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?
Open & Free Business Model Workshop – May 21st, 2010
COME EXPLORE YOUR BUSINESSES FUTURE On The WEB!
We will look at three main topics:
TRENDS
We’ll look at trends and what’s happening around the world, and how these trends will impact your business online & off. Today there are 1.7 Billion people on the Internet, in the next 3 – 5 years that number will be 5 Billion. How will you get their attention?
THE OPEN & FREE BUSINESS MODEL
This is not a skill set, it’s a paradigm shift and this shift is painful, I’ll layout why and what this model might look like for your business, I’ll also show examples of how businesses are using this model.
BREAKOUT SESSION
By the time we get to this section, you’ll already have some new creative ideas, and ways to increase revenue. We’ll work through how you can build & implement your ideas with your staff.
When the workshop is over you will have a much better view of what’s coming, a framework to help you adapt, plus you will have a simple step by step approach for implementing new revenue streams.
Until May 20th the workshop is affordable at just $90, the price will go up on Friday May 21st to $100
Book now and reserve your seat, only 20 seats available!
For more details and to book your seat, just e-mail me at workshop@owengreaves.com
I look forward to working with you,
Owen Greaves Consulting
The Safety Net Of Control Is Broken
There is this feeling that nothing is going to change much, that business as we know it is going to carry on, and the online commerce world will just be like someone who sits on the bench. Someone who comes in adds a few extra dollars during the low points in the game of business. The truth is, the opposite is happening, advancements and innovation is growing faster than any one person can keep up with. Online commerce is and has become the de facto standard for generating revenue, the ugly works still needs to be done, but it’s more likely to be automated for the most part.
Business owners are struggling big time with letting the customer have some of the control, letting the customer tell the business owner what they want and they had better deliver. If they don’t deliver, people will look for what they want elsewhere. Gerd Leonhard coined it, “Proudly Found Elsewhere”. The safety net of control is broken, you see it everywhere, but big business is fighting tooth and nail to maintain that control. The future of doing business online is about reducing control, we will have to reduce control to get more share in the marketplace. Those who resist will find themselves wondering what happened and how did they miss it, people will get fired for not seeing the shift.
The music industry is not willing to reduce control, major TV networks don’t want to reduce control, and the Net Neutrality movement is all about controlling what you can do and what you watch. As brilliant as man is, we are very short-sighted when it comes to money and people.
The message of an Open & Free Business Model where I believe everyone wins, needs to be embraced. There is a need for more people like Gerd Leonhard, Glen Hiemstra and the extreme futurists like Ray Kurzweil to help you embrace the future of an ever changing world. To help you see something bigger than yourself, something bigger than your business, it’s happening all around you whether you like it or not. There is a tidal wave of people coming, and most business owners (small to medium sized business mostly) are looking the other way.
The world is more connected than it has ever been before, a connected and networked audience is dramatically different from what you’re used to. You cannot control a connected audience. They re-group on the fly, they will go someplace else if it’s too hard to get what they want from you, they will find it elsewhere. The experience this connected world has with you, determines your worth, you’ll either gain there trust or you won’t, but making things as easy as possible to do business with you will take you a long way to gaining that trust. The world is EPIC, Experiential, Participatory, Image Driven and Connected.
Resist the notion that being in control will make money,embrace a more open & free business model and turn your attraction into transactions. Create new ways of doing business, make the paradigm shift to an open business model and build a new safety net,by trusting your customers. If you don’t accept the new world of business online, you will learn very quickly, that your safety net of control is broken.
The New Search – Google Goggles
Search as we know it is toast, Google Goggles takes search to a new fun level. No more going to Google and typing in a few keywords to find what your looking for, now you can use your mobile device (if you have a camera in it) to automatically do the search for you.
Watch this video on Google Goggles, the new search:
What Content Should Be Free?
I wrestled with this question for some time, I mean the whole idea of charging for my content was foreign to me when I started running my first site. In studying the trends of online commerce, and the Open & Free Business Model, it was clear that many people were asking the same question, what should I be writing about and what content should I be charging for.
In working with local business owners, they aren’t even paying attention to what’s really going on, online commerce is just a nice to have rather than a strong component of their business. Meaning, they think it won’t get much bigger than another advertising medium or to just make a few extra dollars. They still practice the price & item approach, the control business model is what they know and trust. My goal is to help as many local businesses understand a different way, and to see the tidal wave that is coming, to pay attention and change the way they think.
A simple exercise is to walk through following:
1.) What is your CORE business about? The first question I usually ask is, what does your business do? Normally, the answer coming back is a description of what the person does or a very high level answer. I would say I am a Technology Strategist, that really doesn’t tell you much does it? You have to ask that question differently two or three times before you get to an answer that gives you a much better understanding. Keeping asking yourself until you get to the real thing that you do.
Knowing what your CORE business is about, helps you with your content, it will help you focus on what the free part might be over the paid part. This seems overly simplistic but it’s not, working through this is much tougher than I’m writing it.
2.) What’s your vision? This is the WHY, why are you doing what your doing and where are you going. That’s pretty simple isn’t it, not really, there is a process to working through what your vision might be.
3.) What is your Mission? Again, something that seems simple but really isn’t. What’s your mantra, your war cry? You want everyone to know it and to be shouting it throughout your organization, even if it’s just you.
You might ask these questions in reverse, whatever makes sense to you. Someone once said recently, keep it simple, simple is hard enough, I try to keep it simple by asking simple questions to tough problems.
These three questions can help you, and it can help you determine what will be free and what will be paid. Keep in mind, there are only three ways to get paid…I pay, you pay, they pay.
This is one way of figuring out what should be free, if you are a writer, write! But write about the thing you are passionate about. Write short stories for free and offer paid for lessons on how to write short stories properly, or writing construct, get creative. Hold writing workshops that are paid for and offer writing tips for free on your blog or newsletter, help your community get what they want, and they will help you get what you want.
This is just one small part of the Open & Free Business Model, the framework is actually straight forward but the details are much harder to figure out. The sooner you start, the better your Blogging experience, and knowing what content should be free makes your blogging life alittle easier.