Not how long it took...

From this day forward, I will no longer measure edit sessions in time increments. They will be measured in amount of food consumed. So instead of finishing up a two-day edit, I'm wrapping up a session that took the following:

One salad
4 pieces of Some Guy's pizza
One bag of Lay's original chips
37 peanut M&M’s
4 Coke Zeros
One Egg McMuffin
3 large fountain Cokes
One brownie
3 bottles of water

The spot is now rendering. The word “render” has been said 22 times. “Processing” has been voiced an additional 17 times. So until next time, have a handful of trail mix, and I'll see you in the edit suite.

--Matt G.

Can Competitive Advertising Help Your Business?

As an ad agency that represents Subway restaurant franchisees, we have watched competitor after competitor jump on the $5 bandwagon. It’s everywhere, from Pizza Hut’s $5 calzone to Arby’s $5 meal deals.

But the competition’s marketing dollars seem to have assisted in keeping the $5 price point top-of-mind, almost solidifying the value of five dollars.

Starbucks’ CMO, Terry Davenport, is hoping to experience a similar effect from the surge in competitive coffee marketing, specifically from McCafe. While Starbucks wants to remain a premium brand, focused on environmental and social issues, McDonald’s advertising is educating the general public about lattes, mochas and cappuccinos.

Check out this interview with Ad Age and Mr. Davenport in which he elaborates on this topic.


--Kara W.

TAB Launches New “Eyes On” Ratings

The Traffic Audit Bureau is fine-tuning the way it measures ratings for out-of-home advertising. The new “Eyes On” measurement will add information from mailed surveys about destinations and interviews with drivers who keep weeklong travel logs to driver and pedestrian traffic counts.

The data will be analyzed to provide a “visibility adjustment” for each billboard, which will let advertisers know not only how many cars drove by the billboard, but how many people noticed the ad and remembered it. Outdoor companies will no longer be able to get away with billboard signs with compromised visibility, whether too far from the side of the road or half-covered by overgrown trees. Furthermore, unlike any other medium, the quality of outdoor creative will have an impact on the measurement, as it will affect the number of people who notice and remember the message.

This new system will also provide demographic information, such as gender, age, race and income level. It will answer the question of “how many,” as well as ”who,” “what,” “how often” and “where.”
This richness of quantification will allow advertisers to more precisely understand their audience and make better decisions about billboard locations.


--Tessa G.

Wheelie cool

The Indiana Criminal Justice Institute’s Traffic Safety Division has an important but challenging mission: to reduce death, injury, property damage and the economic costs associated with traffic crashes on Indiana highways.

Perhaps most difficult is making authority and safety seem cool. But ICJI’s new campaign, starting today on TV, radio and billboards, has an authority figure of a different variety: 2006 Moto GP champ Nicky Hayden.

Nicky’s a great spokesperson. He’s got the street credit to talk to a thrill-seeking crowd. As a motorcycle racing pro, he appeals to the nontraditional outsider. And he’s a winner, so he represents something to aspire to.

Nicky also has charisma. Watch how he delivers the last line of this TV spot. “Save a life and be aware: motorcycles are everywhere” could easily devolve into a sing-song rhyme. But Nicky says it like a friendly reminder from one cool guy to another. You wouldn’t want to cut this guy off in traffic, right?

--Julianne W.

Sci Fi Channel Steers Away From the “Geek” Demographic

I am a spelling snob, and my greatest pet peeve is the conscious misspelling of common words to make them appear more hip and cool. For example, “night” becomes “nite,” “light” becomes “lite,” etc. Somehow it has become okay to change the English language to one’s fickle delight. Imagine my frustration in this age of texting, Facebooking, and Twittering, wherein this genre of abbreviated writing is rampant.

The Sci Fi network is joining the bandwagon of language distortion. As of July 7, their name will change to SyFy in an effort to appear less geeky and appeal to a wider demographic.

According to Tim Brooks, who helped launch the Sci Fi Channel, “the name Sci Fi has been associated with geeks and dysfunctional, antisocial boys in their basements with video games and stuff like that …” Seriously? Stereotyping and insulting your core audience is not the best marketing strategy.

The Sci Fi Channel has already tried to branch out by incorporating wrestling, original movies and reality shows in its programming. The name change is yet another step toward homogenization and the potential alienation of its most loyal viewers—the geeks. At least they know how to spell.

--Tessa G.

The Scoop On Coupons

My mom raised a coupon shopper. Back in the day, I could orchestrate an evening of visits to three grocery stores within a mile of my home, coupons sorted by store and by aisle, and save 50 to 80 percent. Being poor makes you crafty.

Now that I can afford more produce and whole foods, I’m less diligent about clipping. But when I saw that Unilever is going to test mobile coupons, well, I got a little 50-cents-off thrill.

The idea is simple. Visit Samplesaint.com and download offers to your phone. When you get to the store, the cashier scans your phone and reads your discounts, which are applied to your bill. It’s much like using a key fob at the grocery for savings at checkout, but without the store-loyalty part.

So can I please get all kinds of discounts this way? Big Brother already knows what I buy. Just make it cheap and easy. Don’t make me track down the scissors and carry around a little stack of papers or download coupons and discover I’m out of printer ink. I want all my discounts with me at all times: oil changes, dinners, dry cleaning…all of it. I’m asking to be marketed to.

Of the three budgets alluded to by Andy Murray, chief executive of in-store-marketing agency Saatchi & Saatchi X, my frustration budget might be tighter than even time or money. Call me crazy, but when you call, be sure to send those offers to my phone.

--Julianne W.

Youngest adults not twitterpated with Twitter

More evidence that social networking isn’t just for the kids: According to a new study by the Participatory Media Network and Pace University, only 22 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds use Twitter. This pales in comparison to this same group’s participation on sites such as Facebook and MySpace, where use is nearly universal.

So why aren’t more of the youngest adults twitterpated? There are several possibilities, but I think this reveals some of Twitter’s shortcomings—the fact that Twitter is more about self-promotion than the larger community, for example. And whereas Facebook gives users a bird’s-eye view of the latest news in their friends’ lives, Twitter provides just a glimpse at a time. Twitter is significantly more labor intensive, making it perhaps not worth the effort unless it’s important to have constant updates. Can you think of any friends whose news is so timely and immediate that you’ll miss something without a constant connection? Probably not many. Isn’t it easier to get an overview of what everyone is doing a couple of times a day?

I’ll admit that even though I’m on Twitter, I’m a skeptic. Some businesses--like NAKEDPizza, for example--have made great use of micro-blogging. But unless it’s a first-priority strategy, it’s hard to justify from a ROI standpoint (even if all you’re investing is time). I certainly may change my mind; after all, not too long ago, I didn’t see the need for a Twitter account . But for now, I think it’s worth listening to the 18- to 24-year-olds. Just don’t expect to hear a lot of tweets from them anytime soon.

--Anthony J.