Sir James Dyson, I adore thee...

It's weird, sometimes, the stuff that sparks inspiration.

Sir James Dyson was on the Today Show this morning, with a segment about Dyson's new product, a bladeless fan. My ears perked up, and the reasons for that are threefold:

1. Sir James Dyson's buttery voice turns me into a puddle of mush. He could sell me anything.

2. I love Dyson in general. Sexy household products? Yes, please.

3. The type of fan we're talking about is, by definition: any of various devices consisting essentially of a series of radiating vanes or blades attached to and revolving with a central hublike portion to produce a current of air.*



A fan is a thing with blades. But, blades aren't perfect. So, let's ditch 'em.

It's really cool when people improve upon products and services to make them better: more efficient, safer, more functional, easier to use, etcetera. It's incredibly cool when people redefine them. Maybe a bladeless fan is a ridiculous product that nobody really needs, but it's kind of fantastic to think that people out there are inventing products that have no need for the elements that used to define them.

Sir James Dyson, you're pretty cool. You make me want to create things, maybe advertising things, maybe other things, and throw the limitations of definitions out the window. You make me want to be an inventor. You go, James Dyson.



*dictionary.com FTW

"Casual Friday."

Was wondering what was up with Thrillist last week when I received their NYC, Philly, and Boston newsletters, along with the standard Chicago fare. Wasn't going to crucify them for it (had totally forgotten about it, actually), but this email totally made my day. An on-brand apology, to say the least. Click to read the text in the red box (marked by my clever arrow of hilarity).





Lesson: Good brands, just like good people, apologize in a timely manner when they screw up, and their fans love them for it.

Don't Stop Believin'

Our summer interns started today. An eager bunch, all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed; yet I have to be honest, I feel sorry for these kids. Not because their hands are soon to be covered with coffee burns and toner stains (totally not the case, our intern program rocks), but because they, at no fault of their own, got stuck with a really terrible time to be graduating into the ad industry. Not only are they fighting amongst the students in their own graduating class for precious feet in prestigious doors, but they're also up against a crew of seasoned ad warriors that wearied agencies had no choice but to let go.

Not exactly ideal circumstances; although an internship, I find, is a wonderful place to start. But where to go from there?

My best friend Christy, art director hopeful, and her copywriter friend Branden, students at Miami Ad School with little more experience than our brand new interns, found themselves on the front page of Agency Spy this afternoon, and later on AdFreak. Two days ago, they had responded to a creative team job post tweet from CP+B with a video cover letter, expressing their interest in the position.

They posted it on YouTube.



Then, they tweeted it. First, Christy,


And then, Branden.


Alex Bogusky noticed.


Some other people noticed, too.

The video itself is cute, sure. Those kids make Sharpie disguises look good. But I think the really cool thing here, and perhaps the reason that the ad blogs are finding their video noteworthy, is their complete comprehension of the task at hand. They wanted a job in digital creative, so they created something digital. Not only that, but they built a makeshift campaign around it using digital media. Sort of a "hey! we want this job! and we understand it, too!"

Things they did right, and general items to consider when applying for jobs in advertising:

1. Regardless of economic state, ad positions are NOT EASY to come by. Be unique, and know your audience. Find a way to stand out. How are you going to prove you can make killer campaigns if you get lost in the clutter?

2. If you want a job in a specific discipline, demonstrate your knowledge of that arena. You live in a digital age - you know stuff about advertising! Figure out a way to show people what you know.

3. Be prepared to work for it. Being in advertising, especially to start, is some seriously hard work. Show that you're ready by jumping on any opportunity that comes your way, and putting in the extra effort.

Who knows if they'll end up with the gig - their books will need to do the talking from here on out. In the meantime, the reaction this got makes for a pretty uplifting case study to all those go-getters out there who aren't satisfied just dreaming about agency life.

My point is, fear not, interns! Listen to the wise words of Journey - it ain't over 'til it's over. I applaud you for getting this far - an internship at Draftfcb, or any other agency for that matter, is nothing to sneeze at. Keep turning up the heat. We're thrilled to count you amongst the ranks, and excited to see what you will bring to the table.

No pressure.

Twitter Preso Fabulocity

I was super excited today to give a presentation on Twitter basics to my media team here at DFCB. Also, to finally have some fodder worthy of Slideshare.

All things considered, I think it went really well. Please check it out, below. I am presenting this to our agency this week Thursday, so if you have any comments for me before then, please speak up.

Working on committing to the preso mantra - if it's not essential, kill it. Less is more. Easier said than done.

Thanks so much to Michael for contributing content, and Russ and Clay for helping me edit!

Anyone who can let me know what to do about the black boxes and weirdo formatting gets a high-five.

Twitter 101

View more presentations from Jennifer Beio.

Love the madness.

I’m just going to say it: I think the digital direct marketing on the part of the Moosejaw brand is really smart, and also quite entertaining.

I really never thought I would find myself writing on this topic. Maybe Howard is putting something in the water at the 101 building; usually, I find the thought of direct to be quite unpleasant and likely to put me into a deep sleep. However, what Moosejaw has done with direct is running along the same line as my previous discussion of creation of original brand content, and I find it to be 100% awesome.

I was at Moosejaw in December of 2008 for a media event, which probably explains a lot (I am not exactly the outdoorsy type). On this chilly evening, the charming and knowledgeable sales associate working the floor was miraculously able to convince me to sign up for their e-newsletter. Not only did I get a ridiculously cute ice-skating date out of the deal, I also found myself completely engrossed in their e-newsletters each week. I get a lot of newsletters, coupons, etc., and I never really expect much out of them, but the Moosejaw Rewards program is completely golden. The formula is simple: entice with a deal, sweeten with humor. Click here for sample newsletter, entited: Free Moosejaw Hoody and my moustache regimen.

The deal: Purchase anything over $50 and any Moosejaw hoody will be freesville. Their sweatshirts are amazing. I’m sold.

The joke: Your mustache regimen? Say no more. I’m hooked.

Reasons that I find Moosejaw’s direct marketing schematics to be most excellent:

1. It’s on-brand, and it’s funny.
Moosejaw is known for being a top-notch vendor of the best of the best in outdoor gear.* Moosejaw shoppers are likely to be fiercely loyal to their sport, so it comes as no surprise that this audience would be receptive to loyalty messaging. The deals in their communication are consistent (once or twice weekly) and pretty sweet. As such, I am guessing they have the attention of their audience.

They’re also known for being a little goofy. Have you ever called one of their stores? Try it. If he/she doesn’t answer the phone with a rousing “MoooOOOOOOOOOOOoosejaw,” ask to speak to the manager. If nothing else, it gives the brand a little extra mustard. I have been to plenty of outdoor gear retailers in my day, but have never been a loyal fan of one before Moosejaw. I appreciate the added entertainment, you know? It almost distracts from the fact that I’m spending $150 on a fleece.

2. They know it’s funny, and they know it’s good.
Did you see the trick I did up there, where I showed you the newsletter as a webpage? Yeah. They know it’s funny, and they know funny is viral, so they helped me out by making it as easily share-able as possible. I’m guessing this is not a coincidence. Also, they are really providing value to their core consumers with their offers. You can also find them on Twitter, for easy access. And, for maximum convenience, all offers are housed centrally on Moosejaw Rewards.com. In my humble opinion, funny, valuable, convenient content is a good formula for digital success.

I may be closer to the North Face girl in the bar than the girl climbing a mountain in her fleece, but I do know a few things about marketing. If you’re going to do loyalty programming and direct in the digital space, it helps to be entertaining and relevant. The Moosejaw case study spits in the face of boring email and direct campaigns. And, what can I say?

I love the madness.



*Yeah, yeah. How would I know, right? Well, my supervisor, Amy, is a serious surfer, wakeboarder and snowboarder, and I confirmed this with her before posting, so we’re good.

Excuse me, is that a Reese's Pieces floating in your Stella?

I may be just a young pup (human), still getting my feet wet on Madison Avenue (Erie at Rush) as an ad man (lady), but this I know for certain: just because something is old doesn’t necessarily mean it’s dead. And just because we may be a bunch of young, hipster advertising punks (nerds) doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be respectful of the old and time-honored practices that helped to build this great industry we love so dearly. Cool old ad stuff can still be great –it’s on our shoulders to give it the time of day and make sure it can stay relevant and, well, cool. And great.

Maybe I’m a total sap (a definite possibility), but one of my all-time favorite marketing tactics is entertainment product integration. Call me old-fashioned, but I’ve always, always wanted to put together a campaign that utilized product placement. All discussions of payola aside, if you’re in advertising for the psychology and good-natured manipulation that inevitably lie at its core, and I think many good planners are, it’s hard not to love product placement. It’s an oldie and a goodie, and a favored topic in ad classes – plenty of good case studies to dissect and discuss. The Italian Job (launch of Mini Cooper) is one of my favorites (don’t talk to me about E.T. and the Reese’s Pieces; he totally creeps me out). Even when spoofed, the satire carries a certain amount of valuable buzz, like in Wayne’s World or Talladega Nights. And, if the buzz is loud enough, we’ve seen products actually born of spoofed placements, à la Forrest Gump and Bubba Gump Shrimp. When done right, product placement can be seamless, organic, seemingly perfect marketing. We want our consumer to build positive brand associations – what better way to demonstrate the association than by showing the product in glamorous, glittering action?

Despite my little love affair, I’ll be the first to admit that, given the nature of the beast, there is definitely room for product placement to be overdone, hokey, and just really bad. Can be painful, even, when not revamped for a forum like, say, our friend the internet. Everything intrinsic about the interactive space (and a good number of case studies) would indicate that this is a venue where, if nothing else, brands need to be genuine to stay alive. Entertainment via interwebs, also, did not kill the cat. Luckily for product-placement buffs everywhere, I’ve noticed some stellar videos popping up these days that are bringing new life to the sometimes-antiquated principles of product placement. Brands are massaging product placement and giving us something fresher, seemingly more focused on entertaining than marketing.

My friend Jon-Eric passed this along, and Clay beat me to the punch on posting (and did so much more concisely, I might add) so I’ll throw to him here, but I am loving what Stella Artois put out online to support their Smooth Originals product. The three short-form pieces have subtle nods to the product, and focus on the association and entertainment that they want to bring to the brand. It’s smooth, it’s French, it's digestible, and it’s hilarious. It’s old, and it’s new. My favorite of the three is below.



Simone says? For reals? Awesome. It’s my old friend product placement, only better.

In a time when it seems like old media is a dying art form, I think we are remiss not to look to the internet as the obvious way to help it be new again. And, as the hipster nerds who seem to be somewhat good at working the interwebs, it’s our task to do so, eh? Stuff like this shows me that we can honor the building blocks while being true to the times. So, cheers to the old, cheers to the new, and cheers to the ad men for bridging the gaps and keeping it real. For all y'all.

Let them eat cake, and read it, too.

Flipping through the glossy pages of my hot-off-the-press, brand spankin' new copies of Food Network Magazine, I have to admire the moxie on display by Hearst and the Food Network empire. Really, Hearst? Putting out a new title while the economy continues to wilt and, almost every time I turn around, another magazine bites the proverbial dust? Really? Have you checked out Magazine Death Watch recently? Or, more grassroots, Mag Death Pool? Eager to add your brand to the list?

Something tells me they aren't too concerned. A closer look at the logic behind the launch reveals that the smart cookies over at Food Network are merely another case for the potential of smart marketing.

In the old, musty, ivy-covered lecture halls where I spent the better part of my college years, they warned me to pay attention, that, one day, I would need to know this stuff. Although I found it hard to believe at the time, every once in a while, one of those college-y nuggets of wisdom comes in handy - in this case, the very basics of marketing theory.

Marketing, as a function of business economics, is most successful when the object or idea in question fulfills a need, yes? In theory (there are some exceptions; anything Billy Mays decides to yell about, for example), not even the most brilliant application of the four Ps can create a lasting, successful business out of something that nobody needs. As consumer needs change, your business had better adapt, or before you know it, no one needs your wares, your bottom line doesn't pay the bills, and you're next in line to crumble. Basic marketing theory: listen to the needs of your audience, and find a way to fulfill those needs better than anyone else. Don't move on to the next thing until you've done the first thing correctly. And never stop listening.

(Disclaimer: I know very little, if anything, about businesses and finance and the like. This is just how I see it going down.)

***I Digress***

So-- back to media. It's painfully obvious that the economic crisis did not spare advertising agencies and their vendors. And as people progress and find new ways to get their news, entertainment, and so on, yes - media vehicles can become less relevant. Plenty of whisperings of media vehicles (not just properties) becoming obsolete, and the media world turning on its end, armageddon, etcetera. And, do we give up? Do we throw in the towel, and watch our media properties, along with the rest of the economy, go down the toilet?

No! Marketing 101: we turn our ears to the needs of our audience. We find a way to become relevant, and we do it better than anyone else.

Step 1: Listen to the needs of your audience.
Food Network was born out of an audience want for programming that covered all the food bases: from easy home cooking to restaurant management, from exciting competition to fine culinary education. And their content has adapted to reflect the times. Shows that teach how to make delicious food in a way that fits a busy lifestyle. Shows that teach how to stretch a dollar further without compromising taste or nutrition. You get the picture - this is an empire that was born out of a consumer need, and has kept consumer wants at the heart of its business development.

Step 2: Do one thing, and improve upon it until you do it better than anyone else.
There has almost always been some sort of food programming on television, but never before had there been one channel that delivered 110% of the time on so many aspects of of the food industry. Even with the rise of high-performing dramas such as Top Chef, I don't think there is any question as to which network is providing the best food content. Food Network has been developing carefully as a network for some time now; shaping brilliant and charismatic chefs into legitimate television stars, crafting content for consumer lifestyles, and entertaining audiences while educating. I'm pretty sure I would melt into a puddle of mush if Bobby Flay ever showed up to challenge me to a throwdown, eh?

Step 3: Move on to the next thing, and do that better than anyone else.
The online space was a natural extension for Food Network - people wanted access to the recipes they saw on their favorite shows. Online was the most efficient way for Food Network to repurpose their content and expand their foothold. The site, which houses not only recipe content, but video and original content, continues to serve audience needs and creates a stronger bond between the audience and the stars and shows they love. They are doing food online better than anyone else, and they are using that success to continue to strengthen their flagship property.

Step 4: Lather, rinse, and repeat step 3.
With Food Network as the strongest food entity in cable, and FoodNetwork.com the most-trafficked food site on the internet (comScore), why not continue to bulldoze the competition? Food Network and Hearst weren't carelessly throwing money into magazine at a time when magazines are declining. They were expanding into a new arena at the request of their audience. The magazine is incredibly well-done, with beautiful original photography, all-new recipes tested by the Food Network test kitchens, and edit contributions by 20-30 much-loved Food Network stars in each issue. It has the leverage of a couple of blockbuster properties and a raving fan base as a foundation. There have been two issues on newsstand thus far, and already full-price subscriptions are far over-delivering on projections. The strategic progression from television to online to print would suggest that this is a brand that understands marketing, business, consumerism, and the like. I don't see them waving the white flag anytime soon.

Not to say there aren't plenty of media enterprises doin' it and doin' it and doin' it well. Our dear friend Oprah, for example. Or, how about Martha Stewart? There is no quick fix for the economic crises that are gripping media vendors by the throat. But case studies like Food Network's foray into print tell us that there is still room in this waning economy for strategic marketing. With a little moxie, it still works, when you do it right. Really.