Innovation & Creativity Archives - Page 7 of 18

Social media faux pas or social media smart — you decide

December 18, 2008

There's the brewing of a lively discussion going on at one of the other blogs I write for, IowaBiz. It's a situation worthy of your thoughts so I thought I would bring the conversation over here.

Here are the facts:

Hubbell Realty is a very established and respected builder/developer in Iowa. They have just opened a new condo complex in one of the more affluent suburbs. The condo's design, size and amenities make it a perfect fit for young professionals.

And so a perfect fit for social media.

Hubbell's advertising agency has invented what they are calling a spokesperson. (She is actually one of the agency's ad reps who lives in Philadelphia). This spokesperson has a Facebook account (she went to school at Depaw University, spends time at Johnny's Hall of Fame (a local hang out), celebrated her birthday in November and loves watching The Office.) She has a blog (so far, she only writes about how much she loves her new home) and she's done some videos. (Feed readers and e-mail subscribers, click on the post's headline to view.)

Here's the question:

As you see on the video, no one is told that Hailey is a fictitious character, played by a woman in Philly. On her Facebook page, there is a note that says "Hailey Brownstone is part of a Hubbell Homes promotional campaign." But other than that notation — I can't find any disclaimer or explanation that tells us that Hailey isn't real.

She's received date requests and has 130 Facebook friends.

The company and some of the supporters of the campaign at IowaBiz argue that since her name is Hailey Brownstone we should all get the joke. The place is called GreenWay Crossing. And they have brownstones and villas.

I did a WhitePages.com search and there are plenty of Brownstones out there. I'm thinking most of them are real people.

So what do you think? Smart social media campaign? Social media faux pas?

UPDATE: The comments are so plentiful — we had to go to two pages. After Cat's comment…click on the NEXT to keep reading!

Name a medium and I’ve got a learning tool for you!

November 24, 2008

Sure, there’s a 4-day weekend coming up. At least for us Americans. You bet — lots of turkey and pumpkin pie. And football. Let’s not forget football. Or, if you prefer — shopping.

But sooner or later, your brain is going to ask for of a jump start. And I’ve got just the thing for you…no matter how you like to learn.

Special Report: Rain Today’s Face to Face Networking Guide: A Primer for Relationship Building

Rain Today is one of my favorite resources. Tons of good information, webinars, research reports and smart writing. They’re offering this free report as part of their 7-day free trial. Here’s how it works.

Sign up for their 7-day free trial.
Download the Networking Guide.
Explore all of their other resources, download all the articles, reports, etc. that you want/can.
Decide if you want to remain a member or cancel without any financial obligation.

E-book: Back to Basics by Deborah Chaddock Brown

Deborah’s e-book is a great marketing 101 primer. She asked me to review her manuscript and provide a quote for her cover. Here’s what I said:

"Deborah Chaddock Brown is a bold-faced LIAR!! She promises 30 tips to market your small business in her new book, Back to Basics.

But there have to be at least 50 of them in there! With easy to grasp examples, Deborah offers the small business owner a cornucopia of marketing tips, tricks and best of all, proven techniques for building a rock solid marketing foundation.

Read this book with pencil in hand because you’ll be taking notes in the margins as you plan your way to smarter, more effective marketing."

Software: Marketing Plan Pro by PaloAlto Software and Duct Tape Marketing

This interactive software takes the small business owner through a step-by-step process that helps them identify their target audience, key messages, forecast sales and expenses, and track your progress once you’ve completed the plan.

John Jantsch, founder of Duct Tape Marketing, has been serving the small business owner and helping them wrap their arms around marketing for a long time. His involvement with this project means you can count on receiving a quality product.

Web-based video learning: Web Video University

Through a virtual classroom online, you can learn how to craft, script and create high quality web videos to use on your website or blog.

The Web Video University course is broken down into four weekly lessons which will cover everything from content to the technical aspects like lighting and sound. Dave Kaminski walks you through all of the basics and often offers some cost-savings alternatives to going out and buying big ticket equipment.

There you have it…and if none of these trip your trigger — be sure to check out the Amazon widget in the sidebar. It’s filled with books that I highly recommend.

Build A … might mean Build A Sale

November 9, 2008

One of the biggest trends we’ve seen over the past decade is the desire to customize everything. Build your own jeans, build a bear, and now, build your own Muppet. (mine is rather dashing, eh?) And yes, you can order your Muppet after you build him/her.

The buyers of today are used to being able to modify a standard offering and make it their own.

While I think it’s easier to create this "Build A" feature into production of a tangible thing…I also believe that those of us in the services industry need to be mindful of this trend as well.

What could you allow your clients to customize?

Build a payment schedule?
Build a custom training/learning experience?
Build a marketing plan?

It seems to me that the trend is here to stay. As the buyer gets younger, the demand for customization will be greater. What could you offer today (or soon) to jump on this trend?

Direct mail tricks: The envelope

October 30, 2008

And the envelope says…..hopefully your direct mail envelopes are saying, "Open me!" Many marketers put a great deal of time and effort into what’s inside the envelope but completely miss the opportunity to grab the recipient’s attention long before the package gets opened. Here are some simple strategies for making the most of the envelope.

And these tips work, whether you are a business to business mailer or you’re mailing to individuals at home. The trick is to catch their interest as they stand over the waste basket, decided what to even open.

Teaser copy. Entice them to open the envelope. Say something that will leave them wondering.

Make it personal. It goes without saying that with today’s technology a personalized message is not only possible, it’s also highly effective.

Don’t fake it. We’ve all gotten those "official" looking envelopes that were not from the government, an overnight letter or a telegram. Unless it plays into your creative execution, don’t annoy your audience by being deceiving.

Hit the flip side. Don’t forget about the back of the envelope. That’s one of the most visible spots on the envelope and often the most underused.

Don’t take a chance that your mail piece will get tossed without at least having one shot at delivering your message. Make every element, including the outer envelope, work for you.

Feel like a manic juggler?

October 28, 2008

Image via WikipediaI don’t know about you but sometimes it can be a little overwhelming. Okay…that’s a lie. It can be incredibly overwhelming.

We’re all juggling as fast as we can and no matter how many balls we have in the air, there’s always another one being tossed into the rotation.

There’s a new project (or three) at work, a new book to read, 5,000 new blog posts in your RSS feed reader, six fresh social media tools to explore and 200+ e-mails. Daily.

That doesn’t even take into account your family, friends and just carving out some down time. Have a hobby? Like to travel? Well, sleep’s optional, right?

Never before in my career have I seen a more turbulent time. Turbulent is not necessarily a bad thing. There’s just so much swirling around us, our customers and the work we do. And it’s exciting. Intoxicating. And important to continuing to be relevant in our jobs.

So…how do you juggle it all? How do you stay sane AND productive?

Here’s my plan. Help me spread the word that we’re looking for Sanity/Productivity tips. Once we get a good collection here, I’ll create an free e-book that we can offer to others suffering from the same manic juggling that we are.

Come on…share a tip, idea or solution that works for you.

The headless horseman comes a callin’ to get you texting!

October 23, 2008

Last Friday a flaming headless horseman galloped across Chicago’s building facades between the Loop and Wrigleyville.

Who rousted him just in time for Halloween? Meijer, a 180-store big box retailer in the Midwest.

The store gave people a chance to win $1,000 if they texted the company directly when they saw the apparition.

Fliers were distributed to get people looking for the horseman and whenever the van projecting the Horseman stopped or idled in traffic, the horse would rear its hind legs and flash the message: text Meijer for a grand.

Not only did the company receive hundreds of text messages, but they also got TV, radio and print media coverage. Declaring it a success, the street team plans to repeat the work this Friday (October 24th) in Cincinnati.

The back story for the most brilliant outdoor campaign ever

August 21, 2008

Many of you, in the comments section and via e-mail, have been asking about the back story of this campaign. Quite honestly — I didn’t know it. I had stumbled upon the creative years ago and used it as an example of "go ahead, break the rules" kind of thinking.

But, all of that has changed.

A few weeks ago, I commented that one of my favorite things about blogging is that it allows me to meet some amazing people. More proof coming up.

I published the post about the Garcia’s outdoor campaign in the morning and by mid-afternoon, I had an e-mail from Rich Spears who was on the original account team (he was the media director) for this campaign. As the agency’s current Chief Marketing Officer, he generously gave me the entire back story and permission to share it with you.

So, here’s the scoop.

It’s 1990 and Garcia’s and the other area restaurants are in a panic. A big, fancy, new waterfront club was opening that summer and they were expecting it was going to mean they’d all (the existing restaurants) take a big hit.

So Garcia’s came to Crowley Webb for some counsel and a solution. Oh yeah, and they only had $20,000 to spend — creative concepting, design, production costs, media — the whole thing.

The William/Angel campaign was conceived and launched.

The plan was for everyone to believe that there truly was a William, Angel, Candi and Frankie. The media were sworn to secrecy. Reporters tried to get at the truth as the campaign was unfolding but no one cracked.

Beyond the billboard campaign, the agency also:

Had a small radio buy on one station. Two spots per week. Someone called in, as William, and did a live "commercial" that sounded like he was this desperate guy, trying to find his Angel.
Ran ads in the classified personal ads in the Buffalo News
Had a limo driver handing out "have you seen my Angel" fliers throughout downtown, near the Garcia’s location
Hired a plane to fly over a Buffalo Bison’s game (baseball), towing a banner with a message from William

All of this culminated right after billboard #8, where Angel agrees to meet William at Garcia’s. To the delight of the packed house — A beautiful woman in red appeared, fended off the advances of just about every guy in town, waiting for William.

Just then, a limo pulled up (remember the guy passing out fliers?) and William stepped out from the limo and walked inside, scanning the crowd for his Angel. Their eyes met, they talked, shared some champagne and then danced to "Lady in Red" before William whisked her away in his limo.

Rich said the crowd’s reaction was priceless. And more than one boyfriend was chided for not being as romantic as William!

The following Monday, the final board was posted, with William professing that he was in heaven over the meeting.

The net result beyond the media exposure and buzz around town? When the new waterfront club opened, every restaurant in town took a double digit drop in revenue. Garcia’s business went up. They maintained that competitive advantage for some time and never felt the impact of the waterfront club.

So they exceeded their goals and their revenues grew. Not to mention all the added value the campaign delivered.

Flash forward to today, some 18 years later — that entire area and all the restaurants in it, including the waterfront club are now gone, having given way to growth and re-purposing of that area.

I’d call that a success story and a half.

An interesting side note. When the campaign won best of show at the National Obie awards, it was the first winner ever to receive a perfect score from every judge.

A huge hat tip to the innovative team at Crowley Webb, the courageous owners of Garcia’s and the very fortunate citizens of Buffalo who had the fun of watching this all unfold.

The most brilliant outdoor campaign ever

August 18, 2008

The rules for outdoor advertising are very simple.

Never use more than 7 words
Always use an attention getting visual
Include the company logo
Leave the boards up for a minimum of 30 days to achieve frequency goals
Buy several locations to increase reach

The most brilliant outdoor campaign broke every one of these rules. Every single one. I use this campaign as an example in many of my presentations and wanted to share it with you too.

Let me tell you the story.

This campaign broke in 1989 in Buffalo, New York. There was (~~and still is~~ – my mistake, I found it on the web’s yellow pages and assumed it was current) an Irish Pub called Garcia’s in downtown Buffalo that needed to drive not only name awareness but traffic. Their agency, Crowley Webb, devised this campaign, which not only won them a National Obie (Oscars for outdoor boards) but made Garcia’s a household name in Buffalo. The campaign also showed up in the New York Times, USA Today and naturally, all of Buffalo’s local media.

No ordinary billboard series, eh?

The agency bought a single board location (this I am recalling from memory so I may be wrong) and every Monday for 9 weeks….a new board went up. This is story-telling at it’s best. Enjoy the campaign and be sure to catch my questions at the end.

Can’t you see all of Buffalo being completely caught up in this story? Can you imagine how many people showed up at Garcia’s on Fridays to see if Angel made an appearance. I don’t know if the agency took it to that level (I wouldn’t be surprised) but I would have hired actors to play William, Angel, Candi and Frankie and put on a floor show.

What do you think of this campaign? Notice the boards didn’t push the daily soup special or promise us the same cliches that all restaurants promise. Instead, they invited us into a story. A story where we could play a part.

How could you use this kind of a technique? Or, where else have you seen this sort of creativity played out?

Update: Here’s t he back story to this campaign. Now I’m even more impressed.

Steve Farber’s new book comes packed with a challenge

August 9, 2008

When people ask me about the benefits of blogging, I can recite quite a list. But one of the top items on that list is the amazing people I can now call my friends, thanks to meeting them via the blogosphere.

I loved Steve Farber’s books long before we became friends. At MMG, we give his books as gifts. We practice his LEAP philosophy at the office and I strive every day to be an extreme leader.

So, I’m elated that book #3, Greater Than Yourself, has a launch date. (March 3, 2009 but you can already pre-order a copy.) I remember talking to Steve about this book at SOBCon ’07 and knowing that it was going to take his writing to a completely different level. And by default, give us the opportunity to take ourselves to a completely different level along with him. (check out this sneak peek of the book)

Here’s a little video clip of Steve talking about the core premise of his book and even more important — his challenge to us.

Steve’s other books (which I HIGHLY recommend)

Radical Leap
Radical Edge

I’m curious — have you read Steve’s books? Did they have impact? Make you see something in a new way? Change a behavior?

Be sustainable, be green and what does it all mean?

August 4, 2008

It’s all around us.

Some call it a revolution, others a movement. But clearly, green is in. And where there’s in, there is marketing opportunity. There are now green agencies, green marketing blogs, and even new jargon.

Let’s face it, green has gone mainstream. Some of it is genuine while others is really more marketing ploy than true activism or product benefit.

They even have a name for it already….greenwashing. CK provides this definition in a recent post. "Greenwashing is "the act of misleading consumers regarding the environmental practices of a company or the environmental benefits of a product or service."

As with all "hot" trends, these will shake out. The companies that can sustain it and walk their talk will reap the benefits of the position. Those who seized the opportunity with much behind the fanfare will be exposed.

I love this story out of the New York Times. A group of direct mail companies are trying to create some "green standards" like "list hygiene" which basically means taking dead people off their lists. Come on.

In the meantime, as we all wrap our heads around the green movement, it’s helpful to have a tutorial or two. And that’s why Mario Vellandi has shifted his blog (Melodies in Marketing) and his efforts to covering topics in sustainability, product development, design and green marketing.

Mario put together an impressive and exhaustive video series while attending the Sustainable Brands 08 conference. You can find descriptions of each speaker, some summary and analysis of their presentation and of course, view the videos. (Note: Some of the videos have been temporarily removed. But Mario’s blog and efforts are still worth the visit.)

We all have a lot of learning to do. Mario’s video series is an excellent start!

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