Jonathan Salem Baskin's Page

I just received a viral email in which my name appears in a faux news report as a write-in buzz candidate for President of the United States. It's pretty slick and very funny, actually, especially when the reporter interviews an...

If you ever wondered if the medium really was the message, you should tune into Fox Business. The experience is content-neutral, in that the programming provides no insights, makes no headlines, and doesn't really add anything to your understanding, let...

I'm regularly impressed by the brand marketing acumen of local businesses. It must have something to do with their size -- perhaps smaller, more collaborative and integrated management than larger companies -- or their hands-on accountability for sales results. Take...

Anheuser-Busch last week rejected InBev's acquisition offer, and ran a full-page newspaper ad to explain why. It seems that its brand is just too valuable. I counted 11 mentions of brand (or iconic brand, more often) in August A. Busch...

I just received junk mail entitled "The Reality Report: Quarterly Observations on the Latest Degradations," nominally published by a special interest group called Up With Cavemen. Of course, it's part of the branding campaign from Geico Insurance. The two-sided piece...