I give you: a flip-throw to the face!
Carry on.
Web Advertising on the Rise
21Nov08As businesses throughout the country tighten their advertising budgets, print publications are taking a big hit. Magazine page counts are shrinking and publications are getting lighter each month. According to the Newspaper Association of America (NAA), print ad sales have drastically declined, down 9.4% from 2006 to 2007 totals.
Web ad sales, on the other hand, are on the rise in spite of, or maybe because of, the current economic situation. This article in The Oakland Press states that revenue from online advertising has increased by nearly $2 billion from last year…not half bad. The same NAA report shows an 18.8% increase in web advertising sales from 2006 to 2007.
The popularity of Web advertising is evidence of two important points:
- It is pertinent that businesses have concrete proof that advertising is worth the investment. When advertising online, people often pay based on performance, offering documented proof that the advertisement lead to increased business, or a jump website traffic at the very least.
- As many members of the Identity team have previously explored, prominence of the Web initiatives has blown up and is continuing to do so. From social media networks like Facebook and Twitter to online publications and company websites, more consumers can view and share Web ads than has ever been possible with print advertising.
Creating and maintaining an online Web advertising presence has become virtually essential to a successful ad campaign. And, if statistics from the last few years are indicative of the future of advertising, that trend will only continue and strengthen in years to come.
Pulling from AIG’s Playbook
20Nov08Chapter 21 in our book of PR don’ts:
Go to Washington with your hat out, asking for taxpayer loans, by way of your lavishly expensive corporate jets:
There are 24 daily nonstop flights from Detroit to the Washington area. Richard Wagoner, Alan Mulally and Robert Nardelli probably should have taken one of them.
Instead, the chief executives of the Big Three automakers opted to fly their company jets to the capital for their hearings this week before the Senate and House — an ill-timed display of corporate excess for a trio of executives begging for an additional $25 billion from the public trough this week.
Yes, yes. They will protest that this is how business gets done at the C level of Fortune 100 companies. To which, many will respond, “Yeah, we get it…and that’s the problem.”
From a public relations standpoint, appearances are everything. (Well, most everything.)
PR’s “Remarkable Renassiance”
19Nov08From the Council of PR Firm’s The Firm Voice, some interesting insights from Sir Martin Sorrell, explaining the reasons why PR is enjoying a renaissance in the last three years:
- First, the growth of social media, a natural territory for Public Relations
- Second, the unstoppable rise of China, India and other nations
- Third, the need for internal communications in changing companies
- Fourth, the lack of public trust in companies and government
- Fifth, the increasing ability to assess data and measure performance
- Sixth, the rising cost of television advertising
And to our earlier posts, regarding marketing in a downturn, he goes on to say, “”There are those who argue that the Public Relations industry is counter-cyclical. It should flourish in a downturn.”
This is also an interesting article, published in Harvard Business School’s Working Knowledge, which furthers the point:
3. Maintain marketing spending. This is not the time to cut advertising. It is well documented that brands that increase advertising during a recession, when competitors are cutting back, can improve market share and return on investment at lower cost than during good economic times. Uncertain consumers need the reassurance of known brands, and more consumers at home watching television can deliver higher than expected audiences at lower cost-per-thousand impressions.
While this piece speaks specifically to advertising, the underlying principles hold true for any form of marketing.
Why market during a downturn?
18Nov08A very intuitive client sent this to me earlier today. It speaks to the need to continue positioning your company even during a downturn — a sentiment confirmed by pundits across the business community, including the Harvard School of Business. There are peaks and valleys in the economy — and we’re certainly in a deep valley. But how are you going to get back up the hill if you let your momentum die?
From a speech given by Robert Kiyosaki, author of the Rich Dad series.
_____________________________________
A few days ago, I spoke at a luncheon with approximately 500 local
business leaders. I began with these words: “I have good news and bad
news. The good news is you will have fewer competitors next year because
many of your competitors will be out of business. The bad news is you
might be one of those out of business.”
I then showed them my local newspaper, pointing to the headline
“Businesses Are Struggling.” I opened the newspaper and said, “I can
tell you who will be in business.” I pointed to a full-page ad for a
local appliance store. “I’ll bet money that this business will be here
next year. Why? Because this business is advertising more aggressively
than its competition.”
In previous issues of Entrepreneur, I’ve written about the importance of
advertising and promotion. I’ve shared my rich dad’s lesson that when
business drops off, many entrepreneurs listen to their accountant’s
advice and cut back on advertising and promotion. That’s the worst thing
you can do. When times get tough, your job is to promote more, not less.
Promotion is a six-week cycle. That means if I promote today, business
increases six weeks later. Many businesses violate the six-week cycle.
They promote for, say, four weeks, and because nothing happens, they
stop. Two weeks later, there’s a sudden increase in business. For four
weeks, business remains strong. Then, just as suddenly, business drops
off, because six weeks earlier, the entrepreneur had stopped promoting.
My rich dad’s lesson was to never stop promoting: Promote whether the
economy is strong or weak; promote even when you may not have the money.
If you have no money, stand on a street corner at lunchtime with a sign
hanging around your neck promoting your product or service. Not only
will you meet new customers, but you might also save money on lunch,
lose some weight and get a suntan.
Obviously, it takes more than just promotion to do well. To be
successful, a business also requires strong fundamentals and a desirable
product or service. During tough economic times, though, even some good
businesses fail; some businesses shrink and others grow. When a business
closes, its customers migrate to the business that fights hard and stays
open.
Businesses that promote while others cut their ad budgets have a better
chance of getting bigger . . . even if the economy is shrinking.
Pepsi to Switch Ad Firms
18Nov08This has to sting a little. After 48 years, Pepsi is switching creative firms for branding and communications.
NEW YORK PepsiCo is shifting lead U.S. creative duties on its flagship cola brand as well as Diet Pepsi from BBDO to TBWA\Chiat\Day, Pepsi said today.
Major media spending on the Pepsi and Diet Pepsi brands exceeded $90 million last year, including about $60 million on Pepsi alone, according to Nielsen Monitor-Plus.
The shift came after a review involving two Omnicom Group shops: TBWA\C\D in Playa del Rey, Calif., and BBDO here, which has handled the Pepsi brand since 1960, said sources. TBWA\C\D is also a Pepsi roster shop, handling creative duties on Gatorade.
I wonder if it has anything to do with this.
(I know Chris the prognosticator will have thoughts.)
