In 2007 a startup launched that took both the fashion and e-commerce worlds by storm.  In 4 years, Gilt Groupe has attracted five million members while earning a $1 billion valuation.  It all started with two friends, Alexis Maybank and Alexandra Wilkis Wilson, and their obsession for designer label sample sales.  They risked it all to create an experience where people rushed in virtual “doors” and purchased quickly, afraid of items selling…

Previously: Lane! Megan! Greg (oh NO, he's not back, is he?!)! Joan! Pete! More Lane! I love Lane, don't get me wrong, but this week I'm not in the mood for an all-Lane episode. Unless he's giving out more knuckle sandwiches. In which case, hooray! Let's get into it.

Lane's on a late-night phone call at home. Another way to look at it - an early-morning phone call, as he's on the line with England - he is 8 large deep to Her…

Another smashing NYAMA event last night at the exclusive Norwood Club.

50 guests heard a powerful case about the "Simplicity in Branding." Lisa Fawcett, Vice President of Global Marketing, CooperVision and Daniel Katz Golden, Senior Strategist at Siegel+Gale, presented the impressive, 18 month long transformation process of the world's third largest contact lens…

Previously - Jane and Roger break up! Pete cheats with Beth! Betty's fat! Betty finds out about Don's secret life! Ooh, this is gonna be a good one. Let's get into it.

Dry toast, food scale...it can only mean one thing. Betty's on a diet! She crunches down on a slice of burned dry toast and looks abjectly miserable. I've been there, girlfriend, and I feel your pain.

It's a partners plus Pete ride up to SCDP in the elevator, and Pete's got a tidbit that might…

Previously: Pete, Megan, more Megan, Peggy congratulating Megan, what is this, Mad Megan? I love Megan, don't get me wrong; but there is a 'too much of a good thing' vibe I'm getting. Maybe my prediction may come true. Let's get into it.

Ah, the Cos Cob commuter train. Howard is soft-shoeing into his life insurance pitch to Pete, who agrees to hear him out,…

Previously: Abe and Peggy fight, Sally hates Grandma Pauline, Roger & Jane split, Heinz hates everything, and Sally speaks with Glen! The return of creepy Glen!? Hooray! Let's get into it.

Two male kids play broom hockey in a dormesque hall -…

Everyone's searching for the magic formula for social media - both personally and professionally. When it comes to your brand, the stakes are high - too few social media interactions and you're lost in the torrent. Too many, your friends, fans, followers and most importantly, customers, start abandoning your brand in droves.

So what's the secret? Bad news, says Lenny Murphy, Editor-in-Chief of the GreenBook Blog (as well as…

Continuing the NYAMA trend of standing room only/sold out events, a diverse group of strategists, designers, communication and product brand managers, including a mix of NYAMA members and non-members, gathered at Lippincott’s corporate headquarters on their newly redesigned 19^th floor.

The evening kicked off with a wonderful opportunity to network with wine and a mouth-watering array of hors d’oeuvres (think…

Last week: Don sexually harasses Megan, Roger tells Jane to shut up, Heinz isn't happy, Ginsberg got the job, his dad is weird, and Peggy has to redo the Heinz pitch. Boo, no Joan?! No Lane? No Pete? Come ON.  Let's get into it.

Peggy's having an atypical old-married-couple argument with her boyfriend, and she's the man. She's in panic…

In a word: WHOA! I was yelling at the tv and everything. Excitement abound on last night's episode of Mad Men. Sex! Booze! MORE secret double lives! MORE links to 1966 current events! Directed by John Slattery! Let's get into it.

Pete's taking a driver's ed class, and they're watching a gory, bad scared-straight movie,…

Previously: Dawn! Joan! Ginsberg! Hmm, looks like they're going to spend some time developing the new characters and give a big favorite some face time. Smart plan - it's what I'd do if I wrote for a TV show. You don't want to alienate your best customers by taking away a beloved product and try to sell them on two new ones at the same time. And that's The More You Know, Marketing Edition. Let's get into it. 

Don's dying. Well, maybe not. But he looks and sounds like…

It's like the planets were in alignment for me to spend the entire day on the couch watching TV yesterday. Game of Thrones marathon, Notre Dame Women's Basketball semi-finals, Game of Thrones season premiere, and Mad Men. That kind of sedentary lifestyle is not good for one's posterior. If I'm not careful I'm going to wind up looking like Betty Draper Francis (don't think I'm ever going to get used to that).…

Since advertising is so key to marketing, we thought it might be fun to spotlight the show that spotlights our profession by offering a weekly recap of the most recent Mad Men episode for you. Enjoy!

When I first heard Mad Men was taking a Sopranosesque break between seasons, I was...well, mad. But I consoled myself with the hope that the extended hiatus would be used to create legendary awesomeness, insane plot twists, and non-stop Comedy Gold one-liners from Roger. Let's see what…

There was a full house at NYAMA’s latest event “Digital Marketing: What Every Marketer Needs to Learn from South by Southwest 2012” at Velocidi’s New York offices. More than 50 marketing professionals networked and learned expert advice on how to leverage the latest trends in digital and social technology to achieve their marketing goals.



Every March, the South By…

Our partner, ExactTarget, excellent providers of online marketing solutions, attended the recent Facebook Marketing Solutions webinar on changes to advertising and was kind enough to nutshell them for the rest of us! 

Here's a taste:

Sponsored Stories and premium ads will begin to appear in places other than just the desktop News Feed and the Sidebar. There were five changes associated with the displaying and creation of ads.…

I have done some research into NYAMA and found that this is a great association to be a part of. NYAMA is a central hub where any marketing firm can reach out to find breaking news on the latest and greatest that's out there.So if you want to keep up to date, simply log onto the homepage and check out the news.

It also hosts an amazing employment source targeted specifically at the marketing arena. Allows for the marketing employee and…

After reading the most recent TrendWatching brief, I learned a new word: FLAWSOME. The basic definition: brands that are still brilliant and thriving despite having flaws.  The basic…

The tenth annual GreenBook Research Industry Trends Report (GRIT) is done!

GRIT is the leading and most comprehensive survey of the market research industry - providing extensive insights on trends, habits, methods, and what's coming next. 

It's in the designers' hands now, but we don't like to tease - so…

When it comes to power deals, sports marketing springs to mind based solely on sheer numbers. Licensing rights. Luxury boxes. Sponsorships and endorsements. Stadium naming rights.  NYAMA had the pleasure and honor of hosting a sports marketing A-Lister, Lou Imbriano, former CMO of the New England Patriots this morning at our headquarters. Lou is currently the President and CEO of TrinityOne, a marketing strategy and business advisory consultant firm, and has authored Winning the…

Good news, job seekers! Hiring is up, and unemployment is down (unless you're in the public sector, which cut 12,000 jobs in December. If this is your situation, sorry if we raised your hopes).

If there's an interview on the horizon, we offer our best wishes for success - and three simple, obvious tips that for some unexplained reason frequently are…