A soccer match lasts 90 minutes, which includes two 45 minutes halves with very minimal interruptions.  This leaves very little time for commercials to air advertisement.  In most televised sports, including baseball, basketball, football, and golf – there are regular breaks during the game allowing networks to sell airtime and companies to market their products to viewers.  Unfortunately, the game of soccer is not structured to accommodate standard commercial advertising In my opinion this is one of the main reasons soccer is not regularly broadcasted on TV.

Advertisers and networks should explore alternative advertising methods that satisfy the advertiser and compliment the sport.  In similar fashion to NASCAR, MLS recently implemented the sale of advertising space on soccer jerseys and warm-up gear.  This gives advertisers the opportunity to purchase ad space and place company logos directly on the players, for an entire 90 minutes, not just 30 seconds of air time.  Networks could benefit by incorporating advertisements in the scoreboard graphic overlays or tickers in the bottom of the screen during the games.

As my colleague stated, why should we have to wait another four years to cheer on our favorite soccer teams?  Advertisers and networks should embrace America’s growing love for soccer, by seeking alternative advertising techniques and televising more matches!

These features can create an impressive end-result; however, there is one issue that can arise: “The Purple Bar” issue. If you have generated long-format interactive pdfs from InDesign, you will be well-acquainted with this “Purple Bar” reference.

Adobe has coded a few different warning messages to appear on any pdfs that have form fields. The warning message encountered frequently is: “Please fill out the following form. If you are a form author, choose Distribute Form in the Forms menu to send it to your recipients.”

Sample of View with Purple Form Error Message

This message is handy for the majority of viewers of a form document. However, the bar also appears on interactive documents that do not have any fields to fill out! This is because Adobe interprets a large amount of buttons on an interactive document as form fields. This includes Previous/Next and other navigation buttons. This has been an issue from Adobe CS3 onward, and the subject of many animated Adobe support forums. Turning off the purple bar is easily done once the end-user manipulates his or her preferences. However, this workaround is less than ideal and appears more like a programming error versus a software flaw. Another workaround has been to program the navigation within InDesign using linking versus buttons. This proves tedious and is unattractive for scalable templates.

Problem Solved!
After many hours of testing and scouring support sites, a fix has finally emerged that appears to work across platforms and versions and its easy to do. Go into Acrobat reader Document Properties>Initial View tab> Check the “Hide Window Controls” option.

Adjust Initial View from Document Properties Panel

Once the pdf is saved and reopened, the purple bar is removed:

Sample of View without Purple Form Error Message

Turning off the Window controls option should be weighed against the needs of the audience and the nature of the document.

For more information on the interactivity options in Adobe, go to Adobe TV and check out their video: Interactive InDesign PDF & SWF.

I was fortunate enough to travel to South Africa and experience the World Cup in person.  The pride and joy that many of you saw on television, was bigger and better then you can imagine.  The hospitality and kindness that I experienced was something I won’t soon forget.  Meeting so many people from different countries and being able to watch the world come together to celebrate was great. However, the connection I felt to those around me was truly magical.

I’m fortunate in that this was my second trip to the continent of Africa.  My first being a summer abroad when I was in high school, living with a host family in Tunisia.  I was blessed to have parents who saw the importance of introducing their children to other cultures and making us realize that our similarities to people around the world are much greater than our differences. The memories I took away from both experiences will last a life time.  However it made me think: Do I have to travel across the globe to feel that way again?

The answer is no. We can all experience a great connection to one another without ever leaving town.  I encourage everyone to expand your horizons.  Move outside your comfort zone and experience something new.  Whether it is volunteering at a cultural center, teaching English as a second language or hosting a foreign exchange student, there are countless ways we can shrink our world and enrich our lives.  Below are just a few resources which offer these opportunities.  Go out and experience different cultures.  Learn to respect our differences and embrace our similarities.  Let’s not wait another four years to experience World Cup fever!

AFS: http://www.afs.org/afs_or/home

AYUSA: http://www.ayusa.org/

TESOL: http://www.tesol.org/

So how do advertisers reach the 71 million “Millennials” in GenY that spend over 200 billion dollars annually and will soon replace the baby boomer generation as the largest percentage of the workforce?  The answer: Advertising can no longer be a group of old men deciding what is best for consumers.

According to the book, Trust Us, We’re Experts: How Industry Manipulates Science and Gambles with Your Future, Sheldon Rampton and John Stauber attack the 20^th Century model of marketing and public relations for misusing their power as “experts” in the eyes of the consumer.

Products and services used to be validated using this “third-party technique”, where an industry would purchase the services of so-called independent experts (a.k.a. advertising agencies) to promote a message that would monetarily benefit a specific industry.  The advertising spin-doctors would then shape a message to flatter the product or service, while simultaneously discrediting or attacking the competition.  Sometimes they would even go so far as to suppress or manipulate problematic data about the product or service to make it “sell-able”.

But advertising has taken a turn – consumers no longer rely on the experts.  Not only do they not want to be told what to buy, they don’t want to be pushed into what to think, who to vote for and how to raise their children.

Today’s advertising is about the consumer deciding what they want to see and buy.  For example, according to a national survey from Arbitron and Edison Research, 48 percent of Americans 12 years and older have a profile on one or more social networking sites.  On Facebook, the most visited website, consumers can “like” a note or post a page. Advertisers code the site to recognize those favorites and use this information to target the needs of consumers.  All of the sudden on your Facebook page there is an ad for your favorite band on tour in your area or a new restaurant to try on your street. No more pop-up ads flashing shiny letters and “experts” selling you catchy phrases and manipulated data.

Advertisers finally realize that it’s not about how much spin they can put on a product or service to increase sales – it’s now all about YOU.

British Petroleum’s oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is an example of how a strong company brand can be destroyed instantly. It’s costing the company a heap in terms of human resources and dollars to salvage their brand. We can all learn from BP’s misfortune by not losing control of our company brand.

It’s a good idea to periodically refresh employees as to what your mission is and how your brand is defined. Is service or price number one?  How about integrity or quality? There are no “right answers” but everyone needs to understand and effectively communicate the company’s differentiators and core strengths. Those key messages have to be consistent in all forms of communication, marketing and social media.

The brand’s content needs to be consistent with how it visually appeals to its customers. West End is a good example of how a brand can totally remake the image of a company by fine tuning it’s product line.  But this can not be done on a whim. You need to understand the needs of  your current and potential customers. The trick is not alienating current customers in the process of trying to expand. Check out Fuel Your Branding for more on the visual aspects of branding.

Brands can emulate a rollercoaster ride. Take Apple as an example. They release the new iPhone 4; brand value goes way up. But the phones are difficult to order due to technical glitches; brand value goes down.  Then they are unable to fulfill the large quantity of orders; brand value goes down further.  Unfortunately, these setbacks happen, but how you handle these situations can positively or adversely affect your brand. Apple addressed the iPhone 4 delays head on with an apology and explanation (they were totally unprepared for the volume because it was way more than previous iPhones); brand value goes back up. Then there is the problem with the antenna; brand goes back down. The goal is to not have these types of hiccups, but life is unpredictable and therefore all companies need to be prepared to handle these bumps in the road effectively.

Maintaining a brand is more than having a pretty new logo every year. It’s about knowing what your brand is and communicating that both internally and externally. It’s vital to avoid actions which degrade your brand and when necessary, doing damage control. Remember, it takes years to create a positive brand, but one wrong move and it can be destroyed overnight.

YouSendIt, Dropbox, and SendSpace each offer a solution to get your larger file to where it needs to be. While these companies also specialize in a number of other solutions, below is a comparison of the features and benefits specific to their free-of-charge, large file transfer service.

YouSendIt Lite
YouSendIt is the most popular file transfer service available. Their free, registration-required membership allots 100MB of transfer space. Only one file may be transferred at a time — a hurdle quickly surmounted with a .zip package. There are a number of plug-ins that allow files to be sent directly from most commonly used applications such as Outlook, Acrobat, and Photoshop. To send a file you may login to you YouSendIt online or from the desktop application, complete a standard email form, and attach your large file. The recipient receives an email with a link to a YouSendIt download page. Alternatively you may simply copy and paste this link into an email and send via your regular email client — without using the YouSendIt email form. The file is hosted for 7 days then taken down. Advanced security and a return receipt are available on a pay-per-use basis. A 1 GB per month download limit is free with this level of subscription.

SendSpace Lite
SendSpace works much like YouSendIt, but registration is not required. The limit on file sending is 300MB per file, with up to 5 files allowed per delivery instance. By registering you are able to track the number of downloads per file. Files expire if they are not downloaded for 30 days. Like YouSendIt, you may either use their email form to send the link to your recipient or simply send the link to the download page. Watch out though, the SendSpace download page is noisy with animated ads, and often times the emails sent from SendSpace are interpreted as spam.

Dropbox
This company’s primary business is file syncing, but with their free membership comes a snazzy way of delivering files quickly. Dropbox works as a virtual online storage space accessible via a shortcut installed across any number of your personal or work computers. Upon registering and dowloading the application, the Dropbox folder is installed directly on the desktop. If are online, anything transferred into this folder is automatically synced with your global Dropbox account. Subfolders can be shared from the Dropbox folder by sending an invite to new or registered users. To send files to someone without a Dropbox account, simply place the file in the “Public” folder of your Dropbox directory. With a right-click on the file, you may copy the public, downloadable link to this file and send to your intended recipient. The file size limitation is 2GB total for your entire Dropbox. Controlling the file expiration is done by removing the file from the Dropbox directory.

Each company provides a free service aimed at getting your large files where they need to be. In addition to the lite membership levels there are several subscriptions tiers for each, allowing increasingly larger file space, security options, and other enhanced features.

If file expiration control and larger file size is your primary concern, the Dropbox option may be for you. If unlimited downloads and trackablility are paramount, SendSpace may be the way to go. And if ease of transfer from your commonly used applications such as Outlook and Acrobat is what you desire, be sure to check out at YouSendIt.

Mobile advertising is catching up to the fast growing mobile market.  In the Mobile State of the Industry Survey conducted by DM2Pro, agencies reported that mobile advertising average spending increased a substantial 80 percent in 2010 from $143,000 in 2009 to $260,000.  This advertising allotment may not appear significant.  However, with the rapid increase of new mobile technologies coming to market and the flexibility and possibilities these devices enable consumers, mobile advertising is at the forefront of the advertising world.

As the mobile market continues to grow, consider incorporating mobile advertising into your brand’s marketing campaigns.  Here are a few effective types of mobile advertising that can be implemented:

Mobile Web Banners – Similar to banner advertisements you see on Internet websites, mobile web banners (located at the top of a page) or mobile web posters (located at the bottom of a page) are advertisements created specifically for website interfaces developed for mobile devices.

SMS Messages – SMS ads are short messages sent as text only messages to mobile phones and can be distributed to a purchased list of phone numbers.  According to the Mobile Marketing Association, SMS advertising accounts for a staggering 90 percent of mobile advertising revenue worldwide.

MMS Messages – With mobile devices now featuring large, color displays, multimedia messages (MMS) are becoming increasingly popular in mobile advertising.  Engaging graphic advertisements are replacing plain SMS text messages.

Sponsorships – Mobile games, apps and videos are viable sources for advertising opportunities. Advertisements can be placed within these mediums, before the applications or web pages load.

Augmented Reality Apps – Applications, like the Layar Reality Browser, use one’s current surroundings to highlight businesses and places of interest in the immediate area. This is a great opportunity for business to consumer companies to list places of business within augmented reality applications. Consumers can gain access to business information, including real-time directions taking consumers directly to a business from their current location.

These are just a few examples of how advertising is penetrating the mobile market. When planning your next marketing campaign, extend your advertising reach by adding a mobile advertising element into the mix.

Tip: To learn more information on mobile advertising, mobile marketing guidelines, or mobile marketing case studies, visit the Mobile Marketing Association website.

While this concept is straightforward, unfortunately new ideas, collaborators and goals often change the course and timing of the project. Behind the scenes, we refer to this as scope creep. Scope creep refers to unaccounted-for changes in a project’s original scope. This phenomenon can occur when the scope of a project is not properly defined, documented, or controlled. A few hours here and there – next thing you know, 20 hours have been tacked on.

Here are a few strategies for thoroughly planning and defining a project that solve for some of scope creep’s favorite weak spots:

• Creative brief: A creative brief is a document used to develop creative deliverables: visual design, copy, advertising, web sites, etc. Make sure the creative brief is completed before the work begins – especially in advance of copy writing or design. Be sure to review it over the phone or in-person with your client to ensure that all questions are addressed. Check out this workshop from the people at Dare for more information on developing a solid creative brief.
• Role playing: Imagine you are the target audience. What happens next? What information is important? What is left to be desired? Have a colleague that hasn’t worked on the project evaluate it. Make sure that you’re communicating what you intended.
• Call to action (CTA): Determine what you want the audience to do and how you will measure success. Once the audience has reacted according to your CTA, what happens next? Are statistics and metrics needed? Do you want to capture email addresses for an opt-in?
• Q&A: As always, don’t be afraid to ask questions during the planning process. The key from an agency perspective is to provide an insightful question that gets your client thinking. Instead of “What color do you like?” say “Blue is calming and red is action-oriented. What emotion do we want to communicate through our color scheme?” The client will take the time to think through the various options instead of going with a gut reaction that might be second-guessed in the next round of revisions.

While scope creep is inevitable for almost every project, there are steps you can integrate into your workflow that will lessen the blow. Expect that the scope will change and make sure you address this with your client. Some clients may want to pay for these changes as they go in the form of a change order, and others may want you to include room for revisions in the original estimate. If you go with the latter, make sure you clearly define the terms of the revisions that are covered in the original contract.

However, just as Doug Pray conveyed in his documentary film, Art & Copy (which premiered in the 2009 Sundance Film Festival and was funded by the non-profit advertising organization, One Club) – “Hate advertising? Make better ads”.  Pray bases his documentary on the idea that advertising may actually be a unique and rebellious accomplishment, similar to what most of us know as “art”, rather than the manipulative “Devil’s workshop” with which the industry is typically associated.

“Sure, [advertising agencies] were just selling us stuff, but along the way, their ads actually inspired us, entertained us, or might have even been socially redeeming,” wrote Pray in his film synopsis.

Art & Copy details some of the greatest advertising since the 1960s and unearths the creative mavericks behind these ad campaigns and innovations that have literally defined mainstream culture.  The cast includes the real “Mad Men” of today’s industry, including: Dan Wieden and David Kennedy of Wieden+Kennedy, who helped turn a then little-known athletic shoe company into a trend for decades with the slogan, “Just Do It”; Lee Clow, the man behind Apple’s  “Think Different” ads; Mary Wells, with the help of Creative Director Charlie Moss, who fashioned the “I (Heart) New York” campaign; and George Lois, whose “I Want My MTV” campaign elevated the booming channel into the mainstream (and into a song by Dire Straits).

These are examples of the commercials and campaigns we can never seem to get out of our heads.  We may not appreciate advertising that treats us as needy, unintelligent or easily manipulated, but we do appreciate when advertising is clever, brilliant, funny, or emotionally charged, as these creative and innovative campaigns have been.  Advertising is the daily language of our entire system of commerce, and it’s not going anywhere anytime soon.

As one of the top creative minds in advertising says in this inspiring film about creativity, art and innovation, “That’s advertising, baby!” –George Lois.  Art & Copy was released on DVD in May 2010, so I suggest you buy a copy in order to be introduced to the real “Mad Men” of advertising.

The bike ride of a lifetime is just two weeks away. Starting June 6^th I’ll be participating in the ninth annual AIDS/LifeCycle event, a 7-day bike ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles. I saw this event as an opportunity to do some good for a worthy cause, get in shape and travel distances I would never have fathomed doing on my own. But like all great adventures, each step has provided surprises and discoveries, making this event all the more meaningful and exciting to participate in.

The generosity I have received from family, friends, business associates and complete strangers has been amazing and empowering. I have received several positive comments and notes from people thanking me for my time and dedication. These kind words have left a lasting impression and a better appreciation for the entire event and cause as a whole. What I thought was just a personal journey, is now becoming an achievement of many goals. This journey helps me appreciate the smaller things in life: to slow down and be grateful for what I have and how lucky I really am.

Getting more involved in the cycling community has taught me additional skills and a better appreciation for the sport. Two of my friends have recently been seriously injured while riding bikes. One of them was training for the AIDS/LifeCycle ride and now is on a successful, but long recovery from a broken hip. Needless to say, I have a new found respect for safety on bikes and for all bike riders. I hope we can learn to be kind to bike riders and for bike riders to be safe and respectful. Wow, I’m sounding old!

One temptation I have avoided is participating in the “Princess Ride”, as the insiders call it. This provides all of the participating riders the opportunity to sleep in motels instead of camping with no power, porta-potties, portable showers and sleeping in tents with strangers. Now come on, if I am going to ride 545 miles, I’ve got to do this camping thing too!

I may be in my 50s, but the good thing about starting something new is I have a lot of room for improvement. Although I have not trained as much as I would have liked to, I think I’ll survive the 545 miles!

Thank you to everyone that has contributed and supported my journey. If you are interested in helping me raise additional money for this wonderful cause, please visit the Pat Belding AIDS/LifeCycle homepage and look for the orange box titled “Support Pat”. Thank you!

Pat watching California AMGEN Bike Race

Carpe Diem!! Ready or Not Here I go!!