WAWAM!: July 2010

the inspiration is mount pinatubo when some years ago, all of a sudden, after decades of being dormant, it decided to erupt, spewing debris and ash several kilometers high, blowing ashes to float everywhere, far and wide, turning the skies gloomy gray as far away as metro manila, hundreds of kilometers away, covering metro manila streets and rooftops with thick ash. the pinatubo eruption was so powerful that its ashes changed the color of sunsets not only in the philippines but also worldwide.

that's what happens when clients and advertising agencies decide to run ads not worthy to be called advertising. its dark, its huge and very irritating and unfortunately, everywhere!

all they are doing is wawam! what a waste of advertising money!

here is a first row view of Philippine Advertising and Philippine Marketing.

Friday, July 16, 2010

toyota's biggest savings promo turn into a customer's biggest satisfaction failure

we have been seeing this print ad for toyota. nothing really special about the print ad, it's a typical promo print ad from the genre of barker, hyper type of promo ads. we have also seen a tv ad for this promo and from what we remember, the tv ad looks like the print ad, also unremarkable. based on just our own observation, it appears toyota has spent the most ad money among all the car manufacturers. most are on promos like these.

the ad we have here is the ad for the extension of the promo, the promo ran in june and this ad announces its extension until july. they could have come up with a different version for the extension of the ad for better impact and awareness. this extension print ad is different from the first version only with an announcement of the extension on the upper right hand corner of the ad.

promos are a good thing or so at least in paper. they are meant to build business. the idea of a promo is that during the time it is ran, the promo will generate incremental business for the brand/company. what happens when a promo turns into a big customer dissatisfaction? here is one example:
http://wawam.wordpress.com/2010/07/16/toyotas-biggesr-savings-turn-to-customers-biggest-customer-satisfaction-failure/

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WAWAM! Mentoring & Consultancy Services

WAWAM! launches it's One-On-One Mentoring Services & Consultancy.

For Individuals - we have received quite a number of queries from individuals both from client and ad agency sides on specific projects they are working on. They wanted an outsider's point of view to sharpen the thinking, discover new landscapes or just to get inspired. We have answered all of them and we are offering this service to everyone.

Clients and ad agencies who need additional hands and brains may also avail of it's Consultancy service.

For Clients - it's not easy get a new advertising agency. We will provide innovative and quick solutions to looking for a new ad agency. Clients will benefit from getting an ad industry insider's view.

For Ad Agencies - to grow and even just to survive, ad agencies need new clients and new businesses. We will provide that extra hands and dedicated work on the Ad Agency's pitches for new businesses.

As it has been done, we commit to privacy and confidentiality. Send an email to wawam.email@gmail.com for inquiries.

WAWAM! One-on-one Mentoring Services For Individuals

Ano Daw Sabi? Sindrome (ADS? Sindrome)

when an ad is unclear in what it is saying, that is the reaction you have -Ano Daw Sabi? (what did it say?).

and whenever an advertising has ADS?, it's actually a "sin" to the client and to the business of the brand.

if an ad is unclear in what it is trying to say, or even just parts of it, what is it's reason for being then? it can be just 10 seconds of the ad or the whole 30 seconds, any second that has the ADS? Sindrome makes the whole ad a WAWAM!

the ADS? Sindrome is a specific malady that makes the ad a WAWAM!

click here : http://the-wawam-file.blogspot.com/2008/08/wawam-launches-ano-daw-sabi-ads.html

Brain Food

WAWAM! is adding a new section and we're calling it "Brain Food".

Brain Food is where you can find titles of books to read on marketing and advertising and the occasional books on management and leadership.

Unless stated otherwise, these books are available in the Philippines. If available, will also post links, excerpts or reviews of the books featured here. These will be posted in the main blog section but from time to time will post them in this section for quick access.

For easy access, all Brain Food posts will be tagged. To access all the Brain Food posts, Just click "Brain Food" in the "inside WAWAM!" section.

Also, tell us of any interesting book you have read and will post them in Brain Food.

the anti-WAWAM! words of past

> Advertising Budget As An Investment : getting your brand in the minds of consumers do not happen overnight. If you want this to be there quickly and strongly, you need to spend for it. Also, there's a reason why the advertising expense is called an "investment". why? think about it.
> Brand Character - often glossed over and mostly misunderstood, but is a powerful brand separator and more importantly a powerful cause for WAWAM! brand character success may not be the most powerful success factor but it's a powerful pull down to failure.
> Consumer Insight - a consumer insight is NOT a consumer research finding. if you took the words out of a consumer research finding and wrote it in as a consumer insight, you are in the wrong track.
> Consumer Insight - if you don't have one, DO NOT proceed with your product or advertising launch. do so only if you have a consumer insight.
> Consumer Insight - neither is a consumer insight a marketing objective or problem and not an advertising objective or problem. if your consumer insight sounds very much like these, you are in the wrong track, in a horribly wrong track. change it quickly!
> Entertainment Value - tv spots are aired on TV whose primary role in our lives is to provide entertainment. if your ad does not entertain in some way, why air in a medium meant for entertainment?
> Tag Line : the art and discipline of a great tag line has been lost and it seems it is no longer in practice. A poor or weak tag line means you don't really have an ad concept
> Talents - if you chose a talent to appear on an ad just on the basis of looks alone, you are in the wrong track. Acting ability is obviously needed, but there are a few intagibles that you need to look out for.
> Target Audience - if what you have in your advertising and marketing plan is just a statement of demographics, you are in the wrong track. even if you added psychographics, you're still in the wrong track. make your target definition work hard!
> WAWAM! - What A Waste Of Advertising Money! mostly advertising materials that are failures, unable to inform, persuade or build an image or build business for the brand. they are advertising where good money is spent on bad things. it's impact is equivalent to not spending money at all.

kobe bryant jumps over a speeding car in a new nike tv spot

did kobe really do it or not? was he nuts or not? is there a camera trick? is it just CG? blue screen maybe? or can kobe fly? well, we know michael jordan can fly, but kobe? this ad was released just a week ago and it appears it was released just in the internet, through kobe's website. and it has been extremely successful - it's all over the internet. it has been getting crazy internet buzz and now traditional media is on it too. nike has has once again done innovative marketing! check out some links about this ad: http://usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/cars-trucks/daily-news/080415-120429/

Dart Drat! - why my client's pic is on my dartboard

- consumer insight: he thinks he knows what it is, demands we have it but he does not want to spend money on consumer research to get it. wth is that?
- consumer research : i wish my client will stop thinking it's an expense. it's really an investment.
- contact reports & project lists: as if getting these done quick will sell an additional case
- market share: when market shares go up, it's because of him. when market shares go down, it's because of me.
- miracle worker: that's what clients want us to be when they include advertising in their marketing mix but does not provide enough funds for it
- needed yesterday : this is a fact, when that is said, it means it's too late. it can sound cute but the truth is there is a failure of management and leadership here. own up to it.
- pricing : why is it that there's a thnking that a weakening volume sales pulled down by an increase in price will be fixed with advertising?
- problems : client thinks it's an advertising problem when it's a brand management problem

amazing art : theo jansen's "Animaris Rhinoceros" kinetic art

amazing art in an amazing tv spot : theo jansen's kinetic art for bmw