ANA Marketing Maestros

What do E-readers Mean for the Publishing Industry?

By Cara Brooke Schultz

Everyone wants to find the solution for the troubled publishing industry. Recently there has been a lot of hype around the e-reader phenomenon—Barnes and Noble released their version called the Nook, Amazon came out with a larger-screen version of the Kindle, and Sony has a touch screen edition. So what does this mean for the publishing industry—will people flock to the e-readers and begin paying for content again?

According to a recent article by AdWeek, “’There is an optimism among publishers,’ says Roger Fidler, program director for digital publishing at Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute at the University of Missouri. ‘But nobody is seriously saying this is going to save the industry.’”  

I personally bought my Kindle less than a year ago, shortly after Amazon released their second version, and I have to say I fell in love with my Kindle at first use. I am an avid reader, in fact I’ll read pretty much anything—from advertisements on the Subway to the NYTimes, so I think I fit Amazon’s target audience, however what about the main population? Will the e-reader trend catch on like the iPhone?

Here are a few of the reasons other people might find e-readers to be appealing:

1.    They are more environmentally friendly.

2.    No more lugging around multiple hard cover (or paperback) books. One e-reader can hold hundreds if not thousands of books, newspapers, magazines, even blogs—and e-readers usually weigh around 11 ounces.

3.    You can read multiple items at once. For example you can read the NYTimes on the train and then switch over to TIME magazine in seconds without elbowing the guy next to you.

4.     You can download new material in seconds, almost anywhere.

What do you think the benefits or disadvantages of e-readers are? Will you buy one?

 

Vanity Fair: The New Recessionista?

By Cara Brooke Schultz

The recession is taking a hit on every industry, especially the media. With numbers down across the board—The Tribune Company filed for bankruptcy, Doubledown Media shut down, Condé Nast ceased production of Domino, Gourmet, Cookie, and Elegant Bride, and Hearst closed down the print version of COSMOGIRL  (just to name a few)—it seems like every company is doing whatever they can to stay afloat.

Perhaps we can call Vanity Fair the next “recessionista” for recycling a photo for the cover of their March 2009 issue. The original photograph (right image)—shot by Annie Leibovitz—was used for the cover in July 2007. Vanity Fair acknowledges the reuse in the following statement on their Website, “This portrait of Obama, then a senator, was originally taken for one of 20 covers on Vanity Fair’s Africa issue of July 2007.”

What do you think about the decision to reuse an image that is over two years old?

To Tweet or Not To Tweet…

By Cara Brooke Schultz

It seems as if everyone is tweeting these days. In fact, your boss might even encourage you to write tweets. However, after reading an article on imediaconnection.com, I felt compelled to throw a few tricks of the trade out there. iMediaConnection rounded up a few sceneries when you should refrain from tweeting:

1. Do not tweet when you are in the middle of a crisis. If something terrible happens and you are dealing with a ton of negative feedback from customers, stay calm and try to rectify the situation prior to tweeting. One tweet announcing the change is enough.
2. Try to steer clear of all negativity on your twitter page. There is no reason to make fun of another company, a geographical location, or another person. Although you might think you are being funny, chances are you will offend someone.
3. Do not post everything online for the world to see. Always get the go ahead to broadcast breaking news, new deals or any developments that might come up in the office. Most likely, your boss will want to wait before making the news public.

I also wanted to add a few suggestions to the list:

1. Don’t write negative tweets about your competition. Your customers like you for several reasons, highlight those reasons and leave out the negativity!
2. Think before you tweet. Have well-thought out and spelling-error free tweets before making them live online. Remember, tweets cannot be edited once they go live, so do a thorough edit before posting.

Before writing your next tweet—take these ideas into account—it will help create a positive twitter experience.

Magazine Bleed Charges - Why Do They STILL Exist?

By Bill Duggan

I’d like to share a letter I wrote to the editor of Ad Age, printed in the September 28th issue:

 

Publishers should cut ‘bleed’ fees

Regarding "Condé Nast Execs to make Big Cuts, Insiders Say" (AdAge.com, Sept. 14): It would be terrific if McKinsey's analysis went beyond cost controls and also included a review of Condé Nast's pricing policies to ensure those policies are in alignment with marketplace realities. One such policy under scrutiny from   advertisers is charging an incremental fee for bleed ads. Once upon a time, publishers may have had real costs associated with the production of bleed ads. But today's printing and production technologies no longer require the press stoppages and plate changes that resulted int hose real costs. Condé Nast is one of the few remaining major publishers (Hearst is another) that has not eliminated these obsolete bleed charges, and ANA strongly suggests that the time has come to do so (end of letter to the editor).

 

More on bleed charges in the one page white paper – Are Magazine Bleed Charges Legitimate? ANA and 4A’s have reached out to Condé Nast on this issue numerous times since we published this white paper in January and all those requests have been completely ignored. Not even the courtesy of any response or acknowledgment. Meanwhile, Hearst’s response has been, “At the advice of our counsel, we will not discuss pricing policies in a group setting. So, we will take a pass on this.” 

 

We encourage advertisers and their agencies to discuss bleed charges with these respective publishers (and any others that have such fees). Not only are bleed charges no longer justified, but they actually cost advertisers additional money as sometimes two versions of creative are prepared (bleed and non-bleed) and the agency time and resources spent developing that extra creative and negotiating reduction/elimination of the bleed fees leads to higher agency compensation costs to advertisers. Finally, if publishers have a legitimate reason to charge for bleed, let’s hear it—after all this is a blog and the dialogue would be appreciated.

Are Things Looking Up for TV in 2010?

By Susan Burke

According to recently released reports, the Television Bureau of Advertising is predicting an increase in advertising revenue for 2010, as a result of the upcoming Winter Olympics in Vancouver and the U.S. mid-term elections, both of which are expected to lead to an influx of dollars into the TV ad market.  

Additionally, Disney’s CFO, Tom Staggs, announced that they have started to see improvements in ad sales for local markets, as well as among automotive manufacturers on the national stage. Recently, General Motors ventured back into the advertising market with an ad featuring their new chairman, Edward E. Whitacre, Jr. The ad offers customers a full refund (within 60 days of purchase) if they are not happy with their new GM vehicle:

New TV shows, such as The CW’s The Vampire Diaries (yes, I watched it), the network’s biggest series debut to date, are still drawing in viewers during their regularly scheduled time slots, potentially indicating that some ads are surviving the much discussed DVR blitz.

Does all of this point to a recovery? It’s too soon to tell, but it’s certainly better news than what we’ve been hearing for the past few months.

Drawing Attention to Yourself by Going Local

By Adrienne Tallacksen

My daily commute takes me past a local gym. I always look forward to checking out the latest advertisement they have to get people in the door, which is posted on a chalkboard easel on the sidewalk. The handwritten ads sometimes feature quotes (always altered in some way to play up the fitness angle), sometimes verge on offensive (needling those who might not be physically fit), and sometimes they aren't ads at all (a simple "YAY!" was posted on November 5th after President Obama was elected). The messages are often targeted to the Jersey City, NJ audience with references to local restaurants and even our most recent political scandal. Above all, the ads are clever and witty and almost always get my attention.

The gym is part of a small New York/New Jersey chain, so it may be easier for it to target the local audience than it would be for a national advertiser. But new tools are making targeted ads possible on a larger scale. At a meeting of the ANA's Television Advertising Committee Meeting in March, committee members learned about how Canoe Ventures is using community addressable advertising to target television viewers in different markets.

When an ad is targeted at people who live in my community, I feel like I can relate to the advertiser, even if I might not be interested in its product. This can be a powerful connection for marketers to make with consumers.

Consumers "Crash The Super Bowl"

By Irina Skaya

In my last blog, I talked about the value of being innovative and engaging consumers during the economic slowdown. What’s more ground-breaking and engaging than user-generated advertising? 

The two best-rated ads during Sunday’s Super Bowl were consumer-generated ads for Doritos.  Every marketing conference I attend, I hear of the importance of putting ourselves, marketers, into the shoes of consumers. Our products must reflect the needs of the consumers. Consumer insights are a key to creating ads. So why aren’t more marketers letting their own consumers create ads for their products? Won’t these ads engage more target consumers and be more relevant?

User-generated advertising is much more cost-effective; it’s basically free! Plus, there is a tremendous potential for PR. The other benefit of user-generated content is the possibility of discovering brand new advertising talent—advertisers are always seeking the next big creative genius. So why aren’t marketers embracing consumer-generated advertising as much as they should? 

Don't be afraid of not receiving high-quality ads. There are plenty of campaigns that have launched contests for consumer-generated advertising, and have received high-quality content. Consumers also like the opportunity to be creative because they feel they have some impact and some ownership. They put a lot of time and thought into what they are doing.  There's something to be said about an ad created by someone who really loves the product, versus what you get from someone who is paid.

Take a look at examples from HP, Apple, Converse, and of course Doritos. Below is one of the Doritos ads from this year’s Super Bowl.

Technorati tags: Super Bowl user-generated consumer-generated Doritos ad Apple HP Converse consumer engagement

Marketing & Media Ecosystem 2010

By Barbara Bacci Mirque

Marketing fundamentals have not changed, but the strategies, investments and capabilities required to succeed in marketing are being transformed.  The reshaping of our complex media environment will require changes across the marketer-agency-media value chain.

Marketing & Media Ecosystem 2010 (MME 2010) identifies the priorities, capabilities and partnerships required across the marketer - agency - media value chain to optimize now and prepare for the future. The first phase of this joint study between the ANA, IAB (Interactive Advertising Bureau), AAAA (American Association of Advertising Agencies) and management consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton was unveiled last year at the ANA 2007 Annual Masters of Marketing Conference. The second phase of this multi-year study, was recently completed by the IAB.

Senior marketing executives recognize the importance of creating a “Digitally Savvy” organization and culture, but less than one in four agree their organizations are currently digitally savvy.  Media companies are  responding to the expectations of marketers by developing creative, offering behavioral targeting, generating consumer insights, and helping calculate ROI as they join marketers and agencies in re-tooling their agenda to drive growth and connect to the consumer.  Marketers indicate that the ability to deliver consumer insights such as behavioral patterns and needs will become increasingly important,  and they are leveraging one-to-one consumer interactions (including ethnography) and digital channels that provide real-time behaviors and patterns.  ANA members are experimenting with making their consumers advocates by shifting marketing objectives from sending a message to facilitating conversations them.

Stay tuned for more updates from this important research in the coming months. ANA members can read the MME 2010 white papers at http://www.ana.net/michome.

The Future of Sports

By Bill Duggan

It’s March madness time and sports is everywhere.  Not just college basketball.  We are coming off the most watched Super Bowl of all-time. The baseball season is right around the corner. And all eyes are on China as the country prepares for the summer Olympics.

At the recent ANA TV & Everything Video Forum, we used polling devices to survey the audience of advertisers, agencies, media companies, and various consultants and some of the questions focused on sports.  Here’s what we found.

What’s the Score?
Overwhelmingly, respondents first go to the internet for sports news and scores.  TV is second, while newspapers and radio are far behind.  Who hasn’t gotten up in the middle of the night or logged onto to the internet first thing in the morning to catch a score?   And the internet’s dominance is only expected to increase in years to come.

Sports Highlights on the Internet
While the internet is the “go to” place for sports scores and news, it is still gaining traction as a destination for sports highlights.  Only half of the respondents in our survey currently go to the internet for sports highlights.  But as internet video overall increases in popularity, so will internet video viewing of sports highlights.

Is it live or TiVoed?
Sports still very much remains a live viewing experience as only 8% of respondents often TiVo a live sports event and watch it at a later time.  However, new technologies do provide us all with the option to TiVo sports and lots of us occasionally do that.

Who would have dreamed, as recently as ten years ago that, (a) there would be a new place to get sports news and scores – the internet and (b) there would be a new place to watch sports highlights – the internet?  And while the option of taping your favorite show, including sports, has been around for a while via the VCR, digital video recorders like TiVo now provide a better way of doing that. 

How has technology changed your sports experience?

Super Bowl Advertising 101

By: Irina Skaya

TV viewers stick around for the Super Bowl commercials, known for their edginess and sense of humor.  Advertisers invest millions of dollars into Super Bowl ads to keep television’s largest audience glued to their seats.  This year, approximately $2.7 million is being spent per 30 second spot, an increase from the $2.6 million spent during Super Bowl XLI.

According to the Origin of Brands blog, a typical formula for Super Bowl ad is a combination of celebrities, talking animals, sexy girls, potty humor, big stunts and special effects.  Speaking of celebrities, Justin Timberlake (who hasn’t made an appearance at the event since Janet Jackson’s wardrobe malfunction) will rock his body on February 3 in a Pepsi ad. 

The mainstays such as Bud and Go Daddy are expected to once again grace the television screen with off-the-wall humor.  Hopefully, Go Daddy will submit storyboards to FOX first, before wasting tons of money on filming commercials that will get rebuffed. 

So, what is the recipe for a successful Super Bowl Ad?

• Spread a strong brand massage that will resonate and reinforce itself in the mind of the consumers
• Spoon a proper amount of hard-hitting humor — too much, and the commercial will be rejected by the network
• Carefully roll in some controversial parodies with an edgy punch line

A misconception lies about who should advertise during the biggest television event – many believe it should only be the big brands with big appeal and heavy budget.  Although the majority of the Super Bowl advertisers such as Bud and Pepsi do fit the above description, smaller companies can advertise and succeed.  Advertising during this event is an opportunity to market a product to 90 million viewers. This year, advertisers can triple the exposure to their products because for the first time ever, My Space will host the Super Bowl ads in partnership with Fox. The genius selling point in this program is that it will allow advertisers to add additional content to drive the consumers to the product, such as discount coupon offerings, movie trailers, etc. The ads will play at www.myspace.com/superspots.

I leave you with a classic (one of my favorite Super Bowl ads): 

Pepsi “Two Kids”

Technorati tags: YouTube super bowl 2008 super bowl ads