MEDIA BUYING: Today's News More Than Ever Becoming Yesterday's News.

For Mark Twain and an erroneous telegram, news of his death "was greatly exaggerated." Unfortunately for America's newspapers, the many reports of this medium's slow demise can't claim the same.

So along comes another media fragmentation poll, this one by Harris Interactive in May, 2007. Here, in a survey of 9,000 adults, Harris Interactive found that more than 50% of all Americans don't read newspapers because they have no time, while another 25% report that they now turn online for their news fix. If our math is correct, that leaves only one out of every four adults with their nose in the news over breakfast.

Bottom line? Newspapers may still have a role in building a brand, but that role — like their audience — is diminishing.

SOURCE: NOISE, Marketing Management
Reporter: John Sprecher

HEALTH CARE: How Patients Are Following the Doctor's Ads and Advice.

Health care professionals who pooh-pooh the power of advertising might want to get a second opinion.

This one comes from Professional Research Consultants. According to their 2006 National Consumer Perception Study, a total of 57.2% of all consumers nationwide have recently seen or heard an advertisement for a local hospital — the highest level of awareness since 1997. Among the study, the highest recall was for television (51.2%), with other traditional media such as newspaper (18.9%) and direct mail (5.4%) trailing significantly.

A few other findings indicate that recall differs by demographics, too. When studying household income, the highest awareness (68.4%) was among those who earn $50,000-$74,999 annually, while the lowest group earned less than $25,000 each year. And by age, the highest awareness (63.2%) was among those 55-64 years old, and the lowest (51.6%) among 35-44 year olds.

Interpretation? Here's how we see it at NOISE:

1. Health care advertising spending is higher, delivering higher awareness.
2. Health care ad effectiveness is better (more effective messaging), delivering higher awareness.
3. Television remains the most powerful messaging medium.
4. Health care purchases are more apt to be made by those of higher incomes (not surprising).
5. Interest in health care purchases are most apt by later-aged Baby Boomers (not surprising).

The study's weakness is that it failed to report on the messaging impact of internet which, as we all know, is quickly becoming a preferred tool of information gathering among all consumers.

SOURCE: HealthCare Marketing Report, NOISE
REPORTER: John Sprecher

BRANDING: Could You Use a Brandoscopy?

Although this article from the August, 2007 edition of Healthcare Marketing Report addresses, of course, the health care industry, we think its summation of branding is pretty right on for just about everybody. Here it is:

"It takes an entire organization to define and deliver any brand. Many companies forget this important concept. It's not just the advertising, the packaging or the hype. It's the performance of the product or service" as defined by experience.

We agree and we would add, your brand is only as real as the experience of the last customer who entered your store, or telephoned a customer service representative, or emailed your contact, or tried to park in your lot, or attempted a service call, or returned a product, or countless other touch points along the way from prospect to loyal consumer. Your brand's final delivery, integrity and takeaway is in the hands of your managers and, even more, your front-line employees.

Are they on board with your brand? Do they know what your brand stands for in its simplest terms? If asked on the spot, could they articulate five qualities you want your brand to convey?

If so, great. If not, bad. If you're interested, click here. We'll be happy to challenge you, and measure your score, with NOISE's exclusive, copyrighted Brandoscopy, a 10-part interactive questionnaire that evaluates your organization and personnel on your overall Brand Integrity.

SOURCE: Healthcare Marketing Report, NOISE
Reporter: John Sprecher

HOSPITALITY: Green Equals Green.

As we all know, the new hot color is green. It's good for the planet. Good for people. Good for the psyche. And very good for profits.

The travel and tourism industry is no different and, in some ways, is leading the way — led by some very big names. To the end, the Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association has dedicated its Summer, 2007 issue of Marketing Review magazine to "Going Green." And we think it's worthwhile, profitable and must reading for everyone who makes a buck in the business.

According to the cover story, "the trifecta of sustainability explains why boutique hotels to big guns are going green. Forward-thinking hospitality executives are investing in maintenance makeovers, system overhauls and new green-from-the-ground-up construction. They're choosing renewable materials and earth-friendly supplies, energy efficient technologies and management practices that reduce environmental impact."

The article goes on to detail best practices of industry green leaders such as Fairmont Hotels, provides a handy sample resource list for "resourceful" hospitality firms, provides insight and information on green vendor-partners and profiles success stories. And yes, much more.

NOISE is an advocate of green initiatives and a financial supporter of stopglobalwarming.org. For a copy of this valuable, HSMAI-members-only article, contact me at johns@make-noise.com with "Going Green" in the subject line.

SOURCE: HSMAI Marketing Review, NOISE
Byline: John Sprecher