While checking my Facebook page the other day I noticed a video from a friend who was apart of a Flash Mob at the Auto Show in Detroit. The still video shot shows a group of people (most with their hands in the air) and the caption read something about dancing to a song. So I had to look right?
Hit play…two girls start a routine amongst onlookers who have no idea what’s going on. Then it’s like a domino effect! People everywhere are dancing the exact same choreography! It was amazing! Well at least until I did some digging and found more and more flash mobs done all over the world. “No pants 2k10”, “Grocery Store Musical”, “Surprise Wedding Reception”.
Not everyone is as excited as I; public safety officials don’t find these mobs too appealing, and some would say they are a nuisance, disorderly, disruptive, troublesome and even disturbing. I happen to like them, although I have not experienced a live flash mob that put a stop to my plans for the day. I suppose they can be irritating but if used the right way perhaps they can bring attention to matters that would otherwise go unnoticed.
Checkout this video and let me know your thoughts! And if you’re anything like me you’ll want to visit this website to see the 24 Flash Mobs you must see to believe!!
In the remake of “Red Dawn”, I played a Chinese soldier invading the United States, but the only invasion I was really thinking about was how Hollywood is invading Michigan. Recently on the set of “Red Dawn” in downtown Detroit, as I was filming a scene with multiple explosions, cast and crews of other movies being filmed here were passing through and saying hello. I thought to myself, Detroit and I could get use to this. I had never been to Hollywood, but thought that this is how it could be. There were 3 movies being filmed blocks away from each other on the same day, “Red Dawn”, “Game of Death”, and “Vanishing”. I also drove pass another set on Woodward shooting “Breneta”. This doesn’t even include other movies being filmed around the area like “Cedar Rapids”, “Something in the Dark”, “Stone”, etc. And there are lots more coming.
My experience in “Red Dawn” has literally been a blast. It has been 3 long months of action packed explosions, crashing, gun firing and laughter, and I’ve enjoyed every moment of it. I met so many nice people on the crew and cast, and made many new friends.
Thanks to the film incentives, Michigan has been attracting Hollywood to an area that has the diversity in people, landscape, lifestyle and weather to accommodate any imagination. Although all of this may never fill in all the pockets of the automotive workers who lost their jobs, it is definitely filling in the morals of hope in the state.
We at Brogan are big believers in the almighty Emotional Connection. I find it especially critical in healthcare marketing. You can’t make an impact unless you hit someone right where it matters. The heart strings. The funny bone. The noggin. The Rainbow Connection hit it right on the nail (actually the heart strings) with their Walk for Kids last weekend. They got a head start with the crowd. You figure anyone who helps raise money for kids with life-threatening illnesses probably has a pretty big heart. But it was more than that. The emotional messaging was present throughout the event.
A father spoke of his recently departed daughter and the Disney World trip they took through a granted Rainbow Connection wish. He read a passage from her journal. 200 people walked in memory of his Maddy, her lovely face shining brightly on their t-shirts. An 8 yr. old cheerleader (and patient) jumped on stage to tell us about her wish to meet the Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders. Families, friends, and supporters walked, cried and laughed throughout the morning. Over 1000 walkers. Over $75,000 raised. Many times more than last year.
We’re always harping about keeping the message simple. The tendency is to want to cram too much info into too little space. Which just doesn’t compute. This event was not lavish. It didn’t need to be. The message of love, hope and walking together for some very sick kids was clear. Plain and simple. And something we will all remember.
Each year Brogan & Partners Convergence Marketing publishes a tongue-n-cheek, just-for-laughs political sticker book that is distributed at the Detroit Regional Chamber’s Mackinac Island Leadership Conference. Polisticks has become a sought after commodity. This year was no exception. I made it as far as the Arnold ferry dock before someone asked, “Where’s the book?”. Which of course caused me to chuckle as I slid the little red booklet, which smelled like freshly printed paper, out of my bag. At that moment the laughs began and didn’t end until the drive home three days later.
See for yourself why conference attendees can’t wait to get their hot little hands these nuggets of comedic wisdom (or not). Click on the image to see a larger version.
During the SuperBowl, Coke pays $3Million for a 30 tv spot to advertise an 80 cent can of soda.
During the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs Zero money is spent advertising tickets yet I found tickets for sale for $1490 for one ticket. And someone will pay that.
Is advertising always needed to sell a product or service? I guess not. Can you think of anything else that sells without a little pitch? Let me know.
The Detroit Lions unveiled their newly designed logo and uniforms to fans at Dunham’s sporting goods store Monday in Madison Heights. According to MLive.com, not many fans were impressed with it. They thought it wasn’t much of a change.
Any change in the Lions franchise seems to be a good change to me. I’m just glad they’re trying to make a difference from all angles. The logo seems stronger, edgier, more animated, more fierce, more vibrant, but still keeping it’s identity. If the Lion’s game changes as much as the logo did, it would be a huge difference. Having seen what the Pistons did to their logo redesign back in 1996, I’m glad they didn’t go all out. What do you think?
Working in the advertising industry has its rewards in that you get paid for what you love doing and you get recognized, with awards, for work that is above average.
Recently I experienced a different level of reward when I was visiting one of our favorite client’s retail stores – a HoneyBaked Ham store – to pick up my Easter Ham. While picking out the ham that I wanted to purchase I noticed that the store was very busy with customers, so I asked my friendly HoneyBaked saleswoman how sales were going. While asking the question I noticed that all the salespeople were wearing shirts that I designed; Pink or Teal T-shirts that had a Breast/Ovarian Cancer ribbon printed on the front along with the words, “Every Half Ham purchase helps fight Breast & Ovarian Cancer”. This is a partnership that HoneyBaked is doing with FORCE. Upon asking my question the woman got a huge smile on her face and said, “we’re very busy and I feel very fortunate to be part of a company that is involved with such a wonderful cause.” Then my real reward came. She said she couldn’t tell me how many cancer survivors acknowledged her because of her shirt and that she felt so good upon hearing from these survivors that it gave her goose bumps. Then she held out her arm and showed me the goose bumps she got just from telling me about this.
I’ve been in the ad business for over 20 years and I’m pretty sure there’s no trophy or award for making people get goose bumps — but it is a reward that we at Brogan & Partners graciously accept.
The final four is headed to Motown this weekend and what better way to roll out the welcome mat than with a little musical tribute from a couple of college coaches. You might recognize a couple of coaches in the ad; Mike Krzyzewski, Roy Williams, Rick Pitino and Bob Knight. They join the ranks of Heidi Klum, Alex Rodriguez, Michael Phelps, Tony Hawk and Kobe Bryant in an ad for Guitar Hero mimicking Tom Cruise in Risky Business. With this ad It seems that Guitar Hero has found a way to stay relevant while reaching its demographic during a current event. The creators of Guitar Hero have come up with a great marketing campaign to reach multiple demographics. From teenage sports fans to adult musician; the relevance of this ad gives us all something to relate to. But do you think they could have made some room for MSU head coach Tom Izzo?
The Adcraft Club of Detroit hosted Cesar Millan, www.cesarmillaninc.com, the renowned “Dr. Phil of dogs”, as the keynote speaker at this past Friday’s weekly luncheon. The National Geographic Channel, http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/channel airs the popular show, The Dog Whisperer, which stars Millan. This immensely popular show features Millan working with people and their “problem” dogs. Millan sensible, caring and appropriately spiritual advice shows how a change in attitude, approach and energy can positively impact the relationship een dog and owner. And, surprise, the dog isn’t the “problem”, the owner’s own attitude and energy is the biggest impact on the dog’s behavior. Millan preaches that in order to be effective ”pack leaders” the human must display “calm assertive energy”. Well, that is superb advice, for all endeavors in life, from relating to dogs to leading a business meeting.
Anyway, a group of us from Brogan & Partners, who are big fans, were enthusiastic audience members. We were truly Cesar’s pack! (note: some clients joined us, but I am keeping them anonymous for now.)
So, is this a branded welcome to a wonderful speaker or what?
This is my Thanksgiving Day blog post! Nothing much for you to sink your teeth into, because I think you have enough to be sinking your teeth into right now. So for a change you are not getting any brilliant advertising, PR, media or healthcare marketing insight. Just some jokes. Try ‘em, they are classics. When everyone is in a food coma, they will think you are brilliant. Enjoy and I hope you have much to be thankful for. I do.
Tell these jokes:
How do you keep a turkey in suspense?
I’ll tell you at Christmas.
Why did the turkey cross the road?
It was the chicken’s day off.
Knock, knock!
Who’s there?
Arthur.
Arthur who?
Arthur any leftovers?
Knock, knock.
Who’s there?
Dewey.
Dewey who?
Dewey have to wait long to eat?
Knock, knock.
Who’s there?
Waddle.
Waddle who?
Waddle I do if you don’t open the door?
Knock, knock.
Who’s there?
Harry.
Harry who?
Harry up, I’m hungry!
Long-time Brogan & Partners fans know all about our legendary out-of-town mystery trips, but fewer people know about our local quarterly trips. (Why do we do them? To make sure we keep our less than 5% employee turnover rate?)
A group from the North Carolina office took in a mystery trip yesterday. We went to the Carnivore Preservation Trust, a 55-acre tract in Pittsboro, North Carolina that takes care of carnivores that are found mistreated. The non-profit offers tours, which are extremely interesting. Well worth checking out.
Here’s a slide show with just a couple pics from our trip:
