Spoken Whirred

SpokeFriday – March 5, 2010

Brian Schwartz — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 18:14:00 +0000

#SpokeFriday makes it’s way towards Spring. As usual drinks are provided and this month we have a special treat as food is provided by Sponsor West End Grill and Pub.

If you haven’t been to one before – SpokeFriday is our monthly happy hour to gather friends of the agency and to make new ones. As a virtual agency, the majority of our creatives work off-site so we use these happy hours as an opportunity to gather our creative teams, clients, friends of the agency and anyone else who is in St. Louis who would like to attend. Come for networking, drinks, appetizers or just to meet some friendly people in St. Louis.

And same as last month, we will have a business card drawing for two tickets to a St. Louis Blues game. (Congrats to Shem Tov Cohen for winning last month).

A Day in the Life of an Interactive Marketer

admin — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 17:14:46 +0000

AdSaint had a nice profile on what Brian Schwartz, our Partner and Interactive Director does for our agency and our clients:

If you are in the ad or marketing industry you should be checking out AdSaint daily. They have a great deal of content about agency life, current trends and industry news.

#SpokeFriday – February 5th, 2010

Brian Schwartz — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 18:01:18 +0000

#SpokeFriday rolls on in 2010. As usual drinks and snacks are provided and you are encouraged to invite your friends.

If you haven’t been to one before – SpokeFriday is our monthly happy hour to gather friends of the agency and to make new ones.

As a virtual agency, the majority of our creatives work off-site so we use these happy hours as an opportunity to gather our creative teams, clients, friends of the agency and anyone else who is in St. Louis who would like to attend. Come for networking, drinks, appetizers or just to meet some friendly people in St. Louis.

Update: Forgot to mention, we are giving away 2 all-inclusive tickets to a future St. Louis Blues game.

THE BIG PRINT GIVETH (and the small print taketh away)

David Meyer — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 15:05:22 +0000

If you like fine print, you’re in luck. In the first major revision to product endorsement guidelines since 1980, the Federal Trade Commission now specifically requires online marketers to disclose any ‘material connection’ they have with a product or service they mention.

You’ve no doubt seen disclaimers in marketing efforts:

not a real doctor

past performance does not guarantee future results

results not typical

Because social media, blogging, and word-of-mouth marketing make it especially difficult for consumers to identify paid endorsements, the new regulation requires that these relationships be made clear to the intended audience. If a company is providing free product or cash to someone to promote their product, the marketer must disclose it.

This is a good thing.

The FTC exists to (among other things) protect consumers and prevent fraudulent, deceptive and unfair business practices. By holding ‘mommy bloggers’ to the same standards as traditional sources of advertising, the FTC hopes to make consumers less susceptible to unsubstantiated or false claims (looks like the acai berry diet’s days are numbered).

In full disclosure: as a writer I love to use purple, extra fine point Sharpie pens. The Sanford corporation does not pay me to say this…but if they’d like to, I’m available (Wait!?! Is that Mont Blanc on the other line…?).

#SpokeFriday – January 8th, 2010

Brian Schwartz — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 01:13:16 +0000

Happy New Year from Spoke!

Our next #SpokeFriday is this coming Friday 1/8/2010 at 4pm at our office. As always, drinks and apps are free and everyone is welcome. This month a special treat as the event is hosted by Designing Chefs.
Hope we see you there. Help us spread the word:

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