Everything we've written in November, 2008
AgencyThink
Your Vote Counts
posted by Greg Batiansila @ November 26th, 2008
I hereby and forthwith am accepting nominations for creepiest and/or least effective ads of 2008. Admittedly, this might end up in two categories: creepy and ineffective. But we’ll start as a combined category.
My first nominee: this. I need to meet the AE/Creative Director/Client who thought this would rock the world. Bring them to me.
Any other nominees?
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Recent News and Updates
Are you a Tweeter?
posted by Jason Fleck @ November 25th, 2008
Practically every article or blog post I read relating to social media always mentions Twitter in some fashion or another. What’s Twitter you say? Wikipedia.org defines twitter as this:
Twitter is a free social networking and micro-blogging service, that allows its users to send and read other users’ updates (otherwise known as tweets), which are text-based posts of up to 140 characters in length.
So in other words, a website based solely on what people are doing?
Yep.
Warren Whitlock, Co-Author of The Twitter Revolution, was part of the 2008 PubCon panel and talked about the two stages of twitter:
1. Denial: Why would anyone care what I ate for breakfast?
2. Reluctant Acceptance: I have a Twitter account but haven’t seen any traffic
Whitlock also stated:
The Twitter Revolution really is about making meaningful connections. Let people know what you are up to, because contrary to some beliefs, people do care.
The vastness of the internet creates false personas — individuals hiding behind a message board or chat room. Twitter takes its users and makes them human. In business terms, it’s much more beneficial for you if your customers can directly relate to you and vice versa. Furthermore, Twitter allows you to keep tabs on what’s being said about your company.
Comcast portrayed this perfectly after they noticed a customer had posted a tweet on how he noticed a blemish in his HD television’s reception quality. Minutes later, Comcast replied to his tweet and sent a technician to his house within 24 hours. The customer was astonished with the quality of their customer service and was transformed from a disgruntled customer to believing customer.
At Avicom, we take our Twitter campaigns in two directions:
1. Serving the customers the same way Comcast did
2. Humanizing the workforce so every worker can relate to everyone else.
Twitter is here and it’s here to stay. So what are you waiting for? Become a tweeter and tweet away!
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AgencyThink
Advertising that sticks — and tastes good
posted by Jason Fleck @ November 25th, 2008
Do me a favor; open your desk drawer where you house all your loose pens, white out, and those two random paper clips. You know the drawer I’m talking about — the one right above your knees that pulls out into your stomach. Yeah, the one you’ve been planning to clean out for the past six months, but haven’t found the time. That’s the drawer I’m talking about.
Now, what do you see? If it’s anything like mine, it’s cluttered with all the free garb handed out by other businesses. Cluttered with those pens that just magically appear in your pocket after leaving the bank or the one given to you by a co-worker that somehow become yours after carrying it around all day. Half of those pens probably don’t work anymore and yet they still occupy precious desk space.
Do these traditional forms of advertising still work?
Maybe.
Gone are the days of conventional advertising for TD Bank. Instead of pens, TD bank is handing out free coffee, pizzas, and umbrellas.
What better way to spread brand recognition is there than connecting with your customers, prospective and current, on a physical need basis? It connects with them on an emotional level and also fills their stomachs.
At Avicom, we understand this need to connect emotionally with your client base. Can we do pens?
Of course.
However, we urge our clients to think “outside of the box” just like TD Bank did. What’s going to work best with the clientele you’re trying to reach? Why resort to printing your logo on a thousand pens when there could be a much more effective way to reach your audience?
Do you covet your pens or do you like the change TD Bank is bringing to conventional advertising? Comment below and let me know.
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AgencyThink • Social Media
Heed The MommyBloggers
posted by Greg Batiansila @ November 21st, 2008
CEO of Corporation X wants to get in on that…what do they call it?…that “Social Media.” Maybe he can get one of those “blogs.”What else can he do? What else should he do?
Here’s a thought: maybe he doesn’t need a blog. Maybe he just needs to read blogs.
Blogs are about voice. About opinion and dissent. Perhaps our CEO would find the general population is less interested in hearing his voice - and more interested that he hears theirs.
Emarketer.com has an interesting - and informative - article about “MommyBloggers” - women who write blogs. Over 3/4 of them review products on their blogs. Think our CEO needs to hear how his product or company is being reviewed? It’s free, unfettered research.
Social media may not always exist in this form. It may not always be called social media. But it’s efficacy and ability to make connections between CEOs and Mommies is another sign that it has a place in marketing in the days to come.
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