"Ah, insights, everybody these days talks about insights. A consumer insight is like God - present everywhere but not seen, felt or easily understood. Verbatim judgments, linearly-observed consumer behaviour, or simply aphorisms for life are often passed off as insights. However, to get insights, you need deeper thinking. An insight is what connects the advertising idea to brand attributes via consumer life."
John Grant, co-founder of the agency St. Lukes, planner and author of several books including "The New Marketing Manifesto" and "After Image", has a new blog called Brandtarot -- well worth reading!
Advertising agencies use World Cup to show they're at the top of their game:
"The competitors squaring off against each other in this battle for the hearts and minds of viewers are the likes of Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Nike, Adidas, Carlsberg and Budweiser. There is the added dimension of pitting the 15 official Fifa World Cup sponsors, which cough up a hefty $30m to $50m for the right to use official logos and branding, against their rivals, which look to create clever 'unofficial' campaigns and steal the limelight."
"I think football ads have descended into globetrotting showboating. It has been brought about people like Nike and Pepsi - and has tragically been followed by Adidas. The fact that you can't tell the difference between brands means it is a waste of money. You can't tell a Nike from an Adidas from a beer from a pizza."
"Advertising's only purpose is to differentiate brands in the consumer's mind and to minimize whatever brand parity exists.""Office workers are distracted every 11 minutes by an email, phone call or colleague."
"(Brands) They establish contact with the subconscious of the consumer below the word level. They do this with visual symbols instead of words ... They communicate faster. They are more direct. There is no work, no mental effort. Their sole purpose is to create images and moods." - Rosser Reeves, Reality in Advertising, 1961.
