Do Ad Agencies Think You're Stupid?

I haven’t had my morning coffee yet so I’m still a bit punchie. Last night while relaxing with the Mrs., I saw a commercial on the Idiot Box that got me to wondering, do ad agencies really think we’re this stupid? They must, just look at some of the commercials being aired, and it’s not any one product or market, there is at least one or two ads that run in all product lines that make you scratch your head and wonder, who the hell they are talking to.

I won’t name the company but, you’ll figure it out quickly I’m sure. A girl is standing in the middle of the road, there are hundreds of frogs (toads) all over the road, the girl picks one up and kisses it on the beek and VOILA! The frog (toad) becomes a handsome dude on a horse, he jumps off the horse, looks at the girl, looks at the car, he runs to the car and drives off!

Now, does that ad make you want to run out buy that car? Was the commercial maybe even man bashing a little? I mean really, am I supossed to be so stupid that kind of ad is going to motivate me to buy a car? At the risk of sounding like a sexist, obviously the ad was designed for women, it smacks of all kinds under current issues in my head. This is one of many reasons why I don’t watch TV much, bad programming first and then crappy commercials that companies spend thousands of dollars if not millions, to insult people.

It disgusts me that companies think these ads are clever, hell even the financial world (Wall Street) obviously thinks the general public are the dumbest creatures on the planet! But that’s another story. These ads, most of them, don’t speak to me nor do they reflect that they are trying to solve a problem of some kind, they are trying to be Witty, Smart, Clever and maybe even subliminal. But…..the hell!

Is it me or am I that stupid? There, I’ve opened up the barn door for you to leave a rude comment or two, am I alone….hello?

I worked in Radio & Television for 15 years, I know they think your stupid, I once did too, but times have changed and you & I have the power back in our hands once again. We are the people formerly known as consumers, so ad agencies, creative departments, stop talking to us (me) like I’m stupid!

Do you think Ad Agencies think you are stupid?

Attention Bloggers & Marketers

The Internets future is of great interest to me, I study some of the worlds smartest technology people because they see things differently than the rest of us. The Futurists are an interesting lot, they even cause me to chuckle now and then, but we need them because it forces us to look outside the box. I share and talk about the possibilities technology can bring, I care very much how it impacts society and our economy’s, plus I love looking into the future.

So I ask you Bloggers & Marketer’s, have you stopped to consider what and how the new economy is going to work, what it might look like, and how it will impact how you Blog and Market? Do you know what the New Economy is? There is and will be a New Economy, it will be The Data Economy, the New Content Economy. We will connect data to data, line to line, not web-page to web-page, this economy will set the table for a revolutionary way of doing business on the Internet. Google is ensuring this will happen, everything will be mobile and on the cloud.

We are entering a time where Command & Control will become Coordinate & Cultivate, where domination is out – and Collaboration is in. Where the current economic egoism no longer works, because now we are all connected, it breeds mediocrity. Mediocrity is what we have / had under the control model. We need to build an Ecosystem, where we freely, openly share & collaborate, with the right blend of sharing rather than piracy. Collaboration is and will be required to build in this new economy.

An entirely new way of thinking comes from being connected, Trust is the Key, Trust is the new currency. This trust will be developed over time, it will make or break organizations and indivduals with large followings and high levels of influence, but this trust won’t come easy. Advertising in the connected world has to be radically different, otherwise it will keep declining. We can no longer market on the Internet by yelling. Marketing needs to hit the RESET button and figure out how to function in the new economy.

Content today is copied, you download a PDF, an MP3 and what have you, it’s a copy. The Internet is a giant copy machine, if you disconnect the copy function, you disconnect the listening function. The fight to keep control of copies is a losing battle on this network, but how do we get the money from a network that can copy everything for free? We need to sell things that can’t be copied, the conversation is the sell. We need to sell things around the content, the packaging, the experience. Money is moving from the selling of copies, to selling the experience. After all, your Brand will be judged by that experience, if it’s bad, you will be out of business sooner than later. You can see the landscape is changing, the end of control is taking shape everywhere.

Social Media is a very human driven practice, it can’t be done with a single person, it just doesn’t scale well that way. Gary Vaynerchuk has shown us how hard it is to keep up and stay on top of all that is data, he won’t be able to sustain the demand on his time and become ineffective.

It’s important to state that Social Media is not about technology, it’s about a culture change, a paradigm shift, we have to get better at believing in the impossible.

We need to think about how we Blog & Market, re-write the books on how it’s done, because what we are doing is a diminishing return. What kind of experience do people have when they come to your Blog, and what kind of emotions are engaged when they see and hear your marketing messages? The power is now in the hands of the people formerly known as consumers, how will you engage them?

You’ve heard this message before a million times, you probably preached it over and over, but the real question is, are you one of the change agents helping shape this new economy? Have you studied what’s to come, do you know and see the indicators? The New Economy views content first as a service, then an experience – and only then (maybe) a product.

I know my voice gets lost in the noise, that’s OK. I know the Internet is a big place, and a very large network that dissects, crosses over and loops back, and some how we are supposed to find what we are looking for. Companies like Google are trying to filter the content and help us all get exactly what we want. But that my friends, is whole nother story. Filtering and curation are the keys to the next phase, and eventually we’ll find ourselves dealing with smart noise.

Are you paying attention, what do you see?

How I Watched Apple's BIG Announcement

The Internet world new this day was coming, Apple was going to make this huge announcement that was going to revolutionize how we use the Internet. Everyone who is anyone in the technology sector has been talking about this for weeks, and the day has come and it will soon be gone. You will read thousands upon thousands of new articles, Blog Posts and Video’s on this new thing called the iPad. It’s priced at $499.00 USD, screen size is 9.7″ and so on, if you have an iPhone you probably won’t want one of this slick machines. In fact, it looks just like a biggie sized iPhone!

Leo LaPorte said that he has never seen so many people at an Apple Announcement, everyone was there were his words. That’s not entirely true because I wasn’t there! I was there via the Internet and I thought I would share with you how these events will be attended in the future.

I sat here in my home office, openned my browser (FireFox), brought up Leo laporte’s Live.Twit.tv and watched Leo’s version of the event via his show. I also had FriendFeed open and watched Robert Scoble’s Stream, plus, Robert did a live UStream.tv stream at the same time! I got everything I need by following the #iPad & #AppleLive HASH on Twitter as well, I am fully informed.

I expect in the future this is how many people will attend Conferences and major announcements, why pay for parking, hotel and so on when you can get LIVE coverage via the NET? I recognize it’s not the same thing as being there, but it’s far more cost effective. I am however, very disappointed that the broadcast of the event by Apple or lack of one was so poor in quality. They have more cash than Microsoft does, they can afford to stream this better, or maybe the CLOUD can’t handle the load? What will happen when more than 10% of the world gets online for FREE?

How did you watch the Apple Event?

Your Customers Are Dying To Talk To You!

Something is terribly wrong with the business world at large don’t you think? I mean, customer service is still failing and businesses and their owners don’t seem to care! Yes some get it and are doing something about it, but lets be honest here, have you seen a grand scale change of mind and heart on what customers really want from local businesses?

A while back a shared a couple stories with you, one where Black & Decker failed bigtime in my books, one where SAVE-ON FOODS went way out of their way to make my life easier, and then there was the BEST BUY stupidity. I was out with my oldest son this afternoon, he said hey let’s go to Best Buy! My response, why? He looked at me kind of funny and said what? I said these guys don’t get customer service and I won’t buy from them again. Of course he asked what happened and I shared with him, he said I understand. The stupid thing about this experience is that I got more attention from Best Buy USA online staffers and I never did hear from anyone in Canada at the time of my rant. I did get a Tweet from someone a wekk later but that was it, and that person solved nothing, did nothing and didn’t even ask for details. No nothing, no how can we make this right, sorry you had that problem….NOTHING! I won’t be back, That I can control.

Black & Decker made absolutely no effort to fix their website and or make my experience with them a positive one. SAVE-ON FOODS, they were amazing, well one staff person was (Lorna) , they get my business, that store ONLY gets my business unless I’m out of town.

The oxymoron of all businesses is, they ask for our input, how were we today, how can we be better, make a suggestion and so on. But are they really listening, and if they are, they must be using selective hearing. I rarely see improvement from those businesses that blow it and know about it. So why am I pissed? They don’t get it, and I’m not confident that they will anytime soon. They don’t understand that their clients, their customers want to talk to them, and want to be heard. Don’t they know that their customers want that relationship, want to trust that company, want to have a positive experience with their Brand. I don’t get it, why don’t they want to give us what we really want?

Don’t you know – Your Customers Are Dying To Talk To You!

We can all take a lesson from these experiences, I know you have your own stories to tell but somehow the message is getting lost in translation. Is Social Media that confusing they don’t understand what Social Media is all about, I think it is, orherwise we would see more movement for the better.

Am I over reacting? What do you think?

A Message To Business Owners

Most business owners implement systems that solve problems, sometimes they do it without looking into who they ask to help solve this problem or problems. It happens because there is a precieved urgency, something that just can’t wait and must be solved immediately. So let me ask you, is that any different than impulse shopping? Yes & No.

I’ve learned over my 50+ years that most things can be solved by slowing down and thinking through the challenges rather than making a knee jerk reaction to something that is most likely not that urgent. Sometimes the problem or need isn’t urgent at all, it’s just a need and you fill it without making sure that the person or thing is actually qualified to fill that need. Worse yet, how far in the future are you looking when you do hire someone to fill a role or fulfill a need?

Most business owners don’t look past their own sphere of influence when hiring or solving a problem, I’m generalizing of course but you know business owners that do just that everyday. A problem I see and have yet to figure out a solution is, how to grab the business owner before they make these kinds of decisions. If you have influence, credibility and you know how to help them, then you have a chance. The bigger problem, how do they find out about you? That’s another topic of discussion.

So business owners, please take the time to look more closely, so you actually solve the precieved urgency and or hire the right people. Hasty decisions cost you, how you make decisions in your business speaks volumes to the outside world and your accountant.

What do you think?

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year from Owen Greaves Consulting.