If you don’t know why Vick is in deep trouble, just google his name. He’s going to do some time in the Federal system, the state of Virginia is after him and the lawsuits are starting to drop from the sky.

Vick copping a plea in this dog-fighting scandal may not have ended his career in football, but he’s done as an endorser. But companies sign celebrity endorsers to coat-tail on their popularity and Vick’s has dried up. Even if Vick does his time and emerges with a clean bill of health at the end of all this, he has nothing to offer as a major celebrity endorser.

No company with a mainstream product is going to want to get near this guy. It couldn’t have happened to a nice guy, and it wouldn’t have happened to a nicer guy. Vick has become the poster child for bad-as-they-wanna-be “superstar” pro athletes. Now on the backside of his 20s, his public persona is no closer to that of a maturing adult than I am to being named pilot of the space shuttle. And it’s going to cost him millions.

It’s tough out there on Madison Avenue. Some might say dog-eat-dog

That peeve is folks who have a blog but update it when the seasons change or Britney Spears has a moment of clear thinking. Then I turn around and ignore this baby for more than two months.

 One, I’m sorry.

Two, I won’t do it again.

These things are such a great communication vehicle that they need the same attention as any other aspect of your business.

 So today’s post will be this. If you want some fun reading, check out the Hog Blog on www.radicalcareering.com and read about how to have a home office in just about any city in America.

See you soon. Promise.

• It was quite the attention getter
• Navigated easily
• Web browsing was easy and fun
• Content surprisingly easy to access
• Keypad worked well
• She loved it…..except….

I’m in my local Ace Hardware and they have a dry-erase board advertising their pine straw. On it is listed Ace’s price against the local competition including the big-box DIY stores.

Apparently they secured their competitive intelligence by calling the other stores. So they list their price, a price from a local nursery chain, a price from Lowe’s — but under Home Depot there was no price listed. Just the following:

“No one would answer the phone.”

If you’ve dealt with HD of late, you can’t be surprised at that.

 That is until the 2d fax machine rolled off the assmbly line. Then we could do some business.

 It occurs to me that our creativity is like that. A great idea often doesn’t get its props until it has something to act with or against. Otherwise it’s just spinning out there, perhaps making that annoying fax-machine noise.

Props, borther Bruce.

“Arizona Department of Commerce officials said the department has assisted a Korean-based company that recycles corrugated cardboard to establish an operation in Glendale, Ariz. The firm, Young Poon USA, opened its facility in December….”

If nothing else one has to wonder where was the local chamber of commerce when these folks decided to drop anchor in their community.

In a past life as a search consultant and advisor to agencies I saw too many good shops chasing too many dog turds masquerading as clients down the street. They had no filters in place internally that qualified prospects. A good client to them had a checkbook and a pulse. And then the agency wondered why their portfolio blew.

Here are a few overall rules you might consider when flipping through an RFP:

1) Track record — How many agencies has this client had in the last five years? One? Five? More than five? Has the account bounced in and out of house? Do they change advertising managers yearly? Do some research or hire someone to do some research.

2) History– What kind of advertising has this client done in the past? Yes, Mr. Whipple is an advertising icon. But Mr. Whipple was dreck all the same. Do you want a Whipple on your reel?

3) Change — Has a new person taken over the advertising? Did they let agencies do good work at their other postings? Research research research.

4) And you? — Is this a client you really want to work with? Does anyone in the agency feel a passion for working with this company? Anybody so excite about that that they can’t hold still? No? Send it to the shredder.

It’s OK to turn some opportunities down. Really. Crispin prolly says no more than they say yes. It’s worked for them.

http://money.aol.com/special/canvas/_a/worlds-most-powerful-brands/20070501130509990001

Obviously any time someone claims to have a top “fill-in-the-blank list” it’s going to get people pissing on each other’s trees. We all have an opinion about what makes a great brand, and most of the time it’s contrary to the person next to you.

Wal-Mart is a well-known brand, but is it a great brand? Don’t think so. I think of Wal-Mart as a place to go for something cheap — only when I’m looking for batteries or shampoo or notebook paper and I don’t want to spend more than I have to.

 I don’t go there for customer service, because it doesn’t exist. I’m guessing Wal-Mart’s wages don’t allow for getting, training and keeping great people. Thus, I have zero expectations about WM other than saving some pennies.

I love Starbucks. I’ve been to their stores across the country and would say they have a 99% success rate at making me happy from the time I walk in to the time I walk out. The traing seems to be consistent across the chain, and that’s hard to do. Just ask Wal-Mart. Sorry.

My own partial list of great brands:

The Sopranos — I first heard about this show on CBS’ “Sunday Morning” and it sounded dreadful I was wrong. It’s a great show that holds up.

Nike — It’s easy to put Nike on the list, but the swoosh has held its muscle. They have also been wise about what they put it on. Go to one of their outlet stores and you’ll see what I mean. And they were smart enough to partner with a brand named on a previous post…..

iPod — Not the best product of its kind out there, but I note they never drop their price and that means they have sustained the demand and the desire.

No go read the list and start your own fight.