Chances are you watched the Oscars Sunday evening. 41.3 million of us did to be exact - a 14 percent increase from the 2009 show and the highest in five years. Was it because the best picture category expanded to 10 nominees to include something for everybody? Was it because one of the night’s key films was the biggest movie ever? [...]

We just bought a couple new laptops, so that must mean we have more job openings, right?  Indeed we do! The first will be issued to an emerging superstar with serious social media chops, strong writing skills and a little gravitas to boot.  Ideally, our new Client Relationship Director would be a highly creative and strategic thinker who [...]

Editor’s note: This is John Reinan’s weekly marketing column for MinnPost.com. To view the original, go to http://bit.ly/deOIrB.
We update the Idea Peepshow five days a week. You’d be surprised at how uncommon this is among marketing and advertising agencies. Many Twin Cities agencies don’t blog, and of those that do, infrequent posting is the rule – certainly [...]

Once upon a time, I really didn’t care which local news station I watched. None was particularly bad, but none was particularly compelling, at least not to the point at which I had developed a true connection or a sense of loyalty.
Then came Jason DeRusha.
A few years ago, I heard the WCCO reporter speak at [...]

We knew she was a winner, but now the Summit Brewing Co. has made it official.
Our own design intern, Hillary Heinz, is the November winner of Summit’s monthly “Get to the Bottom of It” contest. Each month, Summit fans tell the brewer what they’d like to get to the bottom of. The winner gets a $50 [...]

Editor’s note: This is John Reinan’s weekly marketing column for MinnPost.com. To see the original, go to http://bit.ly/07vMFuu.
One of the most notable flameouts of the new media era was Bud.TV. Launched in early 2007 with great fanfare, the site was an attempt by brewing giant Anheuser-Busch to capture the attention of young beer drinkers through [...]

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Editor’s note: This is John Reinan’s weekly marketing column for MinnPost.com. To view the original, go to http://bit.ly/22n7ok.
You get the idea that Phil Roberts loves nothing more than devising new ways to mess with people.
The delight that spreads across his face as he describes his latest assault on Midwestern propriety brings to mind a third-grader [...]

Sure, there are detractors who say Chad Ochocinco (formerly Chad Johnson) is brash, a diva and needs to shut up – I just happen to not be one of those people. I have him on my fantasy football squads and even if he wasn’t playing well – which is not the case - I wouldn’t trade him just for [...]

Been noticing all the buzz about this “Paranormal Activity” flick? Yes, of course you have. But honestly, a few weeks ago, could you have really said with confidence that all this hype and chatter was about a movie, a TV show, a band or even actual paranormal activity?
The film, which is made of “found footage,” is slow-building, fictional (get [...]

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Editor’s note: This is John Reinan’s weekly marketing colulmn for MinnPost.  To view the original, go to http://bit.ly/sqn4l.
When I was a Star Tribune business reporter, I had several arguments with my editors about the level of coverage we gave to the Twin Cities marketing industry.
I thought the Strib should be doing more. Marketing is a [...]