Think invasive advertising couldn't get worse? Urine for a surprise!

via adweek.blogs.com

I've always considered myself to be a hard sell. I like to think that advertising doesn't work so well on me. In fact, I usually look at the campaigns I work on from this perspective, constantly asking, "why the hell should anyone care about this?" I find it helps me to step back and think just a bit harder about the concept we're proposing.

See, I think a lifetime is the most precious thing we've got... because it's 100% limited, and that's what advertising does. It asks for your attention, and your time... your finite resources. Once you've given those away, the sender hopes you'll retain the information, or act on it.

Don't get me wrong. I still strongly think that advertising can be a good thing. It can inform us about things that could better our lives. It can motivate us to change. It can entertain us. It can encourage us to act. Advertising drives the pulling and hauling of our society, and without it our economy would come to a screeching halt, becoming fully dependent on word-of-mouth marketing (I feel like I'm selling myself here).

Still, more often that not, advertising is an invasion of our privacy, a cluttering of the landscape, reminding us to dig deep into our pockets and spend our earnings on a service, or thing. That's the way things work, and I can live with it, for the most part. In fact, this is the same message I give my clients. It is what it is and if you can't generate a successful word-of-mouth business, then you need advertising to get your message out to the public.

Every now and then a new form of advertising comes along that just grates on me, reminding me of everything that I loathe about our industry, hence these new restroom mirror displays. As if advertising's worst wasn't invasive enough, we are now destined to be exposed to more of in the worst place imaginable.

Meet the restroom mirror digital display.

Look, mens' restrooms aren't places that I tend to linger, and I think most men feel the same way. Public restrooms are usually pretty filthy, disgusting places, with the fine odor of mint and human waste floating like a cloud. I get in, wash up, and try to get out using elbows and knees, taking as few breaths as humanly possible.

News flash! These displays won't work on me... at all.

I think that really good advertising plays on all of the human senses, leaving subtle triggers in the human mind. This is basic psychology. You see, smell, touch, or hear something enough times in relationship to a message then you will eventually begin to retain and recall that information.

Simple stuff. Branding 101.

I guess my question is do you want your brand associated with the your service and message, or restimulating the fine scent of fresh pee and urinal cakes?

Hey... I think I just found my next sales pitch. -Oran

Posted via email from The Parker Brand Picture Post!

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Planning a Kid's Birthday: A Few Advertising Basics

via adweek.blogs.com

This video has been making the rounds online and I've got to say that I really, really love it.

First off, it's pretty funny, especially if you work in the advertising industry. But, beyond the obvious humor, what I love most is that it really does show you that most of what we do in advertising can be pretty standard. There are rules that seem to apply to planning and promoting any event, large or small.

I think what really gets me the most that there are businesses that put less effort into their marketing and promotions than they would for a child's birthday.

I'm not suggesting that we all go out and offer free pony rides (or whatever the relevant equivalent for your business might be), but I am suggesting that there are some basic actions that can be taken to get the word out (many are very inexpensive) and keep the message moving.

Sure it takes planning,... and money,... and time, but if those kids are any kind of reflection of what an engaged, happy customer might look like, then I'd say it might be worth the effort.

Watch the video. Take notes. Take action.

-Oran

Posted via email from The Parker Brand Picture Post!

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Dissatisfaction=Action (Time To Do Something Different)

I've always been bothered by excessive consumption. It has never really sat right with me, and there were times in my life when I would try to make sweeping changes in my life to rectify this. Each time I've went down that road I've realized pretty quickly that it's near to impossible to go all-or-nothing, especially raising a family, in our country. I've tried to find ways to satiate this dissatisfaction, but I would fall back into old habits and go about business as usual.


Well, the old sting has come back, but this time I've decided to make small, easy changes that I can truly implement on a personal level, and some that I can apply at home daily with my family as well. I want to share the journey, and my thoughts, with you.

I've openly shared my thoughts with others and I often get asked, "How does this fit in with your job? Aren't you in advertising?" I think this is a very good question, and it makes me look even harder at my chosen profession. I often ask myself this very thing. Being in advertising, a field that is very obviously geared towards the buying and selling of goods, can I honestly be true to my own feelings about consumerism without being a hypocrite? And on a side note, does this perspective that I embrace keep me from being good at my job? 

I think the answer lies somewhere in the middle for me. I've always sort of half-joked that the reason I'm decent at small-market advertising is because I'm not a victim to it. I resist being "sold," always keeping a healthy dose of skepticism about the advertising I am exposed to.

I think that advertising can be creative field that can do a lot of good, especially if the program, event, business or group is offering something this is truly beneficial to the community. Of course, there's also the reality that it's just pushing another plastic bottle, or styro-foam cup, encouraging people to "buy and toss," rather than reuse.

I've decided to walk that tightrope, and live in the middle-grey area, for now. I think that embracing these thoughts and finding a way to apply them to my craft will be good for me and my clients. It will help me look deeper into what they do, and the message they are trying to communicate to the public by approaching it with honesty, looking for ways to create the most impact with the smallest drain on resources. 

In presentations concerning social media I've often said that the dissatisfied will light the world on fire, while the satisfied sleep in the flames. That seems to apply here. Often, satisfaction breeds complacency, but dissatisfaction leads to action. Small actions. Small steps. Real, workable application in everyday life. That's the path I plan to take. I'll keep you posted on how it's going. -OP

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A Couple of Tools Named "Mike" (What Should Craftsman Do?)

So, I'm scanning through a few of my favorite Facebook fan pages this morning and I came across this lovely little conversation taking place over on the Craftsman Facebook fan page. It started out harmless enough, then a fella by the name "Mike" went off the rails with a pretty sexist statement. Needless to say, this was like kicking open an bed of fire-ants. What surprised me was that later on another fella named "Mike" popped in and supported the original Mike's statements.

I've captured the conversation here, and created a color-key so you can see the "Mikes" in question (I'm sure the conversation is still growing, so pop on over to the Craftsman Facebook fan page to follow along).

(CLICK THE PICTURE FOR LARGER VIEW)

I see this sort of thing happen a lot, and I'm always curious to see how brands such as Craftsman will handle themselves. Do they get involved? Kill the conversation? Take a stance? Or will they simply hope that the conversation will fizzle out? I think doing nothing can be just as dangerous for the brand as doing something.

I'd be very curious to know you folks think about this. What do you think Craftsman should do in a Social Media situation like this? I think this is an important question to ask, especially for those in business who have put their feet in the Social Media waters. It definitely reminds me of these slides from a few of my presentations...

From the presentation "My Tweet Story"

From the presentation "Social-lite"

From the presentation "I.D. Thy Self"

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Living in the Sunshine, Having a Wonderful Time!

I've been really busy for the past few months... I mean really busy. When most folks ask me how I've been, that's usually my answer, "It's been busy." Their reaction is, "That's good. Better than the alternative." I agree. It really is better than the alternative.

I love my clients. I love making their advertising look great, getting it done on time, and working within their budget. That's what I do. It's pretty rewarding to go from the initial meeting with the client, to work on their proposal and then finally see the project come to completion.

Here's the rub

When you do what you say you're going to do, do it well, on time and on budget word gets around. Again, this is a good thing. The problem arises when too many projects converge at the same time. It doesn't mean that the work can't be done at the same level, or on deadline. It just means that every minute is precious and that you have to do things by the numbers, with no hick-ups.

In time

Every project has to happen in time. I say this a lot, but I don't think many truly comprehend the weight of that statement. Time is a resource; a commodity. Our culture runs on a linear time system (I believe that we operate this way because our human lives are finite... or at least that's what we think). Time, for us, starts here and finishes over there. There is only so much of it available and every single thing we do is framed by this outline. So, when projects exist within the same time-frame you've got to be able to allot a certain amount of your time resources to specific tasks. To make this work effectively you've got to know how to do your job quickly and well, then properly manage your time. If you don't, then the whole system falls apart and that's when deadlines get missed.

Having a wonderful time

Anway... I love my job. I love my clients. I love making them happy... even if every now and then things get a little tight. I'm glad that they all trust me to do what I say I'm going to do, which is help them get their message out there in an effective, attractive and creative way... even if every now and then I feel like this.

Here's wishing all of you, and all my clients a wonderful time in the sunshine! Now, back to my linear scheduled program. -OP

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Watchin' the Wheel Go 'Round and 'Round... Again!

The Southwest Louisiana marketing & advertising world, like most sub-cultures, has it's own gossip pipeline, and the valve has been opened once again. Since I moved back to the area 5 years ago, I've seen this pipeline pass information from person to person, office to office, email to email, around our area and back again in a matter of minutes (around and around and around we go... where we'll land, nobody knows).

Over the years, there have been names that almost always float to the top of this pool of information. Sadly, these are the folks that I will most likely never have a real, or meaningful conversation with, because the the hard-boiled truth is that my information isn't safe with them...and neither is yours. I suppose, for those folks, being "in the know" is more important than being trustworthy. Who knows?

The local cycle always seems to be in flux (guess that's why it's called a cycle), usually kicking into gear every 6 months or so. Every time one of these shifts happens, the whole advertising community is ablaze with predictions and theories. It's pretty funny to watch, actually.

I remember getting my foot in the door to the local marketing community, hearing the "big" names in the local business (I've worked with more than a few of them). Folks talk. Who's the best at what we do, the most talented, the smartest, on the rise? Who has better clients? Who's working for who? Who's leaving who? Who's unhappy with who?

Since those first days in the market I've seen some folks rise to the top, take a tumble, start over at the bottom and rise up again. Others have shifted job titles and companies multiple times, never finding a semi-permanent home. Heck! I suppose that could even describe me, to a large degree.

It's all a bit silly, actually. Who's the best at what we do? Who is the strongest "agency" in our market? What's going to happen if such-and-such leaves this-and-that company? Now that person-x has left left company-y, and now works for company-z, what does that ultimately mean?

I honestly just do not care (I suppose I care a little, or I wouldn't be writing this post, but I digress). You see, for all of the soothsaying that goes on in our market, not one of these predictions actually does anything to make the market stronger. It just puts the same tired cycle into motion, over and over again...and we all play our part by continuing to pick up the phone, pass emails, tweets, Facebook posts and whisper in each others ears at parties, events and lunches...spreading our delicious information.

Well, you guys have fun with that.

I plan to just stand by and watch the next wave of musical chairs come and go. Folks'll settle in and get comfortable and before long it'll be business as usual...until the next time the wheel rolls around. In the meantime, I'll just focus on what matters to me most as an advertising professional; being honest and straightforward, working hard for the clients who trust me, and getting the job done on time. You see, that's what's really lacking in our market. If we all worried about what was going on in our own house a little more, and about spreading gossip a little less, we'd all have happier clients and a stronger market too.

That is all. -OP