Last year, Burger King’s TV-ad spending fell 18%, spending on
magazines dropped 78% and newspapers declined 29%, (TNS
Media Intelligence).

An interview with the chain’s marketing chief, Russ Klein, in today’s Journal reveals why:

"…since 2003 we made a
decided push into emerging media and we decided to get into a whole
host of things from micro sites, mobile phones, video downloads, text
messaging and gaming… We weren’t going to wait around for the
traditional measurement systems to catch up with it. The eyeballs have
already moved.

[Commenting on a recent ad that pictured a faux striptease and worries that the King only appeals to young men, Klein reveals the BK has very strong sense of its customers] …our core customer is a customer who generally appreciates
the edge, if you will, that we deliver our advertising with.

…we
think that the DNA of the Burger King brand tends to be a bit more
adolescent and stormy than that of our competitors. McDonald’s tends to
be a regression to childhood while Wendy’s is more paternal and
old-fashioned.

…My personal philosophy is effective advertising stems
from tension, and when it’s provocative it’s more ingrained in the
culture…I think viewers today appreciate clever and provocative
advertising."

Mr Klein has succeeded in reinvigorating an old brand without talking benefits or following any of the fast food industry’s marketing playbook. The new work flowed from a tighter, differentiated vision of the BK customer. Read the rest of the interview here (subscription required).

When Lotus Child was little, her family’s car rolled down a hill. Not in the “Wheeeee, this is fun!” way. Or even the “Oh-no-the-parking-brake-failed!” way.

No, this was more of a “Why-are-we-suddenly-upside-down?” situation. As the family came to rest at the bottom of the hill, everyone looked around, discovered they were unhurt, and stepped out of the car, cool as a family of cucumbers.

Probably to wild applause. We don’t know. We weren’t there.

What we do know is the girl was already training for a career at the Mortar.

Mortar is pleased to announce the addition of the fabulously talented Lotus Child as Associate Creative Director.

How talented? Don’t take it from us. Check out her portfolio.

You may now applaud wildly.

Interruptive marketers take note, advertising really should entertain, inform and delight. 

Not barge in and help itself to whatever’s on offer.

Advertisers have a contract with prospects. Ignore the convenant at your peril.

Take these stats from today’s Wall Street Journal "Ad Buyers Eye Clear Channel’s ‘Blink’ Spots":

"Clear Channel’s seconds-long ad pitch is the latest
phase of a broader effort by the company to sweeten the appeal of
advertising on its 1,100 stations. In 2004, in an initiative it called
"Less is More," the broadcaster began to cut back the number of
commercials it runs by 15% to 20%, a response to critics who complained
that commercial overload was driving away listeners…

…In 2004, radio stations averaged 14.9
minutes of ads an hour, while some stations were running as many as 22
minutes, according to Wall Street firm J.P. Morgan Chase.

JP Morgan analyst John Blackledge says the heavy ad
load is contributing to the erosion of listenership. Indeed, a survey
of 401 radio listeners conducted last year found that 13% switched the
station as soon as a program went to a commercial, while another 20%
switched after hearing one ad. More troubling for advertisers, the
study, by Denver research firm Paragon Media Strategies, showed younger
listeners were significantly more likely to switch the channel.

Young people are likely switching away from ads in
increasing numbers because there are far more choices for them to find
commercial-free music today — from satellite radio to iPods.

Because of the Clear Channel cutbacks, other radio
stations have begun to cut back on ad load, says J.P. Morgan’s Mr.
Blackledge. As a result, the average amount of ad time on radio
stations in the U.S. has dropped to 10.8 minutes per hour, he says.
Still, he adds, some stations are running up to 17 minutes of ads per
hour."

So, Clear Channel is responding to the flight of listeners to the Web by actually increasing ad load. You’d think they would reduce the number of ads — or maybe police the quality of what they air.

Now that’s an idea.

Isn’t it about time someone figured out how to accurately measure how many people are listening to our spots?

The Long Tail author, and  Wired magazine editior,  Chris Anderson’s book tour swung by Golden Gate University a few weeks back.

For a limited time KQED is rebroadcasting his speech here.

Special thanks to MortarPR for making it happen.