Uncategorized

Over at Boston agency Hill Holliday's blog, Ilya Vedrasko and some of his colleagues share what they learned after Apple reps came to the agency to talk about the iAd, the new mobile ad platform. Adam Cahill, head of the digital media group, had this to say: Three things strike me as interesting: Pricing: Apple is going to sell 100% of the ads. Apple doesn't do cheap, they do premium. So I'd expect buyers to become …

Continue Reading about The Agency Perspective on Apple’s iAd →

While American ad types drone on and on about social media, iPads and crowdsourcing, marketers in emerging markets are solving more basic problems when it comes to reaching consumers. The Economist has a fascinating look at some of the efforts: The most difficult trick of all is what some call "straddling the pyramid" or "playing the piano": serving both the people at the bottom of the pyramid and those at the top. …

Continue Reading about Wanted: A Washing Machine With A Turnip Rinse Cycle →

I must confess, I don't consider myself much of a gamer. At least not since I left my Atari 2600 behind. I do have a Wii, and I never play it. But there's no denying that we live in a culture where all sorts of games, electronic or not, are ubiquitous--because all of us who grew up playing games still play some way or another. Marketers have capitalized on this by involving us in games and competitive ideas, whether …

Continue Reading about Game-Based Marketing: A Look At All The Way Marketers Engage Us →

Envision Group in Denver has developed a new medium for branded messages. Reveal'd makes it possible to conceal your message or graphic on any glass or mirrored surface, and then reveal it with the application of steam--introduced naturally from shower steam or through artificial means in areas where natural steam does not occur. In general, I'd say the last thing we need is another place for ads to creep. But in …

Continue Reading about In The Age Of Transparency, A Little Mystery →

With a splashy new ad campaign featuring music from Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros (not yet on YouTube), Microsoft seeks to carve out a piece of the fast-moving smart phone market with a pair of new handsets, Kin One and Kin Two. The phones, both sliders, are built off the Windows Phone 7 platform but have been designed with a new user interface built specifically for status updates, sharing pictures and …

Continue Reading about Kin Folk →

The following spot for Tecate breaks today and will be seen on national and regional Spanish-language networks such as Univision, Telemundo, Azteca America, Galavision, and ESPN Deportes. "Tecate understands the challenges Mexican men face from the moment they wake up. Our approach with this campaign, which differs from previous 'Anthem' ads, was to develop situation-relevant communication delivered by everyday …

Continue Reading about Tecate Is For Men of Character →

Grumpy Brit reminds us that an overzealous focus on efficiency is not the best approach for mass marketers. The most common complaint against "traditional" advertising is the waste factor. According to the precision-guided-missile school of marketing, any message that reaches anyone who is not an immediate prospect for purchasing the product is wasted. And these people call themselves capitalists. The reason western …

Continue Reading about If You Want To Hit Your Target, Hunt With A Shotgun →

Are there any media businesses left that Apple doesn't want to enter and own? According to Los Angeles Times, Apple unveiled its new mobile advertising system Thursday and promised to deliver a new generation of compelling interactive ads to its devices. "Search is not happening on phones," Jobs said, in a direct jab at Google. "People are using apps, and this is where the opportunity is to deliver advertising." …

Continue Reading about Apple Enters Mobile Advertising Arena, Will Soon Dominate It →