In the spirit of full disclosure, I must say that I am not a fan of most drug stores.  This is especially true of CVS and Walgreens.  It is not personal or even rational, it's just a thing with me.

So I open an email from Ad Age and click on a headline that reads: "Hey B-to-B Marketers: Lighten Up with the Business-Speak." As a professional marketer, I was naturally interested to see what Ad Age had to say. And then I read an "editorial" from Anelia Varela warning B2B marketers to get hip or get left behind.

Are you familiar with CenturyLink? It is a FORTUNE 500 company that calls itself "a leading provider of Internet, TV and voice." You've probably seen their television commercials with the tagline: "Your link to what's next." In fact, they may be the stupidest company on the planet.

Facebook likes to constantly remind us that social media is always evolving. One of its most recent changes is big news for brands that use contests/promotions to garner Page Likes (as opposed to Post Likes). According to the Facebook Developer Blog, the days of “Like to Enter” contests, coupons and promotions are over.

The Outdoor Retailer Summer Market is hands down one of our favorite trade shows of the year. It brings together the most passionate outdoor enthusiasts to showcase and talk about the latest innovations. While we're at the show to meet with media and launch promotional activities for our own clients, we're always on the prowl to experience the engaging and sometimes goofy marketing antics of other outdoor brands.

At Sweeney we don’t agree that any media coverage is good media coverage. Landing coverage in The New York Times or on the Today Show isn’t always the best course of action for every client. We focus on securing good quality coverage for our clients that is targeting the correct audience and helping the client achieve documented goals.

Here's the thing about national media coverage being easy to get.  Anyone who knows anything about publicity and media relations knows that this is a big, fat lie. Unfortunately, there are way too many people who don't know anything about publicity and media relations.

So in case you  missed the big news, McDonald's is making changes. And it is taking the next 18 months to develop and roll them out. That's a lot of time, which would indicate the potential for some very serious changes.

Although created more than four years ago by the "PR" industry, the Barcelona Principles continue to be a topic of interest throughout the industry. I saw this misguided gem a few weeks ago: Why Measuring PR Shouldn't Include Sales. In case you didn't know (and count yourself lucky to be in that club) the BP outlines seven basic rules or principles for measuring public relations.

The phrase “but first, let me take a selfie” has a whole new meaning. Snapchat is steadily becoming a marketer’s dream for increasing brand awareness and direct marketing. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the app, Snapchat allows users to capture and send self-destructing videos and pictures.