Monthly Archives: January 2018

January 10, 2018 · 12:10 pm

What Has Happened?

Maybe it’s because the start of the year is also a time of reflection, but I continue to be appalled at the state of the online advertising business. It’s not so much about the fact that 2 players – Facebook and Google – gobble up the majority of money spent. In fact, in terms of ad revenue, Facebook by itself is twice as big as the newspaper business, according to eMarketer, and will be bigger than the entire print business shortly. Google is twice as big as Facebook. There’s a third player – Amazon – on the way to suck up a huge share of the ad pot as well.

While that isn’t the problem, it does mean that the rest of the industry is fighting over relative crumbs. When you’re desperate, you might do things that you know are wrong or foolish and that’s where I think we are. In fact, I think we’ve gone way over the line from foolish to criminal.

Some examples. Yesterday while I was reading an article via the web browser on my phone, up popped the screen you see on the right. Those of you who have an Android phone know that what you see looks very much like the Google Play store and it seems as if there is a critical app update I need to make. It is an ad, of course, trying to get me to install what I assume is malware. Had I not noticed that it was in a web browser and not in the native Play Store, I just might have clicked.

This is why the online ad business is doomed or at least the part that’s outside of the big 3. On the consumer side, people are forced to use ad blockers to prevent malware from infecting their devices as well as interrupting their tasks with annoying popups. On the business side, publishers keep pushing ads knowing that some percentage of them are scams or worse yet unable to do anything since in many cases they’re not the ones selling the ads. They’ve offloaded that to third parties and 74.5% of US digital display ad dollars transacted programmatically will go to private marketplaces and programmatic direct setups.

Speaking of those third parties, they might just be the worst thieves in the bunch. They claim to be there to help publishers increase revenues or marketers to buy efficiently yet they inject numerous fees, both known and hidden, into the process, siphoning off at significant (upwards of 25%) amount of the available money in the transaction. Those hidden fees, by the way, might just violate any number of local and federal laws.

So what has happened to the ad business in which I grew up? What has happened to agencies being honest brokers and nearly full transparency on all sides? Where is someone in the ad chain (looking at you, ad networks) saying “no” to scams, malware, and the other crap that serve no purpose other than to encourage adblocking or to harm someone? Anyone?

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January 8, 2018 · 12:05 pm

The Razzie Goes To…

I went to see a movie Saturday afternoon and ended up seeing a lot more than I had intended. It became a great learning experience about trying to solve one problem and creating a much more severe issue in the process.

The movie itself was fine (“Darkest Hour,” a little long but great performances). It was what I saw going on several times in the lobby which provided the learning experience. Apparently, this theater has a policy that kids under age 17 cannot attend a movie Friday-Sunday after 4pm without an accompanying adult. That’s right – any movie, even a G-rated one. It’s a relatively new policy too since there were several people there who had thought they’d go into one theater while their teen-aged kids went to see something else. They were engaged with the person taking tickets as well as with the customer service desk and someone I assume was a manager. The exchanges weren’t going well.

A few things from which we all can learn. First, this policy is nowhere to be found on the theater’s website or Facebook page. From the comments on the Facebook page, some parents had even dropped off their 15-year-old kids only to be called to come back since they weren’t being admitted to a PG-13 movie. If you’re going to make a change in your policies, make them loudly and often. Obviously, people do check movie times before showing up – how about making sure that every time your theater displays that your new policy does as well? BY the way, there is still no official announcement of this on their Facebook page despite numerous (negative) comments about it.

Second. This theater could not care less about customer service. How do I know? Two ways for starters. The person at the customer service desk was doing anything but serving the customer. They had a “take it or leave it” attitude and when I heard someone say “we won’t be back to this theater” his dismissed it with a “that’s fine.” He also said the policy was a safety issue and when one mom pointed to her three 13-year-old girls, asking if they looked dangerous, his response was “yes.” Really?

The other thing that this theater does it to respond to every Facebook comment, good or bad, with exactly the same cut and paste copy. There is no acknowledgment of the specific issue nor anything beyond a link to their corporate customer service page (they’re part of a chain) which is basically kicking a local issue into a much larger, less likely to be served bin. The funny thing is the copy: We strive to give you the best experience and would like the opportunity to give you a 5-star experience, next time. Not so much, and why would anyone with an issue come back?

I do understand why this policy is in place. The theater has had trouble on Friday and Saturday nights with teenagers acting up: making noise, throwing food, using their phones to take pictures, etc. As with most things, it’s a very small group that causes the problem and the theater’s management has chosen to paint with an extremely wide brush in an attempt to solve it. In the process, they’ve alienated many customers. There is another multiplex showing most of the same movies not very far away. Which would you choose as a parent?

I wonder if they did a cost/benefit analysis? What would it cost to hire extra security on weekends? How about a few more ushers? How many admissions and concession sales are lost to the new policy? Moreover, what is the value of the goodwill seeing the extra security vs. the negative effect of this? What 16-year old wants to be told they need to have Mommy go with them to the movies?

They give out The Razzies to films or acting performances in films considered to be the worst of the year. I’d give this theater one for their “problem-solving” and customer service performances. You?

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January 5, 2018 · 12:41 pm

Want Fries With That?

Foodie Friday at last and this week the topic is, once again, fries. I see that Taco Bell has joined damn near every other quick-service restaurant and is now offering fries. Not just any fries, though. Nacho fries, which I gather are fries with a bit of Mexican seasoning and some nacho cheese on the side. Sounds good, right? Well, maybe, but not from a business perspective and let me tell you why (and how it might just apply to your business too!).

English: Taco Bell crunchy shell beef tacos

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

When I think of Taco Bell (or any other taco chain), fries don’t enter into the equation. I realize that a few of Taco Bell’s direct competitors have fries (more on that in a second) as does every burger chain and chicken joint. Do you really think that diluting the brand is worth capturing those people who MUST have some fries with the burrito?

Moreover, Taco Bell has actually done a great job in positioning itself as having healthy alternatives and, in fact, has some of the best options for healthy eating in all of fast food. While they don’t tout themselves as being healthy (they respect that much of what’s on their menu isn’t and know it would be inauthentic to claim to be), the fact is that they can now offer “choice” while competing against Chipotle and other “healthier” alternatives.

The chain has also done a great job in coming up with weird menu items that are true to the brand. While I’m not rushing out to grab a naked egg taco or a firecracker burrito, those items are true to the brand identity. Even the California Loaded Fries burrito rings true while just plain fries don’t. A better idea? How about offering carne asada fries, which are common in Southern California and taking them nationally? Sort of a Mexican version of poutine, Taco Bell could have stayed true to their brand while offering something they believed was lacking in their menu. Del Taco, a SoCal competitor, offers chili fries. Here is a chance to one-up them and take a regional specialty into new areas.

Ask yourself this. Would you head to Burger King for a taco? Maybe for a breakfast burrito but I wouldn’t classify what is basically an egg sandwich wrap as “Mexican.” McDonald’s tried and failed with pizza, and it wasn’t just because of the product. If you’ve done a good job of branding, your customers have a focused expectation of your product. Diluting that image or causing cognitive dissonance with a new offering helps neither you nor them.

My local taco place doesn’t serve fries. It serves papas, and only as a side on the kiddie menu. Frankly, I was upset when they went to a menu in English because it hurt the authenticity of the place in my mind. Fortunately, the food spoke louder than the language change. See your brand from the consumer’s eyes and you won’t get too far out of bounds. You with me?

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