Gatorade Gets it Right

A couple weeks ago I did a post entitled "Viral Video Done Right". In that post, I talked about NewTeeVee blogger Liz Shannon Miller and her thoughts about what makes a successful viral video campaign. With Liz's thoughts in mind, I'd like to share another example of a viral video that I believe deserves some serious kudos.

If you haven't seen it yet, take a peek below:



Though you wouldn't necessarily know it just by watching it once, this video was done by Gatorade. (If you watch it again you'll see the Gatorade bottle by her feet.) Supposedly the original version included some text referring to Gatorade, but subsequent versions have lost the ad copy and it's now running like wildfire across the Internet.

Great job, Gatorade. Proof again that in order to be viral, keep your focus on entertainment, not necessarily marketing.

Digital media and marketing... the love affair continues

According to a recent survey by PRWeek and MS&L Marketing, the use of digital and social media in marketing campaigns is on the rise. Now, unless you've been living under a rock for the last five years (or doing PR for a really old-school type company), this information shouldn't surprise you in the least. In fact, it's kind of like me telling you that kids' desire for pizza is on the rise. However, if you dig a little deeper into the results (which PRWeek does here along with some great case studies), you might find yourself raising an eyebrow or at least feeling vindicated. For example:

Of the survey respondents, 75.4% expect spending for digital/online initiatives to increase, compared to 42.5% for direct marketing spend, 36.5% for PR budgets, and 32.5% for ad budgets.

Check out the ad and PR numbers. Interesting, no? Mark Hass, CEO of MS&L, attributes the percentages to the kind of interaction or conversation that marketers are having nowadays with their customers. [Note: I'm paraphrasing here.] Imagine advertising being a monologue and traditional PR being a dialogue. More and more marketers are realizing that digital media enables them to engage in a multi-logue with their target audience. Totally makes sense to me.

Here's another interesting tidbit from the survey:

When asked which disciplines would be most likely to be cut if forced to do so because of economic conditions, digital was the least likely with only 11.1% of respondents noting that they'd cut budgets for those initiatives. Advertising was the most likely to be cut (58.3%), followed by point-of-sale marketing (55.6%), direct marketing (41.3%), and PR (35.3%).

PRWeek attributes these figures to the flexibility digital media offers marketers - especially in a shaky economic environment. Gone are the days of a six-month media buy that requires up-front payment. Digital media enables marketers to make changes on the fly and gather specific metrics.

The bottomline? The love affair between digital media and marketing still seems pretty steamy.

Check out the full article and download a copy of the report here.

Forget the "lucky duck" - he's one lucky dog!

One of the great benefits of working at GroundFloor Media is that dogs are a welcome part of the office environment. It's not unusual to see Maddie Love, Simba Tooley or Maxwell Wills running around our office space - so today when I felt a little guilty about leaving my dog, Otis, home for the next week while I'm off on vacation, it took only a second to realize that I'd simply bring him to work so we could spend the whole day together.

Little did I know that today is Take Your Dog to Work Day! Not only have Otis and I spent the day together, but he's already been the star of a photo shoot, eaten two cookies, received multiple belly rubs, chased a gingerbread girl toy, and had about three naps. Although there isn't much time at GroundFloor Media for chasing balls or squirrels, Otis is currently napping under my desk while I type away - just one more reason that GroundFloor Media qualifies as the best place to work in Denver!

Getting Grounded through AirLife

One of my favorite things about working at GroundFloor Media – besides the awesome people with whom I get to hang out every day – is our Get Grounded program. Through this program, I was recently able to support a charity near to my heart, Friends of AirLife. Each year, Friends of AirLife hosts the Annual AirLife Memorial Run/Walk and EMS Celebration in honor of the everyday heroes in EMS and those EMS providers who have lost their lives.

The race was created in memory of Pete Albplanalp, Beth Barber, Leslie Feldmann and Julie Olmstead, who died on Dec. 14, 1997, in an AirLife helicopter crash and related car accident. Since its inception, the race has evolved to include honoring the fallen heroes of air medical, EMS, fire and police, as well as the beloved Friends of AirLife founder and good friend of mine, Jim Ulrich, who lost his battle with leukemia in Dec. 2006.

Being able to take time to support this event each year as a committee volunteer is extremely important to me, as is the support I receive from GroundFloor Media in order to do so. Here’s how the Get Grounded program works in a nutshell… GroundFloor Media team members are able to volunteer for qualifying nonprofit organizations during normal business hours. And – if our volunteerism takes place after hours, GroundFloor Media donates funds to the nonprofit on behalf of our efforts at the end of each year. Not a bad way to support the charity of your choice!

Beyond the Get Grounded program, my friends at GroundFloor Media turn out to support the event and the Friends of AirLife, which truly means more than they ever know!

~Ramonna

Looking For Love?

If you've followed my blog posts, you know that I'm typically GroundFloor Media's resident foodie. But, if you've read my real story you'll know that another of my real passions is the health and well-being of animals. That's why it's my pleasure to break away from food for just a minute to remind you all that June is Adopt-a-Cat month. If you're looking for love in the form of a faithful, feisty, friendly or fearless companion like Salty Reilly (pictured here), a cat might just be the right fit for you! In Denver, you can visit the Dumb Friends League (www.ddfl.org) or any number of other area shelters to learn more about the many cats who are at just waiting to find the right family to call their own. GroundFloor Media is working with the Dumb Friends League and a handful of other feline-focused partners to launch an exciting cat-related campaign that we look forward to revealing later this summer. In the meantime, let us know if you add a feline family member to your home this month!

Tomatoes Create Headlines

As PR practitioners, we are always reminding our clients about the need for a crisis communications plan. No matter the industry – healthcare, technology, restaurant or education – you can never predict when a crisis will hit, or what the crisis will be. On June 4, in a move to ensure the health and safety of its customers, GroundFloor Media client Qdoba Mexican Grill pulled raw tomatoes from its menu in response to a reported salmonella outbreak among certain varieties of tomatoes.

Kudos to Qdoba for jumping on this issue before it became a media headliner! Together with the client, GroundFloor Media had time to help craft messaging and developed signage surrounding the preventative measure – and sure enough, the phones started ringing. Thanks to a fantastic partnership with our client and a willingness to drop everything and walk in lock-step, not only have we navigated a sea of nationwide media inquiries, the combined GroundFloor Media/Qdoba team actually maintained a sense of humor and, dare I say, is comfortably prepared to tackle the next crisis that comes our way.

If you’re contemplating adding a crisis communications plan to your “PR toolbox”, keep in mind these basic principles:

1. Develop your key message(s) and stick to them
2. Respond to the media as quickly as possible, but take time to gather the facts before answering
3. Follow through on commitments to answer additional questions the media may have
4. Utilize your corporate Web site to disseminate information to key audiences

Viral Video Done Right

I'm a big fan of the blog NewTeeVee.com. If you haven't visited it before, it offers a great perspective on the online video industry - part video critic, part industry reporter and almost always entertaining and newsworthy. Whenever a GroundFloor Media client mentions that they're interested in producing an online viral video, I always point them to NewTeeVee for a good dose of online video realism.

Last week, NewTeeVee blogger Liz Shannon Miller posted a great example of "Viral Marketing Done Right". The video shows an impromtu musical number at an airport and only briefly mentions the actual advertiser (lastminute.com).

"What makes it so effective?" asks Liz. In her own words..."Three things:

1. It doesn’t lie. While the video does not state up front what product it’s advertising, it doesn’t claim to be “found footage,” or an amateur recording, or anything other than what it is. In fact, it makes a big deal of mentioning up front that the production was put together by a large team of professionals. At the end, the lastminute.com text pops up, clear as anything. It isn’t exactly straightforward, but there’s no attempt at deception.
2. It’s really fun to watch. The performers are talented, the songwriting is tolerable and the hidden cameras do a great job of catching the surprised looks of those watching. I was more entertained by these three minutes than I was by the entirety of Chris Columbus’s Rent.
3. It’s relevant to the product being advertised. By capturing the looks on people’s faces as they’re ambushed by live performance, the ad is a poignant reminder of the joy of the theater. Lastminute.com is a ticket-selling service, and the swift URL drop at the end of the video connects the message to the product."

Social Media... In Plain English

Thanks to Scott Monty's Social Media blog, I just discovered Common Craft's "in plain English" digital shorts. If you haven't seen one yet, stop whatever you're doing and go check out their Web site. Using a format they call "Paperworks", the smarties at Common Craft explain subjects (mostly related to social media) "in plain English" using short, unique and understandable videos. For example, "Podcasting in plain English", "Twitter in plain English", etc. And the best part? They share them on YouTube for free. They also offer downloadable versions that are licensed for the workplace.

Here is one of my faves. "Social Media in Plain English"




Love it.

Generational Guessing?

As marketers, most of us understand the importance of identifying our target audiences BEFORE we actually begin our marketing campaigns. Ideally, these types of discovery sessions should take place before you even think about a campaign idea or strategy since the message or tactic can vary greatly depending on the audience. However, I'll be the first to admit that sometimes it can be a little tricky to actually narrow down your target demographic(s) - especially when so many demographics seem to overlap. Baby Boomers, Seniors, Generation X, Generation Y, Millennials... the list is endless.

This week, Ad Age's Kenneth Gronbach has a great primer on the top six U.S. generational markets and ideas for targeting them. If you're about to begin a audience discovery session (or even if you're in the midst of one), I'd highly recommend this article as a good place to start.