I Live on the Freeway

Google's new feature "My Location" for its mobile maps application is groovy. Because it's in beta and 85% of us don't have GPS-enabled mobile phones, we can't be too picky about accuracy. I tried it tonight on a Blackberry 8130 from my living room to learn that my house is on the freeway. OK, not quite. A shaded larger area the shape of blue circle is the best Google can do if your cellphone is not GPS-enabled. Within that circle is my house, with about 100 others. Cell towers provide signals to draw these coordinates. From a non-GPS cellphone, you'll still need to type in a real start address and destination if you want the best directions from point A to B (or ask a cabbie or concierge when on the road). Here's is one funky thing I also learned: If you're using the mobile maps to find a hospital in my neighborhood, be flexible. From the downstairs living room on the west side of the house, a search with keyword hospital produced first on the list Intellidot Corporation (not a hospital). But from the upstairs office on the east side of the house, the same search performed spot on: Pomerado Hospital appeared at the top. Progress.

Really?

In the world of advertising agencies, awards are now bestowed for the act of creative planning. This from an organization of creative agency planners. Its mission statement below. I am not making this up.

"The Account Planning Group exists to promote and celebrate excellence in creative thinking. We believe that creativity is the key to differentiated, successful brands. The emphasis is on creative, rather than merely disciplined, buttoned down thinking. We argue that if exciting ideas govern a brand and its communication, that brand or business will enjoy greater success. We believe that the planning discipline can be applied to any and all marketing and communication issues and channels. The APG champions new thinking by enabling new publications on the subject of planning, and celebrates the practice of excellent planning in its biennual Creative Planning Awards. The APG is a not-for-profit organisation run for and by its membership."

Disciplined, buttoned down thinking? I usually do mine in a mock turtle neck...

Channel Marketing: Value Proposition

"Your Caddie" is a channel marketing program to serve 25,000 U.S. promotional products resellers in the Ad Speciality Services Industry (ASI). Among the biggest challenges for golf companies serving ASI customers is digital asset management, consistency of brand message, and differentiation. TaylorMade-adidas Golf Company's Corporate Sales Group began moving to its tri-brand and service message in early 2007 with a dedicated Extranet for distributors, more than a year in advance of the expected launch of an adidas Group company-wide Digital Asset Management system from a third-party vendor. The Corporate Sales Group Extranet will save the company more than $45,000 annually in staffing and overhead. It is an invaluable tool for resellers who build their own branded catalogs annually and whose selling method requires a significant visual element.