This wasn’t planned as a swear word-and-swimsuit issue. It just happened that way.
Yes, senior editor Betsy Spethmann was the first one who said “dirty word” in her conversation with marketing and agency executives about the state of the industry for our cover story. And yes, managing editor Dan Hanover had bikinis in mind when he first began compiling advice for Ninety Days to a Better Brand. But the first is a philosophical discussion of how promotion marketing has matured these past 20 years, and whether or not it has outgrown its own name. The second is purely practical advice, given in the spirit of women’s magazine makeovers — and with the tacit understanding that it takes more than 90 days to build a brand. (See how these stories fit together?) It’s mere coincidence they’re in the same issue, but we hope you enjoy the juxtaposition.
Our third feature, Value Ads, looks at the rise in quantity and quality of promotional advertising. Spending on promotion-based media advertising in the U.S. could top $57 billion this year, with an estimated one-third of media ads carrying a promotional message. Some of them — like McDonald’s new Happy Meals spots from Leo Burnett USA — are top-notch creative.
We’re using this feature to launch an occasional art gallery of promotional advertising. Every few months, we’ll showcase and critique ads from recent campaigns. Marketers and agencies — those of the advertising persuasion as well as promotion shops — are invited to submit their work for consideration.
Elsewhere in this issue, Marketers examines two events that help define the month of March — St. Patrick’s Day and the NCCA College Basketball Championships — and what brands are doing to leverage their popularity. In Hot Properties, we offer a little advice on evaluating sponsorship deals, courtesy of Sponsorship Research International. In Consumers, you’ll find tips on marketing to today’s media-savvy kids.
One final note: We ultimately decided to be a little more PC and run our Ninety Days feature sans bikini shots. Sorry, Dan.
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