Ad-diction

VBMA now on ning

2007-07-26T17:38:00.000+01:00

The viral and buzz marketing association has now set up a network on ning. If you are a pratising marketer or researcher get along to vbmanet.ning.com and join - or email and then I'll send you an invite. Networks work just ask the facebook folks.

Finally some spontaneous undergraduate fervour for new media

2006-11-17T15:48:00.000Z

In the two years since I started delivering Cybermarketing courses students remain unimpressed in general by the possibilities of the Internet and Connected Communities. This is inspite of the growth of Myspace and Bebo
Finally I have met a student at an undergraduate level who is enthused by the opportunity presented by new media. Here's her blog.
Perhaps the movement towards the adoption of new media at all levels is now gaining momentum.

Speaking Engagements 1 - Crowded House

2006-05-12T12:20:00.000+01:00

I’ll send a viral quiz from Virgin music that has the title of this blog as an answer on Monday, but first some thoughts on a speaking engagement from Wednesday.

Four members of the VBMA (www.vbma.net) delivered a panel session to a crowded room at the Internet World Conference (www.internetworld.co.uk) in Earls Court on Wednesday 10^th May.

The main themes were the need to integrate the new tools and technologies that can deliver viral marketing and that these initiatives must be integrated into the overall campaigns.

Questions came from the floor and these questions frequently considered viral to consist of bad taste jokes with scantily clad models. This is an element of viral, but it’s much broader and can relate to niche groups. As Justin Kirby (a panel member and MD of DMC www.dmc.co.uk) responded for mass brands that technique can work but for the majority of organisations viral tools and techniques and connected marketing offer a considerable opportunity to reach target markets in a relevant and effective manner.

The other speakers were Russell Goldsmith (www.markettiers4dc.co.uk ) who delivered a fascinating piece on webcasting using Nintendo as an example and Andy Whittaker (www.fifthelement.co.uk) who discussed big name FMCG examples where viral was integrated into the direct marketing campaign.

The session had attendees standing in the aisles and the interest and hence opportunity for organisations in this area was very evident.

It might be a parody but it is distinctive.

2006-03-16T12:19:00.000Z

This picture links to google video and will play a film allegedly created by Microsoft as a parody of the branding used by Microsoft. I picked up the story via Adrants The folks at Adrants were slightly critical of Microsoft in the piece. I wonder whether this was justified?

Yes, of course Microsoft's branding is not as aesthetically pleasing (if at all) but it is Microsoft's. The clarity of format, style and even the "mandatories" allow the Microsoft products to be clearly identified on the shelf. Buying decisions are made easier by brands and the heritage and associations of the Microsoft name are well known. In many product choices I am sure Microsoft is the salient brand and parody as this might be, beauty is not a requirement for effectiveness.

A Threat to National Decency

2006-03-14T15:08:00.000Z

A call from a reporter returned my attention to this Australian Tourist Board advertisement.
This advertisement was not cleared by the Broadcast Clearance Centre
Blooming heck the word "bloody" was considered too strong for television. I believe that there are standards of behaviour, but this antiquated censorship of a term used as an intensive rather than anything more malicious is plainly ridiculous. Why? Every weekend the Sunday papers contain ruder and more vulgar language but nobody censors the material, and the programme makers would often consider the term quite demure in comparison with the more extreme dialogue regularly used.
Rather a coup for the Australian Tourist Board who will get a much greater bang for their buck with the coverage this will receive in my view.

Best for a while Frog vs. Fly

2006-03-03T16:30:00.000Z

I subscribe to an email newsletter from Eatmail and sometimes the virals are good, sometimes bad and sometimes downright ugly. This week I received one for VW cars that was in the good category. A well-produced clip that reinforces the brand values of the car brand. I guess some animal lovers might complain but it's not getting close to the Lee & Dan inspired creative from a previous year in terms of shock value.
I guess a Frog's favourite car might be a Beetle

His and hers dressing gowns

2006-01-31T14:29:00.000Z

This parody for Amnesty International was sent via emily@eatmail.tv on Friday. It is fabulous parody of shopping television. The tone of voice and the script used by the presenters is spot on in my opinion, that makes me sound like an expert about shopping channels, so I might edit it later!

On a more serious note the difference between the effect caused by such a light-hearted portrayal and a vivid and more violent portrayal of the effects of the arms trade is open to debate. On one hand there is an argument that viewers are " de-sensitised" and not affected by the violent work on the other the argument that the vivid produces results e.g. Barnardo's.
It might be unpleasant but my vote goes to the nastier and darker portrayals, I suspect that across the board whether for drink, drugs or guns these campaigns produce better results.

Agent Provocateur Make Further Use of Viral

2006-01-26T08:58:00.000Z

Even the PR gurus are using viral techniques to spread the word in a "new" media age where connected marketing is growing.
Yesterday I was sent the following press release and link for the new "teaser" (no irony intended) for Agent Provocateur.

Andrew,

I found your blog earlier and thought of something that might interest
you ..... You may have seen some news around the latest viral campaign
from Agent Provocateur. The company has picked Real as its technology
partner for building and hosting the microsite, around which the
seductive campaign is based. The trailer for an exclusive eight-minute
movie, directed by Mike Figgis (Leaving Las Vegas) goes live today.

If you have any questions, or would like further information, please let
me know.

Thanks,

Lewis

This was accompanied by the following press release.

Agent Provocateur picks Real for new movie-based online campaign

Luxury lingerie brand Agent Provocateur has chosen RealNetworks to
design and host a co-created microsite as part of it's latest online
campaign entitled 'Tied up at the Office'. The campaign centres on a
tantalising eight minute film directed by Mike Figgis (Leaving Las
Vegas, Cold Creek Manor) which promises to seduce the viewer.

The 'Tied up at the Office' trailer is available from today at
http://uk.real.com/partners/agentprovocateur/ with exclusive coverage
appearing across many of the international RealGuides, Real's broadband
entertainment portal. Visitors to the site can register to receive an
email
invitation to view the full-length film which premieres online on 9th
February.

Piers Heaton-Armstrong, European Marketing Director, Real commented,
"Agent Provocateur is a stunning brand to work with. As one of fashion's
leading labels, they have really embraced the digital realm and have had
great success with viral marketing. We are excited to have the RealGuide
and RealPlayer associated with the world famous, stylish brand that is
Agent Provocateur."

I have asked the PR at Axicom to answer some specific questions to build my research information relating to the campaign and others organised by Real. I wonder whether or not the new media battle is gradually gaining ground on the traditional media - perhaps Agent Provocateur would have used Cinema? Is the cost advantage worth the lack of specific knowledge about the reach, frequency, weight and continuity of a media plan? Is it really a database builder in disguise. If it's a bit off both then interactivity in advertising is certainly apparent.

I guess one of the key considerations for all will be when will the tipping point be reached? When the TV channels get totally interactive or when broadband speeds up or perhaps when a total merge of hardware occurs across the audience?

Honda - Yes Again - Choir

2006-01-17T10:00:00.000Z

Yet again I find myself praising a Honda advertisement. The new advertisement for the Honda Civic using the choir is another creative and emotionally stimulating piece of work from Wieden + Kennedy for Honda.

You can watch the advertisement through the Honda website just click the image below.
This very stimulating advertisement will be supported with a media budget of £3.2 million according to the Media Guardian

Honda are definitely creating some original and interesting work.

The end for TV?

2006-01-17T09:35:00.000Z

In this blog I often contradict the naysayers who argue that TV advertising is in decline for reasons related to media consumption are exaggerated. This article in The Guardian does indicate that Internet budgets are increasing but still only 4% of the total budget thus supporting my view that the naysayers are premature in their rhetoric - however the article confirms something more concerning.

It confirms that when times are tough companies are slashing advertising budgets. It might look better when publishing the P&L and Balance Sheet at the year end, but surely advertising and marketing spend is an investment in the future of the brand/organisation, it is not a minor expense like coffee for meetings.

These organisations need to get some coffee for the meetings and start smelling it!

Who will tell the customers about your brands if you do not? We might not understand precisely how advertising works, but one thing is for sure it does.

Vodafone under the tree

2005-12-20T11:28:00.000Z

The new Vodafone Christmas Jingle advertisement has recently been playing in my head.

Is this a good thing for advertising? Under the tree is the name of the tune and I can’t get it out of my head.

So I can remember the jingle but could I remember the brand if I was not so preoccupied with advertising and how it works?

You can listen (and buy if you want) to the advertisement music here http://www.songofthesalesman.co.uk/ad.aspx?let=Vodafone

The music is by the Water Babies.

You can watch the band perform it here http://www.video-c.co.uk/radarwatch.asp?vidref=thew011&text=expanded&playback=S&player=QT

The advertisement itself can be seen here http://www.thewaterbabies.info/?gclid=CKX_lM6Oi4ICFRd5MAodDjEt1w

Advertising and music – irritating for me but some how a great Christmas effort fitting the brand and allowing a number of sponsorships to be shown, although the Man Utd one will be ending soon.

Honda Do It Again

2005-12-07T16:27:00.000Z

Another fabulous advertisement from Honda. The advertisement shows a man singing along to a sound track of "Impossible Dream" sung by Andy Williams. As the man sings he uses various forms of transport to travel through some breathtaking scenery.
Take a look at the advertisement here.
Honda are almost single-handedly invigorating the TV advertising slot with a series of great advertisements from Cog, through Grrr to this new advertisement. I hope that it assists with the development of the brand. The brave team at Honda deserve some credit for their efforts.

I'd appreciate your views

2005-11-29T23:11:00.000Z

A bit of shameless self-promotion today, and the promotion of my co-authors who have recently worked together under the editorship of Justin Kirby and Dr. Paul Marsden.

The book - Connected Marketing is published. Why not take a look at the micro-site for the book?

________________________________

http://www.connectedmarketing.org

There is also a quiz to promote it over at adland:

http://ad-rag.com/125760.php

Good luck and I hope you buy and enjoy the book
If you do tell me and if you don't tell me too.

Advice For Viral Advertisers

2005-11-24T15:51:00.000Z

Here's a url I received from Justin Kirby of DMC (www.dmc.co.uk)

"sincere viral advice for those unfamiliar with sarcasm"

http://ad-rag.com/125672.php

This is a very amusing take on the world of viral from a more serious group of brand builders in the field. I am let smiling yet wondering whether or not the pioneering element of semi-clad women and horrific images is perhaps just a precursor to success in the manner of Channel 4 (www.channel4.com) and five (www.five.tv) as TV stations.

Alan Sugar and Advertising

2005-11-21T07:29:00.000Z

In the Sunday Times yesterday I read about a speech Mr Sugar gave at a marketing conference . In a similar vein to his recent piece in the Independent Mr Sugar criticised TV advertising because it interrupts the programmes and is too arty . I enjoy his earthy delivery but I am slightly cynical given Mr Sugar 's self promotion and the fact that he stars in a series that could be described as a one hour advertisement . My view is that the quality of the advertisements ' content is the important element .

Online Advertising Predictions

2005-11-09T22:07:00.000Z

Today's Marketing Vox contains some very interesting predictions for advertising in 2006.
Marketing Vox Top 10 for 2006
Further details can be found at 24/7Real Media Website
I am very interested in the brand building opportunity that is predicted from SEM. Simple copywriting will come into play with the links created by the Google searches. A real opportunity for a new area of copywriting that works for brands rather than very functional "buy your stuff here" wording.
The predictions are very interesting, but always bear in mind that 30% of the population are digi-phobic according to Dave Chaffey the Internet guru. So although the trends are occurring perhaps the "real mass market revolution" is a little further away than the net based workers and surf junkies would like to think.

Cravendale - so good the cows want it back

2005-11-08T14:02:00.000Z

What a fabulous campaign. Milk so good the cows want it back

www.protectingthetaste.com

This shows how great advertising can differentiate the most standard commodity product.

In my local supermarket 1 litre of Cravendale is 60p per litre vs. 47.8p for "standard semi-skimmed

www.asda.com

Take a look it's a great piece of work

Very pleasing on the eye Bravia Advertisement

2005-11-07T22:06:00.000Z

http://www.bravia-advert.com/commercial/bravia02lowqt.html
The above url links to the making of the newly released Sony Bravia advertisement. It's a great advertisement with a full information website all about the advertisement and its making. It's hard enough to catch a normal super ball but 250,000 of them on the Streets of San Francisco!

About time too

2005-10-13T16:20:00.000+01:00

As Apple announces it's move to do for video what iPod did for music I can only reflect upon the superb opportunity that this presents. The squashing of Bit Torrent and accompanying websites that offered sharing of video files was a protectionist and anti-market move by the distributors of video. At least the long-term fiasco in the music industry due to the legal cases against Napster et al might be avoided. The consumer has clearly shown that he/she wants video downloads. The companies that can make this happen profitably deserve success, and hopefully the folks that place obstacles in the path of the free market will get what they deserve.

Internet Spend Outstrips Outdoor

2005-10-13T16:16:00.000+01:00

UK Internet spend has started to outstrip Outdoor spend according to new figures published by e-marketer. www.emarketer.com
Broadband penetration in the UK has also outstripped US take up of the faster service. It seems that the advertisers' money is following the audience, and quite right too.
The issue this poses - what's the future for Radio??? Even iPod is doing video on demand. Will the car and the workplace eventually become the only venues for the consumption of radio?

Even in the US - too many Ads is a turn off

2005-10-13T16:04:00.000+01:00

http://www.mediabuyerplanner.com/2005/10/12/sixact_format_turns_off/index.php

More material to add to the "Is the 30 sec spot dying?" debate. It appears from a recent USA today article that I picked up from Media Buyer Planner that the audience is complaining about the 6 act format for TV shows. In the UK "Lost" is an example of this format. Perhaps the stations have overstepped the mark? The audience wants to watch the show and in an era of "must see TV" complaints about the amount of commercials during the programme might seem an inevitable side effect. What price the premium slot just before or after the show if this reaction escalates?

Listenomics - The next new marketing term?

2005-10-11T13:42:00.000+01:00

In Bob Garfield's piece in Adage the argument that the old media is dead or at least redundant is presented. The issue I have with this argument is that only selective, qualitative data offer the basis. Americans watch more TV, UK Internet growth is plateauing, so the data indicate that we can only consume so much but our traditional media consumption is still a key part of the mix. Yes the media world is changing, and yes people embrace products e.g. iPod; Converse and others but this is no new, new, big, big thing it's just an extension of the existing. This extension relies upon the old media delivering a platform from which these organisations can operate their new ideas. These companies are maximising the value of a connected marketing world and not, I suggest, finding themselves in a new place with new rules.

The growing influence of conversations via the Internet

2005-10-04T14:17:00.000+01:00

http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/6888.asp

In this short piece Jim Meskauskas highlights the growing influence of Internet based conversations. Companies are increasingly aware of the role that WOM plays in the fortunes of their products and the example of P&G's response to the coffee machines provides clear evidence.

The Cluetrain Manifesto and the words of Seth Godin seem to be ringing true. Set against this the increased consumption of TV in the USA www.adage.com - over 8 hours a day and marketers and advertisers are faced with a growing complexity. Even though market research is available at their finger tips by scanning blogs and the Internet consumers are consuming more media, and more different formats of media. This complicates the target - it's not necessarily moving, it's just that there are so many of them. How can you converse with a customer base that is the size of P&G's????

Fabulous new Guinness Advertisement

2005-10-03T22:29:00.000+01:00

Despite siren voices calling for the end of the traditional 30 second TV commercial Guinness has delivered a fabulous new 50 second advertisement. It is a wonderful journey back in time and uses the tag line "Good Things Come to those who wait." It's a wonderful piece of marketing communications work with a return to an old popular tag with superb cut through creativity - put money on it for next year's Clios is my view - Have your view here
http://www.whizzvidshosting.com/noitulove/BWread.html

Internet Ad spend on the way up again Bubble or Trend or Both

2005-09-28T15:41:00.000+01:00

www.adage.com

Is reporting that Internet Ad revenues have risen again.

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Internet advertising revenue for the first six months of 2005 hit a record new high, according to a report by the Interactive Advertising Bureau and PricewaterhouseCoopers, released at the Mixx Conference and Expo yesterday in New York.

Ad revenue for the second quarter totalled slightly less than $3 billion. For the first six months, revenue reached about $5.8 billion, which is a 26% increase over the first half of 2004.

The advertising "dollars" and pounds are being directed towards the Internet. Is this a sign of the increasing value of the Internet to Advertisers, or just another bubble. Time will tell, but I suspect that the quality of content and speed of access made possible by Broadband subscription ISP services are driving media time towards the Internet and with it the advertising money.

What future for TV advertising?

2005-08-17T22:15:00.000+01:00

Further evidence of the decreasing amount of TV consumed was in evidence today.
http://www.mediabuyerplanner.com/2005/08/16/gaming_hours_up_tv_down/index.php
This article in Media Buyer Planner indicates that 25% of gamers watch less TV.
More own mobile phones and 48% play games on the phone.
These are significant changes in media consumption. Many have written that the 30 second commercial is not dead, but surely its salience for even mass market advertisers is reducing.
Is it time to buy outdoor like no tomorrow????
For one thing the L word has shown that powerful creative can cover two media.

Car companies moving to pull through films

2005-08-09T14:03:00.000+01:00

http://adage.com/news.cms?newsId=45734
This adage article highlights the increasing use of short films, frequently shown on the Internet by car companies. Cars are a very expensive high-involvement purchase and branding plays a huge part in choosing a car. The Internet is providing this opportunity for greater interaction between the cars and the audience. There's a broad appetite for great content whether on the Internet, DVD or TV it seems that the car companies are leading the way in adopting this form of advertising. Building a brand through engaging consumers in a short film that emphasises the functional and emotional attributes of a car brand appears to be a cost effective method when compared with the time constraints and media buying costs of the 30 second advertisement.

Viral goes further into the mainstream

2005-08-09T11:45:00.000+01:00

http://www.adrants.com/2005/08/blowing-smoke-movie-promoted-and.php
Hollywood blockbusters are usually backed by the promotional budgets of the studios. I picked this article up from adrants (great site) that highlights how a film producer Kamal Aboukhater is promoting his new film "Blowing Smoke" through the blogosphere.
Whether this is as suggested a move away from the frustrations of leaving the promotion to the studios or a genuine strategic decision to use the "new" media for marcomms remains unknown. The results of this campaign will be very interesting especially as recent research published in Nature indicates that word of mouth from the first watchers of a film is a key ingredient in its box office success. The crucial thing is getting the early bums on seats. Whether the potentially narrower media placement with the latent potential for global spread can do this remains to be seen.

Superb creative - but just how superb

2005-08-06T16:47:00.000+01:00

Someone recently sent me a viral game for an old school version of Decathlon. The game was for an energy drink so very appropriate creative material. The problem, the Decathlon only had one event! This was a fantastic opportunity to generate brand interaction on a great platform. However, I was left wanting more because when I qualified by winning the sprint (admittedly not on the first go!) I was expecting to play javelin.

Greenpeace Lurid Viral

2005-07-29T12:18:00.000+01:00

This viral has a very powerful message. It depicts a graphic exchange between Mr and Mrs Smith and is a satirical skit about the Bush/Blair relationship.
I am interested in the depiction of brand

The front page of the Greenpeace website mentions the types of activity that I would interpret as heartland Greenpeace viz. Dolphins, Whales, and taking action.
Yet it also includes this picture
It seems to me that this type of imagery (the viral and the fishfinger) are taking the brand into more militant territory. Greenpeace could have been considered a very "wholesome" activist group that was concerned about oil platforms and sea life but this new content seems to be taking the group towards a more aggressive, antagonistic stance.
Take a look at the viral it's fairly lurid and decide for yourself.

Bloody Big Beer Ad

2005-07-29T11:14:00.000+01:00

What a fantastic advert, this is spreading virally at a significant rate throughout the web. I am part of several advertising fora and every time I turn on my e-mail I get another e-mail telling me to look at it.
You can look at it here
It's a fantastic advert shot in New Zealand by an Australian brewer that parodies the British Airways advertisements of many years ago.
The music is Carmina Burana and apparently 20,000 of the cast are computer generated.
Apparentlyit has reached 500,000 people over the web and will be launched on TV on 7th August.
Significantly Matt Keen Foster's GM is quoted as saying....

"The advertising arena has become more fragmented," he says. "TV is still the way to market but the digital arena is becoming increasingly important, it's also a way of engaging with drinkers personally. When they watch a television commercial there will be a number of other distractions Â it's shown among other ads and there's generally a lot of noise about, but when people are sitting at their computers we know they've taken the time to see the ad; they've engaged with it. And that's important."

Take a look it really is fantastic advertising and in my opinion deserves to sell more beer.

Feel good factor what a buzz

2005-07-06T17:25:00.000+01:00

It is quite unbelievable how fast some news travels. I am blogging about it now. The Olympics is coming to London. I watched the news on TV as it happened. Why? Because my sister started the buzz when it was down to the last two cities. I am not from London but I jumped up when it was announced. It would be the most fantastic advertising that could create that line of "must talk about" content. We will have to see which organisation can capitalise on the Olympics in the next seven years.

Search Engine Optimisation and the future of search behaviour

2005-07-06T15:23:00.000+01:00

A number of articles that I have seen recently offer an opinion that SEO is a cottage industry. This seems to indicate that organisations are looking beyond directory listings.
The importance of Google position etc., seems obvious, but for how long???

Surely levels of awareness can be generated and the googling factor could be removed?

Our family business used a telephone directory for many years, now we have reduced our advertising to a line entry as the effect has been reduced through "off line" awareness in that business sector.

A number of organisations have tried to create and develop portals that would be the gateway to the web for their users. These portals would include and deliver all that the user wants. At the moment whilst many net users are "teched" up this opportunity seems to be small but will it all change when interactive TV becomes the gateway to the net? Perhaps Sky might replace google and we could all be sky-ving instead.

Eye Tracking

2005-07-06T14:55:00.000+01:00

Further metrics are developing from studies of eye tracking of "consumers" on the web.

The increased in multimedia viewing and listening gives added significance to this these studies.

You can find articles about these studies in the following places.
http://adage.com/news.cms?newsId=45457

http://www.poynterextra.org/eyetrack2004/advertising.htm

This is very interesting stuff and could encourage a move away from ppc costings in web advertising towards the "print" pricing of advertising.

I just wonder what the new back cover or inside front cover will be?

These articles seem to suggest half page text advertisements when scanned quickly, but I'm not sure that will be compelling creative, unless it's written very, very well.

Imitation is the flattery that's best

2005-06-23T17:07:00.000+01:00

This new website follows the "subservient" genre that started with Subservient Chicken.

Subservient Chicken
Subservient Chicken is a marvellous site that has reportedly helped Burger King's emotional ties with the "youff" market.
There's a link to Subservient Chicken above.

This version of the genre is a version for the g8 leaders in preparation for the summit in Scotland.

Action 8
The g8 version allows you to tell the world's most powerful leaders what to do. As the person who sent it to me said, "Try asking them to lift their kilts."

Honda - Another Company moves money onto the web

2005-06-23T16:50:00.000+01:00

Just picked up this headline from New Media Age. It seems that Honda the company that brought us "Cog" is moving a considerable amount of money to the web.

The Japanese car manufacturer is shifting 10% of its £20m-a-year above-the-line budget to the Web in an attempt to raise awareness of planned new product launches in 2006.
www.NMA.co.uk

This is further evidence of money moving away from the traditional media. TV may not be in total decline but customers are using the web and getting their information for their decisions from it.

When convergence happens and TV/Radio/Internet are all on the same machine in the majority of homes then content will be the key. How far away is this? I think it might be nearer than some commentators like to think.

New Senseo Viral with added grounds!

2005-06-17T15:55:00.000+01:00

I've just received a new streaming video viral via one of the discussion groups that I subscribe to.

The viral is for Senseo coffee machines that make use of the convenience factor. It's rather like washing powder tablets, the coffee pods save time spooning out the grounds into the machine and offers perfect portion control time after time after time.

.

The viral is ok in my opinion but what I really liked was the fact that after I'd watched the viral a pop up research questionnaire appeared.

Hence the title "added grounds" The research was a mix of media research and coffee drinking preferences.

This was a very interesting way to combine the interactivity of the Internet, using a viral clip and pop up research questionnaire combination.

P&G sidestepping PVRs?

2005-06-09T19:41:00.000+01:00

This article from New Media Age continues the theme of today's earlier post on this blog.
P&G spends £160-£170million on TV and the company is concerned about the long term future of the thirty second TV slot.
P&G are trying to use interactive technologies to develop and enhance the slots - the ubiquitous digital "red button" being used.
So PVRs and fewer viewers the future for TV looks bad, but I have a nagging doubt that if you sell mass market FMCG products TV will be removed from the media mix.
Where else can you deliver huge reach to support mass market products. This page from the Guardian illustrates the size of the viewership for some programmes.
Even between 10 and 10:30 at night on the "main" commercial TV channels 7.1 million viewers were watching.
If we use a figure of £7 per thousand for all adult airtime that's a cost of approx £31,000+
So it's still a big market and it still has good reach but there's little doubt that advertisers are concerned about the long term future for traditional TV advertising.

On line ad spend up again

2005-06-09T14:31:00.000+01:00

An article in Adage today highlights the growth in on line ad spend in the first quarter of 2005. Yesterday one of the alumni from the university contacted me to say that he was now working in an on line agency and it was the place to be.

"The medium that once was the power of TV is dying at an alarming rate, so I would recommend telling your students not to bother!"It's an interesting comment. I think one of the key questions could be rather than "Is TV dying" one could ask
- "Given the maturity and potential decline of the Television Advertising market how will advertisers and the media buyers achieve effective ratings points in the future?"

I concur that TV advertising is in slow decline, but so too are newspapers. Why? Well simply ....readership and viewership figures are down in many developed markets. In a connected world the choice of media vehicles for all to consume is vast.

The move is almost certainly to a content driven media buying environment.

Must see TV - but through HD recorders (ad skipping is compensated for by sponsorship).
Must read papers and magazines or rather blogs
Must listen to - podcasts or radio

Another interesting blog that touts similar views is Ian McKee's blog

He highlights some interesting stats from a recent Harvard Business Review article.

"Some eye-opening statistics from the June 2005 Harvard Business Review (subscription req'd) on the effectiveness of 500 various consumer and B2B marketing programs:

* 84% resulted in less market share, not more
* Most customer acquisition efforts did not break even
* Fewer than 10% of new products succeeded
* Most sales promotions were unprofitable
* Advertising ROI was below 4%
* Doubling advertising expenditures for established products increased sales just 1% - 2%

The HBR shows what Professor Andrew Ehrenberg has cited before. The weak theory of advertising exists in mature FMCG markets.

Advertising in these markets is about sustaining your market share.

As one of my colleagues from Strathclyde yesterday quoted Ehrenberg - "Let the data speak." (sic)

Blogmetrics - More is good?

2005-06-02T06:18:00.000+01:00

I hear that the more often you post to a blog the more often people will read your blog? This seems intuitively true. Whenever something is posted if someone has a feed or an aggregator then the blog will could be read. But will this always be the case or will the content be the key thing?

The blog reader may not browse the blog very often if the blog is not updated regularly but surely with RSS etc., then the content can be seen when it is published. Thus I am in two minds about whether or not the frequency of posting will effect the number of readers or hits on a blog site.

I wonder whether there is a rule of 3 postings a day = 3 x hits? I am sure that this cannot rise with a direct relationship or 1,000 posts a day = 1,000 x more readers but it is possible that a relationship could exist between the number and frequency of posts and the hits.

Obviously as an academic who is interested in the empirical facts about blogging and its effects on media consumption particularly from the point of view of marketing, advertising and PR this is a key area for my study. If anyone has data in this area please send me an e-mail, or even if you have any views please send me your comments.

Another golf game!

2005-05-25T19:02:00.000+01:00

I recently received this urban golf game via one of my "newsletters"

I have just played Urban Golf a Jaguar Advergame
This is one of many games that I have received recently.

My question is - How does this fit with the brand's integrated marcoms campaigns?

Is urbangolf an attempt by Jaguar to appeal to a "younger, cooler" generation of jag buyers?

The game graphics are good, but what does the image of the car at the start of every hole add to the image of Jaguar?

Certainly the player interacts with the brand for a long time 34.21 minutes in my case, however, there are many games and they are often similar so how effective are these advergames?

New Audi Viral

2005-05-24T10:01:00.000+01:00

Another great example of viral activity from Audi. It's noticeable that Audi have decided to move money from other media buying activity into viral, see Brand Republic.

This is a very interesting development, and I do enjoy the personalisation of this work.

It will be interesting to see whether the grwoing use of vital by car companies gives a competitive advantage. BMW, Mazda, Ford and Audi have all used viral. This is a high involvement product and it would be interesting to know whether the virals do tip the balance in favour of these organisations.

Store Wars Viral

2005-05-19T16:57:00.000+01:00

Just seen a fantastic viral. The content is a parody of Star Wars.The Farm is the setting for the war against the supermarkets.
The content is fabulous it should spread rapidly.
The only problem might be the fact that the clip is 5minutes and some more.
Even my broadband took a good while to download the movie.
It seems that the age of VOD isn't quite here yet, but it's certainly getting closer.
You can view the viral here.

Advergaming - The answer to media audience fragmentation or more of the same?

2005-04-19T07:08:00.001+01:00

The recent Advertising in Games Forum in NY (14th April 2005) discussed the growing trend for advertisers to use games as a medium for advertising. Some fascinating facts, such as the top 10 game titles in 2004 are listed in an adrants article about this Forum.
The top selling game in 2004 was Grand Theft Auto San Andreas with 5.5 million units sold.
My question concerns the effectiveness of in-game, advergame or similar advertising. There are claims made about the interactivity of the games and the amount of time that someone would be playing and therefore the value over and above a 30 second TV slot. Massive Incorporated claims to be the creator of the first video games advertising network that will "reach the holy grail of advertising." That is 18-34 year old males. A graph within the Massive Incorporated site clearly indicates the opportunity for advertising in games. This is similar to a "press cuttings" metric, but is it really a metric that measures effectiveness.
One of my main questions is how games manage to cut through?
There are many games on the Internet and some are very successful - but how do companies ensure that the message works for the organisation.
As ever I think that a connection between brand, game and customer are the key ingredients. Hence the Mastercard Advergame for the Brits is very effective but Golf games for anything other than golf-linked (terrible pun) companies are not going to cut through and deliver the message.
I'd welcome any thoughts.

Global Blog Week 2

2005-04-19T06:48:00.000+01:00

I have noticed on the Mediations blog that Global Blog Week 2 is on the way. Anyone who is interested in blogging and how it is used; how it will be used; or even how it could be used should read the Global Blog Week 1 articles.
On top of this the blogosphere has provided further evidence of its growing status through Volvo's sponsorship of the MSN Spaces blog pages. This sponsorship is interesting because the sponsorship is for the whole of the Spaces blog pages.
The value of this "buy" has been questioned by Blogsads founder due to the content of the Spaces' blogs which often contain a great deal of profanity that is perhaps not in keeping with a safe, family car manufacturer.

Oh Bloggeration

2005-03-24T15:45:00.000Z

Following my attendance at the recent Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) I met a number of other researchers, academics and practioners interested in the field of blogging and its use as a PR tool.

I entitle this piece "Oh Bloggeration" because that's a similar phrase to the one I uttered when I found out about NewPRWiki and GlobalPRBlogweek. These sources contain a great deal of information about PR and blogging as does Philip Young's excellent blog Mediations (see links).

I met Philip at the conference, where I presented a paper concerning a case study of Nokia and Blogging. This paper will appear on this site in the next two weeks. It followed on from information I gathered through the Adrants network. I had struggled to find research papers about blogging, but I was looking in the wrong place, academic resources, rather than searching cyberspace itself.

A question about traditional academic research and publishing in cyberspace came to mind.

For academics researching dated definitions and debating long-standing theories text books and academic search tools may be relevant, but for academics writing about, researching and commenting on the issues of the day I ask - Have traditional forms of research publishing become redundant?

Is it better to be published in a journal that is controlled by an editorial team of academics who could have an agenda of their own or to make your material available for comment on a blog?

A recent discussion about the Research Assessment Exercise in the UK made me aware that cross-referencing other academics' papers lifted a researcher's ranking and so the finance his/her institution received. This "nepotism" reduces the validity of this exercise.

I propose that academics establish blogs and take comments from fellow academics in cyberspace for discussion and comment on our work. Forget about blind reviewing by peers and introduce a system that utilises the technology of the day. The 2-3 year waits for publication lead to reduced credibility and out-of-date material when publication eventuall happens.

Let's open up the debate - post our research on the web and change the current assessment system to fit today's world.

Advertising in the Apprentice UK

2005-03-24T10:55:00.000Z

Last night in BBC2's "The Apprentice" the wannabes had to develop a short advertising campaign for one of Amstrad's new products. The product was a ten CD changer for £99 with the working title JB1000. It's difficult to understand in an age of small, portable MP3 players why the product would appeal to the mass market, especially given the design of the product, the size of the product, the levels of PC penetration in the UK and the huge increase in music downloading legal or not. In a very quick assessment of the market and the environment around the music player market I can only believe that the price would need to be the whole focus of the advertising campaign.

Before I comment on the programme I did search for the product on the Amstrad website and I could n't find it. If it is an actual product I think the Amstrad may have missed a trick, 60 minutes of product placement and all you can see is the video phone, although the phone always features several times (without seeing any video image) in the programme and that is the first product on the landing page.

One team produced a plausible effort with a tag line of "The Jukebox is back" the other team tried to sell two JB 1000's per household. Not surprisingly the team that fragmented into two cohorts; tried to sell two machines per household; used a print ad with product copy that needed a microscope to read; offered a TV advertisement with hardly any product shots and minimal visible product use ( music played but it was not clear that it could accept 10 CD's); and had an extremely embarrassing pitch - came second in the two horse race.

I was intrigued by the fact that we did not see all of the winning team's 20 second commercial, perhaps some copyright issue?

One thing was certain though neither group are yet ready to threaten the small, medium or large ad agencies, although the smooth leadership of Miriam's team and the calm professional presentation by James was very good indeed.

This really is a fascinating programme because if someone had told me that I would be watching a job interview using role play on TV for 12 weeks I would have denied that it would happen.

Sir Alan Sugar is fantastic as the boss, and for the most cringe worthy moment of the week - Rachel's Dancing - I felt that Sir Alan made the right decision.

I did love the gag -

I've written books on advertising. ....................Cheque Books!

This was delivered with timing and in the bluff, pugnacious style of Sir Alan, a fabulous line.

It's definitely an idea I'd like to use in for a seminar task during the next academic year.

Virality in Marketing Communications

2005-03-22T23:44:00.000Z

The current confusion over the leak or not of the latest Doctor Who illustrates two things (at least)
1. The level of interest in Dr Who despite the long absence from our TV screens.
2. The power of viral communications over the Internet. The news of the leak spread very, very quickly and the BBC and its Canadian partner are all denying any fault.
The question is: Why are they concerned? The amount of coverage has been huge and the BBC have gained a hype even beyond the round of interviews for Billie Piper. Some sites talk about heads rolling, I think its bonuses that the leakers deserve! See wired for a great discussion.
As for me it brings back memories of hiding behind the settee when the Daleks came on.