This year Bozell is proud to celebrate our 90th year in advertising!  That’s a monumental achievement in any industry, and given the super uber mega competitive nature of advertising, we’re really proud.

Ninety years is a long time, longer than you’d think.  To really put into perspective how long we’ve been in the ad game, here’s just a small sample of some things we’re older than.  You might be surprised.

1. Plutonium – 1934

Ok, well plutonium is probably older than us…but it was discovered only a few years ago.  Before you go grabbing a hefty supply and time traveling in your DeLorean to play lead guitar at your patents Enchantment Under The Sea Dance…just make sure you handle with care. (Back to the Future reference, anyone?)

2. Disney – October 16, 1923

We’ve got Mickey, or Steamboat Willie at the time, by just a little bit. But while we were executing killer marketing strategies, the “Happiest Place On Earth” was still endless swampland and “It’s a Small World” hadn’t been stuck in our heads yet.

3. Nachos – 1943

I was surprised by this. I thought nachos were created by a kiss from the mighty Goddess Athena in 414 B.C., or maybe they just should have been. It’s hard to believe our founders were still motivated to get up in the morning before the best food ever was invented.

4. Television – 1927

Believe it or not, advertising wasn’t always dominated by television. While we’ve certainly had our share of successful television campaigns, the agency’s first assignment was to protect a private energy company from the threat of public power.  Fortunately we’ve branched out from this niche.

5. Keith Richard’s Liver – December 18, 1943

This one is tricky, technically Keith Richard’s liver is only 67 but I’m pretty sure that this liver is medically considered petrified, which through traditional means generally takes a few hundred years. Either way we’ve been making ads before anybody painted it black.

Other Notable Selections:

SPAM (food) – July 5, 1937

SPAM (annoying internet trash) – Mid 1990’s

Chrysler – 1925

Lucky Charms -1964

Betty White – January 17, 1922

Space Flight – October 4, 1957

Hawaii – August 21, 1959

Killer Bees – 1957

Duct Tape – 1942

(This is the first in a series of posts celebrating Bozell’s 90 Yrs in Advertising)

Scott Bishop is the Director of Social Influence at Bozell.  You can read more marketing insights here or get them on our Facebook Page, inquire about speaking opportunities here or follow him on Twitter.

Earlier this week I had my first exposure to “funeral Facebook”. A relative passed away and we were sent a link to the funeral home web site where she was being featured. The link took me directly to her page replete with a picture of the deceased, her obituary, a viewing and services schedule as well as a Facebook-type section that enabled visitors to post messages about her to her loved ones. Not surprising when you consider how invasive social media has become in our lives. Some of us can’t have our first cup of coffee in the morning without sharing the experience with hundreds of our closest friends – but I digress.

In the past when extended family or acquaintances have passed away I have either called or Hallmarked the immediate family with a heartfelt sentiment designed to offer any possible comfort to those remaining. These sentiments are extremely personal and carefully considered. People are so vulnerable during these times.

This time I gazed upon her funeral insurance, read a few of the other very personal quotes and contemplated sharing my deeply moving feelings with a sizeable percentage of upstate New York and anyone else who happened upon this site. It felt weird. And creepy. Of course that about sums up the entire macabre experience that has been created by our society in regards to dying and interment – yet another digression.

I dutifully posted my sentiments for public scrutiny whereupon an e-mail arrived with the following message:

Your Life Tributes account has been successfully created and can be used to continue to add to Virginia’s memorial website.

You can also use your Life Tributes account log-in information on any of the hundreds of funeral home websites that are powered by Life Tributes.

Is it me or is this just too weird? Those who know me are aware that I have embraced Facebook and blogging, hell even Twitter but “funeral Facebook” takes voyeurism to a whole new level. I appreciate that the funeral industry is chomping at the bit to get into the mainstream and that they’re trying everything possible to provide moments that affirm the life of lost loved ones but things seem to be going a little too far in my opinion. As much as I don’t want to see a life sized cardboard cutout of the deceased next to his/her coffin, I really don’t want to be part of a fan club for someone who can’t, by virtue of recent occurrences, be interactive.

I guess in closing I should just comment that – I’ve got my Life Tribute account – have you?

I just used half a bottle of body lotion on my hair. By mistake. Which, by the way, is a bitch to wash out. After several hours on an airplane, I just wanted a shower. So rather than unpack, I just grabbed two bottles off the bathroom counter in my hotel room and jumped in the shower. Only after being puzzled as to why I couldn’t seem to rinse my hair clean did I look at the label. Crap.

That’s the first time I’ve made that particular bone-headed move, but I’ve done a couple of other things like that. And it made me realize that I make assumptions about products for a variety of reason.

I assumed that the shampoo would be quasi transparent and the conditioner would be pearl-ish and that the conditioner would be placed adjacent to the shampoo in my hotel room. It wasn’t.

I never read my shampoo or conditioner label at home, I just know by the bottle and packaging (and where I keep them), which is which. I don’t have to read a label at the store, I know what I want to buy and I just grab.

I make assumptions based on package or label color. I once meant to buy Excedrin PM and got home with Tylenol PM instead. The look alike.

I assume that the hottest salsas will use more red in their package design and milder ones will use more green. I gravitate to the red packages.

Just recently I noticed that the half and half I buy had a fat free notation on the package. I’ve been buying the product forever, but I didn’t know that. And when I thought about it, I was puzzled. How can half and half be fat free? That makes no sense to me. And when I  googled it to find out, I was determined to not buy that product anymore.

I’m a voracious reader. I consume books. But obviously I don’t read labels. And I don’t think I’m alone.

But from now on, I’ll read the labels of those little bottles in my hotel room before I use them. The upside is that my hair is really clean and pretty soft.

Whenever you move to a different place you expect to encounter some things that take a bit of getting used to. Even more so when the place you move into is 104 years old and part of a building complex with residential and retail tenants. Read More

I’m in a bad mood today. Could be post holiday doldrums, could be post move letdown, who knows. I decided that rather than stick around and snap at everyone for everything, I would break the cycle, get out and try to attitude adjust.

What could be better than to head out to a local eatery with a good book and enjoy a nice relaxing lunch? And it did seem to help. I even declined the waitress’ invitation to try an extremely tempting bloody mary – opting instead for the more sensible virgin mary. And it still helped. 

Even though it is 18 degrees out I decided to take a bit of a post luncheon stroll. I found myself in a local gift shop and selected a few choice items. Feeling even better now!

Time to head back to the office. As I reached my car – the one parked at the meter I had just recently stuffed with coins, I saw the bright color of a $16 parking ticket. &*%%#$$%&!!!

Never before had it occurred to me that a parking ticket was the price of supporting local retail establishments. Somehow, in an economy where every store is offering deep discounts to stay afloat, it seems as though we’re sending the wrong message when we encourage folks to hurry back to the car or risk getting a parking ticket the second the meter clicks off. Not to mention the fact that whatever fallout occurs on my end – it’s on your head Ms. Meter Maid!

Starting last week many online companies launched “Ad Choices” (Advertising Option Program). This program is part of an industry wide effort to implement consumer-friendly principles and enforcement standards regarding Online Behavioral Advertising (OBA).

This program was initiated to provide consumers with a better understanding of and greater control over ads that are served to them based on their online behavior. Consumers can click on this Ad Choices icon to essentially opt-out of receiving online behavioral advertising.

So What Does This Mean

Effective last week on some online sites, ALL behaviorally targeted placements will automatically display an “Ad Choices” icon in the corner of the ad unit. The icon implementation process requires no additional creative time on the advertisers end.

This icon will be automatically included on all ad creative running for behavioral targeted campaigns on sites that mandate this. Rest assured that other sites will follow in the coming months.

*Currently Google does not require this icon to be added to retargeting ads but this could change at any time.

For more detailed information about Ad Choices please visit http://www.aboutads.info/

The New Location: 1022 Leavenworth

We spent the first workday of the new year in our new office space. The place is a mess of boxes and stuff that still sits where the movers put it down, but the place feels great. And as we get it all put together it will be amazing.

The move was quick, but it was a long time in the making. We first starting pondering a move to a less corporate space when we bought the company back from Interpublic Group in 2001. But the cost of a big move combined with debt from the buyback put the dream on the back burner. In 2005 we checked out several spaces but found nothing that thrilled us enough to justify the cost and disruption of moving. In 2008 we started looking again, but as the economy slid into depression so too did our dreams of open, collaborative spaces and a more creative neighborhood.

The "Before" photo. When Halo was in the space.

When we started looking again in the summer of 2010 we didn’t want to draw it out. We wanted to make a move fast. And we did. Mainly because we lucked out in finding a space we fell in love with before it went on the market. And while it needed some work and upgrades, it was something that could be done in mere months — not a year like most spaces. So we made the decision in September and swarms of movers descended upon us last Thursday. We thought the last week of the year would be somewhat slow in terms of workload, but it turned out to be a busy one.

They say hope for the best, plan for the worst. Well it’s so nice when everything goes right and the best happens. We found a great space that was exactly what we wanted. We were able to find reserved parking for all our staffers right nearby. We had a great architect (Randy Brown) and contractors that did everything at light speed — from wiring to HVAC, to an all new phone system and room buildouts, to custom building 60 workstations and book cases, not to mention worktables and more. And the weather even cooperated on the days of our move. Everything worked like clockwork.

Boxes. That pretty much sums up what the place looks like right now. But soon it will emerge.

Fantastic Bozell teams organized the entire process, and all things considered, the whole thing went incredibly smoothly. We even had full network access the day we moved so that those who had impending client projects and deadlines could work without disruption. We have amazing people and I thank all of them for all their hard work and never-ending passion.

We love being downtown near the Old Market. The creative atmosphere is strong. The neighborhood is energizing. And the lunch spots…well they beat the heck out of West O.

As we put the place together, we’ll post some photos. And stay tuned, because we’ll have an open house to share some food and drinks and show off the new digs.

Happy New Year!

More on our move:
Silicon Prairie News
Bozell on Facebook

New peaks in spending each year through 2014

After 2009’s downslide, US online ad spending in 2010 will rise by 13.9%, reaching a record $25.8 billion. And in that same vein, internet ad spending will hit new peaks in each of the following four years, passing $30 billion in 2012 and breaking the $40 billion barrier in 2014.

The more granular quarter-by-quarter picture shows a record spend of $6.42 billion in Q3 2010, as reported by the Interactive Advertising Bureau and PricewaterhouseCoopers (IAB-PwC), followed by a new record of $7.25 billion in Q4, according to eMarketer projections.

“A spending peak in Q4 is likely, primarily because Q4 has been the biggest quarter for US online ad spending every year but one since 1999,” said David Hallerman, eMarketer principal analyst and author of the new report, “US Ad Spending: Online Outshines Other Media.”

Such spending will bring double-digit growth to online advertising for five consecutive years. The internet is the only major ad medium that will experience annual spending increases so high.

“With multiple ways to go online and with more activities once they get there, people spend more time online,” said Hallerman. “Simply put, marketers increasingly know that to reach their target audience, they need to advertise more online.”

Online advertising is recovering more rapidly than the overall economy, as evidenced by online’s gain in share of GDP. Internet ad spending’s contribution to the GDP increased by 10% or more every quarter from Q3 2003 through Q1 2008. Then came the recession, and both online ad spending and the national GDP declined. However, in Q3 2010, online ad spending’s share of the GDP rose by 11.66% year over year.

By contrast, total media ad spending is less robust. Ad dollars toward all major media will increase by only small amounts from 2010 through 2014, with an average annual growth rate of 2.9%.

Source:  eMarketer

Snuggie, the much-mocked but also much-purchased blanket with sleeves, will spend an estimated $12 million on holiday advertising this year.

The brand spent $34.8 million in advertising throughout 2009, according to Kantar Media – and the marketing is apparently paying off: by the end of 2010, Snuggie will have sold 25 million units, reports The New York Times.

In 2008, when Snuggie was first launched, it sold about four million units. But instead of dying out after its initial launch, as many popular as-seen-on-TV items do, the blanket only picked up steam. With its campy infomercial ads that were the basis of jokes by Jay Leno and other TV personalities, the product went viral online. Now there are 15 styles of Snuggie, and rather than being sold exclusively through an 800 number, about 95% of Snuggies are now sold in brick-and-mortar stores.

A key to the success of the brand was that the company did not get touchy when it became widely ridiculed, says Thomas Haire, editor of trade publication Response Magazine. “They were able to laugh at themselves, and I think the American consumer sensed they were in on the joke, too.”

As-seen-on-TV items, touted in sometimes oddly compelling ads, can be popular products – but just 12% of consumers are willing to purchase items from TV, according to Samir Kulkarni, owner of Showcase, the world’s largest chain of as-seen-on-TV products. Showcase stores can be found in 61 major shopping malls across Canada, and plans to grow to 100 outlets in the next two years, writes CBS News. “Through TV alone, the advertisers cannot capture the entire market,” Kulkarni says.

Last December, Showcase sold one Snuggie every 13 seconds, and people were lining up outside the stores to purchase the quirky blanket. The retailer does about 25% of its annual sales in the month of December.

Source:  mediabuyerplanner.com

DVR Penetration Means Time-Shifted Viewing Is Up

Television time-shifted viewing is growing this season — for almost all shows.

NBC’s “The Office” is the most time-shifted program; in terms of its overall percentage, it grabbed 38.8% more viewers — up to seven days of time-shifting. Overall, NBC comedy was also first in 2009, with 37.5% compared to 29.0% in 2008.

In terms of actual time-shifted viewers, ABC’s “Modern Family” had the highest number with 5.465 million; ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy” was next at 5.067 million. Both shows topped last year’s number for ABC’s “House,” at 5.038 million.

Among first-year shows, NBC’s “The Event” was best in time-shifting — in terms of percentage — 34% or 3.083 million viewers. CBS’ “Hawaii 5-0” had the most time-shifted viewers overall for a new show — 3.976 million — accounting for 27.1% of its total seven days audience.

One of the biggest upward movers was ABC’s “Modern Family,” which doubled its time-shifted viewership to 5.465 million in 2010, from 2.613 million in 2009. Fox’s “Glee” also climbed high — to 4.8 million from 2.969 million. And CBS’ “How I Met Your Mother” doubled its time-shifted viewers over the last two years.

What Do We Know About DVR Homes?

•          DVR homes tend to be younger; more upscale BUT more than 38% of DVR users are over age 45

•          Very highly concentrated in digital homes

•          DVR ownership stands at 38% of all US TV Households

•          More Co-Viewing occurs in playback than in live

•          When DVR playback is included, DVR households watch more primetime programming than non-DVR households

•          DVR playback peaks at 9pm and 10pm

•          The majority (71%) of DVR homes have only one unit, a quarter (24%) of DVR homes have two, and 5% have three or more

•          DVR penetration by Race/Ethnicity – (40.3% White, 35.4% Asian, 30.3% African-American, 29.8% Hispanic)

•          Top ranked time-shifted genre is Science Fiction followed by Sitcoms and General Drama