Marketing In a Recession

I've been thinking a lot about the economy lately and how lucky I was to find a job so quickly after moving to California. If I hadn't been able to get something within that first month, it would have made my transition unspeakably difficult. That's one reason why I feel so badly for all of my friends who are graduating this year. The country is undoubtedly in recession and, if things continue the way most analysts expect, 2009 will be worse than 2008.

Of course, I shouldn't spend too much time focusing on the negative. Economic troubles tend to force people to become more creative and find alternative solutions to their problems. This is especially true in the field of marketing. Rather than spending big bucks on major ad buys, companies have been resorting to more interesting tactics, such as leveraging the wealth of possibilities afforded by social media.

Marketing Profs shared some great insight into this tactic today and I thought it was worth sharing. For all of you readers out there that are looking to enter the job market, understanding some of these skills could really help you wow 'em in an interview.

From the article:

Web 2.0 technologies offer new ways for you to reach your audience for little to no cost. Customers have become inoculated to tired methods like email and even pay-per-click. Waiting for them to visit your Web site is simply insufficient to drive growth. Instead, the new generation of marketing tools includes things like social communities, Web site syndication tools, gadgets, and RSS feeds because they are online ("on-demand"), scaling to any size of audience. The best part is that most Web 2.0 technologies are easy to use and are, often, free.

Making Social Media Work For You

I love social media. I just can't help myself. It's so damned exciting, you know? I mean, as a communications tool, the Internet is practically limitless. From blogs to social networking sites and everything in between, we are capable of engaging the world in ways that our parent's generation could never have dreamed.

Of course, that has meant that we need to reevaluate a lot of what we put online. With hiring managers utilizing the web ever more frequently to disqualify potential job applicants, in some ways social media has become a liability. On the other hand, if you just use a little discretion about what you put on your Facebook or MySpace profile, you could mostly avoid that problem.

Being the glass half full kind of guy that I am, instead of focusing on the bad stuff, I'm going to share how to make social media work FOR you instead of AGAINST you. Or, more accurately, I'm going to share the work of blogger and communications expert Dave Fleet who's already written an extensive post on this subject.

I've picked my three favorite bits of advice from the post below. For Dave's full list of "13 Ways Social Media Can Improve Your Career", click here.

Enjoy!

1. Expand your network - Social networks like LinkedIN, Facebook and even Twitter are a fantastic way to get to ‘know’ people in your industry but it goes beyond that. Search out their blogs. Find relevant forums. Comment on their work and get to know them. Create your own high-quality, regular content and they will come to you, too.

4. Find jobs - Most jobs aren’t advertised - they’re filled through networking and recommendations. My job certainly wasn’t advertised - I got to know the team here at Thornley Fallis through social media tools and related events. When the time came for me to move, I already had that connection. Without that, I would likely not be in this job now.

11. Improve your writing - When it comes to writing, practice makes perfect. I’m told my writing has improved immeasurably since I started this site (although I still have a way to go). You simply can’t beat the benefit you get from editing your thoughts down to 140 characters for Twitter, or constantly structuring and re-structuring your thoughts as you write blog posts.

No Skinny Chicks!

For a long time, the ad industry's formula for success regarding marketing to women was skinny+attractive=sales. Whether advertising for clothing, makeup, perfume; or pretty much anything else targeted toward the ladies, the likelihood of seeing a petite model in the spot was nearly 100%. Hell, even tampon ads feature slim attractive women.

^Totally Normal and Gorgeous^

^Crazy Skinny and Intense^

This philosophy never really made sense to me. I mean, why would regular women want to see ads featuring models that looked nothing like them? It's kind of crazy. If anything, it seems to me like unrealistic advertising would make women not want to use a product. On the other hand, the marketing business seems to be full of these kinds of logical fallacies, so who am I to argue with the experts, right?

According to a new study from the University of Queensland, however, my opinion might actually have some validity. The study, which measured the responses of 400 women to a series of ads for underwear, shampoo and a dress, showed that women in coveted 18-25 age group where mildly repelled by ads featuring skinny models and attracted or neutral toward ads with "regular" sized models.

Pretty interesting stuff if you ask me. The question, however, is whether or not this study is indicative of a trend in the industry or not. My guess is the latter, but I'd love to see the widespread adoption of positive advertising like the kind for which Dove has become such an industry darling.

From the article:

In the study psychologist Phillippa Diedrichs, of the University of Queensland, Australia, created a series of ads for underwear, shampoo and a party dress.

Each ad was made twice, once using a skinny size eight model and another featuring a size 12 woman.

When the ads were shown to 400 young women, they produced no difference in the likelihood for them to buy.

However, when women aged between 18 and 25 saw the adverts they felt better - and more likely to buy - after viewing the images of the larger models.

Miss Diedrichs said: "For anything to change, research has to be convincing, not just to government and health researchers, but also to people in advertising who actually make the decisions.

"Often people make the argument that thinness sells, and that's why they use slim models.

"But we can change the images we see and still sell products but also make people feel better about themselves."

Experience.com is Full of Goodies

I try not to beat the drum about how great Experience.com is too much on this blog, but sometimes I just can't help it. Take the site's "Defining Moments" feature, for example. Created to give college students a chance to learn about the industries that interest them from a firsthand perspective, Defining Moments videos have connected Experience members with professionals from Google, eTrade Financial and even the U.S. State Department. The latest video, featuring a sit-down interview with the president of PhillipMorrisUSA, is especially interesting for all you would be sales pros out there.


Another cool feature of is the Rising Stars section of the site. Here, "rising stars" from a variety of industries are profiled to help give future professionals insight into what their future careers might look like. This is super helpful for college students because it shows how strange career paths can turn out to be (a subject I've covered on this blog extensively. Encompassing the stories of a variety of young professionals, from non-profit advocates to professional actors, Rising Stars features over 100 profiles.

Of course, those are only two of the cool features scattered throughout Experience.com. There's loads more if you take the time to peruse the site. I hadn't actually done so myself in months which is why I felt compelled to write this post. So go ahead, check it out and let me know if you have any suggestions for cool features you'd like to see. I can't guarantee it'll happen, but I'd like to think I have a little pull down at corporate headquarters.

Update: I actually have no pull down at corporate headquarters. Please though, do send me your suggestions.

Yahoo and Google Ad Deal Falls Through

All right. I'll admit I'm a little late on reporting this news, especially considering I live in the heart of Silicon Valley, but here goes. Last week, the much publicized ad partnership between Google and Yahoo fell apart under the watchful eye of the U.S. Justice Department. Apparently the government didn't want the Big G to form a monopoly on search advertising.


The collapsed deal has led many to speculate that Microsoft may soon be back in the driving seat for a Yahoo partnership. If this happens, it could be big news for both companies who are trying to assert themselves in unfriendly economic climate. Don't worry about Google though, I'm sure they'll still find a way to take over the world keep business rolling.

The BLF Strikes Again

If you're taking marketing classes in college, you've probably learned something about the practice of "ad jamming" or "culture jamming". If you haven't, the basic idea behind jamming is to subvert existing media to produce some kind of anti-consumerist or anti-mainstream message. Though technically illegal, for the most part, jamming is a fairly harmless practice and something which is widely practiced throughout the world. A good jumping off point to learn more is through Adbusters, a world-wide network of jammers and activists based in Vancouver.

Anyways, on to the point of my post. The Billboard Liberation Front, another culture jamming group has struck some Wachovia billboards in San Francisco, my new neck of the woods. I caught the finished results over at the Laughing Squid blog and was compelled to share them with all of you. In the light of the country's financial crisis, this jam is particularly bittersweet. The text of the accompanying press release can be found below the pictures.

BEFORE

AFTER

--- --- --- --- ---

November 8, 2008
San Francisco, CA

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Intersection of Mission St.
and Cesear Chavez, NE corner
San Francisco
http://www.billboardliberation.com/burn.html

Dear Shareholders and Clients,

The Billboard Liberation Front has partnered with Wachovia to release a daring advertising campaign that celebrates Wachovia’s new money management strategy. This campaign emphasizes the silver lining in the economic storm front now threatening to swamp our economy as well as our individual fiscal inner tubes.

“The calamitous decline in the value of all investments and the impending total collapse of the dollar will render the true value of the average savings account or investment portfolio roughly equal to a bucket of warm piss,” noted Thomas J. Wurtz, CFO of Wachovia. Dr. John Silvia, Managing Director and Chief Economist noted: “After that golden shower we got from Golden West, we decided to fight fire with fire and start bailing for our clients and stockholders, mixed metaphors notwithstanding.”

This dramatic revaluation of your money has created the opportunity for our team at Wachovia to offer a unique service to our stockholders and clients. “With what promises to be the coldest winter in years now commencing, we’ve instructed our staff in all 21 States that we have offices in to start bundling greenbacks into tight rolls, perfect for small stoves and furnaces,” said Robert K. Steel CEO and President. “We believe this is the soundest application of our clients’ money.”

“‘We’re in the money. we’re in the money’ they sang in the 1920’s. Maybe we should be singing ‘Burn, Baby, Burn’ in light of the modern era of fiscal management,” - BLF CEO Jack Napier. Rico T. Spoons added, “The true value of this new campaign will be reflected in the ‘heat’ it generates for Wachovia’s clients.”

That’s right, you no longer have to worry about your money. As a matter of fact, don’t bother worrying at all.

The BLF (www.billboardliberation.com) has been improving outdoor advertising since 1977. Prior campaigns have included work for Exxon, R.J. Reynolds, and Apple Computers.

Wachovia Corporation (NYSE: WB), based in Charlotte, North Carolina, is a diversified financial services holding company provided via its operating subsidiaries a broad range of banking, asset management, wealth management, and corporate and investment banking products and services.

The Department of the Treasury is a Cabinet department and the treasury of the United States government. It was established by an Act of Congress in 1789 to manage government revenue. The Department is administered by the Secretary of the Treasury.

Covertly Yours,
Milton Rand Kalman
BLF Chief Scientist

Adios Print Media

My first internship, which was in the print advertising division of a large marketing firm, taught me a lot about the inner workings of media sales. I got a chance to see first-hand how much money was spent on major market newspaper advertising and I learned the value of print in the overall context of an ad campaign.

But I also observed how, over the course of my year long internship, clients were beginning to pull out of papers sooner or buying smaller placements. With the Internet having completely changed the way we consume media I began asking myself, as well as my co-workers and my boss, "What is the future of newspapers?" In the wake of the Christian Science Monitor's decision to cease printing of their 100 year old paper in favor of an entirely online product, many pundits in the advertising and media industries have been asking the same thing. Here's some of the opinions.

Here's the AdAge's analysis of CSM's move:

With Time Inc. announcing layoffs ranging from 300 to 700 positions; Gannett promising to lay off 10% of its local-newspaper staffers; Condé Nast cutting Men's Vogue down to a biannual and paring Portfolio and its website; and even Radar shutting its doors again, turning its anniversary party into a good-bye party, it was a week that needed that title's gallows humor just to get publishing types through it.

Clearly, the changes to publishing's business model aren't going away, so publishers are going to have to adapt to a new reality. As Time Inc. Chairman-CEO Ann Moore said in a speech last week, "If you're sitting on your five-year plan, you're delusional." But just what should publishers be planning for?

The best-case scenario now facing print publishers is that the events of last week will eventually be revealed to be mainly the product of a familiar economic cycle, a temporary downturn that exacerbated the trends already challenging print media. After the economy recovers, probably by the end of 2009, advertisers will regain their interest in print as well as their ability to buy space there.

Some more analysis from TechDirt:

In a lot of ways, this setup probably makes a lot more sense for many people. Newspapers have long since lost their ability to be the source of "breaking news" in print. News breaks online, and by the time it's in the newspaper the next morning, it's old hat. The days of paperboys screaming "Extra! Extra!" are long gone. Still, many may question the timing of the move. Online advertising, while growing rapidly for many, still doesn't make up a huge percentage of revenue for most newspapers. Decreasing the costs significantly means that the revenue doesn't have to match, but there may still be quite a gap there, and I'd imagine some may have been more comfortable waiting for the gap to close before leaping out of the plane without much of a parachute.

However, in taking that plunge, it will force the CSMonitor to really focus in on making its website as good as it can be, both for readers and for advertisers. That sort of hyperfocus could be quite useful, as we've seen too many newspapers find themselves in a struggle for resources and attention between the (dwindling) cash cow print business, and the small, but growing, online markets. No matter what, you can bet that other big (and small) newspapers will be watching the CSM's leap with great interest as they plan their own strategies for a changing media world.

Last but not least, the whizzes at Mashable:

Given what they’re doing and their willingness to continue to push the edges of what’s possible for an online publication, it’s my opinion that we’ll be seeing quite a bit more of this news organization, and that they’ll be around for quite a while in their new format. It’s a little to early to say that they’re going to be the model of what a newspaper should look like as they makes their transition to a New Media organization, but for those interested in this arena, this is definitely an organization to keep an eye on.

So what is the opinion of Rob Frappier, super blogger for Experience.com? Well, generally speaking, I believe that the Internet is the only logical move for news media. I love having a newspaper in my hands as much as the next guy, but it just doesn't seem like a sustainable business model given the ubiquity of the Internet. With Blackberries, iPhones and free wireless at every corner cafe, it's easier than ever to get on the web. And, not only is it everywhere, but the Internet also allows individuals to specifically tailor their news interests and gives marketers the opportunity for highly targeted ad buys.

But enough about me. What do you think? Are papers passé?