| |
 |
 |
 |
|
Welcome to the first, hot-off-the-server issue of EP, the SicolaMartin e-newsletter. It’s another way to let you know what’s happening at the agency, with our clients, in the industry, and around Austin and the Lone Star State. As a monthly newsletter, EP offers an extended play of our work. Like an EP record or CD, our newsletter gives you a condensed version of content you may not find anywhere else. As always, we encourage your feedback as we continue to shape and develop the information you want most.
And speaking of extended plays—Hook’em Horns! Congratulations on winning the greatest game in college bowl history. I was there and there’s no question it was the greatest game of all time … at least in my lifetime.
Here’s another exciting development: In the spirit of the New Year, we’ve redesigned the SicolaMartin Web site. It’s been a long time in the (re)making, and we’re pretty excited about it. Check it out!
Tom and I wish all of you a safe, fun and successful 2006, and we hope you enjoy your first issue of EP.
It’s a great day to be alive,
Steve
|
|
|
Seagate Technology, for being named Company of the Year by Forbes!
Our own Diane McKinnon, for winning the SicolaMartin Three-I’d Martian award! It’s our Employee of the Year award for individuals who’ve shown incredible innovation, inspiration and initiative. For all her hard work, Diane gets a trip of her choice, plus one extra week of vacation in 2006. Congratulations, Diane!
|
|
|
|
 |
|
IT Grabs Center Stage at CES 2006, by Pete Hayes
I used to tire quickly of COMDEX in Las Vegas. The crowds. The lines. The labyrinth of exhibit halls. I was afraid the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) would follow the same path. But this year’s CES offered an incredible, optimistic view of great things to come.
Every year, CES focuses more on information technology—and for good reason. The explosive growth in consumer electronics depends heavily on IT to digitize, connect and store the data these devices rely on. And the consumer demand for portability and convenience is driving this growth. Think of the iTunes infrastructure, for example. Or Google, which has 100,000 servers. Imagine the storage capacity of huge Seagate drives in your TiVo or a new Blu-ray Disc format which will quickly replace today’s DVDs. As a whole, consumer electronics are pushing exponentially higher bandwidth, processing and storage requirements. And the traditional IT companies (such as Oracle, Sybase, HP, IBM, AMD and BMC Software) are critical to building and managing the infrastructure that makes all these incredible technologies work together.
I can’t wait to see what’s around the corner. Next year, I’m staying at CES one more day. At least.
Get the full recap from the CNET Best of CES 2006
|
|
|
Advertising in China
So, you want to market your business in China? Before you even start concepting your ad campaign, you should know about the Advertisement Law of the PRC (People’s Republic of China). In fact, don’t just read it. Eat it. Breathe it. Take it to bed with you. Trust us on this one, because what you don’t know may send more than a few creatives back to the drawing board (or reaching for the tequila bottle).
One important thing to remember is that every ad released in this market must be approved first by Chinese censors. And, of course, getting approvals can take a while—so factor it into your production schedules. But as we learned, with a lot of patience, a little finesse and some local experience (we enlisted the assistance of the Beijing office of our network partner, Mediaedge:cia to help us navigate the Chinese media markets and ensure excellent placement), anything’s possible.
Speaking of which, here’s an ad Sybase successfully ran in China.
|
|
|
|
The best breakfast tacos in Austin
Potato. Egg. Bacon. Chorizo. Sausage. Cheese. Cilantro. Whatever you put in your breakfast taco, here are some of the best places to get ’em:
|
|
Maria’s Taco Express
2529 South Lamar
(512) 444-0261
Mi Madre’s
2201 Manor Road
(512) 322-9721
Curras
614 East Oltorf Street
(512) 444-0012
|
Whole Foods
550 Bowie Street
(512) 542-2200
Hickory Street Bar and Grill
800 Congress Avenue
(512) 477-8968
|
|
|
|
|
