Here it is, my brand new portfolio website. Mission accomplished.
Observationally Inclined
Tackling the advertising industry the only way I know how
#24- Facebook and Twitter and Pinterest, Oh My
We are in a new age, an age of interaction and emphasis on consumer engagement. As the end of my experience in Creative Strategist nears, one of the points that has really stuck with me through our exploration of brands, ads and strategy is the importance of social media. It is no longer acceptable for brands to dismiss social media because it has become absolutely essential for brand development. And we have only really explored the tip of the iceberg with the things social media can do for brands and consumer interaction.
Facebook allows brands and products to have pages that can be liked and friended by consumers. They can also comment directly on the page which provides a direct channel for consumers to express their opinions about brands and create a meaningful dialog between both parties.
Twitter has become an equally powerful tool for brands. Twitter users everywhere can tweet at brands and even specific employees of companies, and oftentimes companies provide quick responses to those who tweet at them. A recent Adweek article explained how tweeting when you have a negative experience with airlines can often gain you a response, often in the form of perks such as extra miles, much quicker then email or a phone call. Twitter is a way to provide real time commentary about your experiences with a brand and this can influence brands to make the changes consumers demand. For example, in the article it mentions that JetBlue stopped charging for folding bicycles due to an immense amount of Twitter complaints.
The most recent in the trends of social media is Pinterest. What at first seemed to be a site filled with recipes for cakes, and cute crafts for children has emerged as a new platform for brands to connect with their consumers. Pinners take pictures from the internet and archive them on their personal pinboards. When their followers click their pins, they are directed to the outside website from which the pinner originally found the image. This makes Pinterest a driving force in outside referrals to company websites. Brands are still easing into Pinterest, as it is still a newer, less explored social media platform, however it looks to be a promising tool. Forward thinking brands like Gap and Chobani are on the forefront of the Pinterest movement, and based on their recent success with the Pinterest audience they will soon be copied by many other companies.
Social media provides companies a plethora of opportunities to connect with consumers and forward their brand. As a Creative Strategist, it will become part of my, and every other student with aspirations in the ad industry, responsibility to delve deeper into the potential and power of social media to create better brands.
#23- Are Mascots Out?
There was a time in the 90’s when mascots were all the rage. Every business had a silly cartoon mascot to be their public face to the world. These were the hey days of Ronald McDonald, the Kool-Aid Man, Chester Cheeto and the myriads of other corporate mascots. Recently however, these mascots have begun to be phased out. It is rare that Ronald and his friends grace a McDonald’s commercial these days, and this goes for all the others. Except for the fairly recent Burger King commercials by CP+B, featuring the slightly nightmare-inducing plastic faced King, and the repeated attempt by General Mills to make the likes of the Trix Bunny and the Lucky Charms Leprechaun a successful device in their advertising, mascots have effectively been vetoed in the advertising world.
I think this has a lot to do with brand transparency. It is no longer acceptable for companies to hide behind their jolly cartoon mascots. For a company to win consumer trust, they must show that they are human. The consumers of today connect with brands that have a truly human element to them, and this cannot easily be conveyed through a mascot.
However, there are exceptions to the mascot avoidance. One such example is the successful Zappos campaign featuring puppets fashioned after and given voice by real Zappos customer service representatives. Though the puppets are a version of a corporate mascot, they were successful because they were a channel to display Zappos’ exceptional customer service, not just an attempt slap a friendly face onto the brand. The Zappos puppets appeal to the human elements of the brand. They showed that Zappos was dedicated to a good consumer experience through friendly, helpful customer service. The fact that they were based on real people made the puppets relatable and that their voices were audio taken from real customer service calls is a great way to show brand transparency.
Consumers want brands that can tell them the truth. That is why brands that once used to speak through the mouths of cartoons are shifting to spots that focus more on the quality of their product and how they are doing good. The shift away from mascots towards a focus on bringing the brand truths forward is a shift toward better, more transparent companies more worthy of consumer trust.
#22- Takeaways from Scott Bedbury
I’ll just start by stating the obvious, Scott Bedbury is a man who knows what he is talking about. The jobs he had a Nike and Starbucks are jobs that we, as creative strategists, can only dream of obtaining one day. But what is more impressive than his job titles, are his abilities to take a few simple notions about successful brands and with them completely transform failing brands into remarkable ones. He can turn brands in crisis into companies with human-like characteristics that have the ability to create long lasting emotional connections with their consumers that ultimately drives them to a level of success far beyond what most people see as achievable.
His lecture in creative strategist class was inspiring, to say the least. It made me believe in the abilities of brands to become so much more than products, and that with my superhuman powers, I can be someone who can help transport companies to a human level in the eyes of the consumer.
The biggest takeaways I gained from his lecture are going to get their own page in my ideabook because this is advice I know to be timeless and tested. This is advice I know has the potential to inspire me to climb to greater heights and create and think beyond what I believe to be my limitations. These are his words of creative, branding wizardy:
IT IS ALL ABOUT THE PEOPLE- This is two lines high and in all caps in my notes because he kept coming back to this point. You can give your brand a visual makeover, or create a very interesting product but what is most important is the people. A brand should always think of themselves as being in the people business first and in the business of their products second. Consumers who have a good experience with the people in your brand, whether that be baristas, salespeople or cashiers, will determine if they become a loyal consumer of your brand.
Have a higher purpose- Brands must be about more than their products. What sets a brand apart from all the others is when they are committed to a cause outside their brand that is at the same time intricately and emotionally connected with it. Nike has done this right by championing the cause of keeping kids in sports by donating money, shoes, and time. This is a greater purpose and it it what a creates brand goodwill, which is absolutely essential for brands to accrue.
And in conjunction with that, be transparent- These days people are finding it harder and harder to trust brands. If you want consumers to trust your brand, you have to be completely transparent. When brands have nothing to hide, then consumers feel good associating themselves with the brand and their products.
Make mistakes but learn from them, don’t run away from them- Mistakes are an integral part of the idea industry. When you fail big, it often leads to an even bigger breakthrough. The most important part of making mistakes, however, is to learn from what you have done. This is what makes you a better person, a better employee and a better member of the idea industry.
With all this advice under my belt, I’m feeling a little more prepared for the final.
#21- Welcome to the Ad Industry Chipotle
The Grammys had some pretty amazing moments, what with Adele’s return to music and touching tributes to Whitney Houston, it made for a good show; however, I think the best part aired during commercial break. I am talking, of course, about the airing of Chipotle’s first commercial in the 18 year history of their business.
Growing up within blocks of the first Chipotle restaurant ever opened, I have an odd investment in the continued success of their business and, in my opinion, the ad, called “Back to Start,” was a perfect way for them to introduce themselves through advertising. It was exactly on point with their brand values- to serve “food with integrity”, aiming to serve hormone free, naturally raised pork, chicken and beef in 100% of their restaurant and set themselves apart from the rest of the “fast food” industry by making a statement against the industrialized and inhumane turn the food industry has taken. Chipotle has a commitment to family farms, as well as organic foods, not just with their meat but all their ingredients. Chipotle is a restaurant committed to being better, and improving in quality as often as they can.
Set to a Willie Nelson cover of Coldplay’s “The Scientist”, the simple, cute animation makes a powerful statement against the current food industry. As our journalism professors highlight again and again- simple is powerful and Chipotle used this concept to leave a lasting message of the difference of their company in the viewers minds. The enlightened farmer who frees his animals of their confinements and allows them to roam free gives Chipotle a face, albeit a pill shaped animated one. This is the face of difference, of commitment to a better earth and a more conscious and humane food industry and this is how Chipotle is going to set the standard for quality in today’s “fast food.”
#20- Canada Does It Again
Many of you may not know that tomorrow, February 9th, is Canadian National Sweater Day (I know, Canada is having a hot streak on my blog this week). National Sweater Day is an event sponsored by WWF Canada that encourages people to turn down the heat in their houses or office buildings and wear a sweater instead. By turning down the heat even by a few degrees in the winter, people can make a big impact on climate change.
To promote National Sweater Day, WWF Canada put out this advertisement by Toronto agency John St:
This ad is a hilarious introduction to the website for National Sweater Day. The website allows people to request a reminder call from a host of real, live grannies who volunteered their services for the day. Each granny has a photo you can click on which provides a short amusing bio and an option to hear her voice. Once you have selected your granny, you can plug in the information for you or a friend in order to receive a call. The website also encourages visitors to pledge to WWF in addition to booking a call.
Just the idea of attaching grannies to National Sweater Day is brilliant, I mean who hasn’t received at least one ugly sweater from their grandma? The fact that they are using actual grannies, making live calls is an even better idea. It gives the whole campaign a human feel, which encourages a more meaningful interaction with the campaign and it’s environmental cause.
I think the campaign is absolutely fantastic, not only does it promote a good cause, protecting our environment; it is also interactive and every aspect of the campaign is cohesive. The website interface is granny and sweater themed throughout. The background is like a sweater itself. Everything has a woolen texture to it, there are buttons and stitching everywhere, overall it’s adorable and effectively forwards the goal of the campaign in just one glance.
The website also includes downloadable kits for offices, schools and universities to help people get National Sweater Day started wherever they are. The website and commercials make this campaign accessible to the public, as well as easy and fun to participate in.
I may not be in Canada, but with a campaign like this I feel inspired to participate anyway. As the website says “wear a sweater and make the world a better place for your grandchildren.”
#18- Safeway’s Sneaky Snack Artist
I am a strong believer in the power of packaging for a product. Nothing makes the month of February more bearable than a Starbucks heart cup.
Photo courtesy of flickr
It is a classy way to acknowledge Valentines Day without edging into the tacky red and pink heart filled tornado that is most businesses’ Valentines Day tribute. This is the roundabout way of saying I think that package decoration is hugely important in encouraging consumers to pick your products over all the others.
Another great example of this is Safeway Select brands’ package design for its recently unveiled line of snack foods called “Snack Artist.” The products under this line run the gamut from chips and pretzels to taquitoes and mozzarella sticks. Each package has a clever name like mariacheese and mozart-ella with sketchy black line drawings to match imposed on a neutral tan background that adds some continuity across the line.
Safeway brand foods are usually packaged in monotone, easily overlooked boxes and bags and therefore are often lost in a shelf crowded with bright, flashy packaging. As a college student, I shop for price over packaging and hence load up my cart with these unremarkable Safeway products, however, if given free reign in the grocery store I would always be reaching for the more interestingly packaged foods. This is why I was pleasantly surprised when I first discovered “Snack Artist”- finally Safeway had created packaging that held its own on the shelf. In fact, I reached for Snack Artist “Snack-sessorize” pretzels for the first time under the impression that I was putting a name brand product in my basket.
The moral of the story is that a little attention to packaging goes a long way, I think the proof is in the 2011 Communication Arts Award of Excellence that Snack Artist designers Anthem Worldwide received for their work on the brand.
#17- Thank Goodness
On Tuesday I finally figured out what I want to do with my life. On Tuesday I decided I want to be an account planner. After sitting through three weeks of essentially a prolonged panic attack in Creative Strategist class, looking at amazing campaign after amazing campaign thinking, “I don’t know if I am cut out for this industry”, there was finally a lecture where I could confidently say to myself, “I can do all that stuff and I can be good at it.” The lecture about account planning with it’s descriptions of what makes a good account planner essentially felt like it was describing me. The case studies, the research and the management, these are all things that not only am I extremely interested in, but things I feel like I could really excel at.
I have always known I am creative, but I like organized creativity. Many creatives scoff at “organized creativity”, considering it an oxymoron, but I think that in planning, organization and creativity find a happy balance. I also consider one of my greatest strengths to be my communication skills. I can eloquently express my feelings and intentions and I think this can be very helpful when managing a group of people. I am good at time management, I pride myself on being at least 15 minutes early to almost every appointment I make and as of yet have managed to juggle school, a part time job and a social life without skimping on any of my responsibilities. I also have a wide variety of interests that reach far beyond advertising. I love Harry Potter and know the series inside and out. I am in the process of creating the largest library of interesting books I can manage. I am a lifelong skier and an hiker with a dream of hiking every 14,000 foot peak in Colorado. I love the music of Patsy Cline more than most people of her generation. I consider myself to be an overall interesting person and I think this will serve me well in life as well as in the industry.
Tuesday’s lecture made me feel as if I finally have a more solid vision of what direction I want to take, not only with the rest of my studies, but also after graduation. The planning lecture also gave me reason to really think about what my strengths are and what I can bring to the table. For the upcoming group project I will be working with the seemingly inexhaustible creativity of Austin Powe and the drive of Jennifer Adler and I know that together we will create something truly great.
#16- Word Clouds
I am lucky enough to have a mom who works at an architectural firm in Denver filled with hip employees who like to send around interesting, design related links (ok and the occasional YouTube video too). She occasionally sends these links on to me, this is one of the best: http://www.wordle.com
Wordle is a really cool website that generates word clouds. Word clouds, for those who do not know, are essentially graphic compilations of words- the most important or used words are the largest and they get smaller and smaller the less they are used.
This is one of my favorite word clouds.
It is from NBC’s Parks and Recreation showing Leslie Knope’s most used words. For those who haven’t seen Parks and Recreation, watch it, it is one of the best comedies currently on television…but that is for another blog post.
On Wordle you can create word clouds by either directly putting text into a text box or by entering the URL address for a blog or website with an RSS feed. They also have a gallery of word clouds created by other people ranging in topic from the US Constitution to someone’s thesis. You can also change the font, layout and color to make your wordle uniquely yours.
Wordle is not unlike infographics used by companies to visually explain the data they have collected. Wordle is a way to visually communicate which words are prominent in blogs which is often indicative of what topics are most important or discussed.
Here is the wordle for my blog:
