Arianna O'Dell

Advertising, debauchery, & sin. Recently, I started watching Mad Men, a show that encapsulates these three words perfectly. Not only is the show addictive for it’s scandalous plot, but I have never watched a show the incorporates the use of marketing, product placement, and bits of corporate jargon within a program so eloquently.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVBx9XvnJcA&fs=1&hl=en_US]

“Mad Men is set in the 1960s, initially at the fictional Sterling Cooper advertising agency on Madison Avenue in New York City, and later at the newly created firm of Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce. The focal point of the series is Don Draper (Jon Hamm), creative director at Sterling Cooper and a founding partner at Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce, as well as those in his life, both in and out of the office. As such, it regularly depicts the changing moods, social mores, and political correctness of 1960s America.”

Not only does the show incorporate a few of my favorite things (marketing and men in suits), but is set in the 1960′s – an era of much fascination to me. This year, I had the chance to visit the museum for Advertising, Packaging & Brands in London. I swooned over the retro packaging and spent many hours in the tiny museum. If you’re in London, this place is a little known secret! Mad Men, integrates many of the advertising campaigns of many of the products I had seen within the program – giving a little insight to what might have been going through the heads of advertisers during the 1960′s.

An example of the real life ads brought up during the program is this one (brought up in the first season):

The text reads as follows :

Brilliant – while this show doesn’t go in depth to the campaign, it starts a talking point about advertising and leaves it up to the viewer to look more into the campaign.

This show is definitely going into my queue! Thanks to @camilomoresala for constantly talking about it or I wouldn’t have tuned in! Every marketer should watch this show.

I’ll be breaking out the Scotch and cigarettes over the holidays to catch up to the current season!

One of the best parts of my days is when I see the ads on the tube change. Okay, that probably makes me sound like a freak but hey, I love my marketing. Over the past few days, I have seen Gumtree ads plastered everywhere. A few months ago, I had never heard of this business, nor have I ever see such brilliant marketing by an online company.
 
To start, let me back up just a little bit for those of you in the United States, who are not yet familiar with Gumtree. Gumtree is basically the United Kingdom’s version of Craigslist. Now think Craigslist with a sleek design, awesome advertising efforts, and an easy to use web interface.
 
While yes, I like the site and its functionality, I love the company more for their effective marketing efforts. Why are the efforts of Gumtree so effective?

Great Advertisements

Solving a problem – The ads depict a need a typical consumer may have. The ads then offer a solution. Example: Sofa wanted, sofa for sale” Problem and solution; all resolved within the context of an advertisement – Brilliant!
 
Contrasting colors - Orange and green. Both eye catching and bold, the ad is not overwhelming with a vast array of color to get lost in. For the past few days, I have slowly watched the eyes of others wander then fixate on the ads for an extended period of time.
 
Little text - On the tube and bus, no one wants to sit and read an essay plastered onto a poster. Gumtree’s ads are simple with just enough text to get the point across.
 
Eyecatching & Intrusive - The message on each ad depicts a different need. . While the ads may be intrusive to your daily routine – good advertising knows how to turn heads and capture attention.  

Unforgettable - The Gumtree ads are very memorable. My favorite game to play with my friends (okay they are probably annoyed by this) is me saying “tell me what company that ad was for, without looking back at the ad”. Very rarely can others remember the company name of the ad they just saw. Often times, they can remember what the ad was and the tag line, but forget the most important part – the company. The logo and text both allow the Gumtree ads to have a higher success rate than most others.

Building an Online Brand IRL

Just getting home a little bit ago, I saw that Gumtree had hosted an event in London from my Twitter feed.  The event definitely got people talking and built goodwill towards the company. When looking for a site to find a computer and a flat, I have been recommended to Gumtree by over 20 Londoners. The company has built a loyal following and has managed to spread its brand through word of mouth – Excellent!

It is a shame that more online companies do not seem to have their act together in this practice. I am extremely pleased to see an online company take their marketing efforts offline. To build a brand and sustainable company, web oriented companies definitely need to be building their brand both online and off. I would love to meet whoever works in their marketing department!