by Next Wave Team | Dec 5, 2005 | Advertising, Design, Everything You Want to Know About Advertising, Guerrilla Campaigns, Marketing & the Web, Web strategy
Today- a good friend called me and asked me to take a line of commentary off my list of ad agencies in Dayton because I was hurting someone’s feelings- a “good guy”- who took what I said about his agency “website” personally. There was nothing personal about it- it was purely a professional warning that what someone clicking on the link expecting something professional, was going to find something, well, plain and simple, terrible.
It’s not a site- it’s an “under construction” Flash animation- something that obviously took some time, and a bit of thought. I’ve never understood “under construction” sites- either put up something real, or don’t do it at all. The thing about this “site” is that it’s been this way for at least five years- and the punch line is “Butt check back soon” with an animated construction worker showing his backside.
We take what we do here pretty seriously- advertising isn’t something for the meek, the scared or the gutless- it’s about working hard- taking calculated risks and figuring out how to work smarter instead of harder, and- it’s competitive- very competitive.
So, when the call came from my friend- and he asked me what I was doing- I told him: I’m probably driving more traffic to this guys site than he could have gotten any other way, and that I was hoping this might get him to actually put a real site up, one that wouldn’t be an embarrassment to the profession that I love. My friend said that I wasn’t being nice, wasn’t being fair- and that I’d attacked someone personally (to me, a personal attack is when I say “you’re ugly and your mother dresses you funny”). So, I’ve relented and removed the comment- the link is still there for you to find, but it’s up to you.
It’s been said that “good advertising will kill a bad product faster than bad advertising will kill a good product” and this site should have killed this agency long ago- except no one could find it since it was all in Flash- which doesn’t index in Google worth a spit unless the coders really work hard to tag everything. Our list of agencies in Dayton was probably the only way anyone would find it- and, to be honest, we’ve had that comment up for over a year before this guy figured it out.
He can blame me for pointing out how bad his site is- or he can fix it.
He could even come take our Blogosopher seminar and learn how all this stuff works, so he doesn’t have to have an embarrassing site.
Or- he could say, thanks, because like it or not, that little line of text- “this could possibly be the worst ad agency site ever” probably got him more hits than he deserved.
What do you think?
And- if you are wondering why I don’t link to the site- well, I’m being “nice”- you can either start at the top of the list and start clicking- or write me an e-mail and I’ll tell you which one it is.
Note: 21 Dec 2005- the offendsive Flash annimation is now history- so we’ve done our part to improve the world for the moment.
by Next Wave Team | Dec 3, 2005 | Advertising, BMW Advertising, Design, Everything You Want to Know About Advertising, Marketing & the Web, Retail, Web strategy
“Pardon me, please check your cell phone at the door” might be the future greeting at Wal-Mart- or any other retailer. Today many health clubs don’t allow cell phones in locker rooms because picture cams could be used to take pictures of people without their permission- your local retailer may not want you to be scanning barcodes into your web-enabled cell phone.
Picture this: you walk into Best Buy intent on buying a 60” Plasma High Definition TV. You’re ready to spend $5000 and then some- but, before you say yes to the kid in the blue shirt who’s thinking about the neon he’s going to be putting under his new Honda with his bonus for selling that big TV to you- you whip out your cell phone, scan the product barcode- and send it off to Google’s price comparison site- Froogle and back comes the information that if you drive 1.2 miles over to Circuit City (and here’s the link to the Google map) you can buy that same TV for $4200, and if you order it from Amazon.com you can get it for $3995.
Whoa. Did I just say going out of business sale for every brick and mortar store?
Quite possibly. There is a rule to retail, you can’t be cheapest on everything all the time- and still be profitable- even if you can accomplish huge economies of scale like Wal-Mart has, because there will always be someone else out there ready to beat your price on something.
A client of mine in the very competitive pizza business calls it the race to the bottom- and refuses to take part. He focuses on quality, value and being distinctive- making pizza that no one else does.
So in the retail wars- what has Wal-Mart really brought to the table that isn’t available somewhere else? Nothing. Just as GM flooded the market with different versions of the same vehicle- with so many dealers all competing to sell the exact same thing, Wal-Mart, even with the low price, can be beat by someone else- and if you have the power of the Internet in your palm- you may realize that you can get your milk, bananas and eggs at the Kroger on the way home for 20% less- so you skip Wal-Marts profitable items and just stick to the stuff that they make no margin on.
What retailers are going to be immune from this Internet assisted buyers- those that have unique products – like Target has done with its designer lines. Or where the branded buying environment is a lifestyle statement- like the new Harley Davidson showcase stores. Although I would have sworn that Apple was making a huge mistake by investing in retail stores- they’ve done two things very right- true customer service with hands on experts to guide the uninitiated in the way of Mac- and extended their brand into a branded environment that reinforces their high style franchise that differentiates them from all the other processor in a box manufacturers.
So, before you worry so much about the utilitarian low price behemoth that is Wal-Mart, or the froogle enhanced cell phone price shopper, start identifying how to evolve your shopping experience into a one-of-a-kind branded lifestyle. If you need further reinforcement of this branded experience- here are some of my favorites: IKEA, BMW Mini Cooper, Apple, Chipotle, Trader Joes, or W hotels.
What do you think?
by Next Wave Team | Nov 15, 2005 | Everything You Want to Know About Advertising, Future of TV, Guerrilla Campaigns, Marketing & the Web, Web strategy
We have three television news organizations in Dayton OH. Some city’s may have more- some less. Even with the cost of ENG (Electronic News Gathering) cameras and remote technology, there are only so many reporters available at any time.
Enter citizen journalists armed with cell cams, digi-cams, camcorders and an Internet connection- they can post their story on their blog or site faster than a news director can get a crew on the scene.
The cell phone pictures out of the London Underground bombings were front-page news- globally. You don’t even need standard NTSC quality if your content is compelling. So, what are local news operations doing to counter this threat- not a thing.
Instead of building a community of news gatherers- or even a community online to support their broadcast news, they are still doing the same thing they’ve always done- and still advertising as “The Leader” or “StormCenter” or something else totally unrelated to building a 2-way relationship with their viewers.
This is so absolutely critical since local news is the ONLY thing they actually serve as a content provider on- and as any reader of this news section knows- content is all there is to distinguish you from your competition.
What’s more interesting is the site www.scoopt.com, where anyone who happens to be the next Abraham Zapruder (he’s the one who shot the home movie of the John F. Kennedy assassination) can upload their content for sale to the highest bidder.
This could be the next big things in local TV ENG- enlisting your community and paying them for the hottest story tips and shots instead of carrying a load of reporters that can’t be everywhere at once.
What do you think?
by Next Wave Team | Nov 12, 2005 | Everything You Want to Know About Advertising, Marketing & the Web, Web strategy
The Next Wave will host our second Blogosopher seminar Friday November 18, 2005.
Information about the course is on www.blogosopher.com
Register now for maximum savings- and to reserve your seat.
This course will teach you how to use a blog to maximize the number of hits to your website- and to build relationships with your clients.
The first class was well received- the next one will be vastly improved thanks to class feedback- and a reorganization of the material.
by Next Wave Team | Nov 6, 2005 | Advertising, Everything You Want to Know About Advertising, Future of TV, Marketing & the Web, Web strategy
November 14, 2005 issue- Business Week, with IKEA on the cover- in the letters to the editor:
“Soon, TV advertisers will be thanking Steve Jobs”
It’s not movies Apple Computer Inc.’s (AAPL ) iTunes Store will revolutionize — it’s TV and the ad industry that fuels it (“Hollywood holds its breath,” News: Analysis & Commentary, Oct. 24). Now you can buy last night’s Lost for $1.99. Next you’ll be able to get it for less in exchange for watching and interacting with targeted ads. The return-on-investment model Google Inc. (GOOG ) has championed, combined with the customer profiles of an Amazon.com Inc., (AMZN ) will let advertisers buy the exact eyeballs they want, with a feedback mechanism. Bandwidth and digital- rights issues will be solved as the $46 billion TV ad industry realizes that this is the future. Hollywood may be the last on this bandwagon, but there’s no question that once again, Steve Jobs is leading it.
David Esrati,
Chief Creative Officer
The Next Wave
Dayton
This is the second time I’ve had a letter published in Business Week. The first one was on “mass markets“
by Next Wave Team | Oct 27, 2005 | Everything You Want to Know About Advertising, Marketing & the Web, Web strategy
The Next Wave will host our first Blogosopher seminar Friday November 4, 2005.
Information about the course is on www.blogosopher.com
Register now for maximum savings- and to reserve your seat.
This course will teach you how to use a blog to maximize the number of hits to your website- and to build relationships with your clients.
