by Freddy Tran Nager, Founder of Atomic Tango, Long-Time Listener, First-Time Podcaster; Photo by Jonathan Velasquez on Unsplash… So I decided to take the audio plunge and launch my own podcast… Atomic Tango · The Atomic Tango Marketing, Media, and Mischief Podcast, Episode 1 Like this website, the Atomic Tango podcast explores marketing, media, and other mischief. This first episode features my thoughts on the infamous Pepsi Kendall Jenner commercial, the trouble with Twitter, and the challenges facing American retailers. So why podcast? Several reasons: Blog readership appears to be declining.
Read More by Freddy Tran Nager, Found of Atomic Tango + Amateur Prognosticator… Based on my observations of trends in demographics, business, technology, and politics, I’ve concocted and contrived these predictions for the new year and beyond. Maybe way way WAY beyond. But if 2017 is anywhere near as capricious as 2016, these could all happen. Or the zombie apocalypse will finally arrive. In any case, here are my forecasts in no particular disorder… SIRI-OUSLY NOW: Touch screens are so two years ago. Instead, animated chatbots will take over brick-and-mortar retail to
Read More by Freddy Tran Nager, Founder of Atomic Tango + Marketing Professor… Do marketing plans come from factory assembly lines these days? The advice is so generic and commodified, someone on AliExpress must be selling it for 40-cents a piece as long as you buy 100 of them. Take this article about marketing the L.A. Rams NFL franchise. It contains two words that would make most experienced marketers groan in weariness: The S-Word: Social Media The M-Word: Millennials Those two words were a running gag in my Marketing Strategy course. If
Read More by Freddy Tran Nager, Founder of Atomic Tango + Realistic Idealist… Much has already been said about Nintendo’s Pokemon Go, the augmented reality (AR) game that’s turned millions of Americans into manic scavenger hunters. Perhaps too much. The phenomenon has already triggered a backlash after just a few days from people tired of hearing about it. If there were a web-browser app that blocked all stories mentioning “Pokemon,” it would likely be as popular as the game itself. But all this hype only underscores the game’s level of success —
Read More by Freddy Tran Nager, Founder of Atomic Tango + Fellow Aspiring Mogul; illustration by Barzak… “In this very real world, good doesn’t drive out evil. Evil doesn’t drive out good. But the energetic displaces the passive.” — Bill Bernbach, advertising legend I recently spoke about media careers to college students at the National Broadcasting Society AERho Convention. We gathered in the heart of the Disneyland Resort, amidst thousands of tourists wearing Mickey Mouse ears and celebrating America’s greatest media brand. It served as the perfect stage for discussing the future
Read More by Freddy Tran Nager, Founder of Atomic Tango + Occasional Publicity Seeker; photo by AbsolutVision on Unsplash… Handling your own public relations is like serving as your own lawyer in court. Possible? Yes. Advisable? Not so much. I write this in response to the NY Times article “Which P.R. Firm Do You Use?” by entrepreneur Jennifer Walzer. Walzer describes her success in handling PR for her tech startup. Her achievements certainly deserve kudos (whatever a kudo is), and she provides smart tips on scoring media coverage. The problem? The same as with any
Read More by Freddy Tran Nager, Founder of Atomic Tango + Diehard Newspaper Reader; photo by Jeremy Bishop on Unsplash… It’s tough watching an old friend slowly die. Even tougher knowing that you’re helping to knock him off. Before you go calling 911, the old friend I’m referring to is my daily newspaper. For decades, I’ve started every day with my sports and business pages while downing pure Colombian full-caf. Whenever I miss my morning coffee-n-paper jumpstart combo, I find myself fluttering through the rest of the day like a fat pigeon
Read More by Freddy Tran Nager, Founder of Atomic Tango + Long Tail Marketing Enthusiast… Customer: Do you have “I Just Called To Say I Love You”? Barry: Yes. Customer: Can I have it? Barry: No. Customer: Why not? Barry: Because it’s tacky sentimental crap that’s why. Do we look like a store that would sell that song? Do you even know your daughter, there’s no way she likes that song. Oh I’m sorry, is she in a coma? — from “High Fidelity,” the movie A buddy and I were reminiscing about
Read More by Freddy Tran Nager, Founder of Atomic Tango + Part-Time Shark Jumper… Although Americans don’t manufacture much anymore, we still excel at making media, including entertainment and news. We give good hype, and the Internet brings it to the rest of the world 24/7. One problem: all this unfiltered Yankee content poses a linguistic challenge for people in other countries, even those fluent in English. That’s because Americans also excel at screwing with the language — and I’m not just talking about Miss South Carolina (warning: excruciating cringe-inducing video ahead)…
Read More by Freddy Tran Nager + Guy Who Watches The Super Bowl For Both The Footbal AND The Ads… How can you exploit the Super Bowl without spending millions for a 30-second commercial?
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