Archive for November 13th, 2007

AT THE RISK OF REVEALING too much about my media-addicted ways and permanently embarrassing my family, I will say that I’m the kind of guy who reaches for the remote in movie theaters. When that bridge in Spielberg’s “War of the Worlds” blows to hell and death rays start vaporizing suburbanites, my reflex is to hit rewind, no matter where I am.

“What are you doing?” my partner asks as I start to fidget.

“Nothing,” I answer, as the impulse fades into the cold realization that I am strapped into one of those old fashioned, lean-back entertainment experiences that satisfied generations of passive audiences that preceded me.

I am spoiled, and I admit it, but I suspect so are the rest of you. Interactivity is more than a feature of modern life. I think it is bound to become a reflex. Ultimately we start to assume that all media are or should have some back channel.

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(Mental Floss) — Each year, America spends about $250 billion on marketing and advertising — more than the entire GDP of Thailand. Too bad most of that money is a complete waste. For an increasingly savvy, TiVo-equipped public, our brains seem to shut down whenever something registers as “advertising.” Which means all those marketing creatives at the big ad firms have had no choice but to, well, get more creative.

“The Blair Witch Project” used a low-budget Internet campaign to create buzz for the movie.

Some advertisers have relied on product placement (think James Bond stopping mid-gunfight for a refreshing sip of Heineken). Others have attempted to make their ads so entertaining that people will watch them in spite of the sales pitch. And then there’s the more mischievous route — the grassroots, take-it-to-the-streets method — and that’s where guerrilla marketing comes in.

Dirt-cheap and chock full of trickery, guerrilla marketing is advertising with a wink. The successful campaigns usually corral attention through subversive means before revealing their true purpose, and they distinguish themselves by being so clever that even once the bait and switch is revealed, there’s no negative outcry.

In other words, even though consumers know they’ve been duped, the reaction amounts to nothing more than a bashful, “Oh Pepsi! We can’t stay mad at you!”

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HSBC needed to convince consumers that not only did it understand their banking needs but also had appropriate solutions.

In a cluttered ad market it also needed to do this in a novel and memorable way. Consumer research suggested that Indian consumers have a point of view on any subject and that if HSBC could cater to this need then the target audience would engage with the brand.

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Not long ago, if you were wearing Ray-Ban Wayfarers, people probably thought you were channeling a certain tighty-whitey-wearing, Bob Seger-singing actor.

No more. These days, wearing a pair of Ray-Bans comes entirely without Tom Cruise associations, a cultural shift that’s allowing millions to partake in a classic American brand experience in an irony-free manner. For that you can thank Fabio d’Angelantonio, 38. Since Luxottica bought the brand from Bausch & Lomb in 1999 and shaped up the design, it’s no longer in low-rent retail environments such as gas stations.

The past two years have seen a major effort under a “Forever Ray-Ban” platform. Mr. d’Angelantonio and Erika Ferszt, 33, group advertising manager, have been seeding shades with celebrities such as Kirsten Dunst, doing PR events and developing new ads. Its biggest paid-media push in recent memory was Cutwater’s “Never hide” campaign, the most awesome part of which was a viral video called “Sunglass Catch” that’s gotten more than 3 million YouTube views. For the past four years, Ray-Ban experienced year-over-year double-digit sales increases and doubled its size between 2000 and 2006.

– Matthew Creamer

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DETROIT (AdAge.com) — Goodbye, Magic Johnson. Hello Common.

Ford says Grammy winner Common appeals to consumers in their late 20s to mid 30s.

Lincoln has ended its three-year relationship with NBA-star-turned entrepreneur and teamed with hip-hop artist Common to reach African Americans. In a deal announced at the Los Angeles Auto Show, Ford Motor Co. said the celeb will mainly plug the Lincoln Navigator luxury SUV in ads across a variety of media, at events and online.

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LONDON — Bebo, the U.S.-owned social networking site, is claiming “a breakthrough business model for the entertainment industry” with an initiative enabling users to access free content from global media brands.The so-called Open Media move has signed up the likes of CBS, MTV, BBC, Turner, ESPN and BSkyB, and others such as music operator FabChannel to supply fare to Bebo.

The content providers are not being charged for access to the social networking platform.

They will be able to use their own video players and pocket 100% of related ad coin.

In return, Bebo, which claims U.S. users spend 47 minutes a day on the site, hopes to make itself more “sticky” and so benefit from increased interest from advertisers and sponsors.

Bebo topper Joanna Shields said: “Every media company is looking for better ways to deliver their content online.

“By opening our platform to media owners, who gain free access to our community while retaining control over their brand, their content and their revenues, we are creating valuable new inventory for advertisers and a new business model for the entire media industry.”

Bebo, formed just two years ago, claims that globally it has 40 million users.

In the U.K., the combo reckons it is more popular than rivals MySpace and Facebook.

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LONDON — The Writers’ Guild of Great Britain is standing shoulder to shoulder with its striking American comrades.The WGGB is moving ahead with plans to stage its awards ceremony on Sunday, marking a return for the show after a 10-year absence. While organizers are keen for the show to avoid being entirely over-shadowed by the continuing cloud of uncertainty following the breakdown Stateside in relations between the WGA and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, they are eager for the event to serve as a reminder of the importance of writers.

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Celebrities in recent years have slapped their names and mugs on everything from fragrances to, in the case of KISS, coffins.

But only a few have made the foray into credit cards.

The roll call of late includes Usher, Hilary Duff, Elvis and, of course, KISS. But experts say this is one category in which celebs should tread lightly, especially as U.S. consumers are getting tighter with their spending.

“There must be a very well-defined fan base that’s extremely attuned to that musician or celebrity,” said Michael Stone, president/CEO of licensing consultancy Beanstalk Group, New York, which handles celebrities like Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen. “Otherwise, it doesn’t make sense and it could be detrimental to the brand.”

As with any licensed product, there has to be an incentive to buy. The credit card forays include insider peeks into the celebrities’ lives, their tours and music, with rewards like first-in-line pick of tickets, special access and merchandise.

Duff’s prepaid Visa gift card aimed to show the young ones how to manage their pocket change (and learn about service fees). R&B singer Usher, like Duff, had an empowerment message with his Debit MasterCard. In the case of Elvis, his namesake Platinum Plus Visa card funnels money to a charitable foundation that helps homeless families.
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With the Writers Guild of America strike entering its ninth day, network executives are now saying they don’t expect a settlement until early next year. As of late Monday, there was not even a hint of the WGA and the Alliance of Motion Pictures and Television Producers, which represents the studios, returning to the bargaining table, as both sides are dug in on the issue of residual payments for DVD and digital distribution of programs.

“We’re being told by our labor people that it won’t be resolved before the end of the year,” says one network executive.

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First Great Battle for the Future of Web Advertising - Fortune
The Web advertising industry is at a crossroads: Nobody pays any attention to display ads, classifieds are ruled by Craigslist, which is free, and search continues to be the industry’s main driver. Aside from search, a direct marketing tactic, “there’s scant evidence that online ads are finding their mark.” Meanwhile, money continues to pour into the Web.

Facebook Ads vs. OpenSocial (the Google alliance) is “the first great battle for the future of advertising on the web.” With Facebook Ads, we have the first attempt by a large social network to leverage the substantial power of interpersonal word of mouth advertising. Indeed, Facebook is trying to turn brand marketing into “something people could actually use.”

Social networking is built on trust, trust between friends and trust between the user and the social network. That trust will be tested with Facebook Ads. Is this a watershed moment for Internet advertising? So far, there’s no consensus. Advertisers seem to like the idea: Sean Finnegan, CEO of Omnicom Media Group Digital, called it “a groundbreaking step toward associating word of mouth — the best medium ever — into the advertising space.” But software developer Jia Shen, co-founder of Rock You, worries that Facebook’s plan sounds like spamming your friends.    Full Story

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