It’s like a concert tour but with sketchbooks.

We’re doing it. You should too. All you have to do is choose a theme, get your sketchbook, create in it, and just like that, you’re part of the tour.

Anyone – from anywhere in the world – can be a part of the project. So, get in on the fun, and one day we’ll all be in a museum together.

Oh, the ampersand. Perhaps the most envied character among the letter world. And now, a blog celebrating the beauty – one for every day.

Yep, 365 days of artful representation of the conjunction word “and”.

What happens when a marketer meets a retailer? Said marketer gets a new perspective on things – that’s what!

We marketers conjure up promotions and campaigns at the corporate level for customers and want the sales associates to support them and talk them up to every customer in the store. That’s all they have to do, right? Wrong.

From my hands-on experience, sales associates are busy. Very busy. With things like: finding things for customers (including a cane, that was put down somewhere in a 12,000 square foot store – found it!); assembling merchandise so a customer can see it full size; measuring furniture; measuring it again to be sure it was right the first time; carrying bags out to the car for an elderly customer – only to be rewarded with a hug!

The day spent in the store was rewarding in many ways, and as a marketer, I was able to walk in the shoes of two very important people – the customer and the front-line sales associate. The visit provided the perfect reminder that no marketing plan or advertising idea survives contact with the consumer, the associate or the real world. Now, when we conjure up promotions that involve either of them, I’ll be able to slip those shoes on and see things from their perspective. I just hope they aren’t heels!

As one Facebook wall suggests, the latter is entirely possible. At least in the case of Joe, a young man of 35 who met an early and tragic end at the hands of two assailants while on tour.

Joe played the Viola (a large violin) with the Cherokee Cowboys—the wall of sound behind country music hall-of-famer Ray Price who, at the ripe old age of 84, is still performing for the masses.

Not everyone who hears the name Ray Price will know immediately what makes him an important musical figure. Yet, there are many who hold him in high regard, including Joe, who was himself highly regarded by an assortment of individuals from all walks of life. His Facebook fans total nearly 1000.

Lover of wisdom. Musically gifted. Good friend. Joe was all these and then some. And one can learn all of this by simply visiting Joe’s Facebook wall. Of course, you have to be one of the 1000 or so to peruse the wall and get a feel for Joe the man. But you don’t have to be one of the 1000 to understand what kind of testament to Joe’s existence it is to have posts piling up one after the other following his departure. Most of which celebrate the life he led and provide a clear picture of what made him an important part of the lives of others.

The rate at which posts continue to pile up is nothing short of astonishing. Inevitably, they will subside. But to what degree? And who is to say that Joe’s wall won’t become a shrine to him? Already people are posting images of him from high school photos on up through a few of his last performances as a side man for a living legend.

Joe’s very last wall post reads: “Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else.” -Judy Garland—words by which he most likely lived since a month and a half later, there is still no shortage of people keeping his spirit alive in the very same space in which he posted those words of wisdom.

Which leads to something we may all want to stop and ponder for a moment. For even in death, Joe leaves us mortal marketers with a lesson in brand building.

If my brand ceased to exist, who would show up to keep it alive? And, perhaps more importantly, how long would they keep it up?

During my stays I noticed an invisible line while driving down “the strip” that seemed to divide the beach in half. One side was very familiar and reminded me of the PCB of my youth. On every corner was an airbrush t-shirt shop, Hawaiian shaved ice stand, scooter rental store, putt putt golf and Alvin Islands souvenir shop. As I drove beyond that imaginary line I noticed these shops were soon replaced by massive developments, new shopping centers and chain restaurants.

Their advertising is aiming towards families – and by their mention of doctors, dentists and accountants, it would seem they’re targeting affluent families at that.

Is the goal to eventually move PCB to be another Destin or Beaches of South Walton? Will I come back in another 5 years and no longer have a place to purchase my airbrushed t-shirt or logo-emblazoned sand dollar? And is that the smart thing to do?

Panama City may have its negative stereotypes with nicknames like “redneck riviera” and “the preferred destination of spring breakers in the southeast,” but there is no denying its popularity with these segments of the population. So, if you’re PCB do you take ownership and embrace these audiences or do you jump into the highly competitive waters and go after a share of the market that Destin and Beaches of South Walton already own?

It leaves me thinking that perhaps the brand masterminds of PCB should take a cue from  Dr. Seuss: “Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.”

It’s about time you went on a picnic, isn’t it? And luckily the peeps at Boxal have made the picnic not only cool again, but also much more fashionable.

Sorry, wicker, it was fun while it lasted, but the new picnic belongs to post-consumer pulp.

There is something peaceful and calming about a group of similar objects deliberately arranged in a harmonized fashion.

ThingsOrganizedNeatly catalogues these collections in as uncluttered a manner as the everyday objects depicted, and they’re accessible anytime you need a break and some nice neat peace of mind.

The innovation comes from a car company once known as Datsun and Nippon Sangyo (Japan Industries) whose beginnings were largely in the manufacturing of trucks and parts, due to the nearly non-existent market for passenger cars at the time. Nippon Sangyo became Nissan Motor Co. in 1934 and currently holds the number 3 position among Japanese auto makers.

In 1999, Nissan announced the Nissan Revival Plan (NRP), a three-year restructuring initiative aimed at achieving lasting, global, profitable growth. Two years later they posted all-time-high record operating profits. The very next year, the auto maker adopted the slogan “Shift,” a term that is synonymous with change, which, in turn, is a concept with which auto makers are all too familiar. What’s more, the concept of embracing change is implicit in the use of the word “shift” as a punctuation mark on eight years worth of messaging. But where’s the proof? If you say it, you have to prove it. That’s how it works. (Hey, we didn’t make the rules. Consumers did.)

The Leaf is Nissan’s most recent innovation in a long line of game-changing efforts to achieve maximum energy efficiency, improve performance and push the boundaries of design. Preceding the Leaf’s release in December of this year, an ad campaign themed “Innovation for All” premiers this weekend and marks the beginning of an aggressive effort by Nissan to reach the top spot for Japanese auto makers.

Introducing a car that runs on electricity is, if nothing else, a showing of proof that the company does indeed embrace change. A look into the company’s history offers plenty of proof as well. As does an ad campaign that is a shift from ads that focus on performance and design to a focus on innovation. Almost nine years after the introduction of the “shift” slogan, Nissan’s message and their business doings have finally achieved a rare congruency. How? They put their money where their mouth is.

A tag line or slogan should represent something that lives at the core of the business. It should ring with truth. And not only should it be the word or words you repeat most often, it should also serve as a guide for how you project your company’s purpose to the world. Yet, most advertising slogans offer little to get excited about, or worse, they are little more than lip service. And, up until now, Nissan (from a perceptual perspective) was no exception.

“Shift” remains the company’s slogan. Smart move. ‘Cause they can own it forever. That is, as long as they continue to stay ahead of the game.

Goal
Drive new email conversions

Tactics

Media Partner
We partnered Kirkland’s with Martha Stewart Living Online in order to reach new eyeballs and gain a greater audience.
In Store Component
Shoppers simply asked their Kirkland’s associate for a free You Win game piece.  Everyone won something, including prizes such as gift cards and discounts as part of the $25,000 instant win prize package. The game piece served to convert the current Kirkland’s customer that wasn’t in our marketing funnel yet.
Online Quiz & Sweepstakes
Fans discovered their hostess style with the MyKirkland’s Hostess Celebration Quiz.  Once the quiz was completed, fans were prompted to enter for a chance to win a complete hostess package suited to their style.

Metrics & Results
The Hostess Celebration gleaned 89,570 new email addresses, almost doubling our goal of 50,000.  Kirkland’s equates these emails to $1,798,565 in potential yearly revenue.

Other impressive stats:
34,834 people completed the Hostess Quiz
Over 230,000 people entered the sweepstakes
263,876 coupons were redeemed online and in-store

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Finders Keepers

Goal
Grow the MyKirkland’s community

Tactics

Online Component
Think you have an eye for décor?  How about an eye for more?  That’s the challenge we posed to the MyKirkland’s community with Finders Keepers.  We added a new Kirkland’s accessory to the room each day for ten days.
Coupons
After the ten day game was over, fans could return to download a coupon redeemable at any Kirkland’s store.
Daily Prizes
Community members who spotted the correct new accessory were entered in a daily drawing to win the accessory they found.
Grand Prize
At the end of the 10-day challenge, one lucky participant won every prize shown throughout the contest

Metrics & Results
Overall the Finders Keepers game acquired 56,700 new community members and 9,500 new email addresses.

Other impressive stats:
199,109 game plays
151,843 unique video views
28,000 Facebook shares
1,125 coupons redeemed.

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Décor for Four

Goal
Capturing new email addresses

Tactics

Sweepstakes
Designed to secure new customer emails and activate word-of-mouth by getting existing customers to sign up with three of their friends. Each team was eligible to win $10K in Kirkland’s merchandise and a designer to help them makeover a room in their house.
Online Promotion
New features show glamour shots of the winners’ rooms with call outs to specific Kirkland’s products and also feature designer quick tips (in written or video format), plus links to reviews or similar Kirkland’s product.  Discussions from the MyKirklands designers who completed the transformations plus the four winners are also available as video clips, candid photos, before-and-after room shots, and other mediums.

Metrics & Results
With a goal of capturing new email addresses, the Décor for Four sweepstakes netted 42,872 new email addresses.

Other impressive stats:
615,099 total emails captured
120,000 total entries
5,200 completed teams

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Year One

At the end of July, we celebrated the One Year Anniversary of MyKirklands.com and these exciting statistics:
82,381 community members
38,460 Facebook fans.

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MyKirklands – A (well-decorated) place to connect

Click here to view portions of this case study in video format.

Problem
What to do with a scattered, but extremely loyal customer base who love to share ideas and seek decorating advice?  That’s the problem (a pretty good problem to have, we think) Kirkland’s brought to redpepper in April 2009.  Kirkland’s knew that they needed to have an online presence, but had no idea where to begin.  Research determined that we needed to engage the Kirkland’s customers – instead of just marketing to them.

Ah-Ha! Moment
Give Kirkland’s customers a place to connect.

Creative Strategy
Activate Kirkland’s fan base by creating a community site where they can connect around a shared love of decorating and for Kirkland’s products. Thanks to this brand new integrated platform, there is a whole lot of sharing and connecting taking place:

Community Site
MyKirklands.com is a place where community members can engage with each other and Kirkland’s designers through discussions, comments, quick tips, product reviews, photo uploads and more. Visitors can share their feedback and participate in promotions.  MyKirklands.com is promoted through email, online advertising, in-store digital signage, bag stuffers and via Kirkland’s in-store associates.
Training DVD
Developed to teach associates how to use and explain the community site to customers.
Facebook
Serves as a medium for promoting store sales, designer seminars, the community site, online promotions and sweepstakes. All posted content – including questions, discussions, and photo galleries – drive users back and forth, to and from MyKirklands.com.
Email Campaign
Used to jumpstart the MyKirkland’s community by driving traffic to interact within the community (discussions, photos, reviews), participate in the contests, and send coupons and promote sales.
Online Promotion: Holiday Dazzle
Offers users the opportunity to win a $200 gift card to Kirkland’s for sharing photos of their holiday décor on the site.  Winners are chosen by the vote of community members.  This contest runs for five weeks and awarded one winner per week.
In-Store Promotion: Gift Genius
Runs in-stores throughout the holiday season – the designated Gift Genius is available to help customers find gifts based on price point, recipient, and other factors.  Online, the community site featured a devoted landing page, gifting-centric discussions, and product reviews to further help customers with their gifting needs.
MyVoice Channel
MyVoice allowed members the opportunity to change and improve the site based on feedback, making MyKirklands a true living, breathing, constantly changing community site.  Some customer generated site enhancements include Super Search, which makes the site searchable by category or keyword, and Photo Viewer, allowing users to view all photos and search by hearts (“likes”), date, etc., while still searching by room type.
Online Promotion: Designer Vote
Over 100 designers from a pre-existing designer program applied to be official MyKirkland’s designers.
After narrowing the pool via phone interviews, 10 were chosen to be voted on by the MyKirkland’s community.
Online Promotion: MyKirkland’s Designers
The MyKirkand’s Designers serve as the voice of Kirkland’s on the community site – sharing quick tips, reviewing Kirkland’s products and starting discussions.

Check out more of our promotions at the Showcase section of MyKirkland’s.

Metrics & Results
In the first eight-weeks, over 4.8 million member interactions were logged on the community site including loves, product reviews, photo uploads, photo views, discussions and comments.

Between the community members, Decor for Four Sweepstakes, and Designer Vote we captured over 615,000 email addresses. Around 43,000 were new email subscribers, which Kirkland’s equates to an annual customer value of $860,000 in revenue – which more than paid for the campaign.

The Decor for Four Sweepstakes received over 120,000 total entries, 5200 of which were completed teams. The Designer Vote received over 93,000 votes counted.
The email campaign was considered a huge success and exceeded expectations, garnering over 10,000 community members. As a result of this two-month email campaign, the online community continues to grow and thrive with more than 13,000 members and more joining every day.

The latest Little Old Men canvas from Andy Martin is more than impressive.

Using red Sharpie pens and drawing directly onto the canvas, starting with the bottom right hand corner and letting the city develop from there, we’re quite certain he couldn’t have finished it without escaping a hand cramp or two.

Watch the timelapse of his creation here.