We were talking all things digital the other day, and someone brought up a good point: The web is changing the nature of marketing communications.
So did television before that. So did radio before that. So did the typewriter before that. So did Gutenburg press before that, in the year 1450.
In the end, when all the dust settles, we will have learned the same perennial lesson: substance is what matters.
Since web development is something we do, we feel somewhat qualified to make the following diagnosis: the web experience has officially become bipolar. Now, the way you experience the web changes depending on whether you’re on a smart phone, digital reader, tablet, or the next what-cha-ma-call-it.
Except for the drive to define and establish open web standards, platforms are multiplying like rabbits. But, unlike rabbits, they don’t play well together. If that’s cumbersome for professionals to deal with, you can imagine what the average person is feeling.
How many times have you heard that banner ads don’t work because of “low” click rates. It’s true that they generally do get low click rates, but it’s also a completely misguided way to judge banner ads.
This metric is fair for any banner ad that is intended as a retail direct response vehicle (much like a print coupon, or a 1-800 TV spot). But it’s absurd to lump these in with banner ads that are intended for brand or product-level messaging.
Each day, we’re all reminded that we are in a recession. Naturally, we started to wonder what that really meant. Recessions are defined as two negative quarters in a row. So, properly speaking, it seems we’ve been in a recession. And when we’ve had 3 consecutive “growth” quarters, that must mean we’re out of the recession.
But all that is kinda missing the real point, isn’t it?
Hardly a day goes by that you don’t hear the oldest cliche in advertising: It’s all about the work. The problem is, it’s not true. If you want great work, it’s all about the people you’re trusting to do it.
Morale is a funny, amorphous thing. Everything affects it. Everything is touched by it. It’s the most tangible of the intangibles.
The other day, one of our creative people was discouraged about changes a client had requested. Upon review, turns out it wasn’t the client’s fault. The strategic intent of the piece, and the creative decisions that followed, weren’t explained well enough – as if anyone could understand through mental osmosis. After a phone call, the client agreed (on most of it) with the quotable comment, “Oh, okay.”
Knowing that great work isn’t great unless it can be articulated, we are making a better effort to explain things beforehand – clearly, succinctly and without bad sports analogies.
Jan 28Unlike firms that solve business challenges using laws, operations or finances, we solve them using the medium of creative thought. By definition, this means a daily search for all that is new and interesting within the existing and familiar. Everything you see on this site is part of that exploration – as it goes.
Thanks for taking an interest in us. And may your journey be as exhilarating as ours.