Advertisers splash out on radio

According to Media Guardian UK > "Spending on radio advertising has increased for the sixth successive quarter to reach £144m in the second quarter of the year, as cash-strapped advertisers look for cheaper ways to promote their products. Companies that traditionally spend millions of pounds on TV advertising have begun to plough more of their marketing budget into radio. Household goods giants such as Procter & Gamble are spending more than ever on radio commercials, with P&G alone spending over £8m in the past year on radio ads. The maker of brands including Oil of Olay and Daz increased its annual radio spend by 72% between June 2002 and June 2003, from £4.7m to £8.1m. P&G's rivals, Kimberly Clark, whose brands include Andrex and Huggies, dramatically increased its airtime for the first time, bumping its spend on radio ads up from just £81,000 last year to £1.2m. Lever Faberge Homecare, which sells Domestos and Persil, has also upped its spend on radio ads by 64% to £4.1m from £2.5m."

What do our clients - the marketers - need?

According to a recent paper from Strategy + Business Steve Silver (a former senior executive at Wunderman and formet Vice-President off Bozz Allen Hamilton NY) tells us that marketers, especially Chief Marketing Officers - require this five sets of skills:

1) They must be able to spot business trends early;
2) They must be experienced in developing both media plans and business plans that deliver on company goals;
3) They need to be able to draw insights from research & customer behavior;
4) They must have the capabilities to direct Ad agencies and other partners;
5) They need to be secure enough intellectually to stand up for the answer that is right for the business while also being able to build consensus with team members across departments on the future direction of that business.

Bruce Barton .. the face behind BBDO

"If I had my choice between hiring a smart man and a lucky man. I'd hire the lucky man every time."
> Bruce Barton

"In good times people want to advertise, in bad times, they have to."
> Bruce Barton

To read and know more about this great ad man, please check the above link: Bruce Barton

Lowe Lintas & Partners Brazil



"TRANSPARENT"

DDB Worldwide ditches BMP name after 35 years

LONDON - BMP DDB is to drop its BMP prefix as part of a wider DDB Worldwide initiative.

'Sex and the City' again ... with Bentley in it

Staff, Brand Republic >
LONDON - She's more used to taking a famous New York taxi than a luxury Bentley, but 'Sex and the City' star Kim Cattrall has taken a different kind of ride in a new advertising campaign for prestige car marque Bentley.

JIM BEAM ACCOUNT GOES TO BBDO

CHICAGO (AdAge.com) -- Jim Beam Brands Co. awarded its $15 million to $20 million advertising account to Omnicom Group's BBDO Worldwide, Chicago.

DDB New Zeland / BMP DDB London - Clio Awards 2003

Golf. Extras now included as standard.

The tough new Polo.

Beating the Odds of Brand Growth

Quick, pick the best indicator a brand will grow faster than its category: Brand size? Newness? Leadership within a category? Such is conventional wisdom, but a recent Bain study of 524 brands across 100 categories found none of the above. The study "winners"-defined as any brand that beat its category's growth each year from 1997-2001-invested differentially in just two components of the marketing mix: product innovation and advertising. Source: Bain & Company

Grey wins $270m Kmart account

NEW YORK Grey Global Group has bested Interpublic Group's Campbell-Ewald for Kmart's $270 million account, the client has confirmed. The two agencies made final presentations on Friday.

Incumbent TBWA\Chiat\Day in New York resigned the business late last month amid legal disputes that involved claims of unpaid bills to the agency. The matter has been settled out of court.

The pitch came down to Campbell-Ewald, Warren, Mich., and Grey in New York after an earlier round eliminated Doner, Southfield, Mich.; WPP's J. Walter Thompson, New York; and Havas' Euro RSCG MVBMS Partners, New York. Source: Ad Week

McCanns wins $60m global Cadbury Schweppes account

LONDON - Cadbury Schweppes has awarded McCann-Erickson Worldwide its estimated $60m global advertising account for its chewing gum and mint brands. Source: Brand Republic

What's a Cannes Lion worth?

This was the question posed by Boards to some Creatives Directors. Here's some answers:

Trevor Beattie > TBWA London: "Cannes is nothing more than a contractual obligation. I have to go. I'm not a big fan of awards in general, but of all the awards, no one's honest about Cannes."
John O'Keeffe > Bartle, Bogle and Hegarty: "Creatives want to do great work, and an agency with Lions might be the place with the room to do it."
Charles Inge > Clemmow Hornby Inge (Grand Prix 99/00): "I remember one client saying, 'If this wins you a silver Donkey, you can shove it up your ass. We want more sales', and I can understand that ... Tango loves awards and they are going to throw us a party, but my normal experience is that the clients don't care."

Mintel retail intelligence 2003: "Teenage Shopping Habits"

> This study from Mintel took place in the UK, nevertheless most of the habits described below are common in the majority of the Western European countries.

Executive Summary:
a) Cooling economy may depress teenage income
b) Women wait longer to have first baby
c) Growth in one-parent families
d) Children becoming consumers early
e) Plenty to spend
f) Going out to work
g) Income of older teens boosted by jobs
h) Varied and more sophisticated consumerism for 15-19s
i) Massive shift in shopping habits across teenage years
j) Big diferences in shopping activity for girls and boys
k) Clothes shops are most popular destination
l) teenage girls have strong opinions about clothes
m) Girls slave to fashion but unhappy about the way they look
n) Teenagers are impulse buyers.

Arnoldworldwide: "Beetle Shape Ads"

Sex & the City: 'discreet' product placement

Sixty pairs of Jimmy Choo shoes will appear on screen in the latest hollywood yarn "Legally Blonde II" . This along with 'Sex and the City' has put this young brand into the minds of young city women by classifying it as a racy luxury brand. This FT article quotes Jimmy Choo's view that selling luxury brands is a balancing act between increasing awareness and maintaining exclusivity. And from Ad Age we were told that:"Absolut Spirits hit the product-placement mother lode last week when its iconic vodka advertising was featured as part of a story line in HBO's Sex and the City". Ad agency TBWA/Chiat/Day, New York, was responsible for creating this fictional campaign showing PR-maven Samantha Jones' struggling actor boyfriend positioned with an Absolut bottle between his legs, with the tagline "Absolut Hunk".

P&G hits the Riviera

After years of almost completely ignoring what goes on at Cannes, Procter and Gamble showed up in 2003 en masse to find just how creative others can be. According to Gretchen Muchnick P&G spokesperson: "We've been too functionally based, now we are concentrating on making an emotional connection". Source: Boards Magazine

Brazil's most valuable brands

1) Itau
2) Bradesco
3) Ambev
4) Banco do Brasil
5) Unibanco

What do banks, a food and beverage company have in common? According to Interbrand they represent Brazil's top 5 most valuable brands.

"NO ADVERTISING ON BBC", say Britons

UK state-owned broadcaster, the BBC, has never carried paid advertising in its eighty-one years of existence – and that’s the way the majority of Britons want it to remain, reports a new study released this week by research publisher Key Note. Source: WARC

Blackout Mere 'Glitch' for NYC Production

Last week's blackout proved to be little more than an inconvenience for New York's commercials production industry, according to the players AdCritic.com contacted today. Factors mitigating the disruption included its timing -- August is the most popular vacation month in the industry -- and the fact that it came late in the week. "Friday in the summer is often an off day or a half day anyway, and since it happened late on Thursday, it was a minor inconvenience," says David Perry, head of production at Saatchi & Saatchi/New York. Source: Ad Critic

Heinz nets pole position in UK brand survey

According to Brand Republic and MAD UK - Heinz is the most remembered brand in the UK, according to a new survey by Martin Hamblin GfK that sees Coca-Cola, the world's biggest brand, languishing at number six and Pepsi failing to register.

The "infamous" Portguese Ad ranking

This top 10 ranking has been surrounded by controversial insights & opinions by a "big" minority within the portuguese Ad business. Some ask why does the volume of business of some Agencies is a guaranteed card to "knock out" some big clients and accounts. Especially now that Galp Energia (one of the biggest energy companies operating in the Iberian Peninsula) is reviewing its communication account (whose incumbent agency is Leo Burnett) and will choose its future advertising partner on the basis of the top 10 agency volume of business. Leaving outside great local creative agencies such as TBWA and DDB.
QUESTIONS: Are agencies with a bigger business volume and biling capacity, more creative than other small agencies? Are they always more effective in delivering results to their clients?

Foster's crocodile attack Ad cleared after 184 complaints

Australian lager brand Fosters has escaped the wrath of the Independent Television Commission (ITC), despite complaints from 184 viewers over its "don't lose your head" campaign by M&C Saatchi . > MAD UK
Our opinion: Much ado about nothing, to be quite frank - the campaign is quite funny and uses a type of humour that is recognized immediately by Foster's target. Quite innofensive to be presented with 184 complaints!?

FT 2003 Creative Business 50

Financial Times is reviewing the ranks of the UK’s media, marketing, advertising, entertainment and design sectors, to find the outstanding individuals or teams of 2003. According to FT, they "are looking for creative work that has delivered demonstrable commercial benefits, whether the results were new product launches, increased sales, growth in market share or strengthened brand awareness". Entries should be e-mailed to creativebusiness50@ft.com and can include a statement of support of 500 words or less.

Fallon London: "Instant Summer" - Starbucks

Youth rules!

Why is it that the majority of the advertising language & codes we see today targets mainly the youth? Why does "Madison Avenue" thinks that today's youth is driving the buying? Is it because "we" the youth have a bigger purchase power? Is it because we are an opiniated audience? Can demographics and semiotics explain this trend?

George Lois: the things you can learn from the "old boys"

Great interview from Geoge Lois, former DDB and founder of Papert, Koenig & Lois the NY agency > Ad Behaviour

Teaching Creativity

Interesting report, by Nathan Huey, Spring 2000, Department of Advertising, The University of Texas at Austin > "Teaching Creativity"

Publicis denies Havas Takeover rumour

According to WARC - Publicis (globe’s fourth largest agency holding company) issued a statement Thursday denying it plans a takeover of the sixth largest – a move which [had it been true] could have led to the ousting of the current occupant of the number three slot. The rumour, which swept the ad and investment worlds on Thursday, was seemingly sparked by a research report prepared for Havas [presumably in confidence?] by an analyst at investment bank BNP Paribas.

Food for thought

1) "What helps people, helps business." - Leo Burnett

2) "Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning." - Bill Gates

3) "I know half the money I spend on advertising is wasted, but I can never find out which half." - John Wanamaker

4) "Instead of focusing on their clients, the advertising agencies and the companies'advertising executives spend most of the time flirting with eachother." - Sergio Zyman, author of The End of Advertising as We Know It

5) "When everybody thinks alike, Everyone is likely to be wrong." - Humphrey Neill

Jaime Greene heads to JWT Mexico

According to our reliable sources: Jaime Greene > former Vice-President of Leo Burnett Latin America and former Director of Leo Burnett Portugal (agency he used to manage short time before being made redudant by Publicis) is heading to JWT Mexico. Now Mr. Greene will be reporting to another giant > the WPP Group (which acquired recently Bates Worldwide).

The Return of the Hidden Persuaders

Interesting article:"Driven by a booming economy, a corporate obsession with brand-building and a feelgood philosophy, a motley crew of ex-grad students, starry-eyed admen and hypnosis gurus are probing the consumer unconscious to sell soap." > The Return of the Hidden Persuaders By Ruth Shalit, Sept. 27, 1999.

What They Say in an Advertising Agency

The Client says: "This is my Product"
The Account Executive says: "This is my Client"
The Creative Director says: "This is my Ad"
The Account Planner says: "This is my Consumer"

... this is what we call "team building" isn't it?

Orange calls pitch for pan-European advertising task

According with the latest news on Brand republic > Orange is holding a pitch to develop a pan-European ad campaign.

7 Steps to become a brand leader

> Step 1: Become truly 'Marketing Minded'When many people think of marketing they think of meeting customers needs. Understanding and responding to changing customer needs is essential, but there is another dimension. Brand-led marketing ensures that you meet customer needs in a way that is different from your competitors. Ask yourself: Do my customers really see me as different from my closest competitors? How/Why? What can I do to make my business more distinctive and appealing to help secure them as long-term and profitable customers?

> Step 2: Monitor the Changing EnvironmentWe live in a rapidly changing world of many threats and opportunities. Few business managers take adequate time out to stop, look around, and reflect on how these changes might have an impact. As a result, most companies die young.
Ask yourself: What are the changing consumer trends, competitor activity, legislation, economic trends or technology developments that might have an impact on my business?

> Step 3: Have a Meaningful Vision for your Business and your Brand
A business Vision (or Mission) has a number or roles: most important of which are to inspire and guide. Too many business Visions include words like 'leader', 'best', 'preeminent', 'most successful'. Words like this can mean many different things to different people. Because of that they are of limited help in inspiring or guiding the behaviour of the business team. Brand Visions have just the same function. Make sure that you have a written Vision for your brand that is strong enough to inspire and guide behavior. Ask yourself: Do I have a brand Vision that everyone understands and has bought into?
How might I improve my brand Vision, so it is a stronger inspiration and guide?

> Step 4: Build Your Brand 'From the Inside Out'Building a brand is not just about advertising or 'marketing communications'. Nor is it just about your 'product' or 'service'. Your brand is really what your customers think of you, and how much trust they have in you. To build a strong brand you have to have a clear idea of how you want to be thought of, and then consider everything that you say and do. Ask yourself:Will this get me closer to where I want to be in the mind of my customers?

> Step 5: Plan for SuccessThere is a phrase: "If you don't know where you want to go, any road will get you there". This is true in life, and it is true in business. If you want to succeed you have to have clear, measurable objectives - you have to know where you want to get to!
Ask yourself: Do I have a brand plan with clear, measurable objectives? (And am I measuring the things that are really important!).

> Step 6: Become a 'Learning Business'Continuously improving your brand-led effectiveness is essential to long-term success. The best way to achieve this is to ensure that you take a little time to become a 'Learning Business' by building learning into your processes.
For every marketing initiative you undertake. Ask yourself: How can I build learning into this, so that I can find out what works and what doesn't, and do it better next time?

> Step 7: Be Prepared to ChangeWhat worked in the past may not work in the future. If you can achieve steps 1 - 6 that's great, but you have to go one step further. You have to be prepared to change. Don't just do the same things better, look around for new ways of pursuing your vision and your desired brand. Explore, experiment and anticipate. Ask yourself: Is there an opportunity to break out, and achieve a step-change from where I am now?

TBWA\Lisbon gets IKEA account

Congratulations to TBWA\EPG in Lisbon. The agency runned by Leandro Alvarez (below picture) was the choosen one by IKEA to develop their new & local advertising campaign in Portugal. The Swedish chain store is due to open its first store in Portugal next year. On the short-list pitch were the following local agencies: Leo Burnett, BBDO and Bates.

Mother opens new office in NY and gets 'the hottest team in the world'

Mother the renowned London agency has hired Fallon creatives Linus Karlsson and Paul Malmstrom, once described as 'the hottest team in the world' to head the agency's New York office.