Here is a great little speech by an Ad Guy (Rory Sutherland), who makes the case for perception change over real change. In advertising that is what we do. We don't reinvent the product, we don't do the R&D, we rely on the companies to do the real product heavy lifting. We are happy to do the whole change perception thing. Call it candy coating or a spoon full of sugar or what ever but it is just words, music mixed with (on good days) ideas that can change perception of a brand.
So marketers and CEO's and CMO's taking care of how your brand is seen and perceived is the expertise of the ad guy. Making a product that is worth changing perceptions for, is yours.
It makes what we ad guys do seem a little shallow but it is what we do. We help clients change or perpetuate perceptions. It's branding. If your brand is a energy drink, a car or a 15 year old boy who needs a date to prom. It's all the same. Affect the perception of your brand and the consumer (or 15 year old girls) will follow.
Ad value with out changing the product? The Shreddies "case study" in the video below is gut busting. (TED now has an iphone app you can get to see all of your favorite videos.)
Mr. Sutherland is right "poetry is when you make new things familiar and familiar things new." that is what we do, or at least try to do again on good days :)
So take a Listen and get ready to smile then figure out how right Mr. Sutherland is.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Monday, January 25, 2010
Give your clients something THEY want.
A social media audit is a great place to start when you want to find out what people are saying about you and who they are. If you don't know who they are, then how or why talk back? What voice do you use? What do they want? I just got a text message from Snowbird Ski Resort in Cottonwood Canyon Utah and all it said was "Seven feet of snow in the last seven days. come on up."
I got the new free Snowbird iphone app, created by the amazing guys at welikesmall.com , and so of course I gave them my number and name. Now they could of texted me and begged me to come up during the last 30 days of little snow and fewer customers. That is what they needed -- Customers. But they waited until they had something I wanted. Snow! So instead of being pissed off that I got a text from some company I was elated.(And normally I do get pissed off)
Give them something they want and your business will grow. Try to "sell" them on their mobile device, facebook, twitter or what ever and you will fail.
Good luck.
david
I got the new free Snowbird iphone app, created by the amazing guys at welikesmall.com , and so of course I gave them my number and name. Now they could of texted me and begged me to come up during the last 30 days of little snow and fewer customers. That is what they needed -- Customers. But they waited until they had something I wanted. Snow! So instead of being pissed off that I got a text from some company I was elated.(And normally I do get pissed off)
Give them something they want and your business will grow. Try to "sell" them on their mobile device, facebook, twitter or what ever and you will fail.
Good luck.
david
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Social Media Resolutions
Now that we’re officially into 2010, why not make a few resolutions. No, we haven’t decided to swear off Diet Coke, commit to touching our toes or at least seeing them or stop calling our ex-girlfriend and breathing heavily into the receiver. While that last one might be appropriate, especially in light of the restraining order, we’ve decided to focus our resolutions on social media. So here are the top five social media resolutions every communications professional should have in this New Year:
I will not jump blindly into social media until I have identified my audiences, goals and results.
I will not pretend to be an unbiased message board/blog reader when I comment about my company – they will find out.
I will actually dedicate the time it takes to maintain my social media tools. Contrary to popular belief, social media is not “free” - it takes hours every week, between strategy, content development and engagement with readers.
I will offer real value to my social media audience, whether in the form of insights, entertainment or deals.
I will listen to and respond quickly to my audience. Social media allows for faster engagement than any other medium. But if we’re slow to interact with them, they’ll go elsewhere.
And then we have to try to keep these resolutions past February 1st. Good Luck
I will not jump blindly into social media until I have identified my audiences, goals and results.
I will not pretend to be an unbiased message board/blog reader when I comment about my company – they will find out.
I will actually dedicate the time it takes to maintain my social media tools. Contrary to popular belief, social media is not “free” - it takes hours every week, between strategy, content development and engagement with readers.
I will offer real value to my social media audience, whether in the form of insights, entertainment or deals.
I will listen to and respond quickly to my audience. Social media allows for faster engagement than any other medium. But if we’re slow to interact with them, they’ll go elsewhere.
And then we have to try to keep these resolutions past February 1st. Good Luck
Monday, December 7, 2009
Who's in charge of your brand?
Real time search - Google
This is great. Information is now so fast, there is almost no time for marketers to tell people who they are, or how good they are, or to buy their products.
The consumer (you and me) will tell each other in real time what we need to know! So you just finished your Double Double Animal Style Burger at In and Out. Tweet how great it was. Then half way around the world someone searches for In and Out and up comes your tweet just seconds later. You no longer have to even finish the burger and you can comment. Wow cool and dangerous. (OK half way around the world they can't get an In and Out Double Double and they will be so envious.)
Marketers, you are no longer in charge of your brand, the consumer is. So you better have amazing customer service and amazing products or I might just tweet you right out of business.
Are there ways to manager this? Yes to a degree, but it takes commitment and the willingness to take a chance and maybe even fail. Wow scary. But gone are the days of a bad product and a great brand perception. It's just not possible. But if you have a great product find someone to partner with to get out there.
Take a gander at this video off you tube.
Have fun out there.
David Yost
Creative Director
This is great. Information is now so fast, there is almost no time for marketers to tell people who they are, or how good they are, or to buy their products.
The consumer (you and me) will tell each other in real time what we need to know! So you just finished your Double Double Animal Style Burger at In and Out. Tweet how great it was. Then half way around the world someone searches for In and Out and up comes your tweet just seconds later. You no longer have to even finish the burger and you can comment. Wow cool and dangerous. (OK half way around the world they can't get an In and Out Double Double and they will be so envious.)
Marketers, you are no longer in charge of your brand, the consumer is. So you better have amazing customer service and amazing products or I might just tweet you right out of business.
Are there ways to manager this? Yes to a degree, but it takes commitment and the willingness to take a chance and maybe even fail. Wow scary. But gone are the days of a bad product and a great brand perception. It's just not possible. But if you have a great product find someone to partner with to get out there.
Take a gander at this video off you tube.
Have fun out there.
David Yost
Creative Director
What's in your twitter tool box?
Lots of things you can do besides just use up 140 characters to let people know you are at the grocery store or doing your nails. So if you are a great twitterist, then you are followed by the many, if not then here is a list of other things you can do on the twitter. It ranges from share music, to share files or you can just share you mundane life. It's all from Mashable.com Hey it's all twitterrific.
http://mashable.com/2009/08/21/13-twitter-tools/
If you are a marketer then make sure your strategy is all about giving your peeps what they want, not necessarily what you want to give them. Meaning if advertising is the comedian that goes on stage before the Rolling Stones, then selling on social media, facebook or twitter, makes you the annoying door to door salesman that comes to the door when they are expecting their hot date. give them something they want not what you want to give them. Deals, pertinent information, needed insight, fun, entertainment, it can be anything but it has to be what they want. So find that out from your target market and give it to them.
The days of marketers telling the public what they should want is over. We listen to our friends more than to any ad messages. How do you get people to talk about you and say good things? That is a topic for another day.
http://mashable.com/2009/08/21/13-twitter-tools/
Have fun out there.
David Yost
Creative Director
http://mashable.com/2009/08/21/13-twitter-tools/
If you are a marketer then make sure your strategy is all about giving your peeps what they want, not necessarily what you want to give them. Meaning if advertising is the comedian that goes on stage before the Rolling Stones, then selling on social media, facebook or twitter, makes you the annoying door to door salesman that comes to the door when they are expecting their hot date. give them something they want not what you want to give them. Deals, pertinent information, needed insight, fun, entertainment, it can be anything but it has to be what they want. So find that out from your target market and give it to them.
The days of marketers telling the public what they should want is over. We listen to our friends more than to any ad messages. How do you get people to talk about you and say good things? That is a topic for another day.
http://mashable.com/2009/08/21/13-twitter-tools/
Have fun out there.
David Yost
Creative Director
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Be Social And Make Money
More and more chatter about the social media. Again get in and play. Interact with your customer. Give them a reason to come to you or follow you and engage with you and your brand. Those who figure this out will make money. Everyone else... well they won't. Again you need a strategy and a reason to be there.
Lots of great companies do it and make money doing it. But they have a strategy and a voice. It needs to be a true voice that is a bit more playfull then maybe your regular branded voice.
That is the key. Don't be blinded by the light, learn to turn the light on yourself.
Found this youtube video . Enjoy it.
Have fun out there.
David Yost
Creative Director
Lots of great companies do it and make money doing it. But they have a strategy and a voice. It needs to be a true voice that is a bit more playfull then maybe your regular branded voice.
That is the key. Don't be blinded by the light, learn to turn the light on yourself.
Found this youtube video . Enjoy it.
Have fun out there.
David Yost
Creative Director
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Social Media is right for you!
Ok everyone is going crazy over social media. No one has figured out how to completely use it across the board. Marketers feel the need to "get in" so they can tell their bosses "yeah we're doing it." And the truth is they do need to get in and figure things out fast -- this switch in communication, branding and life. Social media is and has been a Game Changer.
But loads of marketers get in just because they think they should, with out knowing enough, they just want in, they are not totally sure of the whys or hows.
It reminds me of the old E-trade ads, my old agency Goodby, did sometime ago talking about how Venture Capitalist were giving money out to any one who knew what a URL was and had a "world wide web" idea. The .com business had a correction and so will the social media folks. But make no mistake the web didn't go anywhere and neither is Socail Media. It's here to stay but be careful and be samrt.
Before you get all twitter on your clients, know how it fits. Know why you are tweeting, know who you are targeting on Facebook and even if they want to talk to you. Know what you want out of it. Set goals, have a strategy for the social mediums.
The same questions you ask for the web or TV or even print should be asked for social media. How do I define success and failure. Budget? How do I drive people to my twitter, blog, Facebook ect. Why do I want to be in Social Media? Am I willing to let go of my brand and put it all out there for positive and the negative? What am I offering and why would people want to read my tweets, my blogs or be a fan on facebook?
Start off and get your feet wet before you dive in and know where you want to go with it. And then have fun with it. But get in and figure out now. Because it can work for you or it can work against you. Again it is a game changer not a fad. Believe.
Have fun out there.
David Yost
Creative Director
But loads of marketers get in just because they think they should, with out knowing enough, they just want in, they are not totally sure of the whys or hows.
It reminds me of the old E-trade ads, my old agency Goodby, did sometime ago talking about how Venture Capitalist were giving money out to any one who knew what a URL was and had a "world wide web" idea. The .com business had a correction and so will the social media folks. But make no mistake the web didn't go anywhere and neither is Socail Media. It's here to stay but be careful and be samrt.
Before you get all twitter on your clients, know how it fits. Know why you are tweeting, know who you are targeting on Facebook and even if they want to talk to you. Know what you want out of it. Set goals, have a strategy for the social mediums.
The same questions you ask for the web or TV or even print should be asked for social media. How do I define success and failure. Budget? How do I drive people to my twitter, blog, Facebook ect. Why do I want to be in Social Media? Am I willing to let go of my brand and put it all out there for positive and the negative? What am I offering and why would people want to read my tweets, my blogs or be a fan on facebook?
Start off and get your feet wet before you dive in and know where you want to go with it. And then have fun with it. But get in and figure out now. Because it can work for you or it can work against you. Again it is a game changer not a fad. Believe.
Have fun out there.
David Yost
Creative Director
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