Read My Lips - Part 1

I am very much a fan of agencies and brands trying something new, taking risks to make their communications work. Which is why I was pleasantly surprised when a major London agency and a major drinks brand invited me to spend some time at their latest ad shoot.

Getting bloggers involved is always risky for a brand, we tend to say what we feel instead of what's on the press release; which made it more surprising that the first example of this I have seen was from a big client/agency pairing.

Whilst (in this country at least) Baileys is seen as a ladies drink, it's still one that I occasionally enjoy (especially the mint and caramel varieties). So when their PR people (my blogging faves Immediate Future) asked me if I wanted to head down to London for the shoot, I was happy to say yes.

Now I have to confess (as I did to the client!) that I wasn't a huge fan of the first outing of the Listen to Your Lips idea. It was a nice thought that got a bit lost in the execution; so my initial expectations weren't that high.

Happily, the new ad looks like it will make much better use of the idea; and is based around moments that I for one am all too familiar with...

More to follow!

Blog of the Week - CST / Dave Trott

Hi folks. This is a new feature that will aim to be weekly!

I thought it was worth taking time to talk about the blogs that really interest me and provide good content or debate. Some will be big, some not so big; but hopefully this will be useful for those new to the blogosphere, and those who don't have time to browse everything...

BOTW No1 - CST - Dave Trott

I've started with Dave Trott's blog because over the past few weeks its been the place that has provided the most interesting stories on adland.

Content: The content is usually stories from Dave related to things he's learnt, or relevant stories on new topics. There is very much a feel of someone who has been there and done it, and is enjoying sharing his wisdom.

Debate: People quite often enjoy disagreeing with Dave, he sometimes says controversial things or makes deliberately harsh comments that he usually explains pretty well. It's not like Scamp with 80million anonymous replies, there are a number of people who contribute regularly.

Response: Dave responds regularly to the comments, getting involved in the after debate as well. Its not often you get to talk to people of this experience, nor people who have been at the top of major agencies; and usually those you can talk to are scare and selective. To be able to constructively disagree with them (and have them reply) is rare.

Some good recent posts:

No-one Knows Whats in Your Head

A Wife is a Different Brief

Advertising Fascism

5 Rules of Blogging PR - Aka: How Not to Go Viral

1. Don't read my blog. When you get in touch, make sure it feels like you have never visited my site before. For example, I love it when you send me a link to a new ad in a campaign I've already slagged off saying "I think you'll really like this".

2. Ignore my location. The world is flat and although I mainly cover UK stuff, what I really want is 20 average campaigns from Canada and Mexico.

3. Timing doesn't matter. Sure you could encourage me to post by giving me something early, before it is released. But to be honest I'm happy to post about ads that everyone has seen, sites that everyone has been to, and content thats already been passed around. The more people have discussed it, the more likely I am to extend that conversation further.

4. Quality is irrelevant. I might be interested in the best work you have to put out there, but I am even more interested in churned out dross. Please send me at least 5 campaigns a week, all of which are shite.

5. I don't care if it works. Some people might say that sending an active, critical blogger a dead link, or a link to a site that doesn't work properly is foolish. Not me. I am happy to spend time going back and forth to your link to see if technical support has fixed it.

Image from http://www.brickmarketingconsulting.com

Mind the Inbox

I get 3 or 4 PR emails a day now promoting new campaigns, they come from pretty much anywhere in the world and provide me with useful first looks at things.

But most kudos should go to the folk at Immediate Future. While most others send brief summations with huge attachments included that fill my inbox up, the guys (and gals) there send polite emails that provide useful information on the ads and offer images and futher info if I wish to get it.

Perhaps more importantly, they only contact me about ads that seem interesting; as opposed to shoving every new campaign at me.

The bit that really makes the difference though, is that the people who contact me actually read my blog first. It might only be a scan through, but it makes me feel like I am personally contacted instead of being a name on a cc list.

That's how this kind of blogging pr should be done.

Nuts...

"Hey Rob

We know you enjoy blogging about , so we thought you’d enjoy being the first to see Snickers and Mr T’s brand new Get Some Nuts TV ad."

You had me til the html insert tag...

Is it true?

For Those Who Are Aboout to Blog...

There is a strange sense of mini-mourning going on around the planning/ad blogosphere at the moment...

As fresh from Northern Planners Blog break, both Russell, Marcus and Sacrum have declared their intention to quit or limit their blogging.

It seems unusual to me that blogging can take up so much time and effort as to need quitting though, surely if you just write when you feel like it rather than letting people dictate when you write?

Certainly ive never tried to force blog entries on here (hence the gaps that sometimes appear), I just blog when I have something to say.

Maybe they are just casualties of popularity, which is sad.