Archive for the 'Advertising' Category

I am a product of advertising

Published
by
Matt
on May 4, 2008
in Advertising and New Marketing
. 0 Comments

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And so are you. And pretty much everyone else you know.

And despite what some people (get a job, hippies!) might say, it’s not really a bad thing.

If not for the advertising, I wouldn’t have remembered what day Grand Theft Auto IV was coming out. I’m almost positive I would have never discovered The Ting Tings without the newest iPod commercial (see below). It’s this element that usually goes unnoticed, but it’s actually the most important part.

I know that the point of advertising is to sell, but I think we’ve come to a point where it needs to be more that that. It needs to be useful. We’re here because people don’t want to see/read/hear ads. Think I’m lying? Check out the numbers of DVR and satellite radio owners. Ask the average person how they feel. It sure ain’t pretty.

So where does that leave us?

Well, a very tricky place, it seems. How do we pitch our product and provide value at the same time? Perhaps a change of priorities is in order. What would be really interesting is if we focused first on providing value to people, and also manage to get our product/service/company into the picture.

But hey, if that doesn’t work, we could always bombard people with as many ads as humanly possible and try to keep shouting until they can’t possibly ignore us anymore. That’s gonna work too right?

What The Fork?

Published
by
Matt
on Jan 20, 2008
in Advertising and Bad Marketing
. 0 Comments

SaladWorks does not put a fork in the to-go bag.

Roll? Check. Napkin? Check. Full brochure on catering services? (unfortunately) Check.

Fork? No chance.

You can call me old fashioned, but I’m not going to be the first in line to get my next event catered if they can’t even give me a fork with my salad.

Everyone’s always talking about the “extra mile”, but before you do that, you better be sure you have that first mile covered.

Your slogan…is awkward

Published
by
Matt
on Jan 4, 2008
in Advertising and Branding
. 4 Comments

Let me start off by saying that I love Monster.com. It’s a great tool, and it helped me land the job I have right now. But their new slogan could have used a little more thought.

“Your calling is calling.”

It just seems a little awkward to me, memorable but awkward. Slogans are a powerful thing, for example when I say “Nike slogan” what three words just popped into your head? How about “Pork: The ______ _______ ______”. My guess is you got that one too.

A sticky slogan is great. A sticky, awkward slogan? Not so much.

Facebook’s New Ad Model? You Have To Be Cool

Published
by
Matt
on Nov 15, 2007
in Advertising, Branding and Web 2.0
. 2 Comments

Now here’s some new marketing for you.

Facebook recently announced it’s new advertising model, one that lets you “connect” directly with brands. To paraphrase the process: You can now become a “fan” of a brand (or music group, restaurant, web site, etc.) via your profile. Facebook then lets your friends know, along with a socially targeted ad. For example, If I liked Mahalo (and I do), I could become a “fan” on Facebook, and if you were my friend, you’d hear about it along with a sponsored link to check out Mahalo.

Get it? Doesn’t sound too hard, but there’s a catch.

You have to be cool.

For this ad model to work, you have to be a cool brand, or be a brand with reaallllly loyal fans. Nike probably won’t have a problem, neither will Polo, Starbucks, or Mercedes-Benz. But what about Kraft Macaroni and Cheese? Or Advil, K-Mart, Sure Deodorant, and Bic Pens? Are there enough people on Facebook that are fans of these brands? And if so, will they be proud enough to advertise it?

What do you think? Will this whole thing sink or will there be enough cool brands and people wanting to show off allegiances?

Some Change for Levi’s

Published
by
Matt
on Oct 17, 2007
in Advertising and Analysis
. 4 Comments

Here’s a new ad called “change” for Levi’s 501 Jeans. Give it a look.

Now what were your initial thoughts? Shock at the exploding apartment? Puzzlement as to the deeper meaning?

The first things I thought where: Who still uses phone booths? I can’t think of the last time I saw someone in one.

Being of a marketing mindset, I’m pretty sure that wasn’t the first response Levi’s was looking for. Yes, you might point out that someone yanking the street level up (or himself down) is a little more outlandish than someone in a phone booth and the whole thing wouldn’t work without it, but that’s not my point. My point is that this ad was obviously trying to be contemporary, and the phone booth, at least to me, made it feel weird and dated.

How do you feel about this ad?

Too Much of a “Good” Thing

Published
by
Matt
on Oct 3, 2007
in Advertising and Marketers
. 2 Comments

Jaffe might have written the most important post you will read this year. It might not seem like it at first glance, but really think about the implications of those statistics.

From his post:
- 84% agree (strongly/somewhat), “Too many things are over-hyped now.”
- 72% agree, “I get tired of people trying to grab my attention and sell me stuff.”
- 47% regard “Advertising as background noise.”

This stuff is incredible. The biggest line for me is the one in the middle. Looking at that statement, if you had 10 people in a room, 7 of them are tired of being advertised “at”. For an industry that spends billions of dollars, that’s an extremely low satisfaction rate. I feel like everyone on Madison Ave. should get a memo with the statistics and “Stop being obnoxious and trying to force things on people. It’s really not working, and here’s the proof.” written on it.

As a small aside, there’s a beetle that’s been flying around the second story window in my living room for a week now. He keeps banging against the glass trying to get out (I can’t open the widow or I’d help) every single day. And you can’t fault him for it, because he’s a bug. But aren’t the big ad companies doing just the same thing? Why do they think that if a little bit doesn’t work, then a lot will?

Trailer Trash

Published
by
Matt
on Sep 19, 2007
in Advertising and Bad Marketing
. 0 Comments

It seems to me like every movie I see advertised on TV has been heralded as “The MUST SEE movie of the Summer!” or “The thriller that grabs you and won’t let go!” or something else equally fantastic. But have you ever looked closely to see where those quotes come from? I know a good review from Time or The NYT holds some weight, but honestly, I don’t know many people that care if the local paper in Glassboro, New Jersey thinks a movie is incredible.

So why is EVERY movie trailer filled with praise? Because every movie trailer is filled with praise. That’s just how it is.

It doesn’t matter if they have to grab a quote from the Centre County Times, as long as it’s bold, enthusiastic, and positive. The problem is, that I don’t even really notice/process them anymore. And I bet I’m not the only one. I wish someone would do a study.
jacknife
That way I could watch a trailer that looked like it was made by the director, not the marketing department, and I would decide for myself what THE BEST MOVIE THIS SUMMER!!!! might be.

The J.O.A.T. Theory

Published
by
Matt
on Sep 14, 2007
in Advertising, Communication and New Marketing
. 0 Comments

In the sci-fi movie The Matrix (one of my favorites), there is a scene where a main character, Trinity, needs to quickly learn to pilot a helicopter. She relays the request to her operator, named Tank, who proceeds to “download” the necessary knowledge and expertise right into her brain.

Obviously we’re not there in terms of instant learning, but if you look at the fundamentals, we’re not that far off.

We probably won’t need to pilot a helicopter, but we might be looking for a good grilled salmon recipe or tips on SEO title tags. Our operator isn’t named Tank, it’s named Google, Yahoo! or MSN. And while we download the information too, it has to go through our computer screens before it gets to our brains.

We live in a world where it’s relatively easy to learn about almost anything. For example, on a whim, last night I learned how to brew beer start to finish. I wouldn’t consider myself an expert, a sentiment I’m sure I share with many others who learn things online, but I do have a working knowledge.

The point is that it’s incredibly easy to become a Jack Of All Trades (J.O.A.T) in today’s culture. And this has a huge impact on marketers. People no longer take things at face value. Fewer and fewer “just know that something works, not why it works”. And no longer, can you assume that you know more about your product or category than the people you’re selling to.

This leads to the follow assumption: Most (if not all) of your market is informed, knowledgeable, and skeptic. Act accordingly.