…Or rather, an intern for our interactive department. The intern will assist our digital strategy team with planning and manageing client initiatives, as well as conducting research. Duties will include:
- Strategic planning
- Pay per click/search engine optimization
- Web development and design best-practices and documentation
- Analytics (generating reports, analyzing results, forecasting)
- How to work/integrate with Client Services teams
- Researching and preparing materials for presentations
More details on job duties and qualifications can be found here. If you’re interested (and interesting) or know someone who might be, please send your resume and info to Rebecca Seymann at rseymann@airmarketing.com, with “Interactive Intern” as the subject line.
Last week I read an article from AdAge that likely touched a sensitive cord all around the industry. It was called “Why Metrics Are Killing Creativity in Advertising”, and in it author Patrick Sarkissian makes this startling declaration: “Just as video killed the radio star, metrics are killing creativity.”
Whoa.
But wait, you say. Without metrics, how do I measure results? Without a tangible number, how do I know that every dollar spent has a return?
Fair questions. And I don’t think anyone, even Sarkissian, would advocate the abandonment of measurable results. But I do think he has a point. Especially in this economy, clients are scrutinizing every dollar going in and coming back. They are forgetting the effect creative can have on a customer that goes beyond money. Sarkissian writes:
We are forgetting that brand preference is built on emotional connections…What works are creative and strategic communications that seamlessly engage and interact with the target audience. Most important, it’s big, new ideas - not crunched numbers - that remain in a person’s mind long after the initial experience. They are what really make a brand stick with the consumer for current and future recall…
Think of the innovative branding commercials that you’ve seen over the years. What is it that you remember about them? Did they make you run out and buy the product? Probably not, but you remember them nonetheless. The revolutionary introduction of the first Apple computer in 1984 may not have induced you to purchase one, but I’m sure it left you in awe. How about the Budweiser frogs? Or the world-uniting Coke commercial in the 70s? Personally, I hate beer, and I wasn’t alive when the Coke commercial first aired. But I remember those campaigns and how they made me feel about the brand.
Metrics are and will always be an important measure of success for a campaign. After all, a huge part of AIR’s foundation is analytics and metrics. But, just as important in our formula is creative: Analytics + Imagination = Results.
I think in the end, this is Sarkissian’s point. You can’t truly quantify creative, so make sure that’s not your be-all-end-all strategy. Take some chances. Ignore the numbers. And rediscover what it means to connect with your customer on more personal level. And you just might find your own Budweiser frog.
There have been a number of iconic music videos over the years. Michael Jackson’s epic Thriller. A-Ha’s animated Take on Me. Ok Go’s famous treadmill dance. But nothing compares to the artistic expression, creativity and intricate artistry of the dance between lead interactive designer Mark Hayden…and a chicken.
Happy Birthday, Mark!
I couldn’t believe it when I read this article about MTV dropping the “Music Television” tagline from its iconic logo. I mean, “MTV” = Music TeleVision, right? Well, not so much anymore. But once upon a time, MTV was the place to see your favorite artists and music videos. Once upon a time, reality shows like Real World and Singled Out were used as filler in between the music instead of the driving force of the network.
Some people agree with the change, pointing out that MTV’s programming has dramatically shifted away from music to become much more reality-based-which is also MTV’s point in making the logo change. True. But it seems to me that they’re missing the point. MTV was revolutionary, a game-changer in television that defined an entire generation and ushered in a whole new era for people to experience music and for bands to connect with their fans. Without the music, why even keep the “M” in MTV?
So many of us here at AIR grew up with MTV, dazzled by it, addicted to it, entertained by it. I was curious to know how my colleagues felt about this change.
Heidi: “I loved MTV. I miss the time when MTV was ONLY music videos! I like to hear the latest music and see how they portray it, not listen to it in the background of some ridiculous so-called reality show!”
Kelsey: “Back in the day, when TRL actually used to show music videos, I was addicted to MTV. I couldn’t wait for new music videos to come out. I don’t mind the new logo but I think it might date them very quickly. The “hot” celebrity on MTV is only hot for 2 seconds so it will be changing a LOT so that could either go in their favor or not.”
Frank: “I gave up on MTV a long, long time ago. I fondly recall when MTV first started, and the VeeJays of the 80s … at the time, MTV was cutting edge, a great way to experience music in a new way and stay abreast of current music culture. Since MTV stopped showing music videos a long time ago, it’s perfectly reasonable they dropped the tagline … overdue, in fact.”
Rob, our creative intern, pointed out that the furor over the MTV logo change is similar to the debate about AOL’s (or excuse me, Aol.) own logo change, which isn’t exactly garnering rave reviews around the design world.
So tell us what you think about MTV (or Aol.). Do you agree with the change? Disagree? Wish they would just go back to playing music, already?
Congratulations to our own David Ralls for being honored as one of the Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International’s 2009 Top 25 Most Extraordinary Minds in Sales and Marketing!
This honor is bestowed upon the best sales and marketing professionals in the hospitality, travel and tourism industries, with honorees being nominated by their peers. According to Robert A. Gilbert, CHME, CHA, president and CEO of HSMAI:
The Top 25 is a ‘hot list’ that celebrates the sales and marketing leaders and innovators of our industry. The creative strategies, passionate dedication and sharp intelligence of these professionals have not only made a difference within their organizations but have also truly raised the bar for the hospitality industry as a whole.
David was honored onstage in a ceremony preceding the organization’s prestigious Adrian Awards Gala this past Monday in New York alongside other professionals from such notable companies as Ritz-Carlton/Marriott International, MGM Grand Hotel, VISIT FLORIDA and Cornell University.
It was a great night for AIR Marketing, as we also picked up a Silver Adrian Award in the Web category, thus continuing our 2009 silver awards streak.
Were you as fascinated by the Verizon/AT&T commercial battle this holiday season as I was?
Verizon’s campaign tore into AT&T’s 3G coverage with a series of cheeky and surprisingly direct digs—from spoofing the iPhone’s “there’s an app for that” with “there’s a map for that” to marooning a sparse 3G coverage map to the island of misfit toys—while touting its own “superior” coverage map and network capabilities.
AT&T filed a lawsuit against Verizon, claiming the ads were misleading and should be pulled. A judge disagreed, and suddenly AT&T went from being the darling of the cell phone market as the sole carrier of the iPhone to, well, a bit of a spoilsport whining about a bully. I have to agree with this PCWorld article:
The lawsuit was a bad strategic move for AT&T because it has the exact opposite effect of its goal…The result is that the marketing campaign is getting tons of attention and free advertising, and customers are led to question what AT&T is trying to hide.
Let me first say that I am not a customer of Verizon or AT&T, merely a (somewhat amused) observer. With that out of the way, I have to say that in my opinion, Verizon definitely got the upper hand in this ad war. AT&T’s response ads that feature Luke Wilson—an actor that I personally like but have to admit is bland and somewhat irrelevant at the moment—hardly address the claims Verizon made and instead focus on attacking different aspects of service.
This article from MSNBC provides a simple breakdown of the claims made in both campaigns versus the truth and actuality of their services. When it comes right down to it, both companies are right in some respects and both companies are misleading in others.
What do you think? Were Verizon’s ads funny or fudging? Are AT&T’s response ads working for or against them?
I’m sure by now you’ve had a chance to see the new Domino’s commercial that reveals the less than stellar comments from focus group participants about their pizza. And from the looks of it, they didn’t hold back. “Flavorless” and “cardboard” were among the words used to describe the taste of the pizza, and participants felt overall that the quality was severely lacking.
It’s a bold move for Domino’s, considering the fact that they had quite a few rough spots over the last year or so with the YouTube debacle that involved two employees doing unmentionable and downright disgusting things at work, plus a failed “Pasta Dude” campaign that was quickly pulled because the dance moves were a little too suggestive.
But, it’s the start of a new year so let’s begin with a clean Domino’s slate. The first thing I thought when I saw the commercial was that this campaign either has the potential to really hit hard and boost their image, or it has the potential to really hit hard in the worst possible way.
Most reviews I found were positive with a big kudos to Domino’s on their upgrading efforts. Others still felt that the pizza was lacking but averaged more of a “so-so” response. The one thing that’s for sure is that people are definitely talking about Domino’s. So far the change has been featured in AdAge, on The Colbert Report, Slate.com and CBS’s “The Early Show” and has been reviewed across blogs and plenty of YouTube videos. Even I’m tempted to try it out now.
So far, it’s hard to tell what the outcome will be from this new campaign, but I have to at least applaud their efforts for being so edgy and putting themselves out there, even if it doesn’t end up garnering the results they hoped for. After all, not many companies are willing to show you their weakest points in a nationally televised commercial.
Tags: advertising, campaign, Domino's, YouTube
