But it somehow feels like it’s directed towards men, fathers, who have families. But any how, whatever the case, it’s about saving your family, the people you love most. The part where the man gets in the actual crash is simply amazing: the glitters, like shattered glass, or like the glitter and love of a family torn into pieces.

What a wonderful piece. Actions sure did speak louder than words for this campaign.

The Ad Industry Needs to Be Marketed More

While English may not be my first language, I never knew what the term “marketing” was until I took an intro marketing course in college.

Isn’t that ironic? How the billions of dollars spent on marketing can’t push the general term out to young kids.

I was lucky. I fell in love with it. And maybe most marketing professionals were lucky like me.

But here’s an ugly truth: I’ve never seen or heard of any child who’s dreamed of becoming a marketer. Period.

I’ve heard cute dreams of being a doctor, a princess, a president, a lawyer, a pilot, or a inventor… but a marketer? Wow and ow.

What’s even sadder is that Advertising, which is really a part of all the marketing efforts is even more clandestine.

Ask a layperson if they know what an Account Executive does: “what? some kind of accounting CEO?”

Ask a layperson what a copywriter does: “someone who makes copyrights?”

See, I learned marketing, but never knew about such roles in advertising until I actually started studying advertising on my own.

But why? Why should I not know?

I knew that there were analysts, associates, and partners and directors in law and consulting firms.

I knew there were software developers and project managers, network administrators and database managers in IT firms.

I knew there were CEOs, CFOs, COOs, CMOs, CSOs, Presidents and Chairmen.

Why not Account and Strategic Planners, Media Coordinators and Planners, Traffic Coordinators, Account Executives and Supervisors and Directors, and Copywriters and Art Directors and Creative Directors?

How come none of these were advertised, or even a small discussion passed by at least once in my eclectic lifetime - aren’t advertisers the best at this?

Enough about job positions. I knew what advertising was… I’ve seen Marlboro men on and off highways and deserts in the middle of Africa. I’ve seen Coca-Cola bottles being used as a divine symbol by a Zulu tribeman in the 1980 movie, The Gods Must Be Crazy. But who made these ads? I’ve always thought it was the actual marketers making them. How would I have ever known there were ad agencies behind all this? And if so, how would I have known which were the famous?

Tiger Woods started golf before he could even speak. Doctors have doctors in their family, as do lawyers. Business moguls inherit their businesses from their parents and grandparents. That’s what we call exposure. These people were exposed at an early age, and they chose it as if it were their destiny. Advertising is all about exposing to the biggest, or at least, the most targetable audiences. And so are careers. If the Advertising Industry wants to become a bigger, proliferous industry, it must invest in talent. In order to invest in talent, it must invest in exposing what Advertising is to young audiences. Make it their dream, make it their fantasy. Start advertising advertising.

Magazine 'Gourmet' to Shut Down

It’s really sad to see traditional media dying, with newspapers, magazines, and radio becoming one of the biggest victims. The truth is, there is perhaps no possible solution to such channels as it is a natural phenomenon – since viewership migrates to online, advertisers will rather spend the money where the audience is. There’s really no one to blame.

But to close down a 68-year-old history? Maybe there are ways to survive through strategic target marketing, and not by luring in incentives by simply lowering subscription rates or offering trial offers. Here’s my suggestion.

• LOOK FOR WHERE THE MONEY IS

As someone who’s always interested in self-development and the willingness to keep track of the latest industry news, there are hundreds of magazines I’d like to subscribe to. The reality is, I can’t afford it. But if there was someone else who could pay for such services, such as my parents, I know for a fact that they would do it for me. And most likely, those willing to self-develop like myself are among groups of people in college an early stage professionals. They might not have the capabilities to subscribe to a bunch of magazines – but maybe, maybe… their parents who support their sons’ and daughters’ success in careers can help out.

To do this, an easy way would be to partner with where such groups of people are. Why not partner with colleges? Get rid of those trial offers FOR EVERYONE, and rather offer lower-rated offers for students. Or make a deal with a college to have your magazine offers sent in college or alumni newsletters to the parents. I’m sure those in marketing in such publications also have children – and you’ll know this universal insight – parents will do anything for their children’s success.

Now, marketers may think, ‘my magazine is a food magazine, and our readers our 40~50-year-old housewives.’ Well, come at it from this angle: maybe they’re reading your magazine because housewives do a lot of cooking, and they’re good at it, and they want to be better at it, and they can afford it because their husbands will pay for it. I would suggest, ‘get out of the box!’ In my opinion, there would be two ways to tackle this.

1. Don’t assume your reader audience is your only audience.In other words, maybe 20-year-old males are just as into cooking as the housewives are. Establish a touch-point: tell them that learning to cook gourmet food will win romance (and yes, they do), and that it will lead to a unique thing to write in their hobbies or differentiating themselves during job interviews.
   
2. Don’t assume marketing to 40-50-year-old housewives just because they’re your audience. Yes, I see a lot of cooking magazines in a dentist’s office, because housewives go there a lot during the day. But imagine their children in middle school, when they sleep over at their friend’s house, and come back home telling, “Mommy! Jeff’s mom’s pasta is so much better than yours!” Or how a husband comes back from a dinner invite and tells his wife that his boss’ wife’s food is better. There are always such touch-points where having a cooking magazine can boost the real audience’s (40-50 year old housewives) ego, motivation, pride, and lessen the stress of hearing that she is not the best cook in the world (or at least, in comparison to a competing housewife). Target their children, their husbands, and their pride.

It’s sad to hear publications go down. And just because you’re in traditional media doesn’t mean you should market the traditional way. Use variances. Use radical methods untested before. What have you got to lose?