Great article by Scott Hillis on Halo 3. It is a success- but how about the casual gamers. Excerpt follows.
---
Next for Microsoft Xbox: winning casual gamers
By Scott Hillis
Reuters
Wednesday, September 26, 2007; 10:49 AM
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) has cemented its reputation among hardcore gamers with the launch of alien shoot-out "Halo 3," but it is still struggling to attract the mass market audience that has flocked to Nintendo Co Ltd's (7974.OS) Wii console.
Widely expected to be one of the top-selling games of the year after its Tuesday debut, "Halo 3" should help Microsoft sell more of its Xbox 360 gaming machines and finally turn a profit in its entertainment division this fiscal year.
"I think that you will have a lot of people begin to look at the Xbox 360, especially for holiday purchases," said Van Baker, an analyst with market research firm Gartner, citing the strong reviews for "Halo 3," which starts at $60.
Microsoft has said it had 1.7 million advance orders for the game in the United States, but it won't release actual sales figures for a few days.
Deutsche Bank said checks carried out ahead of the game's launch indicated stronger-than-expected demand that could mean revenue from "Halo 3" this fiscal year may be as much as $430 million, nearly 80 percent higher than previous estimates.
"We believe demand for 'Halo 3' could drive EDD to profitability," analyst Todd Raker wrote in a note, referring to Microsoft's Entertainment and Devices Division.
The Xbox 360 leads the current-generation console market, with nearly 12 million units shipped globally by the end of June, compared with more than 9 million for the Wii and over 4 million for Sony Corp's (6758.T) PlayStation 3.
But the Wii, which launched a year after the Xbox 360, has outsold rivals every month this year and may soon overtake the Xbox 360 in terms of total worldwide sales.
Not only does the Wii offer the lowest price -- $250 versus $280 for the cheapest Xbox and $500 for the cheapest PS3 -- it also features an innovative motion-sensing controller that lets players act like they are really swinging a sword or rolling a bowling ball.
An emphasis on simple games that get players off the couch has made the Wii attractive to older people and women, customers outside the base of young males.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Give 1 Get 1.
The "One Laptop Per Child" movement has announced a new campaign in the United States that will allow consumers to purchase two laptops for $ 399. One of the laptops will be donated to a child in another country.
Here are the facts-
OLOC has been built on open source software.
OLOC has not been successful in getting large orders.
The campaign will run for two weeks in November.
The campaign claims that it is based on "focus group research" from 7 to 11 years old that was surprisingly positive.
The donation to the child in another country is tax deductible.
This is why it will not work-
Consumers can get a MUCH BETTER LAPTOP from Dell.com for $499 today.
It is not clear if the XO Laptop can survive the demands of seven year olds! Can it kill viruses, pop-ups etc.? Not sure.
Here are some ideas for the XO Laptop group-
Allow kids to designate donations to a specific country.
Connect schools across countries using laptops.
UPDATE: I just clicked on the "Donate a Laptop" icon and got an error from PayPal. I am beginning to doubt if this project is ready for prime time.
Here are the facts-
OLOC has been built on open source software.
OLOC has not been successful in getting large orders.
The campaign will run for two weeks in November.
The campaign claims that it is based on "focus group research" from 7 to 11 years old that was surprisingly positive.
The donation to the child in another country is tax deductible.
This is why it will not work-
Consumers can get a MUCH BETTER LAPTOP from Dell.com for $499 today.
It is not clear if the XO Laptop can survive the demands of seven year olds! Can it kill viruses, pop-ups etc.? Not sure.
Here are some ideas for the XO Laptop group-
Allow kids to designate donations to a specific country.
Connect schools across countries using laptops.
UPDATE: I just clicked on the "Donate a Laptop" icon and got an error from PayPal. I am beginning to doubt if this project is ready for prime time.
Monday, September 24, 2007
Guy Kawasaki vs. MBA
Chances are you are familiar with Guy Kawasaki, author, blogger, entrepreneur etc. It turns out that Guy Kawasaki hates MBAs. He specifically says that he is NOT interested in hiring someone who knows theories such as GE/McKinsey matrix, Kaizen philosophy, Capital Asset Pricing Model, Business Process Reengineering, and Scenario Planning.
He is wrong, of course. MBA students learn analysis and have the ability to bring that to bear on complex situations. Of course, some students either become jargon-dropping showboaters while others turn into uber-analysts who always park their intuition on the backburner. However, arguing that analysis itself or theory by itself is problematic is not a strong argument.
He is wrong, of course. MBA students learn analysis and have the ability to bring that to bear on complex situations. Of course, some students either become jargon-dropping showboaters while others turn into uber-analysts who always park their intuition on the backburner. However, arguing that analysis itself or theory by itself is problematic is not a strong argument.
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
New York Times Director of Advertising Acceptability Answers Questions.
Talk to The Times:
Director of Advertising Acceptability
Published: September 17, 2007
Steph Jespersen, The Times’s director of advertising acceptability, is answering questions from readers Sept. 17-20. Questions may be e-mailed to askthetimes@nytimes.com. To read his most recent reply, click here.
Skip to next paragraph
Steph Jespersen
Mr. Jespersen is responsible for ensuring that all advertising in The Times complies with the company’s standards of integrity and good taste. His duties include establishing acceptability policy, and both pre-publication evaluation of advertising and post-publication resolution of reader grievances and competitive advertiser challenges. Advertisements are reviewed to see if they are misleading, inaccurate or fraudulent, or fail to comply with standards of decency and dignity. Submissions are closely examined for vulgar language, salacious images or copy that imitates news.
The New York Times has been rigorously reviewing advertising for almost 70 years. The founder and publisher of the modern Times, Adolph S. Ochs, believed that advertising in its own way conveyed news and had to adhere to well-defined standards, though the advertising department has always been completely separate from the news department and the editorial and Op-Ed pages and their staffs. Advertisers have no influence over news or editorial content of The Times.
Mr. Jespersen started his career at The New York Times in 1971. He has held numerous advertising sales positions, including travel account manager. In 1992 he joined the advertising acceptability department as copy chief. He was named director of the advertising acceptability department in 2000 and reports directly to the publisher, Arthur Sulzberger Jr., to ensure that the decisions are independent from both the newsroom and the advertising department.
He is a graduate of the University of Connecticut with a B.S. degree in marketing.
MoveOn.org's Ad on General Petraeus
Q. Even though this is not strictly a question about advertising acceptability, perhaps you will answer in the hopes of clearing up the last of the MoveOn/Petraeus ad controversy.
When the controversy came to a head, the Times spokeswoman explained that with advocacy groups, any customer willing to buy space on a "standby" basis will get the same discounted price; while The Times does its best to accommodate with respect to the preferred date and placement, it cannot be guaranteed. Once the run date is known, the customer is usually informed. This is evidently what happened with the MoveOn ad.
Some bloggers point to the fact that the ad, which ran on the day General Petraeus testified, said he would be testifying "today," and thus, The Times must have agreed to run it on that day.
Could you please explain how it works when someone wants to run date-specific copy on a standby basis? Are there different versions for different days?
Thanks for your response.
— Z.Z.
A. As the acceptability director it was my job to say yes, or no to the ad, as I do every day for hundreds of advertisements. Let me explain how opinion advertising decisions are made.
In the past year, The New York Times accepted opinion ads from more than 200 groups, from Save Dartmouth to Save the Constitution. We accept ads from organizations across the political spectrum and from many groups and individuals, who simply have something to say. With opinion advertising, sometimes called advocacy advertising, the client uses our pages to make an argument or to dispute what someone else is saying … and this may include negative characterizations.
Acceptance of an ad does not in any way reflect the official position of The New York Times nor do we need to agree or endorse our advertiser's message or opinion. We only decline or alter an opinion ad when the message is clearly discriminatory, illegal, libelous, or hate speech. Of course, we expect advertisers to stay within the bounds of good taste as well.
The MoveOn.org ad was published because it complied with our standards. This ad was also accepted because it is our ongoing desire to keep our advertising columns as open as possible to the public, which we believe is a First Amendment responsibility. I would also point out that this ad was similar to other ads that criticized President Bush, former President Bill Clinton, and countless other public officials.
Within the category of political or advocacy advertising it is common practice throughout the newspaper industry to offer a standby rate in addition to open rate advertising. When a group buys a standby ad, it can request a particular date for it to be run, but receives no guarantee that it can appear that day. The lower cost of such ads reflects the flexibility that gives us. Any political or advocacy group calling up today to request a standby ad would be quoted the same rate that MoveOn.org paid.
It is also our practice to notify an advertiser, a day before, that we have room to accommodate his or her standby ad in the next day's newspaper, and at that point the advertiser can make minor changes in the text.
What's Acceptable?
Q. Because the H.I.V. virus continues to be a serious problem nationally, it's important (I believe) that condom advertising should not be restricted because of worries over taste. I think the TV networks are gradually changing their rules to allow more of these ads, at least during some hours of the night. What are the policies at The Times concerning condom ads, what is the rationale for them, and have these policies changes over time?
— Bob Kazel, Chicago
A. I can tell you that The Times accepts advertisements for condoms provided that the copy and illustrations are in acceptable taste.
This policy has changed over the years. At one time condom ads were only accepted if the ad dealt with the health benefits of using condoms.
Thanks for asking.
Q. Let's say I would like to purchase a full page ad in your newspaper and beat the #@*& out of Hillary Clinton. All proper and no foul language. Would you allow that?
— Michael Macfarlane, Arizona
A. First of all, we do not accept the word #@*& in advertisements in this newspaper. As a matter of fact, we accepted a full advertisement for a book that contained that word on the book's cover just last week. We insisted that the vulgarity be changed to asterisks or other characters.
Now, without the vulgarities, we would accept an advertisement that criticized Senator Clinton, as long as it stayed within the parameters of good taste.
Are an Ad's Claims Checked?
Q. It appears that many companies now are joining the bandwagon of global warming and carbor print responsibility because it may makes good commercial sense, if customers want it.
How does advertising plans to keep an eye on claims and responsibilities of advertisers? The whole thing could be taken for a ride if we just pay lip service to it. How do we know that advertisers are genuine in their claims? What's the code of conduct?
Should a scientific advisory group be created to supervise irresponsible advertising claims?
— Pablo
A. We expect all of our advertisers to be able to substantiate their claims, be they in an opinion ad or in a product ad. If the advertiser cannot substantiate their claims, we may ask them to modify their advertising.
In product or service advertising, if our readers find there is a difference between the advertised claims in the advertisement and how the product performs, they can write or call this department. We then ask the reader to document the complaint, and we forward it to the advertiser.
The advertiser usually contacts the reader to make a satisfactory adjustment to the product.
Political Ads
Q. A couple of weeks ago, the main page of www.nytimes.com displayed a large ad for "The Center for Union Facts," an anti-labor group inviting visitors to "help stop the big union power grab." The ad was pretty shocking to me, and made me wonder if The Times only runs advertisements whose politics it shares. Especially after Giuliani's demand for the same low rate given to MoveOn.org by The Times earlier this week, I'm hoping you can answer how The Times makes choices like this in picking their sponsors, whose messages certainly reflect on the publication as a whole. Is The New York Times anti-labor? Or is advertising just another kind of editorial?
— Diana Hamilton
A. In an effort to keep our opinion advertising columns as open as possible, we accept ads form virtually all individuals and groups.
We make no judgments on the advertisers' politics, arguments, factual assertions or conclusions. We accept opinion advertisements regardless of our editorial position on any given subject. In short, the background or the message is of no concern of ours as long as the advertiser stays within the bounds of good taste, and is not gratuitously offensive on racial, religious or ethnic grounds.
I can assure you that The Times is not anti-labor and the advertisement that you saw reflected only the views of the advertiser and not of this newspaper.
The Scent of a Magazine
Q. We are subscribers on Sundays, and really enjoy receiving The Times. However, we detest it when The Times includes perfume samples amid its magazine pages. The smell is not contained, and permeates the entire magazine. I'm not able to read the magazine, much less touch it when this happens. I get immediate headaches from perfumes. Maybe you received my letter some time ago where I sent back the offending perfume ad? Annoying, isn't it?
— Mariana Almeida, Berkeley, Calif.
A. Dear Ms. Almeida: Perfumed inserts in The New York Times Magazine, or scent strips, are a problem for many readers who either suffer from asthma or get headaches like you do. We looked into this problem many years ago and suggested that the perfumes be sealed until the strip was broken by the reader to release the scent. Ultimately, this did not work because the perfume manufacturers wanted their scent to leak out of the scent strips and permeate the entire magazine.
The only alternative we had was to either decline all the scent strips or send separate magazines to subscribers who wished to get a scent-free magazine. We chose the latter.
I am sending your name and address to our advertising department and you will be added to the list to receive a scent-free New York Times Magazine via the mail, every time a scent strip appears.
Thank you for letting us know.
When Advertising Looks Like a Magazine
Q. I've always been puzzled by Chicago Life magazine, which runs as an advertising supplement to The New York Times. Reading the letter from the editor in Chicago Life, a casual reader might mistake it for an unbiased, editorially-independent publication (despite the "advertising supplement..." disclaimer that is printed on each page). It has many of the trappings of a "real" magazine — interviews with prominent individuals, travel stories, etc. But, upon careful review, there's obvious advertorial content (some articles mention only advertisers, restaurant "reviews" that are uniformly positive and again primarily feature advertisers, etc.). In my opinion, it's offensive because it tries so hard to deceive and conceal its true purpose.
Several years ago I wrote an a letter to the New York Times ombudsman about Chicago Life, and was told that the ombudsman doesn't deal with advertising. So I'm curious where you draw the line. How many issues of Chicago Life have you read cover to cover, and did you find anything wrong with the way it presents itself?
— Jennifer King, Chicago
A. I've read Chicago Life for a number of years now, but only as an advertising professional.
As a free-standing insert to The New York Times in the Chicago area, Chicago Life is clearly marked "Advertising Supplement to The New York Times" on the cover and is marked "Advertising Supplement" on each page. According to the rules of the Audit Bureau of Circulation, the typeface should also be different from our product and it should be clearly labeled. There is also a disclaimer that says that the insert did not involve the reporting or editing staff of The New York Times.
As long as Chicago Life is clearly marked as an advertising supplement, we believe that it meets our advertising standards for clarity and honesty.
The 'Yuck' Factor
Q. There have been plenty of ads in the Times I've disagreed with, but I've only seen two series of advertisements that I've felt were inexcusable in their bad taste. One is an on-going exploitative series of fund-raising ads showing children with palates damaged by birth defects; the other was a series of people who look like they'd been badly beaten about the head and neck, their faces dark purple — in full-page full color, so you couldn't miss it — with a caption calling the puffy and bruised faces a metaphor for liver damage.
How do you determine whether to accept or reject ads whose intent is clearly to invoke a visceral, horrific "yuck!" reaction?
— David Gehrig, Urbana, Ill.
A. We have declined ads over the years that in our opinion would not be appropriate to share with your morning bagel and coffee. One of the more memorable "yuck" factor ads was a two-page color ad from a nameless (and I believe defunct) search engine. It showed the details of a hospital operating room just after an unsuccessful attempt to save a man's life. The operating room showed a dejected doctor along with the bloody detritus of equipment and supplies. A caption in the corner read "Search; Is there life after death."
The Smile Train ads showing a little girl appealing for money to help doctors perform operations in Third World countries speaks to a stark reality.
The liver damage ad for a drug marketed by Hoffman LaRoche to prevent Hepatitis C is clearly designed to shock. If it were designed to shock in order to sell computers, clothes or any other product, we would have turned it down. Since this ad could help save lives, we agreed to publish it.
Thank you for bringing up the subject.
Distracting Ads on the Web
Q. I use a Firefox plug-in called "NoScript" primarily because of the way that The New York Times Web site is programmed. I probably check the site two to three times a day (plus home delivery), but the advertising was so intrusive and distracting, that I found it hard to read.
Your ads would flash, change colors, or, in at least one case, grow to cover the editorial content. Turning off scripting also turns off the "multimedia" presentations on your site — which by and large is also a blessing. I have not (yet) turned to the more drastic plug-ins that turn off all advertising.
In any event, I wonder what your policy is for ads that flash, are distracting, that use fancy scripting to intrude on editorial content, or, as in the case of the mortgage company with the dancing Santas, are just plain ugly.
— Alan Harper, Oakland, Calif.
A. Our policy is to accept flash ads that animate for 30 seconds or less and include a default version for people who don't have a flash plug-in. We also accept advertising that expands upon user-initiation (but that you should be able retract as well). Some of the ads that you see that animate are flash, and some are just animating graphics.
We also take a limited number of "uninitiated overlay" ads: these appear over content without the user initiating anything. They can also be eliminated from view by using the close button that is always required to appear with the ad. Each person should only receive only one of these ads per visit to The New York Times Web site.
What Gives with Louis Vuitton?
Q. What's your take on the new Louis Vuitton ad campaign featuring celebs from another time? Do you think it targets new customers or appeals to the old ones? None of them seems to be an icon of fashion, so what gives?
— Sanford
A. I could only guess at why they are featuring stars and statesmen from years ago in their advertising, but to my mind it sets them apart from other upmarket competitors. The very fact that you are asking about it confirms that they have hit on a winner.
It might also be that these celebrities from years ago are more recognizable to an older demographic now, who happen to be older and richer.
Director of Advertising Acceptability
Published: September 17, 2007
Steph Jespersen, The Times’s director of advertising acceptability, is answering questions from readers Sept. 17-20. Questions may be e-mailed to askthetimes@nytimes.com. To read his most recent reply, click here.
Skip to next paragraph
Steph Jespersen
Mr. Jespersen is responsible for ensuring that all advertising in The Times complies with the company’s standards of integrity and good taste. His duties include establishing acceptability policy, and both pre-publication evaluation of advertising and post-publication resolution of reader grievances and competitive advertiser challenges. Advertisements are reviewed to see if they are misleading, inaccurate or fraudulent, or fail to comply with standards of decency and dignity. Submissions are closely examined for vulgar language, salacious images or copy that imitates news.
The New York Times has been rigorously reviewing advertising for almost 70 years. The founder and publisher of the modern Times, Adolph S. Ochs, believed that advertising in its own way conveyed news and had to adhere to well-defined standards, though the advertising department has always been completely separate from the news department and the editorial and Op-Ed pages and their staffs. Advertisers have no influence over news or editorial content of The Times.
Mr. Jespersen started his career at The New York Times in 1971. He has held numerous advertising sales positions, including travel account manager. In 1992 he joined the advertising acceptability department as copy chief. He was named director of the advertising acceptability department in 2000 and reports directly to the publisher, Arthur Sulzberger Jr., to ensure that the decisions are independent from both the newsroom and the advertising department.
He is a graduate of the University of Connecticut with a B.S. degree in marketing.
MoveOn.org's Ad on General Petraeus
Q. Even though this is not strictly a question about advertising acceptability, perhaps you will answer in the hopes of clearing up the last of the MoveOn/Petraeus ad controversy.
When the controversy came to a head, the Times spokeswoman explained that with advocacy groups, any customer willing to buy space on a "standby" basis will get the same discounted price; while The Times does its best to accommodate with respect to the preferred date and placement, it cannot be guaranteed. Once the run date is known, the customer is usually informed. This is evidently what happened with the MoveOn ad.
Some bloggers point to the fact that the ad, which ran on the day General Petraeus testified, said he would be testifying "today," and thus, The Times must have agreed to run it on that day.
Could you please explain how it works when someone wants to run date-specific copy on a standby basis? Are there different versions for different days?
Thanks for your response.
— Z.Z.
A. As the acceptability director it was my job to say yes, or no to the ad, as I do every day for hundreds of advertisements. Let me explain how opinion advertising decisions are made.
In the past year, The New York Times accepted opinion ads from more than 200 groups, from Save Dartmouth to Save the Constitution. We accept ads from organizations across the political spectrum and from many groups and individuals, who simply have something to say. With opinion advertising, sometimes called advocacy advertising, the client uses our pages to make an argument or to dispute what someone else is saying … and this may include negative characterizations.
Acceptance of an ad does not in any way reflect the official position of The New York Times nor do we need to agree or endorse our advertiser's message or opinion. We only decline or alter an opinion ad when the message is clearly discriminatory, illegal, libelous, or hate speech. Of course, we expect advertisers to stay within the bounds of good taste as well.
The MoveOn.org ad was published because it complied with our standards. This ad was also accepted because it is our ongoing desire to keep our advertising columns as open as possible to the public, which we believe is a First Amendment responsibility. I would also point out that this ad was similar to other ads that criticized President Bush, former President Bill Clinton, and countless other public officials.
Within the category of political or advocacy advertising it is common practice throughout the newspaper industry to offer a standby rate in addition to open rate advertising. When a group buys a standby ad, it can request a particular date for it to be run, but receives no guarantee that it can appear that day. The lower cost of such ads reflects the flexibility that gives us. Any political or advocacy group calling up today to request a standby ad would be quoted the same rate that MoveOn.org paid.
It is also our practice to notify an advertiser, a day before, that we have room to accommodate his or her standby ad in the next day's newspaper, and at that point the advertiser can make minor changes in the text.
What's Acceptable?
Q. Because the H.I.V. virus continues to be a serious problem nationally, it's important (I believe) that condom advertising should not be restricted because of worries over taste. I think the TV networks are gradually changing their rules to allow more of these ads, at least during some hours of the night. What are the policies at The Times concerning condom ads, what is the rationale for them, and have these policies changes over time?
— Bob Kazel, Chicago
A. I can tell you that The Times accepts advertisements for condoms provided that the copy and illustrations are in acceptable taste.
This policy has changed over the years. At one time condom ads were only accepted if the ad dealt with the health benefits of using condoms.
Thanks for asking.
Q. Let's say I would like to purchase a full page ad in your newspaper and beat the #@*& out of Hillary Clinton. All proper and no foul language. Would you allow that?
— Michael Macfarlane, Arizona
A. First of all, we do not accept the word #@*& in advertisements in this newspaper. As a matter of fact, we accepted a full advertisement for a book that contained that word on the book's cover just last week. We insisted that the vulgarity be changed to asterisks or other characters.
Now, without the vulgarities, we would accept an advertisement that criticized Senator Clinton, as long as it stayed within the parameters of good taste.
Are an Ad's Claims Checked?
Q. It appears that many companies now are joining the bandwagon of global warming and carbor print responsibility because it may makes good commercial sense, if customers want it.
How does advertising plans to keep an eye on claims and responsibilities of advertisers? The whole thing could be taken for a ride if we just pay lip service to it. How do we know that advertisers are genuine in their claims? What's the code of conduct?
Should a scientific advisory group be created to supervise irresponsible advertising claims?
— Pablo
A. We expect all of our advertisers to be able to substantiate their claims, be they in an opinion ad or in a product ad. If the advertiser cannot substantiate their claims, we may ask them to modify their advertising.
In product or service advertising, if our readers find there is a difference between the advertised claims in the advertisement and how the product performs, they can write or call this department. We then ask the reader to document the complaint, and we forward it to the advertiser.
The advertiser usually contacts the reader to make a satisfactory adjustment to the product.
Political Ads
Q. A couple of weeks ago, the main page of www.nytimes.com displayed a large ad for "The Center for Union Facts," an anti-labor group inviting visitors to "help stop the big union power grab." The ad was pretty shocking to me, and made me wonder if The Times only runs advertisements whose politics it shares. Especially after Giuliani's demand for the same low rate given to MoveOn.org by The Times earlier this week, I'm hoping you can answer how The Times makes choices like this in picking their sponsors, whose messages certainly reflect on the publication as a whole. Is The New York Times anti-labor? Or is advertising just another kind of editorial?
— Diana Hamilton
A. In an effort to keep our opinion advertising columns as open as possible, we accept ads form virtually all individuals and groups.
We make no judgments on the advertisers' politics, arguments, factual assertions or conclusions. We accept opinion advertisements regardless of our editorial position on any given subject. In short, the background or the message is of no concern of ours as long as the advertiser stays within the bounds of good taste, and is not gratuitously offensive on racial, religious or ethnic grounds.
I can assure you that The Times is not anti-labor and the advertisement that you saw reflected only the views of the advertiser and not of this newspaper.
The Scent of a Magazine
Q. We are subscribers on Sundays, and really enjoy receiving The Times. However, we detest it when The Times includes perfume samples amid its magazine pages. The smell is not contained, and permeates the entire magazine. I'm not able to read the magazine, much less touch it when this happens. I get immediate headaches from perfumes. Maybe you received my letter some time ago where I sent back the offending perfume ad? Annoying, isn't it?
— Mariana Almeida, Berkeley, Calif.
A. Dear Ms. Almeida: Perfumed inserts in The New York Times Magazine, or scent strips, are a problem for many readers who either suffer from asthma or get headaches like you do. We looked into this problem many years ago and suggested that the perfumes be sealed until the strip was broken by the reader to release the scent. Ultimately, this did not work because the perfume manufacturers wanted their scent to leak out of the scent strips and permeate the entire magazine.
The only alternative we had was to either decline all the scent strips or send separate magazines to subscribers who wished to get a scent-free magazine. We chose the latter.
I am sending your name and address to our advertising department and you will be added to the list to receive a scent-free New York Times Magazine via the mail, every time a scent strip appears.
Thank you for letting us know.
When Advertising Looks Like a Magazine
Q. I've always been puzzled by Chicago Life magazine, which runs as an advertising supplement to The New York Times. Reading the letter from the editor in Chicago Life, a casual reader might mistake it for an unbiased, editorially-independent publication (despite the "advertising supplement..." disclaimer that is printed on each page). It has many of the trappings of a "real" magazine — interviews with prominent individuals, travel stories, etc. But, upon careful review, there's obvious advertorial content (some articles mention only advertisers, restaurant "reviews" that are uniformly positive and again primarily feature advertisers, etc.). In my opinion, it's offensive because it tries so hard to deceive and conceal its true purpose.
Several years ago I wrote an a letter to the New York Times ombudsman about Chicago Life, and was told that the ombudsman doesn't deal with advertising. So I'm curious where you draw the line. How many issues of Chicago Life have you read cover to cover, and did you find anything wrong with the way it presents itself?
— Jennifer King, Chicago
A. I've read Chicago Life for a number of years now, but only as an advertising professional.
As a free-standing insert to The New York Times in the Chicago area, Chicago Life is clearly marked "Advertising Supplement to The New York Times" on the cover and is marked "Advertising Supplement" on each page. According to the rules of the Audit Bureau of Circulation, the typeface should also be different from our product and it should be clearly labeled. There is also a disclaimer that says that the insert did not involve the reporting or editing staff of The New York Times.
As long as Chicago Life is clearly marked as an advertising supplement, we believe that it meets our advertising standards for clarity and honesty.
The 'Yuck' Factor
Q. There have been plenty of ads in the Times I've disagreed with, but I've only seen two series of advertisements that I've felt were inexcusable in their bad taste. One is an on-going exploitative series of fund-raising ads showing children with palates damaged by birth defects; the other was a series of people who look like they'd been badly beaten about the head and neck, their faces dark purple — in full-page full color, so you couldn't miss it — with a caption calling the puffy and bruised faces a metaphor for liver damage.
How do you determine whether to accept or reject ads whose intent is clearly to invoke a visceral, horrific "yuck!" reaction?
— David Gehrig, Urbana, Ill.
A. We have declined ads over the years that in our opinion would not be appropriate to share with your morning bagel and coffee. One of the more memorable "yuck" factor ads was a two-page color ad from a nameless (and I believe defunct) search engine. It showed the details of a hospital operating room just after an unsuccessful attempt to save a man's life. The operating room showed a dejected doctor along with the bloody detritus of equipment and supplies. A caption in the corner read "Search; Is there life after death."
The Smile Train ads showing a little girl appealing for money to help doctors perform operations in Third World countries speaks to a stark reality.
The liver damage ad for a drug marketed by Hoffman LaRoche to prevent Hepatitis C is clearly designed to shock. If it were designed to shock in order to sell computers, clothes or any other product, we would have turned it down. Since this ad could help save lives, we agreed to publish it.
Thank you for bringing up the subject.
Distracting Ads on the Web
Q. I use a Firefox plug-in called "NoScript" primarily because of the way that The New York Times Web site is programmed. I probably check the site two to three times a day (plus home delivery), but the advertising was so intrusive and distracting, that I found it hard to read.
Your ads would flash, change colors, or, in at least one case, grow to cover the editorial content. Turning off scripting also turns off the "multimedia" presentations on your site — which by and large is also a blessing. I have not (yet) turned to the more drastic plug-ins that turn off all advertising.
In any event, I wonder what your policy is for ads that flash, are distracting, that use fancy scripting to intrude on editorial content, or, as in the case of the mortgage company with the dancing Santas, are just plain ugly.
— Alan Harper, Oakland, Calif.
A. Our policy is to accept flash ads that animate for 30 seconds or less and include a default version for people who don't have a flash plug-in. We also accept advertising that expands upon user-initiation (but that you should be able retract as well). Some of the ads that you see that animate are flash, and some are just animating graphics.
We also take a limited number of "uninitiated overlay" ads: these appear over content without the user initiating anything. They can also be eliminated from view by using the close button that is always required to appear with the ad. Each person should only receive only one of these ads per visit to The New York Times Web site.
What Gives with Louis Vuitton?
Q. What's your take on the new Louis Vuitton ad campaign featuring celebs from another time? Do you think it targets new customers or appeals to the old ones? None of them seems to be an icon of fashion, so what gives?
— Sanford
A. I could only guess at why they are featuring stars and statesmen from years ago in their advertising, but to my mind it sets them apart from other upmarket competitors. The very fact that you are asking about it confirms that they have hit on a winner.
It might also be that these celebrities from years ago are more recognizable to an older demographic now, who happen to be older and richer.
Monday, September 17, 2007
Money for your opinion.
EXCERPT FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES
The Wisdom of Sales Trend Predictions
By BOB TEDESCHI
Published: September 17, 2007
INTERNET pundits make a spectacle of their annual predictions for online holiday sales. Now an Internet group is turning to a new approach to arrive at its forecast: just ask everybody.
The Sloan Center for Internet Retailing, part of the University of California, Riverside, will announce a new Web site tomorrow relying on so-called prediction markets to foretell online sales and other Internet-related trends, like the shopping sites most likely to survive, or the popularity of “World of Warcraft.” In doing so, the Sloan Center is adopting a method of online research that off-line companies have used widely in recent months, but one that is not in broad use to study Internet sales.
“It’s increasingly hard to get people to participate in research studies, but they’re very eager to participate in prediction markets,” said Thomas P. Novak, a director of the Sloan Center. “Consumers are actually coming to you, which seems to me what the Web is all about.”
The concept behind the Sloan Center’s initiative, and the trend in general, is known as competitive forecasting, where Web sites pit users against each other to determine who is the most prescient about a certain topic. Analysts said this method, publicized widely in “The Wisdom of Crowds,” the book by the New Yorker columnist James Surowiecki, yields more accurate results because participants care much more about their answers than in a typical phone survey.
The Wisdom of Sales Trend Predictions
By BOB TEDESCHI
Published: September 17, 2007
INTERNET pundits make a spectacle of their annual predictions for online holiday sales. Now an Internet group is turning to a new approach to arrive at its forecast: just ask everybody.
The Sloan Center for Internet Retailing, part of the University of California, Riverside, will announce a new Web site tomorrow relying on so-called prediction markets to foretell online sales and other Internet-related trends, like the shopping sites most likely to survive, or the popularity of “World of Warcraft.” In doing so, the Sloan Center is adopting a method of online research that off-line companies have used widely in recent months, but one that is not in broad use to study Internet sales.
“It’s increasingly hard to get people to participate in research studies, but they’re very eager to participate in prediction markets,” said Thomas P. Novak, a director of the Sloan Center. “Consumers are actually coming to you, which seems to me what the Web is all about.”
The concept behind the Sloan Center’s initiative, and the trend in general, is known as competitive forecasting, where Web sites pit users against each other to determine who is the most prescient about a certain topic. Analysts said this method, publicized widely in “The Wisdom of Crowds,” the book by the New Yorker columnist James Surowiecki, yields more accurate results because participants care much more about their answers than in a typical phone survey.
Reaction to Adsense Report Card.
I have been receiving great feedback to my recent column on Adsense. Here are a few comments from a blog on SiteProNews {they referred to "AdSense's Impenetrable Veil"}-
"As a publisher I'd like to know why I have days with a 30% click thru rate on a specific site and then have a 5% click thru rate the very next day. It would be nice to see some data."
"in my opinion, Google remains on the top of its field because of TRUST, trust because Google delivers... for an advertiser, SALES is the bottom line . As long as the purpose is served, even not disclosing whats enumerated above is alright, especially if its the trade secret that keep Advertisers happy."
"Adsense enforces its policies guidelines
haphazardly, allowing some favoured websites with alcohol or gambling related themes to place ads on the site, while shutting down others. Policies are not enforced fairly."
"As a publisher I'd like to know why I have days with a 30% click thru rate on a specific site and then have a 5% click thru rate the very next day. It would be nice to see some data."
"in my opinion, Google remains on the top of its field because of TRUST, trust because Google delivers... for an advertiser, SALES is the bottom line . As long as the purpose is served, even not disclosing whats enumerated above is alright, especially if its the trade secret that keep Advertisers happy."
"Adsense enforces its policies guidelines
haphazardly, allowing some favoured websites with alcohol or gambling related themes to place ads on the site, while shutting down others. Policies are not enforced fairly."
Friday, September 14, 2007
AdSense Report Card
I have a column on iMediaConnection that will be of interest to all of you. Here is an excerpt-
2. Google never tells publishers why they got paid a certain amount.
1.Google does not publish any research on ad effectiveness.
The full column is here.
Transparency
Google has built an advertising marketplace on the principle of opacity. Everybody involved is provided with a modicum of information rather than the complete picture. In doing so, the company creates an atmosphere that asks all involved to simply trust it. While Google might argue that this is needed to minimize opportunism by all involved, this is a dangerous way to run a marketplace.
Here is a top 10 list of what Google does not reveal.
10.Google does not tell advertisers where exactly their ad will get placed.
9. Google does not tell some publishers why exactly they shut them down.
8. Google does not share any network-level performance figures.
7. Google does not provide any information about how overall click rates have changed over time.
6. Google does not share any information on who clicked on the ads.
5. Google does not reveal what leads to higher placement among paid ads.
4. Google does not reveal how exactly it evaluates the quality of a text ad, i.e., the Quality Score. According to Google, the formula "varies depending on whether it's calculating minimum bids or assigning ad position."
3. Google does not tell advertisers what countries the users come from.2. Google never tells publishers why they got paid a certain amount.
1.Google does not publish any research on ad effectiveness.
Grade: C
Here is an initial reaction to the article-Excellent article! I agree with you that there is a huge opportunity for a company to develop a superior product to Google AdSense. I used it for awhile on our www.officepolitics.com site -- but the ads that were being fed were trainers and coaches in competition with the Advisers who contribute to the site -- and the ads look junkie. When I called up Google to see if I could choose different advertisers (e.g. business books, career companies), they said, "Sorry. Can't do it. The computer chooses the ads that are delivered to you." This was an unacceptable answer -- so I dropped AdSense. Our most successful ads for the site have been custom sponsorships.
The full column is here.
Thursday, September 13, 2007
WSJ REPORTS- Walmart chooses Subway over McDonalds!
Excerpt-
Wal-Mart Embraces Subway Over McDonald's in Its Stores
By James Covert and Richard Gibson
Word Count: 1,070 | Companies Featured in This Article: Wal-Mart Stores, McDonald's
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is losing its taste for burgers and fries.
Subway, the fast-food chain that likes to promote its sandwiches as a healthy alternative to traditional fried and grilled fare, began doing business with the world's largest retailer only three years ago. But from a lone restaurant inside a Wal-Mart in Ozark, Ala., Subway has quickly overtaken McDonald's Corp. as Wal-Mart's primary fast-food concessionaire across the U.S.
Amazing Marketing Campaign on LinkedIN
Turns out that Barack Obama has a very cool campaign on LinkedIn. He has posed a simple question, "How can the next president better help small business and entrepreneurs thrive?" The last time I checked he had received 1298 answers to this question. I do not see Hillary Clinton or the other presidential candidates on this forum yet. This confirms my belief that LinkedIn's Answers feature is its most important one to date.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Definition of Marketing- a Discussion on LinkedIn.
Question
Marketing as a Business Philosophy, a way of thinking or a function? Which is your definition?
There is no one definition of marketing which describes it as it is in every organization: as a function it adaps itself to the needs of the organization, while it is also a way of thinking, a way to sell, a Business Philosophy applied to what you do.
Which is your definition of Marketing?
Answers
# 1
My company specializes in marketing that identifies and attracts customers who have already decided to buy, but are looking for the company to buy from. So, we see Marketing not only as a function of our business, but as service to be sold. Marketing is a fascinating combination of science, art, and business.
# 2
Marketing is what we tell customers about ourselves.
# 3
A wholistic view of the marketing process would be:
Determine a market, determine what that market will buy, provide it, and communicate your ability to provide it.
Often we tend to see marketing as just communicating our ability to provide something.
# 4
marketing i believe is not just a department or a function - it is a way of "be-ing" for the company. "market-ing" - i.e., creating products that are innovative and that meet consumers' needs and making those products relevant to their lives through relevant communications, distribution points, promoted by relevant channels - is a philosophy.
# 5
I'm a VP of Client Services for an integrated marketing company and believe that marketing is a part of the organization's overall philosophy. A business develops relationships with it's vendors through great process and operations. It develops relationships with it's customers through engagement.
# 6
I majored in marketing, but never really understood how central it is.
Marketing is what we do everyday - a seamless demonstration of the value we deliver. Without delivery we have no track record, no customer referrals, no congruence and hence no credibility. It colours all our communications and behaviours. It is the base for any attempt at selling.
# 7
I'm reading just now the last Marketing Management edition by Mr Kotler.
He is the global reference about marketing, but even him sometimes is wrong on certain specific issues.
It's probably in the nature of Marketing the fact that any definition will become wrong in the future.
I'll simply say that Marketing is all the activities you can make to convince customers to buy your product or service
This definition can be applied to single people in their professional life or to big companies.
Selling = Eating today
Marketing = Eating Tomorrow
Many more elegant explanations exist and I would never attempt to use this as an example or definition in Marketing 101 or even 102, 103 and 104. But for those of us in the Linkedin community who have been around the block a few times, this offers a nice visceral description.
Marketing is a Business Philosophy and so that makes it both a way of thinking and a function for your business. I like to say advertising is what you do to tell others who don't know you what you do. Marketing is what you do to prove that your ads tell the correct story of what you do. Marketing is what you do everyday to prove to your clients that they placed their trust in the right person/company. Marketing is your way of life.
I like to use an example all the time of a new grocery store. They start by advertising that they have low prices and high quality. After a few customers have been in and seen that they do in deed have low prices and high quality they tell other people- that is marketing were you don't have to tell others what you do others brag about what they have found and your reputation spreads. If you stop doing what you advertise and start doing something else you have to begin relying on your marketing to keep you going. and allow them to spread the word of how you have changed hopefully for the better.
I know that most people would disagree with me but then most people don't get marketing and flop when they try to live on just marketing to help them survive. You have to advertise and market at the same time. When someone only advertises and never puts the marketing into practice then they will fail.Youa also cannot afford to only market and not advertise. You may have the best staff and the highest quality but if no one knows what you do then you won't make a plug nickel.
Zig Ziglar says everyone is a salesperson-either you sell them that they need to buy what you have or they sell you that they don't, the outcome is what determines who was the better salesperson that day. I would say that you can substitute the word marketer for salesperson and get the same result. I hope I was able to help all those who read this to become better marketers and sales professionals.
Thats an interesting question. I would agree to your thought of Marketing as "Way of Thinking” above all! Rather, I would say it’s a “State of
As an employee, there have been times I would not have considered marketing to be anything I was involved in or responsible for. I have since come to believe that every employee of a company is involved in marketing whether they know or understand it. I now believe that marketing is more than a function or a way of thinking or a sales approach or a business philosophy. Therefore, to describe what I mean that marketing is more than these things, then I guess I would say marketing is a lifestyle.
But, what does it mean for marketing to be lifestyle?
From the newest employee to the President/CEO of a company, so long as you work for a company your livelihood is tied to the success or failure of the company. If the company succeeds, your livelihood has a better chance for improvement, but if the company fails then your livelihood is likely to suffer until you find a new employer.
In short, when every employee for a company understands they can be a valuable contributor to the marketing and success of their company and keep that thought in the forefront of their mind, then the odds for success of the company tend to be greater. For these reasons, I've come to believe that marketing is a lifestyle or a sense of being that I can make a part of me and work towards developing it as a skill I can easily draw upon as the circumstances warrant or where I see a hint of daylight that would allow me to make an opportunity develop.
"Why and how" would put Marketing definition in the right perspective. As we all understand, Marketing in any form or function has two clear objectives:
- Understand the Need/Pain/Challenge of Customer.
- Position and Deliver the Best Solution/Product/Service.
Business and of course marketing starts and ends with customer, the very reason for its existence! With this pretext no doubt Marketing forms the very basis of any function in the organization. Let’s look at few of functions one by one:
-Human Resources – Imbibes Customer Orientation in employees and ensure the capabilities are attuned to deliver best products / services.
-Production / Operations – Ensure Customer Delight by delivering products / service of the highest quality.
-Finance – Ensure the best price to customer through effective financial planning and budgeting.(Assuming that Price is always not market)
-Research and Development – Deliver innovative products to customers based on their needs.
And this would probably be the case for every other function, thus clearly reinforcing the fact that every employee needs to have a “Marketing Mindset”, which directs his / her actions in the organization towards Customer Needs. Having said all this:
“Can we Isolate Marketing as a separate function and just let it operate in a silo?” The answer in my opinion would be “NO”.
It may be categorized as a separate function for ease of structure and operational reasons, but the mindset and objective of Marketing should be something realized and practiced across all the Business functions and its employees.
I understand that this is something hard to practice across functions...and few of the thoughts may sound a bit abstract, but then its not easy intitutionalise a "Mindset!". :)
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Marketing textbooks have never kept up with marketing practice. This has never been more true today when a whole generation of marketing MBA students are graduating without adequate knowledge of Search Engine Optimization (SEO). On the one hand, I am happy that my students have an edge in the marketplace. On the other hand, I worry about the relevance of marketing as a discipline.
Bum Advertising.
How would you like to see a bum proudly display your ad? This site got a lot of attention a couple years back. It was shut down mostly due to "legal attention"- specifically the fact that these people were not being paid a minimum wage.
Are User-Generated Ads Fads?
Nick Desai has an interesting column about this. Here is an excerpt-
Juice Wireless' founder examines the user-generated ad phenomenon and what role these ads may play in the future of marketing.
Juice Wireless' founder examines the user-generated ad phenomenon and what role these ads may play in the future of marketing.
The other day I was pouring a big pile of ketchup, and I noticed on the packet that there was a contest to make the best user-generated commercial for Heinz ketchup -- with the winner's ad actually running on TV. As my mind filled with ideas for my own creative ways to use the red stuff, I started to think about this: As user-generated content becomes increasingly mainstream, will user-generated ads follow in popularity?
Actual consumer product reviews have already become key to our selection of everything from restaurants to toys, cars and movies. When I select toys to buy online for my incredibly cute nephew, I read every one of the consumer reviews because they provide invaluable insights; for example, how hard they are to assemble.
E-Markplan
Krishnamurthy, Sandeep (2006), "Introducing E-MARKPLAN: A practical methodologyto plan e-marketing activities", Business Horizons, 49(1), 51-. Full paper available here.
Abstract (Summary)
Although e-marketing is highly prevalent, no template currently exists for managers who wish to use the Internet/Web and related information technologies to market their products and services. This paper provides managers with a comprehensive, actionable, and practical methodology (E-MARKPLAN) to plan, enact, and analyze e-marketing activities. Five case studies are used to illustrate the diversity of e-marketing actions. E-MARKPLAN consists of five parts: goals, actors (i.e., those who take e-marketing actions), spaces (i.e., theaters of engagement), actions, and outcomes. The E-MARKPLAN methodology is versatile, and is not limited to companies which have e-commerce operations.
Using Brand Web Sites to Build Brands Online: A Product Versus Service Brand Comparison.
Dou, Wenyu, Sandeep Krishnamurthy (2007), "Using Brand Websites to Build Brands Online: A Product versus Service Brand Comparison", Journal of Advertising Research, 47(2), 193-.
Abstract (Summary)
This study analyzes important content, function, and design elements of brand sites along six dimensions: text information, multimedia information, interface design, loyalist support, promotion synergy, and interactivity. A total of 219 brand websites for a product category (i.e., drinks and candies) and a service category (i.e., accounting firms) are examined. Results indicate that accounting firms treat their brand sites as corporate-image building vehicles and virtual information sources while drinks and candies firms use entertaining design elements to build customer relationships through greater interaction. Companies may be underutilizing elements related to interactivity, cultivating loyal customers, and supporting cross-channel promotions. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]
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