my 2 cents

Job-hunting for soon-to-be graduates -- Tips to succeed

I am glad I'm not about to graduate college next spring.  It's really tough going out there, and jobs won't be easy to find.

Less than half of employers who hired new graduates last year are planning to hire again this spring.  That's according to a story in today's Wall Street Journal, reporting on a survey of 4,600 companies by the Collegiate Employment Research Institute at Michigan State University.

Of those who didn't hire last year, 76 percent said they definitely won't or very likely won't hire new graduates next spring. 

Despite the gloomy forecast, there are always companies hiring. Larger companies, the survey shows, are more likely to hire than mid-size businesses. The challenge for college seniors will be to find ways to stand out from the crowd.

For marketing and communications majors, employers look at more than grades.  Yes, the GPA does count, but the typical job candidate will be up against many others whose grades are just as good.  One way to stand out, though, is through leadership positions in extracurricular activities. 

It might be too late now for a senior to be able to add leadership positions to his or her resume and he hasn't been active outside of class.  But underclassmen, take notice and plan ahead.

For seniors, the internet can help make up for extracurricular shortfalls, or it can enhance an already strong all-around resume.  If you don't now blog, consider starting one on a subject that relates to the career you're interested in.  Read the ad and marketing trade publications and then offer your own views.  I've seen some pretty good blogs done by students in PR and marketing at schools in Ohio, Georgia and elsewhere, where the profs encourage their students to write online.

A well-written, thoughtful blog can help show a potential empoloyer that you're smart, interested in your chosen field and can articulate your position on relevant issues. It could give you a bit of an edge over your classmates who are after the same jobs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Giving Thanks

 

Best wishes for a peaceful Thanksgiving,

filled with family and friends, food and love.

 

 

from NY City

David

Will viewers watch TV with ads online?

As TV viewing migrates to screens other than the home TV set, will audiences be willing to sit through heavier ad loads that could rival the number of ad minutes we now endure on broadcast TV?

That's a crucial question many TV programmers are asking as they move content to other screens.

Brian Stelter reports in The New York Times this week about research by Turner Broadcasting that indicates we would tolerate more ads when watching TV programming online.  In fact, programmers may be able to get audiences to sit through even more commercials in streamed programs than we now see on broadcast TV.

Turner claims their research shows people are willing to trade more ad exposure in exchange for access to programming.

Research aside, I'm not so sure it will work out that way in real life, once you get beyond the research lab.  Older viewers grew up with TV filled with commercials, but back then ads were the price we paid for free TV.  But how free is TV now?  Although we may not pay fees directly to the networks and local stations, most of us do a pay a monthly fee for our TV, to the cable company, or to FIOS or Direct TV.

And we're getting used to enjoying programs without the commercial interruptions, thanks to on-demand and DVRs with fast-forward buttons.

Younger viewers are used to instant access to content.  Will they sit still during 2 - 4-minute commercial pods, or will they surf elsewhere on the web or carry on Facebook and Twitter conversations during those commercial breaks?  Watch for an app that tells you, in the corner of your screen as you're doing something other than watching the ads, when the ads are finished and the program resumes, so you can return to it.

I wonder if the content providers or their media platforms will try to force us to watch the ads by incapacitating fast-forward features.  But then they'll be facing the same challenge they now face -- creating content that people really want to watch and are willing to sit through ads to do so.  Instead of on the TV, though, it will be on computers, iPads and phones.

So do you think the research is accurate or is it just trumped to convince advertisers to place spots in online TV programming?  

We'll be watching ... or will we?

 

photo: Gizmodo.com

Weekend Thoughts

Books -- The Art of Racing in the Rain

Although this is under the Weekend Thoughts heading, it's not really the weekend anymore since it's 4:15 Monday morning.  But where I am, on the island of Kauai in Hawaii, it's still Sunday night.  And any way, since I'm on vacation, every day seems like the weekend.

I hadn't planned to post while away, but on the plane over here I read a book that blew me away.  Especially if you have a dog or if you love or have loved a dog, this book is for you.

Garth Stein wrote a beautiful story, but unlike other dog books like Marley and Me, this one is different.  It's written from the dog's viewpoint.  And it's not so much about the dog, but about the family he's with. 

The book requires a leap of faith, one that most dog lovers will be able to make.  The idea is dogs think and some can have almost human-like thoughts.

The teller of this tale is Enzo, who has two great wishes.  He wishes he could have opposable thumbs, so he could pick things up and turn doorknobs.  And he wishes something he heard on the National Geographic Channel when his owner left the TV on for him is true, that some dogs come back as humans after they die.  Enzo believes he is one of those dogs.

It's a great story, beautifully told.  When I finished the book, I had to run to the back of the plane to the bathroom to catch my breath and compose myself.  It took me a good 15 or 20 minutes to be able to talk afterwards.

It wasn't because the dog dies -- you sort of know that almost from Page One.  It's just the idea that our canine friends might -- just might -- be smarter than we give them credit for, that maybe they really understand a lot of what we do and say and that they try, in ways we don't usually see or understand, to tell us what they are thinking.

So, as I said above, check this book out if you have or have had a relationship with a dog.

The Art of Racing in the Rain, by Garth Stein, from Harper Collins for $23.95.

Old News -- Old is the New Young

Ours is still a youth-obsessed culture, but we have been slowly recognizing that "older" is not necessarily bad.

As our music heroes are aging, we continue to enjoy them.  Paul McCartney on the cover of the AARP magazine a couple of years ago was a shocker, but it made a statement.  Stevie Wonder, David Crosby, Graham Nash, Stevie Nicks, Mick Jagger near or past 60, and they're still doing their thing and drawing sellout crowds. And look at Tony Bennett, still vital and looking great in his 80s, and making best-selling albums with the
younger generation of music stars dying to record duets with him. 

A few years ago, there was a spate of articles about 60 being the new 50, as some of our movie stars hit the big Six-O and they're still getting good roles in films and they're still looking really good.  

But one industry stuck in time was the advertising business, where so many marketers still seemed to be obsessed with the 18 - 49 demo.  This impacted broadcast TV more than other media, which could afford to be more targeted in what audience they pursued.  But broadcast has always been the mass medium, and the most cost-effective way to reach those 18 - 49 consumers.

If you're in the "boomer" age group or have friends or parents who are there, you've known for years that the 50+ folks have been buying like crazy.  We still buy toothpaste, noodles and detergent, of course, but we're also buying cars -- often luxury models -- and hi-def TVs and sound systems, digital cameras, PCs, laptops and even iPads.  We're buying Wii games -- if not for us, then for our grandkids to use when they visit.  We're buying new furniture as we remodel rooms that the kids have vacated since college.  Or we're buying new homes -- vacation retreats or "downsized" primary residences, which need to filled with furnishings.  We're traveling.

The 50+ group has new-found time and new-found disposable income -- even in this horrendous recession.  We've gotten the kids through college and they're (hopefully) on their own now.  Many of us are at the higher end of our earning potential.  We're putting money away, but there's also a fair amount left over to spend on ourselves.

So the post- 18-49 magic demos are a pretty good bunch of spenders, and one would think, a very good advertising target.  But TV has always pushed those 18-49's as the "must-have" for "must-see."

Broadcast has finally joined the party, it seems, as NBC this week proclaimed that older is the new young.  They presented research to advertisers and agencies showing the 55-64 group, which they've dubbed "alpha boomers," are big spenders and are viable targets for advertising through TV.  There are 35 million of us, spending about $2 trillion a year.

NBC's research even shows we're not technophobic and we're not cemented in our brand loyalties from 30 years ago.  If we see a new product or brand that seems to meet our needs, we'll buy it.  And if a carmaker other than "our father's Oldsmobile" has something we like, we'll buy from another manufacturer, even from a place like Korea and certainly Germany or Japan.  And while many of us never figured out how to program our VCR's clock so it would stop flashing 12:00 all the time, we now happily use our TiVos and DVRs, along with our smartphones.

So welcome to reality, NBC.  I guess we can expect to see more ads on TV aimed our way.  That's fine, as long as you treat us with intelligence and respect.  Do that and maybe we'll buy what you have to offer.

Twitter ads... Yes or No?

There's been talk about this before, but now it looks like Twitter will begin testing paid tweets that will be injected into users' timelines -- their stream of tweeted messages.  Virgin, Starbucks and Red Bull are among the first advertisers.

The test is to start today, according to a story in Advertising Age.

Earlier this year Twitter began what it calls Promoted Tweets.  These are ad-supported tweets that show up when you do a Twitter search, much the way you find paid results when you do a Google search.  I have no problem with this, as long as they are clearly marked as sponsored search results.

But sticking paid tweets into the Twitter stream doesn't sit right with me.  The Ad Age story says paid tweets will be targeted based on the types of people and products a user follows.  For example, someone who follows other coffee companies or who follows people who write about coffee would be a target candidate for a Starbucks-paid Tweet.

Twitter seems to recognize this may meet with resistance.  An executive with HootSuite, which is working with Twitter to channel the paid tweets, was quoted in the Ad Age story, saying, "With Twitter's commitment to quality user experience and ad relevance, we're confident these new types of tweets will be enjoyed by both users and advertisers."

Enjoyed by users?  How's that?

I understand Twitter certainly has the right to make money from its service.  They're not a charity organization.  But I don't think placing ads into the twitter stream is the way to do it.  There's already so much junk and clutter out there on Twitter.  We don't need to be sorting through unwanted or unwelcomed ads masquerading as tweets, too. 

Might this turn off some users?  Maybe Twitter doesn't care, figuring they have so many users now that they can afford to lose a few million.

What do you think?  Is this is a good idea?