Robert McIntosh

Robert has more than 20 years of experience in technology, marketing and communications. He began his career in 1986 at Kelley Advertising in Hamilton, Ontario then Young & Rubicam in Toronto five years later to manage Xerox Canada, Whitehall-Robins and Labatt's regional brands. In 1994 he joined Microsoft Canada as kids, productivity and creativity software product manager. In 1997, Robert became International Product Manager for the Geography Business Unit in Seattle, Washington, responsible for mapping titles in Europe and North America. Under his leadership, the portfolio reached or maintained the number one market position globally. He received two Ship-It awards from Bill Gates and was recognized as a best practice Product Manager. Rob returned to Canada in 2001 as a founding partner in two successful small businesses. Most recently, he managed advertiser communications for Yellow Pages Group and is now a senior carrier marketing manager for Research In Motion based in Waterloo, Ontario.

Nothing to Hide

I saw this tv spot for Air New Zealand last night on Youtube and thought it was hilarious. The airline has a humorous delivery on the idea they don't have any hidden fees when it comes to additional charges for services such as food and drink, booking seats online and baggage allowances.

Created by .99 New Zealand. Music is “Under My Skin” by Auckland singer Gin Wigmore.

A cheeky approach that gets the point across.

Facebook is for friends, but is it for brands?

Procter & Gamble, the world’s largest advertiser has been washing some of its laundry in the vast machine known as Facebook, hoping for a big load of crisp, engaged customers who can rhyme off the benefits of Cold Water Tide to anyone wearing a t-shirt.

Independent experts on Web advertising have been watching, however, and what they see is a list of difficulties in making brand advertising work on social networking sites. After all, members of social networks want to spend time with their friends, trade photos and update their status – not be brand ambassadors. At least that's what early campaign results are showing.

One of the potential benefits of Social Networking Sites (SNS) that the advertising industry has discussed is whether peoples’ connections (i.e., whom a user knows or is linked to) could be used to market to. For instance, publishers could show a car manufacturer's ads to a user's contacts because that user's online behaviour has indicated that she is interested in a particular brand of cars. However, this idea has not delivered. Of all U.S. Internet users, according to IDC, only 3% would allow publishers to use contact information for advertising.

What seems to draw more attention in SNS communities (and advertisers) is an element of the individual ‘helping’ the greater good. At least these are the campaigns that have attracted the most engagement in the form of ‘fans’ so far.

Take for example the Starbucks Coffee Company RED Campaign: They’ve added cause marketing to their site, and in just over two weeks generated a donation to the Global Fund will help provide 1.4 million days of medicine for HIV patients in Africa from the sales of the (STARBUCKS)RED EXCLUSIVE Beverages. The site has more than 631,000 fans.

Recently, The Great Schlep program. Comic Sarah Silverman created a video for YouTube (1.2 million views so far) targeting Jewish grandchildren visit their grandparents in Florida, educate them about Obama, and therefore swing crucial Florida vote in his favor. The page garnered 24,000 members.

It will be interesting to see what new advertising products the Facebook developers are cooking up for '09. But more importantly, to read case studies showing how companies used the best qualities of Facebook and its audience to crack the SNS code to achieve business results from this new medium.

That will be a status update worth reading.

Writing an Email that gets Read

As BlackBerry smartphones become the device of choice for the business user, consider this - their small utilitarian screen and basic font means your beautifully formatted email is being read by someone in a busy, frenetic environment, and being evaluated or rejected in a milli-second.

That's because more than 60% of senior executives carry one and use it primarily to view and send emails. Consider these pointers to help ensure your message has the best chance of being understood.

1. Use the right font size. “Based on what we’ve seen, using 8-point fonts seems to work,” says mobileStorm CEO Jared Reitzin. “In the end, you want to make the body text a small but viewable size.”

2. Keep subject lines short, using only key words, such as “Action Item” and “Reminder,” and for time-sensitive events such as webinars, “Filling Fast.”

3. Put the *subject* first in the subject line. For example, if your email is for a Search Engine Optimization white paper, “SEO” should be the first thing they read in the subject line.

4. Use codes to communicate the desired response: 411 (for your information), 611 (response in 24 hours please) and 911 (Urgent request).

5. Make the message scanable. Since the majority of senior executives in organizations have a mobile device of some sort, accept that busy people don’t read -- they scan. That's why it's so important to grab the reader's attention with a strong call to action, then bullet points of key content.

Worst case scenario - they can always call you if they roll their eyes after reading your email. For more tips and tricks on effective email writing habits, visit HowToDoThings.com.

Heading to the gym helps maintain a productive attitude

And part of that responsibility is to STAY POSITIVE consistently – rain or shine. Managing your attitude is a very personal thing. However, for me, one of the most important factors to staying consistent in my professional life is maintain some form of regular exercise.

After years of working, I've learned what I call my 'productive attitude' and my energy levels are directly tied to exercise. I can be doing everything else right, but without regular exercise I can feel my attitude heading downward - all it takes is a few missed trips to the gym because I'm traveling on business. Like clockwork, I start to get anxious, let small things bother me and loose focus at work.

I’ve got a friend who is 45 but looks like he’s 25. I saw him the other day and said, “Ron, you look great.” He said, “I feel great! I got a second job.” I said, “A second job? I thought your agency business was doing well.” He said, “It is. My second job is on the treadmill from 6-7 every day. When I started looking at it as a second job, I showed up whether I wanted to or not!” He said, “The pay is lousy, but the benefits to my health and my attitude are always paying me back!”

For me, an hour of 'gym' time every day (whether I'm traveling or at home) helps me burn off stress and stay focused on my life goals.

'Hey Billboard.....Say Cheese!'

Starting this month, US retailers will help consumers use their smartphones to experience Japanese-style point-and-shoot shopping. Luxury goods company Ralph Lauren is putting a bar code, called a QR (or Quick Response) in their company's store windows and on print ads and catalogues.

QR codes were created way back in 1994 and are widely used in Japan by millions of mobile phone users. They simply swipe their handsets over the codes on said media and are linked to websites with additional information and, of course - to shop.

In Europe, a company called BlueCasting offers a Bluetooth-based system to download video clips and music from codes printed on otherwise ordinary looking movie posters.

Ralph Lauren uses the technology, boasting it is the first US luxury goods manufacturer to offer it that links consumers directly to their website - no typing, no hassle. They alsy have a handy Q&A section on their website explaining how it works.

Retailers will no doubt be looking to see if the technology is driving incremental sales or merely offering up an alternative channel. I'm sure Bluecasting will have lots of interesting post holiday results to share.