19 February 2010

Posted at 17:01h in blogging, database, gpyr, internship by

My final project as an intern at George Patterson Y&R was to do a presentation on the world of advertising through the eyes of a 20 year old. And the first thing I did, was to go through the database that is nearly two and a half years of my own opinion. You would not believe how useful it was. Although I've had some complete rubbish posts in the past, fuck I've written some good stuff if I can say so myself. And fuck it feels good to read a joke you wrote two years ago and still laugh at it. Good times....

15 February 2010

Posted at 15:47h in ads, database marketing, facebook, spam by

You know what the best thing about being in a relationship is? You don't get those annoying "Meet single 18 year old girls" ads on Facebook. Upon this realisation, it reminded me of an argument I once had with a tutor. The class discussion was about database marketing, and her advice to students was to never sign up to any competition because your details will be used to spam you. Perhaps it's the naive utopian young marketer still yet to be beaten out of me by the industry, but isn't the more knowledge a brand has about you the better? Of course there will be brands who sell this information on to others. But ideally, brands can use this to reduce the amount of spam you're receiving, not increase it. Ads become more targeted, personalised and therefore more relevant. At the end of the day, ads are inevitable. And I personally would prefer brands to know as much as possible about me to make these ads as useful and value providing as they can be. And by definition, they no longer become spam....

28 January 2010

Posted at 14:50h in ettiquette, expert, forum, playground, social media by

No, that's not just the name of David Thorne's new book that I just ordered. I think it's also something brands need to realise before they come out to play. Because no matter how many "social media etiquette" rules you follow, at the end of the day there's always going to be a bully or a troll or a mob ready to push you off the monkey bars. But I think it's important to note that this doesn’t just happen to brands in this space, but people too. It's almost inevitable, no matter who you are. So if it does happen, get back on your feet and give it another go. Although you can listen to advice from your parents (or the “social media experts”), at the end of the day sometimes it is going to happen anyway. Probably best you don't listen to my Dad's advice though, which was when I got in a fight to always punch the bully back. Consumers may not like that....

25 January 2010

Posted at 16:17h in mobile, ringtone by

Are advertisers seriously still giving away ringtones as prizes?I'm not even exaggerating when I say that every single mobile phone today has an option to make your own ringtone. From your own iTunes collection. For free.Giving away codes to download them was lame five years ago. Move on peeps.And even get me started on brands creating their own Crazy Frog style remixes....

21 January 2010

Posted at 09:22h in gen y, igen, media consumption, news, television by

One of the issues in not watching television, as my favourite co worker Stan points out, is that you miss ads. Which is fucking awesome for the most part except that people often talk about them. On more than one occasion I've been caught out where friends have turned to me as the one studying advertising and I've not had a clue as to what they're talking about.Ads, it would seem, remain a popular conversation topic. Music is another, which despite the fact I don't listen to radio, strangely hasn't affected me. The biggest issue that I am suffering from, is news. With the massive decrease in the consumption of traditional media, myself and many of my friends tend to be less informed about news and current affairs.And the only real reason this has become an issue is because it's a popular conversation topic among peers that I can't always join in on. But other than that, is this a big deal?For the most part, news programs have become commercial, vested interest vehicles of entertainment anyway. And as tragic as it was, is the death of four teenagers in a car accident really something that I should be concerned about?Instead, democratically, the most important and the most interesting news finds its way to me. This means I receive a lot less unimportant news, yet the big stories, like an natural disaster leaving many in need of aid, are made aware to me through platforms like Twitter. The jet skiing squirrel does not (I use Digg for that).Overlooking the fact I work (using the word lightly) in advertising, is it an issue that the next generation will be less informed about many of the ultimately pointless day to day news?...

15 January 2010

Posted at 17:12h in gpyr by

So that finishes my first week at George Patterson Y&R. I'm not sure what I was expecting but I think the word "traditional" came to mind. Possibly in the way you'd look at an accounting firm.Oh how wrong I was. I've already learnt so much, and it's only just the beginning....