Word of Mouth Guarantee

In a move to generate interest for the word of mouth medium, BzzAgent is offering a guarantee that their campaigns will outperform traditional media by 20%. The catch is that an advertiser must spend at least $300,000 on a campaign with BzzAgent using word of mouth and other media. An independent third part vendor will be involved with the measurement to help support the offer.

One of the challenges related to social media and tactics like word of mouth is measurement and what is considered success. It’s difficult to measure conversation and more so to translate that conversation into sales. It seems that BzzAgent is willing to take the challenge to it’s clients and put their money where their mouth is.

Are you confident enough in your business and brand that you’re willing to offer a $300,000 guarantee?

Happy 4th of July - From the Muppets.

This is a bit late but I’ve been out enjoying the festivities and time with the family. I couldn’t help but get a chuckle out of this little gift from the Muppets. They’ve been around forever and have found new life in the online world. A brand that keeps on giving. Hope you enjoyed the holidays.

Compliments of Jon Burg

Technorati Tags: Beneath the Brand,Jamey Shiels,Muppets,Fourth of July

Happiness and Your Business

Here’s a fabulous presentation on happiness as a business model from Tara Hunt of Citizen Agency and HorsePigCow. It’s almost 200 slides but it’s worth your time to flip through and soak up the message and the imagery. If we could all operate this way, amazing things would happen. Think of where we could go if our business model was actually built on happiness.

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Technorati Tags: Beneath the Brand,Jamey Shiels,Tara Hunt,Citizen Agency,HorsePigCow,Business Models

Facebook in Real Life

I’ve been overwhelmed with Facebook friend requests lately. Some from friends I haven’t seen in a while, but most of them are from people I’ve never met in my life. It’s getting a little obnoxious. So, as soon as I saw the video below from British comedy group Idiot of Ants, via Greg Verdino, I couldn’t help but laugh. If Facebook were real life we would all be in trouble.

Technorati Tags: Beneath the Brand,Jamey Shiels,Greg Verdino,Facebook,Idiot of Ants

Are you tough enough?

WK strikes again. This spot for Nike and Tiger Woods was making the rounds a while back and may have appeared on BTB before. I stumbled across it again today and was moved by it. It speaks to dedication, to a life long pursuit of perfection as well as to the role of parents, role models and leaders in our lives.

As a brand, does our reputation stand strong enough that you could put together a spot like this? Have you spent a lifetime practicing, developing and nurturing the relationships with internal teams as well as with customers to create an experience that is so dedicated and focused. If not, are you mentally tough enough to get there?

The World of World of WarCraft

For all you MMORPG players, the new expansion pack is here! For those of you who don’t know what MMORP is, nevermind…

The gang over at American Copywriter are good for interesting content and a solid laugh every now and again. This video on the World of the World of WarCraft is a hysterical spoof on the ever growing online video game by Blizzard. What makes it so funny is that it’s so true. I think when your brand is the butt of jokes and is spoofed by the Onion you have truly arrived! 

Can You Dance Like Matt?

The following video is making the rounds. It’s a guy named Matt who has traveled around the world and danced. Danced in 39 countries and filmed it all. According to his web site , “In 2006, Matt took a 6 month trip through 39 countries on all 7 continents. In that time, he danced a great deal.”

The interesting thing is that the trip was sponsored by Stride Gum. Not to promote their brand, not to pimp their gum around the world but to demonstrate the power of an individual connecting in the same way around the world. When was the last time you danced.

The Secret Location

Is your web site a true representation of your company? Does your brand resonate throughout the user experience on your site? The Secret Location is an integrated media company that carries the message of their experiential marketing roots into the experience on their site. If you’ve got the time, I encourage you to take a step into the looking glass and search for the secret location…

Creative’s - Down on the Farm

British humor is a bit different that what we’re used to here in the States. My brother-in-law is from England and we don’t always laugh at his jokes. We for sure never laugh as hard during Faulty Towers as he does.

Regardless, for anyone who has spent any time in the agency setting and have worked with the creative team, you’ll enjoy this trip back to the farm. 

Compliments of Elaine Fogel over at MarketingProfs

Can AT&T Handle the Pressure?

I admit it, I can’t wait to jump on the Apple bandwagon as soon as the 3G Iphone comes out. I’m an AT&T customer and I’m eligible for a phone upgrade on June 24th and I’ve already conceded that I will be buying the 3G Iphone.

Historically, Apple is a beloved brand that can’t seem to go wrong. Even with the ridiculous price of the 1st generation Iphone last year, followed by immediate discounts and missing features, Apple is still king. While I anxiously await the coming of the 3G Iphone, I can’t help but think that the real pressure is on AT&T. Can the 3G network that the masses of new Iphone users will be surfing on handle the load? Will the new activation program that has to occur mostly in-store be a seamless, apple-esque process? Gizmodo and the NY Times have raised the same question.

AT&T’s coverage for 3G is acceptable in most major metropolitan areas is acceptable but what about the outlying areas. Throw on the multitude of new Iphone users who have proven to use twice as much data as other users and we’ll see what happens. Good luck AT&T, I’m not sure the good graces of Apple will be enough to save you if you fail.

Social Media Mistakes According to Jaffe

During a recent integrated advertising conference, Joseph Jaffe has provided an interesting perspective on Social Media mistakes made by some of the top marketers: Sprint, Sony, T-mobile, Target and Starbucks. Jaffe has been challenging corporations and individuals to harness the power of social media and new opportunities for one to one communication. I think it’s a challenge to all of us, to bring our brands to the conversation. This age of conversation is an open door for brands to change the game and truly interact with consumers. Are you up for the challenge?

Head over to AdAge for the Video.

Firebrand Take 2

The concept formerly known as Firebrand has risen from the ashes in the form of a digital communications agency.

For those who don’t remember, or completely missed the first iteration (which would have been easy to do), Firebrand launched as an online source for the 30 second spot. The thought was that consumers wanted to watch thirty second spots all the time. Hmm.

Here’s a quote from the newly updated Facebook profile: “Many of you have been wondering what happened to Firebrand, the world’s first synchronous multi platform brand experience across TV, Web and Mobile. In its short but illustrious history, Firebrand”s efforts confirmed today’s consumer’s interest and appetite for great creative advertising across all platforms. Enter Firemedia Partners, June 9th, 2008.”

I’m not sure their claim is all that accurate considering the business failed, but it will be interesting to see how the group can take their learning’s from the Firebrand experiment and apply it to the Firemedia Agency model. I give them credit for taking a risk, experimenting, learning from their failures and continuing to reinvent themselves.

Technorati Tags: Beneath the Brand,Jamey Shiels,Firebrand,Firemedia,Branding

BMW’s Skin

BMW is again proving it is an innovative brand that pushes the limits of what a car company can be. They’ve put out the following video that highlights GINA, a new development concept that uses a “skin” technology for the exterior of vehicles that could open the door for new designs and adaptive construction for vehicles.

The material may never see the light of day from a production standpoint but they use video and good storytelling to continue to reinforce their position as an innovative brand and industry leader.

Technorati Tags: Beneath the Brand,Jamey Shiels,BMW,GINA,Innovation,Automobile Industry

The Billboard is Watching You

Technology developed after 9/11 is finding its way into the advertising world. Small cameras were developed for placement at security checkpoints to scan faces and collect the information and compare against most wanted databases. The quality of the images didn’t quite cut it for identification purposes so a new application has now been discovered. These video cameras are finding new life in outdoor advertising. They are being used to capture the faces of people who turn to pay attention to the advertisement.

The idea is that the information will be used to better target audiences based on information collected. As marketers are trying to gather as much information on their audiences as possible, this is an interesting new approach that is trying to work with an old medium.

It’s an interesting idea but it’s also a little creepy. It makes me think of the one hit wonder from Rockwell, “I always feel like, somebody’s watching me…”

Compliments of endgaget.

Is Difficult Really Worth Doing, Honda?

Following up on the post from Luis last week, I saw the Honda spot called Jump that was produced by Wieden + Kennedy. It’s a neat spot, great camera work and music with a little fancy sky diving action. But does it sell cars? They highlight two features in the spot that receive a skydiving visual but that’s it. It doesn’t communicate the features relevant to me in the car and it doesn’t motivate me to want to go test drive an Accord. I don’t see how it supports the Honda brand.

I get the feeling that this spot was produced because it was a really cool creative idea and Honda has a huge budget. It may be part of a bigger campaign that I’m missing but unless you get a free skydiving lesson with the purchase of a new Accord, it proves the disconnect between consumers and the 30 second spot. What do you think? Great approach, I’m going to test drive and Accord or are you reminded why you don’t jump out of airplanes?

KINKOS and the Dodo Bird

The Kinkos brand will be going the way of the Dodo Bird. FedEx announced that they will be putting the Kinkos brand to rest and renaming their stores FedEx Office. Over the past four years, FedEx has been working to merge the Kinkos business unit into the fold and the time has come to put the Kinkos brand to rest.

Kinkos will be retired in a more graceful fashion than brands such as Cingular when it was tossed out by AT&T. With the mergers and acquisitions happening on a regular basis, I think this was an appropriate approach by FedEx to take their time working through the merger and then retiring the brand appropriately. We’ll have to watch how Verizon handles Alltel if that union comes to fruition.

Compliments to Kevin Dugan of Strategic Public Relations and his thoughts on the brand merger approach.

What’s Your Social Media Flavor

Lee Lefever of CommonCraft has put together another excellent video to explain something that can be complicated and confusing. Below is an excellent video that explains social media in a context that I can totally understand…ice cream.

I appreciate how they show the value to the individual as well as the company. The use of social media by brands doesn’t need to be complex and overwhelming. Give people the tools and the opportunity and they will interact with you and their brand if they are motivated to do so.

CommonCrafts product is explanation. They use video and paper to make complex ideas easy to understand. The paperworks format sets a visual stage that supports the simple explanation. You’re not distracted by special effects and fancy transitions. You can focus your attention on what they’re trying to explain.

For those curious about social media or looking for a way to explain it to your brand friends, enjoy the show and check out more from CommonCraft.

Technorati Tags: Beneath the Brand,Jamey Shiels,Lee Lefever,CommonCraft,Social Media,Branding

Enjoying the Park

As a person who has asthma this spot really hit home. It does an excellent job of conveying the experience of an asthma attack to someone who does not have the health issue. It does a great job of relaying the panic of an asthma attack in an unexpected way that viewers can immediately identify with.

Take a deep breath.

compliments of adfreak

Social Media Takeaways from Avenue A/Razorfish

Shiv Singh of Avenue A/Razorfish hosted a client summit this past week and posted seven key takeaways related to social media. They are great highlights that can be considered within all the conversations digital agencies have with their clients who are exploring the social media space. I’ve outlined the seven below. The details are over at the GOING SOCIAL NOW and I encourage you to read his synopsis of each.

1. Social Media has gone mainstream and there’s no doubt about it.

2. User Generated Content enhances a company’s reputation.

3. We’re still just beginning to understand user behavior.

4. Social Media is not just in the browser.

5. Internal Social Media can be taken outside.

6. Its all about integrated marketing across platforms and devices. 

7. Social Media can be used to target brand new audiences.

 

Pork and Beans Weezer Style

I’m a fan of Weezer as it is and this video is a fun collection of things we’ve seen around the web along with calling out some brands that try to set the tone for how we define ourselves. Enjoy the highlights of the individuals who have achieved web stardom and how they’re participating/incorporated into the song. Thanks Weezer!

Have a great memorial day weekend.

compliments of Paul Isakson