Is Print Dead? No… Well… Uh… No.
April 22, 2008
When you’re thinking about where your marketing dollars should go, consider that most people are getting their information online instead of reading the newspaper or even magazines. Why? Well, it’s a lot like when cable TV first came out. CNN was the first 24-hour news program. Major events happen 24/7 and CNN was the first to report the news when it happened. The public loved it. The Internet has assumed that role now. In fact, most newspapers and magazines are posting articles in blogs online to reach that market. Content is still king however. And the best writers and editors remain in the print world.
Print isn’t the only victim. TV is being abandoned as well. ‘Online is the New Prime Time’ by Marv Pollack describes the seismic shift away from TV to the Internet. He states: “One striking finding presented in our session was that during most waking hours, more people (age 15+) are using the Internet than are watching television. It is only for the last two hours of primetime and into late night, when most people seem to wind down their Internet usage, that TV consistently surpasses Internet usage.” Truth be told, I still love to read newspapers and magazines. But when I develop marketing plans, I keep in mind exactly who the target audience is and I usually recommend a substantial amount of the budget to be allocated to online marketing.
Super Bowl Commercial Top 5, Number 1
February 8, 2008
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Number 1, Budweiser takes the top prize for the best commercial on this year’s Super Bowl with its Bud-Lite spot. Of the 97.5 million viewers this year, a Super Bowl record, the majority of viewers are male, beer-drinking individuals who love football. This is an audience tailored-made for Budweiser. Although this is not an epic TV commercial such as the original ’1984‘ by Apple Computer, it was a hit with the target audience.
Super Bowl Commercial Top 5, Number 2
February 7, 2008
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Number 2, FedEx created a wild TV commercial for this years Super Bowl. It features an office that decides to use carrier pigeons to deliver all of their packages. However, larger packages require larger birds. Visually, the spot is well directed. The FedEx website landing page for this commercial could have been a lot more creative. Tomorrow, we will feature the number one Super Bowl XLII commercial.
Super Bowl XLII Commercials: Number 3 - Budweiser
February 6, 2008
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Number 3, Budweiser is the top dog (no pun intended) when it comes to Super Bowl advertising. They were the only advertiser to run seven commercials during the event this year. And at 2.7 million dollars per 30 second spot, Budweiser takes the Super Bowl audience seriously. Fortunately, there was a record audience to watch the New York Giants defeat the New England Patriots.
One would expect that any company who spends those kind of dollars on one event would create a memorable commercial. Budweiser went back to the well and produced a spot featuring the Clydesdale horses. Using the ‘Rocky’ theme song, the storyline revolved around a horse that didn’t make the cut, then was trained for a year by a Dalmatian. Of course, the horse made the team the following year. It was one of the few Super Bowl commercials that actually told a positive and uplifting story.
Honda Commercial, 606 Takes Equals 6 Million Dollars
January 24, 2008
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Honda has created a Rube Goldberg style two-minute commercial for the new Honda Accord. The commercial is ground-breaking because it was shot in real-time, in one take. Supposedly, it took several weeks to produce and 606 takes to get the one perfect take, all at a cost of 6 million dollars. Everything shown in the commercial is from two real automobiles that were disassembled and not from 3D graphic animation. This spot is currently being shown on British television and, through viral marketing, making its way through email boxes in the US.
Add Video to Your Website to Engage Your Audience
January 22, 2008
In the context of marketing and advertising, words use only one of our senses, our eyes. A voice over also uses only one of our senses, our ears. It is only video that engages both our eyes and ears. And the way to capture the attention of your target audience is to engage more than one of their senses. It’s the reason that companies such as Anheuser-Busch will spend 2.6 million dollars for one 30 second spot on the Super Bowl this year. It works.
Your business can use this marketing advantage by adding video to your website. Think about creating a 30 second commercial about your business and put it on your Home page. If you have a product, demonstrate the benefits and features in a short video spot. If you have a service and it can’t be described in a brief video, break the narrative into segments like chapters in a book. Create a simple navigation that make it easy for the user to view your videos.
Because the video should be professionally produced, hire a marketing firm to identify your brand identity, write a tight script and produce your business video. There are many methods to encode and upload the final video to your website. You can also use the free services of YouTube to upload and host your business video and link back to your website. The fact is that you don’t have to spend 2.6 million dollars to create a great video for your website. Get started and get your target audience excited.
Knorr Frozen Entrees Uses a Bad Word
December 12, 2007
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Knorr Frozen Entrees has taken a different approach to reach their target audience. To get your attention, their TV commercial uses a bad word. It’s creative, interesting and it works. Think ouside-the-box with your target audience and you will attract attention to your company’s website as well.
FedEx Shows Us Why Some Meetings Are Useless
November 14, 2007
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FedEx has a one of the funniest commercials running on television. It portrays a scene where meetings are useless, and some people are clueless. But by using FedEx, you can still get the job done. The main message throughout this commercial and their campaign is that FedEx offers a range of services that help small businesses meet their needs. Well done.
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