Sliced Bread

Flutter is Faster

I bet Project Underwear is an interesting place to work...

Tweet It Like You Mean It

After recently reading Mullen head creative honcho @edwardboches' post about why CEOs should get on Twitter, this morning I spotted an @link plug in a company's executive announcement and upon checking it out, I started thinking even more than I have been about Twitter as a 'tool.'

Conflict.

My daytime-description requires me to consider how it and other online applications can serve as 'tools' while my non-9-to-5 mind sees it simply as an activity to connect.

Merge. It's both.

True - there are marketing folks out there tweeting for their clients...the must-jump-on-the-bandwagon-regardless-of-how-it's-accomplished method versus the do-it-because-it-fits method. Hint: the second will, (and has proven to) be more valuable in the long run, which seems to be something most of us in the industry have realized by now. For some though, it's not so black and white. There are many, in this case, several of those we counsel, who are still trying to find their online comfort level so we in turn find ourselves on a sliding scale of how to help them be there and feel OK about it.

Getting executives online is smart, but the answer for we whose job it is to encourage is not in how to fake it. If you, Mr. CEO, are thinking about starting a personal Twitter account, use it to be yourself. No one minds a little brand building - it's necessary - but we like it better if it's honest. Reminder, that the first rule in having an online presence is transparency. If it's a clearly corporate account, personalize it, it's more genuine when you do. But so long as your actual face has replaced the o_O standard, and your actual name, (or a version of it) has been @-ified, please, just be real.

It isn't something that should be forced, yet we're starting to see an attempt to do so. The case of the scripted 140 characters. The line here has been blurred for a long time. If ghost writing isn't on the up-and-up, why does PR draft contributed content and simply place an executive's name on the author line? Definitely not a rare occurrence, so technically, isn't 'ghost-tweeting' the same idea? -- Let's recall for a moment, the upset caused by the blogging fiasco involving a well-known PR firm and its giant retail client...

Perhaps here lays the line with companies -- in traditional methods, it didn't much matter who the content was coming from, so long as it appeared credible. Readers only wanted the information. Now, online, they want the information and a touch point, and many cases the relevancy of the information doesn't matter as much as what it means to them. Being able to connect directly to that other person in a real way - be it a friend, colleague or corporate executive.

We've learned it's necessary to understand how best to speak/write in our executive's voice in traditional practices - in theory, one could modify this to blog or microblog using another's voice...except it's so much easier to see through. When an executive has recently appeared on Twitter, does anyone actually believe they immediately understand the jargon, have 100 followers, host Tweetups, etc.? It's a learning experience. Any true #newbie I know is still learning after only 5 updates, despite how much they've heard or read about the Twitter culture - they've got to feel it out for awhile.

Reiterate. Use Twitter because you want to, and then tweet it like you mean it. Don't worry if you look or feel a little silly at first, lost even, it comes with the territory of trying something new.

Digg, Hobos and Jimmy Fallon

Twitter is some kind of wonderful - it surprises me a little every day.

Maybe not through Twitter, more than a few have likely experienced some form of Social Media Wow! (Sort of like ShamWow but a lot less water-friendly.) Good or bad. Be it in the form of a heavy sigh - like when that random person finds you on Facebook and you realize it isn’t a stranger but that kid from back in high school who had the locker next to yours and would listen in on your conversations with friends between classes but would always avoid eye contact, (go figure they now want to see where you live, look at your pictures and watch for your status updates to feel a part of your life without actually being in it…at least beyond the quick click of the +Add as a Friend button.)

Or something more along the lines of, ‘is this really happening!?’ - being when a colleague of mine lost his mobile on the train only to find it online...via the girl who found it at the stop after his and thought to find him on Facebook to return it.

David Prager has a story about it today too. He woke up yesterday morning and absolutely felt the power his @ identity had, like never before. Earlier this week, the Revision3 co-founder and Diggnation contributor was working into the early hours of the morning when he was interrupted by a homeless man entering his San Francisco apartment. @dlprager’s reaction? - Tweet about it. Line by line, he shared the thoroughly odd encounter with his thousands of Twitter followers. Some of those still awake expressed confusion and concern about David using Twitter instead of contacting the police – he responded not by calling for help but instead, by turning on his Webcam to live-stream the action.

Some argue that his encounter was just a viral stunt to plug Diggnation’s Alex Albrecht and Kevin Rose (Digg founder)’s appearance on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon that next day. Either way – millions are now talking about it - who before today, probably didn’t know David Prager, or much about Revision3, not to mention @jimmyfallon’s nerdy, beer-spilling sit down with Albrecht and Rose.

A legitimate #hobobreakin or not, it’s a prime example of the digital media phenomenon, and the way it’s redefining the flow of information: 1) the lifecycle of ‘news’ is dramatically shorter - from introduction, to buzz, to saturation and quickly, exhaustion; and 2) the reach is exponentially broader and deeper in the spread of any message, from simple and insignificant to actionable and meaningful.

So we see that while uncomfortable and awkward, not all break-ins are necessarily bad – sometimes a person just needs a toilet and a bed. (Although David is likely the only person who’d condone not calling the cops regardless.) Or perhaps we see a lesson in viral marketing – dos and don’ts and maybe how far is too far?

Got To See a Man About a Pool

"We've got to go see a man about a pool." A wonderfully funny inside joke between me and the brother, which ironically sums up our conversation this morning very well.

During a Sunday morning check in, we got on the topic of a new entrepreneurial venture he has in mind - well formulated in fact. The question was, which I believe to be on the minds of a number of savvy self-starters lately, "how do I get this concept off and running while keeping my day-job."

The threat is very much there, and while we've been convinced that a turn-around is soon to come, hence feeling as though the cliff is a bit further off than it was just months ago, it's still just as likely that any professional can begin tomorrow's 9 to 5 only to find that their desk has been sealed off before the first cup of coffee. Which has the tendency to separate people into two divisions, those who will fight to maintain, and those who will develop a plan of attack in preparation for the worst case scenario while fighting to maintain.

Which takes us to a tangent and not the purpose of this post. Instead, back to the potential side business. Selling pools.

Seems easy enough, although only practical given the right conditions, (Boston weather excluded, of course.) The brother, however, happens to be located in Houston, so a bit more logical a location. The question at hand over coffee this morning was: to hang a banner or post a sign in the neighborhood to attract the primary customer base, and what would be the language? My answer was instead another question - having identified the initial target audience, what is their main objective in choosing to buy a pool? And what will best speak to them based on that desire? More than simply, what will catch their attention while driving down the street. The conclusion we came to was - best to market to these folks in a way that wasn't so in their face. Who wants to see a bright blue banner on the nice new home in the cul-de-sac telling them to buy a pool? More of a disturbance to the neighborhood feel if you ask me... Amidst an overall strategy, what about instead starting by inviting the block over for a family-friendly pool party? Don't just give a testimonial - show one and talk around it. They feel and experience how great it is to have one, and it just so happens the one who can make it happen is the guy down the street they toss a casual 'hello' to every morning while stepping out to grab the paper.

The challenge is to get to the heart of what's behind purchasing decisions when faced with the demands of growing the customer base from zero, especially when taking into consideration an already saturated market, pun intended.

A Brilliant Find

Stop motion and lyrical genius.

Her Morning Elegance by Oren Lavie. Remarkable and magical.

Measure v. Do

As it becomes even more apparent in these budget-cutting times that PR firms must invest the time necessary to demonstrate actual value, how do we also balance that with out-of-the-box, forward-thinking, brand-building strategies to stay ahead of the curve?

Perhaps invest in (or develop) tools to help measure and report - to leave room for the creative minds to do what they do best.

The Mightiest Citizen Engagement

As the day is nearly upon us, this Inauguration will prove to be unlike any other in history. While we have already begun to hear and see, this change in administration will bring about action that should will hopefully take our nation in the right direction - for awhile.

The day he gave his victory speech, Obama took the next step, from several before it, down a newly paved path for all of us. And that's not the only thing that makes tomorrow something to talk about.

For the first time, we'll be engaging in a Presidential Inauguration with means never before used. While it's exciting to simply get to watch the event, we'll now be participating in every way possible. From live blogging, to streaming video, to instant images of the action, to Twitter's by-the-second stream from those not just there but everywhere around the country, and some, the world.

As the crowds begin to gather and anticipation grows, it will be something - to watch, listen and see every perspective from every medium.

Social Media Instruments

Focusing more intently on thinking about social media strategies that work, I came across an interesting point in a relevant posting.   

Instead of referencing social media as a tool, this new media communications professional/blogger poses that we should instead think of it more as an art. Basically, that any monkey can use a ‘tool’ but only talented artists can play an instrument and make it work beautifully -- a strong metaphor when you consider how much noise there already is in the digital media world.

Others have explored the strategy and success of social media campaigns from conception. Too often we see (and some implement) recommendations that adhere to pedestrian (and overused) steps that simply ensure clients are able to jump onto the social media bandwagon: start a blog, join Twitter, create a Facebook group.

First, not strategic. Second, not necessarily does every company benefit by being in the space. It's crucial to consider if the culture of the company is in a condition to take advantage of social media without becoming stagnant or redundant. Sometimes the best question to start with is if the client will find value in it and if not, will education of social media shift that perception?

A past client situation comes to mind: Our team brought up starting a blog - a few times - knowing the company was full of strong, engaging, creative writers with important things to say. But in our client’s opinion, (who was very aware of what was and wasn’t being talked about in her industry) any blog the company contributed would’ve only been static in the industry conversation. Instead of starting a blog just to have one, the company still won’t go there until they’re confident that they have something meaningful to say that will help them stand out in the medium. And we trusted her.

Before recommending any strategy to the client, shouldn't we evaulate the environment that company is entering specific to their industry and determine the best, if any, approach? Yes, unless we want our client to be the next 'worst example' story.

More than the Strategy You Used Yesterday

In a recent staff meeting, our agency had a brief discussion about what we have to offer to address client needs and wants better than others. Through the new business process, a potential client had articulated to us what most don't, which is exactly what every single company looks for from a PR firm, whether they realize it or not. Simply, (or maybe not always) to recognize each of the company's publics, and based on what is known to work using a variety of tactics, reach each of those publics most effectively, sometimes separately but all with a common end goal. And we all know that regardless of how it's measured, this common goal is most ofetn to grow the company's bottom line.

It's easy to get wrapped up in using the same old tools we always rely on to get the job done instead of considering all options to reach across several mediums, resulting in a mutlifaceted and integrated strategic campaign. Even if it means trying something that hasn't been done before. Especially given the state of the industry and the economy at-large, creative agencies today can't afford not to take risks. We must step, or leap rather, outside the box. And we're recognizing that the thriving agencies are those already operating this way.

As opposed to talking up our qualifications based on what we've seen and done before to reach solutions the same way every time, we should speak to our experience more as practice we can leverage to cater our trade to each specific client to achieve similar, if not better, results. Of course it's crucial to have an understanding of our clients' environments inside and out, but this is the only 'been there done that' message we should be spewing, especially when we're in the game of winning a potential client's first (or in some cases third and fourth) impression.

A request so simple serves as a reminder to how we each as individual professionals should be seeking creativity in every approach and as a team, using our capabilities as a foundation, yes, but always be seeking the next most inventive method.

A Tale in Orange

It's refreshing to see creative agencies that actually take a creative approach from every aspect.

zig, a Toronto-based creative agency, has an online presence that speaks volumes about what the team is about. Zagging each visitor through the site in a mad-libs-type style, zig tells its story and shows off its work making each component of the online experience fun but engaging and meaningful.

With smart ideas for clients like IKEA and Best Buy, the Web site isn't zig's only spark.