Branding Ad Vice

Close Encounters Of The Advertising Kind

You’re walking down the sidewalk.  Your cell phone alerts you that you have a message.  You push a button and an ad (text, audio or video) for a restaurant across the street appears on the screen.  That ad is followed by another ad for the theatre up the street.  The Java Café sends you an invitation to try their new Fair Trade Blend.  Is this a marketer’s dream or a consumer’s nightmare?  Ready or not, Google and a few other companies including Proximity Media are designing new ways to put advertising in the palm of your hand using Bluetooth and WI-FI technology.

And don’t think you’ll get away with receiving one message.  When your cell phone enters a proximity zone it is assigned a unique identifier.  The system profiles you, sending ads based on what you’ve previously received.

If you have received ad A, then send ad B or C, etc.
If you have received an MP3 file (audio ad), then send video ad.
If it's noon a nearby restaurant could send you a lunch coupon.

All of this within about 300 feet of any particular business. 

We’ll have to keep an eye on this technology.  Imagine a dozen businesses in a few block area of your town sending you ads on your cell phone the minute you get out of your car to buy stamps at the post office, go to the bank next door, have lunch  or sit down at your desk.  Not just once, but everytime you do these things.  If you’re within range it appears that you’re fair game.

On one hand there should be plenty of work for writers and producers of content.  On the other hand, in a world of over communication consumers could revolt and turn off their cell phones more often. 

And wouldn’t that be a nice thing? 

This Just In From The Associated Press

Fri Mar 24,  2:12 AM ET

Teen Beated To Death At Milwaukee Bus Stop

A tragic story diminished by the headline.  Where's an editor when you need one.

Pegging The Hype-O-Meter

It seemed every time I got online in the weeks leading up to the Winter Olympics I’d see an ad asking me to join Bode. I didn’t know Bode and the graphics pegged my hype-o-meter, so I decided that Bode could probably do just fine without me.  I wasn’t surprised when the reports of Bode’s meltdown started coming in from Torino.

Bode’s disastrous performance probably won’t cost him his Nike endorsements in the short term.   But unless he starts to walk the walk and quits believing his press releases he’ll be washed up as a spokesperson in no time. 

Look around you’ll find there’s a new societal mindset beginning to take hold.  The days of bad boy superstars like John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors are fading.  The new generation is tired of the hype and demands realism. 

Which brings me to another Olympian I’d never heard of before (outside of college football I’m not much into televised sports), speed skater Joey Cheek.  The morning after he won his gold medal in the 500 meters  I heard a bit of his news conference where he donated the $25,000 bonus he received to an organization called Right to Play which helps children in war-torn countries develop and grow through sports.  The organization believes kids who learn to play together will someday live together in peace.

Cheek also won a silver in the 1,000 meters and another $15,000. He donated that money as well. He then challenged corporations to match his gift.  So far, Right to Play has received more than $300,000. Cheek has asked that his donation fund programs for refugees of the genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan.

This month, Cheek is going to Zambia as a Right to Play athlete ambassador.

During his conference Cheek said, "The Olympics is a very selfish pursuit.  You know, I wake up every morning and I ask myself how can I focus all my energies on what I do so that I can be the best in the world?  After years of this and after years of other people sacrificing so that I can be the best in the world, I feel that it is imperative to give something to someone who's less fortunate than myself."

Cheek’s a class act.  His teammates did well electing him to be the U.S. flag bearer in the closing ceremonies.

Your prospective customers want to know who you really are and what you believe in.  If you haven’t already done so, reduce the hype in your advertising and let others see you as you really are.

Another Reason For Keeping It Simple

A new survey by The ACT (the college entrance test folks) finds that only 51 percent of students showed they were ready to handle the reading requirements of a typical first-year college course.  Read Story

his reminds me of a scene from "Monty Python And The Holy Grail"  where Michael Palin tries to give instructions to his two guards.

King of Swamp Castle: Guards, make sure the prince doesn't leave this room until I come and get him.
Guard #1: Not to leave the room... even if you come and get him.
Guard #2: [hiccups]
King of Swamp Castle: No, no. *Until* I come and get him.
Guard #1: Until you come and get him, we're not to enter the room.
King of Swamp Castle: No, no, no. You *stay* in the room, and make sure *he* doesn't leave.
Guard #1: And you'll come and get him.
Guard #2: [hiccups]
King of Swamp Castle: Right.
Guard #1: We don't need to do anything, apart from just stop him entering the room.
King of Swamp Castle: No, no. *Leaving* the room.
Guard #1: Leaving the room, yes.
King of Swamp Castle: All right?
Guard #2: [hiccups]
Guard #1: Right. Oh, if, if, if, uh, if, if, uh, if, if, if, we... oh, if... oh...
King of Swamp Castle: Look, it's quite simple. You just stay here, and make sure he doesn't leave the room. All right?
Guard #2: [hiccups]
Guard #1: Oh, I remember, uh, can he leave the room with us?
King of Swamp Castle: No, no, no, no, you just keep him in here, and make sure...
Guard #1: Oh yeah, we'll keep him in here, obviously, but if he had to leave, and we were with him...
King of Swamp Castle: No, just keep him in here...
Guard #1: Until you, or anyone else...
King of Swamp Castle: No, not anyone else. Just me.
Guard #1: Just you.
Guard #2: [hiccups]
King of Swamp Castle: Get back.
Guard #1: Get back.
King of Swamp Castle: All right?
Guard #1: Right, we'll stay here until you get back.
King of Swamp Castle: And make sure he doesn't leave.
Guard #1: What?
King of Swamp Castle: Make sure he doesn't leave.
Guard #1: The prince?
King of Swamp Castle: Yes, make sure he doesn't leave.
Guard #1: Oh, yes, of course.
[Points at Guard #2]
Guard #1: I thought you meant him. You know, it seemed a bit daft me I were to guard him when he's a guard.
King of Swamp Castle: Is that clear?
Guard #2: [hiccups]
Guard #1: Oh, quite clear. No problems.
King of Swamp Castle: Right.
[King of Swamp Castle turns to leave the room, both guards follow him]
King of Swamp Castle: Where are you going?
Guard #1: We're coming with you.
King of Swamp Castle: No, no, no. I want you to stay here and make sure *he* doesn't leave.
Guard #1: Oh, I see. Right.

Reading comprehension scores have been stagnant for the past 20 years.  The problem isn’t gong to be solved anytime soon.  So remember when writing web content, training material or ads about half of your audience will have difficulty understanding your message unless it is written at the Jr. High level. 

Heaven help us all.

Keep It Simple

According to a study funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts, more than half to students at four-year colleges — and at least 75 percent at two-year colleges — lack the literacy to handle real-life tasks such as understanding credit card offers. (Yahoo story)

The study finds that students fail to lock in key skills — no matter their field of study.  They cannot interpret an exercise and blood pressure table, understand the arguments of newspaper editorials, compare credit card offers with different interest rates and annual fees or summarize results of a survey about parental involvement in school.

Stephane Baldi, the study's director at the American Institutes for Research, says, "It is kind of disturbing that a lot of folks are graduating with a degree and they're not going to be able to do those things."

Most students at community colleges and four-year schools showed intermediate skills, meaning they can do moderately challenging tasks, such as identifying a location on a map.

Here’s the good news.  Overall, the average literacy of college students is significantly higher than that of adults across the nation.

This explains so much.

Armed with this new information it’s time to re-examine your marketing materials.  If you use Microsoft Office, run your text through grammar and spell check.  You’ll see a Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level. I try to keep the grade level around 6 or 7.  This memo scores 10.1, which means it will be difficult for some people to understand.

Simple, crisp, concise writing will improve the understanding of you messages.  When your message improves so do your results.

Class dismissed.