Ready to Get Noticed

Advertising Week DC 2009 is just days away. The planning is almost complete, logistics are being wrapped up, speakers are confirming their travel plans, attendees are registering at rapid rates and we are just so excited to show you what we have lined up.

As we close in, we hope you've seen the fantastic creative developed this year. Our theme is get noticed and our TV spots, radio ads, print and online banners are doing just that. A big thanks to LMO Advertising for producing all of the creative and a special thanks to all of our media partners for providing PSA coverage! If you haven't seen the spot yet, well, we are surprised, but just in case, here it is.



If you haven't registered yet, there is still time. View the entire schedule and register at www. ADWKDC.com by 5pm September 10th. Or you can register on site on a first come, first served basis.

See you on the 14th!

Taking Risks

On Wednesday during ADWKDC, headline speaker Liz Dolan, CMO, OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network will address risk taking and how it is necessary to succeed.

Advertising can certainly be a risky business. Research can point us in the right direction, a focused strategy can guide the creative and media development and fantastic production and crafting can pull the message together, but sometimes it is still a risk.

Is the message too in your face? Will the audience get it or care? Do we really have the best product or service and can it live up to our message?

There are a lot of risky campaigns. Some take a risk in media placement, some take a risk with a daring message, and some are taking a risk during this recession by keeping their message out there. Not that advertising in a recession is necessarily a risk, we have lots of research that points to it being a very wise time to advertise. But defending that spend in the C-Suite can be a risky situation to put yourself in as the CMO or marketing team member. Asking for that budget, when funds are tight, is risky.

But as Liz will point out in her remarks, sometime you gotta take it.

Mobile Moves Forward with Digital Out-of-Home

During a Wednesday morning ADWKDC session, The Cold Hard Facts of Mobile, we will examine the world of mobile and instant consumer access that the PDA and internet ready mobile devices have enabled.

In a recent article, Ad Week columnist Katy Bachman reports on mobile teaming up with out-of-home digital video networks.

Through this teaming, advertisers are working to catch the consumer when they are most receptive to messaging, i.e. all the time. Think about it-—are you ever caught en route to a store without your cell?

With mobile and out-of-home working together, marketers can make the impression, engage the consumer and establish a relationship by gathering their contact information on the spot. Mining that data later, the advertiser can communicate with this consumer over and over again and essentially create loyalty marketing at the time of the initial impression and sometimes very close to the point of purchase.

On the corporate side of things, the mobile campaigns are reassuring as they are inherently measurable—isn’t everyone looking for killer ROI? Bachman notes that the mobile campaigns tend to produce the highest rates of return—because we’re constantly connected to our mobile devices, redemption of offers is easier.

Still, what challenges hold us back using this method? What types of content do consumers care about receiving 24-7 or find necessary to receive consistent updates on through their mobile devices?

Mark your calendar to join us on Wednesday for our mobile session, where we will uncover examples of where and when mobile marketing delivered the most ‘bang for the buck,’ and how to effectively integrate mobile into existing campaigns.

Advice for our ADprentice Competitors

Tuesday’s final session will be the 2nd Annual ADprentice: a Media Pitch-Off Competition. As with last year’s successful ADprentice, we will invite area media professionals to pitch media plans in front of our live audience as well as the named client. Instrumental in the success of the event last year was host Stuart Elliott. Thus, with the return of the event, we’re thrilled to welcome back Elliott who has been the Advertising Colunmist for The New York Times since 1991.

In a recent interview with Elliott, Web Coordinator and Reporter for PRWeek, Alexandra Bruell discussed the “evolving role of PR in the marketing industry and a shift in the Times' criteria for covering a campaign.” The discussion revolved around the changing face of PR, the fact that viral and social marketing are thriving, and the notion that nontraditional ads can come out on top, just as was marked by the Cannes winners. According to Elliott, with the adoption of new marketing tactics, more economically efficient campaigns truly can be winners by having the smartest most innovative solutions. What makes campaigns interesting, coverage worthy, and successful, says Elliott, is that they embrace trends that are “now,” not that they necessarily take big budgets to produce.

So take a cue from Elliott’s ideas and observations, and recognize that more bucks might not equal the most bang. The winning campaign doesn’t have to break the budget in order to make the most unique impact. Creativity and messaging can take many forms. Perhaps that is a good strategy for the teams participating in our 2nd Annual ADprentice competition. Take it to heart and maybe we’ll still be discussing your innovative campaign well after Advertising Week DC 2009 has ended.

Journalist Q&A: Stuart Elliott, 'The New York Times' - PRWeek US

PS: Trouble getting this link to connect? Search Google for "Alexandra Bruell interviews Stuart Elliott"

Out with the Old?

Come September, the kick-off night for ADWKDC 2009 will feature the domestic premier of the Cannes Advertising Festival Winners at USA TODAY, and we are excited to see the entire pool of winners. Each year we come away from the Cannes event inspired, motivated and encouraged to strive for the best work not only for ourselves, but for our clients.

Reviewing the list of this year’s Cannes Advertising Festival winners, we notice a unique turn for two of the most coveted prizes. The Titanium Grand Prix and the Integrated Grand Prix winner—Obama for America—pioneered itself by seeing beyond TV and taking its message to other screens, thus extending the campaign to not only advertising, but to another level.

Although Cannes may have downsized this year and spectators and visitors alike were abuzz with the festival’s tight budget details, the winners’ work continues to “wow” us. How? By engaging consumers and deeply involving them in the brands as was the case of the GMMB victories where voters were motivated to believe in a movement through unique messaging rather than just a produced spot.

And yet, an Advertising Age column by Bob Garfield following the festival claims Cannes “doesn’t matter anymore,” attributing its irrelevance to the “black hole” of an advertising year that the industry has faced. In the article, Garfield reviewed a short list of Cannes submissions—concluding that most of the best ideas had little to do with advertising. Instead they were noteworthy for social media outreach efforts, optimal web experiences, and wildly attention grabbing PR stunts—perhaps the reasoning behind his deeming the festival superfluous and on its way out. Still, Garfield colleague Laurel Wentz notes despite downturn of the “ad age,” the industry may possibly have evolved to a higher plane, marked first by the unique change in Cannes winners.

So, we are curious as to what our ADWKDC audience thinks.

Will the Advertising Festival become obsolete? Or will the categories evolve to meet the progression of advertising?

Does Cannes’ change in tone, with new types of winners, reflect a mounting industry change—or will new industry trends and changes mean saying farewell to Cannes?

History Repeating?

When we began planning for ADWKDC 2009 nine months ago, the economy had begun a downward spiral. Agencies were closing, friends started loosing their jobs, advertisers started spending less. Although timely at the moment, we hesitated to plan a “how to make it through this recession” conference. Would it be over by September? Or would it drag on for months? Years? And did we really want to wallow in something so negative and depressing?

Advertisers who have continued to talk to consumers through a recession are more likely to survive. We’ve seen this time and again. So, we knew that the better idea for 2009 was to highlight what people are doing in this recession, rather than what they are not. Let’s talk about the ways we are engaging the consumer through tough times, how technology can be used effectively not just as a gimmick, and how creatives are managing clients expectations in this environment.

With Advertising Week DC only two months away, did we get our planning strategy right? What have we seen in our industry since that first ADWKDC meeting in November?

Advertisers are focusing on the brands that do well, turning back to tried and true taglines, dusting off previously aired commercials, returning to their core competencies and focusing on the value their product/services deliver. Consumers are nesting, returning to the family and home for social interaction, buying what they need and expecting those items to last and provide meaning in their lives. Clearly, these steps might not have been taken without this recession, but are they really all that bad?

On a recent flight, an article in Delta Sky Magazine refocused my attention on this topic. Is this recession giving us more discerning taste rather than diminishing our expectations? Is it weeding out the so-so? Are we refocusing on our values of quality over quantity?

Are we Getting Noticed the old-fashioned way?

Sherri Green

Chairman, ADWKDC 2009

Director, Business Development, LM&O Advertising

Get ready for ADWKDC 09

Planning for Advertising Week DC 2009 is underway!

Last year, we heard from influential speakers such as Steve Forbes, President/CEO of Forbes, Robert Wong, Executive Creative Director of Google and Chris Matthews, Host of Hardball on MSNBC.

We'll be announcing this year's speakers as they are confirmed, so be sure to check back often. Also, don't forget to sign-up for the latest updates via text message. You don't want to miss a beat- 2009 is going to be big!