• by Seana Mulcahy , June 9, 2008

Lately I feel that not is much going on. We all came off of too many conferences, then played catch-up. Now there are a few more conferences and events popping up.

For me summer just isn't the same. Try and call just about any agency on a Friday between Memorial Day and Labor Day and you'll witness Summer Fridays, when employees can take 1/2 days or every other Friday off. It's a great perk when your agency has been generous enough to offer it up to you.

Then switch gears to the client and publisher sides of the fence. They seem to be all around... or just completely wired via their iPhone, Treos or BlackBerrys.

I've had so many Friday deadlines (which I try to avoid) only to hurry-up-and-wait. Let me back up for a second, cause I know how confrontational some of you posters are. The reason I try to avoid Friday deadlines is first, because no one really wants to read it, hear it, see it over WebEx, etc. It will most likely sick in an inbox till Monday. Then when Monday comes around, it will be hidden amongst the clutter. Those who do want to go through the materials tend to seem like they re drifting off or watching the click. Besides, they aren't going to make a decision anyhow. Throw instantaneous warm weather into the mix in the Northeast and these scenarios only amplify.

In fact, we went from absolutely horrible rain and cold to about 95 degree heat. Of course the weather impacts everything economically. It amazes me how it affects us personally and business-wise. I don't know if you have seen this, but it seems like everyone is a slow crawl at best. I just did my recent Friday hoop jump to try and get the heck out of the office and go down to Cape Cod. Just about everyone I emailed or called had an out-of-office message at 9 or early in the day. For those who didn't, well I'm not even going to go there.

While packing the car waaaaaaay too late (cause I worked straight through), I found my neighborhood looking like a ghost town. My pool chemicals were still wacky. The water wasn't exactly the blue it was supposed to be. I tripped over ice scrapers, roof rakes and shovels while trying to find coolers, water toys and sand chairs. What the heck was I doing? And of course I forgot to fill up my gas tank. Well, I remember being out in the a.m. and thought the prices weren't that staggering. Well, what a difference a few hours made. The prices went up from $4.11 per gallon for premium to $4.45 (and higher). No matter how much money you make, it sucks. It's no news everyone is rethinking their activities. In the Boston area people tend to go up north toward the mountains and lakes regions or south to Cape Cod and the Islands.

Regional advertising is highly noticeable. From gas stations across the street from each other to breakfast places to mom and pop shops to super saver clubs to the mall, everyone is promoting - in large fonts, over the airwaves, on the local news and programming, in circulars and pop of purchase displays, etc.

They are all pretty much saying the same things: You'll save more here, stock up and save, get out of the heat and eat here, buy one, get one free... the list goes on. Local travel advertising looks as if ads have changed concept, context, placement and frequency. On a local level we tend to see all sorts of airfare promotions on the local and cable networks. I've seen a bunch of ads for local ferries to Nantucket (my favorite place in the world), The Vineyard, Canada...high-speed ferries, trains, etc. Many have tied into those who have gotten or will receive economic stimulus checks -- give us your check and save x%, they say. Most offer practical uses for the anticipated funds: food, utilities and fuel. It's a sad time.

So what is everyone doing? They are still spending time online (thank goodness for us), they are downloading movies and music, going to movies, checking out weather sites to plan their weeks and weekends, tapping into financial-related content to find ways to safeguard, protect and anticipate. And more and more people are paying close attention to this year's upcoming presidential election.

Ask around and you'll see for yourself. Are your friends and colleagues going to their typical hot spots and holiday venues? If so, are they going as frequently? How are they spending?

So what are we as ad people to do? DO we panic (I don't think so), do we tighten up the purse strings, hold back altogether, wait it out for Q3 and Q4?