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Quite often, businesses that target other businesses settle for boring marketing. It’s often dry, canned and smells – like a bad serving of Chicken of the Sea. Why? Honestly, I have no idea. Maybe it’s because they think that only consumer-driven products need to be sexy. Or, that since their product isn’t seeing TV ad time, they don’t need to put money behind good creative.
Whatever the reason, it’s wrong, wrong, wrong.
A wise man once told me, a brand is simply what people perceive of your company. So, if you want it to be boring, stagnant and like everyone else’s, by all means, go with the crappy marketing. But, if you want to stand out, inspire others to talk about your company and the cool stuff you’re doing – give it some thought. It’ll be worth it. I promise.
Here’s a great article from a brilliant mind at 37 Signals. The author is Jason Fried. I’m picking up what he’s laying down, as this is what inspired me to actually write a blog post – the first in quite some time. There’s always room for good thinking. No opportunity is too small, no brand is too well-known.
Just some thoughts. Also, I’m pledging myself to be a more committed blogger.
As my senior year of college is coming to end (how that is happening already, I have no idea), I reflect on all the things I learned this past year. So, I thought I’d share (lucky you!).
Always send a thank you note. I know, sounds simple, right? Send one. Trust me, you’ll stand out.
If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. Cliché, I know. But it’s true. If your first idea isn’t well received use that as motivation until you get it right. Or until you inspire someone else to get it right.
That brings me nicely to my next point…bounce ideas off each other. When you’re stuck or need a change of pace, use the people around you. You never know what you’ll be able to come up with.
Have fun. If you’re not enjoying what you’re doing, it’s going to show. Obviously, not every day is going to be perfect. But work hard. Have fun. And it’ll make the not-so-perfect days worth it.
The best way to hold a broom: one hand firmly at the top and the second hand partly down the handle. Move hands back and forth, sweeping all around the office. Listen to music – it’ll help.
Learn from your mistakes. Cliché number two! But, it’s true. Listen to what the people around you have to say (especially when you’ve made a mistake). Use that to become better.
Keep up with social media. Look for new ways to do old tricks. Always be up to speed with what’s going on in the (advertising) world around you.
If you believe in your idea, fight for it. Because if you don’t, no one else will.
Best way to do dishes: grab bucket full of dishes, go down the hall to the bathroom, scrub, scrub, scrub, dry, put back in bucket and bring back to put in office. Again, listen to music it helps.
Beer and homemade cookies always equal a good going-away gift.
Well, I’m sure I’ve learned more than just that…probably. But, that’s all I’ll share with you. Hope you guys have a great weekend.
…and Nike is still good at advertising. Or are they? (Obviously, they still are. Phrasing is for drama build only. Imagine being read by deep voiced, Scotch-induced male. Late 50s.)
Here’s why it works:
It’s all the questions we’re dying to ask Tiger ourselves, but can’t. It’s taking Tiger from a golf (and Nike) icon to a humbled individual. Instead of glorifying him, it’s subtly chastising him. It’s making him seem, for once, an actual person who makes mistakes instead of a sports image who can do no wrong. It’s honest. It’s gripping. It’s memorable. And it’s completely unexpected.
Here’s why it doesn’t work:
Skipping over the fact that it’s his DEAD father talking, there is something creepy about the commercial itself. Maybe it’s the fact that Tiger looks actually apologetic, opposed to his calm, rehearsed persona. Apart from that, there’s just something uncomfortable with staring at this new Tiger. In addition, it seems like a bit of a cop out. Almost like he is using his dead father and his newly humbled position to trick us into forgetting and forgiving the mess he’s made.
But, then again, maybe that’s just me. Decide for yourself.
This time of year, people all over the world make sacrifices, typically due to religious affiliation, and give something up for a set period of time (40 days for us fish eaters). Chocolate, candy, soda, fried foods – all items often on the list.
But brands, do they give anything up? We think they should. Here are a few things that drive us crazy.
1. “Spam”. Not the investment-opportunity-in-India spam, but the newsletter-everyday spam. It boggles the mind that companies actually think that we read this stuff. It’s too much copy. It clutters our inboxes. And it doesn’t even really offer all that much. We’re not buying the “brand-awareness” POV either.
2. Social-media cluttering. Yes, people are on Facebook and Twitter. And yes, they’re legitimate places to advertise. But, make sure you have a strategy going into it. Don’t just shoot from the hip. And beware of too-frequent updates. Like a broken window in Paperboy, this leads to unsubscribers. Bad jokes do too.
3. “CHEAP! CHEAP!” Regardless of where you’re from, we’ve all seen local advertising. It’s understood that small-businesses are often not in the market for award-winning ads. But, that being said, you can make a good, simple commercial without making me CRINGE! CRINGE! Honestly, no matter your budget, there is always an opportunity for a good idea. As the esteemed Steve Kopcha of the University of Missouri School of Journalism always points out, good ads sell stuff.
4. Txt. Unless your target market is a 14 year-old, we’d stay away from the “texting” speech. It’s not clever and, really, it just looks lazy. There are better ways to be “in” with that age group – paste Zac Effron everywhere and they’re yours. LOLz.
5. Exclamation points. Don’t use them!
6. Inconsistent brands. Yep, these drive us crazy too. One marketing piece looks like this, another one looks like that. Messaging is different from piece to piece. Please, make it stop. Reference the classic example of Apple Computer for a brand that keeps it consistent.
7. Really complicated (for the user), fancy websites. All you’re doing is hurting the brand. Simplicity is king.
Are these all of our complaints? Absolutely not. Our goal was to write a blog post, not a manifesto. There were just top of mind.
Although it’s been nearly a week since Google’s Super Bowl spot aired, we thought, being really interested in advertising and all, we’d throw our two cents in.
So… we loved it. At first sight, too.
Now we get that Super Bowl ads usually tend to lean heavily on humor. But Google’s ad was a refreshing break from the flying chips and the talking babies. Why was this ad so great?
Google…
executed brilliantly with zero talent costs
used their interface as the visual, making it about as ownable as you can get
told a story (and a timely one at that with Valentine’s Day coming up)
tapped into the emotions of viewers (little humor going on, little love going on, some surprises going on)
had an ad that resonated through literal noise (think about how many ads you couldn’t hear because people were talking at your party)
and of course, it aligned with their platform – user friendly with no clutter and clean communication
In case you didn’t see it, the spot told a love story in a nonconventional way. It was simple. It was memorable. It was ingenious.