Apr
16

What Does a Handshake Mean to LinkedIn?

Jim on April 16th, 2012

In this screenshot, which I took today from the page of LinkedIn.com that lists their paid-subscription plans (in other words, the money-makers, which I’m guessing are kind of important to their business) . . . why are these people shaking hands with their LEFT hands?

LinkedIn isn’t just a social-networking site, it’s the largest of all professional, business-networking sites. Isn’t trust a pretty “key” factor when trying to build or grow business relationships? Assuming that it is, why would LinkedIn use this left-handed handshake image on such an important page of their site?

By the way, I have nothing against left-handedness. I myself am left-handed. Click the image below to see it at full size.

brand building, marketing strategy, social media marketing, web content No comments »
Feb
13

E*TRADE, Your New Ads Don’t Quite Make It

Jim on February 13th, 2012

As a rule, I don’t like ads (especially TV commercials) where little kids do a lot of talking. However, E*TRADE has had a series of funny, memorable TV spots in which an infant boy appears to talk to the camera.

In recent weeks E*TRADE has released a new round of commercials featuring the same baby boy.  Sorry to say, they are not as funny the earlier ones.

Granted, the talking baby isn’t new anymore (nor was he last year).  But I think the problem now is that they have him talking directly to adults.  Also unlike their predecessors, these new spots don’t include an innovative, memorable word such as “milkaholic” or “pantload.”

The advantage of these punchy linguistic inventions is that people tend to repeat them to others, who then ask, “Where’d you get that word?”  The result, of course, is the best kind of advertising there is (word-of-mouth), when the answer inevitably is “It was in an E*TRADE commercial I saw.”

But I don’t think that conversation will happen with these new ads:

 

 

brand building, creative development, marketing tactics No comments »
Feb
6

JCP Does What Lowe’s Should Have Done

Jim on February 6th, 2012

In my December 13 post, I wrote about Lowe’s caving in to pressure from the Florida branch of an aggressive conservative group who didn’t like the home improvement chain’s sponsorship of the TV show, “All American Muslim.”

The same group is now pressuring JCPenney to drop Ellen DeGeneres as its spokesperson because she is openly gay.  This past Friday, however, JCP announced that DeGeneres will remain the retailer’s spokesperson.  I say bravo, and not only because it’s a victory against hate.

My guess is that from a marketing standpoint, JCP’s decision to keep her probably was an easy one.  JCP no doubt knows their customer base much better than the conservative group does, despite the group’s claims.

In fact, JCP wouldn’t even have to consult its market-research team to know that their audience likes — or at least, doesn’t dislike — Ellen: the Internet and other technologies make it so easy to poll audiences now.  And as the screen shot below shows, visitors to msnbc.com, a major news site that attracts a broad swath of Americans, overwhelmingly agree with JCP’s decision to stick with Ellen.

It appears JCP is logical and courageous enough to let facts guide their marketing decisions.  Let’s hope the next company targeted by hate peddlers makes the same decision.

 

MSNBC article, including an online poll

brand building, marketing strategy No comments »
Feb
3

One Woman’s Easy Decision: Dump Him

Jim on February 3rd, 2012

Just in time for Valentine’s Day, it looks like ProFlowers is going after the Dumbest of the Dumb Guys market.  This ad is now running on yahoo.com.

Seriously, does anyone really think that a woman would rather get a bunch of roses than be taken out to the ballet?  I hope not . . .

As always, I could be wrong, but the women I know just laugh at this line of thinking . . . which I’m sure came from a “major” agency:

copywriting, creative development, marketing strategy No comments »
Dec
19

Best Buy: Don’t Mess With Santa (You’ll Lose)

Jim on December 19th, 2011

Best Buy’s holiday-sales TV campaign features intriguing tagline, “Game On, Santa” . . . but that’s not the most interesting part of it.

Each of the 30-second spots shows what appears to be a Mom smugly confronting Santa Claus just as he emerges into the family’s living room or, in one case, while he’s still on the rooftop:

I get that these spots are an attempt at humor . . . but it doesn’t quite come off as humorous as it should.  Basically, each of them finds its own little way to humiliate Santa Claus. It’s not cool. The agency really could have done a better job of making these moms seem less mean-spirited.  And while the editors of this “Great Ads Blog” seem to think the ads “kick it up a notch” (is that a compliment?), click the link below and scroll down to see the 4 (so far) comments on the page:

Great-Ads Blog page for Best Buy “Game On, Santa” campaign

brand building, creative development No comments »
Dec
15

Tell Me Why I Should ‘Like’ You on Facebook

Jim on December 15th, 2011

With 2011 winding down, maybe it’s time for companies to ask themselves: Is there any point to simply saying “Like Us on Facebook”?

This phrase, usually placed in a corner or bottom-of-the-page graphic containing Facebook’s logo ‘f,’ seems to have become ubiquitous in print: newspaper ads, magazine ads, catalogs and more all seem to have it now. In some cases you don’t even see the words “Like Us on Facebook”; instead there will just be the small blue badge containing the ‘f.’

Granted, it’s always good to let your audience know that your company has a Facebook Page.  But doesn’t just about every company have one by now?  Announcing that you’re on Facebook now seems like saying “Find us in the phone book” 20 or more years ago (not that anyone ever said that, exactly).  It’s generally assumed, so it’s really not news.

More to the point: when logging into Facebook, a social network, most users probably aren’t thinking of tracking down a company to “like,” unless the company has given them a good reason to.

So, marketers, I suggest you give them a good reason to “like” you.  It doesn’t have to be all that amazing or costly, just something tangible that is likely to appeal to your audience.  Then again, considering the potential for a fan to attract new prospects to your business by sharing her opinions of your product or service, you might want to consider offering something with a high perceived value.

Once you decide on what to offer, it’s time to start featuring that tangible incentive in your “Like Us on Facebook” blurbs, both in print and online.  Remember, “Like Us” blurbs with no offer in them (or just the ‘f’ logo) are everywhere now, so most consumers probably have already begun tuning them out.  Your job is to get them tuned in  again, and motivate them to “like” your brand’s (or product’s) Page.

Facebook marketing, marketing strategy, social media marketing No comments »
Dec
13

Lowe’s: How About Asking Customers’ Opinions?

Jim on December 13th, 2011

As you probably know, Lowe’s is a major player in the home-improvement category, with retail locations locations nationwide.  As a direct competitor to The Home Depot, they presumably have some very smart marketing people on staff.

So why did Lowe’s just shoot themselves in the foot PR-wise?

In response to pressure from a group called the Florida Family Association (FFA), Lowe’s has pulled its advertising from the TLC-network series, “All American Muslim.”  The FFA calls the show “propaganda that riskily hides the Islamic agenda’s clear and present danger to American liberties and traditional values.”

For the moment, let’s set aside the question of whether there is any truth to that accusation.  As a marketer, I’m much more interested in this question: Whom does Lowe’s consider to be its primary audience?

Is their primary audience a small, aggressive minority of (mostly white, mostly Florida-based) Americans who pre-judge all followers of a given faith based on the actions of a tiny, violent offshoot of that faith?  Or is their core audience the much larger, more diverse, less vocal American public who understand that most U.S. Muslims (if/when they happen to think of them) are peaceful fellow citizens?

Now another question: If the people in charge at Lowe’s (and I assume the decision to pull the advertising was made somewhere above the Director of Marketing level) had any doubts about this question, why didn’t they use social media or a phone survey to get customers’ thoughts on their sponsorship of “All American Muslim”?  Of course, they probably should have done that before they decided to sponsor the show.

That way they could have gotten a clear, objective view of whether the sponsorship might help them attract and retain more customers.  And if the survey had found that consumers didn’t like the idea of Lowe’s sponsoring the show, then Lowe’s could say, “Look, we did our research and found that our customers don’t like the idea of this show, and really don’t like the idea of us sponsoring it, so for the sake of our business, we’ve decided not to sponsor it.”

Instead, by not making the minimal effort necessary to get customers’ opinions, Lowe’s has no tangible basis for its decision.  And now, instead of having a relatively small group of anti-Muslim extremists boycotting their stores mainly in Florida, Lowe’s is getting negative publicity nationwide and probably will face boycotts nationwide.

What were they thinking?

brand building, Facebook marketing, marketing strategy, social media marketing No comments »
Dec
7

Web Designers versus Web Developers

Jim on December 7th, 2011

Do you know the difference between a web designer and a web developer?  Most people don’t.  The short answer is: a web designer focuses on how the site looks to visitors, while a web developer is concerned with the site’s behind-the-scenes functionality.  It’s good to know this before you choose someone to create a web site or think about adding a major new functionality to your existing site.

A more in-depth, tongue-in-cheek comparison of the two species is found in the graphic below, from sixrevisions.com:
free website builder

Web Designers vs Web Developers, brought to you by Wix.com

 

Uncategorized No comments »
Nov
12

Xfinity, Where Did You Hide Glenn Unger?

Jim on November 12th, 2011

Well, this is interesting.  Back on November 12, in a very brief post titled, “Coming Soon . . .”, I wrote on this blog that I would soon give my opinion of the Comcast/Xfinity TV commercial featuring the character “Glenn Unger” (or is it Glen with only one ‘n’?), which I had seen repeatedly on several major-network broadcasts in recent weeks.

I delayed my writing about the spot because I wanted to embed a web video of it in my post, but I couldn’t find it anywhere on the Web.  So, I figured, wait a week or two and then I’ll be able to grab it off YouTube or another video-hosting site.

Now, twelve days later, I still can’t find the spot anywhere online.  In fact, I can’t even find a .jpeg or other still image from the commercial, nor can I find any online articles about the spot. Could it be that Comcast has kept it off the web because they don’t want to be criticized for the stereotypes that the ad presents?

In the commercial, “Glenn Unger” is a short, bald, bombastic fellow in a business suit, with a fu-manchu mustache and beard. On his way out of the office, he stops to tell a woman (presumably his assistant) that he wants a special deal on Comcast’s Xfinity TV service, stipulating certain benefits he expects in the deal, which of course just happen to be part of the current Xfinity offer.  It seems a bit odd that he would have his secretary order cable-TV service for him, but that’s beside the point here.

By the way, full disclosure: My height is well above average, hair-wise I am not balding, receding, or thinning, and I have no mustache or beard.  And yes, I “get” that the creative is meant to be humorous: the spot ends with our hero back in his office, looking out the window and gently pounding it as he proclaims “Glenn . . . Unger” to the world outside.

But it is absolutely no accident that this grating, self-important, object of ridicule is a short, bald, bearded man. Comcast and its agency are just the latest in a decades-long line of advertisers who cast men lacking height and/or hair as losers or buffoons.

Shame on them for perpetuating this stereotype. And they do it with gusto: Just to make sure we know what Comcast thinks of vertically and follicle-ly challenged men, the commercial includes a shot of Glenn from across the room, lecturing his assistant while only the top of his head is visible above the medium-height cubicle walls nearby. Nice touch.

I can understand that every advertiser wants to associate their product with certain “attractive” body types.  That’s been going on so long that most people who aren’t physically gifted probably aren’t bothered that “their type” never shows up in ads.

But no one chooses to be short or bald (I’m not counting men who shave their heads here), so making them the butt of jokes used to sell products is not merely wrong and hurtful.  It is just plain stupid marketing, because it alienates a significant number of people who might have considered buying the product being advertised.

brand building, creative development 1 Comment »
Jul
28

Another Ooops on Yahoo’s Login Page

Jim on July 28th, 2011

Big companies, or at least companies we’ve all heard of, attract the best talent . . . right?  That’s what I’ve always assumed.  Would you say that’s a reasonable assumption?

And would you also say that Yahoo is one of those big, or at least well known, companies?

So why when I went to log into my AT&T Yahoo homepage tonight did I find this very bizarre photo on the login page?  Please be sure to click the image below to see it at its full size, and notice the woman’s eyes:

 

I’m not going to bother asking, “Is it just me, or . . .?”  There’s no doubt, this woman looks like a stereotypical “psycho” from a horror movie.  It’s a combination of how very wide-open her eyes are, the excessive eyeliner around them, and the odd shade of red (maroon?) in her hair.  Oh, and the fist, too. Why didn’t they just go all the way and put a bloody carving knife in that fist?  It’s already perfectly poised to stab.

Is this supposed to be funny, or at least ironic?  Of course not — the copy couldn’t be more straight-faced: “You win again with exciting auctions and Daily Deals . . .”  So why didn’t anyone at Yahoo notice that the woman looks deranged?

Could this be one of those all-too-frequent cases of everyone in the ad-approval process not wanting to offend the creative team or creative director who developed the ad?

Whatever . . . with this ad, Yahoo has now earned another “dishonorable mention” in this blog for creating an ad that is seriously flawed (see “Vague Headline, No Payoff for Clicking” below).

 

 

Uncategorized 1 Comment »