Posts Tagged ‘Advertising’

Okay, by now you’ve read countless opinions and infinite blogs as to why marketers should continue to spend in a downturn. Historically, brands that spend in a downturn capture marketshare. Yada yada yada. Blah blah blah.

So here we are, closer to the end of this mess than the beginning. In the midst of all this darkness, something fascinating has been taking place in the world of media and marketing. Read the rest of this entry »

For years, my approach to writing for the Web was a lot like other writers who grew up in print advertising. Mostly, it consisted of placing brochure ware on a site. I was happy. Clients were happy. And life went on. But while I wasn’t looking, the Web changed the way we communicate, the way we connect and the way we formulate opinions.

How Different Is Reading for The Web?

To understand how writing for the Web is different, you have to understand how reading the Web is different. Most readers don’t read the Web at all—they scan. How could they not? There is inexhaustible content out there. And studies prove that ink on paper is easier to read than pixels on a screen. So you should write in a way that makes your content “scannable.” Be concise. Use subheads. And consider your tone of voice. Be conversational and informative.

In Some Ways, The Web’s Not So Different.

I’ve always written copy for short attention-span theater, especially for advertising. See the headline. See the logo. You get it right? Great, I’ve done my job. If you read the body copy, hey I’m closing the sale. The Web is similar. See the headline, the subheads—you get it, right?

The difference to me is, with ad copy, I feel as though I’m beguiling the reader. With the Web, the reader has opted in. It’s my job not to lose him or her.

What Isn’t Changing.

It’s tough to read about marketing or even our culture at large without reading how the digital world is changing everything. Obviously, our behavior is changing. But what isn’t changing?

Our human nature.

Our deepest primal desires, the things that have driven our decision-making for thousands of years, continue to drive us today. Bill Bernbach was quoted as saying “It is fashionable to talk about changing man. A communicator must be concerned with unchanging man.”

Far more recently, in a Wired article entitled, “Is Advertising Dead?” Michael Schrage writes, “time and geography—more than human nature—separates the captive crowds at the Roman Colosseum from user lists on the Internet.”

What this tells me is that we’re not evolving into emotion-less drones seeking only information, facts, tweets and the opinions of our peers online. We can be entertained. We can be engaged. We can even be persuaded.

Online, Are Creativity and Effectiveness Mutually Exclusive?

Of course not. I’m beginning to see more and more Web 2.0 sites that are adept at telling a good story and keeping content fresh and dynamic. But there are still plenty of proponents of Web 2.0 who are convinced otherwise.

This should go without saying but it always seems to get lost in the discussion of Web content: Make the copy interesting (See my last blog). Certainly there are guidelines you should follow when you’re developing content for the Web. But at the end of the day, good writing is good writing.

Looks like people don’t like being “sold to” with boastful advertising. I know because the content writers, bloggers and self-proclaimed social media gurus have told me this over and over. And over again.

Really? Thanks for clearing that up. Read the rest of this entry »

Kirby takes home the crown.

So recently we found out that  a few ladies around the office had held a vote and decided that Kirby took home the Crown as far as best looking guy in our Westend office building. As much as I was crushed, I decided I have to turn this into a positive for the rest of us not-so-blessed, almost-mid-life-crisis, tire-carrying wannabees.

So my analogy here is as much as great work is often judged on looks alone, lets remember that often there is great beauty on the inside as well. That inner beauty is called brilliant strategy and when executed right is like a Super Model with a few Ph. D’s.

So I ask, is your brand beautiful on the inside?

“Let us prove to the world,” wrote William Bernbach in his 1949 manifesto for the “creative revolution,” “that good taste, good art, good writing can be good selling.”

This is from an article on AdAge.com about the best ad campaigns of the century that I stumbled on when trying to find a little needed inspiration.

adage.com/century/campaigns.html

I think this is a timely reminder of where we came from. Before the days of google and SEO, or even Apple and Photoshop, we were a people of great ideas. An industry driven by a purpose. And that purpose was to sell. I can’t remember who said it but “No one makes a dime until someone sells something” has always rang true to me. Driven to work all day and stay up all night, kick and scream and fight over the good and bad, we have always been driven by the power of a simple idea. And most of the time, the simplest of ideas are the hardest to find.

These great ideas were not created without effort, or without Read the rest of this entry »