And Another Thing ...
Marcus Thomas LLC landed a plum assignment in May when the Convention and Visitors Bureau of Greater Cleveland selected the firm to market the city. We knew Marcus Thomas was up to the task when we invited the agency to devise a Cleveland campaign last summer ("No Plums Allowed," August 2004). Its "Explore Cleveland" ads promoted local haunts with vibrant images. But when we showed that campaign and four others to CVB president Dennis Roche, he seemed unimpressed. What a difference a year makes. Roche was getting all mushy about Marcus Thomas the day he announced the hire, commenting, "I have no doubt they will impress Cleveland and the rest of the world with their creativity." Now about that finder's fee . . .
Retail Oriented
To quote comedian Chris Rock, "Women need three things to live: food, water and compliments. . . . And an occasional pair of shoes." What makes us so fixated on footwear? That's easy. It feeds our shopaholic urges and never makes us feel fat. The newly opened DSW in North Olmsted (The Plazas at Great Northern, 25877 Brookpark Road) is the ultimate enabler to our obsession. More than 27,000 pairs of shoes pack the shelves of this enormous 25,000-square-foot store. Shoe lovers will find labels such as BCBG, Ralph Lauren, Kenneth Cole even Coach and Via Spiga — all at about half the price you'd find them in a department store. But where the I-simply-have-to-buy-it mania really takes hold is when you stroll the clearance aisles, where shoe prices are slashed to as much as 70 percent off the store's already discounted prices. This could get ugly.
