Showing posts with label advertising. Show all posts
Showing posts with label advertising. Show all posts

What do you tell your hairdresser you do for a living? Social Media? A web designer? Marketing? That sounds a little ...

No B*llsh*t on the Silicon Beach




What do you tell your hairdresser you do for a living?

Social Media? A web designer?

Marketing? That sounds a little old.

A little small.

A bit naff.

How about advertising?

People get that. Sounds grand.

But we don't do that.

We don't make TV ads any more. Or large outdoor posters.

So what do we do?

Whatever grand language we choose. It's unlikely to translate to a punter.

And that's a problem.

I have a theory, that the more complicated your job title - the less you do.

Take Tim Berners Lee, the creator of the internet.

The. Actual. Internet.

He says he's a web developer.

Not a Global Executive Technology Officer.

And I believe this is a beacon of what's wrong with our industry.

And why I don't like most industry conferences.

Because we've forgotten the language of the customer.

I took our creative team to Silicon Beach last week. The creative and digital festival that's just moved from Brighton to London.

The most notable talk was at the end of the day from MT Rainey. The R in RKCR and one of the people involved in the 1984 Apple ad.

She just told stories, with no slides. Only playing the films she referenced.

As a result the room - and twitter - fell silent, as we were listening.

No tweetable buzzwords. Or pseudo-psychological analysis of the work, or audiences.

She did what we all say we do for a living: communicated.

Simply.

Clearly.

Earlier in the day Lauren Currie, of Design studio Snook, invited a group of young women on stage to experience what it's like being a speaker.

Helping grow their confidence as thought-leaders in the industry.

Many of them did what they believed was the thing to do on stage at an advertising conference: They volunteered up some tweetable wisdom about advertising.

But then a 16 year old, Leila Willingham, won the day by calling out the B*llsh*t that we all speak - in this case about gender equality.

She told us to grow up and sort it out. Stop over-analysing.

Meat and potatoes communicating.

And this, if anything, is what we do for a living.


On Friday 13th we launched our #LadyLuck Campaign for Grosvenor Casinos.  #LadyLuck took to the social spotlight on the unluck...

A day in the life: Real-time content creation


On Friday 13th we launched our #LadyLuck Campaign for Grosvenor Casinos. 

#LadyLuck took to the social spotlight on the unluckiest day of the year and asked people for their best good luck and bad luck stories.

We spent a week responding to the best ones in real-time, sprinkling a little luck in their life. 

Our creative team, Ben and Kylie recall a typically hectic day.


Our day:

Leave for work at 7:30  and grab newspaper. Scour pages furiously for luck related stories. Pay close attention to celebrity gossip. Worry about newfound interest in Kim Kardashian.

Arrive at work. 

Compile best news stories and post hilarious comments on twitter.

Prepare set for the day. Arm self with duct tape and make sure it hasn’t fallen down overnight. 
(Which it probably has)

Lady Luck arrives at 9:30. 
Write and go through morning script. Check hair, make-up and dress.

Start shooting.

Frantically edit script on Autocue.

Run over to Jo with rushes. Edit at lightning speed.

Give video to Annabel for 15 minute client sign off, 
before getting Jessie and Rose to post.
And monitor.

Grab sandwich. Read responses online and pop to shops for response video props.
The anthropomorphic veggie section at M&S is surprisingly good 
- as you can see by this squash that clearly looks like a Steve.

Film more response videos. Get ready to pour luck in people’s lives (Or on Victoria)

Make quick, terribly important call on gold phone.

Shoot Steve video.

Start worrying about lack of sparkles. Shoot extra sparkly video.

Get more videos signed off. Keep tweeting. 
Get excited at tweetback from famous person.

Catch-up meeting  in the shed on the day’s results.

Get ready to do it all over again tomorrow.


 If you want to see #LadyLuck in action, head over to twitter, Facebook or youtube.

Stay lucky ;)




Even though we're only half way through the year, it's already likely that the history books will remember "big data" as ...

Data: It’s big, but is it clever?

Even though we're only half way through the year, it's already likely that the history books will remember "big data" as the big industry buzzword of 2013. It's a panacea for all our marketing woes. Every unsuccessful campaign, ever, can be put down to a lack of big data.

Yup, this time, we've finally cracked it. No matter what the problem, it can be solved by big data. And the more you have, the better your campaign becomes. Because the more granular your knowledge, the more effective your campaigns must be. Whatever the problem, the answer is bigger data.

Or at least, that's the theory. But there are several things wrong with this statement.



 1. Data isn't the same thing as intelligence

There's an enormous leap required to get from "facts" to "truth" that data alone can’t bridge[AA1] . Data alone doesn't sell anything. If you've decided on the wrong strategy, all the data in the world won't help. It’ll just reinforce your belief in your bad strategy.

“Ah, but data defines strategy,” you say. But while data can inform, it can't provide insight. It can show you how to reach your goals -- but it can't tell you what your goals should be.

For example, you may uncover data that supports a strategy targeting high-value consumers. You may earn more money in the short run, but what happens if your strategy also causes your market share to diminish in the long run -- leading to fewer high value consumers and falling profits?

“Ah,” the big data enthusiasts say. “This outcome will be predicted by big data! We'll help you avoid it!” But we know that less than 1% of data collected is ever analysed[AA2] . Most facts are based on an incomplete analysis at best and are cherry-picked to fit an agenda at worst. Big data relies on intelligent interpretation to be of value. Otherwise it’s lies, damned lies and statistics[AA3] .


 2. Data can't predict the unpredictable

Unless someone has invented a time machine they're not telling us about, all data collected refers exclusively to past events. And, as we're told before investing in anything, "past performance is no guarantee of future results".

"But big data can predict future outcomes!" advocates insist. And they're right. But only when people behave predictably, logically, the way they're expected. And how often do people do that?

How quickly we forget. "Big data" may be the buzzword of 2013, but the undisputed buzzword of 2012 was "disruptive" -- the ability of businesses to introduce new technologies that cause unpredictable and game-changing results.

Big data, by its very definition, can't predict unpredictable, "black swan" events[AA4] . Big data can't account for disruption. Most importantly, big data doesn't allow for revolutionary, disruptive thinking. It encourages you to play it safe.

Henry Ford once said "If I asked my customers what they wanted, they'd have said 'a faster horse'". Instead, he gave them something else.

Relying on big data stifles creative thinking and limits us to literally "thinking inside the box" of set, statistical parameters based on past results.

Data should enable us to expand our horizons. Instead we use it to limit them.


3. Data slows down decision making and prevents entrepreneurial risk-taking

In his new book, Predatory Thinking[AA5] , Dave Trott argues that logic is simply the superstition of western culture and that people who think differently often achieve results. He says that "we depend on what should work, not what does work... if an ad campaign is researched enough, it should work, that's that."

Dave cites two examples of people who dared to think differently:

Richard Branson’s strategy is to start work on whatever excites his team. Only one in five ideas is successful, but "if they tried to avoid having the failures, they wouldn't have had the successes."

Akio Morita, the founder of Sony, said "the greatest assistance I had in building my company was the total failure of nerve on the part of Western businessmen to move without research."

If you don't think these guys are scientific enough to be believable, listen to Albert Einstein:

“The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honours the servant and has forgotten the gift.”

To put it another way[AA6] , big data will “help us see the world as it is, but will it help us see the world as it could be?”


 So is big data bad?

Of course not. It makes sense to make informed decisions.

But belief in big data has become a kind of blind faith -- a belief that more data is all you need to make better decisions. Intuition is bad. Statistics are good. It's simply not that black and white.

Intuition is as valuable as big data.

Acting on a hunch, rather than waiting for all the research, can give you an edge over a slower, more cautious competitor. Big data can provide valuable insight, but it can be fallible -- because the people interpreting it are fallible, because the strategy is wrong, because your goals are wrong, because you can't plan for the unexpected.

Perhaps most importantly, big data relies on people behaving rationally. They don't. They behave emotionally. [AA7] Do you think big data could predict the outcome of a hand of poker? Of course not. You use the stats available to make an informed decision. But ultimately, you go with your gut. Data should be the servant of intuition, not the other way around.

With big data, the old adage is true. It's not how big it is, it's what you do with it that counts.

By Alastaire Allday, Copywriter @alldaycreative






 [AA1]http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/06/01/why-big-data-is-not-truth/


 [AA2]http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2012/dec/19/big-data-study-digital-universe-global-volume


 [AA3]http://www.wired.com/opinion/2013/02/big-data-means-big-errors-people/


 [AA4]http://readwrite.com/2013/05/20/blinded-by-big-data#awesm=~o8tlkq7iaUZP5T


 [AA5]http://www.amazon.co.uk/Predatory-Thinking-Masterclass-Out-Thinking-Competition/dp/0230770665


 [AA6]http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/06/19/an-online-meter-reader/?_r=1


 [AA7]http://www.newrepublic.com/article/112734/what-big-data-will-never-explain



For the first time ever, you might not leave the sofa this weekend during the ad breaks on X-Factor.  Why? Because Mercedes Benz are a...

#advertisingischanging

For the first time ever, you might not leave the sofa this weekend during the ad breaks on X-Factor. 

Why? Because Mercedes Benz are allowing you to control a story being played out in their TVC via your tweets. 

The video trailer can be seen here.

Here’s how the campaign is going to play out:

  • Saturday night, during the X-Factor ad break, a 60” spot will appear in the first ad break
  • We are introduced to a pop star who is trying to get a secret gig with the help of a female driver.  
  • At the end of the ad, our star will be faced with a dilemma, and our tweets will ‘drive’ the next part of the story.
  • During the next ad break, a 40 second ad will play out our preferred choice.
  • At the end of that ad break, we’ll be faced with another tricky situation to ‘drive’ forward.
  • On Sunday, during the results show, a 90” ad will recap the first two ‘episodes’ of the story and show us the finale as chosen by us. They will also be sharing dynamic data in the ad telling us the percentage of votes/ tweets they received for the winning storyline.
  • After the event, further 30” and 60” ads will encourage viewers to visit the #youdrive campaign site where the details of a secret gig will be hidden. Find them and you’ll be in with a chance of going, with your chances of winning substantially increased when you share via social.

I don’t know if anyone has given this style of activity a catchy name yet, but we love things like this is marketing, so I am going to call this a ‘So-Con’ ad (socially controlled).

I am very much looking forward to what kind of experience this delivers. The UK has more “dual screen” users than other European countries and I know that the reason I tweet & watch is because I’m sharing a group experience and sharing opinions and quips about what’s going on on the telly. I’ve never wanted to control what was happening on the tellybox by tweeting before, and certainly not for the benefit of a brand ad, but this is something new and so I will definitely do it and have a go.

The #youdrive campaign IS groundbreaking. It is exactly the sort of thing you’d expect a top agency to come up with for an innovative and premium brand like Merc, and I can’t fault it. And I am also anticipating many brands and clients across the country will be wanting their next TVC to be a so-con campaign. 

 But how long will we be able to entertain and engage consumers and viewers with sol-col? Is so-con just a bit fandangled and new? If they had asked you to visit their website and vote for your favourite ending instead of tweeting, would you be as excited to participate? Time, I guess, will tell.

By Michaela MacIntyre (@mich_maci)

Every now and then the role for good old fashioned advertising is reaffirmed - either by inspirational creative ( Honda's impossible dre...

Advertising can work !


Every now and then the role for good old fashioned advertising is reaffirmed - either by inspirational creative (Honda's impossible dream or Cadbury's Gorilla) tapping into a zeitgeist (see the new Virgin Atlantic ads) or fantastic media placement to which I think this ad placed in the Sydney Herald this week is a fantastic example...
Nuff said !
Powered by Blogger.