Last week I attended the ONE Travel Conference for Shopping, Dining and Cultural Tourism in Orlando. I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect, but the speaker line up looked good and I thought the conference’s focus on shopping, dining and cultural heritage made sense; it certainly hit our agency’s sweet spot in consumer marketing. The women who co-presented the conference Rosemary McCormick, President of Shop America Alliance and Sheila Armstrong, Executive Director of U.S. Cultural & Heritage Tourism Marketing Council are a formidable pair with surprising energy, a powerful network and generous spirit of sharing.

The title of the conference was Creating Coopertition and Connections. This word, coopertition, really summed up the spirit of the meeting. Lots of competitors were in the ballroom, but they recognized that they will all be more successful working together for US tourism than competing.

Here are two key takeaways from the conference:

1. Since 1997 the US has lost one third of its share of the international travel market. Roger Dow, CEO of the US Travel Association (USTA), called the ten years from 9/11 to last year the “Lost Decade,” as more than 1 million jobs were lost in the tourism sector. Now, international travel may have slowed down due to the recession in 2007-2009, but there was still lots of travel happening. It just didn’t happen here because we rolled up the welcome mat. Ouch.

The USTA is working with the Obama administration, the Department of Commerce and many travel associations and organizations around the country to bring international travel back. Part of this work is around loosening the tight net the government imposed on visas post-9/11. A public private partnership has launched a $200 million marketing campaign called Brand USA this year and most of the destination marketing managers I met are intently focused on the international market.

Top Five International Markets for the US?

• Canada
• Japan
• United Kingdom
• Mexico
• Germany

2. The marrying of shopping, dining and cultural heritage at the meeting made intuitive sense to me. Now I have confirmation because those are the top three activities in order, in terms of spend by travelers.

Top Five International Cultural Heritage Visitors to the US?

• United Kingdom
• Germany
• Japan
• France
• Brazil

If what you offer is a wonderful shopping, dining or cultural experience, piggy back on what the industry is doing and focus on these markets. Check out the links above and learn more about what’s being done. These visitors want what you have to sell. The beauty of the Internet is that you don’t need a big budget to reach those travelers. You need a smart online strategy that involves quality, shareable content; targeted media relations and social media dedication.

I recently went to the San Diego Auto Show and it was awesome!  I remember my dad dragging me along to the Los Angeles Auto Shows as a kid.  Aside from the time I got to spend with him, I never had an interest in any of the cars or what was going on. 

The San Diego Auto Show changed my mind.

My car is 9 years old now and I’m starting to think – maybe I should get a new car?  I definitely have a couple of years left on my 2003 eclipse, if I want them.  But seeing all the new cars made me seriously think about making a purchase.

As a person who has worked in media my entire life, and has worked on many car lines, I am now seeing the ads on TV as a consumer rather than a media specialist and it’s a completely different experience.  I used to look at the pods the ads were running in and what stations and programming the spots were running in.  I analyzed the categories auto ads were placed next to, and what kind of separation auto ads had from each other.  I looked to see which ads were local and which ones were national.

Since the Auto Show, I  see these ads with a different eye.  Of course, I still look at the creative and where the ads are running.  But now I’m looking for the offer. I’ll watch to see which company has zero down and zero interest for 60 months.  I’ll look at what the payments are on different car lines.  I’ll look at the luxury brands and think “perhaps some day I will buy one of those.”  I’ve even gotten out the calculator on my phone to try to figure out what I can and can not afford.  And now as a consumer, I watch the whole ad and I’ll look for every piece of information I can find.  I try to find out what the features of each car are such as the gas mileage and monthly cost.

And now, with some of the new media technologies, I don’t just have to watch an ad on TV to get the information I want on a car.  I can click my cable On Demand and search the auto section to see what cars they have featured.  Online I can visit the Hyundai (or any other car line) website, then leave their site and be served a Hyundai ad as I click around on other sites (this is retargeting).

We all know that cars, especially new ones, are big ticket items.  Now I see why Auto is usually the largest spending category.  I understand the importance of good creative in advertising and I also understand why putting in an offer is also important. As a marketer I’ve learned that when you are a consumer you want to see an offer, you want as much information as possible – I will definitely keep this in mind when I am putting together media plans moving forward.

I watch every auto ad and I don’t care if they are placed right next to each other.  I watch them differently than I did before I was considering buying a car.

I’ve heard many people say that people who go to auto shows are likely to buy a car within 6 months of their experience there.  That may be true, we’ll see what happens.  Until then, I’ll not only be watching auto ads as a media buyer/planner/supervisor,  I’ll also be watching as a consumer.

Hello 2012. The year flew by fast didn’t it? Do you feel overwhelmed with all the information out there these days? Things are changing so quickly it’s hard to keep up, even for the super techno genius. Even though technology is evolving at light speed, what we really need to pay attention to is how to use these tools to best communicate with our target audiences. As marketers we need to understand the audiences we intend to interact with and how we can best achieve a valuable interaction. Technology will continue to evolve and offer us different avenues to communicate, for commerce, for entertainment, and for business. Oh and it helps us learn in real time.

We are all almost always connected by that little tiny computer we carry around in our pockets and our purses. Let’s be real, most of us do not use our phone for just the purpose of a phone. I know you boomers are facebooking and texting, and I don’t even want to know what my little cousins are doing on their phones. It scares me because it means I’m behind and have to keep up. Stupid early adoption. I don’t know what I would do without my iPhone anymore though.   I use it for everything – phone, calendar, email, directions, recommendations, socializing, entertainment, a remote, shopping list, cooking, exercising, music – you get the point. It’s funny to think that when I was in college I didn’t even have a mobile phone, let alone a smart one. It is a revolutionary invention, and only the gateway to how we as humans interact with each other and technology.  It also gives us huge opportunities as marketers to reach our audiences throughout their day and consumption habits.

Although many things are changing and evolving, the core to how humans interact and consume what we put in front of them does not. Humans have habits, we are social, and we are contextual. As we become busier, technology will help humans to maintain these behaviors. I believe there are three core areas that will be highly influential in 2012 that will affect how we think as marketers. There will be thousands of new products and trends, but the list below will be central to how smart industry peeps think ahead of the curve.

Interactive Television

TV is going to become an even more powerful medium in 2012 as it combines with the Internet and offers a more interactive, on-demand and personalized experience. A lot still has to happen in this industry for TV to get to a truly interactive and digital medium that allows for real time measurement but steps are being made.

Content continues to develop in the on demand platform from Netflix to Apple TV to the advent of cable companies such as Cox offering TV Everywhere. I can watch TV on my iPad through my cable company’s app. I can stream my favorite shows via the internet, watch YouTube videos on my television, watch premium channels with apps such as HBO Go, watch all my favorite shows whenever I want either through on-demand, my incessant DVRing, or through new applications. It’s content when I want it. TV habits are going to change to Internet based habits and usability. Free content when and how I like it. Just wait till Apple launches its TV in late 2012.

The growth of 2nd and 3rd screens interaction with TV continues to grow.  Anytime I watch TV now I have my phone and iPad next to me. I recently saw a cool integration that Bud Light did with a Shazam tie in. The ad was aimed at the Hispanic market but had Pitbull’s song playing and as soon as the Shazam icon popped up on the TV I opened my app and it took me to an interstitial branded page allowing me to download the song and sign-up for the Bud promo. We are going to see more and more of this integration between the channels this year.   This year a third of the Super Bowl ads  you see will be backed by a Shazam integration and this trend will continue.

Nielsen reports an ever-growing increase of online video usage and cites that 57% of internet consumers use TV and internet simultaneously at home. I highly recommend you put on your campaign thinking caps and strategize about how your TV ad can tie into an interactive brand experience online through tablets, mobile phones and of course computers. Extend that thirty seconds to minutes in the digital space. Just take a look at what Heineken did with their “dual screen” mobile marketing campaign.

Mobility

Being connected all the time means big opportunities for brands and products to constantly have consumer interaction. Again integrating your campaigns across multiple channels can help activation through mobile devices.

A recent study reports that 40% of Facebook’s 800 million monthly users access the social media giant through mobile apps. Meaning they are socializing with their networks on a regular basis. In 2015 the mobile internet access will surpass wired connectivity. The number of smartphone subscribers using the internet has already grown by 45% since 2010. Businesses will start thinking mobile first and then integrating into other channels.

Shopping and payments will transform forever. I use Chase’s app to pay all my bills and deposit my checks. I also did a lot of my holiday shopping on my phone this year. Why? Because it is convenient and saves me time. And I can do it anywhere! Now that mobile advertising is establishing itself you will see more brands flood this space especially as we see the “traditional” online display ad space evolve and take even more of marketer’s budgets to the digital environment.  Check out how Coke utilized mobile and social to create engagement.

Analytics

Data will start to change the way we look at how campaigns and marketing initiatives influence, engage, and activate audiences. We aren’t just selling products, awareness and consideration any more. Relationship building with brands has become an even more integral part of all strategies now that there are so many social outlets available to consumers. Agencies that are thinking about developing a complete analytical ecosystem to help develop strategies and optimizations to their plans will be thinking ahead of the curve. It’s going to be all about synchronization of this data to allow a deep understanding of the business.

There are so many tools available to clients and agencies that analyzing data has become complex. Especially the ability to tie the data together and make a rational analysis of performance that will effectively help improve insights and strategies. We will see a big movement to data visualization that will help to communicate information clearly and effectively through graphics. Companies that understand data acquisition, analysis, governance, management and mining will be able to transform their learnings into actions. Brands need to start using their agencies to help digest data and simplify it. The digital world is starting to mature and it’s time to start synchronizing data coming from social and web interfaces with marketing strategies, promotions and offers.

Ideas will still always be king but don’t let 2012 pass you by without thinking about all the channels and information available to you as a marketer.  More opportunities for better results.

Awhile ago I watched a documentary on the creation of Helvetica.  I was glued to the TV.  The efficiency, the directness, the flexibility and the simplicity of it is fascinating.  My wife on the other hand thought my watching the documentary only added to the list of things that make me weird to her.  So be it.  It made me think how things we consume daily on the surface appear very simplistic but when you scratch below that surface there is complexity.  Helvetica is the most used typeface in the world.  The theory behind its design was about efficient communications.  No serifs to get in the way!  But companies from IBM to McDonald’s and every important warning or directional sign in the world primarily use Helvetica for that same reason.  An efficient communication of what they want people to take away from their logo, brand name or stop sign.

This led me to begin thinking about logos.  They’re everywhere we go.  I’ve worked with brands who have either created new or updated their logos, but behind the assignment of “update my logo” comes with it the beautiful blend of art and commerce and making something complex appear simple. Here are some key examples:

Target is a great example. Some have told me that it probably took about two minutes of a designer deciding “I’ll just make the logo a target”.  But in actuality it took strategists, designers and clients looking through hundreds of options.  At the end “the Target” was selected.  It is one of the most recognizable logos in the U.S.

FedEx. The consumer foisted upon them a shorthand name they felt compelled not to fight but embrace. The FedEx logo has some design magic in it though. The aligning of the back of the D with the front of the E and making them touch. Look for the arrow. It is in there. Once you see it, you can almost not see anything else.

Jack in the Box. The immediate past logo has a Jesus fish in it.  Serious.  I have insider knowledge having been behind the creation of the new logo that it was put there intentionally by the CEO when it was designed in 1987.  The new logo though tips its hat to Jack’s famous smile.  It has a three dimensional look and embraces red in two hues.  Red is so predominant in QSR (quick service restaurant) logos to walk away from the color would have seemed an obvious move.  Nope.  Jack has two red’s.  Jack doesn’t back down, he doubles down.

California Thoroughbred Racing. Bailey Gardiner recently redesigned this logo for a timeless sport that needs to attract a younger audience in order to remain viable and relevant.  Horse and rider are one in a seamless silhouette.  Four hooves off the ground in what is the cover shot on every Sports Illustrated that features one of the Triple Crown winners.  You can feel the crowd cheering with the theme line “Fun Runs Here”.

San Diego Magazine just revamped its logo on the cover of its magazine.  Clean, simple, to the point – when it comes to America’s Finest City don’t let serifs get in the way!

The truth is, you cannot really predict what will happen next week in social media, but nonetheless here are 12 predictions and thoughts we have going into 2012.

1. Content is (still) King - Over the past few years we’ve seen brands become their own publishers and content curators. The trend will continue in 2012, and brands will find more and more ways to integrate content with commerce and their communities. Brands with the most authentic, engaging, integrated, and useful content will find the most success. Those who tumbl just to tumbl will not find the digital community they hoped to build.

2. Digital Punch Cards in the form of Recommendations and Rewards -  Have you noticed when you “like” pages on Facebook now you are offered the ability to recommend that brand to all of your friends? This feature and digital recommendation trend around social media will evolve in 2012, and brands, small businesses in particular will find a way to take advantage of it. Surprise and delight your fans perhaps? The key for brands will be to thank the audience they’ve accumulated and authentically encourage them to digitally recommend them to other friends. No need to carry those buy 40 get 1 free yogurt punch cards!

3. Brands will try to take advantage of Pinterest, and many will fail. – As any pinner knows, Pinterest is amazing for finding pretty things, new recipes, new looks, and overall inspiration. And many bloggers know that Pinterest drives a ton of traffic to their blogs. Brands are paying attention to this trend, but have not yet discovered how to use Pinterest as a proactive social media channel. 2012 will be the year of Pinterest for brands, “Like” will be replaced by many with “Pin it”.

4. Tumblr will roll out metrics (hopefully). – Early brand adopters of Tumblr have since voiced their frustration with the company’s business practices and its lack of an analytics dashboard. In 2012, Tumblr will should roll out some metrics, and/or brands will continue to devote more of their efforts to Facebook with its newer Tumblr-esque visual and re-sharing properties.

I heart glitterguide.tumblr.com

5. The 2012 Elections will be Social - If the 2012 election stays on trend with the 2008 election, increasing the votes cast by a demographic of younger voters, politicians will need to socialize. A recent Pew Research Center survey found that 83% of Internet users ages 18-29 use social networking sites, and 65% of adults use social networking sites, most of whom form opinions of restaurants, styles, and even politics amongst friends. Notice, even Obama uses F-commerce (Facebook commerce).

6. Less is More. As brands and social gurus continue to refine metrics, we believe 2012 will simplify the actions of brands and their respective social communities. Instead of being spread across multiple channels and being a little bit effective in each, they will find the channel(s) that is best helping them achieve their marketing goals, and spend less time with all the other noise.

7. Your web experience will become more responsive – Everything you experience online with your iPhone, iPad and computer will be optimized for that platform more and more. As more shoppers do their research with mobile, companies will invest more dollars enhancing those handheld experiences, and allowing you to quickly share that experience with all of your friends on Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr.

8. Social will continue to integrate with all arms of marketing. – Social media will be painted on all digital and printed collateral, and more CMO’s will be asking how social media is woven into their overall objectives. Remember Dodge’s Find a Journey YouTube campaign where they hid 3 cars throughout America? The big brands are on board already, small to mid-size businesses will follow suit in 2012.

9. Twitter will be less social - Gasp I know! As Facebook, Pinterest, Tumblr and other niche communities continue to drive traffic and awareness to brands in 2012, Twitter just may become more and more what it really is. A place for quick information, news dissemination, and networking with like minds. Unless brands use Twitter as an in the moment customer service channel, or have a robust social media team, we think brands will devote less time and energy to the channel in respect to bandwidth and ROI.

10. The Olympics will be digital – In 2010, the Winter Olympics scratched the surface with fans experiencing the games through social media. Brands will roll out the red carpet for bloggers and fans to interact with them socially during the London games. Instagram will probably tell a pretty amazing story of the games.

11. Spotify will take over the world – Well maybe not the world, but it will definitely gain a serious amount of subscribers and go toe to toe with Pandora. There really is nothing like having a best friend miles away create a playlist for you and keep your tunes up to date. Not to mention your ability to see what all your friends are listening to constantly on Facebook. More companies and brands will try to find ways to follow Spotify’s lead in genuinely making their user’s experience “sharable”.

12. We can “like” Emails – This is really more of a wish of ours than a prediction. Although we do think more brands should pay attention to their email strategy and how it integrates with their social media efforts. We would LOVE if you had the ability to “like” an email instead of having to reply with “thanks”, “sounds good”, or the other. Could you imagine the time and amount of emails you could save if you just had to “like” it to send your “I got it and have read it all” message?

(source)

What do you think will happen within the realm of social media in 2012?

The topic of pitching bloggers comes up a lot in our industry. Every social media and/or blogging expert you talk to will probably give you a different answer on how to best work with bloggers. We thought we’d go straight to the source on this one to settle a few questions once and for all.

Gina the Fitnessita

I recently interviewed my friend Gina the Fitnessista, arguably the most popular and recognized fitness and lifestyle blogger in the whole blogosphere on the topic and here’s what she had to say.

Q1: How do you prefer to be approached by a brand? Email, Twitter, comments on your posts, etc?

A1: Email is great I think, just don’t start your email with “Dear Blogger,”. Twitter is fine too, it can be a little aggressive but it depends on how they approach the conversation. Sometimes I will mention a brand or product and they will instantly start sending me tons of tweets expecting more conversation or tweets. It is fine to initiate conversation authentically, but don’t look at a blogger as a means to promote your brand just because they mentioned you. And please do not leave a pitch in my comment section, you will be spammed.

Q2: What in a subject line will actually make you open an email?

A2: My name, or mentioning something about my blog that is authentic and not just a pitch. Brands always approach bloggers to re-post or retweet their branded content. The savvy bloggers avoid this to maintain the integrity of their blog.

Q3: Would you rather brands send you information on a product/event/etc. and let you decide if you want to be involved, or a full pitch telling you exactly what they’d love to see in a partnership?

A3: It depends, but mostly just send me the information, and let me decide if it’s something I’d like to work with. I will follow up with you if it is intriguing.

Q4: What should brands be looking at in terms of compensation?

A4: I don’t think a lot of companies realize that they ask too much of us. They want to send us something, and then they want specific blog posts, tweets, videos and so forth and that irks me a little bit. At the end of the day, we are driving traffic to their site and we would rather be compensated than receive free product with huge expectations. I’d rather spend $20 on my own coconut water than to pimp you out on every channel I have.

Q5: If you could tell brands one thing about approaching you to work with them what would it be?

A5: Make it personal, at least give me a hint that you’ve read my blog, don’t just look at my high traffic and reach out to me. We don’t want our blogs to be content focused from brands, if it is an authentic fit we’re more eager to work with you.

Q5: Name Three brands you’d die to work with?

A5: Women’s Health Magazine, Shape Magazine, and Clean Eating Magazine.

Q6: One of the things I love about your blog is your humbleness and authenticity. How do you maintain this, and what advice would you give other bloggers to stay true to their voice and beliefs?

A6: The biggest thing I believe is to write what you want to write about, and not write what you think people want to read about. If you write about what you love, then the audience will follow. They can tell if your passionate or faking it. Be authentic. Do you. Don’t let others dictate how you want to write for your blog, that’s what keeps.

To sum it up, be authentic as a brand AND as a blogger. Don’t just pitch a blogger because you want their traffic, pitch a blogger because what they write about and how they write truly fits with your brand. Remember, they did not get to thousands and thousands and THOUSANDS of daily pageviews simply because they know how to take a picture of their daily meals and upload them to Wordpress, they build communities. Something we as brand catalysts strive for daily, so treat them just like the experts that they are. Oh, and try out Fitnessista’s Breakfast Cookie, it is to die for.

This agency is about to hit its 17th year (holy cats, where does the time go?!) and over the years we’ve seen all sorts of trends, but during the past couple of years I’ve been seeing something that troubles me deeply. Some of this may be a sign of the times and some of it is generational, but it’s raising a lot of questions for me. The agency business needs people who value a career within the industry. It needs people with longevity who bring strategic insight and experience to its clients. But where are we headed?

Let’s see how much of this rings true to you (perspective will vary according to your age and position

1. Agencies are the best training ground out of college.

2. Agencies are a good stepping stone to that secure in-house job that’s the real prize.

3. I don’t see a career at an agency. Corporations are for careers.

Based on recent conversations with former employees and many people in and out of agencies, it appears the above list is the “new truth” for young professionals. When I ask people in their twenties to be brutally honest they acknowledge that this is indeed what they believe.

Where are they learning this? Are colleges teaching this? Has an uncertain economy resulted in the belief that a big corporation is safer? What a crock!

Let’s look a little more closely at each of these beliefs.

1. Indeed, agencies are the best training ground. Let’s look at why. Agencies believe in growing their people. Agency employees know that they  have to be at the forefront of our industry in order to educate and lead our clients, so they continually invest in getting better, learning more and being on the cutting edge of what’s happening. That isn’t a two-three year experience. It’s what an entire career in an agency is about. Growing, learning, selling and using your expertise.

I have lost count of the number of conversations I have had with former employees who went in house, only to discover that not only does no one understand what they do, they don’t highly value it, yet everyone has an opinion about it. They find themselves silo’d and often concerned about how they will grow their skills.

Do you view agencies as a good post-college choice? What about in-house? Tell me about your post-college expectations?

2. My first job out of college was with a big multi-national corporation. You couldn’t have asked for a more blue-suit, solid, I’ll never worry about my paycheck kind of place. In my first year I was sexually harassed and watched the company scramble to cover it up and get that guy out of the building. Not out of the company, just re-positioned in another state, which didn’t give me a great sense of trust or value. A year later I watched a man who had given 20 years of his life to the company be summarily fired because he didn’t get along with our general manager. Just like that. Done.

I don’t believe that large corporations care more about their employees than agencies. Often, shareholders mean more and employees are viewed as an expendable line item. If you don’t agree, just read the headlines this month. Every December hundreds and thousands of jobs are shed as corporations adjust their new year’s budget. Security indeed.

Now I’m not telling you that agency jobs are any more secure. But I will tell you that agency owners will sweat and cry and do everything they can to keep you. Layoffs, at least in smaller shops with integrity, are not done lightly.

What is it about in-house corporate jobs that make them appear more secure?

3. I am a member of PRSA’s Counselors Academy, a section comprised of senior level PR/Marcomm professionals and it has been a revelation and delight to spend time with so many seasoned pros. These are people who saw a career for themselves in an agency and loved the energy, learning and ever changing environment so much that, like me, they’ve never left. Will your career trajectory be as fast or offer as many title options? Perhaps not, but you will be part of a community where people treat each other like family. A community that values creativity, learning and creating a place that is great fun to come to every day. Agencies are filled with people who love the fact that every day is different, who get to shape their culture, where clients change and offer new opportunities and the learning never stops.

Have you had a long term career in an agency? What made you choose that over an in-house job? If you’re just getting started, what do you think? What makes one choice more appealing than another?

The “Good Reads” series is dedicated to quality marketing content we’re reading throughout the week. We hope to share and inspire you to pass on the love. Enjoy.

This is Your Pitch in the Waste Basket

Fast Company expert blogger Josh Linkner offers five straightforward (and humorous) ways to avoid a pitching disaster – excellent reminders that will help you “land the job, get the girl, win the capital, and seize your full potential.” Sounds good to me!

Ladies, Shall We Revamp Our Images Already?

A few weeks ago, I read Adrianna Giuliani’s blog post “The new face of ‘PR girls,’” which discusses pop culture’s stereotypes of women in PR. On a related note, Gini Dietrich’s post examines women’s tendencies to tear each other down – both within the communications field and beyond. My takeaway: the responsibility falls on all of us to manage the reputation of our profession and ourselves. Food for thought.

Words of Wisdom for New PR Pros

Arik Hanson of ACH Communications and HAPPO dishes out some great advice for up-and-coming PR pros, though I think some of these tips are valuable for those in our profession whether you’ve been in the biz for a few months or for many years. What would you add to this list?

Read anything good this week? Tell us about it below.

Yesterday, on our esteemed colleague Jay Baer’s site Convince & Convert, I read about the free e-book just released by Julien Smith, co-author of Trust Agents, entitled The Flinch. The book is being released for free with the support of Seth Godin’s Domino Project. Now, I have always thought of Smith as a social media and marketing pro, who helped point the way for a lot of people, including me, about connectors and influencers. So, a marketing guy, really. The Flinch isn’t about marketing, it’s about pushing yourself beyond what makes you flinch in order to be that better person. Cool, we can all use a good push every now and then.

Then I started thinking about Peter Shankman’s keynote at Blogworld. Again, a marketing guy who spent his hour giving us tidbits like Eat Your Fear and  Don’t Give Up and Have Fun. It was all good, I enjoyed his presentation but there was a lot of self help mixed into the marketing tips.

This was followed later in the day by Amber Naslund’s keynote about how we social media folk are wayfarers. She espoused that this is the era of inquisitors, the era of the curious. Amber, who co-write The Now Revolution with Jay Baer, a book I consider visionary in many ways, believes that we must not be afraid of blame, we can’t always be sure and have proof before we execute. We have to take risks and lead people into the future of what marketing will become.

I don’t disagree with any of this. But I do wonder how much of it has to do with our jobs and how much of it is has to do with where these folks are in their personal and professionals lives. Bored? Tapped out on the whole social media thing? Looking for the next important thing to talk about? Ready to make a career change? I don’t know for sure, but it is definitely a trend that makes me go hmmmm….

*This post is part of a series that takes a closer look at advertising in the massive, and still-growing, Hispanic sector.

As I’ve said before, if you’re going to do it, do it well. A mediocre attempt at including what should be one of the largest target audiences for your product or service can seem patronizing, opportunistic or even downright offensive.

With Hispanic Heritage Month just behind us, it’s a great time to review what the month meant for brands and Hispanic consumers.

The month of celebration was established in 1988 to celebrate Hispanic culture, its achievements and its contributions to society–after all, what would a portrait of America be without cowboys, barbecues, corn, rodeos and gold mining? As American as these all may seem, they were, in fact, all contributions from countries of Hispanic origin. In the modern era, however, companies big and small have become keen to the fact that this is a great time to introduce themselves (a.k.a. advertise) to, or expand their relationship with, the Hispanic community. While some companies launched Hispanic marketing and advertising initiatives or campaigns, others commemorated the month by creating goodwill within the Hispanic community through scholarships, or developing more Hispanic-friendly communications and social media.

Below is my report card of several marketing campaigns targeted towards Hispanics during this special month. In the spirit of celebrating everything Latino, I’ve rated the following initiatives based on their relevance, strategy, longevity and execution into the categories of Maravilloso, Bueno, Más o Menos, Malo, and Horrible. For those who don’t remember their Spanish 1 class, that’s Marvelous, Good, So-so, Bad and Horrible.

Okay, just kidding. I’ve only featured three top campaigns below for your enjoyment. Las campañas más maravillosas:

1. Proctor & Gamble: “Orgullosa“

What it is: P & G launched a new site called Orgullosa.com, with momentum as both a campaign AND a goodwill initiative.

P & G's Orgullosa Homepage

The site name translates to “proud” and celebrates the uniqueness and beauty of Latina women. Orgullosa aims to connect Hispanic women, share timesaving recipes and organizing/decorating tips, and oh yeah…also remind women just how many life-bettering products they offer.

Orgullosa de ser mujer, orgullosa de ser Latina. (Proud to be a woman, proud to be Latina)

What I liked: P & G scores points for celebrating biculturalism and realizing that women pull rank in Hispanic homes when it comes to deciding what products make it in to the house. Also, great use of Spanish sayings (“Mujeres con la falda bien puesta”, more or less referring to ladies who are well-rounded and put together). Their website is not directly pushing their products, but rather attempts to establish a relationship with their intended consumer. A wise woman (*ahem*) once said that marketing to Hispanics is more about establishing relationships than selling products. Underlining the fact I mentioned in an earlier post that Hispanic consumers are more brand loyal than the average consumer, why not get them used to having or using your products? They also recently awarded 10 “Mujeres con la falda bien puesta” with a trip to the Latin Grammys–extra points here for cohesion and longevity of the campaign, rather than ending it as soon as the month wrapped.

What I didn’t like: They lose points in my book, however, for mixing Spanish and English throughout the site (mid-sentence), but that’s a personal preference I suppose. Additionally, the site is only in English (with the exception of Spanish phrases here and there).

2. Nestlé: “Construye el Mejor Nido”

What it is: This is the first time Nestlé has ever run a campaign leveraging and reinforcing their iconography (the nest) and with their campaign “Construye el Mejor

Nestlé's iconic nest takes on a central role in the "El Mejor Nido" campaign

Nido” (Build the Best Nest), the company expertly did just that. The slogan reinforces the idea of a nest as a home, conveying the ideas of family, trust and well-being to Hispanic audiences. They launched a Facebook page and new site for it, as well as instore marketing and promotions. The online executions feature tips, blog posts, articles, recipes and videos.

What I liked: I loved the idea of using the iconic logo and fully adapting the message and website to Hispanic audiences in both English AND Spanish. I also really enjoyed the variety of content they featured and that it isn’t just directing you to their products…kind of like that friend who just wants to help you out and you wonder what they’re getting out of it. Also, this campaign is not scheduled to end when the month ends, which gives this one a longer shelf life (pun intended) and more chance of reaching a larger number of people.

By using Facebook, Nestlé can attract the 98% of Hispanic women who go online.

There is even a page on the site (“Maintaining & Passing on Culture”) where you can select any Hispanic country and read a little bit about their food and traditional plates. In addition to sending the correct message, they made sure to use the right channel, recognizing that 98% of  Hispanic women between 35 and 49 who are online use Facebook.

What I didn’t like: There was a typo on the Colombian “Maintaining & Passing on Culture” page (a bit offensive to me as a Colombian to see it written “Columbian”, especially on a Hispanic-targeted site.)

3. Verizon: “Somos FiOs” and partnership with Hispanic Heritage Awards

The recently launched Spanish site

“When reaching out to Hispanics, it’s not only about language, it’s about the overall experience…We will continue to foster two-way dialogue between the brand and our Hispanic consumers through social media tools that allow customers to engage with FiOS on their own terms”-Orlando Zambrano, Verizon multicultural marketing manager.

What it is: “Somos FiOs” translates to “We are FiOs”. As part of the campaign, Verizon launched a fully Spanish website, its first ever bilingual Facebook page and took to Twitter with the hashtag #SomosFiOs where “attendees” of the online party were invited to compete for prizes, discuss their favorite Hispanic customs and traditions and celebrate their Hispanic heritage. Expanding on their online presence, they let users contribute to a hashtag art piece and for every picture contributed, donated $1 to end domestic violence in the Latino community.

Somos FiOs Hashtag Art

What I liked: The fact that Verizon completely thought through their campaign is evident as they used various forms of digital execution for this campaign while allowing participants to celebrate their heritage. Additionally, allowing members of the Hispanic community to feel as

Great use of Facebook's photo preview function

though they had a hand in helping their own through the hashtag art (which in and of itself was a neat and innovative idea) was ingenious. Lastly, Zambrano’s quote beautifully summarizes the strategy behind the campaign, which was well developed and well executed. Sidenote: good use of the photo preview function on Facebook.

What I didn’t like: Once on their Spanish site, there is not much room for user or community participation.

Shout-out from Pappy!

Honorable mention goes out to the following companies for other initiatives that included scholarships, Hispanic programming and recognition of the month in general: Pappy Hazard (of Hazard Center, full disclosure – agency client), Southwest Airlines, Walmart, the NFL Univision, Macys,  and Payless Shoes.

The lesson to take from all of these examples is that the more you consider your campaign as an attempt to establish a relationship with new, potential consumers rather than an attempt to sell products, the better your campaign will do. Developing your campaign strategy to involve various platforms and attract, but more importantly engage, multiple audiences, the more authentic the campaign will feel and Hispanic audiences will be more likely to buy in.

Do you think the campaigns mentioned above are comprehensive enough, or did they miss a crucial component? Did you see any good ones I missed? What’s the worst campaign you’ve seen?

If you work in fashion you’ve heard of Tumblr, and have had a discussion about whether you should incorporate the platform into your marketing plans for your brand or client. In short, Tumblr is a micro-blogging community filled with visually rich content, and a network of users who love to share their experiences and interests, and obsessively reblog other content from those they follow. The fashion industry quickly jumped on the Tumblr bandwagon because their fans were there, searching for trends, fabrics and awesome fashion bloggers to follow and spread their findings to their own networks.

Now more general consumer facing brands,and multiple news publications, have incorporated Tumblr into the mix for its ability to quickly and effectively disperse content and information across the web. What’s more, Tumblr really gives a brand or entity an opportunity to personify itself as if the brand was a person, and/or provides legs and nimble content in support of integrated marketing campaigns. The people behind a brand can share with fans exactly what the brand’s interest would be outside of the standard product offering, and what inspires the brand, which gives marketers both more to create and relate to the various interests and emotions of their fans.

Some of my favorite tumblogs include Kate Spade, Maybelline, Topshop, GQ, and of course Vogue, so check out what they’re up to.

Tumblr for an Integrated Campaign

Recently we launched a campaign to encourage young bucks to release their “Inner Jockey” at the Thoroughbred racetracks of California, and wanted to create a microsite for our fans to learn more about the brand and interact with the fun content we created such as videos and a quiz to help you listen to your Inner Jockey. Here are a few reasons why we choose Tumblr to serve as a microsite for our Inner Jockey campaign:

• Because of the playful nature of the campaign and our targeted younger demographic, we decided Tumblr would be a great platform to really bring Cal Racing’s Inner Jockey to life, in addition to bringing Cal Racing’s digital community to fruition on Facebook and Twitter.
• Allows fans to playfully interact with the brand and discover all that Cal Racing has to offer within and outside of horse racing.
• Encourages more user generated content at the racetracks themselves.
• We want to highlight the joy and fun that takes place at the racetracks, and found that much of this content was already being created by fans on Tumblr.
• Fans do not have to sign up with Tumblr in order to view our content, take a quiz, or find out about the latest food truck festival. To the naked eye, it just appears as a normal website or blog. Win!
• Tumblr gives our brand an authentic personality that relates to our demographic, and if we can create that relationship with potential and existing fans online, we know it will only strengthen our relationship with them trackside!

Release your Inner Jockey!

Although we’ve only been live for a couple of weeks our viewership and interactions thus far have been fantastic. We’ve been able to introduce a brand to users who have yet to have a way of interacting with Cal Racing as a whole, or who simply have not been to a racetrack in California. Thus far, Tumblr is helping us release Inner Jockeys on the left coast, and we are excited to see what form it takes moving forward.

What do you think about Tumblr as a social platform for brands and organizations?

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of attending BlogHer 2011 while working with our client, BillMyParents and our creative partner, FishTank. BillMyParents offers parents a way to track the spending habits of their teens through real time text messages to help teach smart spending habits. BlogHer hosts the largest conference in the world for women who blog (this year’s attendees totaled 3,600+).

Only three weeks out from the August 4 conference date we had a relatively short time to ramp up with Fishtank working on creative execution, while we focused on press materials and pitching efforts – and those ranged from traditional media outlets (Parents magazine, San Diego Union Tribune, Fox 5 News, NBC news), to bloggers spanning the gamut in topics and subscribers, and social influencers.

Objectives behind attending BlogHer:

• Connect and engage with mom bloggers, online influencers and attending traditional media
• Build database/interest list with qualified influencers
• Increase social media engagements and interactions
• Secure blogger and media coverage
• Convert interest list to BillMyParents users

In the weeks leading up to BlogHer, we held many meetings, Fishtank designed an awesome new look around an attention-spurring movement dubbed “the ‘Plastic Is Good’ movement.” They designed and created the BlogHer booth (complete with swag), all while us BGers were working to research and compile lists of influential bloggers that would be attending BlogHer (while drilling in to find those that are parents of teens). We pored over the attending media list, wrote numerous press materials, pitched and tweeted our little hearts out, and made quite a splash singing Fishtank’s “Plastic Is Good” ditty about going anti-green. The conference was a huge success as we built brand awareness for BillMyParents among the mom blogger community.

Before I share the fruits of our fast and furious labor, I’ll let you in on some secrets on how we pulled it off. 3,600 bloggers is absolutely as daunting as it seems. We had three weeks to identify who our target bloggers were going to be at BlogHer, engage in conversation with them and then convert those engagements into relationships resulting in product mentions and impressions.

Identifying our target blogger

BillMyParents is geared toward parents of teens, so it was clear we were looking for influential parents of teens (or bloggers/editors that write about the topic). A tier below this, we identified finance bloggers and tech bloggers if their content fit our product. Because there isn’t a tool that successfully IDs the most influential blogs within our categories, we had our work cut out for us. Luckily, social media played the biggest part in identifying who was attending the conference, so we took to Twitter following the #BlogHer hashtag. It seemed as if all 3,600 attendees were tweeting, so we created a tiered system to expedite the process and outlined qualifications we were looking for. We looked at a number of things to qualify our top bloggers:

1. Number of followers
2. Members/subscribers to the blog (which was not easy to find)
3. Average number of comments
4. Frequency of blog posts and tweets

Though it’s not an exact science, we essentially were looking at a blogger’s influence in the social space overall. By scanning profiles, we were able to narrow our target pitch list to about 30 bloggers. We continued interacting with all relevant BlogHer attendees as they’re all influential to their own circles, but as far as pitching went, we needed a smaller number to work with.

Because of the short period of time we had to build a community and become a trusted name in the space, we partnered with some of the most influential mommy bloggers in the space by hosting a sponsored luncheon and book signing event at our booth. Kristin Chase and Liz Gumbinner from CoolMomPicks helped moderate a not-s0-serious discussion about Parenting in the Digital Age with special guests, Eden Kennedy and Alice Bradley, authors of the hilarious book, Let’s Panic about Babies. Their tweets and blog posts about our product helped solidify us a trustworthy brand in other bloggers’ eyes.

Pitching our target blogger

Once we had our target list down to a digestible size we sent personalized emails sharing information about our product as something useful to them (vs. simply asking for coverage). We began building a relationship introducing ourselves as the PR people working with BillMyParents. Pitching in general should be transparent and this works exactly the same, if not more, when reaching out to bloggers. These women and men tend to share the ins and outs of their personal lives, so it’s always important that we respect them by being aware of what they do share in their blogs and don’t overstep our boundaries. In addition to emailing our top identified bloggers, we continued responding and retweeting their articles on Twitter, joining in on relevant chats about #BlogHer and tweeting live from the conference with images of bloggers that stopped by our booth, as well as tweeting our target bloggers during the conference asking them to come by.

And all of that hard work paid off. We saw tremendous results across the board:

• 337% increase in website traffic from the day before the conference (August 3) to the first business day following the conference  (August
• 62 YouTube video views of BillMyParents’ “plastic is good” demonstration between August 4-8
• 138 Twitter @mentions throughout the three-day conference (August 4-6)
• 401 Facebook page views throughout the three-day conference
• 20 blog posts about BillMyParents within two weeks of the conference from influential blogs including Mammarazzi Knows Best, Mom-entum, Mom Bloggers Club, After the Bubbly, The Succulent Wife and San Diego Momfia’s Stefanie Mullen posted to her blog, Ooph
• Coverage on Fox 5 News
• BillMyParents social influence increased from a Klout score of 26 to 47 in a matter of three weeks

The team had such an amazing time meeting some of the most interesting and engaged women bloggers (and a few men, too!). BillMyParents was well received by the crowd and we now look forward to building a community of ambassadors and friends in the community.

Most of us start to notice holiday ads the millisecond Thanksgiving is over, so what does that mean for an ad agency? It means we have to get in the Holiday spirit very early – we’re talking summertime at the latest. As we begin our holiday campaign planning for both clients and our agency, I started to browse through memorable Holiday ads from the past to get my head in the right place. Here are a few interesting directions companies have chosen to spread the holiday cheer:

Mayo

M&Ms

Tide

Target

Gap

Macy’s

Publicis

Bailey Gardiner

All of these ads are unique but successful in their own rights. Let’s take a closer look at how each brand chose to implement its holiday campaign and why -

1.  Showcase Your Product with a Holiday Twist.

Hellman’s Mayonnaise created a unique spin on their usual ad by adding a Santa beard onto the spoon above their jar with the tagline “Hellmann’s, the only mayonnaise for Christmas.” This direction is perfect for a brand that isn’t so recognizable that they can rely on something very abstract or clever in their ads. If the product is as simple as mayonnaise and the only goal is to get people to buy mayonnaise during the holiday months, than this is a good way to accomplish that. Hellman’s is still showcasing their product, but using a subtle holiday twist.

2. Ditch the Product and Be Clever.

This strategy is usually left for the big dogs. The companies or products with the highest level of brand recognition and brand value can pull off a clever ad that doesn’t feature their product on the ad, just a funny image and a logo will suffice for them. These are usually the most popular campaigns during the holidays but are difficult to pull off without years of branding behind the company identity. I love what M&Ms does every season, and was very surprised by the cleverness that Tide brought last year.

The key to a successful, clever holiday campaign is paying your branding dues during the year. Neither of these campaigns would have the impact they do during the holidays if they didn’t have aggressive branding campaigns during the year to ensure that people know and understand their product and their logo. If you didn’t understand what the Tide detergent product does, would you understand their ad? Probably not.

3. Traditional. Tried and True.

A lot of retailers go the traditional route to supplement their main holiday campaigns – brands like Gap and Target usually run some more creative ads throughout the holidays, but they still maintain their very classic and traditional retail-focused holiday imagery.

Why do so many retail stores stick to traditional ads during the holidays? Large retail stores have been the core of holiday advertising through their ad placements and catalogs for decades, and a lot of these retail chains stay rooted in tradition and feature wholesome, family-centric holiday ads.

4. The Throwback.

Throwback advertising and packaging has made a comeback, and can be a nice nod to the past and the heritage of a company or brand. The best example of this is Macy’s: Macy’s has become a retailer synonymous with holiday seasons and are a brand that always capitalizes on that history. In their recent ads, they use throwback illustrations with a modern design to celebrate their 90th year of The Great Macy’s Tree at Macy’s on State Street.

5. Be Generous. Tis the Season.

What if your company or brand doesn’t have a tangible product you can motivate people to purchase during the holiday? As always, check out what Google did – in Boston International airport, Google sponsored the free wifi in the terminals throughout December as their gift.

In a time like the holidays when you are being bombarded by ads, products, sales, and stress – it seems like every company out there wants a piece of your holiday budget. It is always refreshing to see a brand that wants to give something back without trying to push their product or get you to spend more money. This is the type of gesture that can increase brand awareness and brand value to consumers.

And now for my personal favorite…. Agency Holiday Advertising

Agencies are experts at creating advertising for their clients, but my favorite part of the year is when we get to turn that talent inward and create holiday pieces for ourselves. Publicis Singapore did one of the best agency holiday ads I have seen in a while, second to ours at Bailey Gardiner of course.

Most companies do some kind of holiday gifts as a way to thank and appreciate the people and companies they work with. Holiday pieces are a great way for a creative agency to wish their clients, vendors, partners and appreciators a Happy Holiday in a fun way, as well as put our heads together to create something that represents our company culture and personality.

Now it’s time for your input: What are your favorite holiday advertisements? What companies hit a home run every holiday season? What gets you in the mood for the holidays? Which holiday commercials make you want to pull your hair out? And most importantly… if you had a brand, which direction would you take your holiday campaign?

There are times when a pitch is so straight forward that a succinct email to the right person warrants an immediate response. An interview is set, images are sent and a placement is made. Done.

But more often than not, it’s not that easy.

Usually, a pitch that’s going to warrant a great in-depth story is going to require a great, in-depth pitch and email just isn’t always the way to go. So when email isn’t cutting it, here are a few tips I’ve learned to help garner results by phone.

First ask yourself this: Is a phone conversation even going to do it? If not, then ask the media person to drinks, coffee, lunch, or a deskside appointment. Face-to-face time is wildly more valuable and wildly more productive. Just recently, Katie Levien and I set up a meeting with the new editor of San Diego’s Downtown News. The result was an ongoing series dedicated solely to our client, Seaport Village, highlighting a different tenant each month. Had we requested that by email, she may have thought us absurd but our face-to-face conversation led us to this great result.

If a phone call will do, make your call wisely. Is your list of media to call seven pages long? Treat those seven pages one call at a time.  Research the pub and the person to make sure you have a fit and that you know just the way to propose it to the person on the other end.

Then when you do pick up the phone keep the following tips in mind:

• Remain calm and cool. The media person on the other end is likely going to sound like they’re rushing you because naturally, he or she is busy. Respect that, but do not let it get in your way. Remind yourself of this before you pick up the phone so that their quick response is not a surprise that throws you off.

• Talk slowly. Respecting their time can be done with a succinct pitch and a concrete question or request from them. It doesn’t mean that you have to talk abnormally fast.

• Entice him or her to respond. I find it best to start with: “My name is Lizzie Younkin and I work with Seaport Village. Are you familiar with the destination?”

You may get some great info from them to help direct the rest of your conversation, or you may learn that they just did a story on it (shame on you for not knowing) and you can end your conversation before wasting their time. Here are a few other tips and tricks that may help you get the job done:

• Pause. Let them respond and think and talk it through with you. Allow it to be a conversation instead of a pitch.

• Try calling on Fridays. If they’re in the office, people seem to be quite happy then!

• Keep in mind deadlines for different outlets. If you know that one publication always goes to print on Thursday, try calling on Friday or Monday. If you know another is on deadline the last week of the month, respect that week and make your call another time.

• Research new contacts. If you’re not finding the right contact, kindly ask editorial assistants and receptionists to get you to the right place.

• Here are a few key questions to ask in order to get the conversation going in the right direction:

Is this __ and do you cover __?

I know, it sounds so obvious but how annoying would it be to give your whole pitch to the wrong person? Also, if you say what they actually do cover, then they’ll know right away that you have something that likely fits their beat and will be more likely to hear you all the way through. If they don’t cover the beat you’re pitching, ask what they  cover and ask if they know who covers the beat you’re looking for. Consider every interaction an opportunity.

As mentioned earlier, ask if he or she is familiar with your product or brand, or propose your roundup/trend/pitch and ask straight up if they’d ever cover anything like that. Sometimes this isn’t so easy, but if you’re pitching a product for a holiday roundup, the quickest way to the point usually starts with “Hi, this is Lizzie Younkin calling from USAopoly, I’m wondering if you’re compiling any holiday gift guides this year?” This allows you to work your product into something they’re already doing, rather than giving your pitch, and leaving it to them to figure out where to fit it.

In sum, my rule of thumb is to always imagine that you’re sitting across the table from the person, enjoying a coffee. Your phone call should feel like a respectable and succinct conversation. If it’s not working out, but you know you have a great pitch, literally meet for coffee to build your relationship and find ways to work together that are mutually beneficial. While not everyone wants to pick up a phone call when they know it’s a pitch, everyone is willing to pick up a call from a friend.

The group buy phenomenon is hard to miss. As the economy continues to challenge consumers, shoppers are feeling recession fatigue. Consumers still want to spend and still want quality, just not at a high cost. Value – not to be confused with cheap product or low prices – has become exceedingly important.  Value-driven group buys have changed the way we purchase. There’s no going back, so embrace or surrender. While a group deal may not be fit for every business, the value-driven economy is unavoidable. Here is a quick list of things to consider before jumping on board the group buy bandwagon:

• Does your brand fall under any of the categories below that dominate groupon-type deals?
• Do you have the manpower to fufill an increase in demand for your product and/or service?
• Are you willing to educate your employees on how to properly execute the deal all the way through for an exceptional in-store or online experience?

In the end, a successful group buying experience does not end once it’s published online. Smart marketers who leverage the power of group deals, use the promotion as an opportunity to create new customers, gain loyal fans and ultimately bring people back to the store or online in the future to hopefully, spend more money – maybe even at full price.

To further articulate this idea, we give you a pretty rad infographic brought to you by our very own Sus Bandish. Enjoy…

As the use of online video continues to skyrocket, advertisers and brands flock to online video advertising. The most recent report from comScore noted that in February 2011 3.8 billion video ads were served to 100’s of millions of viewers.  This is a major opportunity to engage your target demographic – if executed properly.

Over the last several months, I have been a part of the initiation of multiple online video advertising campaigns. In one campaign, we utilized online video to compliment a television buy by providing additional touch points and an expanded reach in the target demographic. For another, we helped a client with a smaller, non-broadcast budget leverage their video assets to target a 18-35 year-old, Californian audience.

In both cases, online video advertisements allowed for flexibility in scheduling, a strong branding opportunity and the availability of actionable data.

One of my favorite perks with online advertising is the ability to constantly optimize and fine tune a campaign. Once a campaign is live, marketers can gather precise data on statistics such as click-through-rates, view-through-rates, impressions, etc. All of this information will allow you to amplify the success of your online advertising and adapt as you go along.

With that said, I would love to share with you a few tips on just how to optimize an online video advertising campaign in order to make a good campaign great.

4 Tips to Optimize an Online Video Campaign

1.) Know what metrics are important

The most important factor in analyzing the success of a campaign and being able to optimize it according to your goals is to know your key metrics. Work with your team and your client to determine how success will be measured in this campaign. This will establish a foundation for your analysis.

Here is an example of measuring success with a common metric:

• If the campaign is being billed on a eCPM (cost per 1,000 impressions) model, then you are likely going to want to deliver the highest click-through-rates possible to ensure your client is getting the most out of their spend. If you are unsure of what an acceptable click-through-rate is, ask the ad network you placed the buy with for a breakdown of its benchmark numbers.

2.) Use multiple creative executions

When creating or compiling creative concepts, it’s important to incorporate multiple video executions for the campaign. A variety of creative executions will allow for the A/B testing of creative material. It is difficult to intuitively know how a demographic is going to respond to a particular joke or call to action. Therefore, the availability of numerous video advertisements will allow the strongest to shine through. Use your key metrics to analyze the performance of one video versus another, and eventually you will have enough data to begin weeding out the less popular choices.

For our recent Inner Jockey campaign, we had both a :15 and :30 version of each video. After analyzing the data we realized that the :30s were stronger based upon our key metrics, so we increased the flighting weight of the :30s, and saw a successful bump in our key metrics moving forward.

3.) Give the campaign some time to run

Keeping the above tips in mind, it is also important that you give the campaign some time to run in order to make sure that poor performance in a particular  category is a pattern and not an anomaly. It is very possible that after two weeks one creative element will be under-performing, but given a longer sample period the success rate may bounce back-up. Therefore, we usually wait at least one month before making any drastic changes.

If “one month” is too nebulous of an identifier for you, then feel free to use the  number of impressions that a given video has received. Depending  on the size of your buy these numbers will vary, but for a smaller local buy I would begin optimizations after 40,000-75,000 impressions. However, for larger buys you may want to wait until several hundred thousand impressions have been logged because you have a larger bankroll of impressions to play with.

4.) Never stop perfecting

Last, but certainly not least, is the concept of perpetual improvement. If you have the time and resources there is no reason to stop improving the performance of the campaign. Once you have your best performing creative identified then you can move into optimizing the performance of individual sites within a buy. Your online video will be playing on a large variety of sites depending on the demographics of the campaign. Therefore, there is always some room for tweaking and squeezing out those extra CTR percentage points.

As the campaign progresses and everything is performing closer and closer to your high standards, then feel free to make optimizations at longer intervals, unless you see something drastic happen.

Go get ‘em! And feel free to share your own optimization strategies below.

You have a great product, you’ve done your research and you’ve hired the best PR agency out there. The ball is in the agency’s court, but it seems to be taking forever to get that first placement. What’s the hold up?

There’s a lot that goes into this “ramp-up” period and it can seem long and discouraging, if this initial planning stage isn’t explained and expected beforehand. I hope to alleviate this misconception and shed some light on everything that goes into these beginning days and why it’s crucial to the overall success of any PR campaign or project. Hopefully, these tips will help speed things along for you in the long run.

Setting goals and strategy:

Your PR company needs to know what your goal is. Is it traffic? Sales? Awareness? Social media interactions? Are you just dying to be on Oprah or do you want to saturate one local market? Are you interested in being featured in the food section or the living section or the business section? Are blog placements more important than traditional media placements? Arm your agency with the answers to questions like these before they even have to ask and they’ll be able to put together a strategy you love on the first try.

On the flip side, if you’re at an agency and not getting the answers you need – then get the conversation going and ask those necessary questions straight out of the gate.

Getting to know the product and becoming passionate:

It seems simple but it can take time. A PR person needs to be as well versed as the client and there’s a good chance the client has spent years getting to know the product. In PR, we don’t just need the pitch, but we need to be able to carry on a conversation about your product and that doesn’t always come easily. Be sure to arm your PR agency with all the tools, information and experiences they could possibly need to be well versed – and passionate – about your product.

Successful PR pros will continue the learning process even after this initial start-up period. Keeping up with industry news and constantly monitoring what’s going on in the client’s world.

Sifting, researching, brainstorming and compiling:

Once you’ve sent all the info you can, realize that it’s going to take some time for the team to sift through it to find what’s most relevant to the media. If they’re really good, they’re going to do some brainstorming and maybe even some research to determine the pitch that’s going to best resonate with the media you want to target. They’re also going to do a lot of research to determine relevant trends, round up and stats that may add to their pitch to ensure that your product has a place in the media’s story. Fill them in on the industry details that they may not be well-versed on. Tell them what trends you’re seeing in the industry, stats that support your position and where you think your product stands out.

Drafting press materials:

The media moves fast. If we pitch a daily publication or TV station and they like the pitch, they expect that we can turn around all the information for tomorrow’s news. That said, all press materials should be ready to go and approved before any pitching begins. Press releases, fact sheets, bios and images, all need to be at the ready. Speed along the process by responding quickly to your agency with information and approvals.

Finding just the right media:

Keeping up with media changes is getting out of control these days. There are more blogs and websites being created every day. Freelancers are working for different publications all the time. Layoffs, buyouts and folding magazines complicate the process and no matter how well-established your agency is, their media lists will need to be refined before every use. On top of that, research should be done to find people at each publication that write about just what you’re aiming for. This may require trips to the magazine store, sifting through articles, blogs and TV segments to determine the home-run contacts that are going to love the pitch idea. Show your agency any media placements you’ve already secured or any example articles that would be ideal. Let them know if you have any already-established media connections and how they may leverage those relationships into quality PR placements.

Writing just the right pitches:

Once the media lists are in place, it’s time to write the pitches. Maybe we discovered that this product has an angle for family writers, food writers and feature writers – that’s three pitches to craft and a pitch is not to be taken lightly. This pitch is like a handshake, it must impress upon first impression. The subject line is a science, the first sentence must be strategic, just the right information must be included and each pitch must be catered to each individual outlet. If your product is especially complicated because maybe it’s hard to explain why it’s different, it’s name doesn’t quite explain what it is or it’s something that must be experienced to be understood, then it’s up to your agency to determine how to get heard through all the noise in somewhere between 2 and 15 seconds (the time the media will likely give you for that first impression).  This may require your agency to come up with a great visual, an event, a video or just a creative way of talking about your product. Let your agency know what you’re willing and not willing to do. If you can allocate funds to creating something to mail or deliver, if you have great video capabilities or if you’re willing to send products to media, make sure your agency takes that into consideration at the beginning.

Agency folks looking for ways to get creative with the pitch, start with a team brainstorm and don’t be afraid to step outside of those traditional media relation boundaries of an email pitch and phone call.

Been there, done that:

If you’re thinking, “we went through this when they gave me the proposal,” you’re right. We did. We probably asked you some of the same questions and gave you a great idea of what our pitches would be and who we would pitch but when it comes time to get things rolling, there’s much more detail involved. The pitch idea is one thing, the actual pitch that grabs the writer’s attention is far more developed. The media list likely included the outlets, not the contacts and their email addresses and phone numbers. The more information your agency digs up, the more successful they will be in placing your product.

So in sum, to achieve the best results for your product, plan ahead, allotting about a month for your agency to “ramp up” and prepare for great things to come. On the agency side, being clear about these ramp-up projects beforehand is key. Letting the client know realistically what your time frame is moving forward, is never a bad thing. After all it’s better to be thorough and successful, than quick and mediocre. If all goes as planned then, the PR placements should come rolling in.

With our latest round of holiday creative executions for Hazard Center, our Avoid-a-Hazard campaign comes to a close for 2011.

First launched at the start of last year, the Avoid-a-Hazard campaign was born out of the notion that life is filled with everyday hassles. Some of them small, like personal grooming. Others, a little complicated, like the pitfalls of gift giving. But whatever these “hazards” might be, we positioned Hazard Center as being the place that could help you avoid them. We playfully played off of Hazard Center’s name, while conveying the many different things you could do/buy/eat there.

Over the last two years, we extolled the virtues of waxing, directed men to better anniversary gifts and helped college students stay awake in class. We even offered Chargers fans a reason to drink on opposite sides of a vending machine. Along the way, we also won an ADDY for our efforts.

With our latest round of work, we show how Hazard Center can make for an easier holiday season. Sample ad below, another one here.

Are there any hazards that we missed? Let us know.

*This post is part of Bailey Gardiner’s What New PR Pros Need to Know series, which offers advice, insights and guidance to students and new professionals who want to learn more about the PR industry. Topics and suggestions are welcomed.

As a new PR intern-turned-account-coordinator, I can speak volumes to the importance of internships and the experience they provide new professionals. After occupying the intern corral here at BG for eight months, I learned a few tips and tricks when it comes to making the most of an internship. So after you’ve followed our tips for writing a stellar resume and used our pointers for landing an internship, here are a few things to keep in mind once you secure that internship.

Ask questions.

Whether it’s your first or fifth internship, every organization does things differently. From media list building to clipping to reporting, the process varies so pay attention during training. If you didn’t catch all the details the first time around, don’t be afraid to ask questions. Think about it – it’s better to ask for help and get it right the first time than waste time doing the task incorrectly. On the other hand, it’s also appropriate to ask bigger questions about the industry or what different PR words and abbreviations mean. Soak up as much knowledge as you can.

Think like your supervisor.

As an intern, you will provide support to the team and are expected to complete tasks in a timely manner. When given assignments, make a note of when they need to be completed and how much time to spend on it. Don’t let your supervisor ask you twice to finish an assignment. Think forward to the next steps and offer to help before they have to. Make your superiors’ job easier.

Be strategic.

Think and plan for your future career strategically – research, plan, implement and evaluate. Be aware of your personal goals as an intern. Sit down with your supervisor to define your expectations and theirs. For example, I wanted to build my portfolio by adding press materials and placements I secured throughout my internship . To accomplish this, I asked to help out with writing and pitching and offered to take these type of projects on when the opportunity was available. What do you want to accomplish? Improve your writing skills? Pitch media? Get placements? Build relationships? Learn social media? You catch my drift. Working toward a goal gives your work purpose and meeting those goals gives you confidence.

Build your network.

Back when I was involved with PRSSA at San Diego State University, networking expert Hank Blank gave our chapter some advice that stuck with me. He told us to live a Norman Rockwell lifestyle. What he meant was to meet and engage with people often and face-to-face if possible. The more contacts you have, the more opportunities arise. At your internship have coffee with your coworkers, eat lunch with someone different every day and start building relationships with media.

Work hard.

It seems like obvious advice but hard work shows and pays off. Manage your time. Be efficient. Stay focused. Try your absolute hardest to not chat with fellow interns or stalk your friends on Facebook. Over the summer, I helped the BG team coordinate Opening Day media credentials for the Del Mar Racetrack. Whenever a contact responded with an RSVP, the information was passed down to me, compiled in a spreadsheet and sent to the client. On Opening Day, we distributed more than 200 credentials without a hitch. Take pride in your work. If you play by the rules and keep up the hard work, you will definitely reach those goals.

What are some other proactive measures new PR pros can take at their internships?

Developing a successful email marking campaign takes a lot more than compiling as many email addresses as possible and spamming everyone with your brand’s message. It is about building a relationship of trust with your target audience and providing relevant information that they may find useful. Just as we represent company values and image through a website, logo and brochure, an email campaign can also reinforce these key messages. It’s just as important to make sure email campaign fall in line with the rest of the brand’s communications. But no need to fear, there are plenty of tools out there to help marketers reach the right audience via email, and the one tool we recommend using is MailChimp, here’s why…

User Interface

MailChimp is run by one hundred or so very talented developers and designers, which is immediately evident by its beautifully designed homepage. It only gets better from here. Simplicity, interactivity and an intuitive campaign creation and management process make using MailChimp a breeze for those with and without a lot of email marketing experience. Chimpanzee jokes and videos also lighten the mood and provide a fun experience.

Creating a campaign is a snap. Anyone can use the built-in WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) editor to customize one of MailChimp’s hundreds of professionally designed templates or if you know your way around some code, you can build out your own HTML templates.

Compatibility

The web may have standards, but emails do not. Subscribers may be using Gmail, Yahoo, Outlook, Apple Mail, Hotmail, the list goes on – but with MailChimp, the software automatically selects the 10 most popular email clients from the subscriber’s list and displays exactly what the campaign will look like for each person. One can see why this feature might help marketers choose a layout and design that will be aesthetically pleasing for their most important subscribers. MailChimp also offers mobile optimized templates that allow subscribers to access email campaigns while on the go.

Help & Support

This is an often-overlooked factor in selecting new services, but we’re firm believers that a good product must have a good support system. Whether you’re a newbie or a veteran, questions and obstacles will always pop up, and it’s important to have the necessary resources to solve any problems that may arise. MailChimp offers wonderful support in a variety of ways all located on the convenient resources and support pages.

MailChimp also provides Academy Videos, these entertaining and informative videos cover a range of beginner and advanced topics. There is an advanced search bar that delivers answers and articles pertaining to keywords and phrases. One can live chat or email MailChimp directly, and the customer service reps will quickly provide a response. MailChimp also offers free eBooks on various topics regarding email marketing, to educate marketers on everything they need to know about email campaigns.

Analytics

MailChimp does all the work when it comes to analytics, and thanks again to the wonderful team of designers and developers, it’s presented in an easy to understand and visually appealing way. Monitor subscription growth, click maps, location information, social interaction and much more.

Summary

MailChimp makes it easy for clients, designers, developers, and all those involved with email marketing, to create effective campaigns reaching the target audience in an effective manner. Not to mention, the amazing giveaways for loyal customers. For MailChimp’s one-millionth-subscriber celebration the company gave away T-shirts, hats, and plushy toys! And you know how much we enjoy a good freebie every now and then.

Do you utilize MailChimp for your email marketing campaigns? Tell us what you think works best.

“Brook” lives in New York City and is a Jr Art Director. She loves to share knowledge, help and inspire others who want to be in advertising or any other creative industry. Her motto: Juniors Unite! Dear Brook Blog was born with one mission: A Junior in Advertising helping other Juniors in Advertising. Here is a post she wrote just for our BG readers…

Plan your next move.

Whether you’re looking for your first job or looking for your next job, there’s a lot to take into consideration before you make that decision. Most of us juniors are so in a hurry to get a job that we overlook some things. Besides the obvious things to consider (salary, size of the company, position…) There are three not-so-obvious things you cannot forget about: Technology, Talent and Tolerance.

When I was in college, a wise creative director introduced me to Richard Florida’s work and research. He wrote this book called The Rise of The Creative Class. Richard says that in order for a place to be considered creative, it needs the 3 Ts: Technology, Talent and Tolerance. Later, I discovered that the 3 Ts are particularly important in the Ad business and I think if you learn that early on, you’ll have a clearer idea of where you want to go next.

Technology:

Why? Because it’s the future. By staying educated about what’s new, you’ll one day be able to almost predict the future of technology. That ability alone will set you apart from many.

Same goes for the agency you’re heading to, you need to make sure the work they do is current and fresh. That will tell you how savvy they are and how well they will receive your crazy and cool ideas. The only way to learn new technologies is if you’re surrounded by them.

Talent:

First, let’s talk about you. You need to find what you’re good at, what you’re passionate about and work hard at perfecting your talent.

Your next agency needs to be able to see and recognize your talent; otherwise it’ll go to waste. Your boss should be nurturing and someone who will help you get better at what you already love to do. It takes talent to recognize other’s talents.

Plus, if you’re surrounded by talented people, you’re more likely to learn and develop new talents along the way. Wouldn’t that be nice!

Tolerance:

To me, this one is the most important of the three. No tolerance to diversity, mistakes and different opinions is the worst, I tell ya. First of all, whoever says that you cannot make mistakes is wrong. People who make the most mistakes, usually learn faster and are generally more daring – which is good – you should be daring. You should be different. This business is all about standing out. You should feel free to be your unique self because guess what, the more diverse the agency, the better work they produce.

Most agencies love juniors because they have a fresh view of the world. Their inexperience can be a breath of fresh air to the agency. Now, that’s where you want to be.

Some agencies on the other hand, don’t want you to experiment or make mistakes, they want you to simply follow the rules and do as they say. If you sense that, move on and don’t look back. But remember that wherever you end up, work super hard and give it all you got. Always.

Another thing to keep in mind when interviewing somewhere is that they’re not only choosing to hire you but you’re also choosing to share your talent with them. You might be an inexperienced junior but the first years of your career can make it or break it. Choose wisely and don’t settle.

Steve jobs said it best: “ Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow know what you truly want to become. You’ve got to find what you love. Don’t settle.”

Brook

Hotels and Travel Companies Nail It with Social

Key players in the hospitality and travel industries realize they cannot control every online review about their brand. The only way to help manage messaging around a particular hotel, resort, destination, etc. is to utilize social media networks such as Facebook, Twitter, blogs and more to counteract any negative messaging that may exist about the brand. Read more about which hospitality companies are doing it just right.

New Klout Algorithm Getting You Down?

For many, the recent Klout changes came with a bit of a blow to the ego. This article gives a bit of insight into some of the late great online buzz around the changes and what people are saying. Quite frankly, I think life goes on…

Kraft PR Goes Big for Halloween

No, we are not biased because of the Koolaid brand, but Kraft broke out the big guns this year for its Halloween PR outreach – the company even invented a Jell-O mold to replicate a brain (yummo). All gross things set aside, take a look at the in-depth campaign Kraft rolled out this year in honor of Halloween next week.

Organization can vary by industry, by company, by job, and by person. I have mentioned in previous posts about the importance of organization, but what does that really mean in a fast-paced, full-service marketing agency? Here at Bailey Gardiner, there is no shortage of organization and everyone has their own style. I decided to check out different departments here on the advertising side and showcase some strategies for keeping things in order and running smoothly in the advertising world:

The Account Side: Camila

Our role at BG is to work with clients as the agency contact and oversee all the moving parts within the agency for an account. From client meetings to conference calls to internal kickoffs, the day is never dull and requires a lot of organization and time-tracking. Camila is one of the newer members of BG but has already come up with some crafty organizational techniques.

As a self-proclaimed organization-aholic, Camila creates her own daily to-do sheet and also tracks her time with a clever color-coordinated system. All of this lives in one binder with other important documents. Why so much detail? Projects and tasks shift from day to day, things get rescheduled, and it’s always great to go back and check where you spent your time for the week.

Camila’s advice: “Write EVERYTHING down. The important thing here is to keep everything central, though you may write it down on a random post-it or the back of a meeting agenda, writing it on the master to-do list is the only way you can keep entirely on top of your tasks. While this sounds like more work up front, it will make your life easier in the long run!”

The Project Management Side: Heather

While the Account team works with the client to bring the projects into the agency, once they are here – they are managed by Heather – the queen of organization and schedules. Heather manages the schedules of the entire creative team and makes sure projects stay on schedule to be released for deadlines. Everything Heather manages affects multiple departments within the agency, so it is her impeccable organization that sets the tone for the rest of us.

Because she has to manage so many team members, Heather relies heavily on iCal (she also has about 6 different calendars around her desk) and uses our project management system Workamajig to keep everything in check (including our 20-page “Hot List” of every project that gets distributed daily). Her methods have come mainly from trial and error as she adapts to new processes, new technologies, and our growing number of staff.

Heather’s advice: “Establishing your own method of keeping yourself organized is key. Once you have your process down, others will follow.”

The Creative Side: Susannah

Susannah is our Senior Graphic Designer and keeps us digitally organized and archived. If someone needs to reference a project from 2001, Sus can pull it off the server quickly and efficiently because she has our files so well arranged. Also, Sus manages all of our production, which means she is the last person to touch projects before they are out the door – all the more reason we are glad Susannah is a well-oiled organization machine!

Coming from a family of engineers, we think she has a genetic inclination for process and details. Susannah uses her own journal with her job list from Heather’s Hot List, and then works on our file server to design and output jobs. Her desk is always full of creative work and job bags, but each one is accounted for and follows the proper steps to make sure the jobs are done.

Susannah’s advice: “Throughout my career I have seen other graphic designers and creatives who appear to be or are messy and disorganized. This is where artists get labeled as flaky dreamers. I wanted to be professional – a good designer AND be organized. The combo is a money maker!”

The Media Side: Michelle

Our media department works closely together on every media project, so closely that they have a joint to-do list that they both tackle. They use a giant whiteboard on their office wall to keep track of all tasks and cross them out when complete. This board also attracts some doodles and quotes from visitors, but it is the main way Michelle and Meredith stay on schedule and on the same page. A lot of client money is handled in their department on a daily basis and it is their organization and communication on all projects that makes sure money is never lost, wasted, or misused.

Michelle’s advice: “At the end of every day, take the time to organize your desk and inbox before you leave. That way, as soon as you are in the next day, you are ready to start the day fresh and prepared.”

Now it’s time for your input – what is your position and how do you best organize yourself? I truly believe that organization is half the battle on the way to success, and I love picking up new tips, tricks, and pieces of advice… Let me know your favorites!

The “Good Reads” series is dedicated to quality marketing content we’re reading throughout the week. We hope to share and inspire you to pass on the love. Enjoy.

Choose Your Own Ads

The marketing world was pretty excited at the possibilities of letting people choose their own pre-roll ad to view with online video. A cool idea, but according to Hulu and YouTube, it hasn’t seen the success that was expected and viewers are indifferent to choosing ads or are only doing whatever option requires the least amount of time. Although relatively new, companies are already beginning to question if the “Choose Your Own Ad” model has a future.

Flo from Progressive for Halloween

If you wandered around this Halloween wondering why there were so many Progessive Insurance’s Flo characters out, it’s because Progressive had a large push to get people in the costume. The company gave a checklist to make your own Flo costume, also sold a cheap complete costume on Amazon, and started the #DressLikeFlo hashtag on Twitter. Seven years ago I would have laughed if you told me people would be dressing up as an insurance company character.

Vintage Ads

I am a sucker for vintage advertising – the hand-drawn illustrations, the two-mile copy blocks, the unbelievable sexism – they are hilarious to me. This is one of my favorite websites to browse for old ads and is worth scrolling through to see just how far we have come in this industry.

What else where you reading this week? Let us know.

Bailey Gardiner is a fully integrated multi-disciplinary agency that specializes in public relations, social media marketing, internet marketing and advertising and design.

We

are looking for an individual that will be responsible for web related design projects including but not limited to, website design and infrastructure, email communications design, online creative, banner ads, etc. Additionally, they’ll design and produce a variety of online marketing efforts and work closely with our Creative Director. A strong eye for design utilizing best practices, web standards, grids, information architecture and setting up wireframes is essential with an understanding of basic knowledge in HTML, CSS, PHP, JavaScript, as well as experience working with CMS (Wordpress and Drupal) is a plus.

Qualifications:

• 2 – 4 years experience in web related design
• Hands on experience with the following: Adobe Creative Suite software including Dreamweaver, Photoshop and InDesign, Content Management Systems (WordPress, Drupal, etc.), Microsoft Office software including Word, PowerPoint, etc., iWork (Keynote)
• Strong attention to detail
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills
• Excellent organizational/prioritization skills with the capacity to manage multiple tasks simultaneously and communicate with all levels of management
• Highly self-motivated contributor who works efficiently on an individual basis as well as within a team environment
• Print experience is a plus

Requirements:

All applicants must submit an online portfolio. Candidates may also be asked to complete a web design/production task contingent to hire. If you fit the mold, please contact Amy Lorenzen via email only (amy.lorenzen@baileygardiner.com).

Check out our website for more information.

Dozens of good posts coming out of last week’s Blogworld & New Media Expo in LA. There are always lots of takeaways at Blogworld and the amount of content generated post-conference is usually prolific. This year is no exception. Here are a few posts that summarize key learnings and the buzz well.

I met Arik Hanson at last year’s Blogworld in Las Vegas. He was a kindred PR soul, though going it solo, so perhaps a bit smarter than me. I wish I had attended Tom Webster’s session, but Arik gives us the soul of it with brevity. And he includes Peter Shankman’s hilarious IronMan video. Watch it on arikhanson.com.

Peter Shankman did such a good job that Tom Treanor did a whole post outlining the 19 lessons learned from his keynote. Shankman was terrific and this post on rightmixmarketing.com shows you why.

Our colleague, Jean Walcher,  finally made it to Blogworld and she took very good notes! Item number 7 on her blog post really floored me. Brands still have a lot of work to do to get it right with bloggers. Can we help? jwalcher.com

I have heard Darren Rowse speak a couple of times at Blogworld and each time he inspires me to be a better blogger. His advice is simple and usually it’s the simple advice that’s the hardest to do. The Most Important Take-Home Advice from Blogworld Expo on problogger.

I hadn’t heard of Brian Vellmure until reading his wrap up post on Social Enterprise Today, but he shares a lot of great points from the conference. I strongly agree with his summary about the ongoing gap between social media supporters and brand executives. Social media is still in its infancy with lots of learning and proving still to be done. Social Enterprise Today.

Or if you’ve got lots of time this weekend, go visit Blogworld’s 70 + Brilliant Bloggers post. Tons of content and critique. It’s almost as good as being there.

This year marks my fourth trek to Blogworld & New Media Expo, billed as the world’s largest social media business summit. I almost didn’t go. But the planets aligned, my son’s class went on an overnight star gazing trip and off I went to LA, Blogworld’s new West Coast home. Here are a few highlights from my notes:

1. Both keynotes on Thursday were terrific and had an overarching theme of taking risks and enjoying the journey. Peter Shankman opened the conference with a mixture of humor, candor and intelligence. He spoke about the importance of relevance (well, actually he spoke about a LOT of things!), something we talk with clients about regularly here at BG. In a social referral, customer review, Google-driven world, it’s more important to reach the 200 people who really care about and will act on information about your brand than reaching 2 million who don’t care at all. I hope CMOs start taking this insight to heart. The pressure on marketing teams to reach big numbers, relevant or not, is such a waste of money and time.
2. I love the way Amber Naslund thinks. I have read and reviewed her book, The NOW Revolution, written with our friend Jay Baer, seen her present several times and read her blog regularly. Her keynote presentation reminded us that we social media explorers are really wayfarers. The road is not clear, there is no map, mistakes will be made. We are paving the way for how business, and particularly marketing, will work in the future. These are early days, we’re still figuring it out and that is both scary and exciting. Don’t be afraid to say “I don’t know”. Be honest and say it, and then go figure it out. It’s what makes this time in social media interesting.
3. Chuck Hemann, from Edelman, confirmed what we’re seeing – clients want rigor when it comes to blogger and influencer relations. Provide quantitative and qualitative information. Substantiate your lists. Figure out what you want. Figure out what the bloggers want. Match each party’s needs for success. There were a number of conversations about blogger relations. I’ll be writing a separate post about that issue. It’s still a big one.
4. Matt Ridings, who presented with Chuck, took an entirely different approach to the influencer issue. He created a bit of a stir with his support of what I call a “listening” model. Basically waiting for the hand-raisers online and influencing them, which is great if you have an active brand or category but not so good if you are a start up or relatively unknown. He made a great point about how we no longer surf the web, we shape it. We follow the recommendations of friends, “like” pages, Digg posts, Tweet links and thus mold what gets viewed in an ever increasing manner. So context is king, because we will visit pages based on the context of how we learned about it.
5. Finally, the session that spoke to my true inner geek, was Tom Martin’s session full of tips for using your iPhone for content creation. Tom created a video blog this year called Talking with Tom done entirely on his iPhone. Wow. Inspiring stuff. I can’t wait to try the iTimeLapse, Photogene and Autostitch apps on my iPhone.

Not every session was great. I walked out of a couple. But the ones that were good, were inspiring, thought provoking and educational. Thank you and congratulations to the entire Blogworld & New Media Expo team for another terrific conference. The amount of work it takes to put something like this on is enormous. It is appreciated by all of us who can’t stay away, year after year.

Sometimes, the agency biz feels like a highwire circus act. Not necessarily a bad thing.

The Bailey Gardiner team does some light stretching before a client presentation

At a recent TAAN meeting in South Beach (Transworld Advertising Agency Network), I had the opportunity to hear a presentation about creativity in the workplace from a senior executive at Cirque du Soleil. Jordan Fiksenbaum, Vice President of Marketing and PR, spoke to our gathering of some 50 or so ad agency owners from around the globe as we gathered together to share and learn from one another at our annual global conference. The story of Cirque du Soleil has been well-told and revered by many, and still I found much inspiration in hearing Jordan explain the company’s approach to creativity. Truth be told, their philosophy matches my own in the ways we try to encourage and inspire our marketing teams to forever top themselves.

You see, creativity both exhilarating and exhausting. It’s not a constant bubbling spring from which all great ideas flow – at least it’s not for me anyway (or any other creative person I’ve met so far). You’ve got to provide a nurturing environment, and atmosphere that breeds ideas – a place where creativity can grow and prosper. Cirque du Soleil has that going on, and then some.

Some things we can learn from their successful formula:

• Everyone’s a player – Every person in your company plays a role.  At Cirque, the behind-the-scenes creators of sets, costumes and soundtracks are treated with as much importance and respect as the performers.  Same goes for the admin staff, the janitors, the cafeteria ladies, etc – they are all playing key roles in helping the organization reach success. In the agency world, when was the last time you applauded for the accounting department, or the second account coordinator from the left?  Yep, you couldn’t do it without them either.

• Office environment – The Cirque headquarters in Montreal was custom designed for them as a creative playground. It’s their business offices and training center for performers from around the world, all wrapped into one. They do not separate the art from the commerce – they see no line drawn between the two. At your workplace, do the creatives sit in their own “department” or section of the office, walled off from the business side of the business?

• Individual workstations – Their offices literally look like a circus is going on inside (and it is). Each person has the freedom to customize their space with their own creations, surrounding themselves with their own interpretations of creativity.  Crazy colors and feather boas? Check. Wild masks and impossibly tall springy things made from god-knows-what? Check. Gray cubicles with standard issue manila folders and a 3-drawer file cabinet? Not so much.

• Work family – From the atmosphere in their headquarters, you can see the camaraderie and interaction between performers and business teams. All offices surround the performers’ practice areas, so at any time at your desk you can look up and watch some death-defying flyover or sweet balancing act. What a great melding of purpose, having everyone sitting together – creating. Doesn’t matter whether it’s columns of numbers on an excel spreadsheet or juggling fiery spears.

• Food – What’s creative inspiration without fuel? The Cirque offices have incredible kitchens, and a cafeteria serving the foods of the world for people from all around it. Twenty languages can be heard as people share their meals together – food serves as the great unifier. At our agency, we’ve found this true – ask members of the Bailey Gardiner Food Club about that.

Our accounting dept is extremely nimble.

• Freedom – Creativity is about exploring the boundaries and crossing them. This process requires freedom, and trust. Without it you might as well forget about seeing or hearing anything new. One Cirque example I remember was a story about a makeup artist and an eyelash fetish. She felt the performers in a certain scene needed to wear 14 pairs of eyelashes to get the desired effect. The bean counters could have questioned if they could get by on 7 pairs, or even 10 – this would save on production costs.  Management sided with the makeup artist, knowing this attention to detail is what makes Cirque a global sensation. Creative freedom.

We strive to do as many of these things at our humble little agency.  What’s working for you at your hive of creativity?

Bailey Gardiner is looking for an Advertising Account Intern for the winter quarter or semester beginning in January 2012.

Who we want:

• A college student (junior or senior) majoring in Advertising, Marketing, Communications, English, or closely related field with 3.0 GPA or above
• Must be able to obtain college credit for the internship
• Willing to commit to a minimum of 20 hours per week, set hours preferred
• A well-organized, self-starter who shows ownership over assignments
• Excellent communication skills- both oral and written
• Eager to learn
• Creative

Responsibilities:

• Assist the Traffic Manager by helping with the flow of projects
• Assist the Account Team with monthly analytics reports
• Assist the Account Team with ongoing projects
• Handle insertion orders and assist with organization of the media placement process
• Research new publications, new business prospects, online opportunities and guerilla marketing, which sometimes requires going out in the field and gathering information, materials and photos
• Writing for “Feed The Interns Blog” with other Bailey Gardiner interns
• Responsibilities will vary and can grow with your willingness

This position is unpaid and only open to current college students who can obtain college credit through the internship.

The experience you will receive at Bailey Gardiner is invaluable. We will take the time to teach, support, provide you with responsibility and have some fun.

For a little more information about us, visit our website or the blog by our interns.

If you are interested and meet the criteria above, please email your cover letter, resume and preferred schedule to adam@baileygardiner.com.

Please, no phone calls.

A few months ago, we wrote about the launch of the highly anticipated Google+. Buzz built quickly with the exclusive invites and endless media talk about the new platform by Internet heavyweight, Google. It’s no surprise that G+ hasn’t fully captured consumers hearts just quite yet, but even though the site hasn’t gained the following and popularity that Facebook already has, I wouldn’t call it a day for the platform just quite yet.

There are several new developments worthy of our attention as marketers. To pick up where Katie left off in our first Google+ blog post, here are a few new features that will be key for brands as the platform continues to evolve and gain clout among consumers and our marketing industry peers.

1. Online Integration

I love how Google is truly integrating their services. Using the tool bar at the top of the homepage, I can navigate through each application linked to my personal account adding ease and efficiency to my day. This includes my Google+ account, Gmail, calendar, documents, photos, news, books, blogs, you name it. Also note that Google+ only allows profiles using one’s real name meaning you are unable to register for an account under a pseudonym. According to Gigaom’s blog post, this information is important to marketers because “users who are anonymous or pseudonymous are arguably a lot less valuable to advertisers than those who choose to attach their real identities, including their age and gender, location and other demographic details to their accounts.”

2. Video Conferencing

Google+ recently added “hangouts,” a unique video conferencing tool,which sets it apart from Facebook. Hangouts can host multiple live video conference participants in one place at the same time. If a group of Google+ users are “hanging out,” others can drop in and join the conversation. This new functionality isn’t just a fun way for consumers to engage with each other, but the feature can also be extremely useful for brands to engage with consumers. Imagine talking to a sales representative or customer service agent face-to-face instead of over the phone.

Macy’s has done an excellent job of highlight the hangout feature on Google+, using the video chat capability to incentivize and interact with the company’s Google+ followers. After the launch of the Macy’s G+ page,  the company rewarded nine trendsetters the opportunity to live chat via hangouts with Leah Chernikoff, Fashionista Executive Editor and mBlog Style Blogger for Macy’s. All in conjunction with Macy’s Facebook holiday campaign. The morale of the story here: brands don’t have to choose between Facebook and Google+, marketers should evaluate whether their brand is a fit for both and then build a cohesive strategy for each platform.

3. Brand Pages

After only allowing individuals to create personal profiles, Google+ announced earlier this month the introduction of brand pages. Businesses have already jumped on the network to get plugged into the community. Clickz and Mashable nail it in this article “Why companies should invest in Google+ brand pages.” Here are a few key points on why brands should adapt to the platform:

• Google+ hosts a more professional conversation driven by content, not games, birthdays and application updates like Facebook.
• Through the use of circles to divide fans, brands can communicate more targeted messages to different circles.
• Also, groups are taking advantage of hangouts. The Black Eyed Peas and the Muppets have already participated in some quality “hangout” time.

How do you feel about the developing platform? Are you currently using the site in your social marketing plans?

In a recent blog post I wrote about my secrets to successful phone pitching, I spent some time emphasizing the importance of in-person communication whenever possible. Coming off the heels of a few recent media trips, I thought I’d share a few of the tactics I’ve learned from my time spent face-to-face with media.

There are three typical situations in which you’ll be pitching media face-to-face:

1. You’re pitching in person by chance because you happen to be sharing a cocktail with a media friend at an industry event.
2. You’re speed pitching because you’ve been lucky enough to attend an event hosted just for the purpose of pitching and the media is ready to hear it all in 5 minutes (like that hosted by the San Diego Press Club on January 25th).
3. You’re pitching in person because you’ve set up an appointment to do so. You have something to offer the media and the media is interested enough to give you some of their time.

No matter what the circumstance, start by caring about your product or service. If you’re planning to pitch face-to-face about a product you don’t quite understand, don’t truly like or don’t believe is a perfect fit for that publication, it’s not going to work. Done and done.

Situation #1:

This one requires extreme tact. Focus on the fit for the publication instead of the product or service. Start by talking about the outlet, the part of it you see your product in, and how it fits. For example, if I want to pitch a board game to help families unplug and share some laughter together, the best bet is to talk about the trend of families wanting to unplug, wanting to spend more quality time together. Sell the person on the story, before the product. Keep in mind that the media person likely knows what you’re trying to accomplish, so be tactful, but be real.

Situation #2

In this case, get to the point because you only have five minutes. Start with your product so it’s clear who you’re trying to promote. You’ll find that in many cases, the media will help you get to the best story angle that fits your product if they really understand it. Throw out all the ideas you’ve been mulling over with your team to find out what resonates best with them and then build from there.

Situation #3

You’re stoked. Situation #3 is the best. Take the opportunity to find out what the person really cares about. Sometimes the most successful placements come from personal interest rather than a great pitch. That said, don’t be afraid to leverage a person’s interests to help get your product to the right person if it’s not them. Talk through all the details of your clients as well as the angles you’ve been pitching so that the two of you can come up with an exclusive angle that’s going to work perfectly for this outlet. Make sure they know what you can offer them and bring everything you can: photos, press materials, product samples, let them know who they can interview, what imagery you have, etc. Seal the deal while you can.

From there your follow up should be a hand written thank you note as well as a call or email to finalize any last minute needs for the piece. Hopefully by now you feel like you know them on a personal level and can have some very genuine and productive conversations moving forward.

Lastly, use this time to learn about the person and the outlet and how to best pitch them in the future. Ask if they appreciate phone calls, what they like to see in a subject line, whether or not they open emails with attachments and how far out they plan each issue. This information becomes invaluable.

Remember in all situations to follow up. Sometimes the media needs time to digest it, mull it over, check that there are no conflicting advertisers or run it by their editors. Take the ideas you discussed and condense them into nice succinct ideas and email them or call to follow up.

In-person communication with the media speeds up the process immensely, for everyone involved. At BG, we strongly recommend making the effort to get to know the editors we work with in other cities, whether it’s flying out to New York or driving up to LA and jam-packing the day with meetings to discuss our clients. Just a few weeks ago, we had the pleasure of meeting with 11 top media in Orange County and LA. We secured more than 10 placements for our clients (including multiple placements in a couple of publications) that may have taken us weeks to secure had we not met face-to-face.

If you’re planning a trip like this, try bundling clients together to make it more appealing for the media to give their time. An added benefit to this is that when you meet with someone planning to talk about a new restaurant opening, you may find that in addition, they’re particularly interested in another client of yours and have a way of including that in their publication or a different publication that you might have had no foresight to pitch.

So take every chance you get to meet face-to-face, even if just for a few minutes. Dropping off a sample? Do it in person. Got a great placement that made your client hoot and holler? Offer to take the media out for a drink to thank them for their coverage. Got a pitch that’s taking too long to type? Pick up the phone and if the conversation is going well, ask to get together and catch up. You won’t regret it.