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 Warning: The following blog post contains full frontal liberal snarking and might not be appropriate for all audiences. If you’re a Republican with a thin skin, please escape now to somewhere you might feel more at home. The way I see it, ridiculing Sarah Palin is [...]
Tags:Al Gore·Apple·branding·Coca-Cola·ethics·John Kerry·Karl Rove·marketing·Microsoft·Pepsi·politics·positioning·publicity·Sarah Palin·social media·Swift Boaters·Walmart
by Freddy J. Nager, the guy at Atomic Tango LLC who calls himself a “Fusion Director” Not since Sarah Palin claimed “executive experience” has anything this silly been uttered about top management…
Tags:brand management·branding·chief marketing officers·CMO·corporate politics·executives·marketing·Microsoft·reputation·Ron Shevlin
by Freddy J. Nager, Founder & Fusion Director, Atomic Tango LLC File under “What the Hell Were They Thinking?!” A few days ago, Microsoft leaked a new ad for Internet Explorer 8 — though I’m not sure if “leaked” is the right verb for it. More like spilled, yakked up, upchucked, and Technicolor yawned it. [...]
Tags:advertising·branding·IE8·Internet Explorer·Microsoft·OMGIGP·viral video
by Freddy J. Nager, Founder & Fusion Director, Atomic Tango LLC Maybe it’s the bacon. Every week, I shoot pool in the same joint. Is it the cheapest pool hall in town? Nah. It’s actually pricey. Is it the service? Not really. The people are friendly, but service isn’t a big factor when renting a [...]
Tags:Amazon·AOL·Apple·bacon·Bing·business·GoodSearch·Google·House of Billiards·iPod·Karen Dillon·loyalty·marketing·Microsoft·pool·Verizon
by Freddy J. Nager, Founder of Atomic Tango LLC + Price Pacifist “War, huh, yeah What is it good for Absolutely nothing Uh-huh War, huh, yeah What is it good for Absolutely nothing Say it again, y’all…” – Edwin Starr, “War” Imagine you’re minding your own business, selling lemonade from your friendly neighborhood stand, when [...]
Tags:Apple·business·competition·Dell·differentiation·Intel·marketing·Microsoft·price war·pricing·recession·strategy·Walmart
That strange gushing sound that you’re hearing is hundreds of commercial landlords across the country salivating all at once: finally, someone to take over those vacant Sharper Image spaces! Microsoft is looking to make its image a little sharper by opening its own chain of retail stores…
Tags:Apple·Apple Store·Gateway·Microsoft·PC World·retail·Seinfeld·Sharper Image·Starbucks·Vista·Xbox·Zune
by Freddy J. Nager, Founder & Fusion Director, Atomic Tango LLC Who ever imagined that naming a company would become a game of speed and chance?
Tags:advertising·AFLAC·Atomic Tango·Bing·branding·business·Client 9·Eliot Spitzer·Kaplan Thaler Group·marketing·Marty Neumeier·Microsoft·naming·Neutron LLC·Pinkberry·strategy·The CW·Web 2.0
"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.
