Canadians Cynical of Advertising

Posted by: Liz Mortek // November 30th, 2011

According to a new poll by the Gandalf Group on behalf of the Canadian Advertising Standards Council, A whopping 89 percent of Canucks are “very likely” or “somewhat likely” to stop buying a product if advertising around it is untruthful.

The study noted that 57 percent of Canadians report having followed through on this promise. Conversely, according to the survey, only 36 percent of Americans claim to have stopped buying a product because of untruthful advertising.  So what can we have to learn from this?  If your company is thinking of expanding to Canada, consider telling the truth, EH?

@EMortek

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2011’s Marketing Mantra: “It Doesn’t Affect Me”

Posted by: Neil James // November 16th, 2011

The world is changing. Everything is changing. Digital is killing traditional. Successful brands will create social experiences. Insert your marketing platitude here.

Could marketers be tuning out the trends espoused by industry rags and Twitter-obsessed bloggers? A new study, chronicled by a new article for eMarketer, Do Marketers Feel Isolated From Industry Trends?, suggests this may be the case!

eMarketer reports that new research from Mechanica and Fast Company found significant discrepancies between how marketers believe marketing trends impact their organization versus broader industry in general. Consider the following:

  • 70 percent of marketers agreed that social media mattered for their industry, but only 49 percent said it influenced their own company.
  • Similarly, 31 percent of marketers stated that the declining importance of traditional distribution channels affected industry as a whole, but only 20 percent felt this trend impacted their organization.

@NeilAndrewJames

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RH Study: Are QR Codes Effective for Marketing?

Posted by: admin // October 24th, 2011

Russell Herder Research QR CodeQuick response (QR) codes – those black-and-white symbols one can scan with a smartphone – have become a ubiquitous marketing tool in the United States, appearing in a wide variety of traditional and digital media. To research the marketing impact and efficacy of QR codes, our team at Russell Herder surveyed consumers nationwide to understand their familiarity with these symbols, interest in scanning them and satisfaction with what they receive in return. While it’s clear there is potential for this technology, marketers could learn from what prospective buyers are saying.

Download our recent white paper, The QR Question, to read the results of this study, as well as considerations for more effectively deploying the device in communications outreach.

For more insight on this topic, see some of the coverage this study has received and articles where the research was cited:

Adotas
QR Codes Get Bigger and Bolder

Agency Spy
Friday Odds & Ends

Biz Report
Consumers getting little reward for QR Code use

Marketing Charts
See the charts.

Marketing Vox
QR Code-based Advertising May Be Getting Too Complex

Chances are a Consumers’ First Experience with a QR Code Will Not Be Good

MediaPost News
Is QR Worth the Trip? Consumers still unsure.

The Pulse Network
Pulse on Marketing interview with RH CEO Carol Russell

Response Magazine
Better Consumer Understanding Needed to Maximize QR Codes’ Effect

Retail Pro
Using QR codes in a meaningful way

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For Web Banners, Size Matters, Just Not In The Way You’ve Been Told.

Posted by: Ben Schmidt // August 17th, 2011

Writing for AdAge Digital, Rob Gatto doesn’t think web banners need to get bigger to be more effective, or louder for that matter. In ‘It’s Not The Size It’s How You Use It,’ Paul urges us to take a step back, take a deep breath, and search for bigger ideas.

Rob discusses how these bigger ideas lead to better creative; that creative being key to a redefinition he feels digital advertising is in sore need of. He backs his assertions with examples of how good creative, executed via web banners, has had a surprisingly strong impact for companies like Ford and New Balance. But, as he notes, a creative web banner can’t win the day alone.

@BenWritten

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Nearly Nine in 10 Marketers Curating Content

Posted by: Neil James // April 19th, 2011

Nearly Nine in 10 Marketers Curating Content

If content is king, curating content can be thought of us making offerings to the king, right? Okay, so maybe we’re stretching the metaphor. But just as making offerings to royalty was one of the hallmarks of dynastic eras gone by, curating content has become a staple practice for marketers, even if they’re doing so unknowingly! A new article from eMarketer, Sharing Content to Show Thought Leadership, discusses the extent to which both curating and creating content has become part of the marketer’s arsenal. eMarketer cites a recent HiveFire study that found almost half of all marketers actively curate content as part of their marketing strategy and that 85 percent were actively doing so, even if they weren’t strategically conscious of doing so. Why are they doing so? Research from Junta42 and MarketingProfs identified establishing thought leadership and building brand buzz as the predominant motivation behind content curation strategies.

@NeilAndrewJames

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Killer Content, As Easy As Banana Cream?

Posted by: Ben Schmidt // March 14th, 2011

Killer Content As Easy as Banana Creme

In my last post I likened the importance of content to the filling in a Twinkie. Now we have ABC Copywriting’s Tom Albrighton, likening content generation to another delicious dessert in his blog post, Why Great Content Is Like A Pie.

You may be picking up on the fact that writers tend to spend a great deal of time thinking about food. This is true. Good writing employs empathy, as does good cooking, so the overlap of interests is rather natural. Perhaps this also explains why so many famous chefs tend to pen at least a memoir, if not an authorial travel show lacking any reservations. But the points Mr. Albrighton makes in his post do more than remind us that food analogies are an excellent way to make esoteric concepts simple and accessible. This particular analogy raises an extra, and crucial, point – content, like a pie, does not create itself.

Yes, there are recipes for great content one can follow, some better than others. Yes, as Mr. Albrighton notes, the quality of the ingredients that go into that content do make a difference. But far too often we focus on the product, not the producer, and go on to scratch our heads in disbelief when no one’s attracted to what we’ve set to cool on the windowsill.

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You Don’t Buy the Twinkie.

Posted by: Ben Schmidt // March 4th, 2011

You Dont Buy the Twinkie

You buy the filling.

Then, if you’re like me, you eat the Twinkie (both of them, hastily, before you have a chance to question your judgment) and end up feeling bloated, confused and disappointed in yourself.

My plastic-wrapped point is this: Twinkies sell because compelling content sells, and that makes compelling content important. Kathy Sacks elaborates on this very point (sans junk-food metaphors) in her article for InfusionSoft, Why Content is Key to Marketing Strategy.

Of course, that content doesn’t come easy. Research shows that producing engaging content, producing enough content and finding the budget to generate said content are a marketer’s three biggest challenges. On the other hand, take a good look at any successful brand you admire, and chances are great content makes up the core of its marketing strategy. Assuming this is true, Ms. Sacks wonders, shouldn’t the ends justify the means?

Good food for thought, even if Twinkies are not.

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Loving the Madness

Posted by: Carol Russell // February 23rd, 2011

Loving The Madness

There’s a lot of talk about brand authenticity and the need to truly know your customers, but few really deliver on it. Except one. I admit it, I’m an unabashed fan of Moosejaw– an outdoor clothing retailer (think Patagonia, North Face, etc.) that takes brand alignment to an incredible level. The beauty in their strategy lies in what they label  as “Loving the madness.” In every customer encounter from their return policy to their blog, their voice is consistent and a complete connect with the 20-40 year olds they’re targeting. Just to make sure buyers feel the love, even their orders are fulfilled with a “sealed with a kiss” note.

While their competitors use price discounts to attract customers, Moosejaw does what? They ask for submissions of crying tomatoes, sandwich counting and if that’s not enough, free babysitting.

Their customer service team has offered to help you end your latest romantic relationship or, for New Year’s Eve, contact the person you would most like to begin one with.

Does it work? Absolutely. Customers rate themselves as completely engaged and repeat orders roll in – in large part because they keep the conversation going. Not only are they doing it via their website, check out their Facebook page with over 34,000 fans.

What’s most impressive in this chaos is not only their ability to stay on brand with every message, every product and every promotion, it’s their willingness to encourage their team to take creative risks. What’s not to love in that?

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Pliny the Elder – Wrong About Ostriches, Possibly Right About Brand Marketers

Posted by: Ben Schmidt // February 18th, 2011

Pliny the Elder - Wrong About Ostriches, Possibly Right About Brand Marketers

There are two certainties in this world (at least so far today):

1. If scientists ever create the Unified Theory of Wildly Popular Youtube Videos, it will involve at least one Welsh Corgi.

2.  Not only is a substantial segment of the population watching video on the web (both Corgi-related and non) as part of their daily routine, research is showing that, increasingly, web video is cutting into daily TV viewing. This trend reveals to us a new and growing audience, one that Brandweek’s Mike Shields feels we’re overlooking.

In his article, Brands Missing the Boat on Web Video Users, Shields argues that we shouldn’t ignore this potential sea change in viewing habits. He notes that some forward-thinking marketers are seeing boosts to brand reach, and a decline in overall CPM, by simply shifting a small percentage of their TV budget to companies who have the resources to reach this captive audience.

In no way does this signal an end to the great and venerable medium of TV. But this article raises a good question – is the safety and comfort of a head in the sand, truly what’s best for selling your brand?

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Nature Abhors a Vacuum – Advertisers Should Embrace It

Posted by: Neil James // February 7th, 2011

Nature Abhors a Vacuum Advertisers Should Embrace It

The classic quote “nature abhors a vacuum” applies equally to a variety of social and scientific constructs: politics, thermodynamics, pop culture and more. But how often do most advertisers reflect upon the unnatural existence of empty spaces? Not as often as they should, says Derek Halpern in an article for Social Triggers, How to Pull Readers Into Your Content Instantly. Just as in nature, according to Halpern, a gap in human knowledge is quickly filled, only knowledge gaps are filled with a substance much more precious to marketers – aroused curiosity. Halpern urges marketers to leverage George Lowenstein’s information gap theory of curiosity, that innate human behaviors are triggered when people feel there is a gap between what they know and what they want to know. Halpern explores the variety of ways marketers can approach copy and messaging to arouse curiosity and maximize reader interest.

@NeilAndrewJames

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