Winery’s Uncorked Creativity Generates Social ‘Buzz’

Posted on June 12, 2009 by Kelley Williamson

Several weeks ago I received an email from a friend who recently applied for an amazing job at a California winery. This innovative winery is looking for a “Social Media Whiz.” It’s a temporary (6 month) position that calls for wine tasting, exploring vineyards, learning about winemaking and then reporting off on these experiences online.

The vineyard must have known there would be applicants lining up among the grapes, because they added a unique twist to the application process: instead of sending a resume to apply, every candidate creates a video about why they are the right one for the job. This means every wine-loving ‘twit’ out there is sending their video to everyone in their email, Facebook, MySpace and Twitter contact lists and asking each to vote for them. Out of hundreds of videos that will be submitted, only ten videos will be chosen by the public as the best. The ten candidates will then be interviewed for the job.

At the end of the voting period, potentially thousands of people will be checking the winery Web site to vote for their favorite candidate. Talk about a great marketing strategy! The selection process becomes a promotional vehicle before the real promotion (blogs, etc.) even begins! I’d like to see their Web stats after this promotion is over!

It is our job as marketers to find these kinds of ‘guerilla marketing’ opportunities for our clients, especially in a down economy. Marketing doesn’t have to be expensive – just creative and memorable. Before receiving the email from my friend, I had never heard of this winery. But now I find myself researching them online, browsing their Web site and checking out their wine selection. Oh and P.S. I did go back and vote for my friend!

(Long) Live the Brand!

Posted on June 3, 2009 by Randee Gannon

What brands are you loyal to? And why?

That was the ‘elevator’ question (no really, we were in the elevator!) I recently posed to a colleague following a rather insightful meeting with a client about….you guessed it – branding. Corporations today (healthcare or not) are busier defining and protecting their brands than ever before. Social media is in full swing, which means companies are ‘out there,’ for better or worse. Brands are created every day online whether a company participates or not. Heck, personal branding is now exemplified online. But that’s another blog.

Before you answer my question about brand loyalty – I’m guessing you’re still pondering – let’s further muddy the waters by agreeing on the definition of ‘brand.’ I tell clients:

It’s not what you say, it’s what you do: ‘live the brand’.
It’s the emotion you want to evoke when a customer experiences your product.
It’s a concept that lives in the minds of your customers.
It’s not a logo or a slogan (pleeeeease!).

I call this muddy water because most marketing-types like me agree that there is very little clarity around the conference table on this subject. It’s a complicated concept. We’ve all heard someone say, “I don’t believe in branding.” Or, the old mantra in healthcare, “It sounds too much like advertising.”

I’m loyal to Southwest Airlines – they are almost always on time and are very pragmatic and practical. Their employees live the brand. All without a slogan! I like that. Also, I am in love with the Lucky Brand clothing line. Why? Their ‘peace and love’ concept makes me feel young and carefree – two things I most definitely am not! (But used to be!!) However, I don’t want to wear the logo – the Lucky Brand is all about how I FEEL shopping for and wearing their clothes.

These aren’t very sophisticated examples – and quite frankly, they weren’t very easy to come by either. Which goes to prove how difficult it is to successfully create a brand that is meaningful and memorable.

Your turn! What products, and especially services do you love and why?

Real Moms Text! (Or, if you can’t reach ‘em, text ‘em)

Posted on April 17, 2009 by Randee Gannon

We’re into social media here at Dobies. But unlike the cobbler’s kids who have no shoes, our kids are social media gurus. That’s why, when we recently dove into the world of moms and will-be-moms to research and write a marketing plan for a hospital client’s obstetrics department, I was able to passionately endorse the strategy that we reach new Gen-Y moms via text messaging. Because younger moms text. Heck, now even old moms text. Of course, I’m an old mom – my kids are teenagers and ‘young adults’ (it’s hard not to smirk at that description, but that’s another blog).

I’ve come a long way from the short, one-syllable words that beginners use like yes, no, huh? I’m even able to have complete arguments by text, a necessary line of communication with teenagers. I even have actual conversations with other grown adults about important stuff. For example, last week, Kelley (who works here at Dobies) and I discussed via text what newspaper ad to run for a client. I happened to be having lunch with this client at the time, so Kelley sent a text asking me to discuss this particular topic while we ate our chips and salsa. So, I did. Thirty seconds later, we were all content because we had checked something quickly and efficiently off our lists.

But compared to Generation Y women (those aged 9-31), my accomplishment is mundane. Our next generation of moms has been raised in a world of instant information and connection. To effectively reach these young women, we need to join their world, because they’ve left ours way behind. In this case, ‘joining’ means offering pregnancy and parenting information via opt-in text messaging. I haven’t felt this good about a communication strategy since I texted my daughter to ask her to text a friend to text her mother to ask if she was interested in car pooling. It worked.