My loyal followers (all 6 of you).
At the recommendation of my friend Arianna (thank you), I am moving my blog to Wordpress!
Here it is. If you like what you read so far, then great! I hope to see you there. If not…no worries. It’s not you, it’s me.
http://camilomorenosalamanca.wordpress.com/
See you there!
Ok, ok. No more “Mad Men” posts…for now.
For the little kid in you to enjoy
Lately, I have been obsessed with the show “Mad Men”. I love the show’s symbolism, the underlying issues of 1960s society that it subtly brings to attention, the characters, and well—it’s a show about advertising.
However, I can’t help but to watch this show with a sense of nostalgia. While the show oversimplifies the details behind putting together a marketing strategy; it is clear that it will never be that simple again. With the dominance of digital media, the consumer’s empowerment and attention deficit, and the way information is shared in our era, it is safe to say Advertising is not what it was in the 1960s.
In full disclosure, the dizzying changes in the industry have me feeling like the free-falling silhouette in the show’s intro.
So how are things different and how can I stop my free-fall? ( I hope I’m not alone in this). Well, let’s explore.
Differences
The 1990s ushered the era of cable TV, the 24/7 news cycle and the Internet. What does this mean? That customers became immersed in information overload. Now we have consumers that are better informed, more critical, less loyal, and harder to read.
Also, consumers—all types of consumers are interacting with each other around the world, any time they want. These conversations essentially center on how much they love/hate your product, and the powerful impact of these conversations means that the customers now have more power than ever to turn your product into a star…or sink it faster than the Titanic.
I find it amazing how somebody in Spain can tell someone in the Netherlands, that the speakers they are looking to buy on that British website aren’t that good. This is the quintessence of the world we live in.
On top of the rise in consumer knowledge, is the dominance of digital advertising. Google’s Adwords (the backbone behind their profits) has drastically changed how websites and advertisements are crafted. Punishing cheeky,abstract statements and rewarding relevance is the modus operandi of Google Adwords.
The rise of digital advertising has made measuring the results of marketing campaigns easier. Impressions, purchases, reactions, even the most attractive parts of an ad, you name it; it can all be measured (for pretty cheap too). Thus, it comes as no surprise that over 2/3 of CMOs are going to drastically increase their digital marketing budget in 2011 (According to a report I read in Forrester). The scalability of digital advertising has propelled this form into the most heavily invested area of marketing.
Then, you have guerrilla marketing—a direct response to the information overflow we encounter everyday. Guerrilla marketing is supposed to catch my attention, pull my thoughts away from myself and create a memorable experience that I will be able to associate with a product. These typically include greater conversation with the consumer; thus, making them feel listened to—and for lack of a better word, loved.
Catching up and understanding the nature of this new beast can be daunting at times for a student like me. While I can get around social media and understand the basic concepts of digital advertising (impressions, CTR, Adwords, etc). Making sense of it all and understanding the big picture is a more difficult.
And yet, it all comes down to one simple concept which I find to be my lighthouse in this unexplored ocean.
Tell a good story.
That is good advertising, that is good marketing. Sure, the consumer is more rational now, and in this economy they might be more thoughtful of their economic decisions.
But they are human! They laugh, worry, smile, cry, get angry, get excited just like all of us.
They choose the $80 Pumas over the $40 New Balance because that brand says something about them. Something intangible, something that can’t be put into words, and that is not accurately reflected in the $40 price difference.
What has changed is the medium, the way we communicate and make that emotional connection. The creative must still be captivating, the strategy must still be sound, the goal must still be clear.
So what if to sell a product you have to interact with the consumer more often, and more originally. This just means that you get their feedback on how they can love you more, more often!
If Don Draper lived in this era, he would still find himself gazing out the window, while holding his scotch (Hopefully, he wouldn’t be smoking, and by God I do hope he has a recycling and composting bin), thinking of these three core ideas:
To seduce memorably. To make intangible value tangible. To tell a good story.
(Feedback: Do you think I’m missing anything? What other differences do you see? Most importantly, what opportunities? Speak your mind, I would love to hear from you.)
The all too necessary “‘Mad Men’-on-a-marketing-blog” video. It tells a hell of a story.
Simple. Witty. Memorable.
Marketing, as described to me by Marketing expert Chuck Pettis, is the creation and management of perceptions.
This TV campaign satirizes the fundamental premise behind what marketing really is. Most importantly it ads intangible value to a product without changing it.
Why do I like it so much? Because as an aspiring professional in the marketing industry, I understand its cleverness, I admire its simplicity, and it helps me remember that at the end of the day…it’s all about perception.
So what do you think of this ad? Do you enjoy it as much as I do? What are your favorite commercials?
I’m the type of person that goes to YouTube, after he listens to a great song in a commercial (example: This commercial for the Samsung Fascinate). http://youtu.be/y_W_wQ7Yt1I
Needless to say, I think that choosing the right song for a tv commercial can make the difference between a good commercial and a memorable commercial.
Maybe I spend too much time listening to music (about 3 hours a day), instead of those Tony Robbins video or TED talks that remain on my “to listen” list. However, there is one song that I can’t believe advertisers haven’t used for their commercials: http://youtu.be/QAzrrxIYzTA
It’s sexy, it has a funky feel to it, the strings give it plenty of attitude. I would expect a song like this to be in a commercial for a smartphone (similar to the HTC commercial. I can’t blame HTC for using the same great song in all their commercials [See Nina Simone Sinnerman] See link: http://youtu.be/yxwX_qcQv30
This song makes me think of nightlife, of having a good time, of owning a product that makes people powerful and confident. I can’t help but to picture an ad with a young woman driving with her crew to the beat of this song.
So please, if any cool ad men happen to read this, keep this song in mind.
What are some cool songs that you guys think should be in commercials?
ps. I wish I could embed the videos, but tumblr does not allow me to. My apologies in advance.
I’ve had the writing bug for quite some time—20 years to be precise. Therefore, I decided to start blogging. Yes, by all means ridicule me for being a laggard in the technology adoption life cycle. Yet, I didn’t just want to blog for the sake of blogging. Sure, I could have started when I was 14 or 15, but the extent of my discussions would have gravitated around which pokemon is best against ghost types, or why I have a developed a new distate for post-2000 Disney movies (I am still willing to discuss this—however).
But time went on, and my musings never came. Admitedly, I was hesitant of what to write, or whether it would be relevant. Most importantly, I wanted to create something unique, something thought-provoking, something that made the risk of browsing the web during work, or zoning out from the professor’s lecture, worth it. Thus, it is my intention that in my posts from here on out, you leave with a smile and maybe a “huh, I never thought about that.”
Of course, some posts will be mundane and aimed to entertain and rather to enlighten—but that doesn’t mean that these are mutually exclusive.
So what is this blog about? It’s about the things I care about. It is about discovery, about my development into a professional in the field of marketing, about my struggles with reality, as I seek to break through all the barriers that limit us, and find a way to do what I ultimately want to do. I want to change the world.
It’s about marketing, it’s about philosophy, it’s about career development, it’s about life, it’s about inspiration, it’s about politics, it’s about the world, it’s about me, and also, it’s about you. I will bring my unique perspective into a variety of topics, and whether you agree or disagree, I hope you enjoy it.
Finally, I also hope to have a conversation with whoever finds themselves in the situation of reading this (by act of the holy spirit, or by sheer curiosity—I welcome you all). Tell me you disagree, albeit respectfully. Tell me that I should think about that in a different way. Tell me that there was one post that made your day, as it will make mine as well. So for all 5 of you who read this, interaction is expected. You’ve been warned.
To all the professionals, mentors, and friends who I have forced to read this…Thank you. Thank you for making me better, and providing me the insight and inspiration to write. This is my way of staying in contact with you, of telling you of my progress, and making you feel proud.
Here we go!
