P+s Tour
Want to find out a little more about the P+s culture? Check out this video.
July 15, 2008
July 09, 2008
Having it all? I'm not having it.
At least not for the next seven-and-a-half weeks.
I am not sure what woman decided that women should "have it all" — work and family, that is — at the same time. Whoever she is, she deserves a kick in the pants. "Having it all" is a near-impossible task, and I have been doing it for almost sixteen years. I'm exhausted. I worked through my last anniversary. I missed my daughter's last concert. I miss most after-hours work outings getting my kids to karate. Every day is a juggling act. Some days, I don't feel like I do either work or home very well.
I'd be willing to bet that most women who "have it all" could say the same thing. The working moms I see at after-school pickup are as ragged as me.
I have been pretty lucky, though. I work for a great company. I get to do great work and leave at four to pick my kids up from school. It's worked for sixteen years, and now, I'm getting a six-week sabbatical. But I am not going to use the time to perform community service or travel around the world. I am using it for me.
No deadlines. No traffic to race through. Finally, cleaning the house will make it to the top of the list. Maybe I'll even be able to "date" my husband again. Sure, I'll have to break up a few (well, probably more than a few) fights between the kids. But other than that, I have no real plans. I've worked since I was sixteen, so this will be new to me. (Maternity leave doesn't count.)
I won't stop thinking about advertising, though. It's in my blood. I'll notice my clients' competitors' ads. I'll be influenced by new, interesting work I see. I'll stay away from email, but I won't stop reading my favorite web design blogs. I'll Twitter. Watch a lot of movies. Paint. Who knows what else?
I'm looking forward to not "having it all" for a little while.
Thanks, PARTNERS+simons. See you August 25th.
June 25, 2008
One thing.
In City Slickers, Billy Crystal asks Jack Palance to reveal the secret of life:
Curly: You know what the secret of life is?
Mitch: No, what?
Curly: This.
Mitch: Your finger?
Curly: One thing. Just one thing. You stick to that and everything else don't mean ****.
Mitch: That's great, but what's the one thing?
Curly: That's what you've got to figure out.
One thing. It's as important in getting your message across as it is in life. OK, OK, maybe not "as important." But make a single point. Clearly. In a smart, meaningful way. And you're likely to have a very effective piece of marketing communication.
Alas, that's not the reality. Too often, we try to cram in as many points, proofs, features, benefits, graphs and charts as space or time will allow. All with the assumption that a prospect will eventually stumble across something relevant. Somewhere in there.
Who's got that kind of patience? Or time? Or interest?
Not me.
I'll bet not you, either.
And that, gentle reader, is the point.
June 17, 2008
Gold at NEDMA
PARTNERS+simons and Genzyme received a Gold Trophy at the The New England Direct Marketing Association 2008 Awards for Creative Excellence for Best B to C Campaign.
The award was given for Balanced Living (See "Custom Content"), a quarterly magazine designed as part of a larger integrated acquisition and conversion campaign for Genzyme's SYNVISC.Balanced Living magazine was designed to look and feel like a real magazine – not like a sales-focused direct mail piece. Each target segment within the SYNVISC database receives a different version of Balanced Living based on their specific segment's needs.
Response to Balanced Living from the target audience has been strong, and Genzyme has even receive requests for additional copies and subscriptions for people not on the current mailing list.
Special thanks to Genzyme and the SYNVISC team for the opportunity to develop this program. Also, thanks to the P+s team that developed this excellent piece of direct marketing creative:
Steve Lynch, Creative Director
Anthony Henriques, Creative Director
Doug Dayhoff, Art Director/Designer
Matt Fishbein, Copywriter
Ed Feather, Sr. Brand Director
Beth Johnson, Brand Manager
Melanie Winn, Traffic Manager
Victor Cali, Senior Production Manager
May 28, 2008
Marketing Across the Senior Schism
I've recently been working on a campaign for one of our healthcare clients, targeting people who are eligible for Medicare, or soon will be -- basically anyone over sixty. It sounds simple enough, but in trying to think about the tone and feel of the campaign, my partner and I found ourselves bumping up against a major divide within this population. We had to speak simultaneously to a generation that came of age during World War II and the prosperous post-war years, and another—the Baby Boomers--whose identities were forged in the cultural upheaval of the sixties and seventies.
There's lots of talk out there about how to market to Boomers. We all know they're more active, educated and media-savvy than past "senior" generations, and there's big money to be made off of them. But the majority of the senior population is still composed of non-Boomers, and will be for a while, even as ballooning numbers of Boomers join the retiree ranks. (The oldest Boomers, remember, are only 62.)
This means that for now, marketing aimed at so-called seniors has to speak simultaneously to the generation that swung to Sinatra at their high school prom and the one that rocked out to the Rolling Stones; to the people who said "don't trust anyone over thirty" and the people that they were talking about.
How can marketers bridge the generation gap?
May 14, 2008
Graduating into the great unknown
I recently had the opportunity to take part in Creative Café at Boston University's College of Communication (COM). On a rainy Monday evening, young advertising students waited anxiously to share their portfolios as local industry professionals like myself filed into the student lounge.
The night started with wine and hors d'oeuvres, but quickly turned into an exchange of ideas—and hopefully some sound critique. I met with student copywriters and art directors one-on-one to review their books and weigh in on what I liked and what I didn't. I tried to offer the best advice I could, while also sharing some pointers on how to break into the creative side of advertising. After all, graduation lurks right around the corner.
As a COM grad (Class of 2000), the event reminded me of how difficult it is to get your start. It wasn't so long ago that I was on the other side, crafting my first book, seeking counsel, and developing the thick skin needed to survive it all.
Of course, it all comes down to the creative, even at that early stage. But in this tough market and in this digital age, expectations are higher than ever. Tim Brunelle, an early mentor of mine at Arnold (whether he knew it or not), just wrote a "commencement speech" to May's grads. Tim Brunelle discusses the difficulties of breaking through and shares a survey he conducted with 10 creative leaders and recruiters. It's a compelling read.
March 28, 2008
Can a Brand Jump the Shark?
40-somethings know that the term jumped the shark was coined after an episode of Happy Days when Fonzie overcame his fear of sharks by jumping over one while water skiing. The series was pretty much over from that point on. A lot of times TV shows jump the shark when a couple has a baby (Mad About You), a new character is added (Cousin Oliver on the Brady Bunch) or a couple hook up (Tony and Angela on Who's the Boss). Bad decisions that ruin a good thing.
When a TV show and an advertiser hook up during the show is it possible that either one or both can jump the shark? I believe that it's true. Every time an advertiser gets in bed with a TV show the potential is there. Trading Spaces jumped the shark when Paige Davis—reading from a script—told the red team to clean up their newly designed room with Swiffer mops and Bounty. The show would hit us over the head with a product demo then cut to a 5 second close-up of the logo on the package conveniently placed on the counter. Talk about buzz-kill.
Advertisers are buying into the idea that consumers aren't watching TV commercials, that the DVR is killing the medium. Maybe this is sorta true, but I think that what they are doing now—sponsorship inside of a TV show—is killing their brand and ruining the show at the same time. As a consumer and creative director, I am conflicted. I can't blame brands for trying to reach consumers. And I can't blame networks for trying to replace income from less commercial revenue. But as a consumer, I hate it. Most of time it comes off as fake and obnoxious. Is that the right message that brands want to send?
Reality TV is now Brand Advertising TV.
Last night, on Bravo TV's Top Chef, Padma told the cheftestants "Get into your Highlanders, we are going on a field trip." We then see 3 Toyota Highlanders rolling down the road and park behind each other. Close up on car logo. Ugh. I'd rather see more cooking. Then, Padma tells us and the cheftestants that the block party cooking challenge is sponsored by mealstogether.com. What? Who? Luckily Kyle/TheBookPolice, a blogger, did the research for me. Mealstogether.com is owned by Clorox. Clorox owns KC Masterpiece, Hidden Valley and Kingsford charcoal. Oh, that's what all the endless close-ups on the labels were for — product pimping. And at the website — a cross promotion with Top Chef. Don't get me started on all of the cuts to Wholefoods products this year. OK I get it. Who is writing and directing the show? The producers, salespeople, advertisers? All the suits. No one creative.
If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
I am ranting about this because my beloved Apple is killing their brand during Amercian Idol. Apple has the best advertising on TV. Period. I have never seen product demonstration ads better than the iPhone spots. Or anything hipper than the iPod commercials. Loved the Mac and PC guys. And I think I have every word of "New Soul" song featured in the new Macbook Air commercial memorized. It plays during Idol and everywhere else on the TV.
Last week Ryan Seacrest "borrowed" an iPhone from a girl in the audience who just happened to have one in her hand. He then pretended to demonstrate — the screen was black — how easy it is to use an iPhone to download a Idol's song from iTunes. Behind him a video showed a close up (someone else) touching an iPhone. Bad, bad product demonstration. Last night we saw a five minute video about how the Idols record their songs that are available on iTunes. One used the iPod to learn her song. Cut to iPod while she talked about her iPod. One downloads other Idols' songs. Cut to iTunes Website while she talked about iTunes. Cut to Idol working on the laptop. And so on and so on. A 5 minute lame commercial disguised as a behind-the-scenes package on the contestants. Shame on Fox. Shame on Apple. And I can't believe Steve Jobs approves of this.
Advertisers beware. People are starting to rant. Read the ew.com TV Watch recaps and the reader comments. Bloggers and consumers are talking negatively and complaining about the endless promotions during TV shows. Think twice before hooking up on TV. Has the Apple brand jumped the shark because it's in bed with Idol? Can you think of any other Brands that have jumped the shark because of TV show tie-ins?
March 25, 2008
A dynamic, innovative, groundbreaking post
The other day on my way home from work, I heard a sponsorship message on the local NPR station from a financial consulting firm claiming to help companies with "dynamic needs." Maybe it was just because I'd had a long day or because my blood sugar was low, but it really annoyed me. What exactly is a "dynamic" need? Can a need really be "marked by usually continuous and productive activity or change"? (Merriam-Webster's definition.) What the sponsor meant - I think - was that they could help companies with constantly changing needs. But instead of just saying that, they threw in the much less precise "dynamic."
Now, admittedly, the word "dynamic" is sexier and more, well, dynamic than "constantly changing." But it's also one of the most overused words in B2B marketing and, as such, has almost lost its meaning entirely. The same could be said for "innovative," "cutting-edge" and "forward-thinking." (If a company really is all of these things, I always wonder, shouldn't it be able to think of a more original way to describe itself?)
Of course, my frustration in this area is hardly novel. People have been complaining about marketing clichés for as long as there has been marketing. ("By golly, if I read about one more of these 'new and improved' snake oil tonics, I'm going to bust my buttons!") What starts as fresh is doomed to become over-used and stale, and will ultimately ring hollow.
A couple years back, Jonathan Kranz actually posted a frequency report of what he terms "gobbledygook" in business press releases - words and phrases like "next generation," "robust," and "groundbreaking." (Surprisingly, "dynamic" isn't on his list.)
I'm not suggesting that words like these can or should be avoided completely. But they should be employed with caution, and used with precision -- not sprinkled into copy just because they sound "snappy." In most cases, simple, straightforward language snaps best of all.
March 17, 2008
Why "Feel better" Feels Right
Tylenol's current "Feel better" campaign is an intriguing new direction in healthcare advertising - one that we can learn from as fellow marketers. Not only is it a totally different tone for Tylenol as a brand, it's also a different take on the challenge of securing both the headaches and hearts of consumers.
One of the campaign's core tenets is providing people with simple tips to lead healthier lives. For example, how better posture can help you avoid headaches. Or how a warm bath can lower a baby's fever. In essence, they're telling us how to avoid Tylenol, which on first glance seems pretty foolhardy.
Imagine Dunkin' Donuts advertising how a good night's rest will keep us from needing coffee. It's not going to happen. Besides, "America runs on 8 hours of sleep" isn't nearly as catchy of a tagline.
Yet Tylenol's campaign works. Created by Deutsch New York, it rings true on a human level, reminding us that, yes, we get sick. Yes, we are fragile. Yet there are simple ways to address these issues—and feel better. And if that doesn't work, maybe Tylenol will. It's a subtle soft sell that strikes the right balance.
Even the design is friendly and welcoming, as if the ads are just notes left for you across the media landscape, signed "Feel better, Tylenol." It's a great tagline, especially on the heels of their "Stop. Think. Tylenol" campaign, which was clinical and cold.
I actually worked on a pitch for Tylenol in 2004 while I was at Hill, Holliday. We lost, but when the "Stop. Think." campaign came out, I was shocked. Our ideas connected on a personal, emotional level. Clinical just felt wrong. Apparently Tylenol agreed, albeit four years later. Lesson learned.
The "Feel better" campaign seems so commonsensical, which is probably why it feels so different. Not to sound like a brand ambassador, but it just makes me feel better about Tylenol. AdGabber agrees, while also taking a closer look at the Tylenol TV spot's focus on the realities of aging.
Striking that right chord in an extremely crowded and competitive healthcare marketplace isn't easy. You may disagree that Tylenol actually achieves it, but you have to admit how big of a struggle it can be sometimes. Frankly, it's enough to give you a headache. Hmmm, that gives me an idea…
February 13, 2008
Outdoor 2.0
Ernie Schenck's blogs is one of my favorites in the industry. He recently blogged about an interactive outdoor board promoting A&E’s new series Paranormal State.
This particular outdoor board went way beyond traditional two-dimensional messaging by actually transmitting
"voices" from the roof of the building using beam sound technology know as Audio Spot Light. It made for quite the unnerving experience. It's also a great example of taking traditional media and reinventing it.
We're seeing more and more of these new executions in order to get the attention of a public with the decreasing attention span. And I have to confess; this kind of stuff is one of my guilty pleasures.
Reports are now showing out-of-home to be a rapidly growing and effective channel, despite all the talk about it being a "dying medium." Check out these historic figures on outdoor expenditure from the Outdoor Adverstising Association of America. There is even an international advertising competion dedicated to ourdoor advertising exclusively.
Still not convinced?
January 31, 2008
WWBD?
David Griner over at Adfreak recently blogged about the dreaded e-newsletter: "Packed with puffery, these lengthy invasions of your inbox usually survive there only because it's so hard to unsubscribe from them." So true! I only read a fraction of the e-newsletters I get, and almost none of them on a regular basis.
Griner goes on to spotlight one e-newsletter he actually looks forward to: the weekly dispatch from video-game retailer GameSpot, written by Gary Offut. What sets it apart? Says Griner, "it's informative, brief and, quite often, hilarious."
Brief and informative seem like a good, no-brainer advice for any e-newsletter: respect your customers' limited time, and provide them with something of value, beyond sales pitches and offers. As for the "hilarious" part -- if you're a video-game retailer, sure. If you're in a more "serious" business, like healthcare or financial services, irreverent jabs and pop culture references probably won't fly.
But your e-newsletter still can have its own distinct, human voice. Think about the e-newsletters you actually take the time to read. Chances are, they're the ones that feel like they're written by a real person – not cut and pasted from the company web site or crafted by committee. They're immediate. Conversational. Personal. Maybe a little quirky.
Remind you of any other kind of e-communication out there? Like, say, the one you're reading right now? Yes, indeed. E-newsletters today are increasingly taking their cues from blogs. You could even argue, as some marketers do, that blogs obviate the need for e-newsletters.
Nick Usborne sums it up well in Four ways the best e-newsletters are like blogs, "We select the blogs we like in large part because of the person who writes them. We like their voice, we enjoy their perspective, we connect with the way they write, we generally agree with their opinions…The same is true of some of the best newsletters."
So, maybe the question to ask yourself when it's time to generate that next e-newsletter isn't "How can we more effectively engage and appeal to our target audience through this communication," but, more simply: "What Would a Blogger Do?"
October 18, 2007
The Ad Curmudgeon on Bad Analogies
If there’s one type of ad campaign that gets me riled up and shouting epithets at magazines or the TV screen, it’s that of the random analogy. There’s one running now for a financial company whose name (lucky for them) escapes me. It features people doing senseless things -- a man attempting to relax in a beach chair in the midst of raging whitewater, for example -- with a line to the effect of “Not saving for retirement doesn’t make much sense either."
Well, yeah, true. Then again, choosing an unreliable cell phone service doesn’t make much sense either. Neither does buying a sub-par network server for your business. Or paying a lot for your muffler, for that matter. My point? The analogy between sitting in the middle of a raging river and not saving for retirement, as executed, is so loose that you could use it to talk about almost anything. What’s the point?
When you’re trying to market fairly intangible products and services of the sort we specialize in here at PARTNERS+simons -- financial services, healthcare, biotech, pharma, etc. -- as opposed to, say, laundry detergent or blue jeans, it can be challenging to creatively represent value propositions. The random analogy is tempting: it’s easy, and can be visually arresting. (I did, after all, stop and read the ad I described earlier.)
But in this grumpy writer’s opinion, an ad is much more effective -- and makes the company that runs it look a lot smarter -- if the analogy is tight. In the case of the aforementioned financial ad, how about a visual that’s actually about not planning ahead? Or at the very least, a line that draws a direct comparison between the visual and the problem at hand? Something like, “If you’re too relaxed about planning for retirement, you could find yourself in deep water.” It still wouldn’t be a very good ad. But at least it would make sense.
October 12, 2007
Drop the meat in the dirt?
It is well known that if we don't learn from our mistakes, we are bound to repeat them.
And though I try hard to be professional about all of this, I went into a research presentation on the effectiveness of a long running campaign with some trepidation. As the Creative Director, I take it all more personally than I should. Besides, I don't want to attract attention to myself because I dropped the meat in the dirt.
The study was to test our multimedia campaign among a statistically significant sample in the geography in which the advertising runs -- and to evaluate it against competitive advertising. Among all the qualitative research we do, this was done by quants -- this was for real. We would have the measurement data to understand what we could do better and what we had done well -- across a variety of attributes and dimensions.
I was both relieved and proud that our campaign outperformed all the national advertisers competing against our client -- by an order of magnitude. And truthfully, I did learn some lessons about how we can improve upon the recent performance. But what I didn't expect was that I learned a surprising number of those lessons about what to do, and what not to do, based on data of how poorly those competitive campaigns performed.
In this instance, if we don't make the effort to learn from our competitors' mistakes, we run the risk of committing them before we have the opportunity of repeating them.
August 22, 2007
Making Medical Marketing a Little Easier to Understand
According to the PEW Internet & American Life Project 80% of American Internet users have searched for health information on the web. Most start at a general search engine to find health information, but eventually narrow their search to a health portal or a disease specific site. Finding health information on the web is easy, but finding the RIGHT information, and information that can be trusted or easily understood is another story.
According to the American Academy of Physicians (AAP) there are now more than 24,000 medications on the market, and many have Websites with reams of product and disease information. Combine this with the many health portals such as WebMD.com, CDC.gov and MayoClinic.com, and consumers often have more information than they can handle. This means drug marketers need to be more and more careful about the information they provide online and how it is presented. Is it enough? Is it too much? Is it easy for the target audience to find the Website, read the information and to understand it?
Continue reading "Making Medical Marketing a Little Easier to Understand" »
August 13, 2007
One for the Road
While on vacation, I happened to be reading On the Road by Jack Kerouac and had a few insights that struck me as worth sharing. It's not so much the content of the book that struck me, which is great in it's own right, but rather the way it was written.
Working for roughly three weeks straight and without interruption he birthed the first draft of the book. Taping together pages of paper and feeding the one long scroll into his manual typewriter so he didn't have to stop his freight train of thought. Wonder what Jack would be able to create if given today's technology?
I find this method of working very seductive as well as productive. The day before my vacation I found myself at work early tying up a bunch of loose ends before leaving that day. I had serious doubts about everything coming together; I thought there was no way. Well, it did.
Working from the gut, like Jack and with a solid deadline, not only gets the job done but also produces fresh work that is built on energy, not a second overthought. Well, for me anyways.
Jack Kerouac's original scroll of On the Road is now on display in Lowell, MA through October, then on to NYC (http://www.ontheroad.org/). It's worth checking out because the scroll itself is an art piece.
So if Jack could pound out a book that defined a movement in 3 weeks I can’t help but wonder what else can be accomplished that fast...
July 15, 2007
The Big Leagues
Recently we filmed Jerry Remy, former Red Sox second baseman and current NESN color analyst, for our Sovereign Bank TV advertising. If you don't know Jerry, it's likely you live outside New England or don't follow the Sox. He is a great choice for a lot of reasons, chief among them is his reputation of telling it like it is. Last week I was in a car listening to an interview with Jerry on WEEI. Suddenly, the discussion led him to speak about his experience shooting the ads. Oh, man. What would he say? Of course, he called it how he saw it. Take a listen.
Also, take a look below at the internal spot we created to get the Sovereign troops excited about their new campaign.
July 13, 2007
Surrounded by Simpsons
Any time I get more than 3 emails from 3 different people on the same topic on the same day I stand up and take notice. Especially when it has the subject “monkey with a death wish.”
But that’s not what this is about (although it is pretty darn funny).
I’m talking about the marketing for The Simpsons Movie. (In theaters starting July 27, 2007. Doh! I couldn’t stop myself.) It is a great example of surround the customer creative that works.
But let me start with a warning. If you think the Simpsons is stupid, stop reading and go ahead and click on the monkey with a death wish video.
But if you’re one of the many who consider the Simpsons TV show to be a high water mark in American culture and the most consistently funny, longest running sitcom in TV history, then by all means stay with me here.
Lots of brands try to surround the customer with marketing. But it doesn’t always work. And when you take on something as legendary as the Simpsons, it better be good and on brand.
Well, hooray, hooray, the people marketing the new Simpsons movie have it just right. For starters the movie site is incredibly addictive and engaging. Granted it is still under construction, but I love the way the site immerses you in Springfield.
If you have time to kill, check out the Wrecking Ball Game. Very cathartic. They also feature a tool called Create Your Simpson Avatar – a terrific, free lesson in cartooning the Simpsons way! There’s even a MySpace page that hits the right notes. All this plus a variety of desktop and mobile downloads from ringtones to icons to wallpapers.
(Even as I write this I can’t wait to see the movie. And pre-order the DVD. See, it works.)
While most of the target audience for this film lives online, the Simpsons marketing team also has a smart guerilla campaign. For a limited time (as in during the promotion of this film) a number of 7-Eleven Stores have turned into Kwik-e-Marts from the show. The 7-Eleven site itself is a partner in crime.
June 29, 2007
Ray Welch (1939-2007)
A Shout Out to Ray Welch
This morning was no different than any other morning. Got up at 5:15-ish, got ready for work, grabbed the paper off the front porch, ate while scanning the Boston Globe. No Red Sox game to read about or articles that complain about Julio Lugo, the Sox latest shortstop. The Celtics draft "trade" was a bit of a let down. Dunkin Donuts is now selling iced tea — but it's the sugary flavored stuff. Micheal Moore's latest documentary, "Sicko," got good reviews.
Finally, I turned to the obituary section, "Ray Welch, 68; ad man was voice of Hub radio commercials."
"Damn!" I said to my husband, Howard, "Ray Welch died."
My Husband has worked with Ray. Howard is a recording engineer at Soundtrack. He told me this morning that Ray once told him he was a patient guy — Ray couldn't decide how he wanted to record some copy and Howard sat and waited. Ray had the best voice for radio. The ads he used to do for Tweeter were the best, when Tweeter was at its best.
I never had the pleasure to work at an agency with Ray, but he was a client — sorta. Ray wrote a book, COPYWRITER A Life of Making Ads a few years back. What's neat about the book is that Ray asked many of his art director and designer friends to each design a different chapter in the book. My boss, Tom Simons, was a good friend.
Together Tom and I had the pleasure of designing the cover and a chapter called Killington Pitch. In addition to the version that's in the book, we also created a PDF — with sound effects — of the chapter. The story is very, very funny.
Ray Welch was an old school ad guy. Before the industry was taken over by computers and faster and faster deadlines, advertising was a true craft. And Ray was a craftsman. I hope that the younger generations in the business take the time to read his book. If you work with my husband Howard, he has a copy on the client desk in his studio. Better yet, listen to Ray read it. You get the best of Ray — his writing and his voice.
June 05, 2007
What We Can Learn from Broccoli
I am currently reading Ideaspotting: How to find your Next Great Idea by Sam Harrison. The book offers suggestions about how one can find creative ideas by looking at life in new ways. I came across one particular anecdote I'd like to share.
Liking broccoli is not the same as eating it.
A boy goes to dinner at a friend's house, and the mother asks if he likes broccoli.
"Sure," says the boy. "I like broccoli fine."
During dinner, however, the mother sees the boy hasn't touched the broccoli.
"I thought you said you likes broccoli," says the mother.
"Oh, I like it," replies the boy. "I just don't eat it."
Sam's point, "watch what people do rather than just ask for their opinions. What they tell you often belies their behavior."
This is a great excuse to move from behind the computer, leave the concepting den and try something different than the traditional focus group session. If we take the time to watch our customers and observe their behavior out in the real world, rather than make assumptions from what has been reported, we may spot our next big creative idea.
Great advice.
March 28, 2007
Top 10 Key Success Factors in DRTV
As more and more “traditional” brands seek greater ROI for their broadcast investments, they are turning to the DRTV format (short format and long, infomercial format) as a way to both drive demand and build their brand.
If you're considering doing so, or just appreciate a reminder of how to ensure your DRTV spots are successful, here is a top 10 list of key success factors to keep in mind when developing, producing and placing DRTV campaigns:
- Understand your target - Use a profile of your best customers to drive your targeting and messaging strategy.
- Strong offers (incentives to respond NOW) are crucial - Next to the accuracy of reaching your target, having a unique, relevant and compelling offer is critical.
- Be sure to employ multiple, consistent response options - Make it easy for people to call, click or visit. Consistent placement of response types throughout the spot, from beginning to end will ensure optimized response.
- Demonstrations work - The more people can “experience” offering benefits the better.
- Long spots work better than short ones - Because you can provide greater demonstration of the product/service and longer spots allow for multiple calls to action.
- Better with a brand umbrella - So you can focus on traffic building - DRTV spots that are supported by separate, brand building efforts will perform far better than trying to drive demand and build the brand in the same spot – you’ll tend to do neither as well as you might.
- Cable and syndication stronger than network - The data here are overwhelming. You’ll generate lower CPAs due to lower CPMs and there is simply a boatload of evidence that shows that cable and syndication placements have generated better historical response rates.
- Leverage the power of versioning - Track message and media effectiveness with unique phone numbers. Vanity URLs don’t work though (too bad)…ask people where and when they saw a spot if you drive them to the Web.
- Make the experience seamless - From viewing the spot to responding to the offer to making a purchase…make it smooth throughout the brand experience.
- Don’t over complicate the testing - Just because you can measure a bazillion things doesn’t mean you should.
Follow these ten tenets and you’ll be well on your way to developing high performing DRTV campaigns.
March 26, 2007
The "new" AT&? – A Cingular mistake
AT&T has decided that after many years and billions (yes that’s bllions with a B) building a hip, memorable wireless brand that putting the word "new" in front of initials that stand for American Telephone and Telegraph is a better option. Uggh. (American for a global business in this day and age? Telegraph? What?)
Well, these are the same people after all who, upon acquiring MediaOne (one of the best and potentially most powerful names ever for a potential consumer triple play offering of cable-phone-internet) chose to change the name of that company to AT&T Broadband. Double uggh.
And what about two HUGE investments in the Cingular brand – American Idol and the new iPhone from Apple?
I think this is a case where one of the world’s least hip brands (AT&T) may actually do harm to two very hot brands (Idol and Apple).
March 02, 2007
Another Reason To Skip The Movies
When you go out to the movies, do you go to watch advertising? Do you go to learn about diseases? Or do you go to be entertained? I’ve loved going to the movies since I was a kid, but the experience has really gone downhill over the years with the high costs of tickets and snacks, and fewer and fewer films that are worth paying to see.
The short ads that play before movies begin can be entertaining, as they often fill the time when people are still getting popcorn or finding seats. But in the near future, if you visit theatres in select cities, you will be able to experience a 58 minute long pharmaceutical ad/disease awareness documentary.
February 23, 2007
Our Time With Edward Tufte — Presenting Data and Information
Over the past two days, a group of us attended Edward Tufte's workshop on "Presenting Data and Information." For those of you who are not acquainted, Tufte (Professor Emeritus at Yale University) is the brightest light in the art (design) and science (cognitive study) of presenting all forms of data. He has authored a handful of remarkable books, each of which would be of interest to anyone working in this information-intense environment.
A bunch of our art directors/designers went to the workshop, as well as Steve Lynch and Trina Arnett our newly minted Director of Research and Measurement. And we all left with new perspectives, refreshing arguments on presentation integrity, and a boatload of insights that we will be incorporating into our work product.
Tufte runs numerous workshops all over the country. I can't recommend them highly enough. Hit one. Here's more information: http://www.edwardtufte.com/tufte/courses
February 07, 2007
Turner Broadcasting and Press: The Good, The Bad, The Wildly Successful
This letter by Tom Simons was published in today's Boston Globe regarding the coverage of the recent Turner Broadcasting guerilla marketing snafu in Boston. The campaign received nationwide coverage by the news media when local police, homeland security and other agencies descended on the Boston area thinking that, what Turner considered a guerilla marketing campaign, was in actuality some sort of terrorist activity. Turner and their marketing agency have since agreed to pay a $2 million fine for their actions.
WHILE THERE may be a lot of folks in the attorney general's office congratulating themselves, there is certainly no shortage of high-fiving going on somewhere inside Turner Broadcasting. For while the settlement in the guerrilla marketing episode may be adequate compensation to cover the response expenses and associated anxiety, it will not deter similar guerrilla tactics in the future. Quite the contrary.
The extraordinary media coverage generated by the campaign -- to say nothing of the late-night talk show airtime -- is "worth" tens of millions of dollars. Legitimate and honorable public relations firms regularly calculate the "value" of the press they "earn" for their clients, and I am certain that someone at Turner Broadcasting or marketing firm Interference has run those numbers for this campaign and updates them daily. (The name of that cartoon show was on the front page of today's Globe again -- above the fold, no less.)
The $2 million settlement is a small price for Turner to pay (on top of whatever Interference charged) for all the publicity this (obviously successful) campaign stimulated. But if this kind of unfortunate stunt is to be successfully discouraged, the penalty will have to be equal to, or greater than, the value of the resulting media coverage.
TOM SIMONS
Boston
The writer is president and creative director of Partners and Simons, a marketing service firm.
© Copyright 2007 Globe Newspaper Company.