Ahhh…. vacation. If Webster’s had a NEW, NEW, NEW dictionary, the word vacation would appear something like this:

Main Entry:

¹va·ca·tion

Pronunciation:

\vÄ?-ˈkÄ?-shÉ™n, vÉ™-\

Function:

noun

Usage:

often attributive

Etymology:

Middle English vacacioun, from Anglo-French vacacion, from Latin vacation-, vacatio freedom, exemption, from vacare

Date:

14th century

1: a respite or a time of respite from something… that includes a computer, a cell phone that allows for 24-hour e-mail access and a couple of songs mixed in with the PDF attachments.

Vacation has become to most business people a cross between a working lunch (in a great location) to a working lunch (where your friends and family yell at you to chill out for a moment and enjoy what’s happening around you for once). It’ll always feel like the world is moving faster, just because you are trying to move slower. That’s always the way, isn’t it? We’re not built of the ilk of a Spaniard who understands, appreciates and even embraces a moment away from the work to enjoy culture, beauty, art and fantastic food.

I leave the clients in the very capable hands of their contacts within the company and I trust the bank to not let those scoundrels who so recently infiltrated my otherwise  false blanket of security (long, long story) into my hard-earned finances. I trust the plane to take me to my destination and land in a place I actually decided upon without any sort of worry that the rental car will be there when I arrive.

I pray for the people, the children, the pets and the families of all those affected by the raging California wildfires and I hold hope that the nation will pull together and help in any way they can.

See you soon.

In 2005, based on the information from this article in AdAge (from the source of Brand Keys brought to you by some other sponsor and now a major motion picture in Technicolor), Cingular was tied in first for brand loyalty and engagement with Verizon.

As of September 2007? Fourth place.

In January, I wrote a post about how disgusted I was at watching AT&T dump the MUCH stronger Jax persona to go with the old/new world logo and brand assignments.

Some of the thoughts that keep a marketing executive awake at night are return on investment and brand loyalty. While AT&T is still (very slightly) winning the wireless customer war, they’re not exactly the most well-respected brand. The one thing I can point to that will have the most positive residual effect is that they were chosen by Apple to sell their product. That doesn’t mean, however, that they a) support it very well, or b) have as reliable a network as they claim. They don’t. On both fronts. I’ve been a subscriber before and left them for greener pastures (wrapped in a horrible matrix of bad customer service but better coverage with VZ), and reluctantly returned due to my acquisition of the iPhone.

AT&T should have stayed as Cingular. The AT&T that the Boomers and the Gen X-ers know is one of monolithic legend, tearing through any Baby Bell it can find in an effort to dominate world communications (poorly, I might add).

Will AT&T overcome this horrid representation? Will they be able to do, as is suggested, create an AT&T 3.0? Will it matter?

How Apple Can Help

If, as expected, Apple released the GPS version along with a new SDK, it won’t matter what AT&T does since it’ll be about the second wind of the device, not the service. True, having true signal reliability will go a long way to help the company’s perceived brand promise, but it won’t matter if they not only go with the natural progression of the iPhone, but embrace other open-source devices as well.

Apple is in the unique and powerful position to bend AT&T as if they’re playfully and lazily waving their magic money wand back and forth to a hypnotized AT&T line of executives.

This isn’t such a bad thing, so long as Apple keeps their promise of opening up their device a little (and, really, they’ll only open it a little).

Steve strikes again.

We were lucky enough to be asked to get involved with a fantastic organization named C2 Mission. We developed a logo for the book Pitching with the Papelbons and helped them get their e-commerce up and running. The book is for sale online for $14,95, and proceeds to go to benefit the C2 Mission.

Please take the chance to purchase a copy of this book for someone little you know and support the organization in their efforts to assist children and families affected by Cerebral Palsy and Cystic Fibrosis.

About the Book:

Follow young Jonathan, Joshua and Jeremy Papelbon, three very talented pitchers who learn a great lesson as they embrace success!

For more information / links to news articles, go to the main Web site: http://www.pitchingwiththepapelbons.com

Thanks in advance for your support!

- Keith

but marketers like Apple.

It’s a pretty amazing feat for a game console to singlehandedly tun a brand around. Intuitive, playful, fun, interactive and brilliant are the quotes I hear from friends and family when I ask them about the Wii game console and what it’s meant to their gaming user experience.

As for Apple, they continue to be on everyone’s hot list for so many reasons, not the least of which is the iPhone / iTouch UX.

What a genius.

No, really. Anyone who hangs out with and composes songs for John Hodgman gets my vote. He’s been a featured interviewer for a popular magazine, he’s a former software developer, and he’s very involved in making sure that he consistently crafts his personal brand.

What Jonathan Coulton has done for online music (a la Radiohead) is about to make him into more than just a cult icon. I believe it’s about to make him a very wealthy, front-running music industry veteran who will be sought out for his strategic services as well as continuing to build his own catalog.

If you haven’t heard of Coulton’s work, check out his site and take a listen. It’s seriously entertaining and sometimes hilarious.