Alex Woodruff Biz Buzz

One sure-fire way to capture interest is to hijack it from somewhere else. This falls into an area of advertising where you do a spoof or pastiche of an established campaign or concept. If you do it well your audience will smile and go with you. And Interest very quickly becomes Desire. If you do [...]

I’ve been waiting with baited breath to see how the German cigarette companies would deal with the smoking ban in bars. Trust my favourite brand (NO, I don’t smoke) to strike the right chord. Here’s how they dealt with it in Baden-Württemberg, which implemented the ban last year.

Mocking the powers that be
Rather than go [...]

Thumbs up to this nifty campaign devised by German ad agency Scholz & Friends. According to my MBA sources (thanks Esther), it’s already scooped prizes, but I would like to add my praise for a) finding a new and eye-catching medium and b) using this medium to push the message so effectively.

Life’s too [...]

In non-profit markets, marketeers have to really push the message quickly. When it’s a political message, they have to do it powerfully too (given that many people are bored by politics, especially under the current grand coalition). So hats off to the Green Party/Bündnis 90 alliance for going where no others would dare to… this [...]

My thanks go to Christina who pointed out a great article on what the Germans call Standortmarketing (a term the English language sadly struggles with - the nearest equivalent would be “Location marketing”. It’s about marketing The Big Apple or similar tourist attractions which are actually a place; more here).
As Spiegel will probably sue me [...]

No one could claim that buying a mobile phone is easy. There are so many different options and charges it makes you wonder whether anybody actually finds the best deal possible.
This is quite normal for complex buying behaviour. You want to get it right (you might have to live with the consequences of a [...]

This poster for an environmental lobbyist in China took a while to make its point, but it made the point well. A simple idea: the poster has glue on it. Dust particles stick to the glue. After a few days you see how dirty the air is in the city. The message: pollution pollutes.

I love this. My thanks go to the MBA (who shall remain nameless) for this wonderful example of a medium breaking through the message and actually creating the message. As you wait. Forget “guerilla marketing”, forget clever slogans, this gets my vote!

For more marvellous media, see here.

As you’ll know if you subscribe to this blog, I like nothing more than a medium that becomes more than just that - and actually becomes the advertising message.
Like this poster for the world’s largest chain of amusement parks, Six Flags. Who says posters are always flat?

How many companies have the branding clout to advertise without mentioning the company or brand, but by only showing a logo. Those that can have understood the value of brand icons. Good one…

(in case you’re wondering: Nike. Thermals, given the tick.)