Entries for month: February 2012
The three-headed beast that stands between you and true advertising innovation
26 February 2012 · By Barbara Cohen
Many of our clients and friends in advertising departments in media companies claim to have had limited success with the innovative solutions they present to clients. The list of potential reasons for this is long, but we can no longer simply blame it on the economy.
The U.S. economy is on the mend. While not out of the woods – there are dangers lurking all around – consumer confidence is up and unemployment is falling. The Canadian economy never suffered the doldrums of its neighbour to the south. The picture is mixed around the world, but there are many places where the economy is solid and improving.
So, if the economy is not the obstacle, what holds us and our advertising partners back? To find the answer, let’s revisit the concerns we have observed over the last couple of years of work with local and national media providers.
...[more]Long-term or short-term? They’re not mutually exclusive
23 February 2012 · By Tyler Mack
I attended our local annual economic forecast event last week, which our paper helps to organise, and I was struck by something one of the panelists was trying to convey to the hundreds of local business leaders. His message to us: Don’t get so hung up on the short term that we forget to plan for and address the long-term needs of our state, from an economic development standpoint. In focusing on longer-term needs — in the speaker’s case, he was arguing for more work to improve local and regional education standards — we would, in turn, tackle our short-term challenges.
It seems to me that newspapers would be wise to take the same advice. Although we all have short-term gaps we must fill and goals to accomplish, if we get too focused on the immediate issues and never get around to planning for longer-term goals, we’ll be in the same position (or likely worse off) a few years from now. We’ll still be facing constant budget challenges, be working to best our local competitors in next week’s ad pitch and generally asking our people to do more with less (and often for less take-home pay).
...[more]Is media the new creative?
08 February 2012 · By Zac Skulander
I’m going to write about innovation and creativity in media and the role that I feel they play in the day-to-day running of a newspaper. Unlike advertising revenue, creativity cannot be measured. Similarly, the feeling a client gets when you create something specifically for them cannot be measured. I strongly believe if you come up with creative media solutions for clients, in turn revenue will reflect this. If great journalism is the cornerstone of any great newspaper, then I think innovation should be the cornerstone of every sales floor.
There is a lot of talk in the industry at the moment about the emergence of creative people working within the walls of media owners.
Firstly, let me make myself clear: I don’t believe that any one person is more creative than another simply because they have the word “creative” on their business card. Anyone can be creative, and we all need to be creative. It could be anything from coming up with a new revenue stream for newspapers, to an idea which can increase circulation through a marketing promotion, to coming up with an idea that has never been seen before. Our business is diverse and so is creativity.
The latest trend is seeing former creative agency staffers taking on roles to help media think creatively. However, media is a totally different beast, and there is a lot of fear amongst advertising agencies that media owners are trying to step on their toes to create the ads. They should fear not.
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