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Creative Messages and Creative Media Buys…PLANNING!

Category: Uncategorized • March 26, 2013

I recently had a run in with a potential client that was focusing all of his/her advertising on buying leads.  I asked what the number one source of advertising was, and they responded that the leads they were buying are the #1 advertising source.  I thought to myself for just a minute, why does this person think that buy leads is advertising.  Then I asked what was the next biggest advertising source…after a minute of thinking….they said, probably our website. 

This posed a big issue for me, one being that your website is not advertising, and two, buying leads should not be something you consider advertising from a budgetary stand point.  It should be it's own line item.  Forget for just a second that this person is in need help badly of agency, but let's examine what advertising planning is.  In short, it is understanding the consumer and understanding the most efficient want to reach them.  How do we do this?  I can promise you it is not magic, but logic!

We do a great deal of research, and spend a lot of time understanding the market and how consumers choose particular channels to consume media.  I have said in the past that now more than ever the consumer is in control of how they ingest media.  Did you know that the most efficient way to reach a mass audience is broadcast television?  But if you have a very limited budget you can hone in on your audience in a more cost effective way through cable television?  Did you even know that broadcast and cable are completely different?  Some do.  Some don't.  So don't laugh there.

The biggest problem I run in to is that companies do not want to spend the time and effort to go with an agency, or they are under the impression it is too expensive.  Don't give in to that misconception of the advertising agency world.  We are here to help you 100% of the time!  You have to really understand the market and the consumer before you plan out your advertising.  I will conclude this segment later this week with an “understanding the market and the consumer” in just a few days.  Check back later this week for the nuts and bolts of advertising planning.

interact, don’t interrupt

Category: Uncategorized • March 20, 2013

If you do not know already, we are focused on a consumer-driven brand – “interact, don't interrupt”.  Why is that important?  I have said in the past that you can connect in entirely new ways through a consumer-driven approach.  But let's think about it for a minute by examining the Mad Men Marketing brand statement.

When I developed “interact, don't interrupt”, it was with one thought in mind – I needed to convey a message to clients that would help them understand what we at Mad Men Marketing are trying to accomplish, and that is to run advertising that isn't just the normal interruptive campaigns.  How can we create an interactive approach that engages the consumer?  For example, don't just run price point ads, drive someone to an offer that requires them to interact with the brand, rather than just be force fed the brand through traditional means.  This is a question we pose to our clients on a daily basis, and our brand “interact, don't interrupt” really pushes that home.  It in essence is our lead off to every pitch to every client, current and potential.  It is something that allows our clients (who are consumers by the way) to connect to our brand and that is the ultimate goal in our branding efforts.

Our one-sheets, mailers, video, website and on and on are all about “interact, don't interrupt”.  When we present to a client it helps us to drive home our efforts, and is something clients have come to expect.  We would love to help develop a brand that brands your customers and not your business – sounds crazy right?  Give us a shot to show you something new and it may surprise you.

Psychology in Advertising

Category: Uncategorized • March 18, 2013

Being a psychology major has provided me with significant insight into human behavior and what makes us tick.  I know why we can't see well in the dark, why sense of smell is most strongly linked to memory, and I know why certain words, or lack thereof, trigger different reactions from consumers.

We can get into the fun science of things later…  Or set up an appointment, I used to teach neuro-science.  What I'm here to talk about is the latter of my examples.  Writing and placing commercials is not as simple as stating the latest price figure or buying time during the “most watched” shows.  There is MUCH more to it than that!  Having the knowledge of what the consumer wants to hear, and having an awareness of what they are already saturated on, provides insight into what they no longer believe.

What are the three things every business tries to enforce with their marketing plan?  Price, Service and Selection.  “We have the lowest Prices guaranteed!” – “Our Service is second to none!” – “We have the largest Selection in town!”- Ring a bell?  Our minds have only so much information we can store at any given time, and if we've already heard something one hundred plus times before… chances are, we are going to disregard it at some point.  Now, there is something to be said about repetition and frequency, but that is for a NEW message you want introduce to the market, like a new brand or product.  But, when it comes to the same old sayings and tricks, we become numb to them.

A great example of this from a sensory perspective would be when you put on a Band-Aid or wear a watch.  Something you put on and keep on, in the same position, for a long period of time.  You notice its presence at first, but after a while, as long as the object doesn't move, the sensors in your skin begin to disregard the item's presence as important information for the brain to register, so your nerve endings cease to deliver the message to your brain that the item is still there.  Therefore, you no longer feel the Band-Aid on your finger or the watch on your wrist… at least, not until you take it off.  Then it feels like something is missing, doesn't it?  As though your arm is lighter, or your finger less protected?

So, what do we do with this information?  We put it into practice. To be effective, we need to change the message (watch).  Change it just enough, so that you don't get used to it being there, but we leave it long enough so that you notice when it's gone.  This way, you leave a lasting impression without rendering yourself “unimportant” to the mind.

Want more? Stay tuned, and I will continue to share on psychology in advertising – or like I said before, give us a call and I'll be happy to “teach” you more.

Jacksonville: A City of Creative People!

Category: Uncategorized • March 7, 2013

Once a month, Jacksonville hosts a downtown event called Art Walk. The idea of this event is to gather all types of creative people and share art, music, and fun. When I say “creative people,” the term is a broad one. You won’t just find local artists, musicians, and jewelers trying to make a living off of selling their creations, you will find that there is a certain magic that happens on the streets. You meet people with different lifestyles, see things would have never seen, and feel the energy that pulses through the lively downtown streets.

Since starting at Mad Men Marketing two weeks ago, I have slowly been immersed into the city and learned of its charms.  Whether it is going with the team to a new lunch hot spot or exploring in search for a good cup of coffee, it is never disappointing going on a downtown adventure. During Art Walk, the energy amplifies tenfold. After talking with a guy who made bracelets out of silverware, I found musicians jamming outside. I walked by a techno DJ on one corner, a drum circle at the next, followed by a rap battle happening on Adams Street. Oh, and there’s nothing like finding a new burger spot in a hole-in-the-wall place with a line out the door, and man… was it good.

I can only convey so much detail while writing a blog. The only way to truly understand what Jacksonville has to offer downtown, is to experience it for yourself. This is a city of creative people with limitless talent.

What better place to have a Creative Ad Agency?

What does it mean to interact through advertising?

Category: Uncategorized • October 17, 2012

In past blog posts I have discussed my interpretation of our brand statement – “interact, don't interrupt”, and how it is a way to build an effective advertising campaign around this type of thought leadership.  By this type of thought leadership of course I mean a way to create ad campaigns that drive your marketing plan to the market, in a way that becomes interactive to get the consumer to better accept your message.

We recently met with a client to discuss ways to turn a campaign in to an interactive chess match with consumers.  After all, another thing I preach constantly, the consumer is in control of media consumption.  The only way to get a consumer engaged in your brand is to run a well thought out multimedia campaign.

Well thought out branding and creative will remain paramount in this entire process, however, understanding spots, dots, out of the home, digital, social media and mobile is the true genesis of a long-term media plan that can be positioned to engage a consumer.  Here is a concept – produce a :30 TV commercial, run it in some local news programming and wait for the phone to ring.  Welcome to 1980!

Fast forward to now, welcome to 2012 (remember the consumer is in control) – the above scenario just won't work, at least not as effective as it could with proper thought leadership interactive game planning.  I would ask you to think about how you consume media.  Most of us go home, put our cell phone on the couch or table next to us, open up a lap top and/or iPad….then….turn on the TV to watch our favorite shows – which by the way MIGHT be DVR'd.  Here in lies the problem, which most of us in the marketing world understand and do little about, the media consumption is as segmented as it has ever been.

So why are so many companies doing nothing about it?  Here is SOME of what you need:

1.  Digital display advertising – time blocked and geo-targeted to match your message across all channels

2.  Social Media strategy – beyond just content marketing through your posts, you need an effective display plan

3.  Mobile/App development – this is to serve the next item on this list

4.  Proper traditional media plan – focused on driving people to some type of app or other means of being interactive is crucial

With some of these basic strategies in place, you can get the consumer engaged in your brand.  If they see your brand on their favorite news websites and social media sites, perhaps download an app, you can then trigger a response through your traditional advertising channels, or at the very least get some brand recall!

So there is a way to be interactive when it comes to advertising.  You just have to have the thought leadership to execute a well thought out plan.