Creative | Paul Werth - Columbus Ohio

TV Meets the Internet

June 7th, 2010

Opening up closed channels gets the creative juices flowing.

And Google TV will make it happen, according to The Official Google Blog:

“Google TV is a new experience for television that combines the TV that you already know with the freedom and power of the Internet. With Google Chrome built in, you can access all of your favorite websites and easily move between television and the web. This opens up your TV from a few hundred channels to millions of channels of entertainment across TV and the web. Your television is also no longer confined to showing just video. With the entire Internet in your living room, your TV becomes more than a TV — it can be a photo slideshow viewer, a gaming console, a music player and much more.”

You will no longer need to imagine a world where you turn on the TV and content is displayed based on your preferences. This is now a place where YouTube, network and cable TV converge, and your website can stream all of them with user-generated comments — in real time!

This announcement got me excited about the possibilities for advertising and content. No doubt that Google will incorporate AdWords, but this will bring interesting ways to distribute brand content. Integrating the Web browser into TV will further user control on how to find, interact with and share content.

As the Internet continues to open up traditionally closed media and channels become more integrated, marketers will need to enhance their strategic approach. Telling a brand’s story that engages an audience will continue to get more complex — because we are creating the medium and the message.

What about your marketing approach today? Is your brand positioned to embrace the convergence of a digital world? What possibilities do you see in the new TV?

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Video and Kinetic Type Transform Your Message

April 29th, 2010

I don’t know about you, but I can’t watch CNN without reading the scroll at the bottom of the screen. I’ll listen to what’s being said, but for some reason, I can’t stop focusing on that scroll.

Why? First, people just love to read headlines. I admit, I’m not a huge fan of reading books, my attention span just won’t let me last that long. But put a magazine in front of me or e-mail me a quick news link, and most likely, I’m gonna read it. Second, people are naturally visual. They like to look at something and create their own story in their head. Everyone has a story, or at least likes to imagine one.

That’s why kinetic type is the new “it thing” in advertising. We use type to illustrate a script, create cool motion graphics and literally bring the words to life. The moving type creates energy and excitement, and with all that, who wouldn’t want to buy the product?

Here’s an example we just released:

Ohio Industries, Grow Your Future

The other benefit is that the message is being delivered in two, sometimes three ways at the same time. The graphics are spelling out the script word-for-word, and the words are animating to represent their meaning. Sometimes, a voice-over reads the entire script. Talk about hitting you over the head. The message is undoubtedly being delivered — loud and clear.

The kinetic approach is really taking off. You see it everywhere. There’s some good, some great and some…not so great. In cases of the “not so great,” the creators really lacked a creative direction. With technology at our fingertips, and stock imagery and footage so readily available, sometimes creativy is dictated by what’s available out there on the Web, and not by what should ultimately be custom-created specifically to deliver the appropriate message in a style that is consistent throughout the entire piece to hold it together.

Even though kinetic is a new approach to delivering brand messages, it still needs to be true to brand standards. Today advertisers are looking for cost-effective ways of delivering messages as quickly and precisely as possible. Kinetic is one answer to that question. Couple kinetic with viral video, and you’ve got yourself a campaign.

Werth has a talented team of creative professionals on staff, specializing in motion graphics, editing, shooting and delivering your advertising message on time and on budget. We understand how to deliver strategic branding and can help to determine whether kinetic is the best tool to help you get there. Give me a call at 614.224.8114 or e-mail me at kwaldron@paulwerth.com, and let’s talk about your next brand opportunity.

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When I Grow Up, I Want to Win an Addy

November 16th, 2009

It’s that time of year again. Time to look back at the work we’ve done over the past year and see what has Addy award potential. The questions start to swirl:

• “Do we have enough to enter?”
• “What should I have done differently?”
• “What have I seen that might be up for an award?”
• “What are my friends at other agencies entering?”
• “Can I quickly think of a cool idea and produce it for someone, before the entry deadline?”

The last question is interesting. We creatives love to imagine, and sometimes our ideas aren’t right for our current clients. This is a terrific stretch opportunity. I see nothing wrong with developing a great idea and selling it to a prospect — when it’s the right fit. Sometimes, off-the-wall, in-the-moment creativity leads to long-lasting, profitable relationships.

A former boss of mine once came up with an idea, called a potential client and said, “I have a great idea that you must hear.” He met the prospect for drink, wrote a tagline on a cocktail napkin, slid it across the table….and a 10-year relationship was born.

On the flip side of the coin… there’s nothing better than winning an Addy for an existing client, especially if it’s a concept that resulted in increased sales. Years ago there was an award called “Documented Success.” To me, this was the most important Addy of all. This award recognized great creative, great marketing and the work that created the biggest return on investment. What client wouldn’t want to be part of that award?

And then there are the awards won for really good creative, but with little return on investment. Bottom line, these ads failed. Remember: the ultimate goal for advertising is to sell products. If we create something that is a work of art that never sells, we’ll end up being starving artists with a sad reel of unsuccessful work.

I’m proud that Werth has a reel of advertising successes with clear return on investment. Want to join me over coffee or drinks to inspire that next great Addy idea that will drive your sales? Give me a call at 614.224.8114, send me an e-mail at kwaldron@paulwerth.com or leave me a comment on this blog post.

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Leave Your Lovemark: Brand Measurement in the Age of Neuro-marketing

September 9th, 2009

Brands that elicit emotion attract devotion—and loyal followers. In The 18 Immutable Laws of Corporate Reputation, Ron Alsop describes this phenomenon:

That elusive emotional spark between a company and its stakeholders makes some reputations soar and never lose altitude.

Sophisticated measurements—even MRIs as described by Martin Lindstrom in Buyology—can track individual emotional reactions and the brain’s response to the appeals of marketing. Neuro-marketing is all the rage now thanks to self-described brand futurist Lindstrom, and the revelations from his $7 million study are riveting. The study provides evidence that purchasing decisions once considered to be driven by deliberate thought are in fact driven by instinct, deeply embedded and hard-wired into our nervous systems.

But describing and quantifying emotional connection to brands is different than feeling the connection. Lovemarks, coined by Saatchi and Saatchi, describe the beyond-brand nirvana of sensory connection to products. Lovemarks are in the upper-right corner of the quadrants formed by the love and respect continuums, squarely defined by high love/high respect. Our senses are clearly connected to our emotional responses to branding, and lovemarks embrace this.

One brand that’s leveraging the lovemark and Alsop’s seventh law is Ohio: The State of Perfect Balance. This is Ohio’s new brand. The “O” logo is now on driver’s licenses and is being implemented across all areas of state government. From the economic development perspective, the concept behind this brand is that business leaders can build their business AND love their life—something that’s clearly not possible on the coasts and in other areas that require large commitments of time for commute. Place branding has the power to draw more people to Ohio through emotional connections.

Take a moment to consider the brands that evoke emotional reactions for you. Comfort. Inspiration. Hope. Love. Protection. Relaxation.

What gut-level reactions do you associate with different brands? Compare notes with your colleagues. Is your own company’s brand a lovemark? Almost every brand has a lovemark they can cultivate and leverage. The best way to discover it is through research. Take action today to make your brand a lovemark.

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On Recycled Brands

August 14th, 2009

As a student in my beginning years of college, my fine art professor told me, “You must have a unique style.” Which I didn’t.

As I gravitated toward design, my new professor told me, “Whatever you do, don’t have a unique style. You must adapt and design to your clients’ needs, not yours. An agency whose work all looks the same will be temporary.”

That really stuck with me. It wasn’t just one of those things that I learned in school and applied it because someone told me that was the right answer. It was, and is, one of those things that just makes sense. Her lesson is something that I truly believe and will always think about before approaching any branding project.

But, there are trends, and sometimes those trends tend to grow into styles, and once that happens, it’s all over.

The other day I walked through our break room and saw an annual report lying on the table, designed by another agency. The cover caught my eye because it was smartly designed. But once I opened it, I knew the agency that designed it.

Later in the day, I received a direct mail piece from a company. I investigated further and found that it was created by the agency that designed the annual report. Again, I saw the same trendy look. These work samples were created for two different clients, in different industries—but the designers executed almost the exact same brand guidelines. It seems that the agency is using the same brand for its book of business. That’s just not right. Clients deserve better than recycled brands.

Here’s my approach—and what you will see in the work of Paul Werth’s creative:

The brand represents the one-of-a-kind soul of an organization and should shine through in every work of design. Our work reflects each company’s unique soul, not our own.

Ask yourself this question:

Does your agency interview you before each project, as a continuing opportunity to know what you and your projects are all about? Are they seeing your brand through their company’s lens or the lens of your company’s soul?

I’m interested in hearing your thoughts on authentic and unique, company-specific branding. Please drop me a line, as a comment on this blog or personally, at kwaldron@paulwerth.com.

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