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Social media, specifically some well-publicized “hacks” on the Twitter accounts of Burger King and Jeep have made the news in the last few days. Oh, and in case you missed it, HMV, a British electronics company laid off about 100 people last month. Normally a layoff such as this would not make the news. But this one did because a rogue employee tweeted the layoff – live – all of the details – as it was unfolding. It seems that

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I suppose it started on my first job at Suburban Animal Hospital, cleaning cages. At age 14 there I was cleaning cat crap! Nothing smells as bad as cat crap today for me. I hated doing it! But a funny thing happened over time. I realized that I would rather be cleaning cat crap than sitting at home doing nothing. I enjoyed the folks around me and learned a ton from the office manager.  Later at one of the countless

I am pleased to announce that Washington DC’s hottest creative has joined SmithGifford. I am beyond speechless about the joy we feel having Bill around. He is a wonderful spirit and brings a great energy to the work and workplace. Even Ruby is happy! OK, that’s the unofficial announcement. Here is the crafted release with all the cool stuff that he has done!
FALLS CHURCH, VA, February 11, 2013 – SmithGifford, a top ten, award winning advertising agency in the…

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Last night I spent 5 hours watching the new “House Of Cards” show on Netflix. First. WOW, second, wow2, I had no idea I could stay tuned into something that long. Then I realized that I watch stuff this way now. Entire seasons of Walking Dead on AMC in day. And as I ask around, I am not alone. Turns out it’s called binge Watching!  So, I was thinking, if folks are sitting down and watching an entire day of

Did you catch Matt yesterday on the Washington Business Report with Rebecca Cooper? Matt gives his take on this year’s ads for the Big Game. Unfortunately, one of the best moments of the spot was edited out. You’ll have to tweet us for details.

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Here we go again, the big pre release of  super bowl ads. I hate it! So you ask, why? You are in advertising, don’t you want to build hype? “Come on Matt, we got over a bazillion hits on youtube before the ad even ran”. What the hell I say! Why not do that quality advertising all year around. Why just one event? Maybe consumers would pay attention to your ads if they liked them all year long!  The part

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For the past 2 years, SmithGifford has “adopted” a family in need for Christmas. Given the events of the past few days, it seems even more important to give to those who need it the most. After our staff meeting this morning, we wrapped all the presents and will deliver them later today. It makes you feel a little, no make that a LOT better to extend the hand of love and make someone’s day a little brighter.
Happy holidays

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Like Black Friday, Cyber Monday is now ingrained in our national psyche. It’s the day when millions of American workers shirk their work responsibilities to shop online. Why, because back in “the day,” online retailers, not to be outdone by traditional brick and mortar establishments offered their own specials to entice customers to shop online. Back in the day, connection speeds were much faster at the office. Back in the day, we only had dial-up, or DSL if you were

The Washington Business Journal honored 25 incredible women, all local leaders in the greater Washington DC business community, last week at their annual “Women Who Mean Business” 2012…. SmithGifford’s own, Karen Riordan was among those honored.
I know Karen would say that she was both humbled and honored to be included with such an amazing group of local business leaders, who just happen to be women. But for those of us here at SmithGifford who work with her every

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There’s a saying that goes something like, “Market research is a lot like sausage; if you knew what goes into it, you wouldn’t want to eat it.”
The same can be said apparently about political polls that predict the outcome of one candidate over another. In last week’s presidential election, every pundit on the right (and a few in the middle and even on the left), predicted a Romney victory. Their “proof?” They cited their own research and polling data