On The Ground Looking Up

Ride The Pink Pony

Greg Anderson from BBH turned me on to this sweet nugget last week as we were judging the Effie's first ever Single Impact Engagement award (which Anderson and I helped to design). We were watching case study after case study from companies trying to prove how their massaged results were that much better than the other massaged results we were seeing. The storytelling component of video case studies (especially when we have to watch 10 in a row) start to sound ridiculous as one would think they were trying to save the world with their campaign for everlasting gobstoppers.

Regardless, when in need for some levity, Greg delivered with this little parody which helped put it all in context and ended what was a pretty interesting day (more to come on the Effies when results get announced). Enjoy!

 

Hugh Hefner Embraced Word of Mouth 55 Years Ago

Here is a fascinating letter from Hugh Hefner written in 1955. He seems to be responding to someone who purchased/wanted to buy a used copy of the first Playboy magazine. Not only does he give the reader a surprise gift (always a good way to create positive engagement) but he then encourages him to become a brand evangelist and spread the word (and a few gift subscriptions along the way). And you thought Word of Mouth marketing was a new concept.

<via Letters of Note>

Creating A Guerrilla Movement: Operation Beautiful

I saw a story this morning on The Today Show and found it quite relevant to the guerrilla marketing pro. It highlighted the creator- Caitlin Boyle, website and a new book from Operation Beautiful. What struck me is how a simple, guerrilla idea became a movement. The idea was to post simple Post-it notes reminding women to feel good about themselves and their bodies. As we know, body image is a big issue in our society, especially among women and Ms Boyle's idea resonated. Women started copying her idea and sending in photos of their efforts to her site. Fast forward a year or two and you have a mini movement. Watch the story below for more but a few key things to take away:

1. Place messaging in unexpected ways
2. Create a relevant and meaningful connection to your audience
3. Give them the opportunity to champion the message for you

Sounds simple right? It is, you just have to do it right.

Some samples of how the message has spread:

Hammer Pants Dance

We pitched this show, I guess we should have given them that idea that has been done a few times before.

Purchasing Conversation

The International Herald Tribune has an interesting article about Womad Taxi. A company being set up in the UK through a taxi promotion company that is offering the opinion and conversation of the drivers as a media buy. They currently are running a program where 10 of their drivers are starting conversations about poker with their riders. All paid for by gambling site 888.com. In my opinion paid WOM is a dicey road to take. There are times when it has worked very well, and times where it has not. But in general, it tends to not be worth the spend as you have an authenticity issue and a huge cost per conversation issue as well.

Read the IHT article here.