2009 | ART+science

Archive for 2009

DTC Print Ads and Sites: Connecting the Dots

December 23, 2009

You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t always make him drink. Especially when drinking may cause rash, headache, diarrhea, or an erection lasting more than 4 hours.

Of course I’m not talking about horses. I’m talking about the relationship between DTC print ads and their corresponding web sites.

Print advertising can be effective. But the web is the go-to-place for medical research. Few people see a print ad then waltz out to the doctor without going online. Most often the role of a print ad is to drive readers to a web site to learn more. The site’s job is to convert. Here we take a look at the synergy between the two.
(more…)

Tags: Direct Marketing, DTC, Marketing, PARTNERS+simons
Posted in Direct Marketing | No Comments »

What makes a good banner ad? Don’t ask me.

December 21, 2009

I have a confession: I like banner ads. It’s probably partly because I’m an ad creative, and I have to come up with the things on a fairly regular basis, so I like to see what else is out there, get inspired, steal other people’s ideas, etc.

But I also appreciate the media itself: a very small space to attempt to make a very big impact, with very few words and images. If a banner intrigues me from the get-go, chances are I’ll watch the entire animation or rotation of frames to find out what the product is, or how the “story” resolves. And while I might not necessarily click through, I’ll probably remember the name of the company or the product.
(more…)

Tags: banner ads, PARTNERS+simons
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

The “New Era” in Brand Value Communications for Financial Services Firms

December 17, 2009

Consumers and intermediaries are looking for greater transparency in the brands that they do business with. The “Madoff” effect combined with the whole CDO meltdown have affected the way in which they evaluate and trust brands. The traditional ways of communicating stability and security through size, years in the business, and assets under management are no longer enough. A recent Financial Times survey among intermediaries showed that the #1 factor in fund company selection is Trustworthy & Transparent, #2 Performance, and #3 Confidence in firm’s long term stability. I think that says it all. Public demand is challenging clients to communicate in a new way.

(more…)

Tags: Financial Services, Marketing, PARTNERS+simons
Posted in Financial Services | No Comments »

Marketing Medical Devices to Consumers with DTC Advertising

December 15, 2009

Marketing medical devices to consumers has increased over the past few years. Similar to what the pharmaceutical industry has done for over 10 years, the device industry now has a strong interest in educating consumers with DTC advertising. But, compared to the pharmaceutical industry that spends in the billions annually for DTC medical device marketers spend much less and have far fewer ads out there.

(more…)

Tags: Healthcare, Marketing, medical device, PARTNERS+simons
Posted in Healthcare | 1 Comment »

PARTNERS+simons 2009 Open House

December 14, 2009

Thank you to everyone that joined us at last week’s annual Open House party; it was great to kick off the holiday season with over 500 of our closest friends, colleagues and family members.

The Loomers put on a great show, and there were some serious Baggo and Beer Pong competitions happening in the back room.

Now it’s time to share the holiday love: check out the party pix on Facebook and Flickr, and while you’re at it, take a look at the new PARTNERS+simons website that launched last week.

Happy Holidays!

Tags: Stephanie Rogers
Posted in PARTNERS+simons: Behind the Scenes, Uncategorized | No Comments »

Media Integration for the Financial Services Marketer

December 2, 2009

In preparation for her upcoming visit to San Francisco for the JFAM Financial Marketing Summit, I sat down with Jennifer O’Connell, the Director of New Business for our Financial Services practice, to ponder the theme of this year’s summit, “2010: The New Financial Marketer.”

In particular, we talked about the need for media integration, which is the subject of the panel discussion in which Jennifer’s participating on Thursday afternoon.

(more…)

Tags: partners+simons "financial services marketing" "financial services media" "media integration" JFAM, Stephanie Rogers
Posted in Financial Services, Media | No Comments »

Supply Chain, Procurement, Outcomes

November 24, 2009

I read a couple of articles this past week that got me thinking.

Karlene Lukovitz wrote a provocative piece on MediaPost titled “Biggest Supply Chains Go Unaddressed.”

She points out that recent CMO Council research points out that most marketers who are trying to “realize greater efficiency and cost savings by tightening marketing supply chain control, integration and accountability” are often targeting the wrong links. 56% of marketing costs are related to operational issues like fulfillment, shipping, storage, printing, inventory management and the obsolescence of printed and promotional materials. In fact, much of the effort to reduce expenses are directed at the soft cost links in the chain — like marketing communications and agency services.

Clearly, we have to demonstrate a professional services value that is superior to the operational resources mentioned above. Shame on us if we don’t, or worse, can’t.

(more…)

Tags: business outcomes, development, Marketing, PARTNERS+simons, Strategy, Technology
Posted in Technology | No Comments »

Innovation, IT, Marketing Services, Professor B

November 23, 2009

I attended a fascinating workshop as part of The Boston Chamber of Commerce’s Executive Leadership Institute program last week. The event was held at MIT’s Sloan School and it was led by Erik Brynjolfsson, Schussel Professor of Management and the Director, Center for Digital Business. He spoke to themes in his recent piece “The New, Faster Face of Innovation” written with Michael Schrage and his new book Wired For Innovation written with Adam Sanders.
tom 1
(more…)

Tags: IT, Marketing, PARTNERS+simons, Technology
Posted in Technology | No Comments »

Saving for holiday cheer, one month at a time

November 18, 2009

Layaway plans. Christmas clubs. Just thinking about these outdated means of saving makes you feel like putting Elvis’ Blue Christmas on the turntable and gathering around the fondue pot.

But in today’s economic environment the old is new again. Like not overspending. Or at least saving.

(more…)

Tags: Financial Services
Posted in Financial Services | No Comments »

The lawyers win one

November 16, 2009

Over the past two weeks I’ve attended two industry-specific marketing workshops that dove deeply into the topics of social media and social networking. The first was sponsored by the Massachusetts Hospital Association and the other by A.M. Best Company. Though the healthcare and insurance sectors are distinctly different in almost every respect, both are governed by strict regulatory guidelines. The healthcare side of things has tightly drawn HIPAA privacy rules and the financial industry, Madoff and Galleon aside, runs within SEC parameters.

(more…)

Posted in Media | No Comments »