I first blogged about the Apple iPhone and the new approach they were taking with AT&T last year. There wasn't much more than a small AT&T logo at the top of the screen to indicate the network. Apple owned the experience and the customer. Customers were paying for the phones in addition to about $20 per month in data access and a voice plan. Things seemed to be working well.

I walked by the Apple store in SF a day before the new 3G version went on sale. There was only one person lined up.  When I walked by the SF store on day #4, however, there were probably 50 or 60 people in line - and this was AFTER Apple and AT&T announced they had already sold one million. I walked by the Apple Store near Central Park on day #10 and there were still police gates to contain what seemed to be more than 100 people still in line. I walked by the same store on day #12, and there was a sign posted out front that said "3G iPhones are not available. Please check online for store availability." So, the line I saw a couple of days before wasn't just Europeans taking advantage of the strong Euro to buy iPods. The device seems to be gaining in popularity as more people get it.

I knew the $199 price tag was attractive, but I thought the $30 per month in data charges alone would slow down registrations. At Jupiter, we've always maintained that consumers will pay for good experiences and that consumers don't simply expect everything for free.

[Posted by Laura Ramos]

I dug Dave Taber’s latest newsletter edition about “The Life of a Lead”.  I mean, I really “Dugg It”.  The article includes a link to digg.com, so I clicked it, registered, and voted for his document. Not simply because I like his ideas, but because I want to experience the “wisdom of crowds” firsthand and see how communal voting might apply to B2B marketing.

Eh, whatever it takes, I guess.

Two cups of McDonald’s iced coffee (BUY!) sit on the Fox 5 TV news desk, a punch-you-in-the-face product placement (BUY!) to chase down your morning news.

I chuckled more at the Las Vegas Sun's coverage than at the NY Times'. But the Times revealed a bunch of "sinners": Meredith, Tribune, Fox, and Univision.

[Posted by Steven Noble]

Most interactive agencies owe their success to their tenacity, not strategy.

The cornerstone of strategy is focus, and that involves knowing how to say "no". For example:

• "We only bid for integrated marketing campaigns, as our main strength is our diverse workforce which allows us to work across marketing disciplines"

• "Our priority is winning simple, repeatable, web development projects because that allows us to be the cheapest local vendor in this market"

• "We've walked away from most government and B2B work, because our business is built on creativity and consumer marketers are willing to pay for it"

Offering anything to anyone can be a strategy  — but only if you turn every service into a product, drive inefficiency out of every process, and say "no" to personal service. That doesn't sound like many interactive agencies to me.