I caught the debut of TNT’s new drama, Trust Me, which aired on Monday, January 26, in the 10 p.m. time slot. The show focuses on two characters in a contemporary Chicago ad agency (Rothman Greene & Mohr). Mason is a workaholic art director — Conner is his bounce-off-the-walls copywriter team partner. I’ve been in this business for 30 years at five different agencies (including MD+A). With one exception (which I won’t give away), I have seen, heard, or experienced every situation portrayed in the Trust Me pilot episode.

Anyone in advertising — on the agency or client side — should tune in and give it a try. Trust Me offers an entertaining look into the workings of an ad agency. And shines a light on the things we love — and hate — about being in this business.

There will be comparisons to AMC’s Mad Men. The two shows are very different — in era, focus, look, tone, context, and production values — which, I hope, will stimulate conversation around the espresso maker or spring water dispenser. We’re in a business that needs to reinvent itself as clients, consumers, and markets change. Today is a good day to take a look at where we were, where we are, and where we might want to be tomorrow.

Click here for more info about Trust Me. Mad Men is expected to return in July.

- Connie

One of my colleagues here at MD+A just alerted me to this major national bank’s development of a blog as a way to communicate with customers.

In this case, the bank — Wells Fargo — has developed a blog specifically for Wachovia customers whose accounts are being acquired. As experts in M&A communications, we’re seeing more and more customers using blogs to communicate with customers. This is a great example of a company using this type of tool to proactively address customer concerns about a merger and to try to get ahead of any potential churn.

- Chris Duval

PHOTO CREDIT: New York Times

This video game lets players run their own Dairy Queen franchise. While it was developed independently of the corporation, Dairy Queen’s owner, Berkshire Hathaway, is hoping the game will help with their strategy to freshen the brand.

- Meredith

Loukoumathes (Greek Donut Holes)

Loukoumathes is a fun and tasty Greek tradition in my family, typically enjoyed on New Year’s Day. While preparing Loukoumathes, a dime is placed in one special ball before it is fried. We believe that the person who receives the Loukoumathes with the dime will have good luck for the whole year.

Batter:
2 cups warm water
1 tsp. salt
1 package dry active yeast
3-1/2 cups of sifted flour
oil for frying

Syrup:
1 cup water
1 cup honey
1 cup sugar

Dissolve yeast in warm water. Add salt and mix.

Add flour, beat with wire whisk. Beat well. Cover and allow to rise in a warm place for at least 30 minutes. Do not stir again.

Taking a handful of dough, squeeze out a fistful and cut with a teaspoon, into balls. (Don’t forget to add the dime!) Drop into hot oil and fry until golden. Remove with slotted spoon and drain.

Prepare syrup by mixing water, honey, and sugar together. Boil for 10 minutes.

Dribble syrup over hot Loukoumathes and serve.

I also like to sprinkle mine with cinnamon; others sprinkle crushed walnuts over them. Feel free to experiment with different things!

Enjoy!

- Stacie Andos* Brown

* Andos is a shortened version of Antonoussakis. My family originated from the island of Crete.

Lately, I’ve been asked a lot about how we as an agency are faring in the down economy. Honestly? We’re doing alright . . . proceeding with caution into the first quarter in the same way that most agencies and market research firms are doing right now.

But instead of rubbing shoulders and sharing in the nervousness of other agency types, I’ve been taking the pulse of my current clients – trying to stay current on how the economy is affecting their businesses and their target markets. I have been especially plugged into the goings on in the banking, healthcare and energy industries this month, as much of my work is with clients in those areas.

Across these industries, the “story” seems bleak – slashed budgets, reductions in force, and the like. But most of these clients are using this as an opportunity to reach out to their target audiences with more focus and urgency than ever.

Industry research is validating this trend as well. Andrew McMains’ recent article on Adweek touts measurability and value-add thinking as ever-more critical in these hard times.

I am hopeful that boutique agencies like ours will miss this economic hit because of the agility factor. When times are tough, I think that agility, strategic thinking, and measurability are the things that clients see as must haves. You can get strategic thinking and measurability with an agency of any size, but the small agency is the king of agility. To give you an example, we pitched a client last week who asked when we might be ready to kick off the account. “How does this afternoon work for you?”, I replied. He was stunned, thinking we were going to have to wait until the new year to get started.

Lastly, I’m wondering if we’re all talking ourselves into more of a slump than we’re actually in. As I said before, the “stories” are bleak, but the reality for many – on both the agency and client sides – is that this slump is driving a greater focus and partnership.

- Meredith

Having just gone through the process of creating our agency holiday card, we all had a good laugh at this.

- Meredith

You’ve all seen the commercial. I’ll admit it – slightly ridiculous and quirky, but a brilliant campaign nonetheless.

For those that haven’t seen the commercial, Volkswagen recently launched a new campaign in the United States for its Routan minivan. Brooke Shields is the ad spokesperson. Volkswagen wanted to create a new spin on the traditional “soccer mom mini-van” concept and felt that this type of ad campaign would challenge traditional conventions about the mini-van. It certainly succeeded.

Throughout the series of ads, Brooke Shields urges viewers to “have a baby for love, not for German engineering.” Volkswagen’s newest ad actually discuses the “Routan Boom” (comparing it to the Baby Boom) – and depicts mothers, families, and children in this clever ad.

This ad campaign nailed its mission. Its marketing is flawless. Volkswagen capitalized on a missing niche in the marketplace – mothers that need a reliable, reasonably priced minivan, but still wanted something classy, and well designed. Volkswagen even took it to the next level by inventing the “Routan Babymaker 3000” which is an online program for mother’s to upload their photos and see what they would look like in their new Routan.

The best way to market a product/service is to first and foremost evaluate why you are entering the marketplace, and define what your goal is. Volkswagen identified a need for their product and filled that niche void in the marketplace. They built a strong product. They used a celebrity to endorse the concept. They used facts about the baby boom and broke the traditional construct of a “mini-van” to provide leverage for the product. Volkswagen even went the extra distance to personalize the product with its Routan Babymaker 3000.

Marketing is not a quick fix process. It takes time, planning, and smarts. Kudos to Volkswagen for understanding that an ad is not just an ad – it is an intelligent idea, backed up by research, knowledge, good marketing, and a solid product.

Still interested? Check it out: http://www.vw.com/routan/en/us/#/video/

-Samantha

Consumers are in an uproar after discovering that certain Hershey’s milk chocolate products now are made with artificial chocolate flavoring. Products such as Milk Duds, Mr. Goodbar, Krackel, and Kissable’s have had their cocoa butter replaced with hydrogenated oils. The reasoning behind the ingredient switch is allegedly because cocoa butter is expensive; using hydrogenated oils allows Hershey’s to manufacture their popular candy lines at cheaper costs. Hershey’s thought they were being smart by providing a cheap product to consumers during this economic downturn. Yes, it is cheap in the monetary sense, but it’s also cheap in taste and quality. And a large number of consumers are demanding the real chocolate back.

The FDA says that companies can’t use the words “milk chocolate” on products that don’t contain cocoa butter. So naturally, Hershey’s had to alter packaging to comply with FDA regulations. Packaging on several products now reads “chocolatey” or “made with chocolate.” The word “milk” has been eliminated. To add insult to injury, Hershey’s never informed the public of the ingredient change until after the fact. They believed it was better to let them figure it out on their own. So, many consumers now feel cheated from a “trusted” brand they have become loyal to. Was this a wise move for the company?

Hershey’s has been an American icon for many generations. To be quite honest, the idea of them compromising the quality of their product for better profit is a let down. It seems they are hopping on the cheap ingredient bandwagon like so many other brands today. However, the company claims that many consumers are happy with the ingredient change. They say they are satisfied with the flavor and think the artificial flavor tastes better than the real thing.

How will this change impact the consumer relationship in the long run? Will those faithful Hershey’s chocoholics remain brand loyal? Will the change attract new consumers or continue to drive them away? For a company founded on the idea of producing high-quality milk chocolate for the American people, its current behavior certainly indicates otherwise.

Once a brand loses consumer trust, it’s tough to earn it back. Brands are built upon how consumers feel about a company, so naturally when consumers feel they can trust a company and find value in its products, they become brand loyal. But when the consumer relationship is damaged, the brand loyalty is at high risk for being lost. Hershey’s clearly didn’t have enough confidence in their consumers to buy in this economic downturn without cheapening their products — and that’s a shame.

This move is reminiscent of the Coca Cola reformulation in the 1980’s ­­­­— fortunately the company realized what a ridiculous move it had made and quickly brought back the original formula, labeled as Coca Cola Classic, to gain back consumers driven away to Pepsi and competing brands. They spent millions of dollars on another rebranding campaign to fix the damage from the first one — which brings up the age-old question: why fix something if it isn’t broke in the first place? Why does Hershey’s need to ruin good products?

Real brand loyalty lies within a combination of trust, quality, and value. Many Americans will spend a few extra dollars for their favorite brand because they know they’re getting quality. Is it worth is to save $.10 on a Mr. Goodbar, but know you’re not getting the real thing? No, that’s not building brand loyalty. That’s providing cheap candy for cheap prices, like countless other manufacturers out there. Hershey’s should want to maintain high standards and be proud of their quality — everything Milton Hershey set out to provide back when the company was founded.

In the long run, Hershey’s had better reevaluate their actions and implement a strategic plan to fix this mess, otherwise the brand will lose out to stronger, quality competitors.

– Alisia Leavitt

Being ethical in your business and marketing practices – a no brainer, right? Well, one would think so.

As a business, your main responsibilities include: pleasing your clients, producing great, irreplaceable work, and being profitable. The question is, how does ethics come into this? The trick is to fulfill the above three goals all while being ethical and fair. A common myth is that a business cannot be profitable without taking their clients for a little bit of a “ride” or billing for costs that never occurred. Yes, this does happen – but doesn’t happen with businesses that “get it” – businesses that realize they can be profitable while selling their services for what they are worth. A business is profitable when they offer a fair price for a product or service that they are certain can/will help their client’s bottom line.

Let me clear up this profitability myth– an advertising firm can actually be MORE profitable if they are ethical and take corporate responsibility, because in the end, clients will notice that the business is fair and trustworthy, and in turn, will give them more work and trust them as a resource and partner – not just as a vendor.

Let’s take Enron for example. I know. I know people are sick of talking about Enron - it’s the most commonly used example. However, I must say, it’s a good one. Bottom line: corporate greed ruined an already profitable company. So what happened? Enron believed it could fool the public through accounting fraud– and it did, but for a limited time. What is the simple lesson learned from Enron? Ethics will always win. And when it doesn’t immediately, it will in the long run. The truth will always arise. Enron was not confident enough in its ability, which lead to its insecurity, fear and greed. A business must believe in itself, and prove to its clients what its services are worth - all while being fair, keeping a good reputation, and considering clients best interests.

Let me add to my original statement. As a business, your main responsibilities are to please your clients, produce great, irreplaceable work, and be profitable – all while being fair. While profits are a huge concern (especially in terms of company survivability), it should not be a company’s only concern. Instead, if handled right, it will be the large bonus that is waiting at the end of the tunnel after your business has completed the task at hand. It will pay off when your clients come back to you for advice, additional strategic work, and are willing to pay you for your business’s one-of-a-kind, reasonable, smart, and ethical services.

-Samantha

Companies seeking a fresh perspective on their brand regularly approach us to talk about their options. Typically, we are asked to scope and price a rebrand initiative pretty early on – maybe even before we meet face to face.

Of course, being branding people, opportunities to develop new brands get us excited. And the prospect of working on a blank (or nearly blank) slate gets our creative team excited. But wait! We’re business people too, which means we won’t pursue anything that doesn’t have a sound business rationale and isn’t aligned with a clearly articulated business strategy.

Prospective clients usually tell us they want to pursue a rebrand in order to differentiate from competitors and to become or remain competitive in the market. To most, a rebrand includes changes to brand identity – logo, name, tagline, color palette, typography and the like. To us, an effective rebranding initiative is much more comprehensive and involves research and analysis, positioning and messaging, and LOTS of collaboration with the client company.

As a marketing executive who spent years as a management consultant with global firms, I am an advocate for process and for methodically laying the foundation for a brand prior to jumping to the brand identity piece, which usually proves to be quite fun for agency and client alike.

Our branding process is customized for each engagement, but typically includes the following elements:

Internal and External Research + Analysis – This may include a brand audit, competitive analysis and external market research, internal briefings with key stakeholders, employee focus groups. The output from this process provides the core material that we work with in the positioning process.

Positioning – This may include one or more facilitated sessions with corporate leadership team and/or other key decision makers (Board resources, key stakeholders at all levels of the organization, funders, etc.).

Messaging – Using the output from the positioning process, typically a positioning statement, the messaging process includes the development of primary and secondary messages that inform all work done on brand identity, be it a brand refresh or a rebrand.

Rebrand or Brand Refresh – This is typically viewed as the “fun” part, is the portion of the process that includes changes to brand identity, namely logo, name, tagline, color palette, typography and the like.

We’ve used this process for our work with brands large and small. What’s almost magical about it is that once we get to the rebrand process, we’ve already got buy-in from key stakeholders, we’ve socialized the process at the right levels, and we have the research, positioning, messaging and strategy that enable us to develop a brand that achieves the goals and objectives articulated at the start.

I’d welcome a conversation on your brand and how this process might be customized for you. Drop me at line at mbove@mccabe-duval.com.

- Meredith