The Spin Within

Click here to read the latest News, Noise and Know-How. Get the scoop on Total Quality Logistics, our view on the Costa Concordia disaster, what’s up with Senior Sales Strategist Jill Konrath and more!

This month’s circular from Target featured some seriously cute kids, hamming it up like seriously cute kids do.  One in particular might grab your attention: the little blond- haired, blue-eyed boy on the left, rocking an orange t-shirt like he’s been modeling his whole life.  (You know, all six years of it…)

His name is Ryan and the Target ad is actually his second high-profile modeling gig — he appeared in a Nordstrom catalog last year.  (I couldn’t love the little girl’s ruffled … Continue Reading

Apple Inc. posted its largest quarterly profit ever on Jan. 24. So good, in fact, that it places the iPhone maker among an elite group populated by very few, including oil companies.

Hearing the news, I suddenly wondered if Apple’s super-rich status would degrade its power-to-the-people reputation. This is a company built on the image of individuality, liberty, passion and innovation. A quarterly profit of $13 billion, compared with $6 billion a year ago, doesn’t officially make Apple a fat cat, but with shares hovering at $450, it isn’t exactly a stock … Continue Reading

In a time where the image of and trust in politicians is at an all-time low, regardless of the party, one Congresswoman shines through as the epitome of one who truly wants the best for her constituents.  What all of us wish we’d see in our elected officials.

Gabrielle Giffords will be stepping down from Congress this week.  She needs to focus on her recovery and realizes that her constituents need a full-time representative. Her spirit, grace, fight and passion are remarkable.  And it’s those traits that made her an outstanding Congresswoman.

Cheers to you, Gabby.  May all of your colleagues learn … Continue Reading

When you promise a free anything on Facebook, you better be prepared for it to go viral and for a lot of consumer attention. When you are not prepared, it will bite you in the butt in a big way.

Just like it did for Toronto-based Timothy’s Coffee.

We are a fan of these K-cups at our office. We have three boxes of Timothy’s Coffee in our office right now and we make coffee orders at least twice a month. So if we would have known Timothy’s Coffee was offering … Continue Reading

Sometimes these blog columns write themselves. This is one of those times.

Capt. Francesco Schettino, the person who should have been last to leave the cruise ship Costa Concordia as it began to sink off the coast of Italy, leaves me no choice. When you commit the PR blunder of the year, and it’s still just January, that can’t be ignored in a blog largely dedicated to public relations and marketing.

Now known the world over as the cowardly captain, Schettino told a maritme court his departure from the wreck that caused at least 11 deaths was an accident. He said he … Continue Reading

With a batch of specially made hamburger buns, South African hamburger chain Wimpy showed how successful word-of-mouth is done.

Wimpy wanted to let the visually impaired community know that they now have menus available in braille.  With a sesame seed braille message on just 15 hamburger buns, they managed to reach an audience of 800,000 people.

The video pretty much speaks for itself.

(There is also a narrated version of this video.)

It looks like Carnival Cruise Inc., may come out of its recent disaster at sea virtually unscathed. One look at its Facebook page shows the majority of people who like the page still like Carnival. A recent post from Carnival emphasizing that safety is their first priority drew more than 2,300 likes in the first four hours.  Even the vast majority of the nearly 1,000 comments on that post are positive.

Yes, I would agree that you’re probably just as safe cruising the high seas as you are cruising the highway in … Continue Reading

Might as well keep that Coca-Cola on ice. The tallies are in, and the Real Thing is the real deal when it comes to world’s best brand – again.

According to Interbrand’s annual Best Global Brands report, Coca-Cola once more tops the charts as the word’s most valuable, and recognized, brand. Coke, which posted 2010 sales of $35 billion, is followed by IBM, Microsoft, Google and GE, each of which also remains unchanged in its ranking from the previous year.

The one big shift: Apple, which climbed to eighth place from 17th … Continue Reading

Today, as a nation, we celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday.

Of the many tributes to this civil rights legend, I found one short poem to be the simplest, most powerful summary of all he represented.

We should all share the dream.
MLK
by Unknown Author

Treat people kindly.
Do what is fair.
Work for all people
Show that you care.
Change what is wrong,
but please, do not fight.
Think of new ways
to change wrong to right.
These are the ways
if we work as a team
to remember the man
who said, “I have a dream.”