ANA Marketing Maestros

My Departure and a Quick Review

By Will Waugh

This will be my last post for this blog. I am moving back to the ANA member side and joining SAS Institute in Raleigh, NC. I love New York but it is time to take my accrued skills and knowledge to a locale that is more tempered to my Southern sensibilities. I look forward to utilizing the vast resources of the ANA as marketers, from the client side in particular, continue to be challenged by this evolving landscape.

I do want to make a brief mention of David Verklin's new book (which he co-authored with Bernice Kanner, ANA author of The Super Bowl of Advertising). Watch This, Listen Up, Click Here was written for the masses and may be too "general" for this sophisticated media audience, but is an excellent summer read on what is going on with the media and marketing world. Due to my new role in the business intelligence field, I was engaged with the chapter titled Data Mining: Why Your TV May Think You're Gay where the authors talk about how the "datasphere" will help companies predict behavior on a grand scale. "What-if modeling" will allow marketers to make even smarter decisions based on data mining and the various tools available. I feel relatively versed in the media business, but was engaged with this book's foresight in to the transformations taking place around us.

This blog has been a blast and a tremendous personal learning experience. I look forward to following all the great minds and community leaders I have met in this space in my new role. Cheers blogosphere. 

Marketers in the Blogosphere

By Will Waugh

I like to keep track of what ANA members are doing in the blogosphere. I get asked who's blogging all of the time by our members . Marketers' appearance in the online world plays an important role with consumers and end users that demand transparency in the companies they give their loyalty too. Thanks to PRWiki for keeping me up to date as more marketers are set to enter this space in 2007. A brief list:

• McDonald's VP of Corporate Social  Responsibility hosts Open for Discussion focusing on what this major advertiser is giving back to the community
• Oracle has so many blogs that they actually have a directory of blogs
• Wells Fargo and their popular Guided by History blog
• Southwest's Nuts About Southwest is a perfect representation of their brand in the blogosphere
• Cisco's High Tech Policy blog
• Marriott's CEO Bill Marriott on a plethora of issues, including brands.

We are just scratching the surface here. There are many more marketers who have jumped in and jumped out. I expect to see more involvement here in the coming months/years as it gets harder and harder for marketers to communicate with their audiences.

Technorati tags: blogs marketing consumer

What Media Builds Brands?

By Will Waugh

I am still culling through the enormous amount of data we got for a our Brand Deterioration survey released at our Brand Innovation Forum. There is a variety of valuable information, but something I found interesting was this question - What Media Builds Brands? Over 300 client side marketers gave their perspective.

No surprise - and panelists from Wells Fargo and Pepsi agreed - TV is considered the most effective.

Surprise - Banner ads are considered the third most effective medium.

Most surprising - Pop Up Ads. I would think these contribute to brand deterioration not equity.

Other channels were mentioned but didn't make the Top Ten - they include webcasts, direct mail and database marketing, sponsorships, SEO, public relations and blogs (go blogs!).

Technorati tags: brand marketing media

Tidbits from Advertising Financial Management

By Will Waugh

I am out in lovely Phoenix at the Arizona Biltmore for our Advertising Financial Management Conference. For those of you who are not familiar with the show, it is a gathering of marketing, finance and procurement/sourcing types congregating over the latest in agency compensation/relations.

So the first topic on Monday's slate - the Net Promoter score. Or, in a nutshell, "How likely is it that you would recommend our product/service to a friend or a colleague?" This is the core of how Enterprise Rent a Car's customer research. It is also a major component of the organic growth of the organization which has more vehicles on the road than its three nearest competitors - combined.

Bob Parsons, the CEO from GoDaddy.com was the tail end of the morning. Here is an extremely interesting character with a fascinating story....fifth grade flunky, factory worker, Vietnam vet, accountant, successful entrepreneur. He is also, as we know, the architect behind some of these most talked about advertising in recent history. Apparently, he also has the most read CEO blog in the blogosphere.

Technorati tags: advertising godaddy

Microsoft and Yahoo?

By Will Waugh

I don't normally rely on the New York Post for much more than Page Six, but they  are announcing Microsoft is talking to Yahoo! about a potential $50 billion bid (thanks Forbes.com) Funny, I was just meeting with Microsoft on Monday and Tuesday and they didn't mention a lick of this to me (I feel slighted). The pressure, the Post says, is coming from Google's continued domination of search and online advertising, particularly with the recent purchase of DoubleClick.

If it is true, why not for Microsoft? I don't see this as a sign of desperation, rather a desire to expand it's capabilities online.

What this would give Microsoft:

• An expanded search reach with Yahoo's #2 position in the field.
• The #1 portal with some of the best brands in online media.
• Expanded e-commerce capabilities in spaces like cars and jobs.
• More content (I love content).

That's just a start. Looking forward to seeing how this develops.

Technorati tags: microsoft marketing yahoo

Reinvention of jetBlue

By Will Waugh

Flying out to Seattle yesterday reminded me of the true joys of air travel. I won't say which airline it was, but the comfort level was suspect. I will say, it wasn't jetBlue. Last week, at our Brand Innovation Forum, Andrea Spiegel, VP Sales & Marketing for jetBlue took us through their brand story. A story that, until recently, had evolved magnificently. We all know what happened in February with their first major "operational challenge." (Andrea mentioned several nicknames - The Valentine's Day massacre popping to the forefront) I direct you to a few posts from our marketing blog family about the debacle: Peter Kim, CK, Max, and Global Neighborhoods.

I personally love jetBlue. When I moved to New York seven years ago, I bought a one way ticket from Ft. Lauderdale to JFK on the, at that point, brand new airline. I still have the ticket stub. jetBlue is the one airline that could have suffered this setback and recovered so brilliantly. There are a couple reasons for this. One, which this audience will love, is they listen to the blogosphere regularly and actively track word of mouth. jetBlue's response to this crisis was heartfelt, sincere and personal:

• The Customer Bill of Rights - so far it's working and is another industry first
• The famous YouTube announcement from CEO David Neeleman - the first time a CEO of a major company had addressed customers via YouTube.
• Improved self service tools and call center resources
• The creation of a customer advisory council
• A promise to keep customers posted on progress in 30 days (a second YouTube video went up 30 days later and there was little discussion about it in the blog world)

In a world where brands keep taking away (I am at the W Seattle and I just found out a new W policy has taken coffeemakers out of hotel rooms. Well, I'm on East Coast time and a Starbucks doesn't open for 2 hours - not good!), it is encouraging to see companies do still care about their lifeblood. "Bringing humanity to flying" is JetBlue's brand promise and their hearfelt response - a direct expression of their brand - reminded people why they loved jetBlue in the first place.

Technorati tags: jetblue marketing customer

Lulu - Changing the Way We Publish Content

By Will Waugh

I have recently shifted our publications business to a print-on-demand/digital download model. We are using Lulu, an open source technology solution founded by Bob Young (Wikipedia) of Red Hat fame. I love the model - it allows a small publisher to expand their offerings without taking on debilitating inventory and overhead expenses. I will talk more about them later.

The real point is we are selling out our bookstore inventory and offering 2 ANA titles for the price of 1. It only runs until Monday (the end of April). Check it out at our Bookstore or call Kaitlin at 212-455-8004.

Warning Signs of Brand Deterioration

By Will Waugh

In February, the ANA and Guideline polled the ANA’s Brand Marketer Leadership Community, an exclusive peer community of marketing and brand marketing professionals, to understand how companies view the warning signs of brand deterioration.

Brand equity was clearly viewed as important. On average, 75 percent of all respondents viewed brand equity as very important to their company’s success. Most of the respondents agreed that "brand equity is the intangible ingredient that differentiates them and set them apart in a highly competitive marketplace.

When discussing the channels that worked best for brand building, most of the respondents felt that more traditional media channels were the most effective in brand building, specifically television at 76 percent. On the other hand, the survey found that Internet advertising is emerging as a channel for brand building. Particularly effective for young and emerging or strong brands, Internet banner advertising, ranked third overall (56 percent).

What exactly indicates a brand may be deteriorating? The ANA/Guideline report delves deeper to find out the warning signs for waning brand equity. Most respondents agreed that when customer conversion or repeat rate versus the competitor slips, it is a clear warning sign that the brand is at risk. The top five warning signs that companies should be attentive to include:

1. Customer conversion or repeat versus competitor slips (70%)
2. The percent of customers who rate the brand as "excellent" slips (68%)
3. Net promoter score slips (67%)
4. Growing disparity between what customer’s rate highly about a company’s brand and its brand goals (62%)
5. The product in being sold on promotion, deal or at a price reduction (62%)

The trend report also highlighted the many strategies for combating brand deterioration. Of the 14 potential strategies for brand revitalization, the ANA/Guideline survey found that a majority of marketers agreed that product innovation could effectively combat brand deterioration. The top five actions for combating declines in brand health are:

1. Product Innovation (87%)
2. Exploring new targets (68%)
3. Conducting a root cause analysis (67%)
4. Deeper qualitative research such as focus groups on brand issues (66%)
5. Refocusing of marketing efforts (64%)

This survey was initiated by the ANA Brand Management Committee and led by Committee Chair Roger Adams, Senior Vice President, Marketing, The Home Depot, to provide the industry with key insights and best practices related to building brand equity and combating brand deterioration. Adams will be moderating a panel discussion on the results of the survey at Tuesday's Brand Innovation Forum. ANA Members can get the full report in our Marketing Insights Center.

CBS Gets Connected

By Will Waugh

So, CBS is going multi-platform. Sound familiar? Time Warner did it with their Global Marketing. Viacom did it with Viacom Plus. I could have sworn CBS did it already, but I guess not. Welcome to CBS Connections:

CBS Corporation announced today the launch of CBS CONNECTIONS, a newly branded sales and marketing unit designed to meet Madison Avenue's growing need for cross-platform solutions.

The launch of CBS CONNECTIONS underscores the conclusions of a recent survey by the Association of National Advertisers which shows that integrated marketing communications now rivals ROI [return on investment] as a top issue confronting marketers.

Always nice to see our work cited as reasoning for a business evolution. I wish CBS the best of luck in leveraging their many assets for marketers. It is all about solutions now, not media buys, and I think this is a step in the right direction.

Technorati tags: cbs marketing

Thought Leadership as a Marketing Concept

By Will Waugh

I spent some time reading and re-reading David Armano's post  at Logic+Emotion on how thought leadership has been reinvented.

It occured to me that you could take this from an individual level and apply it to companies that have positioned themselves as thought leaders. One company, ANA member SAS Institute has done this effectively in the B2B space. A website that they sponsor called Better Management hosts an array of intellectual capital and business solutions for executives. In this realm, they clearly utilize content as a killer app.

Points from the Logic+Emotion post which apply to SAS's thought leadership positioning:

• Thought leadership can now come from anywhere.
• If we can't schmooze at events -- we will schmooze virtually.
• Our relationships will be formed purely out of merit—from what we have to offer and what we are willing to share.

The third point is key. Companies that are willing to offer up a "peek inside" while at the same time sharing valuable information (in many cases, milllions of dollars in R&D) will rule the online arena of thought leadership.

Technorati tags: sas marketing thought leadership

HP Marketer: Not Convinced Second Life Has Value

By Will Waugh

Eric Kintz over at HP comes to life with a Top Ten List on why he's not sold on Second Life as a marketing channel. Most of the marketers I have talked with that have experimented with SL say that they are not actually expecting to make a ton of money, but rather create a channel for communication.

His Top Ten (more comprehensive explanation at his blog Marketing Excellence):

#1. The technology is still too complex

#2. The model is not yet scaleable

#3. The subscriber statistics are misleading

#4. The model’s scaleability is further threatened by a corporate IT backlash.

#5. The content is primarily adult oriented

#6. Brands are underestimating the investments required.

#7. Brands are not staying true to the Second Life values.

#8. Second Life experiences are not integrated with the overall brand experience.

#9. Potential revenues and profits are limited.

#10. I barely have time for my first life……

Lenovo' s online marketing chief Dave Churbuck reminds me of a November post on this very same topic.

Technorati tags: second life marketing

Garfield's Chaos Scenario

By Will Waugh

I like Bob Garfield. I have followed his writing and reviews for some time. I know his criticisms have hit a lot of nerves (including many of our members) but his insight on the future of marketing are extraordinary and, in many cases, spot on. I did ask him about the future of associations like ours and he was bullish on our role in marketing's evolution. Would he tell me otherwise at our event? Probably not but he is pretty straightforward.

I can't embed the video that Advertising Age is hosting but here is the link of Garfield speaking at our TV Forum a few weeks back. He hasn't posted on his blog Garfield: The Blog in awhile, but the writings are always entertaining and insightful.

Technorati tags: video marketing chaos scenario

Stengel - Communications Specialist in Demand

By Will Waugh

We recently interviewed Jim Stengel, P&G's Global Marketing Officer, for an upcoming publication we have coming out tentatively titled Marketing Thought Leaders: Conquering the Growth Frontier. When asked for his predictions on specialized positions for the new marketing world, he only gave one - a communications specialist role. I thought the definition for this was interesting so I thought I'd share it:

It's someone who is a bit of a consumer researcher and a bit of an advertising agency planner type - someone who is an integrated thinker; someone who understands the communications world. And I think someone who also understands the content world. It's a much more complex planning skill -- strategic thinking you might call it.

There you have it. The world's top marketer on what sort of skill sets a new marketer needs to have. I have talked about content as a killer app  as well as the renaissance marketer and how these traits are neccesary components of the evolving marketing world. The challenge, of course, is finding the talented individuals with a varied skill set across this spectrum. 

Technorati tags: stengel marketing communications

What's on the Minds of Senior Marketers?

By Will Waugh

A survey that the ANA released found the top concerns on the minds of senior marketing executives are "integrated marketing communications" and "marketing accountability". The ANA asked over 100 senior marketers to select from a comprehensive list of subjects to rank their top three issues that directly impact their marketing decisions and plans.

Integrated marketing communications (Wikipedia) jumped from the fourth spot in 2006 to the top of the list this year. Marketing accountability, which had topped the list for the previous three annual surveys, slipped to second place.

The ANA will use these findings to help shape the content of its Annual Conference: The Masters of Marketing scheduled to take place October 11 – 14, 2007 in Phoenix, AZ.

The entire selection of questions is below. The top 4 are switched around but remains consistent with what senior marketers and CMOs are telling us. Integrated marketing being number 1 does not surprise me, nor should it anyone else in this space as the marketing landscape continues to transform. The real question for those of us marketers out there is, should we be concerned that "attracting and retaining top talent" is the least of their worries?

Issue	2007	2006
Integrated marketing communications	1	4
Accountability	2	1
Aligning marketing organization with innovation	3	2
Building strong brands	4	3
Media proliferation	5	5
Consumer control over what and how they view advertising	6	8
Globalization of marketing efforts	7	10
Growth of multicultural consumer segments	8	6
Advertising creative that achieves business results	9	9
Attracting and retaining top talent	10	7

Technorati tags: CMOs marketing IMC

Tripodi's Pet Peeves

By Will Waugh

At yesterday's TV Forum, Allstate's illustrious CMO Joe Tripodi told a compelling brand story and shared his pet peeves of advertising. He urged advertisers not to be:

• The Class Clown - Thinks everything is a joke with nothing really tying to the brand or product
• The Jock - An advertiser who is lost in strained sports analogies and attaches product or brand where there is no real linkage.
• The Prom Princess - An advertiser who is all about image with no real product or substance -
• The Slacker - No goals or measures.
• The Geek - In love with all the new media and technology (this might hit a sore spot to this audience). He feels these people are trying to be ingredient branders.
• The Drama Queen - All emotion, all the time. These are advertisers who attempt to inject emotion where there is none.
• The Heavyweight - He mentioned that it is good to go on intuition some time, but not all the time. My favorite quote here: "If you go with your guy all the time, you will be out of a job." The overriding concept here is you absolutely need consumer insight and analysis.

Ad Age is hosting some video of Joe Tripodi here.

Technorati tags: tripodi marketing TV Forum

Out at TV Today

By Will Waugh

We will be hosting our annual precursor to the Upfront today we call the TV Forum. I will attempt to post from there but am not 100% sure on the hotspots at the Marriott Marquis. So that being said, I will report back on what our friends at Allstate, Nissan, NBC Universal, et al. have to say as soon as possible. Also on the slate is Andy Jung from Kelloggs delivering the ANA's commercial ratings stance. This is the area I hope to see some debate on. Most of the chatter about this subject states that our advertisers are fighting a losing cause. Sorry, it's a fight that needs to be fought. Vietnam can do it, why can't we? My favorite quote comes from Chris at Open the Dialogue:

Nielsen's system isn't actually going to be able to track commercial viewing because it only tracks viewer numbers every 2.5 seconds, a time gap that's too wide for accurate measurement. That's just fine with most parties involved in this discussion, though, since ad agencies seem to be paranoid about their commercials actually being judged with hard numbers. They like those fuzzy numbers, but their media-buying counterparts are wanting the same accountability for TV that they're finding online.

Another call from the ANA's paper is that some of the bigger brand names want "brand-specific" ratings, but it's hard for me to fathom the extent to which this won't happen.

Technorati tags: commercial ratings television

Why We Need Brand Specific Commercial Ratings Right Now

By Will Waugh

The ANA Television Advertising Committee released a position paper yesterday supporting the industry’s growing movement towards television commercial ratings. Today’s marketing executives are pressured to justify and evaluate their media investments in meaningful and precise ways and this development helps achieve that by providing marketers with a deeper understanding of program and commercial viewership.

The Committee believes the need for accountability is especially great in television advertising, where $70 billion is spent annually on commercial time. Here are some more reasons:

• Serving as a copy testing tool to identify the stronger and weaker executions within a commercial, enabling advertisers to pull (or fix) weaker spots and heavy up on stronger ones.
• Functioning as an indicator for commercial wear out.
• Providing a better understanding of impact differences related to such factors as pod position, length of creative, and national versus local placement.
• Establishing the value of in-program and in-game features and sponsorships.
• Helping marketers understand how DVR usage habits impact all of the above.

I have sat in on this debate since I joined the ANA two years ago. There is a lot of finger pointing back and forth. One item that sticks out in my mind is the voice of one advertiser who controls several hundred millions of dollars.

"If TV does not become as accountable as all of the new media, then advertisers will leave. When we can't explain to our executives where $100 million in TV is going but can get extremely granular with a million dollar online or mobile execution -- there's a problem."

MediaPost talks about it here. The New York Times expands on the topic here. And the International Herald Tribune even moreso here. As a reminder, Andy Jung of Kelloggs will expound on the issue further at next week's TV Forum.

Technorati tags: commercial ratings television

Marketing is #2 on Bright New Careers List

By Will Waugh

I wasn't looking but it popped up on my Yahoo! home page this morning. Seven Bright Careers for 2007 and Beyond highlights Marketing at #2 right after Physician Assistant:

This isn't your grandma's advertising. Today's marketers are developing business strategies in a rapidly changing media environment. To keep up with the media revolution, many businesses are hiring 'new media marketing coordinators' and 'marketing media strategists.'

I am not sure what my "grandma's advertising" was but this excerpt is spot on with indicators we are seeing from ANA members.

Surprised? Online Ad Spending Jumps 34%

By Will Waugh

News from the IAB via MediaPost announces media spending online reached a record $16.8 billion in 2006, an increase of 34%. IAB President Randy Rothenberg said, "The increase underscores marketers' understanding that interactive advertising can engage consumers, build brands and sell products and services."

This is not surprising to most and the trend is likely to continue though most see the growth adjusting to around 15-20% per year from here on out. The article goes on to mention Microsoft CMO Mich Matthews' recent announcement at the 4As Media Conference (Barbara comments on Mich's talk) that the technology giant will shift the bulk of their $1 billion spend online by 2010.

Technorati tags: online marketing microsoft

Watching TV Online

By Will Waugh

I am a big fan of the show Friday Night Lights (a product of the Script Development Fund of the Family Friendly Programming Forum). I don't watch a lot of TV, having relegated my entertainment to Netflix . Friday Night Lights is great TV. Well acted. Intense drama. What TV is all about. The thing is, I don't watch it on TV. Over the last long weekend, I watched the first six episodes on Yahoo! and the remainder over the last couple of weeks on nbc.com.

Who says you can't watch TV online? The experience as I see it:

• You watch six segments with  the same pre-rolled ad before each.
• A lot less advertising than an hour of TV (average of 25 commercials versus six)
• I liked the Chase and Hilton Hotels commercials but by the third run of the promo for the new Robin William's movie, I was walking away from the computer.
• The picture was flawless and the resolution crisp.
• It will never reach TV levels with its current experience because it is a singular event.
• Advertisers still win with this advertising. A complementary static ad runs concurrently throughout the entire viewing experience. The audience may not be large but the exposure is worth it.

Some great reading about video pre-roll and online video as a whole at The Daily Reel and Will Video for Food (one of my favorites). 

Technorati tags: video marketing friday night lights

News for Marketers Without Scouring

By Will Waugh

I received a note like I'm sure many other marketers did announcing a new service from Prophet called Backpocket. Their chief executive is quoted as saying: "We’re excited to provide what we hope will become a go-to resource for busy marketers who need to keep up with the news, but who don’t have time to scour the media to find it."

Well, we hear from ANA members all the time that marketers just don't have the time so, in concept, this sounds like a great service. I checked it out and it looks like a nice mix of what all the Smartbriefs and MediaPost newsletters provide combined with the valuable resources of Prophet and their soothsayers.

4As Media Conference - ANA's View of E-Media Exchange

Thanks to MediaPost for hosting videos of Joe Mandese interviewing attendees at the 4As Media Conference. That list includes my boss, Barbara Bacci Mirque, speaking to the ANA's thoughts on the "media marketplace" and the future of digital transactions.

MediaPost is blogging about the event here.

Technorati tags: 4As media

Global Marketing News from the WFA

By Will Waugh

The ANA is a member of the World Federation of Advertisers, a tight knit group of advertising associations based in Brussels. That's right, an association of associations. If I remeber the latest number, our members represent somewhere along the lines of 60% of the world's ad spend.

I receive their monthly newsletters from my counterpart there who also happens to be a Will - Will Gilroy. I have included the links because there is some interesting information you don't neccesarily read regularly. For me, it is my primary outlet outside of the US-centric marketing bubble many of us live in. It's also some good reading.

WFA responds to Romanian consultation on food advertising

Malaysian Health Minister considers food advertising restrictions

South Korean Government outlines restrictions on food advertising

EU Consumer Protection Commissioner backs advertising self-regulation

US marketers allocate 15% of budget to new mediaArbitron and Nielsen formalise Apollo agreement

Ofcom releases final statement on advertising to childrenMerrill Lynch responds to IPA’s predictions for future drivers in advertising

China adspend continues strong growth: 20% rise in 2006

US Government and Dreamworks launch ads to address child obesity

Google unveils revenue of $3.2 billion for Q4 2006

Technorati tags: marketing global

Lincoln Financial's Online Video

By Will Waugh

I'd like to call people's attention to Lincoln Financial's online video series Hello Future Films which allows the user to choose their path towards retirement with subtle hints of product offerings. This is a clever execution that delivers on their messaging of 'owning the optimism of the future.' It is also consistent with the trend we are seeing with advertisers as content producers and distributors.

The big challenge: As a financial services firm in an industry that had veered towards commoditization, how could they break through the clutter of traditional media.

Key insight: Baby boomers approach the world optimistically and retirement is not a conclusion for them but rather a fresh start.

Behind Lincoln Financial Group’s new media play is an established brand positioning that fortifies both their consumer objectives and financial intermediary objectives - Retirement is being redefined. It’s not an end, but a series of transitions that requires smart products and solutions to help clients achieve continued success.

Technorati tags: lincoln financial video marketing

Marketing Lessons from Ozzy

By Will Waugh

I had a radio show back in high school on WGAJ FM 92 Deerfield. I was a metal head and loved Ozzy Osbourne. So I really appreciated CK's article on Marketing Profs Daily Fix highlighting the ancient headbanger and the magic behind his marketing.

The business decision: Let people experience summer music tour Ozzfest for free and have advertisers pick up the tab! Actually concession fees will also complement the sponsorships along with "slotting fees" for bands.

Normally Ozzy isn't mentioned in an article along with the words "marketing savvy" (which is actually associated with his wife Sharon) so that is why I pointed it out. Read on into the Comments section where this post created a lively debate.

Content is the Killer App

By Will Waugh

We have heard about how a number of objects are killer apps - video, Firefox, love. I personally believe that content is the killer app, whether it's video, audio, the written word, photos, etc. At the ANA, we have been able to utilize the written word alone across multiple channels, most recently with our partnership with Yahoo Advertising. We are looking to "go digital" with our intellectual capital business and take advantage of the long tail - selling less of more.

Here are the lessons I have learned:

• Content -- in this case white papers, case studies, summaries -- are exceptional marketing tools. Recently a non-member of the ANA found some work we had done on Procurement and Marketing relationships via search, saw the value in our array of offerings and joined our organization.
• Split it up in as many ways as possible - With the multiple channels, sites, communities people are a part of online - why not have the same piece of content or a clip or summary in a lot of different places? I plan on taking our upcoming Trends in Agency Compensation and making it available in dozens of different formats, lengths and languages.
• People demand things when they want it and how they want it. For a membership organization, just like any client serving organization, why not give it to them their way? I have had members buy a piece of content from us that we had delivered to them previously for free. Get it in their hands in as many ways as possible.
• Partnerships are crucial - Don't stay out on an island or think that your stuff is so good people will seek you out. Share a little. Collaborate a little.
• More content creates more opportunity for people to share and talk about you. Ultimately, isn't that the most valauable component of all? (It has to be worth talking about of course) 

Technorati tags: content killer app marketing

Ten Columns Every CMO Should Read

By Will Waugh

Pete Blackshaw over at cgm has compiled a list of clickZ articles he authored in to Ten Columns Every CMO Should Read. This post is not to be confused with my Top Ten CMO List from a little while back. Pete is a smart guy who spent lots of time on the client side and has insight on what high level marketers should be looking at, particularly in the consumer generated space. The Pocket-Guide to Consumer Generated Media provides a perfect overview while The Third Moment of Truth breaks down A.G. Lafley's much publicized speech at our Annual Conference and what it means for marketers.

Technorati tags: consumer generated media marketing CMO

Rapping About Taxes by Intuit

By Will Waugh

Thanks to Church of the Customer for illuminating me about Intuit's TurboTax The Tax Rap ft. Vanilla Ice. The latest in consumer generated content features amateur rappers/videographers singing enthusiastically about tax preparation.

I hate the thought of doing my taxes this week, but I love the idea of rapping about the #1 selling tax software out there. Not real sure where Vanilla Ice comes in (KFed must have been too pricey), but I did view a couple and they are quite entertaining. I liked this one best:

Pontiac's Online Marketing Success

By Will Waugh

We always like to point out our members that showcase exceptional marketing in a complex environment. The U.S. auto market is going through a bit of an adjustment (understatement of the year) as they compete in a viscious market. Pontiac's marketing has not missed a beat. American Copywriter brought to my attention a bold move into MySpace to market the G5:

The premise is this, when/if you buy a new Pontiac G5, go to the MySpace page and register the car. When you do that, you'll get a "Friends with Benefits" debit card. The more people that buy a car and register, the more money is put onto the card (up to $1,000, which would be 1,000 people).

The G5 is already being marketed to the younger crowd, so a MySpace presence is a must. In addition, they're speaking to a crowd that likes the incentive of extra money.

Pontiac has led the way in to new and experimental media with gusto. Their mindset appears to be "I know we need to be there. There might be risks but we are confident there will be more upside than downside" Mark-Hans Richer and his team deserve alot of credit for their forays into branded entertainment, Second Life and online-marketing only product launches like the G5. With car companies like GM making adjustments to their spend to compete in the fragmented marketing world, it is nice to see companies like Pontiac making the most of their marketing dollars.

Technorati tags: online marketing pontiac

Do You Participate in the Conversation?

By Will Waugh

At the ANA, we conduct a number of surveys on anything from agency compensation to what keeps senior marketers awake at night. We do nothing focused primarily on this world; the "conversational marketing" space our friend Joe Jaffe over at Jaffe Juice is so actively engaged in. Jaffe, the crown prince of new marketing, is preparing a title for Wiley as a follow up to Life After the 30-Second Spot titled Join the Conversation (this link takes you to a wiki on the material). He is looking for brand marketers to participate in the conversation or, more pointedly, to take a survey to develop the framework for his new book.

I encourage all marketers actively engaged or curious about the space to take the survey (Joe is offering some topline nuggets before the book release to those who participate). Though the membership of the ANA are not all believers that the :30 spot is dead and buried like Joe (shameless plug for our TV Forum where we talk about this), there is an enormous amount of interest in the world of social media (or whatever you want to call it Steve). I, myself, look forward to the results.

Technorati tags: marketing social media

"Everybody Wants to Work in Marketing"

By Will Waugh

My favorite quote (thanks goDaddy.com) from a rather inconspicuous round of creative showcased for the Super Bowl. Everyone will have their Top Ten Lists, good and bad, but I recommend taking a look at a group of experts, pundits, bloggers and creative types over at SuperAdFreak. Seth Godin mentions there is nothing like the good old days when the Apple 1984 ad transformed commercials in to content and advertisers looked to create something that would be talked about versus actually trying to sell something. Here is the Apple story from our recent publication The Super Bowl of Advertising: Are Advertisers Still Winning the Game?

Bob Garfield, of course, has his opinion (on video no less!) over at AdAge.com. If you missed the ads, CBS is hosting them here.

Technorati tags: super bowl advertising word of mouth

The Top Ten CMO List

By Will Waugh

When speaking with senior marketers of the ANA, I have been asked about blogs and their impact. Many have commented that they are "nice" and something they are interested in. Many times, I have been asked to send a list of blogs that would be relevant to what's important to them. Instead of culling down so many brilliant marketing blogs out there, I found some posts/blogs that focus directly on the CMO and the way they do business:

1. First, the person who speaks with more CMOs than anybody, our chief Bob Liodice. Here is a recent post where he predicts what he expects for CMOs in 2007.
2. Peter Kim of Forrester is doing an ongoing study of marketing organizations. His most recent post here on being a CMO.
3. Note to CMO by Stephen Denny
4. Marketing and media in the age of great cynicism from the former CMO magazine editor.
5. Brand Autopsy, particularly the post on the 20 Common Mistakes of Eager Leaders
6. Tom Peters blog on strategy
7. Guy Kawasaki offers practical knowledge for business people, here is a post with a great list of marketing podcasts
8. MarketingProfs Daily Fix has a ton of good stuff for all marketers, here is a great post on Setting Expectations for Marketing.
9. Of course, my good man Eric Kintz who is a senior marketer talking about the issues that affect them, here on social media and organic search.
10. Church of the Customer blog talks about what many CMOs continue to struggle with, word of mouth, customer insights and the world that is social media.

Technorati tags: chief marketing officer blogs marketing

The Great Intellectual Property Debate

By Will Waugh

"We can't control it, we must try to direct."

I have had the privilege of spending the last two days with advertising lawyers and business affairs types at our Advertising Law and Business Affairs Conference. The above quote was provided by a panelist during a discussion on the future of intellectual property and individual rights. As we all know, ads are getting mocked, morphed and commercialized without advertiser consent. More times than none, talent and musicians are also getting infringed. Two of the brands represented, Elizabeth Arden (with their Britney Spears' fragrances) and Limited Brands (with Victoria Secret) have been subjected to numerous consumer-generated interpretations.

Some of their advice in facing this new reality:

• You must have a policing policy in place, but you can only protect so much.
• Make sure it's not your people doing it (whether in-house or agency).
• Look at what the cost/benefit analysis is.
• The dilemma is that alot of brands needs to be in this space so what is the balance between protecting and engaging.

One also referenced the Monday New York Times article "Hollywood Asks YouTube: Friend or Foe" highlighting what they felt was the most telling statement, as quoted by Universal chair Mark Shmuger - "I think that the marketing side of our company and the copyright-protection side have contradictory impulses."

In researching this post, I found an interesting article on the use or non-use of the word 'intellectual property' on a site called P2P Foundation -- a site with a lengthy mission, it's first component being - "that technology reflects a change of consciousness towards participation, and in turn strengthens it."

Technorati tags: intellectual property youtube viral video marketers

Google's YouTube Play

By Will Waugh

Google hosted the ANA's TV Advertising and New Technologies committees late last week at their swanky new West side headquarters. They took the time to talk to the 50 or so assorted advertisers about the multiple uses of video on the web particularly through YouTube and Google Video. Here are the pros and cons as seen by the advertisers:

Pros

• Advertisers will be able to run video ads through Adwords across their network. You Tube will expand the reach.
• YouTube's sacred real estate, where people watch the videos, will remain untouched (for now).
• Syndication of content (content in this case being advertising people like to watch) and the push down the long tail.

Cons

• Measurement of video is still not up to snuff. Google made it big on accountable marketing, video needs to be able to follow suit.
• Not a direct response medium

It was an interesting discussion among marketers. The most common talking point was how much Google paid for YouTube and how they are never going to get their money's worth. While researching Google bloggers, I realized that not too many of them had much to say about the YouTube acquisition. I did however discover the enlightening blog Technical Revenue with the tagline 'Entrepreneur trapped in an engineer's body.'

My favorite story with video is the Dove Real Beauty commercial, part of the brand's campaign promoting the Dove Self Esteem fund, that apparently got better results from the online viral component than the version aired on the Super Bowl.

Technorati tags: google youtube viral video marketers

The NFL's Marketing Champion

Great article from Tim Manners at Reveries featuring a Q&A with ANA Board member Lisa Baird, the NFL's SVP of consumer products and marketing. Lisa was also a judge for the big buzz "Pitch Us Your Idea for the best Super Bowl Commercial Ever. Seriously." Contest, won by marketing professional Gino Bona (seen here pitching the winning concept).

Technorati tags: super bowl advertising

Private Equity to Save Marketing?

By Will Waugh

Normally I don't comment on AdAge articles, but the article this morning titled 'How private equity is reshaping marketing' (sub req'd) struck a cord. Why? Some of the key points:

• Accountability - This has been the #1 issue for marketers for three years running now. This quote by 2x Management's Andy Whitman says it all: "The fact that private-equity marketing executives are compensated based mainly on profit and enterprise value also helps solve marketing's return-on-investment problem."
• Marketing Talent - Another challenge for our CMOs and senior marketers. Our Annual Conference keynote, AG Lafley, said that private equity is his largest competitor for talent. Marketing recruiter Barbara Pickens said, "Five years ago it was almost never part of the conversation." Innovation and accountability are the two most valuable traits of today's marketer (in a nutshell). Perhaps by seeing the talent drain to industries like private equity, brands and companies will hold a higher value on their marketing brain trust.
• Agency Compensation - This one is close to us as our 14th triennial agency compensation survey results come out in May. In the face of a changing marketing model, private equity is buying up specialized shops, adjusting them for this new world and offering them to the highest bidder. Advertiser's issues with agency overhead, agency executive compensation and the like become moot points because these shops are reorganized for efficiency. Value based deals (which we are seeing more and more of) hold long term value to private equity firms because they are not one-off deals.

Technorati tags: private equity marketing accountability talent

Marketers and Viral Video

By Will Waugh

Happy New Year everyone.

Thanks to AdRants for bringing to my attention the insightful list of Top Ten Online-Video Predictions from the blog Will Video for Food.

Two of the Top Ten really stood out to me:

Select amateur video creators will begin to make a full-time living without “crossing over” to television. Metacafe’s CEO Arik Czerniak recently told me he anticipates his top amatuer creators will make six-figure incomes in 2007. I think he’s right. I’d also watch for people earning high revenue via Revver if the company rapidly expands its viewer base through affiliate/syndicate partnerships. Select amateur video creators will begin to make a full-time living without “crossing over” to television. Metacafe’s CEO Arik Czerniak recently told me he anticipates his top amatuer creators will make six-figure incomes in 2007. I think he’s right. I’d also watch for people earning high revenue via Revver if the company rapidly expands its viewer base through affiliate/syndicate partnerships.

Amateur video creation is a hobby of mine as it is with a number of my friends. Though none of us have aspirations of turning our hobbies into a six-figure income, it is nice to see the prognosticators still believe that quality creative product will always find ways of being monetized.

The second one relates to marketers and their use of viral video:

Marketers will get smarter about how they gain consumer mindshare through online video. The self-created viral videos will give way to more creative partnerships between brands and top video creators. These deals will be efficient for marketers, and highly profitable for video creators with low budgets. We’ll see increasingly fewer $250K viral video series created by agencies, and more low-budget, fun videos that were inspired by amateurs but get the media support of advertising budgets.

I think the author hits this one on the head. From what we are seeing at the ANA, marketers continue to experiment in this space and have gotten smarter for it. This will also provide a valuable avenue for engagement (mindshare) with the consumer.

Some disagree, as the first comment on this post states: You had me until 'Marketers will get smarter.' "Smart Marketers? Isn’t that like Army Intelligence or Jumbo Shrimp?

Let's see what happens in 2007, but we know a lot of smart marketers out there are active in this space and, as we have seen in the past, they will experiment with this medium until the well runs dry.

Technorati tags: viral video marketers

Is It Too Soon to Talk TV?

By Will Waugh

A survey went out this week to ANA members on the future of television. No, it is not asking about the medium's demise. Instead, it is on their take on the commercial ratings issue. Yes, this has been an annual debate for some time. In 2007, expect there to be some official lines drawn.

Advertisers love TV. The ratings issue and network integration fees are problem areas; but otherwise, I have heard nothing this year but how valuable TV still is to marketers.

So that leads me to our TV Forum in March. Joe Tripodi, Chief Marketing Officer of Allstate, Jan Thompson, Vice President, Marketing, Nissan North America, and Beth Comstock, President, Digital Media and Market Development, NBC Universal headline this year’s  annual get together.

Tripodi, CMO of the nation’s largest publicly held personal lines insurer, discusses who’s doing TV advertising right, who’s doing it wrong, and how to avoid wasting advertising dollars by yielding to this trend. He will share "Tripodi’s Pet Peeves" which promises to call out advertisers, agencies, and media alike.

Nissan's Thompson has spearheaded the evolution of Nissan’s media mix to include Webisodes, blogging, consumer-generated content, branded entertainment, and more. Nissan’s newest campaign features comedian Marc Horowitz living out of a Sentra.

According to Mediaweek, NBC Universal’s "broad and fast-paced digital strategy" has pushed the company back into the race for new-media mind share. Beth Comstock is driving the bus that has transformed NBCU into a digital leader. Offerings include programs streamed on www.nbc.com, original Webisodes (e.g., The Office), a YouTube partnership, original broadband programming and channels (StarTomorrow and dotComedy.com), iVillage, and social networking.

Technorati tags: television advertising beth comstock joe tripodi jan thompson commercial ratings

Do You Have 18 Minutes?

By Will Waugh

I wish I had thought of this first. Forrester has introduced a line of podcasts where alot of their audio content is pulled from recent forums/conferences/meeting, etc. (something we have over a hundred a year of). Thanks to Charlene Li for the heads up (and welcome back to the blogosphere). The podcasts are short and accessible. Great use of content (the king) and utilization of audio from prominent marketers. Take a listen.

Watch It! Family Television Awards

Be sure to tune in tonight for the Family Television Awards on the CW at 9 pm.

It competes with House and The Unit, you say? That's what Tivos are for.

The Family Television Awards is an output of advertisers' interests in developing more family friendly television programming. My mother (the cynic) says there is no such thing anymore. I disagree. The awards show is a feel good representation that not everything on TV is bad. As Barbara said in a recent post, "This is not just altruism – it is good business and not only is it good business but prime time family television reflects the wishes of the consumers who purchase the goods and services of this group of advertisers and the viewers who tune into the broadcast networks."

Technorati tags: family television awards

New Marketing Professional -- Renaissance Marketer

By Will Waugh

Marketing is changing, we all know that. What is interesting to hear, primarily from our senior marketers and board members, is the sort of talent they are looking for in this environment of continuous reinvention. Companies and brands have already changed the requirements for marketers. They are looking for expansive thinkers and superior problem solvers. The true ‘renaissance marketers’ will be educated in disciplines such as philosophy, behavioral science, applied psychology, history, literary theory, and econometrics (I knew that liberal arts degree would pay off).

I came across some great blogs/stories that play in one way or another into this theme:

• David Armano's brilliant Logic + Emotion, which talks talks about psychology and use of color
• Max introduced me to my new favorite site The New Scientist
• The daddy of all great reading lists from another favorite, Creating Passionate Users
• Rob Field's Marketing Pop Culture looks at how marketing and pop culture has transcended to a level of codependence.

Technorati tags: marketing insights renaissance marketer

Please Welcome Randy Rothenberg to the IAB

Congratulations to Randy (Randall) Rothenberg on taking over as President/CEO at our sister in the association biz, the Interactive Advertising Bureau. Having worked with Randy at Booz Allen, I look forward to how his business acumen and wealth of knowledge will drive the future of the interactive space -- especially for advertisers. Our collaboration with Randy and the folks at Booz Allen on a book project (tentatively titled Marketing Thought Leaders, with interviews of the top marketers and business leaders in the business) has been a rewarding example of best practices in knowledge management and distribution. The IAB has a bright future with Mr. Rothenberg at its helm. See IAB press release here.

Technorati tags: Rothenberg IAB advertising news

ANA and Yahoo! - Content Partners

ANA and Yahoo! announced a partnership where the ANA will be a major content provider for Yahoo!’s revamped advertising Web site, advertising.yahoo.com. The site will now offer ANA’s extensive collection of ad industry information and expertise – including new research, articles and white papers – content that previously was available only to ANA members. The relaunched site also features a creative gallery showcasing the industry’s top creative work and a unique all-inclusive industry calendar that compiles all major industry events and conferences.

This partnership is a natural collaboration for the ANA with the leader in the online information space. It leverages our extensive library of intellectual capital and highlights our important industry work.  Cammie Dunaway, Yahoo!'s CMO, said at our Annual Conference, that Yahoo! had identified 4-Pillars that guide their marketing strategy:

· Search

· Content

· Community

· Personalization

We now join them in the content sphere as a syndicator of marketing insights. We are thrilled at the possibilities of this partnership and others like it.

What Would You Say to a CMO?

Thanks to CKs Blog for bringing to my attention, among other things, a blog called Note to CMO written as a call-out to chief marketing officers and the marketing community.

What would you write if you had a chance to say something to the head of the marketing function?

In reading this fascinating approach, it reminded me of an article we did where a few CMOs from our board told us what they are looking for in marketing professionals. As the holidays near and we reflect on personal improvements or career moves -- some things to keep in mind from some of the top marketing leaders. What are they looking for in a marketing professional:

Holistic, ‘system-thinkers’… customer-centric believers … innovators and dreamers … smart, effective communicators … results-obsessed managers… enlightened measurers … and great team leaders.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Technorati tag: CMOs

Winners and Insights from the Multicultural Marketing Conference

A special congratulations goes to the winners of the ANA’s Annual Multicultural Excellence awards, which honor those who have created outstanding multicultural advertising campaigns and are sponsored by the ANA Multicultural Marketing Committee. Winners included:

In the General Market category, which was voted on by conference attendees, Lowe’s Companies with agency BBDO New York.

In the Asian category, MetLife, with agency partner IW Group.

In the African American category, Tyson Foods for their “Powered by Tyson” campaign with E. Morris Communications.

In the GLBT category,Pernod Ricard USA for their Stolichnaya Vodka campaign with agency partner Double Platinum.

In the Hispanic category, Procter & Gamble for Tide, with Conill Saatchi & Saatchi.

And the Campaign with Significant Results was Verizon Communications’, created with partner Burrell Communications.

These brands and agencies have worked together to create remarkable multicultural campaigns- let’s hope more marketers follow in their footsteps.

Read on to see insights from the conference...

Magic Johnson: Urban Marketer Extraordinaire

By Will Waugh

Magic Johnson spoke last night at our Multicultural Marketing Conference here in Los Angeles.

What a pleasant surprise. I was looking forward to his talk -- but expected nothing quite like this. Magic, who went from dishing assists to dishing lattes in urban communities, showed a razor sharp business acumen. So many famous athletes and celebrities waste their social currency and fade into oblivion.

Not Magic.

He has turned his fame and savvy business skills into an urban empire built on goodwill. He has over 100 Starbucks, 30+ Burger Kings, 6 AMC Movie Theatres, 20+ Washington Mutual Loan Centers and a $600 million dollar urban fund. His brand is the uncontested #1 urban brand operating in over 80 cities and touching 30 million people a year.

Insights from Magic's talk:

• Build your brand and make money in urban markets. Don't believe the stereotypes. For instance, his average transaction at his Starbucks is the same as wealthier suburban markets.
• Customize your environment to the audience and make it relevant. (Customer insights being the overriding theme).
• Create a home away from home experience.
• Urban markets are some of the most brand loyal customers you will make. Don't disappoint them.
• Give back to the community.
• Focus on the message but more importantly, focus on the messenger.
• If a multicultural business partner has failed you, don't hold it against the entire market.

The KISS Brand at our Annual Conference

My friends at Roccatu made me aware of the Gene Simmons interview they shot at our Annual Conference with Adweek. Man, does he sound lucid (unlike a couple of times I and others talked to him). He gets branding -- see what he has to say about the KISS brand.

Technorati tags: Gene Simmons ANA Annual Conference branding

Branded Entertainment- $7.5 Billion by 2010

"So where is advertising going with all this stuff like Tivo? Is it going to be just a bunch of product placement in our TV shows?"

That is what a friend asked me this weekend. Branded entertainment purists should rejoice, the business is only going to continue to grow regardless of whether the executions are good or not. A hot off the press ANA publication, Best Practices in Branded Entertainment, reviews how to do this right, as well as some of those who have succeeded (IAG contributed tracking and ROI for many of the case studies). Go here for a breakdown on a Ten Point Plan for Better Branded Entertainment which expands on the questions below:

• Is it brand relevant and brand positive?
• Does it build brand awareness?
• Does it break through advertising clutter?
• How long is the integration on-screen? Is it long enough for viewers to notice?
• Is it organic?
• Can the integration build buzz?
• Is there a demonstration of your product or service in the program? Or, can the program highlight key brand attributes?
• Will the program generate positive publicity and media coverage?
• How does the program relate to the rest of your brand marketing? If it’s an event, does it have a beginning, middle, and end?
• The prize is ROI. What’s the return on investment? What results do you plan to measure – and how will you do it?

Technorati tags branded entertainment marketing

A Virtual Welcome to our New Board Members

Our Annual Conference is associated with speakers, networking, industry leadership and the like. Perhaps the most critical occurence at the event, which tends to fly under the radar, is the election of ANA board members by the membership they serve.

In addition to Steve Sullivan, the senior vice president of communications for Liberty Mutual,(I am a big fan of their campaign Responsibility: What's Your Policy) taking over as the new chairman of ANA, the membership recently unanimously voted in two more officers and seven new board members.

Rebecca Saeger, executive vice president and chief marketing officer for Charles Schwab Corp., was elected vice chairman of the board, and the new treasurer is Eric W. Leininger, corporate senior vice president, consumer and business insights, for McDonald’s Corp.

Joining the executive committee of the board, these marketing leaders were recently elected by their peers to serve on the ANA board:

Diane D. Brink, Vice President, World Wide Integrated Marketing Communications, IBM Corporation

Thomas F. Haas, Chief Marketing Officer, Siemens Corporation

Judy L. Hu, Global Executive Director, Advertising and Brand, General Electric Company

Maureen A. McGuire, Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, Sears Holdings Corporation

Cie Nicholson, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, Pepsi-Cola North America

Brian D. Perkins, Corporate Vice President, Corporate Affairs, Johnson & Johnson

Scott Remy, Senior Vice President, Communications, Nestlé USA

Technorati tags CMOs ANA

Open Post to All Marketers -- Why Blogging Matters

Sorry about my tardiness on the open post; I was vacationing for my first anniversary (legitimate excuse).

Below is the brain child of Eric Kintz over at HP -- a group perspective from some bloggers on why the blogosphere matters for marketers . Without further ado...

Introduction

Technology has enabled customers to dramatically change their attitude towards marketing. As a result, they are tuning out in increasing numbers and talking back. Customers are shifting massively their entertainment and information consumption away from traditional media to the new web space.

Marketers are responding by shifting their advertising to web properties, but online advertising is struggling to gain trust. According to a recent Forrester survey of US households, only 6% trust search engine ads and 2% online banner ads. Customers trust themselves and each other in influencing their perception of a brand. Yet few marketers have embraced blogging, although it supposedly enables a more personal and two-way interaction with the brand.

So does blogging matter? All of us are senior marketing executives in established corporations but we also share a common passion for blogging. At the initiation of Eric Kintz at Hewlett-Packard (www.hp.com/blogs/kintz), we decided to all get together to share our thoughts about the opportunities and challenges of this new marketing frontier.

Join the conversation.

David Armano - Creative VP - Digitas – Logic + Emotion(http://darmano.typepad.com/logic_emotion/ )

Peter Blackshaw - CMO - Nielsen Buzz Metrics – Consumer Generated Media(http://notetaker.typepad.com/cgm/ )

David Churbuck - VP Global Web Marketing - Lenovo – Churbuck (http://www.churbuck.com/wordpress/ )

Dan Greenfield - VP Corporate Communications - EarthLink – Bernaisesource (http://bernaisesource.blog.com/ )

Eric Kintz – VP Global Marketing Strategy - Hewlett-Packard – Marketing Excellence (www.hp.com/blogs/kintz)

Will Waugh – Senior Director, Communications - ANA – Marketing Maestros (this one of course )

New Products: Why they Fail

ANA's latest title, New Products: The Next Big Marketing Revolution written by Robert Schulman is now available. This thorugh examination of new product development lays out the scope of the problems in creating successful new products, and more importantly explains the process you need to follow to avoid these pitfalls.

I have included an excerpt which is a checklist on the Top 10 Reasons New Products Fail. Please take a look and pass it around. Thanks for letting me plug our publications business.

Annual Conference Highlights

Thanks to the contributing bloggers for their Annual Conference penmanship and another first time for the ANA -- member bloggers. We also had a social network, some nice video stream from our partners at AdAge and Brandweek (courtesy of DragonFly), and a host of other contributions, listed here as of this post:

A special thanks to our bloggers (The New Maestros), who for one, made outstanding contributions and added valuable insight (as well as made my job easier):

Amber Alexander, Charles Schwab

• Linda Kaplan Thaler
• Jim McDowell, MINI USA
• Lawrence Flanagan, MasterCard USA
• Ken Romanzi, Ocean Spray and Fran Kelly, Arnold Worldwide

Alex Gerson, NFL

• Stephen Quinn, Wal-Mart
• Russ Klein, Burger King
• Cammie Dunaway, Yahoo!
• Lisa Baird, NFL and Bob Baird, Philips DAP

Manish Shrivastava, The Home Depot

• A.G. Lafley, The Proctor & Gamble Company
• Becky Saeger, Charles Schwab
• Sony's Mike Fasulo and Chris Fawcett, Sony Electronics and Brad Brinegar, McKinney
• HP's Gary Elliott
• Time Inc.'s Ann Moore

Thanks also to Max at AttentionMax  and Steve at Micropersuasion for their coverage.

Advertising Age has a comprehensive report on the featured speakers and Brandweek discusses A.G. Lafley's remarks. Stuart Elliott over at the New York Times (sub required) also reviews the outcome of our top event as well as a whimsical look at some highlights (Marketing Maestros is mentioned!). MediaPost also rings in here with several looks at themes and speaker outlooks.

ANA's New Maestros

For the past couple of years, we have blogged our Annual Conference for those who were unable to attend the sessions themselves.  This year, we are excited to introduce our Pre-Marketing Masters: the ANA Insights Sharing Team. 

Three member companies have brought along their up-and-coming marketing stars- these people, along with attending the sessions, will be blogging their way through them. 

So stay tuned- and join me in welcoming Amber Alexander of Charles Schwab, Alex Gerson of the NFL, and Manish Shrivastava of The Home Depot.

The Masters of Marketing

Our centerpiece event is here. ANA's  Annual Conference: The Masters of Marketing starts tonight with the Marketer of the Year Dinner and continues through the weekend. Tomorrow's postings  will feature the Maestros team as well as marketers from Home Depot, NFL and  Charles Schwab  who will be guest blogging. Over 1,000 marketers are attending to take in the wealth of knowledge from our grand list of featured speakers.

Max from AttentionMax and Steve from Micropersuasion will be joining us as will "traditional" media types from the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Business Week, Advertising Age, Adweek, MediaPost  and others. Tomorrow we will be posting multiple times (for the first time ever) so check back often.

Yahoo! Will Be Just Fine

Last week I met with Yahoo!'s engaging CMO Cammie Dunaway for a book we are publishing in 2007 to expand on our Growth Champion study. Coincidentally, Ms. Dunaway is also speaking on Day 2 of our upcoming Annual Conference. Despite the recent stock woes, I see a  bright future for Yahoo! They have a lot of smart people working for them in an innovative environment  with a rich understanding of consumer insights.

A few tidbits I thought I would share with the blogosphere. Yahoo! sees big things in the word-of- mouth  marketing arena. They have also bundled up the "not so distant" future of communications into four distinct pillars. They helped me personally crystalize the new world we live in: 1) Search 2) Personalization 3) Community and 4) Content.

Nice as a Competitive Advantage

Linda Kaplan Thaler follows AG Lafley on Day One of our Annual Conference kicking off next week. Largely regarded as a maven in the creative field, Linda's latest publication The Power of Nice is a light hearted dive that discredits the saying "nice guys finish last." The book is even featured on one of my father's favorite blogs, The Huffington Post with a quiz that asks - Do you know how to harness The Power of Nice into success? It is also discussed on the blog What's Next in Marketing, scribed by an employee of Kaplan Thaler's agency who reinforces that the theme of the book is, in fact, backed up by the author's actions.

I personally enjoyed the book and it is a read that can be polished off in one sitting. I encourage folks to pick up a copy whether you are already nice or not. You might pick up some golden nuggets that help you win millions of dollars in business like Ms. Kaplan Thaler.

Engagement -- The Latest from the ANA

Our very own Maestro, Barbara Bacci Mirque was interviewed over on the Engagement by Engagement blog, set up to talk about Advertising Week's Consumer Engagement Conference.

Click here or view the embedded video below:

Not Marketing Anymore?

Jim Nail, Cymphony's CMO, has an intriguing post about the state of marketing and brands where he states:

I'm definitely feeling an acceleration in the shift away from what John Stichweh Coca-Cola's Director of Worldwide Interactive Marketing called "Holistic Harrassment" (aka, integrated marketing, 360-degree marketing) to a more respectful, engagement-oriented relationship with consumers.

I'm not sure we can even call it marketing anymore.

ANA is also seeing a shift to a more-engagement oriented model; though within this framework are also some exceptional integrated campaigns (not harassment per se). I believe we can still call it marketing, as Wikipedia states: The practice of marketing is almost as old as humanity itself. Marketing is about building relationships with your customers, it always has been and always will be. Some do it better than others. Some use a ton of different media to reach their customer. But yes, a lot of marketers are getting smarter (and becoming a high value asset as a driver of growth) as the marketing/advertising organization transitions to what Jim identifies as: the true purpose of marketing: to discover and satisfy the want, needs, and motivations of consumers.

Campbell's Paul Alexander's "Great Creative Campaigns"

Paul Alexander, Campbell Soup Company's charismatic Vice President of Global Marketing, spoke to yesterday's ANA Agency Relations Forum crowd about the importance of training (a "stealth weapon in recruiting and retention"), collaboration with his agencies and what he identified as great creative executions:

• The Dove Self Esteem Fund campaign
• Life Takes Visa
• Southwest Airlines' "Time to get away"
• Allstate's tie-in with NASCAR and driver Kasey Kahne
• Mac/PC commercials
• Mr. Peanut and the Pistachio
• Citi's Identify Theft Solutions
• Ruffles Intense potato chip (which is not for the weak of heart- surprisingly, I couldn't find the commerical on any of the video channels)

Fads or Smart Marketing?

After a summer hiatus, Eric  Kintz is  back with a post on Dissociative Identity Marketing. In an era of marketers scrambling for the latest on interactive marketing and/or behaviorial  targeting, Eric  asks simply:

So what do you think? Is “dissociative identity marketing” the latest fad or the ultimate customer centric marketing?

I am afraid I am going to cop out on this one as it is,  by all means, both. In fact, on Wikipedia's definition of a fad, the personas that Kintz identifies (particularly blogs and social networks) are listed as the latest fads.

On the  other hand, I believe experimentation in these spaces is not just  customer-centric but good business. Companies like  Starwood  experimenting in  Second  Life and Unilever's  Axe  Gamekillers on  MySpace are "risks" worth taking. The smarter marketers get in these arenas, particularly if they can foster these skills in-house, the better  off they will be. It may be a fad one day  (see: Search) and an invaluable marketing  competency the next.

Top Marketers in the News

We have been utilizing this blog to inform our members different news about marketers and marketing; in some ways, an aggregator of sorts. Below are some recent articles on top marketers and featured speakers at ANA's Annual Conference:

• Mike Fasulo, Sony's CMO on gaining share in the TV market (LA Times)
• Jim McDowell on the MINI's evolution and brand building techniques (Brandweek)
• Kathryn Olson, LeapFrog's CMO, on being a go to brand during back to school (Yahoo!)
• Becky Saeger, Schwab's CMO, on how consolidating their agency will improve innovation and creative synergies (Adweek)
• HP's Gary Elliot at our very own Marketing Musings
• The Toronto Star talking about Linda Kaplan Thaler and her racy advertising

Wal-Mart Brand Reinvention

The Wal-Mart brand is being reinvented. After decades of meteoric growth, the brand needed something to help it maintain and enhance its growth prospects in the highly competitive retail workspace. In directing their strategic platforms, Stephen Quinn, SVP, Marketing at Wal-Mart (and ANA Annual conference speaker and board member) altered their growth strategy. The changing brand and media landscapes were a significant influencer in altering their marketing choice and practices.

In an excellent article by Dave Evans at ClickZ, the author discusses another member of the Wal-Mart marketing team, Julie Roehm, who was brought to Wal-Mart to, among other things, direct these interactive strategies:

All of sudden, e-marketing is the focal point for many otherwise offline campaigns, boosting overall effectiveness of each individual channel. Wal-Mart's Julie Roehm noted marketers still pushing the default notion of TV as central are shortsighted. In an Association of National Advertisers (ANA) speech in 2005 she said, "The upfront doesn't recognize or integrate marketing and promotional relationships."

Top CEOs. Top Business Leaders. ANA Members.

Best Practice Institute lists their top CEOs "selected according to their tenure, company size, commitment and investment to positive organizational change, growth strategy, and earnings estimates."

Not surprisingly, these industry-leading companies are all members of the ANA:

• A.G. Lafley (The Proctor & Gamble Company) and our keynote speaker at October's Annual Conference)
• Andrea Jung (Avon Products, Inc.)
• Andrew Liveris (The Dow Chemical Company)
• Anne Mulcahy (Xerox Corporation)
• Bill Sullivan (Agilent Technologies, Inc.)
• Bill Weldon (Johnson & Johnson)
• Bob Nardelli (The Home Depot, Inc.)
• Brad Anderson (Best Buy Co., Inc.)
• Dick Kovacevich (Wells Fargo & Company)
• Fred Smith (FedEx Corporation)
• J.P. Garnier (GlaxoSmithKline)
• Jeff Immelt (General Electric Company)
• Jim Skinner (McDonald's Corporation)
• John Chambers (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Ken Lewis (Bank of America Corporation)
• Kevin Rollins (Dell Incorporated)
• Meg Whitman (eBay, Inc.)
• Michel Tilmant (ING Group)
• Pat Russo (Lucent Technology)
• Paul Ostellini (Intel Corporation)
• Paul Pressler (Gap Inc.)
• Robert Ulrich (Target Corporation)

Congratulations to these companies for their exceptional organizational leadership and growth strategies!

Print Reinventing Itself

Lots of news in the print world about adjustments, layoffs and brand building.

Ad revenue and lagging subscriptions are blamed for the recent layoffs at a number of big dailies, as reported by Adjab. Advertisers are moving their dollars elsewhere so publications are getting leaner and gradually adjusting and reinventing their business models.

Time magazine recently announced their switch to Friday distribution, just one of many adjustments. Time's Inc.'s thoughtful leader, Anne Moore, is leading the company's change process and leveraging Time's core values to bolster company-wide trust. The Time Inc. CEO (and ANA Annual Conference speaker) said:

"We are creating a more vibrant TIME brand overall that will undoubtedly energize our readers and
also attract younger consumers so we're competing more effectively with all news brands in the print and digital worlds." (Thanks to News on Women for the heads up).

Print, like the marketing function/profession, continues to reinvent itself. The changes in the marketplace continue to affect all media, while some get fat (Google), some get lean (the news dailies) and others (like Time) modify their brand strategy.

Branded Entertainment to Triple

Brazil and Australia follow the US in spending on branded entertainment. China is on track to outspend the U.S. by 2010. These are but a few of some intriguing insights reported by the BBC on the spending trends expected for branded entertainment. The research, orchestrated by PQ Media, also says to expect over $7.5 billion in spending by 2010, largely due to the evolving media environment of ad skipping and fragmentation.

Join the Masters -- Reinvention and Innovation

ANA's Annual Conference -- The Masters of Marketing -- has grown over the last few years to a point where one media guru called it the "Congress of Kings." After attending my first one last year, I could clearly see why. The slate this year is just as powerful, with a rich line up of industry leaders and CMOs (and, of course, the rich social scene) The list of our esteemed presenters:

• The  keynote is Procter & Gamble's CEO A.G. Lafley --an article here discusses how Lafley sees innovation driving top line growth.
• Linda Kaplan  Thaler -- CEO and  Chief  Creative Officer of The Kaplan Thaler Group
• Stephen Quinn -- SVP, Marketing at Wal-Mart talking about reinventing the retail giant's brand.
• Becky  Saeger --  Charles Schwab's CMO on leveraging 'Talk to  Chuck.'
• Jim McDowell -- MINI's Managing Director will discuss how innovation has driven the brand.
• Russ Klein -- Burger King's Marketing Chief on their strategy with "The King."
• Sony's CMO Mike Fasulo highlights their reinvention and the power of ideas.
• Larry Flanagan -- MasterCard's CMO discusses how he made "Priceless" accountable and grew brand equity.
• Yahoo's CMO  Cammie  Dunaway  will  discuss how technology can help brands in increasingly innovative ways.
• HP's Gary Elliott on brand leadership and surviving the technology crunch.
• Anne Moore --  TIme Inc.'s CEO gives the media perspective on the evolving landscape.
• The Battle of the Bairds -- The NFL's Lisa and Philips' Bob square off on 'The Great Media Debate'
• Kathryn Olsen, CMO of Leapfrog, on how marketing innovation keeps them at t he top.
• Ken Romanzi,  COO of Ocean Spray teams up with adman Fran  Kelly to discuss brand  reinvention.

If  interested in finding out more, our Masters of Marketing website has a wealth of information. If you are interested in blogging the conference in early October (5-8 to be exact), please let me know.  (wwaugh@ana.net).

SAG/AFTRA Negotiations: "Both Sides Working Together and Recognizing One Another's Critical Needs"

This statement was issued by JPC Chief Negotiator Doug Wood as the advertising industry and performer's union tentatively agreed on a two-year extension to the current Commercial Contracts.

In addition to selecting a consultant for the joint compensation study, AFTRA, SAG and the JPC agreed that:

• Along with advertisements that appear on TV, radio and the Internet, the agreement will also cover all commercials that appear in new media—for existing platforms such as cell phones and for future platforms yet to be developed.
• The agreement provides advertisers with more flexibility to edit commercials for the Internet and new media.
• A New Media Committee, comprised of representatives from both the unions and the industry, will be empowered to make adjustments to the agreement to accommodate changing technologies and shifting paradigms within the commercials industry.

This is a great sign of progress. The marketing community should be thrilled about this compromise.

Prospects of an E-Media Exchange

Marketing is in a continuous state of reinvention so it makes sense that media would evolve as well. The ANA, along with the 4As, formed an industry task force comprised of leading marketers and media agencies to plot a pilot program to test an e-Media Exchange in early 2007. The pilot is a result of a grass roots initiative to explore ways to maximize new technology in order to enhance the current media buying system.  It reflects an evolution of the industry and another potential way for buyers and sellers to efficiently facilitate media transactions.

Our CEO Bob Liodice says it best -“We must address the changing media landscape and determine the opportunities generated by the rapid advancements in technology. We are committed to engaging our senior marketers and discussing and testing an online exchange for the buying and selling of advertising.”

Lots of folks are talking about it. Below are a few media outlets and what they have to say:

• Red Herring
• Ad Age (subscription needed)
• Adotas
• Houston Chronicle
• MediaPost
• Marketing Vox

The Power of Search

I admit it. I got into Search Marketing late in the game. In fact, I didn't really think much about it until I looked at the numbers...and the cost...and the ROI. USA Today has a feature today about Search Engine Watch, in particular search guru Danny Sullivan. Some interesting nuggets from the article:

• Many companies have dedicated search marketing professionals. In fact, advertisers like Citigroup and Coca Cola, actually have Vice Presidents of Search.
• Forrester expects search listings to grow to $26 billion by 2010
• Small and mid-sized businesses consider the ins and outs of search marketing "life or death"

Advertising The Snickers Way

They do say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery . Adfreak talks about a Spanish language imitation of the Snickers current ad campaign (I think I saw the Snackilicious wrapper on a cab this morning). Regardless of whether you like it, people are talking about this campaign and it is standing out from the clutter.

What's the Big Idea?

I enjoyed finishing Linda Kaplan Thaler and Robin Koval's book Bang! over the weekend and was struck by many great stories and ideas they discussed. (Disclaimer: Linda is speaking at our Annual Masters of Marketing Conference in October). These two, whose agency brought us the AFLAC Duck and Herbal Essence's "Totally Organic Experience," have strong feelings about how ideas fit into the corporate structure:

Nowhere is the need to lose the vision thing greater than in marketing. The consumer is a moving target, and in order to capture his or her imagination you must be open to every possibility. A specific vision for your company or brand today could easily be outdated tomorrow.

Take a look at what HP has done that follows this thinking, using viral marketing with their sponsorship of the World Cup. JP Morgan, an 'old school' markerter, offers podcast tips on Building Business in Asia (see press release and podcast). 

Good News on Marketing Accountability

Results are in from the third annual ANA Marketing Accountability survey, conducted by  ANA in conjunction with Marketing Management Analytics (MMA) and the 2006 ANA Marketing Accountability Task Force. Thanks to Adage reporting on it, their Crain counterparts at BtoB magazine and Marketing Vox.

The Good News

• More marketers are succeeding at marketing ROI and accountability! Thirty-two percent of marketers polled in the survey said they are satisfied with their ability to measure and act on ROI to improve business results, up from 19% in 2005.
• Substantial improvements in the ability of senior-level marketers to measure and act on ROI

The Not So Good News

• There is still tremendous difficulty in turning marketing metrics into action due to organizational impediments and process barriers.
• Another 20% of senior-level marketers said they can measure ROI, but cannot act on it.

ANA is extremely pleased about the continued progress our members are making. More best practices will be discussed by seasoned  accountability marketers at ANA's upcoming Marketing Accountability Forum this Thursday. We will share some learnings from this event.

Masters of Marketing Live

The ANA's premiere event, our Annual Conference dubbed the  Masters of Marketing, is now taking registrations. I know you have all heard it before, but we are expecting our best year yet and seats will be limited.

The line-up is shaping up real nicely with blue chip CMOs (from Charles Schwab, Sony, Nissan), our keynote speaker AG Lafley from P&G and further findings from both our Growth Champion study with Booz Allen and our Marketing Accountability Task Force.

We are expecting a record crowd of client side marketers to an event one  marketing leader called "The Congress of Kings." The  enticement this year for our members is a one-time corporate registration fee which then allows all marketers from that company a free ride to join the "Masters."

We have a tremendous amount of rich content from the upcoming conference (and years past) I will be posting nuggets of info as frequently as possible.

Viral Video A Boone for Advertisers

J.D. at New Media Musings has an interesting recap in Flavors of Grassroots Video. Online video has been an increasing area of interest for  marketers -- recently we have heard American Express talk about their creative as rolling video stock.

A week or so back, Unilever (they call their creative "filmed assets") kicked off an  Enhanced TV Task Force with a case study where they used a viral online video they had developed for the Axe brand in the UK. The beauty is that they repackaged their "filmed assets" as a short clip on the Adult Swim Video on Demand channel. The story of a small town in Alaska with no women that turned to Axe body spray was a huge success for Unilever. They were hoping for a million viewers to download this low-cost endeavor. They got 2 million.

Managing Your Media Organization

When we started this blog, I never realized what a great avenue it was to discuss our book publishing efforts -- until I realized everyone is doing it, so why not. Our members tell us what intellectual property they want developed and we do our best to comply. Our newest title, Managing Your Media Organization, is one of these efforts. Client side advertisers, big and small, across every industry are struggling with their media and how to manage it. An interesting excerpt from Marketing Vox on media:

"Marketing accounts for about one trillion dollars of spending in the U.S. annually. If marketers slow their spending, that could hurt traditional media channels and the economy overall."

I have included an excerpt from the book (not an e-book, just a simple excerpt) -- a checklist of watch outs for those dealing with the the transitory stages a lot of media organizations are going through. Feel free to pass it along.

Blogger Notes and Q&A with Steve Rubel

Blogger News

• Blogger in the news, Mark Cuban, gets fined $250K by the NBA -- see his response on his blog (Congrats to my Miami Heat on their first world championship).
• Here is the long promised Steve Rubel Q&A session (.mp3) from ANA's Masters of Integrated Marketing Conference. Steve answers marketer's tough questions on the future of social media. (He has a lot to say about Mark Cuban and the "blogosphere's team")
• Eric highlights his findings from the Human Face of your blog's traffic (disclaimer: he interviewed me for this piece)

Being Media Agnostic Big for Marketers

Surprise: organizational issues are the greatest challenge for marketers in their integration efforts. We hear this all the time -- advertisers are not set up to properly take advantage of the media landscape and agencies still have a dated approach. But enough about that, here are some of the key nuggets of information from our latest survey:

• Sixty-three percent of marketers rank organizational issues as the greatest challenge to successfully integrating their marketing efforts. More specifically, they identified the existence of "functional silos" inside their companies as a key challenge.
• Most marketers (72 percent) feel the development of the “Big” creative idea that can be leveraged across all marketing channels is the most important contribution an agency can make toward an integrated marketing campaign.
• Almost 50 percent of marketers want their agencies to be media neutral when developing an integrated marketing program.
• Sales data and ROI analysis are viewed as the most important measures of the effectiveness of an IMC campaign.

Masters of IMC

The premiere of ANA's Masters of Integrated Marketing Conference is tomorrow and we will be attempting to blog from there if we can get some WiFi at the Grand Hyatt.

Some speakers of note:

• Steve Rubel, of Micropersuasion fame : Talking about blogging being a trend in this post. (Disclaimer: Steve worked on our account when at CooperKatz)
• Joseph Jaffe of Jaffe Juice fame: listen to the latest edition of his excellent pod cast Across the Sound
• Ed Keller talks word-of-mouth, which should be entertaining, especially after reading cgm critique Keller at the Beyond Blogging Conference in D.C.

Advertisers Unknowingly Supporting Spyware

My IT director recently made me aware of a troubling issue for advertisers on the Internet, in particular their unknowing participation, through brokers, in spyware dissemination. Here is an excerpt of the article from Computer Power User:

One of the dirtier secrets of spyware is how many legitimate companies have their products or sites pitched to people through a spyware app's ads, which in turn, make those companies look bad. People who book such advertising space usually do so through third-party brokers, so some aren't always aware spyware is advertising their products or services.

Advertisers, time to check with your broker. As the Internet advertising space continues to explode, we need to take a deeper look at where your ads are being placed. Brokerblogger has more in depth info on misleading and deceptive websites watch outs.

Pod Casting for Beginners

I have to admit -- I am skeptical of pod casting as a advertising medium. I do see it's value, however as a communication's vehicle. It's simple to do, little to no cost and viral by it's nature. So, with that being said, we will begin pod casting sessions from upcoming  ANA events.

So I searched for some pod casting tips on Technorati and was driven to a site called Ten Ideas to Make a Million Dollars Online and found this on pod casting and some other ideas on making a million bucks on the web.

Top Advertising Blogs

I am a big fan of lists provided by sites like Beyond Madison Avenue because it helps blogosphere newbies learn about great websites quickly. One I found to be clever and well thought out was American Copywriter. This post in particular gives advertisers an idea of what agency creative types think about on their way to the lake.

Everyone is Talking Social Networks

While out recovering from surgery, I got to catch up on my giant stack of The New Yorker magazines (Dad gets it for me every Christmas). I was surprised to find an article (quite good too) on Facebook, the quickly growing social networking site (and virtual goldmine). When asked about the role of advertising in their business model, the founder of Facebook, said it had a place but was not relying on it heavily. Nice to see these new poster children from Silicon Valley are not following the steps of their predecessors.

'New Social Networks Mean Business' on the cover of the latest Fast Company and their bloggers are talking about a Marketing BlogJam. Great to see two of my favorite magazines talking about one of the most interesting topics in business innovation.

Marketer Seeks "Collective Wisdom of the Blogosphere"

HP's VP of Global Marketing Strategy & Excellence Eric Kintz writes in his superb blog:

A Google search on Marketing Excellence ranked my blog #8 out of 72 million sites! A decent start after 4 weeks.... I now need the collective wisdom of the blogosphere to educate me on other search techniques to climb to #1.....

The post has insights on why he has made it to the top so fast and asks to keep helping him get to #1. It is great to see another client-side marketer in this space. As you can see from Constantin's NewPR Wiki, there are not a large number of corporate advertisers active in this space.

What Happened April 25th?

I was experimenting with a fantastic tool from Nielsen BuzzMetrics called Blogpulse, thanks to a recommendation from Max Kalehoff at AttentionMax. The tool tracks trends in blog post topics. I did a search using the general terms 'Marketing' and 'Advertising' and came up with this graph:

What happened April 25th? We posted on happenings at NAB that day, but did something else happen we weren't aware of? I love the chatter on these great subjects, but that is a pretty big jump in one day.

Life After the :30 Coming to the ANA

Congratulations to Joseph Jaffe on being named to Viral Garden's Top 25 Marketing Blogs. Jaffe Juice is a blog full of rich insight on the complex marketing landscape. Coincidentally, Joseph is speaking to a room full of our senior marketers tomorrow on his vision of Life After the 30-Second Spot.

Please welcome new ANA members

In the last four months, the ANA welcomed aboard a blue-chip list of companies, both B2C and B2B, small, medium, large, global and local... We are thrilled to have them join our roster of member companies:

• Cingular
• Banana Republic
• United Technologies
• NFL
• Allianz
• Wells Fargo
• Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation
• Disney World (Disney, the parent company, is a longtime member and on the ANA board)
• EMC
• Disneyland
• LPGA
• Humana
• Schlage
• Mattel
• On-Request
• Hatfield Quality Meats
• International Code Council
• Verisign

A.G. Lafley -- CEO of the Year

Congratulations to A.G. Lafley, CEO of Procter & Gamble, on being named Chief Executive magazine's 'CEO of the Year!' Mr. Lafley, who will be the keynote speaker at this year's Annual Masters of Marketing conference, is a lifelong marketer being recognized for his tremendous six-year track record at the United States' largest advertiser.

The "human assets' in the marketing department are critical to P&G's overall marketing health. Lafley believes strongly in educating and enhancing his marketing team:

• When he took over, strategic focus was hammered through the marketing ranks.
• The "high touch" helps shape marketers. He is a big proponent of frequent gatherings where marketers can "concentrate on the human dimension of understanding consumers."
• Focusing employees on the "mission" versus the hard truths of the "bottom line."
• His leadership characteristics are defined by words like “focus,” “sense of mission” and “force of personality."

I look forward to what Mr. Lafley has to say to us in October at the Grande Lakes (Orlando) Ritz Carlton. The top chief executive is also the top marketer (Ad Age recognized P&G as the Marketer of the Year) for revitalizing and reinventing a 170-year old brand. Congrats again!

New Branded Entertainment Survey Findings!

Saturday Night Live studios is an interesting place for a conference. It makes sense in this case as we are talking branded entertainment and NBC (which houses this HD enhanced facility) has a sizeable investment in this space.

So we had a survey on this topic and the findings are a reinforcement of what we have been hearing.

Highlights of the survey include: 

• Sixty-two percent of marketers’ branded entertainment funds are currently being shifted from traditional television budgets, up from 52% last year.  Thirty-five percent are funding their initiatives incrementally, which is up from 18% funded incrementally last year.*

• Sixty percent of marketers are initiating their own branded entertainment projects.

• Eighty-seven percent of those who responded feel that existing research methodologies do not effectively measure the ability of branded entertainment integrations.

• Among the marketers who have not participated in branded entertainment projects in the past year, the top barriers to this space include: brand doesn’t lend itself to meaningful integration (40%); lack of measurable results (37%); regulation (27%); branded entertainment is too new (27%).

• Marketers surveyed are participating in the following types of branded entertainment:  commercial television programming (80%); sporting events / venues (46%); theatrical or movies (45%); magazines (26%); video games (26%); Internet films (15%); and non commercial television programming (15%).

*This post was corrected on April 20th due to a statistical error.

Bring the Brain into the Brand

There is nothing new about Malcolm Gladwell's disdain for focus groups, he made that real clear again to a group of advertisers at our TV Ad Forum last year. What I do like about Gladwell's ongoing discussions on this topic is it brings much needed attention to what part of the brain makes decisions when choosing brands: the thinking brain (neo-cortex) or the feeling brain (mammalian).

We discussed this topic in the ANA's Integrated Marketing Communications training seminar on what part, as a marketer, you want to reach.

Neo-cortex (thinking)

More improtant for: Business to business brands and high ticket/low frequency items (homes, cars)

Key drivers:

• Word of mouth
• "Expert" endoresement
• Past favorable experience
• Warranties/guarantees
• Strong service support

And the mammalian brain (feeling):

More improtant for: Consumer brands and low ticket/high frequency items

Key Drivers:

• Advertising
• Design/Appearance
• Celebrity endoresement
• Trends/fashion

I'm a big fan of studies involving neuroscience and marketing. The accessibility of this information has always been the barrier for many non-science oriented martketers (like myself). It will be interesting to see how developments in this field progress, especially with engagement as such a hot topic.

ANA Notes and News

A quick laundry list of things going on in and around the ANA:

• Just got back from ANA Training, and was pleasantly surprised to be instructed by the former "brand guru" at GE who reported directly to Jack Welch.
• Need a last minute excuse to go to Paris to discuss marketing? ANA members receive WFA (World Federation of Advertisers) member rates for their Global Advertiser Conference.
• The world of branded entertainment and the Battle of the Brands will be hosted at Saturday Night Live studios.
• Congratulations to Guy Kawasaki for 100 days as a blogger!

Citizen Marketers makes sense to me

Church of the Customer blog talks semantics about "user-generated content" and defines, from an earlier blog posting, the citizen marketer as:

"...customer evangelists who generate media on behalf of products, services, companies or people who generate inspiration. Most forms of media they create is shared across the web."

This makes sense. I know everyone hates to hear it, but once again "the consumer/customer is in control." Call it what you want, but marketers must be aware of it. The normal Jane or Joe is a marketer/journalist/publicist for your brands.

Bravia - Two Million Views and Counting

I was digging through my RSS feeds and came across an interesting story from MIT Advertising Lab. Sony's Bravia, which has an incredible brand story, has registered over 2.2 million page views on YouTube in 5 months. I am relatively new to this whole thing, but something tells me that having searchable and addressable ads will make advertisers extremely happy.

The Advertiser magazine changes publishers

ANA's official publication has selected The Pohly Company as their new publisher. After an extensive review process, the ANA found a group that would help rejuvenate the publication and bring fresh insights and perspectives to our members.

As the marketing industry changes, we evolve with it. The Advertiser, which has been published for 15 years, will continue to be from the client-side marketer perspective and offer key trends, issues and best practices six times a year.

Allstate makes great move in title sponsorship of Sugar Bowl

Way to go Joe! Joe Tripodi, CMO of Allstate and ANA board member inks deal to be the title sponsor of the Sugar Bowl in 2007.

The move helps solidify an already rich presence in the college football sponsorship arena. Set to return to New Orleans this year, the Sugar Bowl will have a positive economic and symbolic impact on this recovering region.

Marketers should read latest Newsweek

Just finished the new issue of Newsweek and feel relatively well educated on the tools avaialble on the web. I know I am just a layman, but now I am intrigued by jajah, sharpcast, prosper and the beta testing plum.

Every marketer should read the article. It tells them where their customers are going and more importantly, engaging.

Wanted: Expert to Develop Talent Payment Methodology

It goes without saying that there has been tremendous change in the media landscape since the current talent compensation model was established, back in the 1950s.

As a result, the Joint Policy Committee on Broadcast Talent Union Relations (JPC), the entity that represents the advertising industry in contract negotiations with the major talent unions, issued a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for an independent consultant.  They are searching for this consultant to develop alternate methods to compensate actors for their participation in commercials that appear on television and radio as well as in the growing array of new media.

The RFQ is intended to identify individuals with experience in television, radio and labor relations, who have the expertise to study the concerns of both the advertisers and the unions and propose alternative methods of compensation. The resulting approaches will be offered for consideration in this fall’s bargaining process surrounding the advertising industry’s contract with SAG/AFTRA, which expires on October 29, 2006.

Click here for more information on the JPC's Request for Credentials.

Introducing the Maestros

The ANA is pleased to enter the blogosphere for a third time. First, we joined with our CEO, Bob Liodice's launch of Marketing Musings,  and then our Executive VP in DC, Dan Jaffe, began  Regulatory Rumblings in March 2004.

To complement our current blogs and build dialogue on the enormous changes happening in marketing, we made the decision to jump on the blog band wagon again and offer up what else is going on in and around the ANA-- to give you a "sneak peek" at our organization. 

Our in-house citizen journalists will talk about everything from marketing technology to accountability and everything in between. Oh, and the name we borrowed from Dr. Pete Sealey who coined the phrase at our Annual Conference two years ago, saying, "It is no longer enough to be a master of marketing, you must become a maestro of marketing." What is a maestro? It is an "artist of consummate skill providing overall direction." All right, I like the sound of that, so here we go.