by Next Wave Team | Apr 10, 2007 | Apple Advertising, BMW Advertising, Brand Relevancy, Change the world, Creativity, Design, Differentiating Your Brand, Everything You Want to Know About Advertising, Great Ad Agencies, Practical Marketing 101, Product and Service Naming, Secrets of Great Advertising
One of the first design and advertising books that really spoke to me was Pentagram’s Living by Design (long out of print). Its basic premise was that design extended to more than graphics, architecture, advertising- but was the entire consumer/brand experience- long before people were talking about experiential marketing.
I was lent the book by a former employer, who had been given it as a gift by one of his professors. After I read it, I tried to talk to him about it, his response: “I don’t read books.” I didn’t stay at that job very long (probably because I did read).
I went to Pentagram’s London office to find a copy, several years later. They were nice enough to give me a copy- that had a section removed- and she copied the missing pages. I later got a complete copy from an art book store in Santa Monica- it’s one of my most prized books.
So, when I stumbled onto Pentagram’s blog- and saw this logo- I was instantly reminded of why I believe design does make a difference.
Take a look at this elegant logo- then read their description:
New at Pentagram: New Work: One Laptop Per Child
Pentagram has designed the identity and website for One Laptop per Child, the non-profit organization with the goal of providing laptop computers to all children in developing nations.
The identity is a hieroglyph, designed to be universally understood, that utilizes the icons of the OLPC laptop interface, also developed by Pentagram. The website design employs these symbols as the basis for navigation. Each icon leads to a corresponding section of information: the laptop to a section about hardware and software, the arrow to a section about participation, and so on. The site launched in English but is currently being translated into many languages.
For all the companies that don’t think they can afford to do a proper logo on start-up, just remember, you can pay now, or pay later. A well designed brand mark can make the difference between having a corporate identity- and becoming a lifestyle brand, ala Nike, Apple, BMW, Mini etc.
And, by the way, if you aren’t familiar with the One Laptop Per Child initiative, you need to read more about it- it’s truly something that could change the world.
by Next Wave Team | Apr 4, 2007 | Ad Agenices in Dayton, OH, Advertising, Creativity, Crispin Porter + Bogusky, Differentiating Your Brand, Everything You Want to Know About Advertising, Great Ad Agencies, How To Select An Ad Agency, Marketing & the Web, Practical Marketing 101, Secrets of Great Advertising, VW advertising, Web strategy
Crispin Porter + Bogusky is the über hot ad agency of the last few years. We write about them, other people write about them, and everybody has an opinion. While celebrities have their paparazzi, the hot agencies have their armchair quarterbacks.
We write about them, because we know there are people searching for great, smaller, independent agencies- and hope they take a look at us (we think we understand web 2.0 better than CP+B and can help our clients get bigger bang for their buck)- but also because, well, the ads are interesting to us.
So, while Seth Stevenson writes in Slate why he hates Crispin ads- (and we have a few we detest too)- we thought this section was worth discussing:
Why I sort of hate the hottest ad agency in the country. - By Seth Stevenson - Slate Magazine
Strong reactions. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. In fact, a vigorous response is precisely what Crispin wants. As CEO Jeff Hicks told me, “We make a conscious effort to have our brands commented on and talked about.” It’s his feeling that in a world supersaturated with content—video games, Web clips, text messages, etc.—to “break through and be noticed is a huge victory.” Crispin is the master of breaking through, getting attention with its provocative TV ads and also with smart viral projects (remember the Subservient Chicken?).
But is all attention good attention? This is an age-old question at the heart of the ad game. And there’s really no right answer. Sometimes a provocative, attention-getting ploy is just what a brand needs. Other times, the tactic falls on its face.
You see, local car dealers have been doing the same thing for years (as did a really obnoxious carpet dealer named Buddy)- they did ads that people talked about- that “broke through” - and that drove our community nuts. Yes, they all have top-of-mind awareness, but, no, it wasn’t the most effective way of advertising. David Ogilvy suggests that you create ads that your mother would be able to like, understand and accept- screaming, being obnoxious, etc. isn’t the answer.
When we were challenged with changing the image of Mendelson’s Liquidation Outlet, we refused to put the owner on his own spots- screaming “I’m crazy Sandy, I’ve got deals” (which of course he did after we ended the relationship)- instead we created the “explorer dude” and his “shopping safari” concept- coupled with the tagline “The first place to look for every last thing”- which cut through the clutter, yet didn’t annoy.
As the industry leader, with everyone scrambling for competitive advantage, Crispin is able to sometimes dicatate to their own detriment. The Haggar Dog Crap spot- while entertaining, may loose the pants in the joke. And while we enjoyed the “Unpimp your auto” campaign for VW- it alienated an audience that could one day be potential VW buyers.
Creating an emotional response is critical in advertising- but, when given a choice, go for something your Mom would enjoy.
by Next Wave Team | Apr 1, 2007 | Advertising, Apple Advertising, BMW Advertising, Brand Relevancy, Crispin Porter + Bogusky, Differentiating Your Brand, Everything You Want to Know About Advertising, Great Ad Agencies, Practical Marketing 101, Secrets of Great Advertising, VW advertising
I’m finally getting around to reading “Juicing the Orange” by Pat Fallon and Fred Senn. (btw- the site sucks if you are blind- or Google, or even a reader looking for the material they reference). I’m withholding my opinion till I finish, but I did note something- Fallon convinced Timex to go back to “Takes a licking and keeps on ticking” with some new executions.
So, before Crispin Porter + Bogusky brought back “Have it your way” for Burger King- other agencies have done the same thing. Which leads me to the question: Why didn’t Crispin bring back “Tastes Great- Less Filling” for Miller Lite? Especially once they were in trouble with “Man Laws?”
Is it because in taste tests Miller doesn’t beat Bud (I’m not a beer drinker)? That would make the strategy fundamentally flawed- and then the ads will actually hurt the brand.
When the VW marketing chief asked for a return to an umbrella theme- shouldn’t Crispin look back at “Drivers Wanted” and see if the connection can be made?
BMW hasn’t abandoned “The ultimate driving machine” through several agencies (although the motorcycle division isn’t smart enough to use “The ultimate riding machine”)- and the concept still resonates.
A well known brand is shorthand for a set of emotions and conditioned responses from the consumer. The tagline, if it is closely identified and well known with your brand- is equity that shouldn’t be thrown away just because you are tired of it. The real creativity comes from being able to keep creating interesting executions that connect to the brand.
Apple has stood for ease of use in the consumers minds for years- but until the “I’m a Mac, I’m a PC” campaign came, they had a hard time getting people to look at them as serious business computers (granted, being able to run Windows has also helped). Nike has “Just do it”- a tagline that could live forever and never be topped. (And to the person who called me on the phone and asked me who wrote it- and I drew a blank- it’s Jim Riswold).
The book “The Brand Gap” by Marty Neumeier covers branding better than any book I’ve read. The hand test and the swap test are probably two of the simplest, most obvious tools a marketer should pass.
The hand test asks if you cover the logo- can you tell who did the ad? And the swap test is equally cool- could your logo and someone elses swap and work better- he shows Polaroid and Nationwide Insurance (I should grab a scan and put it in here).
So- does your tagline instantly identify your brand- and no one elses? If it does, consider yourself lucky- and be really careful about changing it unless you have a really good reason and know it will work.
If you know of other resurected taglines- feel free to add them to the comments.
by Next Wave Team | Mar 27, 2007 | Advertising, Brand Relevancy, Crispin Porter + Bogusky, Differentiating Your Brand, Everything You Want to Know About Advertising, Great Ad Agencies, How To Select An Ad Agency, Practical Marketing 101, Secrets of Great Advertising
Uber cool agency Crispin Porter + Bogusky fired Miller beer as a client after the client started thinking they could do a better job themselves.
Well, when it comes to selling beer, consumers are a mighty fickle group, and the one thing that brewers need to understand is your advertising programs need to be more strategic than tactical- where is the “Just do it” of beer advertising? Why did Miller ever veer from “Taste’s Great- Less Filling” campaign for Lite that got them to the top? In the article on Ad Age, Crispin makes it clear that too many chiefs were killing the creative- a common problem in many marketing programs. If you hire pros- make sure you understand the strategy- and establish what your performance goals are.
Advertising Age - Man Flaws: Why Miller and Crispin Couldn’t Stop Lite From Stumbling
Crispin was a different story. “We just have fundamental differences over creative and strategy” said Chief Creative Officer Alex Bogusky in a statement. “Although we made every attempt to find common ground, the process of multilayered approvals of creative and strategy has made doing work we can be proud of increasingly difficult.”
Those “multilayered approvals” are said to refer to Mr. Long, who was chief marketing officer before being promoted last year; Mr. Ransom; Deb Boyda, VP-brand management; and Erv Frederick, VP-brand strategy for Miller Lite. And it’s been said that Mr. Adami, the SABMiller president, has been taking a more active interest in marketing, although it’s unclear to what extent.
‘Contradictory points of view’
“You’ve got three or four different top-tier people with contradictory points of view,” said one person familiar with the matter, expressing a viewpoint that was shared by two other executives. “There’s a constant shifting of strategy, and a lack of a common vision.”
Miller is now stuck at the height of “beer season” without a mug to present to the public. While there will be many agencies running to Miller with ideas, maybe the guys in charge of marketing at Miller should put their asses on the line and do the campaigns themselves for a whole year- and risk their paychecks on the results?
Crispin proved they knew how to add value to beer with the Twin Label Technology they developed for Molson. Miller has had a string of failures. Remember “Dick.”
The lesson to learn from this debacle is that before you roll out a campaign like “Man Laws”- make sure you understand what the intended results will be- and what you are measuring? Hits on a website are nice- but sales are more important.
Crispin will have a new beer account within 6 months. Miller will have a new agency in 6 months, but this “beer season” will be a bust for Lite- thanks to Miller making the wrong call.
by Next Wave Team | Mar 21, 2007 | Change the world, Creativity, Everything You Want to Know About Advertising, Future of advertising, How To Select An Ad Agency, Marketing & the Web, Practical Marketing 101, Public Relations in the Web 2.0 world, Secrets of Great Advertising, Viral Marketing, Web strategy
Advertising is usually delivered in what we call “paid media” - which would include TV, Radio, Print, Direct Mail, Outdoor, Internet etc. It’s usually your company talking about yourself.
There is also what we’ve come to know as “unpaid media” which is usually described as Public Relations- where your press release, guerrilla stunt, amazing feat, etc. is actually newsworthy- and you appear in the media- usually print, radio, TV or Internet. This could be defined as others talking about you.
Then we have the new media form, and by that, I don’t mean web, Internet, etc. and it’s new name “earned media”- this is where something is so interesting that it gets circulated and watched out of fascination. It is the basic building block of a viral campaign. It is becoming the most valued form of advertising- but there is no price tag on it. You can’t just pony up money and get the eyeballs. Earned media is the result of the new currency in advertising (which really has always been the true currency) creativity. Creative solutions, creative executions, interesting, funny, informative and unexpected messages can take your brand message places that conventional (paid and unpaid media) can’t and won’t.
This creates a huge problem in advertising agency compensation - are you as a client, willing to pay for the value of a good idea? Or are you still basing your compensation plan on the size of your media buy or on hours worked? If you want to earn eyeballs instead of pay for them, the first thing you need to eyeball is what you are trying to buy from your ad agency.
And then decide what kind of media is going to get you what you want.
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.
