advertising advice superbowl ads blog

TEST

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 15:00:22 -0500

In hopes of repeating the success of Google's Adsense program, Google Inc. thought it had developed a technology for transmitting, scheduling and tracking radio ads.

Unfortunately, their foray into selling radio advertising and tracking the success of radio scripts with web links in them did not revolutionize the media aspect of the business. Instead, Google is pulling the plug on its attempt to automate radio-ad sales tomorrow (May 31, 2009).

Google said it has "Devoted substantial resources to developing radio and print ad," but the resulting products "didn't have the impact we had hoped for."

It's a shame that even the brilliant minds at Google could not figure out a way to track consumer response to a radio spot. Like the famous Wanamaker quote, this may be an example of advertising working, despite not having a way to prove it:
 "I know half the money I spend on advertising is wasted, but I can never find out which half." -
Read the full story from the Wall Street Journal here: Radio Tunes Out Google in Rare Miss for Web Titan

Tue, 6 Oct 2009 16:07:18 -0500

"People want things that make their lives
the way they wish they were."

Peterman is the founder of the J. Peterman Co., and is featured in a new book: Accidental Branding: How Ordinary People Build Extraordinary Brands by David Vinjamuri.
“He's the man who built his mail-order business to $70 million dollars in sales and reinvented the catalog as we know it,” Vinjamuri writes about Peterman.
What was the accident that gave Peterman his start?
He bought a long, canvas coat known as a cowboy duster at a store in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. He got so many compliments that he started The J. Peterman Co. to sell dusters worldwide.
So began an accidental brand, “The J. Peterman Coat.”
The duster is sold at www.jpeterman.com for $198.
I bought that cowboy duster some years ago--and have yet to wear it on a horse. Yes, I do own a horse, but after falling in love with the romance of this image in particular--the flagship item and company logo-- I was convinced having a horse earned me the right to wear it.
The sketchy illustration had me half way there, but it was the copywriter who sealed the deal when I read the body copy:
"Classic horseman’s duster protects you, your rump, your saddle and your legs down to your ankles. Because it’s cut very long to do the job, it’s unintentionally very flattering. With or without a horse.
Although I live in horse country, I wear this coat for other reasons. Because they don’t make Duesenbergs anymore."
This kind of sparse, smart copywriting sets up a romantic notion of a lifestyle in so few words, it compels you to buy the thing partly to become what the product portends.
When I got it home (in July) it hung on my door to I could fantasize about wearing it as soon as the weather dropped below 60 or rain/wind was imminent.
But here we are, years later, and the now coat hangs in the closet, sad and droopy, completely ashamed that it will never live up to the expectations millions of people had for it
J. Peterman may have gotten dozens of compliments on it, but my mirror basically told me: frumpy woman in a canvas coat. There was no tough, rough-hewn quality to it, and the promised corduroy collar was just a flap of fabric that refused to stand up to even a drizzle.
Where was the romance? The dashing, just-rode-into-town quality the picture had promised?
This is exactly what good marketing can do, and even good marketers fall prey to it.
Because once you've paid for that image, it's such a disappointment to see all you really bought was a coat. Just a coat.
The J Peterman catalog copy has always conjured up images of precious finds from faraway places. Everything is given the same epic treatment. "Traveling once from Tangier to Tetuan, I noticed the Berber women had tiny pieces of fragrant orange peel ...at the upper edge of their veils."
Peterman has never really been to Tangier, but that, he says, is beside the point. "Clearly, people want things that make their lives the way they wish they were."
And clearly, he's right.

Again, it's emotions that make the sale. And when the image the brand creates lines up with the image we want our life to be?

Whether it's a car, a house or a coat, that vision and eternal hope what truly makes the cash registers ring.

Marketing tricks that deter brand loyalty

Thu, 20 Aug 2009 13:23:04 -0500

Last week, I fell for a simple but annoyingly complicated marketing ploy from a company who has now cemented in brand DISLOYALTY forever.

Sure, the Fresco company got my info and email address, but that's the last thing they'll ever get from me.

So how did a fairly savvy marketing professional fall prey to the con?
 It begins with my love of fresh mozzarella. My favorite summer delicacy is fresh basil--just picked from the bush outside-- fresh tomatoes (when they can be picked from the bush outside) a little garlic, olive oil and they key ingredient: fresh mozzarella.

So, imagine my parotid glee when, last week at the local HEB grocery store, the lid of the packed-in-water fresh mozzarella had a little yellow coupon that read "SAVE $4"

That was enough to get me to choose that brand over the other one (there are only two options in fresh mozz at HEB). I peeled off the tiny yellow thumbprint-sized sticker offer and put it in my change purse.

First disappointment: getting to the register to find out this coupon has to be redeemed via the internet. No, it was not the "instant coupon" it seemed to be.

Okay, fine, I thought. "Next time I'm on Firefox, I'll print the damn coupon out.

Second disappointment: I had to get my reading glasses out just to unfold and then read the coupon. The only thing legible to the naked eye was the aforementioned SAVE $4." Once I located a pair of glasses, I saw that it actually folded out into three panels. The top one said, SAVE up to $4 on your next purchase of Mozzarella Fresca when you buy one today. For coupons and recipes, see details inside.

Third disappointment: no recipe inside. I got a tiny thumbprint ad ("Where great Taste Meets Great Price") and a web address, plus a "code" I would need to redeem the coupon, but nary a dang recipe.

Disappointment #4:
I log onto the website, still thinking, okay: 15 seconds to print a coupon is worth four bucks off a five dollar tub of fresh motz."

I get to the website and see DOWNLOAD YOUR COUPON NOW and click it.

Disappointment #5: Instead of DOWNLOADING MY COUPON NOW, I am taken to a data mining form I have to fill out...

Disappointment #6:
...and it's a long form. And just about everything has the little red "required" asterisk by it.

So at this point, I take 3 minutes to go look for my never-use-it email/gmail address to avoid spam on my main two, but I can't find it quickly, so I sigh and type in the real thing.

Disappointment #7. Yes, I am already up to 7 counts of making me loathe this company and I have not even SEEN a coupon yet.

During this PITA, I'm thinking two thoughts: "I can still back out of this" vs. "I am one click away from done with this. Gimme my damn $4 coupon."

Thought #2 won and I clicked SUBMIT info, feeling like it might as well just say SUBMIT or perhaps, SUBMIT, you penny-pinching fool."

Disappointment #8: I finally come to the coupon screen, but it's a trick: not one coupon, but thee, all with their own special fine print, and the one I want, the one I expected to say "Save $4 on your next tub of cheese" actually reads:

SAVE .75 (on your next purchase of one Mozzarella Fresca)

DISAPPOINTMENTS #9 & 10: I just gave away ten minutes of my non-refundable time and valuable personal information for 75 cents.

So, what about the $4 coupon the original tiny yellow sticker promised?

You have to buy THREE TUBS of cheese to get $4 off. Since I'm not planning any big parties with hours of chopping, I clicked on the measly 75 cent coupon, thinking, "I might as well get SOMETHING for all this trouble" and that lead to...

DISAPPOINTMENT #11
When you choose and click on the ONE coupon you are allowed, you are taken to an entirely different screen and company website (Bricks, which is quite ugly) which says "You will need to install special Coupon Printer software."

DISAPPOINTMENT #12:
A this point, I am fed up and ready to cut my losses. I am NOT downloading software onto my Mac for a 75 cent coupon from a company I now loathe.

You gotta draw the line somewhere, and these marketers seem to think they can nudge you over that line little by little. Well, in this case, and I'm guessing, many others, they get the info they want --along with the solemn vow to never, ever buy anything from them or their parent company again.

If only the fine print somewhere said who "them" is, If I figure it out, I'll post it here.

Meanwhile, this company has cost me about an hour of aggravation over this coupon fresca fiasco --if you also count the hour it took to blog and complain about it.

And all it cost them was a little print production, and maybe a few thousand customers.

Demanding clients? Give them two choices.

Wed, 12 Aug 2009 09:36:08 -0500

A Rare Google Goof

Thu, 28 May 2009 13:55:37 -0500

Ramsey discusses the economy at a national Town Hall Meeting.

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 20:35:59 -0500

Tonight, over a million people in more than 6,000 locations joined together to listen to Dave Ramsey's Town Hall for Hope as he offered his thoughts on the economy, the fear-inducing media, and how to turn the tide of fear in our communities.
Some of the highlights:
Ramsey cautioned against the “Spirit of Fear” people are picking up from the media—in many cases, for his audience, that would be Fox News.
The general premise of the evening’s talk: Fear is the antithesis of Hope.
He believes that government interference is a “dumb idea” and compared today's economy to the events of the Great Depression.
In 1939, John Maynard Keynes, who some consider the “father of capitalism” visited FDR and advised him: “Government must invest in public works and must run deficit spending” to bring us out of the Depression. Thanks in part to the New Deal, we went from 25% unemployment to 1%, but part of that, as Ramsey pointed out, was due to WWII.
Milton Friedman later challenged the notion of government involvement and the ideas behind the WPA, claiming the depression was a result of “government mismanagement.”
Ramsey agrees with Milton and says good government is built on three legs: Political freedom, economic freedom, and moral restraint.
He believes in “capitalism with a value system,” but when people are scrambling for money, that value system seems to shift: "Commerce without mortality destroys.”
Ramsey quoted Ralph Waldo Emerson, who said, “Doing well is a result of doing good” and reminded us that we need to allow for failure. He mentioned a book called “Failing Forward” which sounds like something we could all stand to read right now, and said, “Success is the pile of failures you’re standing on.”
Because he believes the market is artificially low right now, he tried to compare today’s economy to that of the Depression and subsequent recessions to put things in perspective.
During the depression, the market dropped 80% and we had 25% unemployment.
In 1973 the market dropped 50% with 11% inflation.
Right now, unemployment is “only 8%” and the market? Well, although Fox does not mention it, it’s up 22% in 7 weeks.
Ramsey thinks it’s the housing market that will lead us out of this situation and says, “This is the best time to buy a house in 30 years—IF you are not broke.”
Meanwhile, we should all take responsibility for "our own messes.”
He cautioned against doing business with the big banks because "They have no soul” and suggested supporting small local banks. He believes Gold is a “crummy investment” and says it has averaged a paltry 1.54% return from 1833 to 2001, noting that it’s at a 176 year high right now. NOT the time to buy.
Ramsey took some listener questions, then closed with the three things to do if you’re "Struggling with Hope”
1. Take action. Inject yourself. Get up, get out, sweat. Meet people, talk, get creative. If you got pushed out of the nest, maybe it’s your time to fly to a new perch. Flap your wings rather than fall down the cliff.
2. Don't engage in “loser talk.” Avoid negative "Eeyore" people who focus only on gloom and doom. Read. Meet people. You will be the same person in five years "except for the books you read and the people you meet.”
3. Get back to Giving. Our country is good at giving in times of need and disaster, but we need to do better because we have so much. Give your time and help others less fortunate. It will take your eyes off your own woes and remind you that there are others struggling with hope. Offer it to others and you will restore it in yourself.
It’s nice to be reminded that the world is not coming to an end and that things are not as bad as the media might present them.
Let’s al keep that in mind, consider our new sources and how they make their money and attract viewers (remember, there’s always NPR) and help our fellow man.
Get creative in your thinking (or hire someone who is), keep investing, keep advertising, and keep your chin up.
After all, as Ramsey did tonight, offering hope to others may be the best way to provide hope and optimism to ourselves.

Spring Cleaning makes sense while your competition is in the dust

Tue, 21 Apr 2009 11:33:33 -0500

Academics Peter Dickson and Joseph Giglierano believe companies worry about two kinds of failure: “Sinking the boat” (ruining a company by making a bad bet) or “Missing the boat” (letting a great opportunity pass).

Lately, it seems like more companies are worried about sinking their boat than missing it.

In the late nineteen-twenties, Kellogg and Post cereals dominated the market. When the Depression hit, Post did the predictable thing: it reined in expenses and cut back on advertising. But Kellogg doubled its ad budget, moved aggressively into radio advertising, and heavily pushed its new cereal, Rice Krispies. By 1933, even as the economy cratered, Kellogg’s profits had risen almost thirty per cent and they became the industry’s dominant player.

You’d think that everyone would want to emulate Kellogg’s success, but, when hard times hit, most companies end up behaving more like Post. They hunker down, cut spending, and pray for good times to return.

They cut advertising budgets and invest less in R&D to preserve what they have. But numerous studies have shown that companies who keep spending during recessions do significantly better than those who make make big cuts.

Recessions create more opportunity for challengers, not less. When everyone is advertising, for instance, it’s hard to separate yourself from the pack; when ads are scarcer, the returns on investment seem to rise.

Hyundai has made huge gains in market share this year, thanks to a hefty advertising budget and a guarantee to take back cars from owners who have lost their jobs.

It’s true that the uncertainty of recessions creates an opportunity for serious profits. The historical record is full of companies that made successful gambles in hard times:

Kraft introduced Miracle Whip in 1933 and saw it become America’s best-selling dressing in six months

Texas Instruments brought out the transistor radio in the 1954 recession

Apple launched the iPod in 2001.

Full article here:

http://www.newyorker.com/talk/financial/2009/04/20/090420ta_talk_surowiecki