THE MOST SURPRISING AD I'VE SEEN IN A VERY LONG TIME: Scythes, Blimps and Vacuum Tubes: What's old is new again; so what's new?

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 They say what goes around comes around.  (Or is it the other way?)  You get the idea.

About a month ago I was flipping through a physical copy of Popular Science, May, 2012, and stumbled on a full page ad from Samsung, the S. Korean company that makes flat screen TVs.  The scene is a collage of contemporary life-style photos with hero shot of a piece of simple but high-end audio gear:  The Samsung DA-E750 Audio Dock.   A small headline reads “create wonder.”

But what surprised me, was the all caps, first line of copy:  “WITH SAMSUNG VACUUM TUBE TECHNOLOGY, GREAT SOUND COMES NATURALLY. “

Vacuum tubes?!  This is 2012!  The transistor was invented 50 years ago!?

The copy continues: “Bring audio to life with the Samsung Audio Dock system featuring vacuum tube technology. Enjoy music the way it was meant to be heard as the natural warmth of the analog tubes deliver a truer, richer, more immersive sound.  Experience the future of home audio at Samsung.com/HomeTheater.”  I’m not kidding but maybe I’m getting spoofed. 

Of course there are those who still prefer vinyl to CDs.  And other old ideas are coming back – like blimps according to a Wall Street Journal article headlined “Army Preps Spy Blimp.” 

 In that same WSJ issue, a feature on scythes that some are choosing to use instead of motorized weed wackers – 10,000, $200 scythe kits sold just last year and sales are in the upswing.

So what other changes may surprise us 5 years from now?  (A re-reboot of Spiderman, maybe?)  My feeling is that the Facebook pendulum may be swinging back to real friends in real time. After all, the most, basic fundamental, social medium is...sitting down face to face with someone for coffee or throwing a party. 

So Onward, Forward to the Past.

Memo to Team Obama: Barack is President. Content is King.

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In 2008 and after the election, the campaign of President Barack Obama was widely hailed for its mastery of social media and its sophistication in the digital space.

This year, once again, Team Obama is falling back on the excellent digital and social media capabilities it demonstrated back in 2008…and it’s not working.

The primary reason Obama won in 2008 was not the campaign’s mastery of  digital media and technology.  It was the message.  Hopeful, optimistic, bipartisan.  Four years later it’s hopeless, pessimistic and extremely partisan. 

There is no way out for Team Obama now.  Soon the mainstream media will start to recognize the foolish and outrageous dishonesty of the Obama administration, just so they can’t be accused of being the last to know. 

Nobody wants to be CNN now. 

So unless Axelrod and Plouffe are really magicians (you can only use misdirection so much), the Obama campaign message will increasingly seem removed from reality and relevance.  

Sooner or later mainstream media will have to recognize the writing on the wall. 

Or they—and their content—will continue to be increasingly ignored. 

By the end of Campaign 2012, President Barack Obama will be fully revealed for what he is. 

King trumps President.

EXTREME TARGET MARKETING: What if you focused on one name alone? What would happen?

Guess I'm going to find out. In my first 2012 promotion for Mosquito Comm, I'm only contacting individuals with the names David or Dave Ullman.

It so happens that there are more than 19 David or Dave Ullmans on LinkedIn. And it's easy enough to find their email, work address etc. So I'm sending letters (followed up by emails) like the one to the right.

So far I've sent letters (with 2 business cards) to four guys working in computer software, marketing/advertising, accounting and anesthesiology. A lieutenant in the Swedish Royal Navy, a provost at a college, an artist and a musician are next.

No pressure. Just a low key introductory letter tailored to what they do for a living. I'll keep you posted on what follows.

Not to dwell too long on "Dave"... but you no doubt have watched this Staples commercial? If not, you'll see it's a multiplicity of Daves and quite true to life:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXO46Jbtzuk

MOSQUITO VERSUS ELEPHANT: WHICH IS MOST DANGEROUS?

Depends on your point-of-view. Head to head, no one wants to face an angry elephant. Each year more than 500 people die from elephant attacks.

But a bigger risk is easier to ignore. In 2009, 780,000 people died from mosquito-borne malaria -- one child every 30 seconds. Other mosquito-borne diseases infect more than 700 million people each year.

As Joseph Stalin remarked while reviewing his tank forces before counter-attacking the Germans at the Battle of Kursk, "Quantity is a quality all its own."

Consider a disease/viral message analogy. Today more and more people are catching news and information from small sources on the web and through other digital communications. Fewer are getting it from the "elephants" -- the major TV networks, large newspapers, national magazines and radio.

Social media plus blogs, online news etc. are delivering more while the elephantine mainstream media are lumbering along attracting fewer prime viewers and impressions every year (excluding their online operations).

That's hardly news but it does pose a question: What makes a good "mosquito" messaging strategy?

The 10th Anniversary of an Ad: What did you say after 9/11?

What can an advertiser say right after an overwhelming tragedy like September 11, 2001 without appearing self serving?

This is the ad that St. Joseph's/Candler, a faith-based hospital in Savannah, Georgia, chose to run during the week following the attack.

What else to say?

WHAT IS "ORGANIC MARKETING?"

Organic marketing is starting where you're at and making small incremental efforts at growing your business with sharp marketing strategies and cut-through communication tactics. Organic marketing matches appropriate strategy and tactics to your stage of growth. It's all about making messages that make sense for your business and the stage it's in.

Organic marketing is also accountable. A particular effort may or may not pay off but what is important is discovering what works for your business. Measurable results and pay-for-performance are two things organic marketers believe in. We don't ask you to bet the whole ranch -- just a portion that your feel comfortable with. And see what happens.

Where does an organization that has never done marketing communications start? First, understand that marketing communications is different from advertising. By definition, advertising is a commercial message whose placement in a medium or media has been paid for.

Today, advertising is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to marketing communications, which is the general process of selling a product, service or issue to members of a specifically targeted audience.

THE 3 MOST POWERFUL WORDS IN BUSINESS

In the ad agencies we've worked, account and creative people used to all agree on one thing: When it comes to client demands for Good, Fast and Cheap, he or she may choose two.

You can choose Good and Fast but it won't be Cheap. You can choose Fast and Cheap but it won't be Good. Or you can choose Good and Cheap but it won't be Fast. That, we believed was simple a law of advertising and marketing, if not a law of nature.

Times have changed. Now clients don't only expect Good, Fast and Cheap. They expect...

Better, Faster, Cheaper

In this New Economic Era, a business that can't deliver on all three is at a competitive disadvantage.

One thing I tell all my clients is that if you can get it better, faster and cheaper somewhere else, you'd be a fool not to go for it.

Same is true of your customers.

The Domino's Dilemma

Domino's had a great success with the faster and cheaper aspects of the pizza business. The 30-minute guarantee and the low (compared to local pizzarias) price won them a lot of business.

The problem was the quality. Domino's wasn't better -- it wasn't even good, by their own recent admission. So they had to reformulate. And they did.

It will be interesting to see if Domino's adds "better" to "fastest" and "cheapest?"

Pizza Hut is responding with new lower prices. Is there a Domino effect in the pizza biz?

Walmart's Move

Walmart has been changing.

Walmart started as the cheapest. As it expanded, more stores meant easier access for more people. For the last five years Walmart has been working on being better.

If the last time you were in a Walmart was 10 years ago, you'd be surprised at the clutter-minimized merchandising, improved presentation and neater organization. More like Target than K-Mart.

That's what makes them such a formidable retailer. They're the cheapest. They're the fastest (most conveniently located). And their quality is getting better all the time.

What Are You Branding On?

Your brand is many things. But answer these questions (honestly) and every other question will be answered. Are you better? Or best? Are you faster? Or fastest? Are you cheaper? Or cheapest?!

As a brand you have to pick one, minimum. Or two maximum. Are you a high-end handyman service? You probably do a very good job and your customers are very satisfied. And you probably aren't the fastest -- because good things take time. You're prompt, reliable and do an commendable job -- at a price.

If you're a book-keeping service, are you better? (Whatever that means, which in this case probably means honest, accurate and secure.) Are you the fastest? Probably not. Nor are you the cheapest. But given the government penalties for dishonesty, inaccuracy and lack of security, your customers are better off being safe and paying more for you.

QUALITY, AVAILABILITY, PRICE.

There's no way to avoid them or fake them.

Those three words are the core/foundation of any business, product or service in the minds of your customers and prospects. Quality, availability, price. They determine success.

How do you position your business?

And how will you position it in the future?

Better? Faster? Cheaper?