This guest article was written by Dave McMullen, partner and lead strategist at redpepper integrated agency.
The $3.5 million Super Bowl ads have all come and gone, and the conversations - supercharged by social media - are in full swing. Or are they? To get true bang for your bucks in the Big Game these days, brands should do more than entertain; they should get people talking and move them to action.
The days when being voted one of the top commercials in the "Ad Bowl" equaled success are ending. Today, ads are expected to be revenue generators - or at least engage viewers and motivate them to DO something. So, were there any big winners this year? I suppose that depends on how you measure success.
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This guest article is written by James Stewart who is a director at Geneva Film Co. in Toronto. When not directing "flatties" he's knee deep in the next dimension of advertising.
To 3D or not to 3D? That is the question. Agencies and brands alike continue to second-guess this ever-growing technology as though it was the new Betamax of the digital age. Is it really worth the production complexity and added expense? Will a large enough audience stand in awe of your creation's visual splendor to make it worth your while? The answer is quickly becoming a resounding 'YES'.
Let's face it, 3D is no longer an experience reserved solely for the latest state of the art cinemas. Digital 3D is everywhere. Flat-screen TV's, laptops, tablets, even smartphones like HTC's Evo 3D and LG's 3D Thrill are taking the 3D experience out of the theatre and putting it in the palm of your hand. And, with the advent of autostereoscopic technology (read: glasses-free), gone are the clunky Orbison-like lenses allowing instead for beautiful, full-color, hyper-crisp 3D to be viewed with the naked eye.
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Actress Minka Kelly and fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg have teamed up with Diet Coke and the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute for the organization's The Heart Truth campaign. The campaign aims to increase awareness of heart health education programs for women.
An event on February 8, the Red Dress Collection Fashion Show, will, along with Kelly in a Diane von Furstenberg dress, feature five Diet Coke fans who were selected from those posting pictures of themselves in red dresses on Twitter, Tumlr and Instagram using the hashtag #ShowYourHeart. One grand prize winner, chosen by Kelly, will get a shopping spree with a style expert.
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Oh the honesty of children. Here we have eight year old Arturo giving his take on this year's Super Bowl commercials on behalf of Salt Lake City-based Crowell Advertising. Arturo didin't like too many of the commercials calling most of them stupid. Bob Parsons will love the fact Arturo thought his .CO ad was an ad for paint. He thinks there should be more monkeys in commercial and he had no idea what was going on in the Dannon commercial. Give it a watch.
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Email marketing. It makes you yawn, right? Creating and watching Super Bowl commercial is way more fun, right? But just how much trackable business can you expect from a Super Bowl commercial? Especially since most of you don't have $3.5 million to blow on a Super Bowl commercial.
Are you still yawning? You shouldn't be. Email marketing might be boring but it's cheap (ok, inexpensive) and it works. And you know when it works. And you know how it works. And you know why it worked. Can you say that about a Super Bowl commercial?
But it's just more fun to make a TV ad, right? It might be. But ask yourself this; are you in this business to have fun or to make money? Yea, yea, yea, it should be both but the bottom line is that you're doing it to make money for your company, your client's company and for yourself.
So if you hate email marketing and think it's boring that's OK. You're just going to be left behind by others that realize how well it works. But don't worry. Our white paper series is here to help. Check out Aprimo's Ten Steps to Effective Email Marketing. Ok? We good?
