Computer screens surpass radio as second most common media activity.

Here's a media quicky - the average American is exposed to 61 minutes of TV ads and promotions a day. Some may think that amount seems excessive. Others, like me, would say it falls short. Adults are exposed to screens - TVs, cell phones, GPS devices, for about 8.5 hours on any given day, according to a study released by the Council for Research Excellence, an entity created by Nielsen Company.

A couple of findings that won't be very surprising - TV is still the dominant medium for both media consumption and advertising, and computer screens have now surpassed radio to take over the number two spot. Print media ranks fourth.

Advertising still the best economic stimulus.

In a recent Fortune contribution, Bob Pittman points out that the government's stimulus plan won't work if we don't get consumers spending again. He says the government needs to provide help for American businesses to advertise their products and services.  they sell.  

Pittman says he wants to see a tax credit for ad spending. Not a bad idea. Here in Florida, the cash-strapped legislature is in panic mode, and they're looking at eliminating some long standing sales tax exemptions. Yep, that includes advertising. It could happen, believe me. And the damage it would do to the industry, and to all businesses throughout the state who will cut advertising budgets even further, would be devastating. 

The Florida view comes from a rather unfortunate and widespread notion that advertising is a cost. Pittman points out that it is an investment. The guy is my hero this week because he's absolutely right. Advertising is the thing that will get the consumers who do have the money, but are sitting on the fence, to get in the game and stimulate the economy by purchasing the things they need. And yes, they will still be able to get the best deal while most retailers and service businesses are cutting prices.

It's time to reconnect with consumers.

Recently I was invited to participate on a panel discussion for a joint meeting of the Advertising Federation-Suncoast and the Central West Coast Florida chapter of the FPRA. The overriding topic for this well attended session was best practices for small businesses in a recession.

To be successful in a weak economy, marketers have got to do three things...

Get back to fundamentals, reconnect with their customers, and instill confidence.

Let's start with the fundamentals. Whether a mom and pop or a big box retailer with hundreds of stores, look for ways to increase efficiency an cut costs. Be careful not to make broad, arbitrary cuts in marketing because that's, as a colleague of mine recently stated, like stepping on your oxygen hose.

Re-connecting with the consumer is simple, but it's amazing how many marketers do not take advantage of all the opportunities they could to make those connections. Get to know your customer - understand him/her. Establish what really makes them tick and you can develop offers that are tailor-made for them. This process starts, however, with a well-defined brand personality. Without this, everything you do becomes more difficult, more complex and more costly.

My last point is about instilling confidence in your consumers. We all know that as this recession keeps its grip, consumer confidence continues to slide. Make sure that every communication reassures your consumer that you will be there for them, for the long haul. A confident attitude, communicated with consistent, high quality techniques will reassure the consumer. The so-called economic experts in the media can talk about Wall Street all they want, but for most people, Main Street is the major indicator. If local businesses are keeping their heads up and reaching out to potential customers, that expression of confidence will be contagious.

Will 2009 be the year creativity makes a comeback?

A recent piece by Laura Petrecca in USA Today has brought up an interesting point. With predictions that 2009 will see an even bigger dercline in media spending - the conventional way to measure advertising industry activity - some advertising can rise above the bad times. Regarding 2008 advertising, there is much in her story that I don't agree with - Walmart's advertising - forget it. Free Credit Report.com and the singing waiter guy? Someone please teach him how to play better fake guitar.

The story points out that even during the Great Depression, advertisers advertised, and consumers consumed. It wasn't a post-apocalyptic, nuclear winter-like environment.  Actually some of the most creative advertising of that day was developed during those dark days. Advertisers had to develop new ideas for doing more with less, just like the consumers did. They had to come up with new ways to make their advertising work harder and be more memorable, to resonate with the consumer. Isn't that what good advertising should always do, even in a strong economy?

Does a $3 million Super Bowl spot make sense in such a down economy?

It's that time of year again - the advertising trades and their pundits are gabbing about the Super Bowl - the big one, in terms of audience and cost-per-30 sec spot.

So, the obvious question is - at $3 million per spot, does it seem crazy for corporate America to go there - with the economy in the dumper? 

A Super Bowl ad is always a biggy- reach the biggest audience. Make a splash. Get the buzz going around the water coolers. Great. Even in a bad economy, and some might say especially in a bad economy, a Super Bowl ad could work well. Especially one that is carefully developed, with sensitivity, sophistication and funny in a light way, without the mean-spiritedness that permeates some of today's advertising.

It's a big showcase for big ideas.

On the other hand, it's not surprising to see some big name advertisers, like FedEx and GM, backing away from the big game. A Super Bowl ad might send the wrong message to employees, customers and stakeholders. And it could, of course, create negative backlash if the company's just made a bunch of layoffs. I have to admit that I would feel pretty bad if my employer was spending that kind of money after giving me and a few hundred of my cohorts the boot.

If more advertisers stay away, will the cost go down? If more of the big guys stay out of the game, will some new up-and-comers emerge and win Rookie of the Year honors?

Stay tuned!

Iran's hottest brand? Shoe thrown at Bush, of course.

According to Mark Bentley's Bloomberg story, the biggest brand in Iran these days is the "Model 271" shoe, the brown, thick-soled projectile hurled at President Bush by an Iraqi journalist at a December 14 news conference.

The Turkish manufacturer of that shoe has received orders for 300,000 pairs since the attack - that's up four-fold. They plan to add another 100 staff to meet demand, and - this is my favorite part of the story - have hired an agency to look into television advertising. So after hearing that the next big brand was born I fired off an e-mail to Mark  - I’m going to tell all my clients this is a fool-proof strategy to propel their brands to new heights. It requires only that the product be small enough to be hurled at a Head of State!

SMPS white paper says cutting business development activities is like stepping on your own oxygen hose.

Advertising trade associations like the AAAA have been saying for years that it is not a good idea to make deep cuts in advertising, marketing and business development activities during a recession. Furthermore, they've pointed to studies that have shown that marketers who've stayed aggressive during a recession see major improvements in the market dominance of their brands when the economy has rebounded.

Now a marketing colleague in my city who is the CMO for a major commercial construction company in Southwest Florida points to a study by the SMPS (Society for Marketing Professional Services) that suggests the same thing. Warren Simonds of Willis A. Smith Construction Inc. said in his guest column in the bi-weekly SRQ Journal that cutting marketing and business development activities in a recession is like "stepping on your own oxygen hose." I love that analogy. And he's absolutely right.

The worsening economy calls for more, better, smarter marketing efforts. This is no time for retreat. The significance of the SMPS study, and Simonds' statements, is that they are coming from people on the client side of the desk, not a bunch of advertising industry people on self-serving, business preservation autopilot. It's the people who buy marketing and advertising services. More info at SMPS.org.