I like to build things. Particularly out of wood. I grew up in a woodworking shop – it was my Dad’s hobby. (Kind of a weird hobby for a musician – using tools that could end your career in a split second – but I digress.) I love everything about woodworking – the smell of fresh sawdust, the math skills needed to take raw stock and turn it into something useful, the feel of a piece of wood just sanded – you name it. I’m there. I like to work from a rough sketch, working things out in my mind, then putting down the bare minimum info on paper. It’s more fun that way, rather than creating some really detailed, isometric drawing, with dimensions accurate down to a 64th of an inch and so forth. I find that when I work from a rough sketch, that I oftentimes improvise solutions to problems I’d not anticipated, and end up with a better finished product. Some call that “listening to the wood,” but I’m not so mystically inclined. Still… [Read more…] about There’s no place like Home (Depot).

My friend ran for President, and all I got was this lousy TShirt.

It's about time. I’m not easily impressed by most marketing. It’s not that I’m jaded…I’ve just seen a LOT of pitches, promotions, and “new” (read: “recycled, old”) ideas. No big. But every now and then, something comes across my desk that makes me sit up and take notice. Such is the case with http://www.news3online.com. This thing is brilliant.

Few people that are hip to the capabilities of Photoshop and AfterEffects are undully impressed with seeing their photo munged into another. Fair enough. But what if you created what appears to be a legit news story about a grassroots Presidential campaign, and built a dynamic database to capture emails, with the viral “news” story as the lure? Now THAT’S marketing. [Read more…] about My friend ran for President, and all I got was this lousy TShirt.

Seen any good movies lately?

Vantage PointI have. I rented a couple of DVDs for my wife and I to watch. One was Vantage Point, an action/mystery/thriller about a Presidential assasination, told (and retold) from a variety of points-of-view. It was surprisingly good…”surprisingly,” because it came – and went – at the box office so fast, I’m not sure it lasted a week. If you like intelligent movies that make you think – and pay attention – you’ll likely enjoy this one. However, if you’re like most of the movie-going public, maybe not. And that brings me to my rant du jour… [Read more…] about Seen any good movies lately?

3G…or not 3G. if that is the question…

…what is the answer? In anticipation of giving Sprint the same consideration they’ve been showing me for low these 12 years, I visited my friendly, neighborhood AT&T Phonaporium today. The 3G iPhones (or iPhone v. 2.0 for those of us outside the Macinverse) will be available this Friday. I was keen to learn what all this über-coolness is gonna cost me – or at least get a picture of how AT&T’s version of rape differs from Sprint’s.

3G iPhone

I have to admit – my first impressions were pretty favorable. The AT&T staff was cheerful (unlike the generally sullen folk at Sprint…kind of like the diifference between flying Southwest versus American Airlines). The guy I worked with was knowledgeable, and seemed genuinely interested in steering me to the best plan for me – and not whatever AT&T has a spiff on this month. [Read more…] about 3G…or not 3G. if that is the question…

Phone Home.

HTC MogulYou are looking at the bane of my existance.

Okay, to be pefectly accurate, you’re looking at a picture of the same model phone (an HTC Mogul from Sprint) that is the bane of my existance. In all the years I’ve had a cell phone, I have never owned a bigger pile of steaming yak droppings as is this phone. I have never dealt with a bigger bunch of lying rat bastards than the ones that sell and service this phone. And I will never make the same mistake again. Allow me to explain… [Read more…] about Phone Home.