Experience Manifesto

MediaPost Publications - Ad Icons Get Their Own Museum - 12/27/2005

OK, nothing against Kansas City, but shouldn't the Advertising Icon Museum be in NYC? Maybe on Madison Avenue?

FIRST THEY GOT THEIR OWN annual parade down Madison Avenue, now advertising icons such as the Jolly Green Giant, Cap'n Crunch and Kool-Aid Man are getting their own museum. Construction has begun on the Advertising Icon Museum, which will be the home for more than 2,000 popular advertising icons ranging from Juan Valdez to the Geico gecko. Ground was broken on the museum by Robert Bernstein, the museum's founder and creator of the McDonald's Happy Meal; Howard Boasberg, executive director; and architect Moshe Safdie. The Advertising Icon Museum is part of The West Edge, a $100 million mixed-use development in Kansas City, Mo.

Link: MediaPost Publications - Ad Icons Get Their Own Museum - 12/27/2005.

Adrants � Kodak Takes Assvertising to Trade Show

Say it ain't so! Kodak is using assvertising??? What are they thinking??? A camera company promoting upskirt photo's??? Can someone stop this insanity, please???? UPDATE: I was showing this article to my wife and my 4 1/2 year old daughter overheard us. She asked me to write to those girls and ask them to stop doing it. Out of the mouths of babes...

Link: Adrants � Kodak Takes Assvertising to Trade Show.

The Best & Worst Marketing Ideas of 2005

Brandweek Magazine also has a list of the best & worst in marketing in 2005. I do disagree, however, with two if their items:

Their assesment that the Paris Hilton ads for Carl's Jr., worked because of the number of media impressions it garnered. As I recall at the time, Carl's saw no real lift in sales from the ads and media attention like this is usually only good for the agency that created the ad. And, unless the ad was for the agency, then that doesn't really help the client!

And here's what they had to say about blogs:

Blogs provide almost no new information. They’re frequently inaccurate. They contribute to the hysterical polarization of our nation’s political discourse. And they’re often written by people who can’t, you know, write. So naturally marketers have flocked to associate their brands with them. Seriously, it’s not entirely clear why so many marketers have rushed to get themselves name-dropped in one of the most unreliable media environments yet invented, but we’re sure there’s a PowerPoint presentation on their ROI being prepared as we write this.

I think that many bloggers, myself included, would take a real exception to this description. I would think that the folks at sister publication Adweek who write the adfreak blog might be a little surprised as this description. The make a good point that too many companies are jumping into the blog bandwagon without understanding how they should really be used. But, if you assume that Brandweek speaks for the industry, then it's no wonder why so many clients screw it up. So fellow bloggers, what say you?

Here's more from the article:

Boeing and Bell Helicopter Textron ran in the Sept. 24 issue of The National Journal. "It descends from the heavens," the copy boasted about the V-22 Osprey aircraft, which is pictured lowering troops into a mosque. "Ironically, it unleashes hell." So indisputably tasteless was this bit of braggadocio that Boeing immediately renounced its own message as "offensive" and apologized to Islamic relations groups in the U.S. for the ad's content.

Plenty of marketers had something to apologize for in 2005. At the top of the outrage list are Merck (Vioxx) and Wal-Mart (the healthcare memo). Next come assorted questionable tactics and campaign clunkers: Coca-Cola sullied its classic 1971 commercial ("I'd like to teach the world to sing") with a dismal rap remake for Coke Zero. Blockbuster tried to pull the wool over customers' eyes with its "End of Late Fees" initiative. Nike ripped off a punk band's album cover for a skateboarding tour poster. Von Dutch gave us -- yikes -- an energy drink.There were lots of bad ideas in 2005, but there were several good ones, too. Dove and Curvation were pitch perfect in their campaigns aimed at "real" women. Miller cleverly suckered Bud into a sparring match while keeping the beer category focused on taste. The NHL made some bold changes and scored a strong comeback. Even the drug industry came up with a winner in Lunesta.

Download Best_and_Worst.pdf

Link: The Best & Worst Marketing Ideas of 2005.

TEN 2005 ADS AMERICA WON'T SEE

Some fun ads here from Ad Age and their Book of Tens.

As we end 2005, we take a look across the world at some of the advertising work deemed, for one reason or another, to be of "Not for the U.S." status. These are all ads that American audiences are not intended to see.

Link: TEN 2005 ADS AMERICA WON'T SEE.

New Quote

Just reading today's NRF SmartBrief and this was today's quote.

"Remember not only to say the right thing in the right place, but far more difficult still, to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment." -- Benjamin Franklin, statesman, inventor

The National Retail Federation

I'd write more about this report, but I need to finish my Christmas shopping and I'm taking advantage of a day off due to the transit strike to go out and get it done!

With their holiday shopping days numbered, many men are still checking off items on their gift lists, according to the latest National Retail Federation (NRF) survey. The latest installment of the NRF 2005 Holiday Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey, conducted by BIGresearch, found that entering last weekend 17.9 percent of men had not yet begun their holiday shopping, compared to 12.5 percent of women. Overall, 30.83 million consumers (15.1%) had not yet started their shopping.

"Retailers won't be surprised to see an increase of men frantically shopping in their stores over the next few days,%u201D said Tracy Mullin, President and CEO of the National Retail Federation. "When it comes to shopping, men have notoriously been procrastinators. With the end of the holiday season insight, they know that the true countdown has begun and the pressure is on to find that perfect gift."

Link: The National Retail Federation.

Amazon.com: Brave New World: Books: Aldous Huxley

Just starting reading Brave New World for the first time. Decided I needed to do some non-work reading for a change and this seemed like a good choice. Was there ever a movie of this book?

Link: Amazon.com: Brave New World: Books: Aldous Huxley.

New iPod

Just got a new video iPod for the office and I'm getting it all loaded up. I'll finally get the watch the premiere episode of Lost! I have to admit that some of the downloads have been a little slow, but otherwise I can see where this will make an impact into my TV watching habits. After I get it all up & running, I'll post more of my reactions and thoughts.

Plug Hosts

While I was at the Fortune Innovation Forum, I made sure to check out the outlet situation so that I would have power throughout the program while I was blogging. Nothing worse then going dead in the middle of a gig! Of course, since I staked out my ground early enough, I was able to take control of an outlet in my little section. That meant that I needed to be a nice guy and share the outlet with other attendees. After the event, I thanked one of my neighbors for being a good "plug host" during the event. We shared a good laugh about it and he promised that he was going to travel with a multiple plug from now on, so that he could be an even better plug host in the future. I know how many times I've searched for an outlet and been frustrated with the hunt for power!

It's a good idea, to be a proper plug host and make sure that you can share the power you've found with other travelers on the road.

Amazon.com: Experience the Message : How Experiential Marketing is Changing the Brand World: Books

Max Lenderman, formerly with GearWerx and now with GMR Marketing, has written a new book about the world of experiential marketing and the challenges facing marketers today and I got a copy to review. Some full disclosure -- Max has written some great things about the Brand Experience Lab and the work we're doing in the book, but I was actually surprised to find out we were included. We had been trying to get together to do an interview for the book and since our schedules never got us together, I just figured I lost the chance! Max & I are also on the board of the IXMA: International Experiential Marketing Association, so I've had the chance to read many of his thoughts on the value of experience marketing in the past.

That out of the way, I'm really enjoying the book a great deal! The good thing is that it's an easy ready and I mean that as a compliment. He really gets at the heart of many of the problems that the industry is facing today and the book is well laid out to make his case. Which, of course, wasn't a tough sell on us!

With all of the changes occurring in the advertising/marketing world today, we need some new guides and Max is one of them! I would give Max one challenge -- tie the book to your blog more! Given the lead time necessary to get a book published today, there's probably more data about his examples available and I would love to get the current thinking. Plus, it would create the pre-show - show - post-show concept that we talk about so much here at BEL.

I'll post more of his book in the coming week or so, but I wanted to give you all the heads-up! It's certainly a book you should have in your library if you're serious about navigating the new marketing world.

Experience the Message is an exciting guide to today's revolution in marketing that challenges long-held beliefs about how products are introduced and sustained on the consumer's highly cluttered radar screen. This book reveals how today's companies can use credible voices and sensory experiences to bring the brand—its essence and its benefits—to life, how a company stimulates interaction between the brand and consumers in meaningful locations, creating a positive and memorable association in places and at times where the consumer is most receptive to learning or interacting with a product or brand.

Link: Amazon.com: Experience the Message : How Experiential Marketing is Changing the Brand World: Books.