What do you get when you put cameras on two groups of highly creative and competitive people for a week? AMC’s The Pitch. It’s over-dramatized to be sure, but I’m fascinated by the show. When we know who we are up against in a new business pitch, we check out them out and try to guess how they’re going to approach the task. Here’s our chance to watch two agencies a week run the gauntlet of a new business pitch.

The fun part about the show is sitting back like a figure-skating judge and scoring the two full-service ad agencies as they move through their routines; developing their campaign recommendations. Who asks the client the best questions? Who brings more energy to their presentation?  Who offers unique thinking? Who proves they really understand the client’s needs? Who ultimately earns the business? Good TV … at least for ad people.

Judson Luke | Post a Comment

• 
   Print
• 
   Email
• 
• Share
• 
   Permalink

You’ve reserved the space and paid a decent amount of money to run your ad. A few weeks later the magazine comes out, and all its readers see your impactful, full-page advertisement. But wait. Your eyes are drawn to the opposite page almost immediately, where you find your competitor. You expected the “Lift Truck Tips” column to be there, however the blow comes when there’s a photo, of significant size, combined with content that is dominated by your competitor.

Check out the April issue of Modern Materials Handling and that’s what you’ll find – Hyster versus Toyota. Competition is good. However, when you’ve paid for media space, only to be clearly overshadowed by competitive editorial, it’s tough. It wouldn’t be such an issue for me had the editorial covered other manufacturers. In this case, the result is Toyota editorial versus a Hyster paid ad. Who wins? From an editorial standpoint, this is great news for Toyota; from a paid media standpoint, not so good for Hyster. If I were Hyster, I’d be mad as even a makegood won’t repair the damage done.

Here’s the spread. What do you think?

Karen Enriquez-Wagner | Post a Comment

• 
   Print
• 
   Email
• 
• Share
• 
   Permalink

We’re coming off a really great pitch for a brand campaign. Maybe I’m just caught up in the after-glow of it all, but it has me thinking about what exactly makes for a good pitch. It’s definitely about the satisfaction of working hard as a team to pull everything together – each doing their part to bulletproof the recommendations. We did the research to understand audience concerns and looked at competitor positioning/messaging, so we know our ideas will resonate and differentiate. And of course it’s a total rush presenting the ideas we’ve put our hearts and souls into, hoping our soon-to-be new client loves our work as much as we do. 

The other necessary ingredient is a really solid and thorough brief from the client (which we definitely had). When our client is open and transparent about their strategic objectives, needs and desires, and shares what they know, our creative really sings. Everyone leaves the table knowing that we hit the mark and this is going to be a great partnership.

Judson Luke | Post a Comment

• 
   Print
• 
   Email
• 
• Share
• 
   Permalink

A recent study found that consumers in their 20s (“digital natives”) switch media venues about 27 times per nonworking hour—the equivalent of more than 13 times during a standard half-hour TV show.

What does that mean for us as marketing professionals? At the most fundamental level, it translates to the fact that you have less than two minutes to grab an individual’s attention and invite them to further read your message. According to some scientific scholars, they’ve went as far as to say, you have someone’s attention for 8 seconds – that’s less than that of a goldfish.  Which means – content needs to be engaging and clutch the reader’s brain to want more. 

As we move further and further into the digital age, marketers also need to verify that they are reaching their audience from a variety of angles and grabbing their attention immediately. While traditional print may and will still work – there is a high possibility that the end user may be flipping through that magazine while watching a television show…only to put the magazine down and pick up a tablet. Our marketing strategy needs to ensure that all of these factors are taken into consideration, before we’re switched off and dismissed.

Angela Mork | Post a Comment

• 
   Print
• 
   Email
• 
• Share
• 
   Permalink

I had the pleasure to speak with several classes at Hartland Arrowhead High School on the advertisements that aired during this year’s Super Bowl.  Like many advertising professionals fortunate enough to get the chance to compare notes with students in this age group, I had some preconceived ideas on how they’d react to the ads.  Yet, I came away surprised and pleased with what I heard; just not for the reasons you might think.

I must admit I entered school believing the students wouldn’t like the same ads I did, and that we’d have differing opinions on criteria like message delivery, retention, branding and overall effectiveness.  (more…)

Dean LePoidevin | Post a Comment

• 
   Print
• 
   Email
• 
• Share
• 
   Permalink

Another Super Bowl in the record books. Even though we didn’t really care about either team playing, my wife and I still felt compelled to at least have the game on. A loss for the NFL, but a win for the advertisers right? Well, maybe not.

I can remember lots of years being really interested in seeing what the major brands were going to run. The Super Bowl is the one TV show I can think of where the advertising is not an unwelcome break in the action, but the ads had actually become a celebrated and necessary part of the experience. This year something weird happened … I noticed for me some of the excitement was gone. (more…)

Judson Luke | Post a Comment

• 
   Print
• 
   Email
• 
• Share
• 
   Permalink

Media companies rarely sell all of their available advertising space. This unsold space or time, referred to as remnant space, can be purchased by an advertiser at a cost often way below standard rates. But is that the best way to purchase advertising space? If you’re using remnant space as you’re primary strategy with your media buy, you may wish to proceed with caution.

The first drawback is that your media strategy and marketing program is on ‘stand-by’ each month. There’s never a guarantee that you’ll get remnant space in your preferred outlet, if at all. If there is remnant space available, media reps may give that opportunity to their bigger advertisers first – effectively bypassing you — or those that purchase ad space per the negotiated contract rates. Media reps do this to keep their top advertisers happy, for all the obvious reasons. (more…)

Karen Enriquez-Wagner | Post a Comment

• 
   Print
• 
   Email
• 
• Share
• 
   Permalink

I was reading an article on the success of streaming music sites, such as Pandora and Spotify. One of these companies’ main concerns is the need to grow their ad revenue at the same rate as their popularity.  From an advertiser’s standpoint, as we begin exploring these new placement options, it needs to be decided from which of our current budgets (assuming they can’t be increased) will we pull money from to incorporate this new investment? Should the medium be viewed as digital media, or should it be viewed as a replacement for traditional radio.

(more…)

Rosalind Elliott | Post a Comment

• 
   Print
• 
   Email
• 
• Share
• 
   Permalink

The desire to generate measurable, qualified leads varies by business marketer as some distribute them to sales personnel and track results, while others use lead generation as a way to simply measure initial campaign tactical performance.

Leads are expensive no matter how they’re generated, issued or closed.  It’s gratifying to learn when a tradeshow promotion, Adwords campaign or direct response advertisement generated an acceptable number of qualified leads, especially when they are directed to distributor sales reps or issued to the internal sales team to work.  And even more gratifying when those leads turn into sales, as tracked by a CRM system.  (more…)

Dean LePoidevin | Post a Comment

• 
   Print
• 
   Email
• 
• Share
• 
   Permalink

The financial lifeblood of most magazines, consumer or trade, is advertising. Magazines need them to help pay the bills, and advertisers need them to communicate to their target audiences. But not all ads are made the same.

The goal of an effective ad is to relay a single message. If the message is received by the intended audience – the ad did its job. But if eye balls glance over it and the page is turned, then the advertiser just wasted its money. So what exactly goes into making a business-to-business avertisement effective, and thus prevent the page from being turned? Three things: a clear message, brevity and good photography. (more…)

Steve Staedler | Post a Comment

• 
   Print
• 
   Email
• 
• Share
• 
   Permalink