As I’m writing this, I have had to opportunity to watch his video spread from a tiny comment on www.reddit.com to a full out internet meme.

(A meme ( /?mi?m/^[1]) is “an idea, behaviour or style that spreads from person to person within a culture. Pronounced like “cream” it was coined by Professor Dawkins)

Here’s the video:

Hilarious yes?

What makes this video great, is that Chuck Testa pops out and says “Nope! It’s Chuck Testa”. But if Chuck had said “nope” to the video producers creative ideas, he would have seen far less exposure for his content.

Published August 14th, the video saw minor success. Chuck was probably happy enough with the video too! But wait. Check out the insights below. Once there internet “found out” about the commercial, his views skyrocketed.

Not every viral video will work. In fact. Most don’t. Our city saw great success thanks to Rob Bliss and his team producing a Lib-Dub video for the classic song  American Pie. Rob and his team poured their time into that video – and views kept climbing. Grand Rapids got another 15 minutes of fame (more like, 4MM+ views of fame!).

So why did Chuck Testa’s video hit off with the internet? Simple. They didn’t try too hard, but they experimented with a creative solution that ended up becoming a booming success.

He’s actually hosting a contest right now on his website for the best “NOPE!” photoshop. (http://www.ojaitaxidermy.com – if you want to enter.)

Here are my key takeaways from the Chuck Testa ‘experience’ (and he still makes me laugh outloud, FYI.):

• First and foremost: don’t be afraid to be creative.
• Pushing the boundaries doesn’t have to be “offensive” – you can push boundaries and still be noticed.
• If the internet “finds out” about something you’ve done and it goes viral – let it. Heck, join it!
• Don’t. Be afraid. Let your brand explore a creative message that wouldn’t normally “fit”.

If you find any good Chuck Testa stories, share it with us on our Facebook or Twitter!

www.facebook.com/weareagentx

www.twitter.com/weareagentx

Addendum: I should add that the video was shot by professionals for “Commercial Kings“. Just note that while shot by professionals, the beauty of the video is how long it took to be “discovered” by the internet. Very impressive viral piece.

Stopping to smell the roses isn’t a new concept. In fact, it’s almost an overused expression. We rarely stop to smell the roses, let alone to stop to contemplate the power this phrase has over our lives.

In marketing, our consumers walk past flowers every day. They rarely will stop and smell the roses. Who can blame them? They’re over communicated. We all are.

As communicators, our industry has a responsibility to assure that consumers will stop and smell what we have produced. Ideally, of course, it would be a pleasant smell. Maybe an experiential event for the local sewage plant – actually, never mind. That’s just a bad idea.

So often, communicators do indeed make a rose. But they spend so much time painting their white roses red, they lose the beauty behind what was already there. Michelangelo said: “The best artist has that thought alone which is contained within the marble shell; the sculptor’s hand can only break the spell to free the figures slumbering in the stone”. He spoke to the inner beauty that most people ignore, while they assume they have to change something that is already beautiful.

It’s this respect communicators need to consider. Stop pushing messages that are bland and reused, try to find what really matters to your audience and go for it. Stop painting the roses red, chances are it took far too long to grow them in the first place.

Only once we start respecting the views of the audience and creating content that’s worth ‘smelling’, have we served our duty as communicators. It’s a big responsibility after all. Just…keep that smell pleasant.

Interact with me on Twitter - @AndrewRushmore
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This post is also featured on my personal website, andrewrushmore.com

Read all the details here:

Ultra high-speed broadband is coming to Kansas City, Kansas

From all of us at Agent X (formerly Steketee Greiner and Company) to all of you out there who put in all the time and effort and devotion at the local level around this initiative, we just want to say, in case no has or ever does, we were sincerely impressed, and you’re ALL winners in our book.

David

In case you haven’t noticed, something is different about our blog.  No, it’s not that we’ve shifted directions and are now food critics at large (because the world needs another one of those). But there is definitely something different…

We have a new name! Steketee Greiner and Company has merged with experiential marketing agency Agent X out of Chicago, and we are now calling the new collective Agent X.

We’re still offering our clients the same full-service solutions in strategic planning, creative services, and measurement and insight analysis that we always have, but we’ve added some serious experiential marketing firepower to the stable.

Let’s face it – the marketing landscape is continually changing, and this merger enables us to mash together our services to create measurable, end-to-end brand engagements focused on live experiences that extend into the digital space. We feel this new focus is necessary to compete in a time where the lines continue to blur between experiential and digital.

The other good news is that this means we now have offices in both Grand Rapids and Chicago to serve you better!

Stay tuned for more stories, insights and so on as things develop.

Experiential and event management is exciting yet there are many ‘nail biting/ nerve racking’ moments that can be averted with a proper strategy. If you’re interested in experiential marketing, in the middle of planning an event, a marketing student, etc. than then post is for you. I’m going to share the top ten tips and tricks I’ve picked up in my five years of experience with CES – hopefully you’ll stop biting those nails now! Click below to read more.

1. Determine the goals and objectives of the show.

Before you even think about the booth, show displays or message for the show ask you and your team, “Why are we going?” (What are our marketing goals?):

• To add a few names to our contact list? (lead acquisition)
• To maintain our presence in the industry and make a stance among our competition? (Positioning your clients brand within the respective industries present; also against other competitors present?)
• To launch a new product?
• To get away from the office? (Hey now…!)

2. Make sure you set MEASUREABLE goals in which management agrees on.

This is by far the most important lesson I’ve learned. What is a success to one person, usually isn’t to another; in fact, sometimes it can be perceived as a failure (be warned). For example:

• In a four day stretch you gain 3,000 leads (contact information) out of a conference with 10,000 in attendance (you’re hitting 30% return).
• That’s an average of 750 leads gained per day: a good number and rate of return, it means your booth is probably staying busy!

So how could 3,000 leads be seen as a failure? Here we go:

• It’s great that you’ve given them more contacts (heck, it could even have been an increase over last year) – but are they qualified?

In general, a measurable goal will let you calculate return on investment and create justification for your presence at a show. Specifically though, an increase in qualified leads will take you much further than a large list of ‘tire-kickers’ who stopped at a booth for a free pen (or to kick a tire or two…). This brings me to my third point:

3. Define “qualified” lead.

Similar to #2, this definition can differ from person to person. Make sure everyone has a clear understanding of what makes them qualified and put it in writing. (Are you seeing a trend here?) This is a critical definition to determine at the beginning of your event planning; it will not only set the bar for a performance indicator but also allow you to tailor your booth’s presence and messaging around your desired audience or “qualified” leads.

4. Determine your target audience(s) and make sure you speak their language and message to them.

You can generate this from your goals and objectives. (Wait you have those, right?!) If your #1 goal is to increase media exposure, then the media is your #1 target audience. Don’t forget they have goals for the show too, so make sure your message will get their attention; give them something new and exciting to talk about – make their life easier, make them want to write about your client! Don’t forget your electronic media kit – paper was so last decade.

5. Bring copies of all paperwork, blueprints and confirmations. And phone numbers.

It seems like every year, show services misplaced one of our orders. If I didn’t have my 45 lb. binder with me that safely kept every form, map, plan and confirmation for every order, we would’ve been without electricity, internet, you name it. Without phone numbers, I would’ve spent an hour or so tracking down the right person to get it fixed. And every second off your feet counts.

6. Bring art files for all the graphics, literature and anything else printed for the show.

Why not be prepared in case disaster strikes? Imagine if a graphic didn’t match up right on the spot – it could be printed poorly, it could have stitching problems, it could get rained on…the list is endless. Be prepared.

If you’re not, it’s just a wasted half day on the phone with the ‘home-base’ (aka, the office) tracking down files, sending them, getting things re-printed; imagine if your design team was sleeping – what a nightmare!

7. Communicate between your freight carrier and show logistics before and during shipment.

Oh and don’t forget cell phone numbers for both the truck driver(s) and logistic crew members. We had a second shipment arrived on-time once to the specified location however, show logistics decided to close the gates earlier than listed on the form. So when the truck arrived he had to turn around, continue on to California to deliver another load, then turn back around to deliver our freight one day late. You may think that it’s only one day, but that one day caused a wasted day for the installation crew and overtime to make up for it. Lessons learned!

8. Plan for unplanned expenses in your budget.

Even experiential events and tradeshows have rainy days – do you have your client’s rainy day fund set aside? Avoid this conversation:

“Where’s this?”

“We were supposed to get that?”

“Yes.”

“Uh-oh”

Be prepared, consider that rainy day funds an umbrella to cover any last minute crisis expenses; a good budget is crucial to every marketing strategy but planning for contingencies is crucial!

9. Show Services, are your friend.

Yes, they cost an arm and a leg to do anything from hanging your overhead banners to plugging in an electronic device (some venues are stricter than others) but they can make or break your schedule and your sanity. If you’re ungrateful or rude, you move to the last on their list. But if you’re friendly and appreciative, they will bend over backwards for you. A smile and a wink doesn’t hurt either. Any other bribe is up to you – we assume free food works as well though…

10. Bring a first aid kit for your booth staff.

Not just Band-Aids, though necessary for those evil blisters but water and lozenges for dry throats; shoe inserts for those tired feet; ibuprofen for headaches and swelling feet (and hangovers, should that happen…); and snacks for hungry bellies in case they’re too busy for a break. Anything to keep your staff smiling for 10 hours a day – in case you haven’t tried that, it’s hard. One moment of not smiling at a booth can be captured forever on YouTube….

To recap a few things:

• Plan
• Communicate
• Budget (extra)
• Think about the peons (try giving them food to increase loyalty!) that run the shows.
• People will forget to drink water; hydrate them, or miss out on precious ‘smile-time’!

I hope this helps and best wishes for a successful show from your pal at Steketee Greiner and Co. ~ Jill.

Talk to us on Twitter @steketeegreiner!

That may sound funny to a lot of people, but it’s true. Before I ever get on my computer to “design” something, I always start by jotting down ideas on a piece of paper.

The great thing about pencil and paper is that it’s a visual extension of the brain, and it can capture ideas just about as fast as I can think of them. Contrary to belief, most designers (should) spend most of their time thinking and concepting.

It is great to be able to write down a word list really fast, or scribble out a quick drawing of whatever it is I am designing could look like. It is a great way for me to get all of my bad ideas out of my head. In fact, I carry a Moleskine that I have affectionately called my Fail Book. Almost everything I put in it is a failed attempt or idea pertaining to a project. But, all it takes is one idea, one simple sketch to make everything click.

My Fail Book is where I sketch out scads of images for logo ideas, or draw countless sitemaps and wireframes. It’s where I take notes on things I like and don’t like. It’s where I can look at something fast, make a decision on it and then move on. Projects always start off rough, but it is cool to see through simple sketching a thought process take shape. Ideas become more thought-out, sketches look cleaner and more refined. Everything comes together.

Adobe products are great, and my new 17″ MacBook Pro is amazing to look at. In the end, they make my projects look great, but it’s not where they take shape.

Things get too meticulous on the computer. It is too easy to get hung-up on little details such as pixel size and exact angles. It is a waste of time to design on the computer only to realize after all the effort of making it “perfect” that the idea or concept doesn’t work.

I heard a song one time, can’t remember it for the life of me, but the lyrics were “you don’t know where your going ’til you get there.” While that may be true in life, it is a very dangerous path to take when working on a design. I love knowing where I am going when I get on the computer.

Design is process. There are many steps that must be taken to make the end product look good and work to perfection. It is nice to have a solid place to start every time.

Cheers!

Kyle

I’m grateful to the leadership at Steketee Greiner and Co. for their encouragement with my interest in engaging the community; ever since I joined the company in January I’ve been encouraged to grow not only as a professional but as a community leader as well. My interests carried over from my leadership position as Chair of Ad 2 West Michigan’s Public Service Campaign for Wealthy Street Theatre, located in East Grand Rapids and blossomed into opportunities with assisting Grand Rapids Whitewater (GRWW) as well as the Cool Cities/Cool Connections outreach program.

Over the last two months I’ve had the opportunity to provide guidance to young adults who graduated or were in high-school in the Ionia School District. It involved touring their town, giving feedback on marketing efforts the young adults had in place to encourage safe driving, meeting with city leadership officials in Ionia and then letting them see the Grand Rapids. After an hour with Mayor George Heartwell and Third Ward Commissioner Elias Lumpkins, we ended the experience by helping the young adults paint bus shelters by Veterans Park, downtown; it was a great way to let them leave a short term legacy of how Grand Rapids looked through their eyes.

During the one hour with city leadership we had a great discussion about some of the Mayor’s passions for community involvement. One of these was the Mayors’ Grand River Cleanup; this event has been such as success, they’ve had to switch the title from Mayor’s to Mayors’, as multiple cities began to participate and follow Grand Rapids in the efforts to clean the river. We were asked at our meeting to find a tangible way to message and or impact the community as a result of our time with city leadership; this post represents one of my steps to do just that.

It’s tough to walk away from the math of billable hours and trying to meet the bottom profit line for a business but there’s no math that can calculate every bit of good that comes from servicing in the community. On a personal level, you will learn to value yourself as an individual. On a professional level you gain the opportunity to become a leader in your community while networking with other passionate professionals that look to become the same leaders of change that you want to. From a marketing and PR standpoint, remember that you need to not only help the community but message that you’re helping as well. On the flip-side, you can’t just message and not help.

Knowing this, I hope you’ll enjoy this list of opportunities for community involvement:

• Contacting your local United Way is a great way to do find something to help out with; if you’re in Grand Rapids you’ll want to use this link: Heart of West Michigan – United Way.
• Grand Rapids locals can also find enjoyment with a weekend building houses for  Habitat for Humanity.

If you care about sustainability, here are a few links you may enjoy:

• A great way to help reduce storm water pollution is to install a Rain Garden. I did work with raingardens.org when I was attending Grand Valley State, they’re a very knowledgeable group of people and the website will get you started!
• West Michigan Environmental Action Council (or WMEAC for short) is the driver behind Rain Gardens of West Michigan and offer sustainability information/solutions from practical to in-depth.
• One that is near and dear to us at Steketee Greiner and Company is the Safe Water Team which works to benefit the humanitarian need for safe drinking water. We work alongside this team to provide ongoing strategy and support – there’s always room for more partners! Look at the team members to see examples of the great company of which you’d be joining.

Last, I invite young professionals to explore the Cool Cities project; I had a pleasure working with my fellow professionals, and I know you would as well.

Talk back to us over here at Steketee Greiner and Co., leave a comment or find us on Twitter @steketeegreiner. We look forward to hearing how you get involved with the community.

We’ll see you for Art Prize 2010!

I figured “designed”, but this question really stuck with me, and I’ll admit that I changed my answer after my initial reaction once I really began to think about it.

See, in design school, we are taught about iconic designers such as Paul Rand, Milton Glaser and especially Ivan Chermayeff & Tom Geismar. Their work (in specific cases) is thought to be iconic, and it really is. IBM, I Love New York and the NBC logos are perfect examples of what it means to be “iconic”. They are easily recognizable and more importantly—identifiable.

These logos, and many more, are so well designed. They are all simple, clever and unique. These are obviously the reasons they are iconic. I thought.

So many times in design school, and my early years of professional design (it will be two years in August), I wanted to design a logo or a wordmark that could stand up against Apple, Nike, McDonald’s and FedEx to name a few, but I wasn’t hitting the mark I wanted to hit, and I never understood why. My designs shared the same qualities as the “iconic” logos, but they never had that instant “pop” or emotional connection that the big brands all had.

That’s the key – big brands. And once I got to this conclusion, that’s when I changed my answer.

A logo doesn’t sell the product. It only identifies it. The (important word to follow) BRAND sells the product. But what is a brand? A brand is nothing more than a promise. It’s that emotional connection a consumer has with a company or product. It is what they come to expect. It is how they differentiate company from company and product from product.

The logo only identifies these connections, it doesn’t create them.

The brands, and subsequently, the logos succeed only because the product has stood the test of time. It is desirable to consumers because they have had, or know somebody who has (look at the designer talking about Social Media), a positive connection with the company or product. More positive connections = more sales = more $$ = bigger advertising spend.

The more I see the logo, the more recognizable it is and finally the more identifiable it becomes with the product or company.

So, with all that said, here’s a question of my own:

Assuming that iconic logos seem to be more the result of a big wallet, can a brand succeed in evoking emotion and making a connection without an identity? Can you fall in love with a faceless person if he or she is saying all the right things? I think we have a little “chicken or egg” conundrum here, and thoughts are welcome…

Cheers!

Kyle

In my professional development, before being an employee with SGC, I joined a local organization called Ad 2 West Michigan; in a year I was elected to the role of Chair of Public Service, where I have worked with my friend and professional club associate Ray Cashbaugh (Chair of Creative), as well as the handful of dedicated, to build our charity campaign for the Wealthy Theatre (located in East Grand Rapids).

Ad 2, a division of the AAF (National), is a club for young professionals in Advertising, Marketing, and Public Relations between the ages of 18 and 32. In light of my involvement, I had planned to join the AAF and Ad 2 for their National Conference in Orlando, Florida, as a representative of Ad 2 West Michigan even before my employment with Steketee Greiner; imagine my pride to represent not only Ad 2 West Michigan, but also a rapidly growing company driven by an innovative spirit. The passion I have for my relationship to SGC allowed me to network with professionals in the Advertising industry with a vigor that perhaps Seth Godin would be proud of.

At the conference, my already deep respect for the AAF’s role in my industry grew as I saw the number of clubs that had come to represent not only their industry, but also their hometowns, in an effort to learn, network and most importantly, have fun! On the young professional side, I was awed that leadership flew in from cities such as Denver; Washington DC; San Francisco; Madison and even as far away as Honolulu, Hawaii to support the conference for Ad 2.

During the week, one speaking engagement stuck out as specifically motivating. Gary Ware, an Ad 2 member and professional from the San Diego area (Ad 2 SD) led a workshop on how to use Social Media effectively for a club and graciously allowed me to attend (I even offered to Live Tweet with the #aafconference Hashtags). As a professional engaged in the emerging industries related to digital communications and Social Media I found that Gary and I had much in common with our views of Social Media. What interested me most from this talk was that Gary had inspired a room of ‘traditional’ Advertising professionals to engage both him and their peers in an attempt to learn and share successes.

Knowing the times I’ve seen advertising and thought “hey, Social Media could really help out here…” it’s fantastic to see traditional professionals looking to merge industries – even if the cutting edge hasn’t been their primary focus so far in their career.

So special thanks to Gary as well as the AAF National Conference, for reminding me that it’s not just about advertising, and it’s not just about Social Media – it’s about getting the consumer engaged with brands we promote to the extent that they are willing to not only purchase a product, but spread positive Word of Mouth (WOM) across their social channels (both offline and online). The added benefit of Social Media to a traditional advertising campaign comes from the ability to measure this WOM and determine ROI faster, and more affordably than traditional surveying alone.

For example: Tampax produced a very unusual (or is it revolutionary?) campaign about an adolescent named man named Zach who struggled with getting a period won best of show at the Addy’s; I can’t help but think that ‘Zach’s’ engagement through Social Media led him to not only win Best of Show but the loyalty of the consumers he engaged with in the digital landscape. You can view the official clip from the AAF [Here].

All in all, I’ve returned more passionate about my industry; it’s a pretty amazing world out there, and I hope to continue to share my passions around Social Media strategy, emerging technologies and Advertising (AAF/Ad 2 specifically!) in the near future.

In the meantime, don’t hold back. Love us or hate us – find us on Twitter: @stekteeegreiner.

And as always, if you’re looking to talk to us about our innovative views in this market, contact us through www.steketeegreiner.com.

Additional Links:

You can follow Gary on Twitter: @GaryWare

His Presentation is loaded  [On SlideShare]

Credits for the Tampax Campaign:

Tampax “Zack Johnson”

Agency: Leo Burnett, Chicago
WW Chief Creative Officer: Mark Tutssel
Chief Creative Officer: John Condon
Executive Creative Director: Becky Swanson
Creative Director: Dave Loew, Jon Wyville
Copywriter: Dave Loew
Art Director: Jon Wyville

Post by: Andrew Rushmore

]]> http://blog.agent-x.com/2010/06/passion-for-advertising-is-becoming-passion-for-social-media/feed/ 0 http://blog.agent-x.com/2010/06/beginner-adwords-and-analytics-aimwest-presentation/ http://blog.agent-x.com/2010/06/beginner-adwords-and-analytics-aimwest-presentation/#comments Tue, 01 Jun 2010 17:43:48 +0000 brian http://blog.agent-x.com/?p=668 Thank you to everyone who atttended our presenation at the lunch with Google event by AimWest!

You can find a copy of the presentation that Brian Steketee presented below.

The presentation covers the basics of Google Analytics and AdWords as well as some more advanced features and considerations.

Download Here

Thank you once again for your interest and happy measuring!!

David