Zig and bumvertising: Bad ad rodeo

It's been a while since I've written another Bad Ad Rodeo, an analysis of awful ads that fail to inspire - but this one is juicy!

It’s called bumvertising, an offensive and ridiculous new invention by marketers (Zig Interactive here in Toronto) as a way to be tongue-in-cheek and promote a client’s socially critical message using socially distasteful means. Homeless people in Toronto have been paid $250 per day to sit with signs for CFRB talk radio and act as human billboards. We’ll talk about whether this is good marketing or not later, but it’s so transparently lacking in basic values that I’m inclined to say no matter how effective a campaign this was, it has really done our business and the client a disservice because of the general tone and reception of the campaign.

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There really wasn’t a better way to get the message across while still keeping your chins up? Are the CDs at Zig actually proud of the social discourse that they’ve catalyzed in Toronto about the homeless? How about whether they’re proud to call themselves marketers? I can certainly appreciate why observers might now have a bitter taste about our profession when this schlock can now act as a focal point for all the negative perceptions people have about ad men.

‘They are immoral’
‘They sell me things I don’t need’
‘They don’t care where the message is as long as someone sees it’

Bumvertising and Zig Interactive have done nothing to advance the state of marketing in Canada. There’s no differentiation or evolution of ideas from good to great. This isn’t great marketing…it’s just a sleazy shill for a client.

…and that’s another thing. If this was a campaign actioned at the client’s request, didn’t someone at Zig have enough of a spine to take a stand and express their dissatisfaction with how the agency might be selling its soul for CFRB?

But I guess the campaign might have actually been effective. Think about it. High-traffic locations, unique context, appropriate message, “should panhandling be illegal?” It’s hit the checklist of effective out-of-home campaigns, and it seems to have created a good buzz. You’d be hard pressed to find someone who does not have an opinion on this campaign or doesn’t show some sort of emotion when learning about it. It was likely also cost effective – I’m guessing $30K, including creative development and street execution?

But is that what the homeless are now in our downtown streets? Marketing campaign executioners?

I’m really disappointed in Zig and CFRB. Someone should have had the common sense to stand up amidst the back-slapping, hand-shaking, and self-congratulatory praise for developing such an “innovative, thought-provoking, and socially stimulating campaign” to say that while it may have been all of those things, it falls down on basic marketing morals and human decency.

Grade: F

Canadian internet usage statistics

It’s Christmas in July!


Yes, it’s that time of year again, the time when the Statistics Canada Internet Use Survey (CIUS) results are released to the public. Actually, the results were published in June, but I’m still brimming with excitement!

This is the kind of stuff that tech seers and Web 2.0 magi (I think I’m a magi?) eagerly anticipate. It’s hard empirical evidence for the adoption of trends and technologies which have really only been explained through rough anecdotes and less pure statistical findings.
In 2005, the HIUS was replaced by the CIUS. The new report can be found here on Statistics Canada’s website and it’s designed “to more closely conform to international standards” with a greater focus on individual, rather than household internet use.

But can you tell the real from the fake findings? Read the statements below and try to determine if they’re true or false.

To see the correct answer, highlight the space after >>> marks with your cursor.

In 2007, 73% of Canadians went online
>>>TRUE

This is down from 75% of Canadians in 2005
>>>FALSE, this is UP from 68% in 2005

Those living in cities access the internet relatively more than those living in rural areas
>>>TRUE

In Canada, women spend more time online at each sitting than men
>>>FALSE, relatively more men spend more time online than women

In Canada, women are online more frequently than men
>>>FALSE, relatively more men go online more often than women

Internet usage is relatively identical among people in different income brackets
>>>FALSE, the internet is used relatively more by people with higher incomes

91% of people with incomes of more than $95,000 used the internet in the last 12 months while only 47% of people with incomes of less than $24,000 used the internet in the last 12 months
>>>TRUE

96% of people ages 16-24 went online in the last 12 months
>>>TRUE

Relatively more immigrants who arrived in Canada in the last 10 years used the internet in the last 12 months than people who were born in Canada
>>>TRUE

A majority of Canadians with broadband access report seething rage and dissatisfaction with Bell Sympatico or Rogers High Speed internet services.
>>>TRUE! Actually, this wasn’t published in the report, so I do not know whether it’s true or not

Adoption of Web 2.0 related online activities (blogging, posting images, contributing content, or participating in discussion groups) is practiced by 50% of home internet users
>>>FALSE, it’s only 20% who do this

In Calgary, 85% of people ages 16 and over use the internet
>>>TRUE

70% of Canadians report having five or more years of experience going online
>>>FALSE, 54% of Canadians have five or more years experience going online

More Canadians play games online than in 2005
>>>FALSE, 39% of Canadians played online games in 2007 and 2005

British Columbia experienced the greatest growth in internet usage from 2005 and now has the most number of people online of any province
>>>TRUE, 78% of people from BC went online in 2007, up from 69% in 2005

So overall there are some pretty interesting findings. I’d encourage the B!G associates and execs to check this out. Of particular interest to me is the big leap in high bandwidth online activities like streaming video or downloading music. Also intriguing is the plateauing of general purpose internet searching activities for information at levels between 60-70% of the population.

The Canadian marketing challenge

It’s a beautiful Canada Day today and I am feeling great!

Canada is a fantastic place to live and do business, but I would not consider us to be a leader in marketing. But I’m determined to change that. Someday, I will start a new Canadian marketing agency and bring attention and significance our country, specifically Toronto, as a cluster of marketing innovation. It’ll be a challenge, no doubt, but here are a few key reasons why I feel that Canada has the potential to be a world leader in marketing:

Diversity is our strength

Look around at all the talent and perspectives brought to Canada by individuals from different parts of the world. Think too about how these are the best and brightest from around the world and that Canadians don’t accept a whole lot of negative cultural baggage upon arrival. I’ve said before that the stability and domestic peace is a defining aspect of the Canadian identity. For excellence in marketing, this means a tremendous opportunity to innovate and learn through concerted action and policy. Diversity in the workplace and in the marketplace forces marketers to be even more effective at driving relevance to consumers.

We are highly technological

Sure sure, we’re only now getting the iPhone, but think about how technologically savvy Canadians are in nearly every way. Canada has the second highest broadband penetration in the world (after South Korea) and Canadians engage in many varied actions online. We do online banking, downloading, streaming, IMing, FBing, and share videos, among others. It’s the fact that these online behaviors have permeated home, school, and workplace that gives Canada an advantage in marketing. The lessons learned here about new media and the emerging techniques marketers are using to develop relationships with technologically-smart consumers are applicable worldwide. You could say that Canada is riding the very crest of this wave.

We consume
God do we ever consume. We consume and pollute at some of the highest per capita levels anywhere in the world. With so much consumption comes a challenge to marketers for their product to occupy a greater share of the consumer’s wallet. As super-consumers, Canadians are also adept at filtering out unwanted or unnecessary marketing messages. This is not to say that we’re unresponsive, since Canadians have very intense relationships with marketers they trust (think Air Miles with a reach of 70% of the Canadian population). At least it’s a good thing that Canada has a lead in database marketing to capture all of this spending information!

But we still need a determined industrial policy to support the creation of knowledge-based, not skills-based work. Canada’s manufacturing and heavy industry economy is turning a corner in its evolution and will unlikely ever return to the vitality it had after the nation’s post-war boom. New industrial policy must support innovation in the technology, medical, and artistic sectors. Strength in these industries spins off growth in related and supporting industries, including marketing.

So those are my thoughts on our country’s 141st birthday. That is my pledge to make Canada a better place.