Political Marketing

Some thoughts from Laura Ries:

Now the Race is On

This Presidential race has stacked up to be a true test of branding might.

McCain/Maverick vs. Obama/Change.

Both parties have found their footing and have refocused their campaigns and their message. It will be a true test of two brands that are now totally focused.

What each has to do now is dig in deep on their position, their word and their message.

The Democrats put on an excellent convention that stayed on-message and on-course. As the party out of power in DC, they have a tremendous advantage in being able to claim change as their theme. The power of one word, one sign, one message was evident at the convention this week. The Clinton's were not easily beat, but with one word (Change) a relatively unknown guy took them down.

What the Republicans need to do most at their convention next week is to showcase one word, one sign, one look. It is not about being better than the Democrats (nobody could put on a better show than Obama did Thursday night) it is about being different in a clear and focused way.

The difficulity in politics is that you need 51% of the vote to win, trying to appeal too broadly is a temptation. But in the end, the winner is the candidate that can attach himself or herself to a powerful idea in the mind.

My biggest concern for McCain is this: What will the signs say and will they all be the same. If McCain nails that, then this could be a race to remember and he might even win.

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On Line Magazine

Have you ever seen an on-line only magazine?

Greetings to all NSAEN Readers!

It is that time of the month again and we hope you will enjoy reading our new on-line issue

www.nostringsattachedenews.com

We would love to get your feedback!

Have a great holiday weekend.

Beatrice

Sassy B Worldwide Productions, Inc.
Beatrice H. Davis
773-525-5744
773-525-2360 tel & fax
www.sassybworldwide.com

www.nostringsattachedenews.com
www.laila.com

www.meetmanny.com

www.filmartistsnetwork.com

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Seth Says....

A simple truth on how capitalism is supposed to work:

You get what you pay for

If you don't want spam in your inbox, never respond, never buy anything. Not even if it's a good deal.

If you don't like TV commercials featuring loud aggressive announcers, don't buy what they're selling. Ever.

If you don't want people ringing your door asking for donations, don't give, no matter what.

If you think politics is too nasty and not focused enough on creating value, then don't donate to a candidate that's nasty, even if you agree (and even better, call or write and tell them why).

If you don't like bait and switch marketing, where promises don't match the product, don't buy it.

If you don't like snarky, angry blogs, don't read them.

If you deplore the lousy service at big chains or certain airlines, don't shop there, even if it's cheaper.

There's a new asymmetry, with loud consumers able to connect and actually have an impact.

We're all hypocrites, and we get what we pay for. The market is astonishingly quick at responding to what consumers do (and incredibly slow at reacting to what we say).

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2008 Consumer Spending Part 10

They say habits take 21 to 30 days to form. Look at how this will effect spending habits:



Vast Majority of U.S. Consumers Expect to Maintain Frugal Grocery Shopping Habits Even After the Economy Improves

Women More Likely than Men to Stay with Belt-tightening Measures

Cost-conscious grocery store habits U.S. consumers developed during the faltering economy in the first six months of 2008 are destined to have a long-term impact on national shopping behavior, according to research results issued by retail analytics firm Precima.

A stunning 82 percent of U.S. consumers in a nationwide survey said they intend to keep cooking at home instead of eating out even after the economy improves and they have more money to spend.

Also, 80 percent said they'll continue to cook at home instead of buying take-out meals; 84 percent said they'll keep looking for specials in store flyers; 80 percent said they plan to use coupons as much as possible and 78 percent said they're determined to make fewer trips to the store in order to save on gasoline.

The Precima survey asked consumers to identify shopping practices they'll continue and those they'll drop if the economy improves. Significantly fewer respondents intend to continue to buy generic or store brands (54%) or continuing to switch from favored brands to value brands (44%). In another provocative result related to brand loyalty, only 32 percent said switching to value brands is a practice they've already followed to cope in a tight economy.

"Above any other money-saving strategy, consumers use specials in store flyers to determine where they shop. With the majority of consumers trying to make fewer trips to fewer stores, it's more important than ever for grocers to capture every possible visit," said Precima General Manager Brian Ross. "Retailers with customer purchasing data from their loyalty programs can really use it to their advantage by picking the right products and providing the right incentives to attract customers to their stores versus competitors," he said.

"Also, despite the challenging economy, consumers are very reluctant to switch brands to save money. That's a factor that reinforces grocers' critical need to understand which brands are most important to their customers," Ross said. "Retailers who use data from their most important customers to determine new product opportunities, and to identify which brands to promote and which to give the most in-store presence, will have a significant advantage."

Women are more likely than men to continue the frugal shopping practices they engaged in during the past six months. The comparative numbers are (women vs. men): cook at home 83-81 percent, make fewer trips to the store 80-74 percent, shop at low-price stores 68-61 percent, use more coupons 81-78 percent and look for specials in store flyers 84-83 percent. In other key results from Precima's snapshot of grocery shopping in America:

-- Convenience foods like frozen dinners (50%), snacks including chips and cookies (46%) and dessert items such as ice cream and cake (44%) were the top categories consumers said they cut back when budgets are tight;

-- 40 percent of respondents said they cut back on beer, wine and spirits when they have less to spend on groceries;

-- Consumers age 21-34 are more likely to cut back on beer, wine and spirits spending (47%) than consumers age 50-59 (37%);

-- 32 percent of women said environmentally friendly products are worth the extra cost, compared to 21 percent of men.

(Source: Precima, 8/21/08)

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Sales SheBang preview

From Jill Konrath:

_________________________________________

Sales expert Leslie Buterin is presenting a session at the Sales SheBang called, "The Golden Keys to the Gatekeeper." Check out all the breakout sessions now. FEATURE ARTICLE > Top Three Components of Successful Cold Calls Revealed By Leslie Buterin What sales professionals understand that other business professionals just don't seem to get about cold-calling decision-makers is this ... A cold call to a heavyweight prospect, for the purpose of scheduling a face-to-face sales call is, in reality, an extremely, sophisticated sale. In fact, it's a sales presentation that's so dog-gone good that it's stripped down to the bare essentials. A cold call to top decision-makers ... the guys (and gals) who have the ability to write unlimited checks to you for your products and services ... has got to be so "tight" it can get you in the door, for multimillion dollar opportunities ... in 90-seconds. And if you can't convince your prospect or the executive assistant to schedule you for a meeting in two minutes or less, you're in the doghouse instead of roaming the halls where the "Top Dogs" live. To be that good, there are a few things that a sell-ice-to-an-Eskimo, sell-sand-in-the-Sahara, sales-pro, like you, must know. Things that appear to "outsiders," people who don't know squat about selling, as being of no consequence. But You Know Better! There is the obvious, often overlooked, given little attention, script. You want a powerful script you can count on to give you the results you want. A script that gets you past the gatekeeper and onto the decision-maker's calendar; that gets you calls back in the event you leave a voice mail message. You want those precious few, spine tingling words that'll compel the decision-maker to call and invite you in for a face-to-face meeting! You want a script that makes the prospect glad to see you when you show up for your appointment; a script that'll redirect your prospect's objections with effective terminology that is non-threatening and non-selling. To get in to see the upper echelon you want a script, a system really, that you can rely on to work for you, even on the days when you don't feel like cold calling. (Yes, Virginia, we all have days like that!) Then, before you touch your oh-so-eager-fingers to the keys of your phone, you gotta make sure to have several quick options available to you that'll deliver meaningful information when your prospect asks the question you already know is going to come your way, "Can you send me something in writing?" This is the exact spot where many an experienced sales pro trips up and stops cold in front of a firmly closed door. The Good News Is ... You Don't Have To Be One That Trips. You can respond to your prospects' requests, in a format that'll open the doors to the executive suites! With information you can count on to answer your prospect's unspoken question, "What's in this deal for me?" Written words that'll get you in the door, fast. For sure you don't want to mail or fax, follow up with a call and hear something like, "We received your packet. I'll call you if he's interested." No, no, no! Don't send materials like your company's annual report, that'll close the door of opportunity forever. Send the good stuff. The materials with "killer copy" ... So Meaningful to Your Prospect, So Enticing, That Your Prospect Picks Up the Phone and Calls You! And finally, you must have a person you can count on to make the cold calls. You may be that person. Or someone else may make appointment setting phone calls for you. Whatever you decide, the one "dialing for dollars" must have "sales savvy" AND the ability to "level the playing field." You want to be the one who doesn't go "all wobbly" when the prospect or administrative assistant bluntly asks, "Who are you?" "What do you want?" Or says, "He doesn't handle that sort of thing ... " You must be or must have access to the kind of person who has "staying power." Who knows how to continue conversations at the top and not get booted down the organizational ladder. Build your cold-calling strategy with these three components. Make them rock solid and they'll move you forward, faster than you thought possible, and position you for big, big sales. * * * For your mini-course, "Jealously Guarded Secrets to Cold Calling Company Presidents," visit www.ColdCallingNetNews.com! Or call cold calling expert Leslie Buterin (like butterin' bread) at (816) 554-3674 9-3 CST (that's Kansas City/Chicago Time). ___________________________________________

UPCOMING CONFERENCE > Sales SheBang 2008, Sept. 23-24 When my issue of Selling Power arrived last summer, I was pretty excited to see an article on "top sales speakers delivering tough messages." When I opened to the article, I was stunned. Seven experts - no women! Go figure. Not that I don't love the guys. I do! They're great. But give me a break! Bald white guys do not hold a franchise on sales expertise! There's a whole slew of top women sales experts out there too. And they're coming to the Sales SheBang in Minneapolis on Sept. 23-24th. It's a great opportunity to learn from the very best women in this business - Leslie Buterin, Kim Duke, Kendra Lee, Anne Miller, Colleen Stanley, Colleen Francis, Brooke Green & more. These Sales SheBang speakers have excelled as sales professionals, breaking records in their field. Now they're out teaching sales teams across the country. Check out the Sales SheBang Speakers now. P.S. Guys are welcome to attend. You'll just be surrounded by an incredible group of smart, savvy saleswomen - and who can complain about that!

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Local Local Local

If you want local visitors to your website, then you have to have local content! Check this out:

Local Online Media Offer Significant Ad Advantage

Consumers trust advertising on local newspaper, magazine and television websites, and are very likely to take action after viewing ads on these sites, according to the “Local Online Media: From Advertising to Action ” study by the Online Publishers Association (OPA).

The new OPA report looks at consumers who get local information from online city guides, classifieds, magazines, newspapers, portals, television sites, user review sites, or yellow pages.

Consumers on all three types of local media sites - newspapers, television stations and magazines - are more likely to take action after viewing a local ad than visitors on all other local content sites.

Newspapers rank first, with 46% of consumers taking action - including making a purchase, going to a store, conducting research - after viewing a local ad, compared with 37% of consumers acting after viewing a local ad on a portal:

Moreover, consumers on local media sites are desirable advertising targets, OPA said:

• Local magazine, newspaper and TV sites attract significant percentages (48%, 40% and 39%, respectively) of consumers who had spent more than $500 online in the previous 12 months.
• 37% of portal visitors and 34% of the overall online population spend this amount in a year.

Additional findings issued by OPA:

• Trust is another important factor driving advertising success, and consumers express significant faith in advertising on local content sites: Newspaper sites lead the way, with 56% of visitors expressing strong trust of the advertising found on these sites, followed by local TV station sites and portals.

• Beyond advertising, satisfaction with local content is high overall, and portals and media sites each have strengths. Portals lead in satisfaction among all local content visitors, followed by local newspaper and TV station sites.
• However, local media sites have a significant lead over portals among frequent visitors (79% satisfied with local TV sites; 77% satisfied with local newspaper sites); 65% of frequent visitors to portals are satisfied.
• A common trait of local online content sites is the ability to attract high concentrations of influencers:
  • While 10% of consumers are considered “Influentials” according to research done by GfK Roper, 29%% of local online content site users say they are the first person people come to for recommendations about local restaurants and bars.
  • Meanwhile, 26% of local online users say they are the first person people come to for local shopping recommendations, 23% for local entertainment recommendations, and 23% for local consumer electronics recommendations.

The study (pdf), which was conducted for the OPA by JupiterResearch, surveyed 2,069 local online content consumers selected randomly from NPD’s online consumer panel.

“With strong brands and trusted environments, local media sites deliver concrete results for local advertisers,” said OPA president Pam Horan. “Our analysis of the Jupiter data finds that consumers are more likely to act on the ads they see on local TV, newspaper and magazine sites. Just as we see on a national scale, media sites outpace portals and all other online media at delivering meaningful advertising results.”

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Friday Finals

Earlier than usual, cause.... It's a long weekend? (There will still be at least 3 new stories each day on Saturday, Sunday, and Labor Day).

Automotive

Piaggio Sales Spike On Gas Price News, Traffic Jams

by Karl Greenberg

"It's permanent trend," says CEO Paolo Timoni. "The same drivers that created the [pro-scooter] behavior in Europe are becoming a reality here: People spend 3.7 billion hours in traffic; gas prices will never go back to $2.50 a gallon; and the population density in metropolitan areas will get higher and higher." ... Read the whole story > >

Restaurants

Pizza Hut Expands New Pasta Line For Back-To-School

by Karlene Lukovitz

A pan of baked rotini in cheese sauce, topped with bacon and melted cheese, is priced at $12.99, big enough to feed four, and accompanied by five breadsticks. The integrated campaign includes national TV and radio, Internet banner ads, FSI mailers, box toppers, email blasts, POP and public relations. ... Read the whole story > >

Electronics

Sony Recycles Ads To Make Point About E-Waste

by Laurie Sullivan

"We realize e-waste has become a big barrier to recycling because many of the items you want to recycle are large," says Stuart Redsun, senior VP corporate marketing at Sony Electronics. "Some U.S. states don't have programs to take back old VCRs and televisions." ... Read the whole story > >

Research

Coke, Adidas Got Top Of Mind At Games

by Karl Greenberg

"If brands want to maximize the return of their sponsorship, they need consistent, integrated advertising strategies," says the study's director. "There are six months from the torch relay to the end of the Games, and our research has shown that the brands that succeed are the ones that continually keep their advertising and sponsorship fresh and engaging for consumers." ... Read the whole story > >

Microsoft Buys Commercial Search Site
Financial Times
Microsoft Corp. on Friday agreed to buy Greenfield Online for $486 million. Greenfield is the parent company of Ciao, an online price comparison and products reviews site, which was believed to be Microsoft's main target in the deal.

Greenfield had only just terminated takeover negotiations with the Quadrangle Group earlier in the week before Microsoft was revealed as the new buyer. The software giant's offer is worth $17.50 per share, according to the Financial Times, representing a pretty small premium over the group's closing share price on Thursday. Microsoft has already agreed to sell Greenfield's online research business, although neither the price nor the purchaser has been revealed.

The move for European-based Ciao definitely resonates with Microsoft's recent attempt to bribe U.S. search users through its Live Search Cashback program. John Mangelaars, Microsoft's vice president for consumer and online in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, said Ciao would improve the commercial search experience and add around 100 developers to its European operations. Ciao has 26m users, according to Comscore. - Read the whole story...

Wikileaks To The Highest Bidder
Ars Technica
The initial idea behind Wikileaks was to publish secretive documents from "oppressive regimes in Asia, the former Soviet bloc, Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East," but the reality has been exposing Swiss banks, Mormons and Scientologists. However, now that the site has started selling secrets at auction, the bigger fish are swimming closer to the harbor. Apparently, a senior official inside Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's administration has some dirt for sale.

But the documents aren't really for sale, per se. Whoever wins the right to the information will only have a set period of time to make use of it before it becomes public. In this case, the leak in question is a series of emails from a senior aide to Chavez, which may or may not contain incriminating information.

This is how Wikileaks plans to make money. It hopes to attract big time news outlets with deep pockets and resources, and that the exclusivity arrangement will encourage them to outbid each other. However, Ars Technica's Nate Anderson notes that, "Buying this kind of information is generally frowned upon in reputable news circles, as it can encourage both forgery and lawbreaking in an effort to attract cash. It also turns secrets into just another form of currency, something that might seem at odds with the high-minded ideals behind Wikileaks." - Read the whole story...

250 GB Is A Lot, Actually
Silicon Alley Insider
So Comcast went and imposed a 250-gigabyte monthly cap on its users. As Silicon Alley Insider's Dan Frommer points out, that's actually a heck of a lot -- certainly a way better deal than Time Warner Cable's 5-40 gigabyte monthly caps.

In its announcement, Comcast noted that the median monthly data usage by residential customers is only about 2-3 GB, so practically nobody is going to be affected by the enormous cap. In fact, Broadband Reports says that just 14,000 of Comcast's 14.1 million broadband subscribers go over that limit in a month. Given SAI's report, we'd love to know what those people are up to.

So, just how much is 250 GB? According to Frommer, it's 2,500-4,000 MP3 albums, or 50,000 3-minute songs, 170-250 movies downloaded on iTunes, and 50-60 high-def movie downloads. Frommer notes that the latter could be a problem some day, but generally speaking, if you download one HD movie, six standard-def movies, 5 albums, and pour lots of hours into World of Warcraft, YouTube and Hulu each week, you're still probably going to max out somewhere in the neighborhood of 100 gigabytes per month. As Frommer says, "We think you'll also struggle to listen to all that music and watch all those movies. Also, you should get out more. It's nice outside! Go for a walk." - Read the whole story...

Bloggers, Twitterers, Respond To Obama's Speech
Wired
The Web blogged and tweeted away as Barack Obama on Thursday accepted the nomination for President at the Democratic National Convention in Denver last night. "It was a deeply substantive speech, full of policy detail, full of people other than the candidate, centered overwhelmingly on domestic economic anxiety," wrote The Atlantic's Andrew Sullivan, a Republican and an Obama admirer. "What he didn't do was give an airy, abstract, dreamy confection of rhetoric. If the Rove Republicans thought they were playing with a patsy, they just got a reality check."

Meanwhile, on the microblogging service Twitter, traffic surged. This wasn't surprising, given that Obama is the most popular person on Twitter -- it was perhaps more surprising that the failure-prone site stayed live during his speech. According to Wired, more than 6,500 tweets poured through the service in just 20 minutes on Thursday night. "It's hard to imagine there are people in this country that can not at least feel inspired by Obama even if they do not plan to vote for him," wrote one Twitter user.

Not everyone was impressed. Megan McArdle, a colleague of Sullivan's at The Atlantic, blasted Obama's promise to end energy dependence on oil from the Middle East. "It doesn't matter what we do: drill, research alternative energy, raise CAFE standards ... in 2018, we'll still be using oil," McArdle wrote on her blog Asymmetrical Information. "Even if we discovered a magic source of clean renewable energy tomorrow, we'd still be using a lot of oil, because transitions of that magnitude take time." - Read the whole story...

Google, Mozilla Ink Deal Extension
WebproNews
Google and Mozilla have added another three years to their search partnership, meaning Google will still be the default search engine for Mozilla's Firefox browser, and Mozilla will continue to earn a significant portion of its overall revenue from the deal.

Doug Caverly digs up the most recent figures that illustrate just how important Google's search revenue is for Mozilla's bottom line. In 2006, "Mozilla received about $56.8 million--or 85 percent of its revenue--thanks to the deal," he says. Numbers like that are what enable Mozilla to keep developing products like the Firefox browser, which has gained favor with nearly 20% of all Internet users in the U.S., according to some reports.

And while the deal extension gives Mozilla bit of breathing room to either launch its own revenue-generating product (as Firefox is free) or find another well-paying partner, it will likely serve as more fodder for critics who feel that the company's ties to Google are already too binding. - Read the whole story...

Google Introduces Android Market
Silicon Alley Insider
- Read the whole story...

Is Silicon Valley Running Out Of Ideas?
The New York Times
- Read the whole story...

Social Media For Small Business Owners
The Wall Street Journal
- Read the whole story...

Gillette Promotes Fusion Via Digi-Game

Smart Cars Will Be All The Fashion In September

Denny's Continues 'Political' Promotion

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Changes Coming with Internet Advertising

Microsoft's next version of Internet Explorer is causing some ad people concern as you will read in this story from Advertising Age. Explorer still is used by 70% of the world, and I use it with just a couple of websites.

Firefox is an "open source" browser that many of the remaining 30% use and it is my primary way of going on-line. It all ready has ad blocking features and has had them for several years.

Using the internet to make money, has to be more than ads, there has to be a whole marketing strategy that is multi-dimensional and include off line marketing too.

Latest Microsoft Browser Fuels Fear

IE8 Could Give Web Surfers More Power to Block Ads and Cookies

By Beth Snyder Bulik

Published: August 28, 2008

YORK, Pa. (AdAge.com) -- Microsoft's newest browser is still only in beta, but it already has the advertising world in a tizzy. Its "InPrivate" set of features on Internet Explorer 8 out this week has publishers, marketers and industry advocates worried that it could block their ability to distribute, track and even monetize what the Interactive Advertising Bureau values as a $21.2 billion-plus internet-ad industry.

But Microsoft Internet Explorer general manager Dean Hachamovitch advises to remain calm. "The point isn't to block content or ads. The point is to put users in control of what they're sharing," he said, adding he has read and heard many misconceptions about what InPrivate can and cannot do.

Stealth surfing
For instance, the InPrivate Browsing feature -- already slang-termed "porn mode" -- only allows a user to hide single browsing session activities from "over the shoulder" viewers such as family members. It does not block ads from being served to the user or from advertisers counting views or clicks.

It works, and got its nickname, by letting users surf porn sites (or any other content, for that matter) without caching any content such as a list of URLs visited, cookies or other data. That could mean no cookies on your computer -- as well as no cookies for future use by marketers or publishers, although only during selected InPrivate sessions.

However, it is the InPrivate Blocking feature that seems potentially more worrisome for advertisers. InPrivate Blocking acts to inform users about sites that consistently track and collect browsing histories. In fact, when a user opts into an InPrivate session, it will automatically block third-party content if it detects that the third party has "seen" the user more than 10 times. So, for instance, if the third party is advertising.com and it is serving ads across 10 sites a user has visited during an InPrivate session, it will begin to block advertising.com tracking codes and possibly content on the 11th website.

Cause for concern
Mike Zaneis, VP-public policy for the Internet Advertising Bureau, said while he is encouraged that InPrivate is never a default option on Internet Explorer -- meaning that users have to manually opt in each time -- he still has concerns.

"With IE's market share, will so many people activate that so that it could affect the revenue side of the industry?" he asked. "Any content from anywhere that appears as third parties, whether advertising or stock tickers or news feeds, all appear as third parties, and in theory their content could be blocked.

"And if you're blocking all third parties, you're also going to block all analytic companies," he said. "You'd be blocking the companies that do the auditing of ad delivery." He's particularly concerned about the potential disruption to the entire accounting system of internet advertising.

Mr. Hachamovitch concedes that IE 8 has no way of knowing if the content is an ad, a stock tracker or a newspaper column. It can only tell if it is third-party content. So that does mean that any content, say, ads, analytics and more, can be blocked. However, he repeated that the user must select InPrivate every time. And users can create "allow" and "block" lists, so-called whitelists and blacklists, to always allow content from trusted sources. Consumers can also subscribe to lists of acceptable content created by others.

Microsoft itself has tips for publishers and advertisers on how to get third-party content and ads seen. Publishers, for instance, can serve the ads directly from their site (making them first-party content) or they can make third-party content look like first-party content, he said.

Letting consumers decide
Ultimately, the point of InPrivate is not to block anything, but instead to give consumers control of the online information they chose to share, or not, Mr. Hachamovitch said. "In a world of well-informed consumers who expect choice, we all need to be thoughtful about how we conduct business," he said. "To me, this really starts the conversation. IE8 Beta 2 starts us thinking about the expectations people should have about what they share and how."

Of course, Microsoft is hardly anti-advertising, and in fact, depends on ad-servicing revenue from its own sites like MSN. In May 2007 it purchased for $5.9 billion aQuantive's three businesses -- Atlas, DrivePM and Avenue A -- as a means to build out a massive ad platform, and it had pursued Yahoo in a bid to gain more display-ad leverage. Microsoft, moreover, is a longstanding member of the IAB.

"From the Microsoft perspective," said a spokeswoman, "we're right there with the rest of the crowd in that we think there is a lot of benefit in targeted ads. We just believe consumers have the right to know it's happening and to opt in."

JupiterResearch analyst Emily Riley said the industry upheaval may be moot soon enough anyway, as ad targeting has come under serious scrutiny from the Federal Trade Commission. She said she believes the many different industry factions will come up with -- by force or free will -- guidelines and standards that are acceptable to consumers and regulators.

"In the short term, though, I can understand how it could be scary for advertisers, because ad targeting is so valuable," she said.

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Think Like A Farmer

From my email recently:

The Marketing Minute

Are you expecting too much from your marketing?

Did you read the paper today? Or watch TV? Spend any time on Facebook or some other website? Did you see an ad for something you wanted? Or read an article about a service provider you'd been considering?

Did you leap up from your chair, rush to the car and go immediately to that store or business to make a purchase?

I doubt it. That's not the way advertising works. It's not instantaneous. It is also not a one time shot. If you're thinking of running an ad (any ad) just once and expecting people to show up -- guess again.

If you're not in it for the long haul, you probably shouldn't do it at all. Remember the analogy --you don't plant a seed and dig it up when there's no plant the next day. Your marketing works the same way.

As a general rule, marketing takes time, repetition and patience. Sure, there are exceptions, but they're rare.

So how do you speed up the process?

• You recognize that it's a marathon, not a sprint
• You educate your potential consumer on how/why they need what you have to offer
• You deliver those key messages in multiple ways, ideally through more than one media
• You offer incentives to reward a quicker buying decision
• You repeat

Sean D'Souza created a very funny but illuminating example of this marketing truth over at CopyBlogger.

What's your best technique for creating urgency?

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Market Research Tips

I enjoy a good, engaging argument sometimes. Like the one I had recently regarding absolutes and how there are very few in this world. If you do any research, remember there are almost going to be exceptions to the statistics.

That's why you should supplement the generalities with anecdotal, in depth information. You may be surprised at what you find.

Skip at MapleCreative has some excellent suggestions on how to conduct your surveys so that you can merge it with other data to get a better perspective:

Survey Demographics - Tip from the Pros

Let's face it--good marketing professionals create and utilize a substantial number of surveys. Whether analyzing, testing or measuring impact, research results drive good planning, good strategy and effective creative. So how can we build better surveys?

Here's a tip from the pros. When you are creating your demographic questions, take advantage of a couple of subtle, but powerful formatting tactics.

1- Collecting age data
Don't construct arbitrary age brackets, such as
18 to 20
21 to 30
31 to 40
41 to 50
Etc.

Instead, align your age groupings with cohort groups, as follows:
23 years of age or younger - Millennial / Echo-boomers
24 to 31 years of age - N Generation (aka Internet Generation, Gen Y)
32 to 42 - Generation X
43 to 53 - Trailing Edge Boomers
54 to 62 - Leading Edge Boomers
63 to 80 - Postwar Cohort

In such fashion, you can build insights into your age group findings by turning to cohort theory and psychographic trends for comparison.

2- Collecting income data

Instead of formulating arbitrary income brackets such as-
$50,000 per year or less
$50k to $100k
$100k to $150k
$150k to $200k
$200k or more

Create your income brackets to align with US Census data groupings, as follows-
$34,999 per year or less
$35,000 to $49,999
$50,000 to $74,999
$75,000 to $99,999
$100,000 to $149,999
$150,000 to $199,999
$200k or more

Again, you'll have an immediate basis for comparison, a benchmark in the Census data for the particular community, metro, county or state.

Marketing geniuses, what other research/survey tips would you be willing to share? We'd love to hear from you!

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11 Internal Marketing Tips

Friday morning before a three day weekend and I know some of you will be checking out mentally by noon.

However the stress factor doesn't take a vacation if you are working with less money to spend on marketing and you need to produce better results.

I have some ideas for you in this case study from MarketingSherpa.com:

SUMMARY: Your marketing budget takes a big hit. Is it time to throw up your arms in despair? No, it’s time to get even more creative by focusing on lower-cost ways to get your job done.

Find out how a marketing director took lemons and made lemonade for a plastic surgeon by focusing on patients already coming through the door. Includes 11 steps and 7 creative samples.

Your budget is slashed, so you’re forced to be frugal. You can wallow in frustration or look at ways to be as creative and effective as possible with the money you’ve got for marketing.

Three years ago, Tracy Drumm, Marketing Director for Chicago plastic surgeon Steven Dayan, MD, FACS, faced that situation. She was told she had to clamp down on expenses for marketing. No more spending on whatever she wanted.

“We needed to get back to the roots of thinking outside the box,” Drumm says. “We started looking at… creative solutions to our marketing challenges.”

Drumm and her team set their sights on existing patients. They encouraged word-of-mouth referrals and repeat patient visits with in-office ideas while operating at a “near zero-dollar budget.”

Fast forward three years. Drumm says that “75% of our patients are returning for other treatments aside from what they originally came in for… [and] 45% of our patients come from word-of-mouth referrals.”

Discover the strategies Drumm followed to get patients to return for more treatments and refer their friends to Dr. Dayan.

11 Steps to Frugal Marketing

Drumm developed what she calls an “inside-out” marketing model over the three years of bare-bones spending. It focuses on enhancing patients’ in-office experiences, educating them on other procedures and encouraging them to talk about their treatments with friends.

Step 1. Familiarize patients with available treatments

Surgical procedures are Dr. Dayan’s big-ticket items. Drumm makes sure patients know of their availability through in-office posters, flyers and brochures.

“A large majority of your surgical patients will come from people who are familiar with you for seeing you for non-surgical procedures,” she says.

Dr. Dayan’s office now is loaded with treatment information materials, such as:
- Posters showing “before” and “after” images
- Newspaper-style articles on 20 different procedures
- Flyers describing procedures
- Photo albums from company events

“These are very low-cost ways to reach out to people,” Drumm says, “and what we’ve experienced is that they yield a high impact, a high return.”

Step 2. Keep materials low-cost yet high-quality

Drumm and her staff create most of the in-office materials. They work to make the finished product look as professional as possible. For instance, they frame posters instead of taping them to the walls.

Drumm also challenged local design students to redesign the company logo and business cards. The winner got printed proofs for a portfolio — a strong resume boost for a graduate.

“We had hundreds of submissions, and we had some great, great work, and we didn’t pay for them,” she says.

Step 3. Test before you spend

Drumm avoided wasting money by testing tactics before fully investing in them. For example, she wanted to create a “while-you-wait menu” offering quick services that patients could receive while waiting in the office for a scheduled treatment. She handed out a Microsoft Word document that “didn’t look professionally done, but certainly didn’t look embarrassing.”

She discovered that patients appreciated the information on additional procedures but didn’t like the idea of getting another treatment while waiting.

“If I had invested right away into designing the menu and printing and production and shipping, then I would have been stuck with an ineffective marketing piece.”

Step 4. Stock marketing materials, not magazines

“As a rule, we do not have magazines around…Should someone request a magazine, we would definitely provide it for them. However, I can tell you that happens once a year, if at all,” Drumm says.

Instead of magazines, patients read the descriptions of treatments or other marketing materials.

Step 5. Create a comforting experience

Drumm and her team make the office environment as enjoyable as possible. Among the luxuries offered:
o Gourmet chocolates
o Beverages
o Snack picks – favorite snacks of the staff
o Soothing music in treatment rooms
o Popular tunes in the waiting room
o Aromatic candles

These enhancements, along with picture frames and photography books, cost less than $100 a month, Drumm says.

Step 6. Encourage word of mouth

Women want to talk about what procedure they’ve had done, Drumm says. Here are ways she and her team help get the conversation started:

o Before and after images
Every time a patient receives treatment, she gets a laminated driver’s license-sized card with her “before” and “after” picture, the office’s contact information and a quote from Dr. Dayan. “Before” and “after” images are also put onto appointment cards.

“If they’re out at a social event and they see someone they haven’t seen in five years, they pull it out and they start talking about it,” Drumm says.

o Flyers
The treatment flyers alone fuel a word-of-mouth response, Drumm says.

“We’ve developed an event now where 750 women come every year. We don’t have to do anything to promote it other than put flyers around the office. And these flyers are just pieces of paper. They’re very nicely done, but we do them in-house.”

Step 7. Use subtle touches to remind the patient

o Complimentary CDs

Popular tunes selected by a staff member always play in the waiting room. The same songs will loop all day, and patients are given a free copy of the CD to listen to at home or in the car. It’s a great way to remind patients of their time at the office, Drumm says, and the CD sleeve describes new treatments.

o Complimentary shirts, robes and gym bags
These gifts also serve as reminders of the results of the experience and are usually given to surgical patients.

Step 8. Reach out with direct mail

Drumm contacts current patients with postcards, newsletters and holiday cards. More costly than inoffice promotion, they still cost less than a magazine ad, or a billboard, or a newspaper ad.

“We like to think that this has a medium to high impact,” she says.

Step 9. Don’t discount prices

Mailed communications will mention Dr. Dayan’s press coverage or thank customers during the holiday. They never offer a discount, Drumm says.

“We do not discount our services…We are a high-end brand. As opposed to giving out a discount, I would be inclined to give out a gift card…I’ll give a gift card to the facial center just to get them in the office again; anything like that.”

Step 10. Don’t buy advertising

“We do not purchase magazine ads, newspaper ads, billboard ads or anything like that. The only way we reach out externally is through supplementing our newsletter mailer with data that matches our own.”

Spending on local ads would triple what she spends on internal efforts, direct mail and all other marketing. So she doesn’t do it.

Step 11. Outsource online marketing

Drumm and her team partner with an agency to handle search marketing, video posts to YouTube and other online marketing. Those efforts are not a part of Drumm’s “inside-out” model, but they fuel customer acquisition, she says.

Useful Links Related to This Article:

Steven H. Dayan's In-Office Promotions:
http://www.marketingsherpa.com/cs/sdmd/study.html

Steven H. Dayan, MD, FACS: Advanced facial plastic and laser surgery
http://www.drdayan.com/

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Thursday Night Marketing News

Clickable headlines:

Financial Services

Bank Of America To College Kids: Meet Morris

by Aaron Baar

The Morris on Campus site will be promoted through online banner ads, in-store marketing materials and collateral on ATMs. The company opted for online and point-of-sale promotions to catch students where they live. In addition, the bank is offering $25,000 for the best financial tip about college life. ... Read the whole story > >

Automotive

Chrysler May Jettison Its Dodge Viper

by Karl Greenberg

One industry expert says good riddance. "Frankly, the Corvette doesn't do much for Chevrolet; the car has its own identity and people don't buy another Chevrolet because Chevy builds Corvette," says Todd Turner. "Dodge got a whole lot more capital from its Ram pickup than it ever got from the Viper in terms of brand image and showroom traffic." ... Read the whole story > >

Electronics

Samsung's Campaign Focuses On Football Fans

by Laurie Sullivan

Says Peggy Ang, Samsung Electronics America vice president of marketing, "We realize that for 45 million fans the football experience is watching the game through the television set, not through live engagement at stadiums. Few fans get to see the game live." ... Read the whole story > >

Food

Sara Lee Sells Whole Grain Image To Teens

by Karl Greenberg

Sara Lee Fresh Bakery is pitching its whole-grain Soft & Smooth brand to teens with its largest campaign to date. The effort, allied with Disney's "High School Musical 3: Senior Year," comprises TV, web, in-cinema grassroots events, sweepstakes, PR and point-of-purchase activities timed to the film's Oct. 24 release. ... Read the whole story > >

Sprint Offers Super Bowl Trips In Promo

Wendy's Adds Low-Fat Nestle Nesquik Milk

Voting For Mad Ave. Ad Walk Of Fame Begins

Ford To Convert Truck Plant For Small Cars

Toyota's Scion Launches Music Deals

TiVo, 'Entertainment Weekly' Pair Up

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How to Improve your E-Mail Marketing

Recently I've been sharing some articles about e-mail. The learning curve and acceptance curve are very slow when it comes to technology. I recall how my own mother did not trust on-line shopping, but she would call and place an order over the phone to a stranger on the other side of the world and give her credit card number!

Along with legitimate email marketing, there is also millions of spam emails being sent daily. (I recommend a G-mail account to reduce the amount of spam that ends up in your inbox.)

Yesterday, I wrote some email marketing and website tips for you to implement, based on my own experience this month. Click Here to read more.

Also a lot of folks having come to this site to read How to Build A Genuine E-mail Marketing Plan. Click here to read more.

A clean list is important for any direct campaign both direct postal mail and email. Click here to read more.

And finally, here's additional tips on how to improve your relationships with those that you are doing email and web-based business with:

Give 'Em What They Paid For

"Transactional messages like membership confirmations and shipping notifications show some of the highest open rates in the inbox," says Aaron Smith at MediaPost's Email Insider blog. "Customers receiving these [are engaged] … and they wait ready for you to reach out and seal the deal." According to Smith, there's a sure way to make each email a memorable experience like these: Pretend that customers are paying to receive your messages. With that in mind, here are a few strategies for high-quality content:

• Group important details, like an order confirmation, in the upper right corner. Customers don't want to hunt for basic information, and this should appear within the preview pane.
• Include complete contact information for your customer service department. Phone numbers should be accompanied by the hours a representative can be reached; this lets customers know you want a relationship.
• Offer valuable—and unexpected—features. Coach, for instance, tells customers that belated gifts can be heralded by emails alerting recipients to their imminent arrival. A thoughtful service like this will be perceived as a pleasing extra.

Smith suggests you periodically ask yourself these questions, from Pine and Gilmore's The Experience Economy: "If you charged customers 'admission' for their experience with you, what would you do differently? How would you make sure that the experience they were paying for was worth the ticket fee?"

The Po!nt: Make it worth their while. By imagining that your customers are paying for emails, you might just make your messages—priceless.

Source: MediaPost's Email Insider. Read the full post here.

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Personalized Advertising

When I am at the check out at my local grocery store, and they ask to scan my "plus card" for extra savings, they are profiling me. They are building a data base on their customers buying habits.

Also, if I buy cat food, they have a machine that spits out a cat related coupon for my next visit. I'm sure this has happened to your family too, a personalized offer based on what you are buying.

The next step is actual advertising that is based on the individual at the cash register, that activates automatically. (This is a modern version of the, "ja wan fries wit dat?" routine mumbled by a minimum wage fast food worker.)

This story is from the Wall Street Journal:

The Ad Changes With the Shopper In Front of It

Some Digital Screens
Could Adjust Messages
Based on Features

By EMILY STEEL

Ad targeting is coming to a store near you.

In the latest effort to tailor ads to specific consumers, marketers are starting to personalize in-store promotions based on products the consumer recently picked off a shelf or purchased -- and in the near future, based on what the shopper looks like.

Dunkin' Donuts is among the first marketers in the U.S. to begin testing the technologies, at two locations in Buffalo, N.Y. People ordering a coffee in the morning can see ads at the cash register promoting the chain's hash browns or breakfast sandwiches. At the pick-up counter, customers see ads prompting them to return for a coffee break in the afternoon and try an oven-toasted pizza.

YCD Multimedia

Dunkin' Donuts is among the retailers tailoring ads to consumers on in-store digital screens based on items that the customers have purchased.

In a separate test, Procter & Gamble is placing radio-frequency identification tags on products at a Metro Extra retail store in Germany so that when a customer pulls the product off the shelf, a digital screen at eye level changes its message. When a consumer picks out a shampoo for a particular type of hair, for instance, the screen recommends the most appropriate conditioner or other hair products, says John Paulson, president of G2 Interactive, a digital-marketing arm of WPP Group's G2 Network.

This comes as advertisers are spending more of their ad dollars on in-store marketing. Audience fragmentation and the waning power of television ads are forcing marketers to make their pitches and tout their brands when and where consumers are closer to making a purchase: in the store.

Most of the experimentation by marketers is being done with the new digital screens that are appearing next to cash registers and in store aisles. Because cameras are embedded in many of these digital screens displaying the ads, marketers are hoping to serve up ads based on the consumer's appearance.

Many of the in-store targeted-advertising efforts are still in the early stages of development. Marketing executives say that much research still needs to be done to evaluate the best types of ads to display and the way consumers respond to messages. Some fear that the proliferation of screens makes it more likely that they will be ignored.

"I'm a skeptic on technology in the shopping environment," says Andy Murray, chief executive of Saatchi & Saatchi X, the Publicis Groupe agency that focuses on in-store marketing. Screens need to be useful to get people to pay attention, and if stores are just using them to sell products, shoppers won't be receptive, he says.

The company powering the screens for Dunkin', YCD Multimedia, is in the midst of deploying facial-recognition technologies that can classify people into certain demographic groups by identifying their approximate age and their sex.

Companies in the securities industries have been experimenting with facial-recognition technologies for some time. The technology often works by capturing an image of a person and using sophisticated algorithms to analyze features like the size and shape of the nose, eyes, cheekbones and jaw line -- against databases of face information. At the 2001 Super Bowl in Tampa Bay, Fla., for instance, security officials used facial-recognition technologies to scan for terrorists and known criminals.

Only recently has the price for digital screens dropped enough that retailers could afford to put the screens in stores. Even now, the digital signs operate on a delay in some places, so that marketers have to program their commercials days in advance -- which rules out changing the ads on the fly, based on the characteristics of a given the shopper.

At the 1,400 eight- and nine-foot-tall plasma screens in 105 malls across the U.S. operated by Adspace Networks, there is roughly a two-hour delay between the time an ad is downloaded and its appearance on the screens. In some cases, these ads have achieved their mission of spurring sales too well. When inventories of the advertised products have become depleted, the ads haven't changed to reflect that reality. "One of the issues we have is that we run out of stock," says Adspace Chief Executive Dominick Porco.

New technologies are helping some marketers address that problem. Aroma Espresso Bar, an Israeli café chain that also operates stores in New York and Canada, is testing YCD systems that automatically change the ads people see at the cash register as a way of managing inventory better. If there is a large amount of pastries that will go stale that night, for instance, a manager will switch ads on the screen to promote them, says Gali Goldwaser, marketing manager for Aroma.

Technology firms hope to ward off any potential privacy issues by not capturing and storing any personally identifiable information about consumers.

Write to Emily Steel at emily.steel@wsj.com

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Media, Money and Advertising

I really wish that that more people would subscribe to their hometown newspaper.

I also really wish that more people would use the phone book.

I wish that the Top 40 radio stations that I grew up with and once worked at were still around.

But like the former high school jock that reminiscences about the good old days of 20 or 30 years ago, you can't be stuck in the past and simply wish things were different.

Instead you need to understand why things are different and to take advantage of the changes.

And Money is the key.

Money is what determines if any business stays in business, including all of the advertising and media options I mentioned.

Why are some struggling? The quick and easy answer may be the Internet. But let's dig deeper and take a look at the root cause.

That root cause again is money.

What made the internet popular is the cost to the end user, (consumer) is either low or perceived as low. The cost of a computer has dropped while the computer hardware and software have become better and more reliable.

And the content that is available at no charge to the consumer via the internet has replaced the content that we used to pay for with a newspaper subscription.

Due to the structure of traditional news media and these changes, they are hurting. It reminds me of the energy crisis, a combination of solutions need to be implemented and the sooner the better.

The solutions are simple: Restructure the business so that the books balance and provide local content to justify your existence to your readers/audience so they will come to you and you can sell advertising.

Implementing these solutions requires new thinking and can be very hard.

Here's the latest bad news for the paper business from Mediapost:

Summer Blues: Newspapers Plunge As Online Stalls

by Erik Sass, Wednesday, Aug 27, 2008 8:32 AM ET

The print story in July should be familiar by now, with double-digit losses across the board at New York Times Company, McClatchy, Gannett and Media General. But the new bad news in these companies' results for the first month of the third quarter is the drastic slowdown in online revenue growth, which has basically flat-lined at three of the four (McClatchy is the exception). At NYTCO, total ad revenues tumbled 16.2% to $129.4 million in comparison to July 2007, while the year-to-date figure is down 10.8% to $1.04 billion. As in previous months, the New England Media Group contributed significantly to the decline, with regional revenues down 24.5%. This makes July the tenth straight month that NYTCO has seen total ad revenues decline, since the trend turned negative in October of last year. This bad news only got worse with anemic online revenue growth--just 0.9% in July. Like other newspaper publishers over the last few years, NYTCO relied heavily on upsells from print classifieds to power online revenue growth in the 20% to 30% range. But as print classifieds dwindle (down 30.1% in July), there are fewer opportunities for upsells to online listings. Online display advertising, while continuing to show strong growth, remains a small part of newspaper revenues. Indeed, the same basic dynamic could be seen at other big newspaper publishers. Gannett's total publishing ad revenues were down 16.7%, due in large part to a 25.4% drop in classifieds. The company does not release separate online revenue figures in its monthly reports, but it seems likely that the results were in line with the second quarter, when online publishing revenues grew just 3% and total operating revenues 10%. Media General's interactive division saw revenues grow just 5.7% in July as total revenues fell 13.8%. Again, the drop is due mostly to losses in print and online classifieds. McClatchy posted relatively good results for online, which grew 12.8% in July, thanks to display advertising. Chief Financial Officer Pat Talamantes noted that online advertising is "up in all categories except employment advertising. In fact, when employment advertising, which has declined nationally both in print and online, is excluded our online advertising was up 58.5% in July."

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The latest ad campaigns

One of my favorite emails I get each week is this one:

David Duchovny. LL Cool J. Mac and PC. Erik Estrada? Let's launch! Apple launched four -- that's right, four -- new "Get a Mac" TV spots, starring Mac and PC. I laughed out loud at each one, causing my neighboring co-workers to look at me strangely. Let's start with "Calming Teas." Even Justin Long can't keep a straight face in this ad, where PC launches a line of herbal teas to appease Vista owners. See it here. PC hides in a pizza box in the next ad, in an effort to trap college students into choosing PCs over Macs. "I'm a Mac, and I'm free pizza," begins my favorite ad, seen here. PC is the supposed king of the castle in "Throne." Until he finds out how easy it is for PC users to switch to a Mac. Watch it here. The last ad has the same theme as "Throne," featuring a Mac Genius convincing PC users to make the switch. PC doesn't like her tone, and pulls the plug on the ad, even making the beep noise when a station goes off the air. See it here. TBWA/Media Arts Lab created the campaign and handled the media buy. Old Spice launched a print and TV campaign promoting its Swagger brand of products, starring football player Brian Urlacher and LL Cool J. Ads portray the two men as geeky and scrawny until Swagger becomes a part of their lives. Ulracher is depicted as a scrawny, bifocal-wearing teenager with a love for the medieval period. Makes me want to visit Medieval Times, stat. He is mocked by his peers, until he starts using Sawgger. "Who's laughing now?" giggles Ulracher. Watch the ad here. LL Cool J runs away from a hot chick at a high school dance in the next ad, seen here. Now he's the one who's hot. Print ads are equally funny, showing before and after shots of each men alongside boastful quotes of thanks. See the ads here and here. Wieden+Kennedy Portland created the campaign and handled the media buy. Liberty Mutual launched three TV ads this month, "Carnival" "Sidestep" and "Steering Wheel," with the latter two ads running heavily throughout the Olympics. "Carnival" keeps to the company's "pay it forward" concept, showing acts of kindness begetting more acts of kindness. See it here. "Sidestep" and "Steering Wheel" promote Liberty Mutual's accident forgiveness, new car replacement, and unlimited car rental coverage. A car is sideswiped in one ad, and unsurprisingly, no note is left. Watch it here. Viewers watch hands on a steering wheel react following an accident, in the final ad, seen here. Questions that run through a person's mind are scribbled out onscreen, while a voiceover describes an array of Liberty Mutual's products. Hill Holliday Boston created the campaign. Stop Handgun Violence launched an outdoor ad in Massachusetts that draws attention to a gun show loophole allowing criminals and terrorists to buy guns without a criminal background check in a whopping 32 states. The Vegas-style ad is a mock gun-show announcement describing the ease with which people can buy guns. "We sell guns! No ID required. No background checks. Criminals and terrorists welcome" reads the ad, seen here. Wild postings designed as "for sale" posters are being distributed at both the Democratic and Republican National conventions. See an ad here. Modernista! created the campaign. Apple launched two TV spots that demonstrate how easy it is to download applications from its App store immediately to an iPhone. Lonely Planet and Cro-Mag Rally are the two Apps that were prominently featured in the ads, seen here and here. I wonder if these were paid placements. Both spots conclude with a voiceover stating, "this is going to change everything." TBWA/Media Arts Lab created the campaign and handled the media buy. Annie's Homegrown print campaign, highlighting the brand's line of snack foods, like cereals and crackers, is targeted to parents in issues of Body & Soul, Everyday Food, Family Fun, Health, Parents and Wondertime. Using a new tag line, "Kids love it," ads show the influence of kids staunchly aware of what they want for lunch. A lunch box sits in a child's cubbyhole, protected by a combination lock in the first ad, seen here. The second ad, seen here, features a list of moms who bring in snacks -- a list that's clearly been edited by someone with certain preferences. A world geography folder in the third ad, found here, hides a snack box, but not very well. TDA Advertising & Design created the campaign and handled the media buy. Bloom launched a TV, radio, in-store and guerilla campaign that amusingly attempts to vanquish consumers' real-life problems with ridiculously mundane solutions, like Bloom's stock of 130 varieties of coffee. The dark inner thoughts of shoppers are resolved out loud by Bloom employees in three TV spots, where olive oil and hand-made artisan bread quell sad tales of woe. One woman used to baby-sit her new boss; a man has an unexplained rash; problems like these are bandaged with fresh seafood and a large produce selection. My favorite ad features a cameo by Erik Estrada, complaining that he came in second in an Erik Estrada look-alike contest. See the ads here, here and here. "Bloomism" stickers were added to packaged goods and produce, bearing quirky sayings like "There is no 'I' in Bloomism. Except for that one. But focus, people. We're trying to make a point here." Click here and here to see more. BooneOakley created the campaign and handled the media buy. I Can Has Cheezburger, the site known for its lolcats, launched a new Web site called EngrishFunny.com that highlights hysterical Asian to English translations. Like its predecessor, the site is a huge procrastination tool that will rope you in, hypothetically speaking, of course. Pictures range from dirty translations to tamer ones like "fresh crap," "tunnel execution ground" and "tampon hockey." Covered Communications created the site. David Duchovny is the latest celeb spokesman for Johnson & Murphy, a brand of men's footwear, apparel, luggage and accessories. Past spokesmen included Jeremy Piven, Ziggy Marley, and Tiki Barber. Is it just me, or does Duchovny look a bit stiff in the ads? Judge for yourself here, here and here. Ads featuring Duchovy are running throughout the summer and fall. Toth Brand Imaging created the campaign and Brand Cottage handled the media buy. Amy Corr is managing editor, online newsletters for MediaPost. She can be reached at amyc@mediapost.com.

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