Ten ways the ad industry needs to transform, according to JWT’s Sean Boyle
Editor’s Note: JWT’s Global Planning Director, Sean Boyle, was the bad-boy beau of the ball at the American Association of Advertising Agencies (4A’s) “Transforming Advertising” conference in San Francisco last week. With wit and an Irish gift-o’-the gab, Boyle presented his “The Stop-Start Ten Commandments”—five things agencies need to stop doing and five things they need to start doing. It made the room so pregnant with nervous laughter—because only the truth is funny—that we asked him to write an excerpt for us. Listen up, creatives and agencies.
1. Start Telling the Truth To each other. To our clients. About our brands.
2. Stop the Bloody Politics
Because we’re an industry run by bankers, it is the conniving crowd pleasers rather than the cream that tend to rise to the top. A general rule: in most agencies, those with vision who “get-it” are bullied and undermined at every turn by those with no vision, who don’t.
3. Start Having Fun Again We used to be the envy of the salary-man. Why have we let it become so serious and dull? The greatest work ever done in our industry, has always come from places where people like each other and enjoy—really enjoy—playing (and partying) together as a team.
In an informal conversation at the 4A’s conference, Yahoo! CEO Carol Bartz says that only Yahoo! can offer everything advertisers need for successful digital advertising: science, art and scale.
Mobile marketing measurement is important, but don’t panic
In the third of our three-part series, Paul Cushman, Director of Mobile Sales Strategy at Yahoo!, outlines the importance of measurement in any mobile strategy and offers a simple formula for doing it right. For Part I, click here. For Part II, click here.
I’m shocked by the number of clients who start a mobile campaign with no idea how they are going to measure success. I’m not talking necessarily about goals, as this is a new channel to many brands and setting benchmarks is a legitimate and relevant approach at the start.
But make sure you are measuring and that you talk to your mobile advertising vendors about this. There are good in-house and third-party solutions out there that can improve the data a campaign generates.
Why is this important? Say the client comes in and says “I want an iPhone app!” (Let’s ignore the fact that this is akin to walking into the agency and saying “I want to do radio ads” without first asking whether or not you should even be doing radio).
Your creative palette at Yahoo! just got a whole lot better
If you know me, you know that I’m not the tallest person around. I’m 5’6” (and a half!) and I like my height…but even I’ll admit that there are times when I wouldn’t mind being a bit taller.
The online advertising canvas is similar. You can do great things online now, but chances are if you’re in advertising, you wouldn’t mind a little more room to get creative, and more space to grab your customers’ attention. That’s why we’re rolling out several new display advertising options to give you a larger canvas for your creativity.
Built for telling stories You may recognize some of these new formats – they were introduced by the Online Publisher’s Association (OPA) last year. We believe we are one of the first, if not the first, portals to adopt more than one of these formats. Why are we adopting them? Because advertising is about telling stories, and these formats allow brand advertisers to do just that. We want to promote innovation, creativity, and imagination in online advertising.
Ad man Othmer gets mad; selling the Super Bowl; digital ad budgets to increase; TBWA\Chiat\Day’s doggie dentures ad, and more
A trip through “Adland”
Former Young and Rubicam creative James P. Othmer has a new memoir out, “Adland: Searching for the Meaning of Life on a Branded Planet.” In it, he describes his trials and tribulations in the business. In this AdWeek Q&A, he talks about the many ethical dilemmas faced by ad folks today, as well as other hot topics and ripping yarns. Check out Amazon.com’s promo vid for more.
Selling the Super Bowl This Sunday is arguably the biggest sporting event of the year, Super Bowl XLIV. Advertisers, according to AdWeek, have shelled out nearly $3 million each for 30-second spots during the big game. “The game is the only significant TV showcase for commercials left in today’s media-fractured environment, and advertisers are frantically putting the final touches on their plays for the day,” writes Eleftheria Parpi. How are they are building buzz around their creative? Hint: the initials are S.M., and we don’t mean the naughty kind.
We’ve got good news and bad news
Remember those old good news/bad news jokes? (Like, the good news: the captain aboard a Viking ship doubles rations for the guys on the oars. The bad news: he wants to go water skiing.) Well, the good news for digital marketers is that two-thirds of marketing execs in a recent CMO.com/Society of Digital Agencies survey say they’ll up their digital budgets in the face of current economic conditions. The bad news? Those conditions still suck.
TV to Web shift; the top women of social media; Jaron Lanier warns against the wisdom of crowds; helping Haiti, and more
Shift happens
According to the New York Times “Bits” blogger Nick Bilton, the Jay Leno-Conan O’Brien late-night slap fight is an indicator of the coming shift from TV to the Web. In fact, Bilton thinks Conan should ditch TV and go straight to the Web. But is the world ready for anytime O’Brien? And can the Web match TV in ad dollars? iMedia Connection’s Mario Sgambelluri wonders. May we politely suggest a smarter mix of both?
Social media: Where the gals are
TopRank’s Lee Odden names the top 25 women in social media. We’re happy to see our old FoY (“Friend of Yahoo!”), Charlene Li make the list. Congrats to all 25. You go, gals!
Jaron Lanier says you are not a gadget
Virtual reality pioneer Jaron Lanier—that dreadlocked brainiac who brought you the cool robotic glove—has a new book out, reviewed in Sunday’s New York Times. “You Are Not a Gadget” questions whether the social media trend is really such a good thing after all. Among other criticism, Lanier says that the so-called “wisdom of crowds” might not actually be so wise, especially when designing new products. Listen up, manufacturers and advertisers. Sometimes going with your gut can work better than design by committee. Just look at the iPod.
Yahoo! and Electus’ Ben Silverman announce new content, ad delivery concept
Three words: Content, content, content.
Over the past decade, cable TV has experienced tremendous growth because of its ability to develop programming for very specific audiences, telling the stories that those audiences love to hear. At the same time, it has provided opportunities for advertisers to reach their core audiences, telling the stories that advertisers need to tell.
Like cable, online today is poised to do just the same, and more. Yet, despite the targeted programming capabilities available, online publishers and advertisers have yet to take full advantage of the medium in terms of content development. That’s where today’s announcement comes in.
What can you do with a Yahoo! display ad? More than just display, for starters
Whether video, Web or mobile, Yahoo! display ads are rocking the house down, branding your products, sending the messages you want and getting the ROI you want, as this video shows. Enjoy, and happy new year!
BNET’s worst creative of 2009; surge in games sales; “buzz” is not a metric; measure your holiday social media mojo; ad networks for every fetish, and more
Ten worst ads of 2009 (so far)
BNET.com’s advertising blogger Jim Edwards names his ten least favorite ads for 2009. We won’t judge Edwards’ judgments, but you can.
Video games and consoles top sellers again this year
According to the Entertainment Software Association, video game hardware, software and peripheral sales climbed to $22 billion in 2008, a 22.9 percent jump over the previous year. For more deets, switch over to the Yahoo! Search Marketing blog.
Does buzz + awesomeness = social media success? “It’s good to finally see a growing backlash against…self-appointed social media gurus, mavens and sherpas,” writes Peter Holmes in Reason Applied, citing a BusinessWeek article that calls into question current social media measurement theories that abandon solid ROI practices. “How can anybody claim to be expert in a field that’s still attempting to figure itself out?” It may be time to get the old sliderule back out.
1. Start Telling the Truth
In the third of our three-part series, Paul Cushman, Director of Mobile Sales Strategy at Yahoo!, outlines the importance of measurement in any mobile strategy and offers a simple formula for doing it right. For Part I, 
If you know me, you know that I’m not the tallest person around. I’m 5’6” (and a half!) and I like my height…but even I’ll admit that there are times when I wouldn’t mind being a bit taller.
A trip through “Adland”
Measure your social media mojo this holiday
