This is some crazy branding game Greg Creed is playing with the KFC chicken brand. In essence, he is telling the world he doesn't care if you love us or hate us, just so long as you pay attention to us.

If you’re like most people, you probably picture an intern as a student running around a large corporate environment grabbing coffee and serving as a glorified personal assistant. Lucky for me, I had the exact opposite experience as an intern this summer.

In one form or fashion, I have been a customer of KeyBank for at least 30 years (probably closer to 40, but who wants to admit that?), dating back to a warm and fuzzy institution known as Cleveland Trust. And while that relationship started out as a very personal and enjoyable association, the past 25 years have been cold, heartless and less than enjoyable.

I've attended Outdoor Retailer just about every 6 months for going on 5 years now. So I'm no stranger to the big product demonstrations, the volumes of beer-thirty parties and other booth traffic-driving strategies.  But sometimes, it's the little things that catch the eye...

I had a fleeting conversation yesterday with one of my favorite colleagues (and ex-employees) who is a skillful young media planner and buyer with a fairly big agency serving a lot of very nice clients. Out of curiosity I asked her what she found to be driving most of the client campaigns in her agency these days – the creative or the media.

When it comes to email marketing, there are certainly approaches you should avoid. The example below is a real email marketing campaign that highlights some worst practices. You’ll get the picture rather quickly, but here are a few hints: Do not pester your target audience, and humor isn’t always effective.

One of my great friends and colleagues (let's call him Neil) once told me there are three things he requires from his job: 1. I need to be challenged and learning new things. 2. I need to be paid equitably for working hard.

Pitching and media relations 10 years ago was much easier than today. Why? Because a decade ago editors, reporters and news producers used to answer their phones. Today, however, media professionals are plagued with smaller staffs and the need to report news faster.

I actually love how people talk about Millennials as if it were a real thing. As if everyone between the ages of 15 and 35 fit into some neat, easy-to-manipulate grouping. Of course it has been that way forever. But it really all began (thanks to marketing) with the Baby Boomers and then Gen X and then Gen Y, which is now combined with Gen Z and called Millennials.