Archive Page 2

04
May
11

actually, digital has not killed radio

Christopher Brosius is a New York perfumer who creates fragrances as art rather than fashion. And his olfactory creations, which include Burning Leaves, Just Breathe, and In the Library, are said — for better or worse — to smell very much as their names imply.

Now Brosius is believed to be working on developing a perfume that is “invisible” — has a scent that is noticeable to some and yet undetectable to others (kind of how things are argued to be under the asparagus smell theory).

If we were to categorize media in the same way as these perfumes, some would certainly put radio in the “invisible” category. But despite all the time and focus being directed to new media and technology nowadays, radio can’t fairly be regarded as dead. And when done right, radio advertising can still be a very effective and creative way to deliver a brand’s message to its target audience. Go on and click on the examples below:

1. Naturia dog food (Germany) — “Dog Radio” uses specific sounds to manipulate the behavior of listeners.

2. Senokot laxatives (South Africa) — “Captain’s Log” draws on well written copy to create a very vivid and humorous image for the listener.

3. Isuzu F-Series (South Africa) — “Flipping Fantastic Trucks” capitalizes on smart word play to ensure that the listener easily remembers the name of the product.

See what I mean?

Photo credit: Gabriel S. Delgado C.

27
Apr
11

can we risk not taking any risks?

Who hasn’t — at some time or another — fantasized about going on a coast-to-coast road trip with a handful of good friends? I’d guess very few of us.

Just a week or two ago, this fantasy became a reality for two friends when they traveled from New York to Los Angeles by way of Las Vegas. Only thing is that rather than drive themselves, they chose to take a yellow taxi. Time spent on the road? 6 days. Final fare owed to the cabbie? $5,000 (less a $12,000 discount)!

This was, obviously, an adventure they believed was worth it. But something, I’m sure, many around them felt didn’t quite make sense, especially considering that a JFK-LAX return flight currently goes for as little as about a tenth of that fare price.

In marketing, it’s easy when dealing with real dollars and budgets that we’re personally accountable for to fear doing anything outside the so-called safety zone. But if we don’t take any chances, we run the risk of missing out on creating some great products, services, and ideas.

Just think how different things would be now if no one had dared to create a mobile operating system to rival Apple’s iOS (Google’s Android), a digital device that fell somewhere in between a MacBook Air and an iTouch (Apple’s iPad), or a social network game centered around virtual farming (Zynga’s FarmVille).

Reminds me of a TV commercial a couple of years ago in which a man is trying to sell the idea of a new breakfast cereal made from pulverized corn to a room of businessmen. They wait politely for him to finish, but then immediately burst out laughing with one man asking, “What’s next? Bottled water?”

Photo credit: Daniel Flower

20
Apr
11

captivating a captive audience

While in the shampoo aisle at the drugstore the other day, I was greeted by a very loud “Hello there!” that almost made me jump. After getting over my initial surprise, I turned round to find myself eye-to-eye with a smiling, blond woman on the screen of a small LCD ad player. As a consumer, I felt somewhat violated. Here I was running errands, silently going through a to-do list in my head, only to be interrupted — quite abruptly — by some ad/promo piece. Had I made the conscious decision to push or touch the screen, this interaction would have been fine, but it really irked me that playback had been triggered by motion sensors.

Taking a step back and looking at this situation from the perspective of a marketer, however, allows us to see that we have a growing problem that can’t be ignored. The captive audiences taken for granted in yesteryears are no longer all that captivated — at least not by our advertising. Take a look, for example, at how things play out on the subway these days. Most riders are too busy listening to music, playing mobile games, or burying their heads in e-book readers to notice our advertising.

Getting in their faces with a loud, obnoxious message is, obviously, not the answer. But we do have to come up with creative ways to gently put ourselves back into the consumer’s circle of vision if we want to stay top of mind. Wouldn’t you agree?

Photo credit: ephotography




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