Filed under: Digital Marketing, Influencers, Media Consultancy, Strategic Consulting

John Durham is one of the most well-liked and well-c0nnected persons in the digital marketing arena. Cory Treffiletti is one of the most enthusiastic and visionary persons in the digital marketing arena.

Together they’ve formed Catalyst, a San Francisco based digital marketing/media consultancy that will seek to provide long term strategic consulting to companies that are striving ot make sense of the digital arena. Which is just about every company out there.

I worked under John at Pericles and was nothing but very impressed. Ive read Cory’s columns for years and always felt that he was a couple of steps ahead of the game. These guys know what they’re doing and what they’re talking about and I’m sure they kick ass. Keep an eye on them.

I wish them all the success in the world.

No Comments » Posted on September 18th, 2007 by Jonathan Trenn

Filed under: Ad Buys, Ad Sales, Advertisements, Advertising, Authenticity, Branded Entertainment, Marketing Industry, Marketing Strategy, Media Purchases, Television, Word-of-Mouth, Word-of-Mouth Marketing

So MTV and Axe are going to revive the show “Gamekillers”, an hour long special they broadcast in early 2006. It’s a show that features an unsuspecting guy who is on a date with a beautiful woman but is constantly being tharwted by ‘gamekillers’ - others who are either or indirectly trying to sabotage the date. Everyone, from the people interfering to the beautiful date are actors. The only one that isn’t is the unsuspecting guy.

So you may have a guy that fails to pass muster because he can’t overcome the obstacles or…you have a guy who does make his way around the obstacles and gets his name inscribed on something called the “Ancient Axe Gamekillers Chalice”.

I think not.

If I ask a woman out, the last thing I need is a team of saboteurs looking to screw me over. And to have the woman in the the whole thing to boot. They’d never do this and reverse genders.

But hey, that’s entertainment. Jerry Springer meets the dating game.

(Read:Everything Old is New Again with Branded Entertainment)

1 Comment » Posted on September 18th, 2007 by Jonathan Trenn

Filed under: Election Strategy, Political Strategy, Wiki Strategy

From the chronicles of what is both silly and serious comes the current battle for what former U.S. Senator, television and movie actor, and U.S. presidential candidate Fred Thompson is called on his Wikipedia entry.

Apparently, he was born “Freddie Dalton Thompson”, a name he has not changed. He is known nowadays as either Fred Thompson or Fred Dalton Thompson. That’s fine.

Now, on Wikipedia, there is a small battle going on between a woman named Tvoz, who is determined to enter “Freddie Dalton Thompson” and a Thompson supporter named Ferrylodge who wants it to be “Fred Dalton Thompson. Tvoz, who happens to be a Democrat, is insisting that the information be accurate while Ferrylodge believes that using Freddie makes Thompson sound silly.

I remember reading a long time ago that many of the most edited bios were of elected representatives. Capitol Hill staffers were constantly going at it, praising their own and attacking their opponents.

Shows me that there’s a lot of peons in politics.

I’ll think I’ll now edit Thompson’s page the way I think it should be. Wonder how long it will stay that way.

Update:  Tvoz has rightfully responded and pointed out that while I mentioned that she is a self-declared Democrat, I failed to mention that Ferrylodge is an actual Thompson supporter.

I also should point out that as I went over to the article to edit it, I saw that it had been “agreed upon” but the editors to leave it as is.  So I didn’t touch it.  For the record, I felt that if he was born Freddie and hadn’t changed it, then he should be called that.

And, Tvoz, I agree with your motives more than Ferrylodge.  Didn’t consider you to be a peon.

2 Comments » Posted on September 18th, 2007 by Jonathan Trenn


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