In a recent column appearing in Capitol Communicator, RP3 Agency’s Chief Marketing Officer John Heenan shares his insights on the need to integrate the best of new and traditional marketing techniques to drive the best possible results.

We’ve seen a flood of expert opinion, statistics, and posts about the rise of social media and the demise of traditional media. It’s on every CMO’s list for 2010.

That’s good I suppose. However, it is important not to lose sight of business objectives when evaluating tactics and techniques. It shouldn’t be an either or choice, but should integrate both strategically. The problem is, many of us seem to have taken sides. It’s us against them. Can’t we all just get along…?

Are we simply doing things for the sake of the ‘things,’ or to achieve our clients’ business objectives in the most effective and efficient way? At the same time, social media is atop everyone’s list. That’s good. It’s important. But for what reasons?

It is exciting to have new ways to connect brands and consumers. No one can argue that people are looking to engage with brands in their own way. Recent stats show that 75 million people have signed on to Twitter. If Facebook were a country it would rank as the 4^th largest in the world. Social media are growing at unprecedented rates. We’ve got to find the best ways to integrate them with other tactics, not to their exclusion.

We are charged with producing results, fast. At the same time our clients are wondering how to leverage social media, but they still want results, fast. That is why social media tactics should have actionable results that can be measured, and that integrated with other tactics consistent with the business objectives.

For example, our client in the sports marketing sector asked us to help them better engage their fan base. Our experience shows that sports fans are notorious for multitasking during the game; texting, tweeting, surfing, and commenting. More than 78% are consuming multiple mediums according to Nielsen. We knew we had a connected audience and would need a number of social tools along with traditional tactics to drive viewership and engagement.

We combined a robust TV campaign with outdoor and online to get the attention of the fan base and built an open-source website to provide a place for the connected fans and friends to gather and share experiences, frustrations, and joys of the season.

Thanks to the broad reach of the campaign it became the virtual tailgate party where like-minded fans came to connect, debate, and commiserate, while building franchise loyalty. The site linked Facebook pages, twitter accounts, and almost any social network to share content and commentary, consumer generate videos, participate in promotions, and learn about the team, fans, and upcoming events. During the season viewership spiked by 80% – results, fast.

Another example; in the worst real estate market since the Great Depression, growing credit and financing challenges, and prices dropping as much as 45%, we needed some extraordinary tactics for a luxury real-estate client. We developed a sophisticated retargeting program that ranked leads and used a variety of coordinated communications to reintroduce them to the brand, freeing up the sales managers to focus on nurturing only the hottest prospects. This initiative was part of an integrated marketing campaign that generated new leads through DM, onsite events, tweets about neighborhood happenings, Facebook fan pages, local partnerships, and resident referrals. In less than a year 60% of inventory was sold – results, fast.

Yes, TV is down. Print is down. Click rates are declining. Open rates are in the gutter. But all still have their role in getting results, fast. Web traffic is up. YouTube visitors are up. Search is up. Blog readership is up. Link sharing is up. And each has its role in the mix. As we move across the public timeline, new tactics and techniques will continue to enter the equation. We will be pushing for results, no matter what the medium.

They’re seeking “five super-fun enthusiastic people to work at the Charmin restrooms in New York City during the holiday season.  They will pay the so-called lucky winners to entertain people and blog about what transpires in the bathroom.  Are you kidding me?

While marketers are in a rush to develop social media strategies and tactics that bring them closer to their prospects and customers, there are three very basic questions to consider when evaluating whether the idea passes the sniff test (sorry, couldn’t resist) of whether what is proposed is appropriate for a brand:

1. Born out of consumer Insight:  The strategy and tactic need to reflect how the brand and or category fits within how consumers think about the brand/product.

2. Relevant:  Taps into something that is meaningful within the lives of customer/prospect.

3. Entertaining: Idea must reflect what your consumers/prospects constitute as entertaining.

My feeling is that if Charmin is looking to attract 7 year olds or “potty mouths” then they’re on the right track, otherwise this idea will be flushed away (again, couldn’t resist).

RP3 is proud to have just completed an animated video to kick off the Washington Area Women’s Foundation’s 2010 campaign.

With no budget but big goals for what we could accomplish, we went to work to write a story that would resonate and inspire women of all means and backgrounds. And we found it in the simple tale of a woman who goes on a journey from need to strength, visualized by her transformation from a pencil drawn figure to one outlined in pen.

Armed with that simple idea, we began our search for an animator who would not only be appropriate stylistically, but who would be willing to donate their time and talent for the cause. Candy Guard of the world renowned production company Sherbet in the UK stepped up. And she hit it out of the park. Her simple style and ability to tug at the emotions with subtle gestures and facial expressions really brought the piece to life. Next we turned to our old friend and frequent collaborator Jack Heyrman of Clean Cuts and Cerebral Lounge. Not only did he love the idea, but before we could even finish our pitch, he offered to do original music and post production for free. Over the next few weeks, his teams at Clean Cuts and Cerebral did what they always do–they made the idea even better. In fact, they brought in players from the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra to give the score it’s rich, sweeping sound.

The video debuted at the Women’s Foundation’s Annual Leadership Luncheon on October 20th. And we’re happy to say there wasn’t a dry eye in the house. We encourage anyone who sees it and is so moved, to share it with their friends, family and colleagues to increase awareness of the important work being done by the Women’s Foundation.

It will be housed permanently at bethatwoman.org. And soon, we’ll be expanding the campaign by asking everyone to share their personal stories and honor the women who’ve had a positive impact in their lives.

As a woman-owned agency, we were pre-disposed to the cause. And when they asked us to do a video for their annual Leadership Luncheon, we knew they needed more than just a video. Because we knew that in order to truly make an impact we had to do more than just get donations. Or sign-up volunteers. We needed to start a movement. A movement that would galvanize women throughout our area and unleash a new wave of women’s philanthropy. And we believe we’ve done just that with our “Be That Woman” campaign.

The video you see here, which debuted today, is just the first step of that  movement. This simple tale of one woman’s journey from a position of weakness to one of strength not only illustrates the Women’s Foundation’s holistic approach, it shows the importance of paying it forward and helping someone else. And that’s exactly what makes them so effective. They don’t just help women in need. They help all women become more aware, more connected and more involved in creating lasting social change.

We hope that you’ll be inspired to support the movement in whatever way you can. Whether it’s by sharing the video with friends, family and colleagues, by getting involved, or by making a donation. And we invite you to follow the movement at bethatwoman.org in the weeks and months to come, as we expand the campaign by asking everyone to share their personal stories and honor the women who’ve had a positive impact in their lives.

Finally, we’d like to thank everyone who contributed their time and talent to the video, website and luncheon materials. They truly embody the spirit of “Being That Woman.” (Or as our friends at the Foundation like to say, “Guys who get it.”)

Elyse Gibson, Luis Erazo, Mike Hrizuk, Craig Coughlin, Eric Andrade, Jeff Tien, Sarah Essam, Candy Guard and everyone at Sherbet, Jack Heyrman, Rich Issac, Chris Kennedy, Austin Caughlin & Wall Matthews and everyone at Clean Cuts Music, Lee Konen, Alissa Liebert, Stuart Smith & everyone at Cerebral Lounge.

Mid-Atlantic Sport Network (MASN) is the home of every Washington Nationals and Baltimore Orioles telecast. With both teams fielding youth-laden rosters and struggling in the standings, our challenge has been to keep fans engaged and ratings strong throughout the grind of a 162 game season.

To achieve this elusive goal we’ve focused our efforts on the core fan, crafting campaigns that harness their passion and put them in the middle of the action. Last year, our MASN Fantasy Camp campaign used TV, radio, blogs, contests, social networking and viral video to build a vibrant community of fans.

This year, we reached out to that the same community with a simple, yet provocative question: What’s your favorite Orioles or Nationals moment? The enthusiasm, creativity and sheer volume of responses inspired what became the Defining Moments campaign. Blog posts and video submissions poured in. Chat rooms raged with discussion and debate. Fans auditioned on camera during games. (Some more successfully than others.) From all those  stories and opinions, dozens of TV and radio spots were created throughout the season–each with a unique, personal twist that no traditional campaign could capture.

Online, rich media hubs were built to serve up a variety of engaging content and tune-in messaging. Including the latest Defining Moment spots and fan-generated videos along with timely polls relating to the latest match-ups, and even downloadable Outlook calendar reminders so fans could save the date for important upcoming games.

A Twitter feed called “Tweet the Moment” was also established to alert fans who were stuck somewhere away from their TV when they could be missing a moment in the making. Tweets went out whenever there were runners in scoring position or two down in an important inning.

By the midpoint of the season, the conversation was going strong. And so were the ratings. In fact, viewership for Nationals games was up an amazing 56%. Of course, we’d trade it all for a bullpen that could hold a lead.

]]> http://rp3agency.com/masn/feed/ 2 http://rp3agency.com/addys-15-categories-for-collateral-wtf/ http://rp3agency.com/addys-15-categories-for-collateral-wtf/#comments Mon, 30 Mar 2009 21:01:21 +0000 heenan http://s71067.gridserver.com/?p=402

Click to view flash demo

Click to view flash demo