I’ve always believed that advertising should be persuasive (if your message isn’t compelling there is no reason for anyone to buy, sign up, or connect in any way), simple (complex messages are difficult to understand and often bore or become invisible), emotional (BBH famously developed the theory of the Emotional Selling Proposition (ESP), a direct move away from the older Unique Selling Proposition (USP) standard. ESP has become the basis for some of the most powerful advertising in the past century) and it should tell a good story (by leading viewers, readers or listeners through a story you can engage them on a deeper level and help them understand your product or service on a more personally).

I’ve also always felt Public Service Announcements (PSAs) are the low-hanging fruit in the world of advertising. Their accessible purposes are easy to understand by nearly everyone. How can you not agree that a mind is a terrible thing to waste, or that you really should give a hoot, don’t pollute and support the American Red Cross Haiti Relief effort. Agencies develop a mascot, line up some celebrities and write some wicked copy. But often these campaigns still fall short of greatness.

So I’m giving kudos to the United Kingdom’s Sussex Safer Roads Partnership and their new Embrace Life campaign which encourages seatbelt use. In America, we currently have our own simpleminded and threatening Click it or Ticket campaign and maybe a clever billboard, but honestly none have ever been persuasive.

Well done, Sussex Safer Roads Partnership. Persuasive, simple, emotional and it tells a story.

Okay, please forgive the title but it’s Jon Stewart’s word not mine. Last night Stewart made some very serious points about how Apple, the underdog, with throngs of loyalist techie fanboys, is committing a terrible public relations/social media blunder by the way they’re treating Gawker/Gizmodo and it’s editor Jason Chen.

“It wasn’t supposed to be this way. Microsoft was supposed to be the evil one, but now you guys are busting down doors in Palo Alto while Commandant Gates is ridding the world of mosquitoes,” says Stewart. He lays out the case better than I can. I’ll just let him tell it.

We all love Apple rumors. But this one seems to have some ground to stand on. Late last week PatentlyApple posted some pretty comprehensive details of Apple’s latest patent filing. It’s a full-fledged blueprint for selling and managing ticketing for concerts, sports events, conferences, amusement parks, museums, airlines — possibly even weddings — anything really.

E-tickets aren’t anything new, but this is the first time tickets will be managed directly though a wireless device like the iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch. Apple’s new ticketing service will also work with unmanned kiosks and turnstiles, allowing the user to hold the device up to the kiosk for a code to be scanned.

PatentlyApple also notes that “Apple E-tickets may provide additional benefits, such as digital content which may include a live recording of the event, exclusive interviews with artists associated with the event, or studio recordings by artists associated with the event. The electronic tickets may offer other benefits, such as discounts on merchandise related to the event, discounts or prepaid refreshments for the event, discounts or prepaid merchandise like a T-Shirt for the event, and other related content, such as a digital map (#120) to the event or of the venue including your seating positioning relative to the stage.”

People don’t really care that much about your opinion anymore. But there is hope.

The 10th annual edition of the Edelman Trust Barometer 2010 — a survey of opinions on business credibility conducted across 22 countries — has found that trust in businesses rose an incredible 18 points to 54%. But before we all throw a big party we need to pause a moment. What’s the reason for this increase? The study attributes that steep rise in trust to the mea culpas and palliative reactions companies have been forced to respond with to the poor economy. In other words there’s no future business plan here. This rise is fragile and while it worked this year I don’t feel you should count on what is basically sympathy to carry feelings of public trust in business into next year.

So what’s a business to do? Let’s take a look at another part of the study.

People don’t trust any one, single source of information anymore.

Walter Cronkite was once, famously, the most trusted man in America. But prior to 1981, when Cronkite stepped down from the CBS Evening News, options for information were limited. I think people today are smarter and more globally conscious than they ever have been before.

People have come to realize that news agencies — and companies alike — have agendas. Radio, TV and newspapers have become less trusted sources of information. This seachange has been rapid and unexpected for many. As with any major event there is no single cause. This lack of trust is partially due to practical economic reasons, such as a newspaper purging seasoned, more expensive staff and allowing younger writers to publish less quality content. It may also be a result of the increase in opinion journalism instead of Cronkite’s unbiased version. Whatever the cause, over the past several years the public has learned to consume news through multiple channels. And that goes for information consumers use to learn about products and services too.

Friends and peers are also substantially less trusted.

In the last two years the value your friends or peers place on what you say has plummeted by 20 percent. Now only 25% trust what you say. That’s exactly in-line with the staggeringly low trust in traditional media. This decrease in trust in peers is important because it has been the driving factor behind social media, online comments, reviews and recommendations. What should business learn from this? A well-run and engaging social media program that sparks interest is extremely important, and it will become increasingly more important in the near future. In fact, just participating in social media without a well thought-out strategy may even have a diminishing effect. But putting all of your marketing budget into social media isn’t a bright idea either. Businesses need to use multiple channels if they want to influence purchasing decisions.

Traditional media is down, but business magazines are up.

Edelman smartly did not lump all media together as traditional media. According to their in-depth studies over the past 10 years, business magazines have consistently been ranked high. In fact, this year it saw a slight rise in the perception and consumption of information coming from business magazines. Consumers value expert opinion and reviews above all others.

It comes down to this, and it really should be no surprise to anyone: you can’t rely on any one single medium to tell your story. And unless your friend is an expert, his or her opinion matters just about as much (or as little) as any other source. In order to influence someone you need reach them at least 3-5 times with the same message. That means marketing plans for the future need to incorporate radio, TV, outdoor, print, social media and, if possible, expert reviews and endorsements.

Image Credit: Retrevo

I love social media.
At Demi & Cooper we live and breathe it. I’ve been known to check Facebook—much to the annoyance of my wife—while out to dinner. I’ve even (as a joke) live-Tweeted my daughter’s 6th birthday party. But It turns out social media may even be a new addiction, according to a new Retrevo Gadgetology study. Salaciously enough, 11 percent of those under 25 say they would let a social media message interrupt sex. I’m not here to judge. I’m more interested in the rising level of engagement people have with social media. After all, it can be a fulfilling and productive use of time personally, professionally and fiscally.

All night long
27 percent of those under 25 and 20 percent of those over 25 admit to checking social media when they wake up in the middle of the night. And a growing number of people are using it as a replacement for other ways of getting the “news” in the morning. Not surprisingly, iPhone users are leading the pack simply because their devices are far simpler to use than others. As Andriod and other smartphones gain market share it is easy to see how that number will grow.

Is it healthy?
I’m reminded of how before the invention of the train there were well-regarded experts who thought the human body could not withstand the strain of traveling at speeds over 30mph. Television, which is usually thought of as harmful, is now being heralded as an powerful tool that helps developing nations gain access to information, thoughts and ideas. Studies are constantly published that debunk all sorts of conventional wisdom from caffeine, alcohol and more. It comes down to that one old trite but true piece of advice your parents gave you: everything in moderation.

What does this mean for business?
A year ago social media was synonymously referred to as “emerging media.” Some people still refer to it that way—but I have news for them—it has emerged. It may help to look at it this way: social media is so remarkably pervasive that Facebook recently out-trafficked Google. It means companies and organizations need to start taking social media more seriously. That means planning. And reporting. And adapting. And conversing. It means that there’s an enormous segment of the population that is highly engaged in social media. If you want their attention, you need to be too.

Blogs and online publications have long been a thorn in the side of traditional print publications because of the speed with which they can break news. But now, online publications have an annoyance of their own in the form of Twitter.

From a personal perspective, Twitter is now where I go when I hear word of an important event taking place. Reuters knows a lot of Tweeters do the same thing, and they recently addressed it.

From Mashable: (full article)

Last night, Reuters released their social media policy, which includes instructing journalists to avoid exposing bias online and tells them specifically not to “scoop the wire” by breaking stories on Twitter.

The strict instruction makes it clear that even though news continually breaks on Twitter first — especially in disaster scenarios — Reuters journalists are to break their stories first via the wire and not on Twitter.

Twitter has gained relevance astonishingly quickly. Considering a tweet can hold only 140 characters it’s ironic that Twitter is the most versatile social networking site in the world. It’s a powerful platform, and one that is becoming more and more difficult to ignore. Reuters is taking a bit of a gamble with its new policy, and it will be interesting to see if more news outlets follow their lead or turn in the other direction.

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls — introducing Tribune Co. CEO Randy Michaels! He has a brilliant new idea that will make WGN-AM 720 news more riveting and enthralling— and help the Tribune Company emerge from the fiery ashes of bankruptcy and (financial?) disputes of how to fill time slots…by micro-managing the news staff?

As Robert Feder reports on his blog, Randy Michaels has come up with a list of 119 words and phrases that are banned from use on the 50,000 watt flagship radio station. (And not a single one is dirty.) Why dwell on big problems when there are small ones nobody ever knew existed? Michaels’ point is that these phrases are overused and he’s encouraging the news staff to be more creative. But this list is so all-encompassing and broad it will probably only cause the news staff to miss deadlines because they’re thumbing through their Roget’s. WGN’s very own News Director, Charlie Meyerson, in what must have been an especially brown-nosing memo explaining the new rules to staff, goes so far as to specifically encourage employees to rat each other out with the date and time an outlaw phrase was used. That must be great for morale.

Well, if you can’t manage, micro-manage.

Randy Michaels’ Forbidden ‘Newsspeak’ Words & Phrases

• “Flee” meaning “run away”
• “Good” or “bad” news
• “Laud” meaning “praise”
• “Seek” meaning “look for”
• “Some” meaning “about”
• “Two to one margin” . . . “Two to one” is a ratio, not a margin. A margin is measured in points. It’s not a ratio.
• “Yesterday” in a lead sentence
• “Youth” meaning “child”
• 5 a.m. in the morning
• After the break
• After these commercial messages
• Aftermath
• All of you
• Allegations
• Alleged
• Area residents
• As expected
• At risk
• At this point in time
• Authorities
• Auto accident
• Bare naked
• Behind bars
• Behind closed doors
• Behind the podium (you mean lecturn) [sic]
• Best kept secret
• Campaign trail
• Clash with police
• Close proximity
• Complete surprise
• Completely destroyed, completely abolished, completely finished or any other completely redundant use
• Death toll
• Definitely possible
• Diva
• Down in (location)
• Down there
• Dubbaya when you mean double you
• Everybody (when referring to the audience)
• Eye Rack or Eye Ran
• False pretenses
• Famed
• Fatal death
• Fled on foot
• Folks
• Giving 110%
• Going forward
• Gunman, especially lone gunman
• Guys
• Hunnert when you mean hundred
• Icon
• In a surprise move
• In harm’s way
• In other news
• In the wake of (unless it’s a boating story)
• Incarcerated
• Informed sources say . . .
• Killing spree
• Legendary
• Lend a helping hand
• Literally
• Lucky to be alive
• Manhunt
• Marred
• Medical hospital
• Mother of all (anything)
• Motorist
• Mute point. (It’s moot point, but don’t say that either)
• Near miss
• No brainer
• Officials
• Our top story tonight
• Out in (location)
• Out there
• Over in
• Pedestrian
• Perfect storm
• Perished
• Perpetrator
• Plagued
• Really
• Reeling
• Reportedly
• Seek
• Senseless murder
• Shots rang out
• Shower activity
• Sketchy details
• Some (meaning about)
• Some of you
• Sources say . . .
• Speaking out
• Stay tuned
• The fact of the matter
• Those of you
• Thus
• Time for a break
• To be fair
• Torrential rain
• Touch base
• Under fire
• Under siege
• Underwent surgery
• Undisclosed
• Undocumented alien
• Unrest
• Untimely death
• Up in (location)
• Up there
• Utilize (you mean use)
• Vehicle
• We’ll be right back
• Welcome back
• Welcome back everybody
• We’ll be back
• Went terribly wrong
• We’re back
• White stuff
• World class
• You folks

Sure the economy is down and big budget Super Bowl ads are passe. But creative advertising doesn’t need a big budget. You just need a solid concept. This year all but three Super Bowl ads disappointed. Here are my top three favorites from this year, which isn’t saying much.

Good: The Simpsons Coca-Cola Spot
Yes, it was fun seeing the Simpsons do a spot for Coca Cola. But it was schmaltzy and void of any of the acerbic Simpson wit we’ve come to expect. Couldn’t Coca-Cola have allowed the writers to poke a little fun at those big love-fest Coke ads that taught the world to sing?

Better: The Betty White Snickers Spot
Betty White proves she’s as awesome as she ever was. But did you remember this spot was for Snickers? It, like many other Super Bowl ads this year, seemed to rely entirely on a gimmick that overshadows the product. Nevertheless, I do love Betty White.

Best: The David Letterman, Oprah Winfrey and Jay Leno ‘Late Show’ Spot
Clearly, the hands down winner for concept, casting and memorableness. The spot reprises the brilliant 2007 Super Bowl Late Night spot in which Oprah (pulling for the Chicago Bears) and Letterman (pulling for the Indianapolis Colts) are sitting on a couch together, in love, despite their longtime public animosity.

This ad was the brainchild of David Letterman, according to staff members of the “Late Show with David Letterman.” The spot done in a hurry last week. Winfrey and Leno — reportedly wearing a hooded sweatshirt, glasses and a glued on mustache — flew into New York to meet up at the Ed Sullivan Theater where the Late Show is taped. I can only guess the reason Leno and NBC agreed to participate was because they were taking a cue from Letterman himself who recently used his trademark brand of self-deprecating humor to successfully diffuse the fallout from the Employee Benefits Plan he was operating in the suite above the set of the Late Night show. While Leno definitely could use some diffusing of the Conan debacle this just ended up making him look sad — and Letterman a genius.

Do you celebrate your birthday on day your parents got nasty? Or do you celebrate it on the day you were born? Mashable, CNN Money/Fortune Magazine and others are reporting this morning that today is Facebook’s birthday — as listed on their own Facebook fan page.

That seemed a little early to me so did a little digging through the Internet Archive. While Feburary 4, 2004 may have been Facebook’s incorporation date — the date it was officially conceived — it didn’t go live until sometime between April 8, 2005 and August 6, 2005 — so sayeth the most excellent Internet Archive Wayback Machine. So have a very happy unbirthday, Facebook! (Today’s my unbirthday too!) Up until then the Facebook domain name was registered to something called AboutFace.

Way back in the summer of 2005 Facebook was called, “The Facebook” and was listed as “A Mark Zuckerberg production.” It, as many of you remember, was limited to only a limited group of colleges and universities. Now Facebook has exploded to 350 million registered users, 175 of which aren’t just active monthly — but every single day. That’s about the same number of people in the countries of Great Britain, France and Italy combined.

Check out the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine — it’s pretty fun.

I’m sure you noticed last week that women started posting a one word color on their Facebook status. My wife even posted hers. I remarked about how it’s funny the useless things people do in order to “spread awareness” for a cause. Well it appears the whole meme was a scam. A silly, lighthearted, harmless and somewhat fun scam, but a scam nonetheless.

It started with an e-mail, vaguely attributed to several different breast cancer groups. It encouraged women to post their bra color, but not tell men what the color meant. One of the groups credited was the Susan G. Komen Foundation. John Hammarley, spokesman for the foundation told the Washington Post, “It would be nice to claim credit for this, but we really have done nothing.”

It wasn’t long before women were posting “pink,” “white,” “nude.” and other colors in their status from Philadelphia to Tokyo. The meme quickly spread all over the world. Individuals in Nigeria, Spain, India perpetuated the scam with translations. In fact, in the UK a version of the meme used the British spelling of “colour.”

Over the weekend someone even decided to create a spinoff meme: “URGENT! FACEBOOK VIRUS ALERT,” the subsequent mass status update reads. “An e-mail recently went out to women asking them to post the color of their BRA. THIS IS A VIRUS. To fix it, you must remove your bra, then go to > Settings > Enable Webcam > Record Movie. Please re-post to your status message.”

But there is an upside to this. The Susan G. Komen Foundation had been struggling to develop their Social Media program — and this meme gave them the support they needed to lift their sagging membership in their Facebook group. On Friday morning membership in their Facebook group had only 135 fans. As of this moment, Monday morning, their group has blossomed to a healthy 141, 602.

In way, I think this scam is a beautiful thing. (No, not in the debaucherous way.) It’s a beautiful real-life example of how a little creativity can use the power of social media to create a spark that ignites people to participate in a concept or idea. It’s the kind of thing we do every day.

You can make a donation to the Susan G. Komen Foundation here.