Monthly Archives: April 2009
Seek Inspiration to Overcome the Creative Roadblock
By: Rob Watkins
Creativity doubles as both one of my favorite and one of the most challenging parts of my job.
Whether it’s planning a new social media strategy, developing a grassroots campaign or thinking up a new punchline for an ad, I’ve always appreciated the creative demands of my job. However, we all hit a creative wall at one point or another. I’d like to blame it on the lull of five months of brutal Chicago winter weather, but the reality of the matter is that you’ve got to hit a wall before you find the guiding light to the other side.
When looking for inspiration to spark new ideas, I’ll often turn to YouTube or FunnyOrDie.com for some quick visual inspiration. A second step usually entails conducting a series of general searches around keywords to dig up past case studies.
This last go around of planning, one of my savvy coworkers pulled together a few different links to help spark some new ideas. If you’re looking for some fun, attention-grabbing visual campaign examples, be sure to check out these sites:
We Love Viral
Guerrilla Marketing Examples – Part 1
Guerrilla Marketing Examples – Part 2
Top 10 Guerrilla Marketing Tips
What resources, sites or techniques do you use to spark creativity?
-Scott
*Back next week. Moving apartments. Yea! and Blah! all at once. Please be nice with my new internet setup Comcast.
Cross-Promote to Make Yourself Accessible Online
Is your company or organization’s Facebook fan page lacking as much traffic as desired? YouTube videos generating fewer views than expected? Not picking up quite as many Twitter followers as you anticipated?
It may be that you’re forgetting to cross-promote and make yourself as accessible as possible online.
Social media sites are rarely the main place you’re primarily channeling traffic. Rather, websites still typically serve as “home base” for completing customer transactions or having your target audience take desired action. Outside of sites such as FriendFeed, at this point and time, there is not one main location on the Web to interact and engage with your network through all social media (though some digital experts see this change on the horizon).
As it stands, Facebook thrives as a top notch social network. YouTube stands above all competitors as the most popular video sharing site. Different social media sites serve different purposes and enable us to connect with various audiences. However, in the end, it is the consistent interactive experience across various social media sites that helps determine whether or not someone becomes supportive of your company, organization or product.
If you’re making it hard for your target audience to engage and interact with your brand on their terms, you’re fighting yourself. What’s the solution?
Make it simple to connect.
Put links to your various social media sites front and center on your home page (nice job Sherman Hospital). If you need more space, create a “Connect With Us!” section on your home page that links to a landing page with all associated social media links (well done Mayo). Use your strong website traffic as a gateway to a more interactive experience for your visitors. Make it easy for them to connect with you in real-time.
Likewise, new customers are naturally going to find you through your various social media sites. Providing links on your YouTube channel (disclosure – Science Chicago is a client with nonprofit YouTube status which enables additional branding opportunities, but a good example), Twitter profile and from your Facebook page are all great ways to engage different audiences. A potential customer may see one of your YouTube videos but then only truly become passionate about your brand after seeing that their close friend is a fan of your page on Facebook.
You’re only helping to close the gap in letting potential new fans and brand evangelists fall through the cracks by cross-promoting and providing engaging online touch points.
-Scott
Need a PR Hook? Use a Mascot.
Any PR pro is familiar with how difficult it can be to add key visual elements to an event or campaign to help draw media attention. Lots of people, flashy signs and a huge launch or announcement are great but don’t underestimate the power of the mascot.
Often only associated with sports teams, mascots can be a great additional element to beef up attention as well as add personality and engagement around a brand. In my work with Donate Life Illinois, we’ve seen drastic differences in organ donor registration results when our mascot, Morgan D’ Organ is on hand to meet n’ greet registrants.
Sure, he can be a bit confusing to some. Is he a piece of bubble gum? A giant pork chop? To us, he’s of course a giant, lovable liver, but at the least, he’s a conversation starter to others who wouldn’t otherwise give a second thought about registering to be an organ donor.
Recently, I was searching around to see how others have been putting mascots to use for PR and marketing purposes. I’m not certain the Tampa Bay Lightning intended to have their mascot out and about greeting the community in this way, but it’s hilarious.
Likewise, you’ve gotta hand it to the Xylopholks. One passerby catches a subway performance on camera, posts to YouTube and wham, nearly 200,000 views in a month and a half. Not a bad PR hook.
But yesterday, I came across this article from last year about the World’s Weirdest Health Mascots. Morgan may be strange, but what about Petey P. Cup and Pokey the Syringe?? Literally, HealthPartners.com are using a pee cup and a syringe for a mascot tag team. Classic. They’ve even got a Facebook fan page and YouTube channel set up for them. Here’s a fun little clip of Petey’s birthday celebration:
Hook hungry? Think about a mascot.
-Scott
