Member Of:
Buy Local
Archive for the ‘Creative’ Category
If the adage is true that life imitates art, then what exactly is 3-D. I realize that we live in 3-D…so to speak, but 3-D films gave me a headache when I was a kid, and unfortunately they still do.
ESPN intends to launch a 3-D channel for the newly touted 3-D televisions that are on the market. Sales of these devices is mighty slim so far. 3-D films have taken off again. Popularized in the 1950′s and making various resurgences through the last five decades, 3-D has been a technology on the periphery of the film industry due to the expensive nature of production.
Three advertisers have been convinced to produce 3-D commercials for the new ESPN channel, but how far will all of this go?
Personally I think there are only so many gimmicks you can put into any one production, whether 30 seconds or 3 hours, that will make 3-D palatable.
Some may call me a technology naysayer, but let’s look at other similar technologies, such as virtual reality. By 1999 we were all supposed to be hooked up to our devices 12 hours out of a 24 hour day, living out our fantasies in virtual worlds of crime fighting, swashbuckling, and sex. What happened to that? I ‘m still game for it, especially on Mondays, but where did it go?
The government uses the heck out of it for flight simulation, combat training, and drone flights. That’s cool, but I don’t have an extra $15 million to pick up my gear to get started.
Clutter Revisited…(or) Missing the Point!
I hear them on the radio, several times each day. I turn on CNBC, and there they are, advertising through our regional cable network. I get my local chamber of commerce e-letter…and there are their banner ads.
I begin to see what has amounted to a substantial and fairly effective marketing plan. I am seeing and hearing them everywhere, and can’t seem to get away from the message. So…let’s take a look at what all this hub-bub is about. A quick search for their name in Google takes me right to them.
Whoa. Wait a minute. How much did you spend on that marketing campaign? What were you thinking?
I can guarantee that half of the people you are trying to reach, (and I know this because they are marketing through channels that reach folk like me,) are going to check you out on the web.
Website…awful! Why would you spend all of the money in your marketing budget to get people to stop by your shop…albeit virtual…that the ‘front porch’ is falling off of, and hasn’t been painted since 1956?
Advertising guarantee in Time Magazine…not exactly
As reported on AdAge.com recently, Time Inc., a very large publisher, and one the industries biggest advertising buyers are collaborating on a new concept that will guarantee an advertiser that a certain number of people will remember their advertising or actually take action on it…or they will run ads for free until they do.
Interesting.
Let’s look at a few of the caveats…shall we?
- Can only involve one magazine title, not multiple titles.
- Titles include Time, People, Sports Illustrated, and Fortune. Take a look at their ad rates sometime.
- The accountability practice will only involve the large ad buyers clients…for now…sorry.
Stephanie George, exec VP at Time Inc. says, “…in a crowded media market, when it comes to accountability, the work from this Alliance will help prove magazines’ advertising effectiveness.”
What are the chances that if this stunt doesn’t work that we will hear nothing about it again? Pretty good I’d say. Ms. George should also get the resume ready.
Looking for ways to reach that elusive customer? Want to find something that can cut through the clutter and really catch their attention? Want to stand out with your product or service?
You can’t. Not really. I hate to disappoint, but it just isn’t possible. Our individual worlds are so full of clutter now, there isn’t any guaranteed, bonafide way to make sure you come out on top.
We have email clutter, junk mail clutter, cluttered online advertising, and clutter in the newspaper. Heck, you even turn on NPR in the morning, and you realize that the 15 sponsors of the morning program have just cluttered your news.
How do we as consumers deal with it? Do some of us shut down, or drown it out? Are some of us impervious to it? Or, do many of us act on it…or at least, some of it…even subconsciously?
There is far too much information out there to prove to us that enough customers and potential customers will act on our marketing efforts, that it seems completely worthwhile to continue. But how?
Social Links