Marketing's Oldest Old Wives' Tale


There a few themes that keep popping up in this blog. They are:

1. Misconceptions about "branding" and how brands are built
2. The folly of listening to "marketing experts"
3. The over-promise of online advertising
4. The over-promise of social media
5. The "death of advertising," "death of TV," and "death of marketing" nonsense
6. The chronic, silly belief in "the thing that will change
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TIPE Zürich

Congratulations to Jill and Libby of Nuance Words for their success in The Independent Publishing Event in Zürich last weekend.
Read all about it in this Takeway kindly provided by Nuance Words.

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Apple, Jobs, and Creativity





A week after Steve Jobs stepped down as CEO of Apple, but before his sad death, I wrote the following about the media reaction to his leaving...


"The
consensus seemed to be that Jobs built a strong culture, hired smart
people, and taught a way of thinking that will serve Apple well in the
future. The story line went like this-- while Jobs will be missed, he is
no longer essential to the
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Marketing The Marketing: The Social Media Backfire


The Super Bowl is a made-for-tv event.

Last year, over 110 million people watched it on television. The only reason it is such a big deal in other media is that it is so big on television.

In their infinite greed, marketers are trying to wring every last penny out of their almost-$4-million investment in a Super Bowl spot.

To do so, they have employed a questionable tactic -- marketing the
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Pimping For Dollars


Once a quarter I have to face my responsibility as an ad hack and try to sell you something. It's the law.

It has come to my attention that there are people out there who read
this blog on a regular basis and have not contributed a damn thing to the Old-And-In-The-Way Copywriters Benevolent Society.

So today we're having a pledge drive. Your job is to buy my book 101 Contrarian Ideas About
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Thank you to Ananda of Books To Remember for a wonderful review of Spirit of Lost Angels.
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The Stupidity Epidemic


Earlier this week I wrote about teaser ads and why I hate them. As an example, I used a new Mercedes-Benz teaser campaign.

But there's a lot more wrong with Mercedes' strategy than just tossing money away on teasers. According to an article appearing this week in Marketing Daily, their new campaign...

"...is clearly intended for a younger, if daring driver -- one who wants entrance to the
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Is "The Like's" 15 Minutes Up?


The half-life of online marketing miracles is notoriously short.

Is it possible that "the like" is about to join the podcast, the widget, and the QR code in the Museum Of Make-Believe Marketing Miracles?

It sure seems that way. There has been a whole lot of chatter lately about the dubious value of likes. While this chatter is about 2 years overdue, I guess it's better than never.

First,
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Super Bowl Teasers


I hate "teaser" spots.

Delusional advertisers think their teaser spots are going to "intrigue" consumers. Meanwhile consumers are too busy guzzling beer and scratching their ass to give a damn about the great intrigue.

If you have something important to say, say it. Why waste money telling me that you're going to say it at a later date? Why not tell me now?

It's bad enough if you're teasing a
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Thanks to Melissa of Confessions of an Avid Reader for her insightful, detailed review of Spirit of Lost Angels.
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The Triumph Of Disinformation


In the 3rd quarter of 2012, television continued to dominate video viewing.

According to Nielsen's 3rd quarter 2012 Cross-Platform Report...

Video viewing on a television (live plus time-shifted) came to 97% of all video viewing
Video viewing online accounted for a little over 2% of video viewing 
Mobile video viewing was about half of 1% of total viewing. 

Here's how it breaks down:








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Giraffe Search


Oops, I mean "graph search."

Have you ever heard a stupider name for a product? It's the name Facebook announced for its new search function yesterday.

I know, social media weenies like to call your network of linked friends your "social graph." But who the hell knows that except geekazoid maniacs?

So giraffe search is supposed to make Facebook more money by competing with Google. Not sure I
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The Next Online Miracle


You ready for the new online advertising miracle?

The digital advertising hype-cycle is growing shorter all the time. Apparently the online lemmingocracy has grown tired of "content" as the digital magic of the hour. Now it's all about "native advertising."

What is native advertising? Well, according to Solve Media...

"Native advertising refers to a specific mode of monetization that aims
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Pepsi Selling Its Soul


One of the great things about the marketing world is that if things get really bad, if everything is caving in around you, if your whole world is crumbling and you desperately need a laugh, you can always Google "Pepsi marketing" and have yourself a hearty chuckle.

Just spend a few minutes rooting around in their amazing alternate universe and you're sure to find a treasure trove of fun,
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Oz holiday

Where did the past seven weeks go? As my holiday in Australia comes to a close, and I try to accept returning to wintery, grey France, I thought I'd pen a few random thoughts and pics on my adored homeland.

Morning walks on Corrimal beach with the crowd:



The scruffy man throwing a ball for his scruffy dog, a green parrot perched on a red and white checked tea towel draped over his shoulders. The fisherman standing for hours on the shoreline and never catching a thing, his wife reading her Kindle under the parasol.

The army of dog-walkers on the dog-friendly part of the beach, the smiley mutts speeding along the sand after balls, breakers dumping them onto the shore.

Mums jogging behind 4x4 wheel strollers.

Sand Happy Xmas Christmas card:


Pelicans perched on the lampost by Towradgi pool crapping on my book, my thongs and my towel!


Blue bottle stingers bobbing ominously on waves:

BBQ antics with long-time friends the lovely Vanderspuys:





Afternoon with Mathilde Perrat and Anton Vanderspuy at Kiama blowhole:


Catching up with family. Lunch with Mum and Dad:



Matching beach accessories:



Pink parrots pecking:


Interview and photo session on the rocks at the lighthouse, in skimpy dress and ungainly high heels for the Illawarra Mercury who are kindly doing a piece on Spirit of Lost Angels on Feb 10th.:





New Year's Eve with Jean-Yves, Camille, Marcel and Tonia, down at North Beach, watching fireworks over Belmore Basin:




And more... so much more. If only it would never end, but my cat, and my third novel, beckon from across the wings of Cathay Pacific.


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A big thank you to Naomi Blackburn of A Book and A Review for nominating Spirit of Lost Angels in the historical fiction category of eFestival of Words Best of the Independent eBook Awards.
Vive the world's book bloggers. Where would authors be without them!


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The Invincible Blindness Of Advertisers


Sometimes it is hard to overstate the cluelessness of the advertising and marketing industries.

We are exquisitely sensitive to every little gimmick or fad that pops up, and completely oblivious to dramatic, powerful change when it occurs.

The largest consuming group in the history of the world is moving into new territory and marketers are paying no attention. This change is vastly more
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