The Power of Habit
CAUSE Robert Shaw West CAUSE Robert Shaw West

The Power of Habit

Habit is strong. It is so strong that oftentimes people only do things because that's the way they have always done them. Wake up, hit the alarm clock, get in the car, pick up coffee, drive to work.

Read More
Smoke and Mirrors
CREATIVITY Robert Shaw West CREATIVITY Robert Shaw West

Smoke and Mirrors

Photographer, Li Wei, creates cutting-edge photography using low-tech techniques. Li Wei is changing the way we look at photography through the creative use of good old fashioned special effects. Creativity pushing boundaries at its finest.

Read More
Telectro Future
CREATIVITY Robert Shaw West CREATIVITY Robert Shaw West

Telectro Future

Globalization. Think it's a new idea? Think again. More than a century ago, Victorian engineer Alexander Stanhope St. George devised plans for an enormous telescope, called the Telectroscope, that would allow visitors to see from one side of the world to the other through an immense underground tunnel.

Read More
It’s Art, Not Trash
BUZZ Robert Shaw West BUZZ Robert Shaw West

It’s Art, Not Trash

When life gives you trash lemons, make art. Tim Noble and Sue Webster seem to be doing just that. This makes me realize that everything one might need is already there at your feet. All that's needed is inspiration and a change of perception.

Read More
Blood Bath
CREATIVITY Robert Shaw West CREATIVITY Robert Shaw West

Blood Bath

The creative folks at Jung von Matt ad agency created some spine-tingling interactive advertising for the Action and Suspense Channel in Hamburg, Germany to promote their exclusive horror films.

Read More
Radiohead Effect
STRATEGY Robert Shaw West STRATEGY Robert Shaw West

Radiohead Effect

Name your price: that’s what the band Radiohead offered fans when they released their album “In Rainbows” online. Consumers got to decide how much they would pay for the album.

Read More
Social Networking Rattles Hospitality
CAUSE Robert Shaw West CAUSE Robert Shaw West

Social Networking Rattles Hospitality

It's impossible to turn on the TV, pick up a paper or look at a website without witnessing the influence that online social networks have gained over the last several years. They're everywhere, and nobody can seem to decide whether this is a good thing or not. Do online networks isolate people or bring them together? Are they dangerous or empowering?

Read More
BMW Changes the Meaning Of Getting Inside Your Head
MARKETING Robert Shaw West MARKETING Robert Shaw West

BMW Changes the Meaning Of Getting Inside Your Head

While browsing Advertising Age, I came across an article that reminded me a bit too much of a certain George Orwell novel. BMW Germany has recently developed a "flash projection" technology that temporarily forces viewers to see the BMW logo burned on the inside of their eyelids after watching a BMW ad.

Read More
Spread Some Holiday Cheer
NOW Robert Shaw West NOW Robert Shaw West

Spread Some Holiday Cheer

Dear Army's Army Partners and Members, last week The Army's Army paired with Cumberland County Schools to say "Thank You" to our heroes this holiday season. Elementary, middle, and high school students from 15 different schools across Cumberland County made more than 5,000 handmade cards that were delivered by The Army's Army to veterans and service members.

Read More
Please Be Yourself
BRAND VALUE Robert Shaw West BRAND VALUE Robert Shaw West

Please Be Yourself

Dear LinkedIn, I’ve been a fan and user for quite some time. Until recently, most moves you’ve made seemed to make a whole lot a sense to me. Things like “groups” and “answers” and suggesting people I might “know” are very useful. In general, LinkedIn is a great tool to build a professional network, get to understand and learn something from your peers and share with them.

Read More
Now That’s Good TV
CAUSE Robert Shaw West CAUSE Robert Shaw West

Now That’s Good TV

Ok, I’ll admit it: I was never a huge fan of the ABC reality show, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. I would catch it from time to time, but my Sunday evenings used to revolve around Desperate Housewives and the Kardashians. That all changed a couple of months ago when I got a chance to get a firsthand look at the making of the show.

Read More
One For One
CAUSE Robert Shaw West CAUSE Robert Shaw West

One For One

I love shoes. So, naturally, if there’s a way for me to indulge my passion for footwear while also changing the world for the better, sign me up! And that’s exactly what TOMS is all about.

Read More
And Now For Something Completely Different
BRAND LOYALTY Robert Shaw West BRAND LOYALTY Robert Shaw West

And Now For Something Completely Different

Up to now, everything here has been about change. Well, in the spirit of this blog, it's now time for a big change. I'd like to write about the opposite of change - that is, not doing anything. Or, should I say, sticking to what you believe in, in spite of what everyone (pointed-headed experts included) tells you.

Read More
Post-Modern Product Placement
PUBLICITY Robert Shaw West PUBLICITY Robert Shaw West

Post-Modern Product Placement

A recent Advertising Age article, "From the Big Screen to Any Screen: Some Takeaways for Marketers and Media Companies", touches on the current state of product placement, and calls attention to the intentionally blatant and "increasingly campy" ways in which products are being integrated in music videos and TV shows.

Read More