Octavian Mihai

Our bullshit detector gets better and better. Transparency slowly but surely takes more and more space in our communications, politics, business and pretty much in any other social endeavors. However gimmicks still work. The tail is very long… with believers in magic and empty promises. There was a time when advertising was based on strong [...]

[this is a cross-post from the Rock&Social blog] There has been some confusion lately regarding Rock&Social’s services. This post is meant to clarify some of the misunderstandings. We are not a marketing company. We completely understand all forms of marketing since in past lives we worked in traditional and digital agencies. However, Rock & Social [...]

We have been talking about Social Media for the past decade and finally the market is ripe enough to bring real value to most players.  This post is intended mainly for those businesses who are considering entering the social media realm. Social Media is an umbrella term that represents the use of web-based technologies in [...]

WE LIVE IN OUR HEADS Just consider the fact that everything around us is, to a certain degree, radiation. And that the brain interprets everything. Including the inverted images formed on your 2 retinas. Our brain tells itself stories predicting the future and making sense of the past. And the goal of course is to [...]

This post follows: Digital Lies And Truths or The Anatomy Of A Digital Agency And What To Do Not To Suck. Let’s kick it: ORIGIN 1800′s AGE 5-160 yrs old FOUNDERS Marketers, copywriters, designers. ADVERTISING IDEOLOGY Several. Scientific, emotional creative, reptilian, etc. FOCUS On brand awareness. MOST FALLACIOUS ARGUMENT Create a drive-to-web mix-media (print, radio, TV, [...]

ORIGIN Mid-90′s, 00′s AGE 1 – 15yr old FOUNDERS Web ‘designers’, geeks, programmers, technical background. ADVERTISING IDEOLOGY None. Other: social media and technology is the future. FOCUS On last click call-to-action intent. MOST FALLACIOUS ARGUMENT Create buzz-oriented inexpensive content, invest in SEO Publicize that content on niche hubs and drive users to a corporate microsite Use a [...]

TL;DR: work on brands you consume, keep your intuitive insights, be analytical, ask the right questions, be aware of your customers’ needs and wants, of how your product answers them, of what differentiates the  product from the competition & of the market’s current and future states CONTEXT: advertising, customer insight, branding, marketing strategy. INTENT: This [...]

Got some mail today. I was told that my writings seem to support a pretty square vision of advertising. My personal position: I dislike hypocrites. Our society and tribe will not get anywhere unless we accept our human condition. I’ll stop here. Catch me for a beer if you want to get philosophical. My official position: Everybody should do [...]

This is a hard sell. I know you’re hooked on the high that creative existential anguish provides you. However, if your job is to create concepts and ideas you have 3 choices: 1. Paralyze everything by over analysis 2. Copy an existing idea 3. Be remarkable The choice is yours. Here are some tips. 1. Don’t be creative: [...]

Here is my take on the creativity debate. The concept of creativity has been diluted to a homeopathic level. Meaning, it is empty of substance and its only impact is a feel-good placebo effect. And as always there is hope. Let’s get this show on the road. Who are the truly creative people? You answer: Plato, Da Vinci, [...]

I was asked the following question during a seminar I gave a couple days ago. Consider this, a large public company is hurting. The board decides to invest in a marketing campaign. What is the best digital strategy? Strategies of Tactics Just to get this out of the way: there is no such thing as a digital [...]

Here are a couple books I’ve been reading in the past month. The Design of Business: Why Design Thinking is the Next Competitive Advantage by Roger L. Martin : Interesting read and recommended for those who want to understand design thinking in a business context. Managing by Henry Mintzberg : Always insightful. All marketers are liars and Tribes [...]

[slideshare id=1273614&doc=wusempathy26mars09-090410155719-phpapp02] Thank you all for coming and for the great conversations.