Debbie loves name games – To put it another way, I love working with new and existing companies to help them develop a name for their enterprise. The opportunity to work with a company to develop a name for its products or services is at the very essence of brand building. What’s in a name? Everything! An effective name must be meaningful, distinctive, future-oriented, protectable, positive and visual. It’s not an easy endeavor, but extremely rewarding when you match the right name with the right company. The right name has the potential to become a catalyst for publicity, word of mouth buzz, referrals and significant business growth.
Kelly loves Monday night football – Despite the fact that I would have preferred to have knelt on dry rice than watch my beloved Redskins lose to Dallas on Sunday night, I can’t think of a better way to spend my Monday evenings than to kick my feet up, sip on a cold beer (or a cosmo) and watch some football. And this season is turning out to be chock full of intense nail-biter games and creative advertising campaigns, as well. Be sure to tune in next week to watch Green Bay play at New Orleans!
Kirsty loves2 Men and a Truck – Here is an example of a company that does not spend a ton of money on advertising spending (aside from some product placements in movies like I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry). So how do they differentiate themselves in a competitive market? Service! This past weekend was the second time in a year that I have used the franchise to move and I have to say my experience was just as delightful. So much so that I’m compelled to shout from the rooftops about the company’s friendliness, expertise and efficiency. Now that’s some word of mouth marketing that is priceless.
Kristen loves Zebra Eco pens – The Jimnie dip retractable model is my favorite. These pens write so smooth and the gel-like ink does not even smear. The pens are eco friendly and made from recycled materials, 75% of which are post-consumer waste. Zebra Eco believes that since their products are used every day, they should be friendly to the environment. I am very particular about my pens so these Zebra Ecos are a dream come true, and the fact that they don’t harm the environment makes them even better.
Lindsay loves the Pedigree Puppy kiosks that allow Australian passers-by to play with and teach a viral puppy – Using product placements like DENT ABONE®, users can teach the puppy to play fetch. Kara Grey of Whybin\TBWA\TEQUILA created the concept, which recently won the JCDecaux’s innovate competition. The campaign prompts people to visit puppy.com.au to access puppy training tips and advice.
Shawn loves the Shower Genius Waterproof Notepad – Most of my ideas come to me at random times. Some of them come to me in the car but the majority come to me while I’m watching TV. By watching I mean that I am looking at the screen, but my mind is elsewhere. I use the backside of unopened bills to jot down my thoughts. Back to the waterproof notepad. I won’t buy this product because I don’t generally come up with “must jot this down” ideas in the shower. Many people do. In fact there is research that shows the water hitting your scalp stimulates the brain. Perhaps I need to check my water pressure.
Susan loves T-Mobile’s new North Carolina commercial – T-Mobile is finally coming to North Carolina. And though I’m a loyal Alltel customer, their new commercial makes me feel all warm and fuzzy. To announce the wireless company’s arrival in the state, T-Mobile created a commercial chock full of southern hospitality by hauling gigantic casseroles on the flatbeds of 18-wheelers along highways and right into a quaint downtown. Nothing says welcome to the south like a homemade meal in a covered dish. (When I can locate the video online I’ll post it!)
Champagne has always been a holiday staple: celebrating with friends during a Christmas party and the renowned New Year’s toast. What is a holiday without Champagne?
This year, many consumers will find out as they plan on drinking less expensive alcoholic beverages. Champagne marketers are getting ready for a brutal season of low sales during the weak economy and rising Champagne prices.
To make matters even worse for the sparkling holiday drink, restaurant sales have decreased due to people choosing to dine at home. People have little to celebrate, as do the largest U.S. Champagne marketers whose marketing of top Champagne brands has taken a backseat.
The Champagne industry is planning on bringing life back to the party with a fourth quarter ad campaign. The ads will focus on the uniqueness of individual wine regions while making note of impostors like “American Champagne.”
Hopefully the Champagne industry will not completely fizzle out this season but if sales do not increase, marketers will be left with a horrible holiday hangover.
It’s that time of year again when holiday ads come out of the woodwork. One of my favorite campaigns is for Garmin. For the past few years, the GPS navigation company has given us hilarious commercials set to the tune of Carol of the Bells. And this year is no exception. Just try not to sing along. I dare you.
I remember as a teen putting these very cool burgundy leather boots on lay-a-way at Belks for like 3 months. Scrimped and saved. Put a little down each week. I can still recall the sweet satisfaction of paying that last dollar and slipping them on my feet for the trip home.
Well nostalgia rules because lay-a-way is back! KMart has been agressively touting its lay-a-way plan with smart TV spots. After watching the success of KMart’s program, Sears just announced that it’s jumping on the lay-a-way bandwagon as well. It’s an excellent marketing move. A return to the “pay as you go” philosophy instead of racking up more credit card debt and finance charges.
Smart marketing KMart. It got out in front this holiday season with a promotion that differentiates it from the other big-box retailers. Walmart and Target suspended their layaway programs in 2006. Bet they’re kicking themselves now.
KMart’s ad buy includes print, TV, radio and online. The ads feature Mr. Blue Light, Kmart’s animated lightbulb, who promotes the layaway service as a way to get gifts at affordable prices in time for Christmas. The campaign, via Draftfcb Chicago, targets moms with household incomes starting at $50,000.
As a former KMart employee, I’d love to see this campaign revive their sales. I have a soft spot for Mr. Bluelight. He’s hot.
I was delighted to see that the Star News has introduced a new feature entitled “Talk & Squawk.” GREAT name Star News. The Talk part, of course. It features “tweets of the week,” a selection of Twitter feeds from around the region. “From the Parrot’s Perch” features entries from blogs and social networking sites. Hmm. I wonder if any of our blog entries might make it into print? Smart move by the Star News. It encourages more online folks to follow the Star News on Twitter and drives more traffic to the Star News website. I couldn’t get online at www.starnewsonline.com this morning however. Server error. Ahhh. Technology.
What is the best way to sell minivans to soccer moms? Apparently, according to Volkswagen, it’s by making fun of them.
The German car company has paired up with ad agency Crispen Porter & Bogusky to launch their new Routan minivan with a series of online videos. Entitled, “Road to the MLS Cup”, the series chronicles an eight-day, 2,300-mile trek across the country, starring Mad TV’s Mo Collins as a harried, clipboard-wielding soccer mom, who drives off without her kids in the first video.
It is certainly not surprising that Volkswagen is using a soccer platform to sell its minivan, but is its mocking portrayal of soccer moms? Volkswagen believes that consumers will find the videos more endearing than derisive and will make a deep connection with Collins, a woman who takes such intense pride in being a mother, even as she occasionally crosses the line.
The classic symptoms of the flu are beginning to show up this season but something else is going around: Google “flu symptom” searches. Google has reported a spike of related searches during flu season, which has lead them to track flu tends across the country.
Before now, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) has reported flu trends. Now, as part of its corporate social responsibility efforts, Google has developed a new early warning system for flu outbreaks called Google Flu Trends.
Flu Trends tracks flu-related searches and is able to detect regional outbreaks up to 10 days sooner than the CDC. The CDC relies on reports from healthcare providers around the nation, creating a slower method of detecting flu trends. Google’s philanthropic unit developed the system in the hopes that earlier warning will create better and earlier prevention.
Google has developed a national early warning system for the sickness everyone wants to avoid, and one day Google hopes this technique will be a worldwide system able to track influenza and other diseases. Until then, stay tuned to Google Flu Trends if you want to be healthy and avoid the flu this season.
Over the last few years we were so busy “Talking” that we neglected our own web site’s portfolio page. It never really looked that great. It was a little shameful. But finally we rallied the troops, rolled up our sleeves and went tree by tree through the forest of our past work. Ten plus years of past work and it was a bit painful. As we all know a great online portfolio is not only expected by clients, but a critical marketing tool. We had countless conversations about how the page would function, what we did and didn’t want and why. How it would be navigated. How would the work be presented. I think our final solution is right on target. Finally our work really can speak for itself, giving us more time to Talk!
Congratulations to Springdale Outdoor on their recent distinction as one of the top 25 South Carolina’s Fastest-Growing Companies 2008. The only landscaping company to make the list, Springdale Outdoor was ranked number 13.
This is the 7th year the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce and Elliott Davis, LLC, an accounting and business advisors firm, accepted entries. Applicants were both public and private non-governmental entities headquartered in South Carolina, in operation for at least two full fiscal years and have reported revenues of at least $3 million in the most recent reported year.
This is one of several awards Springdale Outdoor has won in 2008 following the January launch of the new brand and name change. Congratulations again and here’s to even more success in 2009!
Twitter is at the forefront of social media, offering a free micro-blogging service that allows users to send others text-based updates. As such an up and coming social media outlet, Talk was surprised when Twitter quietly ushered in its second anniversary in October without a “tweet” or media fanfare.
Twitter began as an in-house research and development project in March 2006 at Odeo, a San Francisco-based podcasting company. Odeo’s employees used the project to communicate internally but quickly saw its potential and launched it as a public product in October 2006.
As discussed on our blog before, some of the largest companies in the world have created social media departments that use Twitter to communicate with their patrons. Now, more unexpected organizations have started utilizing the social media outlet as well.
NASA has been known to provide updates on Space Shuttle missions and the International Space Station via Twitter. The Los Angeles Fire Department used Twitter updates during the 2007 California Wildfires in order to keep Los Angeles city residents, as well as the media, up to date on any vital alerts regarding the fires.
This social media outlet has led the way for other sites that rely on a strong network of community members rather than core technology. It has shown that small notifications can be extremely important while making a huge impact on everyday communication as well as on the bottom line.
