Why I love my Kindle

This really does relate to marketing.

I love to read. But books are heavy. Seriously. When I travel, whether it's to work, to another city or just to the lake for the weekend - I want some stuff to read. I used to take three or four books with me. And they were heavy. But I never really knew, would I be in the mood for business reading, inspiration, learning , literature or some trashy fiction.

I tried reading on my iPhone, but as reading experiences go, it sucks. The screen is too small and it forces poor typography. Phrases are only 4 or 5 words long.

When I heard about the Kindle, I was interested, but I never gave it serious consideration. I'm still not sure why, although as a marketer it's an interesting case study. Because as soon as I heard about the iPad, I WANTED it! I needed it!

Lucky for me, I had a chance to try a Kindle before the iPad launched in Canada. I For some reason, I read like mad on that thing. The page size is perfect. The screen isn't bright, and the unit is really light. I devoured about 8 books in 2 weeks. It was bizarre. I couldn't wait for the iPad, I bought the Kindle with great reluctance. Because I thought, as soon as the iPad arrives I'll want to replace my Kindle.

Now, the iPad is here. We have one at the office and the first thing I noticed is how heavy it is. I try to imaging relaxing in a chair and holding that thing with one hand. I would get cramps.

But the worst part is, it's too connected. I would never settle into a book. I could check emails, or surf, or play a game or, or, or. That's when I realized what I love about the Kindle. It is purely a book reader. It sucks at everything else, but it works very well as a book reader.

Has convergence gone too far? Are we getting to the point of the Swiss Army knife? Products that do everything but nothing well? That is a bold overstatement for the iPad, but for me, as a book reader, the Kindle is the one.

There is great power in simply being good at what you do.

Now, I'm wondering if I should go back to a plain old cellphone...

U of R Branding released

The new U of R brand is starting to be rolled out. You can see some of the work on their home page www.uregina.ca. Catharine Bradbury is doing the work, but I'm not clear on exactly who's work they are doing. SEM Works, a North Carolina firm, did (and continues to do) some enrolment branding for the U of R, helping them determine their competitive advantage. I know the U of R wanted a local firm to execute the brand, but it's not clear to me whether that means starting from the brand promise, or starting from an actual design template.

Here's a look at their full page execution, Realize. It starts with you. being the theme througout all the pieces I've seen. There's also some transit in Regina. Haven't seen any online yet, but I suspect that it's out there!

Pedway on Hamilton

Driving up Hamilton you'll see this FCC banner on the pedway from FCC to Conexus. It took a lot of wrangling for FCC to get approval, and Cathy Ann suggests the City will be using it as a bit of a pilot.

Nonetheless, the creatives at FCC did a good job. It uses their brand elements quite well. It's hard to read at noon, the sun pours in and distills the wrap, but they've kept it very clean. You can't see the anniversary message from this shot, it's tucked behind the tree.

The worst outdoor. Period

I promised I wouldn't turn this into a bitchy blog, but really this is not a slam against creative. The billboard on Albert Street heading north, just before Dewdney is the worst location in the world. Really, all media buyers should be aware of it, this is truly robbing the client of money since no one can see the board, until you have driven by. Ridiculous.

The best digital board. Period.

SaskTel put up what has to be the best digital board in the province. Maybe even Canada. The location, Sask Drive and Albert Street in Regina has always been a prime outdoor location. Thom at SaskTel has been holding on to this idea, and looking to lock in that location for quite some time.

The opportunity finally came up when Terry Morgan got access to the space. SaskTel jumped at the chance and luckily Stephen and the folks at Brown executed it really well. You can't see it in this picture, but the TV cycles through promotions and previews for Max, SaskTel's digital TV service.

It's a great combination of superboard and digital board at an eye catching location. Using the digital board as a TV is so simple it's brilliant.

Like I said, I'm no fan of the digital outdoor, but this one really works.

Rider outdoor goes viral

A week ago I was forwarded an email which had been forwarded and forwarded. It was one of those, "hey have you seen this great ads" emails. Except this one was our ad. Every year we put up a little taunt in a few rival CFL cities. It started as a way to generate subscribers to riderville.com but it generated so much more.

Here's the outdoor that ran in Edmonton, from a fan (a Rider fan and a Phoenix fan)

Best part is, the Riders won, and the Rider fans were as loud as the Eskie fans. Truth in advertising always works.

Here goes something

This is a celebration of Saskatchewan advertising. It's a look at the good work. I know I'll take heat, especially from my own staff and colleagues at Phoenix Group, but there is so much good work being done in this province, I wanted to have a place and an excuse to showcase the work.

If you want to add something, or comment frankly I'd be stunned. But I am open to the conversation.

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