Did you read about Meredith's plan to guarantee its best print advertisers a sales lift from the ads they run in Meredith titles like Better Homes & Gardens, Ladies Home Journal and Family Circle? There's a hint of desperation in the offer, but Meredith is limiting its exposure, which is probably a good idea since providing accurate response data on a non-interactive medium is far from a science. Meredith is …
Copywriters Without Borders – And Customers Without Loyalty
So, now that Borders is going out of business, what's going to happen to all the information they collected on me as part of my Borders Rewards Card? You know--it was a "loyalty program." But what happened to the loyalty? Borders emails showed up two or three times a week once I signed up for the card. And the only emails I paid attention to were the ones that featured coupons -- significant ones. 20% off one …
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Facebook Is Friendlier
According to Colleen Taylor of GigaOm, Facebook.com/business debuted Tuesday to help small businesses get the most from Facebook. The company is billing the new web page as an “online education center” that gives directions on such things as how to set up a profile page, create targeted ads and deals, and interact with customer feedback online. The timing is interesting, as it comes just a week after …
Giving The Colonel His Due
Speaking of iconic, KFC is memorializing Harland Sanders in what Adfreak calls, "a sprawling multimedia extravaganza" on ColonelSanders.com. The site features several quotes from The Colonel. Here's one: "When I work, I forget my little aches and pains. When I'm really busy, I forget I ever had an ache." The site is also soliciting stories from the crowd. Here's a story from Lorri Jewell: "I met the …
The Whippersnapper Behind Mr. Whipple Passes
Most ad people these days only know Mr. Whipple from Luke Sullivan's book. But the man was an icon, and his creator has passed away. USA Today reports: John Chervokas, an advertising visionary who dreamed up "Please Don't Squeeze the Charmin," will be memorialized by colleagues and family this week. In 1964, Chervokas was a 28-year-old advertising writer for Benton & Bowles who was ordered to create a …
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Brands Don’t “Get” Mobile, And Techies Don’t “Get” Brands
Rei Inamoto, Chief Creative Officer at AKQA argues in Contagious that brands do not "get" mobile. Brands are in the business of connecting with consumers. If there is one medium that's perfectly suited for connecting with people, there is nothing better than mobile. It's intimate, immediate and inimitable. Yet, in the marketing and advertising world, no one is getting it. ...In many advertising …
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To Build A Real Following On Facebook, Take The High Road
North Social, a leading provider of Facebook applications for businesses, has developed a series of “Fan Page Fail” video shorts featuring "socially-reckless" character Jonny Like, whose missteps show brands and public figures that it takes more than desperate promotional stunts to grow a quality fan base. "You can't expect someone to return your 'Follow Us On Facebook' volley just because you printed …
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Critics Are Vocal, But A Brand Has To Know When To Listen And When To Trust Its Gut
The following ads from DirecTV are not featured on the brand's YouTube page. Which is weak. If you're going to make these spots and air them, stand by them. According to Adfreak, the "boxer" spot was posted for only a few days on DirecTV's official channel, because the ad (by Grey New York) sparked heated allegations of racism, reverse-racism, and even elder abuse. …
Compensation Does Not Equal Satisfaction, But It Helps
In the next year, over 56% of those employed in the advertising/marketing industry say they plan to change jobs despite higher levels of job satisfaction and an overall 31% increase in salary from a year ago, according to a new study released today by recruiting firm 24 Seven in partnership with Advertising Age. “This is a wake-up call to employers throughout the marketing industry that talent is now not only …
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People Love To Tell Stories About Their Cars
You know you love a campaign when you're jealous or sad that you did not make it yourself. Such is the case with this narrative approach to customer testimonials executed last year by Toyota and Saatchi & Saatchi. The animation is great, and the stories from real customers are great. This is a classic example of how consumer-generated content is made better by the brand. For me, that's always been …
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