1. We’ve all been watching the growth of online advertising, and while it still may be significantly less than that of traditional media, online advertising revenues jumped almost 15% in this year’s first quarter (albeit, slightly lower than Q4 of ’09 due to AOL’s struggles.) Below is a chart that shows the growth of online advertising since the beginning of 2009. This lends even more strength to the case for integrated marketing strategies, something we have been pushing at Richter7 for some time now. With online ads taking an increased share-of-voice, and consumers’ time online only increasing, we need to continue thinking of ways to integrate online, traditional, social and pr strategies to see the greatest results. For more info, check out TechCrunch’s article: http://tcrn.ch/arBy8v
   

   Image Courtesy of TechCrunch

2. Something we’ll want to stay tuned for (no pun intended…) in the upcoming weeks is Google’s entrance into the television arena, which should be announced at their developer event in San Fran on May 19th and 20th. There, it’s expected that Google will unveil their Android-based television software. For the WSJ’s full article, visit: http://bit.ly/cX8bpQ
3. A common debate is how much CEO’s and other high-level execs should be involved in social media, something that often can only be determined on a case-by-case basis. Slate.com brought up the question yesterday of judge’s involvement in the social space. In fact, they point out that the judiciary is the only branch of the federal government that has virtually no social media presence. At the heart of the argument is that every contribution on social platforms could be reviewed for hints of bias, corruption, favoritism, etc. For some more compelling arguments from those in the legal profession, check out: http://bit.ly/bgTNBY
4. Lastly, this week’s winner for the most pointless new app goes to the “Magic Window.” This new app for the iPad allows users to choose from 10 scenic vistas that include sunsets, mountains, ocean, etc., helping turn a drab office space into something more inspirational. While I’m sure the graphics are stunning in person, it’s still reminiscent of the “Christmas Yule Log” DVD you can put on your TV to replicate a roaring fire, complete with crackling and popping. If you’re still interested, see more at: http://bit.ly/aoTsvs
   

   Image Courtesy of Mashable

That’s all for this week!

Although Romeo and Juliet is now regarded by many as Prokofiev’s finest work, soon after it’s unveiling, critical carping began.  In the local press, his score was decried as odd, inadequate, and lacking sufficient feeling and melody to effectively portray the emotions of the story.  It was different.  And different was, well, bad.

Prokofiev retorted, “My own conviction is that there is plenty of all that [emotion] in it.  I have never shunned the expression of feeling and have always been intent on creating melody – new melody, which perhaps certain listeners do not recognize as such simply because it does not resemble enough the kind of melody to which they are accustomed.”

There in the proverbial nutshell is the world’s oft-repeated critique of creativity.

“If people find no melody and no emotion in this work, I shall be very sorry.  But I feel sooner or later they will,” Prokofiev opined.  And they did.

Later, one New York critic wrote, “Prokofiev has written music for the masses and at the same time has attained extraordinary nobility.”  About the score, Prokofiev’s biographer, Israel V. Nestyev declared, “Here we find no trace of surface inventiveness, grotesquerie or expressionistic hyperbole.  The music recreates with extraordinary power and compassion the passions and dramatic conflicts of Shakespeare’s immortal characters.”

“No trace of surface inventiveness.”  Few definitions of creativity are more accurate than that.

Was Prokofiev creating “art for art’s sake?”  He said, “ In Romeo and Juliet I have taken special pains to achieve a simplicity which will, I hope, reach the hearts of all listeners.”

There, in another nutshell, is what I believe to be the battle cry and the redeeming value of creativity.  “Reach the hearts.”  Loyalty and brand bias are built in your beating chest organ far more than in your cranial cavity.

That’s why, though you’ve decided to purchase a new car based on facts and figures, when you suddenly see an alternative that sets your heart aflutter, facts take a back seat.  (Hence, I personally bought the Saab 9-5 instead of the more logical Toyota.) It is my opinion that people buy with their emotions, and later justify the purchase intellectually.  Even many mundane purchases are generally the result of some previous or immediate emotional connection.

I propose there is a very crucial link between creativity in communication and consumer awareness, sales, and loyalty.  Creativity, of the intelligent, well-strategized sort, is all about the bottom line.

It’s not uncommon to hear so-called marketing experts snidely proclaim, “It isn’t creative unless it sells.”  I reply, “But it doesn’t sell unless it’s creative, because if your message is not interesting, entertaining and relevant in the first place, it will be ignored or despised.

Oh sure, leading brands must also rely on effective positioning.  But even the cleverest positioning must be communicated in fresh fashion if it’s to be noticed, remembered and acted upon.

Thankfully, there is now considerable industry research that confirms that premise.  I have a stack of it I’ll share with you if you’re interested.