Khue Ngo Blog #7

My Take On Current Events: NY Times Digital Advertising Decreases

This week, AdAge reported that digital advertising in the NY Times decreased by 3.4 % this quarter, which equals approximately $ 32.8 million. The NY Times commented that this is due to “an increasingly complex and fragmented digital advertising marketplace.” This trend reflects what we discussed in class on Wednesday: The consumers are averse to online advertising and often consider it as an intrusion in their consumption process. It is hard to appeal to them in a way that does not feel interruptive and at the same time relevant for their needs. To make up for the loss from decreasing online advertising, the NY Times relies on differently priced, tiered subscription packages, which is supposed to increase the number of subscribers. A success of this model is good for the NY Times, as it shows a rise in sales of their actual product. However, for the advertising industry, it is a step back.

MY TTIY Project

American Eagle picked up the prevailing theme of the week: Halloween. On their website, they changed the Eagle logo to an orange Halloween bat. Furthermore, they had a special Halloween sale with 31 % off that was advertised through e-mail, their website and the online app.

Browsing the web for American Eagle TV spots, I found a few on iSpot.tv. All of them use the same outline, which is to show different characters that represent the target audience and have these characters either talk about or just wearing AE clothes and living their life. This supports the theme of “live your life” which is also promoted as a hashtag and as the tagline for the AE Blog, as mentioned before. All the spots mention a special sale or promotion at the end, all saying that it is “for a limited time only.”

My Recap

So this week was our first corporate visit. In contrast to the agency work that we have seen before, the presentation at JetBlue showed that the marketing department people there basically have to deal with all the topics, and not just one. They tap into PR when they had to deal with the snowstorm crisis in 2007. They work on advertising campaigns (Happy Jetting and You Above All). And they also participate in product development and positioning as seen with the new “Mint” class in their planes.

One of the challenges is certainly the high level of impact their product has on its customers. If you buy toothpaste that you do not like, you do not feel as strongly about it as if you take a trip and it gets cancelled. People spend a lot of money on flying, and they want the experience to be great. In an environment where choosing another brand does not have any costs or consequences, JetBlue has to make sure that the customers choose their brand over the others, and that they can deliver what they promise.

On the other hand, an opportunity could be the standard expectations a customer has for flying. Even though all airlines have their differences, the overall product is more or less the same. In an industry that is so set on standards, one could find many opportunities to be innovative and break through the clutter. One example is JetBlue’s new Mint class that offers first class seats to a price that is actually affordable for the normal customer.

Currently, I prefer working in an agency. I think in this early stage of a career, one can learn much more in an agency because that is where the work is done. Of course the marketing department of a corporation also works on the ideas and everything, but as I see it, most of the times they create the brief, wait for the agency to “work it out” somehow, choose from the presented alternatives and then make a few tweaks here and there. As Michael said during our Q&A session, they work on the ideation, but the development and execution is mostly done by the agencies. That is why I think it is important to gain agency experience first, in order to know how these ideas are put into campaigns, and then, after a few years, switch to the corporate side. So yes, I can imagine working in a corporate marketing department, but not right now – maybe in a few years.

As a customer, I welcome JetBlue’s shift into the new emerging media. With a product such as flying, I think it is good to involve customers and let them explore and engage with the brand. It is a not a product that one uses daily or weekly (except maybe for business travelers – but their buying behavior is completely different, and I am speaking from a private purchase perspective now). By staying in touch with the customers and making them interact with the brand, JetBlue ensures that they are on top of consideration set of brand choice alternatives.