WELCOME TO THE P.L.F.

Departure Lounge …

planningliberationfront — Fri, 07 May 2010 01:24:18 +0000

This blog is now part of the cynic museum.

To find out what we’re talking about, click here.

Ugliest Criminal In The World?

planningliberationfront — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 01:04:21 +0000

It’s been a while. Yes we have been busy but it’s also because we’re too lazy to do this blog lark when so many of us have our own to manage.

Anyway even though this story is from last year, seeing it again managed to lift the cloud of depression that engulfs us being back behind our desks and we thought it might do wonders for other depressed employees too.

Last year in Bolivia, a taxi driver called Rafael Vargas was murdered.

Fortunately for the police, a woman who lived in the area was able to draw a sketch of a man that she said killed the driver, before setting fire to him.

As is common in enquiries like this, the Police thought the best strategy was to utilise mass media to try and get the public to smoke the guilty parties out.

Amazingly the strategy worked and 2 suspects were arrested shortly after the news media released the dramatic clip featuring theatrical soundtrack and a booming voice asking, “HAVE YOU SEEN THIS MAN”.

Now you may be wondering why I say ‘amazingly’ the strategy worked …

Well for that, you have to watch the clip and pay special attention to the ‘photo fit’ that went along with the appeal.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

How funny is that eh?

With the head shaped like a rugby ball, the lips sliding to one side, the phallic nose, the missing ears and the very, very, very bad hair day – it’s little surprise it has been labeled both the work of a 5 year old and the worst photofit picture in the history of crime fighting.

How the police caught anyone with such a disastrous image is beyond me … however if we were the lawyer of the arrested individuals, we think we would stand a very good chance of being able to get them off.

Proof Reading Can Make A Big Difference To A Brand …

planningliberationfront — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 23:51:41 +0000

Here’s a sign we saw in a hotel lift in Singapore …

Can you see the issue?

First line: “Hotel Re! is pround …”

Pround?

Do they mean ‘proud’ … well why didn’t they say that.

When you’re a business whose currency is attention to detail and customer service – ie: hospitality – spelling mistakes should be like hyper-colour t-shirts… a thing of the past.

If they actually had provided a quality of service that made me feel ‘catered for’, maybe we could have overlooked it – but when we walked into our room and found 3 single beds, no working light and a shower that needed to be turned on 15 minutes before we went in [not together we should add], then the spelling mistake took on a much greater significance, one that simply and effectively undermined all their hard work in developing a marketing myth.

We’ve said it many times but experience thrashes words, and whilst one mistake might be excusable, multiple ones aren’t – and in this day and age, for that to happen, it should be the result of either a freak accident or something the company is willing to over-compensate for.

Getting a sale is relatively easy, keeping the client is the hard – and most important – thing, something Hotel Re has failed to do on all counts.

Respect Or Exploitation?

planningliberationfront — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 01:07:10 +0000

Here’s an ad that was on the back page of TIME magazine.

What do you think?

Is it a gesture of genuine love and sorrow or a desperate attempt to look like Pepsi are a brand that cares?

Saying that, we think Andy’s comment was best:

“It’s the least they could do after trying to cremate him before he was even dead”.

Very true … but what do you think? Is it good … bad … ego driven stunt or a total and utter waste of shareholder money?

And is it us, or have they used the old Pepsi logo?

We wouldn’t be surprised given Arnell’s updated creation features a smiling face which is hardly appropriate when talking about death. But then what would Pepsi know about appropriateness given they were happy to pay millions of dollars for an identity that is almost the same as their old one but with the Mona Lisa as ‘inspiration’.

But we digress.

Again.

So come on, is this the King of Print or the King of Pap?

Don’t Be Lazy, Proof Read …

planningliberationfront — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 00:31:43 +0000

Here’s a sign we saw in a hotel lift in Singapore …

Can you see the issue?

First line: “Hotel Re! is pround …”

Pround?

Do they mean ‘proud’ … well why didn’t they say that.

When you’re a business whose currency is attention to detail and customer service – ie: hospitality – spelling mistakes should be like hyper-colour t-shirts… a thing of the past.

Getting a sale is relatively easy, keeping the client is the hard – and most important – thing, something Hotel Re has failed to do on all counts.

Lost In Execution …

planningliberationfront — Mon, 04 May 2009 01:36:44 +0000

There’s quite a lot of ads out there trying to attract people to join a particular industry.

The Police … Armed Forces … Finance Industry … they, and many others, are all spending up big in an attempt to get people to sign up.

Obviously with an aging workforce and a declining birth rate, companies don’t want to find themselves in a situation where there is a sudden gap between what they have and what they need – however with ever decreasing numbers entering the workforce [and an inherent snobbery regarding who many organisations will and will not take] the battle for the employee is hotting up.

Some industries obviously find the task of recruitment much easier than others …

The banking sector is in a particularly strong position.

Not only can they offer the potential [students of the World, note the word: POTENTIAL] of untold riches – via ever increasing annual bonuses [even when they lose trillions] – they offer, or at least “did”, the benefit of being seen as a highly regarded and intellectually based career.

For organisations like the Police and Armed Forces it’s much tougher.

Ignoring their jobs involve elements of real danger, they just don’t stand a chance of competing interms of cash … so they counter by talking about things like ‘honour’ and ‘respect’ or any other marketing euphemism that means ‘dodgy pay / dangerous job / terrible hours’.

However there is a huge range of organisations that are stuck in the middle.

They can’t offer the pay of an industry like corporate finance … and they can’t offer the respect of something like nursing … so they focus on the fact their industry is in much demand so by signing up, you could end up travelling the World.

There’s loads of industries that use this strategy – hairdressing, accountancy, building – and they all end up creating crappy and pretentious ads like this …

However recently we saw a rather strange version of this ‘you could end up in all sorts of new places’ strategy … and we have to say we’re not so sure they’ve got it right.

Now we don’t know if it’s because the Maersk Group originally hail from Denmark or whether they just have a really bad grasp on where people aspire to go … but we really don’t think telling people they could end up in the middle of the sea … hundreds of miles from anywhere … on an relatively small structure … most likely overrun by mass of [drunken?] blokes … dealing with a dangerous and volatile substance … in the freezing cold … day and night … away from your family … with few entertainment options … for months at a time … is going to do it.

Rolex Need To Pull Their Head Out Of Their Arses …

planningliberationfront — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 04:01:52 +0000

Photo: Char1iesJ

Read this and cringe …

And when you’ve read that, check out our friend Rob’s blog, he’s on fire at the moment.

[You can pay us for that plug later Rob]

Corporate Communication Theft

planningliberationfront — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 04:13:41 +0000

The new SONY Bravia ad from Bates Asia …

[Now compare that to Balls or the Guinness ad that ripped off the Honda Cog commercial which was probably inspired by the Miller Lite spot]

Too many agencies think that because they’re on one side of the World, they can get away with ripping off ads from the other side of the World.

Maybe someone should tell BATES Asia [who made it] there’s this thing called the ‘internet’ where at the tap of a few buttons, people can find out how unoriginal you really are.

BATES obviously don’t care as they have the audacity to make a ‘MAKING OF‘ clip to go with it …

[You have to watch it, it features some of the most corporate toady comments you've ever heard!]

We’re all for being a magpie and taking great learning’s and ideas from others to make something greater elsewhere – but this is just ridiculous.

Brand Exaggeration …

planningliberationfront — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 11:43:06 +0000

We just received this from Amazon …
_________________________________________________________________

Greetings from Amazon.com.

You saved $1.00 with Amazon.com’s Pre-order Price Guarantee!

The price of the item(s) decreased after you ordered them, and we gave you the lowest price.

The following title(s) decreased in price:

Extras: The Extra Special Series Finale

Price on order date: $13.99

Price charged at shipping: $12.99

Lowest price before release date: $12.99

Quantity: 1

$1.00 is your total savings under our Pre-order Price Guarantee
_________________________________________________________________

A dollar?

A whole bloody dollar?

And that’s in US currency.

Whoppedobedoo, we’re rich beyond our wildest dreams!!!

Look it’s nice to know you have to pay less than you had originally been told – but with that level of saving, maybe they would have been better to keep quiet about it or simply sent an email that didn’t feel like they were stating we’d won the national lottery.

And that ladies and gentlemen is the problem with CRM – especially computerised CRM – because what they think [or want to think] is important to their customers is about as significant as a small dry fart after a plateful of Baked Beans.

The Difference Between Media Planners And Creative Planners …

planningliberationfront — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 07:49:30 +0000

It’s not just about WHERE you say it … nor is it just about WHAT you say … you have to appreciate the importance of HOW you convey your message otherwise even the best of intentions can come across as condecending, patronising and inappropriate.

Or in words, you could be advertising for your competitor!

The truly great messages never smack the ears, they squeeze the heart and maybe a few media planners should get away from their computer monitors and see what’s really going on in the World …