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.

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.

Interact with me on Twitter - @AndrewRushmore
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This post is also featured on my personal website, andrewrushmore.com

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.

1. Determine the goals and objectives of the show.

Before you even think about the booth, show displays or message for the show ask you and your team, “Why are we going?” (What are our marketing goals?):

• To add a few names to our contact list? (lead acquisition)
• To maintain our presence in the industry and make a stance among our competition? (Positioning your clients brand within the respective industries present; also against other competitors present?)
• To launch a new product?
• To get away from the office? (Hey now…!)

2. Make sure you set MEASUREABLE goals in which management agrees on.

This is by far the most important lesson I’ve learned. What is a success to one person, usually isn’t to another; in fact, sometimes it can be perceived as a failure (be warned). For example:

• In a four day stretch you gain 3,000 leads (contact information) out of a conference with 10,000 in attendance (you’re hitting 30% return).
• That’s an average of 750 leads gained per day: a good number and rate of return, it means your booth is probably staying busy!

So how could 3,000 leads be seen as a failure? Here we go:

• It’s great that you’ve given them more contacts (heck, it could even have been an increase over last year) – but are they qualified?

In general, a measurable goal will let you calculate return on investment and create justification for your presence at a show. Specifically though, an increase in qualified leads will take you much further than a large list of ‘tire-kickers’ who stopped at a booth for a free pen (or to kick a tire or two…). This brings me to my third point:

3. Define “qualified” lead.

Similar to #2, this definition can differ from person to person. Make sure everyone has a clear understanding of what makes them qualified and put it in writing. (Are you seeing a trend here?) This is a critical definition to determine at the beginning of your event planning; it will not only set the bar for a performance indicator but also allow you to tailor your booth’s presence and messaging around your desired audience or “qualified” leads.

4. Determine your target audience(s) and make sure you speak their language and message to them.

You can generate this from your goals and objectives. (Wait you have those, right?!) If your #1 goal is to increase media exposure, then the media is your #1 target audience. Don’t forget they have goals for the show too, so make sure your message will get their attention; give them something new and exciting to talk about – make their life easier, make them want to write about your client! Don’t forget your electronic media kit – paper was so last decade.

5. Bring copies of all paperwork, blueprints and confirmations. And phone numbers.

It seems like every year, show services misplaced one of our orders. If I didn’t have my 45 lb. binder with me that safely kept every form, map, plan and confirmation for every order, we would’ve been without electricity, internet, you name it. Without phone numbers, I would’ve spent an hour or so tracking down the right person to get it fixed. And every second off your feet counts.

6. Bring art files for all the graphics, literature and anything else printed for the show.

Why not be prepared in case disaster strikes? Imagine if a graphic didn’t match up right on the spot – it could be printed poorly, it could have stitching problems, it could get rained on…the list is endless. Be prepared.

If you’re not, it’s just a wasted half day on the phone with the ‘home-base’ (aka, the office) tracking down files, sending them, getting things re-printed; imagine if your design team was sleeping – what a nightmare!

7. Communicate between your freight carrier and show logistics before and during shipment.

Oh and don’t forget cell phone numbers for both the truck driver(s) and logistic crew members. We had a second shipment arrived on-time once to the specified location however, show logistics decided to close the gates earlier than listed on the form. So when the truck arrived he had to turn around, continue on to California to deliver another load, then turn back around to deliver our freight one day late. You may think that it’s only one day, but that one day caused a wasted day for the installation crew and overtime to make up for it. Lessons learned!

8. Plan for unplanned expenses in your budget.

Even experiential events and tradeshows have rainy days – do you have your client’s rainy day fund set aside? Avoid this conversation:

“Where’s this?”

“We were supposed to get that?”

“Yes.”

“Uh-oh”

Be prepared, consider that rainy day funds an umbrella to cover any last minute crisis expenses; a good budget is crucial to every marketing strategy but planning for contingencies is crucial!

9. Show Services, are your friend.

Yes, they cost an arm and a leg to do anything from hanging your overhead banners to plugging in an electronic device (some venues are stricter than others) but they can make or break your schedule and your sanity. If you’re ungrateful or rude, you move to the last on their list. But if you’re friendly and appreciative, they will bend over backwards for you. A smile and a wink doesn’t hurt either. Any other bribe is up to you – we assume free food works as well though…

10. Bring a first aid kit for your booth staff.

Not just Band-Aids, though necessary for those evil blisters but water and lozenges for dry throats; shoe inserts for those tired feet; ibuprofen for headaches and swelling feet (and hangovers, should that happen…); and snacks for hungry bellies in case they’re too busy for a break. Anything to keep your staff smiling for 10 hours a day – in case you haven’t tried that, it’s hard. One moment of not smiling at a booth can be captured forever on YouTube….

To recap a few things:

• Plan
• Communicate
• Budget (extra)
• Think about the peons (try giving them food to increase loyalty!) that run the shows.
• People will forget to drink water; hydrate them, or miss out on precious ‘smile-time’!

I hope this helps and best wishes for a successful show from your pal at Steketee Greiner and Co. ~ Jill.

Talk to us on Twitter @steketeegreiner!

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.

At the conference, my already deep respect for the AAF’s role in my industry grew as I saw the number of clubs that had come to represent not only their industry, but also their hometowns, in an effort to learn, network and most importantly, have fun! On the young professional side, I was awed that leadership flew in from cities such as Denver; Washington DC; San Francisco; Madison and even as far away as Honolulu, Hawaii to support the conference for Ad 2.

During the week, one speaking engagement stuck out as specifically motivating. Gary Ware, an Ad 2 member and professional from the San Diego area (Ad 2 SD) led a workshop on how to use Social Media effectively for a club and graciously allowed me to attend (I even offered to Live Tweet with the #aafconference Hashtags). As a professional engaged in the emerging industries related to digital communications and Social Media I found that Gary and I had much in common with our views of Social Media. What interested me most from this talk was that Gary had inspired a room of ‘traditional’ Advertising professionals to engage both him and their peers in an attempt to learn and share successes.

Knowing the times I’ve seen advertising and thought “hey, Social Media could really help out here…” it’s fantastic to see traditional professionals looking to merge industries – even if the cutting edge hasn’t been their primary focus so far in their career.

So special thanks to Gary as well as the AAF National Conference, for reminding me that it’s not just about advertising, and it’s not just about Social Media – it’s about getting the consumer engaged with brands we promote to the extent that they are willing to not only purchase a product, but spread positive Word of Mouth (WOM) across their social channels (both offline and online). The added benefit of Social Media to a traditional advertising campaign comes from the ability to measure this WOM and determine ROI faster, and more affordably than traditional surveying alone.

For example: Tampax produced a very unusual (or is it revolutionary?) campaign about an adolescent named man named Zach who struggled with getting a period won best of show at the Addy’s; I can’t help but think that ‘Zach’s’ engagement through Social Media led him to not only win Best of Show but the loyalty of the consumers he engaged with in the digital landscape. You can view the official clip from the AAF [Here].

All in all, I’ve returned more passionate about my industry; it’s a pretty amazing world out there, and I hope to continue to share my passions around Social Media strategy, emerging technologies and Advertising (AAF/Ad 2 specifically!) in the near future.

In the meantime, don’t hold back. Love us or hate us – find us on Twitter: @stekteeegreiner.

And as always, if you’re looking to talk to us about our innovative views in this market, contact us through www.steketeegreiner.com.

Additional Links:

You can follow Gary on Twitter: @GaryWare

His Presentation is loaded  [On SlideShare]

Credits for the Tampax Campaign:

Tampax “Zack Johnson”

Agency: Leo Burnett, Chicago
WW Chief Creative Officer: Mark Tutssel
Chief Creative Officer: John Condon
Executive Creative Director: Becky Swanson
Creative Director: Dave Loew, Jon Wyville
Copywriter: Dave Loew
Art Director: Jon Wyville

Post by: Andrew Rushmore

]]> http://blog.agent-x.com/2010/06/passion-for-advertising-is-becoming-passion-for-social-media/feed/ 0 http://blog.agent-x.com/2010/03/consumers-love-the-word-%e2%80%9cfree-%e2%80%9d/ http://blog.agent-x.com/2010/03/consumers-love-the-word-%e2%80%9cfree-%e2%80%9d/#comments Fri, 05 Mar 2010 20:30:35 +0000 Jill http://blog.agent-x.com/?p=404 Consumers LOVE the word “free.” Even more so in recent years. We love it so much that we go out of our way to get some freebie that we don’t even need. Free pen? Yes please. Free t-shirt? Sure! Free dessert? I’m full from dinner and really don’t need… well okay, it’s FREE!

On the flip side, someone has to pick up the tab; when paying for the free ‘swag’ companies often find it difficult to see the value in giving things away for free (rightfully so). In the past, we could only assume that our message would get out there to increase brand awareness and visibility. What if you were able to measure the number of impressions you gained to truly gauge the value of the campaign? With the addition of online forums, social venues and blogs, it’s now easier than ever to measure success and ROI even when you’re giving it away for free.

An insightful article from Event Marketer: “The ROI of Free” http://www.eventmarketer.com/article/roi-free, points out a few examples of companies who were able to get a tangible return from their “free campaign.”

You remember Denny’s Grand Slam give-away during the Super Bowl, right? Last year they gave away 2 million Grand Slam breakfasts in 8 hours, and in return they received “$50 million in news coverage, 47 million hits on their website and thousands of emails.” Little Debbie gave away one million cupcakes and in three weeks their fan base on Facebook grew from 5,000 to 50,000!

Before you just start handing stuff out, there are a couple things you need to do first:

• Define your overall goal of the campaign as well as what will make it a success
• Make sure the appropriate channels (website, social, etc.) are set up and monitor and track the numbers!

Now, anyone know of any good freebies out there? Post them in comments!

jill

Check out Judy’s “un-resolutions” for 2010 from adage.com.

Posted by Judy Shapiro on 12.29.09 @ 04:38 PM

1. I will not get seduced by any new digital marketing toy just because some industry pundit thinks it’s the coolest thing to hit the street. Nor will I believe every promise made by every new marketing technology company.
2. I will not abandon common sense in digital marketing and be blinded by digital agencies’ promises that their “new” campaigns will go viral and get millions of people engaged. I will continue to listen to my gut and if it sounds too good to be true, that’s a red flag warning I will heed.
3. I will not abandon newspaper, magazines, radio and other forms of traditional media if it is the right vehicle. No matter how sexy digital media may seem because of the perceived lower cost, I will continue to create integrated programs that weave together the best of both the traditional and digital worlds.
4. I will not give up my attachment to e-mail marketing. Sorry folks — but e-mail marketing done well drives real business results. If your e-mail campaign did not work, either you had a bad list or an inadequate call-to-action or maybe your agency did not know what they were doing.
5. I will not be fooled into thinking that the ad market is going to rebound in 2010. Nope. The ad market will continue to be buffeted by the tides of an evolving economic landscape and by consumers’ ever fickle attraction to new tech toys like mobile devices. These trends will continue to dampen ad revenue for publishers for some time to come.
6. I will not blindly follow Google as they chow down every tech industry from telecom to digital publishing in their relentless march toward digital dominance. In the process, they stifle competition and kill real innovation by companies who deserve to succeed.
7. I will not diminish my slavish devotion to data-driven marketing no matter what new platforms come out that can behaviorally target any audience any way I wish. I know, I know — the BT folks can slice and dice an audience so many ways that it makes a marketer salivate. But unless I can see, touch and feel the data, I will pass for now.
8. I will not start following every Tom, Dick and Jane to gain more Twitter followers. OK, so I only have about 185 folks following me but at least I know they read what I tweet. Quality, not quantity, is what drives social media.
9. And my final un-resolution: I will not try appear to be “30-something” (with a suitable amount of hair product) just because I love digital marketing. I know that the median age of people in digital marketing tends to be 27, but my depth in this space has yielded real-world, hard-won recognition. What you see (gray hair and all) is what you get.

SRM focuses on three areas: Engagement, Crowdsourcing and Monetization.  Social Networks offer so many fantastic features it naturally creates an engaging experience. Brand-to-fan dialogue, photos, videos, polls, custom content, etc. It is a rich tool kit for brand managers.  And, as fanbases grow, they can be mined for valuable insights.  Which name do you prefer for our new granola bar?  What feature would you like to see on our next video game?  Your fans have opinions and they want to be heard.  For most brands, the numbers are not there to be statistically significant, but it is a fast and free way to get a quick read and supplement your market research.  The real question is how do we leverage our fans to increase sales? Certainly there are tried and true options: special offers, promotions, discounts, sweepstakes, gwps, etc.  However, the risk lies in breaking the brand-to-consumer unwritten social code.  “Do not heavy sell me on my social network” or at least too much.  Social networks are not advertising channels, and fans are very leery of brands that sell rather than engage.  An exclusive offer every now and then is welcome and keeps the site valuable to the fans, but excessive promotion, especially those found in other channels, is just advertising.

So what is an ideal SRM ratio?  Certainly there are no clear rules on this, but the 80/20 rule is a great place to start.  80% of communication should be engaging content revealing more brand insights and drawing the fans in closer. The remaining 20% should align with the brand value.  I’ve seen a large discount retailer provide numerous promotions and offers on their site and judging by the extensive comments, it is very well received.  It aligns with the low-cost value offering and it is what their fans expect.  Obviously premium brands would take a different approach.  To start, I recommend an 80/10/10 content platform then let the testing begin.

Social media is evolving so quickly, the industry is still determining the best practices to take advantage.  We take what we know and evolve, test and mold into actionable strategies for today’s social business environment.  If you don’t have a clear SRM strategy for your brand’s social presence the 80/10/10 Engagement, Crowdsourcing, Monetization ratio is a good place to start.

Question: In this developing world of social media and digital marketing, we all know that we need to reconsider the way we’re delivering content to our audiences, but do you feel like you have things under control? There are threads everywhere discussing how we’re losing control of the conversations going on around our brands and how we’ve entered into the age of transparency in messaging. The rage today seems to be around monitoring and measuring and conducting damage assessment and control once a conversation is made public. But let’s consider content in the context of measuring and monitoring and think about how brands can move from “reactive content victim” to “proactive participant in a meaningful conversation.”

So then, how are you developing content in the new media age? How are you planning to update all the social media channels and blog(s) your company is launching, or has already launched over the course of the year? These are big questions, and unless you know the answers to them, you may want to consider scaling your digital media plan to accommodate your ability to create content that will effectively represent your brand effectively in a two-way conversation with your audiences. The key word there is “two-way,” because you’re entering an environment that is built on networks and opinions and transparency, and if you’re merely in a position to launch messaging (even if you’ve spent millions of dollars testing its relevance) into the digital space without being able to measure its effectiveness and, more importantly, without having a strategy on how to respond if a conversation erupts around your thought, you’re leaving yourself vulnerable.

As we get into it, here’s a little background on where we are and where we’re heading:

Web 2.0 has enabled a two-way dialogue. Audiences have become “search savvy,” information flows and, most importantly, the line between professional and amateur content has started to blur. The challenge isn’t finding information, it’s knowing what to do with it…

The new age of Web 3.0 is about semantics. It’s enabling a new distribution relationship around content/data centered around Filtering (information and content) and Context (delivering the right message, at the right time, to the right person, with the right device). This approach to content is creating an open source social structure that will allow databases to talk to each other and encourage social network content that urges audiences to use snippets of content as they please and where they please to reach new levels of meaning between brands and audiences.

These changes are creating a MARKETING STRATEGY SHIFT…

Web 2.0 asked us to build massive sites and drive traffic to a place where we could try to control messaging. Web 3.0 is asking us to create content that can travel throughout the digital world via conversations with multiple participants, creating connections that drive content consumption, data collection and new content generation.

So, here’s the rub, and it’s a simple “if/then” proposition: if we’re now in a position that requires us to create content that will enable and respond to conversations about our brand, then how do we generate content plans that aren’t simply focused on feeding information and stories out to audiences, trusting in their ability to run with it? The answer’s simple: plan. Build a plan that maps out your entire content strategy across all your channels for the entire year. Of course, you need to leave some room to be reactive, but if your marketing plans are aligned with your business objectives, you should be able to create a conversation that you can feed to your audiences and interact with in an organized, ongoing basis throughout the year. And if you do this well, you’ll be able to measure not only the sentiment of what’s going on around your brand, but also the effectiveness of your content (for good or bad). Once you know that, you can create a content baseline that allows you to generate planned, targeted content year after year that is valued internally for its measurable effectiveness and externally for your contributions as the subject matter expert around your brand.

Sorry for the moment of shameless promotion, but great news! We’ve been selected by local beer juggernaut, Founders Brewing Company, to work with them to develop their 2010 marketing strategy. The project is a perfect fit for our consulting group as it taps into our rigorous strategic planning process. Also, we love beer, and they happen to make some of the most recognized craft beer in the world, so that worked out nicely.

Read the full press release here.

We’ll now return you to our regularly scheduled value-added blogging…

The marketing landscape is changing. It’s about open conversation and innovative ways to create new communications opportunities. We’re working hand in hand with our clients to help define where marketing goes from here. So, as the edit to our title post now says, marketing actually isn’t really dead. It’s just reinventing itself for the new age of Communications 3.0.

- David -