Several years ago, during his press conference after a resounding victory (marred only by a couple of minor mistakes), Nick Saban described the outing as “a perfect game. We won, and I still had something to be mad about.” So it’s in honor of our beloved coach that I thought I’d celebrate Alabama’s latest championship … Read More
Author: Francis
Baggett’s Fifth Ad: Personal Experience Meets Market Research.
I recently met Mark Cubine, the marketing director at McLeod Software—who has conducted research indicating that one of the four most common questions truck drivers have about prospective employers these days is, “Are you a healthy, successful company?” Which makes perfect sense, after a rash of company collapses left hundreds (if not thousands) of drivers … Read More
I love this little project.
On the morning of Thursday, December 23, I received an email from Jo Brake—The Owners Association’s London-based Regional Manager for Europe, Middle East, Africa and Australasia. She had a last-minute request, in case we could handle it on short notice: A seasonal greeting card design, using the photo below. Although Jo already had specific copy … Read More
Baggett: Facebook Rock Star.
We’re particularly excited about the results we’ve achieved in building-up Baggett’s Facebook page following. In less than 3 months (and with a huge assist from Baggett’s Recruiting Director Daniel Buckhannan), we increased their Facebook Fan count from 36 to 3884. More importantly, Baggett (a family-owned company with less than 100 drivers) now commands a “talking … Read More
Another Reason I Don’t Keep A Gun In The House*
It’s 5:05 in the morning, and my next door neighbor’s retriever is barking right outside my son Fletcher’s bedroom window. Apparently, he didn’t get the memo about clocks Falling Back next week—because he and his two equally-vocal housemates normally don’t start until after 6:00. To be perfectly fair, Next Door Dogs have come a long … Read More
Baggett’s Fourth Ad: Giving Thanks.
In late September, Baggett’s most-excellent recruiting director Daniel Buckhannan asked if we could find a place, in his current ads, to insert a simple Happy Thanksgiving message for the month of November. We looked. We thought about it. Then we thought about it some more. We were just about to call Daniel and tell him … Read More
Equal Parts Elvis And Colonel Tom.
REMEMBERING TECH’S COOLEST CONTROL FREAK. It’s six days after Steve Jobs’ death, and I interrupted my work flow this morning to click on a melodramatic story headline about the biological father he never knew. Needless to say, I can’t ever remember being so endlessly fascinated by a company CEO—which is why, at the 11th hour … Read More
Rebranding Premiere Wows Audiences Worldwide!
(Yeah, that’s Ellen. We go way back.) Monday, October 24, the IHG Owners Association (an organization representing IHG Hotel Franchisees worldwide, formerly known as IAHI, The Owners’ Association) premiered its new brand platform during the IHG Americas Conference in Las Vegas—culminating a re-branding process we began with them just over a year ago. And yes, … Read More
‘Blair Witch’ Turns Camping Trip Into Nightmare
(A true story, by Bob Carlton) NOTE: Bob wrote this column for The Birmingham News August 6, 1999 . If you asked me, it’s still just as good 12 years later. I have seen the Blair Witch. It was right outside my tent. But first some background: Last week, I interrupted my annual baseball vacation … Read More
Hope I Die Before I Get Old.
If you asked me, Pete Townshend’s classic line has a lot more to do with attitude than age. First, make no mistake: When it comes to lifestyle, nobody’s older for his age than me. At 25, I married the perfect excuse to stop going out on weeknights. Six years later, we gave birth to the … Read More