My partner John brought up an interesting observation earlier today. There was a time—not so long ago—when we would huddle around a table, or hang out in a doorway and ask if someone had seen the latest TV spot for Brand X while watching CSI the previous night. But that hasn’t happened in a while.
For one, I personally PVR (record) almost everything I watch because a) I’m short on time and have a young family and b) why would I want to watch commercials if I don’t have to? A couple of the other staff members here watch their favourite TV shows on their computers. That leaves one guy forced to watch commercials, that is, if he’s paying attention and not surfing the internet or off in the kitchen getting a snack.
But the talk of great creative never went away. Like everything else, the delivery has simply shifted. We now send each other links to cool videos, relevant information and yes, great creative ads that we’ve gleaned off the internet. The computer, it seems, has become the new water cooler. And if, per chance, I did see a spot on TV that piqued my interest, well, why try to describe it when I can simply and quickly share it on the web?
November 2009 Archive
A Change Around the Water Cooler
Who’s to Lead?
There’s an interesting (and long-going) debate happening over at Advertising Age. Today’s article, written by Jacques-Herve Roubert and entitled Why Digital Agencies Are Indeed Ready To Lead, presents his view that digital agencies are indeed ready to “sit at the head of the advertising table,” thus replacing the traditional agency. His take counters Ana Andjelic’s earlier post which suggested that digital agencies weren’t in fact ready to lead this charge. The points move from years of experience on the traditional side to immediacy on the digital side to a changing behavioural landscape overall.
I think it’s great to have this sort of debate; particularly if you’re just starting to get involved in digital marketing and wondering how the traditional can play a role. And while both articles represent some truths, they both miss an important point. A point that’s made clear by reader TimGeo in the comments section: “Any agency that still believes there is a difference between ‘digital’ or ‘traditional’ is probably not ready to lead. We shouldn’t confuse tactics and channels for strategies and ideas. We need all of them, and we need them working together.”
Well said.
Mike Charbonneau
Custom Barcodes
Trying to make the barcode memorable
You’ve got to love Japan.
In 2005, D-Barcode set out to create barcodes that stood out. I think they’ve succeeded.
Want your own unique barcode? Visit www.d-barcode.com.
Want to know more? Check out THIS Fast Company article.
