The Best of 2006

Originally, I was going to call this a Top 10 list, but discovered that my top ten went to 11.  So, rather than try to artfully leverage a Spinal Tap reference here, without further ado, is a recap of Marketing Pop Culture’s Best of 2006:

1. Social Media and the ROI of Handraisers
   Perhaps the value of all this social media stuff is to get consumers to come up out their niches and identify themselves to brands.
2. Culture: The Newest Medium
   This could be the reason that message you labored over for so long isn’t getting through.
3. Whither Engagement?
   Psst: Advertising is only an awareness vehicle.  Pass it on.
4. Can Black Rock Save Black Culture?
   Where is the audience, particularly the black audience, for this genre?
5. PODCAST: Race, the Final Frontier
   Don’t say I never stepped up to the plate on one of the big, pink elephants in the marketing room.
6. Can Not Knowing about Contemporary Culture be a Career Liability?
   Mr. Freston?
7. Your Brand’s Acoustic Performance
   Brand managers in search of brand engagement should see more live music.  Plain and simple.
8. What Hip Hop Needs is a Good Answer Record
   Dear Hip Hop: Don’t blow future opportunities to engage in public dialogue about important issues.  Doing so could rescue you from irrelevance.  Sincerely, Disgruntled. 
9. The Next Chapter in Agency Compensation
   Does skin in the game keep an agency relevant?
10. No Money in the Middle
    Go niche, go mass or just stay home.
11. Marketing to Vapid, Narcissistic Soccer Moms
    A campaign that said more about the audience than about the marketing idea’s authenticity or lack thereof.

Enjoy!