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January 05, 2010
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| The Playboy Interview: Marshall McLuhan |
This morning i came upon (via @pedroramirez, digital director at Grey Mexico) a fantastic link, an old Marshall McLuhan's interview published at Playboy Magazine in 1969. With assertions such as "Effective study of the media deals not only with the content of the media but with the media themselves and the total cultural environment within which the media function", the text is as interesting and (surprisingly) contemporary as it gets in many aspects of our current environment.
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February 15, 2009
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| The iPhone and the App Store contradictions |
Marta Kagan recently put online a useful presentation on branded applications for the iPhone, considered as the next generation of immersive mobile branding. Her slideshow gives me the opportunity to spend a couple of words on the huge contradictions I see on App Store if you take the digital marketer point of view.
We are talking so much about the digital world, where everything and everybody is connected, where you can discover and get to know great ideas and great people from all around the world, global meets local etc, etc, etc... But, but, but the Apple App Store is far from being a global store. If you are based in Italy for example, very often you can't buy nor even download for the applications developed in the US, and viceversa.
Continue reading... "The iPhone and the App Store contradictions"
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February 02, 2009
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| Marketing trends for 2009 |
Marketers and account planners out there, have a look at the Leo Burnett predictions in marketing for 2009. A few things might not sound new, and on a few things you might disagree. But it's a good set of inspirations for the new year.
I especially appreciated the idea of New Realism when they say "we will be forced to become much more realistic over the coming years" but I also think it's important that agencies will align with brands on this subject. For this reason I also recommend (both agencies and clients) to read also the latest Future Lab report called "Bridging the Brand-Agency Divide" that offers a few tips to understand and reconnect the client-agency relationship in an era of economic (but not creative) recession.
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August 03, 2006
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| The new age of advertising |
Advertising is hijacking all the blank spaces. Eggs, body parts, air-sickness bags... no blank space will survive. The world has become a stage for product placement. The Baltimore Sun has a good article on the new advertising age, where marketers are trying to catch you where you least expect it. Scary to read if you're a consumer, inspiring to read if you're a marketer :-)
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April 20, 2006
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| It's all about engagement... or maybe not? |
On ClickZ, writes a very interesting article on the "engagement" idea in online marketing. I'm so happy to hear her point of view on this topic!
One thing's for certain: engagement as the objective of your next marketing campaign doesn't make a lot of sense, at least until we've figured out how to definitively measure the results.
It's amazing how many times we concentrate all our attention on the "beauty" of a website, on how it is funny or on its viral potentials etc... and we therefore miss the key points any online effort should bear in mind: which are the marketing and communication objectives of my online campaign? Who am I trying to reach?
Viral marketing applications can also be effective where engaging consumers is concerned if they serve a purpose beyond just that. Take a moment to recall some of the most popular viral videos and interactive tools and you'll realize their success wasn't measured in their ability to engage alone.
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December 07, 2005
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| Advertising industry lacks talent |
Interviewed on Media Guardian, Bartle Bogle Hegarty founder John Hegarty believes the lack of talented people in advertising industry is a "major, major problem". The industry is getting more and more complex and this sophistication requires people with skills and talent, ready to adapt to the new challenges.
Before, it was easier to get people because what we needed them to do was less than we need them to do today. (...) We have an industry that's totally appalling in training people. I think it's hard, the creative department is unbelievably hard. There's a dearth of good creative directors out there - a complete dearth.
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November 10, 2005
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| Predictions for online advertising in 2006 |
It's November and it's time to start with the predictions on what will happen next year in the advertising world. Will online advertising surpass outdoor? Will mobile marketing eventually take off? Will it be possible to find a reliable business model for podcasting? Etc... 24/7 Media has started the game announcing at Ad:Tech New York which will be the top 10 trend in online marketing and advertising in 2006.
1. Consumer-generated media will become increasingly attractive to advertisers
2. Advertisers will continue shifting traditional ad spending to the Web due to increased Internet consumption and better targeting/reporting capabilities
3. Advertisers, cable providers and interactive marketing experts will collaborate to address "The TiVo Effect"
4. Brand advertisers will drive the next wave of growth for the paid search market
5. Best practices in localized mobile marketing will be perfected overseas in 2006
6. Online advertisers will employ holistic targeting methods to deliver better results and reduce reliance on high-profile, high-CPM ad buys
7. Technology and better data access will transform online advertising success to a formulaic equation
8. Japan will be the next frontier for paid search and interactive marketing
9. Mobile carriers will adopt new ad models to boost revenue beyond usage
10. Performance-based pricing models will demonstrate the true value of search engine marketing (SEM) as a lead generation channel
As you can see, mobile marketing is also touched in the prediction. It is expected to take off here in Europe, while it will still be in the test phase in the US. More details on each single item can be found in the press release.
[via AdJab]
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September 12, 2005
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| Olympic advertising: forget about de Coubertin |
 Advertisers targeting Chinese people at the next Olympic games in Beijing in 2008 will have to think different and forget about the traditional "soft and fuzzy".
Quoted on The Guardian, Tom Doctoroff, the chief executive of advertising agency JWT greater China and area director of north-east Asia says:
"Don't go soft and fuzzy in the western humankind brotherhood tradition. Chinawill view the games with completely different eyes. Chinese revere and fear winners. You should directly link the product with the conquering spirit of the victors".
The Chinese market is huge and therefore extremely attractive, but brands need to learn playing by the rules, the rules provided by the government but also the rules set by the Chinese culture and tradition.
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September 05, 2005
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| Removing cliches from advertising |
Cliches in advertising are becoming irritating, a new book points out. BBC News has a list of common places usually portrayed in ads. The industry needs to evolve and improve its approach to the consumer: not all women are locked in a constant battle with their body shape and hairstyle, not all men are obsessed with sex but will forego in order to watch football or drink a beer.
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August 26, 2005
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| Advertisers and the Generation Y |
The Sydney Morning Herald (free reg.) investigates the net generation which proves cynical towards advertising messages. Cashed-up and brand-conscious, teenagers and young adults born between 1979 and 1994 are heavily involved in family purchases, and the spend money on DVDs, mobile phones, videogames and iPods. Winning their attention is strategic for any advertiser in technology, entertainment and leisure.
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August 24, 2005
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| The golden age of British creativity is over |
On The Independent Peter York writes an article entitled "How the weight of the world killed British creativity". British agencies still win prizes, but they no longer dominate the scene as it used to be in the past. Globalization is the cause to blame, says John Hegarty, Chairman and Worldwide Creative Director at BBH:
"Eighty per cent of the briefs that come my way are global. As soon as you get more than a small group involved in deciding on a creative idea, you're in danger of reverting to a lowest common denominator approach. Things get e-mailed and faxed around the world and there'll be someone in Taiwan who doesn't like it. And that means there's a lot more reliance on technique than on ideas and narratives."
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| JWT and The Future of Men |
Remove from your mind the stereotypes connected to advertising targeting men. The time for sexy ads is over: the new masculinity requires a different approach. In an upcoming book, JWT Worldwide unveils the "M-ness" a new form of masculinity that combines the best of traditional manliness with traits traditionally associated with females. The Future of Men suggests a new "reinvented" way of looking at the men's market, with more balance and less stereotypical solutions. Marian Salzman, JWT Executive Vice President, Director of Strategic Content, explains (with quite a lot of emphasis) the point:
"All too often in the marketing arena, we're portraying man as the victim -- of his sexual organ or his lust, his emotional neediness, his overinflated ego, or his sheer ineptitude. Our goal at JWT is to do a better job of emphasizing attributes that the modern man already possesses or might wish to emulate. Instead of relying on lowest-common-denominator, stereotypical solutions, we are striving to depict 'balanced men,' 'men of the world with conscience,' and other positive portrayals of men."
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| Erotic ads can make you blind |
I know it sounds like a joke, but it's not. According to a research by Steven Most of the Yale University, when you look to a smutty picture you will suffer of "emotion-induced blindness". The news is reported on The Economist which indirectly suggests this finding might affect billboard advertising, since Dr Most made this discovery while studying the rubbernecking effect (when people slow down to stare at a car accident). According to the research, the lapse of attention to the road (temporary blindness) lasts between two-tenths and eight-tenths of a second, which "is long enough for a driver transfixed by an erotic advert on a billboard to cause an accident".
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August 15, 2005
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The new customer demands control in advertising
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August 12, 2005
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Davies on the Account Planning Conference
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August 08, 2005
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Advertising in the age of terrorism
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August 05, 2005
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Ethnic mix to boost agencies' performance
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July 21, 2005
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Blogs and copyrighted content
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July 19, 2005
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Movies, advertising and stress
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July 18, 2005
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Dead man walking (in the ad)
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July 11, 2005
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Meet Chuck Porter
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June 28, 2005
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Male-targeted ads: think different
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June 27, 2005
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Levy from Publicis: the best, not the bigger
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Consumers are in control: what's the future?
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June 21, 2005
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Competing for consumers' attention and time
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June 07, 2005
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The importance of being small
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Get ready for the "Chaos Scenario"
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June 02, 2005
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Will Cooper (Tradedoubler) on affiliate marketing
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May 24, 2005
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Which value do online competitions bring to a brand?
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May 23, 2005
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The online advertising prophecy
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May 18, 2005
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Online advertising revenues for news sites get shaky
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January 27, 2005
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What industry are we in?
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May 19, 2004
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Italian online advertising sucks
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March 15, 2004
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Mobile marketing: creativity wanted
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February 16, 2004
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The perfect job: matchmaking
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February 12, 2004
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Use the Internet to support Tv ads
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December 31, 2003
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It's predictions time!
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December 15, 2003
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Flash-based advertising: a devil's idea?
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November 18, 2003
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Ad exposure time is not the answer
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November 07, 2003
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Online advertising: a voice from Europe
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November 03, 2003
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Is anyone making any money with advertising?
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September 15, 2003
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Young generations are the new media future
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September 12, 2003
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Testing Google AdSense
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September 09, 2003
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I'm tired of advertising!
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September 03, 2003
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Mobile, a revolution in the marketing mix
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August 13, 2003
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Ad targeting: troubles and solution...
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August 06, 2003
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Chrysler's Marketing Mistakes
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July 02, 2003
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Internet advertising targeting
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June 24, 2003
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Creative counts in online advertising
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June 12, 2003
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Online advertising has a bright future
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June 09, 2003
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Music marketers and the Internet
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June 03, 2003
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Looking for consolidation
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Are looking for more cool interactive ideas? Check the archives
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