Thursday, September 20, 2007

Creative Ideas Don't Always Work

When Brian P. Tierney, the new chief executive of Philadelphia Media Holdings proposed to place two giant billboards and an inflatable giant bee by the newspaper’s landmark building to advertise the upcoming new “Bee Movie”, the neighbors strongly objected.

In The New York Times article, “No Bees on the Inquirer”, Pradnya Joshi notes that the new CEO received no complaints from staff.

Since his start with the Philadelphia Inquirer and the Philadelphia Daily News, Tierney has been encouraging his staff to be more creative with promotions. He has proposed to sponsor the first national sudoku championship and has raised the marketing budget from $300,000 to $14 million.

But his proposal for the movie promotion really offended neighbors who believe in respecting the historical landmark.

Innovation is not always embraced when you’re building a stronger business.

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