Brilliant Move By Census Bureau and Telemundo

Marketers pay attention. A brilliant effort by the Census Bureau, yes the U.S. government, and Telemundo may have a big impact on the quality of Census data and the cost to advertise on Spanish language stations.

Census Bureau Uses Telenovela to Reach Hispanics - NYTimes.com


Tele-novelas, the Spanish language version of soap operas, are a tried and true format. Increasingly, the format is being used to send social messages. Recent examples include drunk driving and home ownership. The latest is an effort by Telemundo and the Census to tell Latinos that they should not be scared to give their information to the Census takers. With all the news of deportations in the last 4 or 5 years, their hesitation is understandable.

But the impact of not counting everyone is great. And yes, illegal immigrants do get counted in the Census. Telemundo is certainly acting in some self interest. The more Latinos the more they can charge for advertising. So it makes sense then, that they are covering the cost of production and airing of the program.

It will be interesting to see what kind of impact an effort like this has. Telemundo remains the smaller network. Univision has about twice as many viewers on most nights. Regardless, this is an innovative approach to solving the consistent problem of under counting Latinos in the decennial census.

University of Phoenix Spends $100 Million Annually on Advertising - Advertising Age - News

Traditional universities hate to think of themselves as brands. I guess it cheapens their work as educators. But let's be real. Colleges and universities have brands that must be understood, shaped, nutured, and managed....managed just like a company would manage a brand.

There have been some really interesting articles recently about the future of traditional higher education, especially given the economic crisis and the ridiculously high price of most 4 year universities. Some see this as a classic paradigm shift = business opportunity. Try this article in Fast Company: Who Needs Harvard?

The for profit higher ed market has been growing exponentially over the last 10-20 years. The Internet has only accelerated the growth.

Interestingly, these schools are as much marketing machines as institutions of learning. None is as clear as University of Phoenix. It spends $100 Million a year on advertising, but as the artcle in AdAge offers, they may not be much better at defining their brand than traditional schools.

University of Phoenix Spends $100 Million Annually on Advertising - Advertising Age - News

The for profit schools have two key problems: 1) attracting paying students and 2) establishing their credibility and quality. And success establishing credibility will help in attracting students.

But interestingly, I don't see any of these schools address this issue. Most of the advertising I see or here is targeted to their current demographic of non traditional, older students and focuses on convenience and the non traditional nature of their student body as a way to attract non traditional, older students.

Why not spend some of that $100 million to establish credibility? Until most people think online learning and for profit schools are in the same category of quality as traditional higher education, the value of their degrees will be diminished. If I were marketing one of these schools, I would create a consortium of my competitors to throw in marketing dollars and launch a campaign to build credibility. It will take years, but it is the best long term hope for the business.

Will Advertising Agencies Go the Way of the Newspaper Industry?

The newspaper industry is trapped in a collapsing business model. This is well documented. Technology has forced an evolution of a once solid business model that lastest a couple hundred years. Media companies are all seeking new and sustainable business model and in an increasingly fragmented and specialized marketplace where barriers to entry have been virtually eliminated.

Used to be only those with a printing press could publish. That was a pretty high barrier to entry. In fact, the web has allowed anyone with access to the Internet to be a "journalist." Many will argue about the quality of information being purpogating across the internet by professional and amateur writers. But technology has democratized publishing.

In the analog age, there were real barriers to gathering and reporting news: staff, print or broadcast capabilities, foreign bureaus, telecommunications costs, etc.



So what about Advertising Agencies? Why do we need them? And has the ditigal world changed the business model?

Agencies have always been a place to find bright, creative and strategic thinkers. You go to the full service agency to help develop you marketing strategy -- everything from value proposition to advertising campaign to media buys. And it used to be that the national firms were located in NY and each major city would have a few good firms. This is where talented people would go to find work.

But technology is blowing the model apart. Now, it doesn't matter where the client or the talened ad execs are located. You can see and talk to the client daily on your computer. You can create a virtual creative team.

And when a 22 year old can edit video on his MacBook Pro in his mother's basement, it is hard to understand why you need all the infrastructure and overhead of a large firm.

Watch the revenues of the major ad conglomorates over the next few years. I predict continued downward revenue lines. Lets see how they adapt.

Florida Is Shrinking!

The New York Times has a story yesterday about a recent report from the University of Florida's Bureau of Economics and Business Research which found that Florida's population has shrunk for the first time since perhaps 1900 (with the exception of WWI and WWII) -- "After Century of Growth, Tide Turns in Florida"

The state is very interesting demographically. From a marketers perspective there are many different markets in Florida. It has one of the highest Hispanic populations in the country. The population until recent years skewed much older. South Florida is vastly different than the rest of the state - younger, more Latino. Northern Florida is as deep south as any place in the country. Like many states, Florida is not one market.

So who left? Who is coming? For marketers, the devil is in these details. My guess is that fewer laborers came to the state and a whole bunch of construction workers left. Anyone who has been to Florida in the last 5-10 years has seen the explosion in building. The collapse of the real estate market in Florida over the last 18 months is well documented.

The 2010 Census will be a treasure trove for marketers seeking to understand consumer markets and migration flows. The Pew Hispanic Center also has very good analytical work regarding the Hispanic population in the U.S.

Looks like Florida's loss is Alabama's gain. The 2010 Census should show for sure, but look for the faster growing states in the Southeast and Southwest to continue to grow.

How Should Businesses Use Social Media?

Businesses are trying to figure out how to use social media. Many are not sure what it means to their business or their bottom line. This was an interesting presentation from HubSpot that was posted on Slideshare. It is a good overview.

Bottom Line: Social Media for Business

View more Microsoft Word documents from Hubspot Marketing.

Chief Marketing Officers Need To Know The Business As Well As Anyone in the Company

There is an interesting article in Ad Age about the need for CMOs to understand how their businesses work, For CMOs to Be Visionary Leaders, They Must Have a P&L Mind-set.  This seems overly intuitive, but you would be surprised.  A true marketer needs to understand all the drivers of the business, the profitability of each customer type, the cost of each product. And many do not.  

When I started at Georgetown University, I was coming from financial services.  The first question I asked was "what is the business model?"  I wanted to know how the university made its money.  Academia doesn't really talk this way, but it has a business model nonetheless.  Turns out that tuition and philanthropy are key to staying in business. 

I have always believed that a marketing strategy really is the same thing as the business strategy.  Many people don't really understand what marketing is.  Some think it is PR.  Others think it is sales.  The truth is, marketing is the strategy for selling your product, ie, the business.  Marketing is the starting point, not the end point.  In other  words, if you are doing it correctly, you begin the entire strategic process by asking: Who are our customers?  What do they want or need?  Does our product or service meet those needs?  That is where the strategic process begins....and that is marketing.

Check out the article:

Chief Marketing Officers Must Have a P&L Mind-set - Advertising Age - CMO Strategy

25 logos with hidden messages – Amazing Graphic Designing tricks! | Graphic Design Blog

This is a great post. Logos are a difficult thing to do well. Think of how many logos are completely meaningless and tell you nothing about what the company does. If you are clever enough to design a logo that reinforces your brand message, congratulations.

Every interaction with a customer is an opportunity to reinforce your brand. Does your logo project the image and message you want your customers to hold about you?

25 logos with hidden messages – Amazing Graphic Designing tricks! | Graphic Design Blog