Yaffe Tidbits

Ad of the week: Carlton Draught's "Big Ad"

Starting today, we will post a weekly favorite ad, web video, viral video, print ad, outdoor ad or any other creative marketing that catches our eyes and tickles our fancy. It's only fitting that the first ad of the week is titled "Big Ad." It's an ad that's been around a few years, but is one of our favorites for just outright, well... bigness. It's over-the-top parady of other big production budget ads is both hilarious and right on target. Hope you enjoy it!

See you next Wednesday with another favorite. If you'd like to submit your favorite, you can post it in a comment here or tweet it to us on Twitter: @TheYaffeGroup or @BarrelhouseCrtv

6 ways the decline of newspapers & magazines can hurt your business

I'm a newspaper guy. Been one all my life. Love my morning paper. Except now it only comes 3 times a week. And then, it's thin. I've already bemoaned this fact in a previous blog post. But, I hadn't given a lot of thought to what the decline of papers and magazines meant to business. UntilI read an article from Strategy + Business online today, called "What a Declining Business Media Means to CEOs" They listed 3 ways it hurts business:

1. More negative press about profits and enterprise. They said that as more experienced journalists (read: more expensive) are cut, younger ones come in. These less savvy journalists are more likely to be swayed by negative talk they hear and less likely to dig for evidence to the contrary.

2. Less of a platform for companies to spread their message/strategies. With fewer business publications and pages, along with fewer reporters. Companies just don't have as many outlets to tell their story. And we're not hearing about the innovative things they're doing.

3. Fewer opportunities to learn from each other. With less being reported on, companies don't have all these free case studies to read and learn from. They see less new ideas that could spur on new ideas of their own. The business press used to act as sort of a focus group of new ideas, but they are much fewer now.

To their list, I'd like to add a few more, focused on regional/local business news outlets:

4. Less distribution vehicles for circulars. A number of our clients put out weekly sale circulars, which have been traditionally stuffed into the newspaper. Now, some of the papers have gone away, others are offering limited days, but circulation is down, too. Mailing circulars is expensive. Stuffing them in other delivery methods, such as Advo, have their own problems. We've even started experimenting with digital circulars online.

5. Less co-op, added value benefits. Media outlets have always worked with businesses, especially on a local level, to give them added value through their media buys. Often they would partner on a joint venture in a marketplace or help with sponsorships for special events. They were also a sure place where retailers could get co-op money from manufacturers for ads. But, less space means fewer ads.

6. Less localization. As local business magazines and newspaper business sections shrink or disappear, there is less or even no local coverage to connect with the local/regional business scene. If a company is doing a local promotion or a local charity event to be a good corporate citizen, it's a lot harder to get those messages out.

What other ways to you see the decline of business journalism affecting business today?

Mike McClure, Partner, ECD

Today's Transparency: They Are Watching You

They are watching. And they are talking. They told everyone what I did after dark in the Walgreens parking lot!

In this age of transparency, you never know who is watching, what they will say and what impact it will make. Whether you are a company or an individual, your actions are public knowledge more than ever before. You’ve probably heard that before. You may not know just how true it is. I do now.

It happened a couple weeks ago. I was working late and finally left for home around 10:30 that night. I stopped at the 24-hour drug store on my way home. While shopping, I kept passing this homeless man dragging all his belongings behind him in a little suitcase on wheels. On the way out, I went to grab an Arizona Iced tea. Turns out they had a two for one special so I grabbed two.

When I left, I noticed the man was now outside, talking to a store manager type. I didn’t know if he’d been ushered out or the manager was trying to help the dude. But, as I was putting my things in the car, the Walgreens lady went left the man outside. I looked at my free second tea and thought the guy might appreciate the cold drink. So I walked back across the parking lot and handed it to him. He smiled and mumbled something. No big deal. It was dark. It was late. I didn’t think anyone saw me.

When I got home, my wife yells from the computer room, "hey, Mike, do you know so-and-so?" "Yeah" "Well she says she saw you with that homeless man."

Sure enough, at the beginning of this long day I had posted an article about a homeless blogger who had gotten hired by Elle magazine on my Facebook page. Over the course of the day had completely forgotten about it. But, there, attached to that post, was a comment from someone I worked with 15 years ago, "So, Mike... was this the inspiration for you handing a returnable to the homeless man at Walgreen's just half an hour ago? I caught you out of the corner of my eye as I was leaving the lot. It was truly a sweet gesture"

Even though I wasn’t seeking any attention, it was a nice to see my efforts noticed. But, what if I was doing something bad? What if, instead of helping, I’d had taken his jacket thinking no one would be the wiser?

That’s the world we live in today. And companies need to realize that too. It’s an added incentive to be a good corporate citizen. It's even more of a reason to make sure you go above and beyond to make your customers happy. There are no shadows to hide in anymore. The world is a much more open and public place. You can pretend not to notice, but chances are you’ll hear about it anyway.

Mike McClure, ECD & SM Guy

Creating Web Video Content is Easy Pt 2: Customer/Client Testimonials

In an earlier post, I told you how easy it is to get a Flip camcorder to record and upload video. Study after study shows that web video helps you and your site. It triggers more search. It adds engagement. It causes your potential customers to stay on your site longer. Between the Flip camera and YouTube, it couldn't get much easier.

Today, I'd like to talk about one of the good sources of content for your own sites and channels. It's getting a few words of support from your best customers or clients. I know the CEO of Bigby Coffee carries his camcorder around with him and is always shooting quick little videos of both customers and employees. In this new world of social media, nothing speaks louder than having your biggest fans sing your praises. And getting that could be as simple as pulling out your camcorder and asking someone, "Hey, do you have a couple of minutes to record a few kind words about how you love us and how our product or service has made your life better?"

It really is that easy. Our clients from Grand Home Furnishings in Virginia were in town for a meeting. After it was over, I grabbed Steve Davis, the marketing manager, and asked if he'd say a few words. We went into an empty office and in just about 30 seconds I had a good client testimonial. I posted it online the next day. That's great content for very little effort. Of course, it's easier if your customers already love you!

Mike McClure, Flipping over video.

Strong Winds of Change Are Blowing through the Retail Industry

Guest blog post by Joanie Abraham, president of StyleBranding, Inc.

Two major market forces are blowing their weight around the retail industry:

- Retail brands are slowing their store expansion plans, modifying their assortments, cutting their stock substantially and becoming more focused in their offering to consumers.

- Social media and the technology available to us today are resulting in enhanced customer experiences and engagement with the brand. Video merchandising is the new buzz word on the web.

This impact on the industry is putting even more importance on the website as brand representative or "brand central" as I refer to it; how the retailer or designer presents the brand to the global public. It is becoming even more influential now that store expansion is slowing because it offers access to the brand to a much broader audience.

The experience the consumer is offered within the "selling environment" of the web is what engages the consumer both emotionally and financially. For the last couple of weeks, I have received a white paper a day talking about the enhanced response rate and increased sales retailers are getting from using video on their websites. Video merchandising is going to put the creativity back into retailing.

Video creates the experience on the site. The myriad of technological offerings from apps on iPhones to YouTube to Facebook, Twitter and MySpace allows for customer involvement. Our job is to use the technology to create the aspirational fantasy your brand represents to the consumer: the fantasy that style and product acquisition are all about.

If major retail brands with dozens to hundreds of store fronts, would take half of their real estate budgets and apply them to online advertising and site enhancement, the sales would keep the brand active and alive in the minds of a much broader audience than one store possibly could.

The sooner the retail industry adapts these trends into their business model the sooner the energy will begin pouring back into the brand in the minds of their consumers and the general web world at large.

Looking for new ideas for your business? Get uncomfortable.

Still waters don't always run deep. Sometimes they just stagnate, fill up with algae and smell bad. This same thing can happen to your business model, marketing plan, corporate culture or new product development. Especially in these turbulent times. Sticking with something because it's comfortable isn't always the right way to do things. Cries of "we've always done it this way before!" have killed many a good idea. If you want things to change, you have to embrace something different than what you've been doing.

In this age of Web 2.0 and the transparency the Internet is bringing to all companies, the old in-company silos are breaking down, by necessity. This will make a lot of people in your organization uncomfortable. But, it's necessary. The customer can find you through so many venues these days, you don't know where the crucial touchpoint is going to be. So you need to make sure HR is talking to customer service who is talking to PR who is talking to marketing who is talking to merchandising who is talking to sales... well, you get the point. Your people may not be comfortable interacting with strange people from other departments. But, the interactions may bring about new ideas that are not just radical, but brilliant. The perspective a sales person brings to PR or a customer service person brings to marketing could lead you into great new directions.

Some years ago, when our Barrelhouse Creative division was doing it's first real big job, we were asked to come up with a series of spot using the great Ray Charles for the Powerball lottery. We needed to come up with lyrics that Mr. Charles could record in six different genres. I had my writers and myself working on this. Todd Gentzel, who now runs our corporate culture, branding and strategy practice at Yaffe/Deutser, was interested in working on the project. Most of my fellow executive creative directors would never let someone else in the agency work on creative, let alone a strategy geek. But, I knew Todd was also an amateur musician in his spare time. So, even though it was out of my comfort zone, I had him work on the project. And, when his lyrics were chosen, I didn't feel bad at all - we had the basis for a very good campaign. Without going outside of my comfort zone, that wouldn't have happened. You can see one of the Ray Charles lottery spots in the broadcast portfolio section of yaffe.com.

So, go ahead. Get uncomfortable. Look in new directions. Put unlikely pairings of people within your organization together. Think of things you never would do and then think of how you could make that very idea work for you. You may come up with some surprising results.

Uncomfortably yours,

Mike McClure