Yaffe Tidbits

Ad of the Week: Google+ - Muppets Rock Out In a Hangout

There was no doubt this ad would become one of my ads of the week. When I first saw it at home, I kept backing it up on the DVR and replaying it. Made me smile every time. Of course, there's no way it could lose. First off, if you follow my Ad of the Week posts, you know I love the ads Google has been doing for the last few years. I think they produce some of the most consistently wonderful advertising out there. Every ad tells a story that connects well with it's audience.

But the ad for Google+ with the Muppets doing a hangout while playing along with the Queen/David Bowie classic "Under Pressure" seems like it's targeted specifically at me. For one thing, I'm a HUGE Muppets fan. I love almost everything they do. I'm also a huge David Bowie fan and Under Pressure is one of my favorite songs of all time.

Yet, I don't think Google was talking just to me. Seems a lot of people love this ad. Which is part of my initial point. Google just knows how to connect well with people. Maybe it's because they know so much about us, given all the data they're able to collect. But, in their advertising at least, they seem to be using the info for good, not evil. So, in my completely biased opinion, here's one of the best ads of the last year.

 Google+ - Muppets Rock Out in a Hangout

So, what did you think? Love it as much as I do? Or is there another ad out there you think is better? Let me know, maybe your favorite will end up as a future ad of the week.

Mike McClure - Self-admitted Muppet Maniac

Tidbits You Can Use From Brand Camp 2011

For the third year in a row, I attended Brand Camp University Detroit last week and gleaned a little inspiration, a bit of knowledge and connected with some new people along the way. Here are some of the best tidbits from the conference.

The Best Storyteller Wins. Hajj Flemings kicked off the day talking about storytelling. He asked if we ever knew someone who wasn't as qualified as others, but always seemed to get the job or make the sale? It's probably because they're a better storyteller. The fact of the matter is, when you're looking for a job or trying to sell your product/service, there are a lot of others out there that seem to have the same qualifications or product specs. What makes you stand out? It's your story and how you tell it. Does that person have a more compelling LinkedIn profile? Does that brand have a more compelling story?

People make emotional connections with stories. It's all about making yourself stand apart by finding what's different about you and telling that story well. And your story has to have all the elements of a good story. There has to be something that the protagonist overcomes, obstacles to be hurtled. Victory snatched from the jaws of defeat. Or failure turned into triumph. Look at your brand proposition (whether you're the brand or your product or client is). How can you make a compelling story out of it.

Brainstorming Producing a Drizzle? Try Rolestorming. Josh Linkner introduced a concept I like a lot - the idea of rolestorming. The idea is to try brainstorming as a different character or person. In traditional brainstorming, people often hold back on their best ideas, either because they're afraid to share them or because they figure if it was a good idea someone else would have said it. The way to bring down this inhibitions, is to have everyone brainstorm as someone else.

Linkner said they were brainstorming something at ePrize and nothing much was coming out of it. Then they decided to brainstorm as if they were each a character from Mad Men. Suddenly the energy in the room went up and the ideas started flowing. Instead of thinking like yourself, you start thinking about how someone else would approach it. For instance, if you were rolestorming as Steve Jobs, you'd come up with big, grandiose and outlandish ideas. If you were rolestorming as Charlie Sheen, they might be crazy, even illegal ideas. Rolestorming as villains like Darth Vader or Dr. Evil are particularly fun, said Linkner. Sure some of the ideas are way too out there, but out of those ideas the kernel of something great can grow

If You're Starting a Business, You Need a Kitchen Cabinet of Advisers. Melinda Emerson, also known as the Small Biz Lady, talked about needing your own kitchen cabinet of advisers to help you make sure your business is set up to succeed. First, you need a supporter. This can be a spouse, a relative, a friend - someone who is going to give you emotional support and be your cheerleader. Secondly, you need a mentor. This is someone who can give you advice and show you the ropes. Then you need a CPA or a lawyer, who can make sure your business plan is tight and meeting sound business standards. The final two are an entrepreneur and a potential customer. These are all people who are already invested in your success and will be able to support you in different ways, giving you different perspectives.

GMC Trucks Have the Best Use of QR Codes I've Seen.  John Gasloli from GMC trucks showed us how they've completely integrated QR codes into the new GMC catalogs. They use them for engaging their customers with inspirational 4-minute documentary style videos. They also connect to some really great mobile tools via QR codes. For a more in-depth post on their program, read my post on the Social Media Club blog.

It's a Passion Story, Not a Product Story. If you want to build communities and conversations around your brand, it has to be tied to people's passions, not the product. Nobody wants to talk about brands, they want to talk about things they are passionate about. Your brand can be part of their passion stories though. Spike Jones spoke about this. For instance, he pointed out that you wouldn't think their would be a community built around WD40. Then Jones read from a post where a guy was talking about how he has been spraying it on his bait since he was a kid and how it's good to spray on wasp nests on his car, because it doesn't wreak the paint. It's stories about the guys passions that involve the brand. Jones also talked about orange-handled scissors. Nobody would be passionate about them. But people are passionate about scrap booking. That's where you could build passion stories.

Those are just a few of the things I took away from this year's Brand Camp University. How about you? Did you go? What made an impact on you?

Mike McClure, 3-Time Camper

Put a Little South on Your Mouth

In my inbox this morning was an email with the subject line reading, “Nice Stocking Stuffers”. As I clicked the email open, I was thinking I would find something Christmas-themed like a small trinket covered in red, green and gold tensile. Boy was I wrong.

Now before I tell you what the “Nice Stocking Stuffer “ is, here’s a little background. The email came from a Yaffe client that is a furniture retailer specializing in the selling of quality furniture. The company supplies customers with top name brand choices like La-Z-Boy, TempurPedic , Paula Deen and more.

From that description, I’m curious as to what you readers think the stocking stuff email was regarding. But if you guessed anything having to do with Paula Deen you are most likely close! Drum roll please…the nice stocking stuffer is Paula Deen Lip Balm!

The sweet southern gal many of us knows as a butter-loving cook not only has a TV show, restaurant and furniture line, but she now has a line of flavored lip balm. Since our client carries Paul Deen Home, Paula’s furniture collection, it was only fitting that we were enlightened about the array of flavors including Peach Cobbler, Banana Pudding, Key Lime Pie, Pumpkin Pie, Pecan Pie and of course, Butter.

I would have to agree that this is an epic stocking stuffer idea, as did many other colleagues in the office and I must have some! The flavors are daring and fun and hopefully quite tasty but I would have to say the lip balm’s tagline is the best of all - “Put a little south on your mouth!"

Would you purchase Paula Deen lip balm? What other celebrity-endorsed products would you give as stocking stuffers?

Jessica Mosley - Especially excited to try the Pumpkin Pie flavor!

 

Your Company Social Media Policy Needs To Be Part of Its Branding

Companies can't avoid it any longer. And even if your company isn't doing social media, you can bet some of its employees are. So, it is important that your company has a social media policy. But, it's not just about guiding employees, facilitating conversation with customers and protecting your company. Something you might not have thought about is how it helps shape your brand. You see, your social media policy needs to be as much a part of your branding as your marketing materials and the logo on your door.

I had a chat with our new media strategist, Jen Wright, yesterday about all the social media policy work we've been dong for clients and what we've learned. The branding issue was one of the things she keyed into. I recorded her part of the chat and edited together some of the more interesting tidbits. The video is inserted below.

 A Chat With Jen Wright About Social Media Policy

So, what do you think? We'd love to hear your thoughts on social media policies in general and their part in company branding.

Mike McClure, I'm company branding right now.

Simple Ways to Curate Content for Your Company

Part of any content strategy for your brand should include curating helpful articles, blogs and other sources of information your community would find useful. Sure, you need to create your own content, too. But, unless you have a huge staff dedicated to content creation, you need to curate content from other sources.

Where do you find all this content that will connect with your clients and potential clients/customers? There are several fairly easy ways to keep content ideas coming to you. It may take a bit to set it up, but after that it's a matter of sifting through what's coming in and sending back out what will be most interesting to your audience.

First off, you need to look at who you're trying to reach and what kinds of information would either be interesting or helpful to them. For instance, I curate content for The Yaffe Group twitter feed. The audience here is people interested in marketing, branding, strategic solutions and in general, ways to make their business better. This group would include our clients, potential clients, business owners, business marketing department and fellow marketers. I choose from a wide variety of topics that provides information that will help these people run their businesses better.

You can also create sub-categories within this group.The Yaffe Group has expertise in a number of fields, including health care, education, retailers, non-profits and others. As I curate general marketing, branding and strategic materials. I also curate specific content aimed at these particular specialities, because there's a higher propensity for someone within those categories following us (and being a potential client).

Use eNewsletters to find content. One thing you can do is go out and find a number of eNewsletters that curate content in the specific fields you're looking for. I subscribe to over 20 daily and weekly eNewsletters for our content. Then, as they come in, I scan through to find articles I think will connect well with my specific community. A good place to start when looking for eNewsletters is SmartBriefs - they have daily emails in over 100 different topics.

Load up your Google Reader or RSS feed. Another way to find content is to search out the top blogs in your area of interest and subscribe to them. You can easily add them to your Google Reader or RSS feed. Then, check these lists occasionally and find what posts would be of most interest to your community.

Create Twitter searches & lists. You can use Twitter's search function to search a category, hashtag or key words. Try several approaches and see what yields the most potential links to interesting content. Then save those searches as a list or column in your Tweetdeck or Hootsuite. Also, create a list following other accounts that post interesting content in your areas of interest. For instance, I have columns on my Tweetdeck for companies in each of our subcategories (hospitals, retail, etc)

These are just a few simple ways to keep a constant stream of content coming your way. They take time to set up, but once you do, you can spend a few moments here and there throughout your day checking for killer content you can share.

Do you have your own simple content finding methods? I'd be interested to hear what other ways you're pulling in content that connects with your community.

Mike McClure, Yaffe Group Chief Content Provider

 

4 Reasons Your Company Should Be On Empire Avenue

Running your company is serious business. Empire Avenue is the latest time-wasting game that's the hottest social media darling. So, why would you pay an employee real money to set up your company on Empire Avenue, where it can be sold for play money? Doesn't seem like a good use of someone's time, does it? Yet, I think there are good reasons you might want to consider it.

1. First of all, if you aren't familiar with Empire Avenue, it's part game, part social connecting, part social rating and part content aggregator. You set up your account and people or companies can "buy" stock in you. Your stock price is determined by how many invest in you and what you are doing on all your different social channels (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Flickr, your blog, etc). Your share price therefore becomes a Klout-like rating of your social worth, but unlike Klout, it's one you have some control over. A good primer on the subject is the "Empire Avenue: The Next Big Thing in Social Media" article on Smideo

1. Connect with Prospects and Potential Partners. Once you set up your company's account, you can buy shares of other companies and individuals you'd like to get on the radar of. Not only will they get a notice that you bought shares of them, but you can then send them "shout out" messages. Just don't be salesy in your shout outs. Like any social media, create a relationship first. Also, once someone buys your stock, your twitter stream will appear on their home page along with those of the other stocks they've bought.

2. Tell Your Brand Story. It's actually a good way to distribute real world info to your play world investors. One of the first stocks I bought was Ford. Shortly after I did, I got a message from them through my Empire account. It was a message from Ford's head of social media, Scott Monty, which started out, "Today, Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) held an actual shareholder meeting. While we have yet to hold a (e)FORD Shareholder meeting for our Empire Avenue shareholders, we thought we might share what happened at the annual meeting in Wilmington, DE today." It went on to talk about some of the positive outcomes from the meeting and even had links to the proposals shareholders had voted on and another link to their sustainability report. I thought it was a brilliant way to engage their social shareholders in their larger message.

3. Create a Promotion. Empire lets you use shout outs and advertising through it's channels to promote your brand (you). If you're a company, you could use these to create incentives to buy your stock. You could even promote trial of your product by giving coupons for free samples to everyone who buys stock. Or you could create additional word of mouth by offering a promotional item or discount for any shout outs about your brand.

4. Show That You're Social Savvy. As a product, brand or website, you can show where you rank in the social strata by the price you're able to get for your stock. It acts as a sort of Klout score for your brand. In fact, just being on Empire Avenue now as an early adopter shows that you are a forward thinking brand that's aware of social trends.

I'm sure there are other reasons your company should carve out your own piece of Empire Avenue. Not the least of which, is that its just kind of a fun thing to do. Have you tried it yet? What other things have you have seen brands doing there? What other reasons do you see for a company to join in? Or for that matter, why should they stay away? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Mike McClure - For sale at Empire stock symbol mikekmcclure, ECD at The Yaffe Group (eStock symbol TYG)

14 Fascinating Facts from Future Midwest

Besides the inspirations and new ways of looking at things, Future Midwest speakers throw out some very interesting statistics during their presentations. I thought it would be interesting to compile a few of them together. Here's some of the ones I heard at this year's conference.

 

 

1. Smartphone ownership will overtake feature phones by the third quarter this year.

2. 77% of consumers engage with brands online for incentives and ad offers.

3. 28% of consumers will provide an email address or engage with a brand online with promise of incentive.

4. Many online new businesses eliminate the middle man between consumers and the product/services they want.

5. The majority of colleges (85%) look at applicants info posted online (including social sites) before deciding to admit that student to their university.

6. 86% of iPad owners would prefer to put up with ads in order to get free content rather than paying a nominal monthly fee.

7. In Michigan, only 1.01% of the people are on twitter, compared to 47% on Facebook.

8. However, the ones who are on twitter have much larger followings/communities online than those just on Facebook.

9. Teens today send about 300 texts per month, but tend to make only three phone calls during that same time.

10. Over 700 billion minutes per month are spent on Facebook.

11. 70% of connected consumers have participated in a branded sweepstakes or contest.

12. The average consumer is exposed to over 3,000 messages per day

13. Email offers that have specific relevance to those receiving it get five times greater conversion rates than full list email blasts.

14. 47% of consumers consider their mobile devices to be essential to their lives and keep them within arms reach at most times.

There you have it, 14 fun facts I heard from the Future Midwest speakers this year. What other pieces of info did you hear that stuck with you?

Mike McClure, Playing digital trivia and #winning

Soap Operas: An Ode to the Original Content Marketing

Like many of you, I've spent the last 24 hours hearing the country mourn the end of an era. Even though I never watched either of these soaps,  (because my Mom reads this blog and so I obviously spent my free time in college fighting social injustices and reading the classics) it does feel like a significant cultural loss, or at the very least, a significant cultural shift. 

After reading Bitten & Bound (my source for serious, breaking news the world over) and learning that "the face of daytime television is about to change with the launch of two new shows that are informative, authentic and center on transformations," (my emphasis) I thought it only right that a member of the ad world pay homage to the country's first form of content marketing. 

Blogs will tell you that the phenomenon of brands producing engaging content is new. But you shouldn't always believe what you read in blogs. (I actually spent my free time in college watching Days of Our Lives and Another World on the other channel. Sorry, Mom.) 

Most people, especially ad people graced with the euphemism "soap salesmen," know that soap operas got their name from the soap companies that dominantly sponsored their airtime. But those companies weren't just sponsoring them, they were also producing them. Over the years, Proctor and Gamble produced 20 soap operas. That's a lot of content aimed at engaging and entertaining a consumer. 

Skittles:Touch may make me feel like I have to wash cat spit off my hand, but will people mourn it when it ends? 

The network's implication that Erica Kane does not provide authentic, transformative and informative content leads me to believe that they suffer from a classic case of hanging on a far too narrow definition of those terms. You don't get to be a 64-year-old who looks like a 46-year-old without undergoing a little transformation. As far as authentic, her hands are definitely still real. Nobody delivers slaps like that with fake hands. And as for informative,  the last thing the world needs are more self-help shows telling us the life we want is ours for the taking. Sometimes we just need to be shown. 

I encourage everyone to take a moment to lament a lost era, and pay homage to brilliant pioneers in branded content. Also, to enjoy a good cat fight and share the names of your favorite soap rivalry below. 

 

  Jen Wright, Out-of-the-Closet Daytime Drama Enthusiast and Yaffe Social Media Strategist

Mixing Religion and Retail - Does It Help or Hurt Your Brand?

Over the holidays I spotted a shopper at the mall sitting with a bright yellow bag on her lap. Then, I noticed it had John 3:16 printed on the bottom of it. Even semi-devout people know that is not just a Biblical reference; it’s THE reference that separates old-testament believers from new. It is the one that says "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life."

The marketer in me was piqued and I asked the girl where she got the bag. I was even more surprised when she said Forever 21. This is not a brand I align with hardcore Christian values. In fact, it has a controversial past with lawsuits concerning intellectual property and use of animal fur. I was betting that the bag came from something like a seasonal kiosk selling religious gifts.

The other day, when I spotted it again, this far outside of the holiday season, I decided to investigate. I couldn’t get over the fact that such a mainstream fashion brand would take the risk of putting such a polarizing mark on their bags. Especially when their primary demographic is Gen-Y’ers, a group notoriously vocal about not being force-fed religion. But, judging from the high volume of yellow bags floating around the mall, it did not deter shoppers at all

My research turned up other brands that have been doing the same thing and are apparently responsible for inspiring Forever 21’s devoutly Christian owner. Apparently Chic-fil-A, Hobby Lobby and In-N-Out Burger also incorporate their faith into their marketing.

In the current climate, we as marketers have become accustom to wincing when our clients suggest anything that threatens to eliminate an entire demographic unnecessarily, even if we ourselves are believers in or advocates of the tenant they’re supporting. It’s just bad business to mix personal beliefs with brand marketing, right?

But the thing is, in all my hunting, I found little to no evidence of shoppers boycotting these chains for their forthright alignment with faith. I have to admit, it’s always invigorating for me to witness a brand breaking the rules and not just getting away with it, but thriving in it. I like to be reminded that we can’t always predict reactions to branding risks. What about you? Would it affect your willingness to shop? Any rule-breaking examples that inspire you?

 

  Jen Wright, Yaffe Rule Breaker

Play: The Art of Doing PR that Doesn't Feel Like PR

We spend a lot of time telling people how to do social media for their brands in broad, sweeping generalizations. One of the top things on the list is the PR issue. The how-to guide for dealing with negative comments often reads like a militant manual of steps to disarm a bomb or the procedural instructions for operating the red phone. "You must respond quickly. You must take even the smallest comment seriously and attend to it."

And I agree with both statements. But, I fear that in our attempt to convince brands of the need to take responding to negative comments so seriously, that we will neglect the nuance necessary in every instance and cause them to miss golden opportunities that often come when one of my favorite words in the English language is allowed to exist: play.

Depending on the reference you consult, you'll generally find close to 100 definitions of the word play, but here's my very favorite and the one most relevant here:

Freedom for action, or scope for activity: full play of the mind.

I like this definition because it reminds me (daily) to turn words over in my head and remind myself of the given play in every exchange between two people (or on the social frontier, between a person and a brand). The distance between what is said and what is meant is boundless. And don't even get me started on what is heard versus what is intended. 

But rather than throw my hands up at the inevitable gaps in communication, I tend to find freedom and endless opportunity in that very play. When I sit down to help a client who is staring at a negative tweet with that white-knuckled, deer-in-the-headlights countenance, the first thing I like to do is help them turn the words over in their head and explore the opportunities rather than the risks at stake. 

When somebody tweets about how ungodly expensive your product is, does this mean they don't like you? Does it mean they want to tell other people you're not worth it? Does it even mean they don't have your product in their cupboard right now? No, no and no. Which means, in my humble opinion, there's no need to shift into PR voice in responding. As a matter of fact, I'd argue that by switching into that mode when it's unnecessary, you do more damage than good by escalating the situation and giving credence to an accusation that was only a casual talking point for the sender. Why can't we begin by assuming it's just that—a way to say hello?

Please understand that when I suggest that a client incorporate play into their responses, I'm in no way devaluing the importance of a speedy and thoughtful response. The play I'm suggesting is in their content, not their intent. Big difference. And there are also times (again, see the reference to case-by-case nuance above) when the alarm should be sounded. But I do think it's OK not to grab for the red phone every time you respond to a negative comment. 

My favorite brand stories involve a negative comment that, when handled shrewdly, yields stronger brand loyalty by all, often even the person who sent out the initial comment. What are your favorites?

Jen Wright, Social Media Strategist at Play