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LLC + Interracial Relations Insider One reason I don’t assign textbooks to my social media classes is that most are outdated by the time they’re published.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 Freddy J. Nager, Founder & Fusion Director, Atomic Tango LLC Score one for the Iranian protesters — at least when it comes to marketing. Just last week, the Iranian protests dominated conversations across the media and the Internet. Then yesterday, not at all surprisingly in our celebrity-obsessed culture, Michael Jackson’s death wiped the Iranians [...]
Tags:Iran·marketing·Michael Jackson·protests·Twitter·YouTube
by Freddy J. Nager, Founder of Atomic Tango & Entrepreneurial Advisor Too many entrepreneurs treat their start-ups like Hollywood relationships: the affair begins with a lot of passion, is great for headlines, and might even lead to deals, but as soon as things get a little rocky — or something better comes along — the [...]
Tags:business·business plan·Deadpool·dotcoms·entrepreneurs·entrepreneurship·exit strategy·Google·Inc·IPO·Jack Stack·Silicon Valley·SRC Holdings·start ups·TechCrunch·Twitter·Wall Street·Web 2.0·YouTube
by Freddy J. Nager, Founder & Fusion Director, Atomic Tango LLC Just over a year ago, Wired magazine proudly proclaimed that the future would be free, an argument based partially on ad-supported free sites like NYTimes.com. Of course, it was hard to take this manifesto seriously since Wired still charges for their magazine (cover price [...]
Tags:advertising·business·free·Google·Imeem·LinkedIn·marketing·micropayments·New York Times·revenue models·SpiralFrog·Splashcast·subscriptions·TechCrunch·Web 2.0·Wired·YouTube
by Freddy J. Nager, Founder of Atomic Tango LLC A long time ago, in an Internets far far away, the people were promised a galaxy free of corporate-empire dominance, where the little guy would have a fair and equal shot at being heard, where small businesses could claim riches once envisioned only by multinationals, and [...]
Tags:AOL·dotcoms·Facebook·Kevin Nalts·LinkedIn·Reddit·social media·Twitter·Web 2.0·YouTube
Here’s expensive proof that I should stick to marketing and steer clear of the stock market: I invested in two radio companies. The first, Westwood One (WWON.OB), seemed like a stable cash flow deal. Westwood One produces radio programs for syndication, including broadcasts of NFL games. The way I saw it, demand for pro football [...]
Tags:advertising·Aerosmith·Apple·Bud Light·Clear Channel·focus groups·Google·Goom·investments·iPod·iTunes·KCRW·music industry·NFL·radio·Sirius·stock market·Westwood One·YouTube
Just like in the interactive zombie film The Outbreak, you keep running from the creatures, and just when you think you’ve found a new sanctuary, they sniff you out and keep coming and coming and coming… The creatures I’m talking about here are Hollywood stars and studios, and the “you” is the independent movie producer [...]
Tags:advertising·Brooklyn's Finest·Hollywood·Hulu·Lazy Sunday·Pop Rocks·Push: Based on the Novel by Sapphire·Steelers·Sundance·UGC·user generated content·William Morris Agency·YouTube
"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.
