Yaffe Tidbits

What Inspires You? TEDxDetroit 2011 Had It

Inspiration. That's the word I hear most when people are asked how a TEDx event is different from other events and conferences. The people you meet and the ideas they share are inspiring. They touch you on a deeper emotional level. They represent the great things that humanity can do, whether it's in technology or the arts, whether it's a spark of inspiration or just pure human perseverance. And yesterday's TEDxDetroit delivered all that in spades.

So, what inspires you?

Overcoming Great Odds To Do Great Things.We heard some truly amazing stories of people who beat the odds or overcame some of life's big roadblocks. Bobby Smith told us how he grew up in the poorest areas of Jamaica and how he came to own America's largest fencing training company, En Garde, right here in Detroit - a business that is teaching area kids a lot more than the sport of fencing. We heard Tara Michener's story about how she overcame getting beat up and bullied to run a business that helps today's kids deal with those very same issues. We even heard how successful Detroit entrepreneur, Josh Linkner, was told that his ideas were terrible and wouldn't amount to anything... by his father. But perhaps the biggest beating the odds tale came from Baby Einstein creator, Julie Aigner-Clark.

Julie was a mom who just refused to listen to the inane sounds of a big purple singing dinosaur when her child was born. So, she made her own videos of things that her baby seemed to like watching and played classical music as the background. What started as something she did in her basement with hand puppets, hard work and a little luck, turned into a huge multi-million dollar company that got bought out by Disney. But, she wasn't through - Julie also beat the odds by beating cancer - not once, but twice. The second time it was stage 4.

Young People Achieving Incredible Success.If you are inspired by hearing how today's youth is creating their own successful businesses with hard work and innovation, TEDxDetroit had you covered. Look no further than 22-year-old design student, Veronika Scott. She had a class assignment to design something to fit a need. So, she spent time in a homeless shelter talking to the folks, sometimes 3 times a week, to develop something that would fit their needs. What she came up with is a coat that converts into a sleeping bag. The class ended, but she hadn't perfected the product yet and she didn't want to let the people she'd been working with down. Eventually, she employed a couple homeless women to do the sewing. By the time the Red Cross asked when she would be able to produce 20,000 for disaster relief, she know it was no longer a class project. It was a calling. It was a business she was meant to run. Now she has her own building in Detroit where she runs her own business.

And if 22 isn't young enough for you, there was also 9-year-old Sebastian from Muskegeon who created a lemonade business he runs at the local flea market. It has become a booming success and he gives a portion of his profits to local charity. Seems like a fine, upstanding and inspiring young man.

Old People Making a Comeback.So, what about people on the other side of their lifespan? They hae inspiring stories too. Randel Chalton, Director of Tech Town Detroit shared how, after early business success, he faced a downturn where he had failures. He said he'd lost confidence in himself and his ability to do great things. But, he learned from his failures. When he had a new idea, but not a lot of money, he looked for the lowest cost place in America to start a business. That led him to, you guessed it, Detroit. Randel says Detroit gave him confidence and he sees Detroit's confidence is coming back too. He said we're going to rebuild Detroit, one job, one company at a time. Now, his Tech Town Detroit is made up of 255 businesses and touches 3000 lives.

Detroit & Michigan On The Rise. Perhaps it's stories of the area or region rising like a phoenix out of the ashes of the economic downturn that brings you inspiration. There were plenty of those stories, too. Besides the ones we already mentioned, we heard Matt Dibble talk about how Detroit's small pond is about to become a big sea. Mark Salamango from Robot Town Detroit told us how our technical advancement and automotive know how is putting us at the forefront to build the robot master race... I mean, lead the world in robotics. 

We also heard about on one guy with a wacky dream to do fun stuff with a few friends and a city that was willing to work with him turned Grand Rapids dying town image into one of fun and innovation. Rob Bliss did it with fun projects like the world's largest pillow fight, creating the YouTube sensation lip dub movie and having 30,000 people show up downtown to participate in the throwing of 100,000 paper airplanes. We later heard from even further north as Bob Southerland of Cherry Republic told how they took the biggest cherry producing region in the country and kept if viable by creating a whole new range of cherry products when cherry consumption began to wane.

Changing The World. If none of that is what inspires you, we heard some truly changing the world type stories. The most powerful was probably the talk delivered from En Garde's Bobby Smith. He didn't just talk about training kids to enjoy fencing as a sport. He talked about how he uses that to gain their attention and then teaches them skills they'll need to advance in this world. He teaches them things like financial literacy, empathy, alternate fitness, health and nutrition. "Fill up a kid's backpack with hope or the drug dealers will fill it up with blocks," said Smith. He also said, "I look at kids, not as bottles to be filled up, but as candles to be lit." Meaning, don't just pour knowledge into them, but inspire them to shine brightly.

Music That Fires The Imagination & Lifts The Soul. If arts and music is what inspires you, there was plenty of that at TEDxDetroit. All of it amazing. We had the innovative rapping of Detroit CYDI (Can You Dig It) who invited the audience to tweet them one word. Then as the twitter stream went across they screen they made up rap lyrics on the spot using the words people tweeted. And they did it well!

 

But, for me, the most inspiring musical moment was the last one. The children's choir from the Detroit Academy of Arts and Sciences came out and performed an amazing rendition of Detroit State of Mind - a rewrite of the hit New York State of Mind. Those kids gave me chills and they brought the house down with the loudest, longest standing ovation of the day.

There were plenty of other inspiring moments, talks and people at this year's TEDxDetroit, but this blog has gone on long enough. Thanks to Charlie Wollborg, Terry Bean and their outstanding crew - it was truly an inspiring day.

So, what inspires you?

Mike McClure, still glowing in the Detroit state of mind.

Ad of the Week: McClure's Pickles - Pickles Instead of Wine

Yes, good print ads do still exist! And here's one that's copy heavy and doesn't even show the product. Did I mention it's great? As a writer and old school ad guy living in the new digital age, I can still appreciate when someone pulls such a feat off, such as the case with this ad for local cool pickle company, McClure's Pickles (and no, they are no relation to me).

First of all, it's a pretty clever premise to get people thinking about using the product in a new way, asking the question, "When is it appropriate to bring pickles instead of wine?" Witty copy goes on to talk about all the problems with bringing wine to the host of a party vs. bringing the appropriate jar of McClure's Pickles.

Secondly, the look of the ad is very cool. It's sparse use of color draws you in and gives it a nice tasteful look. The palate gives it a rich, old fashioned look. But, the subtle wine splatters make it feel a little grungy and hip. Using the type to create a wine bottle shape and putting the label from the pickle jar in this open space is a brilliant use of typography that you just don't see in print ads any more.

Make sure you take the time to actually read the copy; it's fun and weaves a great story. As Jen Wright mentioned in our last post, storytelling is an important part of the modern narrative. That's true in social media and old school media. So grab a nice glass of pickle juice, snuggle up to your monitor and enjoy the read. You can click on the picture and it'll pop up larger in a separate window or you can see it, with credits to the Team Detroit creatives who worked on it, on the Ads of the World site.

McClure's Pickles: Bring Pickles Instead of Wine

Got a suggestion for Ad of the Week? Leave your comment here, send us an email at fans@yaffe.com, send us a tweet or post on our Facebook page.

Mike McClure, Exec Creative Director & Social Media Guy

Me and My Magic Mouse

Guest blog by Joanie Abraham, Partner at Style Branding.

I was having trouble with my track pad on my MacBook and decided I’d rather break down and buy a mouse rather than part with my Mac for a week. They showed me a picture of the magic mouse online and as soon as I laid eyes on the new magic mouse there was no turning back. The design and function of this product so took over there was never any decision as to which one to buy; the more reasonably priced mouse or the magic mouse for another $20.

From the moment they grabbed the product from the shelf I was completely smitten with this mouse. I love looking at it, holding it, and even working with it. I can’t wait to pull it out at meetings. It completely intrigues me. All of a sudden it hit me that this is how people must feel about getting an iPhone. And it is surely how I feel about my MacBook

Everything Apple makes is just a little better looking and a little more expensive than it’s competitors and you can walk into any Apple store any time of day and you will see people from every walk of life and all different income levels. This demonstrates the power of style and design in action.

I covet my new mouse and it actually makes my hours at the computer much more appealing. It makes me feel good, and smart working with it. It glides around the desk following my instruction with such grace and precision. And everytime I glance at it I marvel at its incredible design.

I am grateful to Apple for imposing an awareness to style in our society. When you buy an Apple product, taking it out of the package is a thrill. To make people feel so good about a product, so devoted, so thrilled with every use, so empowered, is an objective every brand desires. That’s the power of style. Even Hewlett Packard realized you can charge more money and sell more product if you incorporate a sense of design and style.

Good design adds a layer of desire. You are proud to have the product serve as a reflection of who you are. You feel good around good design. Style makes us smile once we learn to see it. It’s what I call the SWOON factor. It speaks volumes so subtlety about what you stand for as a brand. In a virtual universe a sense of trust is a valuable asset. Style and design are universal with no language issues. It’s your unique sense of distinction worth it’s weight in gold in a world of abundance.

Web Video Increases Engagement & Sales

Engagement. It's one of the buzz words you hear all the time. But, it's true. With all the choices for the consumer's media time these days, you need to engage them in order to capture and keep their attention long enough to get your message. You need to give them something interesting or they will move on.

This is not just an excuse to be more creative with your marketing messages. It really works. It drives sales. Over and over again, we've seen that when we add an embedded video on our email marketing, creating an Advercast rather than a simple promotional email, sales go up. We tell everyone that we see a 34% lift in sales when we send out these Advercast emails. But, the numbers go up from there. We've seen incredible lifts in sales just by adding the video element. And we can see that we've increased engagement with these as well. The average person spends over a minute more on our Advercasts than on the promotional emails.

And you don't have to spend a lot of money to do it. It helps if you spend enough money to shoot or animate something spectacular. But you can create engaging videos for less if you get creative. Here's some of videos we created for our clients Advercasts. None of them cost more than $3000.

Video for the RoomPlace President's Day Sale email

Video for Robb & Stucky's Advercast

If you'd like to see more of our award winning web videos we've used to increase engagement and sales visit the podcast section of www.yaffetidbits.com. What other ways have you seen engagement result in sales?

Mike McClure, engaged and enthused

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.

How To Fashion A Great Brand Online

Fashion has become so tied in with entertainment that everyone everywhere is exposed to it’s nuances. Fashion is no longer considered a urban awareness...it’s universal; it has pervaded all levels of society with its visual appeal.

Fashion in a sense reflects how you feel about yourself.

Branding is the extension of this. The essence of the brand has to be communicated so loud that everyone can hear, and so resonant that everyone can feel. The more distinct and pronounced the statement, the more people remember who you are. The degree of distinction is the fashion quotient. This is style.

We can relate this to any product, but it is especially significant with cars. An automobile is brought to life wrapped in a coat of style. Surely the "swoon" of style can add value to the feel of the car. Fashion is the sense of fun, the personal connection with the car.

The American auto industry is going through great pains to accommodate the changes our environment requires, regardless of what we desire. That means, for American automobiles, creating awareness is going to be about creating a sense of desire to stay competitive in the marketplace and move us unwillingly into becoming a smaller car nation. So, sometimes fashion desires and perceptions need to bent and blended into a shape that fits the realities of the situation.

The Internet is a good place to do that reshaping. As marketers, we shouldn’t underestimate the Internet presence of any brand, both as created by the brand and as created by the users of the brand. The online environment is a key location to change perception about the feel, the quality and the services associated with a brand, product or company..

I use the auto industry as an example but this is true with any product in any price range or size. An unusual relationship between the product and the customer can be created on the Internet. The Internet has a number of seductive creative tools that can be implemented to elicit that emotional connection between the consumer and the product at the point of purchase. We walk through the aisles of our favorite retail emporium and our heartbeat quickens as we see all of the appealing merchandise on either side of us. The Internet can effectively elicit that same emotion with the right combination of creative features. If you have defined your online audience with the proper measurement tools and efficiently sorted out the data related to your online audience, you can begin communicating and servicing their needs in a very personalized manner. You can customize products for them. You can offer services and information and engaging promotions that go beyond anything they have known before. And you know about their interests because you can ask them. It is the access to specific areas of interest that makes you valuable to your customers.

Magazines can present luscious pictures of the essence of a brand, television can go even further with movement, music and desirable characters. Retail stores can make the seduction three dimensional; the product can be touched and felt. But the Internet brings access right into the bedrooms of your audience. The seduction and the point of purchase are available at the consumer’s personal whim and convenience, wherever they may be.

No matter how many stores you have, or what your advertising budget is, whether you are Wal-Mart or the woman down the block selling handmade knick-knacks, you can offer purchasing access to more people on your website than anywhere else. Anything new I heard about, any new resource that I should know about, can immediately be accessed through the web, where I can instantly see what all the buzz is about. So the Internet becomes Swoon Central for anyone selling a product.

Swoon Central is defined as the most accessible and appealing location you can have. The Internet qualifies hands down. The Swoon Factor is that illusive thrill and sense of style that creates the appeal. This will only become more important as technology evolves. Fashion is a potent elixir in establishing the swoon factor. So, when you look at the space your brand is occupying online, make sure it's located in the neighborhood of Swoon Central and your customers will always come back for more.

Joan Abraham, Digital AE & Fashion Fan

Seduce Your Customers With Style

Design, style and fashion put the thrill in our everyday lives. Looking at an aesthetic object gives us pause. Keeping that in mind when you go to market with your product or brand can positively affect your bottom line.

Every day the general public is introduced to the excitement of design and they are responding to it. No one seems to have a better grasp on that than one of the most successful retailers of our time, Target. Target’s ability to integrate the value of design so broadly and effectively has spread the thrill factor throughout the mass market of consumers. Now we all have to pay attention to design and style to compete.

From the Michael Graves egg timer to an Isaac Mizrahi dog leash, Target has style. This sense of style then oozes out to everything incorporating the Target bulls eye, even the way they show mundane products such as Tide detergent. To maintain their reputation of style, Target approaches designers that are not "over exposed" in the market place. Through their marketing, these designers take on an elevated role in heightening the image of Target. Part of that strategy for Target is to take the time to educate consumers on the appeal of style and the intrinsic value of their designers, such as Michael Graves, Luella Bartley and Isaac Mizrahi. The customer feels the value of Graves’ egg timer every time she sees it on her kitchen counter, which makes her feel good.

Design has an emotional impact on the consumer. It’s a sure bet that anyone can go online and find something from Target that excites them. Good design, either in the product itself or in the presentation of the product, gives the consumer trust and confidence. Trust is essential in the online environment. If the product follows up and performs, then you have won yourself a loyal customer.

Website design and product design become increasingly more important as we cross cultures in our now world bazaar environment. The design element is the emotional tie between the brand and the consumer. If you can get into the hearts of your consumers, you can engage them in the seduction of your brand. If you get into their minds, they are successfully wooed. Companies like Target and Apple understand how to do both, each in a most distinctive way.

The E-commerce portion of your business will become most influential in determining how people feel about your brand. Design and creativity, your personal stamp on the world as a brand, is communicating the heart and soul of what your product stands for.

Art and design in our daily living make us happy. Good design can make a grown man smile even if he takes in the sense of design unconsciously. The seduction of design and creativity is a powerful force. Today’s retail demands the collaboration of merchandising, design and technical knowledge to aesthetically accommodate your audience. It is the synthesizing of these elements that will create your full growth potential in this environment.

Joan Abraham, Digital AE & Design Fan

Our Style Is In Our Cars

Detroit is in such an interesting place at this moment. I am an outsider who was an insider connected to the Detroit Advertising community and fashion community growing up in the city back in the ‘50’s when Detroit was the center of the universe. I was a bit concerned about having to return to the Motor city after 20 years in fashion and new media in New York. I moved back to Detroit in February of 2008 and I have seen some pretty devastating days as Detroit fights to remain standing. I think it’s pretty safe to say that the overhaul of the American auto industry has deeply affected every one of us who lives in this great town.

But what Detroit has not lost is a distinct sense of style born from car design and marketing. When it comes to style and new media Detroit is rich with resources. There are great influences in the city that have grown out of car country. And every major new media resource is represented in Detroit because of the money and development Detroit autos have poured into new media marketing.

As we start pulling out of the economic disaster by overhauling the infrastructure of auto production, we seem to be attracting many young, hip growth industries requiring a lot of energy and creative thinking: namely alternative energy sources, innovation in making our world green and even a little film business, thanks to our connections in Hollywood and the Governor’s film incentive package. Detroit is starting to look like it will have a strong re- tooled future after all.

For a city that could have been written off, Detroit has never lost its mojo. There is something to be said about the Motor City and the sense of style that we generate here.

Style is that illusive element that fills all of us with desire. Style is what separates the cool from the ordinary. Imparting an image of style on a car will energize the senses of a female audience faster than any other factor. And the sense of style that used to govern the Detroit auto industry needs to be reinforced more substantially than ever. Understanding the appropriate role of fashion in creating a sense of style is the key to attracting and keeping the female audience.

Joanie Abraham, Digital AE & Author of StyleBranding 

Auto Industry Fuels Detroit Creativity

  You have to be in Detroit to understand it’s virtues as a vibrant, creative environment. The auto industry has produced a long, established sense of power and style on the world stage, from the actual designs of the cars to the creative industries they affect.

If you're in advertising and new media communications, Detroit is a Mecca. As the home of the American automobile industry, Detroit plays a major role in the world of advertising. And it's even more pronounced in the online arena. I am surrounded by the leading edge of new media communications as digital companies have sprouted up to service the massive budgets the auto industry has pumped into the online environment.

The city has an obvious love affair with the automobile. The city understands better than any other advertising capital the nuance of one’s relationship with one’s car and how that should be communicated.

I grew up in Detroit, but spent the last 20 years living in New York before recently moving back. Unlike New York, the Detroit advertising industry lives and breathes that phenomena everyday. And unlike Los Angeles, our city has had this relationship over many generations. The industry has produced a wealth of design talent that is produced and nurtured here. And that talent manifests itself in many different media. The power and innovation indigenous to the automotive capital of the world is not written about very often, but I have adapted very quickly to my new/old environment as a result of the ongoing creative stimulation that resonates in the area.

Car advertising is big business. This is The Motor City. This is Motown. We are the heart and soul of what’s hip at the nation’s collective core. As Detroiters we have to fight with every inch of our being to save the foundation of auto development as it morphs into the shape of cars to come. And we can't let the industry lose that essence of glamor or the power it brings us as Detroiters. When it's at it's best, it truly lives up to a full understanding of The Seduction of Style. It's what gives this city its vibe.

It's good to be back. Joan Abraham, Digital Account Supervisor