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<title>Yaffe Tidbits</title>
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<description>Connecting the Marketing, Branding, Advertising and Creative Dots.</description>
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<lastBuildDate>Tue, 07 Feb 2012 12:04:57 -0500</lastBuildDate>
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<title>10 Good Super Bowl 2012 Ads &amp; An Ugly One</title>
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<description>The 2012 Super Bowl and accompanying Brand Bowl has come and gone. There were some good ads and some really bad ads, but none stood out to me as truly great ads. In the last few years, picking a number...</description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><span style="color: #2d2d2d;"><a href="http://yaffetidbits.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8347d063969e2016300f078c4970d-popup" onclick="window.open( this.href, &#39;_blank&#39;, &#39;width=640,height=480,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,toolbar=no,directories=no,location=no,menubar=no,status=no,left=0,top=0&#39; ); return false" style="float: left;"></a><a href="http://yaffetidbits.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8347d063969e20168e6e72f9a970c-popup" onclick="window.open( this.href, &#39;_blank&#39;, &#39;width=640,height=480,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,toolbar=no,directories=no,location=no,menubar=no,status=no,left=0,top=0&#39; ); return false" style="float: left;"><img alt="2012 Super Bowl ads" class="asset  asset-image at-xid-6a00d8347d063969e20168e6e72f9a970c" height="142" src="http://yaffetidbits.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8347d063969e20168e6e72f9a970c-320wi" style="margin: 0px 5px 5px 0px;" title="2012 Super Bowl ads" width="246" /></a>The 2012 Super Bowl and accompanying Brand Bowl has come and gone. There were some good ads and some really bad ads, but none stood out to me as truly great ads. In the last few years, picking a number one ad was either easy because it was a standout or hard because, <a href="http://www.yaffetidbitsblog.com/2011/02/2011-best-worst-super-bowl-ads.html" target="_self" title="The Best &amp; Worst Super Bowl ads 2011">like last year</a>, there were two standouts (VW Vader spot and Chrysler&#39;s Imported from Detroit spot). This year it was hard because I really didn&#39;t have strong feelings about any one spot. But be that as it may, here&#39;s my top 10 spots and my worst of the year pick.</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #2d2d2d;"><strong>10. Honda - &quot;Matthew&#39;s Day Off&quot;</strong></span></p>
<p><span style="color: #2d2d2d;">So many people loved this ad, that I had to make it a top 10. But truthfully, I&#39;m not a big fan. I think part of it was that Honda used VW&#39;s Vader kid &quot;leak the spot online&quot; strategy and it backfired. Instead of endearing the spot to me with all the coverage it got before the Super Bowl, I was already tired of it. I think if I saw it and it was a surprise, I might have felt - oh wow, look what they did. Instead, I felt, meh... they took an iconic movie character and reinacted some movie stuff and it didn&#39;t tie in to the car at all. If I hadn&#39;t looked up the spot, I wouldn&#39;t have been able to tell you which car it was.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="218" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/VhkDdayA4iA" width="370"></iframe>&#0160;</p>
<p><strong><span style="color: #2d2d2d;">9. Oikos Greek Yogurt - &quot;The Tease&quot;</span></strong></p>
<p><span style="color: #2d2d2d;">This one made the list simply because it&#39;s got a woman head butting John Stamos to the floor. And who doesn&#39;t want to see that again?</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #2d2d2d;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="218" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/RQPM6y3ZnAo" width="370"></iframe>&#0160;</span></p>
<p><strong><span style="color: #2d2d2d;">8. The Voice - &quot;Vocal Kombat&quot;</span></strong></p>
<p><span style="color: #2d2d2d;">Props to NBC&#39;s The Voice for creating something far more engaging than a montage of clips for a show promo. This was entertaining, had high action, cool graphics and still got across the premise of the show, which is the judges fighting to get the best voice to choose them. Love the &quot;Kill Bill&quot; sequences and graphics, down to Cee-Lo&#39;s outfit. And the twist at the end made me laugh.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #2d2d2d;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="218" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/0OjVPRGD8ow" width="370"></iframe>&#0160;</span></p>
<p><strong><span style="color: #2d2d2d;">7. Doritos - &quot;Man&#39;s Best Friend&quot;</span></strong></p>
<p><span style="color: #2d2d2d;">What&#39;s the Super Bowl without dog spots. Here&#39;s the first one to make my list. One of the winners of Doritos annual Super Bowl ad contest. Clever concept, the dog gives his master Doritos as &quot;hush money&quot; after &quot;offing&quot; the cat. Nice.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #2d2d2d;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="218" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/y3bqbJduK2w" width="370"></iframe>&#0160;</span></p>
<p><strong><span style="color: #2d2d2d;">6. Sex Sells for H&amp;M and Teleflora</span></strong></p>
<p><span style="color: #2d2d2d;">We always see examples of good and bad use of the time honored tradition of sex sells. Here&#39;s two good examples - one for the men and one for the ladies. First, there was Teleflora. I would actually call this a great product benefit spot. Guys may think giving flowers is stupid. But, with Valentine&#39;s Day coming up, Teleflora reminds us dumb guys the real product benefit of buying flowers, mixing metaphors with Christmas, using the line, &quot;give, and you shall receive.&quot; </span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #2d2d2d;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="218" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/uWrJgFjxlS0" width="370"></iframe>&#0160;</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #2d2d2d;">On the other hand, we have David Beckham for men&#39;s underwear for H&amp;M. Now, you may think they&#39;re targeting the wrong market - getting the ladies attention for a men&#39;s underwear product. But, I&#39;m sure their research shows that most of the men&#39;s underwear is actually bought by the women in their lives. Let&#39;s face it, most of us guys will keep wearing shabby, holey underwear rather than go buy new stuff. Also, judging by a lot of the tweets I read, a lot of women are buying this stuff just because they&#39;re buying whatever he&#39;s selling. </span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #2d2d2d;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="281" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/eQb_-OY7Z0E" width="370"></iframe>&#0160;</span></p>
<p><strong><span style="color: #2d2d2d;">5. Chrysler - &quot;Halftime in America&quot;</span></strong></p>
<p><span style="color: #2d2d2d;">I have mixed feelings about this one. For one thing, it must have run during the one time I got up and left the set - so I didn&#39;t see it in context, just later on the web. It suffers by comparison. Last year&#39;s imported from Detroit spot featuring Eminem was so powerful and poignant. Trying to recapture the magic of a special spot is very hard to do. I think they did a valiant job here, but it pales in comparison. For one thing, as someone living in Detroit, I don&#39;t remember that &quot;we almost lost it all&quot; - sure time have been tough and we were hit harder than most, but I don&#39;t remember ever thinking we were going to lose everything. It&#39;s a well written, well produced spot with an icon to lead the charge. But, it&#39;s not last year&#39;s spot. Not even close.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #2d2d2d;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="218" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/_PE5V4Uzobc" width="370"></iframe>&#0160;</span></p>
<p><strong><span style="color: #2d2d2d;">4. Budweiser - Eternal Optimism</span></strong></p>
<p><span style="color: #2d2d2d;">Don&#39;t love the beer, but I love this ad. And I wish my clients had this kind of budgets! It&#39;s a lot of fun, with a great soundtrack featuring a mash-up The Cult&#39;s &quot;She Sells Sanctuary&quot; and Flo Rida&#39;s &quot;Good Feelin&#39;.&quot; It basically shows that over time, people have always gathered together with their buds for a good time gathering - and often it&#39;s involved their favorite beer. It&#39;s a spot that works well with Budweiser&#39;s tagline &quot;Grab some Buds.&quot;</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="218" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/enfJEibY1nY" width="370"></iframe>&#0160;</p>
<p><strong><span style="color: #2d2d2d;">3. Volkswagen - &quot;The Dog Strikes Back&quot;</span></strong></p>
<p><span style="color: #2d2d2d;">This is really two spots in one. One spot about a dog that sees the new VW Beetle and really wants to chase it, but needs to get in shape to do so. And another that takes place in a galaxy far, far away. I think VW did a much better job of trying to top last year&#39;s special ad, than Chrysler. They didn&#39;t succeed either, but I like what they did better. Instead of the new and improved version, they went with a new spot that gives a nod to the old classic. I didn&#39;t see the twist at the end coming and I loved it. I know some think they should have just ended it with the dog&#39;s story. Personally, I think it could have come off as schmaltzy by itself. With the commercial shifting to the Star Wars bar and a blatant reference to last year&#39;s spot - I thought it was great. I also like that the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ntDYjS0Y3w" target="_blank" title="The Bark Side - VW pre Super Bowl ad">pre-Super Bowl spot </a>released on the web (dogs barking out the Darth Vader theme) was a nice hint to the eventual spot without actually being the spot.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #2d2d2d;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="218" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/0-9EYFJ4Clo" width="370"></iframe>&#0160;</span></p>
<p><strong><span style="color: #2d2d2d;">2. Accura - &quot;Transactions&quot;</span></strong></p>
<p><span style="color: #2d2d2d;">I originally had this as my number one ad, but upon further review, it turns out I like the Chevy ad better. I did really like this one though. Of all the ads, this one got the biggest laughs from me. Sure, it was a bit over the top. But, Leno in a flying squirrel jet back to steal the deal just as Jerry Seinfeld was about to seal it? Loved it. What can I say, you make me laugh, you&#39;re gonna get high marks from me. It&#39;s just how I roll.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #2d2d2d;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="218" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/WUFSHzT2xuY" width="370"></iframe>&#0160;</span></p>
<p><strong><span style="color: #2d2d2d;">1.&#0160;Chevy Silverado - &quot;2012 Mayan Calendar&quot;</span></strong></p>
<p><span style="color: #2d2d2d;">I love this ad. Talk about a brand promise - buy our product and survive the apocalypse. Sure, it&#39;s not realistic, but it&#39;s fun. And I don&#39;t mind at all that they took a poke at the competition. I come from a rural area where guys drive trucks and if you&#39;re a Chevy guy, you look at the Ford and Dodge guys with disdain and vise versa. It just taps into the target market mindset. </span></p>
<p><span style="color: #2d2d2d;">I like that they took something topical like the predicted end of the world and had fun with it. They didn&#39;t just stick with one reason either - you see alien spacecraft, volcanoes, meteors and even&#0160;the more biblical&#0160;rain of frogs. Loved the burning Big Boy statue and a play on the old joke (and recent Zombie movie) idea that one of the things that will last forever is twinkies. Nice co-branding opportunity, too,&#0160;I&#39;m sure. Added bonus for the counter intuitive Barry Manalow track.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #2d2d2d;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="218" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/XxFYYP8040A" width="370"></iframe>&#0160;</span></p>
<p><strong><span style="color: #2d2d2d;">And 1 Ugly One.</span></strong></p>
<p><span style="color: #2d2d2d;">That&#39;s my take on the best spots. There were plenty of disappointments, too. I think the eTrade baby spots have lost their luster. Career Builder brought back the chimps and it wasn&#39;t bad, but it was just a rehash of previous spots. I thought the Cars.com one with the extra head singing was just creepy. But one advertiser was just ugly. I bet you know who it was. Go Daddy once again stunk up the place with horrible ads that just ticked off at least half of the possible customers right off the bat. As one woman tweeted, &quot;what? Women don&#39;t buy domain names?&quot; Where H&amp;M and Teleflora (and even Fiat) used sex to sell in a good way, these people use it all wrong. Their spots are sexist. They play the bait and switch game - Oooo, come to our website and maybe you&#39;ll see these women naked (you won&#39;t). And to make matters worse, it&#39;s just bad, reheated creative. They&#39;ve basically run the same idea for I don&#39;t know how many Super Bowls now. Time to banish them from the event, if you ask me.</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #2d2d2d;">So, what were your favorites? Did I miss some? Do you think I&#39;m a moron for including one of these? I&#39;d love to hear your take on the best and worst of 2012 Super Bowl ads.</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #2d2d2d;"><a href="http://yaffetidbits.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8347d063969e2016761e590ab970b-popup" onclick="window.open( this.href, &#39;_blank&#39;, &#39;width=640,height=480,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,toolbar=no,directories=no,location=no,menubar=no,status=no,left=0,top=0&#39; ); return false" style="float: left;"><img alt="Mike McClure" class="asset  asset-image at-xid-6a00d8347d063969e2016761e590ab970b" height="66" src="http://yaffetidbits.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8347d063969e2016761e590ab970b-120wi" style="margin: 0px 5px 5px 0px;" title="Mike McClure" width="65" /></a>Mike McClure, Ad Junkie</span></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/yaffetidbits/~4/Sy7lBRaA8w0" height="1" width="1"/>]]></content:encoded>


<category>Ad of the week</category>
<category>Advertising</category>
<category>Marketing</category>
<category>Sports</category>
<category>Television</category>

<dc:creator>Mike McClure</dc:creator>
<pubDate>Tue, 07 Feb 2012 12:04:57 -0500</pubDate>

<feedburner:origLink>http://www.yaffetidbitsblog.com/2012/02/10-good-super-bowl-2012-ads-ugly-one.html</feedburner:origLink></item>
<item>
<title>Ad of the Week: Santa Monica BMW - Checkmate</title>
<link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/yaffetidbits/~3/qKA7889SpfI/aotw-santa-monica-bmw-checkmate.html</link>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.yaffetidbitsblog.com/2012/01/aotw-santa-monica-bmw-checkmate.html</guid>
<description>I don't think I've ever had an outdoor board as my Ad of the Week before, but this one really grabbed me. It's brilliant in it's message, it's positioning and size. This is a nod to the media people as...</description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><span style="color: #2d2d2d;">I don&#39;t think I&#39;ve ever had an outdoor board as my Ad of the Week before, but this one really grabbed me. It&#39;s brilliant in it&#39;s message, it&#39;s positioning and size. This is a nod to the media people as much as the creative team. And to whoever was keeping aware of the local landscape. </span></p>
<p><span style="color: #2d2d2d;">Apparently there was an Audi outdoor board that showed their new answer to luxury cars and had the words &quot;Your Move, BMW.&quot; Well, the local BMW dealer made their move and it was a good one. They bought a bigger board right across the street and put their answer on it. And their message was &quot;Checkmate&quot; - game over. I don&#39;t know if it was actually the local dealership or the brand made the move and tagged it with the local dealer. Either way, nicely played, BMW, nicely played.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #2d2d2d;"><a href="http://yaffetidbits.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8347d063969e2016761330d87970b-popup" onclick="window.open( this.href, &#39;_blank&#39;, &#39;width=640,height=480,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,toolbar=no,directories=no,location=no,menubar=no,status=no,left=0,top=0&#39; ); return false" style="display: inline;"><img alt="Santa Monica BMW outdoor" class="asset  asset-image at-xid-6a00d8347d063969e2016761330d87970b" height="267" src="http://yaffetidbits.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8347d063969e2016761330d87970b-320wi" title="Santa Monica BMW outdoor" width="354" /></a><br /><a href="http://yaffetidbits.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8347d063969e20168e6346489970c-popup" onclick="window.open( this.href, &#39;_blank&#39;, &#39;width=640,height=480,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,toolbar=no,directories=no,location=no,menubar=no,status=no,left=0,top=0&#39; ); return false" style="float: left;"></a>Santa Monica BMW - &quot;Checkmate&quot;</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #2d2d2d;">Reminds us all to be careful when poking the giant with a stick. Sometimes they wake up and poke back. What good rebuttle ads have you seen?</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #2d2d2d;"><a href="http://yaffetidbits.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8347d063969e20163003da7a4970d-popup" onclick="window.open( this.href, &#39;_blank&#39;, &#39;width=640,height=480,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,toolbar=no,directories=no,location=no,menubar=no,status=no,left=0,top=0&#39; ); return false" style="float: left;"><img alt="Mike McClure" class="asset  asset-image at-xid-6a00d8347d063969e20163003da7a4970d" height="62" src="http://yaffetidbits.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8347d063969e20163003da7a4970d-120wi" style="margin: 0px 5px 5px 0px;" title="Mike McClure" width="64" /></a>Mike McClure, Exec Creative Director</span></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/yaffetidbits/~4/qKA7889SpfI" height="1" width="1"/>]]></content:encoded>


<category>Ad of the week</category>

<dc:creator>Mike McClure</dc:creator>
<pubDate>Fri, 27 Jan 2012 17:13:44 -0500</pubDate>

<feedburner:origLink>http://www.yaffetidbitsblog.com/2012/01/aotw-santa-monica-bmw-checkmate.html</feedburner:origLink></item>
<item>
<title>How To Do Local Blogger Outreach The Right Way</title>
<link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/yaffetidbits/~3/UTF7PzdYy2U/how-to-do-local-blogger-outreach-the-right-way.html</link>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.yaffetidbitsblog.com/2012/01/how-to-do-local-blogger-outreach-the-right-way.html</guid>
<description>Getting bloggers to talk about your product is a tricky thing. Getting social media influencers to talk about your product multiple times is even harder - especially if you're a regional or local brand, rather than a big national brand....</description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Getting bloggers to talk about your product is a tricky thing. Getting social media influencers to talk about your product multiple times is even harder - especially if you&#39;re a regional or local brand, rather than a big national brand. <a href="http://www.suburbancollection.com " target="_blank" title="Suburban Collection website">The Suburban Collection </a>of car dealerships is doing it in the Metro Detroit area and doing it well. And here&#39;s how.</p>
<p><a href="http://yaffetidbits.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8347d063969e2016761111f82970b-popup" onclick="window.open( this.href, &#39;_blank&#39;, &#39;width=640,height=480,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,toolbar=no,directories=no,location=no,menubar=no,status=no,left=0,top=0&#39; ); return false" style="float: left;"></a><a href="http://yaffetidbits.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8347d063969e2016761111fff970b-popup" onclick="window.open( this.href, &#39;_blank&#39;, &#39;width=640,height=480,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,toolbar=no,directories=no,location=no,menubar=no,status=no,left=0,top=0&#39; ); return false" style="float: right;"><img alt="Suburban Honda" class="asset  asset-image at-xid-6a00d8347d063969e2016761111fff970b" height="128" src="http://yaffetidbits.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8347d063969e2016761111fff970b-320wi" style="margin: 0px 0px 5px 5px;" title="Suburban Honda" width="188" /></a>Each weekend, they give a car from one of their dealerships to a local blogger and social media influencer as part of their social test drive program. In return, they ask that when you tweet, facebook, foursquare or whatever, you use the hashtag they created for the program:&#0160;#SocialTestDrive. They don&#39;t put any restrictions on what you write or blog about, which is the only way to do it right. They let their product and service speak for itself and trust that it will result in a good experience for the recipient of the vehicle.</p>
<p>The Suburban Collection has only been doing this for about four weeks now, but they are already seeing good results. After their first week, they sold a couple vehicles as a direct result of the program. One&#0160;of the guys who bought after following the first week&#39;s social test drive online said he came in because the experience he witnessed through the social channels seemed to be a good one. He had had a bad experience at Suburban in the past, but after reading the posts, he decided to give them another try. This time, he had a real good experience. The vehicle he bought wasn&#39;t even the one that was being test driven that weekend. But, the experience he&#39;d followed through social media seemed good enough to give Suburban another shot.</p>
<p><a href="http://yaffetidbits.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8347d063969e20168e612ae87970c-popup" onclick="window.open( this.href, &#39;_blank&#39;, &#39;width=640,height=480,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,toolbar=no,directories=no,location=no,menubar=no,status=no,left=0,top=0&#39; ); return false" style="float: left;"><img alt="Zac Holmes Suburban Collection" class="asset  asset-image at-xid-6a00d8347d063969e20168e612ae87970c" height="98" src="http://yaffetidbits.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8347d063969e20168e612ae87970c-120wi" style="margin: 0px 5px 5px 0px;" title="Zac Holmes Suburban Collection" width="99" /></a>&quot;Our goal is to just be a part of the conversation,&quot; says Zac Holmes, Online Marketing Coordinator at Suburban. &quot;People hang out online, live there, interact there - that&#39;s where you&#39;ll find them. We wanted to reach out to them in the space they&#39;re already occupying and connect them to our brand.&quot;</p>
<p>One of the smart things Suburban is doing is the way they recruit the people to participate in their program. They do it by having the person who just finished the program choose the next one, giving them the additional perk of sharing the experience with their friends. Plus, they get a list of influencers already vetted for them. Who else would know the local blogger/social media influencer landscape better than those who are a part of it.</p>
<p><a href="http://yaffetidbits.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8347d063969e20163001c21bb970d-popup" onclick="window.open( this.href, &#39;_blank&#39;, &#39;width=640,height=480,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,toolbar=no,directories=no,location=no,menubar=no,status=no,left=0,top=0&#39; ); return false" style="float: left;"></a>&quot;People are a lot more likely to believe a review if you hear it from someone you know or follow, rather than from the brand itself,&quot; said Holmes. &quot;It&#39;s more realistic when it&#39;s coming from them. We also wanted to put people in vehicles they might not try otherwise. This makes driving part of the buying experience - whether it&#39;s actually driving the vehicle or driving it vicariously through following along with the driver online.&quot;</p>
<p>I have first hand experience in how the process works, since I participated in their social test drive program last weekend, driving a hybrid Honda Insight from Suburban Honda. I had followed the previous weekend&#39;s driver, fellow social media and ad guy, Bryan Willmert, on his social test drive (mostly through Instagram) and had enjoyed his story. Then, to my surprise the following week I got a tweet from both Zac and the Suburban Collection asking if I&#39;d like to participate. Obviously, I said yes. And it was a pretty good experience.</p>
<p>They gave me a choice of several different brands. Once I chose Honda, they asked what I was driving and suggested four different models that I might like to test drive. I was interested in checking out their hybrid, the Honda Insight. When I showed up, they walked me through the vehicle and how to work all the options. They shot a video of me with the car and sent me on my way.</p>
<p><a href="http://yaffetidbits.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8347d063969e20167611122b2970b-popup" onclick="window.open( this.href, &#39;_blank&#39;, &#39;width=640,height=480,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,toolbar=no,directories=no,location=no,menubar=no,status=no,left=0,top=0&#39; ); return false" style="float: right;"><img alt="Mike McClure Honda Insight Social Test Drive" class="asset  asset-image at-xid-6a00d8347d063969e20167611122b2970b" height="219" src="http://yaffetidbits.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8347d063969e20167611122b2970b-320wi" style="margin: 0px 0px 5px 5px;" title="Mike McClure Honda Insight Social Test Drive" width="224" /></a>It was interesting to see the interaction I got. On my first day (last Friday), I had to go downtown Detroit for a lunch meeting. I tweeted out where I was going and the car I was in. I immediately got feedback via twitter. One person I know tweeted me that they were a half mile away from my meeting, could I stop by while there. I swung by and let him take the Insight for a tool around the city. Once that was done another tweeted for &quot;nexties&quot; and another wanted to see it and we hooked up the following day at the auto show. So, the most immediate feedback came via twitter - including from people outside of my own followers, people who were following the hashtag, either promoted by Suburban or via previous test drivers.</p>
<p>Longer discussions, with more in depth questions, came on the Facebook messages/pictures I posted. And for shear volume, my Instagram posts seemed to get the most reactions - including again, from people I had no idea who they were. They were just fans of the car or the brand.</p>
<p>Talking with Holmes, who works with four of the Suburban Collection dealerships in the Detroit area&#0160;(Honda, Acura, Ford and Chrysler/Jeep/Dodge/Ram), his group has enthusiastically embraced the program and plans to continue it with one or two social test drivers each week. Judging from my experience and the reaction to it, I&#39;d say they&#39;re on to something. It&#39;s a good way to connect with your local community in a very real way and really boost your share of conversation online. So, think about it. How can you accomplish the same for your local brand/client?</p>
<p><a href="http://yaffetidbits.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8347d063969e20163001c2474970d-popup" onclick="window.open( this.href, &#39;_blank&#39;, &#39;width=640,height=480,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,toolbar=no,directories=no,location=no,menubar=no,status=no,left=0,top=0&#39; ); return false" style="float: left;"><img alt="Mike McClure" class="asset  asset-image at-xid-6a00d8347d063969e20163001c2474970d" height="66" src="http://yaffetidbits.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8347d063969e20163001c2474970d-120wi" style="margin: 0px 5px 5px 0px;" title="Mike McClure" width="65" /></a>Mike McClure, Social Driver</p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/yaffetidbits/~4/UTF7PzdYy2U" height="1" width="1"/>]]></content:encoded>


<category>Companies Doing It Right</category>
<category>Content Marketing</category>
<category>Digital Marketing</category>
<category>Engagement</category>
<category>Marketing</category>
<category>Social Media</category>
<category>Weblogs</category>

<dc:creator>Mike McClure</dc:creator>
<pubDate>Wed, 25 Jan 2012 14:23:57 -0500</pubDate>

<feedburner:origLink>http://www.yaffetidbitsblog.com/2012/01/how-to-do-local-blogger-outreach-the-right-way.html</feedburner:origLink></item>
<item>
<title>Building a Mobile-Friendly Website</title>
<link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/yaffetidbits/~3/8HBd8kcTZQM/building-a-mobile-friendly-website.html</link>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.yaffetidbitsblog.com/2012/01/building-a-mobile-friendly-website.html</guid>
<description>Part 2 of our Mobile Marketing Series Last week we dipped our toes into an ever-changing and exciting world of Mobile Marketing. You enter Part 2 of the Mobile series, armed with knockout customer insights and a vocabulary full of...</description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><strong><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #2d2d2d;">Part 2 of our Mobile Marketing Series</span></span></strong></span></p>
<p><span style="color: #2d2d2d; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: 16px;"><strong><span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://yaffetidbits.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8347d063969e20168e5dd79b1970c-popup" onclick="window.open( this.href, &#39;_blank&#39;, &#39;width=640,height=480,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,toolbar=no,directories=no,location=no,menubar=no,status=no,left=0,top=0&#39; ); return false" style="float: left;"><img alt="Woman-cell-phone-angry-211x300" class="asset  asset-image at-xid-6a00d8347d063969e20168e5dd79b1970c" src="http://yaffetidbits.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8347d063969e20168e5dd79b1970c-320wi" style="margin: 0px 5px 5px 0px;" title="Woman-cell-phone-angry-211x300" /></a></span></span></strong></span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #2d2d2d;">Last week we </span><a href="http://www.yaffetidbitsblog.com/2012/01/what-to-do-mobile-marketing.html" target="_self" title="Part 1 of our Mobile Marketing series">dipped our toes</a> <span style="color: #2d2d2d;">into an ever-changing and exciting world of Mobile Marketing.&#0160; You enter Part 2 of the Mobile series, armed with knockout customer insights and a vocabulary full of </span><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/most-ridiculous-management-terms-2012-1">jargon terms</a> <span style="color: #2d2d2d;">you already used to impress everyone at Monday’s department meeting. &#0160;The next step is to build a proper Mobile webpage, which will not only convert potential clients into paying customers, but increase positive association with your brand.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #2d2d2d;">&#0160;</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; color: #2d2d2d;"><strong>Seeing Through Your Customers’ Eyes<br /></strong>Access your website through a Mobile device, and see it through the customer’s eyes. As expected, the design and layout of what looks good on a personal computer doesn’t translate well into mobile experience.&#0160; If you’re squinting to see the font, so are your frustrated customers. If you’re having trouble navigating through the pages, your customers are contemplating checking out your competitor. If the page is still loading by the time you finish this paragraph, the customer already left.</span><br /><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #2d2d2d;"><strong><br /></strong></span><strong></strong><strong>Cashing In on the Insights </strong><strong><br /></strong>The insights you gathered are a blueprint for your website. After monitoring and analyzing your traffic through Google, you will know what mobile devices your customers are using. iPhone, Android, Blackberry or tablets have different &#0160;strengths and weaknesses, so it’s crucial you understand them. For instance: if your customers are primarily using an iPhone, keep in mind that it cannot run Flash (so don’t use it). &#0160;Android and iPhone use touchscreen navigation, while Blackberries might not.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><strong></strong><span style="color: #2d2d2d;"><strong>Satisfying a Need</strong></span><span style="color: #2d2d2d;"><strong><br /></strong>Looking at your Mobile Segmentation analysis, ask what NEED does your website satisfy for your customer? Depending on your insights you may arrive at different conclusions. If your customers frequently get lost while trying to find your location, they access your mobile website for directions or your phone number. If that’s the case, make sure that the first page that loads has your phone number and directions.&#0160; &#0160;If they are looking for prices, make it brain-dead easy for them to find and buy items. If they’re looking for coupons, you can offer a special for signing on Foursquare or “Liking” you on Facebook/ following you on Twitter. &#0160;Satisfying their need is your first priority. Users who cannot find what they are looking for or are have trouble navigating through the store check-outs, often leave halfway through the transaction, never to return.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; color: #2d2d2d;"><strong>Keep it simple. I mean it.</strong> </span><br /><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; color: #2d2d2d;">Everybody knows your cool website has flashy graphics, ready-to-download case studies and well-written bios, but nobody wants to see it on their smartphone. &#0160;Slow connection speeds and pay-per-byte data plans will make the experience of going to your website expensive and unbearably slow. Keep the graphics to a minimum and focus on satisfying the customer’s needs.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; color: #2d2d2d;"><strong>Small Screens = Large Fonts<br /></strong>Unless your customers are rocking an iPad, they’ll have a hard time seeing anything written in regular font.&#0160; Make the font larger, and test it on mobile devices. Your mobile page should fit neatly into the screen of the hand-held device and spitting out easily-digestible content. Buttons, links and navigation tools should also be bigger to make navigation between pages easier (especially with touch-screen devices).</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><strong>Click to Call</strong> </span><br /><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">If you’re listing a phone number that the customer might want to contact you with, make sure that it’s “click to call.” Once the customer clicks (or touches) the phone number they will have an option to automatically dial it, eliminating the hassle to write it down(while driving).</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><strong>Listen to Feedback<br /> </strong>The biggest mistake you can make is ignore your customers while building a mobile website specifically designed for them. Involve them in the process by asking about and monitoring their mobile use. When the beta version of your website comes out, bring in a few loyal customers you trust and test it out. Observe and improve.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"> <strong>Deep Thoughts About Ending Paragraphs<br /> </strong>If you haven’t found a mobile development expert within your department’—congratulations you are the new mobile web development expert of your department! As the newly-crowned mobile expert it is your responsibility to enlist support of digital advertising veterans to make this thing a reality (what about The Yaffe Group? I hear they’re pretty good). Stay tuned, next week brings the final installment of the Mobile Series. Use the internet-comment-machine below to post your mobile thoughts.</span><br /> <br /> <br /></p>
<p><a href="http://yaffetidbits.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8347d063969e20168e5dd23e2970c-popup" onclick="window.open( this.href, &#39;_blank&#39;, &#39;width=640,height=480,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,toolbar=no,directories=no,location=no,menubar=no,status=no,left=0,top=0&#39; ); return false" style="float: left;"><img alt="Dmitri Pivtorak" class="asset  asset-image at-xid-6a00d8347d063969e20168e5dd23e2970c" height="58" src="http://yaffetidbits.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8347d063969e20168e5dd23e2970c-120wi" style="margin: 0px 5px 5px 0px;" title="Dmitri Pivtorak" width="58" /></a>&#0160;<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; color: #2d2d2d; font-size: 10pt;">Dmitri Pivtorak,&#0160;Socially Mobile</span></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/yaffetidbits/~4/8HBd8kcTZQM" height="1" width="1"/>]]></content:encoded>


<category>Digital Marketing</category>
<category>Marketing</category>
<category>Mobile</category>
<category>SEO</category>
<category>Social Media</category>
<category>Web/Tech</category>

<dc:creator>Mike McClure</dc:creator>
<pubDate>Fri, 20 Jan 2012 13:18:55 -0500</pubDate>

<feedburner:origLink>http://www.yaffetidbitsblog.com/2012/01/building-a-mobile-friendly-website.html</feedburner:origLink></item>
<item>
<title>What You Need To Do In Mobile Marketing This Year</title>
<link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/yaffetidbits/~3/vVWgKG3tgzo/what-to-do-mobile-marketing.html</link>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.yaffetidbitsblog.com/2012/01/what-to-do-mobile-marketing.html</guid>
<description>Part 1: Know your mobile customer For most of us the 2012 resolutions look like this: lay off Hot Pockets, earn a ton of money and make a diligent effort to smile when your mother-in-law unexpectedly shows up on your...</description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><span style="color: #2d2d2d; font-size: 12pt;"><strong>Part 1: Know your mobile customer</strong></span></p>
<p><a href="http://yaffetidbits.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8347d063969e20168e56a59a2970c-popup" onclick="window.open( this.href, &#39;_blank&#39;, &#39;width=640,height=480,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,toolbar=no,directories=no,location=no,menubar=no,status=no,left=0,top=0&#39; ); return false" style="float: left;"><img alt="Mobile marketing-know your customer" class="asset  asset-image at-xid-6a00d8347d063969e20168e56a59a2970c" src="http://yaffetidbits.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8347d063969e20168e56a59a2970c-120wi" style="margin: 0px 5px 5px 0px;" title="Mobile marketing-know your customer" /></a>For most of us the 2012 resolutions look like this: lay off Hot Pockets, earn a ton of money and make a diligent effort to smile when your mother-in-law unexpectedly shows up on your doorstep for a visit. When it comes to resolutions for your business Mobile Marketing should be at the top of your list— especially if you’re playing catch up with competition. Last year was huge for mobile marketing and it’s getting even bigger. Technology innovations make it easy to shop, stay social, informed and entertained anywhere and anytime.&#0160; Smartphones drive our life on-the-go and with it present constant opportunities to advertise. Why wouldn’t you reach your customer through something they carry and interact with every waking (and sometimes sleeping) moment?</p>
<p><strong>Watch the video below to see some amazing mobile stats</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="218" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/0aUQLIPdtg8" width="370"></iframe>&#0160;</p>
<p><strong>Know your mobile customer<br /></strong>Gen-Y <em>facetweets</em>, <em>youblogs</em>, and <em>mysquares</em> faster than you can log into your email, while Grandma is still figuring out the whole <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRBcP6MmE8g" target="_blank" title="VIDEO: Did you hear a click?">webcam thing.</a> <span style="color: #2d2d2d;">Each customer uses a smartphone to satisfy a <strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">NEED</span></strong> while being <em>restricted</em> or <em>empowered</em> by their aptitude for technology. &#0160;The game hasn’t changed, customers are still shopping, but they’re using mobile to simplify and enrich their experience.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: #2d2d2d;"><strong><em></em></strong></span></p>
<p><span style="color: #2d2d2d;"><strong>Tracking mobile visitors</strong></span><br /><span style="color: #2d2d2d;">First step is to assess the situation. You might not know that people are accessing your website through mobile devices unless you have a way to track it. Meet your new best friend</span><a href="http://code.google.com/apis/analytics/docs/mobile/overview.html" target="_blank" title="How to track mobile via Google Analytics"><span style="color: #2d2d2d;">,</span> Google Analytics</a>. <span style="color: #2d2d2d;">Study your traffic under the microscope and establish a baseline. What devices are your customers using? How does your marketing strategy affect traffic? Through analytics you will understand the current situation and pave way for future decisions.</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #2d2d2d;">&#0160;<strong><em>Identifying Mobile Segments</em></strong> </span><br /><span style="color: #2d2d2d;">The wonderful thing about customers is that they can be grouped together into segments.&#0160; After you ninja your way through demographic/geo profiles think about the following.</span>&#0160;&#0160;</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://yaffetidbits.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8347d063969e20168e56ab9a9970c-popup" onclick="window.open( this.href, &#39;_blank&#39;, &#39;width=640,height=480,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,toolbar=no,directories=no,location=no,menubar=no,status=no,left=0,top=0&#39; ); return false" style="display: inline;"><img alt="Early-adopters-for-smartphones" class="asset  asset-image at-xid-6a00d8347d063969e20168e56ab9a9970c" src="http://yaffetidbits.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8347d063969e20168e56ab9a9970c-320wi" title="Early-adopters-for-smartphones" /></a></p>
<p><span style="color: #2d2d2d;"><strong>Psychographic and motivational </strong>segmentation will force you to step into the shoes of your customer and focus on their attitudes, goals and emotional features.</span><br /><span style="color: #2d2d2d;">-Think about what your users seek through their mobile devices: <em>entertainment, information, social or a bargain</em>. For instance, customers seeking a bargain may not like mobile technology, but will use it anyway if there is a reward (like a coupon or a discount).</span><br /><span style="color: #2d2d2d;">-Is the customer skating on <em>the high tech edge</em> or staying away from technology because <em>it invades their privacy</em>? For example: Social oriented high tech users would be more likely to check in on foursquare&#0160; at your store location, which presents a valuable opportunity to engage them.</span><br /><span style="color: #2d2d2d;">-Is mobile <em>a lifestyle</em> choice or something they are <em>forced to use</em>? Gen Y vs Late adopters. </span><br /><span style="color: #2d2d2d;">-In addition to insights you gather from this exercise, create a map to <strong>key customer touch points </strong>with your brand. Map out customer’s mobile shopping experience <em>from interest</em> about your product to <em>purchasing decision</em>.&#0160; </span><br /><span style="color: #2d2d2d;">-Do they browse and compare prices on the phone before purchasing? <em>What brought them to your website? </em>Was it to find store locations, order online, get a deal or check in on foursquare? <em>How did they find out about it? </em>Through company’s e-letter, a chat with company rep, QR code or external advertising? </span></p>
<p><span style="color: #2d2d2d;">I leave you with many questions to answer and priorities to fulfill. &#0160;Moving forward in the Mobile Resolutions series, you’ll learn about mobile websites and implementing mobile advertising strategies.&#0160; In the meantime, share some of your mobile experiences in the comment section and give Grandma a call</span>, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbGYhE_BTbU&amp;feature=fvwrel">she&#0160; still needs help</a>.</p>
<p><span style="color: #2d2d2d;">Check back next week for part 2 of this series.</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #2d2d2d;"><a href="http://yaffetidbits.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8347d063969e201676069b145970b-popup" onclick="window.open( this.href, &#39;_blank&#39;, &#39;width=640,height=480,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,toolbar=no,directories=no,location=no,menubar=no,status=no,left=0,top=0&#39; ); return false" style="float: left;"><img alt="Dmitri Pivtorak" class="asset  asset-image at-xid-6a00d8347d063969e201676069b145970b" src="http://yaffetidbits.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8347d063969e201676069b145970b-120wi" style="margin: 0px 5px 5px 0px;" title="Dmitri Pivtorak" /></a>Dmitri Pivtorak, On the move, going mobile</span></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/yaffetidbits/~4/vVWgKG3tgzo" height="1" width="1"/>]]></content:encoded>


<category>Advertising</category>
<category>Digital Marketing</category>
<category>Direct Marketing</category>
<category>Marketing</category>
<category>Mobile</category>
<category>web video</category>

<dc:creator>Mike McClure</dc:creator>
<pubDate>Thu, 12 Jan 2012 12:19:10 -0500</pubDate>

<feedburner:origLink>http://www.yaffetidbitsblog.com/2012/01/what-to-do-mobile-marketing.html</feedburner:origLink></item>
<item>
<title>Ad of the Week: Google+ - Muppets Rock Out In a Hangout</title>
<link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/yaffetidbits/~3/mjqCoPTfmQk/aotw-google-muppets-hangout.html</link>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.yaffetidbitsblog.com/2012/01/aotw-google-muppets-hangout.html</guid>
<description>There was no doubt this ad would become one of my ads of the week. When I first saw it at home, I kept backing it up on the DVR and replaying it. Made me smile every time. Of course,...</description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><span style="color: #2d2d2d;"><a href="http://yaffetidbits.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8347d063969e201675ff6a0c1970b-popup" onclick="window.open( this.href, &#39;_blank&#39;, &#39;width=640,height=480,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,toolbar=no,directories=no,location=no,menubar=no,status=no,left=0,top=0&#39; ); return false" style="float: left;"><img alt="Muppet Goggle Plus Hangout commercial" class="asset  asset-image at-xid-6a00d8347d063969e201675ff6a0c1970b" height="168" src="http://yaffetidbits.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8347d063969e201675ff6a0c1970b-320wi" style="margin: 0px 5px 5px 0px;" title="Muppet Goggle Plus Hangout commercial" width="249" /></a>There was no doubt this ad would become one of my ads of the week. When I first saw it at home, I kept backing it up on the DVR and replaying it. Made me smile every time. Of course, there&#39;s no way it could lose. First off, if you follow my Ad of the Week posts, you know I love the ads Google has been doing for the last few years. I think they produce some of the most consistently wonderful advertising out there. Every ad tells a story that connects well with it&#39;s audience.</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #2d2d2d;">But the ad for Google+ with the Muppets doing a hangout while playing along with the Queen/David Bowie classic &quot;Under Pressure&quot; seems like it&#39;s targeted specifically at me. For one thing, I&#39;m a HUGE Muppets fan. I love almost everything they do. I&#39;m also a huge David Bowie fan and Under Pressure is one of my favorite songs of all time. </span></p>
<p><span style="color: #2d2d2d;">Yet, I don&#39;t think Google was talking just to me. Seems a lot of people love this ad. Which is part of my initial point. Google just knows how to connect well with people. Maybe it&#39;s because they know so much about us, given all the data they&#39;re able to collect. But, in their advertising at least, they seem to be using the info for good, not evil. So, in my completely biased opinion, here&#39;s one of the best ads of the last year. </span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #2d2d2d;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="218" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/BSsJtzPng5U" width="370"></iframe>&#0160;Google+ - Muppets Rock Out in a Hangout</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #2d2d2d;">So, what did you think? Love it as much as I do? Or is there another ad out there you think is better? Let me know, maybe your favorite will end up as a future ad of the week. </span></p>
<p><span style="color: #2d2d2d;"><a href="http://yaffetidbits.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8347d063969e201675ff6a250970b-popup" onclick="window.open( this.href, &#39;_blank&#39;, &#39;width=640,height=480,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,toolbar=no,directories=no,location=no,menubar=no,status=no,left=0,top=0&#39; ); return false" style="float: left;"><img alt="Mike McClure" class="asset  asset-image at-xid-6a00d8347d063969e201675ff6a250970b" height="65" src="http://yaffetidbits.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8347d063969e201675ff6a250970b-120wi" style="margin: 0px 5px 5px 0px;" title="Mike McClure" width="65" /></a>Mike McClure - Self-admitted Muppet Maniac</span></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/yaffetidbits/~4/mjqCoPTfmQk" height="1" width="1"/>]]></content:encoded>


<category>Ad of the week</category>
<category>Branding</category>
<category>Social Media</category>

<dc:creator>Mike McClure</dc:creator>
<pubDate>Wed, 04 Jan 2012 10:57:31 -0500</pubDate>

<feedburner:origLink>http://www.yaffetidbitsblog.com/2012/01/aotw-google-muppets-hangout.html</feedburner:origLink></item>
<item>
<title>The Magic of Macy's Outshines the Rest of the Best</title>
<link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/yaffetidbits/~3/YNH48xBOENI/the-magic-of-macys.html</link>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.yaffetidbitsblog.com/2011/12/the-magic-of-macys.html</guid>
<description>I was reading through Ad Age's list of best Christmas ads for the year and noticed that all of them other than Macy's focus on the stress of the season, and how they can make it better. Best Buy actually...</description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I was reading through <a href="http://adage.com/article/news/watch-2011-s-christmas-ads/231585/" target="_blank">Ad Age&#39;s list of best Christmas ads</a> for the year and noticed that all of them other than Macy&#39;s focus on the stress of the season, and how they can make it better. Best Buy actually takes it to a whole other level by trying to out do Santa. Sorta funny, but all of them left me feeling like the person who bemoans what the holidays have become—stress-o-shop-o-mania. All of them except Macy&#39;s, that is. I re-watched this spot several times after finishing the others, trying to wash the cynicism away, and it worked.&#0160;</p>
<p>This spot reminded me that though it&#39;s our job as advertisers to solve customers&#39; problems, there&#39;s a fine line between solving a problem and exacerbating the problem by embellishing it over, and over, and over again.</p>
<p>Sometimes we shop because we have a problem that needs solving. That&#39;s generally true everyday of the year. But that&#39;s not how any of us really want to think about Christmas.&#0160;Even though Macy&#39;s campaign evokes the magical spirit of Christmas for children, it inspires all of us in the process to WANT to buy. Not have to. And under which circumstance would you prefer to bring people into your store?</p>
<p>The fact that they also built in an in-store magical red box that brings the inspiration (and customers) into the stores AND gives back to charity—win, win, win.</p>
<p>Watch, be inspired, shop, and Happy Holidays, all!</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">&#0160;<iframe frameborder="0" height="218" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/qyL94Zzy_Jg" width="370"></iframe>&#0160;</p>
<p>&#0160;</p>
<p><a href="http://yaffetidbits.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8347d063969e20147e340a92e970b-popup" onclick="window.open( this.href, &#39;_blank&#39;, &#39;width=640,height=480,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,toolbar=no,directories=no,location=no,menubar=no,status=no,left=0,top=0&#39; ); return false"><img alt="Jen Wright" height="64" src="http://yaffetidbits.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8347d063969e20147e340a92e970b-120wi" style="float: left;" title="Jen Wright" width="66" /></a>&#0160;Jen Wright, Inspired Yaffe Account gal</p>
<p>&#0160;</p>
<p>&#0160;</p>
<p>&#0160;</p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/yaffetidbits/~4/YNH48xBOENI" height="1" width="1"/>]]></content:encoded>


<category>Advertising</category>
<category>Holidays</category>
<category>Television</category>

<dc:creator>Mike McClure</dc:creator>
<pubDate>Thu, 22 Dec 2011 17:33:21 -0500</pubDate>

<feedburner:origLink>http://www.yaffetidbitsblog.com/2011/12/the-magic-of-macys.html</feedburner:origLink></item>
<item>
<title>Ad of the Week: Happy Honda Days</title>
<link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/yaffetidbits/~3/vSs8RjD30po/aotw-happy-honda-days.html</link>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.yaffetidbitsblog.com/2011/12/aotw-happy-honda-days.html</guid>
<description>Having spent the first eight years of my career working on the retail side of automotive advertising, I can appreciate a well-done holiday/end of year clearance event. Every car company does them. You can't watch the local news without at...</description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><span style="color: #2d2d2d;"><a href="http://yaffetidbits.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8347d063969e20162fe262d2f970d-popup" onclick="window.open( this.href, &#39;_blank&#39;, &#39;width=640,height=480,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,toolbar=no,directories=no,location=no,menubar=no,status=no,left=0,top=0&#39; ); return false" style="float: left;"></a><a href="http://yaffetidbits.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8347d063969e201675f1a4191970b-popup" onclick="window.open( this.href, &#39;_blank&#39;, &#39;width=640,height=480,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,toolbar=no,directories=no,location=no,menubar=no,status=no,left=0,top=0&#39; ); return false" style="float: left;"><img alt="Happy Honda Days spokesman" class="asset  asset-image at-xid-6a00d8347d063969e201675f1a4191970b" height="133" src="http://yaffetidbits.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8347d063969e201675f1a4191970b-320wi" style="margin: 0px 5px 5px 0px;" title="Happy Honda Days spokesman" width="254" /></a>Having spent the first eight years of my career working on the retail side of automotive advertising, I can appreciate a well-done holiday/end of year clearance event. Every car company does them. You can&#39;t watch the local news without at least a couple car ads in every commercial break. That&#39;s why I especially appreciate the low-key clever campaign Honda is doing this year with their Happy Honda Days ads. Not only are they well written, they did a lot of them - so you&#39;re a lot less likely to get bored watching the same one or two holiday ads over and over again.</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #2d2d2d;">The spots feature celebrity spokesperson, Patrick Warburton, who delivers the lines in a tongue-in-cheek, low-key tone that draws you in. The ads have fairly simple premises, with most featuring a car on a simple blue set with maybe a Christmas tree and a few patches of &quot;snow.&quot; Warburton looks almost Christmas Story-esque in his old-style hair cut, red striped tie and vee-neck sweaters. </span></p>
<p><span style="color: #2d2d2d;">Each ad kind of lampoons the traditional holiday car sale format. My favorite makes fun of the Lexus, giving a car with a big red bow on it ads. It starts with Warburton asking, &quot;Are you a millionaire? If you&#39;re not, you probably don&#39;t give cars for Christmas.&quot; He pulls the bow off the car as he says this and goes on to talk about how you might, however, need a car for yourself and now&#39;s a good time to get one. But, never one to take themselves seriously, at&#0160;the end he says you can&#39;t have the one he&#39;s standing by, because it&#39;s for his niece. While telling us this, he tries to put the bow back on it - because, after all, he IS a millionaire who can give cars as gifts.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="218" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/RVHac64gVDY" width="370"></iframe>&#0160;<span style="color: #2d2d2d;">Happy Honda Days - &quot;Car Gift&quot;</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #2d2d2d;">Another one I really like is where they make fun of the fact that all of these nationally produced ads (their&#39;s included) usually leave room at the end for a 5-second tag with an offer. So they open with the offer and then he makes fun of the convention of the normal ad format they&#39;ve been using. It ends playing with the &quot;dramatic&quot; cuts in closer each sentence until it&#39;s just his lips on camera saying &quot;too close.&quot; Good stuff.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="218" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/EIERGBQJmXw" width="370"></iframe>&#0160;<span style="color: #2d2d2d;">Happy Honda Days - Giant Offer</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #2d2d2d;">And let&#39;s wrap it up with the ad where they say they&#39;re not going to use the holiday angle to sell you, then use a different (and still holiday) angle blatantly at the end.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #2d2d2d;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="218" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/_7J5oc5Rtac" width="370"></iframe>&#0160;Happy Honda Days - The Holiday Angle</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #2d2d2d;">There are a lot more of them, if you want to watch them all. Most of them are suggested after you watch one of the ones above. It&#39;s my favorite holiday campaign. How about you? What holiday ad campaign has made you feel jolly all over? Or if you have a suggestion for another ad of the week, let me know that too.</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #2d2d2d;"><a href="http://yaffetidbits.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8347d063969e201675f1a3d00970b-popup" onclick="window.open( this.href, &#39;_blank&#39;, &#39;width=640,height=480,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,toolbar=no,directories=no,location=no,menubar=no,status=no,left=0,top=0&#39; ); return false" style="float: left;"><img alt="Santa Mike" class="asset  asset-image at-xid-6a00d8347d063969e201675f1a3d00970b" height="66" src="http://yaffetidbits.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8347d063969e201675f1a3d00970b-120wi" style="margin: 0px 5px 5px 0px;" title="Santa Mike" width="78" /></a>Mike McClure - Looking more like Santa every year.</span></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/yaffetidbits/~4/vSs8RjD30po" height="1" width="1"/>]]></content:encoded>


<category>Ad of the week</category>

<dc:creator>Mike McClure</dc:creator>
<pubDate>Wed, 21 Dec 2011 14:17:10 -0500</pubDate>

<feedburner:origLink>http://www.yaffetidbitsblog.com/2011/12/aotw-happy-honda-days.html</feedburner:origLink></item>
<item>
<title>Blogger outreach: Your secret weapon in the struggle for influence</title>
<link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/yaffetidbits/~3/XgKOUHE34MI/blogger-outreach-secret-weapon-in-struggle-for-influence.html</link>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.yaffetidbitsblog.com/2011/12/blogger-outreach-secret-weapon-in-struggle-for-influence.html</guid>
<description>Bloggers link directly to the hearts and minds of your customers. Equipped with intimate industry knowledge and engaging content, successful bloggers skyrocket to front pages of the search engines with the help from their dedicated army of readers. According to...</description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>
<p><span style="color: #2d2d2d;">
<p><a href="http://yaffetidbits.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8347d063969e201543888d6b8970c-popup" onclick="window.open( this.href, &#39;_blank&#39;, &#39;width=640,height=480,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,toolbar=no,directories=no,location=no,menubar=no,status=no,left=0,top=0&#39; ); return false" style="float: left;"><img alt="Polar bear blogger survival" class="asset  asset-image at-xid-6a00d8347d063969e201543888d6b8970c" src="http://yaffetidbits.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8347d063969e201543888d6b8970c-320wi" style="margin: 0px 5px 5px 0px;" title="Polar bear blogger survival" /></a>Bloggers link directly to the hearts and minds of your customers. Equipped with intimate industry knowledge and engaging content, successful bloggers skyrocket to front pages of the search engines with the help from their dedicated army of readers. According to <a href="http://thefuturebuzz.com/2009/12/10/blogging-stats-facts-data/" target="_blank" title="Blogging stats, facts &amp; data">2009 survey</a>, <strong>77% </strong><strong>of active Internet users read blogs</strong>, which makes <em>blogger outreach</em>an effective tool for any organization interested in marketing a product or a service online.</p>
<br /><br /><span style="color: #2d2d2d; text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Benefits</strong></span></span></p>
</p>
<p><span style="color: #2d2d2d;"><strong>People like people.</strong> Bloggers are not brands, but real individuals who cover topics they are passionate about. Readers who follow a specific blog develop a trust-based relationship and become part of an interactive community surrounding it. Trust allows bloggers to effectively communicate your message better than any form of ads because it is viewed as <em>word of mouth.</em></span></p>
<p><span style="color: #2d2d2d;"><strong>Targeted exposure. </strong>The biggest benefit of blogger outreach is talking directly into the ears of your customers. Successful blogs are niche-centered, and attract readers who are interested in that specific topic. This is segmentation at its best; you are conveying your business messages to the right people, at the right time. By writing about your product or brand in their post, bloggers can <em>introduce a new product, increase brand awareness and even make your content go viral.</em></span></p>
<p><span style="color: #2d2d2d;"><strong>SEO. </strong>In addition to speaking directly to your audience in an environment where they are more engaged, you will reap the benefits of moving up in the SEO world. Links provided by the blogger in the post will boost your rating on search engines.</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #2d2d2d; text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Creating a target list</strong></span></p>
<p><span style="color: #2d2d2d;">The first step in blogger outreach is creating a list of bloggers in your niche. Each blogger has their own voice and viewpoint; keep an eye on the ones that fit your brand. Before you can start reaching out to bloggers, you need to&#0160;crank out your excel file list. Aim for at least 100 blogs. New tools come out every day, but I have found these to be a good starter kit.</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #2d2d2d;">1. <a href="http://technorati.com/" target="_blank" title="Technorati.com"><em>Technorati.com</em></a>is a database which ranks blogs based on authority and groups they belong to. The authority score and blog rank will help you sort through influencers and their runner-ups.</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #2d2d2d;">2. <a href="http://alltop.com/" target="_blank" title="Alltop.com"><em>Alltop.com</em></a> is a good place to start if you don’t know what niche categories you are looking for. Alltop’s categories are numerous and clearly defined. Trending industry stories and top bloggers are listed on the top of each category page.</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #2d2d2d;">3 <a href="http://www.google.com/blogsearch" target="_blank" title="Google blog search"><em>Google.com/blogsearch</em></a><em> </em>is an advanced Google search function targeting only blogs. This function will cover everything Alltop and Technorati missed. </span></p>
<p><span style="color: #2d2d2d;">4. <strong><em>Blogroll</em></strong><strong>. </strong>Once you found a blog you like, it would be a good idea to check what other blogs the author links to. This list can be found on a right hand side of the page or in one of the headings and contains similar blogs to the one you are on. Additionally, check out if the blog belongs to any community or organization which would be indicated by a button or a link. </span></p>
<p><span style="color: #2d2d2d;">5. <a href="http://www.alexa.com/" target="_blank" title="Alexa.com"><em>Alexa.com</em></a><em> </em>will help you measure the numerous lists of blogs you have acquired by providing statistics on ranking, reach and page views. </span><br /><br /><span style="color: #2d2d2d;">Filled with unshaken confidence, gallons of coffee, and a room packed with interns you are sure to come out victorious. What are your thoughts on blogger outreach? What tool was your favorite? Comment below to feed your local bloggers.</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #2d2d2d;"><a href="http://yaffetidbits.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8347d063969e201675efe6863970b-popup" onclick="window.open( this.href, &#39;_blank&#39;, &#39;width=640,height=480,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,toolbar=no,directories=no,location=no,menubar=no,status=no,left=0,top=0&#39; ); return false" style="float: left;"><img alt="Dmitri Pivtorak" class="asset  asset-image at-xid-6a00d8347d063969e201675efe6863970b" src="http://yaffetidbits.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8347d063969e201675efe6863970b-120wi" style="margin: 0px 5px 5px 0px;" title="Dmitri Pivtorak" /></a>Dmitri Pivtorak, newest member of the Yaffe social media team.</span></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/yaffetidbits/~4/XgKOUHE34MI" height="1" width="1"/>]]></content:encoded>


<category>Digital Marketing</category>
<category>SEO</category>
<category>Social Media</category>
<category>Weblogs</category>

<dc:creator>Mike McClure</dc:creator>
<pubDate>Mon, 19 Dec 2011 12:19:07 -0500</pubDate>

<feedburner:origLink>http://www.yaffetidbitsblog.com/2011/12/blogger-outreach-secret-weapon-in-struggle-for-influence.html</feedburner:origLink></item>
<item>
<title>The D Show Winners Make Good Ads of the Week</title>
<link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/yaffetidbits/~3/TZ1qwzYUtBo/d-show-winners-make-good-aotw.html</link>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.yaffetidbitsblog.com/2011/12/d-show-winners-make-good-aotw.html</guid>
<description>Last night I attended The D Show, Detroit's annual award show for excellence in advertising and marketing. I saw some great work being done here in the D and thought I'd share some of them here in our regular Ad...</description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://yaffetidbits.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8347d063969e2015437b0acec970c-popup" onclick="window.open( this.href, &#39;_blank&#39;, &#39;width=640,height=480,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,toolbar=no,directories=no,location=no,menubar=no,status=no,left=0,top=0&#39; ); return false" style="float: left;"><img alt="The D Show" class="asset  asset-image at-xid-6a00d8347d063969e2015437b0acec970c" height="171" src="http://yaffetidbits.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8347d063969e2015437b0acec970c-320wi" style="margin: 0px 5px 5px 0px;" title="The D Show" width="149" /></a>Last night I attended The D Show, Detroit&#39;s annual award show for excellence in advertising and marketing. I saw some great work being done here in the D and thought I&#39;d share some of them here in our regular Ad of the Week feature. The best of show went to Chrysler&#39;s moving Super Bowl spot, &quot;Born of Choir&quot; featuring the Eminem song &quot;Lose Yourself&quot; and the imported from Detroit theme. We&#39;ve already featured this spot in&#0160;our Super Bowl recap, where we&#0160;named it our favorite ad of the event.&#0160;You can go to <a href="http://www.yaffetidbitsblog.com/2011/02/2011-best-worst-super-bowl-ads.html" target="_self" title="See Chrysler spot in our Super Bowl post">that post </a>to see it. There were several previous AOTW recipients who also won last night.</p>
<p>So, here are some of my favorites of the night. They are not necessarily the best in category winners, just winners that I found outstanding. One of my favorites also won last year and I kind of forgot about it until it won again this year. It&#39;s the Del Taco Super Special show. A series of weird and wacky skit webisodes designed to appeal to the off kilter, all night taco crowd. Here&#39;s a couple webisodes.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="281" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/itfj-kIAvG8" width="370"></iframe>&#0160;Del Taco Super Special Show, When Tacos Ruled The Earth</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">&#0160;</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="281" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/5QHlgIF9gT0" width="370"></iframe>&#0160;Del Taco Super Special Show, Bean There, Done That</p>
<p>The next D Show winner that I&#39;d like to share is a spot for Carhartt. It&#39;s a bunch of guys camping, when one of them gets attacked by a pack of wolves. But once the attack ends, the guy is left unharmed and one of the wolves is left without a tooth.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="281" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/9bpA7n8OYkM" width="370"></iframe>&#0160;Carhartt - Wolves</p>
<p>I saw a lot of great work, interestingly one of the best storytelling videos is one that one in the music category. It&#39;s a non-broadcast video for the US Navy about how an Indian born Muslim who was a&#0160;Kuwaiti refugee from Operation Desert Storm became a Navy Chaplin. It&#39;s a compelling human story told well.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="218" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/CfX1BQIuQkU" width="370"></iframe>&#0160;US Navy - Chaplain Balbale</p>
<p>And finally, I&#39;d like to share another winner in the non-broadcast video, it&#39;s part of the Ford Explorer Live series, featuring Nelly talking about the awesome sound system. It&#39;s a funny video with a douche bag director who keeps trying to add a lot of bells and whistles to the video and Nelly, who is trying to just have the video be a simple one with him showing you what great sound you can get in the Explorer. It&#39;s a fun bit that pokes fun at our side of the business. Enjoy</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="218" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/lJ4s-Dj-Rgw" width="370"></iframe>&#0160;Ford Explorer - Nelly 2011 Video</p>
<p>Well, that&#39;s just a taste of the great work here in the D that was honored last night at The D Show. What do you think? And if you went to the show, what were your favorites that I left out? And as always, if you have a suggestion for ad of the week, just leave it here in the comment section, email it to <a href="mailto:info@yaffe.com">info@yaffe.com</a>, send us a tweet <a href="http://twitter.com/theyaffegroup" target="_blank" title="Find us on twitter">@TheYaffeGroup </a>or drop us a note on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/TheYaffeGroup" target="_blank" title="Find us on Facebook">Facebook</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://yaffetidbits.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8347d063969e2015437b09c0a970c-popup" onclick="window.open( this.href, &#39;_blank&#39;, &#39;width=640,height=480,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,toolbar=no,directories=no,location=no,menubar=no,status=no,left=0,top=0&#39; ); return false" style="float: left;"><img alt="Mike McClure" class="asset  asset-image at-xid-6a00d8347d063969e2015437b09c0a970c" height="65" src="http://yaffetidbits.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8347d063969e2015437b09c0a970c-120wi" style="margin: 0px 5px 5px 0px;" title="Mike McClure" width="62" /></a>Mike McClure, Exec Creative Director - feeling a little D envy today.</p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/yaffetidbits/~4/TZ1qwzYUtBo" height="1" width="1"/>]]></content:encoded>


<category>Ad of the week</category>
<category>Advertising</category>
<category>Digital Marketing</category>
<category>Television</category>
<category>web video</category>

<dc:creator>Mike McClure</dc:creator>
<pubDate>Thu, 01 Dec 2011 17:53:16 -0500</pubDate>

<feedburner:origLink>http://www.yaffetidbitsblog.com/2011/12/d-show-winners-make-good-aotw.html</feedburner:origLink></item>

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