• Madison Avenue to cut out all carbs in ’09

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    The first week of the new year is always saturated with media predictions for the year ahead and this year is no different. The overall economic gloom has washed over the media in a pallid periwinkle haze of indifference. Most current rhetoric points toward desperate depression-era advertising filled with a myriad of uses for old boots and stale Wheat Thins. The WSJ published their advertising forecast for 2009 and essentially just restates what has been repeated ad-nauseam for the past 6 months: Madison Avenue is cutting back the glitz and glamour in a rush to the bottom.

    “Goodbye, A-List spokespeople with unspeakable price tags. Hello, Z-List,”

    I agree with most of the contributors in the article: we will see more studio shot advertising, more Billy Mays, higher quality web video, and more emphasis on effective web-metrics. Measurable advertising is here to stay and I only see it increasing in importance; clients love seeing that cutting edge campaigns are reaching the desired demographic and are achieving set objectives.

    One positive to come out of the economic downturn is the expected disappearance of one-way Internet communications. Banner ads will decrease in importance unless they offer consumers a compelling reason to interact with them. This interaction between Internet users and brands will be something to watch very closely this year.

    I’m excited at the prospect for the prevalence of “Smart Advertising” that can adapt to each customer. We’ve become so tuned out to traditional mass-media that the only way to win back skeptical consumers is with messages targeted to their specific wants/needs. The growth of mobile applications, specifically the location based variety, will forever change the way consumers interact with brands and will hopefully spell the death of the mass-email, dummy billboard, and the Snuggie.

    One aspect of the article I vehemently disagree with is the prediction that red will take over for orange as the most featured color in advertising this year. Orange will always be a classic choice for organizations that want to make a bold statement without appearing satanic. Plus, it looks great on business cards and on couches.

  • Resolutions and a Happy New Year from the Carrot Crew!

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    We’re excited here at Carrot Creative. 2009 has some big things coming up for us. (Stay tuned for them, of course we’ll let you know!)

    To help get us in gear, I’ve asked the entire team to disclose their resolutions for the upcoming year.

    Without further adieu…

    Robert Gaafar, CEO

    • Participate more in the NYC tech community, online and offline
    • Get rid of the 10 foot pile of papers on my desk
    • Establish a buzzword-free office. If anyone mentions a buzzword, they have to drop down and do 10 pushups. I’m not kidding.

    Michael Germano, President & Creative Director

    • Kick ass in everything I do. Social Media life. Personal life. Everything.

    Chris Petescia, VP & Director of User Experience

    • Update my personal website with complete relevance to my current portfolio and social media presences, likely with a blog as well.
    • Design a new internet—even cooler than this. I can do it. Watch me.

    Kristin Maverick, Director of Communications

    • Communicate in 140 characters or less for half of my conversations during the day. Not just written, but verbal as well.
    • Host a killer event introducing everyone to the awesome culture and company of Carrot Creative.

    Kyle MacDonald, Senior Web Producer

    • Build a new web app.
    • Stop neglecting my RSS Reader.
    • Double my Twitter Followers. Who am I kidding, TRIPLE.
    • Get to more NY Tech Meetups.
    • Wear Orange.
    • Write the Great American Novel.

    Maury Postal, Brand Manager

    • Post more relevant links.
    • Craft hard-hitting 140 character commentary on relevant events.
    • Get 500 Twitter followers.
    • Name drop like whoah.
    • Learn to cook.

    Sean Engelhardt, Art Director

    • Actively seek out people to follow on twitter, but  be picky about which ones I choose based on how much value I’ll get out of it.
    • Start a personal blog that I’ve had an idea  for over a year but keep putting off.

    Steve Badowski, Jr. Creative

    • Get in the habit of leaving comments on blog posts I read.
    • Make the coolest Twitter background image the world has ever seen.

    Christian Shaboo, Director of R&D

    • Interact with the Twitter community more, as well as more actively engage others, whom are not yet a part of the Twittersphere, to join twitter.  Hear that? That means you.

    Alvaro Bueno, Jr. Developer

    • Get more involved in creative processes. I want to have more inspiration for the programming part.
    • Go to more conferences, events and get involved in the NY industry.
    • Learn flash.

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