How Do I Know Advertising Works?

An age old question. And there is no standard answer. Although I did come across this, which at the very least, validates my long held belief.

“I know from my own experience that with all the time we spend on the analytical aspects of our campaigns like quality scores, click-though rates, cost per click, and match types, it is very easy to lose sight of this simple truth: what your ads communicate is much more important than the metrics you use to track them.”

–– Mark Van England in SEARCH ENGINE LAND

Dumber Than Dog Snot.

What will have to be considered for "Headline of the Year" will have to be this doozy: “Security Blunders Dumber Than Dog Snot,” which emanates from an August 17, 2010 web page of CSO Magazine (Chief Security Officer).

Roger Johnson, a member of the "vulnerability assessment team" at respected Argonne National Laboratory describes three all too common problems:

1. People forgetting to lock the door.
2. People too stupid to be helped.
3. Otherwise intelligent people who fail to exploit their abilities for the betterment of security.

OK, so what, and so what's up with that headline? Johnson watched his dogs repeatedly crash themselves against a picture window facing the yard when they wanted to chase a squirrel. Hence, most of his windows wrere covered in.......wait for it......dog snot.

He also notes that:

1. Most security cameras fail to prevent crime because poor resolution causes security personnel to miss important things.

2. The assumption that low-level employees are harmless and are seldom asked about their activities.

3. That overlooked insider threats are often sparked by poor HR policies.

4. Both employees and contractors can be bribed by offering them money to do bad things.

Enlightening as dog snot!

Your Government at Work

You do NOT need to look very far to find evidence of government excess:

For example:

Pages of documents submitted during the past several months by Goldman Sachs to the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission: 2.5 billion.

Number of days federal investigators have been given to review all the documents before issuing its final report: 209. (Source: Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission.)

Number of prison inmates who received tax credits under the first-time homebuyer program: 1,295.

Number of these prison inmates serving life sentences: 241. (Source: Department of the Treasury.)

That is all.

Workaholics

Americans may think they work hard.........but according to a recent IPSOS studt, published by Reuters, American workers rank only fifth among the world’s biggest workaholics, using only 57% of their available vacation days.

The French take their vacations way more seriously, using 89% of their available vacation time (is that a surprise to anyone?). And on the other hand, the Japanese are actually the world’s biggest workaholics, using only 33% of available vacation days. (Source: Reuters/ipsos.)

What The Hell Do You Expect?

It occurs to me that your experience is critically tied to your expectations. And in some ways I think people expect too much these days. Reasonable expectations are valid and determined by the mores of the day. If you see great customer service in action ----- you come to expect that. And likewise, if you see bad customer service ----- you tend to expect more of the same.

And whether you realize it or not, you have certain expectations from great brands.

You don't expect the same cornering from a Chevy Geo as you would from a Porsche Cayman. A Kit Kat bar doesn't taste like Godiva. Whatever is inside that Tiffany box will likley be better than the sack from Sears. The shoes from Cole Hahn feel better than a pair of loafers from Payless. And that $2 Starbucks should be better than the no name office coffee.

Point is, you help shape the expectations of all the brands you come in contact with, along with millions of others. And expectations are always built in to the advertising and promotions for brands (good ones and bad ones) perceptionally and in reality.

What are your expectations, and what brands have let you down lately?

Hold Please.

Gotta love this. There's a small advertising agency in Seattle - Creature. They must have had a little extra time on their hands......they decided to re-do their own on hold music. What they came up with is both creative and fun!

No boring Muzak here. No highly caffeinated psuedo pop rock. No smoooooth jazz.

Just a thoughtful rant on your next conversation.

"I heard the rumors about how bad our hold music was -- and so I called and asked to be put on hold and I was really embarrassed," said Jim Haven, chief creative officer at Creature. "You spend so much time talking to people on your cell phones, you kind of forget about the main phone number and that to many people it's the gateway. At any rate, I challenged the creative department to come up with a solution."

"This Next Telephone Conversation," gives you some insight in to what MIGHT happen next. My personal favorite take is: "You MIGHT find yourself on a cliff, drinking beer, with a midget".

They're teasing us now with the possibility of adding more songs --- maybe a 'Songs to Hold By' greatest hits!

Love to see creative people look for any and all outlets for their creativity.

Happy 2011

What is all the fuss about a change on the calendar? A flip of the page, a turn of the dial? It's just another day. Some people make way too big a deal over it. I simply don't understand that.

What I do understand is that the things I truly care about will get the most attention from me in 2011, and all the days after.