Ford Mustang’s Marketing Is All About Unleashing Your Inner Beast

by Stephen Young on February 29, 2012

This is shameful — I haven’t posted since Valentine’s day! For good reason, I promise. I was fortunate enough to land a new job as a Communications Manager with a Dallas-based lending company. I started with the company shortly after my last blog post, and I’ve been going non-stop since then. Equally as shameful: it’s taken me a week to update my job status on LinkedIn. I hope that doesn’t blow what little social media “cred” I’ve been able to build up.

Now that I’ve been immersed in my new position at work, I think everything can go back to normal. I still have a lot to learn, but now I can get back to showing some TLC to my blog here.

What’s a stronger way to come back than a blog post about one of America’s most iconic muscle cars? I may have stated on here before that I’ve always been a Chevy guy; my first car was a 1982 Chevrolet Camaro Z28. And, yes, I’ll assure you that I’ve never had a mullet, but that doesn’t stop people from asking.

Being a Chevy guy aside, I have nothing but the utmost respect for the Ford Mustang. I really dig the latest generation’s body style and the way it mixes the classic body lines with a more modern design. The only thing that I like more than the Mustang is Ford’s marketing behind it. It’s not just about Ford’s Mustang — it’s about your Mustang. To see what I mean, take a look at this commercial for the 2013 Ford Mustang:

Different strokes for different folks. You want tribal decals on your Stang? Go for it. You want it blacked out and the paint to match the wheels? Done. I love the positioning that everyone has an inner Mustang, but you just need to unleash it. I can’t think of a better branding statement for the iconic model. Also, it’s on-point with the branding of previous models; just take a look at the 2012 Mustang Customizer to see how you can build your own beast and battle it against other people online.

You get to mess with perfection without messing with the Mustang heritage. That’s the key to these marketing moves, too. It’s not just about what’s under the hood or the technological advances, it’s more about the intangible benefits associated with being an icon in the automotive industry with almost 50 years of history. It’s about what the Mustang means to you and what you want to feel when you’re behind the wheel.

Well planned and perfectly executed throughout. This is a great example of taking an engaging idea and building a campaign out of it that you can improve on from year to year as the product evolves.

automotive marketing, Mustang Customizer, New 2013 Ford Mustang

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Is This the Best or Wurst Valentine’s Day Ad?

by Stephen Young on February 14, 2012

I’m voting this wurst as the best Valentine’s Day ad that I’ve seen.

For good reason, most Valentine’s Day ads are all about flowers, chocolates, and cards. Some are about freakishly huge stuffed bears, but those are the exceptions. Those ads usually speak to guys who are shopping at the last minute, typically in a tent in front of a grocery store, so they don’t go home empty handed.

The thing I like about the ad below is that it contains none of that. It’s simple, slightly crude, and speaks to guys with a different message. Take a look:

Valentine's Day ads, WAX agency Calgary Canada, wurst.ca, crude advertising

Click to enlarge. Wait...

Yeah, you’re probably rolling your eyes right now and that’s fine. It’s not groundbreaking advertising, and it sure won’t be included at the next Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, but it serves its purpose. The agency responsible for the ad is WAX, Calgary Canada.

As a married guy who spent an undisclosed amount of money on your standard Valentine’s Day fare, I saw this ad on the I Believe in Advertising site today and it made the 5th grader inside of me smile. And that’s all I really want for Valentine’s Day. Well, that and now a bratwurst.

To all of my readers…

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Local Agency Launches a YouTube Series That’s All About Social

by Stephen Young on January 26, 2012

Who doesn’t love YouTube? When you hear about a funny, possibly viral video, when was the last time it wasn’t found on YouTube?

While I may use YouTube a few times a week to watch videos, I don’t really use it to upload videos. Yeah, I have an account, but I think I only have one video actually uploaded. And it’s of my cats. OK, I just read that and it’s more depressing that I thought it would be.

My issues aside, I do have to give props to when a person or company comes up with a good idea for YouTube, and right now I’d like to highlight a local agency that has done just that. Anchor Marketing & Design has created a YouTube series called Anchor Chat, and the concept is simple — celebrities are interviewed about their social media efforts via a web cam. The series launched this week with an interview with BriTANick, which consists of Nick Kocher and Brian McElhaney, and the pair writes, directs, edits, and acts in all of the videos on the BriTANick YouTube channel.

The BriTANick channel has over 15 million views, which is really impressive, and probably a lot more views than my single cat video. Here’s the official press release about the new Anchor Chat series and the first video featuring the comedy duo:

advertising in Ft. Worth, Anchor Chat, Anchor Marketing & Design, BriTANick, fort worth social media strategy, YouTube

Anchor Chat with Brian McElhaney and Nick Kocher of BriTANicK
The BriTANicK stars describe how YouTube has opened “every door” they’ve walked through in Anchor’s new web series.

Fort Worth, Texas – January 23, 2012 – Anchor Chat, Anchor Marketing & Design’s new YouTube series in which celebrities discuss their social media efforts, launches today with a BriTANicK interview. BriTANicK stars Nick Kocher and Brian McElhaney discuss their YouTube success with Anchor’s PR & Social Media Manager, Katie-Rose Watson, via webcam. McElhaney succinctly defines the moral of the interview: “YouTube has been everything. The fact that YouTube exists and you have this tool as an actor or filmmaker or comedian or whatever, you should be using it.”

Their audience, Kocher states, has always been each other. Kocher recommends: “Make the best product you can so you like it. Don’t try to make anything you think other people will like.” With nearly 15 million views under BriTANicK’s belt and over 80,000 subscribers, Kocher and McElhaney are YouTube celebrities. In the interview with Anchor, the comedic duo discuss the many opportunities their YouTube channel has provided them with, how they fell into their “day job” as the voices of Cartoon Network, and what we can expect next from BriTANicK. (Spoiler alert: a full-length feature film may be in their future.) Viewers might be surprised that neither Kocher nor McElhaney considers himself to be a comedian, but rather an actor and a filmmaker, respectively. McElhaney explains what it was like to work with Academy Award-winning actress Charlize Theron and Kocher admits he wasn’t entirely comfortable being naked on camera in the Red Productions film Searching for Sonny, filmed in Fort Worth.

“We look at people who have 200,000 subscribers and 100,000,000 views and we’re like, ‘We’re nobody!’” says McElhaney. Kocher adds, “That’s a crazy amount of people who’ve seen our stuff, but it doesn’t feel like anything as opposed to when 200 people come to see our live show and laugh at a joke…it feels like God’s smiling on you.” After being asked what advise they can give people who want to start YouTube channels for themselves, their companies, or their clients, McElhaney advises: “Do it. That’s the only advice.”

Fans of BriTANicK can discuss the interview on Twitter using the hashtag #anchorchatbritanick and can follow BriTANicK @BriTANicK, Nick @NickKocher and Brian @BJMcElhaney. For more information and a schedule of shows, visit www.BriTANicK.com.

Now that you have a little background on the channel, now take a look at the first video in the Anchor Chat series:

I had never heard of BriTANick before watching this video, but the duo’s channel, as well as the Anchor Chat series, is on my radar now.

The only critique I have going forward would be to trim the video length down. It might be a personal thing, but I usually enjoy videos around 3–5 minutes long, and I begin to tune out after that. Also, I would stick with the #AnchorChat hashtag for all the videos and not use a custom one for each video (like the #AnchorChatBriTANick hashtag for this video). That way all of the videos are linked and it’s easier to remember the hashtag.

I look forward to seeing what other videos pop up in the Anchor Chat series, and I am psyched to see a local agency doing something great with social media. I’d love to hear your feedback on Anchor Chat, BriTANick, YouTube, or anything else you’d like to chat about when it comes to this post. Comment below to let me know!

I’ll leave you with a little more information about BriTANicK and Anchor Marketing & Design from the official press release:

About BriTANicK

McElhaney and Kocher founded BriTANicK in early 2008. Together, Kocher and McElhaney write, direct, edit, and act in all of their BriTANicK videos. They both grew up in Atlanta, Georgia and attended NYU. They are each one half of the voice of Cartoon Network. McElhaney recently acted opposite Charlize Theron in Young Adult. Kocher will appear on multiple episodes of MTV’s new show, I Just Want My Pants Back premiering February 2, 2012 at 11:00 P.M. McElhaney and Kocher starred in the Red Productions film Searching for Sonny opposite Minka Kelly and Jason Dohring. Both appear in Joss Whedon’s new film Much Ado About Nothing. Besides acting in their videos, Kocher and McElhaney perform live sketch, stand-up, and improv comedy as BriTANicK every month in New York City’s Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre.

About Anchor Marketing & Design

Anchor Marketing & Design is Fort Worth’s creative marketing agency. Founded in 2008, Anchor specializes in strategic marketing and branding, which includes: brand creation and management, website design and development, public relations, social media, and more. For additional information about services and to view a showcase of work, visit www.anchormd.com.

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SMC Fort Worth Presents — #Crowdsourcing: Social Media Measurement

by Stephen Young on January 20, 2012

I know it’s Friday, and the last thing you want to think about is what’s going on next week (especially on a weekday). But, this is something that you should be excited about! It’s a no-brainer — if you have social media measurement questions, or if you have knowledge on the topic that you’d like to share, then this is the Social Media Club of Fort Worth event for you.

Plus, it’s free. So what’s not to love?

To have your brain filled with all kinds of gems regarding social media measurement, metrics, and return on investment (ROI), then just be at Times Ten Cellars this Tuesday, January 24, from 6–8 p.m..

Here’s the official SMCFW posting for the event:

Are there any questions that you’ve been wanting to ask about social media measurement, metrics or ROI, but haven’t had the opportunity? Do you have social media knowledge that others might benefit from?

Join us Tuesday, Jan. 24 from 6-8 p.m. at Times Ten Cellars for our quarterly SMC Fort Worth crowdsourcing event that will put all your social media measurement queries to rest.

There is no cost to attend this event, we just ask that you register via Eventbrite: http://smcfwcrowdsourcing01242012.eventbrite.com.

#SMCFW, #Crowdsourcing, online metrics, return on investment (ROI), SMC of Fort Worth, Times Ten Cellars, Ft. Worth advertising and marketingWe will have moderators fielding questions from attendees about social media measurement, metrics and ROI, that will be answered by other attendees. The goal is to create a forum of discussion on social media measurement and have your questions (big or small, simple or complex) answered by other professionals. SMCFW is made up of individuals from various industries and backgrounds, so you’re going to hear a range of insights and perspectives, and hopefully, end up with a thorough, well-rounded answer.

Everyone can benefit from this event — whether your social media knowledge is very minimal, intermediate or advanced, this event is for you! We need all levels of experience and knowledge to make this work, so come to ask and/or come to answer.

I unfortunately wasn’t able to attend the last SMCFW #Crowdsourcing event back in September of last year, but I heard that I missed a great, informative  time. Needless to say, my plan is to be there for this one! I did attend the SMCFW event last January at Times Ten Cellars, and I can tell you that it’s the perfect venue with a tasty wine selection.

Just click that Eventbrite link to register, and I hope to see you there!

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Print Appreciation: When Ads Make You Say “WTF?!”

by Stephen Young on January 17, 2012

And I don’t mean “why the face,” either.

Some ads you come across just make you wonder what the client and agency were thinking. A nice way to put that would be missing the mark. But in this case it has to be WTF?!

Newport cigarettes. If you opened a magazine in the 1990s (or possibly before), then you can probably recall the orange and green ads. They usually depict a group of people having fun by doing something active. Why wouldn’t you think “fun” and “active” as the theme for a cigarette ad? When I think of inhaling cigarette smoke, the first thing I want to do is test my lung capacity on a trumpet around a bunch of friends (an actual Newport ad, though it may have been a saxophone). The ads have been the same for easily over 20 years with almost no change. Sometimes the font was white instead of orange, but that was about it.

This one, though, just beats all. I was watching television when my wife was flipping through one of her magazines. She started to laugh, so of course I asked what was so funny. Then she turned the magazine around to show me this ad:

Newport pleasure cigarettes ad, funny print ads, old advertising campaigns, wtf commercials

Just stare at it; let it just wash over you. Now let it out…WTF?!

So many questions flooded my mind — why a pizza? And why is it heart-shaped (I know why, but still, why?!)? Why does she look so happy to see the pizza? If she takes a slice, will they be engaged according Newport law? And, of course, what does this have to do with cigarettes and/or pleasure?

This seriously has to be one of the most ridiculous ads I’ve seen in a while. Yet, I secretly love it. I guess it’s not a secret now, but it is just too random not to appreciate on some level.

I’d love to hear your thoughts about this gem of an ad, so feel free to comment below to let me know what you think!

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Social Media Club of Fort Worth’s January Tweetup Tomorrow!

by Stephen Young on January 11, 2012

The first Social Media Club of Fort Worth Tweetup of 2012 is tomorrow night at Bar Louie! If you’re thinking to yourself that the January Tweetup was supposed to be at the Cowtown Diner, well, it was. But, due to the unfortunate timing of a change of ownership at the diner, the venue won’t have a new liquor license until Monday.

The SMCFW pulled some last-minute strings and secured a new, but equally as awesome, place for everyone to kick the year off right.

Here’s the info from the SMCFW’s Facebook invite:

January Tweetup at Bar Louie **Venue Changed**

Due to Changes with Cowtown Diner ownership and liquor licensing the location of Thursday’s Tweetup has changed to Bar Louie on 7th St. Please help spread the word!

Social Media Club of Fort Worth, #SMCFW, January Tweetup, Bar Louie, 7th Street

Kick off 2012 with Social Media Club Fort Worth at our first Tweetup of the new year, Thursday, Jan. 12 from 6-8 p.m. at Bar Louie!

Come have a drink, chat with fellow DFW professionals and social media enthusiasts, and see what SMC Fort Worth is all about.

We look forward to seeing you on January 12! Don’t forget to tweet during the event with hashtag #SMCFW.

I was looking forward to going to the Cowtown Diner again because of the nostalgia factor of it being the scene of the SMCFW launch party back in August of 2010. That aside, I have never been to Bar Louie and I am psyched to try out a new place. Plus, you can’t hang around with a greater group of people than the SMCFW crew.

Hope to see you there!

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When Asking for a 12-Incher, Be Sure to Pronounce Responsibly

by Stephen Young on January 10, 2012

I initially wrote off the below advertisement as a generic tongue-in-cheek offering. Let’s get real — in features a 12-incher, the word “pianist,” and the product name is Cockburn’s. It has all the elements of an eye-roller.

Take a look for yourself:

I watched it a second time, and then even a third. Somewhere during those additional viewings is when it occurred to me that I was pronouncing the name of the port incorrectly. Written phonetically, it is actually pronounced “Co-burn’s.”

Cockburn's port, Pronounce responsibly, 12 incher, funny commercials, tongue-in-cheek advertising

Don't ask how they met.

I was so busy tossing this ad aside that it took a couple extra viewings to actually get the “Pronounce responsibly” tagline. I just chalked up the tagline’s meaning to the genie and the guy with the unfulfilled wish. But, the tagline actually applies to that scene and the product itself.

Considering that I can imagine how many people actually request a glass of Cockburn’s port at a bar, the ad actually serves a good purpose as a humorous reminder as to how you should pronounce the product’s name.

Now that I actually get the ad, I do still have one gripe: when advertising a product that is perceived to be high-end, and has “Special Reserve” stamped on it, is humor really the way to go when branding the product? Normally I would have to say no because it could damage the brand equity, but I think it is executed well in this case and serves an important purpose.

What do you think of the spot? Is it a great piece of branding, or just another innuendo-laced snoozer? Comment below to let me know!

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Not the Advertisement You Want to See on a Restaurant Menu

by Stephen Young on January 5, 2012

I hate to find humor in advertising goofs because they can really happen to anyone. I know I’ve made my fair share of slip-ups, and if those gave someone else a chuckle, then that evens out the karma scale, I suppose.

One of the goofs I find the most amusing has to deal with advertising placement. For example, if you’re watching a true crime show about an online stalker or a Craigslist killer, and then the first commercial up during a break is an ad for an online dating site. That would be an awkward ad placement.

I actually stumbled across a funny ad placement last night when ordering Italian food from one of my favorite places. I picked up a newly designed menu months ago, but I hadn’t looked at it until last night. I did notice months ago that the restaurant switched from a two-color menu to a full-color, two-sided menu. I thought that was a pretty cool upgrade. I also thought it was cool that the restaurant decided to rent ad space to local businesses on the menu.

What wasn’t cool, though, was this pest control ad right next to the pasta section:

awkward advertising placement, funny ads, local marketing tips

If you can’t tell right away what that is, then let me help — it’s a roach on a cracker. Yeah. Huh, spaghetti or lasagna … I wonder which the roach would prefer?

Not that the roach ad swayed my desire to eat there, but I can see how someone might find that ad on a food menu to be a little off-putting. You could also make the argument that out of all the ads on that menu, the roach ad gets the most attention.

Now, I would love to hear about the most funny, random, weird, etc., ad placement that you’ve come across. Feel free to comment below to tell me all about it! For more on awkward ad placement, check out this article on the Business Insider site.

Decisions, decisions.

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5 Social Media Truths Going Into 2012

by Stephen Young on January 3, 2012

I could go through and recap all of the great marketing and social media achievements for 2011, but that is easy enough to find with a simple search over on Mashable. Facebook finished the year on top, and that wasn’t really a shock to anyone. But, hey, there was Google+!

… Anyone? …

I want to look into the future and share what I feel are five social media truths as we start 2012. These points can apply to people or brands in social media, but to keep things simple, I will reference brands/companies below.

1. Get in the conversation if you haven’t already.
In the social media wold, it’s pretty cliché to talk about the “conversation.” Like beating a dead horse, if you will. But, it’s worth repeating because so many brands are not involved in the conversations about their products and services. Not only are they not involved, many are not even aware the conversation is happening. Whether it’s not being involved with social media channels, or they’re just not being used correctly, time is being wasted. Or, your brand is on Facebook, Twitter, etc., and you’re just blasting out marketing info for your products. That’s not social; it’s one-way marketing.

If you’re on Facebook, try getting feedback from your “fans.” Run a contest that is relevant to your brand — if you have a new product coming out, let your fans vote on the name of it. If you’re a restaurant and you have a new menu entry to add, name it after one of your fans. Engage them, find out what they like, and — gasp — what they don’t like. If you’re active through social media and aren’t getting the results you want, then show some love. Not getting retweeted or replied to on Twitter, then when was the last time you replied or retweeted someone? Make the initiative. Also, find new followers that you might not normally would. This can be people outside of your industry or with different interests from yours.

social media tips for 2012, social media changes in 2011, Facebook Timeline, Twitter updates, YouTube changes2. Original content is king.
This one is easy! It comes down to this: what can you give me that I can’t get somewhere else? Well, it’s easy to explain, but it can be a little more challenging to execute. Let’s say you’re a home improvement store, then try a blog about home improvement projects. But, be sure to keep your content on the same page as your branding; if you tout that your store makes home improvement easy, then carry that theme over to your blog with short, informative posts that are easy to understand.

Also, just because you have original content, it doesn’t mean that you should blast it on every social media channel that you’re a part of. Sure, it’s OK to have some things on Facebook and Twitter the same, but not everything. If you have your Facebook and Twitter account linked, go ahead and fix that now. If you put everything on Twitter and Facebook, then why would I follow you on both? I only need one or the other.

3. It’s fun to share, but remember security.
I won’t rehash the whole thing here, but you will definitely want to read my post here for some great Internet security tips from Special Agent David Bentz.

It boils down to this — you can’t prevent cyber crimes completely, and you should be cautious of anything you share online. For example, even if your Facebook page has all of the security settings activated, that information can be accessed if someone truly wants it.

4. Before you post, keep in mind the possible backlash.
There was a recent incident locally with a restaurant that posted a negative political message to its Facebook page. It blew up quickly. I’m sure you’ve heard similar stories of people posting things on social channels that they shouldn’t have, whether on purpose or accident, and a PR nightmare followed. If you want to avoid this issue altogether, it’s a good idea to stay away from sex, religion, and politics. Those three topics rarely lead to positive social conversations, as they invite opposing views. While that sounds like a great idea for intelligent conversation, it doesn’t work that way online.

If you do find yourself on the wrong end of a backlash over something that was posted to your site, just don’t delete it. That will only make it worse and you will be called out on it. It is OK to delete any user post that contains profanity or racism, though.

5. The future of social media is all about adapting.
While I opened this post joking about Google+, in reality the site was a benchmark in social media, even if only because of what it did to Facebook. Some of the options that Google+ offered showed Facebook that it would have to adapt to stay on top. Facebook isn’t alone in changing up things (like the new Timeline, for example); have you seen your Twitter page recently? What about YouTube? All three sites have made changes, and not just cosmetic changes. The goal is to make it easier for you to interact, integrate, and share with others, regardless what site you’re on.

These changes mean that you will have to adapt. Period. You might have to learn new security settings, a new way to attach an image or embed a video in your post, or you might have to learn how to use a whole new social media site. While you adapt, just remember that you don’t have to have your brand on every social site available. Maybe Facebook and Twitter make sense for your brand. Maybe YouTube is where you need to be. It all depends on your brand and the communication that you want to have with your customers.

That wraps up my thoughts on social media truths as we head into 2012, but I want to know what truths you feel are important this year for social media. I’d love to know what you think, so please comment below to let me know!

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