What about me?

It used to be that people needed products to survive. Now products need people to survive. Look around sales are down. People are not buying. Maybe because much sales have migrated to online purchases, where people like us cant see. Just look at success of Amazon, Alibaba, Qoo10, just to name a few. People are even buying larger items like furniture online.

That's the meeting today. We need to do the same. Little Prince aka Boss's nephew agree (thank God !) We will be seriously looking into it. A new team of people will be assign to do just that. 
But what about me? 

Moral obligation in advertising

My friend Nya told me I've a moral obligation, with regards to advertising. Boy... another one who thinks that all ads are BS !!! Easy for her to say. Nothing is so black & white right? Many professions are like that. E.g. lawyers. Criminals need lawyers too, so if every lawyer will not take criminals as clients due to 'moral obligation' , what will become of the whole justice system? And what will happen to those wrongly accused? Then there's the butchers. Killing is wrong, but if there's no butchers, or fishermen etc... where do we get our meat? We'll all have to be vegetarians.

Anyway people always feel that advertising is plain lying. However we all know the real lie that advertising tells is not so much in what it shows, but in what it leaves out. Anyway my friends were  glad I'm finally leaving.

However my new job is not that different, kinda related. It's marketing, but only for 1 company & their products. So I guess it's more focus. Nya said I should find something totally different. 
It's easier said than done.

The Little Prince in the Company

The new job is fine. I get to travel abroad to check in with our suppliers. Interesting! My Boss is thinking of ways to marketing our products & hoping that I can come up with ideas for that. Well that's why they hire me for right? I feel the normal ways of marketing are out-dated, unless you have a big marketing budget.

We were having this meeting & the Boss's nephew,( just graduated  from the States ), nicknamed by the other staff as "The Little Prince" blurted out that " if we spent the same amount of money on improving the products as we intend to do on advertising then we wouldn't have to advertise them!" 

Wow... wonder where this brilliant thought comes from? His expensive overseas education? They never include or touch on the high cost of R&D & the time involved ??? I could see the older staff 'rolling their eyes' at that comment. Anyway Boss then has to spent like 10 mins 'explaining' to him why it's not feasible. 

After that, every idea, I came up with was ' aggressively challenged '  by him. It's weird, never encounter someone like that, it's plain childish. After the meeting, the older staff took me aside & 'console' me. Truth is I'm fine. I'm very new in the company. I can walk out anytime. Also with my experience & resume, it's not that difficult to get a new job. 

No not this adorable Little Prince ....:((

I've been head-hunted

Someone ask me to join their company. OK, I've been head-hunted I guess. Well I should be happy right? Higher pay, better benefits & somewhat related to my present job! I don't know, my family & most of my friends do not really like what I'm doing.

Sigh.. someone even told me " Advertising is 85% confusion & 15% commission. " Wow, we do have a bad rep huh?

I've been head hunted !

"What is the difference between unethical and ethical advertising?

Joe send me the above text this morning. Yup we were so bored & have nothing to do so..... we resort to sending useless texts to each other.  Sue from the Group chat ans:

" Unethical advertising uses falsehoods to deceive the public;
 ethical advertising uses truth to deceive the public."

Trust Sue to always come up with the best lines, no wonder she's the "copywriter" .

You can fool all the people all the time if the advertising is right and the budget is big enough.

"You can fool all the people all the time if the advertising is right and the budget is big enough. "
My friend just said that to me ! And he knows what I do for a living. It's a pretty sensitive issue right? It's like telling me, I lie for a living.

Boy... was I mad. Told my colleagues & they just roll their eyes and said- the truth hurts!!! Can't believe these people. So... do I need to change my job now? Last time I check : Lying is bad right???

Apple Inc

“Here's to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers.
 The round pegs in the square holes.
 The ones who see things differently.
 They're not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo.
You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them.
 About the only thing you can't do is ignore them.
 Because they change things.
 They push the human race forward.
 And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius.
Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.”

When do you advertise your business?

My friend just opened her own business & the issue of advertising came up. Should she advertise? Well there's the cost vs the 'expected' returns. I told her to forget about it & she ask why? Well except for the few lucky ones or those with really big budgets, advertising will first burn a hole in your pocket before they could give you the returns you want & that's provided your service or product is relevant or unique. What if, only you think that your product /service is great?

That's why one needs advertising you might argue, yes & no. Some advertisement really works & help sales but usually because they already have a good product. If your product is so so or a hundred people are already selling the same thing, then it's better you save your money.

The advertising agency knows YOU !!!!

 I'm sure you have your favorite TV commercials  & then there are some that really pisses you off ....lol.. Some could be so horrible & made you think " Only an idiot would buy that !!!!!" 

Wait a minute! Do you know  the advertising agency did research on their client’s target market and which channel and TV shows the ideal demographic watches.  This would mean a carefully chosen ad campaign to get the product in front of the likely buyers, who in this case, are idiots????
And since you are on the chosen channel, which means that you are one of the "idiots" of interest.

It's spooky right, because how’d they figure out that you are an idiot?
Scary how well they know you right ????? ....LOL...... welcome to the world of advertising :))