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mmmmm…beer

Because we’re in advertising, beer just happened to come to mind as something to blog about. Which is why we recently caught up with our Director of Broadcast Production, Greg Simos, between shoots to chat with him about his obsession of home brewing beer. The following is a transcript of that conversation.

bma: How did you start brewing your own beer?

gs: Simply put…boredom. I got into home brewing about 16 years ago, right after I moved from Salt Lake City to Charlotte. I didn’t know many people in Charlotte, so my weekends were pretty open. There was a homebrew store about 5 blocks from my apartment and I decided to go in and see what it was all about. Next thing I know, I’m in my one-bedroom apartment with a huge pot of boiling beer on the stove wondering if the stench would ever clear out enough for me to get my deposit back. But that first batch didn’t taste much like the Heineken clone I was trying to make – in fact, it didn’t taste much like beer at all. It tasted more like a pureed welcome mat. [read more]

12.10.09 | filed under life on the ranch by admin | no comments »

why can’t we all just get along?

At the Red House, we can.

The commercial for this furniture store first starting circulating across the Internet seven months ago, but it still makes V-8 juice shoot out of our noses every time we see it. Apparently, it has had a similar effect on the general population as well, who has viewed this spot more than two million times. [read more]

11.20.09 | filed under the biz by admin | no comments »

cutting back without killing your brand

Five Tips for Managing Your Ad/Marketing Budget in Recessionary Times

Let’s face it, 2008-2009 hasn’t been fun. Sales have stalled, unemployment is now at a 26-year high, consumer confidence is shaky at best, and no one really knows how to fix any of it. As a result, many marketing managers are being given the same directive by their respective management – cut the budget. But if you’re like most companies, you cut out the “fat” in your budget a long time ago to bolster quarterly earnings. So what do you cut next? [read more]

11.12.09 | filed under white papers by robyn | no comments »

digital branding agency releases study supporting digital branding

Surprise, surprise.

RazorFish’s Feed 2009 report has recently hit the net to some muted fanfare, raised eyebrows and the occasional cheer. In brief: consumers with broadband access are more likely to engage in online activities. In other news, the sky is blue, fish can swim, and there is apparently a war going on in Iraq.

Okay okay okay–snark aside, there are some really interesting takeaways. Some brief notes, to be consumed and chewed on for a later date: [read more]

11.11.09 | filed under the low blow by j. | no comments »

google to place ads in free mobile apps, plans to serve ads in your dreams to soon follow UPDATED

The Big G is going to buy AdMob, a company that allows ‘em to plop ads onto your cellphones, for a mind-boggling $750 million. We can all now look forward to having hilariously inappropriate contextual ads delivered to us day and night, no matter where we are!

[CUE DRAMATIC MUSICAL STING]

We truly do live IN THE FUTURE!

[read more]

11.10.09 | filed under the low blow by j. | no comments »

windows 7 is great! too bad the marketing still sucks

Well, the results are in–Windows 7 is a pretty swell piece of software. Microsoft’s latest OS has been garnering nearly unanimous praise across the board, from both mainstream publications and elder geeks worldwide. But their marketing still kinda blows. Which I suppose shouldn’t be too surprising, considering the long history of milquetoast commercials that came out of the house that Billy G built. The Big Money’s Win Rosenfeld sums it up pretty well below:

(via the big money)

Seriously: could it get any more off-base and out-of-touch than the DIY Windows 7 launch party? Do you really have to ask? [read more]

11.09.09 | filed under the low blow by j. | 1 comment »

the holiday outlook isn’t as bleak as we might think

U.S. consumers are more optimistic this holiday season than last, but are still making their holiday spending plans with caution in mind. These are some of the key findings from research firm Deloitte’s 24th Annual Holiday Survey of retail spending and trends. [read more]

11.02.09 | filed under the biz by bonnie | 2 comments »