Ads 2.0

I set up some Google Alerts for certain keywords I want to track. One of the neat things about the alerts is that they can include blog posts and new web pages. Some of what I am finding is a bit perverse. Fortunately, the limited execution should mean a short life.

It happens [...]

Categorically Speaking

Marketers love to speak in terms of categories related to their particular brand—premium, super-premium, ultra-premium, giga-premium, you get the picture. From the consumer’s viewpoint, however, brands get considered a bit differently.

Think about the various things you buy (where there is some choice involved). What you actually purchase is based on how it fits [...]

You Need to Start Right

I’ve been writing about companies’ creative not matching up with their core brand or message. I really see only two possible reasons why. One, it could simply be poor execution. The other, comes down to not truly understanding what the creative is intended to do.

Before embarking on a new ad, promotion, or [...]

Underdoing It at Overstock

I wonder if the good people at Overstock.com really have a message about who they are and what they represent. Their initial ads focused on a women sexually describing that it was all about “the O”.

Now, they apparently have some state of the art delivery system so that nothing gets between you and your [...]

Content as Perspective

For those of you that have been reading my posts regularly, you know that I have little tolerance for silly ads that lack content and that only those messages that get to the heart of the brand are worth sending. Something I’ve seen recently on HGTV (which is an iteration and longer form of [...]

Great Results Can Be Greater

Yesterday, I wrote about metrics and the importance of measuring relevant data—that which guides you to real growth. Carrying on with that theme, I saw a piece from Brandweek last week about Levi’s and viral videos. The article celebrated a new viral video from the denim giant focused on their 501 line of [...]

Should Have Included Nextel

When I wrote yesterday about ads missing the mark, I should have included Nextel in the mix. They had the perfect opportunity to show how they help real people work smarter and decided to go for humor instead. Let me set the stage.

Nextel has two new commercials. One is a group of [...]

Some Ads Miss the Mark

National advertising campaigns don’t come cheap. The concept, production, placement and associated commissions add up quickly. Even a pure cable TV run will end up costing in the hundreds of thousands. So, if you are going to make that kind of investment, you want an ad that makes sense, gets the message [...]

Mixed Messages

Jenny Craig’s change in marketing message has been good. Instead of focusing on people reaching some sort of ideal weight or size, they have taken a page from SlimFast, encouraging customers to reach a goal that is appropriate for them. They use messages like “a size healthier” to get the point across. [...]

Incomplete Execution

We are right in the middle of the 39th Annual New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. Every year, for as long as I can remember, visitors have been subjected to the original banner advertising—an airplane circling the grounds with an ad attached to its tail. Normally, the ads are for area bars, encouraging [...]