Is This Really Microsoft?
September 8, 2008 at 7:11 pm
I just landed on Get Inspired.Net and I can’t believe that Microsoft is behind it.
There are typos and grammatical errors all over the place and really bad design and coding. And we’re invite to join the community - but not really told what for?
You can see what I mean here:
A Great Deal on Images - Some Good News For These Tight Times
September 4, 2008 at 10:58 pm
If you love animals and nature, you should probably turn your poor wee head away NOW!
Getty Images are targeting Ireland. Their Country Manager admits that the pricing for Ireland to date has been ‘all wrong’. [I agree].
This evening I attended a Getty evening where they got to show some of their amazing news, celeb, and global affairs images. We got to consume the message that ‘Ireland is just like Manchester’ [I think they mean in terms of market size, I certainly hope they mean in terms of style and beauty] and they [humbly = my words] acknowledge that they’ve been pricing our market all wrong.
So now they invite us - the Irish - to go online, find an image we like, and then contact them directly for an Irish specific price! A thrilling challenge indeed. And I’m not just talking about images. You can do it for sound to go along with your video, and even for video moving images. We used Pump Audio on Kanchi videos and it was really easy.
The Getty country manager is:
Marek Wystepak, his telephone is 010 246 2700 and you can contact me direct for his email or mobile if you need it. If you’re looking for contacts in relation to sound or moving image, there are direct contacts there too! [Almost sounds too good to be true eh!]
If you’ve ever been searching for amazing images for your website, found them on Getty and the cost was prohibitively expensive, well those days are gone. Now all you have to do is contact Marek and strike a deal {accordingly]. Maybe this is the good news story of the week?
I took a look around. For me, Getty Images are great. But when it comes to stock shots, good looking people in a contemporary life environment, iStock rocks. Where Getty excels however, is in news, current affairs, and key issues.
The following image is one I gleaned from the web [ie. didn't pay for] that was included in the exhibition and truly brought a tear to my eye.
Down with poachers. Boo!
How to get your name off phone directory lists
August 15, 2008 at 11:42 am
The company that looks after the eircom phone book and the yellow pages is called Truvo. Following Wednesday’s post and the interest it generated, I telephoned them and asked about getting my name removed from all future distributions and they put me through to their distribution company. I gave my details in there and that’s it! I’m off.
You can get your name removed too. Telephone 01 46 000 46 and give them your details.
You may also be interested to know that the eircom phone book includes phone numbers of all landlines (that are not ex directory). So even if you’re with Perlico, Digiweb, etc your name and number will still appear.
Now all I have to do is wait a year to see if this change takes effect, but you can rest assured that I will be keeping an eye out to make sure they do what they say they’re going to do!
Phone Book + Yellow Pages Opt Out
August 13, 2008 at 2:38 pm
Isn’t it about time we got the choice to opt out of receiving these hulks of paper to our doors?
Yesterday I received the eircom phone book and the yellow pages. The cost to the environment of delivering these to me is quite high, especially considering that:
- I will never use them, preferring to search the internet instead
- I am not listed in the phone book
- I am not an eircom customer
Actually I wonder if the phone book only lists eircom customers? I duly deposited them to the dusty shelf under the stairs and threw the old ones in the (green) bin.
Do you think it would be a good idea to give green consumers the chance to opt out of receiving the phone books?
Update on 15 August - it’s easy to remove your name from the distribution lists. Just dial 01 46 000 46.
M&A in Adland
May 9, 2008 at 7:57 am
Yesterday saw Martin Murray’s Interactive Return join Publicis QMP in a move for an undisclosed sum. This is the first acquisition of note that sees an Irish advertising agency buy in much needed digital skills.
“Headless chickens - but with attitude” is how I’d describe my dealings with the people at that agency. They approached Brightspark because they didn’t have the skils to do what they wanted to do in-house. Or perhaps they had the skills but that one guy was so overworked he was never going to be able to deliver to the tight timeframes the Account Manager imposed? Their method of working was directive; they weren’t interested in our suggestions on how their creative might work better if adjusted for the online environment. And in true advertising style, they paid late. Very late. That’s why I chose never to work for them ever again. They don’t deserve us!
I have a lot of respect for Interactive Return. A very professional outfit with a great team of skilled and creative people. A win too for Dublin City Enterprise Board who were one of the early supporters of Interactive Return.
Perhaps the greatest winners of all will be Publicis’ clients. Cast your eye over the client list here (and no, I can’t link directly because in true advertising agency style, it’s an all Flash website!)… It’s a worthy client list with brands and companies that you will be familiar with. But stop and think - do you know them from being online? I don’t think so. Here’s hoping that Murray and his team have the freedom to pitch their ideas in to Publicis clients.
Facebook is like Toilet Paper
January 10, 2008 at 9:56 am
“Like Facebook, toilet paper is rather popular. Everyone I know uses it. But I have yet to see ads on it.”
Witty comment by Jim Meskauskas in his post about “3 Trends That Will NOT Happen in 2008″.
Those anti-trends are:
- Mobile will not be the new Next Big Thing
- Social networking will not be the killer advertising platform
- Agencies will not be where the big ideas are coming from
He talks of agency fear - fear of being fired by clients, fear of being squeezed on fees that are tied to transactions, and fear of not being compensated for their ideas. And that’s in the US! Read the full post here.
Big Disappointment in Adland
December 17, 2007 at 3:20 pm
This time last year, the Irish Marketing Journal published the thoughts of many senior advertising people in Ireland about their predictions for 2007. All of them - bar none - talked up Digital. That’s the catch-all term applied to web, mobile, and other online activity by people who work in agencies.
When I read this, I got quite excited. I thought that this year might mark a new direction for Irish brands online. But no, it was not to be. Apart from the Powerade “Never Give Up” campaign from McCann Erickson, there really wasn’t anything inspiring coming out of Irish agencies that rocked my world. I liked the Powerade campaign because it was smart, integrating a blog with tv ads, outdoor, and banner ads, plus it used real life people - a key trend for 07.
Maybe I’ve overlooked something massive, but my conclusion is that 2007 marked another year where adland refused to take a big leap forward and not regard digital as just another medium like television and radio.
- Digital is worthy of more than just 5-10% of budget
- It delivers a fully trackable return on investment and reaches parts where television and newspaper can no longer reach
- It’s significantly cheaper to produce and can be tweaked mid-campaign
- It simply cannot be ignored
In the UK, the much lauded statistic about online advertising spend overtaking traditional happened at the start of this year. In the USA, I learned a lot about the opportunities for inspired advertising at the Future of Advertising conference. In particular Carla Hendra, the Head of Ogilvy, shared some excellent insights on what works online. The takeaway from her speech? You just don’t pitch for business these days without including a digital component.
In Ireland in many respects, we are ahead of the game (and here I’m thinking mobile) but when it comes to advertising, we are in the dark ages. Advertising and PR agencies are afraid to invest in the talent that could elevate them to the class of agency that ‘does digital’ and does it well. And until they do, the talents of their creative departments will continue to be limited to 20th century mediums only.
Adland Reaction
November 8, 2007 at 9:23 pm
I read this post with amusement, Ian Tait’s angsty post about the cover of the latest “Campaign” magazine in the UK. It seems that the ‘ad-men’ are switching on and moving over, and as Ian says “HOLD ON TO YOUR HATS PEOPLE, THE ‘PROPER’ INTERNET’S COMING, JUST AS SOON AS THAT GUY WHO MADE THE AWESOME TWIX AD IN 1986 CAN FIGURE OUT HOW TO LOG-ON TO ONE OF THOSE WORLD WIDE WEBS.”
Well if they’re still waiting over there in the UK, how much longer have we got to wait here?
This time last year I read with great enthusiasm in the IMJ (Dec 2006 issue) how all the adland chiefs were predicting that this would be the great year for digital….
Nothing has happened. I’ve not witnessed a rise in creative ideas coming at me from the advertising space. If you call the addition of a new category called FMCG in the shiny foil wrap spider awards a development, then that’s pretty sad. The only contender for the best interactive marketing campaign is Powerade’s Never Give Up. And that’s just because its shows early signs of joined up thinking.
When oh when is agency land going to wake up and contribute to what’s going on?
Calmness for end of week
August 17, 2007 at 6:12 pm
Check this out. And don’t forget to move your mouse around!
Escape this Bad Weather
June 24, 2007 at 8:26 pm
At least for a moment. Lovely ad that delivers 30 seconds of escapism.
