Daily Archives: August 25, 2009

The ADD-ification of America

By
Steve Poppe
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One of the biggest cultural phenomena in America today is what I call ADD-ification. We all have attention deficit disorder.  We can’t sit still and we’re always in a hurry.  When was the last time you drove your car without some form of entertainment — using the time to think?  Thought so.  

 Newspaper stories have gotten shorter, the chapters in our novels can be measured in paragraphs not pages, our meals come in microwavable packages, we even beep at people who sit at traffic lights for more than 5 seconds.  Why?  Because we’re in a hurry. 

 How many advertising or branding briefs today are predicated on the insight that we are all pressed for time?  I certainly have written a few.  

 Stress is at an all-time high I would imagine, but with the right meds, we can get by.  But hurry, the pharmacy closes at ten! 

 (I’ll be off for a few days, see you Tuesday.)

Dashboard my ass.

By
Steve Poppe
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0

The pop marketing term of the last couple of years has been “dashboard.”  As a brand planner who advocates “windshield” planning rather than the more common “rear view mirror planning” approach, I get the dashboard metaphor.  

The marketing dashboard contains dials and gauges that monitor the performance of marketing programs.  These metrics are valuable for sure but if one doesn’t look out the windshield and truly see what’s coming, they are driving with their head down.  

 Great marketers don’t wait around for consumer behaviors to be measured, great marketers decide what consumers will like…before they like it.  They see in front of the dashboard.  The future is a beautiful place.

Crowdsourcing Creative

By
Steve Poppe
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0

 

I read on Twitter (@bbhlabs) and Campaign Magazine where Unilever is crowdsourcing a creative brief for its Peperami brand, seeking a TV campaign idea that will go global later this year. The winning creative entry gets $10,000. On the one hand, it seems like a brilliant, game-changing wake up call to agencies (They let go Lowe Worldwide just prior to announcing the “contest.”), yet really this shot over the bow will put a pox on the business the likes of which we’ve never seen.

 

The biggest problem with crowdsourcing creative is it puts clients in the production business and when marketers have to balance art with cost, the spots suffer. Directors will be chosen by clients, shooting boards managed and approved by clients. Music, editing, and the soul of the spot will be in the hands of business people. Pre-pro meetings will be a joke.

 

Unilever got some good press this week for earnings, leadership and so-called product innovation. This is not an example of leadership or innovation. Peace!

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