Adver-Kiosk

Last week, my wife Lauren and I spent X-mas in my lovely home town, Mexico City. One day we were driving my mother's car, and we noticed an enormous outdoor ad in one of the streets . It belonged to Cinemex, one of the two most important movie theater companies in Mexico. Since 1992, Cinemex has opened more than 40 movie complexes around the country. The purpose of the ad was to promote Cinemex's new gift certificate. The campaign's title is "Esta Navidad regala la magia del cine" (This Christmas give someone the magic of the movies). Five minutes after looking at the ad, we heard another Cinemex spot on the radio about the same promotion. Lauren thought it would be a great idea to give movie gift cards to my brothers as a X-mas present. A couple of hours later we went to our nearest Cinemex to buy the gift certificates. When we arrived, we realized that the theater was decorated with several promotional materials regarding the gift certificate campaign. We went...

This posting is the first part of two stories about what I think are examples of poor marketing execution. Today, companies spend millions of dollars in new ways not only to creatively engage consumers, but also in establishing a long term relationship with them. Despite all their efforts, some still fall short in ensuring their marketing efforts are executed to perfection. If these efforts happen to fail in the long run, the entire marketing department is there to be blamed. Sometimes simple mistakes in executing the final stages of a program can cost the entire failure of the marketing program. Often times, the planning, research, and strategy stages of a marketing plan are the first ones to be scrutinized for not "getting in right" from the beginning, but executing correctly a plan is as important, if not more than the stages of its conception because that is what consumers ultimately will experience at the point of sell or service. Two weeks ago, I went to the Nissan deal...

About a year ago the CMO from my former agency sent me the following seven tips... I find them incredibly useful on a daily basis. The seven tips come from Paul Williams, a professional problem solver. Use a couple, use them all... One thing is for sure, they will make you a better and more marketable brand. Enjoy the free advice. Keep an Idea Journal - Always have something with you to write down thoughts and ideas. Add Knowledge - When given an assignment, do more than is expected. Add more. Arrive With A Solution - Finding something broken can position you as part of the problem. Arriving with suggested fixes makes you part of the solution. Jerks Are Everywhere, Learn from Them - You can learn in two ways (1) learn how to deal with the jerks, and (2) learn how NOT to treat others. Avoid Jargon - Jargon is the low-hanging fruit of the bizworld. Consider it a best practice to use real words and avoid jargon. Expand Your Field of Knowledge - The more you learn and experience, the...

Embedded Video Billy Mays is the most famous infomercial spokesperson today. In fact, he is considered the “king” of infomercials and he will be getting his own reality show soon. Billy is known for selling several products on TV. (Most of them useless) He even sells products in Spanish. (Well… is not really his voice either) Whether we find overall infomercials annoying, or think that Billy is just a cheap salesman, one thing is true. The companies that have been selling all these products for years are making a profit! Somehow Billy and his buddies have managed to keep themselves running on air because there is someone out there buying all these products. I think, we all, at some point have fallen for a product that is advertised on an infomercial. Yes, I am one of those people too. I know it’s sad. Before, infomercials were only shown on TV after midnight, now you can see them anytime of the day and in numerous occasions. No wonder, why more and more people despise advertising today...

Picture this... Tuesday 11:30pm at Wal-Mart and you are heading to the cashier to pay for your hypoallergenic laundry detergent. Given the time of the day, you only have a certain amount of lanes to pay. You look at your basket and see that you only have 8 items, so you decide to go the "express 20 items or less lane." Now that you have pictured what was going on, let me tell you what happened.... I approached the line and there were only three people in front of me so I thought "awesome, I will be out of here really soon." Needless to say, I was there for much more than the five minutes I was expecting. By this point you are probably wondering, what does that title have to do with all this?? Well the lady that was in front of me, which was in her early 60s was the one that was holding the line. She was in an electronic wheelchair and had a about 5 items as well. Her intro line to the cashier was "I don't know if I have enough money, but.. I guess we will f...

There area many types of kiosks. A kiosk can be a booth where vendors sell inexpensive consumables (i.e. cigarettes, chips, magazines, newspapers, ice cream, etc.) Kiosks can also operate as a booth that provides free information to pedestrians. Kiosks can be electronic or hand-operated. But this kiosk, the Adver-Kiosk is different; it is meant to be a source of information, entertainment, meeting point, chat and/or consumerism. When you picture Adver-Kiosk picture that meeting place in an office, a university, a hospital (maybe not a hospital) or a coffee place. Think about the conversations that happen around the coffee maker, the water cooler, or after dinner. That is what Adver-Kiosk is all about. Have you heard of an advertising kiosk before? Think about it…. Think about it… We thought so… We decided to launch a blog combining all the things you expect to get from a kiosk with our passion for advertising. We have assigned this little spot in the web to share our opinions, funny st...