Monthly Archives: August 2010

Digital Publishing Heroes.

By
Steve Poppe
-
0

Where’s the thought leadership in digital publishing? 

Magazines on iPads and other to be developed mobile devices are a nascent commercial endeavor.  At no time before have we had an opportunity to thread together storytelling with text, pictures, video, authorship and curation as have today.  If you think ad agencies haven’t figured out the silo-ization of marketing commerce, what about magazines and newspapers?

Once magazines were glossy and delivered weekly or monthly.  Newspapers were matted on inexpensive newsprint and more likely a daily, immediate vehicle. Today, digitally, they’re the same animal. And they publish and update with a simple click.   

When it comes to the information architecture, screen layout, art direction, usability, bounce-ability, brutally honest copy editing and the integration of advertising, who is leading the way?  To whom do we turn as we try to systematize the new digital publishing business?  Mssrs. McGraw and Hill?  Mr. Sulzburger? Ms. Huffington? Mr. Zuckerberg? Ms. Bartz? Mr. Droga? Mr. Arrington?

When hiring, one of my favorite interview questions is “Who are your heroes?” Well, it will be very interesting to watch the heroes emerge in digital publishing as we move toward a multidimensional platform.  Do you have any nominees? Peace.

Car Wars. And Style.

By
Steve Poppe
-
0

Ford is a wonderful marketing story – following years and years of big car stasis and poor management it has begun down a colorful new road.  The cars have gotten smaller, management has its eyes on the horizon and in a country where borrowing is rampant, it gets props for not taking the government cheese. Cool technology, too.

G.M. has made smart decisions, but still feels like a company run by old dudes with dandruff on their suit collars.  Most businesses can sell off flagging assets and brands, get smaller, refinance, wave the flag and make a comeback.  Sorry to sound disrespectful because I want G.M. to win, but the company doesn’t feel particularly contrite or forward thinking, the Chevy Volt aside.

Chrysler, on the other hand, still struggling and playing tortoise to Ford and G.M.’s hare, is an interesting company to watch. America loves an underdog…just watch the World Series or Super Bowl some time.  And America loves European styling and design. Chrysler is the former and has a chance at the latter. It has gone quiet for a while in the area of new product development while working hard to design some exciting new cars. Good move.  While Ford’s new small cars will have big American grills and other old style embellishments, I’m hoping Chrysler will be creating some Fiat-like smaller cars that people on the street can’t keep their eyes off. Were I Chrysler, I’d design hot looking, efficient cars that appeal to women: a French looking car, then an Italian car, perhaps a German-styled car. Women love style. This is a design approach whose time has come.  It never would have flown decades ago, but it will today.  Tortoise shell glasses anyone? Peace!

Media Generalizations

By
Steve Poppe
-
0

I participated in an exercise a couple of years ago and thought it might be worth doing again.  There’s a weekly report in The New York Times called the Most Wanted which cites the best read, best watched properties and programs by media type. A glaringly obvious clustering by demographic occurred when I did it the first time and it seems things haven’t changed much.

Broadcast TV is watched most heavily by Boomers and the demographic just younger. Cable TV is watched by Boomers and young kids.  Kids and Millennials go to the Movies while DVDs are mostly rented by Gen X and Y, skewing males, with a little less money to spend. Magazines are read by those with higher household incomes and people who tend to be older – say 40+.  And Music Albums are being purchased mostly by white kids young and Millennials, while music downloads favor youngish non-whites and whomever likes Katy Perry.

Am I a media agency’s nightmare or what? Peace.

You’re Welcome, Mr. Whitacre.

By
Steve Poppe
-
0

 “We want the government out. Period.” was the powerful quote from the powerful CEO of General Motors, Edward E. Whitacre, Jr. in today’s paper.  Nice efin’ bluster Mr. Whitacre.  Dude, you’re not Henry Ford. The American people own 61% of your company and you have the oafishness to pretend otherwise?  We certainly understand the sentiment – you want to be in charge again  – but it was bluster like this that got GM into its mess in the first place. I smell a relapse.

Here’s a thought Mr. Whitacre (and Joel Ewanick, GM’s VP,  Marketing).  How about taking a few million dollars and a trick from the Saturn playbook and reintroduce us to GM with a big “Thank you.” Perhaps a series of low-cost barbecues at local parks across the country.  If need be, do it under tents at your dealerships.  Put your people to work flipping burgers in cut-offs and flip flops — real people stuff.  Be contrite. And don’t buy the real expensive food either, buy store brands and make the potato salad yourselves. Show us you care about our money.  Be resourceful, like most American’s are today.  Sweat for us Mr. Whitacre.  Do something  Americana (roots), not Bloomfield Hills.

Earn back a smidgen of good will, because that quote of yours convinces me you have about as much chance of reforming GM as Lindsay Lohan has of staying away from white wine. Please prove me wrong. (And whatever you do, don’t say mea culpa via a McCann-Erickson :30 spot.)  Peace!

Aol Needs Talent.

By
Steve Poppe
-
0

Tim Armstrong has a lot to do if he really wants to fix Aol, but he needs to start by hiring a chief talent officer. His executive suite — with all props and deference to those recently hired — has grown and become an enviable suite, but the big investment should be in Posters, original web content creators, not suits.  Creative people, writers, videographers, style queens, humorists, and the politically angry.  Aol must become more relevant to Teens, Tweens, Millenniums, Gen This & That, Boomers…and it has to start this quarter.

Don’t Wait.

Start the content strategy today. Hire Ochocinco. Hire Robert Scoble. Hire Kandee Johnson. Fab Five Freddy. Melting Mama. People with content game. Hire punk rockers before they’re famous. People burning with a point of view. People on their way up. A great talent officer will help today, but more importantly, will allow Aol to ride the ascent of future talent before it becomes expensive. As George Steinbrenner did when building the world’s most famous sports franchise, invest every penny in the players. This is not a markobabble post about teamwork, this rant is about players. Talent. Content. The right Posters will give you the inspiration to reinvent what content is.  Don’t rely on an “innovation team” sitting in a San Diego corporate resort.

With the right web talent, ad sales will come. Ding dong, money at the door.  Lined up around the block.

Get you first piece of talent this week. Celebrate it and start to build Aol momentum.  Content is not an algorithm, it’s talented people expressing themselves through words, song, poesy and art. Peace it up!

Marketing Silos vs. Community.

By
Steve Poppe
-
0

Where do key marketing insights come from? Where does creative inspiration come from? Where do sales come from? Nice questions, no?

Key market insights come from people (consumers or business buyers) and market data. Market data, however, is just an aggregation of consumer activity and the patterns they throw off. 

Creative inspiration, in this machine that is the marketing and agency business, comes from the creative brief. Where on the brief?  Many would like think it jumps from the boiled down “selling idea,” “key thought,” or “engagement trigger” — whatever it’s called these days. But realistically it comes from anywhere on the brief.  Inspiring creative people can’t be mapped, it just happens. People are complicated.

And sales? Sales come from stores, catalogs and websites but really from the hands and minds of people.  

So duh, the common denominator in this serial journey to a sale is people.  The most effective marketing teams are those who make all three legs of this stool work together.

This is your silo issue, not revenue by agency type or department.  It’s not about break though work. It’s not about sales spikes. Or the most powerful media tactic or database.  It’s about getting people to see patterns, inspire others, and learn what sells in a specific category – then forming a community around the brand that fosters those activities. Agencies come and go. Campaigns come and go. Communities (unless you’re the Aztecs) not so much. Peace!

Toughest Question in Marketing.

By
Steve Poppe
-
0

Jeff Finkle, the CFO of a company I once worked for, understands the power of a brand strategy.  Jeff is an interesting character. His background is in venture capital, direct-to-consumer marketing start-ups, and C-level business and financial management.  Plus, with a last name like Finkle…

Anyway, I quote him all the time in meetings when talking about the power of a brand strategy and the need for it to be acculturated throughout the company.  In Jeff’s mind, company employees when leaving the building each night should ask themselves “What did I do today to make my company/product more ________ (insert brand strategy.)”

Zappos

A lot has been written about Zappos and its tight brand strategy.  Pop Quiz: Which of the following four questions do you think Zappos employees ask themselves while heading to their cars?

1. Did I sell more shoes today?

2.  Did I help the company sell more shoes today?

3.  Did I increase customer satisfaction among Zappos customers today?

4.  Did I help customers feel better about their feet, footwear and sense of style?

I need to get closer to the Zappos brand, but I’m betting they’d say number 3.  And they’ve built a successful business with that approach. Personally, I would stretch it to number 4 because “customer sat” is generic. But at least they are asking the question.

Anyone can tap a company slogan as they are heading out of the locker room, but more likely than not that’s just for good luck.   It’s up to management and the CMO to make sure employees stop tapping and start asking the tough question. Peace!

Proof In Advertising.

By
Steve Poppe
-
0

Advertising isn’t ineffective because it’s a dying medium, it’s ineffective because it’s ineffective. Good branding is about “Claim and Proof.” Advertising, an important, controllable means of branding, needs to follow the same “Claim and Proof” dictum.

Toyota, a company playing defense peppered with catch-up promotions, ran an ad in The New York Times paper paper today – a perfect example of badvertising.  All claim, no proof. Here’s the copy:

No matter who you are or what you drive, everyone deserves to be safe. Which is why the Star Safety SystemTM is standard on all our new vehicles – no matter what model or trim level.  It’s a combination of five advanced safety features that help keep you in control and out of harm’s way.  Toyota is the first full-line manufacturer to make the features of the Star Safety SystemTM standard on all vehicles.  Because at Toyota, we realizes nothing is more important to you than your safety.

I forgot the headline and I only read it 10 seconds ago. The call to action, where one might actually find the proof, is prominently displayed below the copy — Toyota.com/safety. This ad is one expensive call to action and a lot less.  Fail!

Who is at Fault?

I’m not sure who is responsible for this $20,000 piece of “we’re here” advertising but everyone is to blame. The creative person who said “People don’t read long copy.” The strategist who approved it, the client who agreed and paid for it. Frankly, The New York Times should be ashamed. Isn’t someone over there watching this stuff?

This business is easy: Find a great claim and support it with compelling proof. Compelling proof. Compelling proof. Compelling proof. Peace!

12Page 2 of 2
© Newsmag WordPress Theme by TagDiv