Category Archives: marketing

DTV Transition ads are confusing, ineffective.

Posted on January 10, 2008 by kfarr

The National Association of Broadcasters has commissioned 30 second advertisements meant to warn consumers about the impending shift from analog to digital only television transmissions. This DTV transition will render analog TV over-the-air broadcasts — those received by TVs connected … Continue reading →

Posted in marketing, media, politics, tech | Tagged ads, advertisements, air, broadcast, broadcasters, definition, digital, dtv, hdtv, high, high definition, nab, national, national association of broadcasters, ota, over, over-the-air, television, transition, tv, wireless | 5 Comments

1 + 1 = 3 when online and traditional media outlets mix well. (Often they don’t.)

Posted on January 3, 2008 by kfarr

APM’s Marketplace reports the owners of The Weather Channel, Landmark Communications, are putting the channel up on the auction block. As Marketplace puts it, the forecast: lucrative. Porter Bibb, the head of an investment company that tried to purchase The … Continue reading →

Posted in marketing, media | Tagged ads, advertisements, agencies, agency, auction, cable, cable channel, channel, cross, cross channel, cross media, dual, for sale, media, medium, mediums, mix, online, revenue, sale, the weather channel, twc, weather | Leave a comment

We need more useful transit maps in the Bay Area. Here are a few.

Posted on December 27, 2007 by kfarr

Most transit maps of Bay Area and City transit systems suck. Some are misleading. It seems like everyone that moves to San Francisco checks out the Muni service map (warning, large GIF file) and responds with joy! “Wow, look at … Continue reading →

Posted in marketing, transit | Tagged agency, bart, bus, caltrain, gui, guide, heavy rail, interface, light rail, lrt, maps, muni, public, public transit, public transportation, rail, route, route map, san francisco, schedule, service, sf, transit, transport, transportation, user, user interface, user oriented | Leave a comment

Is Fair Trade coffee really ‘fair’?

Posted on December 24, 2007 by kfarr

Is Fair Trade coffee really ‘fair’? The short answer: no. EconTalk’s Russ Roberts chats with Duke Econ Prof Michael Munger about the concept of Fair Trade Coffee. It’s a very difficult challenge to ensure that a consumer price increase correlates … Continue reading →

Posted in econ, marketing | Tagged aid, artificial, beans, ceiling, certified, coffee, developing, development, econ, economics, fair, fair trade, floor, free, free trade, international, labor, price control, pricing, trade | 6 Comments

A day in the life of… an ad agency minion?

Posted on December 15, 2007 by kfarr

On this blog, I often write a quick summary of what happens during my shift as a taxi driver in the City. Sometimes I’ll pick up friendly yuppies going to a baseball game. Sometimes I’ll pick up a transgender prostitute … Continue reading →

Posted in marketing, work | Tagged ad agency, ads, advertising, agency, boring, clients, coffee, corporate, creative, flash, inefficiency, labor, marketing, mcdonald's, media, media agency, minion, omnicom, online, waste | 3 Comments

Only in the ‘Burg

Posted on October 26, 2007 by kfarr

Think back to the last time you went hunting in the wilderness of Allegheny County, PA (population 1,281,666 and home to Pittsburgh). Crossbow in hand, you creep deeper into the coal-stripped wilderness. Your companion, Bobby, throws you a cold brew … Continue reading →

Posted in marketing | Tagged beer, hunting, marketing, safety, selling it | 2 Comments