Advertising

Ad Industry Asleep At The Wheel

Over at Mediapost, a spot on article about how the advertising and ad agency world is lagging behind from a technology and measurement perspective. The article is basically saying that the elevator is going to the top floor, but no one is home. They understand what needs to be done but have zero idea of how to get there. And if they don’t know, someone else will walk in (i.e Google), figure it out, and put them out of their misery.

As much as the industry sees this exciting vision, there are fundamental steps the industry needs to take to get there. Last year the steps required the industry to create open platforms to connect a fragmented industry.

Future steps include:

1) Measurements must align in display ads against consumer behavior such as dwell time or passive or active engagement.

2) Make processes within agencies quicker and easier through technology.

3) One system for all inventory processes.

Agency reps have been spending too much time cutting and pasting into and out of Microsoft Excel. So, MediaMind created a dashboard to centralize all information for media buyers. It aims to simplify the process of managing ad campaigns across Facebook, mobile, display and email. It also helps buyers find audiences.

The MediaMind version 2.0 product launch this week focuses on tackling the immediate tasks at hand, which Donaldson will address at Digital Experience Day (DED). He says it’s necessary for agencies to embrace this concept now to manage any kind of future change as digital and traditional media converge, and look at “smarter’ ways of engaging consumers.” But that’s really only the beginning.

The advertising industry will face serious issues if technologists don’t step up to nurture this transition.

This is hardly a revelation to me since the advertising and marketing world still relies on the dinosaur aged Neilsen Rating system to measure TV audience…a measurement system derived in the 1960’s and 1970’s that is the biggest joke and the industry’s dirty little secret. It still baffles me that an entire multi-billion dollar industry is based completely on a panel based model who’s methodology has not changed much in 25 years.

via mediapost

Gaming The Mad Men Viewers

The gaming of the ads on Mad Men is getting out of hand. Yeah, yeah…they did the job because I’m blogging about it. But there were three different ads that were “gaming” the DVR crowd by presenting their ads in the motif of the actual show so that viewers will stop fast forwarding the DVR at what they think is the end of the ad pod. Klondike had two guys in 1960 era suits pitching a new campaign for the brand. Clorox and Hotels.com then led their pedestrian ads with the animated building and red/black lettering so clearly associated with the show itself. The clear irony here is that these advertisers are holding on with their fingernails to the very interruptive, 1960’s era marketing model that is the central focus of the Mad Men show itself.

Convergance and the QR Code

Here’s an interesting item from of all places, The Weather Channel. It appears that TWC is putting QR Codes on the TV screen during weather broadcasts, inviting Android users to scan the code to get their Android app. I’ve heard of people using the codes on outdoor advertising but having a broadcast network using them is a pretty interesting move for networks and for advertisers. Next step is obviously a TV spot with the QR code that delivers a coupon for that item to the user’s mobile device.

This is So Microsoft

The Bill Gates and Jerry Seinfeld ad from Microsoft is just terrible. I’ve read that it was developed “to make people talk” and start the conversation. Well, people are talking and I think the word of the day is confusion and a yawn. This is such a typical Microsoft-like response to Apple’s innovation. Two years late and not nearly as good.

Blimp Advertising

I’ve been talking about it for years. Blimp Advertising…it’s such an untapped market. :-)

And finally, leave it to Presidential candidate Ron Paul to take advantage of this highly effective marketing opportunity.

As of this post, they have generated $300K towards the $350K goal to make this a reality. Lets hope that they don’t go Hindenburg on us.

Bad Creative

I am really sick of the Sprint ad campaign that is out there these days, especially the ad with the dork sitting at the diner bar who is wearing some kind of sandwich all over his face and is getting his picture taken with a Sprint PCS camera phone by some moderately attractive blonde woman. Its just annoying. As is the guy in the black coat.