mokuso /mohk-so/ - Meditation or meeting of the minds.
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Cramer-Krasselt Scored Top Marks One Week; the Next It Was Being Reviewed By Jeremy Mullman Published: February 26, 2007 CHICAGO (AdAge.com) -- Cramer-Krasselt was asked to make CareerBuilder "famous," and, by pretty much any measure you care to use, the agency did just that. By the Chicago shop's reckoning, it helped the job site overtake Monster.com to become a market leader, nearly doubled its share of the online recruitment business and grew sales exponentially.
The ad that didn't make 'USA Today's' top 10. Together agency and marketer won a number of awards for their chimp-centric campaigns. So you can imagine how stunned the agency was when, late last week, CareerBuilder's VP-consumer marketing, Richard Castellini, walked into its office and told a team of C-K's senior managers that he was calling an agency review because the shop's Super Bowl offerings hadn't made it into the top 10 in USA Today's poll about the commercials. At least, that's how agency CEO Peter Krivkovich tells the story, and CareerBuilder, despite repeated requests, didn't want to comment. 'We trust America' "Just a week earlier, he'd told us our performance report card would be at 100%," Mr. Krivkovich said. "He said USA Today is 'America's poll, and we trust America.' It seems all our insights, business results and ad awards mean nothing compared to a poll featuring 238 people from two states. There are a few times in your life when you have to tell someone to f-- off and mean it." Cramer-Krasselt resigned the account on the spot rather than partake in the $60 million review as incumbent. A spokeswoman for CareerBuilder confirmed the resignation and review but wouldn't elaborate. The split followed a shift in campaigns at CareerBuilder, which rode its popular "Office Monkeys" for two years, an effort that spawned the Monk-e-Mail viral website that drew 13 million unique visitors. For this year's Super Bowl, however, the marketer changed course, airing a series of high-concept spots set in a jungle in which meetings and attempts at promotions are viewed as potentially lethal hazards. Lukewarm response Lukewarm critical response followed -- the spots got three stars from Advertising Age and finished 16th and 27th in the USA Today poll. There were positive metrics throughout the partnership, as CareerBuilder grew from the No. 3 job site to No. 1 during C-K's five-year run, although, as always, there's debate about how much advertising had to do with the brand's performance. According to Morningstar analyst James Walden, CareerBuilder -- backed by the three largest U.S. newspaper publishers, including Gannett which owns USA Today -- had a built-in advantage over Monster because of its local-paper alliances. "Still," Mr. Walden said, "there's no question that they've done a very good job at building brand awareness." Memo to staff But according to a memo sent by Mr. Krivkovich to staffers, the mediocre showing in the USAToday AdMeter overshadowed that track record. "It's so ludicrious (sic.) and they are so serious about that poll it's almost funny," he wrote. But it's not likely C-K is laughing. Losing one of its most visible accounts is not the follow-up the No. 5 independent envisioned in the wake of 23% revenue growth during 2006, its largest ever. Last year, C-K won creative duties for Corona beer, and it also landed midsize accounts such as Yellow Pages publisher R.H. Donnelley and Key Bank.
I know, I know, it's about time for a post and really, I've just been so busy that posting is the last thing on my mind. Let's catch everyone up with the Sensei's first quarter:
To begin, I'm officially attending night classes at WCTC in their Graphic Design program. It's one of the most prominent programs in the United States, boasting of both community support and state-of-the-art equipment. It's a honor to be taking courses there and I've enjoyed every minute of it so far. Well, the first two classes that I'm attending require drawing and painting (two of my weak points) but besides that, it's a wonderful experience.
Secondly, I'm working on some freelance artwork for actual companies. This, of course, is also consuming a majority of my time. I'm currently working with three companies that are considering my brand proposals and hopefully I'll be hearing back from them all soon. With that said, I'm researching a new site in which I can advertise my services and promote my work. You can find it here.
Finally, I'm going to be re-positioning this blog so in the near future, I'll be attracting more readers and comments. Up until this point, I've made no effort to market this blog but due to my career path, I feel it is necessary to promote AMM and hopefully let it expand. Currently, I'm only posting bi-monthly when it really should be (at least) bi-weekly so ideally you'll be reading a lot more of me soon.
Keep an eye out in the near future and until next time - Jinkakukanseinitsutomurukoto.
Here is the link to all of the commercials aired during the Super Bowl. I'll admit, not one really stood out for me but if I had to pick, this is my number one pick and number two pick.
I just wanted to point out some new additions to the AMM's left column. I have taken all of my "favorites" from my browser's menu and have added them to the site. Here is the skinny on each addition:
Resources Palo Alto - A nice software resources site. Business Balls - A good resource for articles, case studies, and advice. Lorem Ipsum - Copy for copy. Trifold Brochure - A resource for print design. All Graphics - A nice resource for templates. Printing Promotions - Another resource for templates. Printing for Less - I haven't used their printing resources but I have used their templates. Microsoft Library - A solid resource for all things electronic. I highly recommend the color section.
HTML Tools 2 Create a Website - One of the best HTML color tools on the web. W3 Schools - I haven't attended any of their classes but I do visit the site for HTML tools.
If you are a company that wishes to be added, feel free to email me.
