Good morning everyone, and welcome back this snowy morning to the Breakroom! That is right, if you are here in Minnesota you most likely got a nice blanket of snow since yesterday. Not nearly as much as I was worried we would, but at least it was just enough to freshen the snow up for Christmas this next week (5 days away!!!). If you are like me, you have been pretty busy trying to take care of last minute pieces to your festivities. Shopping for presents, decorating the house, and putting finishing touches on the menu. Despite the fact that I struggle with this, please remember to not let yourself be stressed. At the end of the day we do these things to bring joy to friends, family, and ourselves. If you are struggling to even sleep at night because of stress, then something is wrong here. Additionally, just because they are family does not mean they are allowed to get away with giving you a hard time for the holiday. This is your holiday too, so if you have some disgruntled family member being passive aggressive Christmas morning, just let them know where they can stick the mistletoe. That might not fly in the workplace setting, but family is under no such regulations.
With that said, I know you’re excited to know what happened at the office this week!
There was only one thing on our minds this week and that was the fact we would be in a commercial! You heard that right, Dunder Mifflin has decided to do a series of commercials to get our name out there and generate more business. On the one hand, it makes perfect sense because it gets us more publicity and notoriety. On the other hand, I am questioning how necessary television ads are? The nature of our business is we operate in very specific regions, and we cannot go beyond that because we would not be able to deliver to them. Additionally, because we use salesman a big part of their role is to do cold calling to other companies. I feel there is only so much advertising we can do before it is no longer cost effective to do so, and that money could be better spent elsewhere with wiser marketing strategies.
Speaking of different forms of marketing, there is a wide array of advertising options these days. Television is still incredibly synonymous with advertising and you do have the ability to reach a very broad range of viewers, plus they tend to run multiple times depending on what you are paying for. The downside is that among all the forms or advertising, television ads tend to be the most expensive so it truly is something you cannot choose to do on a whim. Radio is typically a cheaper option, at least in comparison to television, and it still has the ability to reach a wide array of listeners. Then there is print, such as in newspapers or magazines, although I have been told that these have gotten pretty expensive over the years. And there is certainly the option of billboards, while these can be pricey they can certainly do the trick in getting you noticed. But with those I feel it is a balancing act of using an ad that is memorable, but also located in an ideal location. But we are in the golden age of media, so these four are often seen as some of the older forms of advertising and we have an entire range of options. Social media is certainly among the most popular, especially because it is technically possible to do this for free. It doesn’t cost anything to create a company profile on Facebook or Instagram, although there are options to have your posts “boosted” for a price. The key difference is that by getting on social media, it is expected for the company to become very active online and maintain that momentum. While many companies choose to do this in-house, there are agencies and business you can hire whose role is to run your social media and publicity if you do not feel like you’re up to it. Tied into social media is advertising through blogs, vlogs, and podcasting. Often times this can involve paid content (I am sure we have all seen “influencers” talking about products) unless the media is operated by the company itself1. While you are putting in more work in order to save on my money by operating these marketing options yourself, becoming proficient in social media and marketing is an invaluable skill. If asked what skills a person hoping to open a small business should know, there are a whole multitude out there, but learning about marketing is certainly a major one that you should not disregard. It is also important to know that social media can be much more difficult than you would imagine. You may notice that I have a Facebook and Instagram associated with this blog that I do not do nearly as much with as I should. Social media engagement can be very taxing and very often involves putting a great deal of time and energy into a post, only to never hit double digit views. For those starting out, do not get disheartened, stay diligent, and always push yourself to learn and try new things until you find that magic formula.
Instead of venturing into these unique forms of advertising, Dunder Mifflin believes that expensive television ads are the way to do it so that is where we are. Michael had brought us all together to pitch possible ideas for the commercial which we were going to make with a couple of people from an ad agency the company hired. Michael, trying to be helpful, decided to introduce us all individual to try to describe how we could best fit into an advertisement. Like how the accounting team are all different sizes, or Phyllis is a “lesser Aunt Jemima.” Michael was starting to describe his very complex commercial idea (think MTV on crack) when they agency folks interrupt him and explain that we are not actually making our own commercial. Unfortunately, they have an entire ad already to go and each branch is simply filming 5 seconds at the end to wave at the camera. Essentially it gives the company to show the local branch off to viewers, trying to emphasize the personal touch that we can provide when compared to the big box stores.
This riles Michael up, he was truly invested in being given the chance to show how creative he was. He even attempted to talk with Ryan at corporate and when Ryan told him he wasn’t creative, it just got him worked up even more, to the point he told the agency guys to hit the road because he could do it better himself. That is right, Michael made a declaration to Ryan and David that we will make our own commercial and have it sent over to them in the morning. And if they do not like it, the agency can come back on Michael’s dime.
So we spend of the rest of day working diligently on this incredible commercial. We pry could have continued to be selling paper but that wouldn’t have been as exciting. And we all have jobs, Michael is the writer and director so he is busy trying to keep everyone on track. Kelly is put in charge of make up while Oscar is head of costume design (obviously). Phyllis was tasked with lining up a celebrity and lucky for us, mystery writer Sue Grafton was in town doing a book signing! She rushed over and pleaded with her to make an appearance. Unfortunately, she was ultimately escorted out by security when she refused to take no for an answer. Michael was further disappointed with Darryl’s musical composition. Michael was hoping he would design “a rap” for the commercial while he focused more on a catchy jingle. Truth is the jingle was actually pretty catchy, and these are one of the aspects that companies need to try to include on television ads. Jingles have a habit of getting stuck in your head, a phenomenon known as an ear worm. The Kit Kat jingle is an excellent example, as Andy proves that despite not knowing what the ad is for, he certainly remembers the song. A rap may have been noticed, but a jingle is what can become iconic, so Darryl was correct in what he was doing. While the rest of us were working on filming and piecing together the ad, Pam was working tirelessly on crafting a logo using the animation techniques she was learning in class. So diligently was she, that even when the rest of us left to go home, she stayed at the office all night to get it just right.
So how was our commercial received? Poorly, we were not able to sway corporate and they chose to go with their original idea. I personally like the homemade ad and feel that it does more to speak to the local community that Dunder Mifflin will give them the personal touch. The downside of doing a commercial that feels too “corporate” is that you don’t necessarily stand out from the crowd. I will go to the mat and say that our in-house ad was the better choice, but you decide for yourself and compare the two.
So we didn’t get to have our ad broadcast but we still are in the one corporate chose so that is pretty cool! For those out there, any advice to those new to advertising and marketing? Do you have some good resources for those who are trying to educate themselves? Include in the comments so we can help each other out!
With that, I hope you all have a great weekend, and try not to get too overwhelmed with your holiday preparations. When stressed, take a moment for yourself and relax with some hot cocoa, a holiday movie or television episode, cuddles with a dog, or even a cocktail. Good luck to you all, and I’ll see you around the Breakroom!
- (2024, December 5). 14 Types of Advertising. Indeed. Retrieved December 19, 2024, from https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/types-of-advertising ↩︎
