Oops. I spent too much money on clothes again. I’m a budget-er in training. I (and I would assume many others) realize that my dollar doesn’t go as far as it used to, which means I either need to take on a second job, make the money I currently have work harder, or use my current income smarter. Given that I work in advertising, I’m not sure I’d be able to fit another job into my schedule and since I don’t have much money yet to work hard for me, I’ve decided that I need to use my current income smarter. Thankfully, I’ve discovered that there are numerous financial tools available to help me in my goal (tools to manage my credit card, my checking account, loans or all of the above) and almost all of them can be accessed through my mobile phone (which I love).

There are quite a few financial tools to choose from. Some tools that I really like are[...]

It is not an innovative concept: commercials have been using sports references in the hopes of holding sports fans’ attention season after season. However, the Southwest Airlines campaign “It’s The Right Call” stands out as one of our favorites. Their goofy football commercials quickly and forcefully express that they have not jumped on the “charge for extras” bandwagon that has left travelers feeling cheated. Here at Luminosity, we love saving money and we love that bags fly free. With the rise of travel deal sites, such as Living Social Escapes and Jetsetter, charges for baggage fees from other airline services could easily surpass the cost of a ticket. We also love that Southwest has eliminated change fees. And with most major U.S. airlines now trying to cut financial corners by charging extras, Southwest offers a breath of fresh, free air. This concept differentiates them from competitors. Our competitive analysis has not seen any other airlines that choose not to take advantage of easy profitable customer fees.[...]

<a href="http://luminositymarketing.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Picture21.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-6380" title="Picture2" src="http://luminositymarketing.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Picture21.jpg" alt="" width="703" height="496" /></a>

Once upon a time, in a far away land called New Haven, CT, there lived a man who would revolutionize the way analysts of all breeds communicate data. A colleague from my past introduced me to <a href="http://www.edwardtufte.com/tufte/" target="_blank">Edward Tufte</a> (hereafter: ET, his self-proclaimed nickname) several years ago. ET is on a mission to make the world a better place, one chart at a time. Specifically: he has developed a philosophy toward design that seeks to maximize the flow of complicated sets of information from the medium (design space) to the end user (you and me).

When I saw that ET would be teaching a workshop here in NYC, I jumped on it. I was (mistakenly) under the impression that ET was singularly a master of jamming as much information into a single chart as intelligibly possible. After all–who wouldn't want to pick up a few good templates to add to the reporting arsenal? While we certainly learned tactical approaches to designing data outputs, ET conveyed a much richer appreciation and respect for the process of translating data into visual displays.<a href="http://luminositymarketing.com/blog/?p=6375 ">[...]</a>

For years, Amazon has been giving customers book recommendations based on past purchases and recently viewed items. The only problem is that these recommendations have been woefully inadequate and frequently absurd. “Your recommendation: Bossypants by Tina Fey because you recently purchased: The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest.” Really?

So I’ve been picking new books to read like I always did before online retail: through friends or other trusted sources. But now there is a website called Goodreads.com with a book algorithm that actually makes useful recommendations! To be honest, the site has been around since 2006, but I have only heard of it recently and am now addicted. By quickly rating a bunch of books you’ve read or want to read, the algorithm can piece together surprisingly accurate suggestions. It is also a useful tool if, like me, you are constantly writing book titles on scraps of paper and losing them, and want to keep a master list of [...]

Our newest obsession here at Luminosity is Turntable.fm, a social music site that has connected the office on a whole new level. According to AdAge, the site has gained more than 400,000 users in just two months. It allows members to join a specific “room,” many of which feature different music styles, and everyone has the opportunity to create an avatar that “spins” music from the DJ booth. Listeners hanging out in the room can rate song selections along the spectrum ‘Lame’ to ‘Awesome,’ allowing for direct interaction. The Luminosity team has been using the site to bond over a shared love of music, learn about new artists, and, occasionally, tease each other over music picks (a country cover of “Oops I Did It Again”–really, was that necessary?!).

Turntable.fm is yet another example of the changing landscape of digital music. A recent Nielsen study shows [...]

<a href="http://luminositymarketing.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/screenshot20110529at70109pm.png"><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-5129" title="screenshot20110529at70109pm" src="http://luminositymarketing.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/screenshot20110529at70109pm.png" alt="" width="266" height="314" /></a>Recently, I stumbled upon a website that really caught my attention. The website, DearPhotograph.com is one of the latest hits to reach the online world. It features people taking pictures of themselves holding up old photographs in the same spot. Underneath each photograph, the individual posts a caption, which are the real kickers. They are wide ranging, from very sentimental captions to light-heartened ones. Yet, the impact that all of these posts have on viewers is truly profound. <a href="http://luminositymarketing.com/blog/?p=5128 ">[...]</a>

<img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-4869" src="http://luminositymarketing.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/logo-soundcloud.png" alt="" width="200" height="200" />Yesterday SoundCloud reached 5 million registered users, and it is quickly becoming an alternative to MySpace for artists to distribute music online. I first found out about SoundCloud through a DJ friend who uploads her mixes for self-promotion. The songs are placed on the embedded player, most of them fifteen to twenty minutes long. At any point in the music, users can place the cursor over the clip and add a comment. For example, if my friend had mixed in a nice-sounding wobble or bass drop, I could place my comment at the exact time of the drop. <a href="http://luminositymarketing.com/blog/?p=4860">[...]</a>

<img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-4671" src="http://luminositymarketing.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/subaru-club-2-300×199.jpg" alt="" width="225" height="150" />When <a href="http://www.subaru.com/index.html" target="_blank">Subaru</a> launched its love campaign two years ago, I can't say I was well…in love with it. It just seemed generic after its long-running and distinctive "The Beauty of All-Wheel Drive" campaign which got to the essence of the Subaru advantage; that every model has all wheel drive and therefore all weather and all road capabilities. But the new love campaign seemed like an uninspired copy of the McDonald's campaign that I still am not sold on. That was… until I started driving one<a href="http://luminositymarketing.com/blog/?p=4659">[...]</a>

<img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-4113" src="http://luminositymarketing.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/extreme-couponing-tlc.png" alt="" width="180" height="134" />My name is Kimberly, and I’m a couponer. And I’m not just referring to the occasional offer I request via email, or the ever so geo-targeted promotions that hit my mobile via foursquare. Nope, I’m referring to the good ol’ fashioned kind of couponing, where you buy the Sunday paper, clip up a storm, organize with care, and head to the store with a bevy of money-saving artillery—and of course, tell anyone and everyone who will listen about how much I saved and what kind of goodies I scored. If I sound passionate about couponing, you have correctly deduced my tone. Guilty as charged<a href="http://luminositymarketing.com/blog/?p=4112">[...]</a>

<img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-3723" src="http://luminositymarketing.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/4692047923_029221e1cd.jpg" alt="" width="200" height="125" /><a href="http://www.nbc.com/30-rock/" target="_blank">30 Rock</a> is the satirical show about a show that finds its humor through intelligent jokes about pop culture, politics, New York City, and, of course TV and marketing. The show takes us through the life of Liz Lemon, head writer on a live sketch comedy show called TGS that airs weekly on <a href="http://www.nbc.com" target="_blank">NBC</a>.

Here's some witty marketing I've picked up from the show<a href="http://luminositymarketing.com/blog/?p=3528">[...]</a>