I read this AdAge article, titled "Why Metrics Are Killing Creativity in Advertising" last week and have been thinking about it ever since.

This article brings up the dilemma that mimics the old "chicken or the egg" conundrum in the advertising/creative/marketing industry - what do campaigns need most: creativity or metrics-driven strategy?

The author, Mr. Patrick Sarkissian, makes his own analogy, opining that "just as video killed the radio star, metrics are killing creativity."

I agree with Sarkissian that numbers should not fully dictate a new creative strategy. I'd like to assert, however, that in today's saturated markets, effective campaigns must rely on solid research and strong metrics. These can and will make the creative more affective. Yes, brand preference is built on emotional connections.

But if you can quantify population trends, habits, values/emotional connections, and then build your brand's creative around such a conceptualized and identifiable population, then doesn't than make your brand that much stronger?

Sarkissian's best observance is when he says "what works are creative and strategic communications that seamlessly engage and interact with the target audience." Word.

He talks about the power of "the big idea," and the need to return to such leaps of faith that make big ideas become epic concepts like "Just Do It."

After pondering the greater weight of metrics vs. creativity, I've come to the conclusion that, like all things in life, they're most effective when balanced.

Sure, you need 'big ideas,' uninhibited by numeric restrictions and people who like to think in algorithmic boxes. But those big ideas can be made stronger with metrics in a sort of ebb-and-flow process that yields smart creative and large numbers of addicted, highly satisfied customers.

Creativity - metrics - both can be effective for your campaigns.

Chicken - egg - who cares; fry 'em both up and enjoy.

Labels: Advertising, campaign planning, Marketing, Metrics

If you haven't spent time with Edelman's Trust Barometer it's worth exploring. The report examines our collective trust of businesses, government, sources of influence and more, as well explores the subject of trust itself.

The latest Barometer reports lots of interesting stuff, but here's something particularly interesting: the number of people who view their friends and peers as credible sources of information about a company dropped by almost half, from 45% to 25%, since 2008.

With the continued growth of the social web, and the fact that our time spent on social networks is up 82% one might find this drop surprising.

Richard Edelman, President and CEO, had this to say:

"The events of the last 18 months have scarred people. They have to see messages in different places and from different people. That means experts as well as peers or company employees. It's a more skeptical time. So if companies are looking at peer-to-peer marketing as another arrow in the quiver, that's good, but they need to understand it's not a single-source solution. It's a piece of the solution."

We concur.

This bit of information reinforces the need of constant communications and points to the fact that re-contact strategies are needed for brands that want to be active and provide value in the social web.

It's imperative not to just 'post and leave'. Rather, brands must remain constantly proactive about the ongoing creation of interesting content. And this doesn't always need to be new ideas, mind you... revisiting previous ideas is good because new people are becoming engaged all the time. But constant energy around the core brand idea (self championing and supporting like-minded activity) is key.

To do this companies should appoint a central re-contact leader. This person (or persons if volume requires a group) is the one who's in charge with monitoring the social web as well as empowered to contribute content in real time. While as many people who want to contribute should, like most things, it's just helpful to put someone in the lead.

The brands who break through with interesting and concise re-contact strategies will be the ones who reap the benefit of additional trust... and it will be at the expense of those brands who don't.

Labels: campaign planning, consumer trust, Marketing

After this bit of commentary, the following post is going to read like a news release because, um, it is one. But instead of sending it to mass media, we decided it would be better to simply post it on our blog, giving our loyal readers an advantage over non readers. (Let's see if this social media thing really works:)) Anyway, take a look and if you work for a non-profit or know someone who does, dream big.

BOISE (Sept. 10, 2008) — Drake Cooper, Idaho’s largest integrated marketing communications agency, introduced a program today that will provide a non-profit organization in the Treasure Valley with a year of valuable marketing and branding assistance during the 2009 calendar year.

Drake Cooper, in its thirty-year tenure, has found pro-bono work to be an integral part of its business, working with several non-profit organizations over the years, including Zoo Boise, Trey McIntyre Project, United Way, The Idaho Community Foundation and several others. This year, the agency has formalized its selection process, and will choose a progressive, pro-active applicant that is passionate about its cause.

Labels: campaign planning

ValleyRide, the Treasure Valley’s bus system and one of Drake Cooper’s clients, is growing in popularity, as gas prices go up, and citizens and businesses discover the cost savings involved in riding the bus. The most significant increase in ridership has occurred on the Intercounty bus line between Caldwell/Nampa.


ValleyRide has seen bus ridership soar by 3,000 people (boardings) or 60 percent between July and October in 2007, and so far in 2008, the trend is continuing. It will be interesting to see how $4 gas prices change ridership patterns.


In 2007, Drake Cooper once again won the bid to be ValleyRide’s marketing partner but this time, with a very different idea on ways to use the limited dollars available to market ValleyRide programs. As ValleyRide rolls out bus stops across the Valley, Drake Cooper has become a grassroots marketing agent, using primarily PR tactics, earned media and marketing collateral (often posted inside the bus) to help spread the word. There is no mass media “advertising” per se anymore.


Part of the program is to stay in touch with bus riders, of course. I rode the Intercounty bus service recently to see who was riding the bus and why, while a freelance photographer shot B-roll video for a news release we produced for ValleyRide. Bus riders on the ValleyRide #40 Nampa/Meridian Express told me that high fuel prices and dramatic cost savings by riding the bus have inspired them to hop on board.


The Express route departs Karcher Mall at 6:30 a.m., makes brief stops at the BSU West Campus in Nampa and at Gold’s Gym in Meridian, and then takes the freeway into downtown Boise, arriving at 7:25 a.m. Four different ValleyRide express routes travel many times daily from Canyon County to the Boise area to accommodate the demand.


“When gas prices went above $2 several years ago, I decided to try it,” said Georgeann Williams of Nampa, who works at the Idaho Elks Rehabilitation Hospital in Boise. “My employer pays for three-quarters of my pass, so I pay only $16 a month.”


Dan Narsavage of Nampa, a GIS analyst in the Ada County Assessor’s office, said his employer also covers the majority of the cost of his monthly bus pass, leaving him to pay only $13. “With my truck, I can’t get into Boise and back on $13 for one week, much less one month,” Narsavage says. “It’s pretty much a no-brainer.”


This year, Drake Cooper joined in to help the cause and will reimburse any employee the equivalent value to a monthly bus pass if that employee utilizes any form of alternative transportation.


It’s our view that citizens and the marketplace will continue to find new ways to drive progressive changes for alternative transportation.


ValleyRide’s conversion to a new fixed-location bus stops system in Canyon County was extremely well-received in late February. The objectives of the fixed bus stop system are to improve on-time service and safety, and position ValleyRide to grow. The media turned out in force to witness the new bus stop system in Caldwell and Nampa, and Caldwell Mayor Garrett Nancolas and Nampa Mayor Tom Dale were brimming with enthusiasm. Watch the videos attached here.



Now ValleyRide is working on implementing a new bus stop system for Ada County, beginning in September. Watch for news about the Bus Stops Here campaign, a ValleyRide initiative that Drake Cooper has assisted with PR work and a host of new marketing materials to help consumers learn about the location of new bus stops and how to navigate the system.


Power to the people!

Watch newscast.

Labels: Advertising, campaign planning, government