August, 2008 - Servant of Chaos

Henderson & Horning – Sexist Advertising

Sometimes I wonder if Wade Millican secretly wears a cape. Not only is he incredibly smart, he also acts as the social conscience of Twitter, regularly pointing out the imbalances in our world. Or perhaps it’s just mine (thanks, Wade). So this week’s Friday Folly is devoted to Henderson & Horning who are being personally introduced to social media by Wade.

A few weeks ago, Wade pointed out the billboard shown here. He wasn’t happy about the depiction and content. He didn’t like walking past it each day on his way to work — so he decided to do something about it. He rang Henderson & Horning to complain. Not gaining satisfaction, he contacted the advertising standards board and lodged an official complaint … which is now being processed.

Yesterday, Wade provided an update, noticing that a Google search for Henderson and Horning brings up his entry "Sexist Advertising" just below the business’ entry. The memory of the long tail is, indeed, forever.

Update: Seth Godin asks us to consider our complicity in bad marketing. Think about the choices we make when we make a purchase decision.

Generate vs Stagnate: John Grant @ Planning Begins at 40

Digital Strategy, Smart Bloggers, Strategy, Videos

Here is John Grant’s excellent speech at JWT’s Planning Begins at 40 conference. He raises a fantastic point — that we either choose to generate or stagnate — and while this applies to planners, it also extends to all of us on an individual level. He argues that we can continue, in an ongoing way, to challenge ourselves, be open to the new and the different … or we can stick with what we know and what has worked for us in the past.

There is even a suggestion that someone’s generative challenge may be the agency of the future. Any takers?

John Grant: Planning’s Midlife Crisis? from JWT on Vimeo.

The Yelp of Surprise

Creativity, Digital Strategy, Future of Your Brand, Storytelling, Videos

What happens when you see a great creative idea? Can you recognise it for what it is worth? Do you turn away? Do you get shivers, goosebumps or sweats? Does it make you smile or gasp? Any or all of these reactions (or more) indicate that an idea will deliver on the "Yelp of Surprise and Delight" that I discuss in the P-L-A-Y framework.

But, of course, the challenge is not just in the conception of such an idea. It must also follow-through in the execution. For TV that means, a myriad of challenges — setting, casting, script etc. For digital this is magnified — call to action, availability, timing …

Kathryn Schlieben has provided a great demonstration of how this can play out, with this video aimed at attracting the next Gordon Ramsay to the Caterer.com job portal (specialising in hospitality employment).

To deliver a knockout in terms of RESULTS for your brand, it is important to bring all this together in a unified, yet flexible strategy. The P-L-A-Y framework is definitely at work here … can you see the elements? And gasp! I certainly did.

Rag Linen – When History is Never History

Smart Bloggers

During my entire working life, the publishing and newspaper industry has been under constant evolution and threat. As a 16 year old, I spent a week’s work experience with the Sydney Morning Herald where I made and drank a lot of coffee, listened to the police and emergency services radios and generally wondered what was going on. One of the highlights of the week was an early morning visit downstairs to the print room where the newspapers were typeset and printed.

I met a man must have been in his late 50s. He had been partially deafened by the roaring of the presses. He explained that he had worked on the floor since he was an apprentice and he had seen a lot of change. He was afraid that his working life was coming to an end soon — that his skills were no longer valued. He then asked me for my name, turned to his typesetting machine, flicked a few keys, and seconds later, handed me a metal row of type bearing the words "DAVIN HEATON".

Two years later, the typesetting machines were replaced by computers.

And while the story of newspapers continues to evolve, there is something fascinating that they bring to the study of marketing. Take a look through some old newspapers and you will be amazed at the way that advertising has changed even in the last 50 years. Look at the placement. Think about the editorial and its proximity. Then contrast it to what is done today. Clearly the development of "niche" content has been well underway well before the Internet’s Long Tail piqued our interest.

So it is rather fascinating, for me at least, to see two forms of the long tail overlap. My friend, Todd Andrlik has just launched a new site, RagLinen.com, that sells historic and rare newspapers — giving new, fresh audiences the chance to read and engage with the events that shaped our histories — one story at a time (there is even an affiliate program). Todd says:

Attention marketing and media professionals! Looking for the perfect collectible and investment for your industry. Look no further, it’s rare and historic newspapers. These are the newspapers that first reported about the plague, smallpox, kings and queens, pirates, colonies, revolution, founding fathers, civil war, assassinations, great fires and more. All are 100 percent authentic originals. Framed, they make great wall art at PR and advertising agencies, or unique gifts for your corporate marketing clients.

Be sure to check out Todd’s launch post … and some of the rare items he has available now.

Sustainable Brands

Branding

Some time ago, Mario Vellandi went to the effort of attending the Sustainable Brands 08 conference, capturing some video, commenting on it and then uploading the material from each session for all to see. I have only just been able to begin looking at this treasure trove. Unfortunately, most of the videos have been removed … but you can still see Mario’s bullet points on the presentations.

High on my list of priorities are:

This panel on the greening of traditional media
Big Green Purse – Diane MacEachern
Green Marketing – Jacquelyn Ottoman

If You Can’t Get Enough

Blogging

In case there is not enough chaos in your life, then you may want to visit some of the other places where you can find my writing/thoughts:

Aussie Bloggers — I could well be the laziest moderator in the group, but I am starting to get going with my writing for the Aussie Bloggers blog.
Little Book of Travel — This is quite a different focus for me. It is travel writing for frequent travellers.
Daily Fix — From time to time I squeeze out a post for the charming Ann Handley over at the MarketingProfs Daily Fix.
Brandingwire — An archive of a team of responses to marketing challenges. Some great thinking from my BW colleagues over here!
Interviews — Clint Carroll’s site seems to have gone quiet, but you can still see this interview. My recent chat with ethos3 is here. And there are some Age of Conversation related interviews available on Anna Farmery’s Engaging Brand, David Brazeal’s Journamarketing and at Advertising Age.

There are also some guest posts scattered here and there.

The End of Channel Marketing

Digital Strategy, Old Media, Social Media, Storytelling

In this interesting post, Nic Hodges asks why aren’t we creating great digital work. By this, I think he may be referring specifically to the Australian advertising industry (but I could be wrong) — for there are certainly some excellent digitally-driven campaigns and case studies available for other markets. Nic discusses three issues around producing truly integrated work — lack of skills/knowledge, difficulty in convincing/educating clients, and a lack of process surrounding the integration of digital into an overarching campaign. He explains:

The fundamental idea that underpins these issues is that digital is a channel. Radio was a new channel. Television was a new channel. Digital is not a new channel, digital is a new world. It is an evolution of media that has taken with it the advertising industry. It is an evolution that, in the relatively short history of advertising, has not happened before.

This got me thinking. Perhaps the challenge that we are facing is not one of channels, nor of integration. I have a feeling that we are approaching this from the wrong direction — from the agency, or from the brand out — and maybe it would profit us to think in the other direction. I made the comment that:

We need to look at the nuances of the traditional channels and then think about how best we can amplify, enable and transform the experiences that consumers have with brands.

With a clear shift away from passive interaction with brands, messages and advertising and a growing adoption of social networks/media, user generated content and experiences that extend from the second to the third screen, the role of the digital strategist will necessarily move from the margin to the hub of campaign planning. This is not to downplay the role of the traditional or even the channel planner. But, in the near future (ok, now), brands need to be reaching and inviting us all to participate in ways that deprioritise the channels that favour one-way communications — opting instead for digitally-enabled experiences that blur the boundaries, amplify the stories and activate our engagement in polyphonic conversational structures. It’s time to stop looking through the channel and start listening to the conversations that are already ringing in our ears.