Publication delays? Try these ideas
A colleague is tearing her hair out. A graphic designer, she’s created some attractive, readable, interesting employee newsletters and community reports. She meets every deadline, which always start out urgent. But somehow, every time a publication is almost...
5 business lessons learned at the spaaaah
At the beginning of December, I was lured into a dangerously addictive lifestyle. I may never be the same. Ste. Anne’s Spa has earned a reputation for being a decadent and relaxing getaway destination. Heavenly body treatments like hot stone massages (my...
Leave it to the Brits to celebrate bad writing about sex
In absolutely shocking news, E.L. James and her Fifty Shades books did not even make the shortlist for the annual Bad Sex in Fiction award. Nor did J.K. Rowling for her adult novel, The Casual Vacancy. According to the Guardian’s Maev Kennedy, the Fifty Shades...
No moustache, no money? IBD research needs funds, too
It took months before we realized something was going wrong with my teenage son, and by that time he had lost 10 percent of his body weight. Another four months went by before he was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease and treatment began. (Although it seemed like a...
Is anything ‘stunning’ when everything is?
These aren’t just mediocre little shacks for sale! Here’s how 15 homes highlighted in a local newspaper’s real estate section are described by the agents representing them: stunning (five cases) beautiful (two) awesome exceptional exclusive gleaming...
Friday fun, video version
It’s Friday. Time for some Friday fun! Today we’re not looking at wordplay, for a change, but creative communications captured on video. Here’s a human Rube Goldberg creation (a concept captured in the old Mouse Trap game). Funny! And the work that...
Estimates and proposals and RFPs, oh my
A Request for Proposal (RFP) is like a mirage in the desert, or a dreamed-of lottery win, or simply a “Recipe for Pain,” says Ilise Benun, founder of Marketing Mentor. At the November 7 meeting of IABC/Toronto’s Professional Independent...
Alertbox reinforces value of e-newsletters
Web usability expert Jakob Nielsen is a big fan of email newsletters, which he says can “create much more of a bond between user and company than a website can.” The bad news is that the bond can be affected by usability problems like making it complicated...