Throwing Brands Under The Bus
As a brand manager, what do you do when a completely irrational and out-of-place customer (tries to) throw your brand under the bus? Regardless of if the customer is justified or not, others out there in the digital world will be listening and your brand will most likely be effected.
How irritating.
There is good news though! Just as people can say malicious things about your brand…you can certainly leverage this content to your advantage to shed light on the situation in it’s entirety.
FTW!
With this said…whatever it is you put out there needs to be pretty darn strategic or else the whole thing might look like a giant childish ‘he said, she said’ finger pointing fiasco.
That is 100% not necessary. And probably even worse for your brand than one irrational customer saying crazy things.
So bringing things full circle, the inspiration for this post came from a video my co-worker, Chelsea, showed me. Apparently there was a girl who would not stop texting during a movie at the Alamo Drafthouse, so they kicked her out. (Good for them, movie texters are some of the most inconsiderate people).
Apparently the girl chose to keep fueling the fire (not sure why, she was wrong), but regardless, the Alamo had to deal with it (lucky them) and I think they handled it extremely well. Here’s what went down:
Radio Like Button
So this morning I got in my car, turned on the ignition, and on came Michael Jackson’s ‘Billy Jean’ blasting from my radio. Yes, please!
…or should I say: *LIKE!*
So, this got me thinking…HMMM. I really wish I could find a radio station to play this type of awesome music all of the time.
From here, I began thinking about Pandora, and how I have been able to train it pretty well to play the songs I have given a “thumbs up” to.
“thumbs up/down” system got me thinking about social networking.
Social networking got me thinking about Facebook..
Facebook got me thinking about the social phenomenon of crowd sourcing.
And crowd sourcing got me thinking about how much radios could benefit from a built-in car “like” button. I’m envisioning a mash-up between Facebook “likes”, Twitter trending topics, and the Pandora “thumbs up/down” system.
This would be a freaking amazing opportunity for radio stations. There’s no way I would have called the radio station to tell them I liked the song (heck, I don’t even know the name of the radio station) and by the time I got to work, I would have forgotten and moved onto the other 25 google million things going through my head.
HOWEVER, if there was a “like” button built into my car, heck yes, I would have pressed it when “Bill Jean” came on the radio! (and heck yes, I DEFINITELY would press DISLIKE if Rebecca Black’s Friday “song” came on.) [no offense].
This technology could be a huge benefit to radio stations as they would be receiving instant feedback and could tailor their playlist accordingly but could also bring back listeners they had lost to devices/tech. such as iPods, Pandora, etc.
Anyway…just a few thoughts from a random Wednesday…
It’s COLAB Time!
To those of you looking for an internship in the advertising world, guess what? COLAB time is here again…
I participated in the inaugural 2008 group – wasn’t sure what to think going in, but it was the best six weeks I’ve spent during a summer – collaborating with some of the most forward thinking, techno-savvy, inspiring people.
Oh and plus you get to spend the summer in Portland. Which, I would have to say, it perhaps the best places in the States to spend a summer.
Anyway, COLAB asked us to create a video talking about our COLAB experience…check it out, then go apply. Now. Do it!
planning + strategy + tchaik. in my plain english
This past week in Deb’s class, we were told to create a piece that defines us…
SO…I have a hard time explaining two things:
#1. What planning/strategy is, why planning/strategy is useful+necessary, and how I ‘learned’ planning+strategy.
#2. How hugely orchestra/violin has influenced my overall process of thought and perspective
With that said – I made a book in an attempt to explain my cross-pollinationed thought process between strategic brand and orchestral planning. I used a piece by Tchaik. that I played with my orchestra a few years back as an example-
This is not a finished product, it might be interesting as some sort of Flash piece…or something… – I’d love feedback and ideas!
You’re majoring in…advertising?
I think it’s fair to say a career in advertising is frequently misunderstood and quite possibly impossible to explain. When I speak of my degree in advertising, I am frequently told that anyone can “make a commercial” or “design something.”
If only it was that simple.
Breaking it down and explaining project managing, account planning, account managing, coordinating, research, ethnography,media buying, media planning, art directing, creative directing, designing, brand strategy, copywriting (or idea writing as we now like to call it)…and then putting all those pieces back together…and somehow explaining the process in a clear and succinct manner…
I am most inspired by the handful of work I aspire to create – I love this work because it’s smart. The strategy is extremely clear and thoroughly planned – The Tap Project, Apple, Obama, Starbucks, Nike – I hate to use standard brands such as these, but there is a reason for the success of these brands – they each have an identity that’s black and white.
I have said this before, but as part of the communications industry, there is an incredible amount of power to influence – which if done in a smart and responsible manner – can have some pretty amazing results.