Stream of Consciousness » consumer-marketing

The Browser You Loved to Hate. Introducing the New IE.

truecreek — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 13:49:36 +0000

Very cool new site from Microsoft. Self-effacing copy can often do the trick. Surprises you in a way that keeps you intrigued. Check out the graphs. Nice design, overall.

The Browser You Loved to Hate.

Shame On You, Carnival.

truecreek — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 19:05:25 +0000

You have to be kidding me. Here you have passengers who have just disembarked from a hellish three-days adrift in the Indian Ocean. After fearing for their lives due to the ravages of an uncontrollable fire, they had to endure an environment that I’m sure was just lovely. No AC. No electrical power. And the toilets were overflowing. Must have been a dream vacation on the high seas.

With just a little bit of effort, Carnival/Costa could have assembled a small army of people whose sole responsibility would have been to help passengers with their luggage once they reached dry land. No biggie, right?

Instead, they had to schlep all their own luggage around.

Just a little help at the dock could have gone a very long way. Shame on you, Carnival.

Never Had This Much Fun With A Bus Before.

truecreek — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 22:51:45 +0000

Lots of color often makes for a wonderful shot. Had a chance to work with one of the brand new Fairfax Connector buses a few weeks ago, during a shoot for the 495 Express Lanes. From what I understand, each bus is about $500,000 and change. Even the tires had Armor All on them.

The 495 Express Lanes will be completed in late 2012, so there will be more on this site as the year progresses. Check out Transurban’s new site here.

The Final of Five. Safety Poster.

truecreek — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 01:41:43 +0000

The final poster in a five-part set. These educational posters will be in lobbies and common areas of buildings around the 495 Express Lane corridor.

For more information on the 495 Express Lanes, click here.

New Client. New Work for Transurban.

truecreek — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 00:01:11 +0000

Over the past few months, we’ve been working hard for our newest client, Transurban. The company will serve as concessionaire and long-term operator of the 495 Express Lanes.

The public-private partnership with Virginia will deliver the most significant package of improvements to the Capital Beltway in a generation – providing congestion relief and new travel choices to one of our busiest roadways.

Transurban will be operating the road upon completion.

To help the client reach their audience, we’ll be handling media planning, placement and reconciliation. We will also provide creative services for the client, including radio, print, online, out-of-home and more.

Over the next few days, I’ll be posting work that we have completed on their behalf.

The lanes will be completed in late 2012, so there will be much more to come. You can also check out the site here.

Here are two of the introductory posters we just completed:

Ben & Jerry’s Tribute to Schweddy Balls.

truecreek — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 14:03:25 +0000

One of my all-time favorite skits on SNL was Alec Baldwin’s ‘Schweddy Balls.” If you haven’t seen it yet, check it out here.

But should Ben & Jerry’s actually crafted an ice cream under the moniker? Don’t know if I’ll be rushing out for that flavor, but I have to admit I did ask my wife to check for it last night at the grocery store….

The whole thing has prompted a group to ask people to boycott Ben & Jerry’s. Fox News has been all over it and of course, NPR just appreciates the recognition.

Even CNN had a poll. Looks like a ‘split.’

So Glad To See The U.S. Auto Industry Rolling.

truecreek — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 20:37:19 +0000

I am so glad to see that the U.S. auto industry has come back. Collectively, the domestic automakers have made some amazing strides in a very short period of time. The culture change alone has been astounding, never mind what they have done on the design and production side of the equation.

The cars being produced by GM, Ford and Chrysler are amongst the very best in the world. As Chrysler says in one of their spots, ‘perhaps we should RAISE our standards and buy American.’ Or something like that. I wholeheartedly agree.

For the entire article, click.

Going To Be A Huge Summer At The Movies.

truecreek — Mon, 16 May 2011 23:59:13 +0000

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!

Read it all here:

This Might Really Be A Game Changer.

truecreek — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 17:48:03 +0000

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.

Spurlock’s Newest: “POM Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold”

truecreek — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 22:12:50 +0000

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?

It’s a Media Thing.

truecreek — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 01:06:29 +0000

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.

The Summer Movie Season is Almost Here.

truecreek — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 14:42:25 +0000

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.