Archive - February, 2008
A Six-Word Story
Ernest Hemingway was once prodded to compose a complete story in six words. His answer, personally felt to be his best prose ever, was “For sale: baby shoes, never used.” Some people say it was to settle a bar bet. Others say it was a personal challenge directed at other famous authors. more »
Billboards That Hurt My Eyes
Each morning and evening, Monday through Friday, I travel along the Stevenson Expressway (that’s I-55 for you out-of-towners). Each commute I’m reminded that advertising and marketing are supposed to be related. Unfortunately, they rarely are. more »
Inspiring 100,000+ leaders. How do you do that?
How many true leaders do you know? Go ahead, count’em! I’m about to meet hundreds ...
I’m on a plane to Orlando this evening, headed to the National Strategy Event (NSE) for the Leadership Summit. The Summit attracts more than 60,000 leaders each year nationally and thousands more globally. The event is simulcast to more than 100 satellite locations during the month of August each year. The NSE is designed to bring hundreds of key influencers from across the nation to one location where they can be equipped and energized to help as many people experience the Summit as possible. We work with the Summit team to create many of the communication materials for the event. more »
The Story of Coffee
I heard a radio ad for Starbucks the other day. First of all, this is something that’s still fairly new for Starbucks. It’s only been in the last year or so that they’ve engaged in any kind of advertising. I guess that just shows that they’ve done a great job to this point of communicating their story through their brand citizens. (If you’ve never heard that phrase before, brand citizens are people that believe in your story enough to tell other people about you. They are incredibly loyal. Trust me, you want brand citizens!)
But back to my thought about the Starbucks ad. more »
Reba McEntire / Kelly Clarkson On Tour
Brian Kagan’s branding work with Reba McEntire paid dividends Saturday night as a few of us were able to enjoy a concert in Rockford, Illinois, starring Reba and Kelly Clarkson. Backstage passes, awesome seats and a great duet performance led to a perfect evening. more »
Ice Cream and Poverty
“Americans spend $20 billion a year on ice cream. Providing clean water and basic sanitation for the entire world would cost $7 billion a year for the next 10 years.” This quote comes from Chap Clark & Kara Powell’s book called Deep Justice in a Broken World. more »
Visit to Brooklyn Tabernacle
Just spent a day in New York visiting the Brooklyn Tabernacle. We’re designing the DVD packaging for a video they produced about the transformation of the Angola State Penitentiary in Louisiana. Once the bloodiest prison in the nation, it is now a showcase among U.S Penitentiaries. The video profiles a few inmate stories and the spiritual revival that took place culminating in a Power of Freedom worship service featuring Pastor Cymbala and the Brooklyn Tabernacle Singers.
Man, I forgot how big New York is. Chicago is big but New York is gigantic. Anyway, enjoyed some unseasonable 60 degree weather there today before going through a series of delays, change of carriers, and return to the wrong airport in our cold Chicago. more »
An Award-Winning Site
The Care of Trees is a great company that we’ve been able to work with for a few years now. Last year we designed their website and it won an award for web design at the 2007 TCIA Professional Communications Awards. Check out the site when you have a moment: www.thecareoftrees.com.
more »Story Contest Winner
Jason Boyett, author of “The Day I Met Paw-Paw,” lives in Amarillo, Texas. He keeps busy working as the communications director at a medium-sized church in Amarillo. But he’s also a freelance writer, marketing consultant and the author of several books. His most recent book is Pocket Guide to the Bible (Relevant, 2006). He also keeps a regular blog at http://jasonboyett.blogspot.com/. more »
Rock and Roll Snow in Chicago!
I’ve got a early meeting this morning with the Moody Radio folks in downtown Chicago today. The problem is that Chicago received 8 inches of snow overnight. In a last minute decision last night I decided to drive downtown so I wouldn’t have to fight the early morning commute. It’s been quite an adventure. If you’ve been in a snow storm in the Midwest before you’ll know what I mean. more »
