The year was 1988. America was watching the Huxtables and listening to INXS, bracing themselves for what Guns N’ Roses would bring. Shoulder padded suits, acid washed jeans and Aqua Net rounded out the remainder of the day. The face of advertising stood in simple and archaic terms by today’s standards. Then, graffiti was used for gang messages and political protest by West Germans, not yet discovered as powerful a branding tool.

Specialty advertising was reserved for mesh hats, t-shirts, and neon water bottles. Media buyers chose paper or airwaves. Guerilla tactics involved hiding in trees. The Internet was a classified military operation. And the little Italian plumber who jumped out of pipes and into our hearts to save Princess Peach was more powerful than any of the wizards and warriors online today.

Today, the world of advertising has turned from a desolate wasteland with sparse brands wielding dominance to an overgrown jungle of brand imagery fighting tooth and nail to survive. Twenty years has shrunk the outside world to the size of a Blackberry where mass communication is handled by the masses through blogs, text messaging, and viewer created content. Our search for the next big idea resides in the quest for the next YouTube smash. Age and location demographics mean less than the psychographics we use to unlock the secrets of commerce.

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Baby Johnson Has Arrived!

Absolute Marketing Group presents the newest member of the team, Andrew (Drew) David Johnson. Born Tuesday, May 6th at 5:31 p.m., Drew's birth weight and length was 8 pounds 1 ounce and 21 inches. Congratulations to proud parents Andrew and Cassondra Johnson!

5 New Ways to Advertise That Were Not Available 20 Years Ago

1. Social Networking. Anything from Facebook to Twitter to YouTube. If you don't know what these are, look them up on Wikipedia or Google them. Using these media outlets is a great way to connect with your audience/clients on an avante garde or personal level of marketing.

2. HTML Emails are an easy way to regularly connect with your faithful clients, with a ROI that's unbeatable.

3. Blogs. (Almost) everyone has one, even though the word 'blog' wasn't even coined twenty years ago. Nowadays, some people make their living writing them. Using them as a marketing tool for your business is all the rage.

4. Podcasts and Streaming Video. Do you have audio or video languishing in analog land? Now it's easy to convert these to digital and use them on your website or add them to YouTube.

5. Websites. Hard to believe, but websites haven't been around that long either, and most businesses now have one.

Hunters. Taxadermists. Wall-mount Enthusiasts.

Absolute Marketing Group is looking for a Jack-a-lope head mount to help keep employee esteem high. Mounts must be made of genuine materials such as a jackrabbit head with antelope horns. Absolute Marketing Group is well aware of the elusiveness of this creature and will negotiate a fair rate for the head mount. Other mythical creature mounts such as griffins, Yeti, hydra or mermaids will be considered for this office morale booster. (Mermaid mounts must include torso and fin to ensure authenticity.) Please send any photos or offers to Absolute Marketing Group 819 30th Ave S Suite 103 Moorhead,MN 56560 or e-mail jason@absolutemg.com No unicorns please.

Upcoming Events

June 11 • Noon 4th Annual West Fargo Area Chamber Golf Tournament Expo at Maple River Golf Course
June 18 • 5:15pm FM Chamber YPN Happy Hour at Plains Art Museum in Fargo
June 19 • 11:30am 6 Degrees of Networking at Best Western Kelly Inn & Suites
June 23 • 11:30am 2008 GOLFEROO at Moorhead Country Club
June 26 • Noon Noon Networking at Usher's House in Moorhead