by Next Wave Team | Mar 1, 2007 | Ad Agenices in Dayton, OH, Brand Relevancy, Change the world, Creativity, Differentiating Your Brand, Everything You Want to Know About Advertising, Future of advertising, Great Ad Agencies, Marketing & the Web, Practical Marketing 101, Secrets of Great Advertising, Web strategy
Went to the Dayton Ad Club today- yeah, the people who continually threaten to throw us out- to hear Clint! Runge from Archrival speak.
Very cool insight into the “Millenials” or “GenY”- and a nice presentation. I was excited to go and check out their site- which would of course be web 2.0 to the hilt - since these guys “got it”- well, no joy:
Archrival / We Help Brands Attract Young Consumers
Sure- they have RSS, and a “blog”- but so little content that is actually able to be spread.
Just like the Burger King site- or so many other agency sites, if I find something interesting on the site- I can’t mail it to you. Too bad, because the work they did on the TipTop upscale apartment building is something I’d want to share with others. Luckily, they built the site for the client better than they built for themselves- so you can check it out: http://www.thetiptoplife.com/
Clint! must have seen the branding campaign by Hamilton! Ohio a few years back- which map makers refused to acknowledge. In the days of Google, it’s a cool way to get your google rank up.
Some key concepts that struck home about the millenials:
- Give them experiences to talk about- not products.
- Be optimistic and positive- the days of sarcasm are fading.
- It’s about we- more than me.
- Computer/phone first lines of communication- forget traditional media.
- Recommendations from peers are more powerful than anything you can try to ram down their throat.
Also loved his comment about “Entertainment debt”- where you feel that you are behind when there is too much stuff cued up on your TiVo or in your “to watch” file. I can relate. Also, as MySpace becomes more and more commercialized- we’ll see more people kill their profiles as they move to more specialized and hip communities. As to marketers jumping into MySpace- get your own space- and make it fun- that boat sailed a while back.
As a side note- the woman sitting next to me recognized me as being from the agency that lists all the adveritisng agencies in Dayton on our site. Of course, she had just completed her job search and was working for one of them. Congrats for being a smart job seeker.
by Next Wave Team | Feb 12, 2007 | Advertising, Change the world, Everything You Want to Know About Advertising, Future of advertising, Great Ad Agencies, How To Select An Ad Agency, Low Budget Advertising, Marketing & the Web, Media, Practical Marketing 101, Search and Business, Web strategy
A friend in the indy newspaper business sent me this from Editor & Publisher and asked my opinion. She knew I’d have one.
My initial response is that the gene pool needs thinning.
Although most major ad agencies still don’t understand delivery of online ads, or how to build searchable site content- it’s apparent that very few of them understand web statistics- a whopping 84% of advertisers and agencies seem to think you need a third party auditing firm to tell you who hits your own server!
We can save you a bunch of money on online advertising- let us show you how to analyze your results, and continue to build traffic, without having to buy keywords from Google. Organic results are worth more, cost less, and are so easy to attain- if you understand the basics of how this whole thing works.
ABC Study: Advertisers Don’t Believe Online Ads Are Measured Accurately
By E&P Staff
Published: February 08, 2007 5:10 PM ET
NEW YORK Few advertisers and agencies have confidence that their online ad impressions are measured and reported accurately, according to a new study sponsored by the Audit Bureau of Circulations.
In the survey, 84% of respondents say they believe that verification of online advertising activity by an independent third-party auditing firm will become increasingly important over the next three years.
On behalf of ABC, NSON Opinion Research surveyed 270 professionals involved in the buying or planning of online advertising in a Web-based poll conducted between Oct. 24 and Dec. 31, 2006.
“Just as publishers and print advertisers require accuracy and credibility in traditional media information, we’re seeing increased demand for transparency and accountability online,” Michael Lavery, ABC president and managing director, said in a statement.
Ninety-one percent of those surveyed said it’s important to audit ad impressions and delivery while 89% want to see the verification of online traffic.
Other findings in the study: 83% of respondents plan to increase online ad spending in 2007, more than half expect double-digit budget increases.
The age of respondents played a role in the results aswell. The younger the respondent, the more blasé they were about the data. Participants under 25 — 75% of those surveyed — said they trust metrics provided by online publishers while 22% of those 55-to-64 said the same thing.
read more here:ABC Study: Advertisers Don’t Believe Online Ads Are Measured Accurately
The reason online campaigns, advertising and even the good old company website are so valuable is that there is an absolute way to measure what brings the customer to your business, what they looked at, how long they spent with your brand. The intimacy of the connection is up to you to nurture- but, it’s almost as good as having a feed directly from a helmet cam as they walked through your store- after completing an interview about what brought them in.
These stats, when analyzed by a brand manager, can tell you everything a focus group can, only better- since the customers have no idea they are being observed. The key to maximize effectiveness is to have content on your site that includes your competition- so you can also find out what customers thing of your them too.
There are a lot of stupid things being done online right now. Google is laughing all the way to the bank. If you want to keep them happy, don’t pay attention to what we are telling you- the Chief Marketing Officer and Advertising agency gene pool needs thinning too.
by Next Wave Team | Feb 7, 2007 | Change the world, Everything You Want to Know About Advertising, Future of advertising, Marketing & the Web, Practical Marketing 101, Search and Business, Web strategy
David Esrati, Chief Creative Officer of The Next Wave, will be a presenter at:
Web Content 2007 - Chicago Business Conference on Internet Website Content June 18 & 19
Know the State-of-the-Art in Website Content Management
Web Content 2007 is for business professionals involved with creating, organizing and maintaining web content. The two-day conference provides three tracks: content design and access,content development and management and emerging tools and technologies. Each track offers attendees a selection of workshops, case studies, and presentations lead by recognized Internet authorities. Attend all sessions in one track or mix-and-match sessions in any track to create a customized program. Held in an intimate setting in Downtown Chicago participation is limited. Registration is now open. Save $100 if you register before May 4, 2007.
The Next Wave has always been at the forefront of trends in advertising. Our expertise in utilizing blogs as content management tools, and customer information systems created this opportunity for national exposure. Large ad agencies, interactive firms and Chief Marketing Officers still haven’t grasped the importance of search, accessibility, site statistics and community building as key to their online/offline success. We’ve been running our Websitetology seminars for over a year, teaching these methods for creating attention and visibility online. Your group or organization can sponsor a Websitetology seminar in your city, contact us to find out how blogosopher at The Next Wave dot biz.
by Next Wave Team | Feb 5, 2007 | Advertising, Change the world, Creativity, Differentiating Your Brand, Everything You Want to Know About Advertising, Guerrilla Campaigns, Low Budget Advertising, Practical Marketing 101, Public Relations in the Web 2.0 world
Guerrilla marketing started out as a way to get attention when a business had no cash to buy traditional media. Now, it’s what big companies look for when they are trying to make up for bad ad strategies.
Turner Broadcast Systems is probably reconsidering the cost effectiveness of a recent “guerrilla marketing” campaign for its Cartoon Network show “Aqua Teen Hunger Force” where NY agency Interference placed signs that were mistaken for bombs in major cities including Boston.
FOXNews.com - Turner, Interference to Pay $2 Million for Botched Cartoon Network Ad Campaign in U.S. Cities - Local News | News Articles | National News | US News
BOSTON — Turner Broadcasting Systems and Interference Inc. agreed Monday to pay $2 million for an unconventional Cartoon Network advertising campaign last week that caused a widespread bomb scare, Attorney General Martha Coakley announced.
This isn’t the first time that “guerrilla ads” for major corporations have caused more headaches than they were worth. Sony did a graffiti campaign for Playstation portable, and Microsoft plastered a city with static cling decals for a software product with similar bad PR results.
Chalking sidewalks, human billboards, street teams, PR stunts are all pretty harmless and effective tools. And while some may say that this botched campaign got lots of press, it didn’t end up being cheap or positive press for the client. Before considering a “guerrilla campaign” the question one must ask is: how would I feel if someone did this to my mother? My sister? Me? The golden rule applies.
Advertise onto others, as you would have others advertise onto me.
And, if you think you are getting a free lunch- here’s a tip: there is no such thing as a free lunch, just ask Turner Broadcast Systems.
by Next Wave Team | Jan 31, 2007 | Advertising, Brand Relevancy, Change the world, Creativity, Differentiating Your Brand, Everything You Want to Know About Advertising, Future of advertising, Minorities in Advertising
First off, I have to plug one of my favorite guerrilla marketing websites: In Bubble Wrap- www.inbubblewrap.com where a small bookseller, 800 CEO Read, www.800ceoread.com is competing with Amzon.com and Barnes and Nobel, on a shoestring. Instead of spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on advertising, they give away 20 copies of a business book each day to an audience interested in business books. Considering the cost of the books (which they may get as a promotional copies anyway) and the cost of the site and postage, they are getting huge exposure for minimal dollars.
Not only do I have the opportunity to win, I learn something each day about a current business book. Today, the book talked about how Pepsi added marketshare by being the more politically correct marketer, in a day when all the people in ads were lily white.
InBubbleWrap: Pepsi Gave Us Some Jackie Robinsons
In the late 40’s and early 50’s, while Coca-Cola was visibly and enthusiastically supporting Georgia’s racist governor Herman Talmadge, Pepsi’s progressive CEO, Walter Mack, saw a way to make his uphill battle with Coke even out. And to be clear on this, yes, his primary motivation was the pursuit of profit. So, he decided to approve a campaign targeted at black consumers, and at the same time, hired someone to put together a team of all black sales people to push Pepsi on the African-American community. It worked. Pepsi soon became known as a “liberal” soft drink, inspiring entire communities to favor their beverages. Pepsi basically revolutionized the strategies of niche marketing.
Compare this with today’s attempts to connect with “new” markets. Dove has made a lot of noise and gotten a lot of attention with their Campaign for real beauty where they attempt to use models that look more like real women than waifs.
With Pepsi, it’s an example of a company going against prevailing social policy looking for profit. Corporate America now regularly enters political battles by supporting lobbyists and giving to political campaigns- and many hedge their bets giving to both sides. Being more “Green” is a marketing strategy with a political bent, and Toyota and Nissan have campaigned to tell us that many times their products have more American made content than American cars. Looking at “The Pepsi Challenge” I’m wondering if a company is going to position itself as an anti-war company to cash in on the growing displeasure with the war?
The best advertising creates an emotional response within the potential customer- we’ve seen companies wrap themselves in the flag for years- who will be the bold one to question the war first? Or has it been done?
What do you think?
by Next Wave Team | Jan 10, 2007 | Advertising, Apple Advertising, Change the world, Creativity, Design, Differentiating Your Brand, Everything You Want to Know About Advertising, Future of advertising, Future of TV, Marketing & the Web, Public Relations in the Web 2.0 world, Retail, Web strategy
Sell your stock in ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX, say goodbye to the cable companies, and look at Apple, Cingular, Yahoo and Google. Kiss phone books goodbye as well. Credit cards may go away too. The iPhone is coming this June, and it will change the world.
Already, Research in Motion (the Blackberry people), Palm, Motorola and other “Smart Phone” makers stock dropped, and deservedly so. My Treo 700 is a pain in the butt to use and it’s one of the “better smart phones.”
Steve Jobs has 30 years experience in changing the way people and computers interact and with yesterday’s introduction of the iPhone, he showed why Apple is the master of the GUI (Graphical User Interface). First came the mouse, then the click wheel and now- the scrolling gesture and MultiTouch interface (most touch screens can only read one point at a time). All, in all, it’s brilliant. A phone, iPod and Internet device- but, watch out, it may be way more than that.
When the video iPod was introduced, it wasn’t that the iPod could play video that was the groundbreaking news- it was that Apple was selling “free” TV programs for $1.99. The beginning of a la carte programming delivered over IP. Now, with the iPhone and the new Apple TV set top box, we have the “Remote” that pulls everything together, including a billing system (Cingular) and a whole new way for advertisers to reach highly targeted consumers. Just think, your cell phone bill could be subsidized for you agreeing to watch highly targeted content- based on several different criteria to begin with:
- Your geographic location- cell phones are mini GPS devices, and as Jobs demonstrated the iPhone integration with Google maps/Google local, he showed us the beginning of a brand new way to access advertising, custom crafted to your longitude and latitude.
- Your buying habits and payment processing might be handled through Google wallet, with you keeping your running account balance on your phone. Phones have been used in Japan to pay vending machines for years, the iPhone brings whole new levels of integration to your pocket.
- The end of “Sales” for bricks and mortar stores- if your price doesn’t match what comes up in Froogle, you won’t make the sale. The “true browser” with easy input, coupled with a camera that can probably read product bar codes will put so much power in the consumers hand that all retailers will be able to compete on is better service or immediate delivery. Will that be worth paying a premium? Take a look at what the iTunes store has done to the music industry if you need hints.
- With its superior interface and WiFi/phone system Internet access, the iPhone will allow users to access company websites on it’s small screen. Jobs didn’t show any Flash sites in the demo, but, by partnering with Yahoo and Google- and showcasing the New York Times- he did hint at the importance of CSS coded HTML which scales, and reformats to different screens easier than Flash. If you have a website that is in Flash come June, you will be missing many of the opportunities of true Mobile connectivity.
- Last but not least, with a real browser- and an 8 gig drive, consumers will be able to carry your ads, your product literature- right to the point of sale- or discuss your products or service over lunch with friends- complete with sound, motion and data. No more need for brochures- even PDF’s online that don’t easily fit the new screen won’t be as handy a well-designed web interface. Think of having infomercials on your site that entertain and allow 2-way feedback- as well as click to buy options- all accessible from anywhere- anytime, in your customer’s pocket.
There is much more to this iPhone than an iPod, Phone, Internet connectivity- there is the first step of the true 1 to 1 revolution.
Apple stock went up 8 points yesterday. Just wait until June and the full power of this new phone is realized- by developers and marketers.
If the phone works as promised, and the reviews are good, Apple’s stock will climb like Googles- and the web will be a whole new place for marketers to (re) learn.
