VSBlog

Love is a stimulant… for the economy as well.

2012-02-14T08:24:00.000-08:00

Why did Teleflora spend $3.5 million (plus production and agency fees, plus Adriana Lima’s fee) in a Super Bowl ad? Because Valentine’s day is the most important day for florists, with $1.8 billion spent on flowers alone.

As big as that number is, it pales in comparison with the $4.1 billion spent on jewelry or $3.5 billion on dining out. Even cards account for $1.1 billion. The average person will spend $126.03, an increase of 8.5% from last year. It all adds to good news for retailers still reeling from the recession.

If you are reading this and smacking yourself in the head for not thinking of a present earlier, we have done the work for you: here’s a helpful list of last-minute online gifts, and here’s another one. But do it soon, because forgetting Valentine’s has consequences: 53% of women would dump their boyfriends if they forget the day!

Happy Valentine’s, everybody!

The Super Bowl of Advertising

2012-02-03T13:41:00.000-08:00

The big game is also when you bring your “A” game as an agency–and at a price tag of $4 million per 30 seconds of airtime, there’s more at stake than professional pride. A memorable Super Bowl spot can propel a new brand onto the minds of millions of viewers, and for established brands it can give them a push that often transcends marketing, becoming part of popular culture. Remember “Whassup?”

For us advertising types, the Monday after the game is dominated by discussions about who had the funniest or most memorable spot, if it was an up year or a disappointing one, many “how did they pull that one past the legal department?” and what do recent trends such as crowdsourcing (Doritos) mean for the industry. So in anticipation of the big game, and another batch of entertaining spots, here are our favorites from past years:

Ingrid Serrano

Let’s start with a classic. I don’t know how many times I’ve heard “through the window, off the wall, nothing but net.”

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Stephanie Cruz

Who among us hasn’t wished for a Terry Tate to instill fear on violators of office etiquette?

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Olivia Errasti & Maureen Fitzpatrick & Danny Timiraos (our Star Wars FREAK)

The absolute favorite from last year, the Force was strong with this combination of simple insight and charming execution. Can Volkswagen repeat this year?

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Danielle Sokoloff and Yisel Zas

One of the advantages of Super Bowl advertising is its capacity to create instant iconic characters. The E-Trade baby is one of those. Plus the writing is spot-on. “Milkawhat?”

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Vivian Santos

How many times we recall a great spot, but not the brand featured? No danger of that with Google’s “Search Stories” campaign. Perfect integration of product and concept in a simple and emotionally charged execution.

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Gabriela Zamorano

Another Super Bowl icon, the Clydesdale horses for Budweiser never fail to put a smile on viewer’s faces. When the first notes of “Gonna Fly Now” play? Goosebumps.

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Barbara Marchena

Not only a SB classic, but one of the most beloved spots ever, perfectly capturing the essence of an iconic brand.

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Alejandro Barreras

Towards the end of the workaholism-fueled frenzied dotcom years, Monster.com asked if your career matched your dreams. Poignant, emotional, simple and spot-on for the brand.

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Eric Zamorano

No list of Super Bowl favorite spots is complete without the one that launched Apple and the Macintosh into the national consciousness -and created the SuperBowl spot as must-see event.

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Social media experts talk healthcare at VSBrooks.

2011-11-07T15:44:00.000-08:00

Social media has become an important part of our everyday lives, giving each and every person a voice online. With that in mind, we decided to organize a symposium on the implications of social media for the healthcare industry, in collaboration with the South Florida Hospital and Healthcare Association.

Our renovated offices became a classroom for the afternoon, as healthcare executives gathered for a primer on topics from Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter to blogger outreach and online reputation management, given by a panel of some of the top local experts. There were many questions and animated discussion, as this is a topic that's very much on every marketer, communicator and institution radar screen.

Special thanks to our collaborator and social media maven Maria de los Angeles, who put together the panel, and the panelists Alex de Carvalho, Hilda Mitrani, Blanca Stella Mejia, Craig Agranoff and Jeff Zelaya. (Click on their names to find out more about them or as they said, just Google them!)

Like us and you may win an iPad!

2011-08-25T14:50:00.000-07:00

We are turning 15 years old soon! And like every teenager, we have one thing in mind: popularity! (No, not that other thing.)

So we are on a mission to make new friends to share our birthday celebrations, and to make it sweeter, we'll be raffling an iPad among all of our Facebook followers. All you have to do is like us before October 14, and it could be yours!

Hurricane VSBrooks?

2011-06-07T10:24:00.000-07:00

Soon a sleek new office will emerge from the rubble.

Construction update: we are at that point where it looks like a Cat 5 just blew through what was once our work space, and you wonder if it'll ever look as good as the architect's renderings. The after-demolition space was a sight to behold –and it left us without internet or phones for the best part of a day. What's a remodel without a few horror stories? But once the dust settles and the drills stop, we are looking forward to enjoy our new beautiful digs in a few months. Can't wait!

Want to see more images of the wholesale destruction of our old offices? Check it out in our Facebook Page!

Well, we're moving on up...

2011-05-12T10:45:00.000-07:00

Queue The Jefferson's theme song...VSBrooks is moving the office this week! Having outgrown -really outgrown- the space we have called home for the past five years, it's time to move to new digs that really suit our personality and our growing team. For the past few days we've been swept in the process of boxing up, cleaning up, running into old memories and discarding remnants from advertising's past (stock photo books, really?)

So, bigger space, new furniture, fresh paint on the walls? Not quite yet... this is the move before the move, to the temporary space we'll occupy while the builders get our shiny new space ready. And we aren't moving far away: all three offices (old, temporary and new) are in the same floor of the same building.

Stay tuned for more updates about our new offices!

You have a website, now what?

2011-04-25T15:37:00.000-07:00

If somebody spent only one minute per page, it would take 31 thousand years to visit all of them. To actually read their content, you better clear your schedule for the next six hundred thousand decades.

This is by far the largest amount of information ever collected in human history. So how do you make sure your website stands out in this digital haystack?

You've heard about terms like page ranking, web presence and SEO (search engine optimization) and you know that if it doesn't show up in Google's first results page, it may as well not exist. You may even know you can pay for better position - which can be a costly proposition.

(There's even a sub-industry with the sinister name of Black Hat SEO that promises fast results, but eventually will get your site banned from most search engines.)

Our client, Floridalobby.com, faced this problem and they solved it beautifully. Their website was launched in March 2011, just before the FL legislative session started. A month later, a Google Search for "Florida lobby" returns 16.5 million results - and shows them in second place. That's ahead of the websites for the Florida Association of Professional Lobbyists and the website of their main competitor. The only result above them is the website for the Florida Legislature itself.

How where they able to attain this impressive result in such a short time? Turns out is not that much different that attracting attention in the real world. It takes old-fashioned elbow-grease in the form of relevant quality content, dedication and consistency.

FloridaLobby.com is, among other purposes, a valuable repository of information about Florida legislative issues, indexed by issue. We designed the website to be easy to read and navigate for the readers, and easy as well for their staff to update with a robust Content management system (CMS), an online tool that allows them to make real time changes to the content without the need of knowing website programming. We also used a clean layout on purpose, avoiding the use of techniques such as Flash which creates sites that are not easily indexed by search engines.

Armed with this tool, they went to work and populated every section of the website with relevant content culled from news organizations and specialized sources such as the Legislature reporting service. The result is content that is organically rife with relevant keywords. All the content is linked back to the original source, creating a web of links that reverberates across websites. And they have been diligently consistent about finding and posting this content, not letting a day pass without updating the front page on most sections. At this point, you can probably find more in their website about what's happening in the state government than in any of the state's main newspapers.

This collection of quality and relevant content is what Floridalobby.com's clients are looking for the site to provide, and the gateway for the premium issue-tracking service they offer. It's a huge time saver for the industry leaders who are interested in finding only the content that relates to their industry - and it's also what has given Floridalobby.com its robust web presence in a mere month.

So the lesson is: there are no shortcuts or magic tricks in the web age. Be relevant and consistent, offer quality, always link, and be disciplined about adding and updating content. Then sit back and watch your page ranking shot to the top of the results.

Where are all these pink snails coming from?

2011-03-24T13:24:00.000-07:00

Look anywhere around the City of Coral Gables and you’re bound to run into them. Snails. Big pink ones. At first they just blended in during the morning commute. Lack of coffee in the morning will do that to you. But a lunchtime walk around the city confirms their big pink existence. Listen to some jazz at the Coral Gables Museum and there’s one of them to keep you company. Head up the traffic circle on Coral Way, there’s another to greet you.

So what are they and where did they come from?

The snails, which symbolize nature, were created from recycled materials and leave a minimal carbon footprint. To make a long story short, they were originally set up in Miami Beach for Art Basel. Apparently, they were not very well received, seeing as one of them ended up in the ocean. Seems like they found a quieter home in the Gables.

Some people seem to like them, others not so much. Here are some articles if you want to hear more about the big pink snails.

Pink snails find more pleasant home in Coral Gables - MiamiHerald.com

Pink Snails Trek To Coral Gables - CBS Miami

Pinksnails - Galleria Ca' D'oro - Pink Snails

Stupid Pink Snails Moving to Stupid Coral Gables - Miami New Times

Whether you like them or not they will be around for a bit. And who knows, when they're gone they just might be missed. Let us know what you think of them.

Daniel Timiraos
dtimiraos@vsbrooks.com
VSBrooks ADVERTISING

Creatives are Kooks.

2011-03-15T13:53:00.001-07:00

One of the things that really attracted me to the advertising industry is the unconventional work environment. Advertising agencies are known for having playrooms and cool office designs with fun wall colors and some of the latest gadgets and programs. Yes, it’s different and most definitely fun to work in an advertising agency, or at least it’s very much so at VSBrooks ADVERTISING, but it’s not just for the hell of it. To be a successful ad agency is to have forward-thinking, kick-ass creative. Creatives are asked to pump out so much work in such a short amount of time that in order to keep them producing fresh, quality ideas, they need room to bug around.

Every single creative at VSBrooks Advertising has their own method of ideating, and from an outsider’s perspective, the process is pretty entertaining.

Vivian Santos, Executive Creative Director, takes what I call the Omm approach. When she is brainstorming she retreats into her office, door closed, and does not speak to a soul until her chi has aligned and her mind is hyper-focused. Every once in a while, though, you’ll catch her with her door open. Vivian sits in her chair, leaned all the way back, legs spread out and locked forward, with hands behind her head as she looks up at the ceiling. You would think she was waiting for a police officer to pat her down for paraphernalia.

Then you have Danny Timiraos, our Senior Art Director. His design process is probably the most normal, but that’s relative. Danny sits in front of his computer in a far away, forgotten corner of the office and clicks away. ALL. DAY. LONG. He is swifter with a mouse and computer than a teenage girl is texting away on her cell phone. Watching him design is about as interesting as watching a librarian reshelf books. They’re doing a lot of the same thing, but in the end everything is in its place and looks astonishing. Danny’s final product is clean, crisp, and beautiful artwork.

Alejandro Barreras, Creative Services, has the most active method in our office. He’s got a desk with a comfy chair and huge, snazzy monitor. Yet he hardly sits there while he is brainstorming. Alejandro is usually doing one of three things while he is generating ideas:

(1) wandering around the office, taking everything in as if he’s seeing it for the first time,

(2) sitting on one of our couches, laptop where it’s designed to be, that is…wait for it…wait for it…on his lap, or

(3) shooting at a coworker with one of the fully automatic Nerf guns in our arsenal.

In case you were wondering, yes, we have worker’s comp.

I don’t exactly know how our creatives’ processes lead to such wonderful work, but the proof is in the pudding. Their "beerstorming" (the act of brainstorming within an alcohol-fueled environment) and lollygagging has led to multiple awards for the agency, and as someone in account services, the best part is sitting back, enjoying the show, and sometimes even taking part in the Nerf gun battles.

Olivia Errasti
oerrasti@vsbrooks.com
VSBrooks ADVERTISING

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Sometimes fighting hunger is just a walk on the beach.

2011-03-09T13:17:00.000-08:00

Some of the most rewarding work we do at the agency is for Feeding South Florida, an organization dedicated to "wage a war" against hunger. It's a noble purpose and they mean "war" quite literally - take a look at some of the work we have done to promote their cause, complete with camo gear and dog tags.

FSF has organized the 5K Walk/Run March 4 Hunger, this Saturday March 12, from 7:30 to 10:30 am, along the Hollywood Beach Broadwalk. And of course, the VSBrooks team will be there, marching with them.

Most of us are fortunate to sit at a full table each day and don't have to worry where our next meal is coming from. But for too many of our fellow Floridians, hunger is an every day reality. We can make a difference. For every dollar raised, Feeding South Florida can provide nine pounds of food and grocery items. Think about that for a second. For the price of a typical lunch, a hungry person could eat for several days.

This is why we encourage you to spend a couple hours of your Saturday (nice weather for a walk on the beach!) and help achieve a great turnout for this worthy cause. Registration is $25 in advance or $35 the day of the race.

To register, visit Split Second Timing or check out Feeding South Florida's wepage for more details.

WTF WAS I THINKING?

2011-01-25T09:23:00.000-08:00

5 months. That’s how long I’ve been involved in the advertising industry. Just FIVE months. When I first started – and some would say I am still just starting, though I beg to differ given the bevy of mistakes I have made that have forced me to learn faster than an Army recruit facedown in the mud, while an officer is yelling, “You’re a pansy!” But back to my point…when I first started, I was wide-eyed, slightly intimidated, and almost entirely ignorant.

Starting at VSBrooks Advertising during their peak season, I was thrust into the whirlwind of constant client requests, publication due dates, and media plan adjustments on a ~~daily~~ hourly basis. Tack on the fact that I was starting from ground zero and you have a recipe for a royal clusterfudge.

So, seen through the eyes of a newb, I bring you lessons I have learned about advertising as an account coordinator at VSBrooks:

1) Don’t you DARE miss that double space!

As account coordinator, the bulk of my duties involve proofreading. Not for one moment while I was in grade school did I think that there would be a real-life, day-to-day application for my secret pleasure of correcting grammar, syntax, and content. But my secret pleasure for proofreading has become a curse. I want to be the one that catches all the errors, feeling a sense of victory every time I strike through a word repeated twice or put a “#” where a space was forgotten. I’m sure by now you’re thinking, “This girl is so weird she probably hasn’t had a boyfriend since OJ Simpson decided that a white Ford Bronco was the perfect getaway car.” But in my defense, I’m sure I’m not the only one who feels this way about proofreading. Otherwise, my coworkers and I would not geekily say to each other “Good catch!” when a particularly inconspicuous error is caught.

Moral: I never thought playing scrabble by myself would pay off, but my zeal for concise, grammatically correct writing has been an integral part of my early (however minimal) success.

2) Check yo’ self before you wreck yo’ self.

You know in school when teachers tell you to always double-check your work so much that it makes you NOT want to check it? Well, they’re right. I consider myself an intelligent individual with plenty of common sense. I graduated top 10 of my class in high school and have a BA from Boston College. Before you say STFU and stop gloating, I’ve made some of the dumbest mistakes because of not double-checking my work. Mistakes so dumb they make a sea cucumber look like Isaac Newton.

Lessons learned from the myriad mistakes I’m referring to:

· Double-check your e-mail subject lines and make sure they match the content of the e-mail.

SUBJECT: OMG PIG ROLLERSKATIN LOLLLLZZ

BODY: Dear Client, we are working diligently on the flyer for the Center’s grand opening this weekend…

· Double-check the jargon of your profession so that you’re not talking to the client about a header when you mean to be talking to them about a call-to-action.

· Double-check to make sure you really don’t have records of a document before you ask a coworker three different times to forward an e-mail to you.

· Lastly, but most importantly, ALWAYS CHECK WHO IS CC’D IN AN E-MAIL. This particular one infuriated a peer to the point that she said with deadpan expression and questionable sarcasm, “I wanted to dangle you by your ankle from the edge of the roof of this building”.

Moral: It’s worth your time to double-check your work before you send it, rather than spending twice as much time fixing your mistake (and worrying about whether or not you can make it after falling 12 stories).

3) Your skin better be thicker than Aretha Franklin’s waistline.

You see the people you work with day in and day out. Every one has an off day. As one of the least confrontational people you’d ever meet who works with some of the most upfront people you’d ever meet, dealing with people’s off days and sometimes-justified bad moods was an immediate dilemma.

Being in account services and working directly with clients, I’ve also gotten a mouthful from the client. My first month I was sheltered and thus blissfully believed every one was all about candy canes, puppies, and rainbows. In my second and third month in the advertising world, the veil came off and I was a deer caught in headlights. I cringed every time I heard a shout from the other end of the office, “Oliviaaaa!!” Every time I would think to myself “WTH did I do now? Why am I always being called out?” However, during the last two months I have realized, the tone in people’s voice when they say or request something, the snappy comments – they’re not personal. Every one is here to work and get the job done right.

Moral: A coworker may be upset in the moment and mostly it’s because they don’t want to get an earful from the client. It is not the end of the world. Chances are, they will just as quickly be over it. And if not, swallow your pride and apologize. No use pulling a Dick Cheney and making your colleague apologize to YOU after you’ve shot them in the face.

Olivia Errasti
oerrasti@vsbrooks.com
VSBrooks ADVERTISING

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THE TARGET AUDIENCE IS SHIFTING.

2011-01-04T12:02:00.001-08:00

For years, the biggest target audience age for marketers was between 18 -24. Well the target has moved or rather aged toward Medicare. As Ana Veciana-Suarez writes in her article, "Baby boomers, the generation that once vowed to never trust anyone over 30, begin turning 65 this year."

The Miami Herald has published two articles by Veciana-Suarez today that really flesh out this pivotal shift in the demographic and what they can expect in Medicare.

Turning 65? Time to brush up on the details of Medicare, explains how medicare will affect this new senior population.

A cheat sheet on the four parts that comprise Medicare, further explains the complexities of medicare.

ADVERTISING, FOR GOODNESS SAKE!

2010-12-21T11:30:00.000-08:00

It’s that time of year again where everyone is in a mad dash to find the perfect gift to give. “That red, white and green, reindeer themed cardigan would be perfect for…”

Being in the field of advertising, we use our unique talents to essentially sell goods and services (even the cardigan) and promote the client’s brand. There’s nothing wrong with that - quite the contrary, this puts food on the table for everyone involved,which is a very good thing. But there should be more to it than that. There’s also food for the soul. Using those same talents for goodness sake is something we truly believe in at VSBrooks. We’ve focused our efforts on Feeding South Florida.

Imagine going hungry, right here, in one of the wealthiest countries in the world. It hardly seems possible but it's true. The reasons are many: job losses, stagnant or declining wages, escalating costs and high medical expenses. The fact is, 49 million Americans are at risk of hunger. That's one in six Americans, and many of them are children and the elderly.

Here's another fact that might shock you, 20% of all food produced in the United States goes to waste.

And that's where Feeding South Florida comes in.

We had always been helping and donating to their former namesake, the Daily Bread Food Bank, but when they decided to rebrand, we took up the cause in full force. We started from inception with their new identity, branding strategy and collateral materials – “Fighting hunger, Feeding hope” became their rallying cry and our community answered in the thousands! Our inaugural event was a resounding success, and out of all that good we got an extra perk; the new website we designed and created for them won a W3 Silver award!

This holiday season, we will be Fighting Hunger and Feeding Joy. Our clients’ gift will be a donation to the Food Bank in their name and some candy to sweeten the deal; the gift of giving is a wonderful thing. Way better than a reindeer cardigan!

If you’d like to donate to Feeding South Florida, visit their site at www.feedingsouthflorida.org or text FEED to 52000 to make a $5 donation.

ADVERTISING WORKS. NO, REALLY, IT DOES!

2010-11-12T13:54:00.000-08:00

You would think that after 30 years in the Advertising Business (15 of them as the VS of VSBrooks) I would be used to it. But, I’m not afraid to say it, “I’m still in awe that it works!”

Diana (she’s the Brooks of VSBrooks) and I still get hives right before a campaign is about to break. Like the one that is about to happen Monday, Nov 15. This year AEP (that’s Annual Election Period for those of you who are neither in healthcare nor retired) is only until December 31, which means we only have 45 days to get seniors to switch from their health insurance plan to OURS!

This year we’re going to keep calm and not surrender to our usual obsession. I refuse to be outside at 5 am waiting for the Miami Herald to be delivered. And Diana is NOT going to TiVo every commercial, on every station we’re on! We’ve done our job and it’s going to work! Why do I know this? Because we are professionals, damn it! And we know what we’re doing.

One. We live and breathe the brand.

Two. We know what our 65+ seniors want even before they know it.

Three. Our strategy is straight-out on the money! Did you know that Seniors (65% of them) still get their news from TV?

Four. Our creative works, it’s that simple. We make sure we have a message that is clear, honest and informative.

Five. We light a candle and say a little prayer.

So I’m going to relax and enjoy the ride. Taking comfort that we’ve done a damn good job!

Oh-oh, my husband is beginning to stir, I’d better close my laptop and get back to sleep. Or maybe I should just get up? I’ll make breakfast for us - I WILL NOT GO OUTSIDE TO GET THE PAPER. Although ...the dog DOES have to pee. It’s not fair to make him suffer just to prove my point and if the paper is already there, might as well pick it up, right?

Vivian Santos
vsantos@vsbrooks.com
VSBrooks ADVERTISING

ONE OF THE MANY PERKS OF WORKING AT VSBROOKS ADVERTISING: MEETING SPORTS LEGENDS!

2010-11-10T13:17:00.000-08:00

This week Diana, Eric and the Inspira Films crew are out shooting commercials for Shiners Hospitals for Children’s East-West Shrine Game. On set they have Super Bowl-winning coach Tony Dungy and Pro Wrestler “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan, both of whom will be talking about the game and their participation with Shriners Hospitals for Children. Diana and Eric are huge football fans, and who didn’t love wrestling in the 80’s? So, on top of the wonderful opportunity to work with Shriners Hospitals for Children, they get to meet these legendary sports heroes!

Shriners Hospitals for Children’s goal is to help improve the lives of children through pediatric specialty care, specializing in burn care, cleft lip and palate, orthopaedics, and spinal cord injury. Any child up to age 18 is eligible for care based SOLELY on the child’s medical needs. Shriners Hospitals for Children relies heavily on donations and gifts to pay for treatments they administer. Having been around since 1922, they have come up with fun and creative ways to raise funding, with events like the East-West Shrine Game, that has become an annual tradition for the Hospital.

Miami-based Inspira Films and VSBrooks ADVERTISING were hired to develop and produce the TV campaign for this year’s 85^th annual East-West Shrine Game in Tampa with Super Bowl-winning Tony Dungy and Pro Wrestler “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan. Our own Diana Brooks and Eric Zamorano got a chance to meet these sports-world legends and both came out of there with a newfound respect for Tony Dungy and Jim Duggan and their involvement with the Hospital. “I admire them for their work done outside of the sports world. They were genuinely compassionate with the children,” said Diana. More exciting than the chance to meet such celebrities, however, was the effect that meeting the children and their families had on our crew. Diana was moved by the tenacity and drive of the children and their mothers'. Diana’s and Eric’s experience at Shriners Hospitals for Children brought home the purpose of the cause for the East-West Shrine Game.

As the Hospital’s biggest event of the year, the East-West Shrine Game has been played every year since 1925 and directly benefits Shriners Hospitals for Children. It is one of the Hospital’s longest standing traditions and is considered the most-respected all-star college football game in history. The quality of athletes and coaches that participate in the game ensures an exciting match each time. Last year, the East beat the West 13-10, with the point difference of a simple field goal!

We’re thrilled VSBrooks ADVERTISING and Inspira Films has been allowed to help promote such a worthwhile cause. No matter the outcome of the football game, the real winners are the kids.

IN SEARCH OF: THE PERFECT CLIENT

2010-10-21T11:24:00.000-07:00

I know what you’re thinking: nobody’s perfect. Although, when my son, Raymond, was about 8, he lost a Spelling Bee to a classmate, Rebecca. I tried comforting him, by explaining the fact that “nobody’s perfect”, he instantly disagreed, stating that in fact Rebecca was perfect; best speller, most A’s, great at drawing and she could out run all the boys. Crap! She was perfect, but I wasn’t about to let him know that. So I brought out the secret weapon - “Only God is perfect, Ray.” He nodded in agreement and reflected before adding, “And Rebecca.”

Like Ray, we all have an ideal of what is perfect. Me, I’m always in search of “The Perfect Client”. After 30 years in this business I’ve been lucky to have a few (still do).

Now, before I give you my top 3 attributes of The Perfect Client, there is certain criteria that is a given: The client’s product (service) must be a good one.

TOP 3 QUALITIES OF THE PERFECT CLIENT

1. THE PERFECT CLIENT MUST BELIEVE IN ADVERTISING!
They must have a sense for what is good and let The Agency show them the best Advertising they can get. Like my friend slash copywriter Mary Ellen once told me: “Clients get the Advertising they deserve.”

2. THE PERFECT CLIENT MUST SEE THE AGENCY AS A STRATEGIC PARTNER NOT A VENDOR.
That means you’ve got to trust The Agency and share essential marketing information with us. Keeping straightforward communication with your Agency will fuel the passion we need to feel for the Brand. This passion is contagious, it’s what keeps this business of ours engaging and stimulating for both of us.

3. THE PERFECT CLIENT UNDERSTANDS THAT THE AGENCY NEEDS TO BE FAIRLY PAID.
If you leave no room for the agency to make a profit, the end product will suffer. Just show The Agency some respect and we’ll do amazing things for you.

OH AND ONE MORE THING: You’ve got to actually like each other, if you don’t have a real connection the relationship is doomed. Yes I know, that makes it 4 Qualities instead of 3, but hey - nobody’s perfect (except Rebecca?).

Vivian Santos
vsantos@vsbrooks.com
VSBrooks ADVERTISING

A panoramic tutorial with a twist (or a roundhouse kick in this case).

2010-10-15T06:52:00.001-07:00

I’ve been toying with the idea of shooting The Living Room in our office for a while now. This is the space where, among other areas, we generally hold our client meetings, staff meetings and over all get-togethers. It has a sweeping view of downtown Coral Gables and affords amazing sunsets thanks to the floor to ceiling windows of our building. It’s our epicenter if you will.

In order to capture this, a panoramic shot was a no brainer. I’ve created many of these for our clients so I went to work on one of our own. Tutorials on this abound on the web, but it case you’d like to know how I went about it:

-Set up tripod at corner of the room that would provide the sweeping views. The image is shot in pieces and then stitched together in Photoshop CS5 using the photomerge feature. Without the tripod it would make things WAAAAY more difficult than need be.

- Set up camera to shoot vertically. I know it sounds weird since it’s a panoramic your shooting for, but in the end your final stitched image will be overall large and have more detail than is you’d shoot horizontally. Also this way you avoid shooting wide, which would distort the image causing your more “headache time” in Photoshop.

- Find and set your exposure manually to assure even exposure through the images in the stitching process. I shot with a 17-35 set at 35mm and the Aperture set at F11 to provide sufficient depth of field.

- Start shooting. Each shot should incorporate 20% - 30% of the previous shot to ensure a seamless stitch.

- Load the images into Photoshop and let in work it’s magic.

- Retouch and color correct final image.

- Rinse and repeat.

Simple enough and as you can see the results are pretty dramatic.

The only problem was that the image was missing the one element that really makes the room come to life; the quirky and charismatic bunch of people the make up VSBrooks Advertising. Without them it’s just another room in another office building - looks great but has no life. And more importantly, how can I show and accurate depiction of the Living Room with having Veronica roundhouse kicking our punching bag!?!

So I re-set everything up with the exception of having me shoot it (thanks, Jimmy!) at a time when we were in our goings on at the office. Veronica randomly kicks the dummy throughout the day so I’ll fess up, that portion of the shot was staged. The slices would have to be strategically shot so as not to cut anyone in half. Also, in order to show motion, I had to drag the shutter to achieve the effect.

Voila! The Living Room comes to life!

Now with people in it, the image is a panoramic with a twist, much like everything else here in the office. The people in the shot make something good become great. It’s our specialty. We interact with (and around) each other “seamlessly” (pun intended), making great things happen for our clients. It’s a slim slice of the dynamic life at VSBrooks.

If you'd like to see a larger version of the final image, head over to our Facebook page.

Daniel Timiraos
dtimiraos@vsbrooks.com
VSBrooks ADVERTISING

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Hey clients! If you think your customers aren’t paying attention…. Think again my friends.

2010-10-08T15:46:00.000-07:00

It seems that Gap, the retail chain, who in my opinion, is a branding champion, recently launched a new logo on their website. They've spent the last two years working hard "evolving" the brand, convincing themselves within the confines of their four walls, that they needed a new contemporary and hip logo, that still honored the heritage of the brand.

Not a big deal to your common, cattle-herded customer, right?

So here’s the funny part... they changed it, very quietly, as part of an overall rebranding strategy. And their customers went nuts! They flocked to their social media outlets, enraged and betrayed by the brand they had been so loyal to.

As an agency owner, I have to admit I feel vindicated.

After years upon years droning on to clients about how important a logo is, and a brand is, and blah blah blah ad nauseum… I feel great to be able to read this article and say :

“SEE!!!!????

I TOLD YOU SO!!!!!!!!!!”

Even the greats have to learn the hard way how important your customer is, how you have to keep them in mind every step of your strategic way, how RESEARCH will SAVE you money and more importantly, how people EMOTIONALLY connect to your brand.

Read on and learn more….http://adage.com/article?article_id=146353

Diana Brooks

dbrooks@vsbrooks.com

VSBrooks ADVERTISING

Retail, Retail, Mighty Retail!

2010-09-29T09:59:00.000-07:00

It ain’t been good for retailers and suppliers of merchandise lately. Two years after the recession threw us a curve ball and that consumer spending plummeted (mine included), we are still seeing shopper caution, cash being conserved for the uncertain future, businesses not hiring back, and retail expansions at a hold.

True, about fifty per cent of retailers and their suppliers expect consumer spending to pick up in 2011, while others postpone upsurge to 2012 and beyond. And there is that small, dark, pessimistic minority that says it will never happen again. Don’t you hate nay sayers? But all in all, things seem to have taken an upturn.

Retailers are increasing inventories from last year, but doing so with caution. You can see lots of sales going on, indicating they don’t want stationary merchandise. My motto is “Stationary merchandise is bad… Sales are good.”

Before the recession, retail environment showcased an obscene inventory fest, with merchandise flooding floors, and retailers expecting the customer to buy something, anything. As the consumer became careful with spending dollars, retailers became overstocked, unable to move their stuff, and forced to dump it. This impacted the whole retail chain, from raw materials to warehousing. (It’s probably been sucking a little bit for China also.)

Because retailers are stocking with caution, suppliers that can produce and deliver in shorter times, are high in demand. Companies don’t want to keep excess stock, but they want their merchandise when they want it.

At another level, tracking has become THE thing in doing business today, with companies measuring demand and purchasing closely, while Internet is growing and growing, taking away from brick and mortar.

As retailers become leaner (less employees, less stock, more tracking) and the economy starts recovering (tell that to the 12.5 unemployed!), some have seen higher profit. Realism is no longer a literature genre but has become a retailer reality. You hear things such as “let’s be prepared for a double dip recession,” which means in retailerese, stashing profits under the mattress or squirreling away for the proverbial wintertime.

Following up on this trend, the holiday shopping season will see a smaller inventory of goods and greater sales. I particularly think that smaller inventories are not necessarily bad. Sometimes I’m driven insane by the variety of products I see in a store and my inability to choose among so many options. I can give my brain a rest this season, and get some good bargains at the same time.

So after analyzing the retail scenario in-depth (it’s called first-hand shopping), the great authorities put forth five strategies that retail chains can do to improve profits or even keep operating:

- Cash flow, baby. Do not overstock, do not overexpand, do not overinvest.

- Flexibility, flexibility, flexibility. Sales are up or sales are down, respond wisely to demand.

- More for less. Be more efficient and invest in Internet channels.

- Track your inventory and sales. Invest in software (yeah, go ahead, put some money in technology).

- Cooperate with suppliers, sharing forecasts, trends, and measurements.

As far as the so much taunted social media, there are no real indicators that social networks drive sales. But it does seem that retailers can boost sales from their own sites by inspiring social interaction, such as allowing customers to design outfits and send them to their friends, or for consumers to be able to review stores and products. (Just thought I’d throw some social media into the mix. One can hardly go without paying homage to the great digital goddess.)

Cristina Alvarez
calvarez@vsbrooks.com
VSBrooks ADVERTISING

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Baby Boomers: How many will be missing out on Medicare?

2010-08-30T11:30:00.000-07:00

Hey, there was a time, in my twenties, that I dreaded the thought of turning thirty and becoming an old bag. And then the thirties went by and they were pretty darn good. The forties were actually very revealing. I even found a hot boyfriend at forty-five. I now remember longingly when I turned fifty and am approaching the Medicare coming of age with trepidation. Perhaps my heart is skipping a beat or maybe it’s just fibrillating.

Anyway, don’t they say that the fifties are the new thirties? I’m getting confused with all the numbers and decades. But what I do know is that in 2011, the oldest boomers will become 65 and enter the Medicare club.

We are not aging gracefully (although some would say it’s totally the opposite), utilizing our country's greatest brains to develop new forms of cosmetic surgeries, exercise mechanisms, skin preparations, and even miracle garments, to hide the inexorable action of gravity. I guess some can pull off the Botox and nips and tucks and look handsome. Well, you know how others look, rather like zombies in dire need of sleep.

But I’m digressing… baby boomers better fez up! Quickly. If not, you’ll be missing out on the enrollment window of three months prior and three months after your birthday, and pay a penalty for it. What’s more, you could actually be disqualified for the Medicare Supplement, horror of horrors!

If you’re a Supplement Medicare insurance company, think about the opportunity now. It has been researched, I swear, that older people rely more on intuition than rationality. That sounds irrational, right? For me, intuition is pent up rationality, waiting to jump out, but without an attitude. So if you are a marketer for this segment, employ images that promote strong positive emotional responses. Following that trend of thought, first impressions, which have a heavy emotional charge, are also more durable for older than younger adults. So be very careful and put your best foot forward.

First you engage them and then you throw information at them. They do want the information, but get them interested first. But oh please, don’t give them more than what they need. Remember, their clock is ticking away, so be respectful of their time. That doesn’t mean you’re going to give them choppy phrases or bulleted lines. Older adults process thoughts slower, so be clear, but to the point. If you can, make a little story of it, peppered with emotional cues. You can’t lose with a. information they need, b. to-the-point information, c. information that touches their soul in some form.

One thing that us mature audiences hate are absolutist statements about religion, politics, philosophy, companies, about almost everything. So make sure you present your information deferentially, in the “if you allow me to explain” mode. But… take advantage of our greater sensitivity to subtlety… go ahead, don’t be shy, throw in a metavalue about your services to make it more attractive… it’s allowed, and good marketing too. But put it within context and make it holistic. For older adults, it’s about the whole experience, because they’ve reached a point of synthesis in their lives.

Baby Boomers are turning 50 at a dizzying rate of 1 every 10 seconds. That's more than 12,000 each day and over 4 million a year for each year of the next decade.

And for the health plan companies out there trying to cash in on this emerging target, 2011 will be a wild feast. By the way, analysts say that this increase in the number of Medicare enrollees is projected to contribute 2.9 percentage points to growth in Medicare spending by 2017. Not good for the government, and eventually, not good for the aging.

Typically, emerging markets consist of younger (or underdeveloped) people coming of age (or to quote an Evangelist, people “Seeing the Light!”) and beginning to consume a product that wasn’t available to them before for reason of price or maturity. In that sense, we can truly say that the Baby Boomers are babies that have finally grown up. Not grown old. Medicare will become the insurance for the boomers, not the insurance for those on their final trek. Some say the healthcare system is not prepared for their grand and copious entrance, that 36,000 geriatricians would need to be activated by 2030.

Who knows about those geriatricians? 65-year-olds ain’t no grandparents no way no more. They are mature, coming of age, sophisticated consumers. They do not feel antediluvian. In fact, they feel energized, ready for another round. Many boomers will work past their seventies, and at more than 100 million strong, this group and other customers born before 1965 will be - in fact are - the single most important consumer group in the U.S., in addition to being the wealthiest, best educated, and most sophisticated of purchasers. They’ve become the new customer majority.

By the way, new statistics just came out on life expectancy: a man currently age 65 can expect to live until age 83, and the average 65 year old woman until 85, according to the Social Security Administration. And why would they lie? For them it’s best that we all conk out sooner rather than later.

Cristina Alvarez
calvarez@vsbrooks.com
VS Brooks Advertising

Distracted Driving Campaign from the Florida Department of Highway Safety awarded to VSBrooks Advertising

2010-08-16T07:24:00.000-07:00

VSBrooks Advertising was awarded the Media Campaign project directed to Hispanics, handling creative, production, and media planning and buying, as well as community outreach through earned interviews.

Hispanics And Social Media: A Match Made In Cyber Space

2010-07-26T14:39:00.000-07:00

Holaaaaa! (equivalent of Helloooo!) Being social is part of the Hispanic DNA (ADN en espanol). Hispanics are friendly and fun; even when they get mad, they entertain. Creative expletives involving mothers and sisters, convoluted curses, and facial and body gestures, offer a tremendously dramatic moment that carries an underlying twist of humor.

So here we have a fun and friendly Hispanic, and we have someone that loves technology and cell phones, and on top of that consumes media by the ton, and aquí está! (Spanish for voilá!), we come up with a tremendously social media Hispanic!

Did you know that Latinos are more connected to broadband than the general market? That they have more wireless connections to the Internet? And that they way over index on texting? Definitivamente.

We’ve come up with someone that doesn’t live in the silo and barrio of his own culture anymore. We have someone that reaches out globally, to his blood relatives, to his cultural family, to his pale neighbors, and to el mundo at large. Someone spreading the culture. And who doesn’t love Latino music, food, humor and passion?

Hispanics love to share food, advise, political opinions. And social networks give them a huge platform from where to impart their views. It also gives brands a friendly forum through which to converse with this chatty audience. Here’s where the brand ambassador comes in.

La embajadora invites the cyber Hispanic to come into the brand’s world, an embracing environment, where he will feel a sense of belonging, where he will connect with the company and with other consumers, Hispanic or not. Connection feels good. Hispanics hate aloneness.

Message, to-the-point information and brand must bundle up intelligently, so that Hispanics entering this world feel they are where they want to and need to be. Of course, this creates a sense of appreciation. They’ve arrived. They find useful content. They belong. They feel comfortable.

Now that they are cozily situated inside, they can communicate themselves among friends. Other amigos will join in. Collectively, they will express their thoughts, needs, solutions. Ah, it feels good to hear and be heard. To influence and receive advise.

While Hispanics are busily expressing their views and opinions, they are providing a service to the community, the family at large. At the same time, all answers they receive will come from that same community. The bonds of friendship and feelings of belonging grow stronger.

Getting feedback from community members of other cultures opens up the door to different scenarios. It’s no longer the Latino street or Hispanic barrio, or cultura de mi gente. Now they are exposed and getting the best of two worlds. Connecting, exchanging, teaching, learning.

As a treasured consumer of a brand, one that seeks them out, courts them, and invites them to their inner circle, Latinos thrive with the attention and provide insight right back to the brand, within the perspective of their rich cultural heritage. Brands should consider this a bonus.

The relationship becomes intense, intimate, and visceral. Hispanics are ready to advocate and defend their brand with all they’ve got. The ambassador has opened the door, the social network has provided the platform, Hispanics are now the evangelists.

Which brings us back to what Hispanics of all ethnicities and social upbringing where searching for when they moved to the U.S.: success for themselves and their families. In retrospect, the journey travelled fills them with joy: they have arrived. And now they belong. And now they extol.

Oh sí, Hispanics are social media beings. They are good chatters, texters, and bloggers. Come recruit them to your network. Pronto!

calvarez@vsbrooks.com
VS Brooks Advertising

Vivian Santos and Diana Brooks selected as two of the top 50 business leaders in Florida!

2010-06-03T06:43:00.000-07:00

Today the Commonwealth Institute-SF and The Center For Leadership at FIU will be hosting a luncheon honoring Florida’s Finest Women-Led Companies. Vivian Santos and Diana Brooks will be among the honorees.

The The Commonwealth Institute is one of the premiere organizations in the country solely dedicated to advancing the careers of both women business owners and senior executives. The Center for Leadership at Florida International University is committed to becoming the premier center for global leadership research and development, and training in the nation.

Congratulations to Vivian, Diana and all the honorees!

Hurricane season checklist: Water, batteries, Twitter account?

2010-06-01T08:26:00.000-07:00

June 1st marks the beginning of hurricane season and South Florida knows its best to be prepared. Water, flashlights, batteries... Twitter account?

After the earthquake in Haiti, social media played a pivotal role, not only in facilitating donations but in keeping families and friends connected. During the first week of the disaster, news reporters would tweet locations and ask for assistance via web 2.0. Now with hurricane season upon us it would be wise to remember "social media is not just for gossiping".

Recently quoted in a Sun Sentinel article on the topic, Sarah Marmion, spokeperson for Florida power and Light Co. said, "We know how important it is to communicate with our customers during a storm situation". FPL is both on twitter and Facebook.

Among the technological advances since the very active 2005 season that brought Dennis, Katrina and Wilma to our shores, the St. Petersburg Times lists social media outlets as sources to communicate to the public. "While officials still urge the use of battery-powered radios during power outages, they realize many people use their cell phones for text messaging or to access the internet."

The Sun Sentinel article can be found here. The St. Petersburg Times article can be found here here.

Daniel Timiraos
dtimiraos@vsbrooks.com
VSBrooks ADVERTISING

The Three-Minute Rule: A little extra time provides great marketing insight.

2010-05-07T09:26:00.000-07:00

Writing for Harvard Business Review, Anthony Tjan, explains an interesting rule that they follow at his venture capital firm to gain more insight into their client's behavior. Using this rule, the firm finds that they can better understand and improve their client's usage of the firm's products and services.

Tjan goes to explain that this rule can be applied to better understand other products or services, thus improving understanding on how consumers buy or use them. The article is a worthy read.

VSBrooks Advertising receives honorary silver dog tags from Feeding South Florida.

2010-04-29T13:14:00.000-07:00

For all their hard work and dedication to making the Feeding South Florida inauguration even a success, Vivian Santos and Diana Brooks received honorary dog tags from Feeding South Florida.

The entire event turned out to be a complete success. LivingFLA.com was present and did a great job covering the event - pictures can be found here.

Congratulations to Vivian, Diana and all involved with Fighting Hunger and Feeding Hope.

Fighting Hunger, Feeding Hope.

2010-04-27T06:56:00.000-07:00

We've been working hard preparing for our first assault in the "Fighting Hunger, Feeding Hope" campaign, which we developed for Feeding South Florida. Today, the Fight against hunger escalates to an all out war as Feeding South Florida prepares to inaugurate their new facility with a large, by invitation only event that will feature some of South Florida's top chef's.

Feeding South Florida is a not-for-profit organization that empowers over 800 South Florida not-for-profit organizations to assist people in need and improve their lives. Feeding South Florida does this by providing food and other grocery products; and by educating and engaging our community to fight hunger and poverty. Feeding South Florida strives to serve children, the elderly, the mentally and physically challenged, veterans and the working poor with compassion and integrity. Feeding South Florida is a member of Feeding America, the nation’s leading domestic hunger-relief charity.

In conjunction with the inauguration, we've launched a new face for Feeding South Florida with their new website, where you can learn more about the food bank, volunteer your time or make donations, or if you need support, find a local agency to assist you.

If you'd like to learn more about the food bank, the Miami Herald has written an in depth article about Feeding South Florida's expansion, or to make a donation please visit Feeding South Florida's website.

Ideas spread farther than Ash

2010-04-20T11:11:00.000-07:00

Or Rather TEDx Versus the Volcano. Stranded in London due to a cloud of ash drifting from the erupting Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland, gourp of a group of "entrepreneurs, thinkers, tinkerers and creatives" hosted TEDxVolcano. TEDx is an independantly organized version of TED Which"is a small nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. At the TED site you can find presentations from anyone from Al Gore to J. J. Abrams. Cool stuff.

The unedited (read long) video is embedded below. It takes a bit to get going but considering the conditions and time in which the presentation was put together, it is a very worthy effort.

AdAge: Study Reveals Habits of Hispanic Internet Users

2010-04-09T06:29:00.000-07:00

Here's a great AdAge article about what U.S. Hispanic internet user trends. Among other informative results from the study it was found that internet users surveyed are paying more attention to online advertisements versus their television watching retention. Very interesting outcomes from the study. You can see the article here.

Daniel Timiraos
dtimiraos@vsbrooks.com
VSBrooks ADVERTISING

Taking care of three generations instead of one, middle boomers create their own paths.

2010-03-24T13:55:00.000-07:00

As the US demographics shift a relative new portion of it comes to light, the "Middle Boomers." Middle Boomers are adults ages 51–57 years old in 2009, born between 1952 and 1958. At 29 million people, Middle Boomers define the largest demographic segment of the Boomer generation, representing about 38% of all Boomers. The MiamiHerald has an article on these new boomers which explains how this generation is still raising its children and grand children, while taking care of elderly parents as well.

Daniel Timiraos
dtimiraos@vsbrooks.com
VSBrooks ADVERTISING

You count! So make sure you're counted!

2010-03-17T06:12:00.000-07:00

Today, the once every decade US Census kicks off. If you haven't received your form in the mail yet you will shortly.

"When you receive your 2010 census, please fill it out and mail it back" Quoted in a great article over at ABC News, Census Bureau Director Robert Groves was quoted saying "It's one of the shortest forms in our lifetime with just 10 questions very much like the questions James Madison and Thomas Jefferson helped craft on the very first census."

Back in the 2000 US Census the national participation average was 72%. Locally, Miami-Dade County had a 67% participation rate. You can see how your area did you can do so on an interactive map on the official 2010 Census website. Hopefully, more people will participate so we can get a better idea for who we really are as a nation.

So go ahead and fill it out. You count!

Daniel Timiraos
dtimiraos@vsbrooks.com
VSBrooks ADVERTISING

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"The Time Has Come!"

2010-03-08T11:56:00.000-08:00

Barbara Streisand's words will reverberate for generations to come. Staying up to watch the Oscars was definitely worth it! Congratulation to Kathryn Bigelow for her double Oscar win for Best Director and Best Picture!

Here's a great article on the big win for her and women directors everywhere!

The Time Has Come | Women & Hollywood

Diana Brooks

dbrooks@vsbrooks.com

VSBrooks ADVERTISING

What the beginning of an effective rebrand looks like...

2010-03-02T06:59:00.000-08:00

As part of our rebranding strategy for Navarro Discount Pharmacies, we put together a comprehensive marketing study tailored specifically to the Hispanic pharmacy chain.

Along with traditional demographic and marketing studies, we employed our guerilla research to identify the demographic qualities of the current Navarro customers (Juana) as well as an untaped customer base (Carmen).

Seems like we hit the nail on the head (again)!

Navarro has adopted the brand recommendations whole heartedly and together we are moving forward on the rebranding efforts.

The Miami Herald has just published an front page article today that delineates our recommendations and the marketing directions we provided to Navarro. As the article states, "Navarro Discount Pharmacies wants to be known as more than just the store where abuelita shops."

Want to hear more about Juana and Carmen? Check out the article here.

A different approach to art history...

2010-03-02T06:12:00.000-08:00

70 Million by Hold Your Horses ! from L'Ogre on Vimeo.

Daniel Timiraos
dtimiraos@vsbrooks.com
VSBrooks ADVERTISING

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Straight up and down is so yesterday!

2010-02-17T06:42:00.000-08:00

Here's a site that's taking a common place retail graphic and turning it on it's ear. Vanity Barcodes redesigns its names sakes and turns them into decorative artwork while still keeping their scanning ability. The possibilities for retail applications are endless.

Acoording to the site "It's a great way to add brand value and engage customers in a way that no other graphic design can!"

Daniel Timiraos
dtimiraos@vsbrooks.com
VSBrooks ADVERTISING

So how about them Super Bowl ads!

2010-02-08T13:57:00.000-08:00

As happy as we are for the Saints on their first Super Bowl win, we must admit that some of us were watching the Big Game solely for the commercials (and The Who of course!). Today, conversations around the office were focused on which one was best, worst, funniest, etc. Surfing the web for others opinions to support our own we found a some related articles on the subject that were worth sharing.

First up is Slate Magazine's best and worst list which we pretty much all agreed with. Seeing Betty white and Abe Vigoda getting tackled made us all laugh out loud!

Advertising Age had an interesting breakdown as to why the Super Bowl ads don't hold as much weight as they used to.

And finally, Creativity Online had the top 20 Super Bowl ads ever. Great stuff!

Taking product placement to the next level in the Hispanic market..

2010-02-02T09:40:00.000-08:00

Seems like everyone in the land of tele-novelas drives a Ford! Here's a great article over at Advertising Age covering Ford's new product placement within Telemundo's Spanish-language novela, Perro Amor.

"Viewers can follow the heroine, Sofia, online and navigate a virtual version of her Ford Fusion Sport, peeking at Sofia's text messages or iPod playlist as they try out the car's multimedia system and other features."

Where's Adobe Flash in the iPad?

2010-01-28T06:43:00.000-08:00

This is one thing we were throwing around the office yesterday after Apple's latest tech breakthrough announcement. The iPad is, without a doubt, going to be a revolutionary communications tool, but the lack of Flash support really handicaps its usage. Not only are most ads up on the web rendered in Flash but many of the video sites and apps that we use online are Flash based. Here's a great Ad Age article on the subject.

Daniel Timiraos
dtimiraos@vsbrooks.com
VSBrooks ADVERTISING

Apple Launches the iPad!

2010-01-27T12:06:00.000-08:00

The new iPad from Apple has just been announced! We can see ourselves walking around the office using these. Among others the creatives around here are salivating over the iPad Brushes App. The Apple press conference replays in its entirety on CNN at 5pm or you can get more info now on the Apple website.

Marketing Mind Games: Going inside the mind of a shopper

2010-01-21T09:42:00.000-08:00

Do all those POS material really work? Watch this amazing experiment, which explores how marketing affects a shoppers habits.

Today Show: Inside the brain of a shopper

A new door opens in 2010.

2010-01-20T06:31:00.000-08:00

We're currently shooting the new OEP campaign for CarePlus Health Plans. We're sure it'll be magical! Follow us on Twitter as for more details.

Keep your eyes peeled. An new VSBrooks site is in the works!

2010-01-06T08:57:00.001-08:00

We're in the process of creating a new VSBrooks site and we have quite a few surprises up our sleeves. If you haven't visited our current site, please feel free to take a look and tell us what you think. But hurry it won't be up for long!