by Felicitas Ritter | Feb 10, 2014 | Creative, Latest
Whether you are tasked to come up with ideas for a corporate creative campaign using a team of people, or you are just trying to generate ideas for yourself, the process of “brainstorming” is virtually the same. It doesn’t have to be an intimidating process and hopefully the idea of facilitating a session doesn’t strike in you with the same kind of blinding fear it did in me the first time I had to lead one – which happened when I was barely an account executive, with half the agency present, including the Big Boss, and The Client! But not only did I survive, I gained tremendous confidence through the challenge and (I think) managed to impress a few people.
1. Preparation: When it comes to involving other people in a brainstorming session, how well you prepare everyone for it BEFORE they get there is important. Provide a one or two page outline including background on the situation, the issues, and the competition, as well as some direction as to the kinds of ideas you are looking for. Send this out a few days in advance of your session to give people time to ruminate about it. I find that when I’m coming up with ideas it sometimes takes a few hours of just sitting with the concept in my mind before ideas really start to flow. Suggest that your participants take note of any thoughts and bring those with them into the session to share – this will also help to get things started.
2. Relaxed atmosphere: Where you get creative is equally important. A room that is comfortable, quiet, and without distraction will help people focus on what you are trying to accomplish. Also, keeping the atmosphere friendly and inviting so people will feel free to contribute is key. No stuffed shirts allowed. Otherwise, you’ll just get the same old boring ideas, from the same old people and that may result in a less effective campaign. In fact, working with a more diverse group should be your objective.
We all come from different places and you want to take advantage of unique perspectives.
3. Scheduling: According to Mind Power News http://www.mindpowernews.com/BestTimeOfDay.htm the most productive time of the day to generate ideas is between 9am and 11am. This is when your brain has activated enough of the stress hormone, cortisol, to allow your mind to focus and be creative. Having light snacks, such as fruit and nuts, and keeping everyone hydrated is also a good idea.
4. No negativity: It’s all good… or not. But don’t start judging anything until the session is done. Certainly not all ideas are going to be stellar, but that luke-warm, never-gonna-fly, embarrassed-you-said-it idea could lead to the next latest and greatest one. You owe it to the team (or yourself) to just put it out there – plant the seed and see what develops, for you or someone else in the group. That crazy idea could lead to something truly original and creative.
5. Post it: Write all the ideas on a board (or several boards) around the room so everyone can see them. Having all your ideas front and center will help maintain focus and flow.
6. Visual Aids: Using images can also be helpful to stimulate creative thinking. Ask people to bring tear-sheets from magazines, or print-outs from inspiring web content. Put those up on the wall too. There also some amazing online programs and apps available to help you organize your ideas: Pinterest, Wordstorm, Springpad, and Popplet are just a few.
7. Organize & Evaluate: As you are writing down ideas, try to keep them in some kind of cohesive order. When you have what you consider to be enough to work with, filter through them all categorically and see if you can expand on anything that you particularly like. Once everything has been explored to the fullest, you should be ready to put together a strong and comprehensive creative campaign strategy.
by Felicitas Ritter | Feb 4, 2014 | Latest, Marketing
For any business, having an integrated marketing plan really is the best way to optimize communications efforts. Without this, you could be missing out on great opportunities to reach your target audiences. Relying only upon traditional advertising outlets like radio, TV or newspaper to generate all the buzz you need, just isn’t as effective a strategy as it once was. In particular, if you have a smaller business, you might even want to skip these costly budget-busting vehicles for a while, depending on your market. Even when it comes to marketing for larger corporations, throwing everything into a splashy ad campaign is not generally the best practice. A more strategic approach is to examine all the marketing tools at hand, and take into account all the ways they might help you reach consumers.
If you are not yet working with social media, this is something that really does need to be incorporated into the mix.
As of December 2013, according to the Pew Research Center, 73% of online adults engage in social networking. Additionally, 42% are utilizing multiple platforms. If you aren’t leveraging Facebook and Twitter, at the very least, you are likely missing out on reaching a significant portion of your target audience. For niche markets, YouTube is another fantastic platform to reach very specific types of consumers.
Other considerations have to include direct marketing campaigns or promotions for consumer contests or giveaways, sponsorship opportunities, such as with local sports teams, and special events to launch new products. All are great ways to effectively get your brand out there.
Something many companies seem to take for granted are the impressions received through public relations. Having the opportunity to showcase products for free on local television programs or in specialty publications, or for the company spokesperson to be positioned as an opinion leader can be invaluable to future business successes.
The ingenuity of your campaign is only limited by the imaginations of your marketing and creative teams. And its effectiveness is not always a matter of budget, but rather of good planning and the ability to utilize a wide range of integrated marketing services that work synergistically together.
by Belinda Lui | Feb 3, 2014 | Advertising, Branding, Business Success, Communications, Creative, Design, Latest, Marketing, Social Media
We’ve been noticing a trend recently that lends a hand to the celebrities and shows that a lot of us grew up watching. What is the purpose of using these particular stars or shows to appeal to viewers? We think it has something to do with nostalgic value. Retro advertising has been done before but ever since Oikos used the stars from Full House to market their products during the Super Bowl, we’ve seen other brands follow suit. Before we share some of these ads with you, let’s discuss why nostalgic value has any value when it comes to retro advertising:
Much like emotive advertising, retro advertising is successful because we associate certain memories and feelings with that time period in our lives. I don’t know about you, but I associate only good things with the TV shows that I grew up watching. I remember coming home from (what seemed like) a never-ending day at school, plopping myself down on the couch with a tall glass of milk, and watching after-school specials until my mother came home. That small window of alone time never went unappreciated. It was an adolescent’s time to reflect on the lessons being taught through these programs. So, when a legacy brand uses a legacy show to simulate certain emotive associations — it’s actually quite a brilliant strategy; especially if that brand is formerly associated with negative feelings.
Retro Advertising at its finest:
This is Delta’s ’80s-themed safety video: a fun and light-hearted take on a video that so many of us choose to ignore before taking off on a flight. Bet you won’t be able to ignore it now!
This is some of the cast from Full House appearing on Jimmy Fallon — this may not be directly advertising a product or service, but it was the top trending viral video on Facebook on January 20, 2014.
What examples of retro advertising can you share with us?
by Miriam Hara | Dec 16, 2013 | Advertising, Latest
It really goes without saying that star power builds awareness. However, utilizing celebrities as part of a brand’s advertising campaign can be a double-edged sword. The more obvious reason is that stars themselves, especially in today’s landscape, are brands in their own right. They aren’t just actors or athletes, they too are responsible for their own brands and propelling it forward. As such, it is difficult for a brand not be eclipsed by the star’s own brand… and to stand apart from the star’s own persona. But it can be done:
No brand utilizes star power as well as Chanel No 5.
Chanel No 5 has always used star power to propel its brand forward; to constantly reinvent itself and to evolve with the times. In fact, star power is at the cornerstone of Chanel No 5’s brand persona. The 2013 ads for Chanel No 5 featuring Brad Pitt were very well thought out. It was a novel approach featuring a man’s perspective on Chanel No 5. With Brad Pitt, Chanel No 5 spoke to women on a totally different level than the ads that featured Nicole Kidman and yes, even Catherine Deneuve (1979 Chanel No 5 ad). Brad Pitt spoke to Chanel No 5’s target – women on a purely fantasy level.
Now, one year later, Chanel No 5 advertising, just in time for the holiday season, features the legendary star Marilyn Monroe. What a beautifully executed, thought-provoking and emotive concept. It speaks to women on so many levels — although I would say with confidence, it equally speaks to men!
From a design and purely conceptual level, the current Marilyn Monroe is no trend, embracing the retro trend. The film footage in black and white is beautiful to look at and the audio track adds nostalgia to the sexy persona that is synonymous with Marilyn Monroe. Highly emotive, the ad playing on every woman’s sexiness. With that one simple testimonial, “I wear Chanel No 5 to bed” unlocks the inner woman in every woman. What woman can’t relate to the idea of this self-indulgent concept, celebrating her independence and self-love!
So kudos to Chanel No 5… Much to my chagrin, I must say, “step aside Brad Pitt!”… after all, Marilyn Monroe provides to women something that Brad can’t offer: a feeling that is easily attainable. All they need to do is wear Chanel No 5 to bed!
by Belinda Lui | Dec 4, 2013 | Latest, Social Media
Designing a Facebook marketing campaign can be tricky: you need to start with research and analysis, implement riveting creative, and post engaging content. It may seem overwhelming, but there is a way to kick-start your Facebook strategy: knowing these 7 important statistics will help you increase your following and engagement.
For optimized engagement: more than knowing when to post, it’s important to know what to post:
1. Photo posts get 39% more interaction
Posting photos are more engaging than posting videos, links, and text-based updates: so much so, that it accounts for 93% of the most engaging posts on Facebook.
2. Shorter posts get 23% more interaction
Writing shorter posts isn’t just handy on Twitter. Keeping your posts below 250 characters can get you 60% more engagement than you might otherwise see. You can even get up to 66% more engagement if you cut it down to less than 80 characters.
3. Using emoticons increases comments by 33%
If you thought emoticons were only for teens, you might want to rethink that idea. According to AMEX OPEN Forum infographic, emoticons can make a big difference to your engagement rates. Not only do posts with emoticons get 33% more comments, they also get shared 33% more often. Even better: they get liked 57% more often than posts without emoticons.
4. Engagement rates on Thursday and Friday are 18% higher
This is generally speaking – depending on the demographic of your following, the days with the most activity may vary. Fortunately, Facebook provides the information on which days get the most activity from your followers, so be sure to establish that before you create your Facebook marketing calendar.
5. Question posts get 100% more comments
If comments are the kind of interaction you’re after, questions might be the way to go. According to an infographic by Kissmetrics, they get 100% more comments than standard text-based posts. HubSpot shares a similar finding, although this data points out that question posts often get fewer likes and shares than other types of posts.
6. 35% of Facebook fans like a page so they can participate in contests
If you’re chasing down new fans, a contest seems like a fairly good way to encourage likes. A report from earlier this year showed that 35% of Facebook fans liked Facebook pages specifically to compete in contests. Contests obviously solicit interaction by asking for people to enter. It turns out this can work, as “caption this photo”-style contests actually bring in 5.5 times more comments than regular posts.
7. 42% of fans like a page to get a coupon or discount
According to Socially Stacked, 42% of Facebook fans like a page in order to get a discount or coupon. A study by Wildfire Interactive showed that coupon-based campaigns received the highest engagement rates. Giveaways and sweepstakes came in just behind coupons as highly engaging post types.
What are some of the ways that you have increased engagement in your Facebook strategy?
(Information taken from: Fast Company)
