Recently in Corporate Category
I don't have a violent aversion to marketing messages in public places. In fact, I’ve even been known to stop in my tracks to take in a particularly effective use of imagery or type, chuckle at a witty play on words or savor an effective branding treatment. But recently things have gotten out of hand here in Lyon to the point where my previously benign feelings have turned into a growing dislike for outdoor advertising. Strangely enough, bicycles are largely to blame.
Web site designer and search engine marketer Lance Dutson recently found himself on the receiving end of a multi million-dollar lawsuit. The legal action was a result of continued criticism in his Maine Web Report blog of how the Maine Office of Tourism was conducting its marketing campaign, and by extension the large New York City-based firm responsible for the campaign. The case is quickly becoming a cause célèbre in the blogosphere from a freedom of speech perspective. But it also raises significant questions for those who create, purchase or comment on marketing communications.
Imagine a world in which Epson made cars, instead of printers. In this brave new world you'd be admonished to buy special gas at Epson stations, no matter what the price. Use of other gas might risk damaging your car, and would void its warranty, although these stations would be rare, due to legal challenges by Epson. When filling up at an Epson station, you'd pay for a full tank of gas, but never know how much gas you were really getting for your money.
Over the last few days I've been visiting sites created by independent illustrators and designers, curious specifically about the extent to which they're using RSS syndication to promote themselves. And I have to say I'm shocked at how rare the use of this by-now almost banal technology remains. This is really a shame, since RSS is simple enough to add to almost any site and can really help get the word out.
Great to see Adobe wade into the waters of corporate blogging, with the recent launch of the Adobe Blogs initiative. Just a few weeks past the Hello World stage, the participants, including Photoshop product manager John Nack, are just getting up to speed. This represents a new way to stay on top of what's going on at Adobe and have direct access to some of the folks there that have significant involvement in the design and publishing products we use every day.
"The one thing agencies should actually bill for, the one thing clients can't do themselves, is creative—the ideas. The brilliant tagline. The great commercial. The iconic logo. Agencies make so much money hustling clients on markups that they basically throw the creative in for free. Creatives, like myself, develop brand-building ideas—lexicon-changing catchphrases, pop culture changing moments, imagery that gives a faceless corporation a personality people can relate to... And for our troubles? We get an annual salary, maybe a little bit of change per day or per project as freelancers."
The Mac News Network site is running extracts from a recent NPD Techworld report on the Adobe/Macromedia acquisition. The report feels that Dreamweaver will kill off GoLive, while Fireworks and FreeHand will also get the heave-ho. Definitely worth a read.
