The report, “Evaluating Sugary Drink Nutrition and Marketing to Youth,” reveals despite pledges to improve their marketing practices to children and adolescents, the beverage makers still use tactics, such as rewards for buying sugary drinks, community events, cause-related marketing, promotions and product placement in social media.

“Beverage companies have pledged to improve child-directed advertising,” said lead researcher Jennifer Harris, PhD, MBA, Director of Marketing Initiatives at the Rudd Center. “But we are not seeing a true decrease in marketing exposure. Instead companies have shifted from traditional media to newer forms that engage youth through rewards for purchasing sugary drinks, community events, cause-related marketing, promotions, product placements, social media, and smartphones.”

Researchers examined marketing tactics by 14 beverage companies and examined the nutritional quality of nearly 600 products including full-calorie soda, energy drinks, fruit drinks, flavored water, sports drinks, and iced teas, as well as diet energy drinks and diet children’s fruit drinks. Together the products comprise 91% of sugary drink and energy drink product sales. Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Dr Pepper Snapple Group, and Kraft Foods produced two-thirds of the products in the analysis.

They found an 8-ounce serving of a full-calorie, non-diet fruit drink has on average 110 calories and 7 teaspoons of sugar—equal to the amount that is found in an 8-ounce serving of sugary soda or energy drink. Full-calorie iced teas, sports drinks, and flavored waters typically contain 3 to 5 teaspoons of sugar per 8-ounce serving.

They also found more than half of sugary drinks and energy drinks market positive ingredients on their packages, and 64% feature their “all-natural” or “real” ingredients. For example, Cherry 7 Up Antioxidant highlights it is “low sodium,” and labels on Kool-Aid powders promote that they have “25% fewer calories than the leading beverage.”

I believe it’s important for people running businesses in Boston to talk on college campuses and help other young people figure out the world of college/graduation/jobs/startups/LIFE! I often times have gone to Boston College, Boston University, Suffolk University, Babson College, and UMass and have spoken to entrepreneur, finance, marketing, and other business clubs with the goal of talking about SPECIFIC tips and tricks I picked up through college that can help. I’m also able to meet a ton of new students with different views and thoughts on what I’m currently building. It’s a win-win, and I suggest other young business leaders in Boston get out into the community and speak to students about specific things they can do to help.

I remember too often going to “guest lectures” in college and listening to people I simply could not relate to – 60-year-old businessmen speaking about generic business thoughts like “find your passion and work hard.” I’m all for working hard. And passion is very important. But GIVE ME SOME SPECIFICS, MAN!

Well. Here they are. SPECIFIC things students can and should do in college if they are interested in pursuing a future in business and entrepreneurship.

Check out the slideshow at Durkin’s Blog or read the list below:
Durkin’s Top Ten List of things to do in college to prepare yourself for a life of entrepreneurship.
1. Read These Three Books:

How to win friends & influence people – Dale Carnegie
Never eat alone – Keith Ferrazzi
Atlas shrugged – Ayn Rand

Question: What does every long lasting house or skyscraper need?
Answer: A foundation. What’s yours?

2. Craft a Leadership Resume

Top Down Vision
1. Convey LEADERSHIP, LEADERSHIP, AND LEADERSHIP

Details
2. Double major. Because you can.
3. GPA. There is no “minimum” number. It’s all pride.
4. Scholarships. Include them. It shows someone believes in you.
5. Athletics. Include them. It shows you are competitive.
6. High school jobs. Include them. It shows work ethic.
7. INTERESTS ***

*** What I believe is one of the most IMPORTANT and most OVERLOOKED parts of the entire resume.

3. Take Independent Studies

Whenever possible…do an independent study over “class.” Get a faculty sponsor, read books that interest you, and apply those books to real life. My senior year in college I did two of these. It replaced two classes and earned me six credits. I only wish I had done it sooner.

4. Don’t join clubs to join clubs

Do one of two things instead:
1. START a new club that you’re passionate about.
OR
2. LEAD a club that already exists. Get better at LEADING. Not following. Leadership takes practice.

5. Pay for School on THEM 

Win scholarships. It’s a numbers game. It’s. All. About. The. Numbers.

I won 14 scholarships and did not pay for college. You shouldn’t pay either.

6. Shadow. Don’t “Intern.”

My suggestion: Shadow. Don’t intern. Pick 10 people to shadow each summer, not one. Your goal at internships should be to learn what you want to do post graduation. How can you do that unless you experience a ton of different things?

7. Follow the Leader

Follow advice from leaders you admire. Then lead yourself.

1. Donald Trump (for his ability to think BIG)
2. Gary Player (for his strong moral fiber and competitive spirit)
3. Keith Ferrazzi (for his ability to make friends)
4. Denzel Washington (because he is just so god damn smooth)

Who do you admire? And how can you follow their lead while at the same time mold your own leadership style?

8. Pick a Focus

If you want to work at a startup, you need to hone a skillset. There are six job types at our startup:

1. Web Development (writing code)
2. Web Design (Photoshop / Illustrator)
3. Sales (selling)
4. Marketing Analytics (acquiring users)
5. * Product (analyzing users and improving experience)
6. * Finance & Ops & HR (running the books)

* These jobs are rarely available for recent graduates. If you are most interested in this, you should speak to me about the best plan of attack.

9. Assemble Co-founders 

Assemble your co-founding team of three: One developer, one designer, one business. And surround yourself with people you like.

10. Understand “Co-Flow”

Build a company/product/feature/service for you and your employees first. Something YOU will use. Once that’s done, then you can think about everyone else.

Read about Bill Warner and this method of building a business from the heart.

Bonus

Become a Renaissance Man

Convey to people you are extremely well rounded.

1. Academics
2. Athletics
3. Entrepreneurship
4. Music

One of the top questions on managers’ minds is “How do I get readers to open my e-mail?” The subject line is the most important part of your message, enticing the reader to open your e-mail. Effective subject lines have the following characteristics.

Are within 40 to 60 characters:

Marketers agree that the subject line should stay within this range.

Describe the benefit to the recipient: Most people read from left to right and will be more likely to open an e-mail that states the main benefit at the beginning of the subject line. For example, “$1 shipping on orders of $50 or more” is more effective than “Spend $50 and get your entire order shipped for $1.”

Do not use buzz words:

The subject line is examined by spam filters. Subject lines that include words such as “free,” “win,” and “buy now” are more likely to end up in a junk e-mail folder.

Personalize the subject line:

Including the readers name in the subject line is more likely to elicit a positive response and lead to a higher conversion rate. “Robert, your special offer is waiting” is a more favorable greeting than “A special offer is waiting for you.”

Test, Test, Test:

The best way to determine if your subject line is effective is to test two to three variations. Also, be sure to stagger the days you send e-mail messages during your test phase to factor in e-mail timing.

According to the 2010 E-mail Marketing Trends Survey, 53.8 percent of small business marketers surveyed planned to increase personalization, and 52.4 percent planned to enhance subject lines and titles to increase the effectiveness of their e-mail marketing campaigns.

These e-mail marketing tactics can help to increase your open and conversion rates, leading to an even more successful campaign. What is your benchmark for a well executed e-mail marketing campaign? An average open rate will range from 20 to 40 percent, depending on the industry. If you are achieving this, your campaign can be considered successful.

ATLANTA, GA, Nov 03, 2011 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) — B2B marketers are spending millions of dollars annually on social marketing programs, though nearly 30% are not tracking the impact of social media programs on lead generation and sales, according to a survey conducted earlier this month by cloud marketing automation software vendor Pardot.

The revealing survey, which included input from dozens of companies, aimed to shed light on the developing role of social media in marketing. Questions focused on social marketing etiquette, the influence of social media on lead and sales, the most useful social media tools, and the cost to operate social marketing programs.

Not surprisingly, social media use among B2B marketers is on the rise, according to respondents. A full 95% indicated they use Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube or corporate blogs to reach prospects. Yet despite the increased use of these services, only 70% are monitoring the return on spend for these programs. And among those who do, about 42% of marketers replied that zero or an uncertain number of sales leads resulted from social media programs, a startling high percentage given the resources required to operate the campaigns.

The gap between cost and return for social marketing may have something to do with social media protocols within companies, which are still evolving. As uncovered by the survey:

        --  Approximately 11% of marketers said their companies have a formal
            social media policy
        --  55% of respondents said contacting a social media-generated sales lead
            by phone or email is appropriate, even if the prospect had not invited
            the vendor to do so
        --  Meanwhile, 48% said it is appropriate to respond to a prospect via
            social media, if the prospect contacted the vendor via email or phone
            first
        --  100% of respondents said it is acceptable to invite a prospect to join
            a marketer's online social networks, though some suggested the invites
            be limited to networks such as Twitter, LinkedIn, Quora, Plaxo and
            YouTube, versus more personal sites like Facebook
        --  31% said it is acceptable to critique a competitor via social media

“Social media is an exciting and enticing sales and marketing medium, but best practices are clearly still emerging,” said Adam Blitzer, co-founder and COO for Pardot, which recently introduced a series of social media management tools for small business marketers.

Another obstacle facing marketers who are engaged in social media are the tools and services they use for implementing and measuring their campaigns. According to the survey, over 64% of respondents use “internal, free tools” only to manage social media campaigns, which may or may not be ideal for effective program management. Meanwhile, only nine percent rely on an outside agency or social media expert for help with social media marketing.

“There’s no question social media can be a powerful tool for establishing community and generating leads,” said Blitzer. “But to optimize its value, social media efforts should be monitored carefully and integrated into broader content and lead nurturing programs.”

Also of interest, the survey revealed that Twitter was the most popular social media channel, followed by LinkedIn and Facebook. And social bookmarking services and paid channels including promoted tweets were cited as the least popular tools.

About Pardot Pardot is a B2B cloud marketing automation software provider that increases revenue and maximizes efficiency for companies with multi-touch sales cycles. Pardot’s platform features CRM integration, email marketing, lead nurturing, lead scoring and ROI reporting to help marketing and sales teams work together to generate and qualify sales leads, shorten sales cycles, and demonstrate marketing accountability. Pardot offers affordable pricing for the SMB market, and plans do not require contracts.

PALO ALTO, CA, Oct 31, 2011 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) — Localized marketing is becoming a critical area of strategic focus and competitive advantage for brands, reports the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council. Just 12 percent of marketers believe they have highly evolved campaigns and analytics on a local level in contrast to nearly 50 percent who see themselves as underperforming or needing new strategic thinking and capability development in local marketing.

In its latest detailed study — “Localize to Optimize Sales Channel Effectiveness” — released today, the CMO Council reveals 86 percent of national marketers surveyed intend to look for ways to better modify, adapt and localize their marketing content, messaging and prospect engagement practices. Findings from the online survey of 300-plus members across all leading industry sectors indicate traditional print and broadcast/cable media are losing ground to more targeted, personalized, interactive and measurable forms of local engagement across diverse audiences and communities.

The most preferred channels for localized marketing are experiential events, direct mail, localized web sites, social networks, electronic messaging, and interactive digital signage. These were far more popular selections than cable and broadcast television, radio, local magazines, and even daily and weekly newspapers. Surprisingly, the Yellow Pages (online and offline) and local online deal delivery networks, such as Groupon and LivingSocial, lagged behind all channels of localized marketing choice for national brands.

The CMO Council notes that local marketing automation platforms and solutions are enabling national or regional marketers to produce, package, distribute and digitally repurpose multiple versions of content, collateral, advertising, direct mail, promotional and in-store merchandising materials very cost-efficiently and effectively. It is enabling them to truly localize and customize campaigns by community to accommodate factors such as climate, geography, ethnic composition, demographics, shopper-graphics, psychographics, politics, breaking news, and even neuro-sensory influences.

“Localization is the name of the game for national brands with significant field, channel, or network marketing organizations,” states Donovan Neale-May, executive director of the CMO Council. “The CtoB mindset of today’s market requires brands to move to digital platforms that allow them to customize messages or images, improve brand governance and deliver multi-lingual, multi-cultural campaign executions to diverse audiences that can vary by household, street, neighborhood, postal code, community or county line.”

According to the CMO Council, downsizing the world-wide web to a neighborhood locator network is transforming the classified advertising and local listings business and bringing localized search marketing innovations to the demand-generation and traffic-building capabilities of field networks, sales channels, service locations and merchant outlets of national brand marketers. These include local agents, dealers, franchisees, branch offices, manufacturers’ reps, consultants, brokers, restaurants, hotels, and retail stores. Localized social marketing is also harvesting the audience reach and viral value of hundreds of millions of active and addicted social gamers, personal content publishers, brand and personality fans, as well as community networking enthusiasts.

“Today’s CMO is presented with a growing number of unique challenges and opportunities. The proliferation of digital media is allowing national brands to connect one-on-one with consumers at a local level, but communicating the brand promise cost-effectively and in a timely manner at the micro-level remains a challenge,” said Philip Alexander, President and CEO of BrandMuscle. “By the time the consumer enters your store, it’s likely he or she has already made a decision based on some form of online research. This presents a significant opportunity for companies with field, channel or network marketing organizations to improve the value of their creative and marketing assets by impacting consumer demand prior to purchase. As the report suggests, we too have seen an escalation in our client’s demand for our technology based tools to easily create local microsites, social media content, electronic messaging, local events and online advertising.”

Among the notable revelations from the “Localize to Optimize” study ( http://www.cmocouncil.org/cat_details.php?fid=215 ), which was co-sponsored by BrandMuscle, Matchbin, and MediaTile and conducted in Q2 and Q3 2011, are:

        --  Nearly 50 percent of marketers believe localized marketing is
            essential to business growth and profitability, particularly as it
            relates to demand generation and sell-through of products and
            services.
        --  Just 27 percent of marketers have embraced local marketing automation
            platforms, resources and tools compared to 62 percent who either don't
            have or only now evaluating these options.
        --  A significant 24 percent of marketing respondents allocate over 50
            percent of their marketing and merchandising budgets to local
            programs; another 42 percent spend between 20 and 50 percent of the
            budgets on local marketing.
        --  Only 36 percent of marketers have a formalized process or system for
            tracking the impact of national brand advertising on local market
            development and customer acquisition. Some 61 percent either don't
            measure this or have an ad hoc system for tracking national
            advertising effectiveness.
        --  Cable and broadcast television, local magazines, and radio reportedly
            deliver the least return on spend compared to top performers like
            local events, direct mail or FSIs, local partner or channel web sites,
            social networks and electronic messaging.
        --  Factors that most influence localization of marketing messages include
            demographic (45 percent); geography/location (43 percent);
            socio-economic (30 percent); psychographic (27 percent); cultural (22
            percent); shopper-graphic or buying history and behavior (20 percent);
            as well as language (19 percent).
        --  Major obstacles or challenges to marketing localization include
            understanding local market dynamics or variables (31 percent); finding
            knowledgeable local market resources or experts (23 percent); and
            determining the right cost/benefit models when it comes to spend (23
            percent).
        --  Top benefits and competitive advantages from localized marketing
            strategies and programs include: 1) greater customer relevance,
            response and return (67 percent); 2) better customer conversations and
            connectivity (40 percent); 3) improved loyalty and advocacy (29
            percent); 4) brand differentiation, distinction and preference (27
            percent).

“The CMO Council’s Localize to Optimize findings are in exact alignment with the advantages that our breakthrough ‘human kiosk’ solution delivers,” said Simon Wilson, CEO of The MediaTile Company. “We deliver the fusion of interactive digital signage and remote expert agents available for live face-to-face consumer engagement: a brand solution for localized, personalized and interactive marketing.” Wilson added that, “The HumanKiosk cost-effectively and efficiently facilitates digital distribution of not just marketing content, but also the ‘power of persuasion’ of expert human conversation. In so doing, it also overcomes the top ranked obstacles to localization — finding knowledgeable local market experts and affordably understanding local market dynamics even down to the individual consumer level.”

The CMO Council notes that advances in media, buying, tracking and reporting systems using the Internet are introducing higher levels of transparency, accountability, reporting and measurement to co-op, localized and network marketing programs on a grassroots level. Centralizing the origination of localized marketing content and programs also delivers significant cost savings, assures greater brand integrity, reduces errors and improves time-to-market. In addition, localized marketing support drives participation, interest and enthusiasm in the field, boosting sales effectiveness and closure.

In addition to quantitative research, the Localize to Optimize study also sourced perspectives from more than 20 leading brands, including senior marketers at: AAMCO, Arby’s, Avon, Best Buy, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Burger King, Chipotle, Coca-Cola, Coldwell Banker, Denny’s, DirecTV, Dunkin’ Donuts, eBay Classifieds, ERA, Farmers Insurance, GNC, Gilt Groupe, Grupo BBVA, LG Electronics, Macy’s, Marriott ExecuStay, Ritz-Carlton Group and Toyota. In addition, leading academics and subject matter experts on the faculty of the program contributed valued insights and impressions. The full Localize to Optimize Sales Channel Effectiveness report (90 pages) can be sourced for $199 from the CMO Council web site ( http://www.cmocouncil.org/cat_details.php?fid=215 ). An annual subscription to all CMO Council reports and studies is available for $495 at ( https://www.cmocouncil.org/add_cart.php ) and registration for membership by qualified, client-size marketers can be completed at ( http://www.cmocouncil.org/registration.php ).

About the CMO Council The Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council is dedicated to high-level knowledge exchange, thought leadership and personal relationship building among senior corporate marketing leaders and brand decision-makers across a wide-range of global industries. The CMO Council’s 6,000 members control more than $300 billion in aggregated annual marketing expenditures and run complex, distributed marketing and sales operations worldwide. In total, the CMO Council and its strategic interest communities include over 20,000 global executives in 110 countries covering multiple industries, segments and markets. Regional chapters and advisory boards are active in the Americas, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa. The Council’s strategic interest groups include the Coalition to Leverage and Optimize Sales Effectiveness (CLOSE), LoyaltyLeaders.org, Marketing Supply Chain Institute, Customer Experience Board, Market Sense-Ability Center, Digital Marketing Performance Institute, GeoBranding Center, and the Forum to Advance the Mobile Experience (FAME). More information on the CMO Council is available at www.cmocouncil.org .

About BrandMuscle, Inc. BrandMuscle is a leading provider of web-based local marketing automation software and unparalleled end-user support for companies with decentralized sales and marketing channels. Using the company’s proprietary BrandBuilder(R) software, marketers can empower field-level customization and execution of personalized advertising and marketing campaigns to optimize local sales and marketing performance. Founded in 2000, BrandMuscle is headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio with a regional service office in Los Angeles, California. BrandMuscle clients include many of the nation’s most recognizable brands including Allstate Insurance, Chase Bank, PPG Automotive Refinish, BMW of North America LLC, DIRECTV, Hunter Douglas and T-Mobile. For more information visit www.BrandMuscle.com .

About MediaTile MediaTile is the worldwide leader in cloud-based digital signage solutions. MediaTile is transforming traditional B2C communications into B2Me communications — delivering information and personal interaction tailored to a viewer’s specific wants and needs. A digital signage innovator, MediaTile was the first company to deliver the advantages of cloud-computing using the unique combination of Cellular connectivity and a SaaS-based application. Our MediaCast Content Management and revolutionary MediaCast Video Presence systems enable you to attract, engage, and directly influence your audience with a unique “personal advantage.” Digital signage networks powered by MediaCast are simple to deploy, easy to use, and enable you to achieve your communications goals and ROI faster. Our solutions have garnered customer praise and industry awards for increasing market reach and viewer interaction, while reducing costs and complexities. For more information visit www.mediatile.com .

About Matchbin Founded in 2004, Matchbin is transforming hundreds of newspapers, radio stations, and TV stations from traditional media companies to new online media success stories. Matchbin’s technology platform ensures our media partners can quickly capture a significant share of the rapidly growing local online advertising market. Since Matchbin launched their Community Marketplace technology in January 2008, the Matchbin network has grown to over 750 local media partners, 6.1M unique visitors, and 80M page views per month. For more information visit www.matchbin.com

The time has come to turn jack-o-lanterns into pumpkin pie – Thanksgiving is just around the corner, and the nation’s biggest shopping day is right behind it.
Some consumers began shopping weeks ago, but for the rest of us, there is still time to procrastinate.

From layaway to steep discounts, retailers are trying every way possible capture shopping dollars. With the National Retail Federation’s estimate of $465.6 billion in holiday sales, that’s quite a bit of money to be had.

NRF is projecting 2011 holiday sales to rise 2.8 percent from last year. Sales in 2010 showed a 5.2 percent increase, but only because spending dropped significantly in 2009.

September was barely over before big box stores displayed an array of Halloween supplies coupled with Thanksgiving and Christmas décor. That’s because about 40 percent of consumers begin their holiday shopping before Halloween, NRF reported. While most retailers do not begin holiday advertising until at least October or November, they recognize that many people like the idea of shopping early to spread out spending over a longer period of time. As a result, many retailers put holiday merchandise on the shelves in September – specifically decorations and greeting cards, which many people buy in advance.

Walmart recently announced it would reinstate its layaway program for two of the season’s most popular gift categories: electronics and toys.

“We’re always looking for ways to ease budget strain for our customers, and we know this holiday season in particular brings with it additional financial pressure,” said Duncan Mac Naughton, chief merchandising officer. “Our layaway program for Christmas, along with our every day low prices and great variety of gifts, will provide a worry-free way for our customers to fulfill their families’ Christmas wish lists.”

Walmart’s Christmas layaway program will enable customers to make payments when they want and for how much they want on the hottest Christmas gifts. Toy and electronic gifts with a retail price of $15 or more will be eligible.

“Our customers told us they want a hassle-free layaway option during the holiday season,” said Mac Naughton. “With our Christmas layaway program, they can focus on what’s important to them during the Christmas season instead of stressing over mandated payments or how to tuck money away for gifts.”

Other stores like K-mart and TJMaxx will continue their layaway programs as usual.

Having learned their lessons with credit cards, many consumers will opt to pay with debit cards or cash. The National Retail Federation shows that in the past decade, consumers’ preferred payment methods have shifted substantially.

“During the economic recession in 2008, many shoppers began to shy away from credit cards and instead transitioned to debit cards and cash – opting to purchase gifts with money already had in their bank accounts to help them budget instead of relying on credit to fund holiday purchases,” NRF reported.

In 2010, the number of consumers who primarily used credit cards to purchase holiday gifts was at the lowest level since 2002. That said, shoppers still managed to spend an average of $718.98 last year, with more than half spent on gifts for family.

So what are shoppers buying?
The popularity of gift cards has grown tremendously in recent years, especially during the holiday seasons.

According to NRF, more than half of holiday shoppers in 2010 said they’d like to receive gift cards – marking four years in a row that gift cards have topped consumers’ holiday wish lists.

Shoppers are also opting for online and mobile shopping. Last year, approximately 44 percent of holiday shoppers made a purchase on the web, and these shoppers are particularly lucrative for retailers. According to an NRF survey conducted by BIGresearch, Americans who shopped online and in stores last holiday season spent 25 percent more than those who shopped in stores only.

On Wednesday, November 2, Susan J. Ashbrook, author of Will Work for Shoes, made a stop by the School of Fashion to discuss her book. While working for Richard Tyler in the ‘90s, Susan realized that something was missing in the fashion industry – a direct link between major fashion houses and celebrities. Susan left Richard Tyler and started her own company, Film Fashion, and worked to pair designers with celebrities for red carpet events. She is practically the fairy-god-mother of red carpet marketing, and we were lucky enough to learn some of her tips and tricks of the trade!

Susan’s Top Tips:

When connecting your brand to a celebrity, make sure that the celebrity’s values are similar to your company’s and to the values of your target market – because if it isn’t believable, it won’t be effective.

Follow the jump to read more!

If you see an opportunity arise, go for it! Creative thinking always pays off. Susan’s example: One year Stuart Weitzman was creating a “Million Dollar Shoe” embellished with diamonds to be worn by a celebrity to the Oscars. Susan told the designers that she represented to make dresses with a high-low hem, knowing that the celebrity would want to wear a dress that displayed the shoes. It worked!

Number One Tip: Persistence! It takes time to build relationships, so keep trying and it will happen.

Let’s face it: the thought of investing is overwhelming. Luckily the Technique has some simple steps to help you invest wisely.

Buy low, sell high

This is the most basic advice, yet so many people seem to ignore it. Don’t buy impulsively because stocks are on the rise. Similarly, don’t allow greed to prevent you from selling a highly-priced stock.

Do your research

Look at the company’s annual report, and see what the Wall Street Journal has to say about them. Make sure you pay special attention to their earnings (which should be 10 percent higher than the previous year), sales and equity (both of which should be higher).

Make a plan

Make a plan. Without a long-term goal for your investments, you’re more likely to fall victim to acting irrationally at the slightest downturn in the market.

Know your options

There are several way to invest: stocks, bonds, mutual funds etc. Bonds are considered the safest, but have the lowest return. Stocks are risky, but have the highest potential return. If you’re interested in stocks, but new to the game, try a mutual fund. They have a professional pool money together and decide where to invest for you.

Assume Responsibility

When you buy stock in a company, you’re actually buying part of that company. Care about the company, analyze their movements, read their financial statements; think like an owner.

Put your eggs in several baskets

Diversify your portfolio or spread your money out over several kinds of stocks and several companies in various industries.

Keep track

Investing is not gambling. Unless you throw your money at every company you hear is “hot” you’ll be okay. Keep in mind that you should invest in companies that are making a profit, and whose debt is half (or less) of their assets to ensure a safe investment.

Think things through

Make sure you leave money aside for predictable emergency expenses. If you don’t, you could set yourself up for selling at a loss to get your money back quickly.

Keep Track

Watch your stocks closely, and place stop-loss or limit orders if needed. However, refrain from selling your stocks unless it’s absolutely necessary.

Be Patient

Investing is not a get quick rich scheme. It takes a lot of time and effort.

First of all, our thanks to Kurt Kroner, the man behind the defining example of the greatest advertising campaign of the century.

He wasn’t the copywriter. That was Julian Koenig. Nor was he the art director. That was Helmut Krone. Nor was he elsewhere employed by Doyle Dane Bernbach, the agency that stormed the confining Bastille of advertising orthodoxy to ignite the “creative revolution.”

Actually, our hero wasn’t in advertising at all. Kurt Kroner was the one, among 3,389 Wolfsburg, Germany, assembly plant workers, to flag a blemished chrome strip on the glove compartment of a 1961 Volkswagen Beetle and reject the vehicle for delivery. Yes, if we are to believe Koenig’s copy, Herr Kroner gave us the famously failed and fabulously forlorn. . . “Lemon.”

God bless him, because in so doing he also gave advertising permission to surprise, to defy and to engage the consumer without bludgeoning him about the face and body. Kroner offered up a lemon with approximately the same result of Eve offering the apple. Not only did everything change, but suddenly things were a lot more interesting.

“In the beginning,” adman pundit Jerry Della Femina has written, “there was Volkswagen. That was the day when the new advertising agency was really born.”

In an industry that is by its very nature contentious, there is hardly a soul who would disagree. “Lemon.” “Think Small.” The TV spot called “Funeral.” They weren’t the earliest salvos of the revolution, but they were — in their assiduously quiet way — the loudest.

“Let us prove to the world,” wrote William Bernbach in his 1949 manifesto for the “creative revolution,” “that good taste, good art, good writing can be good selling.”

Did he ever, and the Beetle is Exhibit A. The air-cooled engine and the 34 miles per gallon were all well and good, but the droll, conversational, self-deprecating style of the copy was as important a feature as anything engineered in Wolfsburg.

To be amused by Koenig’s copy was to be flattered by it. The car that presented itself as the antidote to conspicuous consumption was itself the badge product for those who fancied themselves a cut above, or at least invulnerable to, the tacky blandishments of the hidden persuaders. “Think small” was thinking quite big, actually. The rounded fenders were, in effect, the biggest tail fins of all, for what Volkswagen sold with its seductive, disarming candor was nothing more lofty than conspicuously inconspicuous consumption. Beetle ownership allowed you to show off that you didn’t need to show off.

So, no, contrary to all existing thought on the subject, Mr. Bernbach’s creative revolution was not the overturning of ’50s-era “motivational” manipulation. It was simply the most agreeable and effective expression of it.

And the most influential. In ranking the 100 greatest ad campaigns of the century, the impact of that second genesis is manifest. Whereas only seven of Advertising Age’s selection of the classic 100 campaigns of the century employ celebrities, and only eight of them invoke sex, and only four of them play on consumer fear and insecurities in the way the industry is constantly decried for doing, no fewer than 16 come from the 1960s. Six hail from DDB alone.

It is, of course, a challenging and somewhat presumptuous enterprise to reduce a century’s labors to a Top 100 list. It is not difficult, however, to establish criteria. To be included, a campaign could qualify in one of three ways:

1) If it was a watershed, discernibly changing the culture of advertising or the popular culture as a whole.

The Volkswagen work clearly met this standard. So did the Avis campaign, which dared, heretically, to boast about No. 2-ness. One stunning example of that daring advertiser’s contrarian thinking displayed the repugnant contents of a filthy ashtray. The copywriter had (supposedly) found it in a client rental and displayed it as the exception that proves the “We Try Harder” rule.

Of such boldness legends are made. Another was the Jordan Motor Car Co., famously — albeit counterintuitively — targeting women for motorcar purchases with its print ad titled “Somewhere West of Laramie.”

Woodbury soap, which had been marketed for years for its medicinal properties, turned its attention on the user. Helen Lansdowne Resor’s headline “A skin you love to touch,” in implying a romantic advantage, may have been the first triumph for sex in advertising. Four decades later, Clairol turned its category upside down by doing more or less the same thing. “Does she. . . or doesn’t she?” was a tantalizing question in the midst of the simultaneous Sexual Revolution, even if the ostensible answer was about hair coloring: “Only her hairdresser knows for sure.”

And in yet a more aggressive double entendre, Calvin Klein scandalized viewers with the first foray into shockvertising: Brooke Shields, all of 15 years old, lying on her back in tight blue jeans, cooing “Nothing comes between me and my Calvins.” Klein’s much-imitated scheme of generating outrage to generate publicity to generate consumer buzz has altered the advertising landscape, mainly for the worse, probably forever.

2) If it itself was credited with creating a category, or if by its efforts a brand became entrenched in its category as No. 1.

Before the DeBeers mining syndicate informed us “A Diamond is Forever,” associating itself with eternal romance, the diamond solitaire as the standard token of betrothal did not exist. Now, thanks to the simple audacity of the advertising proposition, the diamond engagement ring is de rigueur virtually worldwide, and the diamond by far the precious gemstone of choice.

By the same token, the overnight package industry barely existed before Federal Express vowed to deliver “Absolutely, Positively Overnight.” Miller Lite’s “Tastes Great, Less Filling” claim took a single beer brand and transformed it into an industrywide segment now on track to overtake the tastes-better, more-filling premiums.

Absolut Vodka achieved what Stolichnaya could never do: establish a burgeoning marketplace for premium vodkas. It was a neat trick for a product that is by law and by its very nature a flavorless commodity.
Consider, for instance, the granddaddy of all jingles:3) If it was simply unforgettable.

Pepsi-Cola hits the spot.

12 full ounces, that’s a lot!

Twice as much for a nickel, too.

Pepsi-Cola is the drink for you!

In 1949, that little number played 296,426 times on 469 radio stations — not counting jukebox play, where it was also a favorite. The Pepsi jingle embedded itself not so much in the nation’s psyche as in its very nerve endings, like the Pledge of Allegiance, or — depending on your viewpoint — a case of shingles.

Periodically a campaign comes along that not only captures the public’s imagination, but penetrates the vernacular. Wendy’s hamburgers’ “Where’s the Beef?” was on the lips of an entire nation, including at least one presidential candidate. A succession of Alka-Seltzer campaigns, from a succession of agencies, achieved the same — effervescently and hilariously — for two decades. Plop plop, fizz fizz, oh how memorable advertising sometimes is.

Smokey Bear has been in hibernation for years, but thanks to him everyone knows what, precisely, only you can prevent.

Everyone knows where M&Ms do and do not melt. Everyone knows what is 99 44/100ths pure. (Hint: It is not the advertising industry.) Everyone knows what is “Mmm mmm good.”

Sadly, annoyance can be unforgettable, too. The shrill, petulant “Ring Around the Collar” still grates decades after its conception. Mr. Whipple is long retired but still fondling toilet paper in the darkest recesses of our memory. The Anacin hammers-in-the-head — which were to Rosser Reeves’ Unique Selling Proposition what the hammer and sickle were to international Communism — still reverberate nearly 40 years later.

Such advertising is something like the Heimlich maneuver: a disagreeable experience but one which undeniably dislodges the obstruction.

By contemporary standards, “They laughed when I sat down at the piano” is a transparently disingenuous dramatization of a dubious promise, yet its triumph-of-the-nebbish approach informs direct-response advertising still today. Listerine’s halitosis campaign (“Always a bridesmaid, never a bride”) may have fed on people’s insecurities, but it certainly framed the issue.

“For sheer fertility in creating situations in which halitosis could spell business ruin and wreck a romance,” wrote E.M. Turner archly in his witty chronicle “The Shocking History of Advertising!” “Listerine must not be grudged a grain of admiration.”

Resist if you can, as Mr. Turner could not, the temptation to sneer. Listerine, Wisk and their like-minded brethren dominated their categories at the time and for decades thereafter. Indeed, they still do.

This gets to the consequence of citing the greatest campaigns ever, especially with the ranking protocol employed here. We cannot always surrender to our aesthetic better judgment, nor even our moral one.

It will amuse some, and horrify others, that in the pantheon — what we judge to be the 10 greatest advertising campaigns ever — are included: two air polluters (VW and Avis), nutritionless sugar water (Coca-Cola), one reviled carcinogen (Marlboro), two companies infamous for the use of virtual slave labor (DeBeers, Nike), one purveyor of savory cardiovascular time bombs (McDonald’s), two booze peddlers (Absolut and Miller Lite) and one cosmetic product preying on the vanity of women (Clairol).

Mercifully, the second tier of 10 — Apple Computer, Ivory Soap, et al — is markedly more benign. We leave it to history to divine a meaning from all of this. We are inclined to believe the best advertising is bound eventually to emerge from the biggest categories, and the biggest categories consist of the things people most desire. People do not most desire wheat germ.

Beyond the usual contemptuousness about the excesses of the consumer society, it’s probably worth a second look at the list to see what conclusions we can draw from the advertisements themselves. What common thread runs through the 100 greatest campaigns of 100 years? What is the defining nature of this particular instrument of these particular immortals?

It is acknowledged, once again, that some of these ads are manipulative and some annoying and some less than completely honest. (The Marlboro man, for instance, the most successful ad symbol of all time, the supposed symbol of rugged independence, is really a symbol of enslavement to an addictive drug, isn’t he?)

But these advertisements, most of them, are something else, too. They are treasures. For one, they are important artifacts in our culture. Woe betide future anthropologists and historians who try to trace the American experience without pondering what, exactly, it is that her hairdresser knows for sure.

And that’s because the greatest advertising isn’t great for moving merchandise any more than the greatest literature is great for compelling plots. Somehow — in the service of carmakers and brassiere manufacturers and car rental agencies — these campaigns have discovered our humanity. They have touched us, understood us, reflected our lives and often enough enriched them.

“They laughed when I sat down at the piano” may fall a bit short in the facts, but in exploring the roiling psychology of self-esteem, it overflows with human truth.

Not grand, momentous philosophical truth — just, here and there, from this surprising corner and that, an observation, a revelation, a tender nerve struck. Maybe it’s just an ad for piano lessons or a computer or a facial soap, but it gets to the heart of what makes us tick. Leave it to the philosophers to contemplate the large issues.

Advertising is content to think small.

Bob Garfield is the Ad Review columnist for Advertising Age.

New York is at the top of the list; South Carolina is at the bottom.

The 2010 State Entrepreneurship Index—developed by economists at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln—evaluates a state’s percentage growth and per capita growth in business establishments, its business formation rate, the number of patents per thousand residents, and the gross receipts of sole proprietorships and partnerships per capita. States are ranked based on their performance compared to the nationwide average.

Rounding out the top five after New York wereWashington, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Oregon. (New York held on to the top spot from 2008, the last time the index was compiled, thanks to “strong performance in gross receipts per capita and substantial improvement in other two components, growth in employer establishments and establishments per capita,” according to the Entrepreneurship in Nebraska report.)

Oregon got the Most Improved award, leaping 40 spots from the last index, thanks to growth in numbers of businesses and businesses per capita. Delaware was another big mover, leaping 28 spots to No. 14, as was Kentucky, up to No. 24  from its spot as No. 50 in the 2008 index.

The worst states for entrepreneurship? South Carolina was at the bottom, withArizona, Mississippi, Nevada, and Alabama. Nevada fell the most, down 40 positions.Arkansas fell 26 spots, to No. 36.