headlines

top trends forecast for 2012

TrendHunter, the popular site that does just as the name suggests, has just released its Top Trends for 2012 Forecast. Filled with tons of new and innovative marketing trends, from digital eating experiences to pop culture vacations, this video got … more

what is guerilla marketing?

The term “guerrilla marketing” refers to a highly unorthodox and unconventional advertising and promotional campaign. The success of your guerilla marketing program is proportionately dependent on the proper use of time and energy (with an equal dose of imagination and … more

did napster steal our manners while it was helping people steal art?

By: David Brouitt, Creative Director I have a sun burn on the left side of my face. It’s May in Toronto, yet I have a sun burn on the left side of my face. We (my wife and I) are … more

she is woman…see her shop

By: Stephanie Maus When one hears the word “shopping”, “women” is the word that typically comes to mind next. In fact, women have been associated with shopping since the day the concept was born, but it wasn’t until fairly recently … more

insert product here; most memorable product placements in film

By: Peter Giftopoulos A few weeks ago, as I was sitting on my sofa on one of those rainy Saturday afternoons, I decided to turn on the TV in search of entertainment. Within a few minutes I found myself watching … more

ha ha or ah ha? seeing the opportunity through the trees. part 2

By: Toni Abramson, Vice-President In my last blog post, I shared a rather embarrassing story involving a runaway shoulder pad in a male-dominated business meeting. The lesson there was that over the course of our professional journeys, we will sometimes … more

mediocrity is way too overdone

Possibly the biggest problem in business today is that too many organizations have copied too many other organization’s best practices. That – in our never-too-humble opinion – is a direct, non-stop, one-way route to mediocrity. Put on your consumer hat … more

our five favourite websites

We all have a list of websites and blogs we read daily while sipping our morning cup of Java. Some may be informative; some may be funny; and some may be total time wasters. Whatever the reasons behind our visits … more

10 risky default settings in social media

By Frank Morales, Social Media Manager Imagine this: you walk into a bank and sign a contract for a loan without even skimming the 16 pages of legal terms underneath. Now imagine that in that contract you’ve just given the … more

bare essentials: the art of minimalist design

By Peter Giftopoulos As French writer Antoine de Saint-Exuper once said: “Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.” This theory couldn’t ring more true than in minimalist … more

celebrities. they’re selling. are you buying?

From People magazine to Perez Hilton to reality television, the truth is obvious: we live in a celebrity obsessed culture. This is probably why many advertisers believe that the tried-and-true way to peddle almost any product is to slap a … more

mommy blogger 101

By Veronica Langvee, Public Relations Savvymoms, Mommy Bloggers, Toddler Tweeters; whatever name they go by there is no mistaking it – moms have a huge impact in the blogosphere. Since 2004, the community of mothers who blog has exploded. There … more

photoshop actions: what the heck is that?

By: Elaine Bando, Production Artist “Holy crap! You have how many images?” Admit it, you’ve said it, and probably with more colourful adjectives. Some projects require doing the same procedure over and over again for a multitude of images in … more

our global village

by Carly Bright In honour of Marshall McLuhan’s 100th birthday this July, I have dedicated this post to his popular concept of the “global village” and what the term means to society today. In 1962, Marshall McLuhan introduced the “global … more

ha ha or ah ha? seeing the opportunity through the trees.

by: Toni Abramson, Vice-President As we navigate our way through the minefield that is today’s professional world, we sometimes find ourselves in situations that test us, requiring us to find a laugh, and an opportunity, when there doesn’t seem to … more

dave’s faves episode 1

By David Brouitt / creative director I like to draw. I’m not that good at it, mind you. Passable at best. I can do great linear layouts that look like what the finished art ends up looking like. But that’s … more

the art of type: uses and misuses

By Elaine Bando We see them every day. While we walk down the street; while we eat; when we shop. Letters come together to form words that speak to us, helping us understand the millions of messages that surround us … more

lame company christmas cards

We’ve ranted in this space before about the annual onslaught of lame company Christmas cards. You know the kind: A bad illustration of a sleigh ride with the company logo slapped on the horse’s blanket as an after thought. Well … more

the group buying phenomenon

Perception or Reality? by: Michael Abramson Few can argue that the Group Buying Phenomenon, ushered in by organizations like GroupOn, WagJag, Living Social, Deal Find and many, many others, is the biggest shift in e-commerce so far this century. Essentially, … more

the five best PR campaigns of all time

As an agency that offers public relations to our clients, we need to be in the know when it comes to great publicity campaigns. Below are our five faves thus far. Note: in order to be completely unbiased in building … more

5 hotpoints for franchisors and franchisees to maximize your brand and generate business

By Leya Abramson Picture this: You are on your way into work on Monday morning and you notice out of the corner of your eye the Starbucks logo. What is the first thing that comes to mind? When you see … more

thanks for the update 3 brewers…

“Our cheeky 3 Brewers “Spring Blonde” campaign kicked off at the beginning of April – and the results have been beyond our expectations. Our numbers are +14.4% from last year and +7.7% from last month. We know that these great … more

is social media moving us forward or back?

Most would say that Social Media is the “new” way to market your brand or yourself. It is a medium unlike any other. A way to reach a vast amount of people with the same message. Social Media is a … more

thanks for the acknowledgement mary brown’s…

“Here’s a strategy. Take the worst fast casual dining day of the week (Monday), during the worst fast casual dining months of the year (January-March)….and run a Q1 campaign to increase year-over-year same store sales and same store customer count. … more

create a website google will want to show off

Tried and tested methods for improving your website’s search engine ranking. By Sarah Jones Who gives Google the cue to rank one website higher than another? Truth is, search engines have ‘crawlers’ that do all the dirty work. These crawlers … more

photo(ch)opping disasters

Adobe Photoshop is an incredibly powerful tool for designers to manipulate and edit photographs. It is truly amazing what can be created with this program: a scene can be created from various photos, flaws can be fixed, objects can be … more

a “natural” fit for abundance naturally

TORONTO, ON: Abundance Naturally, suppliers of natural health and wellness products from Australia has hired theadlibgroup as their communications and public relations Agency of Record. Abundance Naturally is seeking to make a mark in the Canadian market with its unique … more

build a great product; they will come. build a great experience; they will come back.

In a world of heavy competition and saturated markets, gaining true brand loyalty seems to be harder than ever. These days it takes more than just a great logo, a cool marketing campaign or even a quality product to win … more

ho ho holy cow, why are christmas cards so lame?

Once again we find ourselves in exactly the same spot we were in a year ago: First week of February, off the diets, trying to pay down the credit cards, but most of all, we are still reeling from last … more

creative head space launches

A new year marks another chance for new possibilities to be. fully expressed. We’re excited to announce a re-launch of our website and rebranding of our social media platforms. Get inside our creative headspace. We refuse to participate in boring! … more

druxy’s passes 1,850 friends

Great news for Druxy’s and our second Facebook promotion which kicked off two weeks ago…Druxy’s has now seen a fan count of over 1,850! The idea behind January’s promotion for Druxy’s was a push to increase brand awareness and increase … more

mary brown’s teams up with theadlibgroup

TORONTO, ON: National quick service restaurant franchise, Mary Brown’s Famous Chicken & Taters, has hired theadlibgroup as their marketing and communications Agency of Record. The extensive portfolio includes repositioning the brand, marketing and promotions, media planning, public relations and social … more