Here's what's worth reading (or maybe, with all of the shitty financial news out there, avoiding), in marketing, media and advertising:
From Advertising Age:
--The AdMarket 50 dropped 6.2 percent yesterday. But look on the bright side! The Dow dropped even more!
--Obama looking to buy a 30-minute block on major TV networks, possibly a roadblock, on Oct. 29th. Now try that on for size, John McCain.
--Something about advertisers and Web-TV shows at nbc.com. Sorry, enthusiasm waning.
--Q scores about to get smarter about the Hispanic market(s).
--Three-minute Ad Age: What Ask.com is going to do now that it blew $100 million on an ad campaign that didn't work.
From Adweek:
—More detailed story about Obama's 30-minute TV buy, including why McCain probably doesn't have the money to do the same thing.
—Your chance to choose the industry's most influential execs. On the list: Warren Buffett, Stephen Colbert and David Kenny.
—Google helps marketers target those ultra-cool iPhone owners. I am not one.
—Two shockers from Nielsen: Financial firms are spending less in advertising and shoppers won't buy as much this holiday season.
From Brandweek:
—Phew! Turns out gum can be good for you.
—Citizen's Bank will give you a dime for every paperless electronic transaction you make. Great for global warming, but can this cure the global financial crisis?
More to come after exercise class ... sorry I neer completed these, gang.
Friday, October 10, 2008
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Adverganza's Thursday morning picks, 10.09.08
OK, it's day three of my experiment to do the picks every day. The kiddies are still asleep, so let's roll. When the picks roll, they roll big. (And if you don't get that joke, here's a clue.)From Advertising Age:
--Does this mean Jerry Seinfeld out, Common in?
--MindShare buys Michaelides & Bednash, which, according to this story, "practically invented media planning." Never heard of 'em.
--Mother sells some of its sausage. I didn't even know it had sausage. Anyway, this'll be a trend if Brooklyn Brothers sells some of its chocolate.
--Some of the pizzazz out of Yaz.
--Three-minute Ad Age: Actual footage of Ocean Spray's cranberry bog in Rockefeller Center (see photo above, or read Mark Dolliver's singular take on the midtown bog at AdFreak).
--Film at 11! Eric Schmidt says the Internet is "a cesspool." (Yeah, that was taken out of context. Go click on the link, wouldya?)
From Adweek:
--Movie ads now allowed on Oscars. Frankly, I'd never noticed that there weren't any.
--AdSense goes game.
--How can 82 percent of TNS shareholders be wrong?
--Rich Gagnon doesn't think that we've nothing to fear but Google itself.
--Ad of the Day: the Routan Babymaker 3000. Scare your friends! Your fiance! And your future or current spouse!
From Brandweek:
--Progresso, Campbell's sling soup at each other.
--Dissolvable tobacco. Ewwww!
From Mediapost:
--Yep, people are shopping at discount stores.
--Here come the "disease-modifying" osteoarthritis drugs. Just in time for me to become an old biddy!
--More on that Honda campaign that causes rumble strips to play the "William Tell Overture." (Here's someone driving on it on YouTube. Sounds a little pitch-y to me. The actual ad doesn't drop until Sunday.)--Up with Dough Boy, down with that guy my 4-year-old refers to as "Chef Boy."
--The good news about faltering car dealerships: they are focusing more online.
--Google consoles beleaguered travel advertisers.
--Uh-oh. The Center for Digital Democracy is asking states to investigate targeting practices on Facebook and MySpace.
--Search guys say, "What me worry?"
--Nielsen now has its convergence panel up and running. I've heard that people sometimes use more than one medium.
--The Star-Ledger lives to see another day.
From Mediaweek:
--Forbes.com decides to become a financial adviser.
--The second presidential debate draws more audience than the first, but still not as much as that Biden/Palin smackdown.
From The New York Post:
--Liz Claiborne (who's dead by the way), Narciso Rodriguez part ways.
From The New York Times:
--We know a bit about the social graph in Wasilla, Alaska, but now Vaseline has discovered what it is in Kodiak.
--Stuart Elliott's story about the campaign to tell teens to watch their language is currently #7 on the Times' business most-read hit parade.
From The Wall Street Journal:
--Goldman Sachs down on the outlook for advertising. Hey, guys, just because your business is tanking doesn't mean you have to piss all over ours. Subscription required.
--Ever heard of the NFL's Coach Stilo? He doesn't really exist but the League is all over him. Free.
OK, we're done. Hope everyone appreciates that I did part of this with a 4-year-old in my lap.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Adverganza's Wednesday morning picks, 10.08.08
Day two, my friends, of my picks-every-day experiment. Pray for me. ("My friends" is a hilarious reference to John McCain. Laugh already, would you?)
From Advertising Age:
—Hyundai buys all of the spots General Motors had bought for the Oscars. There's a metaphor here somewhere.
—Crispin wins the Old Navy account. Look for ads starring Bill Gates and Jerry Seinfeld looking for deals on hoodies. Oh, wait, I'm confused.
—"The Sarah Palin Micro Economy." Yes, Tina Fey is a big part of it.
—Google's Tim Armstrong wants to hold a town hall with the Association of National Advertisers to discuss the Google/Yahoo deal. Tom Brokaw would moderate. Ha! I meant Gwen Ifill.
—Three-minute Ad Age: Bad economy got you down? Talk to Reader's Digest Association's Suzanne Grimes.
From Adweek:
—TNS says political ad spending will break a record, at $2.5 billion. The good news? That's way more than the $1.4 billion spent in 2004. The bad news? TNS originally predicted it would be $3 billion.
—The ups and downs, um, of Levi's "Unbutton Your Beast" campaign.
From Brandweek:
—Duracell, Maggie Gyllenhall, campaign to power smiles, etc.
—All about CRM at HP.
From Mediapost:
—Diddy as Frank Sinatra?
—Despite the lousy economy, people apparently still need their gadgets.
—Car dealerships, just like Darwin's theory of evolution.
—Woo-hoo! Internet ad spending up 15.2 percent in the first half of 2008 per the Interactive Advertising Bureau. Boo! Growth flat between first and second quarters.
—Magazines better than TV at ROI, per Marketing Evolution. Strangely, I don't think this study was released at the American Magazine Conference.
—Mediapost introduces Red, White & Blog.
From Mediaweek:
—People actually watching Major League Baseball playoffs. Well, it's a great diversion.
—What Michael Eisner said at the Veoh Forum.
—You can buy stuff on YouTube.
—American Magazine Conference attendees try to "carefully connect" with people who still read paper.
From The New York Post:
—Thanks for playing, Linens 'n' Things!
—Keith Kelly does a roundup of the American Magazine Conference ... and you are there!
From The New York Times:
—Hey teens! The Ad Council says watch your language!
From The Wall Street Journal:
—Honda Fit all over Sony, sites that is. Free.
OK, gang. That's all she blogged.
From Advertising Age:
—Hyundai buys all of the spots General Motors had bought for the Oscars. There's a metaphor here somewhere.
—Crispin wins the Old Navy account. Look for ads starring Bill Gates and Jerry Seinfeld looking for deals on hoodies. Oh, wait, I'm confused.
—"The Sarah Palin Micro Economy." Yes, Tina Fey is a big part of it.
—Google's Tim Armstrong wants to hold a town hall with the Association of National Advertisers to discuss the Google/Yahoo deal. Tom Brokaw would moderate. Ha! I meant Gwen Ifill.
—Three-minute Ad Age: Bad economy got you down? Talk to Reader's Digest Association's Suzanne Grimes.
From Adweek:
—TNS says political ad spending will break a record, at $2.5 billion. The good news? That's way more than the $1.4 billion spent in 2004. The bad news? TNS originally predicted it would be $3 billion.
—The ups and downs, um, of Levi's "Unbutton Your Beast" campaign.
From Brandweek:
—Duracell, Maggie Gyllenhall, campaign to power smiles, etc.
—All about CRM at HP.
From Mediapost:
—Diddy as Frank Sinatra?
—Despite the lousy economy, people apparently still need their gadgets.
—Car dealerships, just like Darwin's theory of evolution.
—Woo-hoo! Internet ad spending up 15.2 percent in the first half of 2008 per the Interactive Advertising Bureau. Boo! Growth flat between first and second quarters.
—Magazines better than TV at ROI, per Marketing Evolution. Strangely, I don't think this study was released at the American Magazine Conference.
—Mediapost introduces Red, White & Blog.
From Mediaweek:
—People actually watching Major League Baseball playoffs. Well, it's a great diversion.
—What Michael Eisner said at the Veoh Forum.
—You can buy stuff on YouTube.
—American Magazine Conference attendees try to "carefully connect" with people who still read paper.
From The New York Post:
—Thanks for playing, Linens 'n' Things!
—Keith Kelly does a roundup of the American Magazine Conference ... and you are there!
From The New York Times:
—Hey teens! The Ad Council says watch your language!
From The Wall Street Journal:
—Honda Fit all over Sony, sites that is. Free.
OK, gang. That's all she blogged.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Adverganza's Tuesday morning picks, 10.07.08
As an experiment, I'm going to try to do the picks every day, partly because I know it won't be quite as hard as doing them on Mondays when there is so much content out there. Is this sustainable? Probably not. Among other things, the kiddies have Thursday off for Yom Kippur. BTW, if I don't include a publication, it's because it had nothing new on it site, or it had something new on its site that was so dull I wouldn't want to bore you with it. Here goes:
From Advertising Age:
—Magazine publishers talking revenue at the American Magazine Conference. And we're not necessarily talking ad pages.
—Yeah, the AdMarket 50's stocks fell like a stone too.
—TNS surrenders.
—It's going to be an ad, ad, ad, ad virtual world in Sims 3.
—Three-minute Ad Age talks to National Geographic about online communities.
From Adweek:
—SMG roadkill, courtesy of General Motors. Agency cuts 5 to 10 percent of staff as dealer business goes to some other shops.
From Brandweek:
—Coke strikes a deal with a Monster.
—Coldwell Banker sets up a 10-day sales event, dropping home prices by as much as 10 percent. If the owners comply, that is, since ultimately it's up to them. (I know these things. I have my real estate license.)
—Will people drink Glenlivet or some kind of rot gut now that the economy is down?
—Mayors all hepped up about a green revolution.
—Pringles unveils a can creator, so you can design your own can. It's for a good cause!
From Mediapost:
—Sign of the times: Toyota offering 0% financing on most of its vehicles. Not the Prius though.
—KFC airing this ad in Nashville, saying it will donate $20,000 to world hunger relief if anyone, a questioner or a candidate, mentions world hunger during the debate tonight.
—Millenials love them causes.
—Hockey star representing haircut chain, but, weirdly, no mention of mullets.
—The first post-financial crisis ad spending prediction is out, but at least the numbers are very modestly up. Trying to maintain that the glass is half full, I am.
—Facebook's Sheryl Sandberg addresses the American Magazine Conference.
—Diane Mermigas thinks that AOL and Yahoo should get together.
—Young men would rather give up TV than the Internet. (Of course, the Internet can be TV if you want it to be, not the other way around.)
From Mediaweek:
—Newsweek hires Hearst's Pamela Raley as chief revenue officer.
—Film at 11! State of magazine publishing "incredibly fragile" says Hearst exec at American Magazine Conference.
—Everything you wanted to know about the new Food Network magazine.
From The New York Post:
—Couldn't have said it better myself. Dealer advertising "is stuck in park."
From The New York Times:
—Ads try to convince consumers that they really don't need to stick money in their mattress. Stuart Elliott poses the central question of creating ads for Washington Mutual: "How, then, to create a campaign that would project confidence in an institution that will be remembered as having suffered the largest bank failure of its time?"
—Old ads for cigarettes, including a recommendation from doctors that people smoke Lucky Strikes. Those were the days.
From The Wall Street Journal (didn't have time to figure out whether these were subscription required or not. Blame Internet Explorer):
—More on that WPP/TNS deal.
—Ready for the Whopper Bar?
OK, gang, off to exercise class.
From Advertising Age:
—Magazine publishers talking revenue at the American Magazine Conference. And we're not necessarily talking ad pages.
—Yeah, the AdMarket 50's stocks fell like a stone too.
—TNS surrenders.
—It's going to be an ad, ad, ad, ad virtual world in Sims 3.
—Three-minute Ad Age talks to National Geographic about online communities.
From Adweek:
—SMG roadkill, courtesy of General Motors. Agency cuts 5 to 10 percent of staff as dealer business goes to some other shops.
From Brandweek:
—Coke strikes a deal with a Monster.
—Coldwell Banker sets up a 10-day sales event, dropping home prices by as much as 10 percent. If the owners comply, that is, since ultimately it's up to them. (I know these things. I have my real estate license.)
—Will people drink Glenlivet or some kind of rot gut now that the economy is down?
—Mayors all hepped up about a green revolution.
—Pringles unveils a can creator, so you can design your own can. It's for a good cause!
From Mediapost:
—Sign of the times: Toyota offering 0% financing on most of its vehicles. Not the Prius though.
—KFC airing this ad in Nashville, saying it will donate $20,000 to world hunger relief if anyone, a questioner or a candidate, mentions world hunger during the debate tonight.
—Millenials love them causes.
—Hockey star representing haircut chain, but, weirdly, no mention of mullets.
—The first post-financial crisis ad spending prediction is out, but at least the numbers are very modestly up. Trying to maintain that the glass is half full, I am.
—Facebook's Sheryl Sandberg addresses the American Magazine Conference.
—Diane Mermigas thinks that AOL and Yahoo should get together.
—Young men would rather give up TV than the Internet. (Of course, the Internet can be TV if you want it to be, not the other way around.)
From Mediaweek:
—Newsweek hires Hearst's Pamela Raley as chief revenue officer.
—Film at 11! State of magazine publishing "incredibly fragile" says Hearst exec at American Magazine Conference.
—Everything you wanted to know about the new Food Network magazine.
From The New York Post:
—Couldn't have said it better myself. Dealer advertising "is stuck in park."
From The New York Times:
—Ads try to convince consumers that they really don't need to stick money in their mattress. Stuart Elliott poses the central question of creating ads for Washington Mutual: "How, then, to create a campaign that would project confidence in an institution that will be remembered as having suffered the largest bank failure of its time?"
—Old ads for cigarettes, including a recommendation from doctors that people smoke Lucky Strikes. Those were the days.
From The Wall Street Journal (didn't have time to figure out whether these were subscription required or not. Blame Internet Explorer):
—More on that WPP/TNS deal.
—Ready for the Whopper Bar?
OK, gang, off to exercise class.
Who knew Droga 5 was behind "The Great Schlep"?
Maybe you've seen Sarah Silverman's video "The Great Schlep", above (not necessarily safe for work), which urges Jewish grandchildren to visit their grandparents in Florida and plead with them to vote Obama. (And withhold further visits this year unless that condition is met.) What I didn't know, until I read The New York Times this morning is that Droga5 co-produced it. Among other reasons Silverman thinks everyone should vote for Obama is that, "He's honest and he's kind and quite frankly he's probably our last hope of ending this country's reputation as the assholes of the universe." There's also a semi-serious Web site, that asks people to "Donate to the Schlep" and has some cool schlep swag (schlep schwag?).
Monday, October 6, 2008
McCain says Obama's a dangerous guy
To make this blog fair and balanced, I'll try to keep track of the most viewed YouTube videos on both presidential candidates' channels over the next few weeks. While Obama (see below) had over 134,000 views for a lengthy video about McCain's role in the Keating Five, McCain's most viewed in the last day or so is this commercial painting Obama as a dangerous guy, with 77,000 views. Not that YouTube views are a proxy for who will win the election, but interesting, nonetheless.
Obama amps up McCain and the Keating Five
I haven't exactly jumped into the election campaign on Adverganza, but some interesting stuff is popping up on the YouTube channels for both Barack Obama and John McCain. Above, what is one of the leaders among the video's the Obama campaign posted today: a 13-minute-plus video on McCain's involvement with the Keating Five of the savings and loan crisis. Shows you what a sorry state we're in that more than 135,000 people would watch a video this long, only hours after it had been posted. (There are more than 550,000 views so far for a 35-second teaser. The long form video is also posted on an Obama campaign-backed site, called keatingeconomics.com. Still amazed that Joe Biden didn't mention the Keating Five once in the vice presidential debate since that seems to be the smoking gun, if there is one, on the subject of John McCain and the economy.
Adverganza's Monday morning picks, 10.06.08
Wherein I scan the Monday morning headlines so you don't have to:
From Advertising Age:
—So, 78 percent of us have curtailed spending in the last few weeks. That ain't good.
—The consumer touchpoints of the Tampa Bay (no longer Devil) Rays.
—Cool chart of great deals at major retailers.
—Something about CPG margins, if you're a SKU wonk.
—Here's a PDF to Ad Age's annual A List. But, hey, I'll tell you the ten who made it, in order even: The Economist, Women's Health, Elle, Every Day with Rachel Ray, National Geographic, Fast Company, New York, People Stylewatch, House Beautiful, Conde Nast Traveler.
—Simon Dumenco's first annual American Magazine Vanguard Awards in which magazines, most of which you've never heard of, get props for expanding beyond the printed page.
—What your local ad exec thinks of the government bailout package.
—Wal-Mart is rocking the recession.
—Price of a 30-second spot drops 4.1 percent. In an irrational world, that seems, well, rational.
—Jonah Bloom on Kurt Andersen's "Very Short List." Dump all your feeds and read only one thing a day!
—Bob Garfield gives three stars to drinkability. Guess he was thirsty.
—It's not a water bottle, it's a "personal hydration vessel."
From Adweek:
—Ad industry strangely mum about the bailout bill.
—So, yeah, some ad agencies stand to lose some accounts what with all those bank consolidations.
—A few temperature changes at 72andSunny. OK, that was a dumb metaphor.
—Video beyond the pre-roll.
—Ex-WPP Italy exec Marco Benatti and WPP face off in court today.
—Google and Yahoo search deal isn't soup yet.
—It's gonna suck to have an automotive account in the near term.
—Online resources that help reporters out.
—Just because your religious don't worship at the alter of consumerism.
—Catching up with ex-Wieden creative Jim Riswold, who is still very much alive and making fun of Hitler in his spare time.
—Does Joseph Jaffe have money in his mattress?
From Brandweek:
—Just because nobody supposedly smokes anymore doesn't mean cigarette companies aren't great marketers.
—Should Wendy's be focusing on quality?
—Bailout isn't bad for Botox sales.
—General Mills and Kraft start word-of-mouth networks.
—Shaun White takes over "South Park" to launch his video game.
From Mediapost:
—Infiniti goes global. What do ya wanna bet the brand'll scale back its aggressive expansion plans?
—Kodak, via EVB, lets people become superheroes.
—Didn't know that chains like Panera Bread are referred to as the fast casual segment.
—AT&T in 3D!
—Procter & Gamble picks a Hispanic stylist to promote Head & Shoulders to the Hispanic market. Wow, how logical.
—That other Facebook founder leaves Facebook.
—Microsoft launches another search incentive program.
—Two rivals to WebMD merge.
—iPerceptions says advertisers should eschew display for text ads in the downturn.
—Gator is dead for good. Hooray!
—Read this story about Google TV.
—Vice presidential debate pulls in 69.9 million viewers; presidential debates pulls in only 28.6 million viewers.
—New York AG files suit to delay the launch of the Portable People Meter.
From Mediaweek:
—The AdweekMedia Hot List. Here's the list, in order, since you don't want to click through ten pages, do you? Better Homes and Gardens, Elle, Men's Health, Real Simple, Gourmet, Martha Stewart Living, People, InStyle, Entertainment Weekly, Cosmopolitan. For those keeping score between the two top magazine lists, there is only one book that made both lists: Elle. Ad Age named People Stylewatch, and AdweekMedia named People.)
—Feature on Real Simple.
—Screw AG Cuomo. The Portable People Meter goes live in eight markets.
—Advertisers not in panic mode ... yet.
—NBC primetime not the talk of the town.
—On the other hand, people are loving the football.
—The cable upfront was up 9.3 percent.
—Brides.com to do live streaming of bridal fashion shows.
From The New York Post:
—Story about Tina Brown's new thedailybeast.com. Hipsters are supposed to read it. Does anyone refer to themselves as a hipster?
From The New York Times:
—EBay cuts its staff by 10 percent. Says it's not due to the economic downturn. Hmmm.
—More on the opposition to the Google/Yahoo deal.
From The Wall Street Journal:
—Want to invest in an independent movie? Free.
—Is anyone interested in a $25 pack of razor blades? Free.
—Guess what? Saturday Night Live's ratings are up. Free.
—Cookbooks are hot. Free.
Much more to come ...
From Advertising Age:
—So, 78 percent of us have curtailed spending in the last few weeks. That ain't good.
—The consumer touchpoints of the Tampa Bay (no longer Devil) Rays.
—Cool chart of great deals at major retailers.
—Something about CPG margins, if you're a SKU wonk.
—Here's a PDF to Ad Age's annual A List. But, hey, I'll tell you the ten who made it, in order even: The Economist, Women's Health, Elle, Every Day with Rachel Ray, National Geographic, Fast Company, New York, People Stylewatch, House Beautiful, Conde Nast Traveler.
—Simon Dumenco's first annual American Magazine Vanguard Awards in which magazines, most of which you've never heard of, get props for expanding beyond the printed page.
—What your local ad exec thinks of the government bailout package.
—Wal-Mart is rocking the recession.
—Price of a 30-second spot drops 4.1 percent. In an irrational world, that seems, well, rational.
—Jonah Bloom on Kurt Andersen's "Very Short List." Dump all your feeds and read only one thing a day!
—Bob Garfield gives three stars to drinkability. Guess he was thirsty.
—It's not a water bottle, it's a "personal hydration vessel."
From Adweek:
—Ad industry strangely mum about the bailout bill.
—So, yeah, some ad agencies stand to lose some accounts what with all those bank consolidations.
—A few temperature changes at 72andSunny. OK, that was a dumb metaphor.
—Video beyond the pre-roll.
—Ex-WPP Italy exec Marco Benatti and WPP face off in court today.
—Google and Yahoo search deal isn't soup yet.
—It's gonna suck to have an automotive account in the near term.
—Online resources that help reporters out.
—Just because your religious don't worship at the alter of consumerism.
—Catching up with ex-Wieden creative Jim Riswold, who is still very much alive and making fun of Hitler in his spare time.
—Does Joseph Jaffe have money in his mattress?
From Brandweek:
—Just because nobody supposedly smokes anymore doesn't mean cigarette companies aren't great marketers.
—Should Wendy's be focusing on quality?
—Bailout isn't bad for Botox sales.
—General Mills and Kraft start word-of-mouth networks.
—Shaun White takes over "South Park" to launch his video game.
From Mediapost:
—Infiniti goes global. What do ya wanna bet the brand'll scale back its aggressive expansion plans?
—Kodak, via EVB, lets people become superheroes.
—Didn't know that chains like Panera Bread are referred to as the fast casual segment.
—AT&T in 3D!
—Procter & Gamble picks a Hispanic stylist to promote Head & Shoulders to the Hispanic market. Wow, how logical.
—That other Facebook founder leaves Facebook.
—Microsoft launches another search incentive program.
—Two rivals to WebMD merge.
—iPerceptions says advertisers should eschew display for text ads in the downturn.
—Gator is dead for good. Hooray!
—Read this story about Google TV.
—Vice presidential debate pulls in 69.9 million viewers; presidential debates pulls in only 28.6 million viewers.
—New York AG files suit to delay the launch of the Portable People Meter.
From Mediaweek:
—The AdweekMedia Hot List. Here's the list, in order, since you don't want to click through ten pages, do you? Better Homes and Gardens, Elle, Men's Health, Real Simple, Gourmet, Martha Stewart Living, People, InStyle, Entertainment Weekly, Cosmopolitan. For those keeping score between the two top magazine lists, there is only one book that made both lists: Elle. Ad Age named People Stylewatch, and AdweekMedia named People.)
—Feature on Real Simple.
—Screw AG Cuomo. The Portable People Meter goes live in eight markets.
—Advertisers not in panic mode ... yet.
—NBC primetime not the talk of the town.
—On the other hand, people are loving the football.
—The cable upfront was up 9.3 percent.
—Brides.com to do live streaming of bridal fashion shows.
From The New York Post:
—Story about Tina Brown's new thedailybeast.com. Hipsters are supposed to read it. Does anyone refer to themselves as a hipster?
From The New York Times:
—EBay cuts its staff by 10 percent. Says it's not due to the economic downturn. Hmmm.
—More on the opposition to the Google/Yahoo deal.
From The Wall Street Journal:
—Want to invest in an independent movie? Free.
—Is anyone interested in a $25 pack of razor blades? Free.
—Guess what? Saturday Night Live's ratings are up. Free.
—Cookbooks are hot. Free.
Much more to come ...
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