If you visit the site regularly, you probably know me, Julian (though you may not understand what he’s talking about unless you’re a hardcore Flash geek expert) and occaisonally you hear from Sean.  But unless you’ve met him, you probably don’t know much about Mike Burns - the pulsating brain of the Fuelhive, and the man we call “Mike.”

OneDegree.ca - one of the best Canadian marketing sites out there, recently posted a short interview with Mr. Burns and you can read it at: http://www.onedegree.ca/2006/09/13/5-questions-for…

As we revamp, I’ll be posting more articles like this about my fellow Fuellians, so you can see some of the faces that are behind the projects we pump out.

In the most recent edition of Marketing Magazine, Tony Alitilia, CEO of Toronto agency Downtown Partners has a piece that hits very close to home for anyone who is in the position of receiving resumes from would-be ad workers. 

In the piece he talks about getting resumes addressed to the wrong person, mentioning their respect for the wrong agency and riddled with spelling errors.  This, it should come as no surprise to find out, is not the best way to get a job in the industry.

Since we’re hriing on all cyllinders here, we feel his pain.

His advice to those trying to break in?  Remember that you’re a brand, and that it’s your job to sell yourself to the person who would theoretically be hiring you.  Don’t hide behind email for the first point of contact - get creative, send in a package, and impress the person on the other end.  And when it’s an unsolicited package - don’t ask them to call you.  You’ll call them.

All good advice - and I would add the following:

1. Don’t seem crazy.  We’ve gotten cover letters that read more like subpoenaed diaries of convicted serial killers than requests for employment.  Try to avoid that.
2. Don’t pretend you know me.  You don’t.  Be friendly, but being overly familliar is a turn-off.
3. Network.  It really is all about who you know.  Join ihaveanidea.org, go to networking events, and meet the people you need to meet.  Don’t be a sychophant though… nobody likes that.

Of course, this probably isn’t going to stop the terrible submissions from coming in, because why would you read the corporate blog of the place you’re trying to get hired at?  Hopefully, though, it will at least point the good candidates in a better direction.

Okay, I promise that I won’t spend ALL of my time here tooting our own horn, but I couldn’t resist sharing this latest press clipping from The Phoenix. 

In his Rec Room column, Mitch Krpata talks about the trend toward promoting major entertainment properties online with games that tie in the personality of the show.  In the article he mentions that most of these games are lukewarm, but specifically mentions American Dad vs. Family Guy and Dead Man’s Hand as examples that stick out from the pack.

Whether you love Family Guy or hate it, you’ll probably agree that the game is exactly as funny as the show.

It’s nice to be appreciated.

We’re finally taking some time to ourselves and doing what we’ve been too busy to do for some time now - updating our website!  A major part of that will be the development and expansion of our current blog, plus the addition of a lot of new features on branded entertainment, advergaming and the future of advertising.

So, I’m reaching out to you, dear readers, to tell me what you want to see from the newly-revamped and sexy blog.  What do you want to hear from us?  Is it industry statistics, discussion of the industry, hilarious anecdotes about who got drunk and embarassed themselves at the last staff party? 

I’d love to hear your input - leave a comment, or if you’re too shy, email me at randerson at fuelindustries dot-com. 

Let the conversation begin, etc.!

Being the egomaniacs we are, it’s always exciting to see mentions of Fuel in the news - especially when the stories don’t involve arrests for public indecency.  If you’re an advertising geek like myself and happen to read most of the industry publications, you would have seen our names a couple of times this week.

First, in OMMA Magazine, we were interviewed for a piece by Larry Dobrow called “Where the guys are” about marketing to men online.  In what is possibly my favourite quote ever, Sean says:

“Reaching them isn’t really harder, but it is different. Advertisers and media buyers may actually have to think a little for a change. Instead, they talk about ‘the hard-to-reach 18-to-24-year-old male’ like they’re narrating a National Geographic documentary about a mutant gazelle.”

It’s nice to have a PR job where you can let spokespeople say WHATEVER HAPPENS TO POP INTO THEIR HEAD AT THE TIME.

Mike was also interviewed for a piece on advergaming for Brandweek (sub. req.). 

“It is advertising that can engage people for 10 to 15 minutes,” said Mike Burns, Fuel Games’ CEO.  “We’re moving away from the 30-second stop and toward the birth of the 600-second spot.”

Both articles featured American Dad vs. Family Guy Kung Fu, which is always a crowd-pleaser.  Things like this show up online all the time, but there’s something satisfying about seeing your name on the physical page.  Maybe there’s something to this whole “print media” fad afterall.

Filed Under: PR Guy justifying his own position.