Outside Voice - an Origin Blog

2012 Trends for Marketers to Pay Attention To

lisa — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 23:36:07 +0000

Our team made the pre-dawn trek to Vancouver this morning for the BCAMA’s Annual Ad Agency Panel on Advertising Trends for 2012.

Here are our top 5 take-aways. (A quick and dirty recap, thanks to our Interactive Director Rory Tucker, Resource Director Ruby Virk and Account Manager Carlee Cindric). More in-depth thinking (when we haven’t had to get up at 5am) to follow.)

1. 2012 will be the year of catvertising. (But seriously, as cats know, all the strategy you need is to be really really interesting. And what’s more interesting than dangling from a fan as it goes around and around…)

2. Pinterest, pinterest, pinterest. (Seriously? Could there be any more hype on pinterest?) Given that pinterest is now one of the top 5 referrers to online retailers, the hype is probably here to stay.

3. Purpose. The single most important thing for marketers is to discover and articulate a brand’s purpose. There’s nowhere for a brand to hide. Transparency continues to be important as well as a sense of moral obligation and social responsibility. Sometimes, that will mean being “flawsome” – ie owning up to your mistakes, quickly and openly.

4. Be responsive. Listen. Observe. Respond. Change. Develop. We are communicating with consumers continuously (as opposed to just during a specified campaign period) so we need to plan content creation and delivery in a way that allows us to adapt and respond to consumer reaction and environmental factors.

5. (Great) Content Is (Still) King.

Make it valuable – whether entertaining, informative or just sticky BUT make it GOOD, and worth people’s time and attention. Because attention is the ultimate commodity. Everyone’s fighting for it. Getting it is a privilege.

Thanks to Marty Yaskowich of DDB, Alvin Wasserman of Wasserman & Partners, Jack Dayan of Taxi West, and “the last minute sub” Darren Yada from Rethink (who was truly flawsome) for the mental caffeine.

Caption Contest returns!

lisa — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 18:00:11 +0000

Last week, 8 witty quippy captions came in to amuse and entertain us. And for that, we thank thee.

And invite suggestions as to how to best title this image.

Our new art director. God, he’s got good instincts.

Caption Writing Contest!

lisa — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 21:14:36 +0000

Today, we debut the Origin caption writing contest, a social media project that has 2 aims.
1. To crack us up.
2. To discover the quippy copywriting talents lurking out there in cyberspace.

Showing off some of our favourite photography is an added bonus.

How it works? Write quippy caption in the comments section below. If we choose your caption, we’ll invite you to Friday beer’o'clock.

We’ll kick things off with a couple.

Okay, snowgods, what have you got?

Portrait of a man waiting for the other shoe to drop.

“So, I went out for a dog walk and ended up looking for divine inspiration.”

Whatcha got?

(PS If you have a photo to share for next week’s caption writing contest, send it to lisa@origindesign.ca.)

TNF, Life is Good and Patagonia Lead Outdoor Social Media Awards

mjo — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 14:46:25 +0000

From SportsOneSource Media

Outdoor Magazine said The North Face, Life is Good and Patagonia were the top outdoor companies in its 2011 Social Media Awards.

By category, the winners were:
Facebook’s Most Liked: The North Face – (1,497,218 fans)
Twitter’s Most Followed: Life is good – (69,887 followers)
YouTube’s Most Viewed: Patagonia

Using Fansometer’s system of measuring influence, Outdoor Magazine began tracking and publishing social media brand rankings for the outdoor industry in late 2009. Since then, results have been updated daily online at odrmag.com and published in the weekly e-newsletter and monthly issues of the magazine.

Facebook’s Top 10 (Fans)
1) The North Face – 1,497,218
2) Life is good – 1,071,926
3) Timberland – 558,307
4) Jansport – 441,315
5) Crocs – 427,734
6) K-Swiss – 216,839
7) Costa Sunglasses – 187,818 New Balance – 172,503
9) Vibram Fivefingers – 169, 594
10) Columbia – 148,824

Twitter’s Top 10 (Followers)
1) Life is good – 69, 887
2) The North Face – 54, 931
3) Patagonia – 44, 941
4) Columbia – 26, 150
5) Keen – 24, 236
6) Crocs – 19,792
7) Brooks Running – 19,346 Vibram Fivefingers – 18, 879
9) New Balance – 15,321
10) Timberland – 15,063

YouTube’s Top 10 (Channel Views)
1) Patagonia – 4,236,734
2) Salomon Freeski – 4,111,338
3) Columbia – 3,844,262
4) K-Swiss – 3,617,178
5) Salomon Running – 1,674
6) Petzl – 1,671,680
7) The North Face – 1,465,420 Prana – 1,370,573
9) Marmot – 1,322,808
10) Vibram Fiverfingers – 978, 194

Retail stores that inspire

mjo — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 23:42:52 +0000

It’s a shoppers market. There’s no doubt that consumers these days have higher expectations; they are looking for more out of their shopping experience. I usually like to bitch and complain about store visits being underwhelming but this post is about new shops that have done it well. Here is a top 5.

New Balance New York
The New Balance Experience prototype store opened this summer in NY’s Flatiron district and tries to look both backwards and forward, telling stories in ways that honor its heritage yet feel modern.
Highlights of the store:

A 50 foot running track with the same Mondo surface material used for Olympics-level tracks
An ipad takes a picture of the customer crossing the finish line, which is then sent to his Facebook page
A live video feed to the New Balance factory where shoppers can actually watch shoes being made and ask the workers questions

REI, Soho
The store opened its doors in December and the 35,000 square foot store represented a massive restoration project. The Puck Building legacy was beautifully maintained and serves as a showcase for teh bike and ski shop services, rental deapartment and gear. The store’s community space allows REI and its nonprofit partners to host outdoor classes, events.
Highlights of the store:

Wood from the original construction was repurposed into the store’s cashier counters, display tables and signage
Two 14 foot flywheels from the building’s original steam power plant are showcased on the cellar level near the historical walls featuring REI’s founders
30 original stone printing tables discovered during the construction and dating back to the 1900’s are displayed in store

Uniqlo Pop-Up Stores
These were used to advertise the company’s openings. These ‘mobile cubes’ started popping up in September and travelled around NYC, at events and in strategic locations.
Highlights of the store:

The cubes illuminate and enlighten neighborhoods – a powerful and simple package
Once the cube is plopped into location, a section of the form slides open like a vault, inviting people to come visit, try on clothes and purchase apparel

FRY Company, NYC
The oldest American shoe company opened its first flagship store in 148 years in August in Soho.
Highlights of the store:

Using found objects and a vintage inspired aesthetic – workbenches, harnesses, spools and tool boxes were fashioned into merchandise displays
The focal point is a generously proportioned ring chandelier that spans the majority of the main space. It consists of 8,000 rings that typically decorate the Frye Harness boot
Cool customization options like boot tatooing and hot stamping

Ebay Pop Up Shop, London
EBay Pop-up shop in London’s West End = bringing online shoppers to mobile shopping into a brick and mortar store.
Highlights of the store:

Featured top eBay items ranging from clothing to flat screen tv’s, in rooms with themes such as ‘girlie boudoir’ and ‘bloke’s paradise’.
There were no cash registers. One paid by swiping QR codes with a mobile phone which then took you to the eBay payment section. The purchased items were sent to the buyer’s home; no need for shopping bags.
The location of the high street shopping district was an interesting choice; among youth culture shoppers in the UK, they tend to buy more frequently in stores compared with online.

Champions of the MEME wars, UNITE!

lisa — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 22:19:03 +0000

Last week we posted about #shityogissay and how ripe the meme was for quick take-off. Take a peek at what those clever and quick-off-the-mark creatives at Whistler Blackcomb and Voleurz pulled off. A viral hit – over 230,000 views in 24 hours. Way to seize the meme-moment, kids.

Shit Skiers Say from Whistler Blackcomb on Vimeo.

And for those ready to take this meme to the next level, check out our Interactive Director’s new tumblr, a comprehensive compilation and celebration of all things… well… sh*t. Submit yours at will.

Moodboard of Word Porn

lisa — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 19:22:12 +0000

In which our copywriter makes the case that words alone are enough to powerfully convey a message…

Over to you, picture-people…

Shiny New Things for 2012: a Crash Course on Pinterest

andy — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 19:24:28 +0000

Pinterest and the Sales Funnel: How Businesses Can Use Social Bookmarking to Aid in Discovery

Pinterest, the online social pinboard that allows users to pin and share things they love, has emerged as one of the fastest growing websites of 2011.

TIME ranked it as one of the top 50 websites of 2011, Mashable called it the hot new social network, and the Washington Post’s Style Guide voted Google+ out and Pinterest IN for 2012.

The biggest potential for Pinterest for marketers is as a tool to plug the “discovery” gap. Search engines like Google and Bing, or e-retailers like Amazon, require a user to have a pretty good idea of what they are looking for. For example, a search for “Ski Vacation in Whistler” is going to net much more direct and actionable information than “Where Should I Spend My Ski Vacation”? Along the same lines, a search for “cool snowboard pants” isn’t going to get me very far, but if I know I want a pair of Burton AK bibs, Google’s is going to find me everything I need to make an informed purchase.

This makes search engines and e-retailers great tools for fulfilling a transaction at the bottom of the sales funnel, but what’s missing is a tool to help us find things when we don’t know exactly what we’re looking for – in that “discovery” stage at the top entrance of the sales funnel.

The tools that consumers have traditionally used to make those “top of the funnel” decisions – word-of-mouth, peer influence, and brand reputation and awareness – are the things that in the internet age transfer really nicely in to the sharing aspect of social media.

Add in the power of visual search and Pinterest could be a powerful tool for users to “discover” their way down to the bottom of that sales funnel.

Back to the ski vacation example. A Pinterest board called “Ski Resorts – Best Terrain” that visually displays a scrap book of the best terrain at resorts from all over the world would be a pretty powerful tool for someone looking to narrow down their options and figure out the best bang for their ski-vacation buck. Someone browsing that board might see an image of someone shredding Blackcomb Glacier (shamless WB promotion), and be inspired to look deeper in to Whistler as their vacation destination.

How Can Pinterest Be Incoporated in to a Business’s Social Media Marketing Mix?

Pinterest is still in it’s infancy. A business incorporating it in to their social media mix would be a brave soul experimenting in a new world. But the strategies that are working for Pinterest’s early adopters, (Etsy.com artists are some of the biggest benefactors of the Pinterest boom), can provide a how-to guide for larger businesses and brands.

Brand Engagement – At it’s heart, Pinterest is a social tool that encourages sharing and following, and builds communities around subjects of interest to it’s users. In the same way that we use Facebook to build a fan-base and share the things that make our brand authentic, Pinterest can be used to create boards that are relevant to the brand or business, and to pin items that followers will find interesting and hopefully share with other users – all tracking back to your original board, and in turn growing the community around your brand.

Real Time Trend Tracking - as marketers, staying on top of consumer trends is of upmost importance, but often times the tools that help us do so (including market research, industry reports, trade publications) can be expensive and even out-of-date by the time they become available. Pinterest on the other hand is a free tool, and is as current as the users who are “pinning” items that inspire them daily. A business that is interested in finding out what their consumers are finding interesting could simply search Pinterest for their subjects that are relevant to their business and follow the items that are trending and popular.

Content Creation / Content Aggregation – content marketers can use Pinterest as a tool to help them both discover and collect content of interest that can be reworked in to a number of different social marketing channels (blogs, Facebook, etc.) It’s also a great tool for businesses (and agencies) to find inspiration for their marketing and advertising ideas – Pinterest has tons of boards related to graphic design, web design, advertising, and other relevant topics.

Search Engine Benefits – Pinterest is basically a visual collection of links – or as one SEO agencies calls them, “linkable image assets”. Because anything a user pins is essentially a link, it shows up in search results and builds in-bound links to your website – a powerful piece of the SEO puzzle.

Add Pin It Buttons to your Website – for businesses that are really confident in Pinterest, there is a button that can be added to any item on your website which shares it directly to pinterest, providing further exposure for your products/brand.

The Future of Discovery on the Web

Only time and practice will bring the metrics that prove Pinterest as a valuable piece of the social marketing puzzle, but the most important take-away from Pinterest’s rise is the digitalization of the discovery tools that have traditionally lived off-line. Pinterest is an early tool that will help consumers find the top of the sales funnel.

What other thoughts do you have for using Pinterest and other social bookmarking services to build you brand? Have you used it and found it helpful? Or a waste of time? Share your experiences with us in the comments below.

#shitgirls(and-other-people)say, our favourite meme of the moment

lisa — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 18:10:47 +0000

Our new favourite meme (better than sloths), #shitgirlssay, has been brilliantly spoofed by Lululemon in the recent #shityogissay video – a clever example of unmarketing and canny timing, that had us in stitches.

Justice Marshall over at Social Nature blog identifies it as “trend-jacking” that is “funny as hell.”

because they say shit. Can brands say shit? Apparently Lululemon thinks so. The video was just posted yesterday and yes, there’s been some backlash. It’s edgy. It’s risky. I think it’s funny as hell. I bet it hits a million views by the end of the weekend.

A few spoofs we’d like to see before the shelf-life of this particular meme expires (we give it 3 months, tops):

#shithockeyplayerssay

(Oh look, it already exists.

“I would have loved to be in Pittsburgh, but they didn’t want me. They said I was too small.”

#shitdog-ownerssay (or #shitcrazycatpeoplesay)

“My dog just poked me on facebook.”

#shitgeekssay

“Did you reboot?”

Okay, let’s crowd-source this puppy. What have you got?

To tradeshow or not to tradeshow

mjo — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 16:04:07 +0000

by MJ Legault

Trade shows used to be a place where orders were written, new accounts were found, connections were made and brands were launched. With the challenging economy, the importance of showrooms and the consolidation of brands, we’ve started to wonder if there’s still a place for tradeshows? Why do some tradeshows appear to be thriving while others are dying? I thought I’d explore answering these questions, and in the process try to get to the bottom of what makes a good show and what makes one…well…suck ass.

I started my quest with a look at those that are doing well (not surprisingly, those were the ones that got back to my request for information, so analyzing them is easier).

Outdoor Retailer

This grandaddy of North American shows attracts approximately 40,000 attendees on a semi-annual basis for its Winter and Summer Market shows in Salt Lake City. Brands big and small gather for the most comprehensive showcase of outdoor companies. Outdoor Retailer continues to attract national and international dealers in every category—specialty, specialty chain, general sporting goods, military, resort, mail order, big box and mass merchant retailers—and their numbers reflect this.

I attended the OR Summer Market this year and though I was a bit bored by SLC’s nightlife, I was blown away by the event, the vibe, and the mix of attendees. You know it’s a thriving event when you go out for your run at 7am and you find yourself surrounded by 15,000 other runners (not quite something I’d ever experienced at SIA). And while they may not have been out for a morning run, action sport brands were clearly making their way into the show. Those brands are seeing the opportunity that the outdoor dealers offer and the extension of their products into this sphere is obviously starting to make sense to them.

So what are the results when you pull together a relevant show with an expanding market of participants? Attendance numbers over the last 5 years for OR have seen a remarkable increase in both seasons:

OR Winter Market went from 16,936 attendees in 2010 to an impressive 20,002 in 2011.

OR Summer Market jumped from 21,465 in 2010 to 25,494 in 2011.

When I asked Kenji Haroutunian, the show’s Vice President how he explains the Show’s growth, he said “there are a number of elements including managed B2B + B2C value for exhibitors, continual innovation at the hardgoods core as well as in apparel, footwear and lastly, fully merchandised product presentations that speak to today’s retailer who is not horizontally oriented anymore (shoe stores, shirt stores, accessories stores are now Lifestyle stores).”

He also said that Outdoor Retailer is fortunate to serve a market that is both innovation driven, and depicts a desirable lifestyle to the public… In addition we are moving the show to a new platform that delivers more value to attending retail buyers, as well as design professionals and media; this new platform features new trade show tools, business education, and targeted networking opportunities powered by applied technology. The events world is fast-evolving, and we plan on delivering a cutting edge event that will inspire and inform our audience show after show.

The KNOWSHOW

For our non-Canadian friends, the KNOWSHOW is positioned as Canada’s premier lifestyle show. When the KNOWSHOW started a few years back, it seemed to be in direct response to the NSIA show which, at the time, really was starting to tank.

I asked Perry Pugh, the show’s general manager about their start. He said, ”We started the KNOWSHOW to give retailers and brands that focused on action sport and lifestyle fashion brands a market that was better suited to their needs. With the geographical realities of Canada, trade shows are not going anywhere and we set out to make these necessary situations a positive thing for everyone to look forward to.”

Each of their last four shows drew more than 800 buyers representing approximately 400 stores. The attendance is rounded out with more than 400 Industry reps, managers and marketers and sponsored athletes and over 100 registered media members representing the fashion and action sports blogging community.

According to Pugh, “our focus is to grow our show so that Canada’s best retailers can find brands and categories that will enable them to succeed, while continuing to provide a friendly and relaxed atmosphere for all of the stakeholders in our industry to meet and grow our business in a positive way”.

NSIA

I have some strong personal opinions on NSIA and will try to keep them in check. Basically, I think the show went from being a national must-attend event to being a completely irrelevant show with no soul. There, I said it. In recent years, the NSIA has re-invented its show and has seen some success. The demo at Mont Tremblant was well attended and the brands we spoke to felt that it was a great opportunity to connect with their East Coast retailers (especially those who are outside the city centers). The NSIA continues to struggle to find a reason for being. Unlike OR and the Know Show, The NSIA is an association-based show and at times it feels like the show tends to suit the needs of those on the board, and not especially interested in changing their processes to modernize the experience.

ASR

As we know, ASR events have been indefinitely suspended. According to their press release, “Recent consolidation among major brands and even meaningful changes in the retail environment has significantly altered the landscape. Given the competition among key brands and the consolidation among retail shops, it appears for now, to be mostly a market share battle for floor space. This dynamic, combined with tight credit markets, has been hard on the new, smaller or up-and-coming brands as well as many independent surf, skate and boutique retailers. We expect this consolidated and competitive situation to continue to characterize the action sports industry in California for some time to come. Given these fundamental changes, it has proven to be increasingly difficult for the ASR shows in San Diego to serve the new needs of the action sports marketplace. Therefore, we are indefinitely suspending these events.”

So what do these successful and not-so-successful case studies tell us? Here’s my take:

Those shows expanding their appeal to new audiences are finding more success

You don’t have to be in Vegas to be successful

Engage media as partners

Utilize technology and new marketing platforms to provide value to show attendees

Re-evaluate the business education component of your show. If only 10 people show up to the free seminars, perhaps you don’t have your pulse on what people are needing or wanting to hear.

Don’t forget to create real and facilitated networking opportunities. Technology needs to play a role in these.

Aim to inform and inspire.

In the next issue of this blog post, we’ll look at Interbike, SIA, ISPO and Bread & Butter. We’d love some feedback on these shows and any if you feel tradeshows are still a must and why.

Merci.