A Creative Communications Agency

It is a situation presently being addressed by many businesses, there is a recession and marketers need to make decisions to adapt. Here is a list of five things that a business who if feeling the strains of a recession should instill now to be successful when the tables turn.

1. Don’t Hide - Many businesses decide to cut marketing budgets and lay low until the storm blows over. This is not the way to go. Housing is one of the largest industries in a recession right now but there are still homes being built. Granted it is not at the volume there was four years ago but it is still moving. You need to make sure that while the rest of your competitors are waiting-it-out you are standing tall and getting your message out while the others are silent.
2. Be Smart - When times are good marketers are likely to take more chances with new technology and ideas. Right now you need to be smart. Find the direction you want your company to go and get there, then look for another target and get there. Always move in measurable, attainable increments. Think that while other marketers are cutting budgets media is looking for someone to buy up their space. You now stand a better chance to get your message anywhere you want, and for a good price.
3. Search For New Audiences - What was once a market that was dominated by competition could be opening for invasion. Even while the base of your purchasing target market may be dwindling down, the same can be said for the competition. See where they have left vulnerabilities in their armor. Go in and get new customers that are looking for support.
4. Be Confident - A recession quickly gets rid of the “also-rans” in the industry. The companies that succeed are the ones with strong support and backing that know how to move forward and will move forward. Make your message clear and the consumers looking for answers will come to you.
5. Innovate - Some companies become satisfied when their products are selling well and relax on their innovation and development. Now is the time to put energy into development of new products, service and strategies. This shows that you are confident and are leading the industry.

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Taking a chance comes down to the battle between the brain and your guts. You can pull all the logic and facts together but the feeling that is in your gut could outweigh even the most convincing data. Marketing managers and the relating creative team want to base their ideas on their gut instincts but many times the pressure makes them follow the data and trends.

For marketing to truly be innovative and different it is about taking the chance on what you think will work. Your gut has a lot of knowledge that it doesn’t share with the brain. Focus groups do not get mixed in with gut instincts. That is why some of the most innovative marketing is achieved and praised because the creator did what they felt confident about.

Why not take the risk? Job security. That is the bottom line when people consider taking a chance. If the campaign that you approved or created fails, guess who is going to be blamed by everyone else looking for a scapegoat, the one who signed the bottom line. The pressure on marketing managers is huge. For a new marketing manager who has just taken over it is a struggle to fit in with the mold of the company or jump out and blaze your own trail? That is why large committees seem to become more common in companies.

Committees stifle the creative idea. No matter if there are 3 or 30 people on the committee, each person wants to add their own flair to the piece and the creative team is left to ponder numerous comments and feedback that don’t relate to each other but must be combined to get the piece completed. The presentation is vital to this phase of the process.

Put the showman up in front of the group to explain the idea. It is selling a philosophy, the snake oil salesmen use to do it an now the creative team must do the same. The wonders of this idea are endless. This idea will solve all of your sales woes and cure what troubles ya.

Where does this leave us in order to move forward? It comes down to the strength and conviction of the individuals. Will you stand up for what you believe in, or fold under the pressure and just turn the crank to produce another piece that is watered down and blends in with the background? Believe in your gut, when it speaks up take notice.

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It’s not hard to say that the economy and has made the turn into a recession. The housing market was one of the beginners and other industries are feeling the same pains now. As a company in a recession what should you do? When the market turns sour many companies cut marketing budgets first, is that the right thing to do?

Here we will go over the two options that CMO’s are facing.

1) Cut marketing communications budget to save some money and hope to surface when things are better.

or

2) Market more. Get your message out to more people so they see you are the one leading the way in your industry and has the strength to power through the tough times while the competition chooses to be quiet.

The first option is one of the more common for many companies afraid of what might happen. The thing to do is look at the companies who have survived for a long period of time and are an industry leader; Nike, BMW, and Apple. These companies know that they need to stay in front of people and keep pushing even during the low tide times of recessions. Saving a few million dollars right now could cost you multi-millions in the future due to lost customers and brand position.

The good companies have instilled marketing and communications into their main business strategy. It is not a side item that can be cut away to save a few bucks.

That gets us to the second option. It may be obscene to some that are always trying to tighten the belt that spending more when sales are down can have a better long term result. This is exactly why the ones who decide to speak out benefit. They are the only ones speaking to the people. While the competition is hiding out, waiting for the tide to change, you have free run over the landscape to gather more supporters and take more ground on them. And, if/when they return you will have already strengthened your forces and are stronger than ever.

Take another look at the situation, sales are down and your company needs to increase profits. Will you be successful by taking the wait-and-see approach? Or should you be aggressive and pursue people with more determination than ever.

It is easier to capture someone’s attention when you’re the only one on stage with something to say.

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With the technology we have developed there is more of your personal information floating around than you may realize. How many online forms have you filled out to get access to information, news, a free trial offer, special offers, or services that make our lives more convenient because we can now use a computer rather than going into a bank?

More and more marketers are trying to create personal messages for each user on the web. The more information we can gather about a consumer the better we can craft our message to that individual to get a response. Think about the information you entered into MSN, AOL, Google, Yahoo… to set up an email account. Now imagine that all of your information is available to those companies to possibly sell to other businesses for marketing purposes. Many of these companies have privacy policies that they mention not releasing your information to other companies. But what about the companies they own? Look at the businesses in the AOL/Time Warner family.

Would you listen closer to a TV ad that specifically included your name? It would be a shock at first, possibly making you happy, but then turning to rage when you realize someone has released your information. That is what is being discussed with several of the large internet based companies that are collecting your information. They are collecting a lot of information and some are considering to allowing advertisers to market directly to you with your name. Is that right? Is it fair? Are they allowed to do that? Did you really read the Terms and Conditions when you checked that box before you hit I Agree?

They say: “don’t sign anything without reading it first.” Well, why would you send out your name, phone number, email address, or possibly your social security number without reading the fine print first?

A few helpful recommendations to keep your personal information safer on the web:

1) Set up junk email addresses - If you want to get access to a free trial offer or any other information that you just want a quick glimpse at, set up a phony email address. Use a junk name and only fill in the Required information.

2) Don’t sign up for everything in sight - Sure it is free access to some special information but do you really want to be bothered the rest of your life because you gave out your phone number to see a special video clip?

3) If you do find something you truly value, make sure you know what your getting into - Information on the web can look official but make sure you really know who and what they are.

4) Know the network you’re on - With free Wi-Fi becoming more and more common in places like coffee houses, campuses, and even neighborhoods, realize who could get access to the same network. It’s possible for people to go into your computer through a public Wi-Fi and see exactly what is on your computer and where you have been and the information you enter.

5) Don’t talk to strangers - It’s the first lesson our parents gave us when we ventured out of the house. Why are we so forgetful when we are on the web? It is one of the most common ways for hackers and the “Bad People” get into our information and build a false sense of security.

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Many people try to focus on the current time as a new, ever changing business environment where innovation and technology are advancing so quickly that companies are constantly struggling to catch up. The truth is that throughout history, business has always been changing. This is not a new phenomenon.

Yes, the internet and all the digital technology that is being developed and accepted by consumers is highly advanced but so was the development of currency, electricity, the telegraph, the automobile… Imagine when a business first installed electricity in it’s store, they are now able to be open later, factories and textiles were replacing human or steam power machines with electrical motors. The comparison to a company adapting to use the internet isn’t even close to how companies had to adapt to use electricity.

Even greater was the adaptation to currency. The old form of business was based on trading; three chickens for 12 wool blankets. One hammer for a pair of shoes; what was the day like when someone walked in with 3 silver pieces for a pair of shoes? Who would take a few pieces of silver for material goods? Who could you pass the silver off on to get the good you required? The ancient world wasn’t a world economy. You may have a pile of coins from the Roman Empire but it couldn’t buy you one ounce of spices from India. That was a volatile and difficult environment to adapt to and consumers had to be willing to make the change.

Why is there fear that now is such a difficult time to adapt? It’s for the same reasons that each generation thinks the other generations are strange. Have you ever heard an elderly person talk about the first time they saw an automobile? It seems impossible to comprehend in the mind of the Y generation but it is true. Has anyone in the Y generation tried to explain the internet to that same elderly person? The trouble many people get in is trying to catch up to the now while the future is moving farther and farther away.

But will there be a leveling off point for all of this technological advancement? No. Not as long as there are still people who have an imagination and need to create. Necessity is the mother of all invention and there is never an end to the needs of the world. Human, animal, plant or mineral; there is always something needed to get, preserve, maintain, enhance, collect, find, analyze, simplify, complicate, alter, dissect, combine, eliminate, develop, produce, fix, tear down… etcetera, etcetera.  

So keep developing you thinkers, innovators and tinkers. We don’t even know what we are missing but I’m sure you’ll come up with it and we’ll all realize we absolutely must have it.

Little known fact: On April 24, 1908 Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Murdock became the first people to travel across the U.S. by car. The drive from Los Angeles to New York City took them 32 days, 5 hours and 25 minutes. How long does it take to travel across the U.S. in 2008? Three days by car, a few hours on a plan. How long will it take in 2108? And how will humans be able to travel then?

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It has been announced that Lipitor ads are being pulled by the maker Pfizer because of investigation into “misimpressions” in the advertising campaign. Pfizer made the decision to pull the ads but it isn’t likely to end there. House committee members have requested documentation relating to the campaign and could still render a final verdict on the issue.

But where does all this end up? Who is going to be left holding the bag? As someone who has worked in marketing for national ad campaigns, client and legal approvals are part of the game. Why did this come to be so soon after Vytorin, another drug claiming to reduce cholesterol, had to pull their advertising because testing showed it did nothing to reduce cholesterol levels in patients?

The number of drugs promoted on television is astounding, and the trouble is that most of us don’t have the knowledge or ability to find out the specific details of each. When a doctor is a spokesperson for a medication, we may have a higher likely hood of believing what is being said. Actors and sports stars are one thing but doctors are another. We are suppose to be able to believe what doctors say and that they know what is going to be best to help us get better. We rely on them for their unbiased, expert opinion. Now you could say they are just as easily hired as a sports star to promote a product.

The dangers of medicine are great and each person can have a different experience to a medicine. It is important that pills are not distributed like Skittles to the general public. Back to the main thought, who’s in trouble? What CEO will need to be looking for a new job? The drug maker created, developed, tested and produced the medicine. The FDA reviewed and approved the drug. The ad agency created the campaign with the copy and claims being approved, in theory, by the drug makers legal team. The amount of money involved in pulling a campaign is high but not as high as the development dollars put into creating a new drug. I’m sure we will see Lipitor ads again this year but don’t expect to see the Doc anymore.

In conclusion, like said before and proven here; don’t believe everything you see on TV or read. I wonder what happens if someone took every pill advertised in one day of commercials? Anyone want to volunteer?

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Now marketers can put their marketing brief online to mine ideas from all corners of the earth. Just go to www.bootb.com, the brain child of a French based company. The website appears to work as an an auction site for creative ideas, much the same way eBay does for products.

The purpose is to mine for new ideas from any person or organization willing to step forward.

So far, according to an article from Adage, marketers that have posted idea requests are Auchan, a French-based supermarket chain with stores through Europe, China and Russia; Ferrero, the Italy-based chocolate company; Lego Holdings, the Denmark toy company; and Peugeot

This is just another trend marketers are taking in a desperate attempt to find new solutions to their marketing problems, and its moving away from the traditional ad agencies.

Credit: Article reported from Adage by Martin Lindstrom…Online “Pitch Engine” Connects Marketers and Creatives.

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How about a 14-year old web developer.

His name is Kasra Kyanzadeh. When he’s not occupied by schoolwork he’s creating websites with PHP, MySQL and The Gimp. Huh! No PhotoShop!

Here is the link to his website:

www.kasrak.com/

Here are the links to some of the websites he has designed:

www.programmermeetdesigner.com/

www.gimpology.com/

www.screenshotforge.com/

Enough said!

John Maskell, Creative Director.

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In the latest battle of technology and formats Sony Blue-Ray has won the battle against Toshiba HD DVD. This is just another in a long line of battles that consumers, industries and the market has had to decide between two options but room for only one winner. Just look back to the 70’s for the latest reference that most of us can remember, VHS vs. Beta. In the late decade of disco the two formats came out to offer the market the ability to watch movies in their own home! This was an astounding revelation that changed the history of man-kind. Without that battle we wouldn’t have had this latest installment of HD DVD vs. Blue-Ray. Other developments that came along in this technological sector include Laser Disc, if anyone actually has one they are probably worthless or priceless, depending on your view of failed technology.

This was a battle of the next evolution of technology, not the development of a completely new form. DVD’s came out with little resistance. Picture and sound quality were drastically superior to VHS and consumers were already familiar with the technology and it was easy to adapt to the change; CD’s and DVD’s are the same size so people were already comfortable with the size and application. Mini-Disc though were not able to take off like expected. In the late 90’s mini-discs were thought to be better than CD’s because they were smaller and everyone likes when technology gets smaller right? Not in this case, Mini-Discs didn’t last long and people stayed with CD technology.

What does this mean though? Aside from the fact that every early adapter of the HD DVD technology just lost out it shows that the market has a large influence on the type of technology that will be successful. The final death blows came from major players in the entertainment industry. Sony announced that they will not release any of their movies in HD DVD. A right cross to the head of Toshiba. Secondly Wal-Mart announced they will not carry HD DVD’s in their stores. The uppercut that knocked Toshiba and the HD DVD to the mat, never to rise again. Toshiba announced today that they are throwing in the towel.

The conclusion. There is always a risk for the early adapters of new technology and almost any new innovation that seems like it can’t fail. When two powerhouse companies are challenging each other in the battle for supremacy and creating a shift of consumer goods it will not end well for one of them. Now we are in a Blue-Ray society. Soon DVD production will fall off. Every home will slowly change to the Blue-Ray player and people will begin to buy all their favorite movies again in the new format. In 5 years a DVD could bring a chuckle to the minds of consumers just like a cassette tape brings now; “You still have a DVD player!?” Welcome to the next phase of technology. When will the CD be replaced? And by what?

Read more about the surrender of Toshiba from The Wall Street Journal.

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We all know that all it takes to start an inferno is a spark. Where does that spark come from and how is it fed to keep growing?

There is a sense that every business and marketing executive is looking for with that one great idea that will shoot them over the moon and make life perfect from now on. That is a good hope but everything starts with that little spark that can come from a new chemical compound, someone’s idea for a new process of getting projects done or anything, literally anything else that could set that spark off and get others to feed the flame.

We here have taken steps to create a new spark. We have gone and changed the name of the company and moved locations. Relatively early in the process, only a few weeks now, we are trying new things and moving in new directions to get the fuel that will feed the spark but were making the moves right now.

It is difficult to consciously make the change and alter the habits that have become engrained in our daily practice but we are moving that way. Change is one of the most difficult things for people to make and that is why most people don’t. We get comfortable in a situation and start insulating ourselves against outside influences that could affect our situation. Well, there is always time that people, companies and industries need to take a look at them self and figure out where they are and where they want to go. 

Just remember that once a spark is set off it needs to be fueled. As easy as it is to dismiss someone’s idea as crazy and ridiculous it’s just like snuffing out a spark that could have turned into something monumental. Don’t get me wrong though, not all sparks/ideas are great when they first appear but taking some time and energy to really get in and feed it is where the big ideas come from. 

Zanzico is here and we are making the sparks to create something memorable. It will be good to see where it comes from and how it grows, so stay close.  

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