Field Notes Inside an Integrated Communications Agency

I went to lunch with Heidi the other day and we started talking about the new year and healthy resolutions that people make at the beginning of the year.

Working at an agency can sometimes be hard on your diet. We frequently get food treats as motivators and are always looking for ways to take a break and eat some sugar. In fact, that same day we called out Chief Creative Officer and asked him to stop by Whole Foods and buy a cake on his way back from a meeting. He is a super busy executive and he did it. We loved every bite.

Despite this demand for cake, we have turned over a healthier leaf at Capstrat. A few years ago we had chocolate every day of the week. Our health premiums went up, and now we only have it on Fridays. Last year, we made some even bigger changes. We introduced fitness clubs to help us stay active. We now have yoga at the office every Friday, a walking club, a running club and a biking club. We also evaluated our lunch menus and make a more concerted effort to bring in healthier lunches. We still have pizza. We still have cake. We just don't have it every day (or at least we try not to).

In cause marketing, we are frequently asked, "won't the stations run our commercial as a PSA? It's for a good cause." There is a Kaiser study
illustrating the challenges with getting meaningful airtime for a
non-paid public service announcement.

What the study does not address is the percentage of PSAs aired by
stations that are tied to station-sponsored causes. Examples of this are
the station-sponsored Coats for Kids drives, station telethons and
emergency causes like disaster relief. This cuts into availability for
the deluge of non-profit PSAs stations receive.

A colleague of mine who has over two decades of experience working with television station and consults with the Partnership for a Drug Free
America supports the study findings. He says that unless an organization can put some dollars against their PSAs, they are not very likely to see the light of day.

We encounter non-profits that want to produce PSAs with the hope of
getting free air time. We counsel them to invest their production
dollars in other outreach activities instead of wasting money on a spot
that won't be seen enough to make an impact with their target audience.

The one bright spot on the horizon for PSAs may be in social media where there are many targeting opportunities and considerably more ways to get a video message out there. Creative non-profits are finding ways to tap into these new channels to promote their cause and engage advocates.

It’s that time of year again. The chatter brews about the Super Bowl. Not the game—usually a snorefest—but the extraneous stuff that swirls around it. Ads, musical performances, drunken football legends, inappropriate comments…you get the idea. This year, as in recent years, I suspect our anticipation will be met with pretty much the same: nothing.

Think back to Super Bowl XXXVIII in 2004 and how Janet Jackson’s booby hypnotized the FCC into making Puritans out of networks. Remember the broadcast? Justin, Prince of Pop, gyrated. Diddy and Nelly checked their junk and Kid Rock sported a shirt made from an American flag. Even a professional streaker, usually a great 11 o’clock News digestif, was completely overshadowed by Ms. Jackson’s breast. Oh yeah, the ads. Who could forget the pooting horse for Bud Light? Ads for erectile dysfunction rivals Levitra and Cialis (introducing 36 hour power!) previewed along with old faithful Viagra.

In the aftermath 200,000 Americans complained, The FCC slapped CBS with record $550,000 fines and increased indecency fines more than 1,000 percent. While Nipplegate was the lightning rod, the pooting and repeated use of the word “erectile” got caught up in the storm, making that halftime show the poster child for low morality in pop culture.

A Time magazine poll in 2005 revealed 66 percent of Americans believed the FCC overreacted.

TV doesn’t raise our kids; we do. Sure, we don’t want them exposed to grown-up things too early, but things happen. We have to instill a sense of morality in them. Pop culture has always titillated. That’s its job. Parents can use these opportunities to give children reasoning power to hopefully prepare them to make tougher decisions later.

Super Bowl XLII rolls around on February 3. It’ll be hyped before and quickly forgotten afterwards. The acts will be tame and the ads lame. They’ll skirt controversy. By hiding unpleasant or unfamiliar subjects, we pretend they don’t exist. Isn’t that doing kids more harm than having a conversation with them? Are we too uncomfortable? My dear Puritans, the Internet doesn’t mind enlightening our kids. Unless I subscribe, I’m not a fan of gratuitous adult stuff in primetime. However, a little interest would bring the Super Bowl back into this century. Alas, thy heart believes it shalt not be giant, probably rather pat.

I don’t know a lot about search engines. And I don’t know anything about becoming a parent. But the combination of the two is fascinating. It seems search engines are becoming fruitful in the area of well…being fruitful and multiplying. A Web site called Nymbler can find the perfect name for your unborn child. Based on names that you enter, the engine will generate new names that you may not have thought of or even heard of before.

Let me include a disclaimer here since I am of childbearing age and have been married for more than five years (apparently the longest a married couple should remain childless): children are not in our near future. But this site is so much fun. First I entered some names I have always liked: Wyatt, Lucas, Maggie, etc. It came up with some good results, all of which seemed like names I would consider. Then I started messing with it. I entered names like Star, Precious, Birdie (it does have some limitations: Flower and Sassy do not exist in the database). The results? Princess, Emerald and Whisper were some of my favorites. Imagine the possibilities: you could use this site to find a name for your pet, your alter ego or even a stage name for when you become a contestant on American Idol.

The voodoo behind this search wizardry is even cooler than the site. Nymbler combines the research and analysis of a human expert with a technology called Hunch Engine, developed by Icosystem, a company based in Cambridge, Mass. The Hunch Engine works on a genetic algorithm. In their words, this innovative technology  “solves the dilemma of searching when you don’t really know what you are looking for, but you’ll know it when you find it.” That is me every day of my life. Clothes, home décor, food, shoes, my car keys (wait, that doesn’t really apply here). The algorithm takes the information you give it and identifies subtle patterns. Then it gives you personalized suggestions.

If you haven’t been impressed yet, get ready. The Hunch Engine is trainable. It can be taught to recognize patterns in all sorts of input. Without getting too sci-fi, this search engine can get inside your head and tell you what you will like. Hunch Engine responds to what you give it, but it brings you new ideas, new options in multiple nuances.

I’m hooked. Now I just have to have enough kids to use all of these great names.