Brian Putzy Marketing 235 The Wharton School There are three types of ads, in my opinion: ads for

purpose/message, ads for awareness/hype and ads for purpose/message as well as awareness/hype. It isnt hard to make an advertisement. Although I would argue that the most effective ads are the latter. I feel that the given awards/polls do not have the ability to be predictive of success. Success in advertising is based on a multiplicative of variables with various correlational factors. Although there are quantifiable metrics to determine the so-called effectiveness (being these various awards), they rely on the notion of hindsight or backward thinking. In another class at Penn (Sociology of Media & Pop Culture), we learned that in the television/film industry, hits are random. Although characteristics such as director, actors, location, plot type etc..are present, the overall success of the movie shows relatively low correlation with these characteristics. Consumer research, shows that although consumers have preferences, the holistic experience is used to assess consumers willingness to purchase. It is hard to compare or judge effectiveness given that we are dealing with individual companies with internally driven goals. Although these goals are somewhat similar across industries (increased: awareness, sales, brand image etc..), the goals themselves and the degree to which commitment is ensued to achieve said goal as well as the underlying business model of the individual companies would be the basis to measure effectiveness. A 1% increase in market share in a dense industry wouldnt be that substantial, while a 1% increase in a concentrated industry, such as aerospace, could translate to millions if not billions of dollars. My point is, that these awards/polls arent

predicative of success because there are too many unknowns. Consumers dont know what they truly want until after the fact. And even if consumers want it, doesnt mean the commercial will sway them to purchase the goods. Externalities in life exists whose occurrence and effects are hard to predict and affect consumersprefrences: weather, economic crisis, war, etc..all of which influence the mind-set of consumers decision to purchase. Industry Metrics: Advertisering Data I would argue the Effies and Ogilvy would be the best choices for advertising competitiveness as it uses hard data-driven indicators to determine success, which is more so defined by $ROI. Marketing Agencies- I would think agencies would be more appreciative of the creative side, favoring the prestige and hype of the Cannes film festival as ad agencies should be more concerned about their own brand image in a continuing un-differentiated media platforms via low barriers to entry in the digital media market. Marketing to Millennialism: An Opinion by Brian Putzy Who are we? Good Question..

What ought to be the simplest question one person can pose, who are you , is in my opinion the most difficult question to answer. And given the existence of an entire industry (marketing/advertising) whose sole goal is answer this question suggests I'm not alone in the fight. But I feel this to be the true characterization of Millennials. We truly don t know who we are. Unlike generations before us, we have a hard time following

paths blazed by those who have come before us. Technology and the massive spread of information have eliminated most of the previously asymmetrical information. Youth in Europe can watch their favorite football teams play live in South Africa. Rural school children in China can sync classrooms with school children in the U.S. The mass amount of knowledge available to our generation is overwhelming more than anything, and we find ourselves trolling through infinite information trying to processes it, while at the same time sorting through it to develop our own personal sense of self & identity. The problem for marketers is, given this mass amount of information, how do you get your message heard? And once it s heard, how will Millenials even receive it? Marketing has become competitive, not just between companies, but in effective idea generation. And for me, this marks a shift in the core dynamics of what advertising is and the forms in which advertising will be effective in the future. In my opinion, advertising is becoming less and less about the actual products, but rather the connotations behind those products; and whether or not they help us to describe who we are to the world. In addition people themselves have become more available. Facebook, Twitter, Linked-In has connected the globe socially while advancements in the internet and e-commerce have connected the globe financially. Unlike generations before us, we re not competing against those within the U.S. for food, jobs, knowledge, relationships etc..but against the entire world! Out of necessity we have become self-branders, looking at an individual products place in the overall picture of how we portray our personal image.

Darwin s theory of natural selection, albeit adapted to a more sociological perspective than biological, truly describes the circumstances in which we live. The fittest survive. We are a generation of extremes and polarization. At one pole, as some critiques stated exists the dumbest generation . But at the other pole exists what I would argue to be the most intellectually demanding and intellectually stimulating generation yet. We aren t fueled by the known or by order and rigidity, but rather by the unknown, spontaneity and adaptability. Advertisers no longer can use a one-and-done strategy to encumber our entire generation. We are a generation of diversity in all facets: race, ethnicity, social class, intelligence, style, culture etc..and to target to us, advertising is going to have to become more intelligent and less broad in scope, utilizing technology to deliver more individualized and diversified means of advertising rather than purely broad bombardment. There is no consumer behavior , however there are behaviors of consumers and correlations there within. To me, marketing research should utilize data research to figure out how to better service consumers, selling this information to advertising agencies as well as corporations themselves. To try and characterize a worldwide generation would be an extrapolation .Milleniall s are not a single consumer demographic. Rather, we are a collective of undifferentiated ideals but characterized by our differentiation in consumption. My speculation would be that rather than taking products and figuring out how to create a want/need for that product, advertisers will have to analyze society and individuals within it, our interactions and the products we decide to consume

via end-user purchase analysis. But in my eyes, it will also become more about how people interact with each other & corporations, as, in their simplest form, are a grouping of individuals. To separate the marketers entirely from the consumers is a current flaw in the marketing system. Marketing is an art form and a science. In essence, art is critiqued while science is analyzed. It is this combination of critique + analysis that both leads but also follows consumers. In Lehman s terms, it s the oncoming of Democratic Marketing via the Digital Redux.