Meet Emily. She's a rep from the CG company, Image Metrics.
And no, she is not real.
Friday
Jerry and Bill...back for another adventure.
Last week, PJC posted the launch spot from Microsoft featuring Bill and Jerry. What looks to be the next installment - a 4:30 minute video posted below - continues to drive the mystery around what PC's new product is going to be.
We started with the "delicious" tagline and now we've evolved to see the new meaning of "PC" - Perpetually Connected.
Reviews for this campaign have been extremely mixed. Some reviews like how Bill Gates is being positioned - a likeable, normal guy. Not one of the richest men on the planet. It's a good thought - make Microsoft more human - and one that the campaign will definitely continue to use.
That being said, this tease seems like it could go on for months and I wonder if people really care. Yes, Bill and Jerry are entertaining (and have a lot of inside jokes with one another) but what happens once this mysterious product is released? Do they travel the globe together to spread the word like the Wii guys? Or does the story end and they part ways, happy that they've become more like "regular people" and that their new product focuses on everybody else - not the ultra-rich crowd?
However this campaign ends, Micrsoft is making a brand promise - that their products are going to become more human, more easy to use and more friendly for everyday folks. It sounds a lot like Apple's and it's a lot to live into.
Thursday
The Links
Lot's of good stuff this week. Check it out when you're bored at work on a Friday...
- Wal-Mart sponsores a blog that says "Nigger Obama Eats Babies"
- Google creates a comic strip for Chrome's ad blocking functionality
- W+K links to a UK list of the Top 10 most awarded ads of the last decade (W+K and Honda have two of them, can you guess which ones?)
- What's the difference between a 1.0 Geek and a 2.0 Geek?
- Advertisers tell the industry that they are not keen on the Google-Yahoo merger
- iTunes and Apple announcing a subscription model?
- 58% of Americans still have no idea what "Social Networking" is. That's OK...neither do 90% of marketers....Bam!
- The book this fall that has me the most excited about it's findings (yes...I am a nerd).
- How many ads have been served on the iPhone? A lot.
Wednesday
Comcast Tweets customers to happines
I recently read a post on Logic & Emotion that discussed how Comcast has began offering customer service.This is a genius way for companies to leverage Social Media to improve their business. Does it take much to have a couple of your employees in the call center monitor a twitter account while they take calls? I doubt it.
Courier companies - allow users to send the tracking number for instant updates.
Airlines - allow customers to tweet flight numbers for updates (delayed to 12:15, on-time, etc).
Car manufacturers - Road side service?
Movie theatres - movie times. Sold-out shows.
Realtors - post your twitter name to ads, for sale signs to instantly respond to requests.
Nightclubs - provide inquiries into lines, take table service resos.
AA - support over twitter
Children's Help Phone - see above.
Find me on twitter (pcrowe) if you want any thoughts about how you could use twitter with your business.
Your online World is changing
First Chrome - which I am using and love.
Now Ubiquity. Amazing video.
Ubiquity for Firefox from Aza Raskin on Vimeo.
Now Ubiquity. Amazing video.
Ubiquity for Firefox from Aza Raskin on Vimeo.
The Value of User Experience Design -
Another tool to explain UXD and why IT MATTERS! Will this conversation never end.Found this map the other night on Experience Dynamics. I enjoyed. So I've shared.
Don't be afraid of the Guillotine
Everyone knows the person I am going to be talking about; that colleague, or client with a passionate desire to survive. They don't want to jeopardize their job so they view every day and every interaction not as an opportunity but as a threat -- a threat not to the company but to her own well-being. As Seth Godin says in his post Guillotine or Rack? that I will quote and use throughout this post, "If she had a mantra, it was "Don't blow it."
In business, these people face two choices: to die by the guillotine, a horrible but quick death, or to perish slowly on the rack -- which is just as painful a way to go, if not more so, and guaranteed to leave you every bit as dead. But in their nightmares, only one of those two options loomed large -- the guillotine.
I have to admit it. I have the same dream.
Have you ever spent a night worrying about what your boss (or your stockbroker or a big customer) is going to say to you at that meeting the next morning? Have you ever worried about some impending moment of doom? That's fear of the guillotine.
But almost no one worries about the rack. We don't quake in our boots about a layoff that's going to happen two years from now if we don't migrate our systems before our competition does. We're not afraid of stagnating and dying slowly. No, we're more afraid of sudden death, even though the guillotine is probably a far better way to die.
Too often in the digital world especially the guillotine rules. Why? Because believe it or not in a lot of companies Senior Management still does not understand or believe in the purpose and power, too often in advertising the strategy is final, the commercial shot and now 30 days before the in-market date they realize they DO NEED the digital strategy you tried to speak to them about 45 days ago. So what happens? Sites get built with 1/2 the time they need and then obviously user experience is sacrificed, functionality reduced, and the digital efforts become nothing more than a one-off tactic supporting a campaign.
The realities of todays world is that in most cases the first place consumers look for information is online. If your advertising works and they see a spot, or hear about your product or service through word-of-mouth they look online to discover more. This experience is paramount. It must be aligned with the brand, connect to the campaign and answers the questions the consumers have.
But due to the lingering Guillotine, in a lot of cases marketers aren't putting the thought or strategy they should behind the majority of their digital efforts.
What is the implications 3 years down the road if a project goes to market 3 weeks late? Probably only positive implications. If you launch early and a horrible user-experience is provided, if you aren't satisfying the needs and desires of your visitors,and if the brand isn't properly represented then 3 years later you may still have consumers with a bad taste in their mouth, they may still be talking about the horrible experience they had with your brand and they probably aren't purchasing.
If the 3 weeks can eliminate these issues do it. The guillotine can be stopped by showing that you are delivering a strategically sound, brand aligned and high-quality product. And your solid efforts that will be paying off exponentially down the road will be recognised celebrated and will keep you from dying on the rack.
In business, these people face two choices: to die by the guillotine, a horrible but quick death, or to perish slowly on the rack -- which is just as painful a way to go, if not more so, and guaranteed to leave you every bit as dead. But in their nightmares, only one of those two options loomed large -- the guillotine.
I have to admit it. I have the same dream.
Have you ever spent a night worrying about what your boss (or your stockbroker or a big customer) is going to say to you at that meeting the next morning? Have you ever worried about some impending moment of doom? That's fear of the guillotine.
But almost no one worries about the rack. We don't quake in our boots about a layoff that's going to happen two years from now if we don't migrate our systems before our competition does. We're not afraid of stagnating and dying slowly. No, we're more afraid of sudden death, even though the guillotine is probably a far better way to die.
Too often in the digital world especially the guillotine rules. Why? Because believe it or not in a lot of companies Senior Management still does not understand or believe in the purpose and power, too often in advertising the strategy is final, the commercial shot and now 30 days before the in-market date they realize they DO NEED the digital strategy you tried to speak to them about 45 days ago. So what happens? Sites get built with 1/2 the time they need and then obviously user experience is sacrificed, functionality reduced, and the digital efforts become nothing more than a one-off tactic supporting a campaign.
The realities of todays world is that in most cases the first place consumers look for information is online. If your advertising works and they see a spot, or hear about your product or service through word-of-mouth they look online to discover more. This experience is paramount. It must be aligned with the brand, connect to the campaign and answers the questions the consumers have.
But due to the lingering Guillotine, in a lot of cases marketers aren't putting the thought or strategy they should behind the majority of their digital efforts.
What is the implications 3 years down the road if a project goes to market 3 weeks late? Probably only positive implications. If you launch early and a horrible user-experience is provided, if you aren't satisfying the needs and desires of your visitors,and if the brand isn't properly represented then 3 years later you may still have consumers with a bad taste in their mouth, they may still be talking about the horrible experience they had with your brand and they probably aren't purchasing.
If the 3 weeks can eliminate these issues do it. The guillotine can be stopped by showing that you are delivering a strategically sound, brand aligned and high-quality product. And your solid efforts that will be paying off exponentially down the road will be recognised celebrated and will keep you from dying on the rack.
Tuesday
Now That's a Brand Spot
It's not often a spot leaves you speechless...but this new work from JWT is pretty awesome - especially for a brand like HSBC. Great, great work.
Friday
Monday Night Football meets Hammer Time
Now put down that keytar and get your ass on the couch. Football is back.
CP+B Pulls out the big guns for Microsoft
The Jerry Seinfeld factor:
Does his humour lighten up the brand?
Does the Seinfeld brand overshadow Microsoft?
Is CP+B selling out by going with a big name actor? I think that it could have been executed without the "Jerry Seinfeld" factor. Maybe we wouldn't have paid as much attention, but is Jerry really needed?
Thoughts or if you have seen other spots let me know in the comments section.
UPDATE:A quote from Microsoft SVP Bill Veghte
Found on Adrants via techcrunch.
"Today, we are kicking off a highly visible advertising campaign. The first phase of this campaign is designed to engage consumers and spark a new conversation about Windows - a conversation that will evolve as the campaign progresses, but will always be marked by humor and humanity. The first in this series [...] aims to re-ignite consumer excitement about the broader value of Windows.
[...]
This first set of ads features Bill Gates and comedian Jerry Seinfeld. Think of these ads as an icebreaker to reintroduce Microsoft to viewers in a consumer context."
Well they have definitely sparked a conversation, lets see it evolve to something of substance.
Thursday
People Don't Like Display Ads...
Another shocking article from today's Marketing Magazine update: Canadian's don't like online display advertising and they don't trust it. (well, approximately 62% of us feel that way):
"62% of respondents said they are skeptical of paid advertising included within their Internet searches. This may be a reflection of the early days of the Internet, where pop-up advertising and viruses were more commonplace, said Mark Laver, study author and associate vice-president of Ipsos Reid."
Sorry Mark - it's not the early days, it's everyday. Nobody wants to be bothered by a voken, pop up, boring rich media execution or in-your-face standard ad.
We go to sites for content, to connect with others and to research information about a product or something that we're interested in. I'm pretty sure nobody has ever searched the web frantically hoping that they'll come across a display ad that they're interested in clicking on.
Search, on the other hand, is working. Especially from a consumer confidence standpoint. The Marketing article shows that 44% of Canadians have clicked on sponsored, search links. It makes sense right? I'm looking for something and the sponsored link answers that call.
Remember my angry post about how I wanted proof for certain things? Now I want something else:
"62% of respondents said they are skeptical of paid advertising included within their Internet searches. This may be a reflection of the early days of the Internet, where pop-up advertising and viruses were more commonplace, said Mark Laver, study author and associate vice-president of Ipsos Reid."
Sorry Mark - it's not the early days, it's everyday. Nobody wants to be bothered by a voken, pop up, boring rich media execution or in-your-face standard ad.
We go to sites for content, to connect with others and to research information about a product or something that we're interested in. I'm pretty sure nobody has ever searched the web frantically hoping that they'll come across a display ad that they're interested in clicking on.
Search, on the other hand, is working. Especially from a consumer confidence standpoint. The Marketing article shows that 44% of Canadians have clicked on sponsored, search links. It makes sense right? I'm looking for something and the sponsored link answers that call.
Remember my angry post about how I wanted proof for certain things? Now I want something else:
- Marketers to consider (just consider) banning display ads from their media plans
Why just consider and not eliminate completely? Because once you consider you'll start down the path to thinking about digital performance (through enhanced metrics) and not just throwing up a few ads on the most popular sites.
Think about it. How many people actually remember an online ad? 5 out of every 100? 10? Eyetracking studies have shown that we are pre-conditioned to ignore sponsored sections of a page and just focus right on the content. Even if it's a hot shiney ad, chances are we don't care.
So what's the problem? Well for starters, even though we don't care, the site and media company still counts that as an impression for client. Sure, the traditional buy will included millions of impressions but what are they worth if 90% of your audience doesn't even see the ad and only 0.03% of them click on it?
This is where you say, "But AdJoke, online advertising spend has been increasing dramatically in North America over the last 4 years. What do you make of that?"
First off, just because advertisers are spending more to garner more impressions online doesn't necessarly mean it's translating into sales or ehnancing brands. Second, a large chunk of that increase comes from search because it makes perfect sense.
Rich media executions and pre-roll video are decent ways at grabbing attention, but in the long run, aren't we going to try to avoid these annoyances as much as possible? Firefox, IE7 and Chrome all have "ad blocking" tools pre-installed. What happens when these tools become the norm and display ads aren't even seen?
Oh wait. They're not really seen anyways. What the hell are we worried about?
Wednesday
Bolt's Golden Marketing Quote
Is this a dream for McDonalds or what? A quote, from the new World's Fastest man Usian Bolt, about his pre-race meal:"My masseuse brought me nuggests, of course...I'm serious...mycoach said I should not eat more [than two] but [it was part of his pre-race routine."
Here's too the next generation of sprinters - the fattest humans in the world. I can't wait to see Bolt in 40 years after his about 25,000 nuggets.
Found on copyranter.
Hanna's Penis [Candy]
Who knew that Disney was cool with this type of thing? I'm just glad to see that the URL for Hanna Montana's Penis Candy is "bestweekever.tv". Good times.Thanks to Coulson for the link!
Monday
The Rules - Kennedy Style
When David Kennedy quite his old agency to start W+K, this note was found in his remaining stuff. Pretty simple but still holds true today. Found on the great, W+K London blog.
The Links
Mulling through my RSS feed, I star a ton of articles each week. Rather than link to every one of them through a number of posts, I'm going to do a weekly post with some of my favorites. As always, please feel free to pass on any links you find interesting.
- An in depth look at the Batman Begins ARG developed by 42 entertainment. Pretty amazing.
- A new list of the Top 10 Business related apps on Facebook - I'm a fan of the free conference calling.
- Trying to sell your boss on the validity of social media but can't find any of the right stats? The folks at Mashable have put together a great list.
- Toyota wants people to pitch them their ad ideas. Another brand who doesn't believe in agency ideas. Good strategy.
- Google awards some Canadian students for their hot cellphone app. Booya.
- Microsoft trying to unload Avenue A/Razorfish to WPP.
- Creatives, handcuff free, create some good examples of Presidential campaign ads.
- Want to turn your 8GB iPhone into a 1 Terabyte mega-device? You can.
- An in depth look at the Batman Begins ARG developed by 42 entertainment. Pretty amazing.
- A new list of the Top 10 Business related apps on Facebook - I'm a fan of the free conference calling.
- Trying to sell your boss on the validity of social media but can't find any of the right stats? The folks at Mashable have put together a great list.
- Toyota wants people to pitch them their ad ideas. Another brand who doesn't believe in agency ideas. Good strategy.
- Google awards some Canadian students for their hot cellphone app. Booya.
- Microsoft trying to unload Avenue A/Razorfish to WPP.
- Creatives, handcuff free, create some good examples of Presidential campaign ads.
- Want to turn your 8GB iPhone into a 1 Terabyte mega-device? You can.
Quote of the Day
"Understanding the consumer is much more than knowing how and when to talk to them -- it's also knowing when not to."
- David Droga
- David Droga
Thursday
Blow Your Mind
At a cottage a few weekends ago, a good friend of mine blew my mind by simply plugging in his iPhone and playing the latest Girl Talk album.
Remember the revolutionary Grey Album by DJ Dangermouse? (A mash up featuring Jay Z's Black Album and the Beatles White album). Girl Talk is like DJ Dangermouse on crack.
His tracks are a compilation of new and old song (lots of 80's) with hundreds of samples mixed in to one, solid tune. I'm a huge fan - especially at work during mundane projects that require some solid computer time.
What I really like about this, though, is that it shows that there is a whole world of music out there just from sampling existing, succesful songs. DJ Dangermouse was the first to digitize this approach and spread it, and Girl Talk is pushing it to the next level.
Thanks to Chris and V-Ron for the reco...
The First Rule of Mass Communications
Seth Godin recently posted the following article on his blog:
"Organizations will work tirelessly to de-personalize every communication medium they encounter.
TV ads used to feature actual people, demonstrating something, usually live. Phone calls involved a live speaker, talking, with permission, to another person. Email used to be honest interactions between consenting adults. Facebook pages (and Wikipedia, too) were built by people, not staffs. Twits came from real people, and so did instant messages.
"Organizations will work tirelessly to de-personalize every communication medium they encounter.
One by one, the mass marketers have insisted on robocalling, spamming, jingling and lying their way into our lives. The pronoun morphs from "you" to "me" to "us" to "the corporation" ...The public works tirelessly to flee to actual interactions between real people, and our organizations work even more diligently (and with more leverage) to corporatize and anonymize the interactions. The irony, of course, is that an organization with guts can go in the opposite direction and win.
My name is Seth Godin and I approved this message."
I agree with Seth that large corporations like to make their communications as mass as possible. The reason for this is pretty obvious - the more people you appeal to (in theory), the greater the chance you have to resonate with the few you want. It's pretty scary for a marketer to only focus on the niche few they are targeting - especially if the creative and communications don't break through.
That being said, the more mass you go, the more people block your message.
PowerShares - Your ideas may scare you
I enjoyed this very visually arresting spot. Powerful and humorous when you think about (love the little ideas comment), but my only criticism is the lack of call to action. Not even a URL or "Ask your broker about Powershares today".
I hope that they move this into print. I am interested to see how it is executed.
I hope that they move this into print. I am interested to see how it is executed.
Tuesday
Monday
Digital Top 10 Blogs [Excluding AdJoke]
A number of collegues in the last little while have asked me what some of the top blogs and sites are that I read on a daily basis. Although my Google Reader is pretty jammed (with a lot of sites that I never really check out), there are 10 that I try to check out everyday.
Check out the list below and if you have any sites (other than Entertainment gossip rags) that you make a note of looking at daily, be sure to send them our way.
1. Mashable - the #1 Social Media News Site on the Web
By far, the best place to learn about any new trends in social media, social media tips and tricks, brands that are winning (or losing) in the space, etc. Updated 50-60 times / day.
2. Wired Top Stories - I'm a fan of the magazine and usually read it monthly but if you want to check out the hottest stories in tech, this is the place.
3. Logic + Emotion
Written by David Armano, VP Experience Design at Critical Mass, this blog contains great visuals to help explain Web 2.0, online process, branding and different strategies. A good place to find the right visual for a presentation.
4. Adrants
From a pure, 'what are the new campaigns going on in North America' standpoint, this is the best resource. Updated about 30-40 times daily, agencies and brands from across the world submit their new campaigns to be shared to Adrants readers.
5. Contagious Magazine
A quality, European creative resource for new campaigns. In depth reviews on what brands are doing and a worthwhile resource to check out when you are interested in international work.
6. BoingBoing - the #1 Blog in the World
Based out of Toronto, BoingBoing is the most popular blog on the internet and provides a collection of neat articles, products, reviews and technologies. It's not ad specific and quite random but it's important to read the place where the most bloggers link too.
7. Seth Godin (the most respected, marketing blogger around)
Also from Toronto but now living in New York, Godin posts regularly on marketing related strategies, questions and discussions. His style is quite simple but he's a good resource to check out if you're looking for new thinking / ideas.
8. Valleywag (Silicon Valley's version of Perez Hilton - a gossip tech site)
Updated 80-100 times daily, Valleywag is full of technology news, start-ups, Google / Facebook gossip and essentially anything that is going on in the Valley.
9. Digg
The central user-generated news site. If you are ever wondering what web video's are being watched, what articles the masses are interested in or random things that you could never find anywhere else, Digg is the place to check out. All bloggers use it as a way to enhance their traffic and top stories can receive hundreds of thousands of page views in a day.
10. Adverblog
One of the top, digital blogs on the web. Continually updated - specifically with digital campaigns and sites - it's a good place to look for new web trends and microsites.
Check out the list below and if you have any sites (other than Entertainment gossip rags) that you make a note of looking at daily, be sure to send them our way.
1. Mashable - the #1 Social Media News Site on the Web
By far, the best place to learn about any new trends in social media, social media tips and tricks, brands that are winning (or losing) in the space, etc. Updated 50-60 times / day.
2. Wired Top Stories - I'm a fan of the magazine and usually read it monthly but if you want to check out the hottest stories in tech, this is the place.
3. Logic + Emotion
Written by David Armano, VP Experience Design at Critical Mass, this blog contains great visuals to help explain Web 2.0, online process, branding and different strategies. A good place to find the right visual for a presentation.
4. Adrants
From a pure, 'what are the new campaigns going on in North America' standpoint, this is the best resource. Updated about 30-40 times daily, agencies and brands from across the world submit their new campaigns to be shared to Adrants readers.
5. Contagious Magazine
A quality, European creative resource for new campaigns. In depth reviews on what brands are doing and a worthwhile resource to check out when you are interested in international work.
6. BoingBoing - the #1 Blog in the World
Based out of Toronto, BoingBoing is the most popular blog on the internet and provides a collection of neat articles, products, reviews and technologies. It's not ad specific and quite random but it's important to read the place where the most bloggers link too.
7. Seth Godin (the most respected, marketing blogger around)
Also from Toronto but now living in New York, Godin posts regularly on marketing related strategies, questions and discussions. His style is quite simple but he's a good resource to check out if you're looking for new thinking / ideas.
8. Valleywag (Silicon Valley's version of Perez Hilton - a gossip tech site)
Updated 80-100 times daily, Valleywag is full of technology news, start-ups, Google / Facebook gossip and essentially anything that is going on in the Valley.
9. Digg
The central user-generated news site. If you are ever wondering what web video's are being watched, what articles the masses are interested in or random things that you could never find anywhere else, Digg is the place to check out. All bloggers use it as a way to enhance their traffic and top stories can receive hundreds of thousands of page views in a day.
10. Adverblog
One of the top, digital blogs on the web. Continually updated - specifically with digital campaigns and sites - it's a good place to look for new web trends and microsites.
Follow Your Instinct with Samsung
A friend of mine forward me this new campaign for the Samsung Instinct (dubbed as one of the many "iPhone killers"). It's a cool viral tool that has been used for some personal projects on the web before but I think this is one of the first times a brand has leveraged the "choose your own video adventure" format on YouTube.
Start your journey by watching the following video:
Hopefully, you've clicked on one of the options (take a cab or follow your instinct) and continued the journey. If you take a quick peek at the number of views the campaign has recieved, you can see it's well over 80,000 (cumulative numbers using the total videos).
Developed by Fjord at Cossette in Toronto (through CD Paulo Salomao), the campaign has been getting a lot of good press, especially in the blogosphere.
I like the campaign if only because it breaks from the typical "let's throw something up on YouTube" approach that is all to common these days. I'm sure the client liked it as well becasue it didn't cost much (my guess...who knows...) and it gives them the ability to say that they've done something no other brand has done inside or outside their category.
I do wonder how many people see the journey through from start to finish. Obviously the hot girl / one night stand factor help to see the story through. That being said, even if you watch two of the clips, that's a success.
Thanks to Katie for the link!
Start your journey by watching the following video:
Hopefully, you've clicked on one of the options (take a cab or follow your instinct) and continued the journey. If you take a quick peek at the number of views the campaign has recieved, you can see it's well over 80,000 (cumulative numbers using the total videos).
Developed by Fjord at Cossette in Toronto (through CD Paulo Salomao), the campaign has been getting a lot of good press, especially in the blogosphere.
I like the campaign if only because it breaks from the typical "let's throw something up on YouTube" approach that is all to common these days. I'm sure the client liked it as well becasue it didn't cost much (my guess...who knows...) and it gives them the ability to say that they've done something no other brand has done inside or outside their category.
I do wonder how many people see the journey through from start to finish. Obviously the hot girl / one night stand factor help to see the story through. That being said, even if you watch two of the clips, that's a success.
Thanks to Katie for the link!
Sunday
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)