6 Simple Rules for Copywriters and Their Clients:
1. If you don’t have anything to say, stop writing.
2. If you don’t have anything interesting to say, stop writing.
3. If you have something interesting to say, but you don’t know how to say it, stop writing.
4. If you have something interesting to say, and you’ve already said it, stop writing.
5. If you have something interesting to say, but you can say it without words, stop writing.
6. When in doubt, stop writing.
MicroMachines in a Matchbox World
In 1920, Neils Bohr (who has arguably the best name of any scientist in history, save perhaps Dr. Richard Titball of the Netherlands) formulated the “correspondence principle.”
In a nutshell, which is incidentally where Bohr spent most of his winters, it’s a forced reconciliation between classical and quantum mechanics.
I say “forced” because it was decreed, rather than proven.
And so physicists have spent much of the past 90 years attempting—without success—to fully explain the disparate behavior of microscopic and macroscopic systems. What hope is there, then, for marketers, who’ve spent cumulatively about a day and a half?
Yet this is our ultimate charge as marketing professionals: to reconcile observations of individuals with observations of mass markets in a grand, unified theory.
How are we doing? In a word: Drinkability.
I’m further reminded of our collective failure by the recent success story from the CERN facility in Geneva, where scientists have broken the record for high-energy subatomic particle collisions, and potentially recreated the universe’s initial mechanics following the Big Bang.
Now there was some risk involved. It cost billions of dollars, and there was a slight possibility of miniature black holes devouring the universe (I’d love to see the crisis communications plan CERN’s PR team put together for this contingency). But the point is, they’re making progress.
We marketers, on the other hand, are using EEG scans to determine whether individual consumers prefer penguins or giraffes.
We’re using the same, tired focus groups to test vague product attributes—in search of safe, broad consensus. We’re, quite literally, asking whether it’s important to be able to drink a beverage. And we’re building multi-million dollar campaigns around these “insights.”
In short, we’re still looking for easy answers in a complex world.
Quantum theory isn’t simple. It’s tremendously intricate—a disciplined, patient examination of concealed reality.
The marketing community’s response: crowdsourcing.
Another Step in the Right Direction
Hopefully no one reading this post will be offended. If you are using Internet Explorer 6, you are slowly being shown the door, don’t let it hit you on your way out. For all web developers, IE6 is the bane of our existence. IE6 was originally released in 2001 as Microsoft’s attempt to overtake the popular Netscape browser which had previously dominated the scene, and it did eventually win the battle. However, IE6 was not compatible with modern development practices such as CSS. The resulting effect is that code-compliant and CSS validated websites worked perfectly in all browsers (with minimal additional effort)…except IE6.
In the development process, I develop using Firefox as my base browser for testing and make sure that everything is correct and compliant. Then I’ll go test a site in Chrome, Opera and Safari, typically with good results. Next I’ll test in IE8 and, again, the results are usually positive. Next, I’ll grab a cup of coffee and a snack and hunker down for the trials and tribulations of IE6 (and to a slightly lesser degree, IE7) testing. The majority of the time, I will open my site in IE6 and be greeted with a royal mess. Different elements will be scattered across the screen as if I just threw together my own Pollock-inspired site. After seeing this abomination, it can take hours (if not days) to configure a site with the sole purpose of it displaying correctly in a 9 year old antiquated browser that is two generations past the current market.
Thankfully, the movement to abandon IE6 is starting to pick up some steam after years of efforts. This week, giants Google and YouTube announced they would officially cease support of IE6. Those still using the browser will be greeted with a pleasant announcement letting you know that your browser will no longer be used and provide links for downloading a modern browser.
Also, for those in the Denver area, a “funeral” is being held to celebrate the passing of IE6. If I weren’t 1500 miles away, I would definitely be in attendance.
A New Way to Roam the World from Your Desk
I will be the first to admit that I am a Google fanatic, as I’ve probably claimed here before. I’ve got the Droid, and I think it’s the best thing since sliced bologna. And I gave up on MapQuest a LONG time ago and have been a Google Maps guy, enjoying the innovations they keep throwing in. But, wait a minute, is this Microsoft I see upstaging my beloved Google? It can’t be, can it? Well, I think they have done it! If you haven’t toyed around with the new Bing Maps with augmented-reality browsing, you must spend 20 minutes (if you are able to limit yourself) and just zoom around the world. First, I suggest watching Blaise Aguera y Arcas presentation at TED2010. This will give you a basis for this new interface and a background on how it works. Then, when you have your goggles strapped on and are ready for a ride, go take a spin around the world and see what you find at the new Bing Maps.
Something Smells Fishy
One thing you need to know about me: I have eyes like a hawk.
Nothing gets by my vigilant scrutiny.
Well, except maybe for the current financial crisis, the war in Iraq, global warming, the rise of Hitler, and the Bolshevik Revolution.
But the point is, when it comes to TV commercials, I’m focused like a laser beam.
So you can imagine my disbelief when I saw the exact same mediocre fish stick commercial airing twice, each time for a different brand.
The identical commercial, mind you: one with a Van de Kamps product shot, another with a Mrs. Paul’s.
Look, it’s like if Coke and Pepsi started airing the same TV spots. Actually it’s worse. Because the venomous rancor in the frozen fish stick industry is arguably the world’s most venomous (and rancorous).
(Little-known fact: Mrs. Paul travels to Amsterdam every summer to personally spit on the grave of Ulysses R. Van de Kamp.)
Anyway, I did some digging, and it turns out both companies are owned by the same parent conglomerate, Pinnacle Food Group, LLC.
So they must have thought: hey, we’ve already got one incredible commercial (which is actually pretty insipid), why bother to produce another one?
Why, you ask? Who cares? Capitalism cares.
See, if companies start doing this, the whole illusion of brand differentiation is going to evaporate.
Sure, it’s the same product sold by both companies.
It’s probably made in the same factory from the same ingredients by the same underpaid workers.
But do we really have to emphasize that fact by running the same freaking commercial?
It’s either the boldest move in corporate history, or the most cynical.
10 bucks says it’s haddock.
Cherche La Trust: Even in 2010, Referrals Beat Digital Marketing Strategies
A new study published by RainToday observes that while web-based lead generation and e-business capture mechanisms continue to make gains as BD tools for professional service providers, the average accounting, law, or financial planning firm still finds “golf course networking” to be its most effective expenditure.
Here we are in an era that’s spawned every conceivable communication technology breakthrough, and yet no one has managed to replace the “human referral.”
Is it possible that we’re not droids after all? Is it possible that we make irrational calculations? That we trust a data-driven, sophisticated Web site less than the unsubstantiated opinions of our 7-year-old’s beer-bellied, chain smoking soccer coach?
Sure, you might take your babysitter’s recommendation for a new non-dairy creamer. But complex professional services too?
You betcha.
And so it’s always been our goal to merge technology with the human factor—an effort that’s led to the recent social media revolution.
Balance is the key element. And that’s precisely why the most effective social media vehicles are technologically unobtrusive—mere conduits for distinctly human expressions.
So pay more attention to the man behind the curtain. Particularly if he’s a chain smoker.
Jonathan Waxes Philosophical
One of the things we strive for in the communications industry is simplicity.
Or, to put it another way, reduction.
In an optimal marketing equation, everything is reducible, everything is simple.
Take for example, the brain.
Now you might reflexively say that the brain is anything but simple. Yet when you look at a single neuron, a single synapse, it’s a rather rudimentary circuit. The complication comes when you multiply these base components by the billions. Suddenly, through nothing more than volume, simplicity gives way to complexity.
IBM knows it.
They’ve been able to replicate simple brain sequences. So they thought, why not put those sequences in a powerful cortical simulator and generate a full, working model of a mammalian brain.
Trouble is, even though the simulation works, they can’t seem to figure out how.
Upon reaching a certain level of complexity, the model becomes just as abstruse as the genuine article. And it doesn’t just happen with cognitive science.
McDonalds tests everything. Every burger, every secret sauce. They test single-blind, double-blind, focus groups, massive regional trials. A sandwich is simple. But a billion sandwiches are inexplicably complex.
Which is why despite all that testing, you still see phenomenal product failures like the Arch Deluxe.
And this is our fate in the modern world. From Adam and Eve to the most chaotic, unpredictable system in the universe.
But enough about D.C. traffic patterns.
Here’s to a safer — and simpler — new year.
Brands on a bigger mission
Companies are always looking to keep things fresh by reinventing themselves, and one company who has done this quite well is Lacoste. They are putting even more meaning behind their famous crocodile logo and donating money to help protect this endangered animal. What a smart business move. They are strengthening their brand, and giving back at the same time. If all companies could find a way to make their brand more meaningful, it can change the way people perceive you, and isn’t that what branding is all about? This is the kind of generosity that pays back two-fold. Knowing that you, as a customer, are even just a small part of something bigger, it is so rewarding. I think we should all ask ourselves “how can I do more?” and never settle with the status quo.
Fruit Slice Candy Gets Around
I traveled to Providence over the Thanksgiving holiday, and I noticed a few things while I was up there.
First, Dunkin Donuts is slightly more prevalent than the Catholic Church.
Second, Stop and Shop has a new logo that’s REALLY reminiscent of
Giant Food’s new logo.
Here they are side by side:
Who designed this thing, Jayson Blair?
And I don’t care that the two companies are now merged into one by their conglomerate ownership (awkwardly titled “Royal Ahold”). It’s still brand prostitution. One name, one logo—that’s my rule. Otherwise, it gets extremely disorienting for the traveling consumer.
This is exactly the kind of thing that makes mergers so irritating. Plus, it muddies the water for other companies that seek intentionally misleading false affiliation.
Here’s the worst case scenario. Two companies, same name, one logo, no affiliation whatsoever:
Bunch of royal aholds if you ask me.
Is Augmented Reality the Future of Advertising?
Reality is boring. Consumers have been living and breathing in reality for far too long. They demand messaging that is interactive, imaginative, and in real-time. A new digital technology called augmented reality (AR) has recently become one of marketing’s hottest trends. AR enables vivid virtual computer generated imagery to appear alongside the real-world environment, creating a mixed reality on a computer or mobile device. Consumers are then able to manipulate and interact with these living objects in the real world through a monitor.
I love keeping up with cutting edge technologies and industry trends because you never know when a fresh idea can enhance a campaign or brand image. Even though a new technology may be all the range and innovative, every business and industry shouldn’t rush out and attempt to quickly insert it into a new media approach just because everyone else is doing it. But if a trend is able to align with given business goals and audiences, experimental technology and strategy can sometimes brilliantly go hand-in-hand. There are a few good marketing examples of experimenting and adopting AR technology that achieves these objectives.
BMW and the USPS have not only used AR to create something viral that helps drive consumer buzz, but it also serves as a strategic application that flaunts products/services. In BMW’s Z4 campaign, a virtual car displays the car’s features and creates an interactive game by allowing the user to mark up his or her desk while controlling though the computer keyboard. USPS’ new AR application allows consumers to simulate priority shipping options when making a decision on packing size differences.
New Android mobile devices have just released an app called Layar, and the iPhone is now developing Twitter 360, which will become some of the first augmented reality browsers on mobile. The apps will create real-world GPS compasses and visualize twitter friends in real-time through a phone’s camera screen.
Even print publications have gotten in the mix. Esquire Magazine just released an experimental AR December issue that features an introduction on the cover by Robert Downy Jr., three dimensional celebrity interviews, and interactive fashion features through your webcam. While development of the issue cost a great deal of time and money, the magazine is still constantly attempting to progress.
Many believe augmented reality is the future of advertising. This new technology already has the ability to create amazing interactions between digital and print. In a quickly evolving mobile world, augmented reality just might give new relevancy to future print usage if tactics continue to evolve. Any Smartphone could have the potential to turn an ad into an interactive 3D masterpiece. As long as it continues to be used strategically and not just as a gimmick, future possibilities for AR marketing are endless.