Voiceover Blog

Almost anything you read about marketing to the 18-29 year old crowd will tell you that one thing is for sure: they detest hype. Now, it causes me to wonder - Is hype in the eye of the beholder?

One of the advertising buzzwords right now is viral marketing. Viral marketing is like starting a rumor. You judge your success by how much it spreads and how much excitement it causes. Viral marketing does not have a direct call to action. Several years ago, a group of independent film makers caused a stir with a website that purported to show a group of teens being chased and killed by an unknown entity. Turns out, it was pretty much the first viral marketing project, and it made The Blair Witch Project a lot of money.

Lately, with the increased interest in the MySpace and YouTube websites, a certain video journal has developed a following with folks now wondering - Is It Real? or Is It An Act? Could it be another viral marketing scheme, or a bright, creative someone who has discovered an attention-getting device beyond their wildest dreams? After all, there have already been a couple of YouTube videographers who have landed development deals with the networks.

Whichever way the internet cookie crumbles, I have to wonder if that age group feels disillusioned when these online discoveries turn out to be hype for a movie, website, product or whatever. Is all hype still hype? Or are we as marketers and advertisers crying wolf ?

–Thanks for reading

Do you waste your time and advertising budget trying to sell your customers on a product What are you really selling?

Recently, I had the opportunity to present an advertising concept to an insurance company. They spent a lot of time telling me about their products. I had to explain to them that they’re not selling a product

Take a look at the print or broadcast ads for fragrances. Is Chanel Number 5 selling a product? The product is what comes in the bottle. What they are selling is a promise “ the promise that you will be attractive and alluring if you use what’s in the bottle.

Many advertisers make the mistake that if they tell customers how great their products are they will buy them. But that is the quickest way to waste your advertising dollars. You must first determine what it is the customer wants to accomplish, and find the benefit where your product will help the customer achieve that need.

–Thanks for reading.

Add to Technorati Favorites

One of my favorite radio jingles is from KVIL in Dallas. It goes, “It’s a shame what’s happened to radio, ‘coz they can’t afford to do it anymore”.It was sung tongue-in-cheek back in the 70’s, but it’s true today.

If you’ve ever read BUILT TO LAST, one of the twelve myths of visionary companies is “the most successful companies exist first and foremost to maximize profits”.  But the history of visionary companies shows that isn’t the case.  Instead they pursue a number of goals, and making money is only one of them, not the primary one.

Radio is content, and if you look around, you’ll see that quality is heading south. At a recent FCC localization hearing in Tampa, a professor of Journalism told the group, “The FCC rules now narrow the range of viewpoints, and we are overfed Anna Nicole Smith and starved for alternative perspectives on war and how can we become better citizens? We are asked not to think, but to consume.”.  He received the loudest applause. Consolidation has been pushed to the brink.  In many cases there is no more local news.  The same goes for public affairs programming.  But they can’t afford to do it anymore.

Shame on them.

Thanks for reading.