The Adrants Discussion List

Question. Would readers of Adrants participate in an email discussion group? It's purpose would be to discuss all forms of advertising and media.

The Adrants Discussion List would look to the future but also concern itself with current practice. The advertising industry is undergoing a huge shift right now, with entirely new forms of media and consumer media habits. Gone are the days of placing ads on TV and watching the sales roll in. Today, television viewership is trending down. TiVo is changing how television is watched. The Internet has had a huge effect on media consumption. Today's consumers are much savvier than in years past and can smell a marketing ploy a mile away. Product integration (product placement), video game advertising, SMS marketing, IM advertising and musical tour sponsorships are several of the emerging marketing communications channels through which advertising will occur. Marketing is shifting towards a two-way conversation between marketer and consumer rather than the one-way street we have today. That said, change takes time and the traditional models of advertising still live on and remain effective in their respective realms. Embracing the change while respecting existing models is key to successful marketing.

Each time a list member sends and email, everyone on the list receives it and can reply to everyone else on the list. There's no plans to launch such a list but I'd be interested in whether or not you'd join such a list. Please answer yes or no using the simple form below. Thanks.

BEA Systems Ad Uses Same Image as Male Enhancement Company Brochure

In one of those random, embarrassing business moments, BEA Systems found out an image they had selected from Getty Images of Seattle, a stock photography company, for use in a recruitment ad run in the Wall Street Journal was, in fact, the same image used by Berkeley Premium Nutraceuticals, makers of an erection-enhancement product, in a brochure for its Enzyte once-a-day pill. Oops.

Advertainment Has Place Alongside Contextual Advertising

So much has been written about the importance of search engine marketing and its contextual cousin. The search mantra has always been relevance - relevant messages placed in relevant context. Writing in Brand Republic, Digital Marketing Communications Managing Director of Online Viral and Buzz Marketing Justin Kirby asserts those online are not always looking specifically for relevant content but also entertainment. Kirby suggests people are online for diversionary purposes as well and are looking for amusement, and are not just on a hunt and peck mission for a specific piece of information.

This claim supports the use of viral marketing and advertainment. If a piece of advertainment is informative and amusing, it will spread across the web perhaps faster than the most elaborate search engine marketing program. Of course, both tactics have their place and neither one should exclude the other.