Mar 09

Photo-A-Day 2013: Week 35

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Yep, we headed for Hawaii on Wednesday. Pretty much all you need to know about the week of Aug. 26-Sept. 1 — though I did capture one helluva sunset at Dodger Stadium before we headed for the islands. Without further ado, let’s get to the images (and, remember, to see full-sized versions, just click directly on any image).

26-AUG-2013: The sunset of the season at Dodger Stadium.

26-AUG-2013: The sunset of the season at Dodger Stadium.

27-AUG-2013: Laying out the kukui nuts while packing for this week's trip.

27-AUG-2013: Laying out the kukui nuts while packing for this week’s trip.

28-AUG-2013: So many places to go at the Hilton Hawaiian Village on Waikiki Beach.

28-AUG-2013: So many places to go at the Hilton Hawaiian Village on Waikiki Beach.

29-AUG-2013: Love this image of the USS Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor, with the surf spraying off the seawall in the foreground.

29-AUG-2013: Love this image of the USS Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor, with the surf spraying off the seawall in the foreground.

30-AUG-2013: Not many things better than a Maui sunset.

30-AUG-2013: Not many things better than a Maui sunset.

31-AUG-2013: Maui's southeast coast at Ohe'o Gulch, AKA the Seven Sacred Pools.

31-AUG-2013: Maui’s southeast coast at Ohe’o Gulch, AKA the Seven Sacred Pools.

1-SEP-2013: The view while reclined on a chaise lounge poolside at the Westin Ka'anapali.

1-SEP-2013: The view while reclined on a chaise lounge poolside at the Westin Ka’anapali.

Feb 28

#LOTD2013: August Playlist

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I will catch up. I will catch up. I will catch up! Much as I continue to forge ahead with completing my 2013 Photo-A-Day project here, so too will I persevere in presenting the monthly #LOTD2013 playlists I cobbled together. In that spirit, here are August’s Lyric-of-the-Day Tweets (find the Spotify playlist I’ve created from these lyrics linked at the end of the post or on the clickable image at right), with some brief explanations (in italics) for a number of the lyrics. Remember, if you want to see the lyrics as they pop up daily, just give me a follow on Twitter!

  • “Teach our twisted speech/To the young believers/We’ll train our blue-eyed men/To be young believers” #TheClash “Clampdown” #LOTD2013 8/1
  • “You know I can’t sleep, I can’t stop my brain/You know it’s three weeks, I’m going insane” #TheBeatles “I’m So Tired” #LOTD2013 8/2
  • “Wake up it’s time/We need to find a better place to hide/Make up your mind/I need to know tonight” #FooFighters “Razor” #LOTD2013 8/3
  • “Happiness, coming and going/I watch you look at me/Watch my fever growing/I know just who I am” #TheVerve “Lucky Man” #LOTD2013 8/4
  • “The kids want a little fun/The kids all have to get their kicks/Before the evening’s done” #MC5 “High School” #LOTD2013 8/5 (I was able to spend some time catching up with old HS friends in Anaheim before and after attending the Angel game with some work pals.)
  • “There’s a smile on my face for everyone/There’s a golden coin that reflects the sun” #OingoBoingo “Just Another Day” #LOTD2013 8/6
  • “I’ll throw away/A chance at greatness/Just to make this/Dream come into play” #MatthewSweet “Sick Of Myself” #LOTD2013 8/7
  • “Billy Joe shot a man while robbing his castle/Bobbie Sue took the money and run” #SteveMillerBand “Take The Money And Run” #LOTD2013 8/8 (Post-industry event, a group of us were spinning this on vinyl in a friend’s hotel room in Hollywood.)
  • “Ain’t never count me out/Y’all better count me in” #DJKhaled #Ludacris #RickRoss #SnoopDogg #TPain “All I Do Is Win” #LOTD2013 8/9
  • “Bright lights is enticing but look what it did to Tyson/All that money in 1 night, 30 mil for 1 fight” #JayZ “Holy Grail” #LOTD2013 8/10
  • “Perfect strangers when we meet/Strangers on the street/Lovers while we sleep” #SmashingPumpkins “Perfect” #LOTD2013 8/11
  • “You got a job downtown/Man that leaves your head cold/Everywhere you look/Life ain’t got no soul” #Springsteen “Murder Inc” #LOTD2013 8/12
  • “I’m charming and dashing/I’m rental car bashing/Phony paper passing/At Nix Check Cashing” #BeastieBoys “High Plains Drifter” #LOTD2013 8/13
  • “May your heart always be joyful/And may your song always be sung/May you stay forever young” #BobDylan “Forever Young” #LOTD2013 8/14 (A special bond in this song for my dad and I, and we had a great time at the Dodger game on this night.)
  • “Never saw rainbows in my wine/But now that your lips are burning mine” #EllaFitzgerald “I’m Beginning To See The Light” #LOTD2013 8/15 #ORF
  • “We could fly a helicopter/Nothing left to talk about/Entertain you/Celebrate you” #Garbage “When I Grow Up” #LOTD2013 8/16
  • “I went down Virginia/Seekin shelter from the storm/Caught up in the fable/I watched the tower grow” #CCR “Who’ll Stop The Rain” #LOTD2013 8/17 (Spent a rainy Saturday in Virginia Beach/Norfolk — my first visit ever — with friends.)
  • “Devil and the deep blue sea behind me/Vanish in the air you’ll never find me” #ThePolice “Wrapped Around Your Finger” #LOTD2013 8/18
  • “She broke down & let me in/Made me see where I been/Been down 1 time/Been down 2 times” #FleetwoodMac “Never Going Back Again” #LOTD2013 8/19
  • “Time is a string of pearls/See the future just hanging there/A new frame, a new perspective” #Passengers “Your Blue Room” #LOTD2013 8/20
  • “See him drink/From a bottle/See him eat/From a plate/Cute, cute/As a button” #TalkingHeads “Stay Up Late” #LOTD2013 8/21
  • “Hot like a cheetah/Neon mamacita/Eat at tacoria/Pop locking’ beats from Korea” #Beck “Hollywood Freaks” #LOTD2013 8/22 (Took the Metro up to Hollywood for a movie and, suffice it to say, the freaks were out in force.)
  • “Your groove I do deeply dig/No walls only the bridge/My supperdish, my succotash wish” #DeeeLite “Groove Is In The Heart” #LOTD2013 8/23
  • “I’ve got something here/If you give me one more beer/I’m gonna call a runner” #KingsOfLeon “Back Down South” #LOTD2013 8/24
  • “I’m standing here on the ground/The sky above won’t fall down/See no evil in all directions” #INXS “Don’t Change” #LOTD2013 8/25
  • “I got a backstreet lover on the passenger seat/I got my hand in my pocket, so determined, discreet/I pray” #PearlJam “Once” #LOTD2013 8/26
  • “I used to make a living, man/Pickin’ the banana/Now I’m a guide for the CIA/Hooray for the USA” #Ramones “Havana Affair” #LOTD2013 8/27
  • Back from #Hawaii. Time for some #LOTD2013 catch-up. “Vacation/All I ever wanted/Vacation/Had to get away” #TheGoGos “Vacation” 8/28
  • “All hail to alma mater/To thy glory we sing/All Hail to Southern California/Loud let thy praises ring” #USCTMB “All Hail” #LOTD2013 8/29 (I attended USC’s 30-13 win over Hawaii at Honolulu’s Aloha Stadium … and, as is my wont, I sang the alma mater post-game.)
  • “Come a li’l bit closer/Hear what I have to say/Like children sleepin/We could dream the nite away” #NeilYoung “Harvest Moon” #LOTD2013 8/30
  • “I have this dream where I’m down on my knees on the black sand/I’m facing the sea as the wind …” #JennyLewis “Black Sand” #LOTD2013 8/31 (Took the Road to Hana on Maui today and made a stop to take a dip on a black-sand beach.)

Here’s the Spotify playlist if you’d like to listen along: #LOTD2013: August

Feb 24

Response February: A ‘Premera’ Marketer; New Hall of Famers; and Not-That-Bad Media Billings

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The February issue of Response debuted in print a couple of weeks ago and hit the Web last week. I’ve finally been able to clear some time today to give you my monthly glimpse at back story on the issue, including the cover feature highlighting Premera Blue Cross (and VP/GM Jim Havens), the new class of inductees for the DR Hall of Fame and more:

  • About four months ago, we got a call from Sean Fay of Envision Response in Seattle. Sean’s been a long-time friend of Response, going back to his days with Cesari Direct. He was really excited about the work he’d just done with Premera Blue Cross, the Blue Cross health insurance organization serving Washington and Alaska, and believed they’d be interested in talking about their campaign for some newly tweaked Medicare offerings. After I was connected with Amy Carter, a key PR player for the insurer, the story came together without a hitch. Havens, who headed up the Medicare Advantage product launch, was open and forthright about the challenges Premera faced and the work that both Envision and agency DMW Direct did to help make its multi-channel campaign a success. If you missed the link above, here it is once again: A Direct Advantage
  • Our Field Reports news section is a hearty one this month, led by the announcement of the 10 inductees selected to join the Direct Response Hall of Fame on May 1 at Response Expo in San Diego. With a nominating process headed by the Response Advisory Board, this group of inductees joins our inaugural group of nine who were inducted in 2013. Not only will the induction event happen at the Expo, but a very special panel discussion featuring six of the inductees will take place just prior to the ceremony. In sadder news, we say goodbye to one of the “As Seen On TV” industry’s founding fathers, Mike Ackerman, who passed away in January. If you missed the link above to these two big stories (and more), click here to take a look: Field Reports February
  • When I received the initial 3Q 2013 short-form DRTV media billings information from Kantar Media, the decline was eye-opening. After all, the year’s first two quarters had been a struggle for all media billings areas we cover. But these were brutal. Fortunately, the Kantar team sent a note along, not too far after the initial E-mail, with an explanation for its change in methodology late in 2012 that is playing a role in the losses it’s reported so far in 2013. So, while short-form media billings are still down — and the market is mirroring the long-form space by moving more of its dollars away from the expensive cable space — the losses aren’t as horrifying as once believed. For more on 3Q short-form DRTV billings (and Kantar’s explanation), click here: Kantar Clarifies Dour 3Q Short-Form Results
  • Finally, my Editor’s Note riffs on how healthcare marketers — forced to become more agile and more aggressive due to the new Affordable Care Act and an aging populace — are becoming the leaders in showing all vertical markets how best to become direct, digital, data-driven marketing experts. The timing couldn’t be better, coming along a month after the debut of Response‘s new look and new tagline. In addition to our cover feature on Premera Blue Cross, the issue also includes a feature on how an array of healthcare marketers are finding new ways to gain and maintain customers. For more of my thoughts, here’s the link once again: Healthcare Marketers Point the Way to Marketing’s Future

Thanks again for reading and interacting with Response!