"It's been a pleasure doing business with you."

As we roll into a new year, it's always a good idea to check out the economic forecasts and marketers' investment intentions for the months ahead. So here are the stats from economic and advertising industry authorities for your review as you tweak 2012 marketing investment plans.

This year's JMG Christmas card started the same way every creative effort starts—with a whole lot of concepting. Way back in early fall, the creative team began developing ideas for this year's Christmas greeting. We had two objectives: engage the entire company (not just the creative team) in the creation of the card and incorporate a charitable element. The chosen concept illustrates all of us working together both to create great work for our clients and to help those in need in our community, while taking a cue from kindergarten in its execution.

During this day and age, companies, organizations, groups, and even individuals constantly desire to rise above the competition and define themselves as the best. And to be quite frank, JMG is no different. According to Webster, "best" is defined as "excelling all others."

I've been a car nut ever since I took my first ride in a baby buggy (at a very, very early age). There was just something about rolling wheels that I found intriguing. Over time that interest grew into suspensions, engines, drive trains and automotive styling…cars in general became a passion of mine. But just hearing the words physics and calculus gave me severe heartburn, so automotive engineering was not in the cards—until there was Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research (CU-ICAR).

A dramatic tale of a non-profit organization vs. two behemoth automobile manufacturers.

It's not often that I choose to eat lunch at a fast food restaurant, but yesterday I really wanted some fries and a chicken sandwich. (OK, so my doctor wouldn't approve, but it made me happy.)