What is Ad Majorem?

Thank you for visiting my blog, Ad Majorem.  When it started in the late 2000s, it was a view on modern marketing from within a large advertising agency.  Now it’s a view on modern marketing from the perspective of a CMO.

The title, Ad Majorem, is part of a familiar Latin phrase and loosely translates to English as “to the greater.”  As in, there is always an opportunity for better marketing: stronger consumer insights, more powerful ideas, channel-neutral marketing plans, and accountability so we know what sells and what doesn’t.

 

There’s also always an opportunity for better marketing people.  It’s important to me that team members keep learning as they go, staying curious and maintaining a perspective of continuous improvement.  We’re happier when we’re learning and growing, so that will continue to be a theme here.

The “ad” in Ad Majorem means all marketing communications, from social media to direct mail to Internet gaming to television commercials. To most consumer audiences all of these are advertising. My professional experience

in these channels provides a perspective that is part specialist, part generalist.

A lot has changed since 2009, not all of it “to the greater.”  We’re at a very inauspicious moment, with uncertainty, threats, deepfakes and divisions.  This blog has always avoided politics, and will continue to avoid politics, because there are too many wannabe pundits in marketing and advertising already.

That said, there’s always hope for the future, so the tone here will be hopeful as well as honest.  Don’t come here for dirt, fear or loathing. The closest I’ll come to that is self-criticism of the marketing business. Occasionally I’ll stray into a review of a campaign but only in service of a larger point.

Please comment. Otherwise this wouldn’t be an honest look at an industry where communication with consumers should be two-way, not just one-way.

One thing hasn’t changed since I started this blog.  Ad Majorem’s reason for being is to keep myself honest on embracing the challenges and changes of modern marketing. My hope is that you, too, will derive some professional growth from it.

What Mad Men Teaches Us About Advertising in 2012



The Diversity Committee will see you now

I didn’t watch Mad Men last night. I’m living it today.

There’s nothing wrong with nostalgia, mind you. That early 1960s era is of particular interest to me. On my desk is a small photo of my grandfather taken right about that time.

In addition, I believe history teaches us a lot. In the same way following world history makes us better citizens, following advertising history makes us better at what we do.

What we do is sell. And modern times are the best times to be doing just that. The last great upheaval in advertising was driven by television, but it only happened once. Digital technology drives new upheavals all the time. It’s happening so fast that few can keep up with it or understand it. Major CPG companies struggle; former Mad Men seem to understand. But as Matt Nelson of Tribal DDB put it, now is the golden era for advertising.

In a similar reflection, Duff Stewart of GSD&M said “a successful leader in advertising… today is defined by curiosity.” I couldn’t have said it better myself. (Well – I tried, here and here.) With such a menu of challenges and buffet of media options, more than ever we can say “it’s all advertising” and get to the task of selling in new ways. We have much to learn.

One thing Mad Men can teach us is how little progress we’ve made on diversity. There’s more diversity among media options than the employees who practice them. It’s the best time to be in advertising – but it could be better.

AAF AdCamp teaches about Advertising -- and Diversity

Last week we hosted a group of high school students participating in the AAF AdCamp program. Part of their two-week program entails visiting large ad agencies in Chicago. (Contrary to reports in the Pretend Trade Press, we have several such companies here.)

My role was to give them an overview of the agency, but inevitably the session turned into an overview of the agency business today. It was a bright group and they asked a lot of questions. Some of these questions were requests for career advice.

The majority of the questions, though, sought insight into what happens inside of an agency. “You talked about collaboration – what are some of the best ways to collaborate?” “What is the difference between a campaign and a creative idea?” “Are you allowed to handle two clients that sell the same kind of product?” “How many projects does a team handle at one time?”

One entrepreneurial soul asked, “I’m starting a t-shirt design company -- what's your advice on how to properly market to consumers and classmates?”

Discussing collaboration, one girl asked, “How do you get noticed as an individual if everyone is working together as a group?”

So what advice did I give them?

Regular readers won’t be surprised to know that students heard, among other points, two main pieces of advice. One is to be a good generalist. The other is to pay attention to channel-planning as well as creative.

The group was diverse, which made me happy. I pointed out to them that the agency business needs to be much more diverse, not only because it’s important to society, but because diversity affects the work we do. If you appreciate the diversity of the people around you, your mind will be open to new creative possibilities. That’s critical in a business where change is constant, and in a society whose motto is E pluribus unum.

Freedom and Diversity

We often post about diversity -- or the lack thereof -- in the advertising business. By virtue of previous posts I've become acquainted with Derek Walker of Brown and Browner Advertising in Columbia, South Carolina. Derek writes about diversity in AdAge.com's Big Tent column.

At least, he used to. On 27 May 2010 he published his last column. I'm calling it to your attention for two reasons.

First, Derek's is an authentic, frustrated voice. Reading this column may upset you, or make you uncomfortable. That's probably normal -- and good.

Second, scroll down if you would and read the amazing comment posted by Harry Webber. He wrote about a Memorial Day experience that's equally appropriate for July 4th.

You can find Derek's article and Harry's comment here. If you like what Harry Webber wrote, give it a "thumbs up".

After you read Harry's comment, you'll understand how the fight for freedom is like the fight for diversity.

As we say in Latin: E pluribis unum. Out of many, one.

Super Delicious Ingredient Force

One of the conundrums of our business is whether advertising influences the culture, or the other way around.

It's both. We need to be really careful what we do, particularly when it comes to diversity, because it sets an example.

Some colleagues just launched a new program for Taco Bell that features a very, uh, diverse cast of characters, and it shows what happens when the culture influences advertising.

I'm talking about the Super Delicious Ingredient Force, which borrows heavily from the Filmation cartoons of the 1970s (see examples here and here).

Watch it yourself and enjoy.

Canada and its consumers

TORONTO -- In my international role it’s a privilege to work with my clients and colleagues in Canada. They have an amazing operation here. It’s a fascinating country with interesting consumers.

Sadly, Canada is a gigantic blind spot for most American business executives. Part of this is cultural since most Americans don’t know much about Canada at all. Corporate culture does little to change that. The Canada strategy of too many companies is to treat it as part of the United States: ship them the same products, air the same advertising, and let them try selling it all to the three retailers who dominate the trade.

To be sure, this strategy has its benefits, most of them related to cost efficiency. One of our clients generally follows this strategy with some success. Yet beyond the U.S.-made TV commercials for U.S. brands we also create many Canada-specific programs in retail, promotion and digital.

These efforts are justified by the opportunity we find in such a vibrant consumer population. There are many sources available where you can gain a deep understanding of Canadian consumers so we won’t try to duplicate them. Instead, here are some personal observations, vetted just a bit at dinner last night with my agency colleagues.

Mosaic, not melting pot

The first thing that strikes you about Canada is its cultural diversity. Immigration has been rich and abundant, particularly from China and South Asia. There is still strong European immigration, too. My friends distinguished between the U.S. melting pot and the Canadian mosaic; that is, American immigrants tend to assimilate while Canadian immigrants maintain stronger senses of national identity. On that point...

Quebec is not Canada

French Canada is an amazing, confounding jewel. Chicago-to-Toronto feels like a domestic flight while Toronto-to-Montreal feels like an international flight. It’s not just that Quebecois speak French almost exclusively. The customs, daily routines and value systems are unique to Quebec. You could say it is “European” but that would miss how unique Quebec really is. That's saying something, too, since Canada in general is unique...

Canada is not the U.S.

My question at dinner: What makes Canada unique? The first response was: “You mean versus the U.S.?” No, what makes Canada unique. Canadians, a very polite bunch, bristle at comparisons to the U.S. because a lot of Americans and other foreigners see only the similarities. There are indeed vast differences between the two societies – chronicled in the Canadian analysis Fire and Ice – even while they share a strong friendship and a 5,525-mile border.

Resourcefulness

This one didn’t get much traction at the dinner table but I’m sticking by my view. Through the people I meet, the stores I shop and the marketing I see, there is a resilient resourcefulness to Canadians. Perhaps it’s left over from the frontier era or it comes from all the new immigrants. Maybe it’s the spirit of cooperation we see in every meeting. My clients and colleagues move their business forward in a distinctly Canadian way, even while they also follow the marketing plans sent up by their American counterparts.

They’re an amazing bunch of people. I’m eager to come back and see them soon.

Global assignments are complex, so keep 'em simple

We briefed an international team of creative people today for a global assignment. Some of the group shared the conference table in Chicago and others participated via conference call from Buenos Aires, Shanghai, Milan and other places. I've led or joined many such assignments and they're a lot of work and a lot of fun. I thrive on the diversity of perspectives brought from different languages, cultures and markets.

Yes, markets. Although anthropology drives much of what we do, our briefs are based on market situations. Can we suggest new users for an existing product? Does our new product fulfill an unmet need? How can we increase market share? We are also measured on these questions based on what happens in the market.

International assignments are complicated more by market situation than language or culture. We can always adapt packaging and retail material by dropping in the relevant alphabet or language, or write TV copy without on-camera dialogue. The more difficult task is to sell a particular product that may have a different frame of reference from country to country. It's underneath everyone's kitchen sink in Argentina but a completely new product in Thailand. (This is less of a problem when the global assignment sells the global brand itself versus a specific product.)

I've seen a lot of briefs in my career that were decidedly not brief. There are many reasons for this -- unsound strategy, unclear proposition, poor writing -- but it's an especially fatal mistake when briefing a global assignment. The language of the brief must be clear, concise and unambiguous. I've posted about this before, here and here.

Clear writing and clear thinking go together -- in any language.

Why Diversity is important in Marketing, and how you can help achieve it in the workplace

Diversity is critical to embracing the changes and challenges of modern marketing.

Today is a good day to think about diversity since we celebrate a U.S. holiday in remembrance of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., a Baptist pastor and civil rights leader who personifies our country's struggle to establish equality for everyone in a very diverse society. You can read all about Rev. King on Wikipedia.

The importance of diversity in society requires no explanation. Why is diversity important in marketing, then?

Marketing has an influence on society

Marketing and advertising have an influence on society: our messages, images, words and music set the trends rather than follow them. This is often lamentable but it is almost always powerful and we dare not misunderstand it. Hence we should consider diversity when we prepare something for public consumption. A very tangible action, for example, is to hire diverse on-camera talent.

Diversity is also important behind the camera and in the office. We are more likely to present diversity in our work if we have it in our workforce. Much has been written about the need for our employee roster to match the diversity in our society, and I share the commitment to making it happen.

Modern marketing demands diversity

Diversity in the workplace is even more important when one considers that marketing plans and tools themselves are more diverse than ever. In Ye Olde Marketing the planning process was relatively straightforward because we had only three TV networks and limited other media available. Today, of course, there are hundreds of tools and millions of ways to combine them. If you appreciate the diversity of it all, your mind will be open to new creative possibilities.

The same applies to human diversity, be it racial , social or economic. If you appreciate the diversity of the people around you, your mind will be open to new creative possibilities. Diversity is not only a moral imperative; it's an ingredient in business success.

Modern marketers value diversity

How do we achieve a more diverse workforce? There are numerous corporate, government and other programs available, which I won't try to catalog here. I only suggest that if your company offers a course or workshop, take it -- and take it seriously. Many of these are high-quality, and it's never a waste of time to stop and challenge the way we think about our relationships with others.

This is akin to developing yourself as a Renaissance Practitioner -- someone who recognizes their own unique perspective but works hard to appreciate the perspective of others. Shouldn't we work just as hard to understand a colleague's life experience as we do their professional specialty?

My answer would be "Yes" -- and we must try to make a little bit of progress each day.