Insights
I'm juiced for Joost™
Naw, I don’t have an invite- yet, but, the beginnings of IPTV are here. Give it a few years, and the idea of cable or broadcast will be toast.
Joost™ - What’s Joost?
Joost is a new way of watching TV on the internet. With Joost, you get all the things you love about TV, including a high-quality full-screen picture, hundreds of full-length shows and easy channel-flipping.
The site isn’t that informative- and it doesn’t look like they have major programming on tap- but, as always with the Internet- being early never hurts, and looking for a buyout can be oh-so-sweet.
Something to keep an eye on- says The Next Wave.
How customers research
Found this in the April 2, 2007 Ad Age:
More than three-fourths of consumers research products online before they buy, and they’re twice as likely to so on a retailer’s site as on a manufacturer’s site.
Do you want to know why? How about the fact that retailers build sites that are search-engine optimized, follow W3C standards and actually watch their stats- to examine how to improve their site- because a better site means more sales. There is a direct relationship from functionality to profitability. Many manufacturers sites don’t make this connection- or do everything they can to make things more complex than they need to be.
A few tips: Never move a URL- if you have a page for your product- the XYZ Widget- always have the same url. Add to it, update it- but don’t change the url. Make sure you have links to the owners manual, instructions, warranty info, a forum to discuss the product, tips on using it- etc.
Allow consumers to say good or bad things about it- if good- say thanks, if bad- try to make them happy. If they aren’t doing it on your site- they will do it somewhere else- and may not find out you have a simple fix or update for your product. Link to as many reviews as possible- making your site the hub (and first in Google) for your product. Make sure consumers can access all commercials, print brochures, spec sheets right from this page. Have S/N, date of production info available as well. Make sure you have high rez photos available so they can put your product on the report to their boss- with why they should buy it- and look good.
These are only a few of the tips for the new way customers research making buying decisions. If you are interested in more- feel free to contact us for a full site analysis.
Live from the Shel Holtz seminar
I’m posting live- with updates- on Websitetology- from the Dayton Ad Club, IABC, PRSA seminar here: http://blogosopher.com/?p=222
enjoy.
Is Crispin Porter + Bogusky the only “creative” ad agency left
The next person who says branding doesn’t count in business to business advertising should be shot. (Not that there are many nay-sayers when it comes to branding- but there are a few).
There are thousands of ad agencies in this country- and all of them would love to be able to take a stab at work for the premier consumer brands- like Nike, Apple, Burger King, Dominos, BMW, Ford etc…
But, when it comes to choosing an ad agency- Chief Marketing Officers seem to have tunnel vision. The list usually looks like this:
Crispin Porter + Bogusky, Wieden + Kennedy, TBWA Chiat/Day, Fallon, Arnold, Martin, Deutch, Goodby + Silverstein, GSD&M - you get the point. Maybe 50 agencies make the list- the rest, fight for the scraps.
Considering it can take at least a year before an agency can (or should) be comfortable enough to take a client in a new category (ad people don’t know everything there is to know about the shoe business- unless they’ve worked in it before) to a new place, with an on target strategy, changes like the following one, make me wonder:
Advertising Age - Nike Moves Running-Shoe Account to Crispin
Nike has officially transferred the creative work for its running-shoe business, as well as the Nike Plus and its Nike ID Web site accounts, to Miami-based Crispin Porter & Bogusky, a Nike spokesman said.
Nike’s running-shoe business was the first account expected to move from Wieden.
‘Proven track record’
“Crispin Porter & Bogusky has a proven track record for delivering creative, breakthrough ideas and we are excited to begin working with them to support these areas of business,” said Dean Stoyer, Nike’s U.S. director of media relations.
Mr. Stoyer said Nike will “continue working with our longtime creative partner Wieden & Kennedy to support the majority of our Nike business.”
Nike has been talking with Crispin for several months, and finally confirmed last month that it planned on moving pieces of its business to agencies other than Portland, Ore.-based Wieden. The running-shoe business was the first account expected to move.
While Crispin Porter + Bogusky is great at making noise, they have yet to take a brand the full course from a nobody like Nike was when Wieden + Kennedy started with them- to the power house they are now.
To abandon the date that brought you is a mistake of major proportions for Nike. If Wieden could afford it- telling Nike to take a walk on the whole shooting match would be the right move. Kudo’s to Roy Spence for rejecting WalMart’s invite to rebid the account after the Draft debacle. Loyalty and longevity in a client/agency relationship are valuable business assets, a part of the “goodwill” number on a balance sheet that shouldn’t be ignored.
The thing that baffles me is that both W+K can have the pick of ad talent (hiring)- if anything has stopped Nike from getting the work they think they are going to get from Crispin- it’s been on their side- not on the W+K side. However, if W+K had moved into a bunker mentality- worrying about losing the account (since it is a major part of their business) and the relationship changed from one of trust- to one of uncertainty, and stopped presenting the riskier, more volatile ideas because they thought that Nike wouldn’t be happy? Nike should look internally for their answer here- because from my perspective- they are trading down for an agency.