Jeremiah Cooper dot com

Subliminal Advertising in Action? You Decide.

Jeremiah Cooper — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 02:41:23 +0000

Here’s a bit of fun to distract you from your mid-week blahs:

The idea of “subliminal advertising” is a controversial one, with some folk claiming it definitely works, and others (many of whom are psychologists and doctors, mind you) claiming that it has no long term effect on anyone’s behavior.

Regardless of where you personally sit on the issue, there are certainly MANY people out there that do believe in its efficacy (though whether or not that in and of itself might make one more susceptible to it than those that don’t believe, I don’t know – but it’s an interesting thought to ponder nonetheless). Still, regardless of that, we certainly have ample evidence that most people are susceptible to various types of imagery and the other staples of the marketing and advertising realms. And because we know that, there are different “tricks” employed in marketing that we, as business owners and entrepreneurs, all use every day when trying to get the word out about our products or services, whether we’re making a new banner ad, composing a new sales letter, or tweaking that AdWords copy just a little bit more to boost the CTR.

But even though most people are aware that advertising is designed to influence behavior, that doesn’t make them immune to it – and that goes for advertisers themselves, too.

So here comes the fun I mentioned.

Earlier today, I was reminded of the video below, and thought I’d share. This is a segment from an old British TV show called “Mind Control,” with a man named Derren Brown. Derren’s a mentalist (and illusionist, but I’m not showing you one of his illusions this time around), and quite good at it. In this segment, he demonstrates how even the people that advertise for a living can be heavily influenced without being aware of it.

Power of Subliminal Messages- Derren Brown from Michael Arbach on Vimeo.
I’m not sure it’s evidence one way or another about subliminal advertising itself, but it certainly shows how easily anyone can be influenced by their environment, even if it’s only for a short time. Whether or not these guys would have come up with the same concepts if they’d done the meeting portion the next day, I don’t know – but it’s still interesting to watch. And the guy with the glasses seems so utterly dejected that he fell for it, doesn’t he? Good times, good times.

Will Wal-Mart Be Killed By Its Own Business Model?

Jeremiah Cooper — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 17:09:00 +0000

Last week, there was a fantastic piece on AdAge detailing how Wal-Mart’s famed “productivity loop” now appears to be working against them rather than with them as it once did. The general consensus? Wal-Mart may actually be dying at the hands of its own business model:

“The business model developed by Sam Walton in the 1960s to attract shoppers used low costs to lower prices. The more shoppers, the more efficient Walmart got, letting it lower prices further and attract even more shoppers. This is the famous “productivity loop,” and it’s pretty simple.

But it’s increasingly hard to pull off in the U.S., where Walmart’s namesake chain delivered its ninth consecutive quarter of declining same-store sales last quarter. Its prices have been rising relative to competition, as CEO Mike Duke acknowledged last week.”

Wal-Mart’s astronomical and speedy growth to its current hulkingly large hold on the average American consumer is due to that business model, but the problem is that it’s not sustainable in that same incarnation for the long term. Eventually, you run out of room to build more Wal-Marts (and where there IS room left, you get chased away by angry townsfolk weilding pitchforks and torches), and as store expansion declines, so do sales. That means you have to jack up your prices a little in order to remain in competition and keep your shareholders happy…but when your entire brand identity is wrapped up in having the lowest prices around, raising prices seems to entire defeat the purpose of your existence.

Consumers notice it when you raise your prices, even a little bit, particularly if you’ve succeeded in becoming the major, regular shopping stop for them. So once everyone realizes Wal-Mart’s prices aren’t the lowest, what’s the motivation to keep coming to the store? Why not go to Target, instead? If they can’t get prices back down to what they once were and still keep the shareholders happy, they’ll need another major hook to bring the shoppers back - it will be interesting to see if Wal-Mart is able to come up with some interesting gimmick to regain that lost attention.

You can read the entire article over at Ad Age – I recommend it as worth the look.

Get Better Screenshots and Screencasts with Jing

Jeremiah Cooper — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 00:32:22 +0000

If you’ve been taking screen shots the caveman way (Fn + PrntScr perhaps?), then it’s time to upgrade a little and make your life (and the lives of those you work with) much, much easier. Jing is a screenshot and screencast program from TechSmith that has become an almost indispensible part of my daily work. Versatile, easy to use, produces professional results… and it’s free. What’s not to love?

Jing is a small, unobtrusive program that allows you to take and edit great looking screenshots with just a click of the mouse. You can take caps of exactly what you want, without sacrificing image quality, and then you can doctor them up and share them quickly and easily with whoever you want. When you edit, you can add arrows and text, highlight an area, put a box around an important part you want to call attention to, and more. Jing takes basic screencast videos, too, which can also be easily shared.

The potential uses for the small business owner and entrepreneur here are many and varied. For example, you can use it to collaborate on your website’s new redesign, or instantly show your web designer that bug you found. When you use the screencast feature, you can make video and audio recordings of what you’re doing on your own screen in order to teach someone else how to navigate through a process or use a piece of software. The screenshots and screencasts Jing produces can also be funneled into TechSmith’s premium editing software Camtasia and Snagit for even further editing.

When you’re done taking one, you can save it to your own computer or tell Jing where you want to send it for further sharing, like Screencast.com or Flickr. There is also a fairly inexpensive pro version of Jing available, which gives you greater functionality, like the ability to record via your webcam and toggle back and forth between your webcam and your screen to give your viewers a more immersive experience.

All in all, this is an exceptionally handy tool that I highly recommend. You’ll find a ton of uses for it, and it’s so easy to work with that even the least tech savvy among your employees should have no trouble making it work. Give it a try, see what you think.

Take a Stanford Computer Course Online for Free

Jeremiah Cooper — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 23:51:55 +0000

Always wanted to go to Stanford? Did not, perhaps, have the grades or copious amounts of cash to actually get in and take a class? No worries – you can do it for free now, this fall.

Stanford is offering a series of computer science courses online this fall that absolutely anyone can take (as long as you meet the prereqs) and learn from. You won’t get credit for the classes or a shiny Stanford certificate or anything, but what you WILL get is the benefit of being privy to the exact same classes Stanford students can take, with the same professors and same information. If you do well, you may even end up with some “statements of accomplishment” from the professor to show you’ve got the stuff, even if you didn’t actually get to earn a grade for your work. And that’s pretty awesome.

The four courses they are offering are as follows:

Introduction to Artificial Intelligence

Introduction to Databases

Machine Learning

Stanford Engineering Everywhere

You can learn more about each of the individual courses at those links and see if anything strikes your fancy. If you decide you want to audit a class, you’ll get to watch the same lectures, view and use the same materials, submit assignments and get feedback, just like the paying customers at the school. Study groups are already popping up on Reddit – like this one for the Artificial Intelligence class – and tons of people are taking advantage of this opportunity, so you’ll be in good company if you decide you want in, too.

3 Successful Low Budget Viral Video Ads

Jeremiah Cooper — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 10:34:01 +0000

As promised, I am back for some more talk about video marketing – this time, with a look at some low budget video ads that have since gone viral and done very well for themselves (and their brands) in the process.

To make an effective video to promote your brand in some way, you do not need to have a huge budget to work with, as the following examples will demonstrate. All you really need (besides the recording equipment and editing software, of course) is a great concept and the means to execute it.

So here are 3 video ads by brands that went viral but didn’t cost a ton of money to make. I don’t have any specific figures for how much they did spend, but you’ll get the general idea once you see them. And with that in mind, away we go…

Up first is the Alamo Drafthouse’s “Don’t Talk – Angry Voicemail (Uncensored).” As the title suggests, this one involves some NSFW language, so listen at your own discretion, but this is a brilliant example of an effective, successful low budget viral video ad. The Alamo Drafthouse is a theater in Austin, TX that frowns mightily on those that talk or text during the movie – so much so that they’ll kick you out if you break the rules. And then use the angry, partially incoherent voicemail complaint you leave them afterwards to make an commercial:

That video is so low budget, it’s practically NO budget, and yet – advertising magic. They clearly convey their brand and personality, let everyone watching at home know that the Alamo Drafthouse is the place to go for pleasant movie-watching experiences because they actively work to rid the place of obnoxiousness, and show off their sense of humor…all using a few seconds worth of what basically amounts to found footage. Well done there. Well done, indeed.

Or you could always upload a video of someone playing the guitar quite well, while adding a bit of text letting viewers know exactly where he learned to play like that…and then sit back and see how many of the now nearly 92 million viewers decide they want to learn to play like that, too. I believe that’s another “well done there,” don’t you?

And finally, this one is one with a bigger budget than the last two, but it’s nothing too over the top. This is a recent installment in the highly successful “Will It Blend?” series of ads from Blendtec, this time answering the burning question of whether or not blending several items of Justin Bieber merchandise together might somehow create something with “a little more substance.” No crazy production values here – just a guy in a wig, some teen heartthrob tchotchkes, and a blender. Note the clever CTA instructing folks to head to the Blendtec Facebook page to suggest other things to wreck with a blender. Bonus points for the hairflips, dramatic readings of Justin Bieber’s autobiography, and reference to another extremely popular viral video.

So you see – you don’t need a ton of disposable cash to create a viral video that works. In fact, some companies that DO have a ton of disposable cash spend it on making their videos LOOK LIKE they’re low budget, like this one from Microsoft Germany:

Looks cheap, but definitely wasn’t, since it was done using stunt guys and CG. Interesting, eh?

How to Keep an Eye the Current Top Performing Viral Video Ad Campaigns

Jeremiah Cooper — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 14:29:41 +0000

We know that video is now as ubiquitous on the Interweb as is the humble smiley face emoticon, and that, therefore, video marketing is a logical, smart step to take if you want to keep up with the consumer tide. Everyone wants to come up with the viral video ad campaign that’s going to make their popularity (and sales) skyrocket, but with so many videos being uploaded a day (I think the current stats are somewhere around 65,000 videos a day?), it’s sometimes hard to tell which ones are going to make it and which ones aren’t.

If you’re into video marketing (or want to be), then one of the most important things you need to do is stay up to date on the viral ads that are currently getting the most attention. Much like with any other type of advertising, observing what the competition is up to will not only help you see what works and what doesn’t, but also help you stay up to date on current trends and even get an idea or two for yourself (but no copying!).

And luckily for you, there’s a way to keep an eye on the current top performers without having to spend much in the way of time or energy. Allow me to direct you to the fine people at Visible Measures, a firm that specializes in video marketing. They have a series of charts available for your perusal that will give you some comprehensive information on the top performing ads making the rounds of the Internet today.

First up is the chart for the Top Viral Video Ad Campaigns of the Week. As its moniker suggests, this one is updated weekly so we can all have a gawk at the viral video ads that are getting the most views at any given point in time. Currently (and unsurprisingly), the top performer is one of the new Old Spice commercials featuring everyone’s favorite romance-novel-cover-come-to-windswept-life, Fabio.

And then there’s the Top Ten Brands in Video chart, which is updated monthly. This chart is designed to show us which brands consumers “choose to watch most in online video, and right now, T Mobile has the top spot.

The more we can see about what works, the better off we are in the long run. Making each of these charts a regular stop on your daily rounds of the Internet is a good step toward making your own video marketing more successful. It’ll keep you up to date without requiring a huge time commitment, and you can watch all of the videos right there from the Visible Measures website.

Of course, none of us (likely) have the assets and resources that an Old Spice or a T Mobile has available to them, so we have to work a little harder and a little smarter if we want to compete in the same arena, let alone on the same playing field. To that end, I’ll be back on Wednesday to show you some viral video ad campaigns that prove you don’t necessarily need a huge production budget or a ton of cash to make an effective video marketing piece. In the meantime, enjoy looking at those charts, and if you’ve ever wondered what the most viewed viral videos of all time are, make sure to check out the 100 Million Club chart, too.

Conduct Any Good Link Audits Lately?

Jeremiah Cooper — Sat, 13 Aug 2011 04:04:51 +0000

When it comes to putting together a sound link building strategy, any plan you make should first start with a link audit. A link audit is a handy little practice you can put into use that will easily tell you exactly where your website or blog stands in terms of current external links – and once you know exactly what your links currently look like, you not only know where you need to put in some more work, but you also have a base line to measure your future link building progress against.

Performing a link audit is pretty simple, but it can get time consuming, depending on your site’s popularity and traffic. To do it, all you need is the link feature found in the free Google Webmaster Tools. It will provide you with a full list of all of the sites linking back to yours, which you can then sort through. If your site is new and you haven’t been actively participating in any link building activities, then you probably won’t have many incoming links on your list yet – that’s okay, because the audit is still giving you a base line to work from and measure your progress against when you DO start link building activities.

Regardless of the number of links in your list, you will still need to manually check each and every one of them to determine what KIND of link it is (which is why I said it can get time consuming – so if you don’t want to do it yourself, hire someone to do it for you). Search engines like you best when you have a variety of links, so the ideal is to have them coming from all different sources – websites, blogs, directories, articles, press releases, etc. Once you know what kind of links you’ve got, you can then work on getting more in the areas that are lagging behind.

After the initial audit, it’s a good idea to conduct them at regular intervals thereafter. When you compare the new link audit data to the old, you’ll have a great way to easily see how well your site is doing in the link building arena.

10 More Press Release Tips

Jeremiah Cooper — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 03:59:50 +0000

So, we’ve talked about about 5 essential things all press releases should have, as well as how to format a press release correctly. Now we’re going to wrap up this little series for now by taking a look at 10 more press release tips – including tips on how to submit them properly – to keep your writing endeavors on track.

1.) Watch your language. When you’re sending an email to a friend or a coworker, you might not care as much about your spelling and grammar, but sending press releases to media professionals is a whole ‘nother story. Proofread your press release to eliminate any spelling and grammar issues, as well as any awkward phrasing. Then have someone else proofread it, too, just in case.

2.) Make sure you follow submission guidelines. Submissions that don’t follow a publication’s submission guidelines usually just get thrown into the junk pile. If you are using a press release distribution service, this won’t apply to you, because that service SHOULD be doing the job correctly on your behalf, but if you intend to submit your press releases yourself, then this definitely applies. Research the media outlet in question to find out if they have any specific rules for press releases (like Reuters does, for example), and then follow them to the letter.

3.) Keep an eye on your email format. If you compose your press release in Word and then copy/paste it into the body of an email to send it out, go over it carefully to make sure everything transferred okay. Things have a tendency to get out of whack when they are pasted from Word, giving you strange symbols instead of punctuation marks and throwing things out of alignment. Leaving that stuff in there will not do you any favors.

4.) Don’t forget the “for release” part of your press release. Make sure that’s at the top. If it can go out immediately, use the “for immediate release” line depicted in the formatting post. If you want it held and not published until a certain date, add an “Embargoed until (date it’s embargoed until)” after the “for release” bit.

5.) Harness the power of the inverted triangle. Journalists use the inverted triangle structure when writing news stories, and since your press release is a news story (after a fashion), you need to do the same. The inverted triangle structure means you begin with the most important information first, and then each following paragraph contains slightly less important information. The idea is that someone should be able to learn everything you have to tell them even if everything after the first paragraph got cut out for some reason. This saves the media folk time, because they have to wade through tons of these things a day and often only have time to read the first paragraph to determine whether or not it’s something they want to run with.

6.) Keep it short. Ideally, your press release should not run over one page in length. 400 words is a good limit to try to stick to.

7.) Submit them in time. According to a survey conducted by Business Wire late last year, Tuesday morning is the magic time for sending in your releases. But even if you don’t send on a Tuesday, try to send it in the morning and early in the week, so you have a better chance of getting in before deadlines. Definitely don’t wait until the last minute to submit it, especially if your release is about a special event or otherwise time sensitive.

8.) Just the facts, ma’am (or sir). Press releases should be short, to the point, and full of facts only. Use a judicious, objective eye when reading over what you’re written to make sure there’s no sales speak going on.

9.) Use dates. Write out the full date, i.e. Wednesday, August 10, instead of something like “next Wednesday” or “next month.”

10.) Don’t forget the contact information. Include as much contact information as you can to make it as easy as possible for someone to contact you, if necessary. If your release involves more than one party (say, another company you’ve teamed up with for a special event), then include contact information for all involved.

And that’s that. Writing a good press release can be tricky, but with the proper format and these tips under your belt, you’ll be off to a much better, much more effective start.

How to Format a Press Release

Jeremiah Cooper — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 20:51:39 +0000

A poorly written and improperly formatted press release is pretty much a silver medalist in the Useless Olympics, so if you’d like to take advantage of the benefits that sending them out can provide, then you need to know how to format press releases the right way.

Last week, I talked a little about 5 press release essentials that are…well, essential to writing press releases. Today, we’re going to look a little closer at the process of writing press releases by examining the correct format you should use to structure your missive. Depending on where you plan to send your press release and who you intend to have reading it, you may need to use different formats, but all press releases contain the same basic elements. Each element is necessary to the end product, and leaving one out can render the entire exercise pointless – after all, if you don’t care enough to learn how to submit the information correctly, why should a reporter or other media guy care about what you’re trying to talk about?

The Anatomy of a Basic Press Release

“For immediate release” – Put this at the top of the page, either left justified and above the contact information, or right justified on the same line as the first line of your left justified contact info.
Contact information – Your contact info goes underneath (or begins on the same line as) the “for immediate release” bit above, and regardless of where you decide to stick the “for immediate release,” you should keep this section left justified. Include the name of the person that handles any media inquiries, as well as his or her phone number and email address. You can also choose to include a snail mail address and a fax number, if you’d like. But don’t forget to provide at least ONE way to contact you.
The headline – The headline is exactly what it sounds like. This should be presented in either bold type, all capital letters, or both, and should be centered on the page. Like any other headline, it’s designed to grab attention, so make sure it’s a good one.
The slugline – Some people consider the slugline to be one in the same as the headline, so you can skip this part if you like, but keeping it in and using it in addition to your headline gives you an extra opportunity to grab your reader’s interest. Slug lines belong directly below the headline, left justified, and usually in italics. This should be a one sentence summary of the angle of your press release, so people know exactly what they’re going to read when they get to the actual body of the piece.
Location and date – This marks the beginning of the body of the press release. Before you begin the actual writing, start the first paragraph with the location of the story (such as “WAIKIKAMUKAU, New Zealand”) and follow that up with the date.
The lead – The lead is the first sentence of the actual body portion of the press release. It should contain the notorious 5 Ws (who, what, when, where, why) and set the stage for the rest of your release.
The body – When you write the press release’s body, make sure that each thought gets its own paragraph. One thought/idea per paragraph. Keep it short and succinct, make sure you include all of the information you need to include about your news, and keep the sentence structure simple. You should also keep the hype and marketing speak out. The last paragraph can be a re-cap of everything you’ve said already.
The close – Once the body is written, signal the end of the press release by placing a “###” or a “-30-” below the last paragraph and centered on the page.
Optional reiteration of contact info – If you want, you can invite the media person to contact you if they need more information and put your contact info in again.

And that’s how a properly formatted press release should look. Even if you’re not the world’s best writer, making sure your formatting is correct will go a long way towards getting your press releases noticed.

Stay tuned for the next installment in this little series on press releases, because I’m going to talk about special formatting circumstances and some tips on the various methods for actually sending your releases out.

5 Press Release Essentials

Jeremiah Cooper — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 11:14:42 +0000

It’s really no secret that press releases can be a useful resource for promoting a business. A press release is a great way to get the word out about a new product or service you’re offering, a new branch location you’re opening, a company milestone you’ve reached, and much more – but to ensure it actually does what you want it to do, there are a few things that are absolutely essential during the writing process.

So with that in mind, what follows are 5 of the most important things you need to know the next time you sit down to write a press release:

1.) Start with the news. A press release is designed to give the press the opportunity to share your news with others. It’s a great way to promote your business, but you can’t do it without some actual news to share. If you’re unsure of whether or not your announcement is actually newsworthy, ask yourself if you’d care if you were reading it in regards to someone else’s announcement. If the answer is “no,” don’t despair – try looking for current events or other similar happenings that you can somehow relate back to your business. It may be possible to craft something press release worthy that way.

2.) Use a newsy tone for your writing. A press release is not the time for your best marketing copy acrobatics. A press release is a news story, and needs to read like one. Keep an eye on your adjectives and phrasing to make sure it sounds like you’re just there to impart information, not give someone the hard sell on a used Buick.

3.) Format it correctly. Reporters and other people that receive press releases are busy people that receive tons of releases a day. They don’t have a lot of time to sift through a mountain of information to figure out what you’re talking about, so formatting your press release in the accepted manner is essential. It allows them to easily see what you have to say and make a decision about whether or not they’re interested. A properly formatted can be the difference between your press release being read and being passed over.

4.) Watch your spelling and grammar. You want to put your best foot forward here, and while typos happen, this is not the time or the place. Get someone to read over your work after you’re done, if you need to, but make sure everything is neat, clean, and error-free.

5.) Don’t forget the contact information! Without this, all else is lost and you’ve just wasted your time, because no one will be able to get in touch with you. Contact information is customarily included at the top of the press release, and should include the name of the person people should contact, as well as a phone number or email address – ideally both.

Writing a good press release is something of a fine art, so this is just a quick overview of 5 of the different press release essentials out there. Next week, we’ll look at the actual anatomy of a press release, and the different ways you should format yours depending on your goals and target audiences.

Jeremiah Cooper dot com

Subliminal Advertising in Action? You Decide.

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