Writings from Force 5 Basecamp

05/16/11

It’s been almost  a year since the release of Apple’s iPhone 4.   I traded in my old iPhone 3G just a few months ago.  I love the 4’s speed, video features, functionality. Ultimately, I’m glad I made the switch.  But I have to be honest with you; there’s something that’s just not been quite right with my new iPhone 4.

03/29/11

I remember walking into Joe’s office pretty frustrated.  I’d had one of those days – the bad kind.  Actually, I’d had about 10 of those days in a row, placing me exactly halfway to a pretty lousy month.  I had recently accepted a new role leading a new team and things were just not happening the way I had envisioned. 

03/04/11

I’ve worked for a lot of years, enjoyed a lot of roles in my career, and had a lot of supervisors who imparted their wisdom to me.   I thought I would share some of their best stuff with you in this series of posts called, “The Boss Rules.” Rule #3:  Become an “Owner” Sometimes the best things a boss can

02/22/11

I’ve worked for a lot of years, enjoyed a lot of roles in my career, and had a lot of supervisors who imparted their wisdom to me.   I thought I would share some of their best stuff with you in this series of posts called, “The Boss Rules.” Rule #2:  “Ask them, ‘What are you trying to accomplish?’ ” I

02/14/11

I’ve been here at Force 5 for just 6 months now, but I’ve been in the workforce since I was legally of age.   Throughout the years I’ve been fortunate to have had some great bosses who took the time to pour their wisdom into me.  Because their “rules” have been so helpful to me, I thought I would share some of the best ones

01/03/11

Marketers are promise –makers.  They use their promises to set expectations high enough to move consumers to action: to buy their stuff, read their books, to come to their show, etc.  PT Barnum made big promises.  He promised, “The Greatest Show on Earth” – the ultimate claim – not a better show anywhere on the planet.  I imagine his customers

09/13/10

As a Certified Brand Strategist here at Force 5, I am always on the look out for brand done well and brand that needs help. Both are easy to spot. I have found two examples of wonderful brand ambassadors locally and want to share them with you. The first example of a great brand ambassador is one of my favorite

08/23/10

400 million…500 million…..and still growing. Whether you “like” it (pun intended) or not—Facebook is dominant in helping companies build relationships with their clients. Look at the chart in the article below (thanks to AD Age…)—and with the likes of Starbucks having 12.7 million fans, and growing at almost 79,000 a DAY-you can’t help but consider facebook as a dominant player

04/29/10

I just finished an amazing book.  It really made me think. A Million Miles in a Thousand Years: What I Learned While Editing My Life, by Donald Miller. It was about the author working with two men, Ben and Steve, who wanted to make a movie of Miller’s life.  It was during the discussions of his “real life” he discovered

04/22/10

With spring time comes spring cleaning. Dusting off the shelves, cleaning out the garage (still need to do that!…), and just a general wash down and clean up – it’s work, but it really feels good when you are all done! Spring is a great time of year. Finally, FINALLY, the color green returns, flowers sprout, and everyone has a

04/05/10

Lately, we’ve been busy – busy ideating that is. Ideating – which is a fancier term for brainstorming – is a core necessity or foundational step within an advertising and marketing agency’s process of generating creative ideas. In almost every case, these creative ideas deliver a need or provide a solution to a client problem.  However, good ideas don’t have

03/11/10

L.L. Bean is taking a leap into new territory! They are creating a brand extension called L.L. Bean Signature. The new line is a collection for men and women with updated styles and cuts. One of their new offerings is called the “Plain Weave Signature Suit,” and sells for just over $200.00. I have looked at the video preview on