Note to CMO: Serving Customers First

Dear CMO: It feels like ages ago, but the possibly misquoted VP of Marketing over at Verizon Wireless’s comments about mobile advertising still haunt us. “We know we can make significant dollars in mobile Web advertising in 2007,” said [the VP of Marketing at Verizon Wireless]… “That said, we likely will not — we want […]


Note to CMO: Say What You Will Be (Then Do What Must Be Done)

Dear CMO: Some of us, in times of introspection, follow the sage advice of philosophers like Heraclitus or Machiavelli. Or Yogi Berra. We seek guidance when different paths appear before us, and, as smart people often do, gain insights into human nature in the process. One of my board of philosophers is Lucius Annaeus Seneca, […]


Note to CMO: Killing Giants, Part 3

Dear CMO: Killing Giants, Parts One and Two resonated with friends and readers. Lots of people over on The Fix sharpening their knives at the thought of toppling giants in their industries. Can I lay out a few well-deserved “good job, well done” kudo’s to the community? Roll call: Lewis, who is partial to the […]


Note to CMO: Citizen Journalists 2.0

Dear CMO: Driving through the Santa Cruz Mountains this morning on the way to a meeting in Santa Clara, I heard that up the peninsula in Santa Rosa the local Clearchannel Communications news station, KFTY-TV, just laid off 13 people in their newsroom and will be replacing them with “citizen journalists”: John Burgess, TV50’s general […]


Note to CMO: The Hyper-Specialization of Super Bowl Advertising

Dear CMO: I’m going to go out on a limb here a few hours before the year’s biggest advertising event. Blogging about Super Bowl advertising is going against my better judgment. Every marketer in America with a keyboard is going to say something about this. But I can’t help myself. Super Bowl advertising has become […]