The B is back! "B" as in Betty. Vain, cold, self-absorbed Betty, oh how I've missed you. Only Betty Draper Francis would say "No, I mean look at me, can you believe I've had three children?" to a man ogling her at a fundraiser for her political husband, Henry. Of course she is thrilled with the attention she is once again getting from the male population now that she's back to her thin, blonde self. Even proper Henry gets turned on by the fact that someone else wanted his wife. How will he feel once he discovers Don reunited with Betty at Bobby's summer camp? Not a happy camper, I'll bet.

While Betty is getting her life back on track, Peggy's is going off the rails. Ted and Don put her in the awkward position of having to pick which Fleishman's creative idea to go with. "It tastes better because it's expensive," is the angle Ted wants to go with and play up the price. Don feels that no matter how expensive it is; it's still margarine and not butter, and nothing compares to butter. Peggy tries to be diplomatic but Don is having none of it. He wants her to choose and gets mad when she leans toward Ted's idea. She confronts him about making her choose sides, because if there are sides to choose, then why are they trying to merge companies? Seems Don doesn't like sharing his protégée. Peggy looks like a little girl lost in the middle of the office. She's definitely on Ted's side, but still doesn't want to upset Don.

Meanwhile Ted tells Peggy he can't get their kiss out of his mind. Peggy thought it was over, done and forgotten but Ted indicates he's in love with her. Meanwhile, Abe is jumped at the subway near their fixer-upper apartment building. Remember, this was not Peggy's first choice of apartments and she gave in to Abe's desire to live in a changing neighborhood. Shortly after the attack on Abe, someone throws a rock through their bedroom window. Now Peggy is truly frightened and wants to put the building on the market. While sleeping on the sofa with sirens wailing in the dark of night, she hears a noise and goes to investigate. Clever girl has tied a sharp kitchen knife to the end of a broom handle as her weapon of choice. When she hears a voice behind her she quickly turns and accidentally stabs Abe in the stomach. Clearly, this is not Abe's week. Lying in the ambulance, with the knife protruding from his gut, Abe decides it's a good time to break up with Peggy. Poor Peggy looks like she's been sucker punched. Usually she looks like an up and coming career girl at SCDP; however, the day after the breakup she looks like a miserable wreck. She tells Ted about the breakup; probably thinking he'd be pleased to hear she's a free woman. But he is very curt and quickly gives her the brush off. Strong, independent Peggy is highly entertaining; I'm hoping she doesn't revert to mousy Peggy again.

Don decides to step up his daddy game and join Bobby for Parent's Weekend at summer camp. With Henry joining her the next day, Betty is on her own at camp too. "Bobby 5" as he's known at camp, is absolutely tickled to have both his Mom and Dad together with him. He even managed to get them both to join him in a silly camp song. Okay, I'll admit, it was a sappy moment, but I fell for it and knew those two were falling for it too. Sure enough, Betty managed to get Don's attention and back into bed with her. She doesn't appear to feel guilty at all, in fact she rather seemed to enjoy the reunion and having something over Megan. The next morning it was business as usual when Henry showed up to fill in his step-daddy role, and Don was relegated to table for one.

Megan is having a creativity crisis of her own. Her soap opera role has expanded and now she's playing twins on the show. One is the maid and the other is a glamorous blonde vixen. She's having trouble distinguishing the two on screen and asks for some help from co-star Arlene. A few bottles of wine later, Arlene makes a move on Megan. Megan rebuffs and immediately is concerned she jeopardized her career by turning down the head writer's wife — again. Time will tell.

The merger is taking its toll on the team and Harry Crane advises Pete to seek out a headhunter who turns out to be none other than Duck Phillips. Duck is now sober and placing ad execs in all the top agencies. Unfortunately for Pete, his best bet is to start over as a marketing exec in Wichita, per Duck. Duck stresses to Pete that he really needs to get his family life back in order. Family is what's important and all else will fall in line, like ducks in a row. Pete is just continually morose and rarely upbeat; he oozes desperation.

Speaking of desperation, Roger is desperately seeking fatherhood. He manages to get himself banned from seeing his grandson after taking the four-year-old to see "Planet of the Apes." Joan forbids him from being in Kevin's life. He's also wondering how he fits into Joan's life and right now, he doesn't. Joan and Bob have formed a unique friendship of sorts. Bob looks like a real-life Ken doll in his trunks and shirt as he and Joan headed to the beach.

I'll admit I do like petty Betty and flawed Don together, but for me the underlying theme of the entire episode is that you always want what you can't have.

So what did you think of the trysts and twists in "The Better Half"?

Sponsored content (or native advertising) is becoming a smoother and less intrusive way for digital publishers to make revenue without relying on display ads. Major sites like BuzzFeed, Forbes, The Huffington Post and Gawker all offer native advertising. And ethics aside, this model seems to be working. According to AdWeek:

“In the wake of a Pew report that sponsorship advertising was up 40 percent in 2012, Forbes Media is touting the growth of its own revenues—thanks, in part, to its success with native ads.”

But when you consider a medium like print, advertorials are typically frowned upon by readers and the writing staff. Especially in newspapers, advertising and editorial are viewed almost like church and state. Even if you clearly label something as advertising, many print readers get angry.

Is that about to change?

ESPN: The Magazine announced that in its upcoming 15th anniversary issue, it will run an editorial sidebar with the words "Cold Hard Facts presented by Coors Light" on the page, according to AdWeek. Unlike the online native advertising model where the advertiser manages the content, ESPN will have complete control over the sidebars. MillerCoors won’t even get to see the content before publication.

That may sound a tad dicey for an advertiser, but when you consider the fact that ESPN and MillerCoors have a long-standing relationship in broadcast-sponsored content, it’s really not a big risk. If you watch SportsCenter, you’ll often see segments called “Coors Cold Hard Facts." During these segments, the anchor asks a sports analyst six questions, alluding to a six pack of Coors. Again, MillerCoors doesn’t control the content. They’re simply paying to be tied to ESPN and content that they believe will be interesting to their target audience.

So is this case really an advertorial? I don’t think so. It’s an interesting take on sponsored content but because Miller isn’t producing the content I have a hard time labeling it an advertorial. This isn’t purely pay-to-play. It’s pay to be mentioned as a sponsor and be associated with our high-quality content. And that’s OK with me.

Do you place different values on digital, broadcast and print sponsored content?

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Our data team strives to provide users with the most updated media planning data within SRDS.com. In April, the team made a total of 8,501 updates to the SRDS.com databases with the largest chunk of updates coming from the business publication database. Here's the full breakdown:

• 1,921 newspaper updates
• 54 out-of-home updates
• 409 TV & cable updates
• 717 radio updates
• 1,207 digital updates
• 3,343 business publications updates
• 850 consumer magazine updates

We know that current data matters, so log in and check out some of the changes!

Only a short time ago, it would have seemed unimaginable that paywalls would be the accepted norm for media sites. But surprisingly, they have finally become accepted as the normal payment model for print publishers looking to make some money on their online content. Readers still complain about them of course, but we understand why they’re there. After all, media companies have to earn revenue off of their digital versions, and paywalls, though not perfect, are the method of choice.

Big newspaper media like The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal already charge readers after they’ve viewed a certain amount of articles and The Washington Post and the San Francisco Chronicle recently said they will charge readers for online content as well. Smaller papers are joining the ranks too.

But is the paywall the best way to for media companies to profit on digital? It’s certainly not the only way. Several third-party companies have begun offering online media passes in an attempt to find a different slant on the paywall model, but so far, few are making a big splash. Online media passes allow users to manage multiple digital subscriptions in one place and can offer a new way for media companies to gain revenue from their digital readers, according to Press+, which works with about 400 publishers.

Press+ argues that online media passes offer a way for a publisher to launch a metered subscription model, package web, mobile and tablet content into a single subscription package, boost circulation revenue by offering discounted digital access to print subscribers. Plus, it’s outsourced and doesn’t require the internal IT team’s time and effort.

Though Press+ is seeing some success, goliath Google didn’t fare so well. The company’s One Pass product only lasted about a year and only had two publishers join. In an article on EContent.com, author Alan Mutter said he believes Google’s product didn’t catch on because media companies were worried about what Google could do with their customer data.

However, Press+ argues that its model offers a win for publishers because it opens up new ways to turn a profit while preserving existing advertising revenue and online readers.

Similarly, blogger Andrew Sullivan made a big splash with his move into monthly passes, now offering access to his blog, The Dish, for $2 a month versus just a $20-a-year option. He uses TinyPass, another small company that that helps publishers sell content online. Clearly, online media passes demonstrate that they offer value, but will it be enough to take over paywalls?

Do you think online media passes will ever successfully surpass the paywall model?

Our team understands the value of current media planning data and they work hard to update listings every single day. In March, the team updated 8,045 SRDS.com listings bringing the 2013 total to 32,581 updates.

Here’s how last month breaks down:

• 2,757 business publications updates
• 2,080 newspaper updates
• 927 TV & cable updates
• 918 consumer magazine updates
• 887 digital updates
• 381 radio updates
• 95 out-of-home updates

We know that current data matters, so take a moment to log in and check out some of the changes!

 

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About Tim Bingaman

About The Media Mic

The Media Mic is an interview series from Kantar Media SRDS with leaders in the media business about the roads they’ve taken, and the stories and people that make up our vibrant industry. Bandwidth and hosting for The Media Mic is provided by Wizzard Media and Libsyn.

February was a busy time for the Kantar Media SRDS data team. This time of year the team is really focused on 2013 rates for newspapers, consumer magazines and business publications.

With 16,850 updates to the SRDS databases, they more than doubled their January number. But look at all the updates for the other databases!

• 3,896 radio updates
• 3,551 digital updates
• 3,290  newspaper updates
• 2,910 business publications updates
• 1,909 consumer magazine updates
• 778 TV & cable updates
• 616 out-of-home updates

If you have any questions about the data you find in SRDS online, just let us know!

When you’re in the business of loving media, staying up-to-date with industry news, tips and trends isn’t just optional, it’s a necessary obsession – and a fun one at that!

We thought it would be interesting to poll Kantar Media SRDS employees to find out which e-newsletters and sites make their list of must-reads. While you probably already visit many of these sites, we wager there are at least a few you’ve never heard of—and we love helping you discover new sites. Give them a shot! You never know what new insights you might stumble upon.

1. AAF SmartBrief
2. Ad Age
3. Ad Exhanger
4. Adweek
5. All Things D
6. Art Sobczak's Smart Calling
7. BtoB Magazine
8. Business Insider
9. ClickZ
10. Daily Infographic
11. DM News
12. Editor & Publisher
13. eMarketer Daily
14. Emedia vitals
15. Exchangewire
16. Folio
17. GigaOM
18. HispanicAd Newsletter
19. iMedia Connection
20. I Want Media from AOL
21. Lifehacker
22. LinkedIn Today
23. Mashable
24. Mediabistro
25. Media Daily News
26. Media Life
27. MediaPost
28. MPA Magazine News
29. Multichannel magazine
30. Outsell
31. paidContent from GigaOM
32. Publishing Executive
33. RTB and RTM posts from MediaPost
34. Stack Overflow
35. Target Marketing
36. The Media Briefing
37. TVNewsCheck
38. Web Marketing Association SmartBrief
39. Wooden Horse Magazine Media News
40. TheExcelAddict.com

What other industry websites and newsletters do you read frequently?

Each and every day, our data team makes hundreds of updates to the media planning data on SRDS.com. They’ve already started 2013 on a high note.

Our data team made 7,686  updates to our SRDS databases. Here's the breakdown:

• 1,750  newspaper updates
• 332 out-of-home updates
• 275 TV & cable updates
• 1,227 radio updates
• 1,263 digital updates
• 1,673 business publications updates
• 1,166 consumer magazine updates

We know that current data matters, so take a moment to log in and check out some of the changes!

Per Ad Age, 30-second spots in this year’s Super Bowl sold for around $3.7 million - yep, they're already sold out. For any marketer buying one of these spots, this is likely the largest single advertising investment all year. Recouping this kind of investment takes a massive lift in sales and/or customer acquisition activity—a lift most companies won't see. This is why, for most advertisers, it’s an easy decision to stay away from the big game. How then, does any advertiser decide it’s a good idea to spend this kind of money?

It starts with the understanding that any marketer buying a spot in the Super Bowl won’t see a direct equal return on the money spent—not right away anyway. Buying a spot in the Super Bowl is more about being culturally relevant. There are still no other events where an advertiser can present a brand message to an American audience upwards of 100 million people all at one time. 

And boy, do we like those brand messages. We tweet, like, share, vote on, upload, blog and discuss in person what we’ve seen. The Super Bowl is also one of the few events where there’s analysis of the game and the advertising in the newspapers the day after.  You don’t see columns in the Chicago Tribune about who won and lost the advertising race on the last episode of Grey’s Anatomy. 

Astute marketers can take their participation in the game and use social media as a force multiplier to generate buzz and excitement around their message both before and after the game. Creating contests, leaking additional video content and tweeting out questions around the ads are just some of the ways advertisers create this buzz.

Sometimes the marketers don’t have to do anything. Just this week I went looking for classic Super Bowl ads via branded channels on YouTube. These ad views will register with the marketers long after the ads have run in real time. 

Advertisers/Marketers: Do you think advertising in the Super Bowl is worth the cost?

I live in a household that still "takes" a printed newspaper - actually two: the Chicago Tribune and our local community weekly, The Landmark.

The local paper keeps us up to date with weekend events, house prices, town and school government gossip. We always read (and recycle) it within 24 hours. But in eight years, I've only gone to the Landmark's website a few times.

We have a different relationship with the Chicago Tribune.

Here's a typical day: Before 7 a.m., someone in our family walks the 50 feet out to the end of the driveway to get the Trib, without a coat most days. (I wear a coat.) My husband looks for work-related stories, checking to see if his own quotes made it into print, and he opens to the comics. Both kids read (and discuss) the comics, pointing out funny Dilberts to me. The older one checks the front page looking for a story that will get him extra credit in Western Civ. I flip through the front section quickly.

Both of us rely on the Trib website (and alerts) for breaking news. One of us is on the site constantly, and the other checks it at least once per day, sometimes through the iPad. You could say we're fairly immersed in the brand.

Over the last six months, the Trib is clearly trying to find a sustainable digital strategy. I'm not sure how well it's working.

Last winter, the Trib announced its Printer's Row Journal, sent me a few print issues, invited me into its fledgling online community, then asked me to pay for it. We're a bookish family, we were interested, until we saw the pricetag - $99 a year for current print subscribers, just to get the print and digital edition delivered weekly. No way. The Trib doesn't have enough credibility around book reviews to ask us to pay that price. 

Half a year later, they added free tickets to the Printer's Row events and a discount on purchases, and offered the booklet/digital edition for just $49 a year - to current print subscribers. Digital only is $29 a year. Not for us. Although I do know a family where the 80+ year-old parents take the print and the 40ish kids take the digital.

Then in June, the Trib launched a new website and reports 80,000 registered users in 4 months.

But as of November 1, like many other papers, the Trib put a paywall up on its website. Seven-day print subscribers get unlimited access - if you know your password. They'll let you read 5 premium stories a month for free.

A few weeks ago, we started receiving the digital edition of the Trib. We didn't ask for it, we don't pay for it. We took a look. It is literally just the digital edition of the daily printed paper. We'd rather go online and browse the website, which is part of why we never opened the digital edition again. The main reason we'll never open it? It comes at 6:15 p.m. That's more than 12 hours after I've seen the print edition and I've already been to the site a few times that day.

I understand the rationale behind extending a product line and searching for new revenue opportunities, especially as audiences move online. As a consumer with a relationship and fairly heavy print and digital engagement with this brand, I'm confused. I'm worried that instead of offering several ways to reach audiences in more formats, the Trib is going to push me where I don't want to go. I can get my news elsewhere, online or mobile.

Are you bundling all your print, online, digital, tablet space in newspaper brands into one buy?

Are you (and your clients) placing any value on the digital editions, or are they just thrown in?

Are you using the space in different formats for different objectives? 

On Monday, Adweek named 14 magazines to its 2012 Hot List, which honors the top digital, magazine and newspaper publishers of the year. We’d like to give a shout-out to several of the winners, each of which is featured prominently in SRDS. We’re pleased to see that these publishers are being honored for their fabulous work in the print and digital space.

The Atlantic was the big winner, nabbing three awards including “Best Magazine to be Seen Reading on the Subway.” The magazine’s James Bennet and Jay Lauf were named Editor of the Year and Publisher of the Year, respectively.

Major props to New York; it took home the “Best Embrace of Digital by a Print Brand” honor.

Fortune may have had a tough year, decreasing its print frequency, but it’s still the “Best Publication for Getting (or Staying) Rich.”

If you want to stay on top of news from around the world, subscribe to The Financial Times, which was named “Best Publication for Staying in the Know.”

Addicted to celeb news and gossip? Then you should check out People magazine, which is the “Best Magazine for Keeping Up With the Kardashians.”

Better Homes and Gardens was honored with a big one. It was named the “Hottest Magazine for Women.”

It may only be less than a year old, but HGTV Magazine is already racking up medals. It was bestowed with the “Where There’s No Place Like Home” award.

Congrats to all of this year’s winners!

What’s your favorite magazine of 2012?

A few weeks ago, we wrote about tablet commerce and how publishers are trying to find new ways to make money while offering readers a more interactive experience through e-commerce offerings.

Thanks to Esquire Magazine, we now have a real-world example of this taking place. The December issue of Esquire uses the iPhone app, Netpage, to convert paper print magazine pages into ones that are digitally interactive on your smart phone.

According to an article on Internet Retailer:

“Readers can use the Netpage app to interact with the print edition of Esquire and do things such as purchase items in ads, play videos, and digitally clip and save any article, photo or ad and share it via e-mail, text, Facebook, Twitter and other social networks.”

And this isn’t just a test run for Esquire. All forthcoming issues will function digitally using the app. Hearst Corp., Esquire’s publisher, also announced that its other magazines (Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire and Elle) will use Netpage in the future.

How Netpage Works:

When a reader hovers over the print magazine pages with a smartphone, the app recognizes each page and sends a digital replica of the page to the reader’s mobile screen. As the reader moves the phone over the page, the app tracks it, and then sends instructions to its web servers on what to show the reader based on how the app interacts with magazine pages.

What Readers Can Do With Netpage:

In this issue of Esquire, for example, a user can watch a video of actor Bradley Cooper, buy featured items from internet retailer MadeMovement, share a recipe on Pinterest and save articles to read later on a smartphone.

Advertisers also benefit from interactive publications like Esquire’s in that they can make their ads interactive and flashy. Lexus is the big winner in this issue. The magazine includes a two-page ad spread for a new Lexus sports car. When readers scan the ad using the Netpage app, it’s almost like you’re emerging from the darkness into the light. The scene begins to animate on your iPhone, the car’s headlights flash on and then the screen morphs into a 30-second video ad.

This may be the first instance of a publisher pushing the digital envelope to enhance print reader experience and drive revenue, but it won’t be the last.

What will be interesting though is whether or not Hearst’s competitors will end up with a digital publication/e-commerce model similar to this or one that is radically and creatively different.  

What do you think?

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Way back in 2006, David Tokheim of SAY Media, wrote an article in Forbes claiming that like dinosaurs, banner ideas would eventually die out. Last week, he admitted that he was wrong, which just goes to show how difficult it is to predict the future of digital advertising. Many try, some succeed, but most fail.

What did Tokheim think would emerge as the top digital ad trends? Skins and branded content.

While both have made an impact in digital advertising, they haven’t had the effect banners have.

But it’s 2012 and it’s clear that these aren’t your older sister’s banners. The banner ads from six years ago are nearly extinct. Web users know better than to click to get a free trip to Mexico or to hit the target for a chance to win quick cash. Those banners died off for many reasons, one being that user web savvy has evolved.

Today, banners are personalized, visually-appealing and extremely creative. They have to match user know-how. That’s how the good ones succeed. As Tokheim says:

“Creative matters more than ever. And creative banners can actually be a powerful part of the storytelling experience.”

Advertisers are telling stories with their digital banner ads, and because they have the ability to be interactive and engaging, banner ads can be extremely powerful. Unlike the banners from 2006 (that were, for lack of a better term, annoying), today’s banners are useful and entertaining. Or ideally, they should be.

For example, take a look at Old Navy’s Black Friday ad on Yahoo’s homepage. It’s fun, colorful, catchy, useful and most importantly, you can make it go away if you want. Check out the AdChoices button on the top left corner. That means you can opt out of this behaviorally-targeting ad.

Even better, how about this Mac advertisement on the New York Times website?

Tokheim may have been wrong about the future of digital advertising, but the key takeaway to me is that things don’t necessarily die out, they just need to evolve. And in the case of banner ads, it’s been a fun ride.

Do you think banner ads are here to stay?

Before you go, make sure to check out Mashable’s list of 10 amazing banner ads here.

The local newspaper is still a key information source for Americans, according to the Pew Research Center. Adults cited newspapers as the most relied-upon source for information about crime, taxes, local government activities, schools, local politics, local jobs, community events and more.

Since 2007, the Local Media Association, a professional trade association serving the suburban and community newspaper industry, has supported local papers by hosting an annual contest to honor the top papers in the U.S.

This year, the award for “Newspaper of the Year” (in the category of dailies with a circulation of less than 30,000) went to the Joplin Globe. The Joplin Globe paper is published in Joplin, Missouri and covers the southwestern part of the state. It’s owned by Community Newspaper Holdings Inc. and employs around 45 journalists.

The Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute at Missouri University’s School of Journalism conducts judging for the award. Judges’ comments this year include:

“The Joplin Globe serves its readers well with a comprehensive news report coupled with in-depth articles and features. ‘Faces of the Storm,’ a compilation of biographies and photos of all the victims of the May tornadoes, is an especially noteworthy effort. Thoughtful design continues throughout the sections, and the advertising is modern and inviting. Headlines are appropriate in size and design and accurately written. This is a newspaper that is paying attention to its readers and its community.”

The contest awards newspaper of the year honors in six different circulation classes (two for dailies and four for weeklies). See the other winning papers, in their respective categories below. Click here to view full list of judge’s comments.

Non-Dailies

Circulation: Up to 10,000
The Taos News –Taos, NM

Circulation: 10,001-22,500
The Longboat Observer – Longboat Key, FL

Circulation: 22,501-37,500
The Sarasota Observer – Sarasota, FL

Circulation: Over 37,500
Prince George’s County Gazette (Landover, Lanham, Largo, New Carrollton) – Gaithersburg, MD

Dailies

Circulation: Under 30,000
Joplin Globe – Joplin, MO

Circulation: Over 30,000
Sioux City Journal – Sioux City, IA

Most of my friends DVR their favorite TV shows, though not because they’re so busy they can’t watch them live. They just want to be able to fast forward through the commercials. For advertising professionals looking to reach their target audience through television this is becoming a major problem.

But Target, a company I’ve always considered ahead of the curve in their marketing efforts, may have discovered a new tactic for TV advertising, one that is engaging, interactive and not as tempting to fast forward through.

Last week, Target sponsored an entire episode of the hit ABC show Revenge, according to an article on B2C. But Target didn’t run typical spots. Each commercial break featured ads about Target’s new Nieman Marcus holiday collection – in the form of a narrative titled The Gift of Revenge. No matter where you watched the show (on TV, on the web, etc.) you saw the exact same ads.

Target also asked for input from the Revenge team to make sure that fans of the show would enjoy the ads. By mimicking the show, including the characters and using a narrative format, Target was able to grab the audience’s attention and keep it throughout the span of the “story.”

Wisely, Target didn’t limit its scope to just TV. They employed social media to allow users to discuss the episode and the commercials, and even posted the clips on YouTube with “secret” footage that wasn’t a part of the show’s run.

Could this be a new way for marketers to reach viewers who would normally avoid commercials? B2C’s Jacey Gulden thinks so.

“A campaign that integrates television advertising, branded content, and online marketing certainly could reflect the future of digital advertising.”

An integrated campaign like this one requires an enormous amount of time, commitment, creativity and money. But if that’s what it takes so that viewers don’t hit the fast forward button, we may start seeing it more often. Plus, you can bet that ABC made a good amount of money on this deal.

Another key point is that marketers must ensure that their ads are not grounded in just one medium. Target’s campaign had multiple, cohesive elements that functioned digitally, social and on mobile platforms.

To find out more about Target’s experimental approach to digital advertising, check out an interview with Target’s Chief Marketing Officer over at AdAge.
 

Living with teenage and pre-teen boys, I get exposed to a range of YouTube sensations, not necessarily of my own choosing. Yes, we're doing things Gangnam Style and we've all attempted the sloopy swish (it's literally contagious).

This weekend, I got a new earworm. My boys (and then Adweek) showed me a bouncy, brilliant little PSA for the Melbourne Metro system created by McCann Australia called Dumb Ways to Die.

Cute little pastel creatures making incredibly stupid decisions, dying, and then singing about it. I watched several times and it just kept getting better. When the fourth chorus came in and the little creatures started talking about stupid ways to die around trains, it started to fall into place. "Wait," I said. "Is this about train safety?"

I couldn't believe this was a PSA.

I live within a mile of two different train lines and we lose someone on the tracks every year. This PSA, with its catchy tune and friendly yet graphic deaths, is really broadcasting a serious message in a light-hearted way.

Thanks McCann. Metro Melbourne, you should charge royalties and let rail systems throughout the English-speaking world use this. I'm glad it's sunk into the young brains around me - better than anything I could say ever would.

I'm not sure what it says about me that I don't mind humming this tune all morning, but it makes me happy. What's your favorite dumb way to die?

One of my most favorite days of the year is quickly approaching: Black Friday! Yes, it's consumerism at its best, or maybe worst, but I love it.

For years, I’ve been one of those people at 3 a.m., dragging my sister or friend with our coffees in hand and running shoes on, ready to power shop for 7 hours. What’s amazing to me is how the entire experience has evolved in just the past few years.

As a purist, I’m highly disappointed many retailers have opted to open their doors at midnight on Thanksgiving. Don't they realize that we shoppers like to have a little libation with our turkey and need to rest before we exercise our spending arm?

Mobile Devices

What has really changed the Black Friday experience is the role of mobile devices. In the old days (aka four years ago), we used cell phones to call each other from aisle to aisle or to let each other know when you’re heading to the checkout line. Now, our tablets and phones serve as shopping partners–proudly displaying what a competitive store is offering and giving us more negotiating power with salespeople. In fact, this year many retailers are price matching so if you're out and about, be armed and prepared. Take your tablet, your cell phone and your GPS so you can find the deal, call your partner and get a better price all at the same time.

Preparation

There are numerous websites that now leak the Black Friday ads weeks in advance. One of my favorite sites sends me an email me every time an update is made so I’m already plotting my course of action. In fact, this week alone I've gotten as many as three updates in a single day. There are also incredible online-only deals breaking now.  Naturally, the day before Thanksgiving the newspaper is still a favorite read of mine–always crammed full of ads. Unfortunately, no matter how much pre-planning I do, I usually re-think my plan several times before I trudge out in the pre-dawn hours.

The Company

Perhaps my favorite part of the entire Black Friday experience is the people you meet in line. Everyone is happy and there is a sense of camaraderie unlike anything I've experienced elsewhere. In fact, one year, a Good Samaritan with a truck gave me a ride home at 5 a.m. because I couldn't fit a TV in my car. Of course, as I was driving with this stranger in the dark and down a country road I kept telling myself, "He's a Black Friday shopper. He's not going to hurt you. He has more stuff to buy. He’s not going to hurt you. He has to get back to Wal-Mart before sun-up." Ah, the people you meet.

So if you're a Black Friday rookie, here are my five tips:

1. Do your research ahead of time. Check websites that leak deals, but be prepared to change your plans at a moment’s notice.
2. Arm yourself with your cell phone, tablet and GPS. You may need all of them.
3. Be prepared to bargain with salespeople and know what prices their competitor is offering.
4. Grab some coffee and a friend.
5. Enjoy the night. It’s only once a year.

As for me, I've got several lists going already, my GPS charging and ad scans bookmarked, so I'm ready to hit the ground running.

Good luck and happy shopping.

In a recent blog post on iMediaConnection, Penry Price advocates that the rise of programmatic buying shouldn’t kill media planner creativity. I’ll take it a step further. Programmatic buying should actually enhance creativity.

When I had my first media planning job, the Internet was just starting to become an advertising medium. Back then a “roadblock” on the MSN homepage was a really big deal, and no one had ever heard of optimizing the plan, never mind doing it in real time. 

But that’s what programmatic buying now offers; the ability to reach consumers based on changing data in real time. As a former media planner, that’s exciting to me and it should be to you too.

I know what you’re thinking, how can I be creative when I’m staring at campaign dashboards all day? Price says it best:

“You can be more creative and serve your clients better (and be a hero at work) if you work to align your efforts to truly understand the journeys of your client’s potential customers.”  

Look at the matrix of web traffic data on the dashboard as a person and not as a slice of a customer segment.  For example, think of it as a person desperately searching for the season’s hottest Christmas toy and appreciate their journey as your own. Then recognize that programmatic buying platforms give you the ability to make that toy appear right before that person’s eyes.   

So what’s next? Look around for more interesting ways to connect your clients to people and their journeys. Everything is a potential entry point to the journey, from the ways people interact with products to their media consumption habits throughout the day. You can be the expert in the room; all it takes is some creativity. There, I said it.