An interesting white paper from Webtrends and Adgregate Marketers was passed around the agency: The Effect of Social Networks and the Mobile Web on Website Traffic and the Inevitable Rise of Facebook Commerce – It’s a fascinating mouthful.

The study examines what level of promotion is necessary for an organization’s website vs. their Facebook page. Much time could be spent discussing different facets of this article, but I’ll focus on one quote:

It is time for brands and retailers to understand that surviving online is no longer about all-in-one websites, but measuring and improving performance in all the social mobile and web entities.

I am in total agreement. Every organization for-profit and not-for-profit needs to make a shift and be more dynamic, enter social networks and be active participants.

Does this mean the traditional website is done, finito, terminado? No, not necessarily. Personally I’m a fan of the traditional page that provides standard organizational history, contact information, etc. 

That said, I am also quick to judge—or discredit—an organization if their involvement on social networks is weak or absent.

So, how do you judge an organization? Is it more important that an organization has a traditional website?  That it’s involved in social networks? Or, like myself, do you prefer the combination?

~Kristin

Viral marketing is a phenomenon in which a brand’s message is spread and replicated through a variety of means and essentially takes on a life of its own. Consumers spread brand awareness making them feel directly connected to the message.

A great example of viral marketing was the promotion for the release of The Dark Knight. Starting with a website, www.whysoserious.com, the campaign gave fans numerous clues on the site. The clues eventually lead to more websites, and then an email address where fans could email the Joker himself.

One website, www.rorysdeathkiss.com, asked fans to take pictures of themselves in Halloween costumes in front of landmarks. Once the website reached a certain number of hits, all participants received copies of The Gotham Daily Times. Although a great movie, the viral campaign had to have a hand in garnering public interest: The Dark Knight grossed more than 500 million.

Viral marketing can’t be forced; it must be organic, self-replicating and cannot seem manufactured. Viral campaigns must have the ability to spread and not push products on consumers.

A major danger with viral marketing is that the “stunt” may distract from the overall purpose to bring awareness to the product or service. People may remember the viral video or website, but ignore of the brand behind it.

Another one example of a successful viral campaign, and my personal favorite, is Old Spice

—Corey Landers, Intern

Behind the Scenes: Chicken Express Photo Shoot

A picture says more than a thousand words. Too bad no one knows how much work goes into that picture.

We are redesigning the menu boards for Chicken Express and that includes getting pictures of the actual food, so we had a photo shoot.

Now, whenever I hear “photo shoot”, I immediately think of models, fashion and Tyra Banks, but we were taking pictures of fried chicken. But that doesn’t mean the amount of work was anything less than shocking.

We started at 7:30 a.m. at Chicken Express in Weatherford. After choosing the country-red color palette and the metallic-sheet background, Gino, our photographer, was finally ready to start the first shot. It took an hour and a half to perfectly capture the beauty of scrumptious corn and creamy mashed potatoes.

Our food stylist, Angela, took great care in perfecting the look of each dish. Oil was painted on the chicken to brighten the color, sticky tack was used to prop up each piece, and fake, gel-like ice made the famous sweet tea look overflowing with frothy goodness. Crumbs, strategically placed, gave the impression everything was being enjoyed, and tenders were carefully torn to reveal the juicy white meat beneath.

Who knew crispy chicken could be so complicated? We spent over 7 hours working that day.

Each photo takes an excruciating amount of time to set up, but the end result is beautiful. We were offered some of the food we’d been shooting all day and we gobbled it down joyfully.

Good to know advertising works.

Fun Fact: Chicken Express serves Dublin Dr Pepper (made with Imperial Cane sugar). I had about 3 large refills of it. So good.

—Corey Landers, Intern

The Fort Worth Zoo’s latest Dinosaurs Unleashed Exhibit was extremely fun to work on.  The exhibit features several animotronic life-size, life-like dinosaurs that are native to Texas.  The challenge to this campaign was promoting these amazing creatures without actually showing them.  This :30 television spot sums up the approach to the campaign strategy very well.

Several years back we did some work for our local minor league hockey team. Not only did we have a lot of fun with the creative, but one of our interns got a chance to punch her best friend in the head. Mission accomplished. The work won numerous awards while helping the Brahmas sell quite a few tickets.

eMarketing gives insight into who is holiday shopping on their smartphones. 

-Erin