From Australia, a beautiful online project to tell the world the story of Eglantyne Jebb, founder of Save the Children. Through a series of lovely illustrations we are invited to take twelve lessons in leadership discovering the world of Mrs…
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I left Denver in August 2003, and while I’m in touch with a few friends who work in the business there, I’m pretty much out of the loop. Which is one reason I enjoy reading The Denver Egotist.
Here’s something The Egotist posted today that has me scratching my chin.
McClain Finlon had another round of layoffs, with pretty much everyone not connected to an existing account receiving paid severance. The head count is around 20.
I’m not sure what to make of this assertion. Just two weeks ago, Denver Business Journal, reported that the agency had 158 staffers.
What’s not in question is the fact that McClain Finlon lost marquis account Qwest Communications to DraftFCB last winter.
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In Japan Smart has launched an online project where it invites users to design their ideal Smart. At first sight the website reminds of a project MINI did a few years ago, when they asked consumers to design the cover…
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CHICAGO (AdAge.com) — One of the marketing industry's biggest proponents of radio advertising, Anheuser-Busch, is significantly slashing spending in the medium for the second half of this year as it embraces cost cuts to fend off a hostile takeover bid.
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In the UK, France, and Germany, the Internet is significantly more influential than any other media, according to a study (PDF) by Fleishman-Hillard and Harris Interactive. In fact, online experiences, at least in these European countries, are nearly twice as influential as TV and eight times more influential than traditional print media. Matt Dickman, a VP at Fleishman-Hillard in Cleveland, gives a nice overview on his blog:
The study looks to really dig in to the role that the internet plays in the lives of consumers. It answers the following questions:
What is the influence of the internet compared to other media? What online behaviors are consumers adopting? What is the impact of the internet on specific consumer decisions? What are consumer attitudes towards the internet? What are the differences by country?
Most of us who work in the digital space already have answers handy for these foundational questions, but it never hurts to have charts and graphs from a reputable, third party source come client meeting time.
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Filed under: Syndicated
In the UK, France, and Germany, the Internet is significantly more influential than any other media, according to a study (PDF) by Fleishman-Hillard and Harris Interactive. In fact, online experiences, at least in these European countries, are nearly twice as influential as TV and eight times more influential than traditional print media. Matt Dickman, a VP at Fleishman-Hillard in Cleveland, gives a nice overview on his blog:
The study looks to really dig in to the role that the internet plays in the lives of consumers. It answers the following questions:
What is the influence of the internet compared to other media? What online behaviors are consumers adopting? What is the impact of the internet on specific consumer decisions? What are consumer attitudes towards the internet? What are the differences by country?
Most of us who work in the digital space already have answers handy for these foundational questions, but it never hurts to have charts and graphs from a reputable source come client meeting time.
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Filed under: Syndicated
According to Marketing Daily, French jeweler and watchmaker Cartier has chosen to kick off an online campaign for its latest collection, Love by Cartier, on MySpace.
“Blogs, group(s) or individual Web sites are no longer the signs of a new era, but are an established reality for a whole new generation,” said director of international communications, Corinne Delattre. “As a large brand, we must be able to communicate to this new generation of adepts of the digital world.”
According to a recent Forrester Research study, only a third of the world’s premium brands sell their goods online. But that’s a mistake, Forrester concluded, as about 80% of high-net-worth consumers–with annual gross income and assets of at least $500,000–use the Internet daily, and regularly buy products online.
In its first few days of existence, Cartier’s MySpace campaign has attracted some 100,000 visits, and “friends” like Sting.
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What happens when you microwave a cell phone? The cooking process causes a nasty-looking monster to bubble up out of the handset, all screaming and pissed off. The spot, by Droga5 for pay-as-you-go cell service Net10, has something to do…
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Five years ago interactive was still an exotic discipline. One that lacked respect from traditional creatives reared on print, radio and TV. Of course, that’s changing and fast, for even the most entrenched people in advertising know how to follow the money.
Brian Morrissey of Adweek, reminds us that the transition is still underway, particularly when it comes to award show recognition.
The issue, long a point of contention among the digital shops that bring traditional agencies’ concepts to life, blew into the open in Cannes when BBDO took top honors in several categories, including a gold Lion in Cyber, for HBO “Voyeur.” The crux of the issue: The HBO “Voyeur” site was created by Big Spaceship, a small Brooklyn digital shop. The lack of credit given to Big Spaceship caused jury chair Colleen DeCourcy, chief digital officer at TBWA, to mention the forgotten partner when giving the award to BBDO. Still, the snub riled Big Spaceship CEO Michael Lebowitz, who served on the Cannes Cyber jury. He maintains that BBDO did not deserve all the credit for something it didn’t create.
“The era of everything being based on the great idea is over,” he says. “Other things have risen to a common level of importance.” Without interactive experts to bring ideas to life, he adds, the big ideas are like “a fart in the wind.”
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As the July 11th launch date for the iPhone in Canada approaches, there’s a real groundswell brewing up here in Canada. The question is, will it be powerful enough to achieve the change Canadians are desperately seeking?
On Friday (June 27), Rogers, Canada’s exclusive iPhone carrier, announced the voice and data plans for the iPhone. To put it mildly, they’re expensive. And to add insult to injury, there is no unlimited data option. The plans are an obvious price gauge by the country’s only GSM network provider. In fact, as I’ve been reading, these are among the world’s most expensive iPhone plans. In addition, you have to commit for three years and there’s no option to add a data plan for the iPhone to your current voice plan.
Sensing discontent, I visited Summize and searched for “iPhone Canada”. Clearly, Canadians on Twitter were incensed at the plans. From Summize, I was pointed to a thread on the Mac Forums. Again, the 32-page thread was almost entirely negative. From the forums, I clicked over to a site called “fuckyourogers.com”, which has since been redirected to ruinediphone.com.
Well, I’ve been tracking this site all weekend and I’m astounded by its results. The site was launched on Friday with this simple introduction:
“Everyone would like to say “NO THANKS” to Rogers/Fido for screwing our iPhone Canadian dream with poor data/voice plans. If you consider these plans not suitable, please sign this petition. On July 11th 2008, we will send a printed copy of all these messages to Rogers HQ to demonstrate our indignation toward them. We would like to say “Thank You, You” for signing this petition and helping the iPhone cause in Canada.”
When I checked in on Friday, there were approximately 4,000 signatures. As of Monday morning, there were over 16,000 petitioners, the site had been submitted to Digg over 2,600 times, and both CNN Money and Reuters Canada have written about the story.
If you skim the petition, you not only get an idea of how angry people are, but about how much business Rogers will lose over this. A high proportion of the sentiment here is about how people who were going to buy the phone on July 11 will now turn away and look elsewhere. In some cases, people who were prepared to sign up their entire family, each with their own phone, aren’t going to do so now.
Early reaction from Rogers has not been promising either. In a post on the Electronista blog, which is quoted in the CNN Money article, we’re treated to this from an unnamed Rogers spokesperson: “Unlimited plans could end up costing customers more for what they don’t use,” the spokeswoman argues. “Our iPhone plans more than accommodate the vast majority of customers.”
While leery about the anonymous source, the overall tone wouldn’t surprise me after years of dealing with the company.
So how should Rogers handle this very loud and public protest? Well, for starters, they should at least acknowledge that they hear what’s going on. The company can’t possibly keep its head in the sand on this one and pretend that nothing is being said online. From there, they’ll either stick to their guns and leave it for people to vote with their wallets, or use the remaining week and a bit before the launch to rethink their position and come out with better plans.
Stick to their guns and they’ll come across as arrogant and greedy. Make a change and they’ll look sympathetic and smart.
Will the groundswell create some change up here in Canada? Stay tuned.
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Marketing Daily recently conducted an interview with The CMO Council’s Donovan Neale-May, who divulged some starting information. It appears that in a survey conducted by The CMO Council and the Boston Consulting Group of 1000 senior marketing execs, only 6% of respondents felt that their “go to market” capabilities were “very good.”
Huh?
So much for laying the proper groundwork—you know—putting the proper strategies and tactics in place for bringing new products and services to market effectively. In an article titled CMO Council Survey Finds Inertia Among the Ranks, it was the opening paragraph that really got my attention… and kind of shook me up.
“Marketers are not taking advantage of all—or even many—of the tools available to them to create effective sales and marketing platforms. What’s more, they know it—and they’re not doing much about it.”
Now if that isn’t eye-opening enough, the study and article went on to disclose that “despite their acknowledged deficiencies, the majority of executives are unwilling to stray outside of their comfort zone.” Wow!
• 66% of respondents reported that they remain focused on traditional marketing, branding and promotional communications.
• Only 26% reported making inroads in better understanding their consumer targets was a priority.
• Only 14% cited retail and service execution was a priority.
Neale-May observed that the “same old” proven marketing strategies might be effective, it’s also important to embrace “innovative new approaches.”
You think? The results of this poll are staggering, when you consider how much the world has changed due to new technologies, communications platforms and well-informed consumers who talk to each other. Not only that: the huge increase in global competition.
What on earth are these marketers thinking?
Apparently, many of the marketers surveyed recognized a need for the following:
• 52% are modifying sales and marketing strategies for better results.
• 32% need to hire new talent.
• Yet these two areas are not a fiscal priority—58% cited these two initiatives would have to be financed from current budgets.
Not surprisingly, the survey found that a healthy 48% of executives surveyed stated they had “insufficient resources as a barrier to implementing successful programs”. 48% said they had “talent issues” and 35% cited “a gap between current and desired capabilities.”
As to the future focus for the marketers surveyed?
• 56% are focused on ‘talent management and performance’—85% reported that they are rating the success of their marketing programs via revenue growth. And 53% reported that customer acquisition and retention were employed as marketing measures.
• 52% are focusing on ‘business strategy’
• Only 14% are focusing on investing in new metrics
• Only 12% are focusing on technology and IT
• Only 20% are focusing on productivity
• Only 10% are focusing on channel development
In a nutshell, here are my observations/questions, and I’d love your input on my ruminations, as well:
• Do marketers have the luxury of hiding behind the conventional anymore? I don’t think so.
• Don’t you think it might be time for marketers to leave their comfort zones and initiate some new programs—investing in some new media approaches to reach their customers and engage them in some meaningful dialogue, for example?
• Were you struck, as I was, that marketers in this survey placed such a low emphasis gaining better customer insights?
• How about “Only 14% cited retail and service execution was a priority”? Am I the only one who thinks that’s deadly to business???
• How can 85% of respondents say they measure the success of their marketing efforts by revenue growth and place so little focus on their customers? Doesn’t it strike you that this survey points to an internal focus on “talent and implementing programs” if—sigh—we only had enough of a budget, rather than being customer-centric?
• Lastly, how can these marketers who really are paralyzed by inertia—as this survey indicates—expect to gain the respect of their CEOs, CFOs and company presidents, if this is their M.O.? I’m willing to bet these same marketers smart about “not having a seat at the big table” and “a lack of respect.”
What do you think? I’d love to hear from you.
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Do you know Amy Winehouse? For those who lived under a rock “Amy Jade Winehouse is an English singer-songwriter, known for her eclectic mix of various musical genres including soul, jazz and R&B. Amy Winehouse was born in the Southgate area of Enfield, London to a Jewish family who shared her love of jazz music”
Every [...]
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Filed under: Africa, Celebrities, Controversial, Drugs
Given England’s established culture of drunken football hooliganism, one would expect the public to already appreciate how much puke their local city councils clean up. But oddly enough, they don’t. Hence, a lovely little ad campaign celebrating the down-and-dirty exploits…
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Possibly unable to lure any paying clients in these tough economic times, PR agency Porter Novelli says it’s creating a “pop-up fashion agency” called Jack + Bill that will “provide free branding, buzz building, media relations and viral marketing services…
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The latest Dark Knight advertising has made its way online, including an updated Gotham Times and some Joker journalism to match. Harvey Dent is also still touring the U.S. in his Dentmobile and leaving voicemail for his constituents. (It’s sad…
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Filed under: Syndicated
Art doesn’t imitate life, it imitates advertising. Back in January, Italian artist Graziano Cecchini had the balls to create a crappier version of Sony Bravia’s award-winning ad, this time at the Piazza di Spagna in Rome. According to this video…
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JCPenney’s Rock Your Look online karaoke promotion ties in with the Teen Choice Awards. The winner gets to present an award at the show. The show and the promo clearly target teens, so what’s with the retro—more like Stone Age—song…
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This IHOP commercial from 1969 is pretty weird, but is it really evidence of someone being “a little too Rooty Tooty on the Fresh and Fruity,” as the YouTube description suggests? That sounds like something Potsie Weber would say. Regardless,…
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NEW YORK (AdAge.com) — As marketers and media buyers scramble for more street-level advertising space in big cities, store windows are emerging as a new kind of billboard business. Store operators and building owners are going for the idea because it turns underused window space into cash. A growing number of marketers like it because new technology can make window advertisements three dimensional and interactive — and more likely to directly engage pedestrians.
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LONDON (AdAge.com) — The world's most-expensive burger — at $190 a pop — is not to be found in an exclusive Manhattan restaurant, but in a tiny branch of Burger King in West London.
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WASHINGTON (AdAge.com) — Anxious to fend off a reprise of the storied 1987 Florida ad tax, local broadcasters and media groups are marshalling for a fight, arguing that the move could end up costing Florida as much as $250 million.
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CHICAGO (AdAge.com) — The economy is making you fat. As gas and commodity prices rise, consumers are finding themselves with fewer spare dollars to reduce their spare tires. As a result, marketers of organized diet programs such as Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig are expected to feel the pinch.
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Americans are weird. While Europeans wouldn’t dream of naming anything but a street after some national leader unless he’d be dead man who had actually achieved something positive. Not the Americans. They actually have special commisions to name stuff after presidents.
Now, there’s a whole lot of governmental or useful buildings you could name after presidents. [...]
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Filed under: Classic
Stephen Floyd practices an innocent form of culture jamming. Here’s an example of his work in Fairplay, CO.
[via The Moment]
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From Russia, with love, here is the link to the new Russian Standard Vodka website, for the pleasure of your eyes. I like the idea that the first level of content is all video based and starts playing automatically when…
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According to The Wall Street Journal, Groove Armada signed a comprehensive one-year deal with spirit company Bacardi.
The two DJs will be the main act at Bacardi-sponsored concerts in six venues from Miami to Athens. Andy Cato and Tom Findlay also will produce records that Bacardi can use as background music for its global television-ad campaigns.
Euro RSCG KLP, who brokered the deal.
As well as making and performing music at Bacardi’s “B-Live” concerts, Groove Armada will take part in a yearlong fly-on-the-wall television documentary and produce six radio shows — all about the life and travels of Messrs. Cato and Findlay.
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Looks like the government wants to get involved in TV’s last best hope:
Possibly coming to televisions across the nation: stronger warnings that the Cokes, Oreos and Sidekicks flaunted by actors have bought their way onto your favorite show.
That’s what the Federal Communications Commission signaled yesterday when it said it would review new rules on how television programmers let viewers know when those “props” are really paid pitches.
FCC Chairman Kevin J. Martin said product placements and integration into story lines have increased as television viewers increasingly use recording devices like TiVo and DVRs to fast forward through commercials. Currently, agency’s rules require television programmers to disclose sponsors who have embedded products into shows. Those disclosures typically are done during the credits at the end of the show, which fly by viewers in small script.
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Rick Myers points to an interesting piece about how we read online by Slate’s Michael Agger.
Near the end of the piece, there’s a link to “Hamlet’s Blackberry: Why Paper Is Eternal” by William Powers.
Here’s a clip from Powers’ 74-page document:
Paper is the most successful communications innovation of the last 2000 years, the one that has lasted the longest and had the profoundest effect on civilization. One can easily make the case that
without the technology that is paper, there would be no civilization. Yet most of the time, we don’t even think of paper as a technology. And so we don’t ask the questions we routinely ask about other technologies: How does it work? What are its strengths and weaknesses? Is it easy and enjoyable to use?
All of which leads me to ask, do you pause to consider the medium you’re writing for? Do you write differently for paper? And who among us still puts pen to paper when forming ideas into coherent expressions?
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For many of us, being able to fly is the stuff you do in dreams. Such a shame this can’t actually happen without the heavy use of special effects. I guess Honda’s marketing team took their inspiration from their last campain when they thought this up.
So, anyway, [...]
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Filed under: Cars
‘Cue Confessions is a new BBQ blog written by David Bailey and sponsored by Delta’s “Sky Magazine.”
[via Adages]
In related news, Danny G. has been busy shooting and editing footage of BBQ expert David Gelin visiting famous Georgia smokemarks.
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YORK, Pa. (AdAge.com) — It's taken nearly two years, but it looks like Sony might be finally turning the corner with its PlayStation 3 video-game console.
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Orbit gum can prepare you for the tough times in life. Like when your husband cheats on you. Thanks to the strong teeth you???ve cultivated through your Orbit habit, you???ll be able to destroy his clothes, his golf clubs, his…
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Our neighbors to the north are an interesting lot. Leaving aside their eerie friendliness, they also apparently drink what sounds like a noxious concoction: tomato-clam juice. This would be a tough sell here, but Tribal DDB is having some fun…
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