Old Values

Todays advertising, as we strive to engage our audience more and more, seems to be getting more and more tricky even for the viewer. What is more, much of the audience (excluding gen-y) are fully aware of marketing maneuvers. Is there a time to return to simple advertising that speaks to you clearly? Ads that simply say, here is a great sauce, you need sauce, come and buy it. It started with puns, but modern advertising has become far more complicated than a nicely executed double entendre. Is it any better? In most cases I would say no, in a small percentage, yes.

Back to the question. Is there a time to get back to the simple stuff? As much as I would like to see a return of the old advertising, I will have to say the time has not yet come. So the focus needs to be on the engaging quality of the ads being produced, which defines the task for the 90% of rubbish out there, calling itslelf advertising.

This could be YOU

If you've just landed a job in marketing or advertising the guy in this film will probably be you for a while.

Enjoy an honest look at the advertising industry.

And if you have just come into the industry then you may like to read this advice from a US AdSchool Lecturer. This article was found via the high quality planning blog diablogue.

Guinness World Record - Shortest Radio AD

BBDO Onslo have created the shortest ever radio ad, which once you listen to it you will agree that it couln't have taken much 'creating' although it is built on a sound idea. 'tee hee, I made a pun.

You may also notice the client that the ad is for. Strage coincidence.

Click for English Version

From Adrants

Semantics Pose Great Conceptual Challengers

Consider the idea of an engaging campaign. What does it do to the consumer? What is one way we would like them to react? We want them to be 'Drawn In'.
In thinking this, I thought whad 'Drawn In' could literally mean in the context of advertising. With much of the advertising out there, the desired effect is much like the image below. This is the lesser of the two potential meanings attached to the phrase which I hope is obvious.


A great campaign WILL draw you in, but not because it fills your head with stuff. The power to draw you in comes from how involved you feel. How much opportunity the communication creates for you. Where it inspires you to go. What you are inspired to do, and how much value you can take from it without even purchasing the product.

That is truly Drawn In.

Mike

Shane Warne - the Advanced Man

Advanced Hair is a company that specialize in hair regrowth, if that's even possible. They are therefore mainly targeting men so it's ok if their ads are a little blokey...right.

As you will surely know, Shane Warne is their current personality endorsing the product in their TV advertising, they even have an SMS joke in one of the executions.

I'm not here to talk about the executions rather, whether it's a smart thing for any brand to take on such a loose cannon as the face of the brand.

Many sportstars, popstars and the famous in general are paid to endorse products. All too many times are they caught acting in a way that is not in line with the brand, or worse, using the competior product eg. Britney Spears drinking Coke when she is the face of Pepsi.

I suppose any company or brand runs the risk of their star mascot going off the rails and its a gamble worth taking if they have the potential to add value to the brand if they don't end up being naughty.

Back to Shane Warne, and maybe his antics are what the guys at Advanced Hair are looking for in a brand ambassador. Maybe their target market are all bogans who like to sleep around with as many english slappers as they can. I could have it all wrong.

If they are in fact trying to align themselves with this kind of rowdy, laddish, slapper- sex, then I am positive they will be happy about the latest images circulating via email.

Get in there Warnie, dickhead.

I just had to mention it

This article may not actually be real. However, it does highlight the power of suggestion, and indeed the vast power of the digital age. Where anything can be anything and anyone can be someone else.

Your brand or company image could be in need of some orchestrated PR, or maybe it's suffering from an overload of pomp. But it pays to be vitally aware of how you can use techniques such as this to subtlely or overtly guide your image.

Sony Bravia Ad Spoof for Tango (UK)

Recently in this blog I posted some comments about the beauty of the Sony Bravia ad (see below).

And in typical internet spoof style a rip of the ad is now running for Tango, a fruit drink in the UK.

I must say I like both versions !




And here is the original Sony Bravia Full 150 sec Brand Film. I can't tell you how much I love this execution.

Is buying media cheaper if you go direct?

Many small to medium clients beleive that Agencies 'Mark up" media when they place it. They therefore may opt to deal direct with the media organization thinking they are cutting out the middle man. This is for the majority of media channels is completely incorrect.

Above and beyond offering the 'same' costings as going direct, agencies generally have stronger buying power in that they are dealing with the media on a regular basis and in most cases be buying more than just your space at that time.

In fact, in addition to potential better costings the client also gains by having the agency select the most appropriate media for their particular communication objectives. When dealing direct it is impossible to get impartial advice from the publisher since they have their own business interests to meet, not yours. An agency on the other hand only has your interests in mind when they choose a media channel for you. Since success of the campaign will dictate whether you keep them on as an agency.

It simply comes down to the fundamentals of the business interests of each party. On which the media is not capable of being earnest, nor are they able to offer lower cost.

Mike

Blogging Trend Tracking

By virtue of you reading this I take for granted that you are farmiliar with Blogs and are aware that they are turning the internet into a peer publishing bonanza. They contain mostly rubbish about so-and-so's life that no one cares about, but they can also contain personal comment about current trends, products and brands.

Neilsen have released a new service that allows you to seach over 100 million blogs for a particular word of phrase. Thus dropping the dipstick into the populous sump and taking a reading of how things are doing for your particular interest.

There is a free version which works quite well although can only capture up to 6 moths of blog data. There are far more sophisticated versions with various analysis as a pay service.

Peer inspired media has never been so rampant and certainly never had the infinite reach that it enjoys via the internet. This tool allows marketers to gauge how well they are getting their messages out into a tradditionally hard to measure arena: unprovoked conversation.

www.blogpulse.com

Mike

Agency Launch

Readers of this blog will be pleased to hear that the authour has launched a full service Advertising Agency specialising in strategies for smaller brands.

Introducing Biggs & Bigger.

The Agency is operating as of May 2006 and is set to see the website very soon. The Philosophy is similar to the big small brands idea outlined in this blog. That is, there is much to be learned from powerful brands that can be used on the small scale to similar effect. Their work includes everything from design through to integrated campaign strategy.

Clients history of Mike Biggs
Subaru Australia
Allianz Insurance
Bellevale Homes
CPG Australia
Penrith Pilates Studio
Gadget Central
Jaycar Electronics
Merrylands RSL

You can however contact us at the agency on this email. We are happy to meet with you about any project you may have.

The Big Small Brands Book

Slow progress so far and I know I keep going on about it but the book is definetly on its way... no really it is!!

The good news is that the content being loaded into it is getting better and better with each revision. So I have no doubt it will be a favoured resource for all of you marketeers out there who want the advertising mumbo jumbo presented simply and clearly. Best of all it can be used as a 'how to' for developing campaigns when the expertese is not available or is too costly for your current budget.

I endeavour to keep you posted, but in the mean time, browse my articles and catch something of interest before the official release of chapter one.

Back from Agency Land

You will notice that this is the first post to the blog in quite a while. It is no excuse but I have spent a short time working on Subaru Australia Retail Advertising.

Retail advertising has a certain challenge to it. It requires high levels of diplomatic balance between a sales message that persuades viewers/customers to act, and the brand values that usually command clean, strong presentation of ideas.

Subaru engage with two agencies. One for brand, and one for the retail activities. This by virtue of there being two entities working on the brand throws open the door for significant damage to the brand.

While the brand agency spend time developing a refined image, the retail agency are instructed to SELL, SELL, SELL. And retail advertising at it's best can be so/so when compared to brand advertising. If coupled with the client themselves giving two separate sets of instructions for the brand, that verge on contradiction, a notable disconnect can exist in the consumers mind.

Clients need to be mindful that with two or three agencies operating for them, there can be gaps in the outgoing image. This will be magnified when the marketing managers don't co-ordinate internally.

Merry Christmas 2005

Warmest wishes to my regular readers, and welcome to any newcomers.

What a time to be advertising. Everyone is breaking their necks to spend money on relatives they don't even like. You should be capitalizing on this. My normal spiel is all about getting your brand image right, but when so many potential customers are trying to throw money at anything that comes along, it's a race between who is getting the most traffic through their store. If in the process you acquire many repeat customers, then great, and you should aim to do this, but the goal is to entice the already spending public to you rather than the other guy.

There are so many simple ways to ride the shopping wave. But I might add at this stage that if you are attempting to plan something now to forget it, the boat has well and truly sailed. Some quick and easy ways to ride the Christmas sales craze are:

• Almost any response driven or retail ad will guide the already looking public to your store. -Press ad, local flyer, Radio Ad.
• A catalogue in the local newspaper - Since people are developing shopping lists from home, before they set out to battle the shops. You might aswell make it easy for them by providing a catalogue of your products.
• Mailout /Email out to existing customers to remind them and/or offer some special deals for them to return to your store - This method is extremely cost efficient, AND your existing customers are already farmiliar with your producs, so are more likely to return to your store. (this is one of my favourites since it works so well)

If you are fortunate enough to be located in a high traffic centre then you can still enhance your customer count by:

• Adding directional signage to the immediate footpath and or street area.
• Having goodlooking guys and girls walk around the local area handing out flyers and directing people to your store.
• Arrange a referral system with relevant fellow merchants who are not in your business but who might have customers who are interested in your products aswell.

Footnote on these suggestions:
The noted practices are very retail orientated, but so is Christmas.
If you are already running a retail organization most of this should be obvious, but It's nice to have a reminder every so often.

Merry Christmas and happy retailing.. see you in the new year for some serious 2006 planning, and some articles on the temptation to discount in the first quarter of 2006.

Mike

Personal Creativity (taken from chapter 1 of the Big Small Brands book)

Why introduce creativity?

Finding new opportunities within your business can require a new perspective. But looking for that perspective may not require attaching suction caps to your feet and walking on the ceiling but it will require you to think a little creatively.

Injecting newfound ideas through creativity sounds like a big task, and it is, especially if most of your staff are use to the way things are, or are not naturally creative. That's why it's important to start with yourself and lead by example before rolling out new proceedures that might come as a shock to your company culture.

Personal creative development can aid in many aspects of running your company big or small. Equipped with specific creative techniques, and a general creative attitude you'll be turning yourself into a walking talking problem solver.

Change your general creative outlook:

• Try to be more observant of your surroundings. Especially of things that DO NOT interest you, you'll find answers to totally unrelated problems.
• Keep a notebook of every idea you have, no matter how mundane. Look back through the book regularly.
• Change your routine i.e. take the long way to work for a change. You really don't know what could be around the corner..
• Take a shower. (this is my personal favourite). When in the shower you are bombarded with Negative Ions (from the water in the air), which enhance your well-being and promote a positive attitude. But more important than the touchy feely well being stuff, it enhances your ability to think, and specifically think creatively. - Have you ever noticed that you think alot in the shower? It's not because showering is boring, but because your brain is in TOP GEAR.

Introducing specific tecniques for promoting creativity and better solutions:

The next step is to use specific tecniques when developing ideas and solving problems. There are many sources that you can find new 'creative' ways to do things. New and improved methods for meetings and for problem solving. Creativity can even included rennovating an old method like Brainstorming.

Recommended sources for adopting specific creative techniques:

• Edward de Bono- 6 thinking hats, 6 action shoes, 'po', and the specific techniques in the book 'Serious Creativity.' www.edwarddebono.com
• A great site with free and pay information www.mindtools.com
• Here's a great random idea generator, use it when you need some completely new ideas, then apply them to your problem- http://www.brainstormingatwork.com/autoall1.html
• Here's some scientific information on the benefits of Negative Ions - If you have a strong interest I suggest doing a search as there are many articles available on the subject the vast majority of which support the ideas in the below link. http://www.webmd.com/content/Article/65/72756.htm?pagenumber=1

I don't use all of the tecniques in the above resources, and there are plenty more that I do that are not listed. The point to the listing is to give you a starting point to the process of introducing specific tecniques, and to understand that success comes from intentional use.

Becoming more creative doesn't necessarily mean you need to be a one person powerhouse, but if you become one in the process then great. Business is about results, and getting the best creative solution for your problem may not be something you can do immediately, so there's no harm in buying in that creativity. They key to the results is to recognize good solutions and use them.

The most well kown arena for creativity in business is the advertising world. Where most of the work is done by an agency but the power that you hold is in be able to regognize good creativity and good solutions and inplementing them into your business.

So, go and have a nice long shower, and if you can't come up with your own ideas I'm always here to help :)

Mike Biggs

Sony Bravia LCD TVC - It oozes of a great brand - You can too

Background to the ad.

Sony have not long released their new LCD television range with one all important improvement. Colour. And who am I to comment on whether it's a fantastic technological advancement or not, my CRT television with a fuzzy antenna looks just fine to me.

The Ad itself.

What I was impressed with was the TV Ad they are running. If you have not already seen it click on the link below and you can view it. Set in a San Fransisco street giving the desired incline, 250,000 coloured bouncy balls were set loose. All captured from a range of wonderfully directed angles and played in slow motion to capture the mood of beautiful chaos. To top it off the soundtrack is so emotionally charged yet 'cool' the ad is a work of art.

You too can create a presence like this.

The only thing that links this ad to Sony is the logo at the end. If we exchanged it for another brand name it would then stand for their brand. This is a weakness in brand advertising of this nature but by the same token, once associated with Sony (and we expect nothing less from them) the value to the Sony Bravia brand is phenomenal.

This execution (ad) cost a mint to make especially since they did it for real and refused to use computer generated effects for the coloured balls. But you don't need to spend this kind of money to get an equally effective ad. The strength in this ad is the solid idea behind it. The balls, both evoke an emotional response AND connect to the product attribute. A great ad is a great idea no matter how you make the ad. As proof of my big small brand idea- you can develop a brand as strong as this and you don't need to spend Sony money to do it.

If you have a fast connection click:
http://www.bravia-advert.com/commercial/braviacommhigh.html

If you have a slower connection click:
http://www.bravia-advert.com/commercial/braviacommlow.html

Sony were so confident of the ad's success and popularity amoungst Advertising types and the general public they have erected a site dedicated to it. It even had downloads, I suggest you get the wallpapers they are very uplifting!!

Mike