Condé Nast Portfolio
Highlights
Buying Chanel (All of It)
The Ethanol Industrial Complex
Culture Clash
Brought to You by Them
The Hard Sell
When Hummer decided to release it’s longest ever vehicle this fall, I realized this would be one of the hardest sells ever. How would an advertising or communications agency successfully sell the new version of this icon of excess? So I asked four agencies to give it a whirl for the December issue. Here’s what they came up with.
Wilbur’s Way
Who better to advise on getting through this financial crisis, then turnaround king Wilbur Ross? With the hope his advice could turnaround personal fortunes, I asked him for insights that could apply to those of us who don’t necessarily have a billion in the bank. Here’s what he said…
Disappearing Acts
The uplifting slogans of faltered financial institutions now simply ring of irony. A few of the most memorable were featured in the December issue.
Activist Icahn Wants to Shake Up Education, Too
In the November 2008 issue of Condé Nast Portfolio, I contributed to a package on the philanthropy of America’s wealthiest individuals. I interviewed shareholder activist Carl Icahn about his position on the country’s education system.
Anonymous—Not!
Another element to the philanthropy package was a piece about anonymous giving. I examined how to figure out the names behind some of the biggest and most mysterious gifts.
The Felon Factor
Also included in the package was a look at what happens when famous donors fall out of grace à la the Kenneth L. Lay Chair of Economics at the University of Missouri and Kozlowski Hall at Seton Hall University. This links to a slide show based on the story.
Zucker’s Big Bets
To accompany Karl Taro Greenfeld’s cover story about NBC for the September 2008 issue of Condé Nast Portfolio, I asked ad buyers to handicap NBC’s biggest gambles for its fall prime-time line up.
What Happens in Darfur
In the July 2008 issue of Condé Nast Portfolio, I looked at how Olympic sponsors were responding to the issue of human rights abuses.
Buying Chanel (All of It)
A handful of investment bankers to helped me make a back-of-the-envelope calculation as to how much the luxury goods company may actually be worth for the June 2008 issue.
Mad Woman
For a feature in the March 2008 issue of Condé Nast Portfolio, I spoke with Shelly Lazarus, longtime C.E.O. of ad giant Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide, about the firm’s recent management shuffle, China, Tivo and the art of letting clients go. Watch accompanying video here!
A $2.3 Billion Bombshell
Also for the March 2008 issue, I illustrated who won and who lost when AT&T consolidated its massive $2.3 billion media budget at a single media planning and buying company.
Facing the Music
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s induction ceremony held in March has been an A-list industry event. But the museum it funds can’t attract visitors. What gives?
Campaign Finance
For the same issue, I also contributed to a look at how much the presidential front-runners were projected to spend in comparison to what a few major ad campaigns cost.
The Gossip Girl Challenge
In the January 2008 issue, I assessed how two-year-old TV network, the CW, was performing. Was it better than the sum of its parts, UPN and the WB, as CBS chief Les Moonves had predicted? Not really.
The Golden Tchotchke
For the December 2007 issue, I helped compile a list of the kitschy foreign-made tie-ins that New Line Cinema would be pushing for its holiday film, The Golden Compass. This link leads you to an interactive feature based on the original piece.
Culture Clash
To primp for its reopening, the New Museum of Contemporary Art tapped a top branding agency. But art and advertising don’t always mix, as I found reporting this piece for Condé Nast Portfolio‘s November 2007 issue.
The Discard Pile
As a companion piece to Culture Clash, I displayed a few rejected branding concepts for the museum.
The Ethanol Industrial Complex
I took a bird’s eye view of the ethanol industry just in time for a record corn harvest. The link above will take you to the interactive web feature that accompanied the November 2007 print edition.
No Accounting for Talent
How do MacArthur geniuses spend their $500,000 prize? For the October 2007 issue, I revealed what a few winners from the class of 2002 did with their winnings. Click on the link for the interactive version of the piece.
Rise and Be Counted
I dissected the evolution of the Consumer Price Index and examined trends in inflation for the October 2007 issue. Click here for a graphic version of the piece.
Molto Mario
For the Nintendo Wii console, the game maker produced more Mario-themed games in a one-year period than any other Nintendo franchise ever. This piece was also included in the October 2007 issue.
Get a Job
For the September 2007 issue, I examined the accuracy, history and significance of the unemployment rate.
Monday Morning Economist
Just in time for the start of the new season, I exposed Fox Sports’ budget including everything from the cost of employee meals at games to its CableCam over-field camera.
Chrysler’s Bumpy Ride
I contributed a history of Chrysler for Daniel Roth’s September 2007 cover story about the carmaker’s purchase by Cerberus Capital.
Brought to You by Them
For the premier issue of the magazine, and in time for the May upfronts, the annual shopping spree in which advertisers pick the network shows that will get their money, I introduced readers to five of the biggest spenders.
You’ve Got Fatalgrams
For the debut issue, I also delved into coalmine safety. In spite of new safety regulations, U.S. mining deaths in 2006 were the highest since 1995. The link above will take you to the interactive web feature that accompanied the print edition.
The Goldenest Parachutes
Also for the first issue, I contributed to a piece that highlighted some of the largest golden parachutes. The link above will take you to the interactive web feature that accompanied the print edition.