Posts by author: Peter
Radio is dead. Long live radio.
When I heard the news report that radio listenership had grown two percent in the past year, I chuckled and thought of all the obituaries I’ve read lately for “traditional” media.
+ Radio is dead.
+ Newspapers are dead.
+ Television is dead.
+ Magazines are dead.
The killer identified in these death notices is usually “the Internet” or “digital media”—cold-blooded murderers with ice water running through their bandwidth.
But wait just a tweetin’ minute—I like the Internet and digital media, and I think they should be considered innocent until proven guilty. Don’t convict them of killing traditional media until somebody produces a body.
As an advertising agency, we use all these supposedly “dead” media every day to deliver selling messages for our clients. We know that radio, TV, newspapers, magazines, billboards and other “older” media are very much alive, and people are listening/reading/viewing. And if you place a compelling advertising message in these media, you get results.
Now a word about the accused. The Internet didn’t kill these other media, but it’s taking a big share of their influence. And their audience. And their marketing dollars. No one can deny that it’s providing us with new and powerful ways to market goods and services, from online advertising to social media.
And so?
- Don’t underestimate the viability of traditional media as advertising vehicles. They still deliver audiences.
- On the other hand, don’t wait too long to embrace online marketing. It’s a tsunami, and many other folks (your competitors?) have learned to ride it successfully.
- Make sure your marketing message is clear enough to make an impact in whatever medium delivers it.
Yes, radio listenership actually went up two percent in the past year. Radio—along with its traditional media brethren—can echo what Mark Twain said to set the record straight: “Rumors of my demise have been greatly exaggerated.”
Subliminal advertising—or just wacky coincidence?
One of our favorite advertising and public relations clients is Louviere Fine Arts. Elton and Pat Louviere are wonderful people as well as talented artists. Elton is often called “Louisiana’s artist” for his paintings of wildlife, rural scenes and cityscapes that celebrate the Bayou State.
Of all the O’Carroll Group’s efforts to promote Louviere Fine Arts, none is as brilliantly devious (serendipitously brilliant?) as that which appeared on page F2 of today’s Sunday American Press. Embedded in an ordinary wedding announcement were the subliminal triggers that are likely to bring thousands of Press readers to the door of Louviere Fine Arts when it opens Monday morning.
Our congratulations to Miss Louviere and Mr. Art on their fortuitous marriage. Thanks for your help—you’re on the top of the list if we need a new spokescouple for the gallery.
Larger-than-life celebrities
When the O’Carroll Group decided to introduce City Savings Bank’s branch managers to the community via billboards, our innocent subjects didn’t realize the power of advertising—and how it would change their lives.
Greg, Belton, John and Chris were good sports during the photo shoot, good-naturedly playing along with us when we asked them to strike an unusual pose or hold a strange prop. The O’Carroll Group production team explained our strategy to the bankers as we handed them garden implements: “People relate to real people. Let’s show ‘em you’re not stuffy bankers; you’re down-to-earth guys with a sense of humor. These billboards will make you familiar, so folks will feel that they know you.”
That last sentence was an understatement. These days, poor Greg, Belton, John and Chris can’t go anywhere without being recognized. Bank customers and strangers alike never tire of telling them, “Hey, I saw you on the billboard!” Their names are household words (at least in some households). Their kids and grandkids know all the bank billboard locations by heart.
When you see your face on a billboard every day, it’s hard not to get a big head. To their credit, these four bankers haven’t let celebrity spoil them. After all, they’re just down-to-earth guys with a sense of humor—and some good deals on business loans.
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