Tu 5/30 - Inject Humor In Ads | Columbia Sportswear Defines GOAT | Underground Ads In NYC

It's Tuesday May 30 2023. Let's nerd out.

The ad nerds podcast delivers ad industry news weekdays were the go to source for people who spend money on advertising, covering Big brands, small businesses, and the latest marketing trends. It's me Spanky Moskowitz, the show's hosting the nearly 40 year event of the ad industry. I've created ads for Budweiser m&ms, Frito. Lay the NFL and NBA, I've created over 100,000 ads generating hundreds of billions in client revenue. If you're in or interested in the world of advertising, and want to stay up to date with the latest news, the ad nerds podcast is the perfect place to start.

We all enjoy a good laugh. Right? Well, laughter We know it does wonders for us. Lately, for me, it's been the thing that's kept me sane, all sorts of benefits, improved oxygen circulation, stress relief, endorphins, the whole nine, right. And the great thing is that laughter is contagious. It can spread like wildfire, especially online. But let's not kid ourselves. We know that creating humor isn't a walk in the park. It's difficult. It's complex. And it depends a lot on the individual tastes of the consumer seeing the humor. So the challenge is making funny content that speaks to a broad audience, right without losing sight of your campaign message. So here is exactly how to do it. First got to know this, you cannot force humor. It's like trying to squeeze water from a stone. The trick is to find natural, relatable ways to sneak in funny anecdotes or stories into your content. Real world inspirations that's the key. And they might not leave your audience like rolling on the floor laughing. But they can add a touch of humanity and a touch of, of emotion to your brand and build deeper connections with your audience. But there's a word of caution for this, okay? You got to stay clear of offensive humor. I was a victim of this myself. I did it to myself several years ago with an ad not thinking about the ramifications of who was going to see the ad. And it offended some people. My goal wasn't to offend. I got over it. But you've got to make sure that you're grabbing people's attention, but not infuriating them and not causing a social outburst that's going to distract and and detract from your messaging. Okay, so it might grab someone's attention short lived, but it could also tarnish your reputation as a business. So remember, you know, the internet might be busy debating your your controversial humor, but at the same time, your brand message is getting lost in the mix. Okay. Also try to spread positivity through your humor. That's what we aim to do in our advertising, right? I want people to smile, I want them to laugh. It can do wonders in creating a memorable impression of your brand, even when things aren't going our way. Right? As a brand, you can pepper in humor in various ways, with like amusing messages, cute product names, or personalized gifts, right? There's lots of different ways to do it. Remember, when you make advertising and messaging that's funny. Pepper in humor, like it's seasoning in small doses, right? It's you want to tailor your jokes to your audience, and get them sharing it with their friends and family. So you've got to make sure you're always looking at the fine line of offensive or shareable. Right? Because you don't want people to not share. And that's how you boost your engagement and visibility when it's done right. Humor is an incredibly powerful tool. Like I know this because I've been doing it for so long. It's very effective at creating a huge brand presence and awareness for your business. Just keep it natural, keep it light and keep it positive, and you're good to go.

The New York City subway system a hallowed proving ground for many budding brands, has stepped up its advertising game. For decades, the underground metal snakes and their stations have served as the launch pad for lots of up and coming businesses like Casper and hymns. But until recently the ad buying process was surprisingly very old school it was all manual and direct insertion orders but being As they're changing, and outfront media, the firm that handles the MTA is advertising started selling some ad spaces programmatically, as of last December. Here's the kicker, the MTA is not into real time bidding or identity based targeting. Rather, advertisers can bid based on variables like the time of day, day of the week or, or subway location. So let's take a moment to appreciate why this is a big deal. Transit advertising as a whole, it's got a knack for reaching consumers multiple times a day, in their nearly daily journey. They are a captive audience. Now pair that with programmatic advertising, which brings in flexibility, speed, audience targeting, and and really, the reporting you can't get specific on right, there's always different people, but you've got a real potent mix of individuals seeing that message at the specific times and in the specific locations that you want them to see it at. And even though most campaigns, by the way, are still direct buys programmatic is slowly gaining ground underground. In New York City, the MTA and outfront big dream to pull in new brands who might not have considered the MTA as an ad platform, it's starting to work. The results are already showing that 78% of brands who bought ads programmatically are new to the Metropolitan Transit Authority. But there's a flip side to it too. And this is the thing I talk about, often for the benefits of programmatic buying. And the benefits they bring, there's a catch. Sometimes there's nothing that beats good old fashioned Direct Buy, particularly for like a big takeover campaign. That's when a business takes over. Like an entire subway car or a station literally every outdoor space is that brand message, you will not see another message in that subway or in that subway station. Programmatic is great for fractional buying. But when you want to create a powerful, tangible presence, you're better off going direct. And so all programmatic is a slick addition to the ad mix in the MTA world. It's not going to completely replace direct buys. It's all about finding the right balance. And I do say this and I'll say say it a lot. In fact, I have a special guests come in next Monday and we're going to talk about this very thing programmatic ads. And while I don't like them, there is a time and a place for them. For some businesses, I don't subscribe to that.

In the aftermath of a world reshaped by the pandemic Outdoor Industry giant Columbia Sportswear is undergoing its own transformative journey all while staying firmly planted in its robust heritage. The brand held by CEO Tim Boyle has seen a shift in consumer behavior with nearly half of US adults now participating in outdoor activity and a surge of 20% who have discovered the law of nature since the pandemic began. In response to this change, Colombia has appointed pre Shumate, formerly of Nike and Airbnbs marketing teams respectively, as the CMO to help navigate these new market opportunities. She brings an understanding that newcomers to outdoor activities are really not accustomed to the very terrain conditions and need the right gear, to enhance their experiences and not kill themselves ultimately, right. Enter the facet 75 Our product of humates tenure and an example of the brand's adaptive approach instead of boasting about the shoes, technicalities, Columbia and creative agency in good taste chose to emphasize In one key feature, traction, the ad campaign celebrating the steadfast nature of a goat aimed at keeping the message simple and relatable. This approach shoe made believes put the brand more in touch with its consumers and their product usage needs. Rather than being the greatest of all time goat, Columbia aspires to be a goat, one that stubbornly holds its ground serving its customers without losing sight of its essence. Looking ahead, Colombia aims to expand its consumer base with inclusivity in mind, the Outdoor Industry Association stats by the way suggests that current trends if they continue, that by 2060, outdoor recreation participants will fall to less than 40% of the overall US population. This projection, if it comes true would have significant impact on outdoor brands like Colombia, and so to combat this, Colombia has been shifting its marketing strategy to connect with a broader spectrum of potential customers. By the way, the brand's diversified efforts do appear to be paid to paying off they had an 11% increase in net sales from 2021 as well as an 8% Jump in q1 of 2023, compared to the same period in 2022. In the end, Colombia's goal is to remain the gateway brand for many people's first outdoor experience.

You know, at the start of the show, I talked about humor and advertising. As a small business owner you need to save this episode for future reference because this story it's a perfect example of humor being integrated into an ad and Columbia ties their brand in beautifully.

Well Instagram if you don't see enough ads on the meta platforms you're gonna bout to see more Instagram is now incorporating ads within its search results, enhancing visibility for sponsored posts tied to user intent based searches like skincare, toys, or apparel. This move is a part of metas larger strategy to increase ad presence on Instagram, especially after the parent company's revenue experienced a dip for the first time the previous year. Earlier in March, meta introduced reminder ads, a feature that allows advertisers to alert Instagram users about upcoming events. Additionally, Instagram reels and the Explore tab were also recipients of increased ad placements over the past year. This tactic is very similar to what streaming services are doing for a revenue boost. metas ad intensification program seems to be working so far they've had a 3% year over year increase in q1 revenue this year. Okay. My question is, is this sustainable? And I don't think it is. While I'm a huge fan of great advertising. Excessive ads can really deteriorate the user experience potentially pushing users away from the platform, which is not what they want to do. And the truth is, most of the ads, you see, well, they're just not that great.

I want to end today's podcast with a personal note and a note of thanks and lots of gratitude. Some time sometime last week, I shared some very personal news on the podcast and that is about impact exactly two weeks ago today I received a diagnosis of colorectal cancer. And since sharing that on the podcast and on Facebook and on Instagram, and Tiktok, the outpouring of support and love and compassion and positive notes has been, it's been overwhelming and fantastically so. So I wanted to take a moment to kind of share what is going on and what is going to be happening over the next few months. Since my diagnosis, there may be times over the next several weeks and months where I don't do an episode for a few days at a time. And, and I know in July, it's probably going to be a few weeks. And I am currently scheduled to have surgery on July 11. And plan to be in the hospital somewhere in the neighborhood of a week. And once I'm home from the hospital, as soon as I'm feeling up to it, I plan on resuming duties doing my podcast on a weekly daily basis as I can. So bear with me, obviously. Thank you for your support. Thank you for the love. Thank you for the outpouring of just incredible messages, and the compassion. My audience shares is just like I can't even there aren't no words to say thank you. There really aren't. So I will keep you apprised of what's going on health wise. I appreciate you taking the time to message me directly. And I have answered and will answer every single one of those messages that I promise you.

Hey, if you liked the ad nerds podcast, please do me a favor, subscribe on Apple, Spotify or wherever you listen. Give it a five star rating and a great review I would sure appreciate that. Well that's the ad nerds podcast for Tuesday May 30th 2023. Spanky out thanks for listening