The Conspiracy Blog

Ad Agencies Have Become A Commodity

2007-03-14T13:35:00.000-07:00

: Sherrie Perkovich

Yes, the very idea that ad agencies, or any company that is in the service business, can become a commodity is life threatening news. I read such news today in an article in the South Florida Business Journal titled "Virtual Ad Agency Gives Glimpse of the Future."

To their credit, this company has figured out a way to serve the under-served low budget clients that typically end up creating marketing/advertising material themselves....and then wondering why it doesn't work. With more and more small and home businesses being launched, there certainly is a market for this sort of thing.

However, it pains me to see incredibly thought through strategic planning and creativity whittled down to a mere mathematical formula. We give you enough options and you won't have the same ad as someone else. We give you enough options, and you're still going to end up with crap.

We as an industry need to put more emphasis on our intellectual property and experience and less on low budget, low value propositions to "just get something in the market." With the on-going debate about being compensated for proposals and Agency Valuation that the 4As is spearheading, it is essential that we do not undervalue our service.

Otherwise, in my next post I'll be asking you if you want to supersize your order.

Finding the White Space

2007-02-08T14:01:00.000-08:00

:Sherrie Perkovich

Its not news that marketers are under contstant pressure to keep finding new and interesting ways to reach our client's target audiences. With the introduction of seemingly daily media choices, our task is a great one.

I recently read a MSN article that spoke of marketers nearly over stepping their bounds to put our ads anywhere where there is available "white space." I agree with this, but only to a point.

Yes, its true that we are not only advertising in places that are surprising and walking the line of obtrusion. But we also now, thanks in part largely to technology, are able to serve you up advertising messages that you actually want to see.

Advertising has an exciting future. And the future is in behavioral marketing. Instead of trying to merely find available white space to brand with our messaging, we can pinpoint advertising based on your consumption behavior. The beginnings of this trend are seen in search advertising. But search is only the beginning. Companies such as Tacoda are pushing the envelope on behavior targeting and leading the way to the future.

Serving up ad messages based on behavior is the key to truly being able to communicate to an already interested consumer. In the near future, gone will be the days of sitting through non-relevant advertising messages. And soon you'll be getting advertisments targeted to you as an individual consumer. White space that you never saw coming.

Nice Try TiVo

2006-11-28T17:18:00.000-08:00

:Sherrie Perkovich

TiVo, long faced with their advertising issue...that being that viewers who use their product have the ability to skip through ads, thinks they've come up with a solution. TiVo announced today that they will offer a new service which will direct viewers to a screen after a show ends, where they will be given options such as getting a coupon code for a product or watching an advertiser's video.

According to TiVo and an article I read in the SF Business Journal today...they can now "help advertisers effectively engage a target demographic audience while substantially countering the impact of fast-forwarding commercials."

(insert bomb sound effect here) Nice try TiVo. What on earth makes you think that the viewers that are skipping through commercials in-program are going to hang around for the rolling credits and watch an ad then. Have news for you...they're either going to be on to their next recorded program or off the couch and onto the next thing.

How about a non-skipable intro commercial or mid-program? You won't be able to avoid viewers jumping off the couch and into the bathroom or kitchen, but at least you'll have a much better shot of keeping their attention...and those precious advertising dollars.

PR, Optimized

2006-11-27T17:40:00.000-08:00

:Sherrie Perkovich

The lines between direct, online, PR and Search continue to blur. The old PR rules are gone. Web 2.0 and other online tools are the newer, faster, smarter ways to do business. Create ways for your audience (both your customers and the press) to connect. Use the web by leveraging learning and tools from your search strategy and apply to them your PR strategy online through the use of microsites and landing pages.

Take advantage of the tools that exist online in order to improve your press release rankings on search engines. Then, once you get traffic to your site, learn how they got there and what they do once they are there. Make it relevant. Make it clear and concise. Track, learn, optimize, and grow.

Use microsites/landing pages in order to:
- Improve your press release rankings on search engines
- Boost the popularity of your press release and/or company website
- Put your news ahead of others, maximizing your visibility
- Bring qualified prospects to your door

If you'd like to learn more, join me December 6th in Cupertino from 8:45-10:00am at the Business Marketing Association's December roundtable discussion where I'll be speaking on the topic of "PR - Optimized - Using Microsites in Your Online PR Efforts."

Marketing-eeze needs a swift kick in the pants

2006-10-11T15:47:00.000-07:00

:Sherrie Perkovich

Ok marketers, especially B2B marketers and those in the professional services industry, many of you need a fast lesson on what is acceptable and unacceptable use of typical business imagery. I was exposed to many offenders today…whether online, in magazines or in presentations.

Case in point…typical marketing lingo/buzzword paired with the imagery used in marketing and/or advertising materials:

* Speed to market = someone crossing a finish line, arms in the air, ribbon around their chest
* Unique thinking = a light bulb, usually illuminated
* Collaboration = shaking hands, lately, woman and a man’s hand…have to be PC of course
* Competition = running a race, occasionally seen with baton passing or hurdles
* Unique value proposition = a red umbrella in a sea of black ones
* Productivity = a smiling executive at their computer, or also seen with the ear of their glasses in their mouth

By this standard, does retention = water weight gain? Enough is enough. Marketers, please please please, do not attempt to be creative on your own, especially with advertising. Leave that to the advertising experts. There are many agencies out there with thousands of creative teams to help you. I recommend you seek their advice before blending into the ho-hum non-unique selling proposition of looking like everyone else that doesn’t know what they’re doing.

For a bit more on my rants, this one specific to professional services and in particular the real estate industry, read my blog, “I am good-looking and therefore trustworthy.”

Aspire to be Nike and Gatorade

2006-10-05T15:33:00.000-07:00

: Sherrie Perkovich

You don't have to be a company the size of Nike or Gatorade to have vision and innovation in marketing and advertising. Often times I hear the oh so typical excuses...we're not that big...we don't have a big budget...we're not a consumer product...yada yada yada. If nothing else, because of those very reasons, you should challenge yourself to be even more innovative. Don't have a large budget? Be smarter and faster than your competion and think of different, creative ways to leverage technology while supporting your overall brand positioning.

Cindy Alston, CMO from Gatorade was recently named one of the 10 best marketers in the business by Advertising Age. In the article touting her successes as a marketer for both Gatorade and one of their products Propel, she talks about the need and desire to break out of one's compfort zone, to keep in touch with her consumers and continually try new things. The Propel launch happened to be one of the most triumphant launches in the beverage industry in recent years.

My point is to learn from those, like these 10 individuals, who have the vision and courage to try something extraordinary. Allow yourself to try new strategies. Learn, adapt, grow, succeed.

Caught in a marketing undertow

2006-10-03T12:04:00.000-07:00

: Sherrie Perkovich

We’ve all seen it. Hopefully haven’t done it. Reactive vs. Proactive. Oh how easy it is to get caught up and not even know it. Head barely bobbing above the surface. Just trying to “get things done.” Sales barking. CEO barking. Asking the ever present question…why didn’t it work? The marketing/advertising was supposed to get people knocking on the door. What went wrong? Start by assessing the following from your marketing plan…
- Were you trying to say too much? How many messages did you have crammed into the ads?
- Were you no saying anything at all? Where is the brand positioning, were you not giving people a reason to respond?
- No brand awareness. Were you trying to stretch your advertising dollars too far and didn’t have enough air cover for your initiatives. If you’re a total unknown, in this day and age, its harder to break through.
- No money. Did you scrape and fight to get the budget you had. Did you try to do too much with it? You need to work smarter, not harder.
- Was your media strategy off target? Maybe you had a single focused message, with a good brand positioning with good dollars behind it. Possible that your media strategy was off target. Not reaching the right people in a way in which they will engage with your brand.

These are just a few of the questions you can begin to ask yourself as you ramp up for 2007 planning. Often times we are flying at a million miles a minute and forget to take a step back, pull your face away from the computer and breathe. One of the harder things to do in marketing these days is keep your eye on the overall marketing strategy, goals and objectives. Yes there are tactics to get us there, but don’t lose sight of your vision. Everything you do should support that vision as a company. And continually ask yourself, does what I’m doing get us there, or does it detract.

RSS - All that or not just yet?

2006-08-28T16:09:00.000-07:00

: Sherrie Perkovich

I read an interesting article from eMarketer about the adoption, use and overall understanding of RSS. For those of you who are among the 88% that RSS may as well stand for Really Smart Strategy...you are not alone. According to this article, 9% of US employees know what RSS is and only 2% actually subscribe to it.

So what does this mean for your brilliant marketing plan? You've done your homework and want in...many times we as marketers get wrapped up in new technology advertising without knowing exactly what the reach is because of the buzz its creating in the marketplace. Do some research to see how important offering RSS feeds to your customer/clients is. If they are a tech savvy group, absolutely include RSS.

I believe RSS to be a smart way to get your messaging to your client/prospects by them pulling it vs. us pushing it. Helps get past all of the lovely security items such as email blockers, spam filters, firewalls, etc.

The future is going there...just a matter of how fast and if RSS gets a little help from the big operating systems...

Link to the eMarketer article...
http://www.emarketer.com/Articles/Print.aspx?1004127

GOOGLE ISN'T A MEGA BRAND

2006-07-18T13:42:00.000-07:00

: Sherrie Perkovich

Was just reading Advertising Age's article about the Top 200 Mega Brands (http://adage.com/article?article_id=110554). Its an interesting article and one that I feel its methodology should either change or the report should be renamed something like Biggest Ad Spend by Brand. You see, the reports only basis for consideration as a mega brand is how much money a company spends on advertising. Period.

With companies like Google, Yahoo, and even MySpace coming on strong the last few years...and coming on strong with out a large, if any, (traditional) advertising budget. We need to acknowledge the power of these brands as mega brands beyond pure advertising spend. To not have a Google in this list just seems outrageous.

Gone are the days of TV ruling the day. The report does note online's growth...and yes, the industry big boys seem to be trucking along slowly...to add in more advanced advertising and marketing options. It would be a much more interesting and truer report to have an alternative method to measure the brands, beyond pure advertising spend and build a list of who the mega brands in the US really are. Maybe I'll go and Google it....

Stephen Para's playlist - 5/15

2006-05-15T10:54:00.000-07:00

: Stephen Para

Safety Pin Stuck In My Heart - Patrick Fitzgerald
Munich - Editors
Gold Lion - Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Heart In a Cage - The Strokes
Cracked - The Tights
Sugar Daddy - Frank Black
Man of Steel - Frank Black
Talking Shit About A Pretty Sunset - Modest Mouse
Gates Of Steel - Devo
Photocorners - The Lovely Feathers
The Skin of My Yellow Country Teeth - Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
The Hives Meet the Norm - The Hives
Sing To Neptune - Tribe
Never Been Any Reason - Head East
Steady, As She Goes - The Raconteurs
Oh Mandy - The Spinto Band

A mighty judgement is coming...

2006-03-29T12:57:00.000-08:00

: Stephen Para

Corporate America is in serious trouble.

Experience marketing. It’s cute isn’t it? A new name for a very old thing. It used to be that we wanted people to be satisfied, even champion our brand, but then things got expensive. We looked at our sales numbers and we panicked. We needed to make our numbers at all costs. We ported our call centers overseas, we put Six Sigma in place.

Corporate America, you failed. You’ve failed miserably. You’ve failed so bad, that we now need expletives to illustrate your many failings. We’re angry when we get on the phone to you, sit in the airplane seat, punch our keys. Making money is nice now, what are you going to do in the future when we hate you so much we will do anything to not do business with you?

Friends, this is experience marketing. This is the dark side of what can go wrong. It’s not just a nice to have, go about your regular marketing activities, if we can help we will sort of thing. When it goes wrong you will eventually lose.

This time I am going to name names. Sprint is perpetually among the worst performing companies when it comes to satisfying customers. Our own anecdotal story: we tried to change our corporate cell phones from one Sprint account to another. It took us three weeks. Two of the over twenty phone calls lasted over three hours. We had our poor operations person freaking out (and she is usually very very placid). She called and got someone in India who did not speak English well enough to understand her. She called another time and heard so much background noise that she couldn’t understand the woman on the phone. Another call put her on hold for an hour. Another made her wait for a half an hour for the supervisor who would not get on the phone. She encountered obstinate operators, rude call center people, poor sound quality and unacceptable hold times - for someone who is a paying customer. She went to a physical store to straighten things out. They were rude, unmotivated and the store was filthy (a branded store). Sprint is among a cadre of other US and multinational brands that are the worst performing customer experience providers. There is a mighty judgement coming and it’s going to be counted in dollars. Market opportunities arise when big ships don’t take care of their passengers. Other, more in-tune companies arrive and make the big guys disappear.

To be fair and to give Sprint the opportunity to learn, here are the best performers in the experience game:
Apple: wonderful customer service, wonderful stores, superior products.
Virgin: Amazing brand, all their ventures seem to be touched by gold.
Nike: Products seem to exactly service every dream of its users.

Please, corporate America, learn from these brand leaders and do not suffer the peril that awaits companies like Sprint.

We focus on what’s important to us…us.

2006-03-21T13:11:00.000-08:00

: Sherrie Perkovich

Being in the professional services industry myself, I like to keep up on what other service organizations are doing. There is such tight competition in our industry and especially among such categories as law and accounting. Nearly everything weighs on your professional image and referrals. Same with advertising. And of course, there are things that we service folks can do to help push along our brand and image. Things ranging from developing a professional and easy to navigate website to print advertising in publications like the SF Business Times, to hosting events…you name it.

I want to go one step further. Everything you do from your business card design to the clothes you wear has an effect. You want your clients to know that you and your firm will take care of their special needs. You see this reflected in advertising.

I’ll highlight a few perfect examples. First, RINA Accountancy Firm. They have ads running in the SF Biz Times and the Book of Lists firmly stating that this is a company that you can believe in. They are focused on what’s important to your company. They are so focused that they put a photo of the partners in the ad to prove it. Huh?

My second perfect example. Stonefield Josephson Inc. Again, talking a big game about focusing on the client while featuring a picture of one of their accountants/partners sitting on a beach. Even less relevant that the photo of the partners in the office. Its nice to know that Stonefield Josephson likes their employees to take long walks on the beach, but that isn’t going to win them any new clients.

The thing that my second example here did do right is have an offer for a free meeting. It’s probably the wrong offer in the wrong media, but they are trying to move their prospects into action.

These two examples are by no means exclusive. Both RINA and SJ do, at the very least, believe in advertising and building their brand. My point is simple. I think the message of focusing on your clients is a valid one. But it shouldn’t be your main message. Everyone in the space is focusing on their clients, otherwise they wouldn’t have any. Do some digging to discover your company’s main point of difference and make that the focus of your advertising and communication efforts. Then have relevant offers to move your prospects into clients. Your employees with thank you for letting them take that walk down the beach without the cameras following.

Birds Playing Football

2006-02-27T18:11:00.000-08:00

: Sherrie Perkovich

The topic of targeting females during the Superbowl is not a new one. I think it’s a great idea. But it absolutely needs to be done well. I have a newsflash for you marketers, the majority of the women watching the Superbowl are in the same mindset as the men watching the superbowl. They are having fun with their friends, drinking beer and eating food that is way off their diet.

This brings me to Dove. I’m a fan of their latest brand campaign. It seems like such a silly idea that using real looking women, not models, should be an extraordinary breakthrough. They aren’t the first, nor the last. But it is a good idea. And had they created a Superbowl spot in that same vein, I would think that it was money well spent. They didn’t. And I think they could have used the money they spent on the Superbowl ad in a much more strategic way. If you’ve read my earlier blog on the Superbowl, you already know I’m a fan.

I spoke about the right message, at the right time, to the right audience. You need to have all three of these for your advertising to be the most successful. Dove had a great message, to the right audience, but at possibly the worst time. These women are having fun, drinking beers, laughing with their friends at the clever beer advertising. You want to have the crowd react to your spot. You typically get one of four responses.

Clapping and laughter that tells you your spot was funny and worth talking about afterwards. Head nods with a shrug that tells you the spot was clever, won’t be talked about as much as the funny one. Groans because the spot was so bad (and will get talked about). And the last…you get absolutely nothing. No response. Blank stares, until the next commercial goes on to entertain. At the party I was at, the later was the response to the Dove spot. I spoke with colleagues who experienced a mix of groans with blank stares. Its like Dove threw up a hail Mary pass when they should have called for a running play.

You’re all clever readers, you know where I’m going with this. My point is simple. I understand the attractiveness of airing a Superbowl spot. It should be entertaining, it should be memorable. You need to have a broad enough brand to support the cost. My recommendation to Dove is to not give up on the idea of advertising during the Superbowl. But rather to develop a spot that works in the format. I liked the spot they showed. I like it on female targeted cable. I like it on syndicated episodes of Friends and Will & Grace. I even like it during network news and the Oscars. But I absolutely do not like it during the Superbowl.

The Best Reality TV

2006-02-18T10:06:00.000-08:00

: Sherrie Perkovich

Advertisers and clients alike over the years have seemed to think that only beer pushing, mostly naked women, nearly saw your nipple advertising is what works and works well during the big game. I’m talking of the Superbowl of course. It would be impossible to ignore the hype. Is it worth it? Should a client spend over $2 million dollars on one :30 second spot. We can argue all day about the price. But the answer is yes. I agree with the experts. Even if just a little bit.

The idea of reaching an audience so focused on football on one hand and on the commercials on another hand is a dream come true. When else do viewers sit down and spend that much energy watching the commercials, and talking about them afterwards. As an advertiser, it is what we dream of. The Superbowl makes it a reality. And for our clients, that discussion that happens afterwards is worth the money.

I caveat this by saying that you need to have the right message and the right creative to reap the benefits. Because if you don’t, you will have the exact opposite effect of what you were striving for. Bad word of mouth. We’ve all seen those ads. A loud groan comes out of the crowd at the spots completion. Not quite living up to its potential. Not only did you waste your millions of dollars, you’re getting negative word of mouth that will begin to unravel your brand. Be smart, be funny, be entertaining. But remember to reinforce your brand and pay off the message.

I’M GOOD LOOKING AND THEREFORE TRUSTWORTHY

2005-08-02T12:50:00.000-07:00

: Sherrie Perkovich

I was reading through a copy of the San Francisco Business Times the other day. Every now and then they have a special section on real estate and living in the Bay Area. Having a client in that space, I read on. In between the articles, I began to notice the advertising. And then I began to un-notice the advertising. Every single brokerage, firm, etc…all of their ads looked the same, down to the font or should I say fonts used.

At what point in history did it become a requirement to place real estate agents and brokers photo’s in the ads. You see them everywhere. Its almost as if that by seeing the person’s face, you’ll immediately judge them to be a trustworthy firm/person and you should give them business because of it. When everyone in the space is doing the same thing, how can anyone differentiate who is trustworthy and who is not?

A perfect example of this was found on back to back full page ads. One for Coldwell Banker and the other for McGuire Real Estate. Each feature a collage of photos of their “top performers” designed in a way that made me think of my grade school class photo. The only real difference being that Coldwell Banker ponied up for the full color ad. Now I by no means am isolating these two fine companies as the only two violators, I’m merely holding them up as examples of what everyone in the industry is doing. Just like in school when a teacher would give you a detention as an example to everyone else. Or was that just me?

I have an few ideas. Instead of plastering your photo all over your communications, whether they be print ads, business cards or your website, try differentiating your company and break away from the pack. This includes getting rid of the high school yearbook, trying with all your might to not use a photo of the Golden Gate Bridge or having so many properties in your ad they all look the same and it resembles a Sears catalog from 1965.

Go out with a strong brand message and reinforce it with everything you do. Do that, and it won’t matter what your face looks like. And you’ll get voted homecoming king and queen.

IT EXHAUST

2005-07-20T12:31:00.000-07:00

: Stephen Para

Judy Wilks of Bite PR wrote an interesting article about the effect of IT spending on an enterprise, based on research just announced by Juniper Networks. As much as I am pressed in my industry space to quantify, identify and tally the results of any number of The Conspiracy Project’s efforts sometimes that is just not possible. Some of the best campaigns have results that raise the company’s profile but can’t be measured. I say trust your gut. If you’re any good at what you do, you should be taking the smart risks that reap the rewards of seizing opportunities.

I happen to believe that IT spending does help a company in much the same way a good muffle will help your car. Getting exhaust out faster will help the engine push out more power. Is it an engine? No. Is it a better body shape, no. Is it turbo, nitro, hypo or anything that will physically push the car through air faster? No. But it helps and is important. In any normal discriminating enterprise you have to make hard financial decisions in order to move through the air. Sometimes it is better to get a bigger engine (maybe why Apple moved to Intel). Sometimes it is smarter to spend dollars on exhaust systems (any of the numbers of Juniper customers). Juniper simply calls the effect of growing business resulting in growing IT expenditure and vice versa a ‘virtuous circle.’ Well, yes, they would. However, measuring a company’s growth by checking out their IT spending, as suggested by Olga Kharif of BusinessWeek and refered to by Judy, has a mortal flaw in it - what if that company’s primary reasons for existence supersede its need for IT?

INSERT COMPANY NAME HERE

2005-06-09T17:17:00.000-07:00

: Sherrie Perkovich

With so many companies out there vying for their respective audience’s attention, you would think that they would want to differentiate themselves…you know, pull away from the pack. You know from my previous blogs that I’m not talking about bad publicity or running around like a headless chicken suffering from tennis elbow. No, I’m talking about finding out the true point of difference in your company/product/brand, and sticking to it. And communicating it in a clever, relevant way that makes your audience take notice and respond. I’ll pick on the tech sector. When you’ve got as much money as the HPs, Dells and IBMs of the world, why is it that nearly all of their advertising (aside from maybe TV) all looks the same. It’s wasting money advertising a catalogue all over the country and all over the world. And I’ll one up that…

Today’s American business place is saturated by small to medium sized businesses. Those tech giants know that they need computers. According to American City Business Journals, there are over 6.7 million companies sized 1-19 employees*. One would think that these tech companies would want to spend a little money differentiating themselves. Instead they are arm wrestling to see who can go lower and who can look more like the next guy. Headline…insert small business here. Switch headline…insert enterprise here. Switch headline…insert home office here. Instead of wasting money looking exactly like the next guy, put those dollars towards developing a true, unique and relative program/products designed specifically for small businesses.

*City Business Journals, The Pulse of American Business (March 2004)

THAT AD WAS GREAT... WHO WAS IT FOR?

2005-06-09T17:16:00.001-07:00

: Sherrie Perkovich

We’ve all seen those fantastic ads that make you pause and watch, read, listen. Bravo. Well done. You’ve managed to create something that people actually remember. That’s the first part. The second part can sometimes be tricky when you’ve done such a good job at the first. WHO was the ad for? Many times the viewer will recall the category. Hey…did you see that beer commercial? I laughed out loud and nearly shot soda through my nose at that job search commercial with the chimps…. You get the idea. What advertisers and marketers are after is the holy grail.

How to create a good, relevant ad that people remember? If you look at the body of that sentence…you have your answer. Good. Relevant. Create a good ad…whatever form that may take…TV, print, direct, web, whatever. Create something good that stands apart from the competition and while doing so make it relevant to the audience you are trying to reach…they’ll remember it. If they remember it, you’re in a much better place for them to take action.

CREEPY TALKING BABIES

2005-06-09T17:16:00.000-07:00

: Sherrie Perkovich

Last time I checked, talking babies with adult voices were high on the list of things that creep people out. Add to that list clowns, spiders, snakes and the ever-unnatural bearded lady. This comprises a pretty good list of what not to include in your advertising. I think the only time a talking baby is remotely acceptable is a joke on a late night talk show. If you look back in the old advertising books, it tells you that you need a gimmick, something catchy, maybe even a jingle. Remember the jingle? You can still here them on most AM radio stations.

Rather than use something as contrived as a talking baby in your ad, why not use a sound strategy to make a point in a relevant way. This way the audience remembers the message and not that crazy commercial with the talking baby. They won’t remember you or your message. And that’s a waste of your marketing dollar.

TV KILLED THE MARKETING STAR

2005-06-09T17:15:00.000-07:00

: Sherrie Perkovich

The topic of bad advertising/marketing is a broad one, and since so many companies out there keep making all sorts of interesting decisions, I’m going to keep talking about it. I was sitting back watching the 10pm Sportscenter and up comes a commercial for a local SF dentist. Those of you from SF know exactly what commercial I’m talking about. And I know I’m not alone when I say…what the!?! For those of you outside the Bay Area, let me tell you. It’s a small local dentist office. The head dentist (and presumable owner) is the feature presenter. After every sentence he finishes off with a wide, painful looking smile. He then has patient testimonials that also finish with the same uncomfortable smile. Apparently we’re to notice the nice work on their choppers. And he ends the TV spot saying “se habla Espanol”...(insert evil smile here).

Forget the fact that the quality of the commercial is just utter crap. That is a topic for another blog. My point is that this dentist should not be doing TV at all. Someone told him that it was a good idea. Then someone, maybe the same someone, told him what a fantastic idea it would to feature himself in his own commercial…instant stardome!!!!

That “marketing plan” could not be worse. It is meant for a company much larger and much more in need of a bigger brand image than a small dentist shop. Now I’m sure that the good doctor has seen some revenue from this effort. Lots of people who need their teeth cleaned watch late night TV. There is a smarter way to spend your precious marketing dollars than on TV. There are many ways to attract new customers, without taking the dive and spending your budget on TV. Smarter, more efficient, more direct and more relevant ways. How about a really smart direct mail campaign targeted to the areas around the dentist office? How about local newspaper advertising with an offer? What about a search strategy along with a simple, easy to navigate website that allows you to make appointments online? So forget the TV and focus on developing a hard working marketing and communications plan. Your pocketbook will thank you in more ways than one. Painful smile not included.

TRIM THE FAT

2005-06-09T17:08:00.000-07:00

: Sherrie Perkovich

Sometimes when I walk down the street all I can do is shake my head. Some people wear the most ridiculous outfits. The only explanation I can think of is that they weren’t hugged enough as a child and as a result are starved for attention. Forget your everyday freaks, (and we’ve got them a plenty in San Francisco) no, I’m talking your garden variety overweight woman who has somehow managed to squeeze herself into something two sizes too small. My first thought is…does this woman have no one to tell her how horrible that looks? Now don’t get me wrong, I’m all for women feeling comfortable in their bodies and all that stuff. However, I do feel that the rest of us shouldn’t have to suffer. Clean it up ladies.

What does this have to do with advertising you might ask? Well, quite simply, sometimes companies out there need a good friend to tell them to clean it up. That marketing plan clearly does not fit you and in fact, you’re getting all the wrong attention due to it. You don’t want your brand to say I’m easy, cheap and have no idea what good taste is.

My advice is simple, companies today don’t need a “yes man” agency to go along with whatever idea passes as flavor of the week. What they need is a real partner to evaluate their current marketing and advertising plan and tell them honestly what they need, not what they want to hear…you look great in those spandex shorts, half shirt and stilettos.

THE AGILITY ABILITY

2005-05-25T12:52:00.000-07:00

: Stephen Para

Bert in Mary Poppins said it best - “Wind's in the east, mist comin' in. Like something is brewin' about to begin. Can't put me finger on what lies in store. But I feel what's to happen, all happened before. I'm sorry. Where was I?” Things have been on the mend in marketing as of late but all ships aren’t rising. It’s part of a trend that has been developing for years, but now, with the adoption of the iPod etc, has exploded.

Choice is big here in America. At least that’s what we think. Or we want to think. Truth is, we’re a land of discoverers. Or least we used to be. We loved leaning on the shoulders of astronauts, or presidents, or adventurers. However we’ve done a great job of tearing them all down. We wanted so badly to get inside their bedrooms. Then we got there and no one was left to tell us it didn’t really happen.

And yet we still want to find and learn and unearth. So some of us became foodies. Some became weekend Harley riders. Some joined a wine club. Some even became salesmen. We loved the choice and discovery. At the same time companies did what they always do. They made money. In order to make more money they tried to understand what made us tick. They combined and folded together and saved money. Large companies then got a little scared. It happens when you amass a large amount of money and power - you want to protect it. So decisions we made by people in the middle whose job it was to make the decisions that wouldn’t get them fired. Everything got safe. Choice was limited, discoveries were few.

Since 1998 the average hourly radio listenership of American popular stations has dropped by three hours (from 22 to 19 hours a week*). In a mature industry like radio, an industry consolidated, these kinds of trends are cause for alarm.

Advertising has undergone the same change. Large agencies grouped together and became mega-agencies. Profits were maximized, clients believed in the theoretical network model. Choices were limited. Making noise was replaced with ‘protecting what little we got.’ The size and intricacies of these megaliths were too much to serve the clients best interests. Many clients were forced out others satiated that they may be getting good advice from their midlevel agency contacts.

Now witness the births of new mini-agencies housed within these large behemoths. Villages at Grey. Publicis trying to start a new creative group, while their stock price updates in real time on their site. AdAge, AdWeek, and Creativity have long been buzzing about these new wunderkind. No matter what they say one thing will always ring true. If there is a power base to protect, if there is profit to maintain then above all else, creativity (and there by the client’s best interests for getting their message heard) will suffer.

The iPod has taught us something. The iPod serves up a new tune, we pump our hands in the air and unexpectedly say - “oh yeah I love this song.” Radio has seen it too late. Agencies were too large to react. Get ready for it... People like a surprise. We like to discover. Now that the earth has been seen in detail and the moon is no longer an option. We are placated by the idea that we can still discover something in our own worlds. We’ve turned off commercials. We’ve avoided the typical black sedan. We are trying against the best interests of commerce to become a people of interests. Or have we just begun to rediscover exactly what has always worked to pique our interests? Maybe we sense something in the air.