Advertising Age - Rance Crain

Even at Age 90, the Irrepressible Stan Cohen Covers All the Bases

rcrain@crain.com(Rance Crain) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0500

Stan Cohen -- my first boss and my best boss -- celebrated his 90th birthday recently amid a gala get-together of his many friends and business associates.

Marketers Go for Squeeze Play, but the Basic Rules Still Count

rcrain@crain.com(Rance Crain) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0400

It doesn't matter if you win or lose, it's how you play the game. Baloney, say major marketers who are apparently tired of paying hefty sponsorship fees no matter if their teams win or lose.

Advertising Is Alive and Well in Chicago -- and at U of Illinois

rcrain@crain.com(Rance Crain) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0400

The University of Illinois advertising department celebrated its 50th anniversary last month by hosting a daylong symposium on both the challenges and opportunities facing ad students at the school.

Advice to B-to-B Publishers: Don't Lose Personal Sales Touch

rcrain@crain.com(Rance Crain) — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0400

Instead of providing access to their responsive and involved audiences, B-to-B publishers now find themselves being paid on a per-lead basis.

Don't Just Sit There, Innovate Your Way Out of the Downturn

rcrain@crain.com(Rance Crain) — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0400

The way out of the recession is not to wait for an uptick. The way out is to create our own uptick. Here are a few examples of what we're doing at Crain Communications.

Marketing Must Take Its Share of Blame for the Economic Crisis

rcrain@crain.com(Rance Crain) — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0400

Why are so many of our major industries in trouble, beyond the current economic meltdown? Al Ries and I recently wondered why marketing wasn't being blamed for its share of the problem.

FDA Cheerios Challenge Shows Rise of Third World Mentality

rcrain@crain.com(Rance Crain) — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0400

Barack Obama won the election based on his promise of meaningful change, yet his own regulatory agencies are stuck in the Dark Ages. And we'll continue to spend billions on drugs that promise more than they deliver, are based on often shoddy research and have unknown side effects that could be worse than what they're supposed to cure. I fear that this resistance to change has infiltrated our whole society. Everywhere you look you see a relentless rallying around the status quo.

Parade's Walter Anderson Reveals the Secret of His Success

rcrain@crain.com(Rance Crain) — Mon, 18 May 2009 00:00:00 -0400

Walter Anderson just retired as chairman-CEO of Parade Publications, and he's already accepted a new job.

Deceitful Financial Infomercial Tars Entire Advertising Industry

rcrain@crain.com(Rance Crain) — Mon, 04 May 2009 00:00:00 -0400

The good news is that cable TV shows like "Mad Men" have raised the profile of ad agencies among the general public. The bad news is that such programs have made ad agencies easier to blame for some of the sins of the world.

E-Trade's Utton on Relevance, Ad Intuition and Talking Babies

rcrain@crain.com(Rance Crain) — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 00:00:00 -0400

E-Trade has booked thousands of new accounts since it began running its talking-baby TV commercials, starting with the 2008 Super Bowl. But back then, the baby spots had a whole different tenor than they do now.

Consumers Will Relate to Ads Urging Them to Spend Sensibly

rcrain@crain.com(Rance Crain) — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 00:00:00 -0400

Momentum is building for my advertising-stimulus plan. The latest (only?) guy to jump on the bandwagon is Bob Pittman, who's had plenty of heavyweight marketing experience at such disparate companies as MTV, Six Flags, Century 21 and AOL.

Don't Be Reticent, Marketers: Give Consumers a Reason to Buy

rcrain@crain.com(Rance Crain) — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 16:44:44 -0500

The thing that's going to get us out of this mess is giving people a reason to buy, and it can't be a namby-pamby reason, and you can't be deterred by what critics might say -- even if the government thinks it's your new CEO because you've taken bailout money.

Self-Regulation Shouldn't Be Advertising's Best-Kept Secret

rcrain@crain.com(Rance Crain) — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 00:00:00 -0500

As if you needed another sign that times are tough, here's a fairly reliable measure: The number of cases handled by the advertising industry's best-kept secret -- self-regulation -- are on the rise.

In Journalism and War, Brady Showed Extraordinary Discipline

rcrain@crain.com(Rance Crain) — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 00:00:00 -0500

Former Ad Age writer Jim Brady was one of a kind not only because of his superb writing skills but also because of his extraordinary discipline.

Giving Advertisers a Tax Break Could Give Economy a Lift

rcrain@crain.com(Rance Crain) — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 00:00:00 -0500

If we really believe that the great engine of advertising is the most effective stimulus to our economy, then we need to find ways to keep the power of persuasion going strong. How about a stimulus plan for ad spending?

Why the Ad Industry Shouldn't Foot the Bill for Big-Biz Bailout

rcrain@crain.com(Rance Crain) — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 00:00:00 -0500

President-elect Barack Obama's huge stimulus plan and the equally huge budget deficit that it and the financial bailout will create have the business community worried about who's going to pay for all of that public spending.

Obama, Ad Council Would Be Smart to Unify Change Message

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 00:00:00 -0500

The ad industry has always played a big part in helping new administrations communicate important messages to the American people. But the big difference with the incoming administration is that it has established its own very active internet database of 3 million people to get the word out to precisely the audience most likely to respond and take action.

Here's a Transformational Idea: Adapt Web Aggregation to Print

rcrain@crain.com(Rance Crain) — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0500

Newspapers need to become aggregators of information by outsourcing their news holes to others already producing the material.

Weakening Economy Strengthens Resolve Among Marketers at ANA

rcrain@crain.com(Rance Crain) — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0400

The emphasis of this year's ANA conference, in these uncharted and perilous times, was on peeling back the complications of getting to the marketplace in the most direct and efficient way.

Smart Business Ideas Can Thrive Even in Perilous Economic Times

rcrain@crain.com(Rance Crain) — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0400

My dad started Advertising Age in the beginning stages of the Great Depression (only he didn't know it was the beginning of the Depression), so I've always been partial to new businesses that get started in less-than-ideal times.

Amid Meltdown, Crain Websites Delivered What You Needed -- Fast

rcrain@crain.com(Rance Crain) — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0400

The financial meltdown that brought great institutions to their knees was a defining moment for Crain Communications -- one that brought our internet coverage to the forefront.

Path to Growth Is Paved With Courage, Consistency and Risk

rcrain@crain.com(Rance Crain) — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0400

Lost your sales momentum? Chances are you've also lost your nerve to make decisions that can get your company going again.

McDonald's Could Sniff Out New Ground With Yappy Meals

rcrain@crain.com(Rance Crain) — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0400

If you were traveling in your car for a day or more, wouldn't it be great to be able to pull into McDonald's and get a little plastic bowl of water and a ration of dog food along with your Quarter Pounder?

Ad Industry Should Follow IAA's Lead in Furthering Responsibility

rcrain@crain.com(Rance Crain) — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0400

The International Advertising Association, as part of its "responsibility" mantle, is sponsoring a poster contest on climate change. It shows, among other things, that the ad community is concerned about important life-threatening developments instead of focusing on itself and its own problems.

Andrea Alstrup Talks Tylenol, Family Fare and the Ad Future

rcrain@crain.com(Rance Crain) — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0400

I almost got a scoop when I interviewed Andrea Alstrup, recently retired VP-advertising at Johnson & Johnson, newly inducted to the Advertising Hall of Fame.

Big Pharma's Change of Heart on Ad Ban Is Too Little, Too Late

rcrain@crain.com(Rance Crain) — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0400

As the skirmish between prescription-drug companies and the government over Big Pharma's ad practices continues, marketing directors are taking the rap for dragging their heels.

When It Comes to Investments -- and Google -- It Pays to Be Clear

rcrain@crain.com(Rance Crain) — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0400

The investment-adviser market is undergoing some major changes as baby boomers start reaching retirement age.

Reinhard on Culture Clashes, Big Brands and Creative Conservatism

rcrain@crain.com(Rance Crain) — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0400

"The most insecure species of our race are the creative people." So said Keith Reinhard, newly minted member of the Advertising Hall of Fame, who penned "Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there" and "You deserve a break today" for McDonald's.

Big Agencies Can Learn From the Mower Model of Collaboration

rcrain@crain.com(Rance Crain) — Mon, 19 May 2008 00:00:00 -0400

If you're acquisition-minded, now is a good time to be in the ad-agency business.

In a Consumer-Controlled World, Journalists Should Be Marketers

rcrain@adage.com(Rance Crain) — Mon, 05 May 2008 00:00:00 -0400

New technology has empowered the consumer to call the shots, and that goes against editors' traditional view that they know what's best for readers.