Jan 05, 2006, Posted by Mike in the category, 0 Comments

Dude, It's Just the Yellow Pages

So we’re 5 days into 2006, and this is my first post for the new year, and I used the word “Dude” in the title… quite an auspicious start, huh?

The title of this post is actually my response to an over-zealous “canary-colored paper directory of services and businesses” salesperson’s request for a fifth (5th !) meeting trying to sell me advertising space in his publication. Now his persistence has to be admired, but at the time, I was in the middle of the busiest season for the company I was working for, and I had already had 4 meetings with the guy. He knew my budget was shot, and there was really no getting blood from that stone, so when he started with a high-pressure sales push to increase the size (and cost) of the ads he had already sold me (I hadn’t signed a contract yet, because he was trying to maximize the size of the ads I was buying), I cancelled the ads altogether with the line in the title.

What brings this up? I just saw a piece in MediaDailyNews titled Yellow Pages Get Their ‘Nielsens,’ Unveil New Ratings Service, which reminded me of that incident, and how the whole world of directory and “canary-colored paper directories of services and businesses” is changing these days.

Here’s my take on it all:

There are VERY few businesses these days that use these directories as their primary marketing vehicle; plumbers, florists, pizza places, general contractors maybe, but the off-line world of paper directories is loosing ground quickly to on-line search. I can’t tell you the last time I used one, and neither can most of the people I know (I know, very scientific data, huh?). What will be interesting to see from the new Yellow Pages Market Reporter is just how broad a reach these directories still have. Businessweek had a piece on December 8, 2005 with an interestingly unsubstantiated claim on their effectiveness:

So as the market crowds and ads shift to the Web, how long can the business of selling ad space in fat yellow books stay profitable? And which players will ultimately win?

The short answer is that the traditional yellow pages business is expected to remain profitable for at least five more years. Although they seem like relics, the paper-bound tomes are still an effective advertising tool.

So if you’re currently spending thousands of dollars on Yellow Page advertising, what are you to do? Well… adapt. When I canceled the ads in the “canary-colored paper directory”, I was a little leary of what might happen to sales, but I learned over the following year, that not being in that directory had absolutely no effect on sales for that year. What was happening was that the company that I worked for, while still fairly reliant on off-line media, was targeting a highly web savvy market group, so as we ramped down on yellow page advertising, our web search and web marketing filled the gap, and then some. Traffic for the site was steadily growing, and prospective clients who found us on the web, were not even looking at a paper directory for the information.

The next year we pulled all non-phone company directory advertising, and again, it had no effect on sales. So why didn’t we pull ads from the phone company Yellow Pages as well? Being in a highly mobile part of the country, new prospects were moving in all the time, and the phone company directory was always delivered to new phone customers when they moved in. The other directories are only delivered once a year, and if a new prospect moved in after their delivery, they don’t get a directory until the next year’s edition.

So if you’re looking for some place to find a few extra thousand dollars in next year’s marketing budget, take a long, hard look at the money you’re spending on “canary-colored paper directory of services and businesses” advertising, after all, Dude, It’s Just the Yellow Pages.

Oct 30, 2005, Posted by Mike in the category, 0 Comments

This is Why Everyone Hates Marketing People

It’s been a while since I’ve posted: it’s been a rough couple of months. My father was seriously ill for a couple of months, and passed away in Pennsylvania on October 5, 2005. Needless to say, between trips to PA, and his passing, some things had to slip, and BrunswickMediaBlog was one of them.

With all of the details to work out, there was one “professionally interesting/disturbing” thing that came to the forefront: companies trolling the obituaries to market to the families of the recently deceased. Now (in jest) I refer to myself as the “resident sleazy marketing guy” in my bio on the Brunswick Media Services website, but I had no idea how sleazy marketing could really get.

On my return back to New Jersey after the funeral, I had two (2) pieces of mail selling me “discount” headstones for my father’s grave. My name had appeared in my father’s obituary but not my address, the fine folks at BOTH of the discount headstone places had obviously found my name in the Star Ledger version of the obituary (my father spent most of his life here in NJ, so the obit ran here as well as in PA), found my address, and HAND ADDRESSED the envelope to send me their marvelous sales material. (**Note to the company that sent the postcard** “DO NOT PAYLESS…” should be “DO NOT PAY LESS”, two words not one.)

Another interesting/disturbing aside: I’ve received two of these direct mail pieces, my mother received one (from another company in PA), but my sister, who lives in PA has not received any. Does that mean that they target the son of the deceased and not the daughter? Perhaps they believe that, as a guy, I wouldn’t be as offended at their targeting practices. Maybe they just think that since I’m the guy, I’d be the one making all of the decisions.

Let’s review. These companies are:
- Opportunistic slime buckets who troll the obituaries
- Illiterate? (At best, they just need to proofread.)
- Sexist?

This is why everyone hates marketing people; they see opportunistic sleazebags like the monument folks, and paint everyone in the field with the same brush. I suppose it’s the same for lawyers, a couple of ambulance chasing slime bags ruin the reputation of an entire profession.

But as tasteless as the headstone peddlers’ tactics are, I’ve got one better. The day after the obituary ran in the paper, my mother received a letter in the mail. It was hand-written (in this very small, almost psychotic-looking handwriting from a member of a cult/church made famous by their members ringing doorbells and handing out magazines.) In the letter, the writer quoted liberally from the Bible about the dead coming back, blah, blah, blah… and suggested that my mother join the cult/church to save her soul. At the risk of offending some potential client, where do these people get off preying on the widow of a man who had only been gone for 2 days? I supposed the recently widowed are psychologically vulnerable at that point, and are relatively “easy pickings” for them. Make no mistake, these people are marketing their cult/church, and are every bit as sleazy as the monument folks, if not more.

Interesting/Disturbing Aside #3:
Brunswick Media Services LLC is the #40 link on Google, for the term “Sleazy Marketing”. Maybe this post will help boost us to the top ten!

Jul 26, 2005, Posted by Mike in the category, 0 Comments

Hire Us, Hire Us!!

::Shameless self-promotion ALERT::

The following newsflash popped into my inbox a short time ago:

CRISPIN PORTER RESIGNS GATEWAY ACCOUNT
Cites Inability to ‘Agree on Strategic Direction’ With Computer Seller

July 26, 2005

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) — Crispin Porter & Bogusky has resigned its advertising account with Gateway, citing an inability to “agree on the strategic direction of the brand.” See full story at http://www.adage.com/news.cms?newsId=45643 — Matthew Creamer.

So I would like to throw Brunswick Media Services‘ metaphorical hat into the proverbial ring, and announce that, should we land the account, Gateway will never have to worry about us “failing to agree on a strategic direction.”

Having been shutout of the last account review (OK, we weren’t shutout as much as we never tried for it), I think it’s about time that Gateway abandon Madison Avenue agencies, and go with a smaller, boutique (if you will) agency that’s more interested in the client than the next Golden Lion.

While I don’t have the proposal ready yet, here are a few things for the Gateway folks to mull over while they eagerly await our proposal:

1. Sure, Brunswick Media Services LLC is a small company, but that makes us nimble.
2. It’s all about low overhead, no fancy schmancy Madison Avenue offices to decorate = more time and money to spend on producing top-quality marketing & video.
3. Having video production and marketing under the same roof means more brand clarity for you.
4. Think of our other clients, wouldn’t it be great for them to be able to say “we have the same agency as Gateway.” Think of the word-of-mouth that could mean to you.
5. Let’s face it, you’ve lost ground over the last few years, and you’ve moved the account from one big agency to another, give us little guys a chance, you just may be surprised.

Jul 20, 2005, Posted by Mike in the category, 0 Comments

Of Record Keeping and Such

A quick one today before we head out the door to DV Expo East 05:

AdAge and Newsday (of all sources!?) are both reporting that the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) expressed “concern about circulation irregularities” at two companies EBSCO – Consumer Magazine Services division, and Inflight Newspapers & Magazines Inc. (whose website doesn’t seem to be working… at the moment.)

Apparently, in the case of EBSCO, “had not kept proper records”, and Inflight “had not paid publishers for subscriptions.” ABC has determined that EBSCO subscriptions from “July 2003 to present will be disqualified as paid circulation.” As the AdAge story says:

“The decision affects more than 80 consumer publications, the bureau said, but declined to identify them or estimate how much circulation any or all might lose.”

Lessons For Marketers:
1) Always check the ABC numbers, but don’t stake your career on them.
2) On your next magazine buy, ask the rep how the EBSCO/Inflight decisions will change their numbers.
3) If the rep doesn’t know, ask to speak to the Circulation Director, their the ones responsible for reporting the numbers to ABC.

Lesson for Everybody:
1) Keep records, specially if you know you’ll be audited

Jul 18, 2005, Posted by Mike in the category, 0 Comments

The Responsive Chord

One of my favorite pages in Tony Schwartz’ “The Responsive Chord” has a black & white picture of a factory with smokestacks billowing out smoke. On the page previous the explanation is as follows:

“In the 1930′s, a picture of a factory with smoke billowing from several smokestacks meant “prosperity.” Today, the same picture means “pollution.”

Why would the man who the New York Times called the “King of Sound” even touch this? For advertising folks, it says “Know thy audience”. For audio professionals it says “Know thy audience”. Why would an audio genius claim to know anything at all about the similiarity between audio production and advertising. He understood the basis for good communication and its simple…You’ve got to know your audience. Remember, he was the guy that first put the “fizz” in soft drink commercials, he certainly understood.

If you were advertising a weight loss product, where would you advertise it, in Fitness Magazine or in Guitar Player ? Hopefully you picked Fitness Magazine. Similiarly, if you’re an audio engineer, shouldn’t you test your mixes in places like the car, on a boom box or in headphones before you call the mix complete? Once again…”Know thy audience”.

I’ve heard too many mixes where it sounds like the engineer didn’t take the time to “Know thy audience”. Maybe the bass sounds boomy in your car but not at home or perhaps your headphones bring out the highs that you just don’t hear in your living room. Its not your speakers, its the quality of the mix.

Which is just my point: Predict where your audience will hear your recordings (Read: Just about anywhere) and check your mixes on multiple speakers in multiple places. Your recordings will sound better overall and you will serve your music well. Maybe we as audio professionals can learn a thing or two from the advertising profession.

Jul 15, 2005, Posted by Mike in the category, 1 Comments

ThinkPad X41 Tablet by… ummm… Lenovo

WPP Group’s Ogilvy & Mather, New York created the campaign, which aside from the coolness factor of the product shot (which dominates 2/3 of the full-page New York Times ad) is missing the one thing that most clients would demand: the Lenovo™ brand.