Foretellings Redux

I’m watching Charlie Rose.  He’s interviewing a CEO in the venture capital/media biz:

Jonathan Nelson is Providence's chief executive officer and is based in our Providence and New York offices. Mr. Nelson is currently a director of Bresnan Communications, Hulu, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Univision Communications and Yankees Entertainment and Sports Network.

Interesting fellow.  Then I’m practically stupefied when he says (almost a direct quote) “More people will be using Smartphones than laptops and desktops within five years.”

Someone else divined that same thing recently:

Foretellings
With the exception of the workplace, smartphones (along with iPads and Kindles or something like them) might just make desktops and laptops and the web as we know it obsolete.

Jonathan is as smart as I am.  Wait … he’s smarter.  He’s a billion-and-almost-a-half-aire. 

But he’s got nothin’ on me. We think alike, we’re exactly alike - except for being separated by a few measly bucks. Big deal. 

He says what I said about 28 minutes in (click his pic): 

http://www.charlierose.com/view/interview/11017#

His tie is crooked.  I’d never allow that to happen on my neck. My clip-on is always neat and straight.

Maybe more separates us than simply quadrillions of pennies.

Advertising Is Dead. Again. (Part II)

Bob Hoffman, infamous Ad Contrarian, tipped me off to this one.
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Here’s a question I’ve never wondered about:

“What do viewers do during commercials?”

I just assumed that most viewers watch them. Now I find out the truth: Most viewers watch them.

MOST TV VIEWERS DO NOT LEAVE THE ROOM OR EVEN CHANGE CHANNELS DURING COMMERCIAL BREAKS, PER NEW FINDINGS
Contrary to longstanding received wisdom, the large majority of viewers of live television do not leave the room, nor do they change the channel, when the TV program they are watching goes to commercial …

TV advertising and program promotions reach 85% of adults daily; viewers typically see 26 advertising or promotional breaks daily, at an average length of 2 minutes and 46 seconds per break …

• 11% of viewers change channels during the four minutes of TV programming before the commercial break
• 14% change channels during commercials
• 13% change channels in the four-minute period after programming returns
• 86% of viewers remain with live TV during commercials

Such a shock.

But … what about social media marketing?  That’s the new thing, what everyone’s talking about, the only way to go nowadays. It’s the greatest thing since the telephone.

For those fascinated with graphs and charts, download this PDF:

Video Consumer Mapping Study

 

Next time some digi-dork vomits up the old "no one watches commercials anymore" line, smack him in the head for me. – The Ad Contrarian
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Advertising Is Dead. Again. (Part I)

Advertising Is Dead. Again. (Part I)

Here’s a very scary article:

New report claims social cure to ineffectual advertising
A report launched today claims that nearly $426 billion was spent on ineffectual advertising activity in the last year alone. (!!!)

Today’s newly empowered consumers hold a deep rooted cynicism towards companies: 58% (62%UK and 54% US) of respondents felts (sic) that ‘companies are only interested in selling products and services to me, not necessarily the product or service that is right for me’.

The Grim Reaper has arrived.  According to this survey.

In my presentations there’s a slide that quotes similar surveys:

Then, with the magic of PP custom animation, I reveal a bit of possibly relevant info – the dates of these surveys:

 Most of the above statistics are from The Mirror Makers by Stephen Fox:

It’s official.  The last sixty-four years of advertising has been declared ‘ineffectual’. 

Sharpen your scythes. Part II coming up tomorrow.
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It’s tomorrow: Advertising Is Dead. Again. (Part II)

Print Readership is Highest Among Baby Boomers

Senior Magazine, based in Colorado with a dozen or so sister publications up and down a handful of Southern and Western states, says this:

Why has Hyundai increased sales while every other auto manufacturer has seen a decline in sales?  Print marketing to boomers.

Well … that’s not completely true.  Hyundai also has a pretty good television campaign.  Very classy stuff.

How long have I been talking about targeting Boomers for automobiles?  Here I am actually talking about it in 2005:

Author/Copywriter Champions Advertising to Baby Boomers
Co-host Brad Forsythe interviews Chuck Nyren, author of "Advertising to Baby Boomers."

The Advertising Show (audio download)

And there’s this:

What Next From The Crystal Ball of Common Sense?

Famed Soothsayer and advertising gadfly NostraChuckus has been startling the world for years with his mundane prognostications. 

One of his first foretellings is now coming true.  Way back in The Ancient Times (2005) he foretold the redesigning of automobiles for an aging demographic …

More about print:

Print Readership is Highest Among Baby Boomers
According to a NAS report published in March 2010, time spent on print media (community & daily papers, magazines & books) is highest among older Baby Boomers who are spending an average of 100 minutes per day reading their favorite print media.  The study also reported that the younger Boomer segment (ages 45-54 years) spends an average of 30 minutes per day.

In addition to national papers, the research stated that 58% read their local daily papers regularly, and 68% read their local community papers regularly.

And they’re also watching television and responding to brochures, some other forms of Direct Marketing, and the internet. 

As I’ve been saying for years:

The Most Effective Marketing/Advertising Model For Reaching Baby Boomers: What is now called traditional advertising pushing you to an age-friendly, informative product/services web site.

The Daughter Trap

Laurel Kennedy:

As founder of the “thinking firm” [part think tank and part consulting firm] called Age Lessons, Kennedy has become an acknowledged authority on multi-generational issues and an advocate for mature consumers.

We met in Chicago, worked together in New York City.

Laurel sent me a copy of her new book The Daughter Trap: Taking Care of Mom and Dad...and You.

I’m not exactly the target market for this tome, what with being male and both parents gone.  So a straight-ahead review of the book might be suspect. 

I’ll say this: Ms. Kennedy knows how to write and keep you reading, is quite adept at coordinating intriguing stories that roll like waves and eventually engulf you, is wonderful at interweaving anecdotal and statistical evidence while making her points forcefully:

Researcher Kennedy conducted 60 minute depth phone interviews across the U.S. with a nationally-representative sample of 216 working women born between 1946-1964, who reported having primary caregiving responsibility for one or more aging parents or in-laws.

Since I’m not reviewing the book …

Praise for The Daughter Trap
Silver Anvil and National Telly Award winner Kennedy presents a razor-sharp tome on the impending national crisis in elder care.

More Reviews

The chapter getting the most press is about sibling rivalry (Laurel really hit a nerve with that one):

Mom's favoritism can affect kids, sibling rivalry as adults
Kennedy … found that even though none of her questions asked directly about a parent favoring one child over another, about two-thirds of the women said there was a favored child, and most said it was "mother-focused."

Ms. Kennedy covers all relevant topics in her book and website.  I’ll toss in my 2¢ on one – corporate sponsorship …

This will sound a bit jaded and opportunistic - but as we know, companies do not like to associate themselves with depressing subjects – in this case, old and helpless people.  However, what an appreciated relief it would be for a couple of major outfits to acknowledge and support caregivers. It’s perfect PR. You don’t have to focus on the ‘caregiving’ – but on the difficult issues facing caregivers – a strong, resilient bunch (because they have to be).  Grab your PR folks, get in touch with Laurel, and there are limitless possibilities.

As an example: There’s lots of talk about a new web site targeting Baby Boomers, Life Goes Strong:

P&G, NBC Digital Create Network of Boomer Verticals
NBC Digital Networks and Procter & Gamble are partnering to offer a "vibrant" online destination for baby boomers. The network of sites known as Life Goes Strong will celebrate topics and passions "at the center of this dynamic generation’s everyday lives," NBC Digital said.

A good take on it by Dick Stroud.

There are a handful of articles about caregiving on the site – but wouldn’t it be a real coup to add another vertical and title it Caregiving Goes Strong?  (Actually, I’d prefer Caregivers Go Strong to focus on the people, not the act of caregiving.) 

What great PR it would be.  You’d make 40 million friends.

Need more ideas?  Read The Daughter Trap.