So, I tried the www.swaggerizeme.com website for Old Spice. Pretty neat but like some campaigns it starts really strong - all the effort in the front end to ensure I plug all my contact information for future use - then ends a bit weaker. The actual articles are bland and broad in nature. Plus, if somebody googles you afterwards they actually show up which (like most new media) blurs the lines of facts and fiction since my real life misadventures and minor accomplishments are mired with some fictitious swagger articles.
To be fair, I didn't really have a goal there when I input my stuff so it's easy for me to be let down with the Swaggerize me campaign.
The campaign does fit in with the whole overall theme of Swagger so I give the proper respects there and the creative is good and the usability is solid.
It's definitely worth the 30 seconds it takes to complete the entire process (outside of the intro video that is pretty damn funny.) Hit it at www.swaggerizeme.com and let me know what you think.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Monday, February 23, 2009
Why all my business will go to "Say It Loud"
I always tell everybody here at The Orlando Weekly that we have to earn our clients trust. People don't just hand over their money or their business to just anyone.
That's why, after attending the Orlando Addy Awards on Saturday night in Orlando, all my clients are going to hear me talk about Say It Loud (www.sayitloud.us)
Here's why: Saturday several ad agencies won awards and we got to hear from some of them through their acceptance speeches. Congratulations to Push, Anson-Stoner and Fry Hammond Barr (who, along with Say It Loud, dominated the categories.
Yet, when Say It Loud came up to give an acceptance speech, Creative Activist Julio Lima came up and.... get this!.... he thanked his intern for handling most of the creative on one of the winning campaigns. He didn't take credit and, instead, he told the audience of about 280 people that he invests in his people.
The guy he thanked was hired as an intern while he was in school and when he graduated Julio hired him as a freelancer to work a campaign. It was that kid that was behind the award.
Julio and Say It Loud provided FREE tickets to a bunch of students to attend the event because he believes they need to see the best work in the industry. I know I'll be driving any of our clients that are looking for an ad agency that way from now on.
That's why, after attending the Orlando Addy Awards on Saturday night in Orlando, all my clients are going to hear me talk about Say It Loud (www.sayitloud.us)
Here's why: Saturday several ad agencies won awards and we got to hear from some of them through their acceptance speeches. Congratulations to Push, Anson-Stoner and Fry Hammond Barr (who, along with Say It Loud, dominated the categories.
Yet, when Say It Loud came up to give an acceptance speech, Creative Activist Julio Lima came up and.... get this!.... he thanked his intern for handling most of the creative on one of the winning campaigns. He didn't take credit and, instead, he told the audience of about 280 people that he invests in his people.
The guy he thanked was hired as an intern while he was in school and when he graduated Julio hired him as a freelancer to work a campaign. It was that kid that was behind the award.
Julio and Say It Loud provided FREE tickets to a bunch of students to attend the event because he believes they need to see the best work in the industry. I know I'll be driving any of our clients that are looking for an ad agency that way from now on.
Friday, February 20, 2009
When I'm homeless because everybody tells me newspapers are going under, I think of one thing: I'm not going to have anything good to read. The blogs, this one included, just don't hit the mark of a good feature story. And, none of us have access to the resources or funding to conduct the watchdog investigations that we need to keep things right in the world.
There's just no community online. If I were a CEO of a corporation I'd be going all-the-way community. Community papers, community organizations, community funding and taking the surface streets to-and-from work. I might actually even take a bus. Maybe listen to a few folk on there. Times are getting tougher and I'm telling you now: Not everybody is pulling TGIF coupons off their Blackberry. Some are actually out there talking to each other, worried about their futures, and wondering what players in corporate America actually care about their well-being.
There's just no community online. If I were a CEO of a corporation I'd be going all-the-way community. Community papers, community organizations, community funding and taking the surface streets to-and-from work. I might actually even take a bus. Maybe listen to a few folk on there. Times are getting tougher and I'm telling you now: Not everybody is pulling TGIF coupons off their Blackberry. Some are actually out there talking to each other, worried about their futures, and wondering what players in corporate America actually care about their well-being.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
1.2 daily blogs
People create 1.2 blogs per day. So, in the age of misinformation we got more Chiefs; less Indians.
I'm totally old. I like the "select few." I like the Fourth Estate. I like people working hard to get to the upper echelon of any profession. Can you imagine NFL leagues in every state with 86 teams in each state. I am pretty sure I could make one of those teams. It would lose the thrill, be no fun. I wouldn't watch football anymore.
I like that I trust the alternative weeklies (which I work for) with researching and writing distinguished stories that are in-depth and useful. I look over the internet and most the content is waste. We want to cut back on waste everywhere yet we are overwhelmed with the equivalent of sitting next to the nonsensical talker on the bus. You can move around but then find that most people on the bus want to talk your ear off and nothing they say has any value to you.
"You know I heard they say if you fall asleep with your head leaning to the left, you'll be less likely to get cancer."
"If you beep your horn, you could be attacked by a rare bird that has migrated to the States"
"My mom made me play the piano and now I hate my father"
None of these have made any sense, don't hold a lick of value, and basically waste my time.
I worry what happens when there is no structured traditional media. I'd be all for that bailout. I think news and education are two cornerstones we can't afford to lose.
Thank goodness for that bailout bill.... money for the Philapino Veterans and that subway from Vegas to L.A. Should make a huge difference in the long run.
How about we kick some more coin to traditional and new media instead. Of course, I'm partial.
I'm totally old. I like the "select few." I like the Fourth Estate. I like people working hard to get to the upper echelon of any profession. Can you imagine NFL leagues in every state with 86 teams in each state. I am pretty sure I could make one of those teams. It would lose the thrill, be no fun. I wouldn't watch football anymore.
I like that I trust the alternative weeklies (which I work for) with researching and writing distinguished stories that are in-depth and useful. I look over the internet and most the content is waste. We want to cut back on waste everywhere yet we are overwhelmed with the equivalent of sitting next to the nonsensical talker on the bus. You can move around but then find that most people on the bus want to talk your ear off and nothing they say has any value to you.
"You know I heard they say if you fall asleep with your head leaning to the left, you'll be less likely to get cancer."
"If you beep your horn, you could be attacked by a rare bird that has migrated to the States"
"My mom made me play the piano and now I hate my father"
None of these have made any sense, don't hold a lick of value, and basically waste my time.
I worry what happens when there is no structured traditional media. I'd be all for that bailout. I think news and education are two cornerstones we can't afford to lose.
Thank goodness for that bailout bill.... money for the Philapino Veterans and that subway from Vegas to L.A. Should make a huge difference in the long run.
How about we kick some more coin to traditional and new media instead. Of course, I'm partial.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
why give anybody your money
I wouldn't give the racist hotdog guy outside my window money and think he's going to talk to his customers about our newspaper and bring us advertisers so why do so many companies trust just anybody with their brand, message, cause, or product?
It's irresponsible.
Here's why: If you give somebody money you, 99.9% of the time, you expect something back (and rightly so.)
You want:
If you give somebody money:
Know them
Trust them
and know how to find them.
They should be somebody whom you trust will do their best to provide you a return on your investment and be willing to stand by and be there if there are any problems or to provide any support you might need.
Too many people throw money to advertisers without asking who the advertising medium's audience is. Ask us who we reach if we don't tell you and know this - if we don't offer it up excitably at first, you might want to really check and make sure you know who we reach and you might not even want to take our word for it.
Ask other people who have advertised with the company how their experience was. Did they get good advice, would they run there again, how was the customer service, was the price set (can it negotiate?)
And finally, know that the company has either been around for a long time or has some strong footing. Too many fly-by-night decisions get made in advertising. In traditional media it happens with some "community" paper that is up and running for a few months or a group of investors who love a common subject (Orlando just released "Pure Cash" that is all about - from the cover - gold chains and big bottomed beauties and it is as thin as a menu.)
Not too say if that's your niche market you shouldn't consider it. Your advertising doesn't have to reach everybody; it has to reach the most people that you believe are your target market.
Just don't waste your money. Pure Cash homie.
It's irresponsible.
Here's why: If you give somebody money you, 99.9% of the time, you expect something back (and rightly so.)
You want:
- Gratitude
- reputation
- awareness
- support
- opinion
- agreement
- customers
- distributors
- sales
- something...
If you give somebody money:
Know them
Trust them
and know how to find them.
They should be somebody whom you trust will do their best to provide you a return on your investment and be willing to stand by and be there if there are any problems or to provide any support you might need.
Too many people throw money to advertisers without asking who the advertising medium's audience is. Ask us who we reach if we don't tell you and know this - if we don't offer it up excitably at first, you might want to really check and make sure you know who we reach and you might not even want to take our word for it.
Ask other people who have advertised with the company how their experience was. Did they get good advice, would they run there again, how was the customer service, was the price set (can it negotiate?)
And finally, know that the company has either been around for a long time or has some strong footing. Too many fly-by-night decisions get made in advertising. In traditional media it happens with some "community" paper that is up and running for a few months or a group of investors who love a common subject (Orlando just released "Pure Cash" that is all about - from the cover - gold chains and big bottomed beauties and it is as thin as a menu.)
Not too say if that's your niche market you shouldn't consider it. Your advertising doesn't have to reach everybody; it has to reach the most people that you believe are your target market.
Just don't waste your money. Pure Cash homie.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Gotta get back in the habit here....
Hmm, here's some topics I'd like to hit on but would prefer getting feedback on.
Print classifieds vs. Craigslist.
What would be lost if newspapers quit.
And, more importantly, why does everybody like reverse copy?
Over and over, it's proven that reverse copy doesn't work. Convince me when it does.
Hmm, here's some topics I'd like to hit on but would prefer getting feedback on.
Print classifieds vs. Craigslist.
What would be lost if newspapers quit.
And, more importantly, why does everybody like reverse copy?
Over and over, it's proven that reverse copy doesn't work. Convince me when it does.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Keep the torch burning
some days it's really hard to keep pushing forward and selling. The good news is I really believe that what I sell works. If you don't believe in the product your selling, that's rough.
I thoroughly believe that relationship-building and problem-solving are two overlooked aspects of sales. Us sales people are consumers too. We're influencers and bosses and bowling league teammates. Some of us are on the PTA or volunteer for a non-profit.
So, I have been walking around scratching my head wondering how my wife and I and the one you'll be hearing a lot more about, is MayFlower moving... or really Unigroup, Inc. They own like Mayflower, United Vans, and VIP Transport.
My wife and I paid literally thousands of dollars more to use Mayflower for our move because one of her friends had a horror story trying to move out of New Orleans using some "unknown" company.
Bottom line is Mayflower lost a whole crate of our stuff (like 15 boxes) and it wasn't like our socks and towels, it was boxes of wine and cd's and such. Most of the other stuff that actually did make it was broke. Not like one lamp or a few dishes. I'm talking boxes upon crushed boxes arrived and it was like reverse Christmas. Everything turned bad and ugly.
Worst part about it all? Nobody ever said they were sorry. Nobody offered to help. Immediately, we were called liars and the company then cut-off most communication. To make things worst, they tacked on a mysterious $600 fee after we complained. Saying it was because their truck couldn't make it in our development and they had to go shuttle our stuff in on a smaller truck (and since we've seen two other Mayflower trucks in there.)
That's the thing. Somebody sold us lies. Once we figured that out, everybody packed up their suitcases and left the hotel lobby. It feels dirty. It's the epitomy of dirty sales. Something goes wrong and your ad rep. takes off on you. That's not how it's supposed to be.
So, now not only are we investing our holiday savings in to a top-shelf lawyer but we're spreading the word like it's the gospel.
Just an overall bad move on their part.
Why it happened? They subcontract your move to local companies so their brand/reputation is out of their hands. The goons who moved our stuff from VIP on the Maryland side were hitting on my wife and running to use our bathroom every 10 minutes (we suspect drug users.)
Employees are, according to Jim Collins book, Good To Great, your biggest asset.
We had nobody take the lead the second we complained. Address issues head on. Don't sweep it under the rug. In my next post, I'll put all the email correspondence I had with all the companies (ranging three states from coast-to-coast) to illustrate the lack of concern and the combativeness. When somebody goes through something this traumatic, all that should matter is that somebody is assigned to help them through it. We would have spread the word that way as well. We're talkers and very social. It would have been turning a bad thing in to a good thing. It could have been something where we were raving about how Unigroup pulled the big "U-Turn" and have been treating us more like the suspects than the victims.
I thoroughly believe that relationship-building and problem-solving are two overlooked aspects of sales. Us sales people are consumers too. We're influencers and bosses and bowling league teammates. Some of us are on the PTA or volunteer for a non-profit.
So, I have been walking around scratching my head wondering how my wife and I and the one you'll be hearing a lot more about, is MayFlower moving... or really Unigroup, Inc. They own like Mayflower, United Vans, and VIP Transport.
My wife and I paid literally thousands of dollars more to use Mayflower for our move because one of her friends had a horror story trying to move out of New Orleans using some "unknown" company.
Bottom line is Mayflower lost a whole crate of our stuff (like 15 boxes) and it wasn't like our socks and towels, it was boxes of wine and cd's and such. Most of the other stuff that actually did make it was broke. Not like one lamp or a few dishes. I'm talking boxes upon crushed boxes arrived and it was like reverse Christmas. Everything turned bad and ugly.
Worst part about it all? Nobody ever said they were sorry. Nobody offered to help. Immediately, we were called liars and the company then cut-off most communication. To make things worst, they tacked on a mysterious $600 fee after we complained. Saying it was because their truck couldn't make it in our development and they had to go shuttle our stuff in on a smaller truck (and since we've seen two other Mayflower trucks in there.)
That's the thing. Somebody sold us lies. Once we figured that out, everybody packed up their suitcases and left the hotel lobby. It feels dirty. It's the epitomy of dirty sales. Something goes wrong and your ad rep. takes off on you. That's not how it's supposed to be.
So, now not only are we investing our holiday savings in to a top-shelf lawyer but we're spreading the word like it's the gospel.
Just an overall bad move on their part.
Why it happened? They subcontract your move to local companies so their brand/reputation is out of their hands. The goons who moved our stuff from VIP on the Maryland side were hitting on my wife and running to use our bathroom every 10 minutes (we suspect drug users.)
Employees are, according to Jim Collins book, Good To Great, your biggest asset.
We had nobody take the lead the second we complained. Address issues head on. Don't sweep it under the rug. In my next post, I'll put all the email correspondence I had with all the companies (ranging three states from coast-to-coast) to illustrate the lack of concern and the combativeness. When somebody goes through something this traumatic, all that should matter is that somebody is assigned to help them through it. We would have spread the word that way as well. We're talkers and very social. It would have been turning a bad thing in to a good thing. It could have been something where we were raving about how Unigroup pulled the big "U-Turn" and have been treating us more like the suspects than the victims.
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