If you’ve ever wondered what companies or organizations have been looking at your website, start here. This 4-minute video walks you through Google Analytics’ Network report, giving you at least some limited insight into who your website visitors are.
Turn your website into a lead generation machine
Our free B2B Website Planning Handbook will help you strategize, plan and build a website that attracts qualified visitors and converts them into real leads.
The last month taught us what it would be like to work two full-time jobs simultaneously. Now that the event has passed, we’re happy to announce that Get Digital 2 was a big success.
Our objective with this seminar, in comparison to our June Get Digital, was to focus less on philosophy and more on tactical execution in the online marketing channels. We wanted audience to walk away from the event with an idea for what they should do next.
The day began with an introduction by moderator Mitch Meyers. A former AdWeek Woman of the Year and founder of St. Louis promotions agency Zipatoni, Mitch walked through a short history of advertising, leading up to where we are today in this digital marketing world.
Derek Mabie of our parter seo firm Evolve Digital Labs kicked off the learning with his first session on managing up – or selling digital marketing in to the boss man. Derek followed up this session with a presentation on pay-per-click advertising, focusing on topics like Google’s intention to take your money and how to avoid it, as well as retargeting campaigns.
Our own Jon Franko finished the morning out with a session on content strategy and the importance of being a publisher in today’s online marketing environment.
After lunch, three guest speakers took the stage. Jenn Cloud of Vantage Credit Union’s Young & Free St. Louis program presented on social media as a part of a holistic marketing effort. Chris Reimer, Twitter King of St. Louis and VP of Social Media at Falk Harrison, demonstrated the power of Twitter as a tool for audience engagement through an incredibly powerful case study. And Brad Hogenmiller of Infuz used the St. Louis Cardinals’ unlikely championship run as an example to demo STL Index, a tool created by Infuz for measuring the influence of St. Louis Twitterers.
The final two sessions of the day included a a presentation by Derek Mabie on search engine optimization and a presentation by me (Joe Sullivan) on measuring performance in online channels. Derek focused on how seo works and where to begin. My cap to the day focused on how to measure performance in social media, search engines and your website, as well as how to identify and act on opportunity for improvement. This video on Google Analytics goal conversion tracking was one of a few that were included in the presentation.
This article by Lindsey Herzog on AdSaint goes into a bit more depth, should you care to read on. (Thanks for saving us the time and writing it for us, Lindsey!).
As for the next Get Digital….stay posted.
Infographic I put together detailing the three elements of finding your online voice. All are essential in nailing the “tone” of your brand. Hope it helps. If it does, print it and post it.
I’ve been challenged with the task of writing a tagline for a large, national player in a blue-collar industry. I have to admit – it’s been some time since I’ve had this challenge. Anymore, it seems like the majority of my writing aims to be 140 characters. Hard to believe that something even shorter than that could cause me to toil into the wee hours of the morning. But here I am, still typing, still toiling.
I’ve got a few ideas that I like. But nothing I’m in love with. I’d share them with you and get your opinions on what’s working and what’s not, but as with anything client-related, it’s top secret until the day of “launch.” So no can do.
But what I can share with you is the taglining 101 that I’ve had to revisit. Nope – not published in a book or available on the web. Just some practices I’ve learned over the years from people way smarter than me.
While our focus has changed to be more on the digital experience of a B2B brand, we still like to get our hands dirty and do some logo work every now and then. And below, these are a few of our favorite examples.
These are the most recent logos we’ve done. Joe had to tap his inner illustrator for Big Ed’s bucketmouth and go a little bit retro on Franko Small Engines and Molldeli’s.
These are the logos we hear are “my favorite” time and time again. Some logos take weeks for us to concept and develop. The Hewlett logo took two hours. We have to give some props here to former G76 intern Ali Crouch for her work on the Red Brick logo. Great stuff Ali. This one’s still turning heads.
The Somark Innovations logo was traded for a case of Newcastle beer in 2006. The others below were designed around the same time for enough to buy about two more cases. (An exception goes for Dead Mike’s, who inspired the drafting of our first master service agreement when they didn’t pay us for the job.) Looking back, we’d call it even if we got a case of beer.
This is a task that rarely gets enough attention: marketing firm branding themselves. We’ve evolved quite a bit since 2006 and we’re finally happy with where we landed…for now.
“The best of the rest” doesn’t mean we’re not proud of these too.
Or which ones to you think stink? Let us know below. We’re curious.
Today, while eating my leftover chicken stroganoff (yessiree – really trying to cut back on this whole cholesterol thing) for lunch, I was perusing some old stories, Twitter links, etc. etc, and I came across this piece – Branding in the Digital Age: You’re Spending Your Money in All the Wrong Places by David C. Edelman in the Harvard Business Review that an old friend of mine Tweeted. Smart dude. Worked at the Goog and now he’s at Twitter, Stanford grad – the works. I recommend following him for forward-thinking and the lastest restaurant news in San Fran.
Anyway…
The article is all about getting more bang for your buck when it comes to your marketing spend. Obviously, the piece pushes the power of a strong website and smart online marketing. But it doesn’t stop there. It goes into a much deeper investigation of how consumers make decisions and then interact with their brand decision on and offline in the weeks, months and years that follow.
For instance, this article flips the old traditional marketing funnel on its head. You know the funnel (yawn): it starts with consideration set, then goes to a selected set, then there’s final choice and then purchase. Up until the digital revolution, that was all fine and great and marketers were having tee many martoonies at lunch and napping on their leather office couch in the afternoon. After all, their objective was to simply drive sales. And, while it’s still all about dollars, thanks to emerging media, the sales funnel has a whole new side. Now, we have the “enjoy, advocate and bond stage” that follows the previous, but modified stages: “consider”, “evaluate” and “buy.” This new stage will still drive sales, just two and three fold. Or at least thats how the folks at McKinsey & Company see it and I have to agree wholeheartedly.
Here’s what’s crazy though. According to Edelman, instead of targeting the different stages of the decision path, 70%-90% of marketing spend STILL goes to advertising and retail promotions that hit consumers at the early stages – the consider and buy stages. However, as it’s been proven, the buy stage (previously thought to be the best stage – and still a really important one) is far from the final stage. In fact, there really isn’t a final stage. That’s if you do it all correctly. Instead the cycle goes on and on and on.
So, maybe it’s time to get your brand a little healthier, digitally speaking. Funny – we know just the guys that can help.
As for the leftover chicken stroganoff, ehhh…not my finest work with the slow cooker.
You know it’s a good idea when that’s your reaction.
Below is a blog post I just penned I mean typed for our Get Digital project. I wouldn’t be reposting, except it’s so incredibly relevant to our humble (and still humble) roots. Hope you enjoy. Hoping it helps.
” We hadn’t either. But we’re excited to learn about it. LiquidSpace is an app that helps you “find or share a great space to work now.” In today’s digital world, full of freelancers and employees on-the-go, this is a welcome relief, a leftover donut to the guy who forgot lunch (sorry, it’s lunchtime – actually, well past – and I forgot my brown bag…and we have donuts).
Seems like just recently, my company, Gorilla 76, was in its boot-strap phase. Seems like just yesterday, our offices were the locale of the nearest Wi-Fi signal. As much as we wanted cool digs to call “office”, our budget didn’t. Debt was something we wanted to avoid like the plague as laptops and brains were all we really needed to do what we do. I can remember literally working in a Burger King parking lot late one evening (they weren’t even open) as they had free Wi-Fi and I had a project that absolutely had to get out the door before midnight.
Well now, a few years later, looks like this LiquidSpace app is going to make life easier per the recent feature in Inc. Technology. From what I can tell, it helps you either (a) lease extra work space you have or (b) find work space for the day. Seems like an app that will resonate with our Get Digital crowd. If you’re traveling, it’s relevant. If you have vacancy, it’s relevant.
Just do yourself one favor, if you’re leasing the space, or hosting someone that is web savvy, tread and Tweet lightly – read about WhizTechCafe’s social media miss via storify.com.
Hope you all are having a good week.”
Google Analytics is a free online tool for measuring your website’s performance. Analytics is filled with a wealth of data and can be overwhelming if you don’t know what you’re looking for, so I put together this 5-minute video that shows you the basics. This will at least get you started looking at visitor statistics and traffic sources, as well as evaluating the content on your site that’s being viewed or ignored.
I learned from a client last week that they had recently pitched a big job (like a one million dollar job) for Company X, a prospective customer. But they didn’t get it. They bid too high. They were, however complimented by the organization on their level of professionalism, not only though the way they presented themselves, but through their website and marketing materials. Rewarding, right? Hardly. The value in your marketing ammo doesn’t lie in “looking good”. It’s about return on investment. Believe us – we get that.
But that’s not the end of the story.
A few weeks after the winning firm began work on the job, they proved to be inept. Slow start, poor communication, etc. So my client received a call from Company X, who had had fired that firm and wanted to hire them. Our guys “just presented themselves in a much more professional way.” They were told they looked much more buttoned up and Company X was going to take their chances that 
the work would follow suit.
Just weeks later, that million dollar bill is the in pocket of my client, and they’ve already been hired for incremental work with Company X. Our client has told us straight up that the dollars they’ve invested over the last year in marketing has paid for itself many times over on one job alone.
Now before I claim this victory entirely for Gorilla 76, I want to give my client plenty of credit. They’re an awesome company. Their service is incredible. They have great, smart people on their staff. Marketing won’t get you too far without of all of those things. That said, I couldn’t help but leave that client meeting feeling pretty damn good.
Your investment in marketing can reap massive rewards if you approach it with a sound strategy and smart execution. Don’t half-ass it. Do it right and good things will happen.
We all know how I like to reference things I read. I swear I’m not lazy and I promise I have original thought. It’s just that sometimes reinventing the wheel doesn’t always make sense. Especially when you find a concise little gem like this smart read about a good business/marketing practice. It’s a great piece from Inc.com (August 9, 2011) about a smart business/marketing practice – writing emails that get will get read. Now, while this is written more on just a day-to-day communication level, I do think it’s very relevant to email marketing.
Italics is what they wrote. Straight type is what I wrote. Talk amongst yourselves.
Get rid of all verbiage that activates the delete response. Here are some serious offenders: exciting, state-of-the-art, solution, partner, leading edge, passion, unique and one-stop shopping.
Put yourself in the shoes of the consumer. When you encounter an inbox full of emails, which ones do you quickly delete? The ones that truly pique your interest with short, effective copy? Or the ones that are detailing your one-stop-shop for exciting solutions unique to your leading edge company? Yeah. Exactly.
Your email needs to be less than 90 words. Use 2-sentence paragraphs so it can be scanned. Stick with common black fonts (no colors) and never include more than one link or attachment.
Nothing worse than an enewsletter that comes in at 1000 words of text. I’m not going to read it; no one is. You’re a brand – you’re not my best friend. Respect my time. Give me hints of a story you want to tell me, and let me click through to your site to get details. Makes me happier and makes your website get more traffic. Win-win for everyone involved. And while we’re at it, simple is better when it comes to your e-news template too. Keep the fancy formats for your AOL account.
Research your prospect’s specific company, industry or position. Make sure your e-mail mentions an important business objective, strategic imperative, issue or challenge. Relevance is essential.
This comes down to marketing 101. Know your audience. And know your goals/objectives (they should line up with your audience).
Identify key business events that may be impacting your prospect’s priorities and tie your message into that. Examples might be: relocations, mergers, management changes or new legislation.
Again, marketing 101. Know your audience. And know your goals/objectives.
Your product or service may be a commodity, but you’re not. In your e-mails, focus on the ideas, insights and information you can share that will be of value to your prospect in reaching their goals.
Agree. If you provide good info, they’re want to read it. In fact, they’ll start looking for it. Content is king when it comes to all things digital.
Your subject line determines if your message gets read. Avoid sales hype and focus on business issues such as: “Quick question re: outsourcing initiative” or “Reducing product launch time.”
Personally, I think this is the single most important thing you can focus on. Well, I guess good content is the most important, as that’s what will earn you name recognition. But once you’ve got their interest, nothing can call the action like a really strong subject line. Think about what would get you to click through. Chances are, this simple test will work.
Do eight to 12 touches (via e-mail and phone) over a four-to-six week time period, with each contact building off the previous one. Provide links to resources. Spotlight the value of changing from the status quo.
The squeaky wheel gets the grease. Just make sure it’s not to0 squeaky. Depending on your brand, twice a month to once every other month might make sense for your mailings.
Thanks for reading. And thanks to Jill Konrath for the thought-provoking article. We’re going to start following her on Twitter. You should to.
This is the third of a series of three posts that will show you how to create a website that’s a REAL business tool. If you haven’t yet read part 1 or 2, I’d recommend starting there.
You’ve set goals for your site, planned your content with a site map and wire frames, hired a good copywriter that understands the difference between writing for print and web, handed over the reigns to your web design team for build-out and finally launched it.
Mission accomplished, right? Well…not exactly.
Let’s pretend you were marketing a product 20 years ago and you hired a big ad agency to build out a great campaign concept for your shiny new object so the world could learn all about it. They toiled away for months generating concepts, ideas, headlines and visuals. They wrote, directed and filmed a killer, Superbowl-caliber TV ad. And then let’s pretend that you never ran that ad. What kind of exposure would you get? How much awareness would you build? How would you connect with the hundreds or thousands or millions of potential customers out there? What kind of results or return on investment would you be looking at?
This situation is no different. You need to promote.
You have equipped yourself with a powerful tool. Your site has the beginnings of information that can bring value to your current customers and find you new ones. But you need to get people there.
You might be thinking, “Of course I could spend lots of advertising dollars to get people to my site – obviously”. But have you considered using what you already have in your pocket to generate traffic? The stuff that’s not so expensive at all. You’re a specialist in something, right? That’s why people hire you or buy your product. So in addition to what you’re selling, can you add more value for your customer by giving them something extra? If you’re an accounting firm, can you give away tax resources? If you’re a construction firm, can you provide white papers on what it means to be LEED-certified? If you’re a local Italian restaurant, can you post a recipe from time to time?
The key is to create content that your customer wants, and then to promote that content in the right places, with a sound strategy.
Email blasts, social media tools like Facebook, Twitter & LinkedIn, as well as blog posts can all be relevant pieces of that strategy. Using these channels may be intimidating and take a bit of learning if you’re not familiar (or even if you are familiar). But you can make it happen if you choose to commit.
As your site begins to fill up with more and more useful content, Google learns that it’s there. As people begin reading it and re-sharing it on their blogs and social networks, Google learns that it’s good stuff. When that starts to happen you gain credibility with Google and your search rankings jump. Here comes the awareness you were seeking.
Remember back at the beginning when you set those goals for your site? That wasn’t just an exercise to think through your planning process. We’re going to revisit those goals to see if your site is working.
Are you driving people to the right content on your website? Are visitors taking action on your calls-to-action? You’ll probably answer “yes” in many ways to these questions because you took the time to plan. But you can’t anticipate everything about how your visitors will navigate your site and react to your content. Not until it’s been live for a while and you’ve given them a chance to explore. (This is another reason why we emphasize getting it up and running as soon as you can).
Tools like Google Analytics (free) can help you analyze a wealth of data on your visitors. You can see what keywords they’re searching that are landing them on your site, what other sites are referring them to you, what pages they’re viewing/not viewing, their geography, and much more. You can even customize Analytics to measure the actions of your visitors against your specific goals. It’s a free tool, so take the time to learn how to use it to your advantage.
No matter how good you are at planning, you’ll probably need to adjust. Look at the data. Figure out where your site can improve. Determine where you can put new, more targeted pages and content. Think about how you can continue to promote that new content. And never stop this process.
Building and maintaining a great website is a lot of work. It’s an ongoing process, not a one-and-done job. That may not have been the case ten years ago. But right now isn’t ten years ago. It’s your responsibility as a marketer to plan, create and distribute good information for your customer to consume. Reel them in and show them that you’re a valuable and credible resource for them. Keep giving them what they want and they’ll come back.
Just a simple reminder from a classic brand, a great magazine and an apparently successful businessman the importance of putting your money where your brand is. We preach this often, but really, if you have to cut a budget, don’t make it your marketing budget.
This is the second of a series of three posts that will show you how to create a website that’s a REAL business tool. If you haven’t yet read part 1, check it out first.
At this point in the process, you’ve set goals and helped your web development team understand what purpose your website is to serve. Now you need to make sure your site is built to make it happen. Although it’s time for the web guys to do the dirty work, you’re not off the hook yet. Your job? To hold them accountable for thinking strategically as they do it.
Let’s look at a few examples:
Your site won’t succeed unless you give it the opportunity to succeed.
Now, let’s move on to some more tangible stuff.
A site map is an outline for your website. it documents what pages will be part of the site and how those pages will be organized relative to each other. When we design site maps for our clients, we like to include a few bullet points with each page that tell us what type of information will live there. And depending on the size and complexity of your site, the site map can indicate how a user would navigate from one page to the next. Here’s an example site map for an ultra-simple site.
The term us web developers use is “wire frames”. These page blueprints are plans for information hierarchy on each major page of your site. Where does navigation go? Where do images get placed? What calls-to-action are needed on each page, and where should you stick them? Remember, figuring these things out is a job for your web design team, so don’t feel overwhelmed. YOUR job is to make sure they’re asking these questions and aligning their decisions to the goals you’ve set for your site. A wire frame should exclude design. It’s not the most exciting step in the process, but it’s one of the most important (example below). Once they’re approved, the fun stuff can happen.
Every once in a while a potential client asks us to remove “copywriting” from a bid because “they can handle that on their own.” Our answer? “No, we’re sorry.” Why? Because copywriting for online content involves a lot more strategy than just saying what you need to say. It’s an integral part of the website development process and if done right, will be a major contributor to the success of your site. Though this topic is deserving of its own blog post, here’s a ultra-simplified overview:
Search engines like Google want to give people the best and most relevant results when they search for key words and phrases. So it’s important that those relevant keywords and phrases appear ON your website. Otherwise, how will Google know your site should be listed in their results?
A good website copywriter understands the difference between writing for print and writing for web. He or she knows that a balance must be created between pleasing Google (so your site isn’t invisible) and maintaining a high level of quality and integrity for your website’s content (so real humans actually want to read it!).
Don’t overlook copywriting. If anything, put MORE emphasis on it.
A website is never “ready” and it’s certainly never “done”. At least that’s the case if you’re committed to making your website a real business tool (more on this in Part 3). Furthermore, a website is not a print piece where one typo will cost you $25K in re-printing costs when you find the mistake. So what am I trying to say? Go ahead and launch it. And then keep making it better. Mistakes can be fixed quickly, content can be refined, new images can be uploaded. Just get it up and running. Then read Part 3 of this series and we’ll show you what to do next.
Last night, I stopped by a Borders’ going-out-of-business sale.
As much as the behemoth bookseller has been criticized and ridiculed, it’s always sad to see a marketplace of knowledge suffer (or in this case die). But, even last night, as everything was marked down 50%, 60% in an effort of mass liquidation, I still noticed the glaring, fatal flaw that gave them their death sentence – even at the heavily discounted prices, going-out-of-business prices at that, I could still get any of the books I was finding on Amazon for less money.
But, don’t point the finger at Amazon. It’s not their fault. It’s Borders’ fault. For not changing. For not improving their in-store experience like these Indie Bookstores are (via Fast Company).
For instance, right around the corner from our office is a little (but growing), St. Louis-based indie bookstore. While I do often buy books on Amazon, I still frequent this bookstore – browsing and purchasing books, checking industry rags and seeing who’s coming in for the next signing. They offer an experience that I can’t get online – and I appreciate that. It’s not always about price, especially when it comes to the experience of buying a hard-copy, hold-in-your-hands book. After all, that’s why I’m buying a book (vs. e-book) in the first place – the experience, the reward of keeping it on a shelf after I’m done.
Another example of doing it right is this bookstore in Brooklyn – who is streaming in-store reading live on its website. If viewers decide to buy a book online, they can…and, well, it comes autographed by the author. How’s that for turning your worst enemy into your number-one sales tool?
Just some thinking I found worth sharing. While we cover marketing on this blog, we also cover thinking that inspires us. And these bookstores are doing just that.
This is the first of a series of three posts that will show you how to create a website that’s a REAL business tool. These posts are not for programmers or computer geeks like us. They’re for business people who believe their website shouldn’t just be a brochure about what they’re company does, but rather a tool that can target a specific audience, generate leads, gain exposure, and ultimately lead to sales.
Part 1 (this blog post) is about defining what you’re trying to accomplish with your site and setting clear goals around those things. Part 2 will be about executing a site that works toward those goals. Part 3 will be about maintaining, measuring and refining a living and breathing site that engages your audience, generates leads, brings visitors back and encourages them to share your content.
So treat it like one.
Imagine hiring a new employee, handing them a $50K salary, asking them to work hard for you for a few months and then giving them permission to go sit in the corner and hope people start calling for your business. I’m gonna go out on a limb and guess that it doesn’t work that way, right? Instead, you train your employees, you give them resources that allow them to efficiently do their specific job and you define clear expectations for them. Then you count on them to get the job done.
Well guess what? Your website needs that kind of love and attention too. Let’s take a closer look.
This can be a tough question to answer. Maybe an easier question to ask is this: What business problems are you trying to solve? The answer to these two questions should be the same.
Let’s say you’re a service provider that’s trying to reach a specific new market. Or maybe you’re a regional business that’s getting beat up by the big guns in Google searches. Perhaps a singe mishap by a lower level employee has created an unfair and exaggerated negative perception of your business in the public eye, and you need to reverse that perception before you start losing customers. Maybe your phones aren’t ringing. Or maybe they’re ringing too much and you don’t have the personnel to handle the volume.
The bottom line is that you know better than any marketer or web developer what problems your business faces every day. So before you start making a website, those problems should be clearly identified.
OK, so you’ve identified some problems that need to be solved. That’s a huge step in the planning process. Now it’s time to set some goals and expectations for what can be done to address them. Let’s stick with a few of the examples we just used.
I realize that these example goals might seem obvious, but I want to emphasize that during this goal-setting stage, it’s still too early to focus on tactics. In other words, don’t worry quite yet about HOW you’re going to accomplish the goals that you’re setting. That’s for later. Focus instead on clearly defining what the goals are. The more specific you can get, the better. But make sure they’re realistic. If you’re a boutique clothing store, you’re not going to beat Amazon.com or Macy’s in a Google search for “men’s clothing”. But if you do it right, maybe you can beat them in a search for a specific line of clothing that is unique to your store, in your specific city.
Click here to read Part 2, where I’ll focus on the process of building a site that works toward accomplishing your goals.
Because I’ve seen him shaking someone’s hand in a boardroom, in front of a computer, with a group of smiling people on about 1 of every 5 bank, insurance or financial service websites I’ve ever visited.
I know that sometimes we need to use stock photography, but can’t we all be a little bit more creative than this?
Baptist Medical Group is a Pensacola-based network of medical professionals. Doing what they love for the people they love, Baptist Medical Group has a very strong presence in their community. They tasked us to bring that presence to life in an online setting. So we did. They said it was just what the doctor had ordered…see what we did there?
After getting thoroughly briefed on the job, a strong positioning statement was the first thing we wanted to deliver. Dialing in on the strong sense of community that BMG stood for was the direction we advised to explore.
Immediately after the positioning statement, we then began our in-depth planning phase. This was particularly important with this project, as the site was very large. Making sure on-site communication was optimized to the fullest extent, we spent a significant amount of time on planning how each page would be organized. Additionally, it was very important for us to consider balancing a distinct brand voice with best SEO practices like page title consideration, headlines, content and URL structure.
Just like we’ve learned in our marketing efforts for effective hospital design, when it comes to healthcare, the users’ experience must be looked at thoroughly. So, with this website build, we focused on very simple navigation with clear calls-to-action: “find a doctor”, “find a specialty” and “make an appointment”. Patients were allowed the opportunity to interact by posting reviews of their physicians. Not only were all of the doctors listed but all of their practices as well.
Mark Hewlett, D.M.D. is a Granite City dental office owned and operated by, you guessed it, Dr. Mark Hewlett. Dr. Hewlett is a young, forward-thinking guy, with a terrific chair-side manner and a very caring demeanor. Our job was to deliver a brand that matched. And we did, as we were hired to help Dr. Hewlett create all of his marketing materials – from logo to website.
But here, in this portfolio feature, we’d like to focus on one of the smaller opportunities the good dentist gave us – that of doing his Catholic church bulletin ads. We’ll save you our set up, as the creative speaks for itself.
Launch is a St. Louis-based 501(c)3 that energizes and develops the next generation of leadership for cancer-related nonprofits in St. Louis. Not only have we built this brand from scratch, but we’re also proud to say that our two partners, Jon and Joe, helped build the actual nonprofit from scratch.
They volunteer their time and talents, not to receive recognition or business in return, but to make the people around them better. Gorilla 76 is a company that will not only elevate your company’s brand but the community around you.”
– Kevin Haar, Vice Chairperson of Launch St. Louis
Our goal with all of the Launch work was to create a simple, iconic brand that would cater to a younger audience with discerning tastes, as well as local businesses and corporations that would become our partners. Our message at Launch is slightly hard to grasp. So the “Keep It Simple Stupid” approach drove branding and continues to drive messaging.
If by chance, you’re interested in getting involved with Launch, drop us a line. We happen to know some people.
“It’s got rules and laws like any other game. But gravity isn’t one of them.”
From my (Jon) trip to Chicago last month. At Gorilla, we love great brands and we love Mike Jordan. This ties to both.
The ceiling at Sasha’s Wine Bar (Demun neighborhood St. Louis).
And it seems pretty damn smart to us.
You can read the article here, but essentially they’re killing the one corporate account approach, and instead, giving each market its own voice.
The reason? Customization of content.
They were finding that people in Austin might be looking for equipment for a music festival or bags to carry around the campus of UT. But customers in Wash state, however, were looking for climbing gear and substantial mountaineering equipment. Two completely different needs that they weren’t catering to with previous social media efforts.
Sure this approach lays a certain level of trust in the hundreds of employees that are now voicing the brand online, but as Jordan Williams (manager of digital engagement for REI) said, it’s really no different than the trust that they give their employees at the in-store setting.
Just something we found interesting. How could you adjust your Twitter strategy to better cater content to your readers?
Food for thought. Have a great week.
Simply put, outstanding copy. The kind that gets me excited to get back to my desk and write. It’s sales prose at its finest. It’s gentle. It stands for something. Its simplicity embodies the message, or better yet, the story it’s telling. Thanks to whomever wrote this. Stuff like this is why we do the work that we do.
This seemed appropriate for all-star week.
Business names we dig. Again, sourced from my (Jon) recent trip to Chicago. A nice byproduct of traveling is inspiration.
Thanks to Coca-Cola and the World Wildlife Federation for the photos.
And, for building smart.
Per the Mother Nature Network:
“Coca-Cola and the World Wildlife Federation unveiled the first ever living billboard in the
Philippines last week — a stunning display meant to represent the long-standing partnership between the two organizations.The 60-foot x 60-foot billboard features thousands of Fukien tea plants, with each absorbing an average of 13 pounds of carbon dioxide annually. ‘This billboard helps alleviate air pollution within its proximate areas as it can absorb a total of 46,800 pounds of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, on estimate,’ says botanist Anthony Gao.
In another creative nod, Coca-Cola created the pots for the plants using recycled bottles from various products in its portfolio. A potting mixture made up of a combination of industrial byproducts and organic fertilizers — a formulation that is stable and lightweight — was then added. A gravity-fed drip irrigation system helps deliver water and nutrients. “
If you’re skeptical about the idea of “social media marketing”, let’s give it a new name and then reconsider. Social media marketing at its core is real-time marketing. I came across this idea this morning in a Marketing Over Coffee podcast interview with David Meerman Scott (an author and marketing speaker).
Real-time marketing isn’t about building long-term, planned out campaigns. It’s about recognizing what’s happening right now, and being part of that conversation.
Try using Twitter to answer customer service requests. Try LinkedIn as a tool to extend a customer relationship after the meeting is over. Write a blog post that provides commentary on a major happening in your industry, and do it right now while it’s still relevant. Be part of the conversation. You have the power to make yourself a thought leader.
Social media are no more than tools that can help you with real-time marketing. So maybe start thinking about developing a real-time marketing strategy.
Every time us Gorillas take the time to sit down and evaluate our own website, it’s apparent to us that we don’t give it the time that we give to our clients’ sites. And I guess that makes sense for two reasons. First of all, our clients pay us money to make websites, so that helps. Secondly, as creatives, we’re ultra-critical of ourselves and our natural tendency is to over-think every bit of the design and copy.
It’s easy to forget what we preach every day to our clients: focus on clean, communicative design, intuitive navigation, engaging content that people actually want to read/look at, and calls-to-action.
We just came across this article (promoting a book) by New Fangled, an agency based in North Carolina and Rhode Island that only does work for other marketing agencies. I haven’t read the book yet, but it looks like it supports a lot of what we believe. Their major points:
Now I’m gonna go read that book.
Just returned from a trip up the west coast. From San Fran to Portland to Seattle, I always seemed to be surrounded by inspiring graphic design (signage in particular). Both new and old, these were some of my favorites.
According to @wired…
“n. outdoor advertising that uses cameras and facial-recognition software to read a consumer’s mood, then pushes products relevant to the target’s emotional state. The term was coined by the UK’s Centre for Future Studies, which predicts that flatscreen gladverts will begin to appear next year.”
Remember, you heard it here first. If you don’t read Wired that is.
Every once in a while, we still find ourselves having to explain why non-scrolling web pages are a terrible idea. The notion is largely a hangover from the fixed-height, all-Flash days of the mid-90’s — a quaint time when everyone was behind identical 800 x 600 beige CRTs and enjoying animated GIFs at 56K. So let’s slap on a bracelet and think about what’s changed.
Nowadays, popular Android phones ship with 320 x 480 screens. Meanwhile, you can buy a 1920 x 1080 monitor for $200. Scrolling is essential to accommodating the range of modern web devices. Betray that fact, and you just may end up like this.
Yes. Absolutely. That’s what’s great about it.
Can you provide ROI for your golf budget?
Just something to think about. Happy Thursday.
Saw this in the May issue of Fast Company. It accompanied a story about how a creative director at a London ad agency used his talents to do good.
Neil Powell, mentioned CD, decided he wanted to make a difference in the Ugandan infant mortality space. So, he designed this swaddling cloth in order to educate the young, uneducated mothers.
At Gorilla, we love this. We’ve always believed in using our talents to try to make a difference. And while we could volunteer at a local soup kitchen, hospital, nursing home, etc., it seems like we could make such a greater impact by contributing our efforts to marketing for a good cause (opposed to daily volunteering). So, that’s what we do. Friends of Kids with Cancer, Launch St. Louis and Operation Brightside -to name a couple.
Anyway, thought this concept was worth a share.
Big ups on a big idea. Dig this mucho.
Signal Toothbrush ambient campaign to demonstrate that with Signal you reach even the smallest spaces. Nice.
We didn’t come up with the following ideas. We more found them, and let’s face it, that’s part of the deal these days. Then, after finding them, we thought of you.
No matter your occupation, some part of this will be relevant to you.
Thanks to the social media experts (Paul Gillin and Eric Schwartzman) behind Social Marketing to the Business Customer for writing their book. It’s been an incredible resource and inspiration.
With no further ado…
1. Social media can be an incredible way to generate goodwill within your workforce. It’s the perfect place to feature recent retirees, post notes of congratulation and get discussions going on what the menu for the company picnic should be this year. Additionally, it’s a useful tool for recruiting. After all, kids in college, yeah, they’re using Facebook and Twitter.
2. Reduce marketing costs by using free media! Never has the marketer had such reach and power without hefty media buys. Take advantage of this. Get a good strategy together, identify your audience and get rolling. Don’t forget to measure, assess, revise and attack (again).
3. Give your target market stuff they can interact with and allow your consumer to self-educate. This makes you an expert. It also lets you converse with your audience. That’s huge!
4. Increase efficiency through enhanced one-to-many communication…that hits 100% of your audience. Communicate with a wider, but more targeted, audience. Build stronger relationships with key communities. A wise writer (my first boss) used to always say to “fish where the fish are.” Well, the fish are now using the internet…and they’re swimming in large schools.
5. And to the executives, build a culture that embraces social media. We realize it may not be in your
company’s policy to Tweet, Like and Tumbl. But, we promise you, it’s in your customer’s policy.
Thanks. We appreciate you reading.
A team logo that is grossly overlooked as one of the best in sports.
I love this ‘fade out chair’ from supertalent Canadian-Japanese designer Nendo, it’s painted in such detail that the ‘wooden’ parts actually look like wood and this gives the effect of the bottom half being shrouded in fog or mist….or just disappearing into thin air…dig it.
I need this the next time my family starts complaining about how much they hate my life’s work – advertising. I have to admit though, it is pretty annoying.
LET’S SIP. NOT GUZZLE. Let’s leave the off-road vehicles off road. Let’s stop pretending we live in the jungle. Let’s stop intimidating each other. Let’s not use the size of our vehicle to compensate for other shortcomings. Let’s reclaim our garage space. Let’s be nimble. Let’s be quick. Let’s be honest. LET’S MOTOR.
MINI COOPER US Launch Campaign
Boots come in all different colors and sizes. Playing with odd boots to fight racism.
Who needs coats or umbrellas? We got deer sausage and hard hats at Gorilla.
Cool stuff from the guys at STL-Style – representing our city. Check out their prints, t-shirts, etc.
Take a look at Twitter 5 years ago. Then check out where they are now. Doesn’t happen overnight.
Get the skinny on Minecraft: an open-ended game — developed by one person — with over a million copies sold. The article is a couple months old, and the team has since grown. But the guy who started it all is a prolific Tumblr…er, when he’s not busy being ridiculously good at creating games.
Just finished Seth Godin’s new book, Poke the Box. The core message is about acting on your ideas, rather than just talking about them or planning to act on them.
In his words:
“Today not starting is far, far worse, than being wrong. If you start, you’ve got a shot at evolving and adjusting to turn your wrong into a right. But if you don’t start, you never get a chance.”
Thanks David Downs at Wired. Good insights here for life and business.
1. Craft a tale. Use life experiences and intel from media to create the narrative. Mold it to your audience.
2. Set the stage. Props are good. Face-to-face is good. The more dramatic, the better. Make your point stick.
3. Spin the yarn. Make it relevant to your audience. Otherwise, they don’t care.
4. Improvise. Read your audience and adjust your story accordingly.
Also known as the Manifesto Manifesto. Written by the visionary Kim Mok.
Brilliant!
In efforts to constantly rethink business, someone in the office is always reading a business book for inspiration.
My choice? Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson’s Rework. Dan read it too. And Joe, well, he’s on round two.
Fried and Hansson are brilliant. Pure and simple.
Truly one of the more inspiring books I’ve picked up. Ever. They’ve got a kickass company called 37 Signals. Their company started out doing web design, but in the process, started selling tools for other small businesses. Essentially, they started selling byproducts of their product. Henry Ford did the same thing. Byproduct from fires used to make cars – charcoal. Started Kingsford. Long story short, ol’ Henry did alright for himself.
Anyway, some of my favorite excerpts/takeaways from the book…
So, get inspired. Read Rework ASAP. Thanks for tumbling.
Thanks to AdSaint for the coverage. We appreciate it.
Yep. We agree. There should be a war waged on ASAP.
“If there’s a lesson here, it’s that no list can ever be long enough. True revolutionaries might see all the confusion as an opportunity to eradicate titles. But a less radical solution is offered by Debretts, publisher of Britain’s ancient guides to manners, taste, and “people of distinction.” On its site, of all places, there are no drop-down titles to define and confine, just an empty box. So come up with something good. Grand Vizier? Empress Regent? Darth and Mr.? It’s your box, and it’s achingly blank.”
Likewise, the founders of Crate & Barrel didn’t wait to build fancy displays when they opened their first store. They turned over the crates and barrels that the merchandise came in and stacked products on top of them.
Rework
The Gorilla blog switched to Tumblr a couple months ago and we love it. More and more, we’ve been recommending our clients give it a whirl, instead of blogging from a CMS. Here are some great reasons why, from the guy who built Tumblr.
Great stuff. Disastrous situation handled perfectly…and turned into a golden opportunity.
Favorite nugget:
“The conversation is happening whether you are participating or not.”
The modern equivalent of saving the front page of the newspaper when the best possible thing that could happen to a Packer fan happens to a Packer fan.
We’re suckers for big, powerful ideas captured with clean simple design and copy. Thanks to our buddy Matt Dale over at Cannonball for finding this nugget. Very cool stuff.
We have to admit, some of us Gorillas have been sucked into the world of Angry Birds. We saw this today and found it incredibly interesting. I do fear for all the working parts, but an interesting concept nonetheless. Is TV now relying on digital to be relevant? It’s at least worth discussing.
Just saw a piece in a recent edition of the St. Louis Business Journal by Bob Boles. It was about improving one’s small business. Here are a few bullets we walked away with. Some really good stuff.
Thanks to Ellen and team at the Business Journal for continually providing relevant content. As a small business, we certainly appreciate it.
Hand to forehead. The hallmark of a great idea.
We have to admit, there’s something to the approval bureaucracy of big-brand advertising. But, we’ll still be watching the ads during the big game. Have a strong day.
My hunting boots are Danners. I love them. This morning, while trying to pull examples of powerful brand stories for a startup we’re working with, I stumbled across the Danner site. I’m glad did. It’d been a bit since I’d visited. They’ve done some really cool stuff. Beautiful site, I think.
It’s cool to think that your work can help others live a healthier life. This is one of our largest projects to date.
Interesting piece about logo evolutions of two great brands – Apple and Starbucks. At Gorilla, we tend to agree with the “less is more” mentality. With consumers/users encountering more and more messages each and every day, communicating quickly and efficiently is becoming more and more important.
…when a promotion like this makes so much sense. A sincere thumbs up to the gents at Super Top Secret. From the depths of our collective closets and drawers, we thank you.
Once again, we present you with the power of advertising.
If you’re interested in advertising – student, practicer, retired, fan of Mad Men – read this book. Mr. Hopkins’ simple and logical approach to an industry that seems to often be made more complicated than it really is, is a welcomed wave of relief.
Employee of the week: Deuce the dog. Damn hairy though. Now need vacuum in our office and a closet to keep it in.
It still has to be one of the most effective pieces of communication.
This Holiday season, we’ve received several cards. We’ve also received several mass emails. Guess which ones made the most impact. It’s a nice gesture to put us on your e-blast – and truly, we understand budget and time constraints. But there’s something about that handwritten, snail mail note that really flips our trigger.
Lee Clow’s beard gives really good advice. We should all grow them too.
The movie trailer industry is an industry in itself. An interesting, short read from Wired’s December issues states the following (in a nutshell):
Top of mind, here are a few trailers we like: Dan, Jon and Joe.
Here’s an everyday life example from Wired Magazine of why really good design matters. LEFT: standard blood work result summary. RIGHT: Redesigned blood work result summary.
Quite often, businesses that target other businesses settle for boring marketing. It’s often dry, canned and smells – like a bad serving of Chicken of the Sea. Why? Honestly, I have no idea. Maybe it’s because they think that only consumer-driven products need to be sexy. Or, that since their product isn’t seeing TV ad time, they don’t need to put money behind good creative.
Whatever the reason, it’s wrong, wrong, wrong.
A wise man once told me, a brand is simply what people perceive of your company. So, if you want it to be boring, stagnant and like everyone else’s, by all means, go with the crappy marketing. But, if you want to stand out, inspire others to talk about your company and the cool stuff you’re doing – give it some thought. It’ll be worth it. I promise.
Here’s a great article from a brilliant mind at 37 Signals. The author is Jason Fried. I’m picking up what he’s laying down, as this is what inspired me to actually write a blog post – the first in quite some time. There’s always room for good thinking. No opportunity is too small, no brand is too well-known.
Just some thoughts. Also, I’m pledging myself to be a more committed blogger.
Jon
As my senior year of college is coming to end (how that is happening already, I have no idea), I reflect on all the things I learned this past year. So, I thought I’d share (lucky you!).
Well, I’m sure I’ve learned more than just that…probably. But, that’s all I’ll share with you. Hope you guys have a great weekend.
As always thanks for reading,
Sharon
…and Nike is still good at advertising. Or are they? (Obviously, they still are. Phrasing is for drama build only. Imagine being read by deep voiced, Scotch-induced male. Late 50s.)
Here’s why it works:
It’s all the questions we’re dying to ask Tiger ourselves, but can’t. It’s taking Tiger from a golf (and Nike) icon to a humbled individual. Instead of glorifying him, it’s subtly chastising him. It’s making him seem, for once, an actual person who makes mistakes instead of a sports image who can do no wrong. It’s honest. It’s gripping. It’s memorable. And it’s completely unexpected.
Here’s why it doesn’t work:
Skipping over the fact that it’s his DEAD father talking, there is something creepy about the commercial itself. Maybe it’s the fact that Tiger looks actually apologetic, opposed to his calm, rehearsed persona. Apart from that, there’s just something uncomfortable with staring at this new Tiger. In addition, it seems like a bit of a cop out. Almost like he is using his dead father and his newly humbled position to trick us into forgetting and forgiving the mess he’s made.
But, then again, maybe that’s just me. Decide for yourself.
As always, thanks for reading.
– Sharon
This time of year, people all over the world make sacrifices, typically due to religious affiliation, and give something up for a set period of time (40 days for us fish eaters). Chocolate, candy, soda, fried foods – all items often on the list.
But brands, do they give anything up? We think they should. Here are a few things that drive us crazy.
Are these all of our complaints? Absolutely not. Our goal was to write a blog post, not a manifesto. There were just top of mind.
Have a great week.
Although it’s been nearly a week since Google’s Super Bowl spot aired, we thought, being really interested in advertising and all, we’d throw our two cents in.
So… we loved it. At first sight, too.
Now we get that Super Bowl ads usually tend to lean heavily on humor. But Google’s ad was a refreshing break from the flying chips and the talking babies. Why was this ad so great?
Google…
In case you didn’t see it, the spot told a love story in a nonconventional way. It was simple. It was memorable. It was ingenious.
.
Have a great weekend. And happy Valentine’s Day.
In a cyber world, where Twitter took off, it’s no surprise that the next step after telling people what you’re doing is telling people where you’re doing it.
Enter: foursquare.
Now, I don’t know about you guys, but my mind automatically jumped to my middle school days playing foursquare. But, apart from something that your friends can join in, this foursquare is a tad different.
Foursquare is a new trend of letting people know exactly where you are, and I mean, exactly. Stop off at the local bakery on your way home? Foursquare it. Hitting the gym during the weekend? Foursquare it. It’s not just something that’s a great way for your friends (or stalkers) to know where you are, but it’s great for businesses as well – especially those with smaller marketing budgets.
For businesses, the best thing about this is that it’s free publicity. People can review, recommend and promote you all by just telling everyone where they are. It offers the opportunity to get your name out there by people who already like you. Not to mention, it has map tie-ins and all the typical bells and whistles of a consumer-review type of site.
Businesses and foursquare users can both really use this to their advantage. Not only can businesses see who their most loyal customers are, but they can also reward them. Customers who use foursquare “check-in” where they are and get badges (“adventurer”, “local”, “newbie”) and when they become “the mayor” (the most loyal of all the regulars) they are rewarded by some, but not all, businesses by getting freebies of some sort.
All in all, it’s a win-win for everyone. Businesses get their names out there and people who use foursquare, well, they can show how busy their lives really are. That and potentially win freebies at their favorite local spots. So, go ahead, sign up.
Hope your weekend is terrific. If you do anything fun, foursquare it.
Sharon
This month, Esquire is running the article ”An Investment Like No Other” – a short but great piece about the importance and value of small business.
The article capitalizes on the notion that in a time of such investment turmoil, there is no place to put your money like the small mom-and-pop shops of America – very much that Wall Street to Main Street ideology that we were educated on during the last presidential race.
Why is it a good place to put some cash?
43 million Americans work for companies employing less than 100 workers. Throughout the past 15 years, small business has cranked 64% of the countries new jobs. More than 50% of American nonfarm GDP is created by small business.
As Mr. Kurson points out, small business is indeed big business. Not to mention, it offers personal rewards unattainable when working for the big guys. Cleaning toilets, stocking the fridge and swinging by the office to pick up the Saturday mail give you a certain satisfaction that you just can’t get in the corporate world. Sounds strange, but it’s so very true.
Mr. Kurson then goes on to offer three simple tips for making it happen. Tips that we’ve found to be of the utmost importance at Gorilla 76.
1. Learning QuickBooks is the single best thing you can do.
2. Cash flow is king. Or the lifeblood, as we’ve previously referred to it. Without it, well, you’re out of business.
3. Marketing is a must (obviously). This budget is tempting to cut. But don’t. Do you quit watering the lawn during a drought?
So, in closi…sorry, got to run. Last minute client meeting scheduled and our pantry is bare and the bathroom, well…
So, with the new year and all, change, business refocus and other “good stuff” is inevitable. Everyone else is compiling these lists of what and how they’re going to accomplish goals and such – figured we’d do the same.
So…
All the best in the new year – hope it’s prosperous to you and yours.
Jon
Technology is a part of our everyday lives. Case in point…you reading this…on a computer. Lucky for me, as I’ve grown older, technology has grown with me. Thus, making it that much easier to learn the new trends and become expert in them by the weekend. So really it should be no surprise that companies are becoming more dependent on technology and, as a result, need their employees to be skilled in the fields. It should be even less shocking that in the advertising world, a world that is accustom to staying ahead of the trends, that they have jumped in head first into the technology craze. I recently read an article by Emma Hall and Kunur Patel summing up the Creativity and Technology (CAT) Debut, the London Recap. It nicely summarizes how technology has woven its way into the world and how it’s nowhere near done.
According to a panelist of CAT, Yates Buckley, “If you are a creative and don’t know about technology, you’ll be out of a job soon”. More and more people are turning to the Web to get their news. They’re “tweeting”. They’re using popular websites to connect with people. Which can be an advantage for advertisers (that’s right, an advantage – look beyond print!). If you’re not taking advantage of this great opportunity of a cheap way to reach your target audience, I’d suggest changing your ways. The great thing about using social networking, besides the value, is that people are choosing to “follow”, “become a fan”, or “like” your company or product. Your target audience is coming to you – it’s an advertiser’s dream. Of course, there are strategies and proper ways to use the mediums, but let’s leave that for another blog post.
As consumers turn to the Internet, their phones or any other form of technology that’s bound to come around, advertisers are going to have to be able use technology to their advantage. They might even have to change how they use technology. But what it really boils down to is being ready to embrace technology.
Thanks for reading
-Sharon
I’m a grown-up?
First I think that I should start off and tell you that no one more than me could be more surprised that I actually have a real grown-up job. But I suppose, much to my dismay, I could not be like Peter Pan and refuse to grow up. So this leads me to my second thought, what do I want to get out of my internship here at Gorilla 76?
Of course I could be totally cliché and say that I want the work experience. Well, unfortunately for you, it’s true. I want to be able to walk away from this internship not only learning from my mistakes, but as a result, becoming a better writer. I want to learn from people in a line of work that I want to be involved in. I want to walk away from this job better able to communicate with the people that I work with. I want real-life experience. Lucky for me all of this has already happened. Even luckier is that I am having fun learning the ropes.
The cool thing about this internship, which is true about any internship, is knowing that after I leave I will have learned something new. It could be something as simple as how to work a scanner – and, hey, we all know that sometime during our life being able to work a scanner is a handy skill. Or it could be something more important like how to find the right tone to a product or how to simplify my writing. Either way, I know that when I walk out that door, I’ve learned something new that I can take with me to my next job, wherever that might be. All and all, I think that the most important thing that I want to learn from this job is how to become better at what I want to do: advertising. I’m excited for the time that I have left and all the things to come.
And, hey, this internship won’t look so bad on my resume either.
And that’s why he always works with an agency. Big project or small one-off, Dr. Hewlett knows the importance of keeping things consistent. Additionally, he always looks to do something interesting – even with the smallest of canvases.
Initially, we were brought in to help with branding, signage, stationery and an overall vision for the brand – all important stuff that’s essential in building a brand. One idea that Dr. Hewlett liked from the beginning was the thought of always providing a dental tip for his patients on all pieces of brand collateral and communication. We agreed that it was smart and that it matched his thoughtful demeanor.
So when he commissioned us to create a few one-off ads for different “publications” (church bulletins and local high-school sports calendar) that were very relevant to his consumer base, we knew it was a chance to do something different – a chance to play off the “voice” of the publications.
First, the church-bulletin ads. Dr. Hewlett wanted to help two local parishes by buying some ad space on the back of their weekly bulletins. A breeding ground for work that blends in, he wanted to do something that stood out from the clutter. So, we did the below two ads, ensuring that we kept true to his desire to always communicate a dental tip.
And then the high-school sports calendar – another opportunity to do something that breaks free from the surrounding clutter. Again, our focus was to keep the design visually consistent and to provide messaging true to his established brand strategy.
Our message with this post is to always think beyond the simple solution. Sometimes the safest option is the best option. But, sometimes it’s not. Sometimes there’s an opportunity to make someone…smile.
Surprisingly, even in today’s world, a world of sleek technology that puts high value on aesthetic appeal and smart thinking, marketers still get confronted with the question of why does something need to look and sound good.
Even more surprisingly, this question seems to get more and more difficult to answer – probably because it’s so unexpected. Nonetheless, you have to have an answer when someone mentions that they can build a logo or website themselves “because there are all sorts of great free programs on the internets.”
So, five quick thoughts…
Thanks for reading.
Jon
I just cracked open a book that’s been taunting me from my bookshelf for the past two months – The Houdini Solution by noted copywriter Ernie Schenck (McGraw-Hill, 2007).
I’m only a few chapters in, but I’ve already found a passage that really intrigues me. It starts on page 21. It (and the rest of the book) deals specifically with thinking INSIDE the box – meaning doing creative thinking when restraints are boxing you in. In marketing (and life) this is often how we are presented with opportunities. Very seldom do we get a “blank canvas”.
“Instead of working around creative obstacles, Jack (White – most noted for his lead in The White Stripes) invents them. So severe are these self-imposed restrictions, they border on the monastic. No computers. No digital recording technology. No bass guitars. No studio equipment invented after 1968. No clothes that aren’t red, white or black. It’s a kind of forced creative captivity that nurtures innovation and strives for a form of music that’s far more rooted in talent than it is in technology.”
This idea of thriving in an environment that is intentionally staged to be more difficult is fascinating to me. Often, in marketing, budget is the obstacle that boxes us in. Let’s face it – traditional media isn’t cheap (and digital counterparts can be equally expensive). Often, clients feel that if they don’t have deep pockets, they can’t do anything remarkable.
This is wrong. Very, very wrong. So incredibly wrong. Perhaps one of the most wrong things ever. Some of the greatest marketing campaigns ever have stemmed from small budgets. Instead of worrying that you don’t have enough to spend, instead, be concerned with who you are spending what money you do have, with. Look for a group that can think “inside the box”, finding a unique way to tell your story with even the most severe restraints.
I know a couple of guys that can help if you can’t find anybody. Thanks for reading.
-the one that writes
According to marketing mavens Dan Heath and Chip Heath it can be. Check out their “Made to Stick” section of the May 2009 Fast Company.
Viral marketing is kind of a 76-pound gor…err…800-pound gorilla that, as marketers, we’re supposed to be able to implement with a simple snap of our fingers.
As we all know, it’s not that easy. But it appears it can be easier than often perceived. Or at least if you follow three simple guidelines it can be.
First, make sure your initiative connects emotionally. People share emotional experiences. This is a proven fact (again, see article linked above). Why? Because things that evoke an emotional response are things that we feel strongly about. They either bring a smile, a laugh or even a tear. Not for me – because I’m not sensitive. But I can’t help that. I watched a lot of John Wayne movies growing up. Anyway, you catch my drift.
Second. Does your piece have a public service component? By sharing with friends, does your viewer/audience feel as if they are making a difference in someone’s day? Think of the mass emails you pass along to friends and families. Why do you do it? Likely because it created an emotional response for you (aforementioned paragraph) and you want to do the same for someone else.
And third. Is there a trigger? Does something in your message trigger people to think about your brand or category? A trigger is essentially an environmental cue to talk about an idea (in this case, a brand). Does your message urge people to visit your website or buy your product? Often, this is best done subtly. But, that can prove to be quite tricky.
Want to take a stab at viral marketing? Great. Send this post to all of your friends!
Jon
Saw this and thought it was interesting. Be sure to check out Mike Behr’s strategy blog for more.
Not for profit fundraising: the Obama lesson
Its a very tough time for not-for-profits here in St. Louis and everywhere. Due to the uncertaintly of the economy and stocks at their lowest rates in decades, companies and wealthy individuals have pulled back on their support of the organizations that do the most for thier communities. That is not a good thing. These groups do good work for people in need and the betterment of society. They tend to work with slim budgets and have many people working for much less than they could earn in a for-profit entity. So budget cuts mean staffing cuts, and program and services cuts.
In my experience, most development executives at these not-for-profits focus most of thier time on those individuals and organizations the give the most. Remember that 80/20 rule? Well in these uncertain times, it may make sense to reverse those figures for the next twelve months of so. Go after the 80% that historically gives 20%. Its time to try to get a small amount from many vs much from few.
Look at what Obama accomplished in his run for President. It was the most successful fundraising campaign in history. And the kicker is that a huge percentage (I don’t recall the exact percent) was from donations of less than $1,000 and many of those at less that $100. He accomplished much of this by using internet strategies focused on social networking and providing tools and guidance to many organizers spread throughout the country.
I think it boils down to this. Someone that my have give an annual check for $25,000 that has their assets tied up in investments can probably only give a fraction of that until the market and economy recovers. However, someone that gave nothing or maybe $25 as part of their annual membership fee, may very likely give another $25 if they were told how much it was needed and asked. If your own budget is tight and a relative or friend asked you to give them $5,000 you would likely say no. But if you knew they really needed it and they asked you if you could give $50 you probably would. There is much less sacrifice there and you feel good about helping out.
I’m not saying to give up on the big doners but am saying that with today’s communication technology it is feasible to reach thousands very easy. Those that embrace this philosophy and make a concerted effort to set up programs to reach new members and small donors will find a new revenue stream that helps them get buy in tough times and really thrive when the economy recovers and those big donations start coming in again.
Check out the feature story in this months issue of Fast Company and learn how Chris Hughes, co-founder of Facebook helped Obama do it.
And apparently 3.3 million friends. Or at least that’s one of the theories as to why Coke’s unofficial Facebook page has taken off the way it has.
This story ran in the AdAge Digital email update today and it immediately caught my interest. I come from a background in the liquor business. Being a writer, I could never really understand the big deal that all the art guys made about their photoshoots. These shoots would take days, if not a week. And the stress, well let’s just say things would get extremely tense. All for something I was convinced that I could pull off with my point-and-click.
But, after seeing the photos these guys would come back to the shop with, I quickly realized this was a true art form and it took lots and lots of skill. But still, how important is having that perfect photo? We live in an age where underdeveloped, raw-quality creative is cool. Why throw so much in capturing the perfect image?
And then you read stories like this. It all makes sense now. 3.3 million friends, most likely due to a photo with appetite appeal that would convert even the most loyal of Pepsi drinkers.
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