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Latest post on The Drum magazine blog

Dental research

We have quite a big project going on at work at the moment, it has made me look at Dentistry in more detail and surprise, surprise start to question my own teeth health. Maybe to my detriment, I've just never been that vain or bothered about my teeth and their care. It's probably been down to the motorbike crash I had 12 years ago that saw me break my jaw - it's now got pieces of metal plate in it. I've been back on a bike since but never replaced it and although go for regular check ups always take the minimal fuss route to aftercare for my teeth.

I'm currently learning all about dental implants rather than the less expensive and frankly Dickensian plates still available; apparently there are ten things you should know about implants:

1. Dental implants have been around since the mid 1960's.
2. A dental implant fuses to your jawbone through a process called osseointegration.
3. Dental implants preserve bone mass and prevent bone loss
4. Most dental implants are made of titanium.
5. Dental implants have special surface textures to allow them to heal.
6. Dental implants are not painful.
7. Some dental implants require no healing time and others require 3 - 6 months.
8. Bone and gum can be rebuilt to have dental implants.
9. Dental implantology is a highly specialised field. Choose a dentist that does both the surgery and makes the teeth.
10. You wont set off airport metal detectors

And you know what, there is a real art to it - not just the tooth shaping but the whole process from start to finish - who thought there was creativity in teeth (and gum care?!

A couple of mentions: Chris Barrow and the team at Whitecross, working with these guys is opening my eyes to whole new world... oh and better teeth!

Credits: http://dentistry.alltop.com/
Dental Heroes

Content is no longer King

We have all been told over the years that working online content is king, it’s what drives the traffic, gets our websites found, the very reason people get passionate about your products and brands. Has anyone else noticed the shift? The middle man holds the upper hand.

Let me name a few brands:
Apple ipod / itunes, Amazon, Google, Spotify...

These guys are all operating in a near monopoly. Ipod was not a new innovation, what broke the mould was its connection with itunes and as a distribution method controls considerable power over its recording artists. The distribution of the content became as important as the content providers.

Google has a similar position, although their financial model is a bit different, AdWords accounts for most of their profit. As distributors they don’t create content, instead they aggregate content from a variety of sources into one distribution system.

In marketing I often talk about the ‘Social Object’ – it is the very reason social networks exist; you can not have one without the other. A social object or ‘lovemark’ is the product we get passionate about and want to share our opinions with our friends and fans – the very reason to connect. Social networks often fail if they lose sight of the reason they exist, however one can not exist without the other and as such the network holds the upper hand. Learn more about social objects here: Gapingvoid

The King is dead, long live the King.

Revenge of the Dentist

Are Dentists about to go the way of opticians?

Do you remember, it wasn't that long ago but there used to be loads of little independent opticians; 90% of them dropped off the face of the earth.

Why?

The multi store, the conglomerate, the superstore drop-in... the wee guy just couldn't compete.

I learned today from an amazing Dental Coach (Chris Barrow) that the same fate is about befall the independent dentist and if they're to survive some drastic action needs to happen. The threat is coming from multiple sources from market and economic conditions, the players so far:
A check up from Optical Express = £15.00,
Sainsbury's (Manchester test site) = £16.00
And...
The NHS = £16.50

You can almost see the competition hotting up.

Those that survive will do amazingly well but most will wind up struggling, trying to find a buyer or route to exit.

At Red Dress we are finalising a package that will ensure those interested in surviving will have more than a fighting chance - hell if we can do it for online retail, the travel industry and recruitment we can do it for dentists. Working with Whitecross Dental has opened up a new awareness in the possibilities available to successful, fast moving, future focused practices. From an investment of £35,000 we achieved confirmed sales of £1.3 million for one of our clients... further research into Dental beckons.

I look forward to launching our rescue package... watch this space.

You've sent me an email, what are you selling?

My latest blog post for The Drum magazine:

Social media is the answer to life, the universe and everything

I have been tasked with contributing to the UK's Advertising and Marketing Magazine The Drum; first post can be seen here: The Drum

Rory Sutherland at TED

Can we have a standin ovation please!

Rory provides "Life lessons from an Ad man."

How to be an instant overnight success!

Image credits

It's real easy... honest.

Having studied art and artists I always enjoy the arguement by the man on the street who says: "But that's a pile of lego, anyone could have done that!"
Yes but you didn't, and guess what you haven't been working your butt off day in day out to get to that point that allows you to put a pile of yello pages in a gallery and call it a sculpture - or whatever the final outcome might be. The final presentation isn't the work of art, it's the journey that took you there.

Chris Brogan, an online marketer I quite admire puts it rather well:

What do you talk about?

Ever wondered what it is that you talk about most?

One of my favourite web 2.0 tools is Wordle - put in your text and it emphasises the words that you use the most - simple.

I dropped in the URL for this blog... so much for creative musings, I think I need to be a tad more creative; don't you?

Advertising, the future for agencies

Traditional agencies are struggling to come to terms with the dramatic drop in TV ad revenues, Newspapers are in decline, we need entertained on our terms.

No longer is it about pushing a message.

Now it is about creating a conversation.

It's about providing content whether fun, educational... on a subject that creates an emotional response.

VW commissioned the following video - you'll notice it's not about them, there is no product placement, you don't know or couldn't tell until the last frame - and here they are relying on people like me passing it on. How successful is it?

Over a million views to date:

What is the future for advertising? Is the way forward purely to embrace on-line advertising and social networking?

Image credits: http://www.gapingvoid.com (thanks Hugh)
Scott Johnson (Owner and Creative Director of graphic design agency Liv Design Ltd) recently posted the bove question to a group on LinkedIn. It continues:

In light of current figures showing the decline of TV and press advertising, is web advertising the only way forward? Do we believe what the media tell us or do we continue to use the power of tried and tested traditional advertising media such as radio, magazine and outdoor?

Steve Everard (Associate Director Grant Thornton) responded:
not while most of us walk the earth everyday, buy stuff on foot as opposed to through our finger tips and allow our eyeballs to swivel rather than fixed on straight ahead! Remember that as the advertising dollar runs headlong to the relatively untested domain of the web that traditional channels are becoming cheaper as the competition for space reduces. You ever clicked through an ad from Facebook intentionally let along purchased something? Neither have I. Marketing professionals shouldn't adopt an 'us and them' syndrome. Question survey results in the light of your own experience. Budgets are down everywhere so the relentless hunt for lower cost ad space is on. Radio ad volume is up...

My response:
Traditional advertisers would do well not to bury their heads in the sand here. Social is successful but not the answer to everything. Yes I spent some time with Zappos and they used almost entirely social media to market themselves and went from zero turnover to being bought by Amazon last month for $1 billion. But you know what that model suited their business. People say that advertising on Facebook doesn't work, actually it does - I know this because it's how they make a living and allow the rest of us to use it for free. Oh you're right to be careful about advertising on there - the ad has to appeal to one person - i.e. very, very specific: http://www.colingilchrist.com/2009/10/latent-advertising.htm

TV advertising is buckling and learning to adapt - it needs to be more personal and create or stimulate a strong emotion, it will however if successful be more likely to viewed on youtube because of its imotive content.

Promoting products is becoming less about advertising and more about providing content, the advertisers are learning, but it's a slow process - they have every right to be scared though.

Steve responds:
No doubt advertising works for Facebook but does it work for the advertisers? Largely not I would proffer.You're right Colin that the message and the channel need to be in alignment but promotion without measurement is pointless. Whether above, below or through the line a strategy and its supporting tactics have to deliver on the objectives which should be carefully defined at the outset. Whether the channel is online or not is a question directed to the market demographics and the budget and not fashion. Broadcast or narrow, above or below - these are strategic questions that have remained with us since the earliest days of P&G

Scott responds:
Too true. Sites like Twitter, You Tube and Twitter are indeed exciting offerings for businesses. As with any traditional advertising avenue it has to be fit for purpose. Would I find for a supplier for my business on Facebook? No. But if I were a teenager would new drink or album catch my eye? Probably. You have to be strategic with any advertising and marketing. I think it's about getting the right balance of media coverage to cover every angle.

My response:
Scott, I'm guessing you're maybe not aware that the biggest audience on Facebook is 35 - 49 year olds; that the Salesforce plugin for Facebook for their integrated CRM system benefits multiple businesses in sourcing and managing clients, suppliers and sales processes.

Facebook is just one platform and not the answer to all social media requirements; a recent study showed the biggest growing group were female between the ages of 55 and 69, interesting none the less.

I would be careful how you make assumptions about these 'exciting offerings', having a strategy is one thing but basing it on qualified research would be a good idea.

Steve you are of course absolutely right, measurement of any campaign is essential to gain client trust and further investment into a succesful strategy. Fortunately anything online has a reporting schedule that delivers exactly that - TV, radio although proven to get results is not as easy to measure.

Social is proving a phenomenal way to communicate; Morgan Stanley carried out a report in 2008 on how long it takes to reach 50 million people:
Radio 38 years
TV 13 years
Internet 4 years (static websites)
Facebook added 100 million in 9 months.

As previously mentioned it's not the answer to everything - but if you know what you're doing (i.e. at Red Dress) you can achieve amazing results.

Scott Johnson:
Fine with me Colin. Interested in any perspectives you gleen. Good to hear your comments Colin. Figures are funny things. I've read many demographic reports by different companies, each claiming the oldest/youngest/most users/frequency of users etc of both Twitter and Facebook. Apparently 'teens don't tweet' either (!) if you believe some... The speed and power of the internet cannot be ignored.

I agree that 'new' doesn't mean 'best'. Social media for advertising is another option in the advertising arsenal, depending o what your aims are.

My response:
The Facebook figures I quote are from Clara who works at Facebook - not really in her interest to provide duff information.
You're right about teens not tweeting, in the UK 13 - 17 typically register and do nothing, they want it to come to them...

Steve Everard:
Hi Colin,
Yes part of the mix most certainly but not all of it. I'd love to know the origin of that 50 million quote. I have found it in a UN report in 1998 and I remember seeing in in a Michael Spindler presentation back in 1991. It is always unattributed and of course is moot. Communications and the access to devices is far different now than the early days of radio. As a pointer to technological change it has validity but not as a pointer to the compelling nature of a specific medium. My point is about relevance and reaching 50million people with the wrong message and/or in the wrong context will be met by a deafening silence. For all it's popularity and the number of advertisers allegedly fighting to get on-board I don't see anyone raving about the sustainable success of their business based on a social medium approach to marketing.
I remember smiling broadly at the supposedly clever money rushing to Second Life and the ghost town that remains. As marketeers we need a considered view of appropriate comms media for our messages and not to run headlong into the latest twit-fest proclaiming the second coming.

My response:
Morning Steve.
The 50 million is as you rightly say no way to communicate - where online works is connecting with one. I need to check my sources (in the wrong office) however my memory tells me it was a Morgan Stanley report released in July of 2008.

You quote: "I don't see anyone raving about the sustainable success of their business based on a social medium approach to marketing"

I mentioned I had spent a little time with a company called Zappos.com; they have used almost entirely social media as a form of marketing - they only employ staff with an online social knowledge. Their call centre staff (inbound) look you up on Facebook, LinkedIn... after the call to request whether they can be your friend and keep you updated of offers and deals.

Zappos started off selling shoes online - from a standing start they sold their business to Amazon last month for over $1 billion - almost entirely attributable to social media.

Steve I'm a fan of advertising, it has it's place and always will do, just consider the possibilities for your clients using online social.

Latent advertising

Do you know what latent advertising is?

It's how Facebook make a living.

Example:
You go to the supermarket with the express intention of buying milk and eggs - at the checkout you see some trebor mints and yorky bars, you quite fancy them and drop one of each onto the conveyor belt - you didn't go with the intention of buying them but did. Because they were in your line of sight you bought them.

This is where Facebook is succeeding with their advertising programmes.

In my role heading up a digital agency specialising in the use of social media for marketing I have been known to say the future of using social sites is not advertising it is through recommendation, creating profiles, groups and building fan pages for products and services and creating conversations with emotive topics.

Advertising on Facebook is a mugs game...

But you know what it's not the whole story; now that Facebook have your profile information they know everything about you, thus allowing small brands the opportunity to reach specific market groups and have adverts placed next to your content, and because it's pertinent to you, in a latent way, you may occasionally check it out, ending up with it on your conveyor belt.

The real challenge from an advertisers point of view is making sure the message is right for the target market and adapting a different message for each client profile.

Image credits

Red Dress Has a new poster!

Comments on a postcard (this blog will do...)!

It was emotional

One of the challenges in the creative business is making your client stand out from their competition. Ultimately what we are attempting to do is assign a strong emotion to the brand, product or service. The best way for your consumers to want your product is the experience they have or associate with it - WE i.e. the client and the agency, must work together to create a passionate response to it.

The experience the consumer has with you happens on many levels:
1. They have to spot you or be drawn to you through image, appearance and association.
2. That first interaction (3 to 15 seconds) whether personal or online has to fulfil a promise of: trust, benefit and need.
3. On purchase or sale the process must be smooth and benefit both parties, a feeling of well being for both.
4. After sale, even more importantly is that all important follow up by the vendor - even more importantly when there is no need. Provide an opportunity for constant and continued communication.

The goal on selling or interaction with your brand is for the consumer (or window shopper) to go away thinking WOW!

Our aim is for you to fall in love with it, and to recommend it to a friend.

Image is care of here

Business networking sucks

My wife tells me that every time she phones the office I seem to be at another business networking meeting - a slight exaggeration but I do attend a fair amount.

She asked the obvious question, "Do they work that well for you?"

My response was simple: "No, business networking SUCKS..." I was being facetious, I do enjoy attending networking meetings, and you know what they have been successful for my business. As with any business activity, you only get out what you put into it.

Many people have written lyrical about the benefits of networking meetings, for me though there are a couple of must do's:

1. Be memorable - believe me I attend a lot of these things and I get business cards thrown at me all the time, I get back to the studio and I've forgotten who it was and the conversation we've had. My business is an online creative agency that are brand guardians with the added benefit of applying social marketing strategy. When we look at brand strategy in marketing, one of the most important concepts is that a brand is not just a memorable name or logo it is an experience. A great brand communicates values and emotions that get called to mind whenever someone thinks of the name or logo. So think about a hook!

2. Referrals - Having established niceties a key question must be: "How can I know if someone I am speaking with would be a good prospect for you?" In other words you are immediately in their favour; there is likely to be a moment of wow, he wants to listen to me... and you will be remembered. Building trust is the key to great networking and the more people you help, the more they will feel inclined to help you.

3. Where does the business come from? Almost all the time the business you get from networking meetings is not from the person you meet but someone they know. So follow up on the contact that you've made, have a meeting between the 2 of you to better understand their business and providing you with an opportunity to embelish your story (pitch).

There are loads more hints and tips I could give you but ultimately you need to prepare before you arrive, have an agenda, think about what it is you want to achieve or have the name of a company you are interested in being introduced to at the forefront of your mind. Most of all though - have fun and remember to smile!

Picture courtesy of F4B