3 Ways to Push For Change
A couple weeks ago I had the luxury of attending the American Advertising Federation – RDU presentation with Rick Boyko. As the former Chief Creative Officer of Ogilvy & Mather, Boyko currently heads the VCU Brandcenter. Since arriving at VCU, Rick Boyko has made more changes in the past six years than the Brandcenter has had in its entire existence. More »
PR News Blog Spotlight: PRBreakfastClub.com
As I perused my usual PR news outlets with my morning coffee today, I stumbled upon a fun article via PRDaily.com titled “Five Ways PR Campaigns are like Getting Married.” The whimsical nature of the post instantly caught my attention, but it was the author that convinced me to read on. As a member of the UNC-Chapel Hill student chapter of Public Relations Society of America, I was excited to find a blog post written by Keith Trivitt, the associate PR director of PRSA. More »
Real World Search Engine by Dodge
Recently, some people at the agency came across an innovative, fun, and engaging campaign. I was immediately captivated not even knowing much or having experience with the brand. Cutting through the clutter to reach consumers is always a tough job for ad agencies. I thought I would take time to highlight one campaign that successfully did this.
Dodge developed a bold campaign to promote the new Journey by hiding three of them across the US and making fans of the Dodge brand search for them. You find one, you keep one! The company put out a serious of TV spots for each of the three locations. In these commercials, the promotion of the new Journey was the focus. However, there were hidden clues in every frame as to the location of the vehicles. The campaign started on September 12th and ran through September 27th.
As soon as I heard about this campaign, I wanted to get involved. Who doesn’t love a good treasure hunt when a free car is up for grabs? My boss and I were immediately engaged and waiting for the release of the first video. We tried searching for the hidden clues in the commercials that were posted on Dodge’s YouTube channel. Too bad we didn’t get to the car first. I would have greatly enjoyed having a brand new car!
Take a look at the campaign for yourself. Its unique approach really got people to interact with their brand. I think it is safe to say their campaign was successful in increasing brand awareness. After all, it worked on me and I have never owned a Dodge car.
Kristen Earns a Promotion!
Congratulations to Kristen Liebers who recently earned a promotion to Assistant Account Executive.
In her new role, Kristen will help guide the strategic branding and communications efforts for multiple brands under the Georgia-Pacific Professional business, including the Dixie® and enMotion® line of products. For more than a year, she been a part of the Georgia-Pacific Professional team at the agency and helped drive successful, award-winning campaign efforts.
For more information, see the announcement on Kristen.
Weekly Wrapup #7
1. According to Forbes, Google+ = A let down
People had high hopes for Google+. Folks thought it would be a more simple, user-friendly alternative to the infamous Facebook. It quickly picked up speed and caught the attention of many, but just has quickly, has fallen off the radar. The only people now who frequent it are tech geeks and social media guru’s and even they are losing interest, Forbes reports. But still, there is a yearning for a Facebook type forum that will actually stick with people that is part of Google. Read the full article and see if you agree: “Why’d You Go and Breaky My Heart, Google Plus?”
2. AdWeek: The Year in Media (so far)
You’ll have to wait until the end of the year for the full recap, but AdWeek debuted their top picks thus far this week. The hottest of the “Hot List” are below, but for the full mid-year report, you’ll have to visit AdWeek.
January
- Playboy Enterprises goes private, decided by Hugh Hefner
- Eric Schmidt steps down from being CEO of Google to be replaced by company co-founder, Larry Page
- Comcast takes over NBC Universal
February
- Super Bowl XLV becomes most-watched US TV program EVER.
- Huffington post sale to AOL announced
March
- NFL announces lock-out
- Apple unveils Ipad2
- Charlie Sheen kicked off Two and a Half Men
April
- AdWeek reinvented itself as a “slicker, smarter publication”
- Glenn Beck announces end of Glenn Beck
- ABC cancels All My Children, One Life to Live
- Katie Couric leaves CBS
May
- News of Osama bin Laden’s death first reported on Twitter
- Oprah hosts last Oprah Winfrey show
- Microsoft announces plans to buy Skype
June
- NBC holds on to Olympics with $4.38 billion bid
- News Corp. sells MySpace for $35 million
July
- NBA owners lock out players
- News Corp. announces its plans to close News of the World
- PBS plans British outlet
August
- Abercrombie & Fitch to pay “The Situation” money to not wear their clothing
- Steve Jobs steps down as CEO of Apple
- Google announces it’s buying Motorola Mobility
September
- ESPN, NFL announce $15.5 billion agreement to extend Monday Night Football through 2021
- Facebook announces changes, including new media integration features
- Simon Cowell’s The X-Factor debuts in U.S. with less than expected ratings
October
- Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple, dies at the age of 56
- NBC cancels the much hyped The Playboy Club show, making it the first cancellation of the Fall season
3. PR Week: Brands increasingly realize benefit of strategic alliances
In order to grow, businesses need to continually reach more folks. One method companies and PR firms are now currently utilizing to expand audiences and reach new and different targets is by the development of strategic alliances.
“With marketing budgets tight and brands under pressure to demonstrate ROI, marketing executives seek every edge they can find,” says Joe Cohen, SVP of MWW Group. “Smart agency executives are always looking for ways to provide added value and clients appreciate when you can bridge an alliance that will help them maximize their budget and deliver better results.” – PR Week
Read more here.
4. Ten lessons the restaurant industry can learn from Steve Jobs
This article from a top foodservice trade publication, QSR Web, was originally targeted at foodservice/restaurant owners and operators; however, these lessons from Steve Jobs are relevant to almost every business setting.
- The customer experience trumps anything else
- Keep the brand simple and contemporary
- Get inspired by small things
- Embrace technology
- Innovate past failure
- Anticipate trends
- Business is more than the bottom line
- No man or woman is an island
- Employees reflect the brand
- Keep it in perspective
For more in-depth descriptions of these valuable business lessons, visit QSR Web.
The Ag Angle – #AgChat
Agriculture is much more than just sows, cows and plows; it encompasses all components of the food, fuel, fiber and feed industries. The AgChat Foundation, who introduced us to the term agvocate (agriculture advocate), works to connect farmers and ranchers with consumers through various social media platforms. It’s an exciting chance for the advertising and public relations industries to be at the forefront of this agvocacy movement.
To see some of the results social media has had on the agriculture industry, you can watch this AgChat YouTube video.
@AgChat is a moderated Twitter conversation that takes place every Tuesday night from 8-10 p.m. EDT. The discussions allow participants to voice their viewpoints and ideas on hot topics within the agriculture industry. Chats begin with 15 minutes of introductions and networking followed by questions agvocates have submitted to the moderator throughout the previous week. The last five minutes are reserved for pitching new ideas for the next #agchat conversation and promoting your own agvocacy efforts.
Recent #AgChat topics include:
- Parenting on the farm
- Harvest
- Farm disaster preparedness
- Mobile devices
- Family and business relationships
If this sounds like something you may be interested in check out the AgChat Foundation’s website and follow @AgChat on Twitter to join in the weekly conversations!
Check back soon for more ag and social media news!
A New Media Channel for Breast Cancer Awareness (Somewhat NSFW)
Marketers are forever searching for a new medium to cut through the clutter and get their message heard. Faced with the challenge of creating awareness for Toronto’s Rethink Breast Cancer’s annual fundraising event, on budget of next to zero, C+B Toronto figured they’d use a fitting medium that’s relevant and attention getting: women’s breasts.
Hiring women (who were actual breast cancer survivors) to hit the streets of Toronto (where toplessness is legal – note guys – a reason to consider moving to Toronto) with headlines promoting the event painted on their chests, the campaign created buzz, attention, and was deemed hugely successful by Rethink Breast Cancer.
And, as always with these type of “buzz” efforts, a little luck is always helpful. Deal or No Deal comedian Howie Mandel happened by, had his picture taken, then Tweeted about it.
Regarding the fundraising event Mandel said “Well, now I’m aware of it. My wife was looking for a sale — and I found half off!”
Spotify In The Battle Of The Music Service
All too often 
I find myself turning to Pandora for a brief mood elevator during my mid-day work crunch. I find what seems to be the perfect channel to suit my exact state of mind at that time, a collection of similar artists ready to be my personal stress- fighting support system. Then, it happens. I’m deep in my music zone when Pandora throws in that one random song you just so happen to despise. No Pandora, if I enjoyed Rhianna’s new drinking anthem, I would have just turned on my radio.
Many users share the same complaint; Pandora’s Music Genome Project – the brain behind deciding what music suits your taste – is often far off. And worse, the same tracks have a tendency to repeat at an obnoxiously high rate. Where is the lover of music and free streaming to turn?
Enter Spotify. An increasingly popular alternative to music sites like Pandora, the downloadable program is made up of a 15 million track database. The free version allows users to listen to any song in their database for up to 20 hours per month for the first six months. Additionally, users can connect to Spotify using Facebook, allowing for easy music sharing between friends. Teaming up with Spotify, Facebook now offers a “Music” tab that enables account holders to see playlists created using Spotify on their profile pages. The music program also lets users post what they are listening to at that exact moment via Facebook ticker. Friends who post their songs to Facebook enable others to open the same song in their Spotify application by simply quickly clicking “play” on any friends’ post.
Twitter also serves as a venue for Spotify music sharing. Right-clicking the track you are listening to opens up a list of options. You can copy the track URL, allowing you to insert it to your twitter feed, or send it to other users. Spotify also gives you the option to directly insert it to your Twitter feed along with a personal comment.
With other sites like Grooveshark, Rdio, and Rhapsody becoming contenders, which free music-streaming site do you go to for your daily escape? Will this open the door for more music sharing via social media outlets? Only time will tell.
Weekly Wrap #6
1. The passing of a Genius
As many know, Steve Jobs — founder and visionary of Apple died on October 5th. The dedication from many tech companies paid their tribute. Wired.com went all black. Google’s lack luster homepage contained a single link to Apple.com.
Many of us here at Howard Merrell use the results of Mr. Jobs genius every day and it has made an incredible difference in the way people connect, communicate, interact and find news. It may come as no surprise that many became aware of Steve Jobs’ death by the very device he envisioned and created.
Here’s to you.
2. Newspapers are Dead? via Donna Mercer
Only if you are trying to sell a sensationalist story. According to the Pew Research Center in their 9/26/2011 report, newspaper is still considered the best and most highly preferred source of local community news. Don’t get me wrong, newspapers in this country have been in a steep decline for the past 10 years, but less so with suburban and community newspapers. Most of those survived 9/11, the banking crisis and the current economic downturn better than the major daily newspapers.
Breaking news is still largely sourced to TV, but look for that to change with social media like Twitter. Those of us on the east coast who experienced the earth quake a few weeks ago know that Twitter was the first source of information.
As previous studies have suggested, adults look to specific media to satiate particular needs they have as consumers. As marketers, we have to understand how our targets audience consumer media for our products and services and mirror their media consumption behavior.
3. 22 Eye-Boggling QR Codes
Simply Zesty has compiled 22 phenomenal examples of QR codes. Because these codes have a variable up to 30%, meaning you can round edges, get rid of part of it, or alter it up to 30%, you can truly get creative with the way you show off your QR codes. With barcodes ranging from bottle caps to Rubik’s Cubes QR codes can be created in an array of formats that will make you scan. Kind of like Victoria’s Secret models, you can take QR codes to the next level and tattoo one on your chest to play an animation.
4. 11 Infographics For Your Next Presentation
Ragan has compiled an excellent list of Infographics for presentations. Everybody loves being able to see things in pictures, or charts. Show off important stats and information about social media, advertising, and demographics. These infographics well help you prove a point while saving you time, and effort on the research and design.
5. Dynamic HTML5 Mobile Banner Ads
HTML 5 is quickly becoming a mecca for new websites, so it should come to no surprise that Ads are were next. Faster, more efficient, and just as flattering as Flash, HTML 5 mobile ads are helping creative advertisers unleash new creative concepts. The largest factor in HTML5 mobile advertising though is the ability to display on any and all mobile platforms. Because some mobile platforms do not display Flash entirely, or old versions of Flash, HTML 5 is supported now by almost all devices, and can be displayed without problems.
Watch the video for an example of HTML 5 Advertising.
Congratulations to Kathy Moriarty!
We are excited to announce the promotion of Kathy Moriarty to Senior Account Executive.
Since joining the Account Management team, Kathy has played an integral role in creating marketing strategies and developing corporate branding objectives for her clients. She has managed the day-to-day advertising and communications activities for the Safe Quality Food Institute and INVISTA’s CORDURA® brand. In fact, Kathy was a key part of the team that helped INVISTA’s CORDURA® brand business receive a National Silver ADDY® Award this year for its CORDURA® brand Durability Experience Module.
Kathy is full of energy and creative ideas. She is a great team player, and we love having her as a part of the Howard, Merrell & Partners family.
Please join me in congratulating Kathy on her well-deserved promotion. Read the announcement on Kathy.
