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  • Dear Oakley,

    Posted on May 30th, 2007 by Spike and currently 4 commenting.

    You make me sad.

    I have been a big fan since my college days and my first pair of e-wires. And I still have a few of your sunglasses that I run and cycle in from time-to-time, although you’ve been replaced with Ray-Ban for my everyday wear. But, like I said, I’m still a big fan.

    And then you went and did something uncharacteristic. This week you sent me a 22-page pamphlet. Six pages of it were product. The other 16 were you trying to explain your technology behind your polarized lenses. Yes, the big, colorful graphics were nice. But you took 16 pages trying to explain something to me that you could’ve done in two. And the paper you printed it on was cheap. Super-cheap as a matter-of-fact. Uncharacteristically cheap.

    To top is all off, there was the insert. You know, the one with the coupon that asks me to send you back some information about one of my friends so you can send him/her the same lame pamphlet. And as a ‘reward,’ you’ll send us both an Oakley decal. Seriously. Do you think that we’re excited about getting a freakin’ decal after we spend $130 on a pair of sunglasses? Do you think that’s enough of a reward to make me want to take time out to look up a friend’s info, fill out the card and drop it in the mail?

    Whoever convinced you to do this needs to get smacked on the back of the head. You’re better than this, Oakley. Much better. Don’t stoop to levels that you don’t need to stoop to. Start acting like the brand you are. We’ll all be better off for it.

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  • The Falconer Knows

    Posted on May 28th, 2007 by Virginia and currently 5 commenting.

    Falconer.JPG Greetings blog readers! It is great to be back after a wonderful vacation last week. My husband and I made a few stops, but the most remarkable was a few days of relaxation at the Greenbrier resort in West Virginia. The Greenbrier was established in the late 18th century and has hosted sports stars, heads of state, and thousands of families like ours since then. The Greenbrier is also known for the secret cold war Emergency Relocation Center - only acknowledged in 1992, the ERC was underground bunker built in the early 60’s to allow congress to continue to operate in the event of nuclear attack.

    On our first full day at the resort, my husband and I took a beginning lesson in falconry. It may be the “sport of kings” and enjoy great popularity in other parts of the world, but falconry is pretty rare in the US. There are 40,000 certified falconers in England and only 4,000 in the entire US. During the lesson, our falconers asked if we had ever worked with birds of prey before. He was not surprised to hear we hadn’t. Falconer Dave said, “People who come to the Greenbrier have been a lot of places and seen and done a lot of things, but most have never experienced this. If you enjoy this, tell the folks you meet up at the main resort to come join us.”

    It was a simple comment in a spectacular hour, but it struck me that a bird expert from West Virginia understands what many big companies struggle with - knowing what makes them special and how to capitalize on it. Just last week Dell announced that after 20+ years of only selling direct to customers, they would begin selling desktops through an intimate little retailer called Wal-Mart. Dell currently has a direct relationship with millions of customers and, should they choose to make those connections 2-way conversations and improve their customer experience, could return to being one of the biggest word of mouth success stories of all time. The direct model could be a competitive advantage against which manufacturers selling anonymously through retail would never have a chance. Upon reading the news that Dell was going retail instead of trying to improve the business advantages of “being direct”, I considered buying a plane ticket for falconer Dave to visit Round Rock.

    I hope you’ll take a post-Memorial Day moment to think about what makes your business special and whether or not you are using that to its full advantage in the marketplace.

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  • The Force is with you (kinda)

    Posted on May 25th, 2007 by Spike and currently 0 commenting.

    Via the Wall Street Journal, it seems that Papa Lucas is loosening his stranglehold on the Star Wars franchise and is going to release clips on starwars.com that fans can cut, add to and remix to create their own scenes and upload to the site.

    You see, Lucas is notorious for suing anyone that might even be thinking of encroaching on his intellectual property. And according to the article, YouTube has over 98,000 videos relating to Star Wars ” that’d be a lot of suing and a lot of happy lawyers.

    But instead of fighting to try and regain control, Lucasfilm is embracing not having control. Not only that, but they are trying to make starwars.com the center of the SW video universe (pun totally intended).

    They think it will be a great way to re-engage their fans and keep the franchise alive. That remains to be seen. But they even poke fun at themselves and let you remix and edit that annoying Jar-Jar:

    One category devoted to a much-maligned lizard-like character from the three “Star Wars” prequels urges fans: “Don’t be shy. Here’s your chance to edit Jar Jar.”

    Now your talkin’.

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  • Pitch

    Posted on May 24th, 2007 by Geno and currently 5 commenting.

    This past Tuesday, I tuned in to watch ‘On the Lot.’ I really wasn’t sure I wanted to add another reality “based show into my life. But the first episode hooked me for more.

    I think the first episode was brilliant because it focused on ‘the Hollywood pitch.’ Brent Ratner hit it on the head when he sets up the opening episode. They know these filmmakers can make films but can they sell their idea, the pitch. Ratner faces this moment of truth, as do most of us. I’ve stumbled, and mumbled my way through internal pitches and client pitches. Unfortunately pitching takes a learning curve. And we all eventually face the reality of hoping we get another chance to learn from our mistakes.

    ‘On the Lot’ really hit home to me, I felt for the judges, their feelings had to go from being embarrassed to pissed. If this is that once in a lifetime opportunity, take it. Don’t make excuses. It’s been a while since I’ve had to show my portfolio during a job interview, but some of the best advice came during an interview early in my career. As I pitched my first piece of work I started with ‘let me preference this,’ the interviewer stopped me. He said don’t waste your time and mine, show me what you did that you like, nothing else. I took that advice, and I give it every time I review a portfolio. I don’t care if all you can show me is one piece, tell me that story. Tell me why you like it, why you think it works, don’t make excuses.

    Thank you ‘On the Lot’ for reminding me how important it is in telling the story. It takes confidence, a lot of hard work, and learning from your mistakes.

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  • Viral Videos: Pros and Cons

    Posted on May 23rd, 2007 by Spike and currently 3 commenting.

    So as we are a company that brings the disciplines of identity and word of mouth marketing together, we get approached quite often about creating viral videos ” not something we do, really, as a marketing effort, but it is under the umbrella of WOMM. And I thought that it might be a good exercise to explore the pros and cons of viral videos.

    First, let’s understand what ‘viral marketing’ is. The Word of Mouth Marketing Association defines it as: ‘Creating entertaining or informative messages that are designed to be passed along in an exponential fashion, often electronically or by email.’

    So let’s jump right in with the pros (and assume that is was done right and speaks to the right crowd):

    • Most of the time, it costs a lot less than a full-blown ad campaign
    • It spreads immediately
    • It has a large, international reach
    • It helps create awareness
    • It’s entertaining

    And the cons:

    • It doesn’t necessarily increase sales
    • It isn’t sustainable
    • No matter how creative it is, it’s risky
    • Everyone’s doing it (now)
    • It’s still ‘AT’ marketing

    I’m not saying don’t do viral videos ” they definitely have their place. But what I am saying is make sure you know what you’re aiming for before you commission an agency to create one for you. Realize what the benefits might be. And be sure to explore other WOMM options as well.

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