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By Vegasbab, April 26, 2011 4:11 pm

How many lines are there?

There’s the first line, the second line, but then there’s a line of negative space that runs between them. See it? 1+1=3. How many times in our lives, careers, thoughts, etc. do we only see the white lines? How many times do we miss the beauty and innovation that’s right in front of our faces?

In marketing, innovation and interactive experiences seem to be the overriding buzzwords. Marketers endlessly struggle with the next “big” thing. We rack our brains, search far and wide and often end up with costly flops. But, what if instead of searching far and wide, we slowed down and looked between the “lines” right in front of our faces? Sometimes, you have to slow down to get ahead. And sometimes, one plus one really does equal three.

Thanks to this post for the inspiration.

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By Vegasbab, April 16, 2011 9:54 pm

It always impresses me when big brands are able to move fast enough to capitalize on current events.

While not a new video/viral concept, kudos to T-Mobile for having the foresight to spoof the Royal Wedding in a fun, appealing way that the masses can relate to.

As a marketer, are you keeping abreast of current events that might tie to your brand? Is your brand, your team and your Executives open minded and limber enough to make a move when inspiration strikes?

Inspiration is all around us. Remember to stop and take the time to let it soak in.

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By Vegasbab, April 15, 2011 2:23 pm

In laymen’s terms, Southwest’s motto is to be/do things differently than other airlines. In order to provide consumers with the lowest fares, they do things differently. They don’t have first class. They don’t serve meals on flights. They don’t charge for checking bags. They don’t have predetermined seating. They don’t charge change fees (my absolute favorite). The icing on the cake was their loyalty program, where you earned one point for every flight flown, with sixteen points earning you two free one-way flights (with some black out flights). The program was simple. No crazy calculations, no spending extra money to buy points, no tiered point system based on whether you booked standard or business class or what your status was within their program. Like the rest of their business model, the program was simple. Every time I booked a flight on Southwest.com I was excited. I knew without thinking I was going to get “one point” for each flight taken. In fact, I was so excited over their program that I even purchased their credit card and started booking hotels and car rentals through their site because you could get points for those items too.

Over the years, went through a hate/love relationship with Southwest, but finally fell head over heels. I even blogged about them. In March, it all changed. Much to my (and others) chagrin, Southwest rolled out a new loyalty program, Rapid Rewards, that was shockingly and sadly very similar to all other airline loyalty programs. But, with even less “perks”. Other airlines are able to offer complimentary First Class upgrades and no baggage fees, whereas Southwest cannot.

Me? I’m making a commitment to return to US Airways. On Southwest, I’m just shy of Companion Pass status. But, their previous simple, loyalty program, “standard” no bag fees and no change fees were reasons why I consistently chose them over others, including US Air where I have Chairman status aka Southwest’s version of Companion Pass status. With the “same” loyalty program as other airlines and “less” perks, there’s no longer enough reasons to not only navigate to Southwest’s site first but also book a flight without even checking competitor sites. Southwest, with your new loyalty program you’ve lost a customer and avid traveler. Today, the only reason I’m booking Southwest is if their fares are lower than the competiors by over $200.

As a business woman, I get the decision. But, in a world where frequency and keeping current customers vs. fishing for new ones is the name of the game, is the new, tiered program really that cost effective?

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By Vegasbab, March 8, 2011 8:44 am

I haven’t written a rant in quite some time, but the current use of QR Codes infuriates me to no end. I’m sure my fellow marketers are sick of hearing my rant and frankly, I’m sick of hearing it myself since I loathe complaining without doing anything to fix the situation. But, here it goes anyway.

I love the idea of QR Codes. I love imagining the possibilities and I love thinking about where QR Codes could take us in the future. But, I also know that with the way 99.9% of marketers are using QR Codes, we are never going to get to my vision of the future.

While it takes marketers a bit of time and effort to create a QR Code, it takes the consumer even more time to interact with it. Think about it – a consumer has to:

1. See and recognize a QR Code for what it is
2. Take their phone out of their pocket/purse
3. Unlock their phone, which these days typically also involves inputting a password
4. Then, they have to flip through the screens to find the app (which they had to download beforehand)
5. Open app
6. Scan QR Code
7. Wait for it to register
8. Get content

Holy shit, that’s a lot of steps. In this day and age, even though some of those steps take mere seconds, getting to what’s behind a QR Code isn’t necessarily instant gratification. Consumers have to work to get that content. When you have to work for something, especially when it’s an advertising message, it better be a damn good one.

Unfortunately, what’s behind most QR Codes these days is not only worthless but also a frustrating waste of time. Here’s a few examples of pure horribleness that I’ve discovered:

1. Print shop sends direct mail piece with QR code on it. Nothing else, including no instructions because clearly all their potential clients are QR Code savvy When scanned, the code takes you to their NON-mobile optimized homepage. This was just a #FAIL all around.
2. QR Codes were abundant at CES. I was excited. If anyone was going to get it, it had to be advertisers at CES, right?! WRONG. Maybe I missed the good ones, but all the ones I scanned took me to… wait for it… their NON-mobile optimized homepage. WTF. Why do this? Because I can access a QR Code from somewhere other than a MOBILE device?
3. Admittedly, the last two years I have loved the social advertising campaigns for The Grammy’s. This old school brand has jumped head first into the digital space to engage audiences. Not only have they jumped but they’ve also put some serious dollars behind that jump. This year, all their print ads were tagged with a QR Code. Unfortunately, half of them didn’t scan correctly and the other half took you to a flash-like site that couldn’t be seen or utilized via any mobile phone I was using. I hope the advertising agency that failed to properly test the QR Code before putting it on EVERYTHING got fired.

Dear Marketer, If you’re spending all this time to create a QR Code and the consumer is spending all their time to get the content, why not make it worth everyone’s while? Why not milk it for all it’s worth? Let’s have some video, let’s have a phone number that I can click to call, let’s have a MOBILE OPTIMIZED website AND a special landing page for the campaign. Let’s have something worth the effort it took me to get to there.

Marketers, my biggest fear is that if we continue to do a piss poor job of using QR Codes to communicate, consumers are going to stop engaging with them. It will be a case of the Boy Who Cried Wolf… by the time marketers figure out how to use them to their advantage, consumers won’t believe it enough to scan the darn things.

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By Vegasbab, February 16, 2011 12:24 pm

Sometimes, pictures say it better than any words can. For the road warriors that often travel on a holiday, thank you Southwest for making travel on those days just a little bit more special.

Other airline check-in on Valentine’s Day:

Southwest Air check-in on Valentine’s Day:

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By Vegasbab, January 27, 2011 10:11 pm

Today on twitter, several people were taking pot shots and talking negatively about a 27-year-old being named Chief Digital Officer for New York City.

Kudos to NYC for not caring about age or being smart enough to realize her youth and that she was qualified anyway. To the people taking pot shots? I think they’re jealous and closed minded (although $115k for a CMO gig in NYC doesn’t seem like something to be jealous over). Or, as the article states, maybe NYC was wrong in their choice. As I’ve said before, promoting yourself through social media doesn’t always translate to being able to promote a brand through social media.

In today’s world, all you hear about are the people under 30 who are driving innovation. Facebook, Groupon and Foursquare were all developed by individuals under 30. Sure, maybe the “youngins” don’t have your “worldly” experience, but they also don’t have a closed minded attitude or the cynical boredom that comes from being (or working with) corporations for too long. Furthermore, career minded folks under 30 are hungry and passionate as hell, more so than you’ll ever be again. I’ve worked with some amazing rockstars under 30. In fact, if I was building an A-list team, my #2 pick would be a girl who’s 24 and blows my mind daily. My #1 pick? Someone who’s barely over 30 and has more passion for the interactive space than I do.

In today’s digital world… Actually, in the world in general, be open to learning new things from ANYONE, no matter what age they are. Who knows? Your five year old niece might spark the idea for your next big innovation.

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By Vegasbab, January 11, 2011 10:26 pm

Hysterical and brilliant all at the same time. Enjoy the laughs.

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By Vegasbab, December 4, 2010 5:21 pm

Today was supposed to be my day to be part of the3six5 project – 365 days, 365 views. Unfortunately, wires got crossed and they posted someone else’s post. It’s a great project and one I was really excited about. It was one project that I had been waiting over a year to write for, even though I had no idea what the day would be like

Below is the post that never got published

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I’ve thought about this day for almost a year now. Excited, nervous, anxious. What would I write? What city would I be in? What would my life look like? When I picked the date, I was unsure. From a career perspective, we had just been acquired and I knew it was an opportunity for change.

Today’s National Dice Day, apropos for someone working with Las Vegas casinos. Today is also the Great Santa Run, where 10,000 marathoners dress in Santa costumes and run The Strip. It’s the adult version of Disney, where everything is magical & surreal. Nevertheless, for me, the lights have faded. Today, the wind of Chicago is my version of Vegas lights.

The other thing today is? 361 days of what could be called unrequited like. Foolish? Romantic? You decide. All I know is he’s the one I’d take along for my ride around the sun.

Oh yes, I’ve dated others. I love the thrill of meeting someone new as much as the next person, maybe more. In fact, I even started this project, 10 Guys, 10 Drinks. The premise was to go on ten dates and on each date have a different drink, so even if the date was a bust, at least I got to try a new drink. Long story short, I stopped just shy of #10. I wanted to save that one for someone special.

Despite the men I’ve dated, when I think about the person I want to confide in, curl up next to or come home to, it’s him. It’s funny; I used to say he’s not my type. I’d take one look at his picture and wouldn’t think twice. He’d probably say the same about me. Yet, he’s said it himself – we fit well together.

It may not be the “perfect” moment, but today I’m using this post to tell you what I didn’t say well before. I want more. I think us can work. I want a chance. I want you to be #10. How about it? How about a “real” date?

I’m pretending that I am brave. That I do not care if you react to this. It is only pretend.

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The writer is a 28-year-old interactive marketer, who believes in the impossible, playing by rule #76 & is looking for love.

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By Vegasbab, November 15, 2010 8:13 pm

Thanks to a friend, I stumbled on this post. I liked it so much, I’m reposting it here:

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By Vegasbab, October 31, 2010 5:55 pm

I doubt this is a new concept. I’m sure others have had the same idea. In fact, I’ve been thinking about it for the last year and figured I’d finally put it to “paper”. I hope the movie studios have pondered it. So here it is…

When will we be able to watch movies at home as they debut in the theater?

To me, the idea is a home run and one that could generate incremental revenue.

• These days, most people have home theaters so the quality would be decent
• Similar to DVD releases, you could release it at the theaters first and then release it “On Demand” a few days later. As a stepping stone, maybe you release it On Demand right after it leaves theaters, but before it goes to DVD. This would help keep the buzz about a movie going longer
• I’m going to guess that during the Winter movie attendance drops in really cold cities. What if on a Snow Day you could stay at home watching the movies you wish you could catch at a theater?
• You could charge a premium that I think people who don’t want to go to a theater would be willing to pay. These days, tickets are about $12-$13. To watch at home, you could charge upwards of $30-$50 with barely a blink of an eye. I’m sure the concern here is how many people are watching the same TV? That might be a tough one to control.

Going to the movies is an experience. Experiences are things you seek out and pay extra for. Watching a movie at home is not the same experience. It would target and reach a different segment of the population. In addition, it would reach the same movie going population at a different time – when they weren’t looking for the full movie theater experience, but still wanted to see a movie.

There’s a few movies that are currently out at theaters. I have no desire to head all the way to the theater to see them, so they’re currently sitting in my Netflix saved queue. However, I’d totally pay to watch them from home right now.

Movie studios, are you listening? In this semi-new – on demand, always on society, you are missing a revenue opportunity!