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10 Memories, 100 Discoveries: Memory 2 – Fireworks
Huxley said, “Memories are a man’s private literature.” Memories are private and you never know which ones will be picked up, stored away and treasured. In 1 Year, 10 Projects, 100 Discoveries, ten of the discoveries are memories- fun, sad, happy, I’m not sure what types there will be, but I do know that they will all be treasured. This post is part of that project. You can see all 10 memories here and the entire project here. Enjoy the memories, I am!
A few weekends ago, I took a road trip to San Diego to visit my cousins and attend BlogHer. Every night of the conference there was a great display of fireworks. I love fireworks. To me, they are a reminder of the magic and beauty that is all around us. The first night I thought the fireworks were from the Weezer concert that was going on nearby. The second night, someone jokingly said the fireworks were for BlogHer. I almost believed them. Finally, my cousin let me in on a little secret. The fireworks happen every night. They’re from Seaworld’s nightly show. “OHHHHH,” I said, “How cool.”
Can you imagine? How fun would it be to see fireworks nightly? At 10pm every night, you could look up and be reminded of the little things, of how special and beautiful the world is if we just looked around us. At the very least, it would be a consistent way to end each day. No matter what happened during the day, you’d know that at 10pm, there would be a fantastic fireworks display to see. But, then I wondered if seeing fireworks every night would be the equivalent of seeing the Vegas Lights every night or working in Times Square. I’m not sure. Yet, I do know that the memory of fireworks helps me to see the magic that is all around us.
Posted in 10 Memories, 100 Discoveries
OOH Success, Interactive Fail
While in San Diego, I walked by a very strange looking billboard during the day. An advertisement for Newcastle, the billboard had a tagline and then a ton of what looked like randomly placed bottle caps. For the life of me, I couldn’t figure out what shape or pattern these bottle caps made. After a few moments, we shrugged our shoulders and kept walking.
Luckily, we passed the billboard again at night. This time, the experience was different. This time, the bottle caps helped to create the shadow of a man reaching for the pint of Newcastle. Very cool. This time, we also noticed a small plaque below the billboard. On the plaque were directions to view the billboard at night. In addition, it contained a QR code to learn more about the making of the billboard, etc.
While the campaign was cool, there were two issues. First, both myself and friend never noticed this plaque during the day. It’s also too small to notice unless you were walking directly by the billboard vs. the other side of the street or driving. But, the worst offender? The QR code. While in theory, great. However, it wasn’t scannable!?!?! I’m not sure if it was because it was too far away (the plaque was offset from the sidewalk behind a fence), if my scanner just wasn’t working or if it really didn’t scan. Luckily, the plaque also contained a URL to (what I assume) was the same content behind the QR code.
The other piece? Besides me, in the fifteen minutes we hung out and watched people stop to check out the billboard, not a single person pulled out their phone to scan the QR code. Maybe they didn’t notice it. Maybe it was a hassle. Or maybe they just didn’t care. Either way, the piece was a great execution in Out-of-Home advertising, but fell a tad short in the digital arena.
Posted in Advertising, Art, Creative, Interactive Media, Marketing, Photography, Video
Designing for Social
I liked the thoughts in this post so much, that I’m reposting them here. While the post is short and sweet, the thoughts and ideas it generates are more complex.
When approaching a social marketing effort (or really any marketing effort) think:
- Make everything possible sharable, and use double entendre / ambiguity in the status updates
- Asynchronous group play: help people achieve a goal without being in the same place at the same time.
- Make the player the hero of the story
- Create hidden patterns that players can discover
- Make it fun by creating choices that lead to surprises
- Design for five minutes of gameplay
Posted in Social Media
10 Lessons, 100 Discoveries: #5 – Relationship Advice
Are you ready for a secret? Promise not to tell anyone? Okay, here goes… don’t tell… I’m naive and still have many life lessons ahead of me, both big and small. In essence, 1 Year, 10 Projects, 100 Discoveries is actually 100 lessons. But, this project of 10 lessons is about ones that hit me over the head, ones that maybe others already know and ones that will impact my life on a semi-daily basis. You can see all 10 Lessons here and the entire project here. Enjoy the learnings, I am!
The best lessons and advice often come at the most unexpected times from the most unexpected people. This advice was no different. The lesson came from a guy who had recently graduated from college. Ironically, it was some of the best relationship advice I’ve received.
For months, possibly even years, I’ve been asking, “How do you know when it’s right? How’s it supposed to feel? What’s it supposed to feel like?” Anyone I asked had the same response – “You just know.” It drives me mad. I know it feels slightly different every time, but I wanted to know what they felt.
I would have never guessed that a 24-year old male would be the one to articulate it so eloquently. His advice?
Ask yourself: Does this person and being with them make you feel good about you? If the answer is yes, then you know it’s right.
Posted in 10 Lessons, 100 Discoveries
Simple
After this weekend, I’m getting pretty close to the real deal. Now, I just need to get away from all the people that make me unhappy.
Posted in Personal
Unforgettable Swims
Thanks to a Facebook ad. Yes, targeted advertising does work! I discovered Speedo’s Unforgettable Swims campaign.
If you know me, then you know I love swimming, even though I don’t jump in the water as often as I should these days :/ Needless to say, I love the video and campaign, even if it is a little hokey.
Posted in Advertising, Sports, Video
The Hole Interactive Marketers Dug
In the last three years, specifically with the rise of social media and its discussions around measurement, I’ve seen more and more arguments around the measurement of online media as a whole.
Last Click is Dead! It’s all about engagement! No wait, it’s all about brand awareness!
In a recent iMedia article, 10 Reasons to Hate the Click, reason #7 sums up the “whining” of Interactive Marketers:
Reason 7: Clicks are contrary to every other media effort
Expecting advertisers to click on a banner ad is like expecting an magazine reader to turn to a page and suddenly get up and run out to buy a burger. TV ads interrupt the flow of a program, but they don’t expect an immediate response. Why is online held to a different model?
The question, “Why is online held to a different model” is the question that irks me. Online is held to a different model because that’s how we, as marketers, sold it originally. Think back to the very first time you pitched online advertising to your C-level executives. To get them on board, you most likely touted the ability to measure not only sales but down to a granular level of who was clicking and what they were clicking on.
We dug our own hole. We ingrained these concepts into not only ourselves, but our teams and our leaders.
Yes, it was the right sales pitch at the right time. It may still be the right sales pitch for your company, especially if the bulk of your sales are online. However, for the majority, it’s time to change our sales pitch. Instead of whining, marketers need to work harder to “do.” They need to work harder at crafting a new sales pitch for not only display advertising but also for integrated efforts of online media as a whole.
Posted in Advertising, Interactive Media
10 Kisses, 100 Discoveries: #8 The Last Time
I have one deal breaker. Mae West says kissing is a man’s signature. Signature or not, it also tells you everything you need to know about a man. 1 Year, 10 Projects, 100 Discoveries started with 10 Guys, 10 Weeks, 10 Drinks. The sequel is 10 Kisses, 10 Tastes. This post is part of that project. You can see all 10 kisses here and the entire project here. Get ready to pucker up, I am!
For the kiss part of the project, I changed the rules as I went along because I found myself wanting to kiss a particular boy more than once. And, I also discovered that even though you might be kissing the same person, each kiss could still be so different.
When I walked through the door of Duncan’s place, I knew it would be my last time. He didn’t.
Chris Young’s song, Tomorrow, was the theme song repeating in my head:
Tomorrow I’m gonna leave here.
I’m gonna let you go and walk away like every day I said I would.
And tomorrow, I’m gonna listen.
To that voice of reason inside my head telling me that we’re no good.[Chorus]
But tonight I’m gonna give in one last time.
Rock you strong in these arms of mine.
Forget all the regrets that are bound to follow.
I held him real tight all night and cried silent tears. I don’t remember much about the morning, I think we were both trying to pretend that it was just another normal day. But, I do remember the cats were extra love-y, wrapping in and out of Duncan’s legs. I like to think that they knew something was about to happen and were giving him extra love and support. Our last kiss was in the garage. The kiss was empty and full of things left unspoken. The taste? Toothpaste.
Posted in 10 Kisses, 100 Discoveries
CRM 101 Missteps
With all our advancements in technology, companies focusing on the bright and shiny objects and mantras that say, “Email is dead. Facebook > Company Websites,” marketers lack of smart, targeted advertising is upsetting.
While companies are in a Gold Rush state to innovate, we often forget the simple things. We forget the data that is right at our fingertips. We forget the 101’s of CRM.
I’ve gotten the same emails from several companies for months, but I’m finally annoyed enough to blog about it 🙂
I’m a big fan of Godiva chocolate. I’m an even bigger fan of their loyalty program. It provides real value – a free piece of chocolate every month! But, I’ve never been a fan of their advertising. To me, their “deals” aren’t deals. But, I digress. Back to their loyalty program. They have tons of great data about me. They know what types of chocolate I buy each month and they know whether or not I’ve redeemed my free piece for the month.
I redeemed my free piece of chocolate for the month of June. Yet, weeks later I got the below email. Why?
The same goes for Southwest. It’s one of the airlines I frequent most, despite their new, horrific loyalty program. Because I flew it so much, I also signed up for their credit card. I have their credit card. I use their credit card. My credit card information is saved in their system for easier bookings. So why on earth do I get at least one email AND direct mail piece a month asking me to sign up? For me, the direct mail piece is the icing on the cake. Did you really just spend print and postage costs to make me feel like you don’t know me at all?
Marketers, before putting all your eggs into Google+ or whatever bright, shiny object has your attention, look at the channels that are your current moneymakers and do a better job of utilizing them.
Posted in Advertising, Interactive Media, Marketing, Rant