Category: Humor

Take it Outside.

“We love seeing your boards. They’re easy to read and understand. And they don’t have a lot of clutter.” Anecdotes are not reliable scientific measures, but word of mouth in this day and age does mean something to marketers and more specifically, consumers.
The number of drive by impressions depends on the location of your outdoor advertising and the message presented on that billboard. It helps further if your board stands next to a major route that’s regularly used all year long. By extension, we have a second board similar in concept, but unique in their message and brand positioning. So, we have 2 boards that run in rotation, that second board can be anywhere so as long as it’s on a major highway or road that allows for a reasonable “read.”

A lot of commuters, vacationers et al travel our interstates. Traveling north/south is straightforward from 95 in New Haven, CT then onto 91 right up to the Vermont border. The east/west channel has the Mass Pike [I-90] running from Boston all the way to eastern New York.
Springfield, MA’s DMA [Designated Market Area] is ranked 117 in the USA. A short 25 minutes south, is Hartford, CT, ranked 32.
We do get our share of leaf peekers, second home owners in Berkshire County, skiers, campers, fly-fishers, boaters, hikers and everything else in between.
Demographically speaking, there are key influencers and decision makers who receive multiple impressions from our messages.

But before any creative goes up, the content must deliver a quality that most viewers/drivers can identify with. As a brand, our firm is known for long-term strategies, growth, and a conservative though modern approach for reinforcing our values. And since our beginnings, we’ve positioned all our clients as the assets that matter; it dovetails with our commitment as fiduciaries: we work in the best interests of our clients.

We also partner with non-profits, either through co-branding or providing the space for however they’d like to use it. Any proposed artwork needs to go through our compliance & legal departments.

Travelling on the highway, you have less than 1/30 of second to glance at a board, any board. We make every effort to keep the content simple and relevant to our clients and prospects. There’s been no shortage of motifs to help develop content. For example, there’s been a growing interest with Artificial Intelligence [AI] and the world of autonomous electronics or in applications that can generate text that’s easy to read and perhaps follow. ChatGPT comes to mind. It’s not unusual in our digital world today where you could make it easier to create something that refines efficiency while reducing complexity. Robotics come to mind.

When I started here , I pushed for the use of white space because it adds, 1) a sense of calm & order, and 2) it delivers a focus that helps you think . David Ogilvy, the grandmaster of modern advertising and branding had a tenet that has stuck by me: “Keep it simple and do not talk down to your audience.” A lot of outdoor advertising is overloaded with info. It’s as if the strategy is to include as many benefits and attributes in the space. I refer to it as putting 10 lbs of “stuff” into a bag that holds only 5 lbs. Simple concepts are often better if only because they can be easier to remember.

As an advertiser, having the right message delivered in a relatable way means the viewer can identify with what’s being said. The short version of that is referred to as having “emotional ownership.”

When a message strikes a chord or brings forward a detail that sticks with you, then emotional ownership has taken hold.

Aftermath

The uncertainty of these times has made it very certain that the new choronovirus will be with us for a good while. Eventually—and hopefully—we will find the means to return as close to “normal” wherever possible, hopefully within next year. Figuratively, we’re running a marathon, an endurance race where—as many of you already know—demands stamina, pacing, patience and the willingness for self-sacrifice.

Our home these past 3.5 months has been a sanctuary for our daughter, two boys, a new born and our son-in-law. From quiet, predictable routines to a household filled with activities, remote schooling, and more, altogether this was a period of joyful noise and scattered stuff in, out and around the house.

The boys were constantly in motion. The desire to explore, imagine, to experiment and be inventive was nothing short of  remarkable. And while the boys did their best to pick up after themselves, they were far better engaging their playfulness, their devil-may-care personas, as evidenced by the scattered clothes, toys, and more, left on the deck, out in the lawn, on the slip’n slide water game or in the breezeway. The breezeway of course is the equivalent of an “airlock” that space that serves as a buffer to the kitchen that lies beyond.
And yet, clothing, LEGO toys in various stages of disassembly, wet sneakers et al, found their way onto the runner that marks the outer circle of the kitchen.

As of this writing, the house is once again quiet, sometimes much too quiet. Just before the 4th of July holiday, they returned home, to their own spaces and routines.  It is as it should be. As much as we enjoyed our time together, all good things must come to an end.
The organizing, cleaning and picking up of stuff continues. I refer to the many pieces scattered around as shrapnel. To walk barefoot across the lawn is an exercise in uncoolness. The edges of a LEGO block, a broken piece of plastic, a spoon forgotten, all became suitable reminders that wearing footware during the clean-up phase should be mandatory.

It’s true that having grandchildren can be a terrific life stage. You love them to pieces, you revisit your own escapades from the past, your marvel at how your own parents managed the rambunctiousness of our youth. Whether it’s an afternoon or 3.5 months, those kids need to return to their parents, routines, friends and all that is their life beyond ours.

 

 

Exterior Decorating: Not ready for Conde Nast

The renowned publisher Conde Nast has 22 brands, last I checked. Four readily come to mind: Vogue; GQ; Conde Nast Traveler and Vanity Fair. In the context of this post, those 4 magazines have been founts of creative thinking for my marketing side, editorially and commercially.

So, I took creative license to offer an ambiance of levity, a lack of seriousness if you will, because I wanted to share a distraction far from the banal and divisive intrusions that dilute attributes of hope, faith, tolerance, civility and last but not least—love.

Sharing is Caring

 

Ferrari has an enviable position in several areas, not the least being Formula One racing under the moniker, Scuderia Ferrari. It’s been said that Ferrari makes road-going sports cars so they can finance their F1 racing efforts.  It’s a princely sum; in 2016, close to 386 million euros [$460 million USD] was spent on their factory team. Their fans, aka Tifosi, are beyond passionate regarding team Ferrari. I’ll leave it to you to think of superlatives beyond “fiercely loyal and passionate.”

Earlier this year at the Spanish Gran Prix, Ferrari driver Kimi Raikkonen crashed at the first turn of the race. A 6-year old French boy, Thomas Danel, burst into tears upon learning his hero was out of the GP. His parents were beside themselves. I’ll let author, Formula One reporter and devotee, James Allen take it from there. Click here for his story.

If you read Allen’s story, then you’ll understand the arc of my post. Being warm and fuzzy is not one of Ferrari’s key attributes, racing or otherwise. Perhaps it’s an effort to make F1 racing more empathetic to emerging Tifosi, young and old alike. Maybe there’s a contagion involved, as demonstrated by tire manufacturer, Pirelli, at the end of the Challenge races.

The photographs posted here are from the Ferrari Challenge races held at Lime Rock in Connecticut. Pirelli is the exclusive supplier of racing tires for the Challenge series. Not many know that after one race, those tires are done. This could be interactive marketing in a most basic way, but Pirelli offers to the fans these “one-and-done” racing slicks, which means they don’t have to lug as many back to the factory graveyard. I wonder how fans packed these large souvenirs home?

Yes, the younger fans have ideas on what to do with them; in most cases—and not surprisingly so—mom & dad have the final say.

I did catch a few choice conversations, mostly between a youngster and a parent.  “This is gonna look great in my room! It’ll be next to my bed!” After listening to similar expository ramblings, the most common response was a resounding, “No you’re not!”

I’d like to think that there’s a sense of reciprocity in play, other than Pirelli making all sorts of impressions to influence consumer behavior. For example, the size of these racing “sneakers” make for a fantastic foot rest, his and hers no less.

Summer Sea Wings

It was the earliest summer day I could remember in a long while. And it wasn’t even summer. Temperature records broke yesterday; it was 92F [33C] just about everywhere in New England save for points just south of Canada’s border. This early visit of hot weather “took” me to the sea shore.

They’re not particularly pretty. Their singing voice is far from being one though instantly recognizeable. They can make a mess of things in parking lots, boardwalks, the top of cars and awnings. But when they’re in the air, well, that’s a whole other matter. They are graceful gliders and with a even a mild wind, they’ll hover effortlessly in place.

This isn’t traditional birding by any means, but it’s close enough for me. Sea gulls could make good marketers. They can cover a lot of ground in a given area [market size]; they can quickly spot food at a distance [target audience] and they are persistent if not persnickety [a certain interactive style and management approach].

If they had an awareness for all things sartorial, sea gulls would have a certain spezzatura, a level of nonchalance, bravado and dare I say, a quiet confidence that fits their environs and the season they thrive in. They wear white, off-white or cream with contrasting shades of grey, black and brown. It’s always in style, en vogue for summer.

They don’t have the panache of a peacock, the grandeur of the golden eagle or the pixie-ness of the hummingbird. You would think that their commonality would make them the poster child of avian commodities. No, the standard bearer to that claim would be the nearly ubiquitous pigeon…followed by the sparrow.

Yes, sea gulls have become more audacious on a crowded beach, but who, if anyone, could resist an open bag of potato chips? Or Smart Food Popcorn[tm] or—an all-time favorite—Goldfish Crackers! Cut them some slack this summer. They are reminders that it’s time to put some block on your nose rather than have it at the familiar grindstone.

The Humphs…

humphs-for-prez-10-5-2016

I think I’ve seen just about everything this election year. It won’t get the best of me in spite of it. So, after conferring with my buddy, Humphrey, we determined that he is another option for the ballot. Humphs may not have fluency in diplo-speak and he doesn’t speak from both sides of his mouth [jaw?], but he will be honest about things…and you will know it.

Spread the word. You’ll feel in the dumps, if you don’t vote for Humphs!