Hasta La Creative!

“Are you right or left ‘brained’?” (Not sure? Take a  test to find out.)

The right brain/left brain theory was pioneered by psychobiologist Roger Sperry in the 1960s. His research postulated that the right eye and right hand were connected to the left brain (actually, the left lobe), and vice versa. Each lobe interprets information in a different manner; the right lobe is visual, processing information intuitively, while the left lobe is an analytic, sequential processor. Although unproven, testing has shown that visually creative people tend to be “right-brainers.”

Right Brain Design, located in New York, is much like any other Madison Avenue ad shop, with one major exception: The agency does not physically exist. There is an agency website that seems authentic, and the client list includes work for actual companies, including; Estée Lauder, HSBC, JCS Tradecom, RPD Media, and HartLee Industries. However, there isn’t an employee profile page, nor is there a nifty contact page including directions from major airports.

So, what’s the deal?

Right Brain Design, founded in 2000, is an agency without walls. Although the agency technically “exists” in New York, it’s really a global web of advertising and marketing professionals. Yes, global. The innovative business model was implemented by Catherine Wachs, the agency’s Creative Director and Principal. Prior to Right Brain, Ms. Wachs spent her career creating and producing work to promote some of the nation’s best-known brands including: Ruby Tuesday Restaurants, Kraft Foods, Advil, Gold Bond, Dannon, Breyers Ice Cream, IBM, and many others. She has served agencies of various size, ranging from smaller, creative boutiques to WPP.

So, why Right Brain Design?

“[A]gencies are becoming giant dinosaurs that take up a lot of room and cannot adapt their business models quickly enough for this new economy. Whereas it took a large team to do a national advertising…it now takes only a few people narrowcasting…”

Narrowcasting is the process of sending information to a specific group of people, such as a fertilizer company targeting an online gardening community. The best examples of narrowcasting are electronic mailing lists, where messages are sent to individuals who subscribe to the list. Yet, this is but one of the agency’s unique traits.

Right Brain Design’s success partially stems from their unique ability to build customized, strategic teams equipped to meet diverse client challenges. The scope of work determines which creative disciplines are engaged, streamlining processes and eliminating waste. Thus, Right Brain Design maintains a high degree of flexibility over agencies that lack creative advertising services or are unable to compete on an economic level. Communicating mainly via Skype and IM, the agency’s overhead is minimal, increasing client ROI in comparison to agencies with real estate.

After nine years of operation, it seems that Right Brain Design’s right-lobed thinking was the right approach, putting them right on course for continued success.

Jeff Louis: Strategic Media Planner, Project Manager, and New Business Account Coordinator. His passion is writing. If you would like to get in touch with Jeff, please leave a reply or follow the links: www.linkedin.com or www.twitter.com.

Recently, London documents implying “a global arrangement involving kickbacks, bid-rigging, discounts and client over-billing”” by Grey Group will now be sealed forever. Seems a pissy ex-employee took some documents and brought them forward to make a case, but of course because of the oh-so protective non-disclosure we all sign mum will now be the final word.

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Jinean Robinson is a CCIO (Chief Creative Infections Officer) who has been in the communications industry for over 8 years, specializing in creative strategy and implementation, 360 branding communications, and brand development. Join her at http://twitter.com/germllc or her firm’s website at http://germonline.com/

As Americans, there is a love/hate relationship that exists with the media due to one of two things: over portrayal (senseless beating to death of a subject) or non-portrayal (glossing over a story to move on) of news. Both tend to upset the news-hungry public, but over portrayal nears that point where news becomes culture for a short time. A couple of examples: Octo-Mom, Jon & Kate Gosselin, LiLo’s drug rehab, relapse, rehab, and relapse.

Yes, these are “celebrity” examples, but unfortunately, it happens with the “real” news as well. Take for instance the automotive and banking bailouts. The fall of Fannie May and Freddie Mac. Bernie Madhoff. How many times did news anchors need to go over the fact that the Chairmen for the Detroit automakers flew in private jets to the Senate Subcommittee hearings? Definitely not 10,000.

The same holds true for the advertising industry, and yes, the economy. Yesterday, June 8, 2009, AdWeek ran a story encompassing a RSW/US survey of 200 marketing and 100 ad agency execs. (RSW/US is a lead generation and business development firm.) The survey showed that agencies were more optimistic than prospective clients regarding the economy and the advertising business for the remainder of the year.

Agencies participating in the survey, released in mid-May, included Leo Burnett, Mindshare and Bailey Lauerman. Clients included Ford, GE, Kraft, Lego and Lenox. While 51 percent of each group said that the second half of the year would see at least some continued falls in ad spending, more agency respondents (42 percent) felt the economy had already hit rock bottom and would therefore start to improve over the rest of the year than clients (35 percent).

Seventy-six percent of agencies felt that the number of new business opportunities would rise in Q3 and Q4 of 2009.

Today, Media Life reports that Q1 2009 spending was beyond horrid. Like someone couldn’t have pulled their head out of their #$$ to figure that one out. At this juncture, it is safe to assume that corporations have cut back, or totally scrapped, their advertising spend for 2009. If this is not clear to everyone, please ask your neighbor to explain it to you. The point being? No one really knows what will happen yet, or how the economy is really doing. There are educated guesses on how far down the auto industry will take the nation, but it’s still just a guess. Is respite coming quickly? No one truly knows. Thus, the time for speculation is over, and if there is to be some haphazard guessing, please don’t print it in a magazine.

Today, Media Life reported the following:

Ad spending plummeted 12 percent during first quarter

Total first-quarter ad expenditures off $3.8 billion

Local Sunday supplements, biggest spending dip, off 37.7 percent

Thirteen of nineteen media tracked saw double-digit declines

Spot TV down 28.9 percent

National magazines dropped 20.6 percent

Local newspapers fell 14.3 percent; spot radio was off 9 percent

Online dropped 3.4 percent (not including search)

Network TV, the largest category, was off 4.8 percent

Automotive spend fell 27.7 percent, or $723 million

The single category that did do well? Quick-serve restaurants. Hey, depression causes the munchies!

Unless there’s an answer to this debacle forthcoming, there’s just no reason to report or talk about this subject anymore. Let it go and move on to something else.

Jeff Louis: Strategic Media Planner, Project Manager, and New Business Coordinator. His passion is writing, contributing to BMA as well as freelancing. He’d love to hear from you, so leave a comment or follow the links: linkedin.com or twitter.com.

With the tagline “That Takes Grape Nuts,” Post Cereal has gone and targeted men in its latest campaign for the tooth-busting cereal. (It is interesting to note that the cereal contains neither grapes nor nuts, but is made of something much heartier: pebbles, bits of glass, and peach pits.) The campaign is based on fifty web “shows” playing on TheGuysManual.msn.com that depict scenes of men making mistakes and getting coached on how to get out of them. Tips include how to deal with beating your boss at golf, dealing with a co-worker/girlfriend’s success at work, and what to do when babysitting your boss’s kids. The advice could be seen as helpful, and somewhat funny, but it will never surpass the advice spewed by Jimmy and Adam on “The Man Show.” Grape Nuts, celebrating their 111th birthday as a mainstay of the Post brand, has lost market share year after year and now owns less than one percent. Post Cereal, owned by the likes of Phillip Morris and Kraft, landed at Ralcorp in 2008.

We need to bring it back to life in a relevant way,” says Kelley Peters, the “insights” director who charts Grape Nuts psychographics for Ralcorp’s $5 million resuscitation attempt. Her target: men 45 years-old and up. “Men aspire to it,” she says. “It’s strong and stern, the father figure of cereals.” Her marketing chief, Jennifer Marchant, points out: “It tends to break your teeth sometimes.”

If the campaign is successful, Grape Nuts will help to define a new breed of man…a man with grape-like nuts. Impressive. Now if they could only define a Grape Nut.

Jeff Louis: Strategic Media Planner, Project Manager, and New Business Coordinator. His passion is writing, contributing to BMA as well as freelancing. He’d love to hear from you, so leave a comment or follow the links: linkedin.com or twitter.com.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past couple of days, you’re well aware of GM’s bankruptcy protection filing. To assuage the buying public, GM has unveiled a commercial explaining “the new GM,” guaranteeing a leaner, greener company that makes better cars than ever before.

I’m all for corporate transparency, but I have to wonder if the “Reinvention” spot is enough to save the troubled automaker. I think it’s safe to say that public distrust in the automotive industry as a whole is high – especially when auto officials are arriving in private jets to beg the federal government for bailout money.

How does this spot bode for the future of automotive advertising? Is it enough to entice consumers to buy American again?

I think it’s a step in the right direction, but I also think that it signals a change in the way automakers and dealerships place their ad buys. Existing on a campaign of print and broadcast is not enough anymore. If companies want to win the automotive war, they need to regain credibility with the public by actively engaging them. After all, you have to at least shake someone’s hand before you reach for their wallet.

Sara Barton is a copywriter, social media strategist, and avid blogger who is in search of her next opportunity. Contact her via twitter, LinkedIn, or her blog.

Bing was on last night, and no, it’s not Bing Crosby.

Microsoft, tired of watching Google cash in on the search engine game, has been testing their super secret search engine for some months now under the ultra-secret name, Kumo. (It is hard to believe that these people make money, isn’t it?) Along with the huge product release comes the equally huge budget, rumored to be upwards of $80 Million, although Microsoft would not confirm.

“We’ll have what I would call a big budget — big enough that I had to gulp when I approved the budget,” said Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer, who unveiled Bing at a technology conference in Carlsbad, California, run by the All Things Digital tech blog.

The spot, code named “Manifesto,” was on prime time television last night. While the visuals are sometimes a bit confusing, the Google-gauging “one-liners,” such as “we don’t need queries and keywords if the bring back questions and confusion,” and “from this moment on, the search overload is officially, over” are loud and clear.

The creative kudos go to JWT for coming up with a very cool spot. However, it is not known if they came up with the name, and as everybody knows, part of winning the online new product introduction game is coming up with a goofy, yet memorable name. Such as “Bing.” Your search is done.

Jeff Louis: Strategic Media Planner, Project Manager, and New Business Account Coordinator. His passion is writing. If you would like to get in touch with Jeff, please leave a reply or follow the links: www.linkedin.com or www.twitter.com.

There are some pretty unbelievable resources available online at no cost. Everything from whitepapers to completed slide shows, covering any topic imaginable. Some of the better ones are put out by professional groups in support of advertising agencies and efforts. These include the Advertising Media Internet Center (AMIC), the 4A’s, and the Outdoor Advertising Association of America.These organizations also fund and run many of the Public Service Announcements.

On May 5th, the OAAA’s public service campaign was a shot in the arm to all worrying where the next paycheck will be coming from, or if there is a next paycheck. Named Recession 101, the billboard campaign is simple, as if printed on a piece of notebook paper and tacked to a 14′ x 48′ out on the highway. The messaging consists of a simple reminder: some day, the recession will end.

It is not the greatest, most creative campaign ever done, but it is timely and truthful. Look on it as a shot in the arm to keep away all of the bad stuff coming from television. The great driving force behind it is the idea of looking up during adversity rather than down. Moving forward instead of complaining. In an apt message, the OAAA states:

The campaign is about America and resiliency. The recession has hurt one of America’s greatest attributes-it’s unshakeable optimism…Recession 101 isn’t selling anything other than the American Spirit.”

And it’s about time we returned to the American spirit and optimism. The entire campaign is available here.

Jeff Louis: Strategic Media Planner, Project Manager, and New Business Coordinator. His passion is writing, contributing to BMA as well as freelancing. He’d love to hear from you, so leave a comment or follow the links: linkedin.com or twitter.com.

Boost Mobile , the prepaid division of Sprint Nextel, is unleashing a series of spots that play off of the the “Unwronged” spots featuring Danica Patrick. I am so glad that some advertisers still have a sense of humor because I am about tired of hearing how all of these companies that were started during the Great Depression want to comfort us. Not that we don’t need a pick-me-up every once in a while, but enough is enough.

The creative is aimed at supporting a new $50 a month, “Monthly” Unlimited’ offering from Boost. The commercial features the Motorola Clutch i465, Boost Mobile’s first phone with a computer keypad. The creative was developed by Boost’s advertising agency of record, 180LA.

When I first saw the spot, I thought that it would run a couple of time and then get pulled due to some sort of  perceived offense. I am happy that I was wrong.

Although a bit far-fetched (Danica Patrick using prepaid cellular service), the overall creativity is refreshing. We are all aware of studies conducted during economic crises, and how the companies that spend through the storm emerge stronger on the other end.

Jeff Louis: Strategic Media Planner, Project Manager, and New Business Account Coordinator. His passion is writing. If you would like to get in touch with Jeff, please leave a reply or follow the links: www.linkedin.com or www.twitter.com.

Once upon a time, I thought that I was an Atheist (the position that deities do not exist). But, I was confused: I was an Agnostic (there is no verifiable proof of a God). Now, I think that I’m simply a believer.

This all came flooding back today as I drove through the Loop on my way to lunch. I had just left a meeting outside the city, and was driving, trying to pay attention without much luck. It’s illegal to use cell phones while driving here, so there went half my entertainment. The other half, the radio, was playing alternative rock. Bored, I started people watching while caught in stop/go traffic. I watched as people scurried about as I patiently cut off a honking cab that was edging in between my car and a bus. It was then that I noticed the banner on the side of the bus, and I stopped watching the cab and thought “Huh. I wonder what they are advertising.” The bus and my car were stuck together two blocks later and I exclaimed aloud;

“Those are the Indiana Atheist ads!”

The Indiana Atheists (IA) picked up the idea from atheists in Canada and London, where pro-Atheist bus campaigns have already run. In London, a month-long, 800 bus onslaught was derived by a London comedy writer that saw Christian ads being displayed on public transportation. Ariane Sherine, self-proclaimed atheist, came up with the slogan, “There’s probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life.” The story was picked up by Time as one of the top religion stories of the year.

Unfortunately, the Indiana Atheists were late hitting Chicago

The pious have been buying ad space from the city’s decaying, cash-strapped public transportation system for a while. One recent religious ad read, “ISLAM. Got questions? Get answers. FREE Quran & Literature,” followed by a toll-free telephone number.

Chicago was not the first target sought by the IA; Bloomington, IN, turned the advertising down. Thesecond target was South Bend. Pro-religion bus ads had already run in South Bend, so the city had little choice when it came to ad acceptance.

Why do the atheists advertise? There is no message, no real group solidarity, and their self-stated goal is that they are not out winning converts. Are they branding?

According to Roy Speckhardt, Executive Director of the American Humanist Association;

“…you don’t see [atheists] having a caucus in Congress or anywhere else. It’s a group that’s been in the closet. People are afraid to ‘come out’ to their families and say they don’t believe in God.” The ads are designed to show lonely atheists that they do not walk alone — and they can go on disbelieving.

Although I bleed CMYK, it seems to me that donations could be spent in a much more effective manner to tell lonely atheists that they are not alone. People that are “good without God,” could start up a shelter to feed the homeless, help the poor pay bills, or buy groceries for a hundred families. The message would actually be stronger (doing good without God) due to their actions. Add that to the fact that news outlets are searching for “feel good” stories, the IA would; help a needy family; send their message, and; generate positive public relations. A Win-Win-Win.

My one question, “How did they determine that cadres of closeted atheists were searching for solace? Did I miss ‘60 Minutes,’ or something?”

Jeff Louis: Strategic Media Planner, Project Manager, and New Business Account Coordinator. His passion is writing. If you would like to get in touch with Jeff, please leave a reply or follow the links: www.linkedin.com or www.twitter.com.

Twitter is proposing a TV competition series depending on your source.

The social-networking service said Monday it has teamed with Reveille productions and Brillstein Entertainment
Partners to develop an unscripted series based on the site, which invites 140-character postings from members around the world. The show would harness Twitter to put players on the trail of celebrities in an interactive, competitive format.

The only problem with this proposal is that the show would get phenomenal ratings and people would love it, but only for a while. Twitter will not only be our “amazing” communication forum, but our favorite reality TV show, too! To me, it sounds like a bad idea, if not a boring one.

However, Reveille has an impressive stable of shows, so “Twube” (I made that up) might be a hit. The producers have brought us “The Office”, “Ugly Betty” and “The Tudors” (Showtime), plus reality program “The Biggest Loser.” Supporters state that the series will show the TV-viewing world the immediacy of Twitter. And Brillstein Entertainment is no slacker either.

“Twitter is transforming the way people communicate, especially celebrities and their fans,” said Reveille managing director Howard T. Owens, who expects the new project to “unlock Twitter’s potential on TV.”

When I have tried to talk to a celeb, they never answer. I’ve even “befriended” LiLo like four times! I don’t want to be the
bearer of bad news, but when Ashton Kutcher found out about the proposed project, he was not happy. In fact, he was Punk’d! Mashable reported that Ashton tweeted,” Wow I hope this isn’t true. I really don’t like being sold out. May have to take a twitter hiatus.” Was that a threat?

Ashton, however, does not have to worry. Twitter denied everything regarding a “Twittervision” spectacular.

Now, on the really down side: It does not make sense for Twitter to have a TV show. Either they become a mode of communication, or stay a novelty; and I LIKE Twitter. I just wonder when we’ll start seeing consortiums for 169 characters because some one figured out that this was the optimal number. I don’t know if you use Twitter a lot, but I use it daily, but mainly for picking up information: It is not only a good learning and news tool, but it can be funny as well. Maybe it’s just me, but the conversations that I have had on the almighty Twitter have been, well, trite and quick. Some people never respond when you answer their question, and others are 2 – 3 Tweets and out.

I have, however, picked up freelance work via Twitter while TV has only provided me with poor eyesight.

Jeff Louis: Strategic Media Planner, Project Manager, and New Business Account Coordinator. His passion is writing. If you would like to get in touch with Jeff, please leave a reply or follow the links: www.linkedin.com or www.twitter.com.