i don't need your card
I've been saying this forever, but Chris Brogan just perfectly summarized what should be the new business card etiquette, everywhere:
Unless you want to do business with me, don’t give me a business card. We both know how to reach each other, so unless one of us asks for one, let’s not hand them out. We tend to give out business cards because we’ve been taught this is what to do. It’s not. It’s the old way. In the old way, we just blast people with messages whenever WE need something. In the new way, you and I should only exchange cards if we’re looking to do future business. Otherwise? We roughly know how to reach each other, don’t we?
Save a card. Save the planet. Rewire the way humans do business.
Seems like common sense, right? Yet how many meetings did you sit through in the last week, where everyone in the meeting did the card exchange? Even though everyone in the meeting is already on the same email thread.
Business cards: only when you absolutely need them. (Pictured above: the single best business card, ever.)
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:28 AM
1 comments
Thursday, March 04, 2010
your ceo is the mayor of your brand
You'd think that this is obvious, and that your CEO is not only the leader of your company, but the most prominent brand ambassador. So why not position them as mayors?
I had the random chance to share a JetBlue flight yesterday with JetBlue CEO David Barger. It wasn't that I recognized him. Or was even looking for him.
He introduced himself to the entire flight, prior to takeoff. And greeted all of the passengers as they disembarked the plane. He could have easily enjoyed a quiet, anonymous flight. Sounds obvious, and like common sense? For many successful brands...yes. But plenty of others don't take advantage of this opportunity.
Why not have the CEO of your grocery store chain announce himself to the store on a Friday morning? Or the CEO of a gas station at the pumps on Saturday? Regular public encounters with the leader of the brand can go a long way in humanizing a company and helping to share a caring image of the brand.
I'm certain that plenty of passengers from yesterday's flight left JetBlue with a smile and maybe even mentioned the chance encounter to their friends. (Or tweeted it.)
Oh yeah - even better: it turns out the JetBlue CEO David Barger is a huge fan of Brand Flakes for Breakfast. You can tell by the way he politely agrees to tell you so. :)
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:53 AM
2 comments
Monday, March 01, 2010
lady gaga: get rid of your login
Here's proof that if your site requires a login and you're not integrating the current leading social media systems, you're losing customers:
89% of users coming to LadyGaga.com chose a third-party logon rather than create a new account. This is the future. People are comfy with their Facebook, Twitter and OpenID logins. They don't need a new one for your site, too. From @jcioban.
Labels: facebook, marketing, social media, twitter
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:30 AM
0 comments
Friday, February 26, 2010
what your brand can learn from gaga
Church of the Customer rounds up five key loyalty lessons that your brand could learn from the Gaga marketing and brand genius.
(Everyone could use just a little bit of Gaga.)
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:55 AM
0 comments
Monday, February 08, 2010
how mullen and radian 6 turned the superbowl into a marketing victory
As an agency, Mullen wants to get attention from marketers. And social media monitoring service Radian 6 wants to speak to agencies and brand people. They both know that Superbowl is the one television event that brings everyone together for the night.
Together, they created BrandBowl 2010 , a site that monitored the Twittersphere for chatter about the Superbowl ads, and measured the sentiment. The best ads were ranked on a live leaderboard with live chat streamed in too.
The genius behind this creation was that it spoke to their audience perfectly. Agency people and marketers alike now experienced a live demonstration of the Radian 6 product. And they did so with an excellent presentation by Mullen. Classic "create for your audience" marketing that made many agencies (including us) thinking "wish I thought of that."
Labels: adindustry, marketing, social media, superbowl
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:38 AM
0 comments
Wednesday, February 03, 2010
spirit airlines targeting...who?
Spirit Airlines has a new campaign that's captured the spirit of...a frat boy? Their ads feature MUFF Diving Sales and MILF Sales.
This is sure to offend many, which makes you wonder if a targeted campaign to frat boys for spring break will have negative impact for their larger audience in the long haul. Here's an interesting lesson in the mechanics of micro and macro targeting. And, I just said MILF.
posted by darryl ohrt @ 6:50 AM
2 comments
Thursday, January 28, 2010
the history of neon
The Design Within Reach enewsletter Design Notes features an excellent post about the history of neon and the soon to be opened neon museum, in Las Vegas.
This proves two things:
1. You can sell furniture and engage your audience with a newsletter that's not about furniture;
2. Neon is a totally awesome tool that's not utilized enough anymore.
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:04 AM
0 comments
Monday, January 25, 2010
small actions that make permanent impressions
Here's an inspiring story about a little restaurant called the Loveless Cafe in Nashville, TN. The restaurant offered a simple, good deed to Steve Woodruff decades ago, and it's made such an impression that it's still being talked about (and blogged about) today. TWENTY EIGHT years later.
Think you can't include planned good deeds in your marketing plan? Or your brand is too big for little actions? Check out what Yahoo did.
What if 2% of your media spend were put to good deeds instead?
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:48 AM
1 comments
Friday, January 22, 2010
go daddy: domain names for $1855.10
Sure, you can order domain names for under $20. But did you ever wonder what a domain name registration may cost if you say "yes" to all of the add on services they try to sell you during the registration process?
Most registration services attempt to sell you a kabillion useless products when you register a name. Ed Hunsinger wondered what it might cost if you actually said yes to many of these items. The answer? $1855.
His post detailing the process is absolutely hilarious, and a reflection on how icky the sales process is for domain name registration (not that you'd expect better from a product with a stripper as a spokesperson.) Awesome.
Labels: marketing
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:38 AM
0 comments
Friday, January 15, 2010
change the weather to increase your business?
This is an incredible story. Car rental company Sixt hired a pilot to seed the clouds over their city. This prevented rain during the month of July in Halle, Germany's wettest city.
The end result was a huge boost in convertible car rental business, and the brand becomes a hero to the citizens who aren't accustomed to frequently seeing the sun.
Brands bringing sunshine to their marketplace. Amazing. From @pete_theeca
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:51 AM
0 comments
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
case studies from the mountain top
Still not convinced that Twitter has some value for your brand?
Now Twitter has released their very own case studies showing how brands like Dell, Pepsi, JetBlue and others have incorporated the tool of wonder into their marketing plans. Pass it to your boss.
Labels: marketing, social media, twitter
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:59 AM
0 comments
digital music marketing genius.
Check out the new C-Mon & Kypski video, currently being produced. You can watch the video as it is being produced, ONE FRAME AT A TIME. Even better, you can add yourself to the production (as many times as you'd like) by contributing frames to the video.
Charlie at Curve Detroit points out that any business can learn from this creative feat. C-Mon & Kypski have done a bunch of things right:
+ They appealed to the 90% of the audience who might NOT want to participate because they're too shy, afraid, whatever - these people get to watch the process unfold.
+ They let the visitors that participate in the site become OWNERS of the product. Think they'll talk about it? Share it on Twitter or Facebook? Post about it? You bet.
This is crowdsourcing done smart, done well, and done right. Thanks, Charlie!
Labels: marketing, music, social media, video
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:21 AM
0 comments
Monday, January 11, 2010
something to annoy your cubicle neighbors with
Yahoo! yodelizer. There is nothing else to say.
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:22 AM
0 comments
Wednesday, January 06, 2010
because you can't be productive all day, every day.
You may want to visit the list of ten great single serving Tumblr sites for two reasons:
1. This is an excellent example of how simple and easy it is to set up a Tumblr blog, and proof that you can set up multiple blogs for your brand. While these are for entertainment purposes, who says that you're only allowed one corporate blog for the company?? (Our firm has at least ten blogs)
2. You need a break. You've been working for two days straight now, after the long holiday break. It's time that you took some "me time" and enjoyed a good laugh with quality content like People Talking on Bananas.
Get your blog on.
Labels: blogging, creativeinspiration, marketing
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:42 AM
0 comments
Monday, January 04, 2010
job search will never be the same.
Are you looking for a job? Why not treat your situation like a classic sales and marketing project? Who is it that you really want to work for? What could you do to target them individually, and convince them that you're right for the job?
Hire me, HeadBlade is the latest success story in what is becoming a full fledged movement of how to get a job in the new economy. Find the place where you belong, and then make it happen.
Disclosure: Headblade is a client of our agency, but that hasn't impacted the opinion or points presented above.
Labels: economy, marketing, recruiting
posted by darryl ohrt @ 8:09 AM
2 comments
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
how to be prom king on the internet
What can Versace teach you about marketing in the social media world? Read this excellent post about Versace style marketing in a Gap world.
Mary McKnight explains that "The popular kids never give tutorials on how to become popular. And they never go out and sit down at the loser nose pickers lunch table and make them their tribe."
Haha! So true, and there's some outstanding insight that follows about building your brands with celebrities/influencers and the evangelists. From @3dpapergraphics
Labels: branding, fashion, marketing, social media
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:39 AM
0 comments
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
business cards for the new economy
Ogilvy has taken what Moo created and made it better. Smaller business cards that grab attention and feel unique.
Isn't that mostly what it's about now, anyway? From @gariphic
Labels: adindustry, design, identity, marketing
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:12 AM
1 comments
Monday, December 21, 2009
santa is ready to ride
What if your hospital was the one responsible for keeping Santa healthy, and making sure he's fit for his big night?
This is a most awesome self promotional piece for UNC Healthcare that is family friendly branding at its holiday best. Thanks, Casey!
Labels: healthcare, holiday, marketing
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:47 AM
0 comments
blogs: now open for business
Blogger now integrates with Amazon so that bloggers can add anything that Amazon sells (which is just about everything in the world) into their blog posts.
Bloggers get commissions on any items sold, which opens up a world of possibilities for bringing commerce to blogs. Say hello to the new mom and pop shop.
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:23 AM
1 comments
a toy story for business
@charliecurve points us to a fantastic story about Lego, how they nearly lost it all, and then re-created a company to the legotastic brand we all know today. Complete with awesome photos of the magic Lego factory.
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:16 AM
1 comments
Friday, December 18, 2009
please notice the scroll bar to your right
Google has released a tool that allows you to see how your site is viewed in different browser resolutions. The tool will likely have plenty of people getting nervous about their sites. In the olden days, people didn't know what a scroll bar was, and might leave a site, not understanding that there was more content to see.
Please Scroll (thanks, @tsand) reminds us that it's NOT 1996, and that internet users understand how to use a scroll bar. Three Minds has an old (but still relevant) post on the subject as well.
While some may now have their developers cramming all of their content into the top left corner of their sites, we suggest that the best tactic is still great design, great content. Produce both and you'll engage your audience. Even below "the fold."
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:30 AM
0 comments
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
facebook a boon for small town tourism
What do you do when you're marketing a smaller tourism location? Disney, Paris, NYC and other international draws have million dollar campaigns and just as many resources at their disposal. But what about Lynchburg, Virginia?
Plenty of smaller markets have businesses, museums, fairs and events all worthy of attention. Small Biz Survival points out that Lynchburg, Virginia has been able to use Facebook advertising to bring real results to their campaigns.
Display advertising used to cost thousands of dollars, and now they're connecting with larger audiences for just hundreds of dollars. Think your market is too small? We'll bet there's a few hundred Facebook users that disagree. From @brickandclick.
Labels: facebook, marketing, social media, travel
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:57 AM
0 comments
Wednesday, December 09, 2009
package designers: cut this out
Hilariously sad. When packaging goes bad. Thanks, Maura!
Labels: design, marketing, package design
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:06 AM
0 comments
Friday, November 20, 2009
escalator to heaven
You've heard of elevator pitches: where you have the time of a short elevator ride to share your pitch with the investor that could change your world.
Launch Memphis has taken it literally - with a twist, and created the escalator pitch contest. Eight finalists and three walk on contestants will get a magic escalator ride tomorrow, and a chance to make a pitch to win a $10K marketing package and $1000 in cold, hard cash.
Great idea. You should totally try the same thing at the escalator in your local mall, just to see what happens. From @jameshutto
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:14 AM
0 comments
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
gaming works magic for u.s. army
Game Politics points out how effective gaming has been for the recruitment of soldiers. The Army even testified to Congress that the America's Army game has been more effective than “any other method of contact.”
Even better, a 2008 MIT study found that “30 percent of all Americans age 16 to 24 had a more positive impression of the Army because of the game and, even more amazingly, the game had more impact on recruits than all other forms of Army advertising combined.”
Sounds like someone's doing their homework, creating media that engages their audience, and getting spectacular results. From the ECA.
Labels: gaming, marketing, military, youthmarketing
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:38 AM
2 comments
Monday, November 16, 2009
how to handle a brand criticism
Last month, Steven Colbert made some less than lovely remarks about Miracle Whip on his show. So Miracle Whip fought back. In a truly, totally creative, advertising inspired takeover of his show.
Watch the Miracle Whip setup above, and see a clip from Stephen Colbert's show on the Adweek blog. Brands who face criticism could give this a good look and some creative consideration the next time they're faced with a similar situation. Nicely done.
Labels: adindustry, branding, marketing, tv
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:06 AM
3 comments
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
the netflix for designer dresses
Rent the Runway is a fashionista's dream come true. You get to browse through an inventory of top designer dresses. They send you the dress (or two) of your choice. Once the party is over, you toss it in an envelope and mail it back to Rent the Runway.
According to the New York Times, over 20,000 women have already signed up for the service. What's especially cool about this is that they took inspiration from other industries and reconsidered the business model for their trade.
How could you provide a service to your clients in an unconventional way? From Liz Dorney
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:17 AM
0 comments
Tuesday, September 08, 2009
money talks and social media walks
Just when you thought that everyone on earth has already done a YouTube contest and it's impossible to get any buzz with the same old "submit your video" idea comes a new YouTube mystery contest that's getting tweeted, blogged and otherwise socially loved.
They can't tell you exactly what the contest is for, what it's about, only that they're going to give away $100K. Proof that money still talks, even in the social mediaverse.
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:55 AM
0 comments
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
how to sell a bunch of books
Chris Brogan has a deal for you:
+ Buy 300 copies of his new book Trust Agents and he'll give you a half day of his consulting, gratis.
OR
+ Get about 100 of your friends together, and he'll fly in for a signing.
If you've been following Chris over the last few days, you've seen how he's expertly launched his new book. He doesn't ask much of his ginormous Twitter audience, so you could say he's built some trust. You could also say that trust has earned him a favor or two.
A few tweets and blog posts over the last few days have called in those favors (and fans), and have put his book on the Amazon charts over the weekend. And now he's snowballing that position and pushing it even further, with some fun promotions like the "deals" mentioned above. He's using his online audience of individuals to sell his book by the hundreds.
Chris didn't mastermind this overnight. He didn't join Twitter yesterday and start hawking his book. He's spent the last however many years building an audience by providing something of value. And so when he does have something to sell, he's got an audience that's interested, invested and ready for action.
Nice job.
Labels: marketing, publishing, social media
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:24 AM
3 comments
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
second life still getting press
Second Life, that virtual community that took over every headline, blog post and marketing article for about a year is still alive.
It's always had value to it's audience, it's just the audience isn't what many brands or marketing people were expecting/promised/hyped.
A new piece in the Wall Street Journal shows the value of Second Life conferences, and how Second Life is enjoying a "second life" of marketing itself to businesses. Hmmmm.
Thanks, Jeff!
Labels: marketing, secondlife
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:53 AM
0 comments
Saturday, August 01, 2009
avoiding the Twitter effect
Is Twitter right for me? ASK YOUR DOCTOR. Chris at Movie Marketing Madness talks about the Twitter effect and how brands need to share the wealth beyond the “it” social network. As with any next big thing, brands are naturally all over it. (Some from the beginning, others, late to the party.) Chris’ point is that maybe they shouldn’t be. Least not at the expense of other channels. It’s what we talk a lot about too. No one single marketing tactic will make or break a brand—so why focus the majority of your marketing efforts on one.
Labels: marketing, social media
posted by mtlb @ 1:09 PM
0 comments
Friday, July 31, 2009
sponsored by Sharpie
Another requirement of the Plaid Nation Tour: Caffeination. But in all the stops for a Cup o’ Joe, they never came across coffee cups like these. Specifically, drawings like these. As one person notes: Creativity just smacked mundane across the face. Artist Cheeming Boey and his amazing collection are featured on Sharpie’s Uncapped site. Dixie your turn. (Via NOTCOT.)
Labels: illustration, marketing
posted by mtlb @ 8:05 AM
0 comments
Monday, July 20, 2009
take a picture, it lasts longer
You're stuck on a train, see an ad, want to remember it but can't find a pen.
Jagtag offers marketers a solution for capturing customers at that moment, with a 2D barcode inserted on ads. People snap a photo with their cell phone, text it in, and get back a message or YouTube video bragging about the brand (iPhone users, always different, need to forward the pic via email). The idea is to stick a little longer with that potential customer, now with a message embedded on their phone.
Bad news is all this ain't cheap. Jagtag charges a setup fee and also fees per response or impression. But if you want to reach teens or adults 18-34 where they are bored or trapped -- we see college textbook advertising, baby! -- Jag could be your tag.
posted by Ben Kunz @ 7:32 AM
0 comments
Wednesday, July 01, 2009
teens love events
A new study by Fuse Marketing and University of Massachusetts Amherst shows that teens see event sponsorship as adding credibility to a brand. Even more interesting - according to this survey, teens still know what "radio" is. Hmmmm.
Labels: branding, marketing, youthmarketing
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:31 AM
0 comments
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
cancer sticks are the new hot
Ummmm....cigarettes are potentially dangerous. New legislation further constrains cig makers on their package designs. What's a poor tobacco marketer to do?
DJ Stout, a partner at Pentagram suggests they embrace the danger:
“Unless you’ve been living in a cave for the last 50 years you are very aware that smoking is not only bad for you, it could very likely kill you. All smokers know this for sure but it doesn’t deter them....Don’t make excuses or dance around the stepped-up marketing regulations, just transform the whole cigarette pack into a three dimensional warning label.”
From RyanSwigert
Labels: design, marketing, package design
posted by darryl ohrt @ 8:03 AM
2 comments
Monday, June 15, 2009
you don't need an iphone app in your new campaign
Before you approve that budget for the iPhone app that seems absolute necessary right now, consider these numbers regarding their actual usage:
+ Minutes per use: 9.6 (Greystripe)
+ Uses per user: 19.9 (Greystripe)
+ Only 20% of users return to use the app after the first day (Pinch Media)
+ After a month, this number drops to 5% (Pinch Media)
On the flip side - you could say the same thing about videos and internet sites intended to go viral. (When was the last time you watched the Nike car jumping ad?) Short user spikes don't mean that this wasn't effective - it's just not necessarily a long term device.
As with everything, the answer to whether or not your marketing plan needs an iPhone app may indeed rest with your overall marketing strategy plan. There. I said it. Strategy rocks.
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:30 AM
0 comments
Tuesday, June 02, 2009
like a white paper, only cooler.
ScenarioDNA has "issued a position statement." At many firms, that means that an agency CEO hired a copywriter to smooth over a bunch of senseless ramblings into a white paper that attempts to make him look smart. But not in this case.
ScenarioDNA introduces The Transformer Generation. They've successfully identified a generation and their attributes with the Transformers. Yeah - those Transformers. Super interesting perspective with a bunch of smart detail to back it up.
(We assume that they also have tickets to the new film's opening.)
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:45 AM
2 comments
Monday, May 11, 2009
just tell your story
Storyteller Gary Vaynerchuk has some really great advice for businesses planning a major PR launch, or a reaction to something in the marketplace.
Just tell your story.
Sounds simple, sounds like common sense, yet it's so easy for companies to get buried in the muck of PowerPoint decks and intensive "plans." Gary lays it out in true Gary V style.
Labels: marketing, pr, social media
posted by darryl ohrt @ 8:10 AM
0 comments
Thursday, April 23, 2009
another slide for your social media powerpoint presentation
Hey, guess what: People are listening to their friends more than paid search ads. Duh. But you need a nice study to refer to, or a chart for your PowerPoint presentation, right?
Here's all of the nitty gritty details that you'll need to convince your boss to hire the most awesome agency to do the most amazing social media campaign. Enjoy. From Engaging Brand.
Labels: marketing, search, social media
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:48 AM
0 comments
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
how many $150K products do you buy from 20 year olds?
I've been touring colleges over the last couple of weeks, and oh boy, there's plenty to share. This will hopefully be the first of a few posts related to higher education marketing.
Let's talk tours.
The college tour system is BROKEN. And they're all doing the exact. same. thing:
+ Meet in the visitor center (and at the better colleges) mingle with a couple students.
+ Tour a lecture hall, the athletic center, a dining hall, a sample dorm room, a classroom, the blue light security system, and the student center.
+ Deliver factoids about the teacher/student ratio, the dorms, the meal plan, and security.
(I can now walk onto any campus in the U.S., and give the tour, sight unseen.)
Things that are bothersome, and are ripe for change:
+ Yes, the prospective student wants to hear from a real student, but not everyone's comfortable buying a $150,000 product from a 20 year old. (Like parents.)
+ The student tour guide is a representative of the end product. If she says things like "I'm ascared of the dark" or "...help with the softwares on your computer" or "most freshmans are on this plan," parents aren't getting excited to make a buy.
+ Most students (and parents) tour more than one school. By tour #3, they're bored out of their skulls.
There's an opportunity for someone to do something spectacular.
+ What about having an admissions/marketing person on tour with a student guide? Co-presenting, for the win? Sales teams present to clients selling $150K products every day. Why not higher ed?
+ Everyone has a meal plan, quad style dorms, blue light security systems and lecture halls. Hand out a fact sheet to cover the obvious stuff that everyone asks (but must be covered.)
+ What's different about your school? The entire campus of UMASS Dartmouth was pretty much designed by renowned architect Paul Rudolph. The buildings are striking. Any mention on the tour? Nope.
+ How could your tour be fun? Something that I want to tweet to my friends?
+ How could your tour be interactive? Is there a way to get the student/parent to participate?
+ Everyone has a camera in their pocket. Some even stream video. Let's put it to use, and give people a reason to take a photo. They might even share it with their friends.
+ Anywhere else in the consumersphere, you're treated like a rockstar if you've got over $100K to spend. How could you treat potential students (and parents) like rock stars?
Every higher ed admissions/marketing person should book a trip to Vegas today and take the Zappos tour. Seriously. This is a tour of AN OFFICE, and it's exciting, engaging, and you'll want to work there. What could your university be doing to make your tour more Zappos-like?
posted by darryl ohrt @ 8:04 AM
8 comments
Friday, April 10, 2009
your business card is crap
Yes, this guy kisses himself in the mirror every morning, and then takes a picture. And he wrote the book on "A type" personalities. And, no, you probably don't want to hang with him - but oh boy, his advice on business cards is pretty good.
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:20 AM
4 comments
Wednesday, April 08, 2009
shopping vicariously
Zappos has created a fun tool to watch shopping.
A real time animated map mashup that shows what people are buying at this very moment, and where they're from. Watch shoe trends break on the west coast or watch the east coast wake up in the morning and
This is a fantastic concept (inspired by Twittevision) and proof that it's possible to make your business as fun and exciting as your product. From MsHerr.
posted by darryl ohrt @ 8:00 AM
2 comments
Thursday, April 02, 2009
how to give better facebook
Mashable is celebrating Facebook Week with a series of Facebookish posts. (How did we not hear about Facebook week?? Are there parties? Will there be cake??)
Yesterday's 5 Tips for Optimizing Your Brand’s Facebook Presence is a gem. If you're too lazy to click through, here's the top level tips:
1. Create the perfect profile picture
2. Optimize your website’s Share Preview
3. Display different content for Fans and non-Fans
4. Create your own vanity URL
5. Define a publishing schedule for your content
All awesome advice.
Labels: facebook, marketing, social media
posted by darryl ohrt @ 8:09 AM
0 comments
smart google ad
Google's running a really sweet two page ad in this week's Advertising Age Magazine. 7 things you can do in the next 7 days to improve your bottom line features seven tasks that each take 10 minutes or less, and might improve your business. And yeah, they all use Google products.
Here's the list:
1. Save money the old fashioned way - don't spend it. (Promotes Gmail.com/videochat)
2. Capitalize on trends, before they're trends. (Promotes Google.com/insights/search)
3. Capture the sales you're missing. (Promotes Google.com/local/add)
4. Know what works...and do more of it. (Promotes Google.com/analytics)
5. Get more from the content you already have. (Promotes YouTube.com)
6. Find the people who want to find you. (Promotes Google.com/adplanner)
7. Find new and better keywords. (Promotes Google.com/sktool)
7a. (Bonus) Collaborate more efficiently. (Promotes Google.com/apps/teamwork)
Nice presentation of a suite of products in a time that most marketers could be using them.
Labels: adindustry, ads, google, marketing, search
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:41 AM
1 comments
Wednesday, April 01, 2009
the art of the chicken
Finally. An entire book devoted to the art and graphic design of chicken marketing. You know you were waiting for this.
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:51 AM
0 comments
Thursday, March 26, 2009
the colonel is coming to fix your roads
KFC just launched a promotion where they'll send the Colonel to five major cities across the nation. To fill potholes.
KFC wants to promote their ability to fill bellies with fresh meat by filling holes with fresh tar. It's a part of their "Fresh Tastes Best" campaign.
Freshening city roads is a cool idea that's sure to make everyone happy. Picking up the cost will make five cities very happy. And the Colonel in road-working safety gear will make the press photographers really happy. Everyone wins. Let's get chicken.
Download the Colonel's open letter to Mayors here: http://senduit.com/bdbc8b. (That link will be live for one week, thanks to the folks at Senduit.)
Colonel: call us. You need a campaign site that tells the story. A big promotion without a url is a missed opportunity. We know people.
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:36 AM
2 comments
Friday, March 13, 2009
will you send this link to 100 friends, if i give to charity?
There's some real interesting discussion going on at Brian Morrissey's blog about the Tide promotion that took place earlier this week. A handful of agency type people were asked to come to the P&G offices, and in a true Jerry Lewis style tweetathon, reached out to their networks in an attempt to sell t-shirts. $6 from every $20 t-shirt went to a charity.
You can see all of the tweets, captured with the hashtag #pgdigital.
Sounds pretty cool? They raised about $40 - $50K for a charity. And people were talking about Tide. Not everyone thinks so. Some consider the tactic nice wrapping paper for pay-per-post. It is a little scary to think of our Twitter streams clogged with brands spamming for attention. And donations.
This clearly illustrates that the rules are still being written. That there's no "proven way to use social media" to market your brand - regardless of what the social media "experts" may tell you.
And the one thing that still wins EVERY TIME - is great content. Want to let the the social media masses spread the word? Don't wrap it in charity. Don't pay people to talk about it. Give them something awesome, that they want to share.
Labels: branding, marketing, nonprofit, social media, twitter
posted by darryl ohrt @ 8:30 AM
0 comments
Thursday, March 12, 2009
meet saul colt.
Saul is one smart dude. And he's got a pretty cool business tip that is especially appropriate while we're in the middle of this depressacession. A tip that's so simple, and yet so powerful that it could have your customers loving you forever.
We suggest you find a way to work this into your brand plan, your life plan and general way of doing business. Just follow Saul's advice, and you can be spectacular, amazing and wonderful. It's easy.
Labels: branding, creativeinspiration, marketing, workplace
posted by darryl ohrt @ 6:48 AM
1 comments
Tuesday, March 03, 2009
skittles: was it good for you?
The Twittersphere was all-a-tweeting yesterday about the new Skittles site that launched last week. The site features a dashboard over popular social media sites set to Skittles. So there's a live Twitter feed of what people are saying about Skittles, a Skittles Flickr page, Facebook page, etc.
Yesterday the site generated a significant portion of all twitter conversation. The Skittle chatter has largely been centered around two points:
1. The Skittles site was inspired-by/ripped-off-from a popular industry agency Modernista site, launched over a year ago.
2. The site's content is now largely influenced by the community. Want to tweet that your coworker just choked to death on Skittles? It'll appear on the front page of the site.(Just like the Modernista layoffs appeared on the news page of their site.)
I say:
So what: No candy consumer has ever heard of Modernista. As long as the creators of the Skittles piece (Agency.com) acknowledge the influence - who cares?
Yummy: When was the last time you spent time on a candy website?
Big deal: Generating a single digit percentage of the Twittersphere conversation is a big deal. But in reality, a speck in the landscape of consumerville. I'll bet the average Skittles target hasn't even heard about all of the hub-bub. Yet.
What about you? Feeling the Skittles love?
Labels: adindustry, food, marketing, social media, stunts, yummyfood
posted by darryl ohrt @ 8:04 AM
1 comments
brand new cereal in super old boxes
General Mills has released retro versions of some of their best selling cereals. They're for sale in Target and other retailers, and clearly going after an older demographic who will spend money on nostalgia.
We assume that the cereal is fresh, and not just some stuff that that they found locked in an old General Mills warehouse for decades.
Security guard #1: What are they going to do with all of this 40 year old product?
Security guard #2: I'll bet Bob in Marketing would have a field day with this.
From Coudal.
Labels: design, food, marketing, package design, pop culture, yummyfood
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:26 AM
1 comments
Monday, February 23, 2009
mint: don't be jealous of us
Mint, the uber-awesome online budget and personal finance tool is growing fast. They announced recently that they're gaining 3,000 new users a day.
That's apparently a lot faster than the tool from Quicken. So the dudes at Quicken sent the people at Mint a letter, trying to get details. The whole thing blew up and made Quicken look like sore losers. Oh, the world of online finance.
posted by darryl ohrt @ 8:16 AM
2 comments
what it's like to be the comcast dude on twitter
You're tweeting. You get what it's like to be tweeting. But your boss is one of those dudes that needs a new article pushed in front of his face every day, showing the value of tweeting. "When BusinessWeek can show me how Twitter can be used in business, then maybe I'll believe this tweeting stuff."
Here you go. BusinessWeek details what it's like to be the dude from Comcast on Twitter. Not that you'll learn anything here - just send it to your boss. From the Consumerist.
Labels: marketing, social media, twitter
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:28 AM
0 comments
Friday, February 20, 2009
how a coffee shop let twitter double it's clientele
Looking for another great example of how to use Twitter in your small business? Check out this story about a coffee shop that used Twitter to double their business.
And guess what - it's all about building relationships and fostering community. Something a coffee shop knows a little something about. Pass this to your friend that owns a small business. From Brand Aid.
Labels: marketing, retail, social media, twitter, yummyfood
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:33 AM
2 comments
Thursday, February 19, 2009
films using the internet for fun and profit
Some people in Hollywood are really starting to get it. There's a couple of new films that have totally harnessed the power of the internets to produce as much online entertainment as on the screen.
Coraline should be written as the new case study in blogger outreach and online promotion. If their blogger boxes weren't enough...there's the Bobinsky blog (Thanks, Liz!) And the Bobinsky calls your friends site. Or see your name in mice.
And there's the new Terminator movie. They've already launched the site for Skynet Research (thanks, Michael!) and the movie hasn't even finished shooting!
What's working:
+ Building buzz looong in advance of release
+ Multiple online properties (one microsite is no longer a healthy promotion)
+ Giving people the tools to use things in their own way
+ Specific promotions geared to the multiple audiences
How could you do the same with your brand?
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:55 AM
1 comments
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
businesses on twitter
Twibs looks to be the ultimate list of all businesses and brands on Twitter. Conveniently organized alphabetically or by followers.
Send this link to your boss who says "The internet is a dangerous place. We have no business on places like Twitter." From Bub.blicio.us.
Labels: marketing, social media, twitter
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:52 AM
1 comments
how to end the depressicession
Duct Tape Marketing is sponsoring what looks to be a really cool marketing program. Make a Referral Week asks you to commit to making a referral to a small business during the week of March 9 - 13. That's it.
Their goal is to generate 1000 referred leads to 1000 deserving small businesses in an effort to highlight the fact that this simple action can blossom into millions of dollars in new business.
They've also lined up some nice speakers for webinars during the week - and anyone who makes a pledge can get FREE audio recordings of these events!
So, go ahead. Create some stimulus. Let's declare an end to the depressicession.
Labels: marketing, smallagency
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:33 AM
2 comments
