Knoxville's 40 Under 40

Congratulations to Travis Morin of Trademark Advertising for being named into Knoxville's 40 Under 40!

Thanks for representing Knoxville advertising so well, and good luck with the success of your agency.

Click here to read more.

Congrats to WIVK!

We were just watching the CMA Awards, and Knoxville's own WIVK was name-dropped for winning the CMA for the best morning radio show in a medium-sized market. Congratulations to Andy, Alison, Jimmy, and WIVK from the Knoxville advertising community!

No More Monkeys Jumping on the Bed

Has any Knoxville advertising agency or marketing firm used a "great ape" or a chimpanzee in an ad? If not, you may have just lost your chance.

A Remarkable Resource For Ideas

If you haven't already, you owe it to yourself to check out http://www.ted.com/. TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is an annual conference in Monterey that invites a select group of innovators, scholars, artists, and others to exchange ideas and share research.

Topics can cover everything from anthropology to zoology. And there are a number of gems for advertising folk. Without trying hard, I found four interesting "Ted Talks," presentations that last 20 minutes or less. How about Malcolm Gladwell (author of Blink and The Tipping Point) discussing how one man's ideas about spaghetti sauce changed how food industry consumer research is done. Or Alisa Miller breaking down news coverage in the United States, and discovering, that even though we have more access to news from around the world than ever, we may actually be getting much less coverage of issues that concern us.

If you're interested in ideas and how the mind works, brain scientist Jill Bolte Taylor shares her experience of living through a stroke--and how the event allowed her to better understand the ways the two cortices of your brain act independently of each other. And if you are trying to understand other cultures and language, National Geographic's Wade Davis talks about all the languages and cultures around the world that are dying out, and why we may be losing some very important gifts of diversity.

There's lots more. And a few minutes of exploring the site may help spark some new creativity and ways of thinking for your own business/life/spirit.

Projections for 2009

Take a look at this article in the Financial Times. A few multinational ad agencies are forecasting a not-so-positive 2009 for our industry. Two thoughts from the American Advertising Federation of Knoxville: 1) Results, ROI and measurements of campaigns will rise in importance, and 2) Now is the time to be a loud voice in the marketplace - resist the temptation to pull back. Instead, dial up your advertising and marketing efforts and let your competitors pull back.

Never Been To An AAF Knoxville Meeting? Take a Gander at Us At The Crown and Goose

If you've wondered what the Ad Club in Knoxville is all about, you're about to have your chance. This Thursday, October 23, we're kicking off our membership drive at the Crown and Goose in the Old City. Our merry band of Mad Men (and Women) will be on premises at Knoxville's Gastropub from 5 until 8pm.

Better yet, it's free.

So come and answer those nagging questions in your brain, like:

• Do all advertising guys look like Don Draper?


• Do we get paid extra for subliminal ads on our eyelids?


• Just what the heck is a "sparkling drop of retsyn?"


• Is the ad biz as fun as it looks on TV?

We think the answer to the last one is no--it's actually even more fun than the small screen can even begin to depict. But see for yourself. You don't necessarily have to be in the ad biz currently to come visit. We'll be glad to have you.

And seriously--we can explain that whole retsyn thing.

Just Curious--What Happens Next?

If you've seen the latest iPhone ad, you're no doubt impressed by how simple it is to download plenty of useful applications to your phone.

In fact, you can be speaking Mandarin in a matter of seconds: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9jKAiUEgXE.

This, of course, is pretty cool. You can almost instantly walk up to a native Mandarin speaker and impress him/her with your command of the language. Just like Mike Myers impressing Tia Carrere in Wayne's World, when he learns to speak a few phrases of Cantonese. Schwing!

But then something struck us: once you ask the question about a restaurant recommendation, what happens next?

Chances are, the native Mandarin speaker is going to reply in a tone that, for him or her, is a comfortable pace, and for you is something akin to ludicrous speed. Are your ears capable of picking up the words fired back at you and typing them into your iPhone for translation? After four years of Spanish, trying to understand the normal conversation flow of native speakers was still way past my skills.

It's probably not completely fair to pick on Apple for this one--the ad does demonstrate the simplicity of downloading apps. But there are plenty of other apps that are a lot more mainstream that might have been better choices for the demo. According to digitalreview.com, the top 3 iPhone apps are: 1. EBay, SaveBenjis (web price comparisons), and iDrink (a digital cocktail recipe book). Things many of us understand.

Bickering

It's great when agencies compete. But how about when one of them picks a fight with another one through advertising? I'm not sure that's altogether healthy for our industry. Check out this article about an agency going after CP+B. As AAF-Knoxville has told several of our members, we all do better when we compete, which we do every day. But our organization provides a forum for us to come together on common ground to advance our industry.

Is Microsoft Onto Something?

We've been watching the semi-bizzaro unfolding of Microsoft's new campaign, which has morphed from Bill Gates and Jerry Seinfeld at Shoe Circus earning Big Top points to the new back-at-ya-Apple "I'm a PC" series.

Crispin Porter+Bogusky can sometimes do avant-garde work for the sake of the work, but they might be onto something here.

It's a little early to tell, but is there a subculture of PC pride out there somewhere? The Chiat/Day Mac campaign is classic, but did CP+B find its weakness by telling all the PC users out there that it's time to tell Justin Long to just shut up for a while?

Now granted, in the ad biz, Macs are the rule, and (full disclosure here), I've been one of the lone PC guys in several agencies where I worked.

In an ironic twist, I was the computer maverick.

And I've put up with lots of Mac snobbery, even though people brought me files to adjust so we could give clients documents that would work on THEIR PCs.

So--is there a PC nation out there brimming with pride that will go out and wear T-shirts and get Windows tattoos and celebrate being part of an "in" crowd?

Doubt it. In fact, I can pretty much bet that this would never happen, even if you put Mohave-powered guns to their heads.

But CP+B has reminded me (and a lot of other people), with classic strategy, that if I'm happy with my PC, I can sit back and smugly let the trendy folks do whatever they want.

Skulls and Crossbones Go Viral

Today is National Talk Like A Pirate Day. I'm not making this up.

Here's the official website. And besides being an overlooked national holiday, this is an interesting example of how even the weirdest ideas can take off with a little good publicity and the instant powers of the internet.

National Talk Like A Pirate Day has been around for a few years. It was a goofy idea that caught the attention of humorist Dave Barry, who included it in his newspaper column. That was the tipping point, and with a minimal website, the idea went viral.

In addition to the website, there are a bunch of YouTube videos, and having just discovered it today, I've already annoyed numerous friends with details and bad pirate accents.

Just shows what the power of a little good communications can do. Garr!

Learn From Some Knoxville Marketing Experts

Panel Discussion: Marketing Convenience in a Not-So-Convenient Economy

In a world (homage to the late, great Don LaFontaine) of savvy consumers, super-stores and a lagging economy, how do some retailers stay relevant? On Thursday, September 25, the American Advertising Federation of Knoxville invites you to learn how the marketing experts from area convenience store businesses overcome these challenges. Specific topics will include:

- Musings & Evolution (effects of consumer habits, super-stores, and the economy)

- Store Branding (selling and moving products in and around the store)

- Creative Messaging (finding unique ways to talk to the target audience)

- Media Placements (finding unique ways to reach the target audience)

Thursday, September 25

Peerless Restuarant

11:30 Networking | 11:45 Lunch & Panel Discussion

$20 Member | $25 Non-Member (credit cards accepted with $1.25 fee)

RSVP by September 23 to Karen at edirector@aafknoxville.com or 742-4838

Tennessee Brand Undergoing Some Modifications

Click here to check out a story about a Tennessee brand that might be making some modifications to its products. I was worried that Cracker Barrel was going to add fish tacos to its menu "in an effort to boost profits and sales at a time of intense industry competition, therefore ushering in a more aggressive period of new product news and customer diversification." But it looks like they're adding some breakfast skillets, which seems appropriate - maybe they'll be positioned as the south's rendition of fajitas. Should we consider these skillets a significant enough product development initiative to bring in bigger crowds? If so, expect to wait 25 minutes instead of the usual 15 for a table on the weekends. (The quotes are mine, but I'm sure someone said it during a meeting somewhere.)

Surveying Knoxville's Advertising Community

The American Advertising Federation is asking Knoxville's advertising community to participate in a survey about the networking, professional development and other services it offers. Click here to put in your two-cents worth (password: district7). The results will be revealed at AAF-Knoxville's Membership Drive on Thursday, October 23.

Marketing Knoxville + Oak Ridge

There's a lot of talk in the media about Innovation Valley's new campaign to boost the economic development of Knoxville and Oak Ridge. Competition to recruit new business and grow existing industry is fierce in the southeast, so Innovation Valley (a partnership of chambers of commerce and economic development agencies in Knox, Blount, Loudon and Roane counties, Oak Ridge and Tellico Lake area) is raising funds to support a five-year campaign. The organization hopes to create 30,000 jobs, increase existing business jobs by 19,000, create more than $3 billion in capital investment, increase per capita income to $45,000, and increase high school graduation rate by 20 percent. Support this Knoxville and Oak Ridge marketing initiative any way you can, and click here to read more here.

Just How Shiny Is Chrome?

Been tinkering a lot with Google's new browser, Chrome, over the last few days. It's pretty impressive in a variety of ways. It seems to be faster on a three-year-old computer than Explorer or Firefox, and the interface is unobtrusive so the page you're viewing appears bigger and more open on the screen. That's nice.

There are also interesting features like being able to surf anonymously (you can visit this blog and no one ever has to know), which is also a perk that comes with the new Explorer 8. And Chrome lets you do interesting things in conjunction with Google's growing list of online resources.

It's a serious competitor to established browsers, and if you're into web design, you've gotta start looking at how your pages work with Chrome.

Now--here's an irony. Chrome's still in beta, so maybe this will be resolved, but if you try to post to a Blogger-driven blog in chrome, it's a crapshoot as to what your finished post will look like. Fonts change for no reason. There are boxes that appear from nowhere. Colors don't always match what you select.

That's got to be a little embarassing for the folks at Googleplex.

But since Chrome is open source and there are scores of geeks already at work on tweaks, let's see where it goes. And we invite you to share your takes on Chrome with other members of the communications community. Weigh in by clicking the comment link below.

Chime in on Seinfeld & Gates

Everyone seems to have an opinion about the new Microsoft TV ads featuring Jerry Seinfeld and Bill Gates. They were created by Crispin Porter + Bogusky. Fast Company magazine talked about the relationship in this article.

The American Advertising Federation of Knoxville wants to know what you think. If you haven't seen it, view it here, then make a comment to this post and voice your opinion as a Knoxville advertising pro.

Monkeys Are The Best

So this has nothing to do with Knoxville advertising, but you have to read this story about George, the 7-week-old chimp at the Knoxville Zoo. Check out the part in Georgie boy's hair - in 7th grade (early 80s), I tried so hard to have a middle part that would allow me to feather my hair back. Lucky monkey looks cooler than I ever did.

Online Fieldtrip: Advertising Hall of Fame

If you haven't visited the Advertising Hall of Fame online, it's worth a few clicks. The site is nicely designed, and it offers a bunch of content about the industry's greats, including biographies, examples of work, audio clips of speeches, and other neat collectables.

One noteworthy omission: Bill Bernbach used to carry a card around in his pocket. He'd refer to the card frequently.

It simply said: "Maybe he is right."

Pretty noble for a copywriter, huh? Especially one that's been called the greatest of all time.

Social Network for Knoxville Advertising Pros

Get in touch. Stay in touch. Network with other pros. Be notified about after-hour events. RSVP for luncheons. Connect with National AAF. Connect with District AAF. Look at goofy photos. Add goofy photos. Write on a wall. Comment about goofy photos. Learn about some news. Tag your colleagues in goofy photos. Become a member of the AAF-Knoxville Facebook group. Join some other groups. Post some links. Be social.

Their Knoxville Ads Worked - Until I Went to Shop

I've got a bit of the new car itch. And I was hoping to scratch it a little this weekend by kicking some tires at a few Knoxville car dealerships. Why? Because their advertising in Knoxville worked - I saw the "Labor Day Sale" ads, liked the message of 0.9% and 1.9% interest rates, and decided to at least drive a few of the models that I've had my eye on.

I hate shopping for a car; I would rather go to the dentist. (Seriously, I love my dentist.) But on Sunday afternoon, I got myself psyched up and drove to the first of three Knoxville car dealerships I wanted to visit. As I was pulling up to the entrance, I could feel my blood pressure increase, then my pulse. I slowed down, started to pull in, then the gate was closed. I looked down the street, and the other gate was closed. The dealership wasn't open. So I went to the second dealership, and it was closed too. The third one? Yup, closed.

Ugh. All of that mustering up for nothing. Well, since I was out, I decided to visit a fourth Knoxville dealership. The cars it has are not within my first choices, but at that point I had nothing to lose. I park my car, get out, and am immediately approached by a sales professional.

"I'd like to drive your [blank] model with the [blank], [blank], and [blank]," I said.

"Oh, that one's out on a test drive," he replied.

Then, silence. We just stared at each other. No offer to drive the same model in a different color.

"Um, how about another model. I like the [blank]," I said.

"We've got just one, and it's up here on the sidewalk on display," he gestured.

"Can I drive it?" I asked.

"Well, if you can wait a while. These other cars will have to move, and I'll have to get the ramps." he replied.

Then, silence. We just stared at each other. No offer to drive the same model in a different color.

"Um, okay. Well, can I sit in it?" I asked.

He went and got the keys, opened the doors, started up the car to get the air conditioning cranked, and offered me a seat. I sat in the driver's seat, and he got in the passenger's. I looked around for a few minutes, played with the buttons, and dialed the radio to a good XM station.

"I'd really like to drive this," I said.

"Well, what if you make an appointment for tomorrow and come back?" he asked.

So I made an appointment for Monday. Then came Monday morning. On my way back out to that dealership for my appointment, I decided to first stop by the other three that were closed on Sunday.

"They're all having 'Labor Day' sales, so surely they'll be open on Labor Day," I thought. I thought wrong. They were closed. Again. Ugh. Now I'm not in the mood to return to the fourth dealership to talk the sales professional into selling me a car. Or just letting me touch one. So I went to the grocery store instead.

If you're going to advertise it, be prepared to sell it.

Knoxville Fall TV Premier - Recap

Last Thursday, August 28, more than 90 Knoxville advertising professionals gathered at Peerless Restaurant for the Fall TV Premier, presented by the American Advertising Federation of Knoxville. Presentations were made by Charter, Comcast, CW, WATE (ABC), WBIR (NBC), WTNZ (Fox), and WVLT (CBS). For some photo highlights, check out the photos section of our Facebook group page. Oh, and the Mahi-Mahi was fantastic.

Tennessee Brand Says "Socialize liberally. Drink conservatively."

Check out this Ad Week blog entry about one of everyone's favorite Tennessee brands getting into the mix (no pun intended) of political advertising.

Knoxville's 40 Under 40

Do you know anyone in the Knoxville advertising community who might be worthy of being named one of Knoxville's 40 Under 40? Click here to fill out the nomination form. Entries are due October 1, and it's presented by the Greater Knoxville Business Journal and UT's Professional MBA Program.

Knoxville Fall TV Premier

Get the first look at fall's new TV shows at the next AAF-Knoxville meeting.

Join the American Advertising Federation of Knoxville and representatives from Knoxville television stations and cable networks on August 28th, as they unveil the new shows in their fall lineups. Get an insider's view of not just the shows, but the programming strategies behind them.

When: Thursday, August 28th, 2008
Where: Peerless Restaurant
Time: 11:30 Networking, 11:45 Lunch and Presentation
$20 for Members
$25 for Non-Members
(credit cards accepted with $1.25 fee)

RSVP by August 25th to Karen at edirector@aafknoxville.com or 742-4838.

AAF-Knoxville Connects You to AAF SmartBrief

Click here to subscribe to American Advertising Federation's SmartBrief. It brings you the advertising news that really matters (besides the stuff you'll find in this blog). AAF's editors handpick key articles from hundreds of publications, do a brief summary of each and provide links back to the original sources. In other words, they do all the research - and you get the news you need, without the fluff.

What's With The Horse?

If you're wondering why we have a horse in the masthead, let me introduce you to Trouble.

Trouble is the beloved pony of Jennifer East, AAF-Knoxville Board Member and Media Representative Extraordinare. Trouble was adopted as the official mascot of AAF-Knoxville and, by unanimous decision, is included in all our communications.

Kinda like a client/boss who insists a logo or slogan be included in everything you do, whether it makes sense or not.

So I guess you could say that including Trouble in all our stuff is just one more way we convey to our membership that "hey--we KNOW what you go through every day."

That's why we love Trouble. That, of course, and hearing the stories Jennifer tells about him. Come to a meeting and ask Jennifer. You'll see what we mean.

O.K. Let's Start With The Free Stuff, Part 1

A few good (free) reasons why we like this organization.

AAF-Knoxville has been around for a long time, and there are a few reasons for this. In the early days, it was one of the only ways for members of the advertising community to get together in a relaxed atmosphere, share stories and ideas, and get to know each other outside of work. Lots of friends were made.

And lots of business was done.

That's still true today. Except instead of just connecting once a month, AAF Knoxville gives you the ability to network with the most important advertising people in East Tennessee on an almost-daily basis, if you so choose. We've initiated a number of electronic tools this year (like this blog, Facebook, newsletters, and other resources) so members can have a freer exchange of information.

And just a few weeks, our online community is as large (sometimes larger) than the groups that attend our meetings.

And it's free. If you want to see for yourself, check out a few links:

http://www.aafknoxville.com/

http://www.new.facebook.com/group.php?gid=21781339491

http://www.aaf.org/