It A Jungle Out There!

I'm always a big fan of creative ad campaigns done well. I'm also always a fan of announcing new products because that usually means larger ad budgets. Two weeks ago, while in Baltimore for an Orioles' game, a string of ladies were handing out a new scent from Degree. I accepted a handful of fragrances for further review and went on my way.

Last weekend I was in Baltimore again. There weren't any free samples this time, but Degree, whose new slogan is, "Dare to join forces with nature," had another promotion for their newest scent. The top of the bus station had been turned into a jungle. I wonder how many other cities enjoyed this mini-jungle of flowers in the middle of their cement jungles.




I haven't seen what else Degree has up their sleeves, but kudos to their media planners for some fun (albeit predictable) promotions.

Long-Term Behavioral Changes

"Will Traumatized Consumers Ever Recover?" asks a new report from Adweek that talks about recovery from the down economy and it's long-term effects on consumers.

Taking that a step further - Will businesses ever recover? Will there ever be the excessive spending accounts from the big car companies? Will there ever be the same budgets dedicated toward advertising? Consumers have short memories compared to the long memories and deep scars companies in the US carry from the depression. The question is, will these companies learn from their mistakes and do business more efficiently? Will they show their consumers that they are willing to take the steps necessary to find advertising that appeals to them in a creative manner.

The golden age of "Mad Men" style advertising is over. All hail the ushering in of a new era of conscience and sensibility.

Shattered Glass

I dropped a picture frame the other day and shattered the glass. I was lucky enough that the picture didn't suffer any damage and that my clumsiness wasn't going to cause me seven years of bad luck. As I was cleaning up the glass I realized this was a perfect example of the media picture we're faced with in business.

Every day I get another postcard, envelope or proposal for some kind of new medium. And I'm not the only one - if you own a business, every day you are confronted with a shattered fragment of what could be a part of your media plan. It is difficult to know how to put those fragments back together.

According to a Nielsen study about Digital Advertising, "The number of television stations received by the typical household has increased sixfold since 1985. Advertising itself became more varied, spreading from the airwaves and magazine pages to become a ubiquitous presence, adorning everything from bathroom stalls to race cars."

This means it is increasingly difficult to decide where you should place your advertising and it's not getting any easier. With the introduction of digital advertising, the opportunities keep growing. The world of media is growing so rapidly that no one can keep up and the bigger ad agencies are having a very hard time moving quickly enough to account for the latest changes.

Seth Godin's "Small Is The New Big," says it all. The smaller, boutique ad agencies are going to be the place to go in this changing ad world. You already buy specialty cupcakes, gourmet pizzas, expert dog training services. You can now add specialty ad strategy experts to that list and welcome in an era of niche services.

And yes, I do suggest you hire an expert for this one - it's going to be a long, bumpy ride.