First Decade of 21st Century as Told by 92 Magazine Covers

The Magazine Publishers of America and the American Society of Magazine Editors created an excellent video that tells the story of the first decade of the 21st century using 92 magazine covers.  From Google to Twilight and everything in between, the big events are included.  Check it out below or view it on YouTube.

How many brands can you identify on the 92 magazine covers?

Idealist vs. Pragmatic Marketers

In my post yesterday, Take the Test – Are You Left-Brained or Right-Brained, I asserted that marketers

generally fall into two categories: creative, right-brained marketers or analytical, left-brained marketers.  Today, I’m going to elaborate on that theory by saying that marketers can also be broken down in a similar manner as pragmatic marketers vs. idealistic marketers.

Often throughout my corporate career, I would say, “there are do-ers and there are thinkers.”  While I think most people carry some pragmatic and some idealistic traits in terms of their marketing styles and careers, I think that marketers generally lean in one direction or the other.

I fall into the do-er, pragmatic category, although as I get older, I have become more of a thinker.  I recall one of my boss’s, who was an extreme idealist/visionary/thinker marketer, telling me I was too negative when we would discuss a new initiative.  He (as an idealist marketer) erroneously saw my pragmatism as negativity.

My first reaction is always to look at the practical side of a new marketing or business initiative.  It’s not meant to be negative.  I just instantly connect the dots and think of the various impacts, players and potential obstacles a new initiative brings with it.  I don’t think how wonderful a new initiative sounds the first instant I hear of it.  Instead, I think of how to get it done and make it successful.  It’s the pragmatist in me.

While my boss told me I was negative, I thought that as an idealist/thinker marketer he looked at new initiatives through rose-colored glasses ignoring the execution for the prestige of the final deliverable.

Which is better, a pragmatic, realistic marketer or an idealistic, visionary marketer?  [Read more]

Take the Test – Are You Left-Brained or Right-Brained?

Marketers typically fall into one of two categories — the more creative, left-brained marketers and the more analytical right-brained marketers.  There is an image that circulates around the Web every few months tah will tell you in seconds whether you’re left-brained or right-brained.

Give the test a try by looking at the female figure dancing in the picture below.  Is she turning clockwise or counter-clockwise?  Once you decide, find out what your choice means after the jump.

[Read more]

The Ugly Truth About Being a Service Provider

Whether you own a company where you offer your services in exchange for a fee or you’re a freelancer, the ugly truth is that everyone believes that since you’re selling your talent, expertise, and time, the price is negotiable.  Thanks to this hilarious YouTube video where the vendor-client relationship is re-enacted in real world situations, perhaps word will get out that haggling is uncool.