The Great Flow of US Debt – Infochart provided by MBAOnline

Created by: MBA Online

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Ads that inspire

 

    

 I am not a particular fan of Cadillac,  I have a divine affinity for BMW and Mercedes.  I drive a Tahoe because the Escalade is too ornamental.  Despite my qualms with GM’s premium nameplate, the culmination of the great videography, the excellent edgy upbeat music track, and the captivating voice over actor made me pay attention to the commercial, to the point anytime I see a new SRX, I hear “1901″ playing in my head, and I *know* that I am looking at a 2010 Cadillac SRX.   This is the kind of advertising that captures my attention and will help Cadillac attract a newer, younger crowd – something they have been trying to do since 1985.

 

I will admit,  I prefer Kettle One over Grey Goose or Belvedere.  I like my vodka martini straight up .  These new ads by Kettle One are just killer.  The simple script and voice over.  The Rat-Pack vibe and the guitar riffs in the background make you want to go out and have a night out on the town with the guys.  What a great way to promote a lifestyle that all encompasses sharing a bottle of Kettle One with your buddies.  Bravo Kettle One.

 

The Richard Dreyfus voiceover, the footage, the choices of historical mavericks.  The subtle message at the end.   Similar to Nike’s approach of advertising, they dont promote their products or services, but they imply the similarities to such legends as Lennon, Einstein, Ali…   

There are countless other examples of Advertisements that can inspire you, but these are three distinct examples where they really hit the mark and got it right.     Bravo!

Throwing Technology at the problem

 

I have been immersed in technology from as far back as 1984. I was in 4th grade installing 80 column cards into Apple IIe computers so we could play Where in the world is Carmen Sandiego? Move up to 1990, I was college classes in CAD, and I was optimizing each workstation and upgrading the network and graphics for all of the machines in the classroom for the professor. Why? Because with the speed increases, we spent more time learning, and completing our projects, instead of waiting for the computer to load and move to the next screen. Now it’s 1996, and I am a programmer for a Motorola Affiliate that launched Nextel’s first systems. I had to rummage through the office to find the fastest machines that would allow us to use the newest programming software, as we were programming hundreds of phones a week. I worked with our Rental division, and then our Rental sales team. We tied their CRM program (Act!) into the service/rentals systems so we all knew when customers were expecting their equipment, increasing our customer service, and our internal efficiency. We reach 2006, we build out and setup a brand new office. AT&T installs a cutting edge VoIP system with all the capabilities imaginable, an advanced voicemail system that ties into Microsoft Outlook, bringing incoming faxes into your email. Soft phone capabilities, the works. It’s amazing. We are on the heels of 2010 and that office uses 10% of the capabilities of that system. Why? The staff using it didn’t see the value, and decided to work around it.

I know this sounds like a micro-biography, but the point I am trying to make is, in certain respects, you can throw technology as certain issues, and you can remedy the problem. Investing thousands into a new network, or phone system, or just buying that new cutting edge Mac book is not going to fix all of your problems. You have to look at the people aspect of things. How are people using the technology you have in place? How are they working AROUND it? What are the bottlenecks? Who needs training on the systems you already have in place? These are detrimental questions that you have to ask and find answers for, before you invest your time and money into a new technology solution. The same can be said with Social Media.

I have quietly watched Social Media sites grow, with a unique perspective, as I was very involved in the early nineties with BBS systems and spent time online with Genie, AOL, and Prodigy back in the days. I viewed MySpace, Friendster, and Facebook in the same manner, another networking tool, never the holy grail of advertisement and promotion. In recent years I have attended several “Social Media” events and have met some very talented and creative people. I did enjoy a few “BarCamp” and “Tweet-up” events, but never felt compelled to become fully engaged as some are. I appreciate the efforts and the free exchange of ideas and information, as I follow many of the great people I met on Twitter and Facebook. I think my reluctance in embracing the whole idea, is amongst a crowd of great, brilliant minds, are some self-proclaimed experts that have self-serving intentions, that have in the past, taken advantage of those that have been sold that immersing yourself in SM will guarantee you revenue. Social Media is a form of networking and exchanging information. You can build a following and promote your products and/or services to those that are willing to listen. Those that don’t can easily opt out and turn a deaf ear, and a blind eye to your promotion.

The platforms of SM are indeed a technology, and I just want people to realize that with any technology you apply to your business, you need to be educated on how to use it to your best advantage. Be aware of the snake oil salesman out there. Much like losing weight, there is no magic pill, you have to make the sacrifices, do the work, be consistent, and reap the rewards.

Branding FAIL – Chase Bank I was a long …

Branding FAIL – Chase Bank

I was a long term client with Wamu (Washington Mutual) going back to the nineties (I was a Home Savings customer) and always was pretty happy with their service. When I opened my business, I opened my accounts with them as well. I actually had all of my siblings banking with them as well. Incidentally during their rebranding from Washington Mutual to WaMu, I was working as a field consultant, and one of my clients was doing the architectural and interior designs for the new branch offices and remodeling the existing ones. I enjoyed the Woo-Hoo ad campaigns, and the neat progressive design of their branches and their branding was so strong you always KNEW you were in a WaMu branch, no matter where you were at. It saddens me now when I walk into the Chase branches, because they basically stripped the Wamu out of each branch, didn’t remodel them, left the furniture and fixtures intact but it sucked the life out of the interior of the bank. They removed the flat panel TV’s and the information kiosks, and covered up the lively and modern graphic designs depicting people and places with early nineties woven wallpaper in the drab Chase blue. The WaMu logos were stripped so there are blank black squares everywhere. You can see where the Flat panels used to be because they did a piss poor patch job. Granted, I have not been to every branch, but the ones I have visited in the local area all have these traits in common.

The point I am trying to make is not to complain about incidentals, they don’t affect the service I get from Chase, which is fine. Operationally they are fine, and financially they are strong. The experience however is diluted and because it was so much better before with WaMu, I always notice this now visiting Chase.

If you are re-branding, I feel you should take notice of Chase, and this is what NOT to do – in addition to their lack of attention to detail to transitioning their branch offices, their TV ad campaigns are dorky and make no sense. Their color blue epitomizes exactly how you feel after being in their branch.. Blue

Isn’t that the color for depression?