by Next Wave Team | Jun 22, 2007 | Careers in Advertising, Change the world, Everything You Want to Know About Advertising, Future of advertising, Future of TV, Marketing & the Web, Public Relations in the Web 2.0 world, The Next Wave in Business, Web strategy
Salim Ismail and David Esrati, originally uploaded by jough [formerly jough].
by Next Wave Team | Jun 10, 2007 | 2007 AAF National Convention, Advertising, Brand Relevancy, Careers in Advertising, Change the world, Creativity, Differentiating Your Brand, Everything You Want to Know About Advertising, Future of advertising, Great Ad Agencies, Marketing & the Web, Media, Public Relations in the Web 2.0 world, Search and Business, Secrets of Great Advertising, The Craft Of Advertising, Web strategy
One of the recurring themes by some of the high-level speakers at the 2007 AAF National Convention was the crazy money being spent to snatch up web related ad companies. Another was how to monetize their newley discovered new media vehicle: the web. Yeah, you read me right- they are all rushing to figure out the metrics to quantify the ad buy on the web. Sorry guys- smart advertisers don’t need a third party to tell them if a campaign is working- they get really good stats (much better than Nielsen, the MPA or any other “validation company” ever provided) they have web stats and sales to evaluate.
What is even more sad- was so few of them really had a clue what Web 2.0 is, how it worked, or what it meant to them. Still worried about the silly notion of “control”- they sort of missed the Cluetrain Manifesto back in 1999 while they were busy buying up Web 1.0 companies.
Not only are most ad agency sites not much more than bad brochureware in Flash, most of the excitement about the web is still in an “how do we continue doing business the way we did, only using the web” instead of realizing- your business model is totally broken, start thinking purely about being branded content creators that makes it as earned media- never paid. Yeah, you can try to talk a client into placing ads through DoubleClick- (and get laughed out of the room. Or start talking a language of opt-in, immersive, brand experiences that the consumer builds their personal brand by combining in a unique way.
The endorsers of tomorrow aren’t LeBron James, Oprah or Britney Spears (heaven help us) but every single customer who choses to affiliate themselves with your brand and others- and none of it is under your control.
It’s probably not clear to most people attending the Ad Conference how this post came- since this is a pretty far stretch from most of what was talked about (although I’m looking forward to reading the autographed copy I picked up of Carat Americas, CEO David Verklin’s “Watch This Listen Up Click Here“).
But, this post about a post by Dave Winer- who was the guy who made the cutting edge of Web 2.0 possible (while most other people were still trying to figure out how to install AOL on their computers) about the new digital divide between those who get Web 2.0 and those who don’t:
Dave Winer: “It’s Time for Web 2.0 to Stop Being Exclusive” @ WEB 2.0 JOURNAL
A war of words has broken out in the world of Web 2.0 - between the software developer Dave Winer - who created or was a lead contributor to several of the most popular XML dialects and APIs related to web publishing such as RSS 2.0, XML-RPC, OPML, and the MetaWeblog API - and the founder of O’Reilly Media - the newly self-proclaimed “technology transfer company.”
Winer’s beef? “We need to get all hands involved in what we used to call Web 2.0,” he laments. “It’s time for it to stop being exclusive, and it’s way past time for one company to be controlling who’s supposed to participate.”
Winer’s contention is that events such as “FOO Camp” are harming the greater good, which is to make software easier, better, scalable, more reliable, and more secure, and instead turning Internet technology into an elitist world where it becomes a question not of what you know but who you know.
In Winer’s view, the very future of computing is at stake:
“We need to start doing some real investing in technology, not the BS that passes for technology investing that’s been going on for the last decade.”
In other words, what Winder fears is another Nasdaq run-up, followed by the inevitable explosion:
“But what I do want is to avoid a bloody mess,” he says. “We have work to do here. We have a bubble-pop to avoid.”
Brooklyn-born Winer, who is also the author of one of the first ever weblogs…
The bold italics were added by me- to highlight the big leap ad people need to make- it’s time to start doing real investing in your creative departments, training, molding, challenging your teams to learn how this new paradigm needs to work. It’s time for all of you to get more than six measly pages indexed in Google for your site (like McCann’s site- note McCann bills itself as the largest US agency).
Like it or not, ad agencies today are the buggy whip manufacturers of the turn of the last century. It’s an attention economy, but only for those who understand that it has to be earned, not bought. The more you understand all this, the more Howard Luck Gossage becomes relevant: “People don’t read ads, they read what interests them- and sometimes it’s an ad.”
Well said Howard, too bad you aren’t still here. The bubble’s about to pop, and the sad part is- most won’t understand why.
by Next Wave Team | Jun 10, 2007 | 2007 AAF National Convention, Advertising, Brand Relevancy, Careers in Advertising, Change the world, Creativity, Differentiating Your Brand, Everything You Want to Know About Advertising, Future of advertising, Great Ad Agencies, Marketing & the Web, Media, Public Relations in the Web 2.0 world, Search and Business, Secrets of Great Advertising, The Craft Of Advertising, Web strategy
One of the recurring themes by some of the high-level speakers at the 2007 AAF National Convention was the crazy money being spent to snatch up web related ad companies. Another was how to monetize their newley discovered new media vehicle: the web. Yeah, you read me right- they are all rushing to figure out the metrics to quantify the ad buy on the web. Sorry guys- smart advertisers don’t need a third party to tell them if a campaign is working- they get really good stats (much better than Nielsen, the MPA or any other “validation company” ever provided) they have web stats and sales to evaluate.
What is even more sad- was so few of them really had a clue what Web 2.0 is, how it worked, or what it meant to them. Still worried about the silly notion of “control”- they sort of missed the Cluetrain Manifesto back in 1999 while they were busy buying up Web 1.0 companies.
Not only are most ad agency sites not much more than bad brochureware in Flash, most of the excitement about the web is still in an “how do we continue doing business the way we did, only using the web” instead of realizing- your business model is totally broken, start thinking purely about being branded content creators that makes it as earned media- never paid. Yeah, you can try to talk a client into placing ads through DoubleClick- (and get laughed out of the room. Or start talking a language of opt-in, immersive, brand experiences that the consumer builds their personal brand by combining in a unique way.
The endorsers of tomorrow aren’t LeBron James, Oprah or Britney Spears (heaven help us) but every single customer who choses to affiliate themselves with your brand and others- and none of it is under your control.
It’s probably not clear to most people attending the Ad Conference how this post came- since this is a pretty far stretch from most of what was talked about (although I’m looking forward to reading the autographed copy I picked up of Carat Americas, CEO David Verklin’s “Watch This Listen Up Click Here“).
But, this post about a post by Dave Winer- who was the guy who made the cutting edge of Web 2.0 possible (while most other people were still trying to figure out how to install AOL on their computers) about the new digital divide between those who get Web 2.0 and those who don’t:
Dave Winer: “It’s Time for Web 2.0 to Stop Being Exclusive” @ WEB 2.0 JOURNAL
A war of words has broken out in the world of Web 2.0 - between the software developer Dave Winer - who created or was a lead contributor to several of the most popular XML dialects and APIs related to web publishing such as RSS 2.0, XML-RPC, OPML, and the MetaWeblog API - and the founder of O’Reilly Media - the newly self-proclaimed “technology transfer company.”
Winer’s beef? “We need to get all hands involved in what we used to call Web 2.0,” he laments. “It’s time for it to stop being exclusive, and it’s way past time for one company to be controlling who’s supposed to participate.”
Winer’s contention is that events such as “FOO Camp” are harming the greater good, which is to make software easier, better, scalable, more reliable, and more secure, and instead turning Internet technology into an elitist world where it becomes a question not of what you know but who you know.
In Winer’s view, the very future of computing is at stake:
“We need to start doing some real investing in technology, not the BS that passes for technology investing that’s been going on for the last decade.”
In other words, what Winder fears is another Nasdaq run-up, followed by the inevitable explosion:
“But what I do want is to avoid a bloody mess,” he says. “We have work to do here. We have a bubble-pop to avoid.”
Brooklyn-born Winer, who is also the author of one of the first ever weblogs…
The bold italics were added by me- to highlight the big leap ad people need to make- it’s time to start doing real investing in your creative departments, training, molding, challenging your teams to learn how this new paradigm needs to work. It’s time for all of you to get more than six measly pages indexed in Google for your site (like McCann’s site- note McCann bills itself as the largest US agency).
Like it or not, ad agencies today are the buggy whip manufacturers of the turn of the last century. It’s an attention economy, but only for those who understand that it has to be earned, not bought. The more you understand all this, the more Howard Luck Gossage becomes relevant: “People don’t read ads, they read what interests them- and sometimes it’s an ad.”
Well said Howard, too bad you aren’t still here. The bubble’s about to pop, and the sad part is- most won’t understand why.
by Next Wave Team | Jun 9, 2007 | 2007 AAF National Convention, Advertising, Careers in Advertising, Change the world, Everything You Want to Know About Advertising, Future of advertising, Marketing & the Web, Media, Public Relations in the Web 2.0 world, Search and Business, Web strategy
From the roundtable this morning, it became really clear that a lot of clubs could use help with their websites. Many people didn’t have a content management system (or even know what one is), were delaying a new site because the chapter was going through an identity changeover, didn’t take credit cards via the web (or offline either), were paying for e-mail programs, didn’t know what RSS is- or know what to use for content.
All these questions and more can be answered by inviting The Next Wave to host a seminar for your AAF chapter. We’ll give a talk at your meeting, give a seminar that you can make money on, and provide assistance in building a site that can help your club grow. We’ll share the secrets of Google, the power of categories and tagging, and answer questions about if you should be on MySpace or Facebook, what to do about your member list, job banks, event calendars, building community- all using open source software and common sense.
Best of all, the information is from someone in your business- not a web geek. We share powerful information on how to get organic search results in Google so you don’t have to spend client budget on ad words- and how ad agencies fit into the new media landscape. We’ll also share our insight on how this technology is changing brand management and the media landscape. We can demonstrate how huge budget advertising is missing a low-budget opportunity for more eyeballs and how to build a better website for every agency.
Web 2.0 isn’t going anywhere- sooner or later your ad association, be it in Honolulu or Houston, Dayton or Daytona, will have to go 2.0. We’re here to help. A day with us will make you smarter- and make your life easier in maintaining your association website.
Call today, or e-mail, or visit our seminar site Websitetology, to learn more about how we can work together to make technology your best friend.
David Esrati, 937.228.4433, websitetology at the next wave dot biz (remove spaces)
by Next Wave Team | May 18, 2007 | Ad Agenices in Dayton, OH, Advertising, Advertising Case Studies for The Next Wave, Apple Advertising, Careers in Advertising, Dayton Bombers Advertising, Differentiating Your Brand, Everything You Want to Know About Advertising, Marketing & the Web, Practical Marketing 101, Public Relations in the Web 2.0 world, Search and Business, Secrets of Great Advertising, Web strategy
One thing that drives me nuts about the advertising business is that many clients still think of spending money on advertising is a gamble. I’ve never felt that way, because, as our motto says “our job is to make you more money than you pay us.” Advertising, when done right, is never a gamble- it’s an investment.
So why am I feeling like a gambler for the first time in my ad career today? Because our client (of late) the Dayton Bombers, are playing game 7 of the Kelly Cup semi-finals tonight- and if they win, we get to do the campaign for the finals and if they loose- we don’t get the job. Money riding on a hockey game- who woulda thought?
As I said, it’s a first. We’ll know more around 10 pm tonight.
Because we believe we have to provide something useful in everything we post- a few tips on making sure your advertising doesn’t feel like gambling:
- Advertising is a more like a marriage, not like a date. Think about the long term, and invest in campaigns that will have “legs” - a concept, or idea that lasts. Think like Apples “get a mac” campaign instead of Burger King’s one shot “Manthem” (of which more was written about here).
- Branding is a shorthand for what your company stands for- make sure you think about it in everything you do, from what your employees wear, to how you answer the phone- and then get it to communicate clearly in your advertising.
- Consumers are getting very smart about marketing messages- never; lie, deceive, or talk down to them- they now have the ability to talk right back and it may come in higher in search than your message.
- Embrace the Internet, it’s everything you want your best employee to be- if you take really good care of it.
- The immortal words of Howard Luck Gossage are even more important today than 50 years ago: “People don’t read ads. They read what interests them, and sometimes it’s an ad”- so make your stuff interesting, make it art, make it entertaining- but what ever you do, stop saying things like “make the logo bigger” and start saying- “can we make the idea bigger.”
Hope that helps. Now, all the Bombes have to do is win tonight, so we get to keep building their brand.
by Next Wave Team | May 6, 2007 | Advertising, Brand Relevancy, Creativity, Differentiating Your Brand, Everything You Want to Know About Advertising, Guerrilla Campaigns, Marketing & the Web, Practical Marketing 101, Public Relations in the Web 2.0 world, The Craft Of Advertising, Viral Marketing
Call this round 5,839,493 in the continuing saga of letting customers generate your content. While everyone thinks they are an expert on advertising, few really are. While we live in a society that has the attention span that makes the 40 yard dash seem like forever- attempts to capture attention “by any means possible” are backfiring left and right.
Some may still believe that “Any press is good press”- but that was when newspapers ended up in birdcages instead of online forever.
When you start mixing religion with your brand- be aware, you could either lose or gain customers- and it may be permanent. Several times a year “Hobby Lobby” runs full page ads about Jesus- Christmas, Easter - and it makes me wonder how many Jews, Hundus, Muslims, Buddists etc. choose not to shop there every time.
When it comes to controversy as a marketing tool, it’s ok when you you are the upstart- but if you are the market leader, you are taking chances- here is the article about how God and Starbucks went on a collision course here in the flyover states:
Woman expresses indignation at quote on Starbucks cup
By Margo Rutledge Kissell Staff Writer
SPRINGBORO — – Michelle Incanno was an admitted Starbucks addict.
She’d buy the company’s coffee beans every week. Whenever she’d get the chance to drop by a Starbucks, she would, placing the same order every time: a large, house brewed coffee with nonfat milk and two Splenda. When the Seattle-based chain opened a drive-through near her Springboro home, she was in java heaven.
That was until she got an unexpected jolt last week from her coffee cup.
Printed on the cup was: “Why in moments of crisis do we ask God for strength and help? As cognitive beings, why would we ask something that may well be a figment of our imaginations for guidance? Why not search inside ourselves for the power to overcome? After all, we are strong enough to cause most of the catastrophes we need to endure.”
It is attributed to Bill Schell, a Starbucks customer from London, Ontario, and was included on the cup as part of an effort by the company to collect different viewpoints and spur discussion.
“As someone who loves God, I was so offended by that. I don’t think there needs to be religious dialogue on it. I just want coffee,” said Incanno, a married mother of three who is Catholic.
She wasn’t satisfied with a company disclaimer saying the quote is the author’s opinion, not necessarily that of Starbucks. It invites customers to respond at www.starbucks.com/wayiseeit.
Starbucks spokeswoman Sanja Gould said the collection of thoughts and opinions is a “way to promote open, respectful conversation among a wide variety of individuals. “
But Incanno said her Starbucks days are over.
“I wouldn’t feel right going back,” she said.
This morning- it was the “most popular story” at the Dayton Daily News site- which means it will be making the rounds- and eventually becoming sermon fodder for the fire and brimstone set- and possibly setting off yet another Starbucks boycott.
I went to the Starbucks site- and couldn’t find this quote on the site (btw- the site wasn’t very web 2.0) and am already wondering if this had been pulled because of complaints already.
Often times agencies look for “hot, young, talent” to “spark” their creativity- and with many of the big agencies isolated from “mainstream America” by being in the major meccas of advertising- sometimes the sensibilities of business get overlooked.
No matter what your position on religion, it’s best to check it for being a universally accepted theme before allowing it to make it into your advertising.
Note: a quick Google of this phrase only brings up the Dayton Daily News article. I’m sure that will change soon.
