Category Archive

When the Marlin crew found out our quarterly meeting was going to be at the Springfield Nature Center, we were pretty excited. The chance to venture out of our offices and see this thing called daylight? Yes, please.

When the big day arrived, after a couple of minutes of disorientation (that sunlight stuff is bright), we made our way to the beautiful Nature Center and learned all about what was going on with all the different facets of the Marlin Network. It was, as always, a blast to see everyone and all of the great work they’re doing.

Of course, it just wouldn’t be a Marlin meeting without a little surprise. And what’s more surprising than a auditorium full of snakes?!

Okay, we may be exaggerating when we say “an auditorium full” (it was more like one or two) and the exclamation point was totally uncalled for, but come on—there were snakes! And in answer to the question we know is on the tip of your tongue, we’re not sure why it had to be snakes.

It was actually a lot of fun though. We learned a lot, got a delicious sack lunch—provided by Food IQ—and at the end, everyone got to pet the snake.

You heard us.

We at Marlin decided to start a new tradition this Easter. It’s called “Barely keep the office from burning down by smelling the smoke caused by a short in a bathroom fan.”

Thanks to the sensational olfactory sense of Marlin’s own Sherry Schellack, and what we can only assume was divine Easter Bunny intervention, we were able to avoid a major catastrophe this weekend. Sherry just happened to be in the office on Sunday when she smelled smoke coming from the woman’s bathroom. At that point, we would have run around in circles screaming at the top of our lungs, but she was able to keep cool and get the fire department on the scene within minutes. Luckily, the fire was taken care of before Marlin reduced to little more than a pile of ashes for us to park our cars on this morning.

Now, we know what you’re thinking: “Hey Marlin, what are you, some kind of calamity magnet?”

First of all, that’s Mr. Marlin to you. Second, you can’t magnetize a calamity. No one has the technology. All in all a very poorly worded question we assume you asked, but we’ll answer it anyway.

Between the flood and the fire, we’ve considered almost every possible explanation for our recent run of bad luck. So far, we’ve concluded that the fire was either a separate event, featuring arson-happy bunnies, or that evil Tiki Statue we brought back from Hawaii on our last family vacation is to blame for everything.

Either way, we’re pretty sure we’ve become an insurance company’s worst nightmare. It seems to be one natural disaster after another. Who knows what’s next. Do you think insurance covers swarms of locusts?

More importantly, did you even know we had a sister agency? It’s true. Though the fine folks at deep are maybe less like family and more like great co-workers who, I don’t know, work in a building about a mile south of Marlin. Yep, that’s what they’re like.

So they’ve got a blog, these fine deep people. And it’s funny. There are Cosby sweaters and Garfields and more Cosby sweaters and various abuses of John Rutkowski’s head.

So go. Enjoy. And while you’re there, ask them what the hell thetangibleintangible means. But you should probably wear a hat or something, because it might just blow your mind!

Welch’s has decided to tap into one more sense with their newest advertisement. The new ‘TASTY fact’ ads will feature a huge bottle of the juice and contain a strip that peels off the back with text that reads: “For a TASTY fact, remove & LICK.”

Sure, if it’s published in a magazine it’s fine, but when we say it in an alley we’re perverts.

We’re all for innovative ways of getting customers interested in a product and we’ve been trying to corner the market on consumers who are willing to lick the inside of a magazine for years, but what if this trend catches on? It’s only a matter of time until we open a magazine to find a tasty ad for engine oil. Or maybe paint. Or kitty litter.

Those are probably enough examples.

Some say that in stimulating this untapped sense, this ad may be trying too hard. We say it’s not trying hard enough. We at Marlin have begun development on an ad that will stimulate all five senses. It will look beautiful, smell like flowers and have the sounds of nature to relax the consumer; then–BAM!–it slaps them in the head with our branded product. Of course, you’ll be able to taste the page as well. It will taste like ink and paper but we’ll just make sure it’s an ad for Office Depot or something. And the best part is that consumers have the product’s name embedded in their foreheads for days. Ad victims will be walking around town and everyone they meet will be reminded that they need paper, pens or toner.

The ads are definitely going to stick out in the minds of consumers. You’ll get your chance in February’s issue of People Magazine to decide whether that’s a good or bad thing.

The School Nutrition Association’s Annual National Conference continues in Chicago today. Pinnacle Foods—representing some of the most well-known U.S. consumer brands like Aunt Jemima, Vlasic and Lender’s in foodservice and, of course, one of our clients—is doing a little something different at this year’s show. Pinnacle will be serving up the winning recipes from its Aunt Jemima Morning Stars recipe contest. Prepared by Chef Rob Corliss, the winning recipes all feature an Aunt Jemima® breakfast favorite like French Toast Sticks, Whole Grain Pancakes or Waffles, and were created by school foodservice operators specifically for school foodservice. Check back for actual photos of actual recipes being prepared by an actual chef.

Incidentally, the keynote speakers at this year’s ANC seem like a wildly mixed bunch: energetic life coach (is there any other kind?) Keith Harrell; “Body by Jake” Jake Steinfeld (check out this link…you actually can build your own Body By Jake); Marta Sahagún de Fox, wife of Mexico’s former President Vicente Fox Quesada; and Walter Scheib, chef to America’s President and the First Family for the past 11 years. (What does W. like for lunchies?)

Michael Stelzer and Todd Carroll, agency President and Controller, respectively, attended an agency management seminar in Dallas entitled “What Separates the Best from the Rest.” (And apparently, it’s not just rakishly good looks.)

Tim Williams, a thought leader in agency management principles, shared key insights and practices that drive successful agencies. Michael’s take: “I’m reminded of how important insights are. And once established, how the creative thread is critical throughout every discipline and medium. When we live this, we become more valuable in more ways to our clients.”

Tim Williams can be found at www.ignitiongroup.com.

Account Supervisor Jessica Wright attended the 2007 Women’s Foodservice Forum in Orlando this past week. One of the premier industry conferences, the WFF features unique content and networking opportunities not available anywhere else in the industry. According to Jessica, “It was an incredible experience. There were over 3,000 WFF members there, which was a little overwhelming, estrogen-wise.”

Our 12,000 sq. ft. office is now officially renovated. For the past four months or so, we’ve been living in a construction zone, remodeling to accommodate all the fresh new faces coming in the door. The interior design was handled by Buxton-Kubik-Dodd of Springfield, MO, and construction was expertly carried out by The Howard Bailey Company. The renovation reflects Marlin’s commitment to growth as well as the importance of a creative environment as an extension of our unique culture.