Three Questions Companies Should Ask About Social Media
A Dummy's Puppet's Ramblings - from Chip MartinMannequin American views and guidelines on marketing/PR trends, news from the world of puppets and ventriloquism, bits of humor and other interesting but useless information. I post every Tuesday and Friday.
My Background
What I Do
About Brown & Martin, Inc.
"No Company ‘Wants' to be Responsible"
From AdRants: "We at GM have been screwing your tailpipe for 100 years. And now with your help and the inefficiency of the American government, we're gonna screw you again."
Get that and more from this most excellent GM Reinvention spoof complete with detailed Web site that includes these news items: "GM says planned obsolescence now obsolete," "Auto dealers worried we'll start buying cars that don't suck," and "Hummers to become sought after collector items for douche bags."
Click here to see the 60 second "retarded" commercial spoof that's funny enough to send to your friends. It's written so well that I could have been the author.
Two "Firsts" at One ConVENTion
1. Jay Johnson will do a new, scaled down version of his Broadway hit, "The Two and Only" at the International Ventriloquists' Convention in July. This will be the first time that Jay will perform the new show, "Exhibit ‘J'".
2. And for another first, Dale is going to the convention without me! Airfare regulations now include paying for checked baggage which makes my attendance too costly for my cheap, contemptible, despicable partner. (The third checked bag is $125 each way making my trip in the baggage compartment more expensive than Dale's seat in the plane.) I call that Mannequin American discrimination!
Three Questions for the Social Media-Crazed
Social media is showing no signs of slowing down in terms of growth. By and large this is a good thing ... except when your marketing department is always jumping on the latest and greatest new platform at the expense of building something that supports your brand in a consistent, measurable and profitable way. You can avoid the shiny-new-object syndrome with a few simple questions suggested by Andy Sernovitz.
- Are your customers/prospects there yet? If not, chances are you don't need to be either.
- Can you do it well? Success in a new social media space requires commitment, so always consider the resources required for a new community and how it may affect your relationship with customers/prospects elsewhere.
- Is the product here to stay? Your job isn't to pioneer new technologies, your job is to find places to do great marketing, build the best relationships and get a profitable ROI.
Polka No Longer a "Category"
Last week the Grammys dropped Polka as a category. Multi-Grammy winner Frankie Yankovic (who we frequently used to run into at Ziggy's Bar in Sheboygan, WI) and Weird Al Yankovic (I just now realized for the first time that the two accordion players have the same last name!) must be weeping.
What Would You Do for a Klondike Bar?
It's very funny to see what this guy is willing to do for a Klondike Bar in this 20 second spot. Click here.
If You Can Afford a Porsche, You Can Afford to Name It
Here's a reason to dislike Porsche owners even more. Porsche is now helping owners to name their cars or to put phrases on them such as "back off." Words can be made for all of the 911 models ... Cayenne, Boxster and Cayman.
The service costs $450 for 5 letters (are you kidding me?!) in gray or black. Extra letters cost $60 each and chrome or gold letters cost an additional $90. Your choice of text can be ordered online and will be sent to you via UPS within 30 days. So I guess you have to install the letters yourself ... probably not likely for a Porsche owner.
A Pizza Commercial to Laugh At
New York Pizza, which is not in New York, is out with another strange commercial just in time to be compared to the recent Miller commercial that is being pulled after complaints from the Italian American community.
In this pizza commercial you'll see the stereotypical mafioso type who owns "other businesses" and envisions a "Damn Hot" pizza promotion that, in the end, doesn't go so well.
The tantalizing New York Pizza's Rollergirl surprises a little boy, makes a dad's day, shocks mom, gets lost, accidently hangs with prostitutes and ultimately gets arrested. After all of that the mafioso boss concludes, "Eh, bad idea" and realizes all that really matters is a "damn tasty pizza at a damn cheap price."
Go to the Web site http://newyorkpizza.nl/ and click on the commercial in the upper left. Office friendly and pretty darn funny.
Maybe a Little Too Subtle
The caption in the lower right of this ad for Gain Detergent is "It smells that good." The visual is very subtle ... even in its full magazine spread size. Can you see it? If not, look at the janitor's right hand for a hint. This is one of several ads using the same theme. See the rest here, from Ads of the World.
