Celebrity Endorsements in the Year of the Tiger

In the media maelstrom that has overtaken Tiger Woods, one question has somehow gone unasked: “Where was the Buick in all of this?”
 
I realize that Tiger is technically an endorser for GM, but for the last few years he has been filmed and photographed pimping one brand only: Buick. Yeah, that Buick.  But when it comes to driving around the neighborhood and running over fire hydrants, Mr. Woods opts for the sexier, brasher, better-appointed Cadillac Escalade.  The cad!
 
This of course raises a problem many of us in the marketing business have with celebrity endorsements – they are obscenely expensive and 9 times out of 10 are utterly unbelievable.
 
Don’t get me wrong, when it comes to sports figures endorsing sports related equipment (especially shoes that bear their name), I get it. There are even some believable food and beverage endorsements; Jen Anniston with the ever-present Smart Water bottle, Jamie-lee Curtis yogurting her way to better digestion, and of course Wilford Brimley for Quaker Oats (I’d bet that guy eats oatmeal 5 times a day). But Tiger Woods – billionaire, icon, reasonably stylish dresser – driving a Buick Enclave?  How stupid do we look?  
 
John Daly and a case of Bud.  Phil Mickelson and a box of Twinkies. These are endorsements I can believe in. Tiger, it’s time to step out of your Enclave and sell us something we can believe in (on many counts).

10 Tips for Implementing Corporate Social Media Strategies

Navigating the vast social media landscape can be a daunting task – especially if you are just starting out. While there is no shortage of information on the topic, we’ve created a cheat-sheet that will hopefully be of use to newbies and veterans alike.

1. Let go. You’ve already lost control, accept it.
2. Dip your toes in.  Don’t try and swallow the entire social media watermelon in one sitting. Pick one or two initiatives to start with, learn from them, and adjust/ expand accordingly.
3. You can’t fake it. Social media is all about being transparent and authentic.
4. Know your audience. Know their interests and affinities. Monitor their reactions. Adjust accordingly. Rinse and repeat.
5. Be creative. Social media is not about the status-quo. Have fun with the medium and be inventive.      
6. Give more than you take. Trend very lightly with any blatant marketing – offer people something of value. (e.g. information, access, deals)
7. Make it personal. Nobody wants a relationship with a logo. If you have several tweeters – say so. Let your brand stewards have their voice, face and name.
8. Develop guidelines. Create a road map of do’s and don’ts – for employees engaged in social media on behalf of your brand.
9. Don’t assume that social media is free. While many of the applications are free, don’t be fooled – implementing and monitoring a successful social media plan requires a significant time investment ($$).
10. Allocate proper resources. While many of the upfront tasks can be handled by a good agency partner, internal team members should be dedicated to the program’s success. Remember, these people are acting as the voice of the brand, so they should be well informed from all levels including; upper management, sales, marketing, and PR, and clearly know the limits of what is acceptable to say (i.e. not the intern).

The WHY of Social Media

As important and powerful as social media is to an organizations overall communications strategy, it is no secret that it has also become a big “me-too” bandwagon (heck- we’ve jumped on it ourselves). In order to help our clients successfully navigate the social media landscape, we’ve developed a simplified methodology for evaluating and crafting social media programs. Simply put, it's our "Five W’s and One H of Social Media" (Who, What, When, Where, Why and How).  Once we determine the “Who” (which we’ll cover in another post) we challenge our clients to stop and ask themselves “Why?”. The fact is, no brand should jump into the social media sea without having a solid reason for doing so. Put another way – an inactive or unresponsive Twitter account is worse than no account at all.

So next time you think to yourself or hear from your clients “We need to be on Facebook, Twitter, You Tube, etc.”, take pause and explore “Why”...

WHY?

You have content that you want to share

• DO create a destination for interested parties to gather and contribute
• DON’T bore people with meaningless self-promotion - give them something of value
  

You want to strengthen/ build relationships with customers

• DO make it easy for them to “find” you
• DO engage them and make it FUN!
• DON’T make it all about you - it’s always about them
  

You want to facilitate customer feedback and questions

• DO use as a customer service tool (answer questions, address complaints & compliments, conduct mini-focus groups)
• DON’T wait for the complaints to come to you - seek them out and address
  

You want to drive trial or conversion

• DO offer them something of value in return (information, access, deals )
  

You want to enable and/or engage in a conversation that is already a happening

• DO seek out your target in places where they already frequent and join the conversation there
• DO be careful to follow the social norms & tone of the given site, group, forum etc.

Tailgate Approved?

As we cross the midway point for the college and pro football seasons, all the hours and hours of commercials are really starting to sink in, finally penetrating the layers of malted hops and nacho resin that surround most die-hard fans’ brains. The one campaign in particular that has bubbled up into my consciousness during all those instant replay reviews is the Bud Light “Tailgate Approved” Spots.

If you’ve watched a single snap this season, odds are you’ve seen Jimmy Football hawking Bud Light tailgate gear to a crowd of rubes. The Grooler, the Foozie, the Tailgate Companion – all are a little ridiculous, but also very real (the Grooler has actually sold out at $125 a pop!). As for connecting with their audience, clearly Bud Light is speaking a language we manic, mad-genius tailgaters can definitely get on board with (why shouldn’t a dog have saddlebags full of mustard? Genius!). The commercials are spot on and the web site is well put together, down to the foam finger cursor pointer.

But the bigger question that has been kicked around on a few sites/blogs/etc. is “what about the memory of Billy Mays?” Clearly, Jimmy Football is modeled after Mays, albeit sans beard. Considering that Mays died in a freak accident back in June, I can understand some degree of fretting over the blue-shirted Jimmy Football character. But a good idea is a good idea, and these are pretty much the only beer ads that have broken through the clutter this season (and that is coming from a Coors man). So, for the folks who have asked “too soon?”, I guess I’d have to answer with a resounding…maybe not.

As an ad guy, the thing I am most shocked by is that this hasn’t drawn a lot of ire – and that it made it through the client’s approval channels apparently unscathed. Which goes to show good ideas can stand up – even in the face of (or total lack of) controversy. Just look at the Pepsi iphone app that helps Amp drinkers (there are Amp drinkers?) to “Amp up before you score”. Odds are that “outrage” has driven more downloads than the app could have hoped for, all at the cost of alienating an audience that doesn’t matter to Amp anyway. Seriously, when was the last time you saw a young lady drinking an Amp?

So pitch on Jimmy Football, I’m buying what you’re selling. Except for Bud Light, that is.

Ego with a side of Perspective

In an industry where big ideas and creative genius are intrinsically tied to big egos, we sometimes need a reminder that while what we do is personal...we shouldn’t always take it so personally. As an ad girl, I know its cliché to turn to Mad Men for blog-topic inspiration, but last night a particular line really struck me... Peggy was upset that one of her ideas wasn’t being bought, and Don told her “You’re not an artist, you solve problems”. He followed it up with the equally inspiring line of “leave some tools in your toolbox”.

Being on the account/strategy side of the business, I realize that this is easier said than done. I’ve seen the wind sucked out of many creative sails, and have done my share of trying to salvage and fight for a creative vision – all while doing a delicate two-step between client and creative. A colleague once equated account service to waiting tables (no, not the order taking, although that certainly plays a role in the analogy). Think about it...

A customer is unhappy with a dish and sends it back to cook longer (read: make the logo bigger), and while they’re at it, they decide to swap sides for something they think would go better with the entree. Now, a seasoned waiter would never deliver this “suggestion” to a chef without a heavy dose of tact. “Excuse me, brilliant chef? The gourmand at table 10 has asked that we make a few adjustments to their dish. While they really appreciate what you’ve done here, they prefer well done (I know, can you believe it!!). And while you’re at it, would you mind swapping sides – I think they are on some sort of a diet...”

Long story long, it’s important for us all to remember exactly what it is we are paid to do... solve problems. Sometimes that means the “original artistic vision” may take a few lumps along the way, but as long as we end up with a creative solution that solves the problem at hand, AND we have satisfied clients, AND the consumer responds with the intended action... If that’s not a creative masterpiece, I don’t know what is.

Bon Appétit.

Mr. Potter, What Does it Mean?!

In 1983 I stood in line for three hours waiting for the opening of Return of the Jedi. And after that marathon of pre-teen patience and dedication, and I was rewarded by…Ewoks. Nevertheless, Jedi was a huge event, but oddly enough I don’t recall seeing a single person dressed up as a character from the movie – certainly not anyone over the age of 13. Which is what amazed me last week about the opening of the new Harry Potter movie.

Back in the day, Star Wars was beyond huge. Mark Hammil on the Muppet Show. The Star Wars disco song. Legions of plastic-costume kids storm trooping through neighborhoods each October. But the Star Wars craze seemed to have a clear line in the sand between fan and fanatic, and it was largely a line of age. Kids lived and breathed Star Wars, parents enjoyed or tolerated it. Flash forward 20 odd years and cue a whole new phenomenon courtesy of Ms. Rowling and Mr. Potter.

A caveat here – I have never read or seen any of the Harry Potter offerings. But I do have plenty of friends and associates young and old who devour the books and critique the movies with devotion once reserved for Trekkie conventions. So, it came as no surprise when I popped into the MegaPlex the other night and saw legions of Potter fans camped out at 9 pm waiting for the 12:01 show on opening night. What did surprise me where the outfits. And the outfitted.

Of the Potter-goers, no less than fifty percent were dressed up as some character from the books/films. And no less than half of the costumed and accessorized were at least in their mid 20’s (some in mid 40’s). Magic wands, wire-rim glasses, stripey scarves, wizard hats, and – strangely, a lot of graduation gowns – were everywhere, modeled by old and young alike.

So what does this all mean to marketers?

Clearly, it means that a good-old fashioned hardcover book can still magically generate mounds of cash and legions of fans (more proof? see Twilight). But beyond that, who knows? Does it mean niche audiences fueled and united by growing social media are a more powerful force than ever before? Probably. Are consumers starving for more “experiential” entertainment? Perhaps. Is the thread tying books, movies, magazines, TV, the web and whatever other media is around growing stronger than ever? You could argue that.

I just know that when it comes to Mr. Potter, the unfathomable cash and rabid dedication the franchise has generated is staggering and (though I hate the phrase) game changing. Or as we’d say back in the day, “the force is strong with this one”. (Sorry, I don’t know any Potter-isms…Shazam?)

The Power of The Snuggie

In a recent product naming project, we challenged our creative team to come up with a product name that could be as awesome as...the Snuggie. Some people laughed, some started scratching heads and others sat waiting for the inevitable (and inevitably lame) punch line.

But the Snuggie is no joke – it is a fantastic, ridiculous and powerful name for a fantastically, ridiculously stupid product. What is essentially a cheap airplane blanket with arm holes cut in it made the cover of Ad Age in January after selling out after 4 million sold (but you can get on the waiting list!). Face it - it’s a blanket with arms and a terrible as-seen-on-TV commercial, but the Snuggie kills it…because of the name.

Snuggie sounds personable, warm (both emotionally and presumable temperature wise), and it’s completely non-function related (the "Arm Blankie 2000XT" it is not). The word Snuggie is somehow both childlike, childish and ambiguously naughty. Maybe even a little fun – and when is the last time you thought of a blanket as fun? It even works in daily language: no one wants to ask you to go to the closet for the sleevy-blanket, but “Hey honey, can you grab the Snuggie” somehow sounds (reasonably) sane.

The Snuggie is a perfect example of things that make you pull your hair out one day that become the measuring stick to judge your creative work product the very next day. Rumor has it the Snuggie folks are cutting a deal with the NCAA for officially licensed Snuggies, coming soon. God help us all.

Oldie but goody - Animator vs. Animation!

Internet recycling: the process of discovering something you've seen online before all over again. The other day, someone recycled this funny little animation into my inbox and aside from being pretty witty/cool/fun, it’s probably a good reminder for all of us in the creative biz to look for inspiration (or at least direction) in everyday things. Next time I'm struggling for that light bulb idea, I'll probably recycle this one little animation again and come up with my own murderously creative stick figure plot.

From my inbox to yours - check out Animator vs. Animation!

New Biz All-nighter

Unless you are in the communications business (and on the agency side) odds are the last time you pulled an all-nighter was in college. Thanks to technology, even all-nighters in the agency biz are becoming less common but they do rear their ugly head from time to time. We recently pulled a pretty good old-school all-nighter here at Tailfin for a new business piece, the kind of project that almost always gets pushed to the back of the line. A few days after this, a few things came to mind that are good lessons for those of us in the agency business (and those of us in regular-type business as well).

Sometimes these things are unavoidable. Duke Ellington once said (allegedly) “I don’t need time, what I need is a deadline.” Deadlines are the drivers of everything we do, and when you weigh the deadlines for clients versus the potential clients, it’s easy to guess who wins. So the only time you can put yourself first – as your own client – is when the phones go quiet, the emails subside and the sun goes down (this is sometimes equally true of real breakthroughs on client work).

You can see a week of work played out in one night. If you want a good snapshot of how your organization is really running, keep scoreduring an all-nighter. You can see working tendencies and interpersonal skills played out in a mere twelve hours; camaraderie and cut-throat rage, under-the-gun smarts and deer-in-headlights dead-ends. But unlike the 9-to-5 workday, you can also see how much individuals really care – about their work, about each other and about the success of the agency. It can be illuminating…or scary.

In the end, an all-nighter can be a kick in the pants. Yes, on the “day after” everyone is pretty much worthless and walking around in a tingly caffeine haze. But more often than not, real, smart creative ideas filter out of the wee hours , as can a new found respect and empathy for co-workers. In the days and weeks that have followed out last 36 hour slog, oiur team has felt a creative re-invigoration and even instituted some otherwise boring organizational processes to make us all work – and live – a little smoother together.

When it’s all said and done, the all-nighter is both beauty and beast – lot’s to love and hate. But it is also a badge most old-schoolers still wear with pride – something that says “No, I don't wear a tie to work, thank you very much,” as you turn and walk away in your all-black agency-issue threads.