Donovan Sears starts his backup before we start talking. Methodical, fastidious, usually pretty cagey, Donovan is relaxed and in good humor this afternoon. His neighbor, Luke, keeps peeping over to see what's going on. We ignore him. Donovan sets aside his jelly jar of Dr. Pepper and braces himself for the 5 question interview.

Donovan: Just 5 questions right?
CM: Right. OK, what's your favorite website?
Donovan: Oh God...(sighs)...I'll have to go with John Nack's blog.

CM: John Nack?
Donovan: He's from Adobe. He writes about Photoshop and inDesign.

CM: OK. Why?
Donovan: Oh, there's lots of cool stuff on there. He's real off the wall sometimes and it all relates to our field. It's nice to look at. (He pulls up the site) See? It's orange (Laughs and points to his orange sweater).

CM: Right. OK, Bottom or on the side? Where do you prefer your dock?
Donovan: Bottom. Definitely the bottom. I'm a bottom feeder. I used to have it on the side when I had an iMac, but now that I've got the big screen... I grew out of that phase.

CM: Did you know you could have the dock on the top? Ashley had never heard of it.
Donovan: No, I never heard of that. Is that some kind of utility?

CM: No, it's a hack.
Donovan: Oh.

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I have come to the conclusion that most of us accept average, and even poor, service.

How many times have you had an issue during a meal dining out and not bothered to complain or correct the issue? Maybe you don’t want to be any trouble. Perhaps you fear the cook will put a little “something” on your re-cook and the thought of that compels you to settle for what has been placed in front of you. And even on the way out of the restaurant, if the hostess asks if everything was O.K., you say “just fine” and leave it at that because you believe they won’t/can’t do anything about it anyway.

We market Tumbleweed and one of our successful efforts for 2007/08 was our idea to create TellTumbleweed where the customer can share their dining experience, good or bad. It has been amazing the response we continue to receive. We ran a series of ads featuring the CEO asking folks to “try” the restaurant and let him know how things went. His genuine interest in the customers’ experiences brought people back in who may have “given up”. Some folks reported they had never even tried the place and because of the commercial, they went there for the first time. Others used the site to vent about an over seasoned steak or a less than WOW server. And Tumbleweed responded to each and every one of the comments posted to the site, carrying the message to the area directors, store managers, operations and the employees. It was a level of accountability that made me feel great about marketing our client.

The worst thing a business can do is spend money on a great ad campaign, get the folks in the door and then fail to deliver fantastic product and service. Nothing travels faster than a bad experience. The old adage is that you’ll tell ten people about the bad time and 2-3 if it was a great time.
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I know what it must have been like to be a part of the 300-soldier company that battled at Thermopylae.

We recently embarked on a journey to pitch a new client – our training was strenuous, our travels treacherous, but we were resolute in our goal. We put in an immense amount of preparation and devised a tremendous, creative media package.

We charged in, shields blazing and spears raised. Our presentation was buttoned up, thoughtful and compelling. And, we made a strong connection with the client.

Our subsequent discussion with the client confirmed that we had done an excellent job – the client said we "hit it out of the park" and the vote should be easy. It had come down to us and one other similar-sized army.

Then came the "God-King" Xerxes and his army of more than a million soldiers.

One of the largest agencies in town skated in and secured a time to see the client. They brought their usual band of high level freaks, odd physical deformities and all. They wowed the client with their promises of "lowest cost per point" and "the strongest leverage of any agency in town." The trail of dead clients, devastated ROIs and depressed economies behind Xerxes didn't deter the prospect – stars in their eyes, the clients were sold on the potential gold and riches that lay in their future by becoming a drop in the empire’s bucket.

Despite our most valiant efforts in battle, we were defeated. Never fear! We will rise out of the ashes, just like the 300. We learned a lot about ourselves and our process…and what we need to be to win clients like this. Xerxes will meet his match the next time he darkens our door.

Are you tired of missing "The Office" every week... well not anymore thanks to Hulu.com. Now you can watch it when you want to, where you want to. Hulu was created by NBC and Fox to deliver their content free, but with an advertising catch: with a 20 minute clip you get about a minute to a minute and half of advertising (one 30 sec spot and two 15 sec spots in something I watched).

With the user sitting in front of the computer, visiting a sponsor's website would be as simple as the click of a mouse. I've been watching alot of shows on Hulu.com and I don't know about you, but lately I've been wanting some thick bacon from Chili's.

Although you may be saying "Why didn't they do this earlier?" well a few companies had, even now Hulu is still competing with companies such as Brightcove which allows companies to join their network and get a personal channel.

The really neat thing about Hulu though is they even offer the ability to select clips of a video to embed on your website, blog, etc. Who wouldn't want to see Peter from Family Guy fight a Giant Chicken!

Of course last but definitely not least: HD movies(720p)! It's mostly just previews for now, but this will definitely be the biggest hit of the site if users meet all the requirements.

All I have to say is so long broadcast, hello digital!

Well, Hulu officially launched yesterday after many months in beta. Better late than never? The "video online" market is fairly crowded right now, but Hulu does bring the powerhouses of NBC and Fox under one umbrella, not to mention many other smaller channels as well (like Bravo, Fuel TV, FX, Sci Fi, Style, Sundance, and Oxygen). In the last year and a half all the broadcast networks have really ramped up their online video presence.

The Wall Street Journal posits that Hulu is coming out as a competitor to YouTube. Does anyone else out there have an issue with this? The bread and butter of YouTube is not shows (though they are pirated on there, or show up in snippets only), but UGC -- User Generated Content! Hell, its one of the biggest successes of the Web 2.0 "amateur created" internet fad we're all wrapped up in. YouTube is popular because it shows cats tackling babies, old ladies punching other old ladies in the face and of course The Evolution of Dance video.

Now, Hulu does have a good shot at doing this better than its competitors. Its archives are ripe with much wanted older episodes of popular shows (*cough* Simpsons *cough). And the ads that it is serving can be targeted towards the end-user (I get to choose what type of ads I see) and big companies are going to eat that up. Especially since ads in video is still experimental for marketers and there is a lot of drool over the expected ROI.

That is until someone makes a site that rips the content, strips the ads and reposts everything free of annoyance. The legality of this is of course obvious, but that hasn't exactly stopped people from posting shows online already, has it? If anything Hulu might be making it easier. Now all a site needs to do take the videos and keep the ads there, but put in "jump points" to allow the user to choose to skip the ads. They're there, but the user decides to skip them and jump to the next point in the real show -- definitely doable.

HuluDVR.com upcoming? Totally predicting that.

Today marks the inauguratory interview in an ongoing series of sit-downs with the CurrentMarketing team, in which we ask each subject the same 5 questions. Selected through a process involving a series of hand gestures while eyes closed, culminating in a pen stabbed randomly into a series of names, today's Lucky Bastard is Ashley Baker, the sunny Miss Media herself. So let us start to get to know Ashley on this day, what we're affectionately calling "Ash Wednesday":

CM: What's your favorite website?
AB: Does it have to be a smart one?

CM: No, just your favorite one.
AB: Hmmm...(thinks about it)....I'd have to say Perez Hilton.

CM: Why?
AB: It has up-to-the-minute celebrity gossip. Straight from the Hollywood Hills.

CM: OK, Left, bottom or side - which do you prefer for you dock location?
AB: Bottom. Definitely the bottom. I don't like it on the side.

CM: Hey, did you know there's a way you can make it appear on the top? Would you like that?
AB: Um, I don't deal well with change.

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The website that I visit the most that helps me with my position as an account executive at CurrentMarketing is a tie between two:

www.secondwindnetwork.com

This site is a member-based website for advertising professionals that provides wonderful information about the industry, research and has an online forum to ask questions to your peers in the industry. Very helpful!

HOW Design

This site is geared more toward designers and art directors, which takes me back to my roots. I visit this site often to post questions, read about the latest technology and to find many How-to-do’s in the industry.

The site I visit everyday again is a toss-up between AnyWho (which I use to find people) or  CurrentTrack which is our web-based ad agency management system by Developware. Without it I would be lost and I use it about 574 times a day. It keeps me on track. It's the best ad agency software I've ever used.

The sites I really visit every day are www.marquiswhoswho.com and www.movies.go.com.

I am always searching names, content, people, info, movies and places. These sites are always helpful and provide a nice break over lunch as I eat at my desk and surf.

My wife refers to it as a "yard sale in waiting". Others may think of it as cubicle chic. I simply call it "home" for roughly 52% of my weekly awake time, my desk. An homage to all that is kitsch and molded PVC, my "collection" has grown and traveled with me during my professional career. I've always been strangely attracted to kitsch culture and have had a soft spot for B-list celebrities, so I guess this kind of grew out of it. It seems to help lighten the stress of the day and keep me grounded  knowing that a 19.5" Duff Beer holding Godzilla is always watching over me as I work on my latest design project . And seriously, who can't be inspired by an autographed 8x10 black and white glossy of Dennis Burkley.

A good portion of my collection has come from some of the finest and tackiest gift shops across the globe. Check out this great source! USB rocket launcher. Say no more.

It's the new technologies that we're focusing on in the marketing world because
that's what everyone wants. How can we be the first, the freshest?

With all the excitement over interactive marketing, many in our industry talk about print media fading in the distance. Everyone wants the newest news and
trendiest products at their fingertips. While the Internet, email and texting deliver on that consumer demand, print, outdoor and other traditional media are trying to keep up.

But don't count them out just yet.

Just like advertising agencies, the successful media that will be around to see
Web 3.0 will integrate their benefits with the 'Net and interactive technologies. For example, we've seen digital outdoor boards popping up everywhere, but on
March 5th Clear Channel launched a new round of digital outdoor boards
sponsored by the Los Angeles Times' and will feature the latest breaking news.

A great example of traditional media remaining not only relevant but competing to keep their spot in the media by integrating interactive marketing tools to remain in today's ever-fragmenting media market.

So watch out y'all! Even outdoor advertising -- possibly the oldest medium -- is back in the media race for success!

As any media buyer worth her salt can tell you, political windows are the flu virus of our profession. We're a healthy, consistent, loyal source of income for the stations all year round…then, two weeks of this sickness hits and BAM! The newest Janie-Come-Lately decides she wants that spot you bought. Sorry, health and wellness, you're out! The flu is in!

Quick disclaimer:
My friends at our local stations have successfully kept our spots safe…it's my reps in other "more politically attractive" markets that haven't been so loyal. I won't name any names, but those markets are in a bordering 4-letter state that starts and ends with O.

Guess what, stations?!? We have a shiny red kickball in our arsenal and it's called the Internet! Google won't pre-empt my ads! Facebook won't try to make my spots good in Cheaters at 2 am! My blog entry won't be bumped by Mr. Baby-Kisser's blog entry!

So, I'm going to show those stations who's boss! I'm going with the Internet!