Advertising: Social Media Radically Accelerates Consumer Decision Cycle

January 22, 2010

Agencies are often behind the social media curve and even behind their clients in its use. Where is the advertising agencies leadership?

Barbara Bacci Mirque, executive vice president of the Association of National Advertisers, ANA, recently observed that “more and more advertisers are leading their agencies into new media, not the other way around,”

“If the ad community and marketing community with all of its creative and intelligent minds cannot find a solution for using, effectively using, social networks and user-generated content, it will be the greatest loss to the advertising and marketing business that we’ve ever experienced.” Jack Myers, a leading media analyst

This is an enlightening Ad Age Video reinvention of skiing resort marketing. During the past year, social media has abruptly and dramatically changed the behavior of ski resort customers and forced resort marketers to abandoned their long time marketing strategies and practices.

Vail Resorts CEO Rob Katz explains the dramatic changes and his company’s decision to build a new in-house marketing operation that uses both social media and digital marketing to engage their prospective customers in real time.

Click Here to view this Ad Age Video, Reinvent Ski Resort Marketing.

It’s been said that advertising agencies aren’t changing, they are being changed.

The only constant in advertising is change. To maintain success, you have to keep up. That isn’t easy. Especially with this revolutionary change we’re experiencing in communications.  I try to learn something new every day. I know that to do so is essential for my ability to survive, let alone succeed.

Social Media is also impacting ad agency new business …

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7 Comments | Agency Leadership, Fuel for Thought, New Business Trends, Social Media | Tagged: , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Michael Gass

Ad Age: Clients Change Ad Agencies Like they Change Underwear

January 20, 2010

Agencies only have themselves to blame … making it too easy for the client to bully us  and only agencies can stop the madness of and their mistreatment from the review process.

The following are just a couple of the quotes from Rupal Parekh’s recent Ad Age article, “Serial Reviewers’ Risk Brand Damage, Fewer Shops Willing to Pitch,” regarding a growing blacklist of marketers that tend to put their advertising accounts into review every couple of years.

“I have a huge disagreement with people changing their agencies like they change their underwear,” said Jane Bedford, partner at the Bedford Group, a consultancy based in Atlanta. “Our clients tell us it takes them about three to six months for them to get fully engaged with their agencies. It’s very difficult for an agency to get up and running, and totally please the client, within the first year.”

“Desperation may be something new to many industries in the recession, but it’s something the agency business has known, embraced and perpetuated for decades. Agencies only have themselves to blame by playing right into the hands of these serial agency-review ‘players’ [and] making it too easy for the client to bully us.” Michael Grey, Chief Marketing Officer, Grey, New York

If agencies don’t want to play the numbers game they must get away from the mentality that “everybody” is a prospective client as long as they have a heart beat and a budget.

“The common failing among agencies seeking new business,” says agency search consultant Bob Lundin, “is their inability or unwillingness to name what they stand for and market themselves on distinguishable differences.”

The agencies that have been able to step out of the crazy agency review process are those that are differentiated and focused. They know who their best prospective clients are and that’s where they spend their time and resources.

Agencies that have an appealing point of differentiation to a particular target audience have:

  • a much larger geographical marketing area
  • more earning power
  • few competitors
  • clients that respect them
  • more viable new business opportunities with less cost

Additional articles that may be of interest:

Leave a Comment » | Agency Leadership, Agency Search Consultants, Fuel for Thought, New Business Tips | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Michael Gass

If 2009 was the year to forget for the advertising industry, what’s next?

December 31, 2009

 

2009 has become the year to forget for the advertising industry.

“If you look at 2009, we have not seen a convergence of so many issues and crises at the same time. It was the perfect storm,”says Maurice Levy, chief executive of Publicis Groupe, one of the world’s largest ad companies, with clients including General Motors, Procter & Gamble and Coca-Cola.

It’s “the worst” the business has seen since Zenith began tracking ad spending 21 years ago and “likely the worst since World War II,” says Steve King, Zenith’s global CEO. “It’s been between bad and horrific.”

Over 163,400 advertising jobs lost since the beginning of the recession.

A round-up of some predictions for the advertising industry for 2010 may be brighter but still a difficult year ahead.

For Ad Industry, 2010 Promises Scant Relief – WSJ

More Firing Than Hiring at Ad Agencies – Ad Age

Seven Predictions for 2010 from eMarketer’s CEO

‘Great Race’ Between Traditional, Digital Shops – ADWEEK

Four ways technology will change advertising in 2010 – CSMonitor.com

How To Fix A Broken Advertising Industry – Forbes

Convergence at Heart of Top 2010 Ad Trends – Nielsen

A lot of small-to mid-size ad agencies have been the exception to the gloom and doom of 2009. Many have actually prospered during this period. 2010 could be a break out year for your agency’s new business if your agency has a consistent inbound new business pipeline generated by a clear focus and appealing point of differentiation to a specific target audience.

Additional articles that may be of interest:

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1 Comment | Agency Leadership, New Business Trends | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Michael Gass

Comment on Other Blogs to Generate Ad Agency Traffic

December 7, 2009

For inbound new business leads, you must have traffic to your site. Commenting on other blogs is a way to generate traffic to your agency’s blog.

To be part of the conversation, increase awareness that will in turn generate traffic to your agency’s blog, it is to your advantage to read and  comment on other blogs. Below is just one example of how one of my blog comments has led to significant blog traffic and awareness to my site from comments I’ve made on other blogs.

I weighed in on a discussion regarding college football’s Bowl Champion Series (BCS) recent venture into social media. An Ad Age Blog, Adages, a post titled, “BCS Enters Twitter: Beat Down Like Notre Dame in a Bowl Game.” Here’s a few excerpts from that post:

“Today’s social-media lesson comes courtesy of college football’s Bowl Championship Series: If you know your product is universally loathed, Twitter is not the place for you.

The BCS — better known as the cartel that prevents college football from choosing its champion in a rational way — opened a Twitter account this morning. Shortly after taking to the field, it had three tweets, a couple hundred followers and, well, let’s just say the end result was reminiscent of what’s happened when media- and BCS-darling Notre Dame (another gripe against the system) actually made it to a bowl game the last few years.” Posted by Jeremy Mullman and Ken Wheaton.

“If the balloon boy dad set up a Twitter account, even he would not draw the level of venom @InsidetheBCS is right now.” Sports Illustrated columnist Stewart Mandel

After following @InsidetheBCS and checking out the conversation  for myself, I followed up with my comments to Jeremy and Ken’s post. Mine was a different point of view from theirs  …

“I’m not a proponent of the current BCS system by any means. But after reading your article I decided to start following @InsidetheBCS on Twitter. They may have had a rough start out of the blocks but today it seems to be some genuine dialogue going on. It is much more civil than I expected and whoever is Twittering for the BCS is doing a good job by not being defensive. I think you’ve got to credit them for taking their lumps and participating in the conversation. It to early to say this was a fiasco or a win but if they continue to engage and grow their audience as they’ve done today I think they will be the better for it.

One of their responses … “@davidburn Didn’t expect to be welcomed with open arms, but we felt it was important to join the conversation.”

Soon after my comments were posted, they were read by Ad Age columnist, Rich Thomaselli who sent me this note:

Michael,

Saw your comment on the BCS stuff online at adage.com and wanted to reach out to you. I am doing a more expanded story for Monday’s print magazine and was hoping you could tackle a couple of questions more in depth and drop a reply to me at some point by this afternoon.

1) If your product is universally hated, should you even be in social media?

2) Ari Fleischer’s PR firm …. good or bad move?

3) Is the real issue here about the amount of money on the line, both the guarantee from the BCS bowls to the schools and the $500 million from ESPN (and more from other sponsors) ? It would seem to me a playoff would generate even more sponsor money.

Any thoughts and insights are greatly appreciate.

Best,

Rich

Richard P. Thomaselli

Advertising Age

I replied my response to Rich’s questions. His article was soon published in Advertising Age: Wondering What Not to Do When It Comes to Social Media? Learn From BCS. It included this brief quote from me:

“According to social media/new business consultant Michael Gass, president of Michael Gass Consulting, Birmingham, Ala., “If they are genuinely searching for ways the BCS can improve through dialogue, that will be evident. If they try to use social media as a propaganda platform, you will know it soon enough.”

From the comment I left on the Ad Age blog that led to the quote above has generated excellent traffic and attention to my site. Commenting on other blogs also:

  • Develops networks and relationships
  • Builds your credibility
  • Creates links to your site
  • Expands your online footprint

Additional articles that may be of interest. The top 10 social media articles of 2009:

  1. IBM Study: The end of advertising as we know it
  2. The Top 10 Social Media Questions Ad Agency Clients are Asking
  3. Twitter List: 400+ Advertising Agencies on Twitter
  4. Ad agency having explosive new business growth by leading with social media
  5. 20 Reasons Why Social Media Won’t Replace Email
  6. Clear and Present Danger of Social Media for Ad Agencies
  7. Advertising Works: Ad Agency Advertises for New Business
  8. Ad Agencies: 5 Ways to Find Prospects on Twitter
  9. Great Ad Agency Resource: Social Media Policies from 101 Companies
  10. Four Ways Social Media is Changing Advertising Agencies New Business

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10 Comments | Agency Blogs, Social Media | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Michael Gass

FUEL LINES’ Super Bowl “Advertising” Coverage

January 31, 2009

 

The Super Bowl is not only the Super Bowl for football but also for the advertising industry. What’s the newest trend for this year? The incorporation of social media.

Preview Super Bowl Ads prior to the game: ADWEEK MEDIA SUPER BOWL XLIII

A  good variety of top articles, posts, tools and sites regarding Super Bowl advertising:

  1. Adweek: Super Bowl Ad Drive Leads to Brand Sites - Thirty percent of respondents to a recent survey of those who plan to watch the big game said Super Bowl commercials increase the likelihood they’ll visit an advertiser’s Web site, while more than one out of five said they’ll be tuning in “exclusively or predominantly” for the ads. The survey conducted last week for Hanon McKendry also found women more likely than men by 31% to 11% to watch the telecast for the commercials.
  2. Advertising Age: Direct-Response Cash4Gold Buys Into the Super Bowl - Cash4Gold will run a 30-second commercial in the Super Bowl and a 60-second ad in NBC’s pre-game show, making it the first direct-response advertiser in that venue, according to the Pompano Beach, Fla., company. Havas’ Euro RSCG Edge made the spot, featuring pitchmen Ed McMahon and M.C. Hammer — both celebrities who have had financial setbacks.
  3. Brandweek: Frito-Lay’s Chester the Cheetah gets Super Bowl Spotlight - Frito-Lay is planning a 30-second ad with animated Cheetos pitch-creature Chester the Cheetah during the Super Bowl. The ad, which shows pigeons attracted by Cheetos crumbs attacking an annoying woman, will be shown in the first half of the game.
  4. NY Times: In tough times, Super Bowl advertisers must pitch with care – Super Bowl advertisers have a tough challenge this year: providing entertaining spots that are memorable, effective and don’t appear to be making light of the economic recession. PepsiCo Americas Beverages CEO Massimo d’Amore said, “It’s an historical opportunity to bring a moment of joy to consumers who have been squeezed.” But some advertisers are sitting out the Super Bowl because of the down economy and rising unemployment. Steve Pacheco of FedEx said, “Being in the game simply sends the wrong message to employees and FedEx constituents.”
  5. WSJ: Super Bowl Ads Try Hard Sell - This year’s crop of Super Bowl ads will be notable for the hard-sell approach, according to Wall Street Journal advertising reporter Suzanne Vranica. Attack ads also will be in the mix, including a campaign for Denny’s that takes on rival IHOP.

Additional Super Bowl Advertising articles:

Vote for your favorite Super Bowl Ads:

On Super Bowl Sunday (February 1, 2009), viewers can visit www.ADBOWL.com and rate commercials on a scale between one and five.  Participants have the option of rating the ads online as they air or printing a ballot and rating all of the ads at the end of the game. A complete listing of the results, including a breakdown of winners as selected by gender and age group, will be posted on the site between midnight and 1 a.m. Eastern Standard Time on February 2nd.  Sponsored by  MCKEE WALLWORK CLEVELAND and RASSAI INTERACTIVE, their 9th year of hosting.

SUPERBOWL-ADS.COM: Super Bowl news, reviews and history

1 Comment | Social Media | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Michael Gass