Major Magzine Firm Takes Big Hit

Print publications have taken a pounding in recent years when it comes to advertising revenue. Magazines have largely limped along and newspapers have been pushed to the point of obliteration. Print continues to largely be a victim to the far reaching power of the Internet.

The situation is getting words, according to Mediabistro, which reports "Conde Nast Publications, which last year managed to soar above the general industry malaise by posting a 5.41 percent jump in ad pages, is slumping in the first half of 2008. The three big titles -- Vogue, Glamour, and Vanity Fair -- are all flat to down in the first half, according to Media Industry Newsletter, and the outlook is dim for a second half recovery to bail them out."

Conde Nast has had a reputation as an innovator in the publication industry for years. Since they own numerous titles, all very complimentary and lifestyle oriented, the magazine would introduce subscribers to one publication to complimentary copies of other magazines, or 2 for 1 offers, and other methods to increase readership and advertising revenues. It appeared to be working very well, an exception in a magazine world that was in revenue decline. In 2008, it doesn't seem to be working any longer.

I believe this is happening for several reasons. The web continues to drive readers away from print. There is simply too much quality available "free" and online that it is difficult to get people to buy publications. I have even found myself allowing subscriptions to publications I have long loved lapse because of the Internet. Furthermore, instead of actually increasing advertising revenues, recession talk is beginning to hurt advertising and marketing in general. There was a belief that, with the economy weakening, people would have to work harder to get clients. In the short run it appears that businesses are doing such with fewer dollars being spent. I am sure this too will change.

I'm a huge magazine fan. It is the one form of traditional media that I thought would continue to have legs. However, it appears the future of all traditional media hangs in the balance.

Want to learn more about the twin economic tsunamis of Social Security and Medicare? Get a free audio program featuring Rick Ray of the Wealth Design Group and Kevin Price on this important subject by sending an email to Info@HoustonBusinessShow.com.

Kevin Price is Host of the Houston Business Show (M-F at 11 AM on CNN 650) and Publisher of the Houston Business Review. Hear the show live and online at HoustonBusinessShow.com. Visit the archive of past shows here.

Range Rover's Excellent Commercial

The most recent commercial I have seen of Range Rover, featuring Flaming Lips compelling "Do You Realize" is one of the best commercials on TV today, in my opinion. The music is extremely inviting and the video footage simply demands my attention.

The video asks several compelling questions, reminding the reader of the once great vehicle maker's history. We are reminded that it was part of entourages that protected heads of state and government. We see it participating in serious competitions under the most harsh conditions -- and winning. You cannot see the footage and hear the dialogue without being impressed. Very impressed.

The commercial reminded me of the Range Rovers I saw in adventure movies as a child. The great safaris I recall in the movie Born Free. It reminded me of a very special vehicle.

Not too long ago, a friend of mine had a Range Rover. It was a really attractive vehicle. He told me he was putting it up for sale and I was interested. He said, "no, I couldn't do that to you." His vehicle, he went on to say, was a horrible vehicle, spending far more in the repair garage than the home garage. He said, "ask anyone who owns a Range Rover today, the new ones are terrible."

I thought back about the commercial and in all bout a few seconds of the 30 second spot was made up of old footage. That spot is a celebration of what was versus what is. If they could raise the quality to match the commercial, they would have a winner.

Click to see the commercial.

Kevin Price is Host of the Houston Business Show (M-F at 11 AM on CNN 650) and Publisher of the Houston Business Review. Hear the show live and online at HoustonBusinessShow.com. Visit the archive of past shows here.

When will Christmas Commercials End?

Usually I complain about Christmas starting too early. I saw commercials as early as October last year. Well, here we are late in January and we are still seeing Christmas theme ads.

No, it is not that "Christmas is right around the corner" spot and you better order online quickly, it wasn't a reminder to pick up something for an in-law, or a list of suggested stocking items. Instead we are told by Special K that you can stop looking like Santa Claus by choosing a large variety of their weight conscious products.

Tonight, I saw a Verizon commercial that reminds me that you can still find their cell phones still on sale. This ad comes with Christmas lights, music, and even a festive phone that reminds us of the season.

I like Christmas. I actually hate to see the season end. But I am not sure what I will do if I see one more Christmas spot.

Kevin Price is Host of the Houston Business Show (M-F at 11 AM on CNN 650) and Publisher of the Houston Business Review. Hear the show live and online at HoustonBusinessShow.com. Visit the archive of past shows here.

Sprint's Creepy Commercial

I typically like Sprint's commercials. Yes, they are low key and they don't stick with you for a long time, but they are fun and get to the point. The most memorable one to date for me is the "Crime Deterrent" one where the phone user throws his phone to show that fighting crime is one of its functions (see video).

The latest one has individuals being able to do so much more, it is like having many "mini mes." I'm sorry, I found the ad a little creepy. I'm usually spending most of my time simply looking at it, rather than hearing the message.

On the other hand, I did hear enough to know what it was. It is also one of those ads that people will write and talk about (like here). So who knows, maybe it is a little effective. However, it isn't the type of ad for me. I would love to get the thoughts of others.

Kevin Price is Host of the Houston Business Show (M-F at 11 AM on CNN 650) and Publisher of the Houston Business Review. Hear the show live and online at HoustonBusinessShow.com. Visit the archive of past shows here.

Media, Advertising, and PR for Businesses in Houston

There is a reason why virtually every advertisement says "that's not all, oh no, that's not all" -- that type of message is very effective. People simply want more for their money and advertisers know it. Unfortunately, rarely do businesses get such offerings. A company I am with, the Houston Business Media Group, is actually doing something about it and is creating quite a stir.

In a recent post, I discussed a new multimedia program that offers radio, TV, web, and other media at a very small package price. Here are the major points of that post:

* 7 ads a day, M-F between 6 AM and Midnight on the hottest new channel in Comcast's interconnect -- Fox Business Network, which is in over 600,000 homes for 13 weeks

* Quarterly interview on the Houston Business Show (M-F at 11 AM on CNN 650)

* Promotion of the ad campaign (and your business) on the radio show

* Campaign (and your business) featured on the home page of HoustonBusinessShow.com (under "As Seen on TV" link)

* Promoted in the Houston Business Review that goes to over 50,000 every week during the campaign

* All production costs are included

* This ad campaign is below market on the TV alone, but includes all these other excellent elements. This is an excellent opportunity to have a multimedia campaign at a very reasonable cost.

I find the single biggest challenge facing small businesses is how to reach new customers in an economically sensible fashion. That is exactly what the Houston Business Media Group offers through this innovative program. I suggest emailing Andy Valadez of Marketing Dynamics (the Media Group's ally in this program) at Andy@MarketingDynamics.org or call him at 713.560.3348. One could call out of the curiosity of how we do it.

Kevin Price is Host of the Houston Business Show (M-F at 11 AM on CNN 650) and is Publisher of the Houston Business Review. Visit HBR to get your free subscription.

Chevy Commercial: Come and Get It?

One of my favorite bands was Badfinger. I'm not very superstitious, but it appears this great band was horribly cursed and couldn't achieve the level of success people expected in spite of being handpicked by the Beatles to be the first group after them on the Apple label.

I was delighted to "hear" the latest Chevrolet commercial with the Badfinger hit "Come and Get It." Sure, it would have been better if they had used the actual group and not some commercial covering and it would have been better still if it had been a song written by them and not Paul McCartney (no offense, but I actually like the other Badfinger hits better than this). But still, this was very exciting, even though I'm not sure if any of the members make a penny from the commercial since the performance is not by them and the song was written by someone else.

Any way, I'm watching this commercial, which is about the great deals you can get by buying from Chevrolet at this time and next thing you know I'm singing it (with jeers and boos from family members) and I remember lines not used in the commercial. "Did I hear you say that there must be a catch? Will you walk away from a fool and his money?" Hmmm, no wonder Chevrolet didn't want you to hear the rest of the song. After all, the viewer might wonder who the fool is? Any way, I like the spot, but I wonder if I am the only one who knows the lyrics who are watching those commercials.

Maybe Chevrolet should stick with simpler spots where they control the content, like the one above.

Coke Banks on Consumer Ignorance

Let me preface this by saying I'm a Coke fan. I've sacrificed more than my fair share of healthy teeth to my favorite drink. But today I saw something that I hadn't noticed before. In the "cold drink" machine at the radio studio I noticed that the one time 20 ounce coke is called the .5 liter coke.

.5 liter. It sounds big. I mean think of those huge 2 liter bottles. One-fourth of that amount should be huge. In fact, they even put the .5 liter in big print to give that impression. I knew from the size of the bottle that it shrunk, regardless of the packaging. How much smaller? Around 20 percent, going from 20 ounces to 16.9.

I think Coke is probably right, most won't notice. They won't notice because they are too busy, regardless of confusion about the metric system. I'm not picking on Coke either, I'm sure they are not the only ones taking this approach. It is just an interesting example of marketing at work and spinning a potentially bad thing (smaller bottles), into a good one.

When Ads are Too Subtle

For quite some time I have been seeing an ad campaign on television about why businesses should move to Michigan. I like Michigan, I was born just outside of Detroit and have fond memories of growing up there. Like many, my parents had to leave in the 1970s because of a deteriorating economy. The joke then was "will the last person to leave Michigan please turn off the lights." So, I was glad to see an effort to lure business back.

I've seen the ads many times and took close note of the testimonies of individuals whose lives or businesses have changed since moving into that state. Each advertisement ended with "Michigan has the upper hand" and a nifty little drawing showing the state. Upper hand, hmmm. I saw the ad on TV so often, I can't even tell you, but I was thumbing through a magazine and saw it again with special emphasis on the picture (see above).

Ahh, upper hand. It's a glove. One of the first things you learn about Michigan when growing up in the schools there is that it is shaped like a glove. Furthermore, it is one of the country's most northern states (just south of Canada, unless you are in Detroit, which is just north of Windsor, check it out on a map).

I grew up in Michigan and it took forever for this message to finally click with me. This ad is intended to reach people outside of Texas (thus they didn't likely go to Michigan public schools) and they are expecting it to resonate with the vast majority of its viewers? I doubt it. If Michigan is going to attract new businesses, it is going to have to be a little clearer in reaching its audience. As an aside, it would help if they created an economic environment that will attract business. But that will be another post.

A People Express for the 21st Century?

A new airline in the People Express tradition, Skybus, has recently launched and is creating a great deal of buzz in the airline industry. The airline took about a decade to go from conception to reality, but it could really be worth the effort in the current flying environment we live in today.

Thanks to the high cost of jet fuel, the shrinking of the airline industry, and other challenges, flying has become very expensive again and people are looking for an opportunity to fly on an affordable airline. Skybus intends to solve this problem with some innovative approaches:

* They sell several $10 tickets per flight, making it very interesting to potential customers. The "viral marketing" effect of such a program will go far to attract customers.

* Forget about a little revenue from in-flight magazines and product placement, this airline is selling every inch of the plane -- inside and out -- to advertisers. The outside of the plane (photo, above) itself will display a massive advertisement (see photo, with Nationwide insurance) and it appears that large parts of the internal part of the plane will be plastered with ads (at $500,000 a year). This will create lower costs for the airline that are being passed on to consumers.

* With a hub like Columbus, Ohio, low cost is obviously a serious consideration.

* The airline intends to be the cheapest airline in the industry. Period. This includes being 25 percent cheaper than Southwest Airlines, which is famous for affordable flying.

* Customers will have to pay for virtually every service on the plane -- baggage checks, food, etc. Furthermore, you will be able to even buy products on the plane.

I think there is room for a really cheap airline like Skybus and I intend to watch, with interest, how it progresses.

Geico Gets Increasingly Clever

I love the Geico Caveman commercial and I believe the company is brilliant at getting its message out. However, I'm equally excited about the new commercial on "a better way of spending 15 minutes online." In the new commercial the company shows individuals making complete fools of themselves and aspiring to be "YouTube stars." Time better spent would be finding a better rate for car insurance.

I'm fairly certain that they got the spots from YouTube and will further feed that insane frenzy. I wouldn't be surprised if Geico take this concept to the next level and create their own "YouTube" type platform or create a strategic alliance with YouTube in which Geico gives exposure to the videos and YouTube creates a special (and prominently displayed) area for people to submit them.

Increasingly advertisers are going to have to offer "more." More reasons to watch, more creative ways of making sure the message is heard, and variety in the messages. Those who recognize such will find their advertising much more successful.

Old Spice Tries to Reach Young Guys

The purpose of advertising is to create awareness about a brand -- sure it's suppose to sell things too -- but getting the name out there is a primary concern. That's why advertisements don't typically have long educational messages or persuasive speeches, but usually cut to the chase and hope that their clever little line and/or visual will make you remember them.

Each week I get Sports Illustrated and this week I noticed the full page advertisement for Old Spice on the back cover. It is a photo of Faye Dunaway (circa 1968) showing her lounging on a couch and looking very attractive. I didn't like the line that went with it, however, which was "If your grandfather hadn't worn it, you wouldn't exist" ("it" would be Old Spice, of course). According to the New York Times, this ad is part of an aggressive campaign developed by agency Wieden & Kennedy, which is best known for the "Just Do It" campaign for Nike. Old Spice is investing $100 million in its efforts this year alone.

I found this ad irritating. After all, it is kind of disconcerting thinking about the process that they are implying as it relates to my grandparents. I think you know what I mean. But more importantly, I almost get the impression that they think I owe them something. "Hey, buddy, since you wouldn't exist without us, you need to guarantee our existence." I don't do very well with guilt trips and it really speaks of desperation to me.

My initial response was to write a blog entry, but as you can see I also did some research and found that this is part of a much larger campaign. One of the ads (see the photo above) actually made me blush at the sight of an ice cream cone! This ad isn't my style either. So for me, this ad campaign is coming up short.

However, this campaign wasn't for me, it is clearly an appeal to younger men and not those in their 40s who are very committed to the products they use (I like rubbing alcohol after I shave). They are going to a group that could be more easily motivated by such ads. A younger generation. Furthermore, the ad did catch my attention enough to do a little research and I actually spent multiples more in time than the company who developed the campaign believed I would. My Google search on the campaign indicates that I'm not the only one, there is a great deal of "ink" devoted to this story, resulting in millions of dollars in brand awareness. As I pointed out at the beginning, that is one of the primary reasons companies do ad campaigns. This blog entry is just one more example of free exposure that the brand received, even if it wasn't completely favorable.