The BV Blog

A few weeks ago, A&E launched an unusual marketing campaign for their new “Paranormal” program.

See the article detailing the techniques here– Hear Voices? It May Be an Ad.

One technique that struck me is the use of Audio Spotlight technology. The name implies just that–an audio track is narrowly transmitted to a location, and only the individuals occupying the space within that “beam” can hear the message.

There’s been a lot of response to this particular method, and reviews have been entirely mixed. According to a poll conducted by AdAge, respondents were split 50/50 as to whether or not the technique was a good idea.

Personally, I think it is a GREAT idea.

It’s a genius way to use the Audio Spotlight technology in an interesting fashion. It’s not an effort at mind control or a some other dark purpose. It’s just a clever way to use clever technology to generate awareness. Marketing at its finest.

A&E found a terrific application for something that grocery stores and gas stations have been using for years. This type of audio technology, sometimes referred to and applied as point-of-purchase audio, has been cutting through the visual clutter of print and television ads, and reaching out to remind people that the detergent is on sale, or when they’re done filling up, to come inside and grab a beverage for the road.

Although, I must admit, had I experienced the A&E application, I would have felt slightly schizophrenic.

But most applications won’t have that effect. They will, however, produce results.

Dennis Staples died on Monday. He was a radio man who spent most of his broadcasting career here in Toledo, Ohio. For a few years, he was also one of our voice talents at BusinessVoice. I didn’t know Dennis well, but I sure did respect his talent.

I first met him at a local recording studio, probably 15 years ago. We were both cast to cut a radio spot for a local company. He was playing Santa; I was supposed to be a young, smart-aleck kid. I remember struggling with how to approach the read, which twist to put on my voice, and just how cocky I should make this character. I never did figure it out to my satisfaction, even after many takes.

But Dennis knew exactly what he was doing. To this day I can hear him “becoming” Santa Claus in my headphones. He wasn’t doing a hack impression of a stereotype like I was. He had created a personality and a point-of-view and knew just how to interpret the copy. By the time we started recording, Dennis WAS Santa Claus. I was sitting four feet from him! I could see him, but he WAS Santa Claus. It was one of the most exciting moments I’ve ever had as a voice talent, being a part of that exchange and working with someone so good.

Back in 1997, Dennis recorded “A Visit From St. Nicholas” for us as part of a larger project. Click here to listen. We present it as a holiday treat for you and yours, and as a final tribute to a wonderfully talented and very nice man.

A local blog has posted a great discussion question that could work in any town — “What’s the worst locally produced TV commercial you’ve ever seen?”

They got lots of nominees, including this one that may take the top prize for mind-numbing repetition in the quest for name awareness (Think “Head On” for teenboy button-mashers.) Still, you’ll probably remember the name for a long while after you see the spot.

Which brings me to my question: what do you want your viewers, readers and listeners to remember about you and your business? Is it a name, a slogan, a particular product or service? Just as we see here, you can make a strong impression in 30 seconds or less when you focus your message. Pick a target – such as your Unique Selling Proposition (here’s our USP) — and then zero in on it in your marketing. Hopefully, your effort won’t make any “Worst Ever” list, but you will be remembered.

The apocalypse is upon us.

Starbucks, high and mighty coffee giant, and television advertising naysayer, has finally launched a national television advertising campaign.

The new ads, created by the team at Weiden & Kennedy are lovely. The colors and animation immediately evoke a feeling of holiday verisimilitude. And human interaction with animals always gives me the warm and fuzzies.

Bear Hug

Window Washer

Ski Lift

The Los Angeles Times quoted Starbucks’ Chief Operating Officer Martin Coles as saying “The ad campaign is designed to ‘capitalize on our brand awareness while driving new customers and existing customers to our stores.’”

I’m not sure these ads are going to do the trick. I’ve been a Starbucks devotee for years, and cannot, with great conviction, say that these ads are appropriate to their brand or their customer.

Where are the leather arm chairs and rich green colors? Where are the smiling faces of their baristas, around which their entire brand identity revolves? Where’s the guy in the corner who bought one cup of coffee at 9 am and is still working on his novel at 5:30 pm?

Starbucks is for tech-heads, snobby city-folk, laptop junkies and people with i-Pod earphones surgically implanted in their heads. Not for outdoorsy, woodland creature and winter wonderland-loving granola heads.

This is the Starbucks we know and love. The critical problem with this campaign is that it does nothing to reinforce the Starbucks brand. There’s nothing to solidify that in-store experience that keeps customers coming back again and again.

That said, what this campaign has accomplished is to get people talking about who Starbucks really is, and who they certainly are not.

Don’t make the same mistakes Starbucks has made. Your marketing efforts should make an authentic connection with your customers and reinforce the experiences they have with your company. The key is to focus on your customers, who they are and what they view your business to be.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s a fine thing to re-brand or re-position yourself in the marketplace, but if you lose sight of who you are in the process, people will wonder if you knew who you were in the first place.

If you do any kind of writing for your job, you know that a rich vocabulary is an important tool. Here’s a fun way to add to that toolbox: FreeRice.Com — an online vocabulary test. (From Daphne Gray-Grant in her weekly newsletter):

Basically an online vocabulary test, much like the SAT, it presents you with a series of multiple choice definitions. Your answer to each question is scored immediately and you move on to the next one. (You can set options so that when you leave your computer the site “remembers” your score for the next time.)

The site automatically adjusts to your vocabulary level. When you get a word wrong, the next word provided is from an easier level. When you get three consecutive words right, you move to a higher degree of difficulty. (Experts say that this constant fine-tuning of levels is the best way to ensure you are learning and not just playing a game.) FreeRice has 50 levels in total, but staff say it’s rare for people to get past level 48. Go ahead; knock yourself out.

But you’re probably wondering about the site’s odd name. And therein lies the best news of all. Each time you get a word right, the site’s sponsors donate enough money to pay for 20 grains of rice for the United Nations’ World Food Program. That may sound like a pitifully small amount, but the site has already raised more than five billion grains of rice in less than two months.