Current Events
Flash mobs: a joyous occasion.
I notice some of the most interesting things while driving to work in the morning. Whilst pulling out of my subdivision a couple of weeks ago, I noted that the church across the street changed their sign. It read “Joy Flash Mob 2/12/10.” Really? A flash mob used for religious purposes? Unheard of. So what does one do when they want more info? Google it of course!
After doing a little digging I found that a Joy Flash Mob is a dance performed to share the joy of Jesus. I also learned that the practices were being held at the church I mentioned before as well as online for those that couldn’t attend. On top of that, I realized these flash mobs appear several times a year at different festivals around Michigan. How did I not know this? I’m a flash mob fanatic! And why hasn’t it drawn more attention?
It really made me wonder… do flash mobs need to have popular music and a well choreographed crew to be successful or could a flash mob focused on joy and religion really bring the same amount of attention?
Check out the video of a Joy Flash Mob at last year’s Winter Blast.
Social media: American cars vs. foreign Cars?
I read an essay the other day written by my former Journalism professor at Wayne State University, Jack Lessenberry.
He wrote about Toyota’s woes and how Detroit car companies now have a chance to capitalize on sales during this drama.
I totally agree that the next strategy for the Big 3 is that they should swoop in like Superman and boast about all the changes that are to come for the future of American made cars.
Toyota seems to be in a panic and they don’t appear to be utilizing social media to get their name out of the gutter – a perfect “in” for GM, Ford and Chrysler.
What would be the first social media tactic you would do if you were an American car company?
WebMD - the number 8 brand?!?
Healthcare marketers who are hesitating over beefing up their interactive and social media plans just got a wake-up call thanks to Millward Brown's latest research. We all know that trust is what makes us return to a brand time and time again. It makes us tell our friends. And when it comes to our health, it's how we prescribe healthcare services for one another. But who whould have thought that recent research would show that WebMD is the eighth most "trusted" and "recommended" brand in the U.S.?
The internet is, more than ever, the place we turn to when we need immediate feedback about our health or the health of our loved ones. Face it, it's a lot faster than getting that appointment with your GP. It's always there. Combine that efficiency with the power of communication that the internet provides (think social media) suddenly, WebMD at number eight just isn't such a shocker. What do you think - ever used WebMD? Write back and let us know your favorite healthcare destinations online.
Vehicle wrapping: a non-traditional risk?
As with most people, I have zero patience for slow drivers during my morning commute. So while following the line of cars passing the offending driver this morning, I was fully prepared to give the stink eye… until something caught my attention. Ok, I lied, two things caught my attention.
First, the vehicle was wrapped in an advertisement for a weight loss product and second, the driver’s reason for going under the speed limit? He was texting! 
This got me thinking (shock!). Does the behavior of the driver affect potential consumers’ feelings towards a brand?
In my marvelous morning mood (say that 3x fast), I immediately disregarded the brand, I can’t even recall the name of the product. I felt as if the driver was a reflection of it, just as a salesperson would be. If they could hire someone so unsafe on the road, how were they capable of making a safe product?
So I ask, should an advertiser make sure they have a superb driver before wrapping a vehicle? Or does this not have an impact on the effectiveness of an ad?
mAD WOMEN.
During the Mad Men hiatus I use cable on demand for episodes I missed or want to see again. A recent one showed a secretary being hit on and verbally swatted by a group of tipsy account guys. She walked away with personal dignity; but how did she come back day after day to face the same people and the potential of the same humiliating treatment? Remember that this TV show takes place in the early ‘60s before there were any sexual harassment laws, before there was any consciousness of the corrosive effect on women’s careers.
Not only was a woman personally degraded by sexual harassment but her career was also degraded. Who can rise in an organization, who can become a leader if she is seen as a victim, as a potential plaything instead of any type of professional?
These days things are quite different in most workplaces thanks to activists and feminists of the recent past. However for many men and for some organizations treating women fairly is not done out of a raised conscience but only because of the raised cost of violating new legal standards.
Many organizations continue to diminish women even if they keep to the letter of harassment and equal opportunity laws. Let’s look at the largest and most influential groups in the world—the Catholic Church. Women cannot take any post of meaningful leadership, as they are not able to be priests. And why is this? Certainly there is no commandment from God or proclamation by Jesus on this subject. It is simply that the men of the church do not want to share the power and the riches. And sadly there is no legal, moral or societal pressure to make them share it. Which not only keeps women out of that workplace, it fosters that attitude of women as “less than” and second class. And directly results in policies that are contrary to the best interests of so many women. Birth control except for the unreliable rhythm method is still completely prohibited for anyone for any reason. As is abortion.
Of course, Mad Men hasn’t got into ecclesiastical gender politics; but it clearly and powerfully shows the historical position of women in the corporate workplace. And it makes me feel really good about all the positive changes. And makes me a raving mad woman about all the organizations, people, attitudes that are still wallowing in the patriarchies of the past.
Flash mobs: social demonstration or social nuisance?
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 15 Flash Mobs you must see to believe!!
The speed and ease of mobile SMS benefits Haiti - big time.
If we’ve learned anything about Mobile Marketing in the past couple weeks it’s been that this mobile medium can be very useful when it comes to getting speedy results/responses - like getting people to donate money to Haiti relief. Although millions of dollars have been donated through the medium of web sites like Worldvision.org and The American Red Cross, mobile has broken through as a very impressive vehicle for engaging people on a whole new level. When a mobile user enters the text “HAITI” to 90999 - this would donate $10 by charging the user's phone bill.
There are some “indicators” out there that say that only a certain age person, usually a younger demographic, is willing, knowlegable, and even trustworthy of using a medium like mobile text messaging to make a purchase or in this case to donate money to a cause. More than $30 million have been raised for Haiti relief though SMS (text messaging) calls to action - with the American Red Cross leading the way. I doubt that all this money came through a younger group of people, but from a collective group of people that set aside their doubts and embraced a technology that they probably weren’t comfortable in using. I applaud these people.
I am excited about the possibilities that we can offer our clients to also benefit from this medium in reaching out to their consumers. Whether it be retail, BtoB, healthcare or even minority marketing I believe that we are at the tip of the iceberg regarding what we’re about to see happen in mobile. Have you participated in any mobile marketing on a consumer level? How do you feel about it? Does the Haiti relief responce make you more supportive of the medium? Let me know.
Soon to come - a series of blogs on mobile marketing. Stay tuned.
mAD WOMEN.
Yippee! On Sunday Mad Men won the Golden Globe for best dramatic TV series. It should also take the cake for its disturbing portrayal of women. Note that I am not talking about January Jones' headband.
Disturbing not because wrong, but because so right. Women were subjects for mockery, objects for ogling, and --at the very best-- professional second bananas in the 1960s workplace when series takes place.
And also in early 70s when I began my ad career. Even though the Women's Movement was starting up and even though I was working in a non-traditional ad agency. My agency was then known in town as the Jewish agency. Our execs were not invited to join the mainstream business or golf clubs. Although we did great creative work, it was primarily for retailers and not for auto clients--which in Detroit was the sign of being a real agency.
Our founder was a man of principle, of enormous talent, of great courteousness and generosity; his warmth, spirit and drive drove the culture of the workplace. Yet even with his mindset, no woman held a truly senior position at that time or ever. (Which was the cause of my starting my own agency in 1984.) And in the 70's a senior creative manager regularly harassed women -- and they were fired for non-compliance. This included my creative partner, who never even thought about confronting or reporting him--at that time, there was no such thing as a sexual harassment concept or crime. (The owner was reportedly shocked, angry and embarrassed to find out about his colleague's longstanding behavior when revealed in a lawsuit a decade later. And fired the slimeball.)
Like Mad Men, our agency had a Joan, the eyes and ears of a top executive...who amassed power over other women. Our Joan once instructed me to tell a colleague to use more deodorant and to stop wearing hotpants to work. (Hey, it was the 70s; I got my job wearing white go-go boots...) I refused Joan--and could get away with it only because I was a creative professional and not in a secretarial of administrative position.
Even though I was somewhat protected both from Joan and from any harassment by my position and by my boss--like the owner, a man of integrity and fairness--I was still a mAD WOMAN on behalf of friends who did not have the same situation.
If you are interested, I will tell you some of their stories.
Reaching niche healthcare audiences.
All healthcare advertisers and marketers know that reaching college audiences is near to impossible. With that in mind, how would you develop a break-through campaign that would actually encourage this target to change a behavior?
In order to reduce the onset of H1N1 our client, The Michigan Department of Community Health, needed to find a way to encourage college students in the state to wash their hands, cover their coughs and sneezes, stay home when they are sick (well, that one isn't that hard) and to get the H1N1 flu vaccine - without sounding like their mom. Enter coaches from two of the most popular Michigan universities.
As a die hard Spartan and a girl with an extreme crush on MSU's coach, Tom Izzo, I can say that I would do anything he recommends. I hope the rest of the students in Michigan feel the same (even if they would rather hear it from U of M's coach, Rich Rodriguez).
What do you think about the spot? I would love to hear your feedback.
American Airlines looks up.
What a beautiful example of a great customer appreciation campaign. This simple little holiday video e-card has customers raving, cheering, and crying. Check it out.
