Archive for September, 2009



14
Sep
09

you might need a tissue for this one

child

Prepare to have your heartstrings pulled. This ad spot for the Starship Foundation by DDB New Zealand and director Steve Ayson pulls out all the stops. Everything from the music to the acting are perfect for making you cry like a worker in an onion plant. Have a quick watch before reading the rest of this article:

Starship Foundation: Father and Son

The spot is based on this phrase you’ve probably heard or used before, “I would trade places with you if I could.” And boy is it effective as a concept!

It starts off with a very somber feel. The father looks sad and isn’t saying a word, which makes the music even more effective. When the family walks into the hospital, I noticed the young girl taking information from adult patients, which made me think something was up. After the hug-switch and the line, “You can’t trade places, but you can help,” I needed a minute to recover.

The ad concluded with information on how to donate. You can call a number to donate $20, or send a text to a short code to donate $3. How handy!

It’s interesting how short codes keep popping up all over the place. This is an excellent example of one effective use in a TV spot. Right at the end when you are about to weep, instead of whipping out your checkbook or making a phone call with a runny nose, you can simply send a text and donate a few bucks to that super cute child.

11
Sep
09

A Great Sign for Denver

Jay

It’s not every day that you see street signs using a nicely designed logo.

As I was riding my bike to work the other day, I noticed a new street sign along my usual route. It stated that Denver is a “Solar America City.” I know solar panels are being installed on buildings all over the greater Denver area and that the solar industry is growing around the state, but I wasn’t aware that Denver is now officially, according to the U.S. Department of Energy, a “Solar America City.”

So, back to my point. The logo treatment for the “Solar America City” sign is nicely done. It doesn’t look like a typical municipality-designed image. Kudos to whoever was responsible for designing this logo. Job well done!

10
Sep
09

Do you have joke insurance?

Picture 32“On the Media” aired a humorous story last week about the Urban Dictionary, a Web site where you can look up slang words and phrases submitted and written by regular people. The Web site turns 10 this year.

The story mentions funny, clever and some downright offensive words found in the Urban Dictionary. And while I’ve heard of the site, I’ve never actually visited it. Being a word person and in honor of the dictionary’s birthday, I went to the site’s home page – where some less vulgar words and phrases can be found – and picked out my top three. Here they are in no particular order:

1) Dish envy – Sudden, intense longing and regret derived from watching a particularly appetizing dish being delivered to a nearby table, and realizing that one has made an inferior menu selection.

Hank was eagerly anticipating his scallops when the waiter brought the stuffed pork chops to the man at the table next to him. Unable to avert his gaze, Hank began to feel the anguish of dish envy.

2) Off-site meeting – A meeting that has no real purpose or clear direction. However, breakfast is usually served, therefore it is still beneficial that you attend.

“Hey, our boss has been talking for a while, but does any of it really matter?”

“Nah, this is an off-sight meeting.”

“Ah, well at least these scones are delicious.”

3) Joke insurance – When two mates have a mutual understanding to laugh at each other’s jokes, no matter how lame or awkward said joke is, therefore lessening the social failure of the bad joke.

I was talking to some girls the other day when I cracked a ‘your mother’ joke. Luckily I had joke insurance with Chris, so I still ended up getting both their numbers. All Chris got was a weird look for his over-the-top laugh.

Visit the site and let us know which words and phrases – not the vulgar ones, please – are your favorites.

09
Sep
09

Start using the Internet to sell franchises

I have met with several franchise companies that are wondering why their franchise sales are down this year. For a few of them, I wondered this, too. Several have a great service, reasonable cost of entry, proven systems and a history of profitability. So why are sales decreasing?

One reason, beyond any individual’s control, is obviously the ability to get bank loans in a year when bank loans are more than hard to come by. Another reason, within the control of most franchisors, is the Internet marketing program established to sell franchises. Or, to be more exact, the LACK OF an Internet marketing program.

The Internet is currently one of the most affordable and the most trackable lead-gen tools available. And because it is highly used by nearly everyone, an Internet marketing strategy is essential.

If you don’t know what or how to pull this Internet marketing strategy together, here are some ideas to get you started:

  1. Remove franchise sales from your consumer Web site: Yep, get rid of it. If drive people to your site to look at menus, store hours or locations, they are not in the mindset to buy a franchise. Establish a micro-site solely dedicated to the purpose of explaining why your franchise is a great business model and describing the profile of successful franchisees in your organization. The micro-site should be all about lead generation and nothing but lead generation. Dunkin Donuts has a great website dedicated to franchise sales. Click here to see the site.

    DDs website specific for franchise sales

    DDs website specific for franchise sales

  2. A franchise in Omaha sells for as much money as one in New York: Naysayers of pay-per-click programs who believe it is too costly to purchase the Google term “buy a franchise” have probably not considered a regional-based online marketing
    program. Focus on your key territories to cut back on costs.
  3. Eight seconds is all you have: Create highly optimized landing pages for the sole purpose of getting prospective franchises to request more information. Make it clear and easy to complete the request.

These ideas should help you start thinking and designing your online marketing program. If you are not online, you are not in the game.

Nigel Mayne, CFE, the founder and president of MatchPoint Franchise Consulting Network, wrote an article in the July 2009 Franchising World titled Lead Generation and the Internet. He has some ideas on using the Internet to benefit franchisors and potential franchisees.

08
Sep
09

i miss my typewriter

Welcome back. We hope you had a fun and safe Labor Day weekend! We recently found an extremely intriguing video on YouTube titled, “The Evolution of Business Communications.” The video was created by St. Paul, Minne.-based B2B Inc.

04
Sep
09

hut, hut, tweet!

585059_football_1The National Football League (NFL) has banned players, coaches or anyone associated with/representing the team from using social media during games. They’ve even gone so far as to ban it up to 90 minutes before and after games. Oh, and media on the sidelines are prohibited, as well.

I get it. I really do. Many companies are finding it necessary to implement social media policies for employees, and players are employees of the NFL. Who needs players absorbed with tweeting from the bench, facebooking in the locker room at halftime and updating social media with the play-by-play instead of participating in post-game interviews?

The Cincinnati Bengals’ wide receiver, Chad Ochocinco announced via a social media network that he plans on tweeting while playing regardless of the rules. Although I am by no means a football star, I just don’t know how well this will work. My thoughts:

I don’t see much storage space for a mobile device in those uniforms.

I don’t know how feasible it is to catch a football with a phone in hand.

If I was making millions to play a sport I love, I probably wouldn’t be pushing the boundaries and breaking the rules. Just saying.

What is the social media policy at your company? Do you think the NFL is going too far including the media in its policy?

03
Sep
09

PR that packs a punch

RunningShoesDavid Seaman, the author of “Dirty Little Secrets of Buzz: How to Attract Massive Attention for Your Business, Your Product or Yourself,” threatened to run through Times Square naked last week if his book didn’t land in Amazon’s top 100. While public nudity may not be acceptable behavior or even legal, for that matter, David is definitely on to something.

In light of today’s economy and the need for everyone to pinch pennies, the more PR bang for the buck, the better. The old saying that bad publicity is better than no publicity backs David’s viewpoint and gives us all something to think about.

Inexpensive, buzz-worthy tactics that grab a consumer’s attention are key. Thinking outside the box, reaching beyond the realm of what’s considered “traditional” and pushing the envelope (just a little bit) are all important when trying to spark the interest of people who may not otherwise give a hoot. Some of David’s suggestions:

Try to gain publicity using celebrity tactics (how do they do it?).

Tune in to television (pitch stories according to what’s actually making the news).

Use Twitter (you can reach so many people with 140 words).

What unique PR tactics have grabbed your attention lately?




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