A steady flow of thoughts about advertising
and marketing from True Creek.
Posted by truecreek on May 16, 2011 under More Dam News | 
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Looks like we’re really setting up for a nice summer at the movies. If you haven’t placed your schedules yet, it’s time to move forward. Summer is a tough time to reach your audience with your message. But it looks like they will be in the theaters!
Posted by truecreek on May 13, 2011 under The Work | Comments are off for this article
Posted by truecreek on April 28, 2011 under More Dam News | Comments are off for this article
From AP in today’s USAToday. Could really be a game changer when it comes to how we market food to our kids. Several agencies have introduced new guidelines. The story here.
Posted by truecreek on April 26, 2011 under The Work | Comments are off for this article
Posted by truecreek on April 25, 2011 under Opinions. Everyone has them. | Read the First Comment
Spurlock has done it again with “POM Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold.”
As he did in “Super Size Me,” Spurlock pulls you through the story, working hard to educate you on the nuances, verbiage and acronyms that are a critical part of the storyline. In this case, he’ decides to make a movie about product placement, financing it through product placement. It’s just a hoot.
He gradually becomes a learned student of the process. He makes one presentation after another to agencies and their clients, changing and adapting his pitch along the way. Finally, when he’s asked by one prospect “how much?’, he seems a bit taken aback at first. Then he calmly spits out a fair, but low, number.
Many of the marketers he presented to seem to have been taken aback by his unpretentious nature in the meetings. It’s was like like they were listening to their crazy brother or sister at the dinner table. You know what they are saying sounds weird, but than again….
You know he’s not trying to, but he makes more than a few of the marketers look pretty stupid in the process. And I think that is one of the things I find most interesting about Spurlock; it’s his unpretentious nature. You just feel for the guy and know that he’s just trying to make things happen. So what if he steps in it once in a while?
In one scene in the movie, he gets in the elevator after having pitched four or five great ideas to POM, only to be told that they would prefer another direction. Of course, it’s the one that they have been thinking about since he last presented to them. His stuff didn’t have a chance. How many times have we all been there?
This article from Ad Age speaks to the success Spurlock is having selling the movie. But his success doesn’t surprise me. He’s a great salesman. Perhaps he could offer versions of the movie as he adds more and more sponsors. That’s how the industry would do it, right?
Read more about this in AdAge:
Posted by truecreek on April 4, 2011 under Opinions. Everyone has them. | Comments are off for this article
A successful media plan becomes the pathway through consumers’ protective radar with the ultimate goal of influencing their behavior. We produce plans that will capture the imagination of the consumer with a full spectrum of creative, well-researched solutions.
We are strategic media thinkers, creating media plans that dramatically optimize communication.
We specialize in maximizing the yield on your media investment. We utilize the most current and sophisticated planning/buying research materials, including geographic and psychographic market information as well as quantitative and qualitative measurement tools.
If you are looking for innovative planning, placement and reconciliation, give us a call today at 703-256-2913, or ping us at joseph@truecreek.com.
Posted by truecreek on under Opinions. Everyone has them. | Comments are off for this article
I’m working on a new project right now with one of my favorite directors. He’s recommending we shoot this series of commercials with the new ALEXA, from ARRI.
He’s all pumped up about the extraordinary 35 format film-style digital camera system. He insists it’s just perfect for what we’re looking to do.
The camera will give us outstanding image quality with the organic look and feel of film, but what happens afterward is what is juicing him so much.
We’ll shoot with the HD on-board recording and after our shoot, we’re just going to pull out the large card we’ve recorded on and move the files right over to the Mac to edit, saving a tremendous amount of time and money in the process.
It does beg the question. Is film dead?
Posted by truecreek on March 25, 2011 under Opinions. Everyone has them. | Comments are off for this article
My clients are well aware of my affinity for cinema advertising. I just love the tactic. With cinema, you have a captive audience that considers movie advertising a part of the experience. The demos are great and your message is not lost in the clutter we see every day in other forms of media.
We’re closing in on a great summer movie season, with dozens of potential hits coming your way to the big screen, like . This is going to be one of the big hitters, I think. Captain America, another great Marvel story.
Posted by truecreek on March 23, 2011 under The Work | Comments are off for this article
Posted by truecreek on under The Work | Comments are off for this article
Posted by truecreek on March 9, 2011 under Opinions. Everyone has them., Research | Comments are off for this article
Interesting article from AdWeek. As the young users age, I wonder if they will keep their strong opinions about brand presence on social media.
By Mike Shields
Bad news for brands enamored with the possibility of connecting one on one with each and every consumer through the magic of social media: Young people don’t want to be friends with you.
According to a new report from Forrester Research, just 6 percent of 12- to 17-year-olds who use the Web desire to be friends with a brand on Facebook—despite the fact that half of this demographic uses the site.
Among Web-connected 18- to 24-year-olds that figure does double—meaning that 12 percent of that demo is OK with befriending brands—though the vast majority of young adults are not, per Forrester.
Even scarier for brands: Young people don’t want brands’ friendship, and they think brands should go away. “Many brands are looking to social media as a strong digital channel to communicate with these consumers, since it’s where 12- to 17-year-olds are spending so much time,” wrote Jacqueline Anderson, Forrester’s Consumer Insights Analyst, who authored the report. “But research shows that it is important to consider more than just consumers’ propensity to use a specific channel: Almost half of 12- to 17-year-olds don’t think brands should have a presence using social tools at all.”
To arrive at these conclusions, Forrester surveyed 4,681 Americans aged 12-17 on the Web in September of last year.
So what should brands do? According to Forrester’s report, they might be better off being more reactive than proactive, and they should listen. Just 16 percent of young consumers expect brands to use social media to interact with them, and 28 percent expect those brands to listen to what they say on social sites and get back to them.
Regardless of their willingness to interact with brands, nearly three quarters of 12-17 year olds—74 percent—use social networks to talk about products with friends and make recommendations.
Posted by truecreek on March 8, 2011 under More Dam News, Opinions. Everyone has them., Research | Comments are off for this article
Surprising to see this happen so quickly. I would have thought this shift would have taken another ten years or so. It must be a youth thing because I prefer HD on a big screen for my TV and gaming.
By John Eggerton — Broadcasting & Cable
Consumers are spending about 20 hours per week accessing digital content-including video games and print content–on a cell phone, computer, or mobile device, with the majority of that TV shows, movies and other videos.
That is according to a just-released consumer research study from PwC (PricewaterhouseCoopers). The study found that across all age groups, respondents watched 12.4 hours of TV shows/videos and movies online, while only 8.9 hours of that content on network TV and basic and pay cable.
Not surprisingly, the 44 and under crowd do the majority of that digital viewing, but even the 45-59 age group was close to even, with 9 hours of traditional video watching vs. 8.3 hours of online video viewing.
Mobile devices trailed as the screen of preference, in line with PWC’s forecasts that mobile TV is a very small percentage (1%) of the total TV subscription marketplace. The study found that 80% of respondents would not pay a premium for early access to content on their mobile device.
When asked about the ways they obtain movie content, only 12.9% cited purchasing via VOD from their cable company, which put that ninth on the list behind streaming from Hulu for free (30.7%), renting from an actual brick and mortar store (23.3%), or borrowing one from a friend or relative (19.8%). The two top answers were renting an actual copy from a Netflix (42.6%) and renting an online copy (31.7%).
Posted by truecreek on February 1, 2011 under More Dam News | Comments are off for this article
Just strolling down memory lane today. Art Director for the Off the Wall campaign was Bill Hornstein, but can’t remember who the writer was. Very effective work for The Tampa Bay Devil Rays, who at the time we’re in their second year as a franchise.
The baseball organization was in chaos at the time, if I remember correctly. But the work was great.
This and other outdoor executions were all over Tampa and St. Petersburg, including a three-dimensional board right at the stadium. The player from that board is still on the wall on the back of center field at the Trop.
Posted by truecreek on under The Work | Comments are off for this article
From back in the day. A nice, simple layout from Aaron Riney, for our client, Cox Communications. The headline was written by my all-time favorite, Mike Matson.
4Mbps was like workin’ with jet fuel back then.
Posted by truecreek on under More Dam News | Comments are off for this article
This is nothing but great news for the U.S. auto industry. Once left for dead, GM and Chrysler are both back, producing wonderful cars and trucks. Ford, the perennial favorite, hasn’t really even skipped a beat.
With technology leading the way, the American auto industry stands to gain a tremendous amount of market share in the coming years. I believe that most of that gain will be at the expense of heritage Asian brands.
AP DETROIT— U.S. sales of cars and trucks rose in January, a strong start to what the auto industry hopes will be an extension of last year’s recovery.
In another good sign, sales to individuals were better than sales to fleet buyers such as rental-car companies, which are far less profitable for automakers.
Posted by truecreek on under The Work | Comments are off for this article
At True Creek, we are into big ideas. The Creekbed draws from the brightest, most creative minds in the industry today; people who have shaped brands like Intel, Apple, Nissan, Best Buy, Volkswagen, Cox, Comcast, NASA – and many local and regional names that are big fish in a smaller pond.
We offer our clients a wide variety of services: Media Planning, Placement and Reconciliation, Television and Radio Production, Newspaper, Four-Color Magazine, Collateral Materials, Direct Mail, Promotional Merchandise, Point-of-Purchase, Outdoor and Out-of-Home, Logo Design and Corporate Identity/Graphic Standards.
Our agency is based in Oakton, VA, which is just outside the Capital Beltway in Washington, D.C.
Please take a moment to tour the site. Afterwards, let’s talk about how we might be able to help you. 703-281-2165. Or send a note: joseph@truecreek.com.
Posted by truecreek on January 26, 2011 under More Dam News, Opinions. Everyone has them. | Comments are off for this article
So, did this thing help communicate the level of threat? Wonder how much was spent on it? Well, as of today you can say goodbye.
Posted by truecreek on under Opinions. Everyone has them. | Comments are off for this article
Pictures tell a thousand words, yes? This is a sad compilation of photographs showing the demise of one of our Nation’s great cities.
Posted by truecreek on January 25, 2011 under The Work | Comments are off for this article
Poster artwork for our newest internal campaign for Suddenlink. Think As One.
Posted by truecreek on January 17, 2011 under Opinions. Everyone has them., Research | Comments are off for this article
For years, it’s been a given that women were primary decision-makers in most households, especially in the grocery store. They were always the keeper of the checkbook. But tough times can often change things and this recession has been no different. We’re spending less and watching our dollars more closely than ever before. But there is something more to the story.
I would never have thought that more than half of the Men surveyed now think they control the grocery cart. That is a HUGE shift from most current perceptions and might just mean a sea change in the way grocery stores market. A new survey from Yahoo is striking in it’s results.
BATAVIA, Ohio (AdAge.com) — Mom is losing ground to Dad in the grocery aisle, with more than half of men now supposedly believing they control the shopping cart. The implications for many marketers may be as disruptive as many of the changes they’re facing in media.
Through decades of media fragmentation, marketers of packaged goods and many other brands could take solace in one thing — at least they could count on their core consumers being moms and reach them through often narrowly targeted cable TV, print and digital media.
But a study by Yahoo based on interviews last year of 2,400 U.S. men ages 18 to 64 finds more than half now identify themselves as the primary grocery shoppers in their households. Dads in particular are taking up the shopping cart, with about six in 10 identifying themselves as their household’s decision maker on packaged goods, health, pet and clothing purchases. Not surprisingly, given that such ads long have been crafted for women, only 22% to 24% of men felt advertising in packaged goods, pet supplies or clothing speaks to them, according to the Yahoo survey.
The Great Recession has thrown millions of men in construction, manufacturing and other traditionally male occupations out of work and by extension into more domestic duties. At the same time, gender roles were already changing anyway, with Gen X and millennial men in particular more likely to take an active role in parenting and household duties.