Hoooorah! Finally a jury conviction of a phisher under the CAN-SPAM Act established four years ago (yes, it’s been that long). Depending on the outcome of the June 11th sentencing of Jeffrey Goodin, maybe the legal system will been seen, for the first time, as having some teeth. Mr. Goodin may be facing up to 101 years in prison! Although we’re still a long way off from stemming the flood of spam, at least it’s a step in the right direction.
Posts from the Advertising Category
A Hit On Spam
January 20th, 2007 by Chief Nut
I’m Sorry, Did You Say Something?
January 14th, 2007 by Chief Nut
Advertising Lab points us to a press release from London based BunnyFoot … a renowned eye-tracking analysis firm. Apparently, they’re able to demonstrate that advertisements placed inside video games don’t perform as well as expected. In the first example photo, it’s conclusive that teenage boys prefer to look at Lara Croft’s butt rather than ad placements. DUH!
Don’t get me wrong, I think that there’s HUGE value in this type of study. I would even go so far as to say I’d be interested in purchasing the Tobii Eyetracking System to perform this type of analysis in-house. That being said, however, I think it should also be noted that good decision making doesn’t need to be this complex.
It’s ALL about focus. Consider your target audience’s focus on their needs … even superficial needs. When they’re at work, they need to write emails and create reports and make widgets. They don’t need to look at banner ads in an email message or on a web page. When they need to watch a television show (this is one of those superficial ones), they don’t need to hear an Australian guy pitch a car wax. When they do need to buy a car wax, they’re focused on that ONE specific task and need little else, in that moment.
Viral marketing, permission marketing, social networking, blogging, forums, etc. are all exploding right now. Why? Because these, for the most part, aren’t interuptive advertising. The consumer is allowed to focus on a buying decision in a way that gives them more control. The product or service isn’t unexpectedly thrown in their face. These new non-intrusive venues are focused not on the product itself as much as they focus on the consumer … and their needs.
Am I suggesting that companies abandon all advertising? Heck no. Just dont’ expect the same return on investment as some of these other, less “traditional” strategies. More to the point; regardless of the medium you choose for your advertising, focus the message on consumer need and emotion, NOT on your product or service.
Jingle All The Way
November 12th, 2006 by Chief NutLet me start a few little ditties and we’ll see how long it takes for you to be able to tell me what the product/company is AND for you to sing the rest of the song. Here we go…
- Mmm Mmm Good
- I wish I was an <Mmm hmm hmm hmm> Weiner
- Double Your Pleasure, Double Your Fun
- I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing
- You Deserve a Break Today
How’d you do? 100%?
In the 1950’s, just about every television commercial used jingles to reinforce the brand experience. The tendency has dropped off. For those smart companies that DO take the extra time to firm up brand with some form of audio, the benefits are significant;
- It’s easier to remember the ad (a la the experiment above)
- Since your competitors aren’t likely using audio/music, it’s a powerful differentiator
- Music is a powerful emotional trigger
- Music styles can help zero in on your target audience
- Memorable music lyrics can reinforce information about your company and your products/services (phone numbers, address, benefits, features, etc.)
Trivial Advertising
November 3rd, 2006 by Chief NutI’m making this a short post this morning because I just spent 35-40 minutes answering trivia questions. What a blast! Thanks to Apryl Duncan for putting together all of these tests. How good is your tagline recall? Think you know Super Bowl commercials? Do you find yourself whistling TV ad jingles from the 80s? Find out if you’re destined for greatness in the ad biz.
Read All About It!
November 1st, 2006 by Chief NutCirculation Plunges at Major Newspapers! (Story from the New York Times online edition, under the Media and Advertising section … get the point?)
Ad Biz Changes
October 28th, 2006 by Chief NutLast week I met with a small group of local business owners to talk about how we might be able to improve the “branding” of their community. This was a group of B&B, cottage and hotel businesses who have been running their businesses for many years in the Lakes Region of New Hampshire. We got around to talking about the Web and I was a little taken aback by the number they responded with when asked “how much of your business comes from the Internet?” The answer …. 90%+!!! Holy cow, things have changed for them in just a short while!
Outside of our little paradise, the speed at which things changes isn’t too different. Although it’s just speculation at this point, this article from ReadWriteWeb has BIG implications on what the landscape of online advertising will look like in the next year-ish.
Feeeed Meee
