Read Between the Ps

Proliferation of Media channels has entailed a decline in the effectiveness of existing traditional channels. Measurement of the efficacy of the traditional media is no longer treated with enthusiasm by the industry professionals and new requirements and expectations are emerging for innovation, insight, experimentation, and measurable returns . According to a report by Boston Consulting Group , titled “Darwin Pays a Visit to Advertising” – Opportunities for Action in Consumer Markets Marketers have moved beyond the “Mass Marketing” era, and there is a need for much more precision in targeting consumers. The traditional value chain has been disintegrated and has led to an evolved framework in the advertising industry with “targeted marketing” as their measurable goal. A concerted effort is being made towards an integrated, holistic campaign across alternative channels. Thus, New and unconventional methods of marketing are being looked at and experimented with. There is greater foc...

Some creatives invoke a thought process, others simply make you smile ...Found some of these creatives at Arvind's Blog Though some of them may be tagged as " cheap humor ", they do make you laugh. And yes, you need a bent of mind for this kind of stuff to understand these as well...;) The Campaigns are: - Zandu Ads created by TBWA India "Dont Sneeze" - Mini Guerilla in the Urinal "Test your handling Skills" - The "It can happen anywhere" Axe Campaignm, and - Jik Cleaner ... Check your sense of humor..

Clara Jacob and Nedra Kline Weinreich discuss at their respective blogs ( Post Haste and Spare Change respectively) about the role of advertising in Social Marketing . Through their insightful thoughts, there is definite take-away for marketers on the role of advertising (which is evolving into new media like mass mailings, media events and community outreach , apart from the traditional ones like public service announcements and billboards ) in social marketing and how it can be leveraged to change the social behavior of the consumers. In her post , Clara avers that Advertising can get people to change behavior for products and purchase patterns. But Advertising alone cannot change social behavior. She illustrates the point with a classic example, when a coupon giving a dollar off a gallong of milk received a 60 percent response rate. This was nothing but a change of behavior which entailed a shift in purchase pattern of hundreds of consumers. However, social marketing does not...

Advertising has no limits and boundaries , but of late, Advertisers have confined it to the retail stores only. Their latest target is the conveyor belts at the point-of-sale, being used as another advertising medium. The opportunity was identified by Frank Cox, president-CEO of EnVision Marketing Group , which has patented the system to print digital, photo-quality ads directly on conveyor belts. According to him," With a store with eight to 10 checkout lanes, you're talking about 100 square feet of wasted ad real estate. " [Source: Adage ] Seems logical. When a limited set of consumers is being chased by an unlimited set of advertisers , each and every square foot of space inside the retail outlet is being tapped. Whether it is the Hand Rails at the Escalator or the Escalators themselves, whether it is the shelves or the restrooms, whether it is the entrance or the point-of-purchase, advertisers do not want to leave out any options of indoor media untapped. The c...