Meyer&Wallis is a Milwaukee ad agency. It's also an Indianapolis ad agency. Since 1990, we've operated two offices, allowing us to serve clients from a wider area.

But with one office in Milwaukee and another in Indianapolis, how do you suppose Meyer & Wallis continues to move forward as one company, sharing talents, ideas and responsibilities?

Technology, you might say. And it's true. I have a video conference at least once a week with one of my coworkers in Indianapolis. He and I can easily work on the same project because we have access to the same file servers in each office via a dedicated, high-speed connection. We also have an agency wide conference call every Monday morning to talk about open jobs, work coming down the pipeline, and the latest Colts-Packers match-up. Well, that was just this Monday. But did you see that game?!?

So while we're separated geographically by 275 miles of Midwest earth, we're able to work quite closely as one team dedicated to your brand.

But this doesn't set us apart from anyone. Any agency with multiple offices that can't videoconference and share files between them these days probably has bigger things to worry about (like whether there's a fresh ribbon in the secretary's typewriter or if the president's dictaphone has recently been oiled).

No, what I think sets Meyer & Wallis apart is that, even with all this technology at our disposal, there's usually at least one of us — if not three or four — driving between Milwaukee and Indianapolis each week. Why? To make a delivery? No. FedEx does that. Super-important meetings? Not really — we have important meetings all the time over the phone. I think we just really like connecting with each other. Advertising is about making connections: between your company's goals and your brand's development, between your brand and consumers, and, most recently, amongst consumers via interactive media, where many of them connect about your brand via social networking and blogging. Connecting is what makes an ad a compelling message, and our passion for helping you connect with your customers is matched only by our collaborative desire to connect with each other.

Know that with Meyer & Wallis as your advertising agency, you have at your disposal a group of people who love making connections. If we'll regularly drive 275 miles just to stay in sync with each other, imagine the lengths we'll go to for your brand. (Or call and ask. We'd gladly share some success stories.)

If I didn't see that coworker from Indy that I work closely with in person at least once every other week, it wouldn't be normal. And if I don't, I can only assume the perpetual construction in Chicago must be especially bad, or the Colts got spanked by the Packers again. Did you see that game?!?

Do you choose your career or does your career choose you? In his youth, Creative Director Tom Dixon played on his local Little League team. The name of the team?

The Advertisers.

No joke.

Meyer&Wallis: Destined to be the best advertising agency ever.

Today, thousands of bloggers across the web are making it a point to talk about poverty. I think this is a great idea, because precious few of those participating have the luxury of actually writing day-to-day for a cause/company/purpose that directly relates to the topic at hand. The rest of us - the majority - are challenged to think ourside the box (or inside the circle?) about how what we do affects poverty.

What is advertising? Simplistically, it's the artful suggestion that you should buy product A instead of product B. We may convince you with words, a compelling visual, humor, logic, or an appeal to your emotions. What does this have to do with poverty?

Almost nothing.

But advertising is what we're good at. It's what we know best. And, at its heart, it's about ideas and persuasion.

These have plenty to do with poverty.

For over 40 years, Meyer & Wallis has committed to spending a percent of its time on pro bono work for clients who improve the condition of society, especially here in Milwaukee. We've done work for America's Black Holocaust Museum, rasing awareness about the racism against African Americans that has persisted in our country long after the end of the civil war and the civil rights movement. We've worked on PSAs relating to drug abuse and cigarette smoking. We've also done campaigns for the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music, a public music school that has shown an amazing committment to providing even the underserved populations of Milwaukee with access to quality music lessons. Interestingly, some of our pro bono work has garnered us international attention, leading to several new paying clients. We've even been known to donate to a worthy cause or two that relate to poverty in our city.

Meyer & Wallis thinks part of what it means to run a good business is to be a good citizen of the community we live in. We can't all work directly with the poor. But we can get clever about ways to use what we already do to make a difference. Whether it's donating our time or our money, Meyer & Wallis remains committed to finding creative ways to use our gifts and talens to combat not just the symptoms, but the precursors of poverty. And in this age of technology and globalization, who knows what we'll be able to "do" about poverty in the coming years that we haven't been able to before?

Earlier this month, McDonald's began heavily promoting their new selection of cappuccinos, lattes and mochas. This, after Starbucks' sales are down about 6% for the 4th quarter (after it posted its first quarterly loss in the 3rd) and it has closed 600 stores and laid off 1000 employees in the last year. What has happened to not only make Starbucks fall from it's once insurmountable position as the premier coffee purveyor in America, but to also make McDonald's — home of the Big Mac — a viable alternative for premium coffee?

I think it comes back to something I talked about a week or so ago: line extension. If you expand your brand so much that it no longer represents what once made you unique, you're in trouble, mister.

There was a time when, if you walked into a Starbucks and didn't like coffee, you left thirsty. They were proudly snobbish about their love for coffee, and had no intention of pretending otherwise. Employees were required to taste every variety of coffee in the store so they were ready to describe any of them to a customer. They even had to be able to identify any one of their two dozen roasts by taste alone. Hardcore! (Full disclosure: I actually used to work at Starbucks back in the late 90s. Hence, the "insider info.")

But, as time went on, Starbucks realized there were people coming into their stores with their coffee-loving friends and leaving with just a pastry, or just a Tiazzi (once the only non-coffee beverage on the menu). What harm could it do to provide some coffee alternatives for them?

And so began the downfall of Starbucks. What began as a justifiable expansion into teas and fruity beverages has snowballed to include chocolates, music, small appliances, plush toys, Christmas ornaments, sandwiches and clothing — most of it conspicuously overpriced. With a product lineup like this, how could they honestly keep positioning themselves as the leading authority on coffee? Are they awesome at everything? Plus, if we can fairly assume their $12/pound coffee enjoys a similar markup to their $5/bar chocolate or $10/box biscotti, then they might just be selling the same coffee as everyone else (a skeptical, cost-conscious consumer might suspect).

Not only this, but the decision to expand their offerings has changed the culture of Starbucks. Used to be, if you went to a Starbucks, you expected a coffeeshop. Intelligent-looking people talking politics over mugs of coffee, with a copy of the Wall Street Journal sitting on the table between them. Obscure jazz and indie music playing on the speakers — and you felt really cool if you recognized a song that came on. You got anxious about asking for your order "right." After all, Starbucks knew coffee best, so you'd better order it correctly according to their system, right? Now, Starbucks no longer feels like a coffee shop. They're something on the menu for everyone. You're likely to hear the same song in the store that was just playing in your car as you drove there. They no longer brew three different coffees a day. They no longer brag about how often they throw out their coffee and keep brewing fresh stuff. They don't have to. No one cares. People aren't there for premium, fresh-roasted coffee. They want Frappuccinos.

And so, enter McDonald's. If a hodge-podge Everyman-pleasing joint like Starbucks can still sell a latte for $5 a cup, who can't?

In abandoning their position as being passionate about coffee above all else, in expanding their product line way beyond coffee, Starbucks changed consumers' expectations for what a coffee shop should feel like — even though they were the ones who originally defined it. They stopped selling us a unique experience and started selling us products. And they day they gave up on their unique experience, they gave up their position on the top of the coffee world.

I'm willing to bet that you visit Starbucks less than you used to. It's a statistical probability. So where are you getting your coffee instead? Has Starbucks convinced you that you can probably find the same quality at your local supermarket, or have you sought out a more authentic feeling coffee house experience? Either way, blame it on Starbucks.

Now, could Starbucks turn it around? Could they rally and reclaim their former position as the best premium coffee retailer? Perhaps, but they'd need a really good retail marketing team. Someone who can develop their brand while staying true to a very specific brand strategy. Say — that's what we do! In fact, we consider Meyer & Wallis to be somewhat of a turnaround specialist. We love helping struggling brands right a sinking ship. Do you feel like the Starbucks of your industry?

We can help.

Is your business ready for the emerging generation of mobile phones and the generation of consumers that use them? Most new smart phones are GPS equipped, and enabled to use a host of new things never before possible. They are "location aware." Like a regional affiliate of a national network, they can mix in some local marketing with the national messages, wherever "local" happens to be. They can also make it much easier to find information about your business when near you. That is, if your digital ducks are in a row.

John Jantsch has this advice on his "Ductape Marketing" blog:

1) Make certain that your business profile is correct and complete in Google Maps, Yahoo!Local and LocalLive. (Claim your listing in Google or risk having it hijacked) - many devices will use this map data to help people locate and view satellite photos of your place of business.

2) Start exploring ways to make your websites, blogs and email marketing efforts mobile friendly. I use a service called MoFuse to create a mobile friendly version of my blog. (This topic warrants and entire post and I’m working on it.)

More and more consumers are bypassing traditional media, researching restaurants, mechanics, and retailers online. On their phone. Or, they're simply checking their GPS-enabled phone for the one that happens to be closest by.

Once you complete the profiles talked about above, your customers do the rest. Each of those sites provides a place for users to rate you. So if Johnny an Suzie are driving down the road and search for a local burger joint on Johnny's iPhone, when yours comes up, it'll come up with reviews from actual customers. Assuming they had a good experience, that's some of the best free marketing you can get! So don't miss out on this easy opportunity to get your name in front of potential customers.

Right now at Meyer & Wallis, we're working on a couple very exciting projects utilizing this very technology. If GPS-enabled phones know where you are, they can be programmed to do way more than give you driving directions. And if you have the desire to truly stand out among your competition, the world of mobile marketing is still very much a frontier where innovation will get you noticed. But it won't stay that way for long.

(We'd love to help.)

This week, the USDA begins requiring retailers to include country of origin information on several products, including fresh and frozen produce, nuts, and fresh meats. We’ve seen cute little stickers on most of our fruits and vegetables for a while that tell us where they hail from. But within the next 6 months, expect to see similar declarations of origin on beef, pork, lamb, etc. I asked our CEO Bob Meyer, who on his own has over 40 years’ experience with retail advertising and retail marketing, for his thoughts on what this means for supermarkets.

“I think it will create a huge advantage for American breeders... probably an almost unfair advantage because the assumption is that the controls here over the raising of livestock are much tighter and more stringent than they are in foreign countries. And I don’t know if that’s true or not, but, that being the assumption, it will give the advantage for American growers. It will put an impetus on foreign growers — which is probably very positive.

You almost have to believe that the reason this got passed is that American breeders wanted it and lobbied for it because it does create kind of an unknown advantage for unknown reasons.

It will put the impetus on subjectively lesser origins. We don’t know that they’re lesser, we just think they are. The impetus on retailers of those products and those suppliers will be to promote their own cleanliness. I think it will create some opportunity, either for Americans to come out and say, “we have better meat here, “ or for foreigners to claim that they do something better.

It’s interesting. meat breeders have been trying to figure out a way to brand meat for a long time. Meat, historically, has been largely unbranded and if there’s any assumptions of quality that come to the meat it’s from the store, not the breeder, because meat is one of the things that the store prepares and presents, and upon which their reputation is built. Breeders, for at least 20 years, have been trying to figure out how to brand meat. Coleman has tried with beef— that’s where our president Chris Mortenson worked. Right here in Wisconsin, Provini has tried with veal. People have been trying to do it with limited success, because the stores don’t want to get caught having to stock three different brands of beef.

It seems to me that what will eventually come from this is an opportunity to brand the meat. I mean, if New Zealand lamb is really better, then now there’s much more of a reason to call attention to the fact that it’s a New Zealand product. But it also creates a huge downside risk. If there is any significant problem or health risk in the food supply of a foreign company, it will kill them in the marketplace here. All it will take is one person saying they got sick from a “New Zealand lamb product,” and it will hurt all New Zealand lamb sales. This will probably have a huge impact on quality control in foreign countries that import these affected goods into the US.”

    The podcast turns 4 this month, and over the last few years, we’ve seen a sharp increase in the number of people who download Podcasts. Podcasting is a relatively new technology in the world of digital media, allowing anyone from individuals in their mother’s basement to big movie studios to post an audio or video file to the internet in such a way that it is automatically downloaded by those who “subscribe” to that podcast. Now perhaps that lengthly explanation wasn't necessary, but, like I said, this is relatively new technology. Only four years ago this month, the word “podcast” had yet to be uttered. Today, about 19% of internet users have downloaded a podcast to enjoy it later, and they have literally thousands to choose from. While 19% may not seem very impressive, it's likely to keep going up and up as the medium gains momentum. What does this mean for your business?

    Whether you're a hospital looking to rise above the sea of healthcare marketing going on around you, or a retailer wondering how to make use of interactive media in your retail marketing, or the guardian of an aging brand wondering how to reach out to a younger generation with your brand strategy, podcasting might be for you.

    It just so happens I'm listening to a podcast right now. There's a show on NPR I'm never around a radio to hear live, but that I can download as a podcast. Not only has this allowed me to enjoy this programming I'd otherwise miss, but it has led me to audition some other NPR programming as well, exposing me to their sponsoring companies, even to consider making a donation!

    Think of the other great ways to engage potential customers with this medium. You could feature company news or new products in a weekly or monthly podcast. Talk about exciting new hires or technologies at your hospital. Does your product really shine when it's in use? Produce a video podcast showing your ingredient being cooked with, your product being tested for durability, your product being used in innovative ways, or how it compares to the competition. A podcast is also a great way to create a "culture" around your brand. For example, you might be a beverage manufacturer, which has nothing to do with music, but you know your customer base tends to like a certain kind of music. Produce a weekly podcast featuring up-and-coming artists you think your customers should know about. They'd soon come to see your brand as "in touch" with who they are, helping you stay top-of-mind for sure.

    These are just a few ideas off the top of my head. But at Meyer & Wallis, that's NEVER how we actually do advertising. Our creative marketing strategies are grounded in what we believe to be the best research and planning in the industry. And with new media like podcasting, it's still possible to do something no marketer has done before. Imagine what a "first" like that could do for a brand. We do. All the time.

    So, remember the iPhone? The gadget that few of us need but almost all of us want? Especially in the just-released 3G version, mobile “extras” like web browsing and email support are better integrated and more robust than on any other device.

    It is into this market that New York upstart Peek thinks they can throw a new winner. Their about-to-be-released mobile device has a nice, bright screen, full QWERTY keyboard, and is easy to set up with virtually any email carrier. And... that’s it. No web. No voicemail. No voice, in fact—it’s not a phone. It's just a wireless email reader.

    Now, I would have guessed that, back in the day, when the light bulb was introduced, natural gas and kerosene lamp suppliers immediately understood that their days were numbered and hoped to find some kind of niche market where their products could survive. But, in fact, the opposite happened. They refined their products and introduced new features, hoping to compete with the newer, superior technology. Of course, it didn’t work. And neither will the Peep.

    Objectively, the Peep is probably a solid little device, that does what it claims better than most consumer mobile phones with limited data capabilities. But the problem is so do BlackBerrys, smartphones and iPhones, only they do more. If there is any market left for a wireless device that only checks email, it can only get smaller. (Those of you who still have a pager may disagree.)

    At Meyer & Wallis, we believe many unsuccessful products are actually decent products that are poorly marketed. Peep needed a brand strategy that introduced them in a way that didn't compete with smartphones, since that's not what they are. A better brand strategy would have been to find a NEW market whose need they could meet. But, with their current retail marketing strategy, this may well be the first and last you hear of Peep.