Category Archives: Advertising
Three Simple Techniques to Boost Your Creativity
by Scott McIntosh on October 27, 2011 | no comments
in Advertising, Copywriting, Marketing
Whether you are crafting your next successful press release or brainstorming ideas for your client’s new killer marketing campaign, your ability to think creatively is one of your most important skills and resources. Your creativity is why you get paid the big bucks and why your campaigns win the awards. But what happens when the creative juices just aren’t flowing? Here are three simple techniques that can quickly boost your creativity when the well is running dry.
Step away. Many times you can be too close to a project making it difficult to think about it in creative ways. At this point, you should step away and allow your mind to think about something else. This doesn’t have to be a trip to the beach (although that can help). Go for a walk. Hit the gym. Go to lunch with a good friend. Ask your co-workers about their weekend and chat for a while. Allowing your brain to rest, if only for a few moments, is a powerful way to re-energize your creative abilities.
Return to sixth grade. Sixth graders are at that point in life where they get the basics but are curious about everything else. Therefore, they ask the best questions. Why do it this way? What if we did it this way? Why? Why not? Try looking at your project through the eyes of a six grader and question everything. Why am I doing it this way? What if I did it like this? What is the ultimate goal here? How am I accomplishing the goal? What would I do with an unlimited budget? Feel free to bring in a co-worker, friend or even an actual six grader to help you ask as many questions as possible. And remember, “Because we’ve always done it this way,” is never the answer.
Play games. Nothing gets the creative juices flowing more than having fun. Begin a brainstorming session with a ten minute game of Charades or Pictionary. Do a role-playing session where someone in your office acts out a customer experiencing your marketing campaign or reading your press release. Have a contest to see who can come up with the most ideas for a new campaign in fifteen minutes and reward the winner with a gift card or some other office prize. There’s no limit to the games you can play. Fun activities will boost the camaraderie and creativity of your team which will be reflected in your follow-on work.
Remember, you don’t always have to reinvent the wheel. If you’re having trouble coming up with that next big idea, you can always just look around. Take note of what similar successful campaigns are doing and think about how you could apply those techniques to your current project. Creativity is all around, and sometimes all you have to do open your eyes to it.
News Media Depend Increasingly on Aggregators, Social Networks to Deliver Audience
by Dana Coleman on April 8, 2011 | no comments
in Advertising, The Media
The U.S. news industry depends increasingly on other organizations to deliver a growing portion of its audience, finds “The State of the News Media 2011,” a report from the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism. These players, which frequently take a share of the revenue and control the audience data, include independent networks, aggregators and social networks.
One author of the report notes that in a world where consumers decide what news they want and how they want to get it, the future belongs to those who understand the audience best and can leverage that knowledge.
News consumption is becoming more mobile, with 47 percent of Americans now receiving some form of local news on a mobile device. Online is still a leader in how people say they get their news at 46 percent, surpassed only by local TV news at 50 percent.
In fact, every media sector is losing audience now except online. This includes cable news networks like CNN, Fox and MSNBC, which for the first time experienced double-digit loss of viewership in 2010. Radio, which has been a relatively stable media platform, is expected to experience major change soon with the addition of online radios by carmakers like Toyota.
For the first time, overall online advertising revenue surpassed spending on print newspaper advertising, and with the growing popularity of tablets, growth in online ad spending is expected to continue. The growth in online ad spending doesn’t necessarily translate to good news for news organizations, however. Much of that online ad spending goes to places other than news sites, and the Pew report predicts that is unlikely to change. Since online advertising will likely never generate profits for news organizations to compare with the ad revenues generated in traditional platforms like printed newspapers, news sites continue to seek ways to charge for content and develop alternate revenue streams.
The media is dynamic and evolving. Pew’s latest report reinforces the importance of not only identifying your audiences but understanding the way they prefer to receive content. From the changing needs of journalists to the most effective way to target ad budgets as news consumption trends shift, this understanding is more critically important than ever to developing an effective strategic communications and marketing plan.
Do you know how your audience prefers to receive news and information? How have you seen those trends change in your organization?
QR Codes on the Rise
by Allison Russo on March 24, 2011 | 1 comment
in Advertising, Branding, Collateral Development, Marketing, Social Media
If you haven’t heard of a Quick Response (QR) code, I’m sure you’ve seen one. They are the little barcode-like images popping up on everything from advertisements and business cards to t-shirts and even napkins. Encoded in the QR code is text, URL or other data that be scanned and accessed through a Smartphone.
Commonly used in Japan since 2004, QR codes have recently taken the US marketing industry by storm. By simply including a QR code that links to your company’s website or social networks in all of your collateral materials, consumers can connect with your company instantaneously through a simple scan.
How do you create one?
There are a lot of QR code generating websites out there. I used Kaywa to create the one above and it only took a few seconds (check it out!). You can then save the QR code and use it wherever you like.
How do you access the code?
Just download a QR reader app to your Smartphone. Some of the more popular QR code reader apps are i-nigma and QR Droid. From there it’s simple – open the app, scan the code and be connected!
Do you scan QR codes when you see them?
How Much Are You Worth? Facebook says $1.07
by Ashley Webb on February 4, 2011 | no comments
in Advertising, Facebook, Social Media
According to a recent post on the Wall Street Journal’s Digits blog, the cost of advertising on Facebook that encourages a user to become a “fan” is $1.07 per fan. The article is based on a white paper recently released by social marketing and analytics firm WebTrends, which studied 11,000 Facebook ad campaigns in the U.S.
So far, our clients have seen promising results using Facebook ads. Although most are not selling tangible items, they’re using ads to generate a larger fan base. We’ve seen ads generate up to 48.4 percent of a page’s fans. Why is this significant? Becoming a fan of the page gives the brand permission to market directly to a user through messages sent to the user’s news feed and creates a direct line of communication with the target audience.
But according to Webtrends, the rates at which U.S. users are clicking on Facebook ads designed to increase a fan base are beginning to decline. In 2009, the click-through rate on this type of ad was .063 percent. In 2010, the rate declined to .051 percent. At the same time, ads are getting more expensive, rising from 17 cents per thousand in 2009 to 25 cents in 2010.
With time, advertising costs will continue to rise and users will click on fewer ads. For this reason, it’s important to start building a significant fan base now. According to Justin Kistner, Webtrends’ senior manager of product marketing for social, companies that are establishing large fan bases now are going to end up spending less money than others.
“There is a competitive advantage to starting now,” he said.
Check out this video interview with Michael Lazerow, the CEO of Buddy Media, a firm that sells software for brands that want to market on Facebook. He provides some very interesting information on the benefit of marketing on Facebook.
Turning a Loss Leader into a Repeat Customer
by Paula Lovell on October 14, 2010 | 5 comments
in Advertising, Email Marketing, Organizational Behavior
Hint: Don’t Gripe to the Customer About the Discount You Offer
I am a big fan of Groupons, the email coupon offers delivered to my inbox every day. I’ve purchased several over the last year and have visited a few new restaurants, shops and spas as a result.
While I have had a few great experiences, I’ve also been absolutely mystified by some of the businesses I’ve visited to redeem a Groupon I’ve purchased.
More than half the time, when I present the Groupon, the salesperson (and even the business owner!) rolls her eyes and starts complaining about the Groupon. I can’t believe that, instead of asking me if it’s my first visit to the store or just engaging in a friendly conversation with a customer, they whine to me about how much money they are losing on Groupons and how they can’t wait till the expiration date rolls around. It’s very awkward.
Somehow, I’m made to feel like I’m taking advantage of someone. Never mind the fact that I paid good money for the Groupon; never mind that the business entered into the coupon arrangement with full knowledge of the discount they were offering, I’ve gotten to where I’ve started to apologize for buying anything with it.
Instead of thanking me for shopping with them and trying to establish a relationship, it’s clear they can’t wait to get me out the door. It strikes me as such a loss. They’ve essentially “paid” to get me in there, and now they appear to resent the fact that I had the nerve to actually use the discount they offered.
I think Groupons are a great way for a business to promote its products and services for a relatively low marketing investment. Unless the proprietor is completely incompetent at pricing, businesses have to be making at least a small profit. And, even if they aren’t, they can use this successful bit of advertising to engage with the customer and let them know more about the services or products available.
Ask for my email addresses. Invite me back for a future sale. And how about this one: Say thank you for my purchase instead of huffing and sighing at the cash register.
I can name at least eight businesses where I will never again darken the door because of the way I was treated when using a Groupon. Did nobody ever teach these people anything about marketing – or customer service? A happy customer is a loyal and frequent customer. An unsatisfied customer tells ten people. Or, in my case, maybe a lot more.
Are you having this same experience with these Groupons?
Facebook Ads Prove Successful
by Ashley Webb on September 22, 2010 | 2 comments
in Advertising, Facebook, Social Media
There’s great value in a building a Facebook fan page for your business. It’s an easy and cost-effective way to:
- connect with consumers,
- distribute timely messaging,
- solicit feedback from interested parties,
- enhance SEO, and
- increase general brand knowledge.
If you’re frustrated that your fan page has not generated the following you were hoping for and your only supporters are company employees or family members, consider creating a Facebook ad. They’re a great way to introduce your page and build a large fan base quickly.
So far, we’ve seen the ads we’ve created generate up to 48.4 percent of a fan page’s support.
Facebook allows you to target your ad by the geographic area (country, state, city), demographics, likes and interests and by connections to other pages or groups. And, if you’re simply trying to initiate interest and reach as many people as possible within your set parameters, it’s better to have a general audience rather than a more segmented one.
There’s no set cost for advertising on Facebook. However, since it is a market-driven delivery system, you are paying the price that the market has set. Costs of advertising can be determined by the following steps:
- Identify the target audience (age, geographic area, gender, etc.)
- Determine if you should pay per click (CPC) or per thousand impressions (CPM)
- Selecting the maximum bid for the ad based on the suggested bid range provided. This is the approximate range of what other advertisers are paying for the same target demographic.
- Set the campaign’s daily budget based on the maximum bid and the number of clicks or impressions you would like to pay for per day.
The budget that you set is the daily budget. The ads will automatically stop appearing once the budget has been met for the day, and you will never accrue charges in excess of the daily budget. Facebook ad reports also provide metrics (impressions, number of clicks, number of “likes”, daily amount spent, demographics, etc.) that help determine the return on investment.
Have you ever used a Facebook ad to promote a page?
Check out a few of our favorite clients’ Facebook pages:
New Old Spice Man Takes Campaign in Wrong Direction
by Jan Morrison on September 16, 2010 | 7 comments
in Advertising, Branding, Video
I feel like I just shot myself in the foot.
I raved about the abs and the wit displayed by Isaiah Mustafa in the Old Spice advertising campaign and look what happened. He is now so popular that he is leaving Old Spice for cleaner, more fragrant pastures. Mustafa has signed on to appear on the NBC comedy Chuck and may even get his own series on the network.
Now that Mustafa is on his way out, Old Spice has selected Baltimore Ravens player Ray Lewis as the new Old Spice man. I’m sad to say that my infatuation with the Old Spice campaign is officially waning.
In one of his commercials, Lewis says “women want me, men want to be me and animals want to learn how to talk so they can hang out with me.”
Sorry about it, Ray, but saying it doesn’t make it so. I think most women will “want” Ray Lewis about as much as they “want” that giant bear chasing after him in the commercial.
The other Ray Lewis spot struck me as somewhat humorous until the giant raven he rides on through the solar system sprouts rocket propellers underneath his tail. Then Lewis explodes a planet with missiles? This commercial was obviously written with a different audience in mind.
Somehow, the creative minds behind the Old Spice campaign at Wieden + Kennedy lost their mojo with this latest installment because I think they have managed to alienate the one portion of their audience who actually puts these products in the cart—women.
Women liked Isaiah Mustafa as the Old Spice Man because of his attitude, humor and appearance. We didn’t even know who he was before Old Spice. And we didn’t care that he was a football player. As I have mentioned before, the previous ads were smart to appeal to women, because women make most of the purchasing decisions for their household.
These new ads seem to speak only to men, which could prove to be a problem for Old Spice. In fact, I may not be the only one who feels like I’ve shot myself in the foot. Old Spice should be bracing for the same shock just in case the Lewis commercials don’t turn out like the advertisers had hoped.
Old Spice Sales Prove Campaign's Success
by Jan Morrison on August 12, 2010 | no comments
in Advertising, Branding, Measurement
As you now know, I love the Old Spice branding campaign featuring Isaiah Mustafa, because all of the elements are funny, smart and speak effectively to its audience. But has the approach worked to increase sales? After all, it is product sales that keep Mr. Mustafa and his chiseled abs around to entertain us.
According to AdWeek and Brandweek, who reviewed data from market researchers Nielsen and SymphonyIRI, the Old Spice campaign has helped Procter & Gamble significantly increase sales of its “man-scented” body products.
Nielsen reports that sales of Old Spice Body Wash have increased by 11 percent within the last year. The speed at which overall product sales have risen since the campaign started in February is even more striking. According to Nielsen, sales increased by 55 percent within the last three months and really jumped by 107 percent within the last month.
Now that we know the campaign worked to increase sales, we can explore how it actually happened.
1. Effective advertising. Wieden + Kennedy is to be commended (and they have by earning several awards) for creating ads that communicate with the target audience with creative messaging. These ads made people laugh, so they told their friends and shared online links to the commercial. This helped consumers rethink the Old Spice brand.
2. Leveraging social media to the nth degree. Wieden + Kennedy didn’t just take their witty commercials and slap them on their website and YouTube, then declare victory. They compiled a team of experts in advertising, marketing, writing and social media to leverage Mustafa and his towel across social media in a way that communicated with the brand’s target audience. This team camped out in a studio for days responding via video to tweets, Facebook messages and YouTube comments from fans in real time and posting them for the public to see. In true “Old Spice Man” fashion, these videos were funny, ridiculous and entertaining. This kept the brand top of mind and raised awareness among the target audience.
3. Brand consistency. The Old Spice Man and his witty bravado are not relegated only to the TV screen. His face and style permeate the Old Spice website and product packaging, as well. This helps consumers connect what they have seen on TV with what they see on their computers and the shelves.
4. Time frame. Old Spice executed all of these steps within a perfect time frame. The commercials and social media endeavors weren’t hard and fast, but they weren’t drawn out either. This helped keep consumers engaged and interested.
5. Brand attachment. All of these elements led to people wanting more of the Old Spice man and his brand of humor. Reddit.com created a voicemail generator without involving Procter & Gamble at all. Now you can have the Old Spice man in your voicemail and help raise brand awareness on behalf of the company. While part of me thinks that Old Spice should have thought of this themselves, I also think that this involvement by an outside organization lends a certain amount of credibility to the brand’s popularity.
Hopefully, this won’t be the last of the Old Spice Man. I hope we see him in more commercials and social media interaction. I hope his burgeoning acting career does not take the Mustafa out of the Old Spice Man.
What do you hope to see next in the campaign?
Old Spice Scores Again
by Jan Morrison on July 1, 2010 | 8 comments
in Advertising, Branding, Video
Old Spice has done it again. The company released its second commercial on Wednesday, as part of its campaign to win over a new demographic and keep the brand alive. And it is even better than the first one, by including even more elements of the most comprehensive female fantasy every created.
Old Spice’s advertising agency Wieden + Kennedy, chose the perfect spokesperson in Isaiah Mustafa and gave him just the right script to attract a younger audience to a product line that used to be for men who you would only refer to as “sir.”
Mustafa’s character fits the mold of contradictions many women daydream about—strong, kind, perfectly toned, handy around the house, skilled with baking, romantic and a little dangerous. I picture a table (or more likely, a bar) full of creative people brainstorming every possible element of any woman’s relationship fantasy. The only things missing might be caring for a baby, cleaning the house, or asking what happens next in my vampire romance novel.
Old Spice accomplishes all this without dismissing its heritage as a product for gentlemen. Its new deodorant packaging even pays homage to its past by audaciously printing this on the back:
THE ORIGINAL.
IF YOUR GRANDFATHER HADN’T
WORN IT, YOU WOULDN’T EXIST.
The logo still incorporates some imagery from the previous version, the packaging uses the same color scheme, and the commercials still contain a little whistle at the end.
We do not know exactly what the return on investment (ROI) has been for the campaign. The company has not released any sales or profit data that reflects the result of the new campaign, and Procter & Gamble Co., has invested almost all of last year’s advertising budget into this one campaign.
But if any other women who are in charge of purchasing for their households love it as much as I do, the company will reap significant results from Mustafa’s personified female fantasy.
Dr. Scholl’s Ad Is Off On the Right Foot
by Jan Morrison on June 22, 2010 | no comments
in Advertising, Branding, Marketing
As I’ve mentioned before, I love a good advertisement. I appreciate good ads because they are so hard to create. When I pursued an advertising specialty at my journalism school, I learned very quickly that I was not cut out for the graphic design side of the business. I am a writer, which is the other reason why I love a good ad so much. I admire the skill and vision of those who have the creative talent to produce attractive, effective, visual messages.
My most recent favorite advertisement is a print ad for Dr. Scholl’s For Her Open Shoe Insoles. The ad is so simple. It is printed on heavy cardstock to withstand the weight of one real life shoe insert that is stuck to the paper. It is not a replica. It is an actual shoe insert for a right shoe. The cardstock contains this terse copy:
Thin.
Cushiony.
Virtually invisible.
Try one. We bet you’ll buy two.
This ad is effective because it meets the most basic criteria for advertising:
- holds your attention,
- reinforces the brand,
- motivates you to action or influences your mindset.
The last criteria is key. In fact, one heel-wearer in our office (not me because I don ballet flats 24/7) tested out the insert before I even told her my plan for this post. She wore a pair of heels all day with one shoe insert in her right shoe. She felt the difference by the end of the day.
Such a simple, effective concept motivated her to try one. Now she plans to buy two.
