Why Set Goals? Because Bruce Lee Said So…

Posted on March 23, 2011 by admin

Here’s a handwritten note from Bruce Lee on Roger Ebert’s blog. The note is titled “My Definite Chief Aim,” and I think it sets a stellar example of the importance of setting goals.

Here’s the text of the note:

I, Bruce Lee, will be the first highest paid Oriental super star in the United States. In return, I will give the most exciting performances and render the best of quality in the capacity of an actor. Starting 1970 I will achieve world fame and from then onward till the end of 1980 I will have in my possession $10,000,000. I will live the way I please and achieve inner harmony and happiness.

-Bruce Lee, 1969

Keep in mind that, at this point, Bruce Lee was far from the Bruce Lee we know him as today. He had been in a few films as minor characters, but that was about it. But that didn’t stop him from setting a goal and striving to achieve it (which he was well on the path to doing if he hadn’t passed away in 1973).

In marketing, goals work the same way. If you start a Facebook campaign with the goal of “raising awareness for your brand,” you’ll never actually accomplish what you intend. It’s too vague. Too unfocused.

However, deciding on measured, tangible results can actually get you somewhere. If you say, “Our page will have 500 fans by next year and we will produce content and updates that receive at least 20 comments per week on a consistent basis,” you’re actually setting yourself up for success. Now you know how you want to focus your content, your timing, and every other aspect of your efforts. There’s a goal in mind and you can work toward that goal.

This mentality can be applied to all aspects of marketing (not just social media), and the marketers who understand that are the ones who get results for their clients. Take it from Bruce Lee. Because do you really want to argue with someone who can do this?…

I didn’t think so.

-Mike B.

Photo by Glen Johannes. Thanks Glen!

Why Less Is More

Posted on March 18, 2011 by admin

There’s a reason people constantly use the expression “less is more.”

Because it’s true.

If a marketing piece can make its point in 3 words, why waste people’s time and effort by making them read 15? If a website only needs a few clean, simple pages to accomplish its goal, why load it down with 20 widgets, links and action items?

Each day, a marketer’s ability to catch a customer’s attention gets slimmer and slimmer. So when you actually do get a customer’s attention, you better make sure your marketing gets the point across quickly and powerfully.

I could probably spend a few more paragraphs explaining this further, but I might as well stop here. As we all know, less is more.

-Mike B.

Photo by Floriana. Thanks!

5 Reasons We Love The ADDYs

Posted on March 16, 2011 by admin

Last weekend was the ADDYs, which means a bunch of marketing folks got dressed up, hoped to win an award or two, and generally celebrated each other’s company in the process. We at ADwërks did the same, so we figured we’d share with you guys a few reasons we enjoy the ADDYs so much.

1) Marketing, Advertising and Production People Unite!

The people of South Dakota’s marketing and advertising community (co-workers and competitors alike) all come together to celebrate really good work. Coexistence at its finest!

2) Fantastic Work (and Lots of It)

The ADDYs show off a smorgasbord of the region’s best work in numerous formats, which makes it truly inspiring to see the creativity coming out of this state.

3) A Look At the Legends

Each year the SDAF gives away a Creative Legacy Award and a Silver Medal Award. The Creative Legacy Award highlights creativity and celebrates the careers of the people who are the backbone of our creative community while the Silver Medal Award is “the highest honor bestowed upon an advertising practitioner by his or her peers.” Yeah…it’s a big deal. And the speeches are usually pretty fun too.

4) Sometimes Your Friends Win

This year ADwërks was thrilled to see some of our close friends and favorite agencies win ADDYs for their work. It’s a blast to work with—and occasionally compete against—folks who produce award winning stuff.

5) Sometimes YOU Win

As happy as we were to see friends win, we also didn’t mind winning a few ADDYs ourselves, including a Best of Class award and a pleasantly surprising Volunteer of the Year award, which was given to the agency as a whole rather than an individual for the first time. As our Certified Advertologist Jim Mathis said, “I was tickled pink by the ADDYs this year.”

All in all, there were plenty of reasons we enjoyed the 2011 ADDYs, and these were just five of them. We’d like to congratulate all of the winners at this year’s ADDY awards and say thanks to everyone in this region for continuing to inspire our creativity and for pushing us to improve on a daily basis.

For a full list of all of ADDYs winners, you can click this link. If you have any thoughts you’d like to add or any other congratulations you’d like to share, just leave a comment below.

-Mike B.

Is Your Marketing Genuine?

Posted on March 8, 2011 by admin

We live in a world where it’s hard to cover up the truth. The digital era has led to instant, unfiltered product reviews. Products or services are praised—and more often berated—via Facebook updates or tweets. Blog posts offer the “inside scoop” on a business’s actions, good or bad.

Which ultimately means, in this day and age, that you can’t afford to have dishonest marketing.

If you position your business as having “Unrivaled Customer Service” on all of your marketing materials, but your only “customer service” is an automated “Press 1 for account information” response, you are misleading your customers.
If you say your restaurant “uses only the freshest ingredients” and has “the friendliest staff in town,” but your salads are full of brown, withered lettuce and your waiters are simply “waiting” for their next smoke break, your customers will notice…and they’ll tell their friends.
If your commercials offer the “fastest delivery in town” and people are waiting 45 minutes for their sandwiches, it won’t be long before your myth of a selling point is publicly debunked, Mythbusters-style.

Bottom line? Misleading your customers will catch up to you, whether it’s in the form of an online review or an angry, negative tweet. The digital world has made transparency not just a preference, but a full-fledged expectation. And if you aren’t marketing yourself genuinely, it won’t be long before the world finds out (and shares the news with its entire social network).

As a final example, think about Stanley Kubrick’s classic horror film, “The Shining.” Many people consider it the scariest movie they’ve ever seen. So imagine how outraged moviegoers would have been if they’d gone into the movie expecting this:

Most of us know the real movie is not quite as…cheery…as this mock-trailer would have you believe. Keep that in mind when you think about your upcoming marketing efforts. Because if you’re trying to pull the wool over your customers’ eyes, the only person who will end up fooled is you.

Keep it genuine. It’ll pay off in the long run.

-Mike B.

What’s your experience with disingenuous marketing? Do you tell your network when you feel like a company or business has mislead you? Which companies do you think truly stick to their brand promise? Let us know with a comment!

Photo by Keng Susumpow. Thanks Keng!

Let The Creativity Flow

Posted on March 4, 2011 by admin

As a marketing agency, a lot of our success at ADwërks relies on creativity. Other keys to success include hard work, industry knowledge, caffeine, more hard work and a shared love of humor, but creativity plays one of the biggest roles.

The tricky thing about creativity is that it’s dangerously easy to think you’re being too creative. Fantastic ideas get tossed around in a brainstorming session until someone inevitably asks “Wouldn’t it be great if we could do something like that?” And with that question, the conversation can head down one of two paths.

The first path is the one we try to avoid at all costs. On that path, the reply to “Wouldn’t it be great if we could do something like that?” is “Yeah, but there’s no way that would fit in this budget” or “That would be fun, but you know the client would never go for it.” The discussion comes back down to a more “reasonable” line of thought and creativity takes a back seat to practicality.

Then there’s the other path…the path where creativity roams freely without a care in the world. On that path, the response to “Wouldn’t it be great if wecould do something like that?” is simply, “Why not?”

Two simple words that make all the difference in the world.

Because when you take the “Why not?” approach, you’ll find that the usual “problems” can often be solved with creativity.

Maybe a client can’t afford the Hawaiian Escape Giveaway Package, but the team comes up with an equally-as-creative, humorous Local Escape Giveaway Package featuring more cost-efficient deals from local retailers.
Maybe a client won’t go for the fully-revamped website, but the next idea is an exciting splash page that achieves a similar effect with less effort.
TV spot or print ad concept a bit too edgy for traditional media? Develop a social media campaign around the idea and see where the online world takes it.

Plain and simple, that’s why we love creativity. It’s the best way to solve the problems our clients face. And if we’ve solved their problems, we’ve done our job.

So let the creativity flow. When you do, the solutions should come flowing right along with it.

Photo by paumurp. Thanks!