pauldervan: random thoughts on marketing

Any brands doing good radio ads?

2009-12-05T16:52:00.003Z

Can anybody think of any brands that consistently do good advertising on the radio?

Just wondering.

Can you see this?

2009-12-04T16:34:00.000Z

A friend suggested I change this blog's name to "Random thoughts on Outdoor ads". Point taken.

But there still seems to be a huge number of outdoor ads that get it wrong (that don't follow the basic principles). The 6-sheet poster in this photo is facing out onto the road, so is targeting folks in cars and buses. But is it not very difficult to see?

Dave Trott inspires creativity on a shoestring.

2009-11-30T08:51:00.001Z

Fine video of advertising legend, Dave Trott, talking (teaching) about creativity on a shoestring. He demonstrates with some low-budget, yet effective, TV ads.

The video is ten minutes long. A must see. Here.

Flashmob in Cork

2009-11-25T12:27:00.001Z

Saw this on Piaras Kelly's blog. Flashmob in Cork. While flashmobs might be a bit overkill these days, it is a nice bit of film. And worth watching. Some wonderful moments captured.

The social Media Guru

2009-11-22T21:26:00.003Z

I'm sure there are some truths here. A bit long but funny at times. Found via Marc Sirkin

Aer Lingus know how to do outdoor ads

2009-11-19T12:57:00.001Z

Garret Byrne, an ex-colleague of mine, works for Aer Lingus.

When chatting about advertising the other week, he sent me a few pics of the outdoor they do in the UK market. Looking at these, it's clear they (good man Garret) know how to do effective outdoor. Sounds easy, but it's not. [See earlier article on this.]

That aside, I must ask him out how cost-effective he finds outdoor compared to other media. Outdoor is good for impact, but love to know if it outperforms press, radio or online for them. Or does a combination of these bring in best results? If so, which ones?

Up your Viva

2009-11-17T21:32:00.000Z

Saw this the other week and loved it.

I know some will hate it and think it is stupid. But I'm guessing the brief was to embed the name of the new station in our heads. And also suggest they are a bit of fun. This is not easy. If this was the brief, then job done. No messing about there. Not stupid at all.

P.S. Great casting.

The manager and employee "dance of lies"

2009-11-11T17:29:00.003Z

Image courtesy of formfaktor

Once or twice a year, managers and their direct reports get together to tango - in their "employee performance dance of lies". Each dance is different, but we try to follow the basic moves.

The manager knows he can't give rave reviews to all his team. He would look weak in the eyes of his own manager. And everybody can't be 'above average'. That is not physically possible. Pity, he thinks, as he has been driving them pretty hard all year and they've been doing decent work.

While plotting how to dispatch a 'good' but not 'above average' score, he does some soul searching.

If he's honest, he'd wish they make decisions themselves more often without asking him all the time. They should know this, right? And maybe they could be more creative in problem solving too. Yep, he's pretty sure he asked them to be more creative earlier in the year.

With no time left to practice his moves, he takes the lead with an energetic "you're doing a good job". In the absence of written objectives, he manages to recall some last minute good stuff the employee has done in the past month. The employee joins in, chuffed and they tango for a bit. He reckoned he had done a pretty good job. He's glad his manager appreciates his hard work.

But as the 3-minute dance is coming to an end, the manager pulls out his winning move. "Although I think you could have been more creative".

This is looking more like a dance-off than a tango. Every man for himself. The employee is a bit confused. They are still dancing but not in sync. Unsure of what to say next, the manager decides to follow up with the decision-making bit..."and you could be more decisive".

This, the employees understands. Yes, in hindsight he probably could have been more decisive. But, he wonders, why is it just coming up now? But he finds out quickly enough..."you're doing a good job. Yes, good, but not - above average. Keep it up. And work on your decision making. Chat in six months."

And the music stops.

Modern Branding v Classic branding

2009-11-07T23:06:00.000Z

Modern Brands V1

View more documents from Zeus Jones.

Adrian Ho writes a lot of sense. Not just sense. Insights. I've linked to (and stolen from) him before. In the slides above, he nods to John Grant, planner and author of some of the finest marketing books I know of. These slides by Adrian and Rob are definitely worth a read.

TV ad with star studded cast

2009-11-02T21:45:00.000Z

I think using celebrities in advertising can increase odds of ad recall. But sometimes the celeb is remembered, not the product or brand message. Lots of big names here but message is clear and central throughout. Kept me watching.

The Art of Performance Management

2009-10-25T10:35:00.005Z

I'm interested in work-enjoyment. Always have been I think. It might be due to seeing how much intrinsic satisfaction my dad got from his work. If we are going to spend so much of our waking hours working, it would be nice to enjoy it. Most people don't. Lots of reasons why.

One (unnecessary) reason why we don't like work is when we are mismanaged. Happens all the time. Managers are busy. Very busy. They are too busy to spend time with the individuals on their teams.

Ironic when you consider the role of a manager is to 'get work done through others'.

Managing is also difficult. Most of us stumble through it, honing our skills over time. As part of a project recently, I wrote some principles and practices that I try to stick to. Most of this is commonsense but I've borrowed ideas, techniques and insights from Larry Bossidy, Steve Kerr, Jack Welch, and James Kilts among others. And of course from Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi.

I've tried to keep it practical, with an example at the end showing how objectives might be written. I've discovered (after too long) that getting a process is key to good performance management. It is time consuming in the beginning, but only in the beginning.

I've called it The Art of Performance Management, acknowledging that management is more art than science.

You can download the 6-page pdf here. Feedback (good, bad, random insults etc) is welcome.

Does this still work?

2009-10-23T10:19:00.000+01:00

Recently I'm seeing lots of ads using this technique (lots of stuff forming the shape of the product). Now I know it was mentioned as a common ad cliche here, but does it still work?

Does it cut through into our consciousness and get the intended message across?

Grab your bag

2009-10-21T22:46:00.000+01:00

Anybody that has studied 'operation management' is probably very familiar with Southwest Airlines - the airline that Ryanair is modelled on. Their founder and ex-ceo Herb Kelleher is considered a bit of a legend. I might write a proper post on him later.

I like the ad. Found it here.

Outdoor ad for homelessness

2009-10-19T22:35:00.001+01:00

Nice outdoor. I'm assuming the 2nd ad went up after the first week or so. Found via AdsoftheWorld

I'm really impressed with the latest TV ad from Barnardos.

2009-10-15T21:28:00.004+01:00

I'm really impressed with the latest TV ad from Barnardos.

They have managed to steer away from cliche and create something that connects with the viewer. It is always a courageous decision to go for the heart instead of the head. The urge is to lead with a rational message that appeals to our minds. But when done well, heart always wins. The production values are high, the visuals feel very real and the music is haunting.

I initially felt that the 'call to action' could be stronger but I know there is a 30" and and 10 second one to follow the initial burst. It is always a balancing act to engage the viewer in your story and still hit them over the head with a request for cash.

I hope the campaign works. They need the money to keep their children services going. I was invited to one of their centres a few months ago and was humbled by the work they do. Visit barnardos.ie to donate a few quid if you can.

Free books

2009-10-13T16:22:00.002+01:00

I have not been online much these past couple of months. Clearly I'm writing less. But I've been reading fewer blogs too. The upside is I'm getting a chance to do some old-school-book-reading. Two of these are Free by Chris Anderson and Free Culture by Lawrence Lessig.

Both books get into some of the debates about content, copywrite, creative and the affect of the internet on all of this. They are very different books, coming at this from different angles, but both are well written with clearly articulated arguments. I remember a bit of banter during the summer about Malcolm Gladwell's review of Free but I definitely learned something new from both books. I'd recommend them to marketers.

Apologies. The headline is a bit sneaky. The "free" refers to the subject matter, not the price. I bought them both.

However, I mentioned both these books before - as both were available at one time for free (or a version of free) in digital format. And may still be. I actually read Lessig's one on my iPhone (via Stanza) but then decided to buy the paper version too (a behaviour Anderson says is common enough).

Online video ad

2009-10-09T21:05:00.000+01:00

Online video ad from Apple. Nicely done.

Found via Darren at digital agency Brando.

Are clients to blame?

2009-10-05T03:03:00.001+01:00

I admire the writing from Richard in adliterate. I have hundreds of blogs in my Google Reader but generally see what he, Dave Trott and a few other smart folk have to say first.

He posted a short article (also for Campaign magazine) suggesting that creative coming from UK is not as good as international work - because of the client.

Perhaps he is right, but I was a bit surprised. My view (from the bubble I work in) is that clients were more progressive than before. Sure, we rely on metrics and like our occasional focus group, but we're not looking for 'safe' work. In fact, we hate safe.

Am I wrong?

Levi's outdoor ad

2009-10-02T08:51:00.001+01:00

I like it.

Found via Billboard and Outdoor advertising

Attention to detail

2009-09-30T18:13:00.000+01:00

When in Hong Kong last week, we stayed in a nice luxury hotel (being our honeymoon at all that).

Often it is the attention to detail that stands out. In particular, I was impressed that they changed the floor carpets in their elevators every day.

Coca Cola - within arm's reach of desire.

2009-09-28T10:48:00.000+01:00

Orlaith from McCann Erickson wrote last week about Coca-Cola. About how it continues to dominate as a top brand.

I confess I really don't know enough about it as a brand, but have to admire one marketing element - its distribution. I read before that their vision was to be within an 'arm's reach of desire' wherever you are.

I found this to be the case while on holidays these past few weeks. Regardless of where I was, Coca-Cola was everywhere. In the hotel bars, the supermarkets, every restaurant, the vending machines and in every fridge in every little shop along hot dusty roads.

Distribution may not get as much air time as other marketing elements - such as advertising - but must be a major success factor for Coca-Cola.

I've a good excuse this time

2009-09-06T11:14:00.002+01:00

I've written nothing in the past couple of weeks - but have a decent excuse this time. Got married yesterday. I'm away for another week or two (on honeymoon). So September will be a slow month for blogging for me.

If you ever think about your career, you'll enjoy this.

2009-08-30T13:43:00.000+01:00

This is the Ted Talk I listened to the other day while walking around town. If you ever think about your career, what you should be doing, what does it all mean - do listen to this. It is sharp, funny and makes lots of sense.

Alter ego

2009-08-28T12:18:00.000+01:00

I like this. Although not sure my soul wants to going shopping. If anything, when I'm shopping, my soul wants to be on the sofa. But interesting take and kept me watching.

Found via adland.

Listening to the internet

2009-08-26T12:02:00.000+01:00

Do you remember when using the internet meant reading something? Reading webpages etc. Now it feels like we mostly watch stuff on the internet. I'm not sure when this shift in our description changed.

Although these days, I often find myself listening to the internet on my iPhone while out and about. I like to listen to Ted Talks. Strongly recommend it.