A provocative short film by the authojr of No Logo, Naomi Klein. Watching it, one can't help but wonder if new technologies aren't having a shocking effect on the ad industry, with clients and agencies willing to listen to anyone who shouts out "social media"!
It also leaves the question open about whether one could shock a community of people, a target audience in old world agency terms, in order to change their perceptions about an issue or brand.
Have a watch.
Here's the best explanation of when to use more traditional marketing/advertising and when to use social marketing, from Chris Bogan.
"If you’re Burger King and you’re looking to influence whether I go there or not, use plain old marketing. It’s just fine. It’s the right tool for the job. So is advertising. You don’t HAVE to use social media for that.
But, if you’re Burger King and you want to understand me, to get what’s really going on inside my head, and know what we have in common, then THAT is where social media can be useful. Talk to me. Get to know me. Ask me about me and the things that aren’t about you."
Personally, I think successful companies do both. Nike engages runners with Nike Plus. It gets to know them, understand them better and, through the dialogue, they get to like and trust Nike more. But, and this is a big but, Nike also does great marketing. They create great advertising that builds brand affinity and they create ideas that get people involved not just with each other and with the company, but with their brand.
So I think marketing and social marketing should work hand in hand. Or, maybe they should just become part of the larger sphere of marketing. You can use more traditional advertising to change how people think about your brand. You can use to engage, to point people towards a conversation. And then you can use social media to keep the conversation going and find out how your company can be more customer focused.
In the process, you spend less on expensive traditional media and promotions, while getting more people involved in your brand.
That's our vision here at HQvB.
After more than a decade of going to agency planning meetings and waiting endlessly for creative briefs, I've come to the conclusion that ad agency planning processes do more harm than good. Why? Because the process is more about "crafting a document" than it is about solving problems or identifying opportunities.
Why not just sit down with your agency and spell out what the issue is. INstead of going through a long, drawn-out process, why not ask them to come back with solutions, simply spelled out? In the midst of World War 2, Winston Churchill asked his admiral of the navy to, on one side of one sheet of paper, give him the state of the Royal Navy and outline his plan for winning the war.
If you can't spell things on one piece of paper, you probably don't have a good handle on what you need to do, was the thought. And we here at HQvB agree. We're hired to look at things differently. we're hired to proactively identify opportunities, and come to our clients with insightful solutions.
We're not hired to make documents, meetings and reports.
Apparently, we're not the only ones that think so. Here's what Nancy Vonk, Chief Creative Officer of Ogilvy Toronto and winner of the Grand Prix at CAnnes last year had to say about this recently in Creativity:
"The starting point for any project should be media-neutral and ideally begins as soon as the client's problem or opportunity presents itself. Screw the 'brief.' I see that piece of paper, weeks or even months in the making, as a giant speed bump between the agency and a great idea. Just tell us the problem and let us have at it. The 'duh' here is that agencies have to stop behaving like ad agencies. We can be seen as our client's best possible problem solvers for any creative solution they may need. And that can include ideas for anything from new products to how to improve working conditions for farm workers who grow the cotton for the fashion brand's clothing. Then there's the need to be proactive. Most clients have opportunities and problems that haven't even occurred to them but could be brought forward by the agency, always with a solution attached."
When you look at it this way, you begin to wonder what value those armies of account people creating documents and meetings at your agency are really offering your company. Heck, even senior execs at those agencies don't think they're offering much value.
What Nancy thinks is the way to go is hard for agencies to accomplish, as most of them, including her own, work on an outdated model of selling units of time. Which is why so many people get involved in any given project. And why it takes so long to draft those documents she talks about. It's how the agency makes money. It's how they feed their machine.
At HQvB, we've traded in this old notion for a model based around the valuation of our solutions. It allows us to focus on what we, and Nancy, think is the important part of the business, solving problems in creative ways.
Boomers ready to spend: Ipsos Reid
by Terry Poulton
Dodgy economy notwithstanding, boomer-age Canadians are ready, willing and - as the country's wealthiest demo - able to spend their money.
That's the clear message of an Ipsos Reid survey set for release today at the 2008 conference of the Canadian Newspaper Association and Canadian Community Newspapers Association, says Ipsos SVP of public Affairs John Wright. "The research shows that at a time of ever gloomier economic forecasts, this is a group that needs to be reached out to, as it represents tremendous potential for growth."
But there's a downside. The survey of 1,980 Canadian adults aged 44-62 - one of the largest polling samples of this demographic in recent years - found that while eight in 10 boomers self-identify as having "big buying power," four in 10 feel advertisers ignore them.
Wright agrees with the respondents' complaint. "For decades, advertisers have chased younger audiences to gain loyalty and market share," he notes. "In today's economic conditions they might be better off to refocus on a group that combines maturity with money and a desire to spend it."
CNA president/CEO Anne Kothawala is on the same page: "Clearly, there's a disconnect between who advertisers think they should be marketing to and who actually has the resources and intention to spend. In other words, fistfuls of ad dollars are missing the boat."
According to the Ipsos Reid survey, taking a vacation (39%) tops the list of boomers' spending priorities in the next 12 months, followed by purchasing home electronics (35%), furniture (31%), mutual funds or investments (31%), appliances (24%), a car (23%) and a computer (23%).
The creative partners here at HQvB have been asked to join other leading creative directors and pass our wisdom, experience and knowledge to the next generation of advertising creatives. Since we only have a few minutes with each, I thought I would pass on some advice here:
1. Don't get bitchy when a client turns down you first idea. Some of the biggest awards I've won have been created on the second round after I've been pushed past the first round ideas.
2. If you want a job, nothing stands out lie a really well done, visually interesting long copy campaign. Whether you're a writer or an art director, nothing says you can craft work like a great long copy ad.
3. It's the new digital world and you're supposed to be on the cutting edge of it. I've seen too many books full of visual pun print ads. Why not show the CD you're meeting with that you can think cross-platform with a cool digital ida that uses traditional media to steer people to it.
4. Don't try to be cool Just be yourself. People like you, so don't try to BS.
5. Have a good answer for "what ads out there currently do you like?" Just about every CD asks this question, but rarely do you hear a good answer. It shows you're paying attention to the industry and are a student of the business.
6. If you're a writer, do some radio. Make it funny. Radio is really hard and if you can prove yourself on this, then you'll go places.
7. Don't show any ads with prices, starbursts, or "..." at the end of headline. Just don't, they all suck.
8. Have fun. This is supposed to be fun.
9. Lastly, have you're parents and friends insult you for a couple of weeks. This will toughen your skin up for the criticism you'll get from a good CD. It may not be in the job description, but taking criticism well is something all CDs look for.
This is from an article in the New York Times. It talks about how hard big agencies are finding it to change to the new reality of our world. I got me thinking. One of the reasons why it's sometimes an advantage to start a new company is that in doing so you force yourself to create a model that suits the reality of today. Most agencies were created to work well in another reality dominated by traditional media. So it's their DNA. It's tough to suddenly your change your DNA. Which is why the dinosaurs dies out. If they could have changed their DNA, they would have survived on.
Lee Clow thinks the answer is to hire young people. We don't think so. What good is hiring young people if you stick them into a model designed for another time?
Which is why we think we have an advantage in today's digitally dominated media world. Our company has started there. And so we're creating a model that suit the new reality.
Here's a bit from the article:
LIKE Cher in the movie “Moonstruck” ordering Nicolas Cage to “Snap out of it!” — and slapping him across the face to emphasize her point — speakers at an advertising conference urged the industry to stop wallowing in self-pity and get on with the challenges ahead.
“We should just stop talking about what was,” Tom Carroll, president and chief executive at TBWA Worldwide, part of the Omnicom Group, said here on Tuesday at the start of the leadership conference of the American Association of Advertising Agencies.
“It’s like driving in the fog,” said Mr. Carroll, who is also the chairman of the association, known as the Four A’s. “You’re not sure what’s ahead of you, but you have to keep driving.”
Mr. Carroll acknowledged that it would be hard work to “change the way we do our business,” but called it a necessary response to the profound shifts in media, consumer behavior and technology that are remaking the advertising landscape.
“All industries recalibrate themselves,” Mr. Carroll said, illustrating his point with a rhetorical question, “How’d you like to be in the CD business?”
Mr. Carroll’s tough-love talk was echoed by a colleague, Lee Clow, chairman and chief creative at TBWA, who in wearing onstage his trademark garb of a T-shirt, jeans and sandals was perhaps the most casually dressed speaker in the 90-year history of the conference.
“Stop whining,” Mr. Clow told the estimated 380 attendees. The new realities “shouldn’t be scary,” he said, because they offer “a huge opportunity for us” to become far more useful to marketer clients as they seek more effective ways to sell products.
“If you want to participate, you’ve got to start hiring young people,” Mr. Clow said, “and don’t tell them what to do — ask them what to do.”
Okay, we warned you in the headline, this is a bit of a dull read. However, if you can get through the entire document, you'll earn a ton about UGC and social media and how you can use it to get people involved with your brand.
Or, you can just call us and we'll be happy to go through some thinking with you.
Enjoy.
I found this on Cool Hunting website. A neat video about Simon Pace, drummer for Blonde Redhead and his love of Moto Guzzi bikes and design.
Great song too.
http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1426749166/bclid1428686961/bctid1428676019
In celebration of the M1's 30th anniversary, BMW quietly introduced a new model at the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este last weekend. An aggressive, low-profile sports car, aspects of the design hark back to the original M1.
I've been driving BMWs for over 10 years, so I love the brand. But holy hell, this takes it to another level.
A great article from AdAge.
Affluent Keep Tighter Hold on Purse Strings
But Weak Economy Presents Pockets of Opportunity for Marketers
By Beth Snyder Bulik
Published: April 28, 2008
YORK, Pa. (AdAge.com) -- Being rich isn't what it used to be.
Today there are more affluent households than ever before, from more diverse ethnic and psychographic backgrounds, and they include a wide range of age demographics as well as various degrees of wealth. They're just as likely to be shopping at H&M or grabbing a latte at Starbucks on Saturday as they are to be making the rounds at an exclusive country club.
Luxury aspirers are highly materialistic and identify luxury as what they buy and what they own.
However, thanks to the flagging economy, many have one thing in common: They're not feeling nearly as affluent as they once did.
About 55% of the wealthiest Americans -- the top 10%, with an average net worth of $3.1 million and an average annual salary of $315,000 -- have cut back on expenditures in the past year and will make a conscious effort to keep cutting during the next 12 months, according the spring 2008 survey by the American Affluence Research Center.
Tightening belts
Plans to buy vehicles, build new homes or extensively remodel their current ones have also hit historic lows among the über-wealthy that are the subject of the center's six-and-a-half years of twice-annual surveys.
Pam Danziger of Unity Marketing, who classifies affluent consumers as those who make at least $100,000 in wages -- or about 20% of American households -- recently noted that luxury-consumer confidence is way down. Some 41% of those consumers expect to spend less in the next year, and only 13% plan to spend more.
"When gas hits $3.50 a gallon, I don't care how much money you make, you're going to notice it," Ms. Danziger said. "Luxury is the easiest thing to hold back on. ... They might have just as much money as they did six months ago, but today they don't feel as flush."
So what's a marketer looking to sell to affluent consumers to do?
The unaffected few
Well, there are some at the rarefied levels of wealth who are still spending at the same or increased levels. It may take more targeting or research, but there is evidence that certain segments are still indulging.
The weak economy also may open opportunities to appeal to affluent consumers' "bargain" side. Why buy a $1,500 Tod's handbag when substituting a $350 Dooney & Bourke bag (as Ms. Danziger just did) makes you feel just as good?
And because there are more affluent consumers than ever before -- thanks to double-digit growth of households with incomes of $100,000 or more in the past few years, according to Unity Marketing -- there are more potential customers.
This burgeoning affluent class is also more diverse than before, with more women, minorities and young people heading the households. Minorities lead 13% of affluent households, 5% are headed by women with no husbands present and 30% are either Gen X or Millenials. That means greater segmentation than in the past -- and a more difficult marketing challenge.
In short, marketers need to get to know the modern affluents. So we pulled stats and figures from various researchers to help you do just that. The five categories on the left are Ms. Danziger's characterizations of the "personalities" of affluent consumers, while the traits on the right were culled from other researchers' demographics and psychographic studies.
TEMPERATE PRAGMATIST
When Unity Marketing profiled the personalities of the affluent market in 2003, this category didn't exist. But in 2007, temperate pragmatists accounted for 22% of the market. They appreciate luxury products but the pursuit and purchase of them holds no great appeal. They are least likely to "indulge" and spent only about $9,000 on lux purchases in the second quarter -- about half of what the average affluent consumer spent. Of the five personalities, they have the lowest average incomes, at $146,000, and the oldest average age, with the majority in the 55-to-70-year-old range.
BUTTERFLIES
As the name implies, this group is changing, morphing from self-indulgent spenders to more socially responsible consumers. While they only slightly outspend the more pragmatic-affluent personalities, this group has the highest average income. They spent just over $15,000 on luxury items last quarter, almost exactly average. Much of this group is made up of baby boomers aged 45 to 55.
COCOONERS
Equal in size to the pragmatists is this group of affluent consumers who desire luxurious homes as both shelter and investment. Ms. Danziger describes them as "luxury consumers who prefer the status quo." They tend to be somewhat cautious in their luxury spending and dropped about $12,000 in the second quarter, or about 25% less than the average affluent. Men account for more than half (52%) of this group.
LUXURY ASPIRERS
The mantra for this group could be buy, buy, buy. They are highly materialistic and identify luxury as what they buy and what they own. They haven't reached the level of affluence they hope to attain but recognize -- and buy -- brands with the best lux recognition. Their incomes are below the average, but they dropped almost $17,000 in the second quarter on luxury items.
X-FLUENTS
Less-than-ideal economic conditions won't slow this group down. These consumers want what they want when they want it. They "describe their luxury lifestyle as the best of the best," Ms. Danziger reports. They spent more than $24,000 on luxury items in the second quarter. They're also the youngest-skewing of the five personalities, with the majority falling into the 24-to-34-year-old range, and are most likely to live in the downtown area of a major city.
HIGHLY ASSERTIVE
People who make more than $100,000 a year are 38% more likely to be extremely assertive, and people who make $200,000 or more are 57% more likely to be that way, according to Mindset Media. Sarah Welch, Mindset's chief operating officer, said: "It makes sense -- they're not afraid to ask for those raises and promotions." They are also 52% more likely than the average consumer to purchase four or more pairs of sneakers each year, 54% more likely to always buy organic and 57% more likely to see four or more movies at the theater every month.
HOUSE-RICH
While the subprime-mortgage market crumbles, many of the wealthiest 10% of Americans are safely ensconced in their primary homes with low mortgage balances or none at all. That means while their real-estate values may be dropping, the equity in their homes is extremely high, with incidences of being "upside down" on mortgages very rare, said Ron Kurtz, president of the American Affluence Research Center. The spring 2008 study found that those who did have the lowest level of equity in their homes were least likely to make major purchases this year and also more likely to decrease spending on a variety of smaller-ticket items such as dining out, furniture, home-entertainment equipment, recreational activities and charitable contributions.
SOCIAL MEDIA-SAVVY
Households with annual earnings of $100,000 or more use the widest range of internet tools and websites to learn about brands' customer-service experiences when buying new products. Research from the Society for New Communications Research, funded by Nuance Communications, showed that those in the wealthier group use multiple search engines and advanced search techniques, in contrast to their sub-$30,000-salary compadres, who are more likely to choose -- and believe -- customer information on corporate websites, along with popular social sites such as YouTube, MySpace and Facebook.
"They're very sophisticated in terms of their use of social media," said Nora Barnes, research fellow and one of the study's authors. "They're also the people who say they're most likely to share their own experiences online ... and to say they choose companies and brands based on customer care online."
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