Which should come first? Digital or Traditional?

Well it depends on who you ask really. Ask any Ad-Man and the answer would be traditional. Digital is always the little bawling kid that makes the most noise but gets the least attention.

I had the chance to work closely with a top tier Japanese traditional agency on a partnered pitch to a automobile brand recently. The initial idea was integrated with them leading on the big idea and strategy while digital will complement.it. The usual.

Half way thru, they did a 180 and asked for digital to lead instead. We would loved to have the opportunity to do that. But even then, it kinda shocked me. Really? Digital on the forefront instead of being dragged along like a dog on leash. Eventually we went ahead with a big digital push. The ideas and strategy were great, but I'm not sure if the conservative Japanese client were ready for this paradigm change.

Look around you. More time spent on TV or streamed TV? Paperback or ebooks? Magazine/Newspaper or Flipboard/Pulse? Meet up with friends or Facebook/Twitter? When was the last time you NOT HAVE a phone/tablet before you drift to sleep? We are spending more time on digital interactions, whether we like it or not. An entire generation of adults are in the making right now, who does not know a world before mobile phones, tablets and Internet.

But I agree with the article, they can both be in the front. I recently mentioned about an interactive print ad. There are tons of other examples where traditional and digital fully complements each other and forms a bigger whole than the parts.

Now if only our clients recognize this and be cognizant that digital is equally important. And blardy show us the money already!

Read more here.
http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2012/10/digital-first-print-first-both-should-work-together291.html

Image credits: http://www.pbs.org 

End of the road for SMS marketing?

I used pagers in the good ol days. (remember these babies?)
So when mobile phone came out and we could type messages, it was godsend. Swear that I won't need anything else. For a while, there were mobile plans in the market that caters to this group of users who would sms or text more often than calls.

Then came the smartphone. And WhatsApp and BBM slaughtered text messages. Why SMS when I can have emoticons laden text conversations?

But. Does that mean the end of the road for SMS marketing. The article seemed to think so. I'm not so sure. There would always be marketeers who want to reach out to customers via the most commonly used channels. Mobile would be one of them. Someone in the near future would be able to find a way to market via WhatsApp and other SMS-replacements. Maybe it's not that far from now.

Read more here.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/australian-it/mobile-operators-to-lose-54bn-in-sms-revenue/story-e6frgakx-1226494103185

The constant hunt for professional development units (PDUs).

Ah. The bane of all PMP certification holders. PDUs.

I value the structure to 'ensure' continual learnings and recency with  the project management discipline. But its definitely painful for busy practitioners to maintain this score of 60. I'm into my 2nd cycle of renewal now, having earned my PMP back in 2007. Hope to renew this for as long as its of professional interest to do so. I do not see many PMs in this industry having proper project management certifications or even training to say the least.

Recently attended a 2 day Symposium organised by the Singapore Chapter of PMI as part of this great PDU hunt. This is my 3rd Symposium. I do see a difference in mindset when I attend this particular session. The need for PDUs is still there (i will be honest here, that's the primary motivation), but I do find myself selecting/approaching each presentation from a broader perspective. Its less of what's interesting for my personal development, but more of what can I bring back to implement in POSSIBLE.

To name a few:

• Further develop and incorporate Agile in our PM processes
• Professional development of the PM department.
• How do we measure effectiveness of the training that staff gets sent to?
• Setup and management of our project management office (PMO) 
• Networking to lookout for potential clients and PM candidates to hire. 

Tons of stuff that I think is beneficial for myself and the team. Will try to spend some time over the next few weeks to flesh them out and maybe even discuss some here. 

As per my old army times, Advance and Overcome. 

How interactive can a Print Ad be?

Wow. This is nice. Gimmicky for sure. But nice.
Lexus used a proprietary technology called CinePrint to create the effect that you see in the video. The Lexus 2013 ES would seemed to change colors, throb to music, turn on its headlights etc.

Nice multi-sensory experience that combines the sight, sound and touch. Next question would be. How interactive can your Next Print Ad be?




Read more and view the video here.
http://mashable.com/2012/10/09/most-interactive-print-ad-lexus/

The uncommon truth: Why can't we get taxis in Singapore when it rains

Ah. The uncommon truth. We try to use this alot in our work with clients. Find out beyond what they are saying. What is not the obvious?

Use of big data to the rescue.
A study was actually done on why can't we get cabs in Singapore when it rains. Now this is unusual because we have tons of cabs (or taxis as Singaporean like to call them) in our city state. We have like 5 cabs per 1,000 people. Compared that to 2.6 in Hong Kong, 3.3 in London and 1.5 in New York.

So why aren't we getting our cabs? Ask any Joe on the street, the answer would usually be more demand for cabs due to the rain. Cabs are really quite affordable in Singapore compared to other similar cities.

What the study uncovered was astonishing. GPS records of cabs was compared against weather satellite. The uncommon truth? The cabs were not zipping around like bugs due to high demand. In fact, they stopped moving.

Why? Because of cab company policies , the drivers are penalised in event of accidents (even if its not a fault of theirs). So most of them opt to just sit out the rain.

Read more here.
http://www.computerworld.com.sg/resource/applications/why-you-dont-get-taxis-in-singapore-when-it-rains/