16Jan / 2009

Are product placements a necessary evil?

Here’s nice post from MIT’s Convergence Culture Consortium blog. But probably the most salient point it makes, is way bigger than just product placement and arguably relevant for all kinds of communications:

‘Product placement works best when products are integrated into an already intriguing plot. For example, characters on Gossip Girl use Verizon cell phones to spread rumors, form alliances, and conspire against enemies. While cell phones are essential in moving Gossip Girl’s plot forward, the show is not about the phones themselves’.

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13Jan / 2009

Develop swing ideas rather than target swing voters?

In the ever deepening era of the Great Disruption, nicely coined by Scott Anthony in the Harvard Business Review, I’m an even more vehement supporter of transformative ideas and campaigns than normal. Who likes things that are average? And more importantly who likes to think of themselves as average? So if everyone hates averageness why do we spend so much time trying to target and appeal to the median?

I’m not just hoping that 2009 will see brands tackle the anesthetised state that people are currently in when it comes to communications, but see it as a necessity to develop an extreme position that fundamentally breaks up this ever shrinking median. This is also much bigger than tweaking the advertising message; it will have to start with getting the product experience into a truly polarised and interesting space. Gone are the days of covering up your faults with a shiny button of a campaign.

In a study conducted by economists at the University of California they challenge the perceived notion that winning election is about appealing to the swing voters;

Extreme positions can build trust among an electorate, who value ideological commitment in times of uncertainty.

“A rational electorate is reluctant to support someone who does not exhibit commitment to some ideology,” Carrillo says. “Voters rightly perceive that someone without ideological commitment cannot have developed a valuable political program. They reason that, ‘If you tell me what I want to hear, it probably means that you don’t have any ideas of your own to share.’”

Carrillo and Castanheira’s paper is an important challenge to the widely accepted median voter theorem. In the median voter theorem, voters who are fully informed will use their understanding when casting a ballot, choosing the platform that is closest to their own beliefs. Thus, it stands to reason that to attract the majority of votes, parties should try to appeal to the majority of voters.
But, as the researchers point out, it is rare for a voter to be fully informed in real life. More likely, voters will have incomplete and sometimes inaccurate information about how left-leaning or right-leaning stances actually translate into high quality proposals for, say, withdrawing troops safely or reforms.

This information comes from the press and other sources, such as campaign advertisements.

“To attract a majority of votes, parties cannot simply try to appear ‘median.’ Quite the contrary,” Carrillo says. “Winning an election is generally about crafting a convincing philosophy that the electorate will view as superior to that of the opponents.”

This is closely related to the debate around the Bell Curve and the Power Law views of the world which is covered in the entertaining and thought provoking Black Swan, but if you want a detailed and somewhat more objective view on the subject John Hagel’s post is probably a good place to familiarise yourself with the argument.

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29Oct / 2008

80 things you actually really need to know about advertising?

Adnews’ attractive publication with the evocative title has been sat on my desk for a few days now but I’ve only just found the time to flick through it, and flick through it I did. I know this is to celebrate 80 years of Adnews, so I can’t be too hard and I may be being unfair, but to call it ‘80 things you need to know about advertising’ is somewhat misleading. It is essentially a chance for people to pat each other on the back and talk up how great traditional advertising is and whilst look back on the golden era. Which is fine, but I don’t really, really, really need to know this.

I also got a small feeling that there was a distinct lack of ‘things you needed to know’ relating to digital?

Out of the 80 things only 3 mentioned digital and none of them were remotely helpful, or productive. Here they are…

‘Who created the first Internet viral ad in Australia and what was it for?’ An Internet Viral ad?? An interesting concept in itself but it roughly translates as a TV ad that was popular on Youtube. Now I like the Carlton Draft Big ad mentioned, but surely there is a better example of viral content on the web?

‘Will mobile ever overtake online spend?’ Who cares, it’s what people are doing that counts and technically more and more people are online on their mobile.

‘Is digital marketing resource intensive?’ The question was so confrontational and unproductive I didn’t read the article

Out of the 80 things these were the lowlights…

‘What is so fascinating about advertising?’ Arguably answered by this other question ‘Does advertising have its fairs share of wankers?’

‘Are consumers really more ad savvy these days?’ They are more everything savvy

‘Can advertising ever be art?’ Yes, it can be anything it needs to be. A film, a blog, a book, an adventure, even a 10 pound note.

‘Which ad agencies have the best offices?’ Who cares

‘Why is there no innovation in the ad game?’ First of all there is, everywhere I look there is innovation just not ‘in the ad game’.

Now it wasn’t all bad. Out of the 80, I really only needed to know the following four

1 # Should advertising reflect society?
2 # How do you connect with new Australia?
3 # Can you build a globally successful brand without ads?
4 # How do clients develop strong communications for global brands in local markets?

I feel bad binning this as it’s a very valid celebration of Adnews so I thought I would help them out and see if we can compile a new list of ‘80 things you actually really need to know about advertising’ and I will do this for free. Hopefully with your help. So I’ll get things rolling by adding the fifth which is

5 # As more and more people ignore, switch off and close down, how can the industry advertise without advertising?

To show there are no hard feelings, you can order a copy of the Adnews book by calling: 02 9213 8325. And if you are interested in the history of Australian advertising then it is highly recommended.

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