Viva La Revolución

STRAWBERRYFROG'S BLOG HAS MOVED TO TUMBLR

We have a NEW blog. Please follow the writings of the Frogs at http://strawberryfrog.tumblr.com/

Inspiration for a post

By Shachar G. Scott, Strategist @ StrawberryFrog

Inspiration for post: A blogger wrote, "On one side, technology failed Haitians because there was no early warning and thousands perished in a flash, but on the other side it will be modern technology which will save (the) surviving Haitian population to rebuild their homes and lives through the funds raised." (http://www.thespec.com)

 

I immediately thought of my Haitian friend Rachelle and her family when I found out the news of the earthquake. Before I picked up the phone to call her to make sure she and her family were ok, I logged onto Facebook through my iPhone to check out her status update, which confirmed that two of her family members were missing. I braced myself for what would be a terribly sad conversation when I called her. Instead, it was uplifting.

 

With the wildfire penetration that social media has on our everyday lives, we are now able to transition from tragedy to solution-oriented actions within a click, a status update on Facebook, a tweet on Twitter or a text from our iPhone. In the wake of the horrific and devastating ruins, celebrities and social media micro-famers have successfully raised tens and hundreds of thousands of dollars for Haiti’s efforts to rebuild itself. Donations no longer require a checkbook and a stamp; everyone who has access to a mobile device (which is everyone) can easily and quickly make a positive impact on disaster relief. The positive implications of social media on fundraising are impressive and game changing (donate thru text, trending topics that raise $, etc). As marketers, we are now able to organize around a cause or an event on behalf of our clients and help almost immediately, in real-time and share the impact to only generate more awareness, support, and dollars.

 

Through her status updates and social networking skills, Rachelle located her family members, those that were lost and those that were affected by the quake. Through a series of short bursts of communications, she was able to notify her parents that all of their family was now safe. This wouldn’t have been possible a few years ago---with loss of power and lack of technology in a developing nation, Rachelle’s family would have had to wait for human disaster relief, lists or the Red Cross to secure that her family was dead or alive. And now, thanks to mobile platforms and social media vehicles I can help support Rachelle and her family efficiently and swiftly without much effort at all. By the time I called Rachelle (only a few minutes after the news had broke) she assured me that everyone close to her would be ok and that now she could focus on rebuilding her home nation. And we can all help.

 

RT this: #haiti Techies unite to help relief efforts. A weekend meeting of technology pros looking to help victims of Haiti http://bit.ly/7lFNb4

STRAWBERRYFROG'S BLOG HAS MOVED TO TUBMLR

Please leap to the Frog's new Blog pad...here!

"I have a dream" Martin Luther King

We celebrate mass movements at StrawberryFrog. In the United States today, it is Martin Luther King day, a good opportunity to take in Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" speech, which is a true inspiration and one of the greatest mass movements.

(Creative) Power To The People

By Kevin McKeon, executive creative director at StrawberryFrog.

These days, the talk in advertising is all about the new -- and relentlessly evolving -- digital media landscape. What's the latest, the coolest, the hottest? Get me a Facebook page, gotta be Tweeting, where's my iPhone app. (By the time this appears, I'm sure the latest shiny media object will already be making me sound old-fashioned.) It's important, at the end of the year, to remind ourselves that it's not only about the technology.

I'd like to redirect your attention, then, away from the glowing screen, and toward the real, super cool, truly amazing new gizmo -- the one that's really changing the way we communicate. It's that object on the other side of the screen. The new, evolved -- and still evolving -- person. Let's put down our iPhones for a few minutes, and take stock of how this new person has changed the way that we, as a creative community, have to think, conceive, create, connect... or risk being consigned to the proverbial dinosaur graveyard. If we focus less on technology itself, and more on the person engaged with it, we may even invent a few new media outlets of our own.

Here, then, a handful of things we'd be well advised to consider, even before we blurt out, "We need to be Tweeting!"

New people don't care about your brand. What people care about are themselves, their communities, their increasingly complex (and at times borderline unmanageable) lives. Listen to their cries. Help them. Give them tools to simplify, to connect, to succeed. Sure, could be a Web site. But it could also be a new GPS device that attaches to a diaper, and helps parents keep track of their free roaming children.

New people think they're pretty creative, too. Creativity is no longer the provenance of the trained professional. Nobody wants to marvel at your genius. What they want is for you to give them the means to express their own creativity. So be the spark, be the inspiration, provide some asserts, than sit back, and watch the creativity happen. It will. And you'll be the hero for it.

New people want to do the talking. Advertising people love to talk. But new people have taken over the conversation. So shut up and listen once in a while. Not only will people respect you for it, you may actually learn something valuable.

New people don't like to be interrupted. From the beginning, people had an understanding with their televisions. Give me free entertainment, and I'll listen to a few interruptive sales pitches to pay for the privilege. The understanding online is "Yo. This is my personal space, and my personal time." If you want to reach them there, don't interrupt their experience -- enrich it, add value to it.

New people want the truth, and nothing but. Now more than ever, brands need to be authentic, honest, and deliver real, tangible value. Fake it, and faster than you can say "clean coal," half the world will be talking about what a liar you are. Tell it like it is, and even if you expose a few well-branded warts, people will respect you for it.

New people listen to new people. Brands are suspect. Friends are not. So the real new media breakthrough ... is people. Engage them intelligently and respectfully. New people like to talk, they like to share, they like to learn, and they like to collaborate. So start a conversation -- give people the means to carry that conversation on, enrich it, personalize it -- give it the means to travel, and encourage it to take on a life of its own.

New people like free stuff. Why pay for it if you can get it for free online? And usually, you can. So if you believe in your product or service, if you really think you're on to something, give people a taste -- let them see how wonderful it is, make them want more. Then, after you've gained their trust, they'll be more than happy to pay for it.

New people still like to have fun. Thank god, some creative deliverables never change.

5 Social Media Implications for Brands in 2010

Written by Sienna Farris, director of social media at StrawberryFrog.

Social media strategists are dusting off their crystal balls to make their predictions for 2010. Recently, I took mine out at the FrogPond in an attempt to see the future and, lo and behold, my crystal ball had miraculously transformed into a Magic 8 Ball. I shook it and asked if some of my predictions for 2010 would come true, but the plastic thingy read, "Cannot predict now." At first, I thought it was busted, but then I realized my 8 ball was quite savvy. Technology changes so quickly in this space, it just couldn't keep up.

Despite this, I pushed on and below you will find my top 5 social media implications for brands. Remember, these are the ones that were more likely to get a reading from the 8 ball of "It is decidedly so" than "My sources say no."

1. Social media marketing will finally transition from "nice to have" to "must have": Brands that haven't embraced the medium will understand that social media marketing is not about slapping a brand page on Facebook and hoping for the best. Efforts will start with a sound strategy, a commitment to participate, and a willingness to listen and respond. This may seem obvious, but there are brands that still aren't fully engaged. As more brands like Ford and Pepsi hire heads of social media to lead the charge, 2010 will be the year that brands realize that social media is no longer a novelty; it's serious business.

2. Location-based social networking is here to stay: More consumers will use smartphone applications to tell their friends where they are and who they are with (i.e., Four Square & Loopt). 2010 will be the year for brands to figure out how to market to them. Local bars/restaurants have been the main advertisers. However, opportunities shouldn't be limited to food. For example, luxury retailers could target consumers checking in at upscale restaurants and invite them to sample sales or give discounts.

3. Experimental social media budgets are key: How can you predict what's going to be the Twitter topic of 2010? You can't. But that doesn't mean you don't have the opportunity to be a pioneer. Creating an emerging media budget will give your brand the flexibility to participate in communities and embrace technological platforms before your competitors do.

4. The division between the virtual world and the physical world will continue to blur: Digital technology enables consumers to understand the world around them as well as others. These advancements are accelerated by smartphone usage. You'll see more companies using simulations and augmented reality to provide users branded text overlays and 3-D virtual demos on their phone viewfinder.

5. Crowd sourcing will turn social media into a direct sales channel: Social media is typically thought of as a vehicle for branding and relationship marketing, but there are direct sales opportunities. For example, Best Buy celebrated opening day for the movie New Moon by asking its Facebook fans what their favorite vampire-themed films and books were. They put 50 of those items on sale on BestBuy.com. Many fans thanked Best Buy for listening to them and readily purchased the products.

The most important thing for brands to remember is that we should spend less of our efforts trying to predict "what's next for 2010" and focus on adapting quickly to changes in consumer behavior and technology. The one certainty is that social marketing strategies will have to evolve with whatever comes our way next year.

StrawberryFrog Takes Jim Beam

Adweek:

Beam Global Spirits & Wine has reassigned creative duties on its Jim Beam brand to independent StrawberryFrog, three months after splitting with longtime shop Energy BBDO in Chicago, the client has confirmed.

 
 
The assignment, which came after a review, includes the base brand, Jim Beam Black, and Red Stag by Jim Beam, according to a client representative.

The client selected the New York shop because of its "strategic and creative excellence, proven track record in innovation, the chemistry between our Jim Beam and StrawberryFrog teams, as well as the agency's expertise in building the world's most renowned brands," said chief marketing officer Kevin George, in a statement.

Major media spending on Jim Beam products totaled $10 million in 2008 and about $6 million in the first 11 months of 2009, according to Nielsen. Those figures don't include online spending.

StrawberryFrog is "honored and privileged" to handle "one of the most iconic brands in the world," agency CEO Scott Goodson said. The shop's first work is expected in the first quarter.

Energy BBDO had handled Jim Beam -- as well as sister brand Canadian Club -- for years. Beam Global Spirits, a division of Fortune Brands in Deerfield, Ill., confirmed its split with the Omnicom Group shop in October, saying in a joint statement, "We have decided to take our respective businesses in different directions."

StrawberryFrog is not picking up Canadian Club, whose major media spending was around $5 million in '08 and slightly more than $1 million in the first 11 months of '09.

Social Media Case Studies

Chevrolet Aveo "Get Real" Viral Success (From the Word of Mouth Marketing Association)

StrawberryFrog Amsterdam and Chevrolet produced creative that poked fun at their competition, in a humorous way. The 7th Chamber seeded the video with their well researched and proven viral marketing strategies. Tracked through 7th Chamber's Diffusion Media Tracker, which monitored views, audience demographic breakdown, location, comments, # of embeds, # of sites and blogs, key word returns from Google.

And...Chevy achieved 1,792,444 views, 300+ conversations and placement/coverage on 184 carefully chosen sites and blogs. Most comments referenced the amusing nature of the ad and generated good will and positive "buzz" a key Chevrolet objective worldwide. 

YouTube "Awards": Most viewed of the day, Top Rated, Most Discussed and Most Responded to in Auto and Vehicles.

The quality viral commercial created by StrawberryFrog and Chevy also achieved the same YouTube awards in important Chevrolet identified markets such as Germany, Hong Kong, Brazil, France, Australia, Canada, Italy and the UK.

The campaign continues to create discussion and find new audiences daily.

GM Looking At New Ad Agencies For Chevrolet

From Businessweek. Posted by: David Kiley

General Motors, facing criticism that it may not be moving fast enough to stir new conversations around its brands, is about to start hearing new pitches from new ad agencies.

As first reported by Jean Halliday in Ad Age, it does not appear that long time ad agency Campbell-Ewald, Warren MI is facing a firing. But the automaker is finally doing what this blogger has been advocating for years—-it is opening itself up to hearing great ideas to push the Chevy brand down the field to a better place.

For a long time, politics and personal relationships have kept the Chevy/Campbell-Ewald relationship bound together as if by Crazy Glue; even when the advertising and thinking that produced it was terrible. The agency has been Chevy’s agency since 1922.

1922!!!!!!!

That was then. Chevy IS General Motors. It used to be that Chevy was just one of eight brands at GM in North America. Going forward, it is one of four. But in fact, it is the whole show. If Chevrolet does not increase market share and improve perception, it’s not going to matter what happens at Buick, GMC and Cadillac.

New Chevy chief Brent Dewar obviously knows this.

Campbell-Ewald is expected to keep doing the bulk of work on the account. It is a huge account with lots of moving parts. And it requires that GM maintain continuity to keep the trains running on time. But new ad agencies will be invited to become roster agencies so that C-E is always challenged, not only on the ideas themselves, but regarding the talent they bring to bear for Chevy.

Why should the creative talent pool be restricted to people willing to live in Southeast Michigan?

There are going to be some “retirements” at Campbell-Ewald, I am guessing.

Dewar clearly understands, finally, that it is nuts not to have hungry, creative agencies, whether they are in Minneapolis, Los Angeles, Miami, Brazil, Romania pitching Chevy ideas that will stir the conversation anew.

Finally….Religion has arrived at Chevy!!

The problem right now is that there are so many car accounts in review that it is taxing some of the better shops trying to respond.

Chrysler’s brands have been in review. Volkswagen is in review, and will be decided after October 20. Cadillac is now in review. Now Chevy.

Deutsch, which is pitching Volkswagen right now, will be expected to pitch either Chevrolet or Cadillac if they should lose. Perhaps, they can pitch both—Cadillac from its LA office perhaps and Chevy from New York. Nike agency Wieden & Kennedy is pitching VW too, as is Goodby Silverstein. Those are two agencies I would love to have creating ideas for Chevy if I am Dewar.

Another terrific agency, Fallon, Minneapolis is pitching Chrysler. The Martin Agency (Geico) is available, and will most certainly be asked to pitch Caddy and Chevy. New York’s StrawberryFrog is handling Indian automaker’s Mahindra & Mahindra’s launch in the U.S. Could they also pitch for a Cadillac model that doesn’t compete?

Because C-E is expected to keep working on Chevy, GM has the luxury of tapping all kinds of small shops for ideas that don’t have to be full-service ad agencies. Agencies in St. Louis, Kansas City, Texas.

The company should have done this a decade ago at least.

Politics is the only reason the company did not do it before. Funny, that it took U.S. government ownership of GM to get rid of the politics.

GM is advertising a campaign with the theme, “May The Best Car Win.”

As far as Chevy’s advertising goes…now, it’s “Let The Best Idea Win” no matter where it comes from.

StrawberryFrog Offices New York, Amsterdam and Sao Paulo

Here are some recent pictures from inside the StrawberryFrog offices in New York, Amsterdam and in Sao Paulo. Enjoy :-)

StrawberryFrog New York

 

StrawberryFrog Amsterdam

 

 
StrawberryFrog Sao Paulo