Atomic Ideas - Helping You Sell More Stuff!

Confessions of a Mad (Men) Man.

They say confession is good for the soul. So here goes:

As a somewhat Mad Men type guy myself, a CD/writer type who worked at a major agency on accounts including  BP, Red Roof Inns, Bennigans, Steak and Ale, Mazda, Kroger, Meijer, etc. and now at a smaller agency where I am a partner working on local and regional accounts (sound familiar?), I love watching Mad Men becuase it echos (if somewhat distantly) the real world of advertising.

Now here's the confession part: I DVR-ed the 2-hour season premier of "Mad Men" and purposly started watching 20 minutes late so that I could zip past the commercials. I must be "Mad!!!" Here I am, a guy who makes his living and his career off of commercials, watching a show about people who make commercials, and I didn't watch the commercials! 

Ah, there, I feel better. Now I did pay attention closely as I zipped past the commercials and noted that there wasn't a single one that I hadn't seen before (I watch a lot of TV). But the bigger point is this -- when a TV commercial is crammed into a 4-minute commercial break, even a pro-commercial person like myself has a hard time staying tuned in, let alone the multitude of folks who could give a crap. 

My solution is to have fewer commercials per break. The human mind can only store so many messages at a time, anyway. So have fewer commercials, charge more to air them (clients will scream at first, until they understand that there is more of a chance people will actually watch them), and make Mad Men and Mad Women TV viewers a little less mad! 

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Black Friday illustrates the perils of "price-only" differentiation

Well, it's two full weeks until Thanksgiving and retailers are already jockeying for postion on Black Friday. Since they are all competing on price, and prices can only be cut so far, the only tool they have left is to try to start their sales sooner than their competition.

Instead of sales starting at an ungodly early hour on Friday morning, Black Friday has crept into Thursday. Target has announced that their Black Friday will start at midnight on Thursday.  http://www.target.com/c/Target-black-friday-2011/-/N-5q0f2.  So...not to be outdone, Wal-Mart announced that their sales start at 10pm Thursday http://www.walmart.com/cp/black-friday-2011/1076614.I say we just take off the gloves and start Black Friday today...at lunchtime!

This is a microcosm of companies that rely on price to differentiate their brand. They put themselves at the mercy of a fickle consumer who will bolt the second they can find a lower price somewhere else. A brand, whether it is a product, a retail store, or a service, needs to stand for more than a low price. 

Wal-mart and Target understand this. They can't offer much lower prices around Thanksgiving, so they offer something else, availability. But since their competition is trying to differentiate themselves the same way, this can only go so far! I mean, Black Friday can only be pulled up so far before it becomes Black Monday, or further back and becomes Black November, or Black Autumn starting September 1st, or heck, a Black Year starting at 11pm New Year's Eve!

At Atomic Ideas, one  of the first questions we ask a potential client is: "If every one of your competitors had the exact same price, why would customers come to you?" If you don't have an answer to that question, you are doomed to compete on price...and your brand is simply...doomed!

 

 

Atomic Ideas Creates New TV Campaign For Belle Tire.

Working in close collaboration with the marketing team at Belle Tire and production company Rare Medium, Well Done, and based on research and consumer feedback, Atomic Ideas created three new commercials to highlight the fact that tire shopping really isn't that much fun. 

The new campaign capitalizes on Belle Tire's commitment to providing an unexpected and extraordinary customer experience for tire and automotive service customers, and introduces the new tagline "Better At Every Turn."

The spots contrast the alternate reality of a universe where people live for the day they have a flat, or their car breaks down, with the reality that those events are about the last thing a normal person looks forward to. Take a look and let us know what you think!

 

Atomic Ideas is an idea factory for marketers that need a boost.

We offer businesses strategically sound ideas to accomplish their business objectives, and then we execute them. 

The results are compelling selling conversations that connect companies with their best customers, both internal and external, offline and online....aligned.

When that happens, our clients sell more stuff.

 

Atomic Ideas Helps Client bd's Mongolian Grill Throw A Tailgate Party!

Check out Atomic Ideas' latest work for bd's right here. Then head to the location nearest you to try out something totally different at bd's - an awesome burger, Mongo-style!

Through October 30, 2011, bd's will bring the game-day spirit to diners with an appetizing tailgate party unlike any other. The world's number one create your own stir-fry concept is providing fans with new and exciting menu additions, including innovative burger and brat recipes and drink combinations.

 "Football season is all about family, friends and fun," said Denise Head, vice president of marketing at bd's Mongolian Grill. "Adding burgers and brats to our menu creates the ideal tailgate party experience and is exactly what our guests want."

During the football season, diners can create their own tailgate experience with four new Create Your Own Mongo Burger choices. Angus, Turkey, Veggie, and Salmon burgers can all be paired with an array of mouthwatering sauce options. Brats are also available for a limited time. And Mongo lovers can top off their burgers and brats with a variety of vegetable bar offerings from customary onions, tomatoes and bacon to nontraditional items such as pineapple and jalapenos!

We love collaborating with the great team at bd's on exciting events like the Tailgate Party ... and we love the food too! 

 

Atomic Ideas is an idea factory for marketers that need a boost.

We offer businesses strategically sound ideas to accomplish their business objectives, and then we execute them. 

The results are compelling selling conversations that connect companies with their best customers, both internal and external, offline and online....aligned.

When that happens, our clients sell more stuff.

 

 

Burger King Whopper Lust is One Tasty Promotion!

 

Crispin Porter + Bogusky may have been retired by Burger King, but their final effort for the fast feeder is a great example of work designed to affect behavior to drive trial and, dare we say, sales! 

After Crispin was fired, I posted on the fact that much of CP+B's work for BK, while buzz-worthy and award-winning, mostly failed to move the needle: 

"For seven years, CP+B garnered recognition, awards and peer accolades, and also much criticism for its Burger King work... from "Subservient Chicken" to sometimes bizarre and creepy "King" commercials to "Whopper Sacrifice". The problem is, that apart from an initial boost in sales, Crispin basically failed to help BK sell more stuff in the long run... much like their predecessors."

But maybe Wopper Lust will be their pièce de résistance.. it's a great, idea.

In a nutshell, the agency bought a channel on DirecTV (111). The only thing you'll see on it is a spinning Whopper on a flaming grill and a timer... that's it. Stare at it for five minutes and I guarantee you'll be getting hungry; you'll also get a free Whopper! Stare at it for 10 minutes and you'll be drooling... and you'll get TWO free Whoppers. Stare at it all night and, well... you get the idea.

According to an article on Agency Spy, CP+B, Burger King's already given away 50,000 Whoppers this week, and they're guessing America will have watched the Whopper for 13,500 hours (810,000 minutes) before the wekend. The same article has the details on how the promotion works.

This time around, it's not just buzz without measurable, real ROI. Whopper Lust has literally put the Whopper back in the spotlight. It's driving trial, and we're betting it will drive sales, too.

Kudos to Crispin!

 

 

Has America "Jumped the Shark?"

Okay, our economy sucks. We'll be lucky to get out of this mess without leaving our kids and grandkids with crushing debt. But if anyone can do it, it's our elected leaders, right?

Nope, they're too busy texting body parts. And if they don't have the good sense to keep from Tweeting their privates, what hope do we have that they can balance the nation's checkbook?

Well then, we just need to vote these scoundrels out of office and get some leaders with brains and common sense, right? Nope, almost 1/3 of us, according to a Marist College poll in USA Today (6/8/11 page two), think this kind of behavior is just hunky-dory...i.e. "expected" of our elected leaders.

So...in short...we're screwed. Our leaders suck. The people who should hold our elected leader's feet to the fire, suck. The nation has officially "Jumped The Shark" -- a Hollywood term meaning, "past it's prime and ready for cancellation." The term originated with an episode of "Happy Days" when Fonzie jumped the shark and it was clear from that moment that the series was doomed.

 

Thanks to the stupidity of our leaders and the complacency of our people, I think our nation, like the show, has seen the end of Happy Days. But that's just one blogger's opinion. What do you think?

 

Crispin Porter + Bogusky Proves That BS Didn't Help BK Sell More Stuff.

We're absolutely convinced at Atomic Ideas that bullshitting consumers won't help our clients sell more stuff. Not surprising since our overarching raison d'etre is to take the BS out of brand strategy.

The problem is, many advertisers still think that bullshit will help them move the needle. Case in point, Burger King and their advertising agency Crispin Porter + Bogusky, the latest victim of BK's marketing malaise.

Yes indeed, they're getting dumped by Burger King (oh, and Groupon just dumped them too after another self-indulgent fiasco). But from the agency world perspective, many of us wish we could be just like CP+B. But honestly, why? Here is an agency that arguably does more to publicize and advance its own agenda through its strategic and creative executions than it does for its clients. If everything you do is designed to gain attention for yourself as much as for your clients, maybe there's a problem. Of course, we are also aware of the fact that even CP+B may have caved to the clients demands. After all, 300 million is an awful lot of momey no matter how big an agency you are.

For seven years, CP+B garnered recognition, awards and peer accolades, and also much criticism for its Burger King work... from "Subservient Chicken" to sometimes bizarre and creepy "King" commercials to "Whopper Sacrifice". The problem is, that apart from an initial boost in sales, Crispin basically failed to help BK sell more stuff in the long run... much like their predecessors. Burger King is famously famous for switching agencies when nothing goes their way. 

To quote Ad Age:

"Before Crispin Porter + Bogusky, Burger King went through creative agencies like shit through a goose."

In our humble opinion, BK is as much to blame as its agencies. Burger King is a company that simultaneously dropped its "flame broiled" and "have it your way" differentiation in favor of... well, what? A guy in a mask? Most guys with masks are either terrorists or bank robbers. And if you can't have it your way at BK, well you definitely can't have it your way anyplace else. So what's the difference?

There is no question that "Have It Your Way" must have presented some difficult operational issues for Burger King. On the other hand, if they would have spent as much money figuring out how to make it work for their operators and franchisees as they did on the inane, useless advertising they have put into the marketplace over the past decade and more, they may have actualy gained market share against McDonald's and other competititors.

From our perspective, the real reason BK has gone through so many agencies is partly their fault. The idea that advertising can solve all a company's problems is completely fallacious. It's an excuse to cover up poor management, poor vision and a general misunderstanding of what consumers want and desire from a brand. On the other hand, Crispin's desire to make a splash for their own brand certainly didn't help them solve BK's business problems.

Most of what Crispin put out for BK was entertaining, sometimes bizzare, buzz-building bullshit, and it didn't work. Obviously, their client bought into it (and probably even asked for it). But at the end of the day, numbers show it did not communicate marketable truths about the product that would move the needle for the brand and help them sell more stuff. Both Crispin Porter + Bogusky and BK got a lot of attention, but for what? Alex Bogusky quit, and now BK quit them. Quit Pro Quo.

So now BK is looking for a new agency... again. Unless BK actually owns up to the fact that they (and maybe their products, management and operational isues) are a big part of the problem, rather than the agencies they hire on a regular basis, they will once again be pissing in the wind.

Hey BK, Atomic Ideas may be small, but we say what we think and we won't bullshit you or your consumers. Besides, we're fairly sure we would be a hell of a lot cheaper than all those big boys that have so far failed you.  Give us a call if you're looking to actually sell some real Whoppers! 

 

CREDIT: Thanks to animateit.net for the Bovine Excrement meter!

Friday Funny - Talking Dog - Casting is Everything

This is the perfect definition of a viral video. So funny. So spot on, that people play it over and over again and send it to friends.  What is it selling? NOTHING. Advertising clients often ask agencies to "Make a Viral Video" then force them to cram all kinds of sales points into it. And god forbid anything in the video make the client or product look the least bit goofy, or in any way be "edgy." As so...it never goes viral.

But that's not what I really wanted to talk about today, which is: casting! Take a look at this talking dog video. The voice used for this dog is perfect. It fits the character of his actions and the dialog. So many clients want a "funny" radio spot but want to cast "straight-up" announcer boring voices. Or vise-versa, they will only buy a straight script but then want to put a "funny" voice in it "to make the spot funnier." Neither works. A spot needs the proper synergy of character, delivery and dialog. Screw up any of these and a potential customer's BS meter goes off and you've lost them (ie you've thrown your money away).

I know, I know, it's Friday and I promised you "funny" in the title. So enough pontificating. Here's the video. Enjoy!

  

Atomic Ideas Whips Up Cash For Genisys Credit Union

 

As we all know, money talks. So this week GenisysCredit Union debuted two new radio spots which feature a likeable, relatable character named "Cash" who is in essence, your hard earned cash - ie. your money! Targeted to "GenY" and "GenX" men and women, these spots, written and produced by Atomic Ideas, casually inform listeners of the benefits of Genisys Credit Union versus banks or other credit unions. 

These spots also roll out Genisys Credit Union's new web address: genisys.me utilizing the just released ".me" suffix. Why use the new ".me" instead of ".com"? Because Genisys is all about you -- or as the consumer internalizes it, all about me!

In just two and a half days on the air, Genisys has already seen a bump up in auto loan originations -- the subject of the first two spots.  Future spots will highlight other areas in which Genisys has a unique selling proposition or "marketable truth."

Take a listen. Then maybe take your cash to Genisys Credit Union! 

GenY Auto Loans

Women Auto Loans

 

 

Friday Flashback - Edgy VW Spot That Worked!

Okay, everybody loves the mini-Darth Vader VW Super Bowl Spot. But as many pundits have pointed out, myself included, the spot doesn't really say anything about the vehicle it is supposed to sell. That commercial says nothing different than any family car with a remote car fob can say. Nothing to differentiate that vehicle from hundreds of others. FAIL!

But here is a classic VW spot that entertained, was edgy (hey, death is always edgy), but made a very clear and concise point about the vehicle. Like the mini-Darth Vader Spot, it cost a bundle to make, was :60 long, and created quite a buzz. The difference? It moved the sales needle by providing a "marketable truth." (At Atomic Ideas, we define a marketable truth as a feature or benefit that the product or service offers that is a clear value or fills a real need of the target consumer, and one that they can't get, or get in the same degree, from competitor's offerings.)

Take a look.