As the NFL’s Super Bowl approaches this weekend, the game will draw millions of viewers. Many will be tuning in strictly for the TV commercials, with the game being secondary.

"Close to 50% of viewers tune in to actually watch the commercials, more than they watch the game," said Stephen Master, vice president of Nielsen Sports media research.

Once again it’s the time of year where we assess what marketing and business development efforts we have done over the course of the year so we can prepare our year-end reports for management, and to plan accordingly and strategically for the coming year. One of the marketing efforts that many lawyers as well as marketing professionals undertake each year is to serve on boards and do work with Associations where they may have the opportunity to meet and develop relationships with current and prospective clients.

I recently attended the LMASE Mini Conference in Houston. As a newbie to this mini conference, I was impressed with the attendance and the “players” that I met that day. Like most LMA conferences, I always meet some new legal marketers and I left the day with some solid takeaways.

Apple’s new iPhone 4S’s Virtual Assistant, Siri, can tell me how to find the nearest Indian restaurant, remind me that it’s my brother’s birthday and even manage expense reports. It apparently takes on the role of philosopher as well, answering (or dodging) such questions as, “What is the meaning of life?”  Sure it’s a cool application! I mean, why pay a therapist if you can get free advice from your phone?

In the twenty-five plus years I have worked in the professional services community, I have served and worked on numerous committees. A well-run committee is critical to the management of any organization or firm to get work completed efficiently, effectively and creatively. All too often, I have watched committees fail when they had formed with all of the best of intentions.

True story: back in the heady days of the .com and tech boom, the ad agency I worked for got a client who was going to revolutionize computer diagnostics and repair via the Internet. There were only a handful of companies offering this service and our client had been the first to market. Among their many other marketing goals, they wanted to establish their leadership, highlight their cutting-edge technology and portray themselves as innovative and entrepreneurial. They offered an exciting product and service, and it was a great opportunity for them to stand out in the industry.

“Back to school. Back to school, to prove to Dad that I'm not a fool. I got my lunch packed up, my boots tied tight, I hope I don't get in a fight. Ohhhh, back to school. Back to school. Back to school. Well, here goes nothing.” — Billy Madison

It has been a few weeks since the new school year started. Elementary students receive their teacher’s name and supplies list, while college students receive their syllabus and assignments for the first semester of classes.

If you asked me in May 2011 what my experience at Moiré would consist of, I would have answered, "You know, typical intern work with opportunities to get involved on client projects. Maybe an occasional happy hour, too." My time at Moiré is coming to an end, and it was much more than I could have imagined.

Are iTunes, Pandora and turntable.fm so 2010? Like many around the world, I am a big user of iTunes and I have the premium version of Pandora. BUT, Spotify has given me immediate access to new music, with the opportunity to share with my friends. By now, is it safe to assume that we all have heard of Spotify?

I read a number of blogs, and two of my favorites are Jonathan Fitzgarrald’s Bad for the Brand and Heather Milligan’s The Legal Water Cooler. Both blogs are well written and often focus on the subject of “reputation management,” or what we at Moiré like to refer to as “becoming a brand ambassador.”