... And then it hit me. Another month. Another month has gone by since I last updated this blog. So why does it feel like just yesterday?
Oh right. That crazy thing called life. Newsflash: I graduated.
And yes, I took oodles of graduation photos (scratch that, my mother took oodles of graduation photos) and yes, I've been busy "playing" with them. These things happen when you have Adobe Creative Suite at your young advertising professional fingertips.
One of the more noteworthy products of my creative musings this past week has been the creation of my personal web site. This site has been a long time coming. Truth: It was on my list of "to-do" things back in January, along with this blog (which came a little easier than a full website!)
The site is now live but still very much a work in progress. I'll be adding a Resume page with pdf download, UF Course Work material to my portfolio page, and a link to my blogs. Yes, I said blogs.
I am also currently in the process of creating a new, more focused blog. Possibly two. (Yes, I am crazy.) One of the reasons I have been lacking in contributions to this blog is because I've realized it lacks focus. And, well, utility.
Not saying I'm scrapping it, BUT "Cravings" will definitely be experiencing some construction soon. And certainly... some delays.
Today is Easter Sunday. Which means 3 things: 1) Churches are at capacity. 2) Multi-colored eggs are in abundance. 3) Chik-fil-A is closed.
As I sit here on this Sunday afternoon craving a Chik-fil-A sandwich, I am reminded of a day not too long ago...
Date: March 26th, 2009 Time: 2:49 pm Location: University of Florida campus, circa Buckman hall Testimonial: On Thursday, March 26th, I had a craving for Chik-fil-A... and would stop at nothing to satisfy it.
I'm sure most of you can relate to that intense feeling when you start to crave something. You begin to weigh the options. For me, it meant driving 15 minutes out of my way towards I-75 on Archer Rd... or stopping on my way home from dance class, illegally parking my car, speed walking 300 paces to the Hub on campus, waiting in line for a "#1 no pickle with a sweet tea," and speed walking back 300 paces to my getaway car.
.... which is exactly what I did.
Sure, some of you may be sitting there saying, "What's the big deal?" Clearly you have never had an encounter with the UFPD Parking Services. (*shutter*)
Moral of my story: Some people will go to great lengths for the brands they love.
For some, it's picking a fight on the street to score a sweet new pair of Air Jordans (as discussed recently in my consumer behavior class). For others, it's traveling 300 miles to bring home a slice of authentic New York style pizza.
For me, it's risking yet another UF parking ticket (or worse -- being towed!) for a Chik-fil-A sandwich, waffle fries, and the best damn sweet tea in the south.
I'd like to take a moment to talk to you about Twitter. Never heard of it? You will.
Twitter is one of the fastest growing social media sites today and probably the most well-known microblogging site. It asks users "What are you doing?" and gives them 140 characters to share what's on their mind with the rest of the world.
A couple of months ago, I became a member of the Twitter community. In my early tweet days, I sought out friends, interests groups, agencies, brands, media and news sources, and the occasional rockstar web celeb (See:Guy Kawasaki) to add to my list of followings (sort of like friends on Facebook, for you college readers out there who are widely more familiar with that platform). One of the web celebs that I have mentioned before in this blog and who I follow on Twitter is Gary Vaynerchuk, founder of Wine Library TV. Some time ago on his personal site, Gary posted a video which addresses many company hesitations in utilizing social media networks, like Twitter for example. In the video titled "It's not stalking, it's a darn handshake", Gary makes a great analogy, comparing those who fail to understand the importance of social media networks and use them to their advantage to attendees of a conference who stand in the corner of the room and watch as others engage in conversation. In a nutshell, what's the point of opening a Twitter or a Facebook account or starting a blog if you are not going to engage in meaningful conversations with people?
But how can you have a meaningful conversation with someone if everyone in the world can see what you are saying? To some people, reading about what people are saying and doing may seem like "stalking," as Gary points out. Well, my friends -- welcome to the age of transparency. We're not asking you to share your deepest darkest secrets. But we are asking you to share -- experiences, stories -- life.
Using Twitter to talk to people is great and can be very valuable to brands who seek instant consumer interaction, advice about how to offer them what they really want and ultimately drive consumer loyalty. But in Twitter world, you also have to make meaningful contributions to the Twitter gods. If you want to attract more followers, more people to test drive your brand, you have to give them something to talk about. Which leads me to one of my greatest fascinations with Twitter: The "Retweet".
I am a big fan of the retweet, known to experienced tweeters by the abbreviated (or otherwise "twitterfied") RT. My fascination with the RT lies in its simple concept: You say something, someone finds it worthwhile & (here's the kicker) shares it with others. In this way, Twitter has become a powerful word-of-mouth machine. So here's how it works:
Let's say I'm following @adrants for daily marketing and advertising news. I see on my Twitter page that @adrants has just posted a tweet that says this: What is Twitter and Why Should You Care? http://ow.ly/OuW. I'm intrigued because I am excited about Twitter and want to share the Twitter experience with others. So I retweet the message as so: RT @adrants What is Twitter and Why Should You Care? http://ow.ly/OuW. Immediately, everyone who is following me on Twitter (currently a grand total of 271 followers) now see the message that @adrants just posted. The great thing here is that there are now 542 eyeballs that have seen @adrants name and likely assume that because I have retweeted their post, I find them worthy to follow -- which means @adrants has probably gained a few followers just from my simple retweet. Ah, the beauty of symbiotic relationships.
I have found in my few months on Twitter that it is far more than the status stream it's founders originally conceived it to be. Yes, you can tweet about what you ate for lunch -- but what's the value in that, other than that Oscar Meyer might pick up on the fact that you still eat bologna sandwiches at the age of 42?
Twitter has been used as a creative outlet for writers. As a foundation for entrepreneurs to build their business. As a canvas for people to bring their personalities to life. It has been used to bring communities from around the world together for a wonderful cause. As a source of invaluable information that one cannot find on Google or Wikipedia. As a networking tool to help people find jobs. As a library of advice. As a platform to connect people to people, to brands, to ideas, and to ultimately inspire a new age of communication.
Each day, I find myself learning more and more about this wonderful tool and ways to optimize your time with different widgets and applications, like TweetDeck (pictured left), to get the most out of Twitter. No so coincidentally, I also find myself talking about it A LOT (and I don't mean just in the digital world).
Since I gave a talk about Twitter a month ago at an Ad Society meeting, I've noticed more and more advertising students at the University of Florida signing up for a Twitter page of their own. I still feel that there exists an overwhelming vast majority of people who have no clue what "a Twitter" is. But Twitter is most certainly gaining popularity and has started its filtration into mainstream culture. Celebrities from @britneyspears to @THE_REAL_SHAQ jumped on the bandwagon last fall and more are joining every day. Over the past month, I have seen increased chatter about Twitter in the news. Just this past week, Twitter has had shout outs on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno twice, the Ellen DeGeneres show, and Martha Stewart even talked about it on her show today with Mad Money host Jim Cramer.
So where's the future of Twitter headed? Critics have looked down on the lack of a business model with Twitter in its current form, which certainly poses the question: how will they bring in revenue in the future? They recently passed up a HUGE deal with Facebook (we're talking $500 Million huge), so it's my guess that they have something in the works and we will be seeing a lot new things from Twitter. Even co-founder Evan Williams realizes the best is yet to come.
It's been quite some time since my last post. It seems spring is upon us, and you know what that means...
Trendy coats are being shoved to the back of miniature dorm room closets to make room for flowing sun dresses. Students on the University of Florida campus are starting to remember where they stashed their tanning oils last August. And soon we will all be getting mass Facebook invites to the "biggest pool party of the season" events in which everyone and their mom will pack into every inch of space in and surrounding the designated pool of the day. Yep, it's that time of year again -- Spring Break Prep Week.
But wait just a minute, now. Let's not forget the excitement of the past few weeks. Since my last blog post, I have:
1) celebrated my 22nd birthday. My roommate bought me a "Got Prune Juice?" shot glass and "Over The Hill" tiara to wear. General consensus: I'M OLD. (Thanks, Michelle!)
(So thrilled about being old... can't you tell?!)
2) enjoyed a much needed vacation to Disney World to celebrate my birthday & Valentine's Day with my amazing boyfriend :)
(The picture we made at Kodak's Incredible Picture Lab at the Imagination Institute in Epcot)
3) jumped out of a perfectly good plane (as my Mom would say) at 15,000 feet. With 18 other Gators!
(Flying over the Space Coast with my Jumpmaster, Jimmy!)
And those were just some of the best of times...
This past week, and especially Friday, was also pretty good in my books. I received an invite to attend "Super Saturday," Ogilvy's intense day of second-round interviews for their Associates Program. Approximately 50 applicants (from a pool of nearly 1,000) have been selected to attend the interviews on March 21st. From there, they will invite the top 25-30 to join the program. Keeping my fingers crossed that the interviews go well :)
I also had the great fortune to chat with Will Gay, Creative Director at Disney's in-house agency Yellow Shoes and was privileged to a behind-the-scenes look at some of their work at our Ad Society meeting last Wednesday. After corresponding with him via email, I've learned I may have "skillz" as a copywriter and should perhaps pursue this avenue further.
Interesting... I think for now I'll hone my writing skills by working on updating my blog on a regular basis :) If only school didn't get in the way... humph!
The Super Bowl is officially over. Steeler fans may still be out celebrating, but the majority of the world (at least this side of it) is probably nestled in bed... and has been for hours.
And then there's the minority of us who for some reason find it necessary to stay up until the wee hours of the morning tweeting and blogging and living the social media life. It truly is an addition. And you know what, I think I'm okay with that.
I wanted to at least post a run down of my favorite ads from the game tonight. I will try to find time to do a more in-depth and comprehensive discussion afterwards, but before all the polls and rankings are posted... here's what I think:
Thanks to Twitter (and @adbroad) I just stumbled upon probably THE best site to preview the TV spots that will air during tomorrow's game. Not only that, but you can also check out all of last year's commercials and watch some of the most classic Super Bowl commercials of all time. Brought to us by Adweek.
Best thing about it is once you click the first spot, it automatically will run through all of the subsequent spots. So convenient!
Personally, going back and watching all the old classic spots you learn about "Day One" as an advertising major brought back some memories. Two of my favorites just happened to be from the same year: 1984. Of course the most obvious is Apple Computers "1984", and then there's the wonderful Wendy's "Fluffy Bun" which begs the questions, Where's the Beef? Gotta love those cute, little old biddies.
Other personal favorites include:
Mountain Dew "Mock Opera"
Ameriquest "Surprise Dinner"
and probably one of my favorites of all time (ever):
As I mentioned in my previous post, I have been doing a lot of digging to uncover the dirt on this year's top competitors in the quest for Super Bowl stardom.
Note: The Steelers and the Cardinals don't even make the honorable mention list.
Rather, this year's big hitter votes will be split down the middle of the beverage industry. One champion will reign supreme as the TRUE king of beers, and one will inspire millions with uplifting messages and iconography. Which poses a question to all -- Whose team are you rooting for?
Anheuser-Busch vs. MillerCoors
In the battle of the beer gods, Budweiser has staked it's claim to the "King of Beers" title. But what will the "Champagne of Beers" have to say about it during the Super Bowl this year?
Evidently not much.
Miller High Life has purchased 1-second spots on local NBC affiliates. Yes, that's right 1-second spots. So, what message are they selling in this one second of time?
Paying $3 million for a television commercial during the Super Bowl simply does not make sense.
And it especially doesn't make sense during these hard economic times when marketers are scrambling to re-evaluate their marketing plans, making significant budget (and staff) cuts while still keeping their product top-of-mind. The key is not cutting advertising (like most seem to think), but rather redirecting your strategy -- much like Miller has done. Instead of going the route of the competitor, they have taken a much less traveled path and succeeded in stirring up a lot of buzz about the campaign.
Miller has strategically been feeding their audiences tastes of what's to come, streaming game week setup ads which promote the 1-second ad during the usual late-night comedy and talk shows. Backed by the notion of "Common Sense in a Bottle" and fueled by the political activity of the past couple of months, Miller High Life has been inviting fans to join the Common Sense Party since September, with actor Windell Middlebrooks at its helm. The hilarious, no-nonsense (and yet lovable) spokesman can be seen in this teaser ad:
And if you want to see outtakes of the 1-second ads, they can be viewed here. Or at 1secondad.com
An original and brilliantly executed strategy from none other than Saatchi & Saatchi. I'll be interested to see the reactions to the spots on Sunday and the continued chatter in the online world.
So then you may be wondering what the guys at Anheuser-Busch are cooking up, right? Funny you should ask -- four minutes and thirty seconds of ad time, actually. Three traditional Clydesdale spots for Budweiser. Two spots that play up the humor (and "drinkability") factor for Bud Light, one of which will feature Conan O'Brien. One for Bud Light Lime. And one for Bud American Ale. (Quick, somebody crunch those numbers!)
But hey, when you're the big guy you can do these things -- and honestly at this point I think people still somewhat expect them from you. Okay, so seven spots during a recession might be a bit excessive, but significant Super Bowl presence is still key. (And obviously DDB agrees.)
One thing A-B has done that I found particularly interesting was launch a social media newsroom on the site AB-extras.com to promote consumer interaction with the brand. Only . . . there is virtually no promotion for it. And I'm pretty sure I would have never heard about it if I hadn't been digging around, which most people are not inclined to do. If people do somehow happen to stumble upon the site, however, they can view clips of the commercials that will be aired during the game, read stories of the Clydesdales and their trainers, and subscribe to the blog. The interactivity of the site could be developed more, but generally a nice effort.
And then there's always the other guy with the slick moves and the fancy name...
Boy, I'd love to meet the copywriter at Wieden+Kennedy who worked on this one!
Coca-Cola vs. PepsiCo
Since TBWA/Chiat/Day launched their new campaign for Pepsi brand at the end of the year (and just a month after winning the business), much dialogue has surrounded both soft drink category leaders. Pepsi and Coke have recently adopted new campaigns, hopping on the wagon of "change" that Obama drove into the hearts of millions and latching on to the idea of "optimism" that both brands hope to drive home in the minds of their consumers. However, they do so in interestingly different ways...
The first Super Bowl spot that Wieden+Kennedy dreamed up for Coca-Cola is entitled "Heist" and is reminiscent of their Happiness Factory spot that became popular a few years ago. Immediately I recognized the music from Peter and the Wolf. The spot is very whimsical and, maybe it's just me, but it almost has a sort of James and the Giant Peach vibe going on...
While the Happiness Factory, introduced in 2006, branded a favorable tagline -- "the Coke side of life" -- this new campaign moves consumers to "Open Happiness." Still favorable, but many have met it with criticism. However, that's a discussion for another time.
The other Coca-Cola spot that will be shown during the game features people as avatars going throughout their crazy, digitally-driven day. In the end, a guy and a girl share a moment over a Coke. Cute, but not as powerful of a message as I would have liked. It reminds me of the Bill Frist/James Carville ad last year. It was a nice thought at the time -- two rivals putting aside their views to share a Coke and spend some quality time together -- but afterward you were bound to forget about it. In fact, you probably hadn't thought about until I just brought it up, had you?
And then there's Pepsi -- and it's hope to inspire others to "Refresh Everything." Definitely calling out to a younger generation, the spot utilizes Bob Dylan's hit "Forever Young" as performed by Will.i.am and features clips that recount memories of the past and juxtaposes them with things in the present...
I'll give it TBWA -- pretty creative use of song and imagery. But I'm not so sure that several other brands couldn't say they've been around for just as long, find someone to give them a make-over with a coat of optimism, and sell this same idea to the future generations.
. . . But then I did grow up in Atlanta (down the road from the World of Coke) so my chance of bias is unavoidably higher ;)
Thoughts? Opinions? Who's team are you rooting for? Discuss!
And don't forget to stay tuned for more Super Bowl XLIII coverage this weekend, both here and on twitter (@guiltyofcraving).
