Video from our 2nd Beginner’s Contest this past weekend in Montgomery Alabama. We took 1st place this time 
When not doing interactive…Pt. 2
Jun292009
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Focus Group for Socks
Jun252009
http://www.vimeo.com/5324631
We don’t usually like focus groups here at HM&P, but this one was different. While pitching a sock manufacturer, we got a little group together and asked a few questions. Very insightful.
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Proust, Escoffier, HM&P
Jun242009
The intuitions of artists never get the respect as truth realized that scientists get when they find ‘truth’ in the lab. On the other hand, it’s the rare scientist that brings home a Damien-Hirst-style paycheck. They probably both trump advertising, but us ad folks are always working somewhere at the point where art meets science.
Art and science rarely meet as completely as in Jonah Lehrer’s first book, “Proust Was a Neuroscientist”, which is an absolute must-read for anyone who wants to understand the brain, emotions, and what it all means for advertising. The connection he makes between the fundamental truths of what great artists take from their own brains, and the science that has validated those truths is absolutely spell-binding. If you want to understand how to change the way people smell, feel, and taste the world– which is to say, if you’re one of us adfolk, you must read this book.
And while you’re at it, don’t miss his blog, either. Probably even more worthwhile than keeping up with Ashton Kutcher on Twitter.
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Simpler coffee/snack runs – Dunkin’ Run
Jun232009
Dunkin’ Run looks like a great new tool from Dunkin’ Donuts. It lets you send a message to your friends/colleagues informing them you’re about to make a run to Dunkin’, then lets them also place an order. Here’s a look at the website (there’s also an iPhone app):
In Dallas, my colleagues and I used to do TCBY frozen yogurt runs at least once a week, and this would have made it much simpler!
Near HM&P it would be nice to do this for Goodberry’s…or even for Cook-Out milkshakes…or really any of the various food places!
Has anyone tried it? Thoughts on if it will be successful?
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The Future of Shopping
Jun232009
Check out this video of Zugara’s online augmented reality and motion capture shopping app. It’s relatively crude but the potential is incredible. Imagine this app when the technology matures a little. Then end of brick and mortar stores? Well, maybe not. But very cool nonetheless.
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Nerf Wars
Jun222009
http://www.vimeo.com/5083074
It was a Civil War to end all Civil Wars. Foot soldiers from creative and interactive recently got together on the vacant floor of an office building and had at it with Nerf guns. Nobody broke an ankle (or fell through a window) so all in all it was a good day to die.
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Clay Shirky: How Twitter can make history
Jun222009
Many people talk about the shift in media that has happened with the raise of the Internet and the social web, but none do it with the clarity and examples in the way Clay Shirky does in this video from TED.
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Social Media Key Factor In Purchasing For Online Moms
Jun222009
Recently the folks over at E-marketer released new survey results stating that 34 million moms were active online. While that is a big number a more important stat comes from a deeper graph.
Take a look at the graph above. Referral from friends or family is the second most important source of information for mothers when making purchases. Think about that number in a different way, that is not just the people moms know personally. Social media is causing everyone to redefine who they trust and who they even consider friends. People now consider someone a friend who they have never even spoken to on the phone, let alone met in person. This means almost anybody can be an influencer.
How does this change the way you market to moms?
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Mirror Neurons
Jun222009
Anyone interested in how emotions work in advertising needs to know about about mirror neurons. Mirror neurons have been in the news a lot the past few years, if you keep up with the science columns in places like the New York Times, or the Wall Street Journal, but surprisingly few people in the advertising world have been paying attention.
That’s too bad, because it’s probably one of the areas of science that is most likely to revolutionize how we understand advertising. Understanding mirror neurons will save us from a lot of bad mistakes. Hopefully.
Now you don’t need to troll the blogs and science columns to understand mirror neurons. Marco Iacoboni, one of the lead researchers in the field, has written a wonderful book that will tell you much more than I can about how they work and why they’re important. As he puts it, mirror neurons are the mechanism for empathy. They are the proof that “We are hard-wired to feel what others experience as if it were happening to us.”
Think about that next time you see someone experiencing pain in an ad. The Super Bowl ad with Justin Timberlake may have gotten a lot of buzz, but if you read this book, you’ll realize that it also hurt a lot of groins.
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Recognized by Raleigh Public Relations Society
Jun222009
Howard, Merrell & Partners received six Sir Walter Raleigh Awards (two gold, two silver and two honorable mentions) as well as two Best in Division honors. The awards were presented to the winners at the Raleigh Public Relations Society’s Annual Awards dinner, which took place on June 16th at Marbles Museum in downtown Raleigh. The awards recognize outstanding achievements of organizations in the Triangle area public relations and communications industry.
“We are proud to provide our clients with outstanding work on a regular basis. We work diligently to develop and implement strategic PR and communications programs to achieve our clients’ goals and objectives,” said Stephanie Styons, senior vice president, public relations at Howard, Merrell & Partners. “We’re honored. Winning awards like these is a plus since they are judged by a group of our peers.”
Howard, Merrell & Partners received the following recognitions:
Total Communications/Community Relations Campaign
Organizational Identity/Promotion:
Project Gecko Presented by Zilla – GOLD
Miscellaneous Special Events:
CORDURA® Brand Scavenger Hunt – SILVER
Special Event:
Butterball Grand Opening – HONORABLE MENTION
Public Relations Writing
Opinion/Feature Writing:
Butterball Op-Ed – HONORABLE MENTION
News Release:
Humanities Center ASC Conference – SILVER and BEST IN DIVISION
Publications
Open Category:
Project Gecko Presented by Zilla – GOLD and BEST IN DIVISION
The Sir Walter Raleigh Awards honor outstanding public relations work in the Triangle area. The competition recognizes firms of all sizes for excellence in the field.
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