What’s the ideal training ground for an ad agency president? If you answered, “being a marching band instructor”, you’re either a master of unconventional thinking, or you’ve spent some time with Scott Lawrence, the President and CEO of Lawrence and Schiller.
Advertising
From travel and tourism to higher education, telecommunications to healthcare, 12 different Lawrence & Schiller clients took home honors Saturday night, at the 44th Annual South Dakota Advertising Federation’s Addy Awards. The diverse collection of winners represent a 25% higher number of clients than any other marketing agency in the awards show.
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Another edition of notes from my trip to the Interative Advertising Bureau’s MIXX Conference this past fall.
Ads Are Content
- 55 billion dollars are projected for interactive marketing in 2015; it will be the largest media category in the world.
- Economic value of the internet: 3.1 million US jobs, and $300 billion to the economy.
- Evolution of banners
- Banner ads – circa 1995 – when display ads were put on banners.
- Google changed it with small ads to small groups that it was relevant to.
- Now, there are infinite inventory and places to advertise. Attention is worth more than money.
- We have learned to tune out banner ads that do not speak directly to us – we need to make ads as content, that match that niche community’s site (no generic banner ads to all sites).
- Get communities to talk about your product for you. Example of unique niche community – GeekDad.com – 1 million visits per month. Great example of a very niche, yet very popular site. So how do you engage deeply with all of these micro-communities? You can’t reach them all – you need to find a way to get that community to do that for you.
- Embrace digital – your stuff is out there so make a community around it or make it easier for people.
- Example: Monte Python – They faced a potential loss in DVD sales when some of their episodes starting getting put online by users. They embraced the fact that their content was already out there, and improved it by uploaded episodes to You Tube, making the episodes HD friendly, and organizing the collection online. The result? A renewed interest in the products, and increased DVD sales.
Back to the basics of Christmas is the approach used in the latest Lewis campaign. No hot toys or gadgets were featured this year, marking a somewhat different Christmas campaign than in years past.
A sound mix to “Oh Christmas Tree” and highlighting a breadth of products from all departments within Lewis lends a fresh, fun feel to this spot. Products from TVs and cameras to baby dolls, champagne and Doritos – it is made apparent that Lewis is your first stop for everything holiday. Whether it be for shipping and packaging, decorating your house for the holidays, gift buying or party planning, Lewis has it all.
More notes from the International Advertising Bureau’s MIXX conference.
Can you imaging spending 3/4 of your ad budget in ditial marketing? Adobe can, and they do. They have created proven campaigns, and alleviated concerns by sharing data and results. The first speaker of the conference, Anne Lewis, Senior VP of Adobe, set the theme with this statement: It’s ALL Advertising. When you think about it, it’s true. Every piece of material we put out there for a brand can either credit or discredit that product or brand. It’s important to make sure that what you are putting out there is relevant to your target audience.
Anne gave a great example of how it really is ALL advertising. This is all about brand engagement, and what is relevant to the consumer. If you haven’t been to their site lately (or ever), check out http://www.converse.com. The site allows users to ‘buy, make, or play’ and fully engage with the Converse brand. Users are able to create a shoe that is unique to them. In her example, Anne spoke about creating a pair as a gift for her son, and after engaging so closely with the product, she decided she needed a pair as well. Anne, on stage in formal business wear, certainly didn’t look like a typical Converse wearing customer, and she herself stated she had never owned shoes from that brand before, and never thought she would. However, there she was online buying a pair for her son and herself. It’s ALL advertising. What can you do for your client, that is so relevant for it’s target audience, that it doesn’t necessarily feel like advertising, but allows that user to engage and become sold and loyal to the brand?
Lawrence & Schiller had the great opportunity recently to be involved in announcing the merger of Sanford Health & MeritCare. In collaboration with the creative teams at Sanford & MeritCare, we produced the Stronger Together campaign including television, outdoor & online ads, launched Monday, November 2. This powerful new partnership will provide better patient care with over 800 physicians and expanded services, as well as advancements in medical research and education. Congratulations to Sanford Health & MeritCare on this monumental occasion!
It is not often that we get feedback from consumers on the effect our advertising has on them. And even less frequent that we get positive feedback.
We had the privilege of receiving a letter from a Midwest Living magazine subscriber regarding the ads placed in the publication for South Dakota Tourism this year. It read:
“May I share with you how much I have enjoyed Midwest Living’s South Dakota tourism ads? I have framed each one and have hung them on my knotty pine walls in my northern Wisconsin cottage. How serene! Will there be more? Thank you!”
Marilyn P from Wisconsin
Additionally, she attached a Polaroid shot of the six ads she had clipped and framed for her home.
Kudos to the team for developing such powerful copy and imagery to evoke strong emotion; strong enough to move the magazine reader to cut out, frame, and hang them in her home. More powerfully, to move her to write a letter (not send an email) to the publication asking them for more.
Now, that is marketing that will move the needle!
The Framed South Dakota Tourism ads
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It’s always exciting to win an award, but when it comes from your peers – people with whom you compete for business - it often means more. Such is the case for the South Dakota Office of Tourism and its recent winning of the prestigious Mercury Award.
Micah Aberson, Director of Business Development at Lawrence & Schiller tells the story of the award winning Black Hills Digital Strategy in this edition of The Extra Minute.
For season premiere week?! I AM!!! The official start of the 09-10 TV is about to commence, so set those DVRs (or VCRs if you must), dust off your remote and get ready for a busy fall! I’m just giddy…
New shows are bolded. For more information about each show, follow the network link.
ABC
Dancing With the Stars: Monday, Sept. 21, 8 p.m. ET
Castle: Monday, Sept. 21, 10 p.m. ET
The Forgotten: Tuesday, Sept. 22, 10 p.m. ET
Dancing With the Stars Results Show: Wednesday, Sept. 23, 8 p.m. ET (special day and time)
Modern Family: Wednesday, Sept. 23, 9 p.m. ET
Cougar Town: Wednesday, Sept. 23, 9:30 p.m. ET
Eastwick: Wednesday, Sept. 23, 10 p.m. ET
FlashFoward: Thursday, Sept. 24, 8 p.m. ET
Grey’s Anatomy: Thursday, Sept. 24, 9 p.m. ET
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition: Sunday, Sept. 27, 7 p.m. ET (two hours)
Desperate Housewives: Sunday, Sept. 27, 9 p.m. ET
Brothers & Sisters: Sunday, Sept. 27, 10 p.m. ET
Shark Tank: Tuesday, Sept. 29, 8 p.m. ET (summer run began on Sunday, Aug. 9)
Hank: Wednesday, Sept. 30, 8 p.m. ET
The Middle: Wednesday, Sept. 30, 8:30 p.m. ET
America’s Funniest Home Videos: Sunday, Oct. 4, 7 p.m. ET
Ugly Betty: Friday, Oct. 9, 8 p.m. ET (two hours)
Supernanny: Friday, Oct. 16, 8 p.m. ET
CBS
Survivor: Samoa: Thursday, Sept. 17, 8 p.m. ET
How I Met Your Mother: Monday, Sept. 21, 8 p.m. ET
Accidentally on Purpose: Monday, Sept. 21, 8:30 p.m. ET
Two and a Half Men: Monday, Sept. 21, 9 p.m. ET
The Big Bang Theory: Monday, Sept. 21, 9:30 p.m. ET
CSI: Miami: Monday, Sept. 21, 10 p.m. ET
NCIS: Tuesday, Sept. 22, 8 p.m. ET
NCIS: Los Angeles: Tuesday, Sept. 22, 9 p.m. ET
The Good Wife: Tuesday, Sept. 22, 10 p.m. ET
The New Adventures of Old Christine: Wednesday, Sept. 23, 8 p.m. ET
Gary Unmarried: Wednesday, Sept. 23, 8:30 p.m. ET
Criminal Minds: Wednesday, Sept. 23, 9 p.m. ET
CSI: NY: Wednesday, Sept. 23, 10 p.m. ET
CSI: Thursday, Sept. 24: Thursday, Sept. 24: 9 p.m. ET
The Mentalist: Thursday, Sept. 24: Thursday, Sept. 24: 10 p.m. ET
Ghost Whisperer: Friday, Sept. 25, 8 p.m. ET
Medium: Friday, Sept. 25, 9 p.m. ET
Numbers: Friday, Sept. 25, 10 p.m. ET
48 Hours Mystery: Saturday, Sept. 26, 10 p.m. ET
60 Minutes: Sunday, Sept. 27, 7 p.m. ET
The Amazing Race: Sunday, Sept. 27, 8 p.m. ET
Cold Case: Sunday, Sept. 27, 10 p.m. ET
Three Rivers: Sunday, Oct. 4, 9 p.m. ET
NBC
The Jay Leno Show: Monday, Sept. 14, 10 p.m. ET (series premiere, M-F)
The Biggest Loser: Tuesday, Sept. 15, 8 p.m. ET (two hours)
Saturday Night Live Weekend Thursday Update: Thursday, Sept. 17, 8 p.m. ET
Parks and Recreations: Thursday, Sept. 17, 8:30 p.m. ET
The Office: Thursday, Sept. 17, 9 p.m. ET
Community: Thursday, Sept. 17, 9:30 p.m. ET; moves to Thursday 8 p.m. six weeks later
Heroes: Monday, Sept. 21, 8 p.m. ET (new time, two hours)
Mercy: Wednesday, Sept. 23, 8 p.m. ET
Law & Order: SVU: Wednesday, Sept. 23, 9 p.m. ET (new day and time)
Law & Order: Friday, Sept. 25, 8 p.m. ET (new day and time)
Southland: Friday, Sept. 25, 9 p.m. ET (new time)
Dateline: Saturday, Sept. 26, 8 p.m. ET
Trauma: Monday, Sept. 28, 9 p.m. ET
Community: Thursday, Oct. 8, 8 p.m. ET (new time period)
30 Rock: Thursday, Oct. 15, 9:30 p.m. ET
FOX
Cops: Saturday, Sept. 12, 8 p.m. ET
America’s Most Wanted: Saturday, Sept. 12, 9 p.m. ET
So You Think You Can Dance: Wednesday, Sept. 16, 8 p.m. ET
Glee: Wednesday, Sept. 16, 9 p.m. ET
Bones: Thursday, Sept. 17, 8 p.m. ET
Fringe: Thursday, Sept. 17, 9 p.m. ET
Brothers: Friday, Sept. 18, 8 p.m. ET
‘Til Death: Friday, Sept. 18, 8:30 p.m. ET
Dollhouse: Friday, Sept. 18, 9 p.m. ET
House: Monday, Sept. 21, 8 p.m. ET (two hours)
The Simpsons: Sunday, Sept. 27, 8 p.m. ET
The Cleveland Show: Sunday, Sept. 27, 8:30 p.m. ET
Family Guy: Sunday, Sept. 27, 9 p.m. ET
American Dad: Sunday, Sept. 27, 9:30 p.m. ET
Lie To Me: Monday, Sept. 28, 9 p.m. ET
The Wanda Sykes Show: Saturday, Nov. 7, 11 p.m. ET
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Since 1999 Search Engine Strategies (SES) has been presenting one of THE best conference series on search engine marketing. Doesn’t matter if you’re a novice or an expert, interested in search engine optimization (SEO) or pay-per-click (PPC) placement, digital PR or analysis of a campaign’s ROI, SES offers a wealthy of information.
Robin Temple, Director of Digital Marketing at Lawrence & Schiller attended the most recent SES conference (San Jose). In this episode of The Extra Minute, Robin discusses what’s new in search marketing now and what we can expect in the future.
The San Jose SES Conference also provided an opportunity for Lawrence & Schiller to step up to the speaker’s podium. Billie Jo Waara, Director of Account Planning and Research, spoke on “Small Voices, Big Impact: Social Media for the Little Guy.”
I just received this video link via a digital community news feed. As the video discusses, and as we discussed last week with businesses of all sizes, “Is social media a fad?” and how do we measure its true value? Its great food for thought as I take a few moments to digest all of the notes and information in my literature bag from last week’s national Search Engine Strategies San Jose conference (#sessj).
Last week, Lawrence and Schiller had the opportunity to share our social media expertise with other professionals from across the country in search engine and digital marketing. Great topics, great conversations and I’m excited to share a quick summary of insights discussed during the event.
Search is about people. Not keywords. Search engine strategies to reach customers are not meant to be separate from your social media relationships. Today, and even more in the future, people are expecting results that reflect the most up-to-date and relevant content. User-intent and user-influence are key considerations when understanding and preparing for the way search engines will index sites and the deliver the results we see today and in the future.
SEO adds fire to Public Relations. As quoted in the video, “We no longer search for news, the news finds us.” Using social media tools and best practices for SEO are key to ensuring the right audiences find the relevant news we all want to share. Researching keyword trends, editorial calendars, writing the way the audiences are searching, keeping headlines short and simple are just a few ways we can ensure “news” continues rank well and has maximum reach with leading search engines and social media platforms.
Social CRM. Its here. Discussions on ways to integrate existing CRM technologies with social media conversations piqued my interest last week. We’ve begun the path of integrating the newest CRM 2.0 or social CRM tools within our existing enterprise systems – but the world is always changing and there’s more that we can do to ensure our clients have the tools they need. Businesses are always looking efficient ways to respond to customers from a variety of communication sources, and that includes the most popular social media platforms. Engaging in customer-driven conversations, and measuring those efforts, is the next stage in building effective relationships. These effective conversations lead to relevant search results, which in turns leads to more people finding you.
In short, no matter what the next stage in search strategies, social media, or any other aspect of marketing that leads today’s conference topics, its clear that the fundamental value of any communication hasn’t changed. The goal of great marketing is now, more than ever, about RELATIONSHIPS. The tools, the strategies and the places in today’s world are dynamic and evolving, but the basics of a good conversation never go away.
- Search Engine Strategies – San Jose
What a great day at Search Engine Strategies, San Jose! It’s an honor for L&S to be here as a guest presenter. It was a full day of thought leadership, brainstorming with industry execs and now we’re off to the social events. Among the great sessions today, Clay Shirky opened up SES San Jose with an overview of his book, Here Comes Everybody. My notes from the session:
Clay discusses the major changes in media as a true revolution based on three principles:
- Community Influence – the Internet is the only medium where groups have many-to-many communications
- Symmetry among the online landscape
- As all previous media get digitized, the Internet will be home of ALL, providing feedback loops to media content that was previously one-way messaging
It’s not the shiny new object’s arrival that is revolutionary; it’s when people use it without even thinking about it that results in true social changes and shifts in behavior. Tools only change society when they’re accompanied my motivation. The key to understanding why people participate in social media is to get to the bottom of their motivation? Clay discussed the differences in intrinsic and extrinsic motivations. Social media is most successful when it’s lead by people with passion. Often extrinsic motivations, such as monetary compensation, ruin the fire that fuels great long-term engagement online.
Clay provided the 3 primary reasons why people engage:
- Autonomous – I am my own author
- Competent – I matter, people care and I want others’ attention, which eventually turns into a competition of sorts
- Connected – I am a part of something I believe in
Sociology matters more than it ever has in media. Characteristics of user’s motivations are what really matters and what makes tools important. The question to ask is not “why do people take part in a particular social movement” rather it should be “why does this come as a surprise?”
The cost of the media landscape is now so low that the logic of media has changed. Content used to be filtered first and then published, because everything cost money. Now content is published and then filtered. The audience or readership decides whether to filter it or not. Producers of content don’t generally have mass audiences in mind; they are more likely to target their content and conversations to their friends and networks. No professional media network has ever had the power that intrinsic motivations can relay… intrinsic motivations result in fulfillment, which fuels passion.
Key head shift:
- Stop thinking about behavior
- Start thinking about motivation and modes
- It isn’t about old people and new people – motives are the same, the opportunities to share have just changed.
Thanks for the thought-provoking session, Clay! Great stuff. Read more at http://www.herecomeseverybody.org/. More to come!
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Going to the hospital can be scary business if you’re a kid. Ok… let’s be honest… it can be unnerving for parents too.
Often the fear is based on the unknown. What is it like in the hospital? What will the room look like? What can I bring and what has to stay home?
Providing answers in a kid-friendly way is the goal of the Kid Zone. The Kid Zone is a colorful, animated and interactive micro-site developed by Sanford Health. It includes a guided tour of the Sanford Children’s Hospital, links to health information and now, an online coloring book.
In this episode of The Extra Minute, Natalie Eisenberg, account executive at Lawrence & Schiler, explains why the Kid Zone has been created and why Sanford believes it’s an important service to provide.
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If you live in the small communities that make up Middle America, you are used to hearing about new technology… and not having it available in your area. It’s the ultimate dangling carrot. The technology tease.
But not this time! Midcontinent Communications is bringing DOCSIS 3.0 to the heartland. In fact, West Fargo, ND is getting the high speed Internet network before Manhattan!
In this issue of The Extra Minute, hear how Midcontinent Communications is using digital public relations and social media tospread the word of this exciting technology advance.
Related Links
MidcoNews blog
Midcontinent Communications
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Is advertising art? Is art ever advertising?
These questions are much more than rhetorical. They stretch all the way from the design studio to the board room. In this episode of The Extra Minute, Dan Edmonds, Vice President of Design Services at Lawrence & Schiller, weighs in with his thoughts on the subject.
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Webinars are easy to come by. If you’ve shared your email address with any kind of marketing or advertising website you probably have an invitation to one sitting in your inbox right now.
Presenting a webinar on the other hand… that’s a different story. Preparing, practice and producing a 60 minute “show” can be hard. But in the words of Coach Jimmy Dugan from A League of Their Own, “It’s supposed to be hard. If it wasn’t hard, everyone would do it. The hard… is what makes it great.”
Take a listen as The Extra Minute sits down with John Pohlman, VP of Creative Services at Lawrence & Schiller, to discuss the challenges and rewards of hosting a webinar.
For the Social Media Boot Camp season finale, we brought in the ratings boosters –a.k.a. VP Dan Edmonds (@monkeyboy5280) and VP John Pohlman (@johnpohlman) to discuss the impact of social media on our design world.
For those not familiar with the history of social media design, let me give you a brief overview. In the mid-1990’s we entered the era of Early Static Websites. These websites allowed users to view the website’s message but only accounted for one-way communication, similar to traditional advertising. The era of Early Web Applications was soon created and those applications allowed online users to interact solely with the propriety content on the website, but two way communications started to take hold; Oh No! What’s an advertiser to do! (j/k J)
Today, we have entered into the golden era of Social Web Applications, which allows for multiple-way communication, promotes interactions and connects people together. This is why design is so important, people are using these websites to interact with other users and the brand, and users don’t need a poorly designed website getting in their way.
To succeed in the current era of Social Web Applications there are two important rules to follow:
1. Don’t Do Anything without a Plan
2. No Need to Invent the Wheel Twice.
These may seem like very basic rules to follow, but it’s good to remember that though the medium of interacting is new and different, the design concept behind the interaction is at the core, the same.
The Best Practices of Social Media Design (summed up in webinar 10): Make Interacting Easy. When a user comes to a website they need to be able to engage quickly and without a long search for the content they want, or thought they would find. Think of how many times you have gone to a website and quickly wanted to make a purchase, upload a file, or find a link, but the icon seems to have disappeared from the site! I know I get irritated when I spend too long on the website; for some reason my frustration “rope” is much shorter when working with technology than in the off-line world. Technology is here to make life easier, not more complicated; a website should be designed with the users’ intentions in mind.
In the era of Social Web Applications, users want to become a part of the website, so it is important to design and support the development of online communities. Everyone always wants to feel connected and a part of something, so design your website as a place for members to share interests, join groups or post blogs. As we have entered the web applications era, we want users to become part of the site and have it be a place to communicate and connect with others of similar interests.
At the end of the webinar, @johnpohlman and @monkeyboy5280 didn’t leave any cliff hangers but they did leave some words of wisdom: Make sure the experience belongs to the user!
Thank you for participating in our webinars, and see you next season!
South Dakota’s Small Business Administration and the Small Business Development Center Network provides programs and services to help businesses start, grow and succeed. This month, the small business education series will venture into marketing and how, in today’s changing business environment, it can help your small business survive and thrive.
“Marketing Matters,” a four-week educational web series, kicks off July 9 to educate business owners on the value of marketing plans, social media and other ways to better position themselves in today’s economy.
As a leading regional advertising and marketing firm, Lawrence & Schiller is proud to support the: South Dakota’s Small Business Administration and the Small Business Development Center Network to help lend insight and experience to the conversation.
Thursday, July 9: Roadmap to Marketing Success: Simple Steps to Writing a Successful Marketing Plan
- Courtney Davidson and Micah Aberson, Lawrence & Schiller
- Wayne Wagner, CFGear
Thursday, July 16: Google Matters: How Does Your Website Measure Up?
- Krista Gussiaas and Eric Ellefson, Lawrence & Schiller
- Greg Jasmer, DAKOTACARE
Thursday, July 23: The First Impression: Building a Positive Customer Experience
- Natalie Eisenberg and Courtney Lotzer, Lawrence & Schiller
- Michele Slott, Prairie Berry Winery
Thursday, July 30: Social Media Marketing: How to Start Your Online Conversation
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Robin Temple, Lawrence & Schiller
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Paul Ten Haken, Click Rain
Sessions are free and begin at 10:00 am (CST) via webcast. Learn more and sign up by calling the SBA at 605-330-4243 and press 0.
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As the number of cell phones capable of surfing the Internet grows, so does the need to deliver content that is optimized for mobile devices.
What does it take to develop a site that plays nice with mobile web? What should it include and what are some of the obstacles you make encounter along the way?
The Extra Minute has the story of Sanford Health and its move into mobile web.
@robintemple and @ericellefson lead our sixth webinar about the marriage between SEO and SMM – both strategies are equally important to making sure your website, and ultimately your brand, is visible and relevant to your core customers as they search online. As a site owner, you need to understand how the search engines of tomorrow will rank site content and give engaged sites/consumers the upper hand.
Here’s a brief overview of how build a great foundation to support your digital search strategy:
Make Your Website Relevant: Content is King
On-page Elements (Techie-details)
SEO – Understand that your title tags, headers, image title, bold text and use of keywords are all influential on search engine rankings.
SMO – Coding and tags are not so important, while visual attention grabbers make a bigger impact.
The Meat of Your Page: Rich Content
SEO – Quality content is important in order to rank well.
SMO – Quality content is important in order to hold the readers’ attention and win their approval.
Socialize Your Website: External Content
SEO – Trusted domains will have a positive effect on all pages, including new pages.
SMO – Power profiles on sites like Digg can keep traffic flowing with new submissions.
Relationships with the Right People: Targeting
Know Your Audience
SEO – Provide keyword-rich informational content
SMO – Starting/joining conversations that lead to building relationships.
Research
SEO – Research and Analyze to apply changes that will impact (positive or negative) site rankings.
SMO – Research and Analyze to know what types of content draws interest.
Defining Success:
SEO – Success can be achieved by applying the same practices every time.
SMO – Success lies in knowing the social media audience and engaging in a unique strategy every time.
Measuring Goals
SEO - In-house URL tracking.
SMO – External content engagement tracking.
Plan Your Attack: Engagement
SEO – Success can be achieved by applying the same practices every time.
SMO – Success lies in knowing the social media audience and engaging in a unique strategy every time.
Integrate and Improve Your Content: Link Building
Be Linkable:
SEO – Inbound links lead to success.
SMO – Links are a result of success.
Capitalize on titles and descriptions by making sure they relate to the content. Doing so increases relevance and increased relevance = your message will spread.
Accept Failure and Try Again
The truth is, even after you’ve followed the rules faithfully, your first dozen (or two) attempts probably won’t work. It takes time to create the momentum you need to establish yourself in the various communities. However, once one of your message does resonate, you’ll understand what all the fuss was about and why social media optimization is worth all the hard work.
You also can’t let up once you get that first taste of success. If you want to maintain the traffic you are receiving, you have to continue to participate. Your success in search engine rankings will wholeheartedly depend on user engagement within social media spaces.
