Caffeinated posts from an ACD/Copywriter. I write about advertising, design, astronomy, cooking, and pretty much anything else that strikes my fancy, including random bits of reference info for work purposes. You may also know me as 'that other gal' who helps run Adland.
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Tuesday, March 26, 2013
[ Life, liberty and gay marriage ]

+ Today and tomorrow, Supreme Court is looking at two cases about marriage equality. They are looking at Prop 8 from California and if the fed­er­al De­fense of Mar­riage Act wrongly denies mar­ried gay couples equal be­ne­fits. 


These are issues that effect friends and family. And typically, I don't blog about political things here. 

Labels: life, rant

Friday, December 21, 2012
[ What is digital? ]

+ About a month ago, I was at a 2-day interagency session for a client. The goal was to come away with an integrated plan. We started off by doing some group work where there was a mix of clients and folks from different agencies. Day two included breaking out by channel. And that's where the confusion began. And, prompted me to write about it.

These days, digital is a term that I think has taken on the role as "traditional" terminology. It's broad, it has many things living under it. Yet, one of the things that sets it apart from "traditional" is that these days, many brands have different agencies owning different pieces of it. One agency for website, one agency for SEO, one agency for social, one agency for emails (mobile often becomes a undefined group). You don't often see this on the "traditional" side where different agencies are in charge of TV, radio, outdoor, print, etc. So, why do we see it in the digital space?

Anything that gets published to the web requires some kind of SEO. Posting to social networks now is also scraped by bots helping pull up results when someone does a search. Yet, it's often only considered as a piece when doing a website, or SEO campaign.

And that's just one example of this fragmentation that causes confusion. Another is social. Does it fall under PR/Media Relations? CRM? Digital? Who owns it? It all depends on the brand. In some cases, multiple agencies and/or brand groups touch social at the same time.

It's a weird thing that digital has become so spread out and specialized in and among itself.

Personally, I think too much agency fragmentation is a bad thing, especially if the goal is integration. It creates issues of coordination on the brand side. Getting agencies to play nice can be complicated. And, there can be complications with budget issues (which can also effect agencies playing nice).

Rethinking how marketing and advertising works overall requires brands to internally restructure. It's a daunting task but the result can be harmful in the long run if we keep it status quo.

Labels: adgruntie, advertising, digital

Sunday, November 25, 2012
[ Social Stats In Video Format ]

+ Erik Qualman put together this video of stats on Social Media. Some useful info for your 2013 presentations in here.



I just wish we'd stop using the music track now in these kinds of videos. There's got to be something better and newer by now. ;)

Labels: data, social, social media, social networking

Saturday, November 17, 2012
[ Let's stop with the overused man vs woman concepts ]

+ A new spot for Tecate brings back the overused stereotypical woman asking her man if "X makes her look fat". Can't we be more creative? Coke Zero, Twix and Geico are just a few examples of other brands that have already used this concept. Unless you're going to put a really awesome twist on it, leave it in the bin please.

Tecate ad:
 

 Coke Zero used it:


Twix did:
 

 Geico with Lincoln:

Labels: advertising, commercial, creative

Monday, November 12, 2012
[ Travel and thoughts ]

+ I'm back from a 10 day trip to Europe. And during the trip I met up with people in the countries I visited. One of them was someone I had never met before in person.

This is not a completely unusual event for me. My maid of honor at my wedding flew in from Sweden and it was the first time we met in person. Another good friend of mine, I met for the first time in London when we had decided to take at trip together.

To so many, it seems odd. Granted in 2001 and 2007, it was much odder than it is today.

But, there's something in that. There's something exciting and fun about being able to connect with people who think the same, who share similar views, who get you--even though they happen to be 3000 miles away, and in another country.

And there's something to be said about this kind of gap that the digital age has brought about, broader than just finding a new friend.

The brands that use some of these universal thoughts for the way they approach their advertising and communication plans are also the ones that have the most fans in any place they are. They're the ones that have ad campaigns that resonate because they ladder up to more of a universal truth.

Labels: Cup of Java, digital, life

Saturday, September 22, 2012
[ Social Era ]

+ Traditional Strategy is Dead resonated with me this week when I read it. I've been saying some simliar things lately and it's nice to see others thinking the same way (and that I'm not just off ranting.)

It's helpful to call this new context the Social Era to emphasize a point: while in the industrial era, organizations became more powerful by being bigger, in the Social Era, companies can also be powerful by working with others. While the industrial era was about making a lot of stuff and convincing enough buyers to consume it, the Social Era is about the power of communities, of collaboration and co-creation. In the industrial era, power was from holding what we valued closed and separate; in the Social Era, there is another framework for how we engage one another — an open one. 

Here's the simplest way to define the Social Era. The industrial era primarily honored the institution as a construct of creating value. And the information age (inclusive of Web 1.0 and Web 2.0 phases) primarily honored the value that data could provide to institutional value creation. It allowed for greater efficiency to do the same things that were done in the industrial era. The Social Era honors the value creation starting with the single unit of a connected human. In this framework, powerful organizations look less like an 800-pound gorilla and more like fast, fluid, flexible networks of connected individuals — like, say, a herd of 800 nimble gazelles.

I agree and think there is over-simplification of "social media" and have long been an advocate of dropping "media" from the term. There still seem too many who are seeing social as a silver bullet and looking at it with too small of a scope. Sure, your brand can be on Facebook or Twitter or Pinterest, but why? What are you doing there? And how does it tie in to the larger picture of your brand? If I have a bad experience in your store or with your product, social networks and social media aren't going to help solve that, unless brands start implementing changes from feedback they get on their Facebook wall or in tweets they receive.

This has started me thinking that the next "fad" in advertising and marketing will be a full, holistic approach about what the brand is doing at every consumer touchpoint and how those human interactions and connections are treated. But that's only if companies are able to organize from the inside out to agree to a strategy that takes coordination and sign off across multiple groups in an organization.

Labels: adgruntie, advertising, social, social media

Saturday, September 15, 2012
[ Society of Good Taste ]

+ Oh Grey Poupon. Its ads from the 80s became pop culture status. In a decade of living the spendy lifestyle, it worked. If you don't remember, here is the original and a follow up that ran a few years later.
 



This week, Grey Poupon launched a digital campaign with an app on Facebook via CP+B that I'm digging. This NY Times article explains the what and why of the campaign, which is targeted at increasing sales with the 18-34 year old demographic. What is interesting about it, is that you're not hit with a traditional "like gate".

After going to the Grey Poupon Facebook page, users can agree to have their Facebook profile scoured to see if their selections measure up to the brand’s parameters. For example, if a Facebook user’s profile lists suitable choices for “newsworthy happenings,” “their place of residence,” “social standing” (i.e., how many Facebook friends they have) and “curiosities and tastes,” he or she can score in the top 20th percentile, which allows membership in the Society of Good Taste. Grey Poupon’s Facebook page has about 20,000 fans, and Ms. Braun said Kraft expected to expand that number with its campaign. Those who are accepted in the society will have a chance to win a cookbook like Julia Child’s “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” or a Grey Poupon shopping bag because, she said, “people who uphold high standards should be rewarded.” Grey Poupon is also overhauling its Web site by rebuilding it on Pinterest, which would enable customers to see its visuals and make it easier to pin and share visuals and other content.

We passed this around our creative department. I got in on the first go, although my use of "OMG" in one Facebook post was not received well. Another coworker tried to get in and didn't, so she updated her Facebook to get in. Now, being in the ad biz, part of the motivation for that was to see what it was and did. But will other "average Joes" do the same? There is something to the exclusivity that just might make them behave in the same way. Super smart.

Also, the fact that you can't just like the brand without going through this "approval process", is interesting as well. When brands talk about wanting engaged fans, not just huge numbers of them, this is the kind of thing that creative teams should come back with. But often, you can't sell it in because clients worry about it being "too exclusive" and "what about causal users?". Once you're in, there are also "Tasteful Rewards" which began with an "Eco-curean Tote Bag". More are to be revealed, and it will be interesting to see what those rewards are. Definitely a carrot to some to come back and check it out. We'll see if it helps to grow the fan base too, beyond ad folk checking it out. ;)

Labels: ad review, advertising, digital, facebook, social, social media

Monday, September 03, 2012
[ I'm back, sort of... ]

+ With the craziness of this year so far, this poor blog has been neglected. I've been to busy to think about what I think. I was just doing. And doing. And when I wasn't doing, I was too tired and fried to do much more but find ways to do nothing. Overwhelmed wasn't it. Burned out wasn't it either. But, whatever it was, that is the past and I've gotten out from underneath (well, mostly...still working on it) and am moving forward.

 Last night, two big projects for one of my clients launched. It's not ground breaking stuff, but it's fun for what it is. If you're interested, check out Dunkin' Donuts Henson's Big 'N Toasted Workplace Jargon & Sweepstakes (national) and The Great DD Gronk Off (local DD Boston market). Both are Facebook apps, one promoting the Big 'N Toasted Breakfast Sandwich which is a national promotion. I had some fun writing some new buzzwords. And I'm proud of some of the ones that made it through the approval process. The other is promoting DD's Bakery Sandwich line and features Patriots' tight end, Rob Gronkowski (a.k.a. Gronk). There is little more challenging than writing scripts for non-actors. But, I have to say, I think they turned out decent. The post-work on them helped to jazz them up a bit. I know neither are Cannes Lion worthy pieces. But hopefully they generate awareness and a bit of buzz to accomplish our client's goals.

 Anyway, more to come soon.
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
[ 10 ways we can improve how we work ]

+ Some things to work on within the ad industry:

1) Respecting other people's schedules.
If I tell you I'm going to have X done by a certain time, and you schedule your day around that, and I don't deliver, or even notify you of the change, you wouldn't be happy. Don't expect others to move the world around for you if you have epidemic issues with completing your work on time.


2) Understanding when someone says, "I'm busy now, let's schedule a time later."
Walking up to someone's desk and demanding their time right then is rude. If someone is in the middle of the creative process, or even writing a business proposal, there should be enough brain cells in your head to understand that "I'm busy, let's talk in a little while or set up a time to talk" doesn't mean "Yes, I'm free to spend 20 minutes reviewing your changes because whatever it is that you have to talk about is more important than anything else I could be doing at the moment". In fact, the majority of people who tend to pull this wouldn't stand for it to happen to them for a second. The only time this is even remotely acceptable is if you're speaking Greek and the person you're talking to doesn't understand a lick of the language. And let's just say the chances of that being the case are about as slim as


3) The bullshit artists. Kill them now.
There's always someone who seems to trollop through the mire and yet always end up smelling of roses. How? They pawn work off on other people. They manipulate others, craft emails to make others they work with look bad, and generally refuse to take any blame for poor work or lack of work. Stop letting them work their way up the ladder. If you don't stick your foot out and trip them, you're responsible for making other people's lives hell, until someone has the balls to do it. Dead weight does not help you get anywhere…


4) Communication.
I find it extremely depressing, considering the field we are in (communications, if you didn't know), how many people are very poor communicators. It's really not all that hard. Just think for a second before you shoot off an email, even take the extra minute to re-read what you wrote so you can be sure it makes sense. Keep people in the loop. Let them know of changes in schedules. Tell them the information that you just received from a client about the project you're working on.


5) Time management.
People who love to have meetings for the sake of having meetings. Those who give themselves a week to do their work but make others turn it around in a day, sometimes less. Continual revision after revision. Having no idea what you want but you need it yesterday. These are all things that can be avoided. Yet it happens all the time.


6) Taking credit for other people's work.
Advertising is a team business. You work together. Ideas build off other ideas. It's cumulative. It's difficult to be good and not be a team player.


7) Play your roll, let others play theirs.
There's a reason you're an AE and not an art director or copywriter. There's a reason you're a media buyer and not a planner. Sure you can have ideas and work together (see #6), but respect the fact that someone who is laying out an ad or designing a website knows what they are doing to best communicate to the user/consumer/etc. And, yes, you can have an opinion but, when it comes down to it, the reasoning to use X font size or a certain phrasing should be left to the experts. Knowing how to use Word does not a copywriter make. Being able to create a PowerPoint presentation does not give you a degree in graphic design, so put away your fade in reveal skills and leave it to the professionals. P.S. - we use real tools like Creativity and Common Sense.


8) Respect the process.
Just because your boss or client lights a fire under your ass to get something completed does not mean that you can skip the set up channels to get your project to the front of the queue. There's a reason why creative briefs were created. Complete one. It won't kill you. Half-assing the process just leads to more wasted time in getting your project done.


9) Respect people's intelligence.
Don't ask the same question over and over. Especially right after another. It makes you seem like you don't ever listen or think they are a moron. "Did you send the PPT doc? So, they got the doc? Are you sure they got it? So, they should be all set?"



10) We're not saving lives. Have fun.
Let's not kid ourselves here. Sure we're dealing with lots of money in some cases, but no one will die if something goes out late. Keep it in perspective and have fun. You're doing something that many others would like to be doing. Don't forget that.

Labels: adgruntie, advertising, creative_management, cubelife

Tuesday, April 24, 2012
[ This and That 4.24.12 ]

+ Diagram.ly is a cool online diagramming tool.
+ Style conscious resumes as they call it has some interesting inspiration for resume layouts, if nothing else.
+ MailChimp's interactive voice style guide for writing their emails. Very smart. I like.
+ A plethora of lovely Subtle Patterns to use for your web projects. You can even preview them on a site before using.
+ Send A Song created by Forsman & Bodenfors for Stopp, let's people make their own version of "Don't you worry..." from laying down vocals to mixing the final song and dedicating it to a friend.
+ A new Google Quarterly is out with some interesting articles.
+ Turn your FB page into a 3D race course with gallery of print ads from 1930-1969.
+ A great presentation from Gareth Kay on being radical for the ICA in Toronto urging the industry to reclaim its progressive, radical roots.
Time for true radicals

Labels: advertising, links, reference, this and that

Cup of Java © 2002-2011
keep on using that brain.