You Sleep When You Die

Anyone who knows me or reads this blog knows I’m not a fan of President Obama. Never have been. But his latest stunt has me more pissed than ever before.

Since WWII, home ownership percentages for average Americans have grown steadily, largely as a result of support from Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. These government-sponsored enterprises (GSE’s) provide security and guarantees for mortgage lenders, which gives more people access to loans for homes. As the entire U.S. mortgage market imploded over recent years, Freddie and Fannie went down along with everyone else…

People in the business world can learn a lot from Team USA. Are we the best team out there? Probably not. But we are playing with the most heart. We never quit no matter how many goals the refs take away from us, and we always find a way to score. In the end, that may be more important than talent alone.

Thanks for your questions! Remember, get your questions about advertising, business, the economy and more answered every Wednesday by posting comments to blog posts or on Twitter @JZspeaks via #askjz.

I noticed from your recent post you have an eighth grade girl graduating, congratulations!

While reading Business Week, I saw a story about the Silly Bandz founder and thought of you, seeking your sage retail advice. My granddaughter, a bit younger than your graduate, goes crazy for the “bandz.” My question, and that of most (including Silly Bandz owner) is how does an entrepreneur manage such explosive retail growth effectively and build a sustainable brand?

BP changed its logo to green and yellow in the first quarter of 2001 to emphasize their environmental focus and introduce the new tagline, “beyond petroleum.”

After the events of April 20, BP probably wishes their tagline was, “anything but petroleum,” which is now leaking from the deepest well ever drilled into the Gulf of Mexico and onto the pristine shores of the southeast United States. Meanwhile, BP’s executives continue to bumble and stumble around, looking no better than common criminals.

I’m tired of these big, old, staunch ad agencies that focus on the output of creative work instead of the outcome of the creative work. Creativity is NOT the Holy Grail. A holistic strategy that’s relevant and important to the consumer IS the Holy Grail. Only after you have your strategy firmly entrenched should you add in creativity to activate that strategy in a creative way for a winning formula every time.