Save the Drama for Your Llama

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Advertising Industry Prepares for a Plummet

Today’s Listen is coming to you in the form of the freshest news in the marketing (and advertising) industry.

Joe and Robert of This Old Marketing Podcast discuss some biggies, like the latest quarterly results from WPP (spoiler alert: they’re bad), how Google is starting to reimburse clients and agencies for ad fraud, and how Goop done goofed.

It doesn’t really start until 12 minutes in, with a lengthy talk about ~the future of advertising~. All the good stuff (yeah, it’s a lot) is timestamped below:

(12:00) WPP, the London-based ad agency conglomerate, saw its shares fall 11% after a steep slowdown in global ad buying. Rival stocks fell too.
(13:30) The flight away from advertising as brands seek influencers and digital advertising, which is controlled by Google and Facebook.
(14:10) High-growth companies in a travel freeze, which hasn’t been a topic of discussion since 2007… Are agencies preparing for a downturn?
(19:00) Did you know 77% of new digital ad dollars go to FB and Google???
(21:22) Google is refunding advertisers who were running ads on fake websites.
(26:55) Washington Post brings AI to its native ads.
(28:03) This new ad product, Own, lets brands use their own content, but improves its chances of being seen with the aid of Heliograf, a news-writing bot.
(37:22) Goop got slammed for deceptive advertising. Truth in Advertising says Goop can’t back many of its promises about improving health, which is something a lot of people (like doctors) have been waiting for…
(38:25) These claims can mostly be found in Goop’s original content, but also this stuff (among others) that’s suppose to reduce panic attacks.
(42:05) Federal Trade Commission is starting to come down harder on content and those making claims on social media. Content marketing is not immune to this.
(46:28) Marketers in the Asia-Pacific region are the only ones in the world to rank content marketing as their number one priority for 2017. Interesting…

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10 Self-Editing Tips That Will Make You a Better Writer

Writing isn’t easy. Actually, writing is easy, but writing well is difficult. But, you know what’s harder than writing? Editing your own work.

We’ve all been there — spending hours writing and editing your newest blog post and it’s perfect in your eyes. Then you pass it off to your editor and she finds 15 obvious mistakes. Thanks a lot, Regina…really wanted you to rip my work apart on this sunny Wednesday morning.

If you’re tired of Regina always finding mistakes, today’s Read will save you.

WordStream is coming in hot with this article on self-editing tips to make you a better writer. A few of their tips:

Stop using fancy words just to sound smarter. There’s a myriad of these words out there, but they don’t help you convey a message. Those words just make your writing harder to read.
Use Germanic words instead of Latinate words when possible. Example: the word “utilize” is used all the time in writing, but who ever says that word in conversation? No one. It’s a Latinate word.
Stop making baseless assumptions. If you make a claim, back it up with a reference to your research. (See: Goop + deceptive advertising.)
Add interesting details. Details are necessary in writing, but they have to help advance the point you’re making. A boring detail like, “Regina was wearing a dress” doesn’t help you connect with Regina and it doesn’t help you learn much about Regina.
Teach people something. This was one of our favorite tips. If you’re going to write and publish something, why not teach your readers a valuable lesson?

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Save the Drama for Your Mama

…Or your teenaged llama. That’s the phrase that Zappos is playing with in their newest ad campaign.

The whole campaign is focused on showing how easy their no-hassle customer service is. It kind of reminds us of the running of the bulldogs Geico commercial that seems to be everywhere right now.

Either way, we like the fact that these 15-second commercials quickly explain Zappos’ customer service in a way that will make you quietly laugh to yourself.

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