Archive for May, 2010

What’s Your Brand’s Story? A Tattoo That Tells All!

May 30, 2010 • Atlanta, GA USA – What’s your brand’s story?

For 21-year-old Atlanta Whole Foods Cashier Sarah, she wears her personal brand story on her “sleeve” – literally – a tic-toc-toe board tattoo.

Sarah

“I am seeking ‘X’s and ‘O’s – hugs and kisses – for a lifetime of love,” says Sarah confidently with a huge, glowing smile pointing to her tattoo as she scans my groceries. Her brand is clear; concise; and is focused on the future; not the past.

But, that’s not the story Sarah shared with me two minutes earlier when I asked her for the backstory behind her tic-tac-toe tattoo prominently “branded” on her left arm.

“Please don’t judge me by my tattoo,” Sarah requested. “I got it when I was 16. I was hanging out with a friend who was getting a tattoo. While waiting, I saw on the board that if you got a tic-tac-toe tattoo, it was free. So, I thought I would be cool to get it … and in the most obvious place possible.”

Sarah's 'Branding'

“Are you happy with your tattoo,” I asked her. “No. I’ve looked into getting it removed – and covered – and it’s just too expensive. I’ve learned to just live with it,” she said.

“Sarah, you need a new story,” I suggested. She agreed. By the time I had paid for my groceries – I had re-positioned Sarah with a new “branding” story that didn’t require the removal of her ‘branding’ on her arm. [Sarah re-tells her "before" and "after" "branding" story in the video (below) while she was on her break.]

I am a GREAT! IDEAologist. I love thinking of ideas. Big ideas. Ideas that can make a difference.

For more than 20 years, clients continue to say, “That’s a great idea!” Or, “That’s GREAT!

Thinking of great ideas – to help a client with a marketing; promotion; buzz marketing campaign; or, social media marketing challenge – usually takes longer than the time it takes to ring-up $112.69 in groceries. Today, it took just two minutes to change how Sarah sees herself, her tattoo and her future – a future filled with X’s and O’s – hugs and kisses – for a lifetime of love.

That’s the power of a GREAT! Idea.

Short URL For This Story

• http://j.mp/TattooTellsAll

Postscript: (7/21/10)

Associated Press – What’s the big deal, Mom? It’s just a tattoo!

Microsoft Kin Gets Social Media Marketing ‘Exposure’ With “Secret Launch Party” in Atlanta

May 28, 2010 • Atlanta, GA USA – Wow! Who knew Microsoft could be so hip or so social?

I was blown away by both the new Microsoft Kin smartphone launch party in Atlanta Thursday (5/27) night and how its Agency, Exposure, conceived, implemented and promoted the party. (Plus, six other Microsoft KIN launch parties across America.)

The time and location of the party in Atlanta was still a secret as of 3:49 pm Thursday – just hours before the concert! “FREE SHOW! More info @ 4pm!,” tweeted Hip Hop Artist YelaWolf earlier on Thursday.

At 4 pm, the Artists’ reveal tweets started to activate the flash mob partygoer fans:

YelaWolf's Tweet Reveals "Secret Party" Location

• “… big boi, yelawolf & jay electronica puttin’ on a free show at 8 pm @ the yaarab Shriners temple, 400 ponce de Leon ave in atl,” tweeted Hip Hop Artist Big Boi of OUTKAST.
• … Yelawolf with Big Boi and Jay Elecronica are putting on a free show tonight at 8PM at the Yaarab (cont) http://tl.gd/1h6fdf, tweeted Alabama Hip Hop Artist YelaWolf followed by “FREE SHOW LOCATION: Yaarab Shriner’s Temple 400 Ponce de Leon Ave NE Atlanta, GA. 30308 Doors @ 8pm!”
• “8PM at the Yaarab Shriners Temple at 400 Ponce de Leon Ave in Atlanta. … Free parking on-site,” tweeted Southern Hip Hop Artist Jay Electronica.

Makeda Demos Kin

Then the Facebook posts … And, the re-tweets and Facebook “Like This” by the Artist fans.

And, by 8 pm the Yaarab Shrine Temple auditorium, the most unexpected concert party venue in Atlanta – transformed into an ultra-hip MTV-like party space – filled (comfortably) with hundreds of guests enjoying the music, the vibe and the open bar while hundreds were being turned away at the door to the hottest party in the ATL.

No newspaper ads. No TV commercials. No radio spots. Just Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, re-tweets, Facebook’s Like This, and other social media tools such as TwitLonger – and a KIN ‘socialogist‘ – to spread the word among the most likely prospective customers of Microsoft’s new Kin smartphone: the 18 to 20 something that connect and share with their friends through their mobile phones. (And, tweeted and posted photos and videos from the event while it was happening.) Now start adding legs like the viral Kin Facebook Sweepstakes for a chance to win trips to meet five of your Facebook friends (and, of course, post to their Facebook page that you just entered for a chance to win a trip from Kin to visit them!)

This launch party – a “secret show” – was experiencial marketing on steroids. The three Hip Hop Artists delivered exactly the right party crowd, plus the event delivered a healthy dose of traditional media coverage such as Associated Press and  The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Big Boi at Kin Launch Party in Atlanta

Props to Microsoft! I can just image the their Agency’s pitch: Kin is all about social media, so we’ll use social media exclusively to promote launch parties across America – and we won’t tell anyone where or when the party will be until just hours before!

What a great Client to recognize a big, powerful way to leverage social media to deliver exactly the right audience to experience a Kin smartphone demo from one of many smart, 20-somethings like Makeda.

I loved how easy the Kin makes sharing/posting photos, video, stories and more via Facebook, Twitter and email. As an Apple enthusiast who drinks and shares the Kool-Aid – iPhone, iMac, Apple TV (and eying the iPad) – I can see why 20-somethings who have been craving an iPhone may just find a Kin more aligned with how they socialize with their friends. (I’ll stick with my iPhone.)

To learn more about the Kin social media marketing campaign, check out CNN Reporter Nick Valencia’s “Rapper headlines secret Microsoft concert” story and this blog post by the head of Edelman Australia Matthew Gains.

To learn more about the Kin, check out The Mossberg Solution column in The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times Tech Columnist David Pogue in his May 26, 2010 column. To see the Kin follow-up email to my sweepstakes registration at the party to win two Kin phones, click here.

Disclosure:

While the launch party was free, I was a guest of Exposure. And, my “Plus One” party guest was Atlanta Hip Hop Artist Street Lotto: one of the ZOOZbeat Artists for our GREAT! ZOOZ Mobile iPhone app client. To learn more about the Kin social media marketing campaign, check out this blog post by the head of Edelman Australia Matthew Gains.

Postscript:

Microsoft announced it will discontinue its Kin phones after less than three months on the market …

• Reuters – Microsoft pulls plug on Kin phones (6/30/10)
• Sci-Tech Today – Microsoft Will Move Kin Technology Into Windows Phone 7 (7/1/10)