Who Still Reads Print Ads? Surprise, Surprise.
You may think it’s your grandfather or your father. But try asking your college-going younger brother.
A recent study found that college students are addicted to college newspapers. I found this was true in my own research as well.
Mainstream newspaper readership is declining everywhere, and yet college newspapers are still very much alive. The eye-opening facts:
* 76% read their paper in the past month. For dailies, it is 92%.
* Despite internet usage gaining strength, the print edition still gets more eyeballs.
* 73% say they look at the ads in their college paper.
* Top areas of interest? Entertainment news, sports, and current affairs.
Get Some Major Advertising Action:
* 78% (particularly females) use coupons or promo codes, mostly for food, restaurants, clothing, and big box stores.
* Advertising in the paper has significant impact on students’ actions after they read something, with almost 80% reacting:
- WOM is a strong driver of message sharing: 61% told a friend about something they saw.
- Over half attended an event as a result of reading.
- 40% saved an ad for future reference.
- 36% continued to research products or services online after reading it in print.
- 1 in 5 called or visited a retail store in response to an offer.
Source: Alloy Media + Marketing
Christine Babick is a marketing strategist and linguist specializing in marketing language, website text, “emo copy,” and cause and relationship marketing. More…
Blogs Improve Productivity
Many companies have created a blog for employees to collaborate and share ideas. In fact, these types of blogs have replaced those “reply all” emails that clog up everyone’s email inbox. The outcome of companies that use blogs - the employees are more productive!
- Easy way to tell a story. Whether the story is a new product update or a change in policy, in 10 minutes (sometimes less and sometimes more) management can have it posted on a blog for all to see.
- Collaboration. Employees can read posts from fellow employees and management, post replies to the posts and on and on.
- White board. Blogs are the replacement of the White Board. Ideas can be posted. Internal communication can take place. Employees can be involved.
- All media options. Text, pictures, documents, presentations, and more can all be posted to a blog. Blogs eliminate the problem of emailing an attachment that nobody can seem to download or sending an email at all because it’s all right there on the blog!
Read this case study about a company who traded in an Intranet system for a blog system, which increased employee participation by 20%, 100s of 1000s of dollars in savings, and created more effective communication among employees.
Kristie Lorette is a freelance copywriter and marketing consultant who specializes in the financial services, mortgage, real estate, event planning and non-profit industries. Kristie holds a BS in marketing, BS in multinational business and an MBA. You can learn more about Kristie and her expertise by visiting her website www.studiokwriting.com.
Word of Mouth Advertising
As I continue my job search, I’m learning more and more about the decline of traditional advertising.
Newspaper job postings are relatively nonexistent these days - yeah, I already knew that. But even on-line, finding work in my desired field near my home, it’s pretty hard to come by.
But - I do have a distant in-law relative who works for an amazing publishing company not to far from my home. And I have a friend who works for an educational supplies company - turns out they’re looking to hire several different people for various positions. And then there’s….
Anyway. I could go on. But you get my drift. As the saying goes, it’s not always what you know, but who you know.
I’m hoping those who know me will do what they can to get me noticed. At least giving me that extra edge that gets my foot in the door.
Can marketing go too far?
Having grown up watching Jacque Cousteau and Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom, I have always found watching television programs on foreign lands and how indigenous animals live there to be fascinating. But seeing how Animal Planet markets its documentary series on meerkats, it seems that, nowadays, learning about about the animal kingdom isn’t rewarding enough.
“Meerkat Manor” is a series that promises to be about more than some critters surviving in the South African desert. In this show, you’ll see love, jealousy, betrayal and vengeance. To help sell this show, the meerkats are given interesting names like Zaphod, Houdini, Maybelline and Rocket Dog. Their actions are personified with human characteristics. In addition, their daily lives are edited into a highlight reel of adventures and tragedies. To make these critters more marketable, the main subjects are part of a group called “Whiskers” while neighboring meerkats who aren’t part of the original group belong to a clan called the “Commandoes.”
It’s understandable that Animal Planet wants more viewers to tune in to their show. But turning an animal-life documentary series into a dramatic, action-packed reality TV show is just plain wrong. Animal instincts cannot and shouldn’t be tied into human emotions. Judging animal actions using society’s moral code of conduct is ridiculous. If Animal Planet wants to be a credible expert on animals, they would do better to present animals as they are and not market them as participants of the “Real World.”
Technorati Tags: Jacque Cousteau, Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom, Animal Planet, Meerkat Manor
Time Warner’s John Partilla (multitasking)
I’ve taken close to 1,500 photos this year and dozens of videos. Most of the photos aren’t that great, but the volume ensures that the occasional moment is captured. I was going through some of my pictures and I found a few of John Partilla, President, Time Warner Global Media Group and Senior Vice President, Time Warner. He sits on the VCU Brandcenter board of directors, and they came by for the grand opening of the new building. For being one of the top guys at Time Warner, he was pretty down to earth. He even took some time to play some ping-pong (the tables were sponsored by Yahoo, ironically). He played part of the game while on the phone. Partilla’s job in the Global Media Group requires the ability to combine tasks. The Global Media group works with large marketers to leverage ideas across all of Time Warner’s media and content assets. There’s nothing wrong with mixing work, play or major media assets.
Firefox Extensions Can Alter Your Web Traffic Reporting
I start this post assuming that you have analytics in place on your website, the single most important thing for tracking your traffic. I highly recommend Google Analytics – free and powerful.
It is common knowledge that no two analytics programs will have the exact same numbers, but there is one thing they will agree on – they will undercount the number of visitors to your site using Firefox.
A significant portion of Firefox users have added the NoScript add-on to their browser. This is one of the top-10 most popular extensions for Firefox. This extension blocks any javascript calls that the user doesn’t approve of. Blocking javascript causes Urchin, Google Analytics, Webtrends, etc to not work. These tracking services never see the traffic because NoScipt blocks it.
The best way to figure out the real traffic to your site is to also look at your own weblogs on your server. Most hosting packages should come with a weblog analytics tool at no extra charge. The hosting company I have used since 2001 provides access to our internal stats and we routinely compare to Google Analytics.
If you don’t have access to your weblogs, request it or change hosting companies. This information is crucial when creating media kits to send to potential advertisers because your traffic volume is one of the key decision points.
David Mullings is co-Founder and CEO of Realvibez Media, an integrated media and entertainment company focused primarily on
Anti Smoking Goes Interactive
We see the anti-smoking ad campaigns every where we turn; yet they seem to have little effect on smokers.
QUIT realizes this as well and will be attempting a new approach to advertising and marketing with launching an Interactive Poster Campaign.
According to Trendhunter, the ads have been put up in place of public ashtrays around London. Each ashtray box features an image with a cut out in the shape of lungs… as people use the ashtray, they see the lungs fill with ash and cigarette butts.
Targeting all smokers with the campaign, Steve Crone of QUIT says, “The campaign has been designed to make smokers think about the effects of their habit, and most importantly signpost them toward the help available if they do want to quit. ”
Do you think the shock factor will be effective?
Source: Trendhunter
Who’s behind the PR?
In a recent Adweek article, Hunter College professor Stuart Ewen criticizes a viral campaign created by students at Hunter College for a class project. This successful campaign featured Heidi Cee, who was duped into paying a reward for her lost handbag that wasn’t hers. Instead, it was a knock-off. Using MySpace and Facebook, Heidi begins a quest to find this dishonest person and inform everyone who will listen about the horrors and dangers of counterfeiters. She hosts events on campus and even creates a YouTube video.
But something is rotten in Denmark. On May 16, 2007, Heidi confesses that she is not a real person but a class project that was sponsored by Coach and the International AntiCounterfeiting Coalition. Here’s where it gets interesting.
Soon after the campaign was over, Professor Ewen (who did not teach the class) was shocked to learn that this course was sponsored by an outside organization. So much so, that he filed a complaint Hunter’s senate academic freedom committee. But that wasn’t enough. To combat this immoral education, Ewen embarked on a PR campaign of his own. On February 15, 2008, he hosted a seminar (which he helped organize) called “Where the Truth Lies: A Symposium on Propaganda Today.” And today - ONE YEAR LATER - he continues to promote his indignation in news articles and blogs. As well as the aforementioned Adweek article.
So, let me see if I get this right. Last year, Hunter College offered a course where college kids were given financing and an opportunity to create a program for a real client with a real problem which can give them real world results and experience. And this is bad because…?
It seems to me that Ewen, a self-proclaimed expert on PR, either doesn’t understand how the real world works or… maybe he does.
By the way, his book, PR! A Social History of Spin, is available at a bookstore near you.
Technorati Tags: viral campaign, Heidi Cee, International AntiCounterfeiting Coalition
Tips for publicists hoping to snare free coverage for clients
Because I freelance for a number of different print and Web publications, I’m a green pasture for publicists who want to get the word out about their clients’ new products. There is at the moment a neat stack of books and presentation folders with glossy product inserts in a corner of my office. Most of these materials were unsolicited; emails were sent announcing I’d soon be receiving them. Many of the products are worthy. But out of 25 books, I may be able to place an article about one. Of a dozen products, the same rule applies. Add to that the fact I cannot ethically charge someone to do this—I only accept payment from a publication or website whose editor deems the information to be newsworthy. Otherwise, I would break a sacred rule in my profession. Paid reviews are a no-no. Are there times when a recipient who is a writer will rave about your product? How do you urge the recipient’s keyboard to engage? Read more
Crayon Physics Deluxe
Greg Verdino points us to a little game called Crayon Graphics by KlooniGames. There’s also a write up over at slate which explains the background a bit more. This game sits in stark contrast to the high definition gaming that is so popular today. It’s simplistic yet thought provoking and incredibly engaging. With the right idea, and good delivery, an idea can be powerful without all the bells and whistles.
I’ve downloaded the demo and look forward to playing around with it. My Xbox is off right now while I go exploring the physics of the crayon.
"Choice" Video
As advertising becomes easier to ignore and more meaningless it’s becoming harder and harder to break through and get attention. This video is able to break through with a critical message. I’m glad it’s still possible to get attention and make a point that is worth hearing.
Creative Wii Interactions
This guy is a freakin’ genius. He’s showing ways to user the Wii infrared technology to develop your own multi-point touch and head tracking tools. I’m a huge fan of the Wii and the way they’ve utilized technology to engage a completely new gaming audience. I also think this will cause a rush of technologies that utilize this type of interaction. My question is to marketers and how they can use this technology. Custom games? Touch interaction with brand communication? How long before somebody hires this guy to develop the next interactive game.
The video below is particularly cool and has amazing future application for 3D games and interactivity.
Award Show Season
The ad industry is preparing for the big shows. The ANDY Awards, ADDY, Clios, One Show, Cannes and the Art Directors Club begin their calls for entry between September and April. These awards shows celebrate the best of the best. Judging is done by expert panels of industry folks. Each one of these shows also features a student competition, where students from all the ad schools (and brand schools) submit work. VCU Brandcenter and Miami Ad School both have solid reputations at these shows. Some of the student winners will go on to be creative directors.
This ad is an example of some great student work. Jason Rosenberg is the Art Director and Tim Gordon is the Copywriter. The work took many hours to produce because it was made using hundreds of still images. Working with no budget and limitless creativity Rosenberg and Gordon created something special.
This ad for JBL Creature Speakers is off to compete at the The ANDY Awards. I’m predicting that they will come home with an ANDY.
Web 2.0…The Machine is Us/ing Us
I posted this video on my personal blog a while ago and stumbled across it again. I think it’s an amazing presentation on the web as we know it today and how it is changing the future of how we consider information as individuals.
It also is an opportunity for marketers to consider how they communicate with their audience. Communication is not flat anymore. It’s not linear, it’s not one way. The sky the limit with respect to the technology that is available to communicate a message. The opportunity is their for us to create unique experiences with our brands and the consumers.
If you haven’t seen it, enjoy. If you have, check out the sequel.
What a tangled Web we’ve woven: commercial use of content under scrutiny
Imagine seeing yourself on TV in a commercial for a major brand. Further imagine your surprise, because you never gave that brand permission to use your image. Welcome to the tangled Web, at least where fair use is concerned. In the Washington Post (Jan. 9) Monica Hesse recounts how a number of individuals who uploaded photos to their own sites or placed photos on popular content sharing sites found themselves unexpectedly part of an ad campaign. Hesse calls 15-year-old Alison Chang the “poster child for corporate photonapping.” Chang smiled and flashed a peace sign to her friend during a church event and the friend snapped a photo, then published it on Flickr. Chang was astonished months later when she saw her image used in a national ad campaign for Virgin Mobile. Unfortunately, Chang was not projected in a positive light—she was noted as the “pen friend” a subscriber should dump. As a result, Chang and her friend the photographer are suing Virgin Mobile. Read more
A Word From Crispin Porter + Boguski MD
Jeff Steinhour, Managing Partner/ Director of Account Management at Crispin Porter + Bogusky is the third speaker in a series of ten to speak about the change that is happening in the industry. VCU Brandcenter is bringing out the ad biz’s heavy hitters to promote it’s new image. Steinhour is on the Brandcenter’s board of directors. He mentions the importance of understanding digital media, industrial design and architecture as ways of getting a brand’s message across. Nothing is out of bounds. CP+B has consistently lived that message for years.
The Ladies Behind Dove Real Beauty
Cannes Grand Prix winners Nancy Vonk & Janet Kestin of Ogilvy Toronto talk briefly about change in a viral series created to promote VCU Brandcenter. These Chief Creative Officers are responsible for the Dove Real Beauty campaign. They also wrote the book, “Pick Me, Breaking into Advertising and Staying There.” I heard them speak a few months ago and found them really insightful. Vonk and Kestin have a great working dynamic. Together, they are regular contributors for ihaveanidea.com. Their column titled, “Ask Jancey” allows ambitious young ad people ask questions about making it in the business.
I’m a Fan of MarketingProfs and You Should Be Too!
I received an early Christmas gift this year. It consisted of a premium plus membership to Marketing Profs, one of the signature resources for marketing information, especially as it pertains to the Internet.
Whether it’s the Daily Fix blog, the Know-How Exchange forums, or the many wonderful online seminars like the one upcoming with Seth Godin, Marketing Profs is it for me. I’m like a kid in a candy store there. I can never get enough.
Creativity: TED | Talks
I’m a big fan of the TED conference. Since I stumbled across the TED | Talks web site, I’ve watched several amazing individuals deliver their thoughts on a variety of topics including culture, technology and education.
One of my favorite TED Talks is by Sir Ken Robinson. His presentation is called : Do schools kill creativity? His thesis is that we are educating individuals out of their creative capacities. He quotes Picasso as saying, "All children are born artists. The problem is to remain an artist as we grow up."
There are times that I wish I were more of creative person. I live on the account management side of my business; I’m more adept at relationship building, strategy and logical thinking. When I consider campaigns or marketing strategies, I rely on our creative staff to help formulate the message in a unique and exciting way.
Watching this piece by Sir Ken Robinson I think back to my days in pre-school with finger paints and music. It would be interesting to see how different the world would be if our educational system focused on creativity and expression rather than on standardized thinking and conformity.
This piece is just under 20 minutes long but Sir Ken is an excellent speaker and very engaging and funny so it passes rather quickly. Check it out and then browse the other great speakers. I’m sure you’ll learn something new.
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