Last week Starbucks got dumped by their main agency of record- Wieden + Kennedy. Today, some details started to come through to unveil reasons behind the split. It seems that Starbucks was such a pain in the ass, WK just said no more.

At first glance, you might think how could you drop a brand like Starbucks? Well, if you look into what is going on recently, it kind of makes sense. Starbucks doesn’t have a large advertising budget, let alone for what they were using WK for ( Starbucks spent 37.6 million in media spending in 2007). Couple that with the struggles Starbucks has been facing, including laying off hundreds of employees and closing some 600 stores. And the topper, as it seems, was the increasing frustration of working with CEO Howard Schultz and his apparent unappreciation for advertising.

The article from Ad Age best sums this whole situation up:

Executives with knowledge of the situation said Starbucks was simply a very frustrating client for Wieden, an agency that other marketers have described as unusually honest in its communication with clients. Other agencies that have worked with Starbucks have felt frustration with the marketer too. Rich Silverstein, co-founder of Omnicom Group’s Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, which did two stints representing Starbucks, said much of the fault lies with the mercurial Mr. Schultz. “He does not appreciate advertising,” he said. “Any agency that comes in has one foot out the door already.”

Will be very intersting to see where Starbuck’s marketing goes from here, and who steps up to become their next agency of record.

I’m a pretty big fan of Facebook- not so much the company itself, but more so the interactions I have with my friends on the site. I don’t really have a ton of applications, and it was even a stretch for me adding Bumper Stickers, although I enjoy them now. That said, I’m sure you can think of someone who is really obsessed with FBook, has an obscene amount of apps and is a self-professed Facebook Creeper.

This video, taken from Current, cracks my shit up. It really plays into how obsessed people are/can get with Facebook, and puts it in a very entertaining form. Enjoy.

Yesterday, Publicis announced VivaKi, a new unit that will integrate the digital and media agencies within the holding company. Essentially, they are creating a more streamlined, efficient operation that will benefit employee collaboration and client relationships. Another key benefit of lumping the agencies is an improved media negotiating position. Read the Ad Age article that dives a little deeper into the venture.

The logo is totally great. It marries the traditional Publicis lion head logo with bright colors that are today’s calling card for life, energy and ‘We’re cool!’.

Advergirl provides an excellent presentation on social media and the way consumers and marketers use it, and also compare traditional models to the new social standard. Click on the image above to view the PDF presentation.

There’s no debating that social media is hot right now, with sites like Facebook and Twitter dominating in the blogosphere. But there is still skepticism as to the true value of these sites to marketers, and even whether some of these sites have business models to make money and survive. This article by Cyrus Afzali on Talent Zoo dives into the subject of marketers determining if social media sites really are valuable. Check out the article, although Afzali is a little down on the prospect, he does a good job of showing both sides of the social media story.