Back @ It Again w/ a SHAM and a WOW!

Direct Response Marketing: tactics that get advertisers a direct response and is quantifiable. 

I recently attended a Yahoo! seminar on DR. The montage of early DR commercials definitely got some good laughs. 

And who doesn’t love the Magic Bullet!!

And the ShamWow is a fascinating present day take on the DR commercial. It’s horrible but you know it, you’ve seen it and you’ve considered buying it. 

I stare at this commercial and am truly fascinated by the cola example. I would honestly grab this if i saw it in Canadian Tire or a Home Show but I just can’t bring myself to buy something off of an infomercial. 

DR isn’t the glamourous end to advertising. The DR agency peeps tend to make jokes about how they are hidden in the back of agency buildings and are like the weird cousin no one wants to talk to at ad parties. I feel for them sure I do. But glamourous and gets the job done just doesn’t work hand in hand.

Jessi & Vogue in India

India has popped onto my radar twice in 2 days. Yesterday I watched Jessi in India on MTV.ca.

The small documentary on Free the Children moved me. I was trying to figure out how to incorporate it into my media blog but couldn’t completely justify the use of broadband or media celebrities to create awareness for a good cause. However, after reading Vogue’s Fashion Photos Spark Debate in India on New York Times I again had my eyes opened at how the use of modern media can truly educate the Western World. I was beginning to think Entertainment might start ruling completely over Education. 

Jessi’s video showed us the typical housework done by young girls pulled out of school and child labour on a construction site. To be honest I always thought the woman was all perk and no substance on the Hills Aftershow. She showed us a different side. She was passionate, warm and overall caring. Free the Children is lucky to have her as an ambassador and I hope her video and work with the group inspires others to make a difference in the education of children. By posting the video on MTV.ca the station is showing forward thinking and the “want” to do something with the power of their media. 

Vogue’s Fashion Photos Spark Debate in India was published on August 31, 2008. 

 This is one of the images that has caused some controversy. See poverty family. Now see Fendi Bib. Price: $100. All images show average Indian people wearing luxury. Vogue believes that fashion is no longer just a rich man’s privilege. Anyone can wear it and pull it off. Fashion in this case was not meant to be taken seriously. They are not trying to then sell the publication to the poor and force them to buy luxury. 

However, the crux of the controversy is that India is torn with the very rich and the very poor. The country is consumed with suicides because of overwhelming debt. So the image of a poor family having something that costs more than they might make in a year is definitely upsetting. 

In my opinion the use of print in this case was more to be an eye-opener to the upper class. If it causes controversy then people are talking about it and therefore word of mouth is educating their wealthy class as well as our Western World. 

As India develops and the new money increases in their economy one would hope that awareness of the poor is something that is used for the good and not exploited as some may believe. 

Don’t send me hate mail because I’m looking for the good in this article. Before this week, I had barely even had India on my radar. And now my awareness has increased by 200%.

Thanks to Mass Media and MTV and Vogue.

Bald Men Get Ratings

This line from Media in Canada made my morning: “Flashpoint will go into production on a second season of the shot-in-Toronto action series early next year after CTV ordered 13 more episodes of the prime-time hit yesterday.”

Yeahhhh for Bald Men who get ratings! This show is awesome, well-written, well cast and I definitely enjoy it. 

The great part about this show in the Media world is that it was picked up on both sides of the border. CBS records an average of 7 million viewers while CTV consistently averages 1.1 million viewers since the show launched in July. Next fist pump is due to the shift from Friday to a Thursday time slot. Which I’m sure helped out the ratings factor. They started the show in the summer during a slow time to grow an audience who will hopefully stay loyal beyond the summer months. 

The characters are developing well. From Jules played by Amy Jo Johnson to Sam, Sgt. Gregory Parker and Ed Lane (the bald man if you are unfamiliar with the show). I saw Amy at the CTV.ca Fall Up fronts and for the life of me couldn’t remember what she was on prior to this show. I had to read her bio to find out it was Felicity. However she is making her mark with this show and asserting herself as the lone female for all the women viewers to identify with. The characters deal with their jobs and have human moments that endear us and recognize the profession for what it is. Difficult and Heartwarming. 

So CSI has helped put Vegas, Miami and New York on the map. Will Flashpoint do the same for Toronto?

That’s a whole other blog about destination marketing and TV shows.

Bring On The Engagement

Facebook: We all know and love it. Most of us will still confess to being obsessed with it. If you have the bberry app on your phone then you can also admit to being controlled by it. Bored on the streetcar… oh what’s the latest status updates? Bored at work… let’s see what my 100 FB acquaintances did this weekend by creeping photos. I whole heartily love the social network. Have re-connected with childhood summer camp friends that later on met an elementary school friend of mine and weirdly the three of us had coffee and had the triangle connection. I’ve re-connected with people from high school who at the time would have never given me a second glance. I really do heart it. 

Now as a marketer I’ve watched as cpg, alcohol, tech, etc companies have struggled to use the site. Last year I ran banner ads on the home page. They performed poorly. Switched to social ads and the click through rates (CTR) rose. Fan Pages were introduced and the fun began. Marketers who want to properly use this tool need to be engaging. The material has to be in relation to the network. If I’m shopping for fashion and I’m trolling through Flare.com then yes retail ads spark my interest. If I’m trying to figure out which event I’m going to attend on Facebook then an ad regarding Diets for the Stars isn’t that appealing. Yes I’ve seen it. Impressions served. But I’m not a good test market as it’s my job to notice these things. But how many of the new ads on the right hand side can you name off the top of your head? Now how many have you clicked on?

Bring in the new Engagement Widget Ads. The trial run for Tropic Thunder makes complete sense. See Widget Ad on Right hand side. Watch Trailer. Write 5 words describing your reaction to Trailer. Widget ad now appears in your friends newsfeed with your comment below. Interaction w/ ad in a social setting achieved. Cap it at one per day to ensure no piss off factor and bingo bango success. 

“Brands will only succeed with these ‘WidgetAds’ if they create content that puts community first, lean on new interactions, integrate with other tools, plan for the long haul, and change how they measure success–traditional Internet advertising tactics won’t apply,” wrote Jeremiah Owyang, a senior analyst At Forrester Research

I’m excited for this new development. Bring on the next.

Full of KNOLedge

Why re-invent the wheel? Why create content when you’re specialty is in Search, YouTube and Blogger. Because to stay on top you must always think of the next best thing. And Content Is King.

So let’s compete with Wikis. Bam! KNOL was created.

“KNOL is an authoritative article about a specific topic”

So how’s does KNOL compete with Wikipedia? Since you must create a profile to write a Knol the content is no longer anonymous. Does this drive credibility? Sure. Can others collaborate on the subject? Of course. Is it slightly more complicated? Maybe. Did you really think Wikis were going to stay as a monopoly in the online encyclopedia universe?

People in general are never happy with complacency. So after Wikipedia has been in the marketplace for its time, someone’s going to try and be bigger and better and come on… Google is the one to do it. 

Will it take a bit to catch on? Sure. Will people complain that KNOL pages are ranking high in organic google listings? Sure. Unless Google decides to prove it’s organically growing due to popularity vs. seeding then they would have to reveal some very complicated algorithms that frankly I don’t really have interest in learning. Can I get content through Wikis or KNOLs and be a happy consumer of general knowledge. Of Course.

Two Heads Are Better Than One.

Behavioural Targeting (BT) - Passing The “Creep Factor”

That guy on the corner follows your every move. Tracked. Your every step. Tracked. Your interests. Your hobbies. Your passions. Tracked. 

Creepy? You betcha. 

Ad Spyware follows your every online click. Tracked. The ads you click on. The articles you read. The videos you watch. The pages you surf through. The keywords you search. Tracked. 

Creepy? Hmm…. Since the tracking is not being done by a person do you feel violated?  Are you offended?

What if the sole purpose was that so ads could be served to you that are more inline with your interests? Marketers believe you may be more easily influenced by ads being served through BT. However, we the consumer are much more media savvy. We will engage and be engaged with that which we choose. So having a source learn just a little bit more about us shouldn’t be a creep thing. 

Your friends know which stories to tell you during drinks on Friday. Your parents know which emails to send you that will make you laugh. Your best friend knows which events to invite you to. Just think of BT as someone trying to get a second date and maybe the creep factor may or may not prevail.

Mad Men

Mad:

As defined by dictionary.com

1. mentally disturbed; deranged; insane; demented

2. extremely foolish or unwise; imprudent; irrational

3. widely excited or confused: frantic

4. overcome by desire, eagerness, enthusiasm

Mad Men:

As defined by amctv.com

TV drama that follows the lives of the ruthlessly competitive men and women of Madison Avenue advertising, an ego-driven world where key players make an art of the sell.

My Mad Woman Opinion:

“If Mad Men has struck a nerve with viewers, it’s because its themes reflect a time that’s more real and omnipresent today than we sometimes realize.” - Canada.com

Everyone has a secret. This is true of life. Is it true of the advertising world? Sure it is. We work with people day in and day out. We spend the majority of our day with our co-workers? Do they know the intimate details of our life? It all depends on your level of comfort, openness and chatterbox level. At my last agency, I had a work husband. We were open, we laughed and joked and supported each other through personal trials. It was what made the day good. It helped through the stressful times. In Mad Men, we see Penny hold the secret of sleeping with an account exec. Did my ‘work husband’ know intimate details…no. You have to maintain some degree of sensibility. And my social life is not nearly as entertaining or gripping to a TV crowd as the adulterous romps in the sack of the Mad Men characters.

Drinking and smoking are second nature. Yes we still do the liquid lunches, the media parties but the in office drinking…ummm…shhhh don’t tell my boss about the bottle of jacks in the bottom filing drawer The rep lunches and media parties are definite draws to the industry. The socializing, free booze, miniature appetizers and schmoozing is a very very nice bonus and perk to this job. Do you balance it with knowing your workload and what you can and cannot handle outside of work hours? Yes. However, does the 12 oclock martini still exists. Yup. Does the 4 o’clock beer to just get me through this last hour on Friday? Hell Yes.

Boys will be Boys. Is it still a man’s world out there? I would like to argue it exists to some degree. Men are better suited to sales position. It’s easier for them to take no for an answer and bounce back. Women are better suited to organizational positions (don’t shoot me I didn’t say secretarial). It’s just the simple truth of anal retentive, obsessive-compulsive tendencies. We see many Men at the top because they simply have a calmer air to them. The women are account executives managing creative, production, client and media. We see executive assistants remain women. However the influx of creative women into the advertising world is a testament to the new Mad WOMen club. However, do they have the typical guy qualities to succeed? I would like to say yes (again don’t shoot me). My feminism exists but I fully acknowledge you require Mad Men qualities to succeed in your professional career.

So when it comes to the show…am I truly mad about Mad Men?

1. I’m slightly mentally disturbed by the adultery in Mad Men. You could say it makes me a bit angry to see the truth.

2. The extreme foolishness of the show has me hooked to come back every week and to save it to the PVR.

3. I do get widely excited about the story lines and enjoy the water cooler talk around the show.

4. I definitely would say I’m overcome by desire, eagerness and enthusiasm when blogging, speaking or thinking about one of my new fav shows.

This Mad Woman enjoys her Mad Men.

The Lure of Viral Videos

Wednesday, July 9 - I attended Yahoo! Summit Series - Big Screen , Little Screen on how video and mobile advertising are making leaps and bounds in the media landscape. These vehicles are on media planners’ radar but have yet to make a significant impact on marketing/advertising budgets. Engagement is key in our industry. We tout phrases like captivating consumers, engage with them on their own terms and let consumers control their media intake. So when thinking about paid online video placements or seeding video on host networks, how does it align with our key ad phrases?

Captivate Consumers: This video was posted June 20, 2008. Less than one month ago and has already received 5,494,296 views. This video became popular once the element of people joining together was added. Captivating? I was hooked.

Engage With Them On Their Own Terms: The fantastic display of Diet Coke & Mentos has 6,747,119 views on youtube. Mentos embraced this trend and sent packages their way. You want to play with our brand? Please, go right ahead!

Consumers Control Their Intake: The simple fact that the online environment is controlled by bookmarks, search terms and which sites you may frequent on a daily basis is the foundation for how we control our intake of online advertising. We may see a voken pop up on the screen and promptly close it but if it’s engaging enough we bite. If you roll over a banner for the latest new release and a movie trailer pops up then yes you are controlling your intake of online video advertising. Media agencies and clients need to partner with and search out the digital creative agencies that have it going on. Find the creative shops that know the lingo and are excited about creating new units and new uses for online advertising which may or may not include the use of paid placements for videos. But if they get it then they should definitely have a passion for video.

Just by the mere popularity of youtube, consumers control their intake of all that is viral, free and exciting in the world of user generated content. Now this content is expanding to other networks, hosts, etc., however I keep referencing youtube as it is just generally more used by your run-of-the-mill consumer.

The online video guru Nalts spoke at the conference about the Secret Sauce of Success for online videos. Marketing companies beware. Unless your videos include the following…

1. A catchy title & thumbnail
2. Keep it under 2 mins
3. Do not overly produce (we’re talking home video quality)
4. Have an engaging intro
5. Be funny, sexy, quirky or shocking
6. Try and add on of a surprise ending

If not, then your video is doomed to the viral kiss of death.

For more tips and tricks check out his site http://willvideoforfood.com

The Tricky World of Product Placement

It is easy to throw out the phrase product placement in a marketing/media conversation. Most CPG companies attempt to do it. Has anyone really done it well? I would argue only fashion has and quite possibly electronics but then again it’s pretty obvious when they do it.

I sat and thought about it for a while and due to my fashion obsession, for me the queen of all product placement is the Manolo Blahnik. What women doesn’t envy Carries’ shoe collection or crave the show. And the show really did make the shoe a “household” name for women. The movie that was released was a smattering of product placement galore! Vanity Fair has described it as the Super Bowl for women. Did you notice them? Or did you simply glaze over all the glamour and soak it in without even realizing it?

The official promotional partners announced were:

Skyy Vodka, Bag Borrow or Steal, Coty Fragrances, Glacéau VitaminWater, Mercedes-Benz, Swarovski, and Bacardi Silver.

Source: http://www.vanityfair.com/online/daily/2008/05/sex-and-the-cit.html

However, the fashion (designers), snacks, gadgets, NYC places, publications, and stores and services were abundant. Did they make an impact on you? Can you list more than 5 without looking it up online?

I’ve worked on CPG companies for a while now and they are always asking how to get into TV shows? A forced product placement is so obvious but raises awareness. Is Carrie eating Mr. Noodles on New Year’s Eve less obvious and make you crave the stuff vs. a reality character being forced to discuss why they like “Brand A”?

When Carrie writes on her MAC do you think maybe I could be a witty writer if I had one?

Meet me at Future Shop I’ll be in the laptop aisle.

The World of Competitive Reviews

Part of my job is to analyze and evaluate competitive data for our client. I’m always fascinated by the let’s do what they do syndrome. If you’ve sat in a marketing or advertising brainstorm you’ve probably/maybe heard… “How can we do what Dove did?” Why be Dove? You’re never going to be Dove. (I get knocked for being too blunt sometimes).  Take a risk, throw metrics out the window and be passionate about a new idea. If you have a gut feeling that it wont work…re-evaluate why.

So this is my rant.