From Amanda’s speech:

“I think people have been obsessed with the wrong question, which is, ‘How do we make people pay for music?’ What if we started asking, ‘How do we LET people pay for music?’”

Crowdsourcing is the act of soliciting contributions (money, labor, information, etc.) from a large group of people, typically an online community.

Zach Braff used Kickstarter to raise $2.5 million dollars from 37,000 donations to fund the sequel to his original movie “Garden State.” To help bring in support, he is providing gifts to different donation levels. Offers include production diaries, a backer’s thank you screening, one’s name placed in the movie, the opportunity to name a character, or for $10,000 dollars, an individual can say a line in the movie!

It’s not just for music and movie projects either. Formlabs in Massachusetts is designing a high-end 3D printer for the desktop and asked for $100,000 to make it happen. The company has raised almost $3 million. Kickstarter funds projects for almost anything: art, fashion, technology products, games, and more.

Loyal fans and brand supporters have shown that they are willing to financially support a community, a belief system, or technology that they are emotionally connected to. They also feel that connection when they receive something that solves a real problem and when they feel a sense of control over the things that influence their lives.

Will this work for every company? Of course not. But many entrepreneurs find crowdsourcing to be an effective method to connect with financial backers that support their companies’ brand missions and goals. Building this emotional connection with prospects should be what a company looks to create when it’s in its infancy stage or about to launch a new product or service.

True or false: Word of mouth marketing has its own acronym and trade organization.

True, and for a mere $3,000, you can become an annual member of WOMMA.

What is the definition of a meme (rhymes with team)?

A. The cultural analogue to a gene, which self-replicates and mutates in response to selective pressures

B. A word coined by British evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins in his 1976 book, The Selfish Gene

C. A shortened form of the ancient Greek word mimeme, meaning “imitated thing”

D. An image, video, website, hashtag, or other element that spreads from person to person

Clearly D is the only one that relates to marketing communications. But this was a trick question because all of the above accurately describe a meme. Think about that the next time you share one of those Victorian lady “quotes” on Facebook!

Which of the following is NOT real?

A. Astroturfing

B. Nano-campaigning

C. Limerclicks

D. Reverse graffiti

E. Trolling

Okay, I admit it: I made up C. But how fun would it be to write pay-per-click ads that are also limericks?! All of the other answers are real (Google them for proof).

So what crazy or clever terms have you heard for marketing strategies, tactics, or trends?

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Great ideas stem from great research. In this video, you’ll see how Martino Flynn helped Welch Allyn use brand research to develop a strategy for repositioning the brand to more accurately reflect who the company is today.

If you want to get your branded content on an iPad, whether it’s a sales aid or a consumer-facing piece, you probably have considered building an iPad app. Native apps are great, and allow you to take advantage of just about every feature and function the iPad hardware and software have to offer. Apps, however, can be complex to design, build, and update; and for applications that are primarily showcasing content, the cost and time requirements can be prohibitive, often pushing the investment out of balance with expected return.

The iBooks format, on the other hand, allows for the production of an iPad multimedia “book” that’s easier to create, update, and distribute. Creating a custom iPad app requires a high level of programming skill, and while there’s a core set of development tools that Apple offers, there are many different methods and techniques that a developer can choose from. Ultimately, the app is built with code, many assets, and a distribution process that’s rigid and can be tedious to navigate. Creating an “iBook,” on the other hand, is much simpler. There is a single, free authoring program from Apple that’s used to make iBooks. And while it supports complex HTML objects, a great deal of multimedia functionality is built into widgets that are relatively easy to integrate into a book layout—more familiar territory for graphic designers and many marketers alike. And while there is a commercial “iBookstore,”you can make your own “iBook” and simply distribute it as a file that anyone with an iPad and the free iBooks app can open (very useful in the case of, for example, a multimedia brochure). Sure, you can distribute iPad apps within your own company “ad hoc,” but this process is still regulated by Apple and requires some setup for every iPad on which the app needs to be installed. Distributing an “iBook” (assuming it’s all your own content), in contrast is just about as easy as sending someone a PDF.

How do you know if an iPad app or an “iBook” is the better way to go for your project? Consider what you’re trying to achieve. If you need complex functionality, such as access to the iPad’s camera or complex gestures, and if you have some time and money to invest, an iPad app can be almost anything you can dream up. But if you have content you need to showcase in a slick tablet experience, or maybe don’t have a huge budget and all the time in the world, consider the iBooks format, which suits many marketing application needs, such as sales aids, how-to books, any type of reference booklet, and more.

Further Reading:

http://www.futurebook.net/content/app-vs-ibook
http://stormadvies.com/blog/differences-apps-ibooks/
http://www.plankdesign.com/blog/2012/04/ibook-vs-app/

In early April, after the flow of negativity reached a max, and JCP failed to respond to customers, Johnson was released from his position as CEO. While most brands would stop there, maybe just issuing a press release to announce the change had been made, JCP took it a step further.

On April 30, JCP launched an ad featuring a series of all-American vignettes to the tune of an understanding voiceover that says:

It’s no secret. Recently, JCPenney has changed. Some changes you liked, and some you didn’t, but what matters from mistakes is what we learn. We learned a very simple thing, to listen to you. To hear what you need, to make your life more beautiful. Come back to JCPenney, we heard you. Now, we’d love to see you.

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Not often do big brands identify mistakes and own up to them – but it’s even more rare to publicly address them in such a fashion.

At the close of the ad, viewers are asked to visit the new JCP Facebook page where the brand says: “we’re listening.” Are they listening? Travel on over to the page and you’ll see hundreds of comments from disgruntled fans, and nearly instantaneous responses from a team of JCP representatives. Here’s a sample:

If you’re on Twitter, there’s also a hashtag to follow: #jcpListens

The incredible power of the customer’s voice grows every day as more and more brands embrace the benefits of social media. Negative situations can greatly impact a brand, but it comes down to how a brand responds when the customer calls. Addressing issues when they happen can only help a brand, and through social media, brands are able to respond in real time, providing customers with peace of mind by knowing that their concerns are heard.

Bravo to JCP for understanding the issue and realizing the potential that social media presented to address it. It takes courage to own up to faults, and even more to open up chains of communication on social media, where fans can be exceptionally vocal. Already, not even a day into the campaign, JCP is seeing positive energy coming its way on social media – fans and customers praising the brand for the initiative. See how easy problem solving can be with a little transparency?

Knowing that they had a truly unique new product with a bunch of cool features, Sid Bhattacharya and his team at Xerox began thinking about demo videos a little differently. Sure, it’s something that every product introduction needs—but why do you have to do it in the same way as every other product introduction? Why not stand out instead?

The Assignment. Sid and his team identified the top features of the new Xerox^® ConnectKey^® multifunction printers. Then he charged Martino Flynn with producing five, two-to-three minute vignettes that focused on a single, compelling benefit for small-to-medium sized businesses (SMBs). The purpose was not only to get customers excited about what the product could do for their offices, but also to motivate the sales force.

He encouraged us to have fun with it—music to the ears of a creative person—and instead of trying to deliver the entire users’ manual in a video, just give the viewer bite-size chunks of information to whet their appetite for more. Made perfect sense to us.

The Solution. To convince the audience that ConnectKey^® would make a real difference in their office, we had to deliver our message in a believable environment—so we created a fictional SMB office with realistic characters. We knew that if the viewer saw themselves (and their co-workers) reflected in the characters, we’d make the connection (pardon the pun) that our client was looking for.

We used a pseudo-documentary style to tell the story of ConnectKey through everyday, slice-of-SMB-life situations. The “fun” came in the lighthearted way we set up the stories to draw the viewer in. Then we delivered the hard product information in character “asides,” where they speak directly to the camera about features and benefits in a personal, human way—explaining how ConnectKey made their jobs easier and made them more productive.

The Result. Early returns have been outstanding. In the first six weeks after release, the series has already attracted thousands of YouTube hits and has been enthusiastically received by customers and salespeople alike.

“I was able to demo these myself at a recent Canada kickoff event, and we have used them many times at the Gil Hatch customer center for internal training events,” Sid says. “Each time, they generate the right reaction and laughter, as well as an appreciation for the simple, yet powerful message they convey.”

To see for yourself, simply click the links below:

Always There | Something for Everyone | Always On Guard | Anywhere, Anytime | Set For Success

With the growth of ecommerce in the past couple of years, a popular credit card company has capitalized on a unique opportunity: tweet to purchase.

Recently, American Express announced a new, exciting partnership with Twitter to instate hashtag codes for individual items found on Amazon. In a Fast Company article, the VP of global product and business development at AmEx noted that merchants will now have the ability to track conversations and see which ones will lead to better business–and in turn, purchases.

In essence, anyone with a Twitter account and an AmEx card, after syncing the two accounts, need only respond to a hashtag offer from AmEx, such as one for an Amazon Kindle or Xbox 360 and the credit card company will send out a confirmation tweet of that individual’s purchase.

This opens up communication opportunities in so many ways. Brands can offer discounted products and chat about the product, answer consumer questions, and gauge product interest in a candid way. What better way to engage potential customers and their networks (not to mention the more than 500 million registered Twitter users) than by offering an incentive to engage with a brand or product?

In the past couple of weeks, many top-notch news sources have commended AmEx on this “genius” initiative, including Forbes, ABC News, and Yahoo.

Note: I did spot a few individuals who tweeted their credit card numbers in response to an offer. This is not recommended. If you’re an American Express customer and have a Twitter account, you can sync them together here. In addition, here’s a great video that explains the secure process.

Follow @AmericanExpress, @AmexSync, or #AmexSync to stay up to date on what new products are being offered via Twitter.

Here are a few thought starters.

Use fresh ingredients

Even tried-and-true methods for communicating can become tired. Try some “not your usual” approaches to reinvigorate the dialogue with employees:

• Distribute a conversational video message from the CEO instead of a formal, written communiqué, and then invite feedback via a Yammer site.
• Spice up your intranet with a temporary interstitial page that announces something new or noteworthy.
• Skip the dry PowerPoint presentation and illustrate your strategic goals in an infographic instead.

Offer bite-sized carrots

Your company probably already has a reward and recognition program in place, even if it’s as basic as salary increases and job title promotions. Your internal communications program, though, can offer smaller incentives to help you achieve your goals:

• Boost participation in employee surveys with random drawings for gift certificates to a local sub shop, car wash, or movie theater.
• Motivate teams to embrace new initiatives by offering a donation to a charity of their choosing if they comply ahead of schedule.
• Encourage completion of multi-stage training programs by providing company-themed items that increase in value for each stage.

Provide a stimulating environment

Motivation in the workplace isn’t just about carrots and sticks. It’s often about internal drivers, such as the desire to do a good job, be innovative, learn something new, or face a challenge and overcome it. Nurture these internal drivers with communications that will inspire employees:

• Send emails that provide links to thought-provoking content, such as TED Talks videos or employee-written reviews of motivational books.
• Offer webinars where a few customers discuss their biggest challenges today, or the biggest changes they foresee in the future.
• Invite a cross-functional team to “breakfast with the boss” to share and discuss ideas for business growth.

Whatever tools you use, give this audience the attention it deserves. Breathing new life into your employee communications can do wonders for the health of your business.

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Have you ever collaborated with another brand to co-promote your products or services? In this video, Martino Flynn explains how they helped national retailer Golf Galaxy launch the new R1 adjustable driver from TaylorMade—and succeeded in making sure that both brands’ key messages shined through.

Now, I write for advertising, which isn’t always a paragon of English expression (apologies for “lite,” as well as both “crispety” and “crunchety”). I’m also more of a Joan Didion “grammar is a piano I play by ear”-type writer than a Strunk and White purist (as amply demonstrated by this post).

However, like any writer, my ability to communicate and persuade does still require that I share a common understanding of the rules of language with those I’m writing for (yes, let that preposition dangle I say!). Texting, and social media such as Twitter, is making that a more difficult proposition, particularly when it comes to teens.

Why? As the kitty-riffic infographic from OnlineCollege.org below shows (and parents already know), “techspeak” (OMG, ROFL, etc.) is used most by teens, by far the biggest texters. Unfortunately, they’re also at a critical stage in learning to become “mature” writers.

For those of us writing for advertising, it’s not so much teens’ writing that should concern us (unless we hire them someday)—it’s their reading. The two are inextricably linked. Do they—will they—have the comprehension, attention span and vocabulary to follow our copy if it’s more than 140 characters long and anything other than extremely simplistic?

It’s unlikely that things will ever regress to a “See Spot like Purina” level; but here’s the bottom line: wherever the language goes, it’s not our target audience who needs to adjust, it’s us. Whatever ill it may portend for Western civilization, it’s the readers—the potential buyers—who will continue to be the boss, not the writers. Since they’re the ones we need to persuade, both now and in the years ahead, we’ll need to continue to find a way to hit them where they live—not only with targeted media, but with targeted language.

As noted adman and smoking-pipe enthusiast David Ogilvy once said:

“I don’t know the rules of grammar… If you’re trying to persuade people to do something, or buy something, it seems to me you should use their language, the language they use every day, the language in which they think. We try to write in the vernacular.”

If we all keep those wise words in mind, the future of advertising writing will continue to be bright. Or at least brite.