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Advertisement and Psychology – How NOT to do it!

Written by Joerg Steegmueller
Advertisement and Psychology – How NOT to do it!

eflow, the company that wants car drivers to buy (or rent?) their little device that simplifies the paying of the toll on the Westlink M50 toll bridge is currently advertising on the back of buses and I saw it on the back of an Aircoach.

The text of the advertisement says:

“Don’t be like 37,000 others. Avoid legal proceedings. And the possibility of ending up in court. Pay your M50 toll. Click eFlow.ie.”

What’s wrong with that ad!? Well, in Marketing there is a concept that is called “Social Proof” and it used a LOT, even more so in our Internet-enabled lives than ever before. Trip Advisor, the Amazon Reviews and Likes on Facebook are all Social Proof in action. We are influenced about what our peers think. If there are lots of good reviews of a restaurant or a product we trust it more and are more likely to buy. If there are lots of people liking something (on Facebook), then it must be good and I don’t want to miss out.

The eFlow ad goes completely against this marketing concept. If “Social Proof” works, then the result of the eFlow add will be that people think: “Ohh, I am not alone in NOT paying the toll. 37,000 others do that too. Then it must be an acceptable (or even “good”) thing.” Odd!!

An advertisement FAIL? I think so!

Dublin, Odd, ,

1916 Easter Rising Commemoration

Written by Joerg Steegmueller
1916 Easter Rising Commemoration

The 1916 Easter Rising Commemoration is celebrated at Easter Sunday every year. It doesn’t make sense really, because we all know that Easter is literally a moving feast. The actual Easter Rising in 1916 took place on Easter Monday, which was 24 April 1916. So this year we are quite close to the actual date. Considering how significant the event is in Irish history, you would think the right thing would be to celebrate it on the correct date, no? Imagine you were born at Easter, would you then celebrate your birthday at Easter every year or rather on the correct date?

No matter what you think, this year the commemoration will take place on Easter Sunday again. It is an odd celebration all the important people are involved: The president, the Taoiseach and the Minister for Justice, Equality and Defence but apart from the reading of the Proclamation of independence, it is mainly a military parade, that seems totally out of date.

Let’s hope that the 100th anniversary in 2016 (on the random date of 27 March) will be more appropriate to the historical significance of the date.

If you want to attend the spectacle this year, you have to be in position (near the GPO) by 11:15 and then wait until 12:00. Video screens on either side of the GPO will show what is happening.
www.merrionstreet.ie/index.php/2014/04/commemoration-to-mark-98th-anniversary-of-the-1916-rising-this-sunday/?cat=3

Dublin, Odd, Politics, President, , ,

Dublin City – Major building site! LUAS and Grafton Street!

Written by Joerg Steegmueller
Dublin City – Major building site! LUAS and Grafton Street!

You heard that it is expected that the LUAS interconnect building work will begin at some stage this year? And that for a long long time, Stephen’s Green, Dawson Street, Kildare Street, College Green, Westmoreland Street, D’Olier Street, O’Connell Street and Marlborough Street will be dug up/building sites/a mess!? For the LUAS work last time it took YEARS and shops and pubs closed down because customers stayed away.

Now it has announced that the Grafton Street “revamp” will also get underway soon. From July until November 2014 the paving in Grafton Street will be replaced. The (I think) nice red paving will be replaced with grey granite stones. It is a pity, I find, as Grafton Street looks a lot nicer than the new look that will be like Henry Street. The paving in Grafton Street needs some repair, but I am not sure if it will be NICER afterwards. Either way, the impact will be huge! Did you read that? 2014!?!?!?!! Ok, they are taking a break for 8 weeks over Christmas and New Year, but 15 months to re-pave a street???

And the other impressive part: The closures of Dublin Castle, Farmleigh House, the Museum of Modern Art and now Grafton Street de- and re-construction all happen during that oh, so important year for tourism? Inviting people to come to a building site!? You call it “Gathering”! www.dublinpeople.com/article.php?id=2418&l=100

Dublin, , ,

St. Patrick’s Parade – Lies and Statistics – Round 2

Written by Joerg Steegmueller
St. Patrick’s Parade – Lies and Statistics – Round 2

Irish journalism largely consists of re-printing press releases or even copying from each other and just re-printing what another newspaper already had said. Last week I wrote about the incorrect numbers about parade attendees that every year are spread. 500,000 is the claim, which is actually impossible because the streets of Dublin are not wide enough. And again the same lies were repeated this year: www.rte.ie/news/2012/0317/stpatricksday_ireland.html
www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/thousands-enjoy-inclusive-st-patricks-day-parades-543938.html
www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2012/0317/breaking3.html
This year, I checked myself and found a few interesting facts:
+ Even if you are tall, you can hardly see any pedestrian parade participants if you are further back than 7 people from the parade route boundary.
+ People at the front arrived at 08:00. That is 4 hours before the parade started!
+ While there are LOTS of people in O’Connell Street, the crowds are not more than 5 deep between Christ Church and St. Patrick’s Cathedral.
+ On average there is a depth of significantly less than 30 people (15 on each side of the street) along the parade route. And only about a third of them can see the parade.

And the result? If you can fit a generous 2.5 people per metre and with a depth of 15 people on each side. The 2.7km parade route was lined by a max of 202,500 people and less than half of them (approx. 94500) actually SAW the parade! This is a lot lower than I generously calculated last week: www.joergsteegmueller.com/2012/03/15/st-patricks-parade-lies-and-statistics/
500,000 is impressive, but the realistic 94,500 is not so much!! By the way, there were certainly another thousands of people searching for a suitable viewing position, but they never saw anything, so something should be done! Or is it maybe not a high priority to get people to SEE the parade? Maybe luring thousands into the City Centre and claiming that lots were there is more important?

Dublin, Events, Other, Tourism, , , , ,
 
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