Advertising Archives - Page 3 of 13

25Sep 2020 by Bob Cargill

The #WhoAmIMaskChallenge

Advertising, Branding, Cause-Related Marketing, Marketing, Motivation

Why do you wear a mask? I wear a mask because I want to help stop the spread of the coronavirus. I wear a mask because I don’t want people to get sick and die from COVID-19. I wear a mask out of respect for those around me. What about you? Not only is this a relevant, timely conversation that was started by William Lucas (Bill) Walker last month, this is a great campaign which you can learn more about here. Bill is an Emmy Award-winning writer/producer who wanted to get the word out about the importance of wearing a mask during this pandemic. So he challenged people – like me and you – to record a short video introducing ourselves and telling the world why we wear a mask.…

02Sep 2020 by Bob Cargill

Age Is Not Just a Number

Advertising, Branding, Leadership, Marketing

Age is not just a number. You can say that again. Age is not just a number. That’s the hashtag - #AgeisNOTjustaNumber – in a campaign recently launched by Grace Creative, an agency in Los Angeles specializing in marketing to women. Featuring a special Age Anthem video (which you can watch here) starring a number of women who talk about their respective career and life journeys, this ridiculously awesome new campaign asks women over 50 to “Tell us in a video or photo caption the journey your age has taken you.” This is an inspirational, motivational campaign that anybody of any age should want to get behind, especially women, of course, as this campaign is geared towards them. Ageism is real, after all, but everybody ages. Good for Grace Creative…

18Apr 2020 by Bob Cargill

This Is the Time to Show the Human Side of Your Brand

Advertising, Branding, Leadership, Marketing, Social Media

In these uncertain times, countless brands are adjusting their advertising and marketing messages. What about you? This is not the time to think you can just set it and forget it when it comes to communicating with your customers and constituents, especially on social media. This is not the time for your canned sales pitches. This is the time to reach out to your audience and ask how you can help them. During this pandemic, your business may still be in operation, but your focus should not just be on your bottom line, it should be on doing what you can for the greater good. This is the time to show the human side of your brand. This is the time to speak honestly about how the health crisis is…

27Mar 2020 by Bob Cargill

Staying in Touch With Your Audience During the Coronavirus Crisis

Advertising, Branding, Business, Leadership, Marketing, Social Media

Al Roker is delivering his morning weather forecasts for NBC’s TODAY show from his kitchen. Late-night talk show hosts like Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel are presenting new DIY incarnations of their shows from home, too. Popular musicians and celebrities of all kinds are live-streaming on Instagram, Facebook and almost everywhere else on social media, performing hit songs and connecting with fans. They are doing whatever it takes to keep the show going on, making a huge positive impression on viewers and listeners during these difficult days. Brands and businesses can be doing the same thing, too. In fact, some of your most meaningful communications could be taking place during these tough times. Your customers and prospects will appreciate hearing from you. But they don’t want marketing and sales pitches,…

13Mar 2020 by Bob Cargill

How Marketers Can Respond to the Coronavirus Outbreak

Advertising, Branding, Business, Leadership, Marketing

Amid the rapidly worsening coronavirus outbreak, marketers, advertisers, brands and businesses might need to adjust, if not pause their messages to consumers. It is important to be sensitive to the seriousness of this situation. The economy may be threatened, but lives are at stake. Take a look at any of your existing marketing campaigns and make sure to bring them up-to-date. Authenticity is always a priority in marketing, but now more than ever, what you say to your audience is a representation of how you feel as a brand. Business must go on, but think how you might be able to do things in a better way. Think like CVS Health. They announced today that they will deliver prescribed medications to customers for free. That's a win-win situation if ever…

29Dec 2019 by Bob Cargill

Humanize Your Brand

Advertising, Branding, Marketing, Seth Godin, Social Media

Real success in business is achieved when you use real people in marketing and sales, real people in real time being really honest with their audience. When I saw Mark Schaefer speak earlier this year, he emphasized the importance of being human as marketers. I saw Seth Godin a few months later, and he pointed out that human marketing takes time. They're both right, of course. Consumers are tired of being bombarded by the constant cacophony of cries for their attention from brands. There must be a better way to win friends and influence people in business. That’s why I’m such a huge proponent of social media. Social media levels the playing field, making it possible for companies to engage with consumers - and vice versa - as human beings.…

13Dec 2019 by Bob Cargill

The Future of Advertising…It’s About to Get Real

Advertising, Marketing

To break through the clutter and win consumers over, advertising and marketing need to get real. That’s what Bud Light did recently. During game five of the 2019 World Series, Washington Nationals fan, Jeff Adams, took a home run ball to the chest while holding on tightly to his two cold beers. That’s when Bud Light sprang into action. Not only did they take quickly to Twitter to call attention to the moment, they tracked down the fan and by the next game, had him the star of a television campaign that featured the actual video footage of him being hit by the ball. This scenario was remarkably well played by Bud Light, to say the least. Borrowing a page out of the social media playbook, they wasted no time…

29Nov 2019 by Bob Cargill

People Don’t Like Advertising and Marketing

Advertising, Marketing, Social Media

I hate to break it to you, but people don’t want to be interrupted by advertising and marketing. That’s the last thing I want to hear, too, as I’ve earned my livelihood in this business for years. But we can’t bury our heads in the sand. We can’t look the other way. We can’t say we weren’t warned. Not after reading a recent article in The New York Times (“The Advertising Industry Has a Problem: People Hate Ads") that painted a very pessimistic picture of what my colleagues and I do for a living. Consumers are turning off and tuning out, going so far as to pay extra to receive news, information and entertainment without being bothered by brands’ incessant cries for attention and engagement. This is what I’ve been…

05Oct 2019 by Bob Cargill

Advertising is Everywhere

Advertising, Branding, Marketing, Public Relations, Social Media

Advertising, marketing, PR and social media …all this is changing at breakneck speed. What strategies and tactics worked for us a few years ago, or as recently as last year, could easily backfire on us today. We can’t afford to have whatever messages we’re sharing with our own respective audiences be anything but relevant, timely, engaging and even amusing. Never mind the glut of content people are trying to sort through and digest, many consumers, customers and clients won’t tolerate anything that even resembles a sales pitch anymore. Stop begging for business and start earning that business. Stop trying to fool those on the receiving end of your messages and start trying to help them. Stop hitting listeners, viewers and readers over the head time and again and start listening…

Category: Advertising