How People Sense Media

The use—and limitations—of eyeballs and ears

Erwin Ephron

The following ray of sunlight is from a copy- testing company (name delicately withheld): "There is an open battle for the eyes and ears of consumers... and a silent battle for their hearts and minds."

I think they got it right the first time. Checking eyes and ears can make our media dollars smarter. Hearts and minds I leave to Beth Israel.

Clark Gable had big ears when small ones would have done. He learned his movie roles by listening while he slept. The often overlooked point is that eyes can close, but ears cannot. Which brings us to the subject: our different media senses—how they work and how well we measure them.

The Media Senses

Media exposure is defined by our senses, not by research. The key media senses are seeing (TV, print, Internet, out-of-home) and hearing (radio, TV, Internet). Print also has an underrated touch dimension, which allows us to skim the pages.

When the Advertising Research Foundation was a frisky five years younger, it constructed a model for measuring media. The critical behavior for TV audience is eyes on the screen. This is worth some thought.

Seeing is a voluntary or conscious sense. We turn or point the head to see things (some frogs don't have to). And we close our eyes not to see things and to sleep (some fish can't do that either).

Hearing is involuntary in that we may not be listening, but we cannot shut our ears.

A Peeping TV

The words "viewing," "seeing" and "watching" all have slightly different shadings, but that's smoke. When the words are used in TV research, they should mean seeing, or eyes are on the screen.

The people meter is coy. It claims to report watching, but it doesn't measure seeing, although the technology is available. The short explanation is people think having a peeping TV in the bedroom taking pictures is an invasion of privacy.

To report TV exposure, the people meter asks respondents to push a button when they start and stop watching TV. Watching is a vague term. They don't push the button when they turn their head, or close their eyes or multitask or leave the room briefly. In those cases they are continuously recorded as watching, even though they do not see the screen.

This minor malfeasance—widespread during commercial breaks—significantly inflates commercial minute audience. It makes advertisers pay for viewers who do not see the screen.

Radio's Value Is Hearing

Just as an ideal TV currency measures seeing, an ideal radio currency measures hearing. The difference, is hearing is involuntary (or unconscious).

A noisy neighbor is annoying because we cannot close our ears. When sound is present, we may not focus on it, but we are aware of it. All of us can hear without listening.

The radio portable people meter is a passive system that measures hearing. When respondents carry a PPM, they hear any carrier signal the PPM records since the PPM registers a radio exposure only when it is audible to the human ear.

That is the key sensory and measurement difference between TV and radio. Even when listeners are not listening, they still hear radio. But when viewers are not viewing, they do not see television. Why is this important?

The Basement of the Brain

Brand awareness is the hard currency of advertising, but a second kind of awareness has bubbled up from the basement of the brain. It's the kind that Gable used when he learned his lines while sleeping.

Neuroscience shows the brain processes things unconsciously as well as consciously. Advertisers see value in this unconscious, or "low-involvement" processing of advertising. They find it helps consumers remember brands and can influence their brand decisions.

Hearing, as distinct from listening, is a good example of low-involvement processing.

The Surround of Sound

What does this mean to radio advertisers? In addition to conscious awareness (listening), radio is the poster child for low-involvement awareness (hearing). This combination gives radio the most complete attentiveness package of any medium.

Listeners when not listening still hear radio. But when viewers don't see television, viewers don't see television.

Is that why we call both audience?



Erwin Ephron is a partner of Ephron, Papazian & Ephron, a leading consultancy to advertisers and the media industry. He can be reached at ephronny@aol.com or at ephrononmedia.com.

9/11. Six Years... Pause and Remember

Welcoming Jeanne Back to BAM

It is my pleasure to welcome Jeanne Rolston-Csejka to BAM as our Senior Art Director.

This is a homecoming for Jeanne. She originally joined BAM as a graphic designer in 2002. Her outstanding design ability allowed her to advance into the role of Art Director. Now, after spending some time working on national brands at a large agency, she's back and better than ever!

This is an exciting time here at BAM. We're getting settled in our new office here in Bridgeport, we're fortunate enough to be working with some terrific new clients, and now Jeanne is here to be a partner in our growth and success.

Sarah's Destination: Dublin

Sarah Churchill has been accepted into a graduate art program at the University of Dublin, and will be moving to Ireland in a few weeks. This is an amazing opportunity for her, and I congratulate Sarah on her acceptance into this internationally renowned program.

Sarah came to Bob Abbate Marketing as an advertising assistant in 2004, and quickly advanced to the position of Graphic Designer. She was promoted to Art Director last year, and has been instrumental in the creation of many of our most successful campaigns.

Sarah's last day at BAM is this Friday. I wish Sarah much success and happiness as she follows her dream.

You can send your best wishes to her at Sarah@BobAbbateMarketing.com

I'll miss you Sarah.

Trendy Block Takes Shape in Bridgeport

BA: BAM has a new home! As of July 1st we're ensconced in our new digs in downtown Bridgeport. Some say we're crazy, we say we're right where we want to be. We love this city, the vibe, the beauty, the energy. Here's an article from The Connecticut Post about our building.

Trendy block takes shape in Bridgeport
PAM DAWKINS pdawkins@ctpost.com
Connecticut Post Online
Article Last Updated:07/07/2007 12:23:40 AM EDT
BRIDGEPORT — The Bijou Theater ballroom is no longer a welcoming place for the swoops, twirls and dips of formal dancing, but its new occupants consider it a perfect place to design buildings.
"It's all about the pickup conversations," not the planned meetings said Paul Antinozzi — whose father, Daniel, started architectural firm Antinozzi Associates 51 years ago — when discussing good design practices.
To that end, the firm's $700,000 investment in the conversion of the two-story, 11,700-square-foot space on the theater's second and third floors included few walls taller than 42 inches. What was once the dance floor houses open workspace delineated by waist-high walls, over which designers and other employees can talk, instead of the barriers of cubicle walls. Even the few offices at the front of the building, overlooking Fairfield Avenue, will have glass walls facing into the space; a conference room at the back of the room will also have an interior glass wall.
The firm's 30 employees have moved from the Stratford office, but some construction work is still going on.
The question, Antinozzi said Tuesday, was whether to go for a "funky industrial" look, renovating the 99-year-old ballroom, which hadn't been occupied since 1950, into a completely white space. Instead they compromised, using warm colors Antinozzi said creates a friendly work environment and round rather than square forms to turn the exposed ductwork into a design feature. They kept most of the original wood floors in the main office area and three grand chandeliers with amber hanging lights, which descend from the exposed steel trusses of the 36-foot ceiling.
The third-floor balcony once offered stadium-style seating, ascending from a mid-thigh-high, cast-iron balustrade to the wall. The balcony is suspended by rods attached to beams in the ceiling and its base, said George Perham, an Antinozzi principal and vice president.
Antinozzi Associates, which had funding help from a city block grant loan, brought that floor up about 2 feet to a uniform height, and added a waist-high metal rail with thin wires that doesn't block the view from either above or below. They colored the balustrade — now another design feature — amber, to match the chandelier lights.
According to Perham, the air conditioning system adds a bit of white noise and the volume of the space helps keep the noise level down overall. They've even built a "white room," so when the company's interior designers need to pick a color they're not influenced by undertones in paint or carpet.
This type of detail is a product of the nearly four years the move has been in the works.
Developer Philip Kuchma, whose Kuchma Corp. owns the site, called Antinozzi about taking the space when he first began the Bijou Theater project. Plans call for a movie theater and in June Kuchma received planning and zoning approval for a $25 million, five-story residential and retail building for the corner of Fairfield Avenue and Lafayette Circle. This building — designed by Antinozzi Associates — will be next to the theater building's second restaurant, Two Boots Roadhouse, which Kuchma expects to open before August.
Antinozzi and Perham, whose firm has done a lot of work in Bridgeport, were already considering moving here. They looked at the old Boy's Club and CitiTrust buildings, Perham said, but "None of them were quite as artistic as this one."
"We're a little bit of pioneers," Antinozzi said. "That's what architecture's supposed to be."
"Bridgeport needs to show people that there are prominent companies and prominent organizations that want to be here," Kuchma said. "We have to push away that whole notion that Bridgeport attracts second best."
Antinozzi Associates aren't alone in the Bijou Theater building.
Cafe Roma has been up and running since December 2005 and, even though business slowed a bit during all the recent construction, "It was for a good cause," co-owner Massimo Tabacco said. Business, which includes new customers from Antinozzi Associates, is already improving, he added.
Tabacco said he and partner Pino Pace are also starting to see foot traffic along Fairfield Avenue, and customers are coming in at night just for dinner.
"We have faith in Phil [Kuchma]. We think he's really the force that's dragging [this along]," Tabacco said. Kuchma is waiting on one last lease signature before declaring the Bijou Theater project full. That lease is with a New York-based filmmaker, but Kuchma said last week he couldn't offer any more details until the deal is done.
This filmmaker is in addition to Larry Locke Productions, whose principal is filming a documentary about Bridgeport Mayor John M. Fabrizi; CardinalPointe Film Funding, another New York company that is opening a Bridgeport office; BAM, which stands for Bob Abbate Marketing; Two Boots Roadhouse; and online marketing company Big Ideas Productions LLC.
"We're trying to create a little bit of a film center here," said Kuchma, who added he deliberately went after other tenants with a creative bent.
"People who by being in a space help to bring a space to life."
"We're just in the process of moving right now," Big Ideas founder Vincent Descoust said Friday. The 10-year-old company originated in the Bridgeport Innovation Center, but Descoust, who has three employees, said, "I needed to move in order to grow the company."
He's leased about 700 square feet on the fourth floor, at the back of the Bijou Theater, which meets his requirements for something "less conventional," that is still a good place to bring clients.
"There's a great potential in downtown Bridgeport," Descoust said, comparing it to the renaissance of South Norwalk.
Tabacco, too, sees comparisons to "SoNo," at least where it was 10 years ago. "It's not just a project anymore. It's starting to be reality."
Kuchma isn't the only person to see potential in this block of Fairfield Avenue.
For seven years, Joseph Sangut's JS General Contracting LLC has worked on the four buildings Lafayette Square Associates owns in that area — 300, 350 and 360 Fairfield Ave. (including the parking garage) and 1 Lafayette Circle.
Now, Sangut hopes to open Lafayette Coffee Cafe & Gallery in the ground floor of the parking garage across from the theater in five to six weeks.
"Tenants love him. People love him," his drive and desire for perfection, said Christopher Werba, property manager of the four buildings, when asked why the owners encouraged Sangut to open a coffee shop.
The original idea goes back about seven years, to when Joesph's Steakhouse came into a spot on Fairfield Avenue that had included a deli. Werba said the owners of Lafayette Square Associates — Sheldon Goldstein and Edward Silverman — thought the parking garage and existing buildings would create enough business to make a coffee shop with a deli a success.
As for the new development at the Bijou Theater, Werba said, "That's just the cream" on top.
Sangut, who admits to tearing down the walls in the nearly 3,000-square-foot space three times before finding a configuration he likes, plans to sell coffee, high-end pastries, hot and cold sandwiches and beer and wine. In addition to a salad bar, he's building a private room just for meetings and he'll be able to roll out the windows looking out onto Fairfield Avenue, to create an open dining space.
Sangut said he hasn't yet decided on the interior decor, but isn't worried about locking in a palette.
"Whatever it takes — paint it once, twice or five times."

Conventional ads get conventional results. Are you sure that's what you want?

Roy Williams offers his opinion on why most ads are duds:

I’ve said many times, “Most ads aren’t written to persuade, they’re written not to offend.”

This goes back to chapter one, “Nine Secret Words” in my first book, The Wizard of Ads. Do you remember the nine secret words? “The Risk of Insult is the Price of Clarity.”

Clarity. Ah, there we have it.

Rare is the ad that makes its point clearly.

The customers who cost you money are the ones you never see; the ones who don’t come in because your ads never got their attention.

I was writing an ad this week and decided to insert a word flag. I chose a phrase of declarative rebuttal; “And to that, we say, ‘Piffle and Pooh.’”

Obviously, ‘Piffle and Pooh’ is just a whimsical way of saying “Poppycock.”

My client was worried that people might be offended, so he asked me to change it to something else. I hung up the phone and yelled at the walls. If you’re curious what I said, just walk into my office. I’m pretty sure it’s still echoing in there.

Would you like to know the 4 Biggest Mistakes made by advertisers?

Mistake 1: Demanding “Polished and Professional” Ads
If you insist that your ads “sound right,” you force them to be predictable.
Predictable ads do not surprise Broca’s Area of the brain. They do not open the door to conscious awareness. They fail to gain the attention of your prospective customer. This is bad.

Mistake 2: Informing without Persuading
Study journalism and you’ll create ads that present information without:
(A.) substantiating their claims,
“Lowest prices guaranteed!” (Or what, you apologize?)
(B.) explaining the benefit to the customer.
“We use the Synchro-static method!” (Which means…?)
“It’s Truck Month at Ramsey Ford!” (Come to the party, bring my truck?)

Mistake 3: Entertaining without Persuading
Study creative writing and you’ll draft ads that deliver entertainment without:
(A.) delivering a clear message.
“Yo Quiero Taco Bell” (Dogs like our food, you will, too?)
(B.) causing the customer to imagine themselves taking the desired action.
“Yo Quiero Taco Bell” (I should buy a taco for my Chihuahua?)

The best ads cause customers to see themselves taking the action you desire. These ads deliver:
INVOLVEMENT: Watch a dancing silhouette ad for the iPod and mirror neurons in your brain will cause part of you to dance, as well. This is good advertising.
CLARITY: The white earphone cords leading into the ears of the dancing silhouette make it clear that the white iPod is a personal music machine.

Mistake 4: Decorating without Persuading
Graphic artists will often create a visual style and call it “branding.” This is fine if your product is fashion, a fragrance, an attitude or a lifestyle, but God help you if you sell a service or a product that’s meant to perform.

“Do you like the ad?” asks the graphic artist.

“Yes, it’s perfect,” replies the client, “the colors create the right mood and the images feel exactly right. I think it represents us well.”

Sorry, but your banker disagrees.

Hey, I’ve got an idea; why don’t you and Artsy go home and redecorate the living room at your house? Me? I’ll stay here and ruffle some feathers and sell some stuff. I hope you don’t mind.

But you probably will. Because you worry needlessly when people don't like your ads.

Ninety-eight point nine percent of all the customers who hate your ads will still come to your store and buy from you when they need what you sell. These customers don’t cost you money; they just complain to the cashier as they’re handing over their cash.

Do you believe the public has to like an ad for the ad to be effective? You do?

To that I say “Piffle and Pooh.”

Jack Off! (or "CBS Doesn't Know Jack", "Jack Shits", etc...)

CBS-FM is back! Today at 1:01PM, CBS Radio dumped its struggling Jack format and returned 101.1FM to its original format - Oldies! Here's an article from the NY Post:

'JACK' SHUT: WCBS-FM IS DUE BACK

By ADAM BUCKMAN

July 7, 2007 -- Hit the road, Jack!

CBS Radio will boot Jack-FM and bring back WCBS/101.1FM, the beloved oldies station that "Jack" replaced two years ago, sources said yesterday. The change could happen as early as Monday.

Millions of New Yorkers were heartbroken in June 2005 when CBS abruptly dropped CBS-FM and its lineup of legendary disc jockeys - including Bruce "Cousin Brucie" Morrow, Harry "The Morning Mayor" Harrison, and afternoon jock Bob Shannon - after 33 years as New York's oldies station.

The company replaced the station's music format with a new format known as "Jack," with no live disc jockeys or local flavor.

The news of a possible switch was first reported yesterday in the Radio Business Report, a trade publication, and then corroborated by several sources who requested anonymity.

It could not be determined how many, if any, of the station's original jocks would return. CBS officials would not confirm the format switch.

Cousin Brucie - now hosting an oldies show on Sirius Satellite Radio - was cagey when reached by phone and asked if he knew about a forthcoming switch.

"Should this happen," he said, "I would be very happy for the people of New York because it means that they won themselves a battle."

RAEL: radio ads have emotional impact equal to TV ads

According to new research based on advanced physiological testing, radio ads have emotional impact on consumers that is equal to that of television ads. The Radio Ad Lab released the new study, Engagement, Emotions, and the Power of Radio, at the Interep Mid-Year Radio Symposium today in NYC. The study was designed to assess how well Radio ads generate emotional responses and engage with consumers, compared to television ads. The study used methods of measuring emotional responses that don't require verbal responses, but work at a deeper, pre-cognitive level: CERA (Continuous Emotional Response Analysis).

Two Great Local Newspaper Groups Are Now One

BAM has terrific relationships with our friends at both Hersam-Acorn Newspapers and Hometown Publications. I'm thrilled that they're joining forces. Here's yesterday's press release:

Jun 19, 2007
Hersam Acorn Newspapers to acquire 11 newspapers, printing plants
Hersam Acorn Newspapers LLC announced today that it has signed a purchase agreement to acquire the New England publishing and printing assets of Journal Communications of Milwaukee, Wisc.

Hersam Acorn is the publisher of The Darien Times.

The acquisition consists of 11 community newspapers, five shoppers and two printing facilities (in Trumbull, Conn., and Bennington, Vt.). The Connecticut companies do business under the names Hometown Publications and Trumbull Printing.

“This acquisition gives Hersam Acorn Newspapers a wonderful platform from which to grow. We will now operate 19 newspapers in Connecticut, one of the finest printing operations in the country, as well as shoppers in New York, Massachusetts and Vermont,” said Martin V. Hersam, chief operating officer of Hersam Acorn Newspapers.

“Journal Communications has built impressive newspaper and shopper groups here. We look forward to building these businesses,” he said. Journal Communications is on the New York Stock Exchange, listed under JRN.

“Our Connecticut advertising and editorial reach now extends from Greenwich to New Haven with 180,000 readers every week,” said Thomas Nash, group publisher of Hersam Acorn Newspapers.

In 1908, the New Canaan Advertiser was founded by John E. Hersam, great-grandfather of Martin V. Hersam. In that same year, Karl S. Nash, Thomas Nash’s father, was born in Ridgefield. Nash founded Acorn Press in 1937. Hersam Acorn was formed in 1997 when Hersam Publishing of New Canaan and Acorn Press of Ridgefield merged.

Hersam Acorn is comprised of the Greenwich Post, The Darien Times, the New Canaan Advertiser, The Wilton Bulletin, The Ridgefield Press, The Redding Pilot, The Weston Forum and The Lewisboro (N.Y.) Ledger.

Trumbull Printing is a 58,000-square-foot printing facility that houses two Goss and two Tensor web press lines. Hersam Acorn is currently Trumbull’s largest customer.

“This is a fantastic printing facility and we’re looking forward to working with all the people who do such a great job for our newspapers now,” Hersam said.

Hometown Publications is comprised of the Easton Courier, Monroe Courier, Trumbull Times, Valley Gazette, Oxford Gazette, Stratford Star, Milford Mirror, Huntington Herald, Hamden Journal, Amity Observer, and Bridgeport News. Hometown also publishes two shoppers, Fairfield Today and Shelton Extra.

The acquisition also includes a publication in New York, the Country Shopper, based in Pound Ridge.

The shoppers in Vermont and Massachusetts are comprised of Tri State Pennysaver News, Vermont News Guide, Yankee Shopper and the Berkshire Penny Saver.

The deal is expected to close soon. Terms were not disclosed. DH Capital, LLC and CobbCorp, LLC served as Hersam Acorn’s exclusive financial advisers. Mark Thorsheim of New Canaan is a managing director of DH Capital.

The Media Is Not the Message

More from The Wizard...

"I'm in the furniture business. Which media should I use?"

"I'd like to target people who are afraid of the dentist. Can you recommend a good mailing list company?"

"My uncle uses television ads to attract new customers and they work really well for him. Television ads have made him rich. What's your opinion of TV?"

"No one in my town listens to the radio anymore. Everyone has satellite or an iPod."

"I tried advertising. It doesn't work for my kind of business."

People say things like this and expect me to have an intelligent response. What usually happens is that I stand there, dull-eyed, with my mouth hanging open. These are not my favorite moments.

When my brain finally recovers and I tell them the truth they need to hear, they act as though I've sidestepped their question.

Here's the truth they needed to hear. Maybe you need to hear it, too:

Relevance is what determines whether an ad works or not.
Every media fails when it delivers a message no one cares about.

Have you ever run an ad that failed?
Let's pull aside the curtain and look backstage to see what really happened:

1. The ad was so predictable that few people even noticed it.
SOLUTION: Get a new ad writer or remove the handcuffs from the one you've got.

2. Prospective customers noticed the ad, received the message and understood it perfectly. They just didn't care.
SOLUTION: Dump the irrelevant subject matter. Discover what people actually care about and talk about that instead.

3. The ad's message would have been relevant, but it was unclear.
SOLUTION: Remind your writer that creativity often gets in the way of clarity. Remind your layout artist that the prettiest ad is rarely the most effective. You're running a business, not a magazine. Make sure the dynamic duo understands that their continued employment depends on creating ads that sell the product.

4. You committed to an ad campaign that was shorter than your product selling cycle. If people buy your product once a week, don't expect your ads to return a profit during the first week. If people buy once a month, don't expect to break even on your advertising during the first 30 days. If your product selling cycle is longer than 2 years, you can expect to lose money on your ads – even if they're good – the first 4 to 6 months. You'll start pulling ahead during the second six months. Your real growth won't happen until you begin reaching that same group of people for a second year.
SOLUTION: Commit to an ad campaign commensurate with your product selling cycle.

5. The listener failed to be engaged because the ad was written from a cultural perspective other than the customer's own. (This is why Anglo-conceived Hispanic campaigns usually fail. Translating language is easy. Transferring cultural perspective is nearly impossible.)
SOLUTION: Hire a different ad writer to create the second campaign. Make sure the writer is from the cultural background he or she is trying to reach.

Bottom Lines:
Ads that fail in one media would usually have failed in any other.
The media is not the message.
The message is the message.
And the message is what matters most.

To deliver a pointless message powerfully is the definition of hype.

To deliver a powerful message pointlessly is the result of weak creative.

To deliver a powerful message powerfully is the first step in making a fortune.

Now go do it. And good luck.

New Report Turns Traditional Auto Advertising Assumptions Upside Down

A new report by the Polk Center for Automotive Studies shows that over 35% of first time vehicle buyers consider the Internet their most valuable information tool. In fact the Internet was relied on more than television, radio, magazines, and newspapers combined. How is your website looking?

SOUTHFIELD, Mich. (Jan. 31, 2006) – Traditional mass media has been rendered nearly obsolete among first-time vehicle buyers, according to a study released today by the Polk Center for Automotive Studies. Out of considered mass media outlets, thirty-five percent of first-time vehicle buyers consider the Internet to be their most important informational tool, compared to 8.2 percent for television, 4.4 percent for magazines, 3.6 percent for newspapers and 1.1 percent for radio.

The study also found first-time buyers are independent in their decision-making and rarely are compelled to visit the dealership where their parents last purchased a vehicle. Sixty-five percent of respondents said they made the purchase without any influence from family and friends and just seven percent felt buying from the same dealership as their parents was of high importance to them.

View the report here: http://usa.polk.com/News/LatestNews/2006_0131_pcas_3rdstudy.htm

A Hurt Unhealed

Rick Green, Hartford Courant

September 12 2006

I began with Richard M. Keane and finished with Paul Curioli, following 152 names carved in stone atop a grassy altar overlooking Long Island Sound.

Nearby, a man sat quietly sobbing on a granite bench. A sister placed a framed picture of her brother between two small American flags. A brother-in-law gazed off to the south, toward Manhattan, and smoked a cigar in honor of a lost loved one.

Five years to the moment after the first plane hit, there are just a handful of us out this Monday morning at Connecticut's 9/11 memorial at Sherwood Island state park in Westport.

Visitors sit or stand silently, as if to respect a sign that reminds them that this is "an intimate place in a public setting."

The names of the dead - those who lived in Connecticut and others with family ties here - are engraved on rows of small stone tiles that line the memorial. There were no ceremonies Monday, only the music of the wind and waves from the Sound.

"I'll never work on Sept. 11," said the man on the bench, a Manhattan lawyer who was in the city that morning in 2001. "I didn't know anyone that died. Still, it hits home with me."

A small votive candle burned by the name of Joseph A. Lenihan, who grew up in West Hartford and worked in the south tower.

"I decided to come here today because it is more private," Lenihan's brother-in-law, David Smith, of West Hartford, said. He wore a red "United We Stand" cap and told me about the sad years since Sept. 11.

This place, he said, "is a very peaceful retreat."

I walked on. There was a bouquet with a pink ribbon by the name of Margaret Connor and a more formal flower arrangement by Jeffrey D. Bittner's stone. Around Stephen P. Cherry's name, pebbles made the shape of a heart.

Someone placed a Curious George trading card next to James Matthew Patrick. Alongside Eamon McEneaney, a small button asked all to "Celebrate Eamon." A colorful collection of sea glass decorated Scott O'Brien's name.

A woman with a stroller gently left a single red rose. All around there were fading yellow roses - left at an official ceremony last week - and growing piles of fresh flowers, sometimes from people who stayed only briefly.

I came to a framed picture of a smiling Michael John Simon, flanked by two small flags.

"It's my brother," said Christine Coats, of Greenwich. She comes with her two children each anniversary, and starting at 8:46, they just sit.

"We did the big things [at ground zero] but this is private and it's quiet," Coats told me. "You don't have to say anything. People are feeling the same thing."

Bob Abbate sat silently for an hour before he got up to leave.

"For weeks I'm wondering what I'd do today," said Abbate, of Trumbull. "I just couldn't see marking the anniversary sitting at my desk."

Dwight Nelson told me he comes with his wife and two young daughters to "set up a routine" that honors 9/11.

There was one more, an older woman I can't get out of my mind because I couldn't bring myself to approach her. Her grief and pain seemed too urgent to interrupt in this private, public place.

She straightened a tiny Israeli flag flying over Joel Miller's stone. She kissed her fingers, rubbed the engraved words and placed a small rock beside Miller's name.

Like images of jet planes crashing into the towers, it is painful to watch. She soon walked away, her arms clutching her sides, as if it all still hurt too much to do anything more.

Rick Green's column appears on Tuesdays and Fridays. He can be reached at rgreen@courant.com
Copyright 2006, Hartford Courant

http://www.courant.com/news/local/columnists/hc-rgreen0912.art.artsep12,0,81937.column?coll=hc-utility-home

Connecticut's September 11th Memorial

I spent part of the morning of September 11, 2006 at Connecticut's beautiful September 11th memorial. The memorial is on the shore of Long Island Sound at Sherwood Island State Park in Westport. I just couldn't think of observing the 5th anniversary of that horrible day while sitting behind my desk.

Avoid Ad-Speak at All Costs!

Thanks to Roy Williams for this one...

Avoiding Ad-Speak

Contrary to popular belief, Americans don't hate advertising.

We just hate ads that sound like ads.

Do your ads sound like ads? Are you guilty of Ad-speak?

Ad-speak is filled with polished words and filtered phrases that deliver no information and have no relevance. Ambiguous claims give Ad-speak a hollow sound.

Do your ads mention your superior service, your friendly staff, or name the number of years you've been in business?

Let me know how that works out for you.

A meaningless statement remains meaningless no matter how often it's heard. Repetition has become a blunt instrument. Top of Mind Awareness isn't enough anymore. Today's customer expects meaningful information and lots of details.

Have you heard of this new thing called the internet? It's giving people new expectations. It's allowing them to become their own expert. Knowledge lies anxious at their fingertips. Gloss over the truth in your advertising and you'll quickly be dismissed as a poser.

I apologize if that last paragraph seemed hateful or rude, but the truth is I'm exhausted, bone-weary from wrestling with advertisers who have no real message and want to compensate for it by "targeting the right customer."

Writing good ads is easy when you have something to say. Do you have something to say? Something we don't already know? Something that matters?

We're only 8 months into it, but 2006 has already marked itself as a pivotal year, a year we'll never forget. With ever-increasing frequency, we're seeing ad campaigns stumble and fail because they carry no real news to the customer.

But advertisers whose ads brim with things that matter are enjoying record growth.

Time is currency. Information is power.

Don't ask the public to give you their time and and then give them nothing in return. Pay them for their time by giving them relevant information in your ads.

The future of your business depends on it.

As we approach the 5th anniversary...

Bob and Bob Sr. Featured in Article in Connecticut Post

Father knows best
Readers share their dad's word of wisdom
AMANDA CUDA acuda@ctpost.com
June 18, 2006 (Father's Day)

Do good. It's a simple phrase, consisting of only two words. On the surface, it may seem like nothing more than just a gentle admonishment to approach life with the best you have to offer.

But to Bob Abbate, 51, of Trumbull, these words were heard so often on the lips of his dad that they became a kind of family motto. His father, also named Bob Abbate is 79 and lives in Baiting Hollow, N.Y.

Throughout the years, dad was constantly advising Abbate and his sister to "do good," whether talking about work, school, social situations or anything else. The younger Bob Abbate said the words of wisdom originate from his dad's own desire to excel at everything he did.

His dad worked making furniture and "when he would build something, he'd take three times as long as anybody else, because he's such a perfectionist," Abbate said. "His philosophy is 'If you're going to do something in life, be the best you can be.' "

Dad still offers this bit of wisdom, said his son, and the family still listens.

"It's taken on a life of its own, he's been saying it for so long," Abbate said.

The Coast Hits The Coast

Bye, bye oldies. at 10pm last night, less than a year after the demise of legendary New York oldies outlet WCBS-FM, Connecticut's Fairfield County lost one radio station and gained another. Cox pulled the plug on oldies Kool 96.7 and launched 96.7 The Coast.

With the slogan "Fairfield County's Greatest Hits", The Coast claims to be born of "micro-targeted research" that showed a programming hole in the Fairfield County marketplace. Cox claims that this research was conducted in the gold coast towns of Greenwich, Stamford, New Canaan, Darien, Norwalk, Westport, Weston and Wilton.

On my drive back to the office today, I heard Earth, Wind and Fire, The Bee Gees, Todd Rundgren, Otis Redding, Eric Clapton, Tommy James and the Shondells, and The Four Seasons. Clearly, The Coast didn't toss their oldies library into the dumpster, and is trying hard not to alienate their remaining Kool listeners while adding enough classic hits to win over listeners from WEBE-108, Lite-FM, Jack, and even some from Cox-cousin Star 99.9.

The Coast is starting off with lots of music, a minimun number of commercials, and no air personalities. We're told that an air staff will be added, but talk will be kept to a minimum.

By superserving Fairfield County's gold coast with "micro-targeted" music, and local news, weather, and traffic, 96.7 The Coast should garner a larger audience than it's predecessor did, and will offer the listening public with another easy to listen to choice.

Check out the live stream at http://www.967thecoast.com

Daily Newspapers Will Survive - Commentary

My daughter rushes home from school each day and races to the mailbox, hoping to find that the mailman (er, postal carrier) has delivered yet another acceptance letter from one of the 4 universities she is still waiting to be accepted to. She is a budding journalist, with dreams of some day assuming the role of Editor of a major magazine or newspaper. This commentary from UCONN's Daily Campus made me think about the student who penned it, wondering in the back of his/her mind if there will be any newspapers left to employ him upon graduation.

Daily Newspapers Will Survive - Commentary

Hartford: It really doesn't suck all that much

from AdWeek's Adfreak blog...

Since we’re on the topic of tourism slogans, let’s ponder this rallying cry for Hartford, Connecticut: “Come to Hartford. I swear, it’s fun.” A ringing endorsement bordering on the pathetic, the words were first uttered by one Lyndsay Stephenson in an article on Hartford’s supposed resurgence in a January New York Times piece. Now they grace a billboard along the southbound side of Rte. 91. While not the official city slogan (that would be the nowhere-to-go-but-up themed “Hartford. New England’s Rising Star”), “I swear, it’s fun” still has a peculiar appeal as one of the few statements made in tourism marketing that’s actually honest.

—Posted by Catharine P. Taylor

While My Guitar Gently Weeps

This has absolutely nothing to do with advertising or branding or business at all. I'm a huge Beatles fan, as well as an old hippie who still thinks Clapton is God. I just came across this old video, and just had to include it on my blog. George Harrison, Eric Clapton, Ringo Starr, Elton John, Phil Collins, Jeff Lynne, all on one stage. Talk about marketing synergy! Enjoy.

BAM Clients Rally to Help Victims of Hurricane Katrina

The coming weeks and months will show that Katrina's devastation is far greater than anyone can imagine. The financial, physical, and psychological damage that the Gulf area has and will continue to receive is far beyond the scope of anything this country has ever experienced. This is truly our country's greatest natural disaster, and it calls for our greatest individual response.

I don't want to single anyone out, that's not what this is about. This past week I've received calls from many BAM clients. The question is always the same. "What can we do to help?" One retailer is donating 10% of gross profits and matching donations. Another is holding a benefit with all admission fees collected going to hurricane relief.

I've always said that BAM clients are an incredible bunch. Thanks for confirming that.

If you're a BAM client and have not yet come up with a plan to help out the relief effort, please give me a call. If you're one of BAM's media partners, our clients are receptive to your ideas and are anxious to participate in your hurricane relief efforts. No matter who you are, please participate by donating whatever you can to The Red Cross or the relief agency of your choice.

The Day The Music Died

Anyone who grew up in New York will be saddened by this news. CBS-FM is no more. Cousin Brucie has been silenced. Here's more from The NY Daily News:

Oldies suddenly a thing of past in WCBS shift
BY RICHARD HUFF
DAILY NEWS TV EDITOR
Saturday, June 4th, 2005

Oldies radio is dead in New York City.

After more than three decades as the top oldies station in the country, WCBS-FM (101.1 FM) abruptly scrapped its format yesterday for a concept called Jack.

As Frank Sinatra's "Summer Wind" trailed off at 5 p.m., a voice intoned: "Why don't we play what we want? There's a whole world of songs out there."

The first song under the new format was the Beastie Boys' "Fight for Your Right." Soon after, CBS played Bruce Springsteen's "Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out" and James Brown's "I Got You (I Feel Good)."

The station had been home to some of the most famous names of New York radio, including Cousin Bruce Morrow, Harry Harrison, Dan Ingram and Ron Lundy, many of whom shifted from WABC-AM when it went from music to talk.

"I've expected something like this," Morrow said yesterday. "They have every right to try what they want to try. My audience won't be without me for long."

The move stunned longtime listeners.

"I came home and I turned the radio on and it was not there," said Pamela Hall, who lives in the Bronx. "I thought I was going to faint . . . I really am sick. Part of my family is gone."

"This is the largest, the biggest abandonment of a loyal market segment in the history of New York radio," said listener Howard Bailen, of Manhasset, L.I. "I tuned in and heard a song you'd never hear on CBS. It's the last thing New York needs."

But officials at Infinity Broadcasting, which owns the station, said the new format was right for New York. "We did a lot of market research and found a hole in the market that wasn't being served by any other station," said Chad Brown, CBS' vice president and general manager.

No personalities will be heard on the station at the start. Oldies fans will be left to satellite or Internet radio; www.wcbsfm.com still will offer oldies programming.

The Jack format blends hits from the past four decades, creating what the company claims is the "most expansive" playlist heard on radio.

UPDATE - July 12, 2007: see my blog entry above. Jack is off, CBS-FM is back!

BAM Creates Billboard to Promote Valley Lighting's House of Lights Contest

BAM Creates Billboard to Promote Valley Lighting's House of Lights Contest,
originally uploaded by bobabbate.

As the most visible media used to promote Valley Lighting & Home Décor's "Win A House Of Lights" contest, this billboard on Bridgeport's 25/8 Connector helped generate a significant increase in store traffic for the Ansonia Connecticut-based retailer. Thousands of entries have been received for the June 4th drawing. The lucky winner gets their choice of $5000 in lighting, furniture, and home décor for thier home.

Bob meets Jack Welch

Bob meets Jack Welch,
originally uploaded by bobabbate.

I was fortunate enough to be in the audience this afternoon to learn from the master, Jack Welch. Jack spoke about his best selling book "Winning" at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield. After his talk I had the opportunity to chat with him, and get my copy of his book signed.

Don't Miss Sarah's Gallery Opening

schurchill2,
originally uploaded by bobabbate.

All friends of BAM are invited to attend the opening of Sarah Churchill's studio and gallery. Please join Sarah for the unveiling of her latest works on Friday, May 13th at 6:30pm at the Star Pin Gallery, 273 Canal Street in Shelton, CT. You may also view the exhibit and visit the artists at the Star Pin Complex Open Studio Event on Saturday, May 14th and Sunday, May 15th from 12-5pm. See you there.

Farewell, Lori

Farewell, Lori,
originally uploaded by bobabbate.

It is with both joy and sadness that we bid farewell to our intern, Loretana Mallone. Lori is a student at Farifield University, and as this semester ends, so does Lori's internship at BAM. All of us at BAM will miss her smile. We appreciate all that Lori has done for us, and we wish her well.

A Timely Quote

I came across this quote this morning...

"The Internet radically redefines a person's psychological relationship to time and space. Attention is riveted on what is tangible, useful, instantly available; the stimulus for deeper thought and reflection may be lacking. Yet human beings have a vital need for time and inner quiet to ponder and examine life and its mysteries... Understanding and wisdom are the fruit of a contemplative eye upon the world, and do not come from a mere accumulation of facts, no matter how interesting." - Pope John Paul II, Sunday, May 12, 2002

Sarah Churchill New Account Coordinator at BAM

I’m please to announce that Sarah Churchill has been promoted to the position of Account Coordinator here at BAM. In this newly created position, Sarah will act as a conduit between our clients and the agency as well as between our suppliers (media, vendors, strategic partners) and the agency. Sarah’s main goal is to help assure a smooth and timely flow of projects.

Sarah joined BAM about a year ago as an art assistant. She is a creative and valuable part of the BAM team. I hope you will join me in congratulating Sarah in her new role. You can reach her at Sarah@BobAbbateMarketing.com.

Welcome to Bob's BAM Blog

Bam color burst FH1,
originally uploaded by bobabbate.

Welcome to my blog. I hope to use this blog to post news about BAM happenings, BAM people, BAM clients, and news from the media and advertising universe. Got some news that should be included? Just drop me a note at Bob@BobAbbateMarketing.com and I'll try to include in in my next posting. See you soon!