Getting creative with billboard design.

Yeah, yeah — we know all about Facebook, Twitter and all the other types of social media. But where does that leave traditional media? Where does that leave the billboard?

It’s hard not to feel bad for traditional media trying to keep up with all of the new technology. But you don’t have to worry about the billboard — some very creative people (not as creative as us) came up with some very clever ways to breathe new life into these oft-maligned road signs. In fact, they may be too eye-catching — it’s easy to imagine drivers so distracted by these works of marketing art that they sail off the overpass.

Check out 50 mind-bending billboards from 10Steps.SG for yourself — but keep your eyes on the road if you drive by them.

Newspaper advertising will recover.

There’s going to be an ad revenue recovery for the beleaguered industry, and it’s coming soon. Yes, the decline is about to end, according to a new forecast that projects print ad revenue will actually rebound 2.4% next year.

Beyond 2010, ad research firm Borrell Associates forecasts that by 2014 newspaper income will be up 8.7% over 2009 and that newspapers’ share of total ad revenue will jump from 14.4% to 15.9%. Read the rest of this entry »

A great alternative for out-of-home spending.

According to Media Life, digital out-of-home spending will leap 13.2% from 2008 to 2013 — total spending will reach $4.53 billion, up from $2.6 billion this year. Video ad networks (screens in office buildings, health clubs, fast food chains and gas stations) will make up the largest portion, but the fastest growth in the category will come from digital billboards.

Digital billboards are currently available in the Philadelphia market on the I-95 corridor, but there’s also good news for our Delaware-based clients: The first digital billboard in Delaware will launch mid-September on I-95 near Newark. Digital billboards allow for unlimited design executions with no associated production costs and can be purchased on a weekly, every-four-week or annual basis. Yet another outlet to keep in mind as we search for the most effective ways to get our message out there.

New technology from Google to help ad agencies.

Google has long focused on empowering the consumer, evident in its easy-to-use self-serve tools. This focus is especially apparent to agencies trying to manage client AdWords/Analytics accounts (credit card–centric billing, max of 25 Analytics accounts per Google Account, flimsy integration of Webmaster Tools).

Google is taking steps to remedy this, however, with the launch of AgencyLand, a single repository for all agency info, including training, resources and news. It also gives the freedom to share certain relevant portal aspects with team members, enabling managers to share a piece of knowledge without bogging down employees with the whole pie.

Access requires an MCC customer ID (obviously) and an invite, since it’s a pilot offering.

Stay competitive by advertising.

Almost half of the adults in the United States think that if you’re not advertising, you must be in trouble. And most think that if you are advertising, you’re competitive and committed.

That’s according to a new Ad-ology Research study, “Advertising’s Impact in a Soft Economy.”

Also:

• 40% of consumers use coupons more now than a year ago.
• TV, newspaper, direct mail and Internet top local media from which consumers saw/heard an ad within the last 30 days that led them to take action.
• Store websites ranked second only to search engines as the way consumers research products and shop online.

The lesson? If you want consumers to know you’ve got a healthy business in this sick economy, advertise.

Peel n' Taste

First Flavor Inc. of Bala Cynwyd and US Ink, a Carlstadt, NJ–based company that provides ink for the newspaper industry, recently launched “Taste-it Notes” – newspaper front-page sticky notes that double as flavor strips. Now you can smell and taste a food or beverage product in your morning newspaper!

So far, flavor strips have been used in national campaigns for Welch Foods, Arm & Hammer, SKYY Vodka and Campbell’s Soup. In addition to newspapers, the ads have appeared in People and Rolling Stone magazines.

The Philadelphia Business Journal reports that Taste-it Notes are being billed as “a new way for struggling newspapers to build up ad revenue. … This delivery leverages the power of print advertising and brings an interactive experience that is not possible with online, television or radio ads.”

Now I’m not sure if Taste-it Notes will revitalize the newspaper industry, but this is an interesting new take on product sampling.

The reality of print advertising.

Well, maybe not greatly exaggerated, but there’s a sliver of hope for the faltering industry – at least for the time being.

A new survey of American readers by The Rosen Group, about the state of current and future media, found that nearly 80% of respondents still subscribe to magazines; 83% find that daily newspapers are still relevant. Of those surveyed, though, 40% were uncertain whether newspapers and magazines would exist in 10 years.

The results suggest that although there’s a strong shift to online news consumption and a strong preference for online sources for breaking news, Americans still believe print publications are important to their lives.

The research brief was published by the Center for Media Research – online.

Targeted cable advertising

Ads specifically geared to your household! Yes, cable companies are finally going to be able to do what the direct mail business has been doing since the beginning of time. The New York Times reported that Cablevision Systems is planning to announce the largest project yet using targeted advertising on television. Read the rest of this entry »

Image courtesy TVGuide.

According to Nielsen, nearly 37.8 million U.S. viewers tuned in between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. to watch inauguration events on a total of 17 broadcast and cable networks.

This is the most viewers on an inauguration day since Ronald Reagan's in 1981 (41.8 million viewers).

Read the rest of this entry »