Sometime the product just sells itself – The Shake Weight
Written by Paul Newnes
Social – Emotional
Written by Gary Lockton
There seems to be a growing tension in the world of social media!
Almost every client brief now asks how we would place brands within the social environment. And I find myself questioning if there really is a place for every, or even any brand, within our personal pages online?
Aren’t the likes of Facebook and Twitter the realm of mates rather than marketing, of chat instead of commerce, of sharing, not shopping?
Perhaps it is for these very reasons that brands are so keen to be part of the social sphere? Marketing managers doubtless recognise this ‘emotional’ environment as very different from the “rational” destinations they create for their own brands online. They no doubt also note their own changed state of mind, when looking at their Facebook pages or writing their latest Tweet? These are times when we are all off-duty, open-minded, less cynical and potentially more receptive.
As an agency, we DO believe there is a place for brands within the social sphere, but only if a certain mindset and approach is applied:
- social media is a personal, emotional space – standard advertising and promotion isn’t appropriate
- context and personalisation are key, relating to users, their likes and dislikes, preferably on an individual basis, are likely to engage and, therefore, succeed
- considering and involving friends and groups is a powerful way to achieve relevant and timely interest
- overall, this is a pretty intolerant space – ‘road-blocking’ or ’spamming’ is guaranteed to create a negative brand reaction
In summary, our belief is that there is no problem combining brand messages with our personal spaces, as long as sensitivity and care are used.
Playing devil’s advocate now, allowing advertiser access to our beloved social media sites may be a necessity anyway! Facebook, Twitter and other social spaces operate under generally unsustainable revenue models today. Inviting brands to get more involved may be the only way we can hold on to these sites we have become so attached to.
Indeed, it would appear that Facebook’s recent news about imminent profitability is heavily driven by The Gift Shop, Facebook Connect, and other ways brands can engage on a deeper, better informed level with consumers, as opposed to monetisation of display advertising alone.
10 Hot creative agencies to watch – Last Exit is on the first page.
Written by Paul Newnes
“Above all else, getting serious about digital means getting serious about creative, whether you’re talking about a simple banner ad or a cutting-edge viral campaign. After all, big ideas move successful campaigns in any medium, and the web is no exception.
But as larger agencies struggle to redefine themselves in the lean-and-mean digital ecosystem, a grassroots army of smaller, specialty shops is raising eyebrows. Some work on assignment from larger agencies, but others have begun taking ownership of the client relationship for themselves. While this is by no means an exhaustive list, these are some of the independent agencies that made us stand up and take notice with campaigns and ideas that push web creative forward.”
Full article on iMedia Connection.
Adobe Spearheads iTV Opportunities
Written by Nuri Djavit
It had to happen sooner or later; with Adobe’s Flash engine ‘coming soon’ to the Palm Pre and now doing a deal with major set top box manufacturers, it would seem that we are seeing the company truly heralding in a new era for integrated development known as the Open Screen project.
This is obviously an important step for developers but also represents a huge opportunity for advertisers looking to exploit multi-channel communications. Initially, it sounds like the experience will offer fairly simple and, perhaps, long overdue, features such as web browsing and widgets on your TV, but going deeper with interactive advertising and branded content is surely the next step. Where Open failed in the US some 10 years ago, Adobe seems to have the potential to succeed and do so in a HUGE way.
I don’t mention our past to often, but as a team back at Deepend, we built some of the first interactive televition (iTV) assets including games, commercials and branded content. We’re rather hoping it puts us in good stead for the (near) future.
Bold Moves by Ford: Hoping it will end with a ‘Fiesta’
Written by Nuri Djavit
I really believe Ford has an opportunity to clean up here in the US. First, it’s more than likely that (at least) one of the other BIG 3 will go out of business and second, Ford has had this amazing, innovation base in it’s European franchizes. BEtween the two major development centers in Spain and the UK, Ford Europe has been pumping out fantastic cars and is, subsequently, seen as a quality brand. No, not as high as BMW, Audi, etc. but taking a step down, you would be looking at Ford. Boasting an amazing range to suit every need and budget, and with world beaters such as Focus RS, one of the meanest hot hatches around, Ford have an arsenal that none of the other Detroit manufacturers can truly compete with. And now it seems, they’re also rethinking their advertising and marketing philosophy. Maybe having financial hardship is a good thing for Ford!
Tameka Kee reported a campaign they’re running which is test to test the limits of social media branding:
“Later this month, it will hand over the branding and promotion duties for the car to 100 twenty-somethings who have no advertising experience.
Ford is giving each of them a Fiesta to drive around; recipients range from award-winning indie filmmakers, to single moms, to aspiring dancers, and even avid gamers, and they’ll document their experiences with the car through YouTube vignettes, blog posts and other social media updates for six months. The kicker is that Ford will have no control over what they post, meaning the effort could ultimately end up tarnishing the brand almost a year before it hits U.S. dealerships.”
But it’s a risk Ford has to take—since it’s in a fight (to the death?) to attract young, tech-savvy consumers that may have never thought about buying a domestic car before. The company believes that traditional marketing won’t sway this demographic.”
I really think it’s a risk worth taken and definitely, highly calculated. The Fiesta platform has always tested well in Europe and often won “Best Small Car” awards, so the only thing to get over is the US perception that bigger is better – something that, again, is changing rapidly. The success of Mini and the surprising uptake of the Smart car is proof that attitudes are changing and it’s time for brands to experiement and discover the reall challenges and opportunites with online engagements. Time to move away from just doing funky, promotion-based micro sites and start considering the long tail of web marketing.
Audi Overtake
Written by Nuri Djavit
I’ve just started reading a fantastic book by/about George Lois – one of the original and great Ad Guys – on his ‘Creation of the Big Idea’. It’s a great book filled with alot of brilliant campaigns but focuses on the process that leads to that Eureka moment. Though many of us will, rightfully so, put a lot of this down to talent, he expresses his theory around hard work, practice and exercising those neurons that lead us to amazing work. He always, and still does practice his way of truly ’seeing’ – the firts stage to generating a visual and message combination that imparts a strong idea/concept.
As I read his book I’ve begun to adjust the way I approach problems and am more and more fascinated by the skills brought to bear in print campaigns. In a single layout, art directors/copywriters have to create a story, hopefully grabbing the attention of a passerby. A big challenge that many interactive designers think they might not need to tackle. Considering what we know about user behavior from all the analytics we derive and is provided by the likes of Google, I think we need to look more closely at this process and while print may be taking a big hit in the media mix, the talent pool could and should be utilized elsewhere.
This Audi A8 ad cought my attention this morning as doing exactly that. A perfect example of how a picture can tell a thousand words.
Durex “Do-It” Again
Written by Nuri Djavit
Absolute genius:
Our good friends at Superfad were behind the production. Check out this link to see all the outtakes too. Bloody brilliant!
Heineken
Written by Nuri Djavit
The many differences between men and women is often no better embodied than our (men’s) love of beer and the Dutch do it again in their commercials, providing us yet more fantastic entertainment along the way.
Business Will Never Be “Usual” Again (and that’s a good thing!)
Written by Nuri Djavit
Towards the end of 2008 I actively avoided reading any of the many predictions for 2009, most of them spelling out apocalyptic doom for the economy, for New York, the US and in deed the entire world. OK, OK – it is bad and is going to be bad but I believe that much of what we will experience will be the transformation of life as we know it. I’ll not get all existentialist, so I’ll focus on advertising/marketing shall I?
Knee jerk reactions tend to do the worst damage and every sensible person/company out there will realize that we still need to sell. That the vast majority of people still need products and services, albeit more effective, efficient and now more ‘green’, and the way we need to speak to this more demanding audience must also be lean and mean. Ten years ago we were enjoying life in the dot.com bubble as digital marketing began to enter the paradigm but it’s only been since the last bust and really, I believe, during 2008 that it has begun to take shape. In our industry we live among a an audience (our clients) relentlessly fixated on accountability. And so they should be and so can we provide and satisfy. Vague, illusionistic formulas for calculating ROI from traditional media will not cut the mustard during a troubled economy and, I believe, will not do so when we return to a stronger fiscal situation. Times are certainly changing. Whilst many companies are being forced into making redundancies, there seems to be many who are slashing head-count whilst reporting (still growing) profits – this might wreak of (traditional media) companies taking advantage of a convenient smoke-screen to shed weight in favor of people with more digital savvy.
The numbers for the close of the year point to good, not stellar, but decent months for all who can truly take advantage of the shift in the marketing mix and offer their clients something undeniably of value – real accountability. Media consultant and futurist, Jack Myers says it perfectly: “The best we can do is deal with reality…and not put our heads in the sand and just do what we have in the past. We need to see what is driving the most return-on-investment and identify where we think the communications business is going.”
Reports showing growth in display ads, search marketing, online video (which shows massive growth) and email, with all or a mix displaying value in both direct ROI to brand building, suggest that companies such as Last Exit, should have a good year and more importantly, that we guide our clients to plan, invest and deploy their marketing communications more (cost) effectively and establish new strategies for a new era.
So, with the digital fad finally over and the internet coming of age, it’s time get on with business in a new, new (media) world.
Whopper Virgins
Written by Nuri Djavit
Of course the Whopper Virgins campaign is a few days old now but it is gathering momentum quickly. Claims (by researchers such as BrandIndex) that the Burger King brand has taken a bit of a knock from the campaign are being bested by views, discussion and sharing of the documentary.
I honestly believe this a fantastically interesting piece and not necessarily because of the taste test or its results. It’s refreshing that there are still people out in the world who have never been exposed to global brand giants such as Burger King or McDonalds! But back to the point; I think it was a considerably brave move by BK and CPB alike and the results are worth the risk. The conversations that this will spark will resound for weeks to come – I personally am looking to bring it up tonight over a few pints and a tray of sliders.
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