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To plan or not to plan…

By
Steve Poppe
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I’ve been interviewing a number of registered dieticians the last few days, all specialists in renal or kidney disease. A fascinating group. This country has about 20 million people with chronic kidney disease and I am guestimating about a half million of those are on dialysis.  

A typical marketer in need of a dialysis ad would call the ad agency in, perhaps invite a physician to brief them on disease and treatment.  Then the agency would go back to its office, do some budgeting, paperwork and layouts and return 2 weeks later with a picture of a sunset of blue sky and a pithy copy about how the future looks brighter with XYZ product.

What would a brand planner do? (What would I do?)

Having primed the pump by talking to the second, maybe first, line of defense for kidney patients – the dietician – I would like to do a DILO (day in the life of) od a dialysis patient. Anthropologists might call this a quickie ethnography.  Wake up in the patient’s house. See what breakfast is like.  Ask about dreams (Freud-like). Watch clothes selection. Find out who they call on the phone.  Probe feelings. Learn about professional support, caregiver relationships and insurance coverage. Plumb the highs and lows.  Listen to the dialog at dialysis check-in. Experience food and drug shopping. Talk meds. Vamp. Care.

In one full day, with his technique, a brand planner could craft an EFFIE winning ad strategy, a medical retailing strategy and a spending level that would redistribute marketing wealth. All in one day. Why are we not doing more or this? Peace.   

The power of but.

By
Steve Poppe
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David & Goliath talks about “brave.”  Jean-Marie Dru writes and talks about “disruption.”  Lots of ad agencies try to find a word to describe themselves as outside the box thinkers.  I was searching this morning for a video about a young Israeli illustrator who wanted to get published in The New Yorker… his one word is “no,” his story about its power to motivate.

Brand planners have a word too.  It’s the word “but.” Even in our quest to find brand-illuminating patterns, we are wowed by the word but.  The word takes what is considered known and understood and it angles that understanding.  It reorients it in a new way. In a fresh way with a little friction. And as you know friction causes heat.

Sp read your briefs planners, and search for the word but. Wherever you see in on your paper you can be sure you’re  getting close to the idea.   As my Norwegian aunt might have said “tink about it.” Peace.

A Brand Planner’s Prayer

By
Steve Poppe
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Things we remember.

We remember beauty.

We remember new.

We remember rich.

We remember melody.

We remember funny.

We remember nature.

We remember poetry.

We remember pain.

We remember educators.

We remember warmth.

We remember charity.

We remember happy.

We remember love.

We remember triumph.

These are the things we remember.

These are the things consumers remember.

(I post this brand planner’s prayer once a year as a reminder.)

The future of TV?

By
Steve Poppe
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There’s a big article today in The New York Times about how non-traditional TV broadcast companies are moving into programming.  Netflix, for instance, is spending $100 on a Kevin Spacey, Robin Wright production called House of Cars. Amazon, Microsoft and others are following suit, producing their own original entertainment.   I visited my son in college and his roommate has Google TV.  To say searching for TV shows and movies using a Google interface is easy would be an understatement. Check it out.  

It will be a dog fight between the TV and cable companies and these new breed, onesy-twosy production companies but one way for the latter to change the game is to rethink the commercial pod. Paid commercials will live on. Good TV production is too expensive to be paid for solely by subscription, so the question is how do we reinvent the commercial break in a way that is more palatable?  Less of them would be a good move. Not so many breaks, another. Contextual spots are an idea. I’m thinking 2 commercial breaks for every 30 minute program. At the 10 and 20 minute marks. For a 60 minute show, three breaks at 12, 30, 48 minute marks.  The price the spots accordingly, abased on supply and demand.  Also don’t allow fast forwarding.

Speaking of fast forward, if we were to zap ahead 30 years, what do you think TV will look like. Will ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox still be around? Thoughts? What say you Reed Hasting?

A note to Kathleen Sebelius.

By
Steve Poppe
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Michelle Obama and Jimmy Fallon did a nice piece on TV the other day where they danced together. It has already been in The NY Times and had 14M views on YouTube. They can both dance but Ms. Obama really seems to like it.

Dance may be the healthiest form of exercise there is.  “Let’s Move,” or whatever the first lady’s health program thingie is called is a well-intentioned idea. It’s the same as the NFL’s “Play 60” which asks kids to play actively for 60 minutes a day. “Stevie, go out, find a friend and play.”

Eating well, more fruit and vegetables, and exercise are all good. But dancing is fun. It’s infectious. Even if you can’t dance you can learn. Learn rhythm? Oh yeah.  It’s like learning a new language. Start small.  So what do we need to get dancing?  More music. More dance in school. More dance parties. Better dances. (Kate Upton does a nice Dougie.)  A rave or two. Dance is sexy. That’s why birds do it.

When you’re dancing you are not eating, drinking, bad-mouthing or slothing around. And please, no dancing in front of a video game unless you are learning a move. Peace.

Art in marketing.

By
Steve Poppe
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The minute I saw my first piece of Banksy’s graffiti art I knew it was art. Art is very personal.  I have used many Banksy pieces as Twitter backgrounds. (Much obliged, sir. Sir?)

Many talk about the art of marketing, brand planning and advertising. But today l prefer to talk about the in.  Art has a very meaningful place in marketing.  Like the beautiful, style-happy person you pass on the street and can’t keep your eyes off, an artful photo, turn of phrase, or video edit captures the viewer’s imagination. And once the imagination is captured and the senses are a tingle – the door to the heat and mind are open.

What the marketer does with that open door is the critical next step.  Sell too hard and the consumer loses the warmies. Sell without context and the viewer is confused. Opt not to sell at all and you become the disaffected artist in the SOHO gallery who cares not.

citibank climber

What the marketer does with that open door depends on the art itself and  the brand plan. It’s complicated.  When Citibank, in its lovely “cliff climber” TV spot, shares that amazing climbing sequence and the poetic card purchases that enabled the climb — “And what girl wouldn’t want new shoes?,” there is mad connection.  The art is visual. It’s athletic. Unseen. That’s art in marketing. Not of marketing. Peace!

(The Citibank spot is by Publicis, I believe.)

Kids, planet, teachers.

By
Steve Poppe
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There has been quite a furor in education lately about grading teachers at their job – I believe the vernacular is teacher assessment. Why ever would we grade teachers as to their ability to get students to learn?  There are so many other factors that contribute to learning, says the teacher union.

In other news, the obesity rate among children in Mississippi public schools is down 13% from 2005-2011, though it is still high.  How would we know this if not for data – or a grade.  School fryers were replaced with school steamers and the state made a bunch of other healthier food and preparation choices.  So we can grade food service, relative to its “goaled” effectiveness, but we can’t do it for teachers?

This is goofy and apocryphal.  By this logic teachers shouldn’t be able to give students grades because there are so many contributing factors as to why they don’t test well.

There are no black and whites, agreed.  But that is no reason to keep the lights partial on.  It’s big data time. Let’s measure what hurting us. Then do something about it.  Can you say greenhouse gases?

Kids, planet, teachers. Peace.   

Food Addictions.

By
Steve Poppe
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Food is big business.  And not just the selling of it, we know how big that is.  Just look at all the restaurant and grocery stores in your town. But food has now become an important content area too.  Magazine publishing is way off. Way off. Without food related properties, there would be Car And Driver, Sports Illustrated, Better Homes and Garden, The New Yorker and that’s it.  Bucking the trend, Walmart and Hearst launched a magazine called Delish late last year. It’s all about food and doing well. People are into food.

The number of TV shows about food preparation is growing. Many chefs are more famous than news reporters. One third of U.S. adults are obese.  Food.

What our nation needs, however, is an obsession with healthy food.  What is healthy food? In what part of the store does it reside (the outside walls, typically)?  We also need to change our palettes. Our expectation of what is tasty.  Today the masses crave sugar and salt.  The country would alter the course of healthcare were it to remove these cravings from the national palette. Rather than clothe ourselves in 650 million yards of fabric each year, we could shrink that to 450 million yard – with slimmer figures. The billions in Medicare spent on diabetes would shrink — as would our dependence on blood pressure med. Dominoes all tied to the collective palette of Americans. Our taste in clothes and hair change, why can’t we change our addiction to sugar and salt? Oh, and there’s a market for it. Peace.

Broadcast vs. Face-to-face.

By
Steve Poppe
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0

Not sure why, but I have a fascination with Fashion Week and the Milan and Paris fashion shows. Okay I know why, but let’s not go there. From an academic point of view, fashion is a “beyond the dashboard” pursuit.  That is, the best in new fashion designs must feel fresh. Unseen. And stimulate the senses and taste glands.  During fashion week a designer’s brand name may carry lots of water but the designs themselves are what everyone, especially the buyers, are there to see. The attention and vibe of the audience is the center of gravity.

kim karashian at heatherette

I remember being at a Richie Rich and Traver Rains show in NY when a crazy buzz and hum developed.  The din turned into “That’s Kim Kardashian walking.”  Everyone knew who she was at the time but me. That’s live buzz. Perhaps for the wrong reason but that’s what designers are looking for. For an artist to perform in front of a live audience is perhaps his/her most important form of expression.  Looking into the eyes of your target while performing provides the most visceral of feedbacks.

Much advertising and market are done via broadcast. One to many. You can’t look into the eyes of your customers when broadcasting an online display ad. Click or no click. The best marketers and brand planners get this. They seek out and soak up live impressions. Live is better. Find ways to do your selling live. Peace.

The future of The New York Times.

By
Steve Poppe
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0

You’ve heard it said before “Boston is s young city.” Demographically that is.  Lots of college kids, lots of city stuff – it’s a big draw for Millennials and younger adults.   The New York Times is selling off the Boston Globe.  The New York Times, after taking a major shot in the chops, has pulled its financials together under the guise of the old marketing saw “focus,” and been selling a  number of non-core properties – About.com was let loose a while ago.

Here’s the thing, The New York Times is a brilliant newspaper and news property. One of a kind. The Boston Globe is also quite good.  But the captains of industry in Boston are reading the Times. The problem with the newspaper business is kids aren’t reading paper papers. Walk around Boston and count how many upward mobes are carrying newspapers. They have smarties and iPads but no paper.

The NY Times has to see this and plan a generation ahead – and it know this.  The NYT is in the news business, not the paper business – and it knows this. The company can take all the Mexican bailout money it wants to right the ship but the future is the future and it’s coming. Knowing and doing are two different things. Don’t follow the new financial statements, look out the window.

Selling the Boston Globe may fund innovation but this news property needs to demonstrate it is looking and planning beyond the dashboard. Peace.

 

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