It's Been A While...

Blog World, how I have missed thee!

Where have I been? Once again, I have fallen off the face of the earth and into crazy work hours, holidays, WEDDING PLANNING! and living my life without writing about it. But each time I do this, I always yearn for my blogging days!

So I am back for now. Working a lot on some media plans for the Georgia Aquarium and getting acquainted with my new client, Georgia Natural Gas.

Although it's now old news, my agency had a merger and we acquired the Hauser Group. We have a bunch of new folks that are awesome. Feeling good about my agency even though it's been a madhouse lately.

I've also been planning my wedding. My boyfriend/fiance proposed on labor day and we've been busy getting our plans in order for our October wedding in sunny Miami. And yes, I did say "yes to the dress."

Also been busy getting more into crafting! I've tried the following projects to much success:
Anthro Knock Off
Dyed Wood Beads

So life is good. Maybe I will even come back soon for a visit :)

Fantastic Post

Check out this very insightful post from Mark Cuban. It's so right on. http://blogmaverick.com/2010/10/26/the-value-of-your-time-and-how-it-impacts-the-internet-video-vs-traditional-tv-battle/

Where Have I Been?

I'm dangerously close to the 1-yr mark of no blog posts. I do feel like I have been a pretty lazy blogger, but just to give you a little background, here is what is going on:

1. Work has been CRAZY. All those caps there, that means it's really intense.
2. I got engaged! I'm so excited to be marrying my favorite person, Alex.
3. I'm trying to sell a house in Florida. Lots of headaches.

So apologies for being out of blog world. Just so much going on!

The Power of FUN

It seems that many brands forget to have fun. It reminds me of my last post, where Miracle Whip very humorously responds to Steve Colbert of the Colbert Report. Who would expect a condiment to have such a funny response?

Believe it or not people, it is possible to have fun and still be "on-brand." Why are we so serious about advertising anyway? Or rather, dear client, why are you so serious about your brand? Let's just have some fun with it!

Case in point - see the video below. I love this. Look at all the people that stop being lazy and start taking the stairs.



Think about using FUN in your brand messaging. Or I don't know, making the buying process or purchasing environment FUN. Like these guys:


















Hotel ZaZa "Houston" Guest Room













IPod Nano

















Anthropologie Store

The Best Brand Reaction EVER

This one popped up on my twitter stream this morning:

http://ghensel.posterous.com/miracle-whip-vs-stephen-colbert-10

An incredible piece of brand communication that I only wish my client would even entertain the notion of creating. How great must it be to work for Miracle Whip's marketing team? How truly refreshing would it be to get a call from a client where instead of bitching about editorial, they respond in a comical and fun way?

Miracle Whip, please hire me. Mayo sucks. Ok, I don't mean that. But still.

Halloween = Wonderful

Less than 2 weeks from one of my most favorite holidays ever - Halloween!

There is something so intriguing about disguising oneself for a night and becoming someone totally different. I love that pretending to be something you are not is so accepted and expected. Recently, it seems that creativity and cleverness is also becoming more popular.

Last year my boyfriend and I went as a race car driver and mechanic. Which was pretty amazing.


















But this year I am coming up blank. I've put a lot of pressure on myself to figure out a funny, clever costume (and we have such a great opportunity - couples costumes have so much potential!). Any suggestions?

Groupon

Hey there everyone!

Just a tip for anyone living in Atlanta, Groupon has a sweet offer for our media team's fav after work wine spot, Cafe Di Sol. If you click through using my referral link (hint hint), I will make $$!

If you haven't tried Groupon yet, please go to the site. It's so cool. Such good deals. Ok that is the spiel. Enjoy!

Social Media Revolution

Great video. Puts all this stuff we do in perspective...

Art & Copy

Had a little outing last night (and stayed out past 10 on a school night! Whoa.) with the newly rejuvenated Ad Pack (Atlanta's younger ad club - same idea as Ad 2) to watch the advertising documentary, "Art & Copy."

We went to the Plaza Theatre over in the Highlands, which was very cool. I love those old theatres. Drapes, old-fashioned popcorn boxes and the prerequisite squeaky chairs really added to the theatre-going ambiance.

The film itself was...good? Maybe I'm too cynical or jaded or something, but it seemed to really glorify advertising. Which was the purpose I guess. And I love advertising, so I should have been drinking the Kool-Aid, right? But I wasn't. I guess I don't love it as much as I thought.

So besides my mixed feelings about the film as a whole, I absolutely loved hearing all the famous agency heads talking about advertising and touring their decked-out offices. It was so cool. I wish they had interviewed folks at hot agencies like CP+B and some smaller shops like Plaid. It seemed like they missed out on quite a few people that could have been very interesting. Oh well.

My vote - check it out. It was worth the $8.

How to Approach Bloggers

I won't promise that I am back because I hate to promise something I may or may not deliver on! But in the spirit of hope, I feel moderately inspired to write a lil something about my industry today.

Came across this wonderful post from Bakerella, a sweet (pun intended) blog about baking delicious treats. I have yet to actually bake anything from the blog. Rather, I just read and drool.

So Bakerella was invited, along with 50 other bloggers to come out to the corporate office of General Mills to get an insider look at the mega-baking company. They called it their, "Eat and Greet" (which is just too freakin' cute!).

Bakerella's account is absolutely wonderful. She took a ton of photos. They even got to go to the Betty Crocker Test Kitchens and take pictures with the various mascots. It seems like General Mills actually gets it! Such forward thinking from an old company. I'm super impressed.

And now the inevitable list of how to approach bloggers!

1. Find good bloggers.
You have to do your research. Bakerella is a great example. Not only is she an exceptional photographer (Look at the pics on her site. Beautiful food photography), but her blog is upbeat, entertaining, inspirational and personable.

2. Give them something.
Bakerella was flown to and put up in Minnesota for an experience that is unique. Who else will treat an amateur baker like a celebrity? Wait, let's put that another way. Who should treat their customers like celebrities? I will go out on a limb and say, "pretty much anyone with customers."

General Mills also gave their bloggers Flip Cameras. Why? So they could take good photos and post them to their blogs. Arm your bloggers with the tools they need to showcase your brand best!

3. Make it memorable.
Whatever you do - whether it is sending a sample, hosting a visit, or just communicating, give it cool factor. Corporate communications can suck so much, so make it fun. Even silly. Seriously. I mean, General Mills had the Pillsbury Dough Boy posing with their bloggers!

So there you go. Enjoy my infrequently occurring marketing genius ;)

The World is Your Media

Media Planners everywhere unite and shout this new mantra, "The World is Your Media!" Because this is the common theme I've been hearing for the past year or so. If you can slap a logo on it, it's officially an advertising medium.

Now this idea of utilizing any free space became apparent to me prior to my career in media. While I was in college working on the National Student Ad Competition, GoldenPalace.com paid a woman to tattoo an ad on her forehead. I remember clipping the article from a newspaper (They existed back then. Oh wait, they are still around?) and posting it in our meeting space.













Well, nothing has changed. Buildings, plants, sidewalks and even the air itself has become a blank canvas on which to paint our client's advertising messages.










































While this is a very easy thing for people to say, it's not as easy in execution. Planning and buying traditional media has a method, language and other established norms that give media planners and buyers true expertise. If you don't normally plan or buy television, you likely wouldn't know what GRPs, break-averages or backloading means. And that's why they pay us the big bucks (hahahaha).

But when you venture out into truly non-traditional media like sidewalks, there is no established norm. Who do you call? Do you get permits? Is it against the law? If so, what is the penalty? Etc. What ends up happening, is that us planners call up another buying company to handle it. Or we are forced to spend hours calling around and trying to figure out how to execute the ad. Which sucks. It's a waste of time.

So just remember, the next time you give a presentation about how crappy traditional media is and how exciting the world of nontraditional media can be, keep in mind that you have some poor media planner that now has to learn a new set of rules to use in a totally new playground. And it's not that easy.

Fast Food Wars

Fast Food companies are in a war. They are fighting to see who can sell their largest portion for the lowest price. No, they can't just lower their prices on all their food, but rather are courting the fat asses. Which makes total sense. Case in point:

1. Subway's $5 Footlong
I can barely finish my puny 6 inch, but feel guilted into purchasing this monster sandwich that is less than 50% higher cost than my little baby sammy. And oh yea, Jared wasn't eating footlongs, btw!

2. KFC's $4 Combo Box
This box costs $4 and includes a chicken entree, side, biscuit and a drink. The commercial copy sums it all up, "You are eating a la carte. I am eating a la smart!" Catchy, KFC.

3. Quizno's $4 Torpedo
The Torpedo is Quizno's answer to subway's footlong. And it's $1 less. But wait, there's a catch. At Subway, you can get ANY ("Any!") footlong for $5, but at Quizno's, there are only 5 Torpedo sandwichs to choose from for the $4 deal.

I'm sure there are more, but three is such a nice number and I'm tired. Goodnight Blogosphere!

Gymkhana? Wha?

I am literally about to cry from laughing right now. The goodness happens about 3 min into the video. Wait for it. It's totally worth it.


Find more videos like this on AdGabber

Best of Show Goes to ASO

A little self-congratulations to my agency, ASO, who took home a bunch o' awards at last night's Atlanta Addy Awards. Of course, no award is as important as Best of Show, which we won. Hah.

Atlanta's ad club started out as a club for creatives and is still kinda that way, so I got to hang with lots of non-media folks last night. Out of my element, but in a good way. Thanks to all for making it a fun night.

So what was this amazing entry? Some work our creative team did to save the blues. And a non-traditional video at that (whoa - it's true - nontraditional media! It's like venturing into unknown territory.). And for those waiting with bated breath, check out this link to see the top winner of the night:

IGetBlues.com

Trust Me, This Show is a Keeper

This is a week late (as is the creative on their current billboard on Peachtree St - nice one, btw) and I am watching Trust Me, a new show from TNT that is all about advertising (yay!).

The characters pack more witty banter in one minute than I could in a week. Thank God for well-written shows with rhetoric I aspire to dispense.

I have never worked for a behemoth agency like RGM represents, but the interoffice squabbling is fun to watch. Makes me happy to be at a small shop. And it is cool to see the writer-art director relationship from the inside.

And let me express my surprise and happiness that Eric McCormack brings no trace of Will. I absolutely loved Will and Grace, but he is now Mason. And Mason is a pretty cool CD.

This show is an exceptional addiction until Mad Men returns! I'm jazzed.













I love his ad-man glasses. Classic but still for the cool kids.