by Freddy J. Nager, Founder of Atomic Tango LLC + Guy Who Buys Too Much Stuff for His Cats They had me at “meow.” They lost me at “sign up.” I was flipping through Facebook, unmarking most of the “Top Story” posts (seriously, Zuckerberg, get your algorithm right already). And that’s when it caught my [...]
Tags:advertising·Cat Pods·cats·e-commerce·Fab.com·Facebook·Groupon·marketing·online shopping
by Freddy J. Nager, Founder of Atomic Tango + Netflix Qwikster Netflix Customer You’ll find lots of articles and editorials skewering Netflix and its CEO Reed Hastings today, including this one in the L.A. Times, “Once High-Flying Netflix Is Now Stumbling,” which describes all the following events of the past few weeks: Netflix’s 60% price [...]
Tags:Amazon·AOL·branding·Netflix·pricing strategy·Qwikster·Reed Hastings
by Freddy J. Nager, Founder of Atomic Tango + Mad Men Fanatic Don Draper would not be pleased. Don’t get me wrong — basing a fashion line on the TV series Mad Men is brilliant (albeit, about three years overdue). Since I dig the show and midcentury-modern design, I particularly looked forward to this Mad [...]
Tags:Adam Morgan·Banana Republic·Century City·Eating the Big Fish·event marketing·fashion·Jamie Bryant·Lion's Gate·Mad Men·television·The Fashion File·The Gap
by Freddy J. Nager, Founder of Atomic Tango In 2008, I blogged about , which I had encountered at a Vegas convention. Three years later, that article continues to do its deed, turning up Wednesday when reporter Jeff Horwich of public radio’s Marketplace went searching…
Tags:American Public Media·blogging·Chris Anderson·Jeff Horwich·Long Tail·Marketplace·multimedia·Shane Clester·Skullcandy·Smarter Comics
by Freddy J. Nager, Found of Atomic Tango LLC So let’s say you start an athletic shoe company specializing in tennis — a sport mostly favored by upper-crust Europeans and the country-club set. You cement your brand image by naming your company after a tiny, extremely civilized European country famous for chocolate, watches, skiing, and [...]
Tags:advertising·athletic wear·branding·brands·Hyundai·K-Swiss·Kenny Powers·Los Angeles·marketing·Microsoft·positoning·shoes·sports marketing·viral video·Walmart·YouTube
by Freddy J. Nager, Founder of Atomic Tango LLC + Interracial Relations Insider One reason I don’t assign textbooks to my social media classes is that most are outdated by the time they’re published. Indeed, every time I flip on my computer, it seems like Mark Zuckerberg’s been tooling around with his giant virtual antfarm. [...]
Tags:AFLAC·Alexandra Wallace·Asians·branding·Chrysler·Don Imus·Eminem·ethnicity·Gilbert Gottfried·humor·Jimmy Wong·marketing·music·race·racism·satire·social media·UCLA·viral video·YouTube
by Raegan Thurlow, Guest Blogger Teenagers have a reputation for a lot of LOL but not a whole lot of IQ. But what if it’s all a conspiracy? What if the world of fashion is setting up the youth to take the fall? Fashion Real investigates…
Tags:American Apparel·MTV Skins·Old Navy·Raegan Thurlow·Wet Seal
by Freddy J. Nager, Founder of Atomic Tango LLC & Logo Design Undercharger I had no idea I was leaving so much money on the table. My agency helps clients develop new brand identities, including logos and look-and-feel guidelines. For this I charge a few thousand dollars, depending on a few variables, but never more [...]
Tags:branding·design·higher education·logos·University of Colorado
"Common sense is the little man in a gray suit who never makes a mistake at addition, but it's always someone else's money he's adding up."
- Raymond Chandler
Let's hear it for uncommon sense: that inner itch that inspires you to stray from the herd, ditch the training wheels and leap into the fast lane. As we all know, it's the risk takers who get their faces on the cover of Wired magazine and their words on National Public Radio. No one ever remembers who won "honorable mention"...
Cool Rules Pronto celebrates uncommon sense in marketing and media. It's written by Freddy J. Nager, the Founder of the L.A.-based creative strategy agency Atomic Tango LLC, and marketing instructor at UCLA Extension and Robert Kennedy College of Zurich, Switzerland.
