All the keys have been in place for a while: Mobile data, GPS and high-resolution screens. Services like Foursquare and Google Goggles have popularized the use of the GPS in today’s smartphones, but we’ve only just scratched the surface.
Last month the world’s first location-aware music album was released. Created by D.C.-based band Bluebrain and released as an iPhone app, “The National Mall” features tracks that mutate based on your location.
2011 is set to finally become the year of location-aware applications. Smartphone penetration is only increasing and the latest figures show that we are finally breaking the 25% mark here in the U.S. In fact, in 2011 global smartphone sales are expected to grow 49% (source).
So what does all this mean for the advertising industry?
As we narrow down our general audience to a very specific target audience through tools such as contextual advertising and location data, we gain incredible power as advertisers. We gain the ability to talk directly to a person in the palm of their hand (or in their ear), about a product RIGHT NEXT TO THEM!
Consumers have always had a love/hate relationship with advertising, but that is mostly due to relevancy issues. The reason people hate popup ads so much is because it interrupts their interaction with content by force-feeding a message that isn’t necessarily relative to them. If we can target a message about a nearby restaurant as they are looking for dinner ideas, that would be a completely different matter.
Will we abuse the power that location-based information affords us, and alienate the very people we are seeking to convert? Or will we create smart, effective advertising that serves both the customer and advertiser? That is up to us…
Go be creative, effective, and most important, RELATIVE!
Technology is great for a creative writer, but it also can drive apathy. Don’t take me wrong; I’ll take my MacBook over a quill and parchment any day. But technology can rob a writer of the fundamentals, namely having a weighty toolbox of words – spelled correctly – at the ready, right in the old noggin.
Moderation may be key, but just try catching a misspelled word without spell checker flagging it. Can’t think of a synonym? Thesaurus is a click away. If you even start to type a word on a smart phone, a menu of options come up – singular, plural, past and present. Moderation is tough with the pusher man always waiting in the wings.
In truth, I find these tools helpful, particularly as I supply creative writing on demand 40 hours per week. But I still need to actively build my core word knowledge; otherwise I may be at a loss for words when I should be waxing poetic.
What’s a writer to do? Funny enough, the Words with Friends app is helping my cause lately. Not only does it require me to spell correctly, but it also challenges me to tap into my bevy of word knowledge. Plus, other players teach me new words. Who knew the word “suq” means “open-air marketplace?” I’ll tell you who: Mascara26.
So, I guess technology kills, and it saves. Thanks, Words with Friends. Or should I say, deepest gratitude or much obliged.
Check it out for yourself – available for iPhone and Android.
“So what I want to do is make a film about product placement, marketing and advertising where the entire film is funded by product placement, marketing and advertising.”
From Morgan Spurlock, the director of Super Size Me, comes a documentary that plans to reveal all the dirty details of the true world of advertising. I would guess that many in our industry are responding with a deep sigh or an “uh oh.” People are going to see who we really are. What we really do to make them want what we have. All with complete transparency.
This girl? Not worried. Excited, actually.
Advertisers today aren’t necessarily the same malicious manipulators that I grew up hearing ranked right next to lawyers on the Scale of Evilness. Today, if you’re smart, you know better.
The gap between social media and PR is closing everyday. Information sharing is increasing exponentially. Consumers trust word-of-mouth 60% more than traditional advertising. With all this, brands are being forced to be more transparent and honest… or else (cue the Nestle palm oil push back).
There’s no hiding who you really are anymore, and I don’t have a problem with that. It’s only pushing us all to do what the best of the industry have done all along – find the truth about your product and communicate it to those who will take interest. Work harder. Be more creative. This documentary may be perfect inspiration to take it even further.
In any case, the film and related aftermath promise to be wildly entertaining. So stock up on name-brand munchies and update your Fandango app. This is an extravaganza we won’t want to miss.
I’ve heard this question quite a few times over the years. Sometimes it’s because someone is curious about what my job entails, and sometimes it’s because, to the untrained eye, our office environment seems too good to be true. Recently, I thought that maybe I should keep track of what a week as executive creative director of Keathley Advertising looks like. So, that’s what I did one particularly busy week last fall.
A Week in the Life of an Executive Creative Director
Sunday Relaxed at home while reviewing artwork that needs creative direction and approvals while I’m traveling Monday morning. Basically, work left over from Friday afternoon. Some may call it procrastination, but I call it strategic planning for a focused state of attention, because “focused” is not a typical Friday-afternoon mindset.
It’s 3:39pm. Packed my luggage in 9 minutes. Took a little longer than normal, because this trip requires two stops before heading back to Cleveland.
6:00pm flight to Las Vegas. Could be going to worse places, but there will be little time for fun. We have a PR event to throw for 60 members of the press on Tuesday, as well as multiple meetings at the second biggest trade show in the world.
Monday Woke up at 7:00am to my phone beeping. It’s 10:00am back home. I work from my room for a while. Early morning emails. Phone calls creative directing a pitch for a new client due on Thursday. Conference with my associate creative director discussing a photo shoot she’s covering while I’m out of town.
Breakfast with the client at 9:00am. Then pre-event planning with the Hard Rock to art direct the stage and venue set-up.
Met with our account exec and event planner in the afternoon to go over final details and trade show logistics.
Dinner with the client. Played some cards before going to bed. Not a bad day.
Tuesday Spent the entire day working from my iPhone and paying attention to the details of a client and her business. My mobile devices make it nice to be able to manage an ad agency, as well as view and provide feedback on projects day and night from any location.
Wednesday Met with a new business prospect for breakfast. Sounds like Keathley’s ability to grow his business is a perfect fit for his marketing aspirations. I promise him a discovery process and strategy in two weeks.
PR event went off without a hitch. Spent a lot of the day making decisions that sometimes seem silly, but all the details are integral to building the brand at every artistic and strategic opportunity.
Celebrated with the staff and clients over a late sushi dinner. Yum.
Thursday Flew directly to Chicago at 8:00am. New business meeting. Three meetings with potential partners. Meeting with our web team about the final stages of a groundbreaking site. Straight to a commercial pre-pro for one of our biggest clients. Already feels like a full day.
Met my associate creative director and our senior creative writer. We planned out the shoot over dinner and drinks. I’m very comfortable with our team and the spokesperson that we’ve developed. I’m sure it will go smoothly. I drag myself to bed preparing for an even longer day tomorrow.
Friday 16-hour shoot. Location was very upscale and allowed us a breathtaking view and easily designed sets. My day was filled with creative decisions and creative direction that empowers others to run the show. It was a great shoot and we got tons done. Client was thrilled at how much we accomplished.
Saturday Flying home this morning. Reviewed footage in the airport while waiting for a delay. Then reflected on the week while grabbing a coffee before boarding. It was a busy one. Most of my weeks actually include two days like this, and three filled with helping clients solve their business objectives and keeping the creative atmosphere in our studio at world-class levels. That requires a creative cocktail, and it’s a tricky dance. It consists of one part empowering creative direction, one part landing large brand strategies, one part of fun diversions from work, and one part not worrying what everyone does all day.
How do you turn a disgruntled customer into a brand advocate? It’s a question brands deal with every day. Thanks to social media, it’s becoming more important than ever. But the formula is fairly simple. No matter how badly a brand messes up, relationships are mostly salvageable. It’s about taking an extra step to make sure that the customer knows that a company is willing to do whatever it takes to get them back. This is just one example.
Looking for a different dining option in early December, the hubby and I (with three-year-old daughter in-tow) decided on an English pub that we’ve never tried before. The décor was sweet and the menu looked good, so it seemed like a good choice.
The experience was less than desirable. It started with us being ushered out to the patio (yes, the patio – in December), escalated to mediocre food and crappy service, and was capped off with coffee that didn’t arrive until ten minutes after we were done with desert. To be fair, the desert – bread pudding – was delicious.
When I got home that night, I posted on their Facebook page about the service.
The following Monday, I received a FB message from the marketing/PR rep asking for my contact info. The manager called me the next morning. He apologized and offered to comp us a meal. I assured him it wasn’t necessary, but he insisted and promised that he would send out a gift card so we could give them another chance.
Two weeks later, I still hadn’t received the gift card. I sent a FB message to the marketing/PR person who contacted me initially that essentially said, “While I should be surprised at the lack of follow-through…” I really wasn’t.
Within 15 minutes I received a phone call from the PR person. She apologized profusely, said that there was a mix-up, it was her fault, and that she would send out a gift card immediately.
The next evening the manager from the pub appeared on my doorstep with a takeout of bread pudding and $100 gift card. Talk about going the extra mile to make sure the customer is happy!
This could’ve ended differently – I could’ve shared my experience and they could’ve ignored it. It wouldn’t have been any skin off their back, and I just never would’ve returned. But by making a concerted effort to ensure that I knew they wanted me as a customer, they also got me back in the doors with the gift certificate. With that added touch of the bread pudding, they turned me into a brand advocate.
Last month the world’s first location-aware music album was released. Created by D.C.-based band Bluebrain and released as an iPhone app, “The National Mall” features tracks that mutate based on your location.
So what does all this mean for the advertising industry?
