I’ve redecorated! If you’re reading this by clicking onto my actual blog page and not via email, you’ll notice my favorite crayon has had a bit of a face lift!
I thought it was time for a change and have thus selected a new sleek theme and changed the header photo to an edited version of a picture I took when I was last in Hawaii. I also, obviously added a similarly edited picture of me.
My weekend is full of studies as I have my first exam on Weds! Lucky for me it’s a long weekend and I’ve taken an extra day off for a bit more of a brush up on my e-marketing skills before our 3 hour exam. This has been one of the most interesting classes I’ve taken recently as it’s so relevant to today.
I believe the internet and Web 2.0/3.0 has seriously changed the way marketing works and how marketers need to act and think in order to reach their consumer base successfully. Sometimes I wonder though…. just how effective are we as marketers. Our professions tend to identify a certain extroversive nature and behind the scenes we’re all a bit arrogant, taking credit for each bum on seat or box off shelf as a direct result of our activities. But how much of this is actually true? Ads I watch on tv don’t inspire me to run out and buy a product, yes they increase my awareness, but after I’m aware, what’s the point? That brings me back to pricing strategies and their influence and a belief that perhaps these are the most key elements to get right, these are the true motivators for the majority of consumers. Still though, I will admit that ads affect my personal purchasing habits in a way, (btw, I note that tv ads is a very narrow segment of the marketing mix), occasionally I’ll see an ad and it will push me to NOT purchase the product. Black Swan dip, Solo, and the Makin Mattresses companies have lost my business because of their crass, gross, stupid, ridiculous and annoying tv ads. I have excellent awareness of their brands but want to have nothing to do with them. I grant for two of these I’m hardly in their target population.
My point here is that things are changing, whereas tv ads used to be termed innovative, engaging and an excellent medium for attracting consumers to a product, now thanks to the internet and its interactive capabilities with dynamic, user generated content, consumers are demanding the bar for marketing be raised. A difficult situation though as half the population didn’t grow up with the net and are unlikely to seek information that way, for these consumers the tv ads still work, so the budget has to be split or one group has to be sacrificed for the other group. In any case I don’t think either way you get ahead. Anyway…. you can tell I’m still in study mode…but to illustrate this, have a look at the gorgeous wallpaper ad by Cool Hunter for Moet Champagne:
Wall Paper by Cool Hunter
I wish my house looked like that…. see, engaging.. innovative… accessing something different… now have a look at their old ads:
An old ad for Moet via exotic excess
On a different note, we went to see Lemony Snickett, The Composer is Dead today. It’s a kids show which is an interpretation of Benjamin Britan’s introduction to an orchestra. It was really clever and really cute. I was seriously impressed with the festival on the whole actually. For a kids festival it was really high quality and had cooking classes, art classes, a jungle gym, this performance and a variety of other things… really good…
Anyway, I’d better get back to it… studies that is… hope all are enjoying a lovely weekend.