Marketing BEEP

Print or Internet: Why Not Both?

The internet has changed the way we communicate in so many ways. I remember the days when you hand wrote a letter, mailed it, and waited as much as a month to hear a response. Now, I can email my buddies in Hong Kong and if I don’t hear back in 30 minutes I’m reaching for my cell phone to send a text message. The internet has made the communication process much faster, to be sure. 

 
But there is also the cost factor. It doesn’t cost anything to send an email. It does when you factor in that you pay a monthly fee for internet. Still, it’s cheap and easy. Text messaging is pretty much the same. There is a cost, but not like taking the time to write a letter and mail it.
 
These consequences are far reaching for many businesses. Print advertising used to take up most of the marketing budget, but now it’s only a fraction. In fact, one teacher had to resort to selling ads on his tests to pay for the printing costs! Even educators are being pressured to go digital. 

 
The truth of the matter, though, is that printing is alive and well. Many business models like magazines and newspapers are having to rethink and remake the way they produce income, but the need for catalogs, brochures, and flyers will be around for a long time to come.
 
I don’t know about you, but I still get lots of postcards and coupons in the mail. Why is that? Because they work! Many businesses have discovered that by using both print and internet advertising that they can actually leverage their brand and marketing dollars.
 
Printing has gotten both less expensive and higher in quality as the biggest and best printing firms have risen to the top. The internet has allowed even the smallest business to take advantage of big printing price breaks. This means that while printing budgets may be shrinking, you still have the opportunity to focus your efforts and get great deals.
 
The point is this: print and internet advertising are still essential and both still work. Using both methods can help you get the most for your marketing dollar. Working with top printing firms via the internet can save you money while also getting great looking prints. There’s just no need to abandon one format or the other when both can be made to work for you.

Super Bowl Ads Not As Effective During Slumping Economy

When U.S. consumers are worried about money, it detracts from their ability to remember Super Bowl commercials, according to a Gallup & Robinson study. The study surveyed 12 years’ (1997-2008) worth of recall and likeability of 30-second commercials that appeared during the Super Bowl and found that there is a direct relationship between the people’s confidence in the economy and the amount of attention they pay to Super Bowl commercials.

When consumer confidence is down, recall is 11% lower than average and 36% lower than in good times.

The president of Gallup & Robinson, Scott Purvis, said that marketers who are planning on running a 30-second Super Bowl commercial should be “more cautious” this year. He also said that advertisers running their “ordinary fare” of TV ad will be taking hits on their recall levels.

In other words, the most successful Super Bowl advertisers will be the ones with the most original commercials.

Advertisers’ Quandary
The Gallup & Robinson findings accentuate the quandary advertisers face when running a Super Bowl ad this year. Many marketers depend on the publicity of the pigskin classic to set the tone for their company for the rest of the year. The word-of-mouth buzz and Internet buzz afterwards are what some brands use to leverage their industry position for the rest of the year.

The event draws the biggest TV audience of the year, and many people watch the game live and therefore can’t skip the ads. Some people even watch the game just to catch the new ads. This coupled with the shaky economy has made many companies pull out of their usual 30-second spot, making those that did buy a spot feel the pressure of having a great, memorable commercial.

NBC has been seeking a record $3 million per 30-second spot, and while the network was selling well last spring and summer, the fall and winter brought on the recession and regulars like GM and FedEx have “passed” on advertising this year, citing economic considerations.

It’s Not Only the Economy
As noted earlier, the content of the ad is important to the recall factor. And to a lesser extent, the quality of the game also affects how well people recall commercials. If the game isn’t intense or exciting, less people pay attention to what’s going on on the TV whether it’s the game or the commercials.

Purvis said that about 25% of change in recall was related to change in consumer confidence.

With only 25% accounted for in consumer confidence, that means that advertisers still need to create inventive, memorable ads for people to recall them the next day. Sounds like the same kind of advice needed for any type of advertising, really.

Product Placement Makes Up for Lack of Ad Revenue from Detroit

Television networks that are used to high ad revenue from automakers are feeling the pinch as U.S. automakers are losing money and not taking out TV ads. But one potential buffer for networks trying to hang on is to sign Detroit automakers into more product placement deals. 

Of course, this isn’t the easiest way to go in today’s economic climate, as no companies want to part with too much of their money. But if an automaker has “X” amount of money to spend, it might make sense to try to steer “X” amount into brand integration via product placement.

Advertisers have various options to pull out of upfront commitments, which allows them to take back some of their money. But while that may be easy to execute, when a deal involves spots in a prime-time TV show, it would seem extremely complicated when a marketer has paid for using its new car into a TV series.

What’s Good for the TV Series Isn’t Necessarily Good for Detroit
Once a product placement deal is in place, the series goes into production, highlighting a particular brand or even making it part of the story line, it would seem difficult to get that money back and to rewrite the script to get the car out of there.

That makes product placement a smart deal for the networks, but not necessarily for Detroit.

FX has taken advantage of this type of deal by signing with General Motors last summer to include its Cadillac brand within the legal drama “Damages”. The FX’s show started its second season January 7, and sure enough, Cadillac was a sponsoring the premiere commercial-free.

Before the show even began, there was a promotion for three Cadillac models. At the end of the episode, actress Glenn Close thanked the brand for its support. So much for subtleness.

This support came from the same company that dropped Super Bowl and Oscar advertising.
“The issue is we were already signed, sealed and delivered,” Joanne Krell, Cadillac director-communications told Advertising Age last month. “While it's true we have cut back on a number of things, we are honoring our commitments where we have them and this was one of those.”

Ford Still Sponsoring American Idol
Ford is returning to “American Idol,” even though money isn’t flowing as it did in the first few seasons. But Ford isn’t going to drop that prized integration unless it absolutely has to, and before that happened, it would probably look to Idol for a loan.

Cadillac’s Placement Future
Cadillac’s Krell indicated that GM would have scaled back on the “Damages” promotion if the deal hadn’t already been made. This season, Cadillac is placing three of its brands into the show: the SUV Escalade Hybrid, the CTS and the XLR convertible. And the placement is getting bolder: A voiceover at the beginning of the show proclaims “All season long, follow the new Escalade Hybrid, CTS and XLR through the twists and turns of season two ...,” with close-ups and aerial shots of the vehicles in motion.

Ad Age reported that Cadillac has “a right of first refusal” whether to return for “Damages’” third season. Considering GM may not even be operating by that time, product placement may not be right due to the lack of options that might come with it.

How Brands Bring People Together

I’m sure you’ve noticed that teenage girls create cliques according to many things; one of those things is usually clothes, or appearance. And brands have a big part of how people look. Wearing the latest Nike clothes and shoes? That makes you a jock. Wearing the latest Candies clothes and shoes? Rich girl. Wearing Vans shoes? Punk.

Check out the Influx blog that has a map of how people are connected to brands. People that are connected to brands are also connected to other people through those brands. It’s like a clique on paper. Influx has been working on a project called SharedEgg, and the map can be seen at http://sharedeggg.blogspot.com/. The map isn’t a typical map – it looks like one of those things you could draw with a Spyrograph toy. (Remember those? You drew cool, precise images with those round blue gear-looking things?) Anyway, this map shows how one person is connected to many brands and other people are connected to those same brands, which means that those other people are connected to all the other people who like a certain brand.

Brands unite people when consumers create groups dedicated to not buying a brand as well.
I know one group of people who met online because of their disdain for Walmart. I myself don’t shop at Walmart, although I used to until I heard about a white woman who was turned down for promotions and raises while the white men around her with less seniority were promoted over her. I’m sure you’ve seen Walmart having to defend itself on shows like 20/20. What with its low wages overseas and undercutting prices on suppliers. Anyway, my point is that brands bring people together even if it’s not in the brand’s best interest.

That just goes to show you that brands really are about what consumers think, and not what the companies think. You already knew that, but you say “Companies can influence what people think of their brand.” That’s only true to a certain point – if you’re surrounded by people who prefer Adidas to Nike, you aren’t going to be caught dead wearing Nike kicks. 

Brands give people something in common and can make for a great ice breaker. “Oh, you have an iPod or a Mac? Don’t you just love the clickwheel…” Apple people definitely unite behind that brand, as evidenced by the Apple commercials as well. And now PC people are joining in. Although, the PC people aren’t quite as brand oriented – they’re not saying “I’m a Dell” or “I’m an HP.” It’s just PC people against Mac people.

The Apple commercials with the two guys that represent a Mac and a PC have been around for quite some time, which goes to show the popularity of people thinking of themselves as the brand and aligning themselves with a brand. And is that so bad if it brings people together? I don’t think so. 

Apple Ads Acting Like a Kid

The most recent Apple Mac ads are still attacking PCs. Still bullying them around. At first, I liked the Mac ads, with the kinda cool Mac guy and the decidedly uncool PC guy. But now it’s just getting ridiculous.

Microsoft finally retaliated after what seemed like years of getting attacked by Mac commercials on its “uncoolness” and now Microsoft has all kinds of people saying “I’m a PC.” Well, of course, Apple couldn’t have that. Now Apple’s making fun of Microsoft for running ads that defends its product? I think Apple is like a school yard bully – Apple just keeps poking fun of Microsoft and Microsoft hasn’t really said anything bad about a Mac in their commercials – it’s just keeping its hands in front of its face to protect itself from another blow by the Mac. There is a subtle idea in the Microsoft ads that Mac users are soulless bunch, and snobby. I’d have to agree with that, just by the sheer snobbery I encountered in college by Mac users. I’ve had plenty of Mac users (including professors!) who rolled their eyes at me because I didn’t know what something Mac-oriented was. Well, excuse me! Not all of us can afford to spend $1,500 on a computer or laptop! Sheesh.

One of the newest Mac ads feature the PC guy doing some accounting, allocating more money to advertising than to fixing Vista. Microsoft has a $300 million ad budget, by the way. The PC guy talks about fixing Vista by pushing more money toward the advertising.

Another new Mac ad makes fun of Microsoft not saying the “V-word”: Vista. The PC guy has a sensor-like buzzer that he uses to buzz out the Mac guy’s using the word “Vista.” Then, at the end, like a little kid, the Mac guy says “Vista, Vista, Vista, Vista” really fast (remind you of a 6-year-old?) so that the PC guy can’t buzz out all the “Vista” words.

You can see the two commercials at Technologizer.com. I know all the Mac users will disagree with me and will say I’m just a PC-user crying at the injustice. Well, that’s fine with me if you want to call me a PC! Although, I’m not cryin’ – I’m just telling the truth as I see it. And isn’t that what blogs and computers are for? To express ourselves? To express our creativity? I’d like to think so.

Why can’t we just make our choice of Mac versus PC by operating system and personal preference? Probably because many people can’t afford to buy a Mac, which supposedly makes it superior. A price tag doesn’t justify a computer choice in my book.