Benedict Advertising - Business Building Solutions

Smart consumers, technology and mobile devices (like my iPhone) have leveled the commercial playing field.

I love my phone and understand it’s a one way relationship. But, I am in awe of the consumer revolution that is under way in App warfare. New programs like RedLaser and Kooaba are not only modifying a new breed of consumer they are empowering shoppers. RedLaser is an App that allows you to take a photo of any bar code and not only will it find the product, but it will find you the cheapest price as well as deliver consumer reviews.

What does this mean for store owners and doo-dad sellers? This means we as consumers hope you marked your products fairly. Because if not, we know 10 others stores who have it cheaper and the wrath of feeds, blogs and posts about how lame you are will quickly ensue.

We have quickly become social bulimics, ready to use our finger to vomit content whenever the mood strikes. I heard a great story the other day that someone leaked Wal-Mart’s Black Friday prices and every competitor already has matched their prices. This was Twittered, Facebooked & Digged quicker than a Brad and Angelina Jolie divorce update.

Like it or not, social media, technology and mobile devices (Like my iPhone) have changed the way we do business. It’s a new world my friend and like it or not you have to recognize. We’re here, we share - get used to it.

- Text you later -

Chris LeBlanc - Creative Director

We all have them. You can’t deny it. Whether it’s buying expensive shoes, listening to Barry Manilow, playing Farm Town on Facebook or eating cheese whiz and bologna sandwiches, we are all hiding something that we’re terrified others will find out about.

I’m about to oust myself, so judge me or judge me not. I, Julie Coln, a grown woman in her, well, uh, mid-thirties; watches Gossip Girl on the CW. As a media buyer, I know the show does well with women in the 18-24 range, which is their target audience. Don’t ask me why I like a show about a bunch of outrageously rich, self-obsessed and status-hungry teens gallivanting around NYC.

Seriously, high school kids with the last names of Archibald, Waldorf and Van der Woodsen, meeting up in their favorite bar for a dry martini after a hard day of prep school and riding around town in stretch limos. How pretentious! I tried to watch the “reality” show, NYC Prep, to see if there were comparisons to “real” high society NYC teens, but it was lame and the kids were real whiners. Boring!

I just keep telling myself its research. I mean, I am a media buyer and I have to be up on current and trendy shows, right?

And while I’m confessing, I also listen to the soundtracks from GLEE and One Tree Hill (the first season). I have them in my office if anyone wants to borrow them. Your secret is safe with me!

Until Next Time…

- Julie Coln

Being in the advertising business, especially on the design side of things, really has it’s rewards.

Not so much the kind of rewards like bonuses, new cars or even a pack of M&Ms, but the kind of rewards that give a person a sense of accomplishment and pride. It’s a unique feeling to see a business doing well because of their advertising, but even more so, it’s a thrill to see something that was once sketched in a series of thumbnails come to reality. A billboard on the side of the interstate. A colorful rack card at a resort. A glossy version of the magazine advertisement that up until that point had only been seen on a color print out. Even a logo beautifully lit up in lime green. These are the kind of rewards that are truly one of the biggest reasons I chose this profession for myself.

It doesn’t come without a lot of hard work, thought and planning though. And without all of it, the “reward” wouldn’t be as sweet.

So many visions and ideas never make it past the agency doors, and what does qualify will get reworked, some additional thought and tasty improvements. Every modification made is like the swipe of a cloth loaded with Turtle Wax on that shiny red sports car… Scouring through fonts, assembling a team of vendors, coordinating photo shoots, working with copywriters, planning with our media buyers, late nights with the account service team, wax on, wax off.

And in the end? Well it’s not a shiny red sports car I’m driving, but it’s certainly a buffed feeling of pride that I’d like to call the reward.

Kym “soon-to-be” Kozak