The Spin Within

No beans, please

Burrito seller Chipotle doesn’t only tout fresh ingredients, it also prefers fresh contest winners.

The Denver-based quick-serve restaurant chain celebrated its 18th year on June 30 with a nod to a baby. Specifically, a baby wrapped in gold.

It helps to explain. Chipotle, a company with sales of $2 billion and a market cap of almost $10 billion, chose to commemorate its anniversary with a contest called “Wrap What You Love.” In it, customers were asked to submit photos of their favorite things wrapped in gold. This aligns … Continue Reading

Earlier today Google disclosed plans for what appears to be a new bid to take on Facebook in the the social space with a service for helping Internet users communicate with family and friends. But is Google too late to the party? Will you give Google+ a try or are you happy (or simply too entrenched) with Facebook?

Google+ is the Internet giant’s second try in the social networking market. Google’s first major foray into the social networking world came by way of Orkut, a service that has seen … Continue Reading

June 30 is dubbed as Social Media Day, so to honor it, Mashable asked readers on June 20th to tell them which city – not just in the U.S, but in the WORLD – was the most social. And the winner? Our good ol’ city of Cincinnati!

We have Blair Ward to thank for this honor because his video below was the thing that made Mashable decide to give us top prize. Check it out:

Naturally, Cincinnati is participating in Social Media Day with a meetup at The Pub in Rookwood. Interested in rubbing elbows with all of … Continue Reading

Lots of people love the satirical newspaper The Onion, but it holds an especially dear place in the hearts of reporters, which I once was.

Now, The Onion wants some recognition to pile on top of the love. The news outlet that won us over with headline such as “Pope Wins Host-Eating Contest,” and “Drunken Man Makes Interesting Point About Society,” is seeking a Pulitzer.

That’s right, the outlet has launched a multi-channel campaign to gain itself the most prestigious award in journalism, and it’s inspirational stuff. Included in an ad on its … Continue Reading

Earlier in my career, I worked as the communications manager for a small city.  Maintaining and growing the local business scene was a top priority, along with providing an appealing place to live.  Of the many marketing tactics we used to target businesses and residents, one year we hired a local filmmaker to create a short video highlighting all the great things the city had to offer.  We shot footage of all aspects of the city – from the city administration to the schools to the neighborhoods – all looking pristine and camera-ready.

In response to a Newsweek article ranking Grand … Continue Reading

I’ve always found it fascinating that news outlets can receive the exact same press release, yet write strikingly different articles using the same data or information.

Case in point: Today’s reports on the safety of silicone implants.

The FDA issued a press release today titled “FDA provides updated safety data on silicone gel-filled breast implants.”  The intro reads, “The U.S. Food and Drug Administration released a report today updating the clinical and scientific information for silicone gel-filled breast implants, including preliminary safety data from studies conducted by the manufacturers as a condition of their November 2006 approval. … Continue Reading

Data marketing is critical to the enhancement of the customer experience for tens of millions of American consumers but that message isn’t getting across in Congress, where data marketers are clearly outgunned and facing some very costly, some would say onerous, privacy protection legislation.

Whether it’s public relations or government relations, the adage applies: Speak for yourself or others will speak for you, and you may not like what they say.

Data marketers surely wouldn’t find much to like in Arkansas Sen. David Pryor’s biting assertion this week that, “Unfortunately,  we’re seeing some … Continue Reading

The reviews are in and they’re not pretty:  The Daily Mail said “Now it seems to work-ish.”  “Still situated a wide canyon’s distance from good,” reports The Washington Post.  Msnbc.com weighs in with “Not half bad.”

Not exactly high praise for the highly anticipated, long-awaited and finally open “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark.”

Initially set to open in February 2010, the show suffered several delays and ran in what seemed like endless previews, where it received scathing reviews.  Finally producers shut it down in an attempt to revamp the struggling money pit.

The media … Continue Reading

My program is pointless

Got a surprising piece of news in the mail recently from my bank. Effective July 1, it said, I will no longer be able to earn reward points on purchases made with my debit card. The reason is recent legislation that caps the fees banks can charge retailers and other companies for processing debit card purchases.

This should not have surprised me, except that I had no idea I was in a loyalty program with my bank. This is a lender with whom I have done … Continue Reading