Category: Portland

The Portland Media Documentary

To start with, a disclosure — an interview with me appears in this documentary.

The American news media world underwent some seismic changes between 2009 and 2011. These changes happened everywhere… big markets and small markets; big companies and small companies; radio, TV, and newspaper. The catalyst for all this… the hero or the villain depending on your point of view, was the Internet.

Bret Bernhoft has set out to document and interpret these changes as they affected the media in his hometown of Portland, Oregon.

As part of the project, he interviewed more than 20 players in the Portland media world: journalists, editors, announcers, production directors, salespeople, consultants, advertising agents, and more. Each of these people had a front row seat for a modern-day revolution.

Bernhoft has just released The Portland Media Documentary, an in-depth audio look at how the Internet has changed the news media in Portland. Over the next few months, Bernhoft will be releasing this documentary in segments. As I write this, three segments are available for listening and downloading:

  • The Independent Media in Portland
  • Multimedia in the Newsroom
  • Social Media and the News Industry

You can listen to and download each segment at no charge by clicking here. You should also bookmark the link, because each week two new segments will be released. To find out more about the Portland media documentary and other projects, feel free to contact Bret.

Click here to listen to the Portland media documentary now.

__________________________________________________________________________

Email Phil Bernstein here.

Like what you’re reading? There’s more! Sign up for Phil Bernstein’s free advertising and marketing e-newsletter here. As a bonus, I’ll send you a copy of my newly-revised and expanded e-book, The Seven Deadly Mistakes of Advertising and How to Fix Them when you subscribe.

Become a Facebook Fan of “Doctor” Phil Bernstein, Portland’s Advertising Expert  here.

If you like this post, share it — click the “Share” button below.

 

Why Subtlety Doesn’t Work Anymore

A couple of years ago, author/public speaker/comedian Andy Nulman wrote a blog post discussing his challenges as he gets up in front of an audience:

“The Internet has changed everything. It has contracted attention spans to an almost ridiculously-microscopic measure, and has sung the swan song for the concept of subtlety. For example, the old ‘speaker’s adage’ used to be:

  • Tell ’em what you’re gonna tell ’em
  • Tell ’em
  • Tell ’em what you told ’em

These days, the audience fidgets through the preamble, tweets during the middle and are out the door before the recap.”

Nulman wrote this in 2010. A recent article on emarketer.com details how, two years later, the rise of the smart phone has affected what your customers do while you’re commercial plays:

A May 2012 report authored by the IAB and Ipsos MediaCT, which drew on data from three surveys of US consumers, found that internet-enabled devices were not displacing other media-related activities, but adding to them. According to the Ipsos MediaCT LMX survey, the average amount of time that respondents spent engaging with media each day climbed to 9.6 hours in 2011, from 9 hours in 2009.

Time spent online or on a computer jumped to 3.1 hours from 2.5 hours over the same period. But the amount of time respondents spent watching TV held steady, at 3.4 hours. eMarketer estimates that US adults spent an average of about 11.5 hours per day consuming media content in 2011…

Here’s what this means to you: no matter what medium you are using to deliver your sales message to potential customers —  this applies to radio and newspaper in addition to TV — your customers now have a smartphone, and a choice. They can pay attention to your message, or:

  • They can check their e-mail, or send a text,
    –
  • They can update their status on Facebook, or send a tweet.
    –
  • They can watch a cat video on YouTube.

In fact, it is likely that they are doing one of these things as they are watching, listening to, or reading your ad. This means you have got to get to the point in a hurry. You need to deliver a benefit statement and capture attention immediately. Nulman put it this way: “No salad, just the main course”.

If, instead, you decide to “ease into it” you may find that the only thing your prospects remember later is Baby Monkey Riding on a Pig.

Does Relentless Advertising Work?

One answer to this question comes from a study conducted a few years ago by the Stanford University School of Medicine and Packard Children’s Hospital. According to AdAge.com, kids 3 to 5 years old were fed two sets of identical foods — some in McDonald’s wrappers and some wrapped in plain paper.

They overwhelmingly preferred the stuff when it came with a Mickey-D’s logo.

“Each child was given chicken nuggets, a hamburger and french fries from McDonald’s, and baby carrots and milk from the grocery store… With one exception, significantly more children said the McDonald’s-labeled product tasted better.”

McDonald’s spends an enormous amount of money to advertise to children, and apparently they have purchased brand loyalty beginning at a very early age. If you’ve ever driven past a McDonald’s at lunchtime with a car full of kids, you’ve seen brand loyalty translate into sales.

McDonald’s has enough money to be seen and heard just about everywhere; the rest of us have to be more selective in choosing market segments and media opportunities we can afford to dominate. But even without a huge marketing budget, you can still follow the basic principles that have kept McDonald’s at the top of their category:

1. Have a consistent theme and spokesperson — the Golden Arches logo has been there forever, and Ronald McDonald has been a significant part of the marketing effort for decades.

2. Establish a long-term plan, and stick with it. The most successful markets map out a year at a time, and they don’t cancel their ads after a bad weekend.

3. Make an offer. A small portion of McDonald’s advertising is for image, but most of it gives the target consumer a specific benefit — a coupon, a new product, a movie tie-in — for doing business with them today.

It takes careful planning, patience, and money to establish a dominant position in your market. And attention spans are shorter than they’ve ever been. But the basic techniques for gaining the consumer’s attention, interest, desire, and action haven’t changed.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Got a question? Wanna argue? Email Phil Bernstein here.

Sign up for Phil Bernstein’s free advertising and marketing e-newsletter here.

Become a Phil Bernstein Portland’s Advertising Expert Facebook Fan here

Cheap Marketing Tip: Give Your Common Product an Uncommon Name

You can buy brussel sprouts just about anywhere.

But only at Seattle’s Pike Place Market can you buy…

sprouts

By the way, if you’d like to buy some 30-second Messages of Prosperity Generation, give me a call. And if you have a name for radio commercials that’s better than that one, I’m open to suggestion. Leave me a comment below.

______________________________________________________________________________________

Click here to learn the shocking truth about Phil Bernstein

Click this link to subscribe to Portland’s Finest Advertising and Marketing Blog.

Request your free copy of Phil Bernstein’s white paper, The Seven Deadly Advertising Mistakes and How to Fix Them here.

Got a question? Call Phil Bernstein at 503-323-6553.

Home Improvement Advertising Case Study: Energy Guard

As one of Milgard Windows’ top dealers, Energy Guard Windows and Doors has a lot to offer — great products, 27 years of expertise, and first-class installation. For several years, Energy Guard has held Smart Home Seminars where homeowners can learn everything they need to know about replacing their windows.

I’ve sat in on the presentation, and can tell you it’s far more than a sales pitch. There was a tremendous amount of valuable information on materials, energy savings, installation issues, and the new Federal tax credits.

Recently, Energy Guard used radio advertising for the first time to promote a seminar. In the video below, owner Darren Mankin talks about how it went:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=–xw0MYd-U8]

______________________________________________________________________________________

Click here to learn the shocking truth about Phil Bernstein

Click this link to subscribe to Portland’s Finest Advertising and Marketing Blog.

Request your free copy of Phil Bernstein’s white paper, The Seven Deadly Advertising Mistakes and How to Fix Them here.

Got a question? Call Phil Bernstein at 503-323-6553.