Excuse me for my lax blogging performance this past month.  Thankfully, we have been joyously busy with current client business, new business and pitches.  Much as I like writing my blog, I LOVE doing the business of our clients, and the business of us.

These past few months have been a great joy.  And joy is what I want to write about.

My father, Ira, was in the agency business for over 50 years, and as such, had the opportunity to collect many pieces of advertisingobilia from many different agencies.  One piece is a speech written by David B. McCall, co-founder of McCaffrey and McCall in NYC.

It is called, “The Joy of Advertising.”

In it, he spells out his 6 Joys of Advertising that, he believes, drive success for the agency, and thus, for the client.

These days, the ad business is barely about advertising, with clients looking for solutions in a constantly changing environment of digital, branding, experiential and communication service providers.  What is there left to draw us and our clients together?

The Joy Of Professionalism

From receptionist to programmer to account executive to accounting, there is joy in fostering and enforcing the high standards that are exemplars of professional behavior.  Even though we are graded on the results of ideas, that marvelous feeling that all the elements presented to our clients are soldiers in the parade of true professionalism is most definitely a joy. 

The Joy Of Creativity

Sounds obvious, right?  Once the joy of professionalism is achieved, then creativity is in the hands of the forces of inspiration.  There is sublime joy in creation.  At R&B, it’s everyone’s business to be creative.  Especially now, where creativity should no longer be measured only by awards, or creativity untethered to the reality of results, or the building of a portfolio to get the creative individual to their next job.  Today, creativity is an energy that must find its way into websites and blogs, brilliant strategies and much much more.  And when all of us participate, because creativity is our job… that magnifies the joy ten fold.

The Joy Of Helping To Build A Business

Pure and simple, we exist to help build client’s business.  And the joy in successfully helping do that is unsurpassed.  Big businesses or small, the opportunity to say we built something bigger and better together is what we live for.

The Joy Of Building An Agency

Who said JOY has to come easy?  The best part is we get to try anything we want to do a better job for our clients.  And, if we stay glued to the values of professionalism, creativity and building our client’s business, we too will grow.  Like most agencies, we’re in the process of creating the next iteration of how agencies must perform in the future to stay relevant and healthy.  Jerry and I, along with Jim, Meg, Mark, Eric, Adam and the rest of us spend a lot of time thinking and rethinking, challenging ourselves and the status quo to find the tools to help our clients.  It’s always hard to navigate change, but we are in the change business, and thinking big thoughts is joy on the highest order.

The Joy Of Pro Bono

As practitioners of communication, we are in an ideal place to help others around us.  This year, and for 2011, R&B will be working with Stand Up For Kids, an enterprise that helps homeless children who find themselves on the street, often without money, supervision, clothing or support.  It is our great pleasure to work for this important organization.  Today, even perhaps more so because of the economic issues the world faces, we all have a responsibility to use our talents to improve the lives of those who need it.  We do this also, because through our clients’ support, we have the opportunity to work for the benefit of others.  How can we not feel joy in that?

The Joy Of Comradeship

It’s hard to overestimate the importance of comradeship in an agency.  The work is hard.  The deadlines are often impossibly short.  The challenges we place on ourselves are immense.  But it’s hard to miss even one day of it.  R&B is where my friends are.  It’s where the super- interesting, sometimes crazy, always funny, iconic, sarcastic, silly, creative, endearing, outrageous, hardest working thinkers I know can be found every day.  The truth is, having worked at 6 other agencies before Rosen & Brichta, most of the marketing, creative, media, research and digital people I’ve worked with have been amazing.  And worth every moment of camaraderie.   Clients feel this, too.  It’s why there’s often that joyful feeling of energy and power when clients and agencies meet to exchange ideas that can impact almost anything. 

And now I will give you the sublime joy of ending today’s blog entry.  My thanks to Mr. McCall.  I googled him, of course, and discovered he was the creator of School House Rock.  I also discovered he and his wife had perished while on a mission to help refugees in Albania almost 12 years ago.  A definitely sad ending while doing something that clearly bought him great joy.

       David McCall

“I’m not a witch, but I play one on TV”

How much damage is done to the marketing community every election year? 

Plenty.

For one, our clients are scared off the air during the thick of it because they don’t like the caustic environment of political ads.  Plus, how fun is it to hear about a product wedged in between childish, shouting voices?

For two, as consumers of media, I believe we have all found that elusive, and henceforth now answerable question of ‘can you ever hear a message too much?’  That border was crossed some time in mid August. 

For three, if citizens felt manipulated by advertising before, and that’s been pretty much from the very start, imagine how they feel now, after millions and millions of dollars, of impressions and messages have been squeezed through their brains.

For four, NPR has reported that 4 BILLION dollars were spent on this year’s elections nationwide.  That’s an 80% increase over midterms 4 years ago.   Imagine how Americans would feel if the media created a self-imposed limit to political spending. How could we put THAT to work for America, eh?

As marketers, we will now spend the next two years trying to earn back a little respect and confidence from the folks we need to talk to every day. 

Good luck with that, right?

One final thought: I urge any candidate from any party to come talk to Rosen & Brichta about their next campaign.  Together, we’ll prove you can win elections and respect at the same time.

I don’t think there’s ever been a time when more lies, more hatred, more invective slurs and outright delusional statements have ever existed than in today’s crop of political advertising.

No wonder a lot of people don’t trust marketing any more. 

It doesn’t matter whether you’re democratic or republican, it all seems the same.  Lies about liars who lie about lying.

Political advertising has been mean-spirited for a long time, because politics have been mean-spirited forever.  It just seems to be getting meaner, that’s all.  We, the listening, viewing public don’t have to allow it to happen.  If we yell loud enough, we could demand accountability.  But it’s so hard to determine what’s spin and what’s not.  What’s truth and what’s truthiness.  It’s always been that if you hear a lie enough times, it becomes the established truth.  We shouldn’t let the loudest voice determine the truth.  But that’s what we’re getting. 

I found a website that is a stockpile of old political TV spots.  Starting from 1952. 

http://www.livingroomcandidate.org/commercials/1968

Not much has changed.  There’s a great one for the democrats featuring nothing more than a person laughing at the words “Agnew for Vice President?”  That alone is worth a trip down memory lane.  These commercials stir up a lot of fear.  Show a lot of pictures of war.  Ugly faces.  Too much sincerity.  Innocent children blowing bubbles.  American flags.  Suits and ties.  Empty promises.  And of course, lies.

Lies about liars who lie about lying.  In 1952 and right through to 2010. 

War’s a big part of the message.  There always seems to be one.  Korea, Vietnam, Iraq v1, Iraq v2.  Fear seems to be another central theme.  Fear of the other guy, and what he wants to do.  Fear that “you don’t want to live in this world if I don’t win.” 

Here’s a first.  This year, there’s a spot that opens with these words: 

I am not a witch. 

This might be my all-time favorite political spot.  It certainly shows how bizarre the landscape has finally become. 

In our industry, we should remember that telling people how to think is a very old concept.  Yet it is central to political advertising.  It’s too important to let people make up their own minds.  We have to tell them how to think.  Using fear and war and American flags and buzz words and finger pointing and misleading statements and scary music and scary voice overs and gross exaggeration and manipulation and out of context quotes and a nearly unlimited budget to get it all across.

Lies about liars who lie about lying.

If Spaghetti Ohs can’t lie about their product on TV, how can any politician get away with it?

If I hear the phrase “we’re in the new normal” one more time, I am going to go abnormal. 

I don’t believe in the concept of the new normal.  I think the essence of change is that it is never ending, always changing, frequently unpredictable and typically current-reality challenging.

The new normal is more like the new excuse.  And it’s not worth it.  In fact it’s guaranteed to get in your way.

For clients and marketers who say the new normal has shaken their world and everything is different now, here’s a thought:

Every day is pretty earth shaking, game-changing and relentlessly surprising.  And it’s been like that forever.

The “new normal” shouldn’t change how you engage with your consumers.  The same rules of good communication still exist.  We just have a whole lot more tools to use.

The “new normal” shouldn’t scare you away from spending funds to communicate.  Not spending is a guarantee of failure in the marketplace.

The “new normal” shouldn’t stop you from finding new products or investing in innovation.  Innovation is the only path to growth and prosperity.  It was true at the turn of the century and it’s still true today.

The “new normal” isn’t a reflection of the new economy.  The economy goes up and down.  It has for years. 

The “new normal” isn’t a reflection of the emerging digital world.  Today’s digital world is like yesterday’s broadcast world.  Radio changed the world until TV changed the world.  But in the end, it’s just new ways to communicate.

Amazing opportunities exist every day whether we’re living the new normal or just the same old shit as always.  Risks are everywhere, but that’s not exactly new, either. 

So, everyone wants to know what the new normal looks like. 

Well, it looks a lot like it did yesterday.

Visit www.rosenbrichta.com for more of the challenges facing marketers today.

When will the economy recover?  Let me rephrase that…when will the economy recover enough to bring confidence back to businesses that must spend marketing dollars to grow?

How long are we going to wait to “not throw good money after bad” or to “see the light at the end of the tunnel?”

“First let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” 

We’re actually past waiting for the economy to recover.  We’re officially waiting for the recovery to recover.  In the meantime, so many businesses are sitting on their hands, waiting. 

Here’s a thought: let’s all stand up and start doing something.  Because, while we wait for the always-recovering recovery to recover, the smart competition is planning ways to sink the rest of us.  

Here are a few things we can do to get the ball rolling:

1.   Do something that requires less money but can still move the needle.  Like engaging your consumers with social media or events or a promotion.  It doesn’t have to cost a lot of money, but it could show results.  We spend a lot of time helping clients do just that.

2.   Come up with a big idea.  Don’t fall back on just spending media, but come up with an idea that builds attention, gets your point across and really engages your customers.  One example I just read about is a Swedish outdoor equipment retailer that grew a mosquito farm inside their store and gave out discounts to customers who had the courage to go inside the net.  1% discount on merchandise for every mosquito bite received.   Sales of mosquito repellent alone went up 270%. Traffic doubled. And the store made front-page news.

3.   Rethink your go-to-market strategy.   Maybe the poor economy has forced consumer habits to change.  Maybe the competition has changed, thus forcing a change in your concept.  Maybe your company can be even more relevant in today’s economy.  So much is evolving these days, it’s possible it’s time to rethink.

4.   Re-evaluate what you’re doing on the web.  It’s cheaper than spending media money, and it might just get some activity, attention and even bring in some added revenue. 

5.   Look at your channels of distribution.  Sometimes the most expedient way to get results is to engage your distribution channels to help you sell more, or build better relationships with your retailer, or your clients or your customers.  We’ve discovered plenty of things that bring the distribution channels into the mix and it’s been plenty helpful.

I could go on and on.  But you know what they say, another day, another blog.  But fear and IN-activity takes just as much time and energy as doing something, and doing it right.  Fear saps energy and ideas.  Action ignites creativity and success.

I wasn’t alive when FDR said his famous words.  But I think I understand the sentiment behind it.  Action is always better than inaction.  Take that, Mr. Bad Economy.

Visit www.rosenbrichta.com for more of the challenges facing marketers today.

I just saw a commercial for Falsies by Maybelline.  While I am not the intended target for sure, I was somewhat taken aback by the name of this new eyeliner product. 

I guess my recollection of the concept of falsies doesn’t apply today.  How liberating.  Our agency spends a lot of time naming products and we tend to stay away from words that might have double meanings, unfortunate connotations, or potentially pejorative or provocative portrayals.  Clients tend to encourage that kind of self-editing behavior, and focus groups quickly search for the slightest hint of sexual innuendo, and self-righteously crash them through the two-way mirror.

Of course Maybelline must have known what they were doing.  They wanted you to remember the original middle school meaning, because that’s the joke.

Right?

I don’t miss it one bit.  Why shouldn’t consumers (including me) be the most educated, aware, cynical and non-believing humans on the planet?  They need to be.  Consumers need armor to protect them from advertising that masquerades as news programming or medical information.  Consumers need helmets to protect their skulls from the onslaught of messages, scams, lies and pitches on the Internet. 

The Golden Age of Naïveté was a time of consumer innocence and ignorance.  Well, goodbye and good riddance.

We’re now in the Golden Age of Consumer Cynicism where few messages really connect.  And when they do it’s more about how they got to the consumer and not what they say to the consumer.

The challenge now becomes how to prove your product or service is actually relevant to consumers.  Of course, you can never just say you’re relevant because the moment you do that, you’ve proved quite the opposite.  Relevancy is earned.  It’s bestowed by the very target you’re trying to convince.  Hey, who’s in charge here anyway!?

You guessed it.

It was a lot simpler when we knew, as marketers, that every woman wanted an electric can opener, and if she didn’t get it, she would cry until she got it.  Now of course, we are sophisticated enough to know there are different segments of female criers…The Hearty Sobbers and the Suburban Snifflers… just to name a few. 

Our challenge, as marketers, is to be relevant in the lives of consumers.  Nothing more needs to be done.  It takes a nice combination of knowing what the consumer wants and needs, and a goodly amount of creative alchemy to make it break through and be more than just palatable. 

Do that, and we’ll all be a whole lot more aware and a whole lot less cynical. 

Nancy Abbott in our office sent this around.  There were a lot more, but a few choice ones will work for now.  It’s hard to read the copy, so here it is now:

“Though she was a tiger lady, our hero didn’t have to fire a shot to floor her. After one look at his Mr. Leggs slacks, she was ready to have him walk all over her. That noble styling sure soothes the savage heart! If you’d like your own doll-to-doll carpeting, hunt up a pair of these he-man Mr. Leggs slacks. Such as our new automatic wash wear blend of 65% “Dacron” and 35% rayon-incomparably wrinkle-resistant. About $12.95 at plush-carpeted stores.”

First of all, that’s a damn good price! 

Joking.  I know you’re not supposed to put your foot on top of a woman’s head.  Even if she is a rug.  But that’s not the worst of it.  Dacron makes you sweat.  So, even if there are no wrinkles as you put your foot on top of a woman-headed tiger rug, it’s not going to feel comfortable on a hot summer day. 

Here’s another one:

This genius ad talks about how lab tests have proven that babies who start drinking in their formative infant years have a much higher chance of gaining acceptance and “fitting in” during those awkward pre-teen and teen years. 

Not that acne, drooling, BO, aggressive body hair growth, spontaneous erections and saying stupid things all the time have anything to do with those awkward years… but if you start drinking sugar water from a glass bottle at 3 months old, you’ll “fit in” just fine.

If you look closely at the copy next to the bottle you’ll see that cola:

·      Promotes active lifestyle!

·      Builds personality!

·      Gives body essential sugar!

And this leads to my challenge of the day:

Why can’t we all lie to consumers like we used to?

I miss those days when babies needed more sugar because we said so, men could step on women’s heads because we knew that’s what women wanted because we said so, and even more doctors smoked a certain type of cigarette because it was way healthier.  BECAUSE WE SAID SO.

Here, take a look…

Thank goodness for that “T-Zone” (T for Throat, T for Taste!)

By the way, I am pretty sure that doctor in the ad is the gynecologist for the woman/tiger in the rug/sweaty pants ad. 

You know how I know?  BECAUSE WE SAID SO.

LET’S GET STARTED, SHALL WE?

August 26, 2010

Today, I am starting my new blog.  It’s based on the theme of our new R&B website, “What’s Your Challenge?”  The idea behind our new website is that we know clients have so many challenges right now, especially now, why not identify those challenges, let people know we have ideas and experience to meet those challenges, and together, let’s turn those challenges into solutions.  A simple premise.

Of course everyone in the agency and communications business knows one of the most challenging things to do is your own website. 

Collectively, agencies are bad at our own PR, crafting our own story, and finding simple ways to express what we do best.  Well, we’re busy helping other people, right?  So, while we spend our time meeting the challenges of our clients and maintaining our own people, culture and profit, we push our own needs to the back burner.

I didn’t think our burner could go that far back.  But now, our new website will launch in a few days.  We are expressing what we do best.  And I am writing a blog. 

This is all about the challenges of ad life, client life and maybe a little bit of my life, too.  I do love challenges.  Because it assumes it will take understanding to overcome it.  And creativity.  And innovation.  And solutions.  Or even better yet, a solution that actually works.