Ubiquitous Marketing

Ubiquitous Marketing is the personal weblog of Keith O’Brien, editor-in-chief of PRWeek. All opinions and work represent that of Keith O’Brien and not of his employer. Topics covered include marketing, PR, advertising, journalism, culture (both mainstream and alternative), and their inevitable confluence.

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Entries from May 2008

Conferring on conferences

January 31st, 2007 · 2 Comments

Now, I’m just speaking as a person here. I have officially taken off my professional hat.
Having spent half of my day at AlwaysOn (which my employer served as one of many sponsors), I find conferences odd. Maybe it’s because most of the people in attendance are not people I deal with on a daily basis. [...]

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Tags: Events/Promotions · Marketing · Weblogs

The abdication of certitude?

January 31st, 2007 · No Comments

Minor little things catch my eye.
Like the New Yorker’s “Table for Two” section, which, this week, alerted readers to a new noodle bar Kampuchea. As demonstrated by a recent New York magazine article on David Chang of Momofuku Noodle Bar, noodles are hot for some reason. And, given its the New Yorker devoting its minimal [...]

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Tags: Food · Music · Weblogs

Too true - we’re always on

January 29th, 2007 · No Comments

I will be attending some events during the AlwaysOn confab. Let me know if you’re in town and checking it out.

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Tags: Marketing

The media needs a sympathetic reporter

January 25th, 2007 · 2 Comments

Having already discussed Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip’s portrayal of the media, I was unsurprised by Extras‘ (not Extra, mind you) take on the fourth estate (related: How bad was this recent episode, the one with Daniel Radcliffe? I would say quite bad. The media should put away their Ricky Gervais’ anointing oils, as [...]

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Tags: Film · Media · Television

Don’t look back in consternation

January 20th, 2007 · 1 Comment

So, I wrote a column for my employer about the whole CGM/ad business coming up for the Super Bowl.
Essentially, Doritos, NFL, and Chrysler are all, in some form, asking the public to submit videos of or ideas for ads, and their work will make it into the final spot. The Doritos ads, available here, struck [...]

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Tags: Marketing · New comms tools · Sports

Paging Pepsi, Aquafina

January 18th, 2007 · No Comments

UPDATE: No marijuana found in bottle. An odd, odd situation. So, read the rest knowing that Vick has not faced any charges and apparently was not in possession of anything legal.
The quarterback America (especially fantasy football playing America) loves to hate, Michael Vick, has made headlines yesterday by allegedly bringing an illegal substance-hidden water bottle [...]

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Tags: Crisis Communications · Marketing · Sports

How do you like them Apple stocks?

January 18th, 2007 · No Comments

It has been interesting to see the iPhone backlash get so meta. People who have been criticizing the phone like to point out their dislike remains (comments section), despite all the same old from the traditional media columnists that usually universally love whatever trucks out of Cupertino. The New York Times‘ David Pogue, after getting [...]

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Tags: Marketing · Product debuts · Technology

The Green Parade

January 17th, 2007 · 1 Comment

I have it in my mind to keep a running tally of green initiatives. Let see if I can, without stretching, document a new announcement every work day.
That brings us to today; an announcement from an unsurprising entity: SXSW. Their choice? Offsetting carbon emissions.
SXSW has offset 100% of 250 metric tons of carbon emissions by [...]

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Tags: Film · Green · Marketing · Music

Rare, but true: both sides win

January 17th, 2007 · No Comments

Both Netflix and Blockbuster, bitter rivals, have made news recently for two completely different (and very similar) ways.
Netflix is living up to its role as a “dot-com-only, therefore able to be more nimble” provider by starting to offer streamed movies over the Internet. The postal service can breathe; users can only stream one hour per [...]

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Tags: Customer Service · Film · Marketing · New comms tools

E! finds green only slightly more interesting than cast from ‘Heroes’

January 17th, 2007 · No Comments

Lost amidst the vapid commentary, inane clothing discussions, and terse interviews with the hilariously bored super couple Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie was the short description of EMA & E! Golden Green Party Presented by Lexus.
Here is a graf on the set-up
The EMA and E! party being hosted at 9900 Wilshire will be a truly [...]

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Tags: Events/Promotions · Film · Green · Marketing · Television