One page sites have been around for awhile but it’s this year that I’ve really seen them take-off in numbers.

Here’s why I love them and recommend using them:

• Easy to navigate
  Everything is hosted on one page so there’s no need for breadcrumbs. This event site from the Bay Area Humane Society makes it simple to get the information you need quickly and easily.

• Great for mobile viewing
  The best sites are those that have a mobile version, but for those that don’t one page sites are really easy to navigate on your PDA.

• Ideal for big and small sites
  While initially one page sites were great for short content, recently I’ve seen some built to accommodate heavier messaging and image. Some great examples include this portfolio site from Phil Renaud and this business site for Tower Inspection. If you click through to the site, you can see some of the creative aspects of their navigation.

What do you think about one page websites? Have you used them? Seen any really good ones?

Bailey Gardiner is looking for a graphic design intern for the fall quarter/semester.
A little about you:

• A college student (junior or senior) majoring in advertising, art direction, graphic design or something similar
• Must be able to obtain college credit for the internship
• Willing to commit to a minimum of 16 hours per week, set hours are preferred
• Has a student portfolio of design work
• Working knowledge of Adobe Creative Suite. Experience in Flash/Fireworks/Dreamweaver is a huge plus
• A well-organized, self-starter who shows ownership over assignments
• Some production experience preferred
• Excellent communication skills – both oral and written
• Must have a good attitude and aspire to do award-winning work
• Eager to learn
• Creative

A little about your responsibilities:
Assist the creative team with the following:

• Assist team members in research, concept development, designing and mounting of logos and creating collateral pieces, websites, identity and stationery packages
• Accompany senior team members to photo shoots, press checks, client meetings and assist in photo and art research when necessary

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 of course, have some fun.

For a little more information about us, visit our portfolio or get an intern’s perspective on working here on the blog by our interns.
If you are interested, please email your student portfolio, cover letter and resume to kelly@baileygardiner.com

No phone calls please.

There’s a common misconception that you can make an e-blast, video or other social media piece viral.

Not true.

You can only create a great piece of creative and promote the heck out of it in the HOPES that it goes viral. Your target audience is the only one who can take action by forwarding it to friends, talking about it with co-workers, etc.

That said, I wanted to share an e-blast that was sent to me recently from juice giant, Jamba Juice. In my opinion, this is an example of viral marketing that works. Take a look and see if you agree.

First off, the title intrigued me “New Cheeseburger Chili Smoothie.” I receive emails from Jamba all the time, but this was so weird, I HAD to open it to see if it was for real.

The format of the email was the same as the other ones I receive so that looked legit. And even after I watched the video I still didn’t know for sure if it was real. They peaked my curiosity so much that I had to visit cheeseburgerchill.com to find out if it was for real (which, of course, was their intention).

Turns out, the burger shake was a hoax (thank goodness). The whole ploy was a reaction against McDonald’s recent venture into the smoothie business. If you’ve seen the burger chain’s recent TV spots (see above), you know what I’m talking about. A great stunt that had a really good strategy behind it. Genius.

Even better? After you read the message on the landing page there is an option to forward it to a friend, post it on multiple social media sites AND (here’s the best part) get $1 off your next smoothie. A pretty nice little reward for reading all the way through to the web page, huh?

As an advertiser, I consider myself keen to most marketing ploys—much like a white v-neck at a wet t-shirt contest, I feel I can see through most of them. But I fell for this one, even sending it out to multiple friends and doing a blog post about it.

So did it go viral?

Did I like it enough to send it to my friends? Check.
Did I talk about it with co-workers? Check.
Did it make it make me interact with their brand for a considerable length of time? Check.

The “Cheeseburger Chill” YouTube video has been viewed 203,336 at the time of this blog post. Not many if you compare it the over 16 million views of the kid on laughing gas, but a pretty good start considering it only debuted two weeks ago.

What do you think makes a piece of media go viral?

I wanted to share some inspirational museum marketing stunts that have resulted in generating lots of museum publicity.

The first is the Space Invader Walk.

As part of it’s promotion for the exhibition “Viva la Revolucion” (beginning on July 17) the Museum of Contemporary Art of San Diego has planted 21 space invaders throughout the city.

The space invaders—recently featured in the Banksy film—are strategically placed so that their locations create the outline of a giant space invader when seen from above (see Google Maps image below).

Not only is this a great way to get publicity for the museum, it’s also a living exhibition all on it’s own as you can literally travel around the city, finding all of the invaders, a great weekend activity that is conveniently located near MCASD’s downtown San Diego location.

The second is the Red Cube Project.

This project was created to support “500 Ways of Looking at Modern,” the Art Institute’s yearlong exploration and celebration of all things modern.

The museum hid 500 cubes around the city (including 4 extra large versions), each one with it’s own art project attached. The lucky finder is tasked with completing the assignment and returning the cube to the museum. A few of these lucky artists then had their work showcased at the museum.

The museum encouraged those who didn’t find a cube to create their own and post a picture of it to the project’s website. A smart idea that encouraged people from all walks of like to get involved helped the campaign go viral.

You can see many more of the cubes that were created on the museum’s Flickr page.

Have you seen any other inspirational museum marketing campaigns recently?

Let’s face it, a great idea is useless if you can’t sell it.

At the HOW Conference for creatives this last week, several different speakers offered advice on how to make your creative presentations just as good as your creative ideas. Many of these ideas were similar to those from our own office presentation guru, Nancy Stern. Here are five powerful tips I picked-up for selling creative ideas:

1. Know your audience.

To quote presentation specialist Nancy Duarte from her HOW Conference presentation last week—”Not knowing your audience is like writing a love letter to whom it may concern.” Before you give your presentation, do your homework. Find out what your client does on Saturday night, if they have families, what books they read. The more you show them you understand their point of view, the more willing they will be to listen to what you have to say.

2. Involve your client in your ideas.

“If they birthed it, they can’t kill it.” Great quote from David Schimmel, CEO of And Partners.

During your initial meetings with clients, write down memorable things that they have to say. Then, when you present, weave these exact words into your presentation. Another idea from HOW Conference presenter and creative David Sherwin is to actually involve your client in your initial brainstorms. Most of the time, they are flattered to be involved in the process and will be more accepting of your final ideas because they helped contribute to them.

3. Be your own devil’s advocate.

Afraid your client might not like your ideas? Try to imagine what the decision-maker will see when they look at what you have to show them. Make a list of what they might not like and then address those issues head-on in your presentation. “This is my idea _____. One thing the consumer might think is this ______. However, I think we can overcome it by doing this _____. ” This will demonstrate that you understand their mindset and make your ideas that much more powerful.

4. Plant a rhetorical device.

The two quotes I’ve used in this blog post so far were phrases delivered by Nancy Duarte and Sam Harrison in their HOW presentations. Obviously, they stood out enough to me that I remembered them. And you can make your audience do the same.

Devise a strong statement that you repeat several times in your presentation, or even just tell your audience, “Here’s what I want you to take away today,” and then list your points. Apple leader, Steve Jobs is superior at doing this in his presentations, even embedding the same phrase in his advertising and press releases for resonance. When he launched the iPad, he said the device was the intersection of liberal arts and technology, an idea that was repeated in all forms of Apple’s media.

Another great example was from creative and author Sam Harrison’s HOW presentation on “Idea Selling”. He referenced Porter Gale, Virgin Atlantic’s brand director who described flying on the luxury airline Virgin “like flying inside an iPod.” A phrase that was picked-up by other media and repeated over and over.

5. Find your star moment.

This is the moment that your audience will always remember and is always highly planned. Former advertising creative turned agency guru Tony Mikes of SecondWindOnline.com suggests that it doesn’t always have to be a well-written statement that is the star. One example he gave was an agency that asked for 15 minutes to get ready before a client pitch. They filled the room with flip-charts and sketches from their war room and did a brainstorm with their audience to illustrate their philosophy of always working as closely as possible with the client.

What do you do to help sell creative your creative ideas? Watch more videos of great presentations here or check out Nancy Duarte’s Slide:ology video below.

When I first learned about Chatroulette a couple months ago the video site— which allows you to talk at random with strangers—didn’t really seem like a great fit for ads. However, what started as a wacky way to talk with strangers is quickly turning into an unconventional advertising medium.

The audience of between 20,000 to 30,000 users a day is 89% male with most of them between the ages of 18 – 24. According to comScore, site traffic jumped from 1 million users in January, 2010 to 4 million in March, 2010. And big brands are noticing.

So what are brands doing?

1. Contests

As part of their new ad campaign targeted towards men, French Connection, the UK-based clothes retailer, has issued a challenge. Meet someone on Chatroulette, and prove that you went out on a date with them by providing a video of your online encounter. When you do, FCUK will give you $375 towards new clothes to impress your crush. There has been a lot of debate in the PR community as to whether this campaign could wind-up being more of a liability than a promotion. However, the buzz around it has been overwhelming (including all the great videos of failed date attempts). And as their marketing director, William Woodhams says, “Any PR is good PR.”

2. Stand alone ads

Harley Davidson set-up a camera on a board reading, “Sorry, I’m on the road.” accompanied with their logo. Their German ad agency, which came up with the idea, claims an average of 170,000 impressions per week.

3. Interacting live with viewers

As part of an April Fools joke, Dr. Pepper created a cheerleader character. She urged viewers to do things like bark like a dog in exchange for a dance. At the end of the act, the well-known soda brand revealed their sponsorship, with most fans applauding enthusiastically in response.

As part of a larger social media campaign, McKinney Silver advertising showcased Travelocity’s “Roaming Gnome” in his very own Chatroulette ads. The gnome is accompanied by witty messages written specifically for Chatroulette users like “Traveling from one person to another doesn’t count.” and “Awesome things: 1.) Tahoe this weekend 2.) Traveling instead of chatting.”

During the first 40 days of the campaign, the agency had 350,000 impressions and 400 conversations. Most impressively, company execs claim that the PR they’ve received from the stunt has already totally captured the ROI.

4. Using CGI

This ad, created for Fancy Feast, uses technology similar to the kind you can find on the popular video plug-in, ManyCam.

Same with this interactive video plug-in created by LG to promote their “Give it a Ponder” campaign. In contrast to an ad that is served, LG’s plug-in is an ad displayed by the user. Once downloaded, the video app appears to make them grow a beard that can be seen by other viewers via video along with a message from LG that shows up in the corner of the screen. Similar effects can be used and created using one of many video plug-ins like the CGI application ManyCam.

What’s next?

The creative team here at BG is wasting no time thinking of ways we can use Chatroulette for our very own clients. We can’t help seeing some of the inventive things users are doing online and connecting them with brands.

Take the singing piano man who serenades strangers with an impromptu song tailored just to them. What a great promo this would be for Steinway Pianos or perhaps for a band releasing an album. And the artist who draws each user he encounters? Maybe the perfect ad for an art school or artist’s supplies?

What ideas do you have for using Chatroulette for advertising? Do you think this medium could be a major player or major PR nightmare?

Bailey Gardiner is looking for an art director or graphic design intern for the summer quarter/semester.
A little about you:

• A college student (junior or senior) majoring in advertising art direction, graphic design or something similar
• Prefer candidates who are able to obtain college credit for the internship
• Willing to commit to a minimum of 16 hours per week or more
• Student portfolio of work
• Working knowledge of Adobe Creative Suite. Experience in Flash/Fireworks/Dreamweaver is a huge plus
• A well-organized, self-starter who shows ownership over assignments
• Some production experience preferred
• Excellent communication skills – both oral and written
• Must have a good attitude and aspire to do award-winning work
• Eager to learn
• Creative

A little about your responsibilities:
Assist the creative team with the following:

• Assist team members in research, concept development, designing and mounting of logos and creating collateral pieces, websites, identity and stationery packages
• Accompany senior team members to photo shoots, press checks, client meetings and assist in photo and art research when necessary

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

For a little more information about us, visit our portfolio or get an intern’s perspective on working here on the blog by our interns.
If you are interested, please email your student portfolio, cover letter and resume to kelly@baileygardiner.com

No phone calls please.

Last week, Steve Jobs previewed his mobile ad network that will launch June 1. It’s called iAd—ads created specifically to run within phone apps.

With mobile users spending an average of 30 minutes each day in apps, here’s why Steve Job’s latest idea is destined for success.

1. You don’t have to stop what you’re doing to view the ad.

Unlike web banners or other mobile ads, Steve Jobs is promising that you won’t have to leave your app to interact with the ad. And that once you do, it will be easy to find your way back.

2. 60% of the revenue goes back to the developers.

What better way to incentivize use of the ad network than to give the majority of the revenue back to those hosting them? The question is, what developer wouldn’t want to host ads?

3. The ads are easy to add to your app.

According to Jobs, in an afternoon, you can have ads up and running on your app. However, if you’ve seen the complexity of his Toy Story ad, looks like building the ad is somewhat more complicated.

4. These ads are so much more than ads.

With the ability to add high levels of interactivity, the word “ad” really doesn’t do them justice. They are more like mini clickable apps that not only hold typical “ad” information but things like games, wallpaper posters, videos, maps and more.

5. They’re pretty.

I’ve always been a sucker for anything with good design, so I’m even more excited that it’s happening in a category notorious for bad design. Like many people, I abhor the average web banner but these are more like works of art—yet another reason to click through.

Advertising on Facebook has been a much talked about topic long before the social networking platform reached more than 400 billion users. Marketers were intrigued by Facebook’s ability to customize ads so that they are served to audiences based on gender, age, interests, education levels and marital statuses. But, as it turns out, this is only the tip of the iceberg.

In fact, Facebook ads are so precise that, with a little creativity, they can essentially be served to specific people. This allows for marketers to target niche audiences in a way that far exceeds web banners control, making Facebook ads a powerful advertising tool.

Here are some lesser-known ways to maximize your Facebook ads to help you reach your audience:

1. Target your audience by location

Advertise your local festival or location-specific product/service to people in a certain town by selecting specific zip codes that target users via their IP addres. You can even target audiences that live around a city by inputting distances from the metropolis center.

2. Target your audience by name and connections

You are applying for a new job and you REALLY want to impress your potential employer with your tech savviness. Set up a targeted ad and serve only to the hiring managers. Or, serve your ad by “connection” to reach people who work for a certain company, went to a certain school, belong to a certain club, etc.

3. Target your audience by what they’re talking about on Facebook

Say you are trying to get people to attend Comicon. You can enter specific keywords like “Neal Adams” “Spiderman Comic”, “San Diego” or whatever buzzwords will target your audience better to target them specifically.

4. Target your audience by language

Want to reach out to Hispanics, or maybe native Mandarin-speakers. Use this feature to speak to potential customers… literally.

5. Target your audience by birthday

Someone with an impending birthday is probably thinking about what they want to receive as a gift. This is a great way for retailers in particular to reach an audience who will soon be giving gift ideas to friends and loved ones. This type of reach also allows you to target by astrological sign.

What’s next? Some very popular Facebook games like Farmville and Mafia Wars are exploring new ways to host brand placements that benefits advertisers and users alike.

As I watched the Olympic winter games in Vancouver this year, I kept seeing flashes of green and blue graphics everywhere. Up and down ski courses, around ice rinks and all over Olympic promotional items. Being in the advertising, I of course wanted to know more these outdoor graphics and the design team behind the branding work for the Olympics.

Through my research I discovered that VANOC, the Canadian design firm who created these graphics has a creative process very similar to ours and it reminded me that there are certain steps anyone should follow when trying to come up with a truly creative or noteworthy piece.  Here are just a few of the steps we (and VANOC) follow when creating any new piece of creative:

1. Brainstorm.

Get as many people involved as you can and make a huge white board of ideas. Even if an idea sounds silly, write it down. Sometimes it’s the silly ideas that wind-up inspiring your overall concept.

2. Create a photographic tag cloud.

Find a free wall where you can put your visual inspiration and go crazy. Invite everyone to put up images that inspire them.

3. Get out of the office.

Staying in the office is not a productive way to get to know your client. Go on a field trip, take pictures, conduct interviews—whatever helps you understand your “product” better.

4. Decide on a concept.

Go back to your idea wall and evolve it. Pick the ideas that have gravitas and make them work. For VANOC they decided to create graphics that combined images of the Canadian countryside and Canadian city life—like this image of a stop light combined with a tree and a hydro plane combined with a dragonfly.

5. Live and breathe your idea.

To make their concept come to life, VANOC incorporated their concept into every part of their design. Even the colors they chose came from the colors of Canada itself.

What do you think about the design for the Olympics this year?