September 16th, 2011 by Andrew
"Nope! It’s Chuck Testa."
Soon, if you haven’t already, you’ll be watching a video shot for Chuck Testa out in California.
As I’m writing this, I have had to opportunity to watch his video spread from a tiny comment on www.reddit.com to a full out internet meme.
(A meme (
/?mi?m/[1]) is “an idea, behaviour or style that spreads from person to person within a culture. Pronounced like “cream” it was coined by Professor Dawkins)
Here’s the video:
Hilarious yes?
What makes this video great, is that Chuck Testa pops out and says “Nope! It’s Chuck Testa”. But if Chuck had said “nope” to the video producers creative ideas, he would have seen far less exposure for his content.
Published August 14th, the video saw minor success. Chuck was probably happy enough with the video too! But wait. Check out the insights below. Once there internet “found out” about the commercial, his views skyrocketed.
Not every viral video will work. In fact. Most don’t. Our city saw great success thanks to Rob Bliss and his team producing a Lib-Dub video for the classic song American Pie. Rob and his team poured their time into that video – and views kept climbing. Grand Rapids got another 15 minutes of fame (more like, 4MM+ views of fame!).
So why did Chuck Testa’s video hit off with the internet? Simple. They didn’t try too hard, but they experimented with a creative solution that ended up becoming a booming success.
He’s actually hosting a contest right now on his website for the best “NOPE!” photoshop. (http://www.ojaitaxidermy.com – if you want to enter.)
Here are my key takeaways from the Chuck Testa ‘experience’ (and he still makes me laugh outloud, FYI.):
- First and foremost: don’t be afraid to be creative.
- Pushing the boundaries doesn’t have to be “offensive” – you can push boundaries and still be noticed.
- If the internet “finds out” about something you’ve done and it goes viral – let it. Heck, join it!
- Don’t. Be afraid. Let your brand explore a creative message that wouldn’t normally “fit”.
If you find any good Chuck Testa stories, share it with us on our Facebook or Twitter!
www.facebook.com/weareagentx
www.twitter.com/weareagentx
Addendum: I should add that the video was shot by professionals for “Commercial Kings“. Just note that while shot by professionals, the beauty of the video is how long it took to be “discovered” by the internet. Very impressive viral piece.
Posted in Communication | Tagged agent, agent x, andrew, Chicago, chuck, Creative, Digital, Experiential, grand, marketing, michigan, rapids, rushmore, testa, viral, Viral Video, viral videos, x
June 17th, 2011 by Andrew
"Finding the Inner Beauty."
Stopping to smell the roses isn’t a new concept. In fact, it’s almost an overused expression. We rarely stop to smell the roses, let alone to stop to contemplate the power this phrase has over our lives.
In marketing, our consumers walk past flowers every day. They rarely will stop and smell the roses. Who can blame them? They’re over communicated. We all are.
As communicators, our industry has a responsibility to assure that consumers will stop and smell what we have produced. Ideally, of course, it would be a pleasant smell. Maybe an experiential event for the local sewage plant – actually, never mind. That’s just a bad idea.
So often, communicators do indeed make a rose. But they spend so much time painting their white roses red, they lose the beauty behind what was already there. Michelangelo said: “The best artist has that thought alone which is contained within the marble shell; the sculptor’s hand can only break the spell to free the figures slumbering in the stone”. He spoke to the inner beauty that most people ignore, while they assume they have to change something that is already beautiful.
It’s this respect communicators need to consider. Stop pushing messages that are bland and reused, try to find what really matters to your audience and go for it. Stop painting the roses red, chances are it took far too long to grow them in the first place.
Only once we start respecting the views of the audience and creating content that’s worth ‘smelling’, have we served our duty as communicators. It’s a big responsibility after all. Just…keep that smell pleasant.
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This post is also featured on my personal website, andrewrushmore.com
Posted in Communication, Creative | Tagged advertising, agent x, Andrew Rushmore, communications, grand rapids, Inspiration, inspirational, marketing, michigan
March 30th, 2011 by david
"Google Fiber: And the Winner Is…"
For those of you who haven’t heard yet, Google has made its decision regarding its broadband fiber initiative. Here’s a hint: it’s somewhere in Kansas, and its initials are KC…
Read all the details here:
Ultra high-speed broadband is coming to Kansas City, Kansas
From all of us at Agent X (formerly Steketee Greiner and Company) to all of you out there who put in all the time and effort and devotion at the local level around this initiative, we just want to say, in case no has or ever does, we were sincerely impressed, and you’re ALL winners in our book.
David
Posted in Measurement, Uncategorized | Tagged agent x, david greiner, google fiber, kansas city, Steketee Greiner, ultra high speed broadband
January 6th, 2011 by david
"X Now Marks the Spot"
In case you haven’t noticed, something is different about our blog. No, it’s not that we’ve shifted directions and are now food critics at large (because the world needs another one of those). But there is definitely something different…
We have a new name! Steketee Greiner and Company has merged with experiential marketing agency Agent X out of Chicago, and we are now calling the new collective Agent X.
We’re still offering our clients the same full-service solutions in strategic planning, creative services, and measurement and insight analysis that we always have, but we’ve added some serious experiential marketing firepower to the stable.
Let’s face it – the marketing landscape is continually changing, and this merger enables us to mash together our services to create measurable, end-to-end brand engagements focused on live experiences that extend into the digital space. We feel this new focus is necessary to compete in a time where the lines continue to blur between experiential and digital.
The other good news is that this means we now have offices in both Grand Rapids and Chicago to serve you better!
Stay tuned for more stories, insights and so on as things develop.
Posted in Creative, Uncategorized
September 3rd, 2010 by Andrew
"Surviving CES and Experiential/Event Marketing"
The office is buzzing even more than usual lately and that can only mean one thing for our team: CES is coming! This will be the fifth year our client (Fulton Innovation) attends the show; we’re excited, as always!
Experiential and event management is exciting yet there are many ‘nail biting/ nerve racking’ moments that can be averted with a proper strategy. If you’re interested in experiential marketing, in the middle of planning an event, a marketing student, etc. than then post is for you. I’m going to share the top ten tips and tricks I’ve picked up in my five years of experience with CES – hopefully you’ll stop biting those nails now! Click below to read more.
Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged CES, consumer electronics showcase, event, events, Experiential, grand rapids, greiner, jill wolgemuth, marketing, michigan, return on experience, return on investment, roi, steketee, steketeegreiner
August 24th, 2010 by kyle
"Where to Start"
As designers, we loves us some new technologies. The latest version of Adobe Creative Suite, 17″ MacBook Pros, Digital SLR Cameras, etc. are common tools of the trade for Graphic Designers. But our most prized possession, the one thing we cannot do without—pencil and paper.
That may sound funny to a lot of people, but it’s true. Before I ever get on my computer to “design” something, I always start by jotting down ideas on a piece of paper.
The great thing about pencil and paper is that it’s a visual extension of the brain, and it can capture ideas just about as fast as I can think of them. Contrary to belief, most designers (should) spend most of their time thinking and concepting.
It is great to be able to write down a word list really fast, or scribble out a quick drawing of whatever it is I am designing could look like. It is a great way for me to get all of my bad ideas out of my head. In fact, I carry a Moleskine that I have affectionately called my Fail Book. Almost everything I put in it is a failed attempt or idea pertaining to a project. But, all it takes is one idea, one simple sketch to make everything click.
My Fail Book is where I sketch out scads of images for logo ideas, or draw countless sitemaps and wireframes. It’s where I take notes on things I like and don’t like. It’s where I can look at something fast, make a decision on it and then move on. Projects always start off rough, but it is cool to see through simple sketching a thought process take shape. Ideas become more thought-out, sketches look cleaner and more refined. Everything comes together.
Adobe products are great, and my new 17″ MacBook Pro is amazing to look at. In the end, they make my projects look great, but it’s not where they take shape.
Things get too meticulous on the computer. It is too easy to get hung-up on little details such as pixel size and exact angles. It is a waste of time to design on the computer only to realize after all the effort of making it “perfect” that the idea or concept doesn’t work.
I heard a song one time, can’t remember it for the life of me, but the lyrics were “you don’t know where your going ’til you get there.” While that may be true in life, it is a very dangerous path to take when working on a design. I love knowing where I am going when I get on the computer.
Design is process. There are many steps that must be taken to make the end product look good and work to perfection. It is nice to have a solid place to start every time.
Cheers!
Kyle
Posted in Creative | Tagged Adobe Creative Suite, Concepting, Design Process, Graphic Design, Kyle Harris, MacBook Pro, Moleskine, Pencil and Paper, Sketching, steketee greiner and company, Wordlisting
August 12th, 2010 by Andrew
"Community Involvement: Our Opportunity to Lead"
We live in a fast paced world in tough economic times: focus on the bottom line is just as important now as it is when the economy is flourishing. Yet just as there’s value behind every plan, every marketing strategy and every well thought out business model that drives revenue, there’s value in giving back to the community.
I’m grateful to the leadership at Steketee Greiner and Co. for their encouragement with my interest in engaging the community; ever since I joined the company in January I’ve been encouraged to grow not only as a professional but as a community leader as well. My interests carried over from my leadership position as Chair of Ad 2 West Michigan’s Public Service Campaign for Wealthy Street Theatre, located in East Grand Rapids and blossomed into opportunities with assisting Grand Rapids Whitewater (GRWW) as well as the Cool Cities/Cool Connections outreach program.
Over the last two months I’ve had the opportunity to provide guidance to young adults who graduated or were in high-school in the Ionia School District. It involved touring their town, giving feedback on marketing efforts the young adults had in place to encourage safe driving, meeting with city leadership officials in Ionia and then letting them see the Grand Rapids. After an hour with Mayor George Heartwell and Third Ward Commissioner Elias Lumpkins, we ended the experience by helping the young adults paint bus shelters by Veterans Park, downtown; it was a great way to let them leave a short term legacy of how Grand Rapids looked through their eyes.
Continue reading
Posted in Public Relations | Tagged Andrew Rushmore, community, cool cities, cool connections, corporate, grand rapids, grand rapids whitewater, GRWW, involvement, ionia, michigan, Philanthropy, service, Steketee Greiner, steketee greiner and company
June 25th, 2010 by kyle
"Iconic Icons?"
A few months ago I was reading one of my favorite blogs, Logo Design Love, and in a very short post the author posed the question “Are Iconic Logos Designed, or Bought?”
I figured “designed”, but this question really stuck with me, and I’ll admit that I changed my answer after my initial reaction once I really began to think about it.
See, in design school, we are taught about iconic designers such as Paul Rand, Milton Glaser and especially Ivan Chermayeff & Tom Geismar. Their work (in specific cases) is thought to be iconic, and it really is. IBM, I Love New York and the NBC logos are perfect examples of what it means to be “iconic”. They are easily recognizable and more importantly—identifiable. Continue reading
Posted in Creative, Uncategorized | Tagged brand, design, icon, Ivan Chermayeff, Kyle Harris, logo, Milton Glaser, Paul Rand, steketee greiner and company, Tom Geismar
June 18th, 2010 by Andrew
"Passion for Advertising is Becoming Passion for Social Media"
I want to begin by greeting our readers, as this will be the first post I have had the honor of contributing to our company’s blog since I came to Steketee Greiner and Company (SGC) almost six months ago. It’s been an amazing journey and I’ve been thrilled to be a member of such a dedicated team of professionals.
In my professional development, before being an employee with SGC, I joined a local organization called Ad 2 West Michigan; in a year I was elected to the role of Chair of Public Service, where I have worked with my friend and professional club associate Ray Cashbaugh (Chair of Creative), as well as the handful of dedicated, to build our charity campaign for the Wealthy Theatre (located in East Grand Rapids).
Ad 2, a division of the AAF (National), is a club for young professionals in Advertising, Marketing, and Public Relations between the ages of 18 and 32. In light of my involvement, I had planned to join the AAF and Ad 2 for their National Conference in Orlando, Florida, as a representative of Ad 2 West Michigan even before my employment with Steketee Greiner; imagine my pride to represent not only Ad 2 West Michigan, but also a rapidly growing company driven by an innovative spirit. The passion I have for my relationship to SGC allowed me to network with professionals in the Advertising industry with a vigor that perhaps Seth Godin would be proud of. Continue reading
Posted in Social Networking | Tagged AAF, Ad 2, Ad 2 SD, Ad 2 West Michigan, advertising, Andrew Rushmore, brian steketee, david greiner, Gary Ware, grand rapids, Inspiration, marketing, michigan, Seth Godin, social media, steketee greiner and company, Wealthy Theatre
June 1st, 2010 by brian
"Beginner AdWords and Analytics – AimWest Presentation"
Thank you to everyone who atttended our presenation at the lunch with Google event by AimWest!
You can find a copy of the presentation that Brian Steketee presented below.
The presentation covers the basics of Google Analytics and AdWords as well as some more advanced features and considerations.
Download Here
Thank you once again for your interest and happy measuring!!
David
Posted in Measurement, Search Engine Marketing, Search Engine Optimization | Tagged AdWords, AimWest, Analytics, Beginner, Google
Not every viral video will work. In fact. Most don’t. Our city saw great success thanks to Rob Bliss and his team producing a Lib-Dub video for the classic song American Pie. Rob and his team poured their time into that video – and views kept climbing. Grand Rapids got another 15 minutes of fame (more like, 4MM+ views of fame!).