Piles of challenges, in the bag.
By Jon Olson, Creative Director - 11/10/09
On a beautiful Saturday recently, I gazed over a lawn covered in leaves and started to wonder why I enjoy yard work so much. The task ahead wasn’t an easy one. I could’ve called a landscaper and been done with it, but I enjoy the hard work and the money I save by doing it myself. So, I started my task, small sections at a time, making my way around the yard. As the day went on I got more energized and I liked the sense of accomplishment I felt. I filled bag after bag of leaves and started thinking about work and the state of the economy. It struck me that picking up leaves is a metaphor for life. It’s important to size up the situation, never get too overwhelmed, take it a little at a time and complete the task. We will recover from this downturn -- one day at a time, with lots of hard work. In the end we will emerge with a greater sense of accomplishment, feeling energized and ready for the next challenge.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
Via Twitter: figuring out how to capitalize...
By Tom Devine, Partner - 10/23/09
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
Marketing in a Pre-washed World
By Jon Olson, Creative Director - 10/21/09
Yesterday I started a branding project, positioning and designing packaging for a new product. And, as we were sitting there, talking about how were going to get this brand up and running at lightning speed, it got me thinking: Today’s brands are like pre-washed jeans. You’ve got to make people comfortable in them – and you’ve got to do it fast. ROI must come quickly, or it often doesn’t come at all. So, how do we compete? We create communications that are both fast and relevant. We educate, entertain and entice with well-designed, content-driven websites. We push customers with SEM, social media and strategically placed advertising. We make sure we know our target well, so we can create the kind of comfortable feel and fit that once took years to wear-in.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
Hair to Stay
By Kari Popov, Senior Copywriter - 10/21/09
I’m not just a copywriter. I’m also a consumer. And like everyone else, I respond to great marketing. Cause, really what else could get me to spend $140 on a curling iron? And be happy that I did? And move me to convince all my frizzy haired friends to do the same? Great marketing, of course -- the kind that creates that connection we’re always talking about.
Here’s my real-life story of how I connected with the InStyler. It all started with a late night infomercial introducing me to the revolutionary curling iron with a rotating barrel. Interesting, but too good to be true, I thought. Still, I went to the website, where I found an army of information on how to achieve the smooth, silky look I’ve been longing for forEVER. At my fingertips were video demonstrations, reviews, styling tips of every kind, a blog. But at $140, I needed justification that extended beyond their website. And, I got it. You Tube, celebrity reviews, regular user reviews. It seemed everyone wanted me to know what a perfect match this product was for me. And who was I to argue with all those silky haired experts? Maybe it was the relevant content. Maybe the social media got to my head. Maybe the product and all it promised was just too gorgeous to resist. I typed in my credit card number and I’ve never looked back. This is the kind of buyer-brand relationship I’ve been looking for all my life.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
Coagulation is so Cool.
By Kari Popov, Senior Copywriter - 9/14/09
Catheters, Cadavers, Coagulation. They may not seem like things cool copywriters covet. After all, aren’t consumer products like laundry soap, soda and sneakers the sexy ones to write about? Don’t we all want to come up with Pepsi’s next tagline? Ok, so maybe we do. I like Pepsi. I love writing taglines. And, hey, it would be nice to be famous (if only in my own mind.) But, here’s the thing – get a group of really smart, really intense creative people around a table and all of a sudden, the topic of neurosurgical bipolar forceps BECOMES fascinating. Tissue sticks to the forceps during coagulation? Ew. Ow. Why? We have something better? Cool. It doesn’t stick? Even cooler. Before I know it, I am so deep into it that I’m begging to see the video of the surgery again. Bring on the blood and gore. Leave the laundry soap for later. I’ve got a surgery to watch.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
Digital Comes Due at the Library.
By Tom Devine, Partner - 9/14/09
There was an article on Boston.com today entitled “Welcome to the library. Say goodbye to the books.” It talked about a school that’s getting rid of ALL of their amassed 20,000 library books and going completely digital. Amazing. And sad. After all, what is a library without books? The librarians and many of the teachers are upset at the change.
But, there’s a silver lining. As advertisers, we’re living it. We’ve faced the challenges that come with going digital. But, we’ve also reaped the rewards. Just like the students that will now have larger access to all kinds of information, we as marketers have been given a gift that allows us to reach our audience more effectively and more cost efficiently than ever before. Thanks to Facebook, Twitter and the web, we’re not just talking at our target audiences, we’re talking with them. Instead of hitting them a couple of times with an ad, we’re having online conversations that build relationships around the brands we are promoting.
Just as we’ve come to appreciate the very real benefits of digital, so will those librarians and teachers. It will happen when they see their students connect to their studies in a new way – one that takes them beyond the walls of the library to a vast digital world of information and insight.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
Spreading: Swine Flu and Social Media Use
by Jon Olson, Creative Director - 9/14/09
Connecting consumers, content and brands. It’s what we do here at Devine & Pearson. We think it’s that connection that makes marketing programs really powerful – that ability to draw the target into an ongoing conversation about a brand, a product or a service. And it looks like when it comes to swine flu, the government agrees with us. According to a recent Advertising Age story, the CDC has created a National Center for Health Marketing. Their mandate is to change consumer behavior. And it seems they’re doing just that, with a nicely designed web site www.cdc.org and a savvy social media department. In addition to monitoring and joining the conversation on Twitter and other sites, they’re educating the public with viral campaigns that encourage users to send e-cards explaining proper hand washing techniques, among other things. It’s a smart way to control the conversation about swine flu. And, it’s a great example of the real impact social media can have when implemented in a strategic way.
