Hasta La Creative!

I’ve written a couple times on Beyond Madison Avenue about the difference between agencies that talked about being creative, or social, or cutting edge, and then comparing them with those that actually were.
There are certain errors that will keep me from visiting your site, your blog, or your agency ever again.

• Number One: You state that you’re a large creative muckity-muck. I go to your site, and it is under construction. Nothing works.
• Number Two: Misspellings. One every once in a while is tolerable. One on your homepage, in an ad, or on your resume is where we part ways.
• Number Three: Professing your prowess in a certain medium, client category, or emerging media, and then not being able to back the statement up with verifiable proof. Don’t say that your agency excels in social media if you don’t have a blog, a Twitter account, or even a Facebook page.

One of the agencies I wrote about was Lisa P. Maxwell. They claim to know social media. Then they prove it by having live webcams showcasing all of their employees working. Check it out at lisapmaxwell.com.

This weeks award goes to Boone Oakley. Although they sound like a cheap wine, they have the creative juice that most marketing directors wish they could tap as their own. Boone Oakley has their entire agency, including creative, produced as a series of YouTube videos. The best thing about their YouTube “website?” Functionality. Click on the link for collateral work, you are whisked to another video showcasing their collateral work.

Thus, there are a series of several videos, and I watched every single one. In one fell stroke, they’ve not only debuted their agency (as well as taken some well-deserved shots at big agencies) but they have creatively shown their creativity. Don’t tell me how many awards you have or that your agency was voted “Most Creative” in 2006. Show me how that spirit is lives and works today. Below is the first video along with one of the the linked videos.

This is one of the videos that is available under “Work by Medium.”

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, leave a reply or follow the links: www.linkedin.com or www.twitter.com.

“No one is buying right now. Business will come back in Q4. It’ll get better. Our clients aren’t spending at the moment.”

Is that what you are hearing from agencies? Is that what management is saying? That’s like me stating that I can’t get a job because no one is hiring. But companies are hiring, and businesses are making money. The reason that your clients aren’t spending ad dollars is because they’re scared. Scared brings out their conservative side.

Fear, unless it’s for your life, is not the best basis for decision-making. Fear is an anxious state. Think back on the all the right decisions you’ve made and determine how many were based on fear. Probably not many.

So, while many businesses have their heads in the sand, others are using ingenuity to overcome. Enter The Taco Maker:

The Taco Maker, a Puerto Rico-based fast-food chain, ran a combination radio and mobile-marketing promo in which they gave away free burritos.

The Taco Maker and their agency, BxP, created a character named “Juan Maker” who made radio appearances to talk to local DJs about free stuff. The broadcasts were all recorded and then made into ten 60-second spots that offered a free one-pound burrito to Taco Maker aficionados that texted in the correct answer after hearing the spot.

The agency declined to specify the price of the promotion, but said it cost less than $50,000. For that amount, the agency was able to track consumer response by station, time of day and even DJ. The company focused its ad dollars where they were doing the most good in real time.

Five-thousand texts and 2500 burritos later, the chain reported a 21% sales increase for the region where the promo took place. Hmm, that is so weird.

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.

I have a love/hate relationship with the aggregators that provide the news feeds to my lap top. I’ve been using two…one that is on my desk top that is on pretty much all the time. It works well, but some of the sites that I want feeds from don’t load correctly. So, I also have my feeds set up on iGoogle, and Google Reader. Actually, looking at it new light, it’s not the aggregators; it’s the state of the advertising industry that has my panties bunched up in a wad. Just to give you an idea of what we, as an industry face, I went back in time and pulled some of the juicier headlines from the last couple months:

TV Revs to Decline 21% in Two Years

Media Industry Job Cuts Soar 57%

The number of job cuts in corporate America between January and April was up 9 percent from the same time period last year. In the media industry, job cuts are up 57 percent over last year, according to a survey from consultancy Challenger, Gray & Christmas. Although analyst’s state that it’s not time to panic, what is it time for? Tea & Crumpets? (These statistics are from 5/2/2008)

Media Jobs Disappearing

The job market for U.S. media employment has dropped to it’s lowest point in 15 years. Much of this has to do with the dying throes of newspaper industry, as well as the automotive and housing industry “set-backs”, which were not what would be commonly known as beneficial. However, one bright spot is that the market consultant profession gained the bulk of new jobs last year, according to AdAge. Media positions are low compared to levels in 2000. It’s estimated that newspapers, nationwide, have cut 25% (1 of 4) positions since 1990, when newspapers made up half of the media jobs available in the U.S.

Analysts Expect More Major Media Company Cuts to Come

The U.S. Labor Department reported that some 530,000 jobs were lost in November of 2008 which, at the time, brought the unemployment rate to 6.7%. The media industry did it’s best ensuring the numbers were high, as Viacom and NBC combined to chop 1400 postions.

Viacom and NBC both cut jobs last week. Viacom dumped 850 workers, while NBC cut jobs at its NBC News and broadcast ops in an ongoing effort to hack a total of 500 jobs. And those cuts are just the tip of the iceberg, says Barclays Capital analyst Anthony DiClemente (via Mediaweek). “Further work-force reduction announcements should be expected from the other large-cap media companies,” he says.

WPP to Trim Thousands, Ogilvy Already Feeling the Knife

WPP announced that they would be cutting around 7,000 jobs worldwide. The media giant employs approximately 100,000 people. The U.S., Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Spain were cited by the company as markets under pressure, writes Reuters. The cuts have already begun. Adweek reports that WPP’s Ogilvy Group reduced 10% of its staff today. The cuts affected Ogilvy & Mather, OgilvyOne, Ogilvy Interactive and OgilvyAction. 

Omnicom Group is bracing for cut-backs, estimating that 3,500 of its 70,000 workers will get tossed.

Conclusions

The competition is fierce, to say the least. Right now, even receiving a phone interview is a victory. There is a lot of demand, and zero supply. The bright light at the end of the tunnel is that advertising and media professionals tend to be extremely flexible, strategically creative, and work well under pressure–all huge assets. Think progressively, and be bold; after all, what is the worst that could happen?

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: linkedin.com/in/jefflouis or twitter.com/jlo0312

Some people never learn. They’re in hot water today for the same reasons that earned them a seat in principals office every week as kids: Saying the wrong thing at the wrong time. Most have erred at one time or another, but this is post-1984, significant only because George Orwell miscalculated: “Big Brother” is not the government, but is, “We The People.”

Americans seem relatively tense, and there is not much forgiveness for calculated or accidental misstep, most likely due to several coinciding events: big business mistrust (banking, housing, automotive), scam artists (Bernie Madoff), and a struggling economy. Today, the slightest of mistakes could spark a ruckus. Just ask Carrie Prejean, the “I missed it by that much” Ms. America contestant. Ms. Prejean learned a brutal lesson on the world stage; sometimes it’s better to lie if you want to win…at least that’s what we want to teach America’s children (heavy sarcasm implied). She made a choice based on her personal morals and First Amendment rights, and took a beating. 

Polar opposites using the First Amendment for profit, such as Howard Stern and Jay Severin, have also stated controversial things in public. However, they do it for ratings and money. Both radio personalities are actually very different in message, methodology, and delivery; yet one common element binds them: when they go on-air listeners either tune in or turn off. This week, Jay Severin was suspended from WTKK in Boston for making racially biased comments regarding Mexicans, stating that the major imports from Mexico were venereal disease, women with mustaches, and the swine flu. He then went on to state that Mexicans were “primitives.”

Boston's Jay Severin

From there, the plot is as easy to follow as a daytime television drama:

A. DJ offends a person, or group of persons, publicly
B. Offended group calls radio station in “flood of protest”
C. DJ is suspended or fired; station backs DJ or backs off
D. The First Amendment is mentioned several million times
E. “Oppressed“ groups rehash incident for weeks
F.  DJ fades away or returns in a different market 

The usually talkative Severin was silent when questioned by reporters, directing them to his attorney, who stated, “It would certainly be unfortunate if someone was suspended because some people didn’t like what he said.” Sounds like Mr. Severin needs a new attorney.

Lost His Dog, His Wife, & His Freedom

The radio business has been volatile in the past week as San Antonio-based radio giant Clear Channel announced further staff reductions (1950 were cut in January) that would include on-air personalities. Additionally, a popular Florida DJ for Clear Channel was arrested for shooting his dog…unfortunately the bullet ricocheted off his dog, hitting his wife in the head. Both the wife and dog are expected to recover, and the DJ is expected to go to jail.

<strong>Jeff Louis</strong> is a 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: linkedin.com/in/jefflouis or twitter.com/jlo0312 

Following a stunt in which the homeless were paid to carry signs which read, “Should panhandling be legal?”, Toronto-based talk radio station CFRB, with help from zig, paid prostitutes to carry signs which read, “Should prostitution be legal?”

At lunch today I was reading The New York Times business section. On the front page of that section there’s a big photo of Rush Limbaugh (not available online) and an article that reveals his newly negotiated income. I don’t mind saying it grossed me out.

Limbaugh, who has 20 million listeners a week on 600 stations, signed a new eight-year contract for $400 million. His $50 million a year paycheck represents a raise of about $14.4 million a year over his current contract.

Sean Hannity and Glenn Beck, conservative mouthpieces number two and three, respectively, also make insane salaries. It’s not the money that bothers me. It’s just hard for me to understand how their brand of conservative vitriol is so attractive to a mass audience, and thus to advertisers.

Advertising Agency: Saatchi & Saatchi, South Africa
Creative Director: Liam Wielopolski
Art Director: Moose
Copywriter: Seb
Additional credits: Steve Anderson

Advertising Agency: Saatchi & Saatchi, South Africa
Creative Director: Liam Wielopolski
Art Director: Moose
Copywriter: Seb
Additional credits: Steve Anderson

Advertising Agency: Ogilvy & Mather, Chile
Executive Creative Director: Cesar Agost Carreno
Creative Directors: Sebastian Alvarado, Nicolas Lopez
Copywriter: Sebastián Salinas
Producer: Productora Musical Clio

Advertising Agency: Lowe Bull, Cape Town, South Africa
Creative Directors: Kirk Gainsford, Alistair Morgan
Copywriters: Simon Lotze, Alistair Morgan
Additional credits: Sonovision Studios
Published: May 2008