We Are Team Rubber

Crucial sell memory chips for computers. So far, so mundane. But I’ve been buying the stuff for seven years. It started because getting memory for Macs used to be an expensive business laden with worries about compatibility. Crucial were far cheaper than other suppliers, guaranteed their memory would work, and offered a handy online ‘configurator’ (ugly word) that made it easy to find the memory chip for any given Mac. So they offered good service.

In the last seven years I’ve ordered nothing but Crucial memory. Mac memory is easy to get these days, but why change? Crucial have made it easy to keep using them. I don’t know what I’ve spent with them, but it could be up to four thousand pounds.

In that time I’ve also seen a lot of Crucial banner ads on sites I visit. Response rates to these ads are entirely measurable: clicks through to Crucial’s site are definitely tracked, and in theory where I hover my mouse could also be tracked and measured as a proxy for my engagement with the ad (but probably isn’t).

I’ve never clicked on a Crucial ad. Does that mean money wasted? One short way to end the question is if the ads are pay-per-click (CPC). In that case Crucial pay out nothing.

Chances are though that these are pay-per-impression (CPM) ads, so there is a cost for Crucial in showing me them. So does that mean money wasted? After all, I’m already a customer, and I never clicked an ad. The part of me that loves direct response would say yes, money wasted, sell me something new instead. But there’s another way to look at this: Crucial remain my default choice for computer memory. Brands are an example of the power of defaults.

Advertising Crucial repetitively reinforces Crucial as my default choice for this product. On a competitive basis, if Crucial buy out that media, that prevents another memory supplier catching my attention by placing ads in that space.

So far, so much basic brand theory. I thought this worth posting because we are very involved in understanding and expressing both the measured (in the direct-marketing sense) and non-measurable value of advertising. The internet offers a wonderful blend of the two.

My current default position is that if an advertising response can be measured, it should (obviously if it can’t, then it can’t). That’s necessary, but not sufficient: it’s my belief that the most effective advertising campaigns will be built to meet a clear business goal, and their value will be measured in part by direct response elements; however understanding the full value will also require softer measures less amenable to statistics, such as conversation and opinion tracking, and fascinating aspects such as fan activity and product ambassadors (obligatory Lego reference).

Got an opinion on this? Send me your thoughts: andy@teamrubber.com

Bristol Open Coffee ran again this week, with a nice number of people for free-ranging conversation. Things we kicked around included:

• eBay -> will it be there in ten years? What about vertical auction sites? Is everyone just using Amazon?
• Mobile applications -> how to get the location data at low cost.
• Vouchers -> Why does Orange Wednesdays work, and why do other mobile voucher schemes seem like too much hassle? Orange invested significantly in their scheme; they made redemption easy for retailers and customers; they supported it with well-funded advertising (we pitched on some).
• Twitter and viral voucher or referral schemes.

Next Bristol Open Coffee: September 9th 2008. Thanks to Starbucks, Park Street for hosting.

Ofcom is reporting that UK online ad spend (£2.8bn) is now ahead of mainstream TV ad spend (£2.4bn). Online spend is also six times larger than radio, and more than outdoor and magazine spend combined.

More Ofcom analysis at paidContent:UK

I’ve always been a big fan of human powered transport but I’ve recently switched my allegiances from my trusty skateboard to a shiny bike. I always used to think the skateboard ruled all as I carved down hills and smugly strolled up steep hills saving embarrassing sweaty arrivals at work and pubs.

Then I tried a mate’s bike and realised that:

1. I can get everywhere so much quicker (rain or shine) on a bike;
2. Bristol is great for cycling
3. you can get the Government to pay for some of your new bike.

Point 1 is clearly obvious as there are many restrictions on skateboarding, and walking is just slow and boring.

Point 2 is more currently relevant.  Bristol was voted the first cycling city in the UK recently by the all-knowing government, giving us some money to spend on making cycling better around the city and some essential feel good points.

But what can £100m buy you in the drive to improve cycling in a whole city?  Well maybe one of these cycle lifts would encourage some people to cycle, but they would probably stop soon after the lift or their bike broke down.  Instead, Bristol have asked the public what they think we should do.  A novel and inspired idea I feel and it looks like the growing consensus is “more cycle lanes” for all; another few debates there I think.

If anyone feels inspired to get a bike then point 3 is almost certainly relevant.  Already, three members of the Team Rubber family have used and (lawfully) abused the cyclescheme offering that the government has allowed.  It’s brilliant, you get a beautiful bike plus accessories at about 40% cheaper than in the shop, and you can pay it off monthly.  Just don’t fall off….

“The OpenCoffee Club was started to encourage entrepreneurs, developers and investors to organise real-world informal meetups to chat, network and grow.” I’ll be there.

Starbucks, Park Street, Bristol, UK, July 29th 2008. Usually Starbucks offer free drinks to participants, which is nice.

More here: http://upcoming.yahoo.com/group/4416/

– update: John Bradford sent notes for the event –

“I was at the launch of NESTA’s latest research report on Hidden Innovation in the Creative Industries up in Manchester. One of the findings was that many business model innovations and particularly those occurring in the digital and creative sectors aren’t being captured by Government & researchers.
http://www.nesta.org.uk/hidden-innovation-in-the-creative-industries/

What innovations have you seen (and can share), and what barriers exist still need innovations to remove?”

We can talk about other things too of course.

Chris posted a nice link on our Rubber Republic blog to this video explaining Social Media in Plain English. Be prepared for ice cream stall metaphors and appealing cut-out animation!

This is slightly old news, but worth a blog nonetheless…Super Seeder Joanna scraped the internet for new Euroball mentions/buzz and came across this wonderful little article on our beloved tabletop penny flicker. We were site of the Day as of July 1st, this is another compliment nugget to add to our praise arsenal!

Nothing makes a catchy headline like an unsupportable proclamation. Do Google really have nothing on Claude C. Hopkins, self-declared creator of measured advertising? Well, probably not, but Hopkins did stack up a mountain of achievement a long time ago. That’s the strongest impression I formed from reading Hopkins’ book My Life in Advertising / Scientific Advertising.

In the early 1900s Hopkins was measuring and optimising direct-response advertising to an impressive degree. His tactics included:

• Detailed and endless revision of ads based on split tests of their performance, similar to the split testing now being widely adopted by digital agencies of all sizes (thanks to our ubiquitous friends Google and their Website Optimiser).
• Tailoring of ads to suit specific locales, regions, dialects, attitudes - on high circulation campaigns, using primitive technology.
• Crunching a lot of numbers to assess the performance of ads.
• Writing great copy - the secret sauce that measurement and revisions can only ever support, never provide.

For those who know direct marketing inside out, Hopkins might be less impressive. For those who are sometimes tempted to believe that advertising has been thoroughly re-invented by Google, Hopkins is a salutatory read.

Dear Team Rubber,

You may have noticed of late an expanding growth in the far corner of our office. To ease your curiosities and relieve your fears let me explain a little deeper as to what this is.
A few weeks ago I ventured over to this side of the office for the first time. It wasn’t an easy journey, I had to swing on cyber vines past Boss Country before digging under Developer Island; avoiding the vicious Zopey Pythons and SQL Plones that inhabit those parts.
I apprehensively crept towards what appeared to be a rapidly reproducing organism, with my machete in one hand and a billowing white flag in the other. I was torn equally between peaceful intent and violent self defense.
Upon closer inspection I saw 6 human like figures pouring liquid fun into a hole in the wall. Jenny was with them, she looked happy. Felix too was there, looking confused, but also with a huge grin.
“What are you doing?” I queried.
A small child-like figure replied “I am Joanna part of the S33D3R dynasty on the planet Spreadtheword, we have located the magical entrance portal to the internet in your office, we must dispose of our fun stuff into it.”
Realising the mystical potential of these beings, I tossed aside my weapon and white flag and wasted no time striking a deal with these enchanting creatures. I promised to supply them with all of the fun stuff they could ever imagine, in return for their amazing fun stuff distributive powers.

The beings introduced themselves, they are:

Jess - A true fun stuff pioneer. Back on her native planet Spreadtheword she still has another year of otherworldly University to complete. But is willing to travel lightyears three days a week in order to gain access to our portal.

Nastasia - The pilot of the S33DER family’s spaceship. A true visionary in fun stuff spreading. Also known to speak other mysterious dialects.

Charlie - A master of many fun stuff dialects. Carries a strangely coloured cubic device.

Joanna - Had been here before, doing undercover work, but holds a true eye for word spreading, and is considered something of a Prodigy on her home planet.

The S33D3R Dynasty have quickly struck a deal with Felix and Jenny for mutual use of the portal. They have formed the Intergalactic Seeding Alliance (ISA), which will be working from Seeding Corner (SC). They are now ready to work their collective magic on anything we can throw their way. Please welcome them, make them tea and chuck smiles at them. They have come in peace.

Yours,

Ian Ochiltree
Seeding Manager & Intrepid Explorer

Rosser Reeves:

“The art of advertising is getting a message into the heads of most people at the lowest possible cost…

…well it’s almost a problem in engineering, and we should subordinate our own creative impulses to that one over-all objective: Does this advertisement move an idea from the inside of my head to the public’s head.”

From The Art of Writing Advertising

Reeves is credited with inventing the concept of a Unique Selling Proposition (USP). I’m not sure I like his ads, but I do like his clear vision and articulation of what will work for his clients.

More interesting thoughts on Reeves at Hidden Persuader

— Addition —

I don’t meet many ad industry people. Probably I should meet more. I do meet a lot of people who have successfully started, run or managed businesses, or divisions of businesses; small businesses, medium businesses and very large businesses. One trait I find consistently in these people is an unashamed and unusually intense focus on getting value for their money. What I like most about Reeves is that he succinctly states the principal question of advertising in a way that acknowledges and respects the interests of the people who pay for advertising.

That principal statement of the problem is unaffected by concerns about whether the ads Reeves made would work today, or are unethical, or aesthetically pleasing, or anti-thetical to the trend away from interruption advertising; the question still stands. Business owners still look to advertising to address the same problem - moving an idea at the lowest possible cost.