Hey folks,

“There are lies, damned lies and statistics.” – Mark Twain. It’s one of my favorite quotes and numbers have always fascinated me. 4.9% could be a great thing. 4.9% could be a terrible thing. It depends on how you look at it. Getting a loan from the bank at 4.9% is awesome. Having my NCAA Bracket rank at 4.9% is just plain sad. We tried to do everything by the numbers this week at Madison+Main, and in this weeks report I am going to throw out some fascinating statistics… write me back and tell me which ones you believe. 

On a personal note, I’m sorry I didn’t send you an e-mail last week but I was in Brooklyn cheering on my beloved VCU Rams, where they won the A10 Championship. They lost last night but the entire Ram Nation is looking forward to next year. #havoc #shakatheworld #goramsgo

Statistic: After 6 years, Shaka Smart’s win percentage as a head coach is .744 percent. Coach Mike Krzyzewski had a win percentage of .370 in his sixth year.

…to read the full report, click here.

Hey folks,

This week I tried to remind people that “awareness drives response”. Things may come and go in the marketing biz. Technologies may disrupt business. But through it all, one adage remains…Awareness Drives Response. I made a video about it here.

But it becomes harder and harder each year to make people aware of things. TV’s have 500 channels now instead of 3. People aren’t reading newspapers and magazines as much as they used to. And everyone I know under the age of 50 has his or her nose glued to a smartphone. How do you make people aware of your product when most people aren’t even aware of their surroundings? The answer lies in one word: boldness. Bold Brands Win, and we proved it again this week.

…to read the full article, click here.

Hey folks,

Maybe it’s February. Maybe it’s the weather. Maybe it’s because my beloved VCU Rams lost in double OT the other night. But whatever it is, I was feeling a little “crusty” this week. Walking out of the Robins Center at University of Richmond Wednesday night, I saw a little boy singing the Frozen hit “Do you want to build a snowman?” I told him “No.”  Normally I’m an optimist, so this is unfamiliar territory for me. Luckily for you, I turned that frown upside down and we got a lot of things done this week at your favorite Richmond-based Marketing, PR and Branding company. Let’s take a look at the week that was…

Monday, February 23rd – At the MMMMM (Madison+Main Monday Morning Meeting) I was able to brag on my lovely, talented first-born daughter Hattie, who led her show choir with a win in the Clover Hill Mid-Atlantic Invitational and super proud that she was named Best Performer. The trophy has been sitting on the dinning room table like a centerpiece all week. #proudpapa.

On Monday we welcomed Caroline Lea from Trinity High School who was forced to spend a terrible, real world week at Madison+Main. Just kidding. We were delighted to have Caroline as a temporary Madison+Main-iac this week.

Unfortunately I didn’t get to spend any time with Caroline because Casey and I were working on site with the Dragas Companies in VA Beach, and had a great meeting with Sally Horvath and Breyana Baggett (ironically Breyana spent some time at Madison+Main shadowing us a few years ago and now we get to work with her). #smallworld.

…to read the full article, click here.

Hey folks,

I figured you could use some good news this week, so I counted it up and I am happy to tell you there are only 28 days til Spring. Yes I’m an optimist, even when my car tells me that it is 1 degree outside. We had our fair share of cold and snow and ice this week, but somehow we managed to get a ton of things done. The Arctic Blast created a few setbacks, but the guys and gals at Madison+Main are a hearty bunch.

…to read the full article, click here.

Hey folks,

Week in and week out, I ask questions and people ask me questions. The answers that I provide are an integral part of the work that we do. But this week, I found myself answering lots of other questions. Very, very interesting questions…

Monday, February 9th – When you use social media apps like Foursquare you can “check in” to places. Prior to my breakfast presentation at the Henrico Business Leaders meeting Monday morning, I checked into the Westin Hotel. Facebook reported that my friend Mark Creery (CEO of Data Directions) and I checked into the hotel together. I got some interesting questions about that. The presentation went well and I got some good questions from the crowd. I also got two really nice thank you cards later in the week. One from New York Life’s Greer Johnson, and another from Dennis Bickmeier, President of Richmond International Raceway.

 
We get lots of Thank You cards. #love

…to read the full article, click here.