The mistake occurred as part of a stunt launched in May by which facebook members handed over control of their statuses to Dr Pepper for the chance to win a thousand pounds. The statuses would then be made as embarrassing as possible, capitalising on the company’s strap line, “What’s the worst that could happen?” The kerfuffle arose as a result of an unsuitable update being posted on a 14 year old girl’s page.  While this may well have caused irreparable damage to the brand’s image now, but without the benefit of hindsight the risk may have seemed worth taking.

What Dr Pepper and their agency, Lean Mean Fighting Machine, inadvertently stumbled upon was either a spectacular piece of bad luck or really a catastrophe waiting to happen, depending on which way you look at it. The failure to check the database of potential statuses for the kind of post that looks entirely innocent at first glance – but after a little research turns out to be incredibly explicit – is the ultimate cause of the episode, but perhaps the kind of joke necessary to properly catch the attention of your common or garden facebooker needs to be a little risqué, doesn’t it?

The problem for brands and marketers is that though social media is by far the most effective way of getting the attention of young people, there is a dangerously narrow line between humour and obscenity that has to be respectfully toed. In order to win over interest and grow your brand’s profile, visibility on sites like facebook is a good idea, but not one without its drawbacks. After all, online social networking is a relatively new phenomenon, and marketing on the platform an even newer one. Dr Pepper’s method of approaching the challenge was a clever and innovative one, but hopefully the irony of the tragic consequences that befell a drinks manufacturer whose ad campaigns highlighted the often dire results of risk-taking has not been lost on businesses and agencies looking to social media as a means of expression.

Carol O’Mara
Business Leader
GyroHSR London

World Cup 2010 spectators wave their vuvuzela horns while watching the opening game between South Africa and Mexico in Durban. Photograph: Andy Rain/EPA

Now I live close to the Heathrow flight path in TW1 so I probably get used to background noise quicker than most BUT surely, surely, surely the noise and atmosphere created will be one of the key elements that will make this World Cup what it will become –special and unique. The alternative – to ban the vuvuzela – is to celebrate the generic. To long for a World Cup just like the last one and the one to come. Think about it. Ban the vuvuzela? Where would we go next? Or perhaps more pertinently, what would our memories be made of if we had previously thought like this? Let’s take to our time machines, go back to Buenos Aries in 1978 for example and outlaw ticker tape. We could then set a course for the Azteca stadium in 1986 and stop people from standing up and throwing their arms in the air. Yes it’s a simple point yet I’m amazed to see the volume of counter arguments running rampant on twitter and the wires. This World Cup will be great in spite of global brands that sponsor it and the global media owners that cover it. It will be great because of a 30-yard pile driver from someone we least expect, a dazzling piece of artistry from a Messi or Kaka, a crazed celebration from Maradona and inevitably a penalty shoot-out for England. But more than that it will be great because of what Africa and African culture brings to it. It will be great because of the vuvuzela!

By
Richard Mabbott
SVP, Planning
GyroHSR London

So what does all this mean for the B-to-B world? It is no different than the traction we already see. The real question is scale. 5 days after launch, 450,000 units were sold and there were 3,500 iPad specific applications available; Apple announced on May 3 that over 1M iPads were sold and users had downloaded over 12 million apps. When will the audience usership of the iPad reach the level that B-to-B advertising can be effective in reaching a target audience, above and beyond the novelty? The Wall Street Journal, the business industry’s bible, has come out of the gate with an iPad application that demonstrates an accelerated level of core competency with the platform, while strategically aligning useful and timely information for its users. The functionality for advertisers also reaches new heights with the endless potential for engagement and interactivity. This is the future. It offers content that is exclusive to the iPad such as “Now,” a real-time edition covering the latest breaking news and top stories, allowing the user to save entire selections for later reading. It also offers a seven-day-edition archive that can be downloaded for reading any time, even offline.

For advertisers, a variety of units of space are currently developed across iPad applications. For example, the WSJ’s app features a small sponsor “button” on the bottom left of a page, and, when touched, this area expands to a unit covering about one-third of the bottom of the screen. Further, this banner can be redirected to an advertiser’s full arsenal of materials, inclusive of audio and video. As in the WSJ example, advertisers can also own an entire screen that is embedded in between content. In addition, there are no apparent limitations to the depth of information contained on the iPad once a user is interacting with the advertisement, and, of course, if connected to a Wi-Fi network during use, the advertisement has full functionality to link with its website. The clear potential benefits for B-to-B advertisers, once the scale is there, is the design of the iPad with its color and unprecedented resolution, mimicking the size of a single magazine page, making it an ideal environment for reading digital magazines. Publishers are embracing this format by investing in the technology and specifications required for the iPad.

Tracking is not at the level that we are accustomed to for digital media at large, but is quickly making inroads.. A handful of the b-to-b iPad applications do offer advertisers (such as the New York Times) the ability to install tracking pixels that operate similarly to the mobile platform, yet others are more primitive, basing results on number of units sold times SOV of advertisers.

Pricing models for advertisers are all over the board as this new platform comes to life. Some advertisers are paying north of $1 million for their “trial period,” and others have been given the space as added value coinciding with their already placed integrated campaigns. The only catch for the advertiser is having the technology to develop iPad-functional ads.

The iPad is all about interactivity. Many critics believe the iPad will provide a resurrection of the print and video industries by providing new economic-on-demand frameworks that reset content and marketing values to reflect the expectations of digital users—and beyond. So while the iPad certainly has its fun factor, I believe it is here to stay as a tool in enhancing our opportunities to communicate with B-to-B audiences in unprecedented ways.

Frannie J. Danzinger
Senior Vice President – Media, North America

*This post has been revised to include updated, more accurate information

My view is trust and marketing should not and can not be mutually exclusive. Consumers understand the need for marketing, and marketers are continually challenged to be creative in delivering their messages in ways that resonate with those consumers. However, marketers must not forget that eroded trust is significantly harder to rebuild than doing the right thing from the start. According to a Gallup study, a single negative experience can deteriorate the customer loyalty by 66 percent. Few companies I know can afford that kind of erosion.

That said, I do not think we need a new model to define trust in marketing. A simple sniff test should do. If you cannot tell if your approach will inspire or erode your reputation and brand, you are probably doing a disservice to your company and your customers.

Pattie Kushner
Senior Vice President – Director of Public Relations, North America

Many people are attracted to the ‘glamour’ of our business (myself included) only to be later frustrated by the hard work and lack of financial rewards in comparison to other industries. I often ask myself, if I had my time again would I choose the law or accountancy like many of my peers. Fortunately for me the answer is always no. I love my job and this career is one I had chosen when I was a little boy ( a long story for another day!).

Indeed, without that passion and commitment I really don’t think that this industry is for you.

Over the years I have seen many people make the move from client-side to agencies and, invariably, the motivations they cite are that they are looking for variety, stimulation and fun. Without over-generalising, the vast majority are subsequently knocked back by the relentless pace and intensity of the work. On the flip side I’ve seen so many colleagues move over to client-side roles, where they often become disillusioned with the slower pace and the narrow scope of engagement.

Of course there are exceptions, but I just wanted to illustrate a point. New research published this week by Harris Interactive concluded that a good salary is the main motivating factor in a job. Working as we do in a challenging, fast-paced industry, it made me wonder if us supposedly creative-types really are so shallow and avaricious that we only turn up with the monthly cheque (or BACS) in mind. Certainly, in the first instance, it would seem obvious that those of us who’ve chosen to walk this particular path have done so for reasons other than huge financial reward.

Fredrick Herzberg’s 1966 research into motivation at work is still held up as providing the definitive insight into what gets people out of bed in the morning. He found that certain factors in the workplace motivate people. These ‘motivators’ include achievement, recognition, the work itself, responsibility, advancement and personal growth. Other factors were found to prevent people from feeling dissatisfied – but they did not directly motivate them. He called these ‘hygiene factors’ and they include conditions, salary, company car, job security etc. His research showed that, while people will strive to achieve hygiene needs because they are unhappy without them, once they have them they are no more motivated than they were before.

In my experience of working through a couple of economic downturns now, there is usually a phenomena that occurs at the ‘leading edge’ of the recovery cycle and that’s a haemorrhaging of junior staff. These are the people who quickly get out of synch with the market, who find it easiest to disentangle themselves from existing contractual negotiations and I guess, being cynical, are most likely to think that the ‘grass is greener on the other side’. The result is a bizarre ‘merry go round’ of junior talent from which only the recruitment consultants really benefit.

The agencies that will be best placed to deal with this are those who have put in place initiatives which approach more broadly how they attract, retain and develop talent. Investment in training, personal development, mentoring and the creation of a workplace ‘community’ (including such initiatives as the GyroHSR Academy which we’ve just put in place to recognise and develop our future business leaders) all help keep people engaged, motivated – and (more importantly), in one place for longer.

Putting this to one side, this business has always been a tough one – certainly on my watch. The gravy train was leaving the station just as I arrived. Its staffed by and large by people with a true passion and commitment for producing effective creative communications. This simple objective is at the heart of our industry’s purpose and is one which serves the interest of every single stakeholder group.

In conclusion, I’ll paraphrase my father: ‘find a job you love son and you will never have to work again’.

By
Danny Turnbull
European B2B Practice Leader
GyroHSR Manchester

Pitching for new business has become just such a balance. It is no longer enough to win through on great creative work or strategy alone, nor is getting on like a house on fire with the client enough to secure a successful result. Because today the process is, more often than not, driven by purchasing departments.

Now, don’t get me wrong, we work with many purchasing departments who do an excellent job (and if you’re one of them and you’re reading this, then I’m definitely talking about you), many of which have mastered the art of achieving value for money whilst simultaneously allowing for successful agency partnerships. They do this by taking the time to understand the requirements of their own organisation and the partner agency alike; they understand the importance of organisational fit and of creating an environment where the exponential effect of true collaboration can be harnessed; and then they crunch the numbers, crunch them a bit more and strike a hard (yet fair) price too…

We’re lucky enough here at GyroHSR to work with many purchasing teams who partner with us in just this way, and I can see a direct correlation between those accounts we get the most satisfaction from working on and those purchasing departments who strike the balance between brain and heart.

But I’ve recently experienced pitch processes where that other kind of value, that which can’t be measured in price, hourly rate cards and discounts, appeared to get forgotten. In some extreme cases this has meant that the ‘i’s were dotted and the ‘t’s crossed before a brushstroke of creativity had been applied or a single human being met another in the name of chemistry. Where on reflection, the pitch result was determined by the price long before the agency got to show the work. Now that can’t be right can it? I struggle to think that even Mr Spock would agree with it.

Price is important (especially in these times), but there is always negotiation. More often than not a common ground can be found. Surely, finding what it is you actually require should always be the first step. And what price the wrong agency at the right price?

For me it’s about partnerships: mutually, commercially-beneficial partnerships between organisations and their agencies. Finding this ideal balance should surely be the aim of any purchasing department in setting out on the pitch process – to match their Captain Kirk with Doctor Spock and rocket their marketing efforts into hyperspace…

Chris Hare
VP, International Client Service

Vowel Sounds Influence Consumers’ Perception of Prices
By ALEX MINDLIN
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/18/business/18drill.html

Researchers have known for 80 years about a symbolic connection between speech and size: back-of-the-mouth vowels like the “o” in “two” make people think of large sizes, whereas people associate front-of-the-mouth vowels like “ee” with diminutiveness. Marketers can use this effect to make consumers think a discount is bigger or smaller than it truly is, according to a study soon to be published in The Journal of Consumer Research by Keith Coulter of Clark University and Robin Coulter of the University of Connecticut.

In one experiment, researchers told consumers the regular and sale prices of a product, asked them to repeat the sale price to themselves, and then, a few minutes later, told them to estimate the size of the discount in percentage terms. Products with “small-sounding” sale prices (like $2.33) seemed like better deals than products with “big-sounding” sales prices (like $2.22).

In another experiment, the researchers used a pair of sale prices — $7.88, which sounds “big” in English, and $7.01, which sounds “small” — but are the other way around in Chinese. Chinese and English speakers had opposite perceptions of the products’ relative value.

 oo
I><I
Rick Segal
Chief Executive, North America
Global Practice Leader, B-to-B

Everyone has a theory on the causes, from the shrinking longevity of CMOs to the changing sophistication of consumers to the squeeze of the economy. As much as it frustrates agencies, I believe it is a multiple of that for clients who desperately want success (and who doesn’t?) but struggle to find an agency relationship that gives them what they think they are looking for—impressive results generated by big ideas, ingenuity and strategic prowess. 

Many years ago, I read an article by Mark Goldstein, who was then at Fallon, talking about how clients could get the most out of their agencies. There were some good insights. Since then, I have come up with at least nine (and probably more) fundamental principles that nurture a meaningful relationship between the marketing agency and client, which ultimately leads to powerful, game-changing results. If a client will demand these principles by removing the perhaps natural roadblocks that might exist in the organization, it will create with the agency a flourishing, productive and impactful relationship that will outlast current trends.

1. Demand complete agency immersion in your business. Great clients open up their kimonos to the agency. Let agency employees work in your stores, go on sales calls, and sit in product and sales training meetings. Share everything—research, sales figures, good or bad news—that is relevant to helping the agency do its job.

2. Have the agency known at all levels within your organization. The more information shared, the greater the contribution from the agency. It’s not just a relationship between the marketing officer (or department) and the agency. It’s a merging of the best thinking of both organizations.

3. Have your CEO involved. When there are big, courageous decisions to be made, the ultimate “where-the-buck-stops” person must be involved. And it’s not just for decision-making. Have that person involved in the strategic discussions early on so he or she has ownership all the way through.

4. Have the agency sit at the strategic table. To maximize its impact, give the agency the opportunity to contribute at the executive strategy level. You’ll find the agency to be much more in tune with corporate vision and will realize ways to enhance it.

5. Set clear, measurable goals with the agency. What is considered success? Notice, I said “with the agency.” It’s a collaboration so everyone feels ownership. Give the agency your sales figures in real time so they see and feel it as you do and can adjust and collaborate accordingly.

6. Be brave. Empower your agency to explore innovative solutions that may be outside your comfort zone. Give them the opportunity to prove their ideas and then support them inside the organization.

7. Give your agency room to fail. If you want your agency swinging for the fence, you have to give them the latitude to miss once in a while. If you give them confidence to think big, they will. When you do criticize them, make the feedback constructive and then press on.

8. Celebrate successes. Celebrate big ideas that got you there. Acknowledge the agency. Praise them often. Find opportunities to bond with them. Be their biggest fan. You’ll find they will fall on swords for you.

9. Show them the money. Give your agency ample resources to do their job. Be realistic and understand what it takes to accomplish your objectives. Take time to know how they allocate resources and collaborate with them. Allow them to set up compensation structures that untie their hands to contribute and be creative at the highest level.

Bryan Thomas
President, GyroHSR Denver

Perhaps if I explain the choice we all have to make, you’ll forgive the hyperbole. We’re all familiar with the current status quo, the received wisdom on integration. Consumers have access to more channels. They engage with different disciplines in different ways, and the TV spot is no longer king in the way it used to be. That much is recognised. So, until now the solution has been ‘take a brilliant brand idea (usually from a TV or press ad) and replicate it across all these brave (if slightly scary) new channels.’ Big Ideas, usually straplines from big brand campaigns have been simply handed down to other channels and expected to fly in the same way. After all, a big idea that doesn’t travel is a dead idea, right?

Well, yes. And no. A big idea must travel – but that doesn’t mean it must simply be slapped on a direct mail piece or a viral and expected to deliver in the same way as a 30-second TV spot. For too long, the ad agencies have created something beautiful, and once they have envisaged how it will deliver to a mass audience –they’ve chucked it back to their below the line friends and expected the same creative to translate virally, digitally, experientially. It won’t. It never will. And now, our world is divided into people who accept this and embrace it and people who won’t, who can’t.

This brave new approach should be about understanding the communications challenge and then feeding it through to everyone from every discipline at the same time. That way you aren’t pushing an idea into the confines of one discipline or another. Rather, you are celebrating and respecting each and its ability to deliver the big idea. Give everyone the challenge at the same time, no artist every delivered the masterpiece from a Paint By Numbers canvas – they always start with the raw materials. Change the way you look at your role. You aren’t the Creative Director, or the Marketing Director. Rather – you are curator, a facilitator – you bring the elements together and let them sing in the loudest, most relevant and exciting way possible.

Just as the Old World was once transfixed by ‘media neutrality’ and ‘seamless execution’, now we must embrace new additions to our lexicon, and challenge the old ones as we do so. For years, we have chased Fool’s Gold, the dream of seamless, cross-discipline delivery. And what does seamless mean to us? It means no interruptions, no surprises, no joins. But if you don’t deliver these clear differentiations between channels, then how can you engage through each one? A viral and a TV ad can’t be ‘seamlessly’ joined. They are fundamentally different, and that difference should be celebrated. The joins, the moments of difference are what will surprise the market.

And indeed, we should challenge the notion of the ‘Big Idea’ itself. What does ‘big’ even mean? Where once it meant ‘easily transferred’, now it must mean ‘expansive’. A true big idea just keeps on giving, and can be ignited across any channel, in any way. For so long, we have thought of our big ideas as fireworks for instant gratification. But we have been all about the visual display, and forgotten about the big bang we should be leaving.

And this new approach works. It is living, breathing happening at this very moment, as we speak. In the US, telecoms brand Sprint had one aim in mind – to be associated with the one thing consumers really want from technology – immediacy. The brief was ‘help us to own immediacy’ – and it was issued to everyone. And the result? A beautiful, engaging mishmash of touchpoints that celebrated the concept of immediacy in the way best suited to their channel. So, the Big Idea expanded. It became a brilliant, throbbing, fact-filled TV ad, a revolutionary widget, an interactive Yahoo takeover. These elements weren’t seamless, they were linked but they had their own characteristics, they existed as their own celebration of the Big Idea…this became the “Now Network” campaign.

I have seen the dramatic differences when you hand someone an idea, not an execution. When I worked with the US’ Office of National Drug Control Policy to help combat habitual drug abuse, the team and I started by identifying the insight that the issue wasn’t exacerbated by drugs themselves, it was driven by the ‘influence’. We personified this influence as the enemy and called every agency together in a room – planners, media buyers, PRs, creatives. We asked everyone to come back with their interpretation of “the influence being the enemy” and in return, they showed us the power of letting a great idea breathe through an endless number of creative (and sometimes unexpected) collaborations and channels. It worked in print, it worked in film and it worked digitally. It didn’t roll seamlessly over every channel. This became the “Above the Influence” campaign.

If you can’t remove yourself from the mindset of ‘seamless’, ‘transferable’ and ‘adaptation’ then you will never champion the new version of ‘integrated’. If you think integration should be about taking an execution and applying it everywhere then you should be working somewhere else, in branding perhaps. After all, that is the branding approach isn’t it? Making touchpoints consistent, keeping a unified identity. Advertising and marketing must be about igniting, not soothing seams.

We must believe our ideas live longer than an awareness campaign – we must have faith that they can fly in millions of ways –not through careful adaptation, but through noisy, viral, visual ignition. Because if they don’t, they will fester in the seamless wallpaper of old-fashioned integration. Let us never forget who we should be talking to, and no consumer ever said “the best thing about that campaign is the way it looks the same on the posters and on the website”. Never did, never will. So you can keep chasing that reaction or you can become a curator and let each element bring the Big Idea to life. The time is now – you are with us or against us, in support of creative eclecticism or in opposition.

Choose wisely, the future of the brands you are looking to ignite will depend upon it.

By Christoph Becker
Chief Creative Officer
GyroHSR