Effective or Too Graphic?

There has been a lot of controversy lately over the UK Text Messaging Public Service Announcement. People are claiming that it is too graphic, bothersome, and disturbing, just to name a few. While reading about the problems people are having with the campaign, one other public service campaign comes to my mind: The Montana Meth Project. (Warning: This website is very graphic, and will make you uncomfortable.)

Isn’t that the point? To shock you? Of course it makes you uncomfortable. It makes you uneasy, and probably want to cry at one point or another. But people watch it. They listen to it, reflecting on their decisions and the consequences they have on themselves and others. It is my belief that this text messaging PSA will indirectly save lives, as did the Montana Meth Project, through shock marketing.

The results from the Montana Meth Project illustrate a 63% decrease in teen meth use, 72% decrease in adults, and a 62% decrease in Meth-related crime. Now, riddle me this: Do you think this campaign would have impacted as many people if they had a smiling little girl in pig tails, holding a puppy? The answer is, no, it wouldn’t. Yes, the PSA for text messaging is graphic, and makes you reflect on how lucky you have been thus far, texting and/or emailing while driving, but I'll tell you right now, I will never text and drive again. Even though I've known all along it was wrong, I always had in the back of my mind, “It won’t happen to me.”

While I was driving yesterday, my phone went off -- alerting me of a new message -- and as I reached for it to see what my friend had to say, the image of the young girl in the back seat popped into my head. I waited until I had parked my car (5 minutes later) to check my phone. Nothing sent to my phone is more important to me than my life, or the lives of the drivers around me. As you can see, this PSA has struck a cord with me. It definitely upset me, but it also made me reflect on how much I love my family and friends and never want to be in that position.

As a marketer, and a person directly affected by this video, I think this agency has absolutely accomplished their mission. Yes, they stepped on a few toes in the process, but this PSA has become a worldwide phenomenon. It is a successful controversy, virally exposing millions of people to the message. I say, “Bravo!” to the creative agency behind this message. As hard as it was to watch, I am confident that this video will save at least one life.

What do you think? When trying to portray a message about decisions with serious consequences, how far is too far? Please feel free to comment below (whether you agree or disagree with me) and let me know your thoughts.

Creatively Stuck

“When you come to a roadblock, take a detour.” -Mary Kay Ash

Brainstorming can be enjoyable, but also very frustrating. Some days the creative thoughts are just not there. While brainstorming for an out-of-the-box idea - especially in a short amount of time – many find themselves completely stuck.



Whether your spend 40+ hours per week in an agency or other office setting or from the courteous of your own home, finding your own personal Utopia is sometimes harder than it may seem.

It is interesting to see where each person finds their inevitable safe-haven, where creative juices begin to flow again.

Using Twitter, I asked all of my followers to respond to the question:
“Where is your favorite place to brainstorm?”

These were my favorites:

@JasonBarlow: favorite place to brainstorm? @starbucks with ipod and a grande drip (or iced green tea if its very hot out!).

@martin001: my favorite place ever to brain storm is in the shower under hot water!

@WarkwickMerry: Brainstorming doesn't need a place, just a mind set - infact a lack of mind set. Get out of my mind so I am out of my own way

@meghantb: on my couch after a few bourbons.

@Jason40243: In a red 80s model Ford truck w/ghost flames painted on the hood and an aftermarket torque kit under the body in the park w/beer.

@pedroq: For me, any spot with a good outside view and a cup of coffee is a great place to brainstorm

@nickrice: best ideas usually come to me when I'm least trying to generate ideas: the shower, drive home, right before bed, as soon as I wake

Everyone has to find the place where inhibitions are freed and perception is enhanced. When you are stuck in a rut, and can't seem to find your way out, locate that place. Whether it is a state of the mind, physical location, or both, find it. There. Right there, is your big idea.

Photo Credit: Jalalspages

Do you have a place similar to this? Please feel free to comment below, link to images/videos, etc.

Why Over-Complicate Everything?

A  common trend I have noticed with technology/interactive/web-based companies is that they tend to over-complicated every aspect of the web to their clients.  Yes, the web can be complicated, but it's all about the explanation.  A great example of explanation is illustrated by Lee Lefever of Common Craft.

I was in a meeting a couple of weeks ago with a client that uses us for all aspects of traditional advertising. They use another company for all web-bases services -- against my better judgment, of course. ;)   There was the awkward run-in at first; all flexing our marketing muscles and throwing buzzwords back and forth... you know the drill. 

During the actual meeting, the client almost seemed scared of this company.  I think this web company saw it as job security to try and confuse the client beyond belief.  Maybe that is the way to make it to the top. I don't know.  But, I do know that I will never get to the top that way.  

Of course, some clients are a little more savvy than others, but in my opinion, taking the time to explain what is happening and why is what will separates you from "the other guys." 

What do you think?  Where do you find the line between over-educating the client and intimidating them?

What a Trip: Marketing Profs Digital Mixer...

The MarketingProfs Digital Mixer that I attended this weekend was simply amazing. (thank you vimarc) I met an awesome group of people, and learned more than I ever thought I could.  Leaving Arizona and traveling back to the Bluegrass State, I feel energized and ready to put what I have learned into action.  I am going to be updating my blog more often, first of all.  (Sorry I have been bad about this everyone. I promise it will get better.)

Who did I meet? So many people that it is impossible to list them all.  The key presenters that I met were Gary Vaynerchuk, Jason Baer, Chris Brogan, Chris Penn. The conference was such a treat, with a mix of panel, presentations, engaging the audience... 

This was actually the first conference when I have utilized twitter.  Tweetdeck saved my you-know-what. (That may have been distracting, pardon,  but that is my favorite ad from Nike Women ever.) I was able to be in a search path session and read what was going on in the social path session.  It was basically like I was in both sessions at once.  Talk about increasing your ROI!

Gary Vaynerchuk dominated lunch on Thursday with his keynote presentation. (Thank you Hubspot for shooting this video!) I could feel the energy in the room , and I thought he was going to do a cartwheel on stage.  I had my camera ready... Gary is the Dane Cook of social marketing and wine. period.

Needless to say, I cannot wait to get started on all these take-aways from the conference. I have some bomb ideas that I will be meeting with my managers about asap. Not gunna lie though, I feel a little overwhelmed with everything I have ticking up there, so I need to work on gathering my thoughts today and putting some action items in writing. I'll let you know how that goes... :)

Hope everyone has a great weekend. 

Talk soon,

Kati

Day 1: Digital Marketing Mixer

As you can see (taken from my new laptop) this is me in Arizona right now. Just went to a Social Marketing Building Blocks PART I session. It was great.  Chris Penn was the speaker. He is hilarious and talks about 1,000 wpm...he blames it on coffee.  haha. You can download his business card by texting CHRISPENN to 

41411 -- which is wicked cool because he is "Saving trees."

I'm learning a lot.  Have some great ideas for our university clients (and even some healthcare stuff too!) I am about to go to Social Media PART II now.  I will keep you updated...

P.S. I have gotten a lot of compliments on "the amazing machine" I am using! Props to everyone who helped me get this! :)

Ciao for now, 

Kati

Ironically Enough, Social Media

Went to a Social Media Club of Louisville breakfast this morning. It was awesome.  

All kinds of great topics: blogs, twitter, rss feeds, bookmarking sites, flickr....the list goes on. Call me a nerd, but I loved it.  The presenters were laid back, conversational,  and very passionate about the topic.  I work at thevimarcgroup but there were reps/presenters there from Doe Anderson, Creative Alliance, etc... all rocking out together about social media. They really practice what they preach and that is very refreshing to see.

They discussed how you must follow several rules of thumb to utilize social media.  I'll give you the Reader's Digest version:

1. Listen. 
2. Participate. 
3. Collaborate.
4. Motivate. (internally)

With any marketing campaign, it is key to identify goals and objectives before beginning a campaign.  What exactly do you want to accomplish with your social media campaign?

Watch the whole U-Stream video from the breakfast this morning.  I encourage anyone interested in this topic to begin  facebook, myspace, twitter, flickr, eventful, linkedin, accounts today and play around for a while... You will be very surprised about who you meet!

Ciao for now,

Kati

SES/SEO/SEM?

My favorite part of my job is probably SES.  I love how strategic and accountable it is. Constantly adapting our client's campaigns, seeing immediate results.  It is very exciting and rewarding.

So because I love it so much,  I listened to an audio podcast today on Webmaster Radio called PPC Rockstar. Very cool. It discussed how PPC is commonly viewed in a negative way because it isn't as sexy as SEO. 

For those of you who don't know what the hell I am talking about this entry may seem like a bunch of acronyms. So here you go:

SES- Search Engine Strategies ( SEO and SEM and the strategy behind them)

SEO- Search Engine Optimization (organic search results)

SEM- Search Engine Marketing (or PPC - Pay Per Click)

Basically, the SES gurus said that SEO and SEM are very important. Some take-aways:

1. SES is now in a spot of evolution.  
2. SEO often includes much more blogging, etc.
3. SEM is seen as unsexy b/c it is straight forward as an advertising medium, and SEO is more secretive in nature. "How can I magically appear in Google search?"
4. In all reality, SEO is NOT free. Mary O'Brien of PPC Summit 

Anyways, not all my posts will be this nerdy in nature.  But I will be trying to keep an advertising theme as much as possible.  

Feel free to comment. :)