What a fantastic way for a brand to show that they are paying attention in social media. The fan gets rewarded, good content is created and the brand gets instant social credibility. Sounds like a win-win-win to me.

The Creative Brief: A Research Project View more presentations from Jasmin Cheng.

Jasmin Cheng of Twist Image prompts us all stop and question the process we use for developing creative briefs.

• Is that process rigid or flexible?
• Is it strictly linear or is it more organic?
• Is it written in collaboration or developed in silos?
• Does it engage and inspire all teams involved: accounts, management, strategy and creative?

Do yourself a favor: don't gloss over this one. Spend a some time reading a digesting this one.

"The more you expect the client to know what they want, the less value you get to provide… When clients come to you saying they don't know what they want—that's the opportunity." - Ellen DiResta, Synaptics

There has been a lot of buzz around Foursquare in the last few days. Much it speaks to the growth of Foursquare as it starts to head into a mainstream existence.

First, the Wall Street Journal posted an article that Foursquare has made a deal for funding from a Silicon Valley venture capital firm. This is a big deal for them as they were recently rumored to be in talks with both Yahoo & Facebook for a take over.

Next up, Mashable wrote about Foursquare's efforts to become more visible in the traditional market place by sending out window clings to businesses. These are to be placed in a store's front window. The goal of the effort is to remind customers to check-in on Foursquare when the arrive at a business. Whole Foods and lululemon are two of the more notable stores that will feature the clings.

The third news story of the week came from Gizmodo with talks of a Monopoly style app, to be released, that turns the Foursquare platform into a game we all love. There is no date for when/if this app will be released but it shows that developers are taking Foursquare more seriously by investing time in the platform.

Last, but certainly not least, Verizon released a new commercial that features a girl walking around the city, checking-in using her Verizon 'droid phone. Though Foursquare isn't specifically named...

Let me update you on The Situation. As Jersey Shore gears up for its season two premiere, the controversy-laced marketing for the show has been everywhere. Unlike the first season where the lead up to the premiere was relatively low key and mostly advertised on MTV, the gang has prefaced their return with a bevy of TV appearances, magazine covers, sponsorship deals, and of course, gossip-worthy incidents.

Let’s skip straight to the incidents, shall we? Potential battery charges have been dropped after Sammi "Sweetheart" Giancola punched another woman in the face at a Miami nightclub. MTV has promised to go easy on the Guido references in response to Italian Americans who are upset about the stereotypical portrayal, but they’ve already been accused of making fun of southerners in the new season. And, just this week, The Situation, Ronnie, and Vinny posed for the cover of The Village Voice, but issues erupted when the mag hit the stands and the boys claim they were never told they were going to front, “The Queer Issue” with its lead story on The Guido Ideal: men on the down-low on the Jersey Shore. The Villiage Voice maintains the all knew the situation in advance, and CNN’s commentators suggested the boys were making it up for the sake of controversy.

Speaking of the Guido ideal, if you’re looking to rock the Jersey Shore look, you’ll soon be able to dress in clothing designed by The Situation and JWOWW. The Sitch is...

With the massive success of the Ford Fiesta’s social media marketing movement (which we wrote about here), Ford has decided to move the campaign into the retail arena. When owners come to pick up their Fiesta, they’ll get an interactive USB drive which holds their owner's manual and a portal to Fiesta’s social networking community, podcasts, enthusiast clubs and merchandise. They’re calling it part of the "unpackaging experience" and it’s all due to a new effort by Ford to make the car delivery a true experience.

New owners start their unpacking experience by watching a video on the Ford dealership kiosks featuring the Ford Fiesta agents from the online social media experience. Then, they get their pictures taken with the car so they can be uploaded to the community site, and once inside, they plug their USB device into the car’s USB port which starts 19 minutes in podcasts that explain the car’s features.

Of course, it doesn’t end there. When they get home, they can use the USB drive to download the Fiesta Community app. The app comes with the Fiestapedia, a simple Photoshop application to photoshop pics of their new Fiesta, and of course, lots of links to the online community. It reminds me of Saturn’s successful community building and focus on the dealer experience before social media was even a buzzword, and should go well with the latest addition to the Fiesta’s marketing strategy: traditional TV ads.

It’s interesting to see a car campaign where the TV commercial is the afterthought and not the center of the campaign. It’s also nice to see one that doesn’t just show...