Selling Detroit with a print ad?

Edward- This last week you came and spoke at my class at Emerson College. I really caught onto what you were saying, when you stressed how this is the most exciting time to be getting involved with marketing. It is funny because with print going out and the economy struggling, this was not a common thing to hear. But you said that with this new strain of social media and creative online communication, advertising and marketing can explore a whole new level of imaginative ideas and expression. I agree with what you are saying with these ads. One of the greatest parts of social media is that is also reflects a more progressive and "always getting better" quality that would be very powerful for a city. I think that either a Twitter or blog would be great. Detroit has so many great stories and history behind it. I think that a blog with different Detroit veterans telling their tales and expressing their connections to the city would be really interesting. Building a personalized bond, that shows that they are totally in love with where they come from. I also wanted to thank you for saying that to my class. The part about it being the most exciting time to enter the marketing industry. I am graduating on Tuesday and moving to NYC. It is scary because, everyone is worried about the job market and how we are going to accomplish our dreams in such a economic down turn. I truly appreciated your insight and how you gave us a positive look into the future of our chosen profession. That really meant a lot coming from someone like you. Thank you. Happy Holidays Riley Eggers

Bad design/marketing is always bad, regardless of the tactic: print/digital/broadcast. What I'm more curious about than the fact that it's print is the fact that it's in Fortune. I can't read the ad but if it's in Fortune it must be targeting business right? So, if you're targeting businesses in the print version of Fortune magazine why use Kid Rock and why such small print? .-= Michael Durwin´s last blog ..Engine East prepares to launch =-.

Many comments here that are easy to agree with. But it might also be helpful to separate the two original issues Edward brought up and acknowledge responsibility for each: - Obviously Time Inc. went to these agencies as part of their year-long focus on Detroit (http://tinyurl.com/yavycub). So the question of print v. a more interactive medium should be addressed to them - although it would have been nice if one of the agencies had suggested some options, even if they were in addition to creating a print ad. - The quality of the ads themselves: alas, no where to point except to those who created them.

Cliche. From medium choice to creative (A glamour shot of Kid Rock? really?) As a Michigan native and young creative, I could not have been more disappointed. If individuals think selling Detroit still rests on stereotypes of blues-rock and automobiles they are out of touch, out of demo (executives and young adults alike) and, the part which saddens me the most and compels me to write this comment, out of help's reach. Detroit is not going to attract smart young creatives and the executives that hire them by touting what was (have we learned nothing from GM?). They are going to attract them by tapping into what is and could be: a community stirring with potential, passion and opportunity. Some older people scratching their heads right now? Yes, i just said potential and opportunity. It lives. In Detroit coffee shops, clubs, neighborhoods and streets. From fashion and music to architecture and design, there is a network of burgeoning young creative talent milling about. Tap into. Leverage it. As a message and a voice (via crowdsourcing). For Detroit to be reborn it needs to be rebranded, and the infrastructure for that new brand platform is there.

Wow. Crowdsource this bad boy if you want to reach the target. Who in that group is buying print? You are absoultely right; with all of the available free social networking possibilities, why print?? They'll probably post it in Parade. Sure it has great reach, but not with this crowd.

DONER, the agency behind the Shackleton ripoff ad is so full of hypocrisy it's really sickening. They claim they want to bring in creative people to the Detroit area, while just this past year they cut 200+ "creative" advertising jobs in their own shop. Not to mention a pension scandal, several lawsuits, and the worst working environment in the industry... it's honestly a hipster sweatshop. If they were smart they would have regretfully declined CNN's invite to this... it's just making them look like asshats. Hey Rob... Stick to Camel Ammo LOL (http://www.mediabistro.com/agencyspy/what_the/doner_ccos_wife_causes_a_stir_on_howard_stern_142945.asp) Read: http://www.mediabistro.com/agencyspy/agencies/doner_advertisings_layoff_madness_114283.asp http://www.mediabistro.com/agencyspy/doner/updates_on_doner_its_not_pretty__114701.asp http://www.mediabistro.com/agencyspy/doner/we_hear_doner_pension_plan_scandal_brings_government_interest_136850.asp http://www.mediabistro.com/agencyspy/agencies/bad_news_of_the_day_cuts_to_come_at_doner_113782.asp

If you are a magazine group holding a contest it makes sense to ask for print ads. As a ˈDēˌtroit native I wish the city well, but none of the ads inspire me to return to the city. .-= Mark Harmel´s last blog ..the rebranding of FedEx Office =-.

Why don't you start a crowdsourcing project for an integrated campaign that needs to start with a print ad - just to be fair - but can include anything else including the use of a new car. Maybe you'll with the Chevy account. .-= Bruce DeBoer´s last blog ..Your Creative Beginners Mind =-.

One more thought (and really, I apologize if the above sounded snarky, didn't mean it) ... the fact that this campaign reached you, Edward, in a print issue of Fortune, and you are an upper executive in charge of hiring young people potentially in Detroit ... it does seem the media buy was on target. So again, not the medium or message ... but the demo that counts. Thanks for provoking so many thoughts on this. .-= Ben Kunz´s last blog ..Social media snake oil: All rattle and no bite =-.

Edward, I think you did miss an angle. As much as I agree with your passion for new channels, advertising isn't buying space (ad) in a medium (magazine), it is buying an *audience.* So let's explore who the audience for this campaign might be. Executives. In charge of companies. Who might do business in (or best, relocate to or hire people in) Detroit. By hiring young, smart people -- who aren't really the audience, but instead, their potential bosses who guide companies. I'm guessing the average age of such a decision-maker is 50 years old, white male, who over-indexes in MRI on print media consumption. This group is also emerging users of the Internet, but because they fly often to meetings and buy magazines in airports, print vehicles such as Forbes and Fortune are sure ways to reach them. So print ads work, against this audience of influencers who could invest human resources in Detroit. It's not the message, or the medium -- it's the demo. And this demo seems bought, spot on. A second possibility is the broad canvas of the print creative format is a perfect canvas for creative that could cascade virally. You know, be shared on blogs of top agency types. But perhaps now I'm just thinking too hard ;) The final third possibility is I'm biased because I love print myself. I buy magazines in airports. And dream I'm a big-shot executive with the power to hire young people in Detroit. .-= Ben Kunz´s last blog ..Social media snake oil: All rattle and no bite =-.

As a Detroiter, I was quite disappointed with these ads. First, they didn't open the entries to the public. They invited agencies. Second, the agencies asked were all based elsewhere with a satellite office in the region. Those satellite agencies aren't even in Detroit, they are in the suburbs. Most of those that work in those agencies only set foot in the boundaries of Detroit once in a great while. They missed the mark completely. I am all for this project, but the magazine should have opened the contest up to Detroit-based creatives, not just large suburban agencies.

Detroit has gone through enough. Don't make them suffer through bad advertising tactics as well. To be fair...do they have the money to invest in anything more substantial though? .-= Stuart Foster´s last blog ..Please Hire Us! =-.

I couldn't agree with you more. It's sad really. I want so badly for publishing to pull itself out of this funk they're in, but they consistently appear to be about 10 to 15 years behind the times. I'm scared for Detroit if this is as far as we're collectively working to take them. .-= ktroia´s last blog ..ktroia: ktroia Everything I need to know in business I learned from Howard Stern http://ow.ly/167ig1 =-.