360 - Jack Morton Worldwide's Experiential Marketing Blog

A Changing Experience

2008-08-18T08:14:01Z

As I depart Beijing as the Olympics comes to a close I’m reflecting on the changes that I’ve seen over the last three years since we set up our first mainland China office here. The first thing other than the gradual westernization of the city is the sheer scale of new infrastructure Beijing is benefiting from. When we opened our office in the Chaoyang district my office window offered a panoramic of dusty building sites, cranes that had seen better days and a plethora of motorcycle cabs (see below) – by comparison I’m now greeted by a view of a Gucci shop the size of an entire western shopping centre/mall. A gleaming Ritz Carlton Hotel, and white gloved attendants opening doors and guiding drivers of black Rolls Royce Phantom’s. to parking spaces. My, how things change.

This experience isn’t just confined to the “Mayfair” of Beijing; for as far as I can see the entire city has had a makeover that would make any plastic surgeon proud. One of the challenges we have historically experienced operating in China is trying to enforce western health and safety processes – it just hasn’t been a priority for China. So imagine how surprised I was on the eve of the Olympics to see that that had all changed – overnight! A year ago I remember the highway maintenance teams being deployed to deliver on the promise of a “Green Olympics”. Thousands of gardeners could be seen kneeling at the side of the road planting pansies and the like. Now you would imagine them to be clad in hi- visibility jackets, steel toe-capped boots and for two lanes to be cordoned off to allow them to stand back and admire their planting efforts without danger of being clipped by an over zealous taxi driver. But no – not in Beijing, instead they were all dressed in regimental camouflage jackets and pants and no lanes where closed. Well that’s all changed. Today the same workers are dressed in smart two tone orange hi-visibility outfits, steel toes and they even don hard hats in case a bird falls on their head. As I walked across the street to get a cup of tea from one of the five Starbucks within a 500 metre radius of my office I saw something rather out of place in Beijing – a ladder being held, not just by one co-worker but two. But this wasn’t a freak of nature – another group around the corner were doing the same. Now I don’t know if it’s because the building they were cleaning was the new Giorgio Armani mega-store (no joke) and Mr Armani had insisted on this process, but it was a revelation to me.

I had the pleasure of attending the Olympic Opening Ceremonies – the show was simply incredible, but hearing from my colleagues who worked as consultants to BOCOG (Jack Morton were the Technical Consultants) the biggest challenge the Ceremonies teams have had is embracing change. With all eyes on China these events simply had to be conducted with the same level of safety employed by the most rigorous of countries. If anything the level of attention paid to ensuring a safe Olympics has been over the top – but we all know the old saying – better safe than sorry! This chap caused me to laugh somewhat – On his Harley-like motorbike he sat mannequin like for four hours in front of the Birds nest in the event that someone’s hat caught light or more likely someone flicked a butt in to the banks of fireworks left lying beside the main through-fare to the stadium – I’m not sure what use he would have been with that size of fire extinguisher mounted on the back of his bike against 5 tonnes of ignited high explosives.

Safety has now become a top priority – the Chinese have made a vocation of it

This all goes to prove that no country can mobilize and make things happen as quickly and successfully as the Chinese (when they want to). Many of my Chinese friends have seen the Olympics as a “coming of age” party for China and shed many emotional tears on 8/8/8. So if that’s how China wants to see this year, then congratulations to you China on proving to the world what an amazing and incredible country you are. ]]>

eMail - Too much of a good thing?

2008-08-14T13:42:50Z

As I was going through a recent Sunday Boston Globe (the ink-stain and dead tree version), this piece jumped out at me – “Creativity can thrive if you can keep the e-mails in check.” As we all know too well, that’s a big ‘if’. The stats are startling – people receive an average of 156 e-mail messages a day (that’s over 55,000/year), they change tasks every three minutes and spend a full quarter of their day dealing with electronic interruptions… ]]> Information Overload Research Group, funded by Intel, Microsoft and Google. Its stated goal is “reducing information pollution” through research and sharing of best practices. Just last week they held the IORG Inaugural Event in NYC. And despite the hype, it’s not being held in a virtual world or as online event – it was an old-fashioned face-to-face meeting. I certainly hope they made everyone check their PDAs at the door

Coupons: The Web's Killer App?

2008-08-08T19:39:17Z

The typical image of a coupon clipper is someone w/a scruffy wallet overflowing with paper fragments of all shapes and sizes who somehow always winds up in front of you at the checkout stand. According to a recent study by Simmons Market Research Bureau and Coupons, Inc. that image is increasingly out of date. Today's coupon clippers (or, more appropriately, coupon clickers) are increasingly online - nearly 36 million of the 148 million Americans who use coupons find them online instead of in their local newspaper. And that demographic is increasingly attractive - more than half of online coupon users are 22 to 44 years old, and their household income is significantly higher than that of your tradtional coupon clipper. I have to admit to being a bit of a coupon clicker myself. Like the 81% of Web users who say they look for product information online before making a purchase, I search for information on the item I want (new running shoes, say), then find an online store that has the best price. Then, in another browser tab, I search for coupons for that online store hoping to score free shipping. The point here is that your best customers may have very different behaviors online than off and you need to understand not just their profile or demographic, but their online an offline behavior patterns as well. That's the only way you can successfully plan your communication touchpoints and engagement strategy. Plan your strategy around an outdated image of your customers and you could find yourself a little short at the checkout counter.

Journeys into an Online Experience

2008-07-29T15:14:41Z

When you think of Luis Vuitton, perhaps you think of luxury fashion and exquisitely crafted goods with high price tags and tons of counterfeits all over the world. What doesn't come to mind is a brand that has created one of the more sublime online experiences out there. Through subtitled videos, moody audio and the impeccable photography of Annie Leibovitz, Journeys gives you a glimpse into the lives of various celebrities and their relationships with Louis Vuitton travel products.]]> http://journeys.louisvuitton.com/

Mobile - The Final Frontier

2008-07-28T19:31:16Z

For many of us, the idea mobile marketing creates a cringe-enducing association with mobile spam. Images of random text messages waking you up in the middle of the night race through your head. You begin to shiver with thoughts of your cell phone rattling in the middle of a presentation letting you know about “Free Pix”. Well I’m here to tell you – It doesn’t have to be that way.

Utilizing advanced network capacities, refined measurement/tracking capabilities, and a solid strategy, marketers can safely enter the mobile universe with little fear of turning off their valued consumers. The key to connecting with your audience through mobile is to provide valuable and timely content on an opt-in/opt-out basis. If people are asking for you to communicate with them, you have a perfect opportunity to provide an engaging brand touchpoint.

Here are a few tips for entering the mobile space for your company:

]]>

Partner with an individual or organization that has credibility with the audience
Since consumers are wary of invasive advertising, start by bringing on a expert, celebrity, or renowned company to act as a major voice in the content. For example, a toothpaste company might consider a well-respected dentist to provide valuable information to consumers

Encourage opt-in using incentive-based promotions
Obviously your return on investment has a great deal to do with the number of opt-ins you are able to generate. Consider a sweepstakes or giveaway that rewards people for signing up for your messages.

Provide special discounts and exclusive content
Part of the allure of joining a mobile subscriber list is the perceived benefits of being in “the club”. You can enhance this benefit by providing access to special product offers/discounts and giving information to subscribers that they can’t find anywhere else.

Tie your mobile efforts to your larger marketing activities
In isolation, mobile marketing efforts can rarely achieve the ROI necessary to justify the expense. However, if you can leverage the exposure of your advertising, PR, and promotions efforts to enhance your reach, your cost of acquisition (and thus ROI) can become much more attractice.

Content must be timely and relevant
This may sound like a no-brainer, so I’ll have to give an example. Johnson’s Baby implemented their “Mama Movil” campaign by providing informative alerts that tracked along with the pregnancy stages of individual subscribers. This kind of customized service helped build a personal connection between brand and consumer.

(full disclosure: Jack Morton works with Johnson & Johnson which owns the Johnson’s Baby brand)

Brilliant (Brand) Experience

2008-07-25T14:23:01Z

How cool is this: Chanel is sponsoring a Mobile Art pavilion designed by the award-winning architect Zaha Hadid that will be landing in New York's Central Park in October (having already made stops in Hong Kong and Tokyo, with London and Paris to follow). According to the New York Times, more than a temporary art space (not to mention Hadid's first building in New York), "the pavilion is a provocative advertisement. Chanel, the fashion brand, commissioned Ms. Hadid to create the traveling structure to house works by about 15 hot contemporary artists. Each was asked to create a work that was at least in part inspired by Chanel’s classic 2.55 quilted-style chain handbag, so named because it was first issued in February 1955."

"Knol" -- be among the first to know what that means!

2008-07-24T19:10:54Z

It's going to be the next little made up word to change our culture, you know, like blog and wiki. "Knol", as defined by Google, is a unit of knowledge (shouldn't it be "knowl"?) Google has entered the Wiki space, launching the beta of it's own user-contributed knowledge base. The key differentiator from Wikipedia is that entries identify the contributor -- and even pay them a percentage of ad revenue generated by their page. New model, more transparency, part of Google -- probably has a good chance of succeeding.

Intruder Alert!

2008-07-22T09:00:00Z

Like my colleague Eddy Perez mentioned in a previous post, Apple’s new AppStore is the hot new thing. The iPhone’s future success relies on the AppStore's sale of third party applications. It’s also getting hot for another reason, and Apple had nothing to do with it. ]]> they want might actually help you the next time you engage them.

Applications In Store

2008-07-18T16:35:05Z

Unless you've been living under a rock or stuck in endless meetings for the last week, you've heard that Apple released the iPhone 3G. The new phone sports GPS capabilities, 3G network access, Exchange support, a slimmer design, and an updated operating system. But all these new features combined pale in comparison to the one thing on the iPhone that is most relevant to brands, marketers and agencies: the App Store.]]> Warner Brothers: The Dark Knight A free application that allows you to use the iPhone's camera to take a picture and add overlay graphics to make your subjects look like the Joker. The newly created image can be shared via email. Careerbuilder.com This free application offers users the ability to search nearly 2 million jobs on careerbuilder.com via search or by using the iPhone's geo-location abilities. The application takes advantage of the integrated Google Maps and can display search results on a map. Salesforce.com Another free application that allows salesforce.com users to keep customer information on the iPhone and gives field agents greater mobile productivity. Facebook Facebook's iPhone application makes it easy for users to stay connected with their friends via Facebook Chat, upload mobile photos and check status updates. EA Mobile With games like Scrabble, Tetris and Sudoku already released and more games coming soon, EA looks to be one of the big players in the App Store games section. These are only a few examples of how companies are using the App Store to create new content and connect with their customers and clients. Already, applications are taking advantage of the rich graphic interface to embed ads and links to additional content on external web sites. With millions of iPhone users out there, and an exciting new space ripe for development, it's a sure bet that major brands will have a need for a partner that can offer creative and strategic solutions that enhance the experience around the new platform. A partner like Jack Morton. Below is the a link to the App Store on iTunes (iTunes software required). App Store

Mobile (cellphone) marketing - it's more than just a phone

2008-07-16T22:37:58Z

The buzz about new technology for mobile phones is everywhere these days; from the launch of the 3G iPhone to geeks everywhere using Twitter and all its latest spin offs for micro-blogging. It makes sense, because according to a recent survey by Cisco, "there are three times as many mobile-phone subscribers (3.3 billion) as Internet users (1.3 billion) worldwide." - and most people use their phone all the time. Many of our clients - like Subway - are now trying mobile marketing in the U.S. that is common in Europe and Asia; ]]> contest to appear in a commercial with Jared, and they have piloted coupons sent via SMS in Buffalo and Seattle recently. SMS is the most effective way to reach an audience, especially a younger audience. There will be a staggering two trillion text messages sent in 2008, many by the youngest generation, as Pat points out in his comment on Brad's recent post. SMS text messages work easily on just about every phone, unlike web sites or difficult-to-install mobile applications that have to be carefully crafted for specific phone models. We have lots of ways to use SMS for our clients' projects, from contests, coupons, and text alerts to using SMS to survey an audience live during a presentation. Finally, there is another way to reach just about every mobile phone user - with a phone call. A company here in Cambridge has a great, viral tool to send a personalized marketing message as a phone call - using a widget that can be added to any personal web site, Facebook or MySpace page, or even a blog. Give it a try - send your friend a custom message from Ashton Kutcher:

High definition weather

2008-07-16T19:43:53Z

For the first time since its launch in 1982, The Weather Channel set has been redesigned. Our Jack Morton/PDG and Jack Morton Exhibits teams designed and built an innovative 360-degree environment featuring HD projection technology and LED lighting, while utilizing low-emitting materials (adhesives, sealants, paints and carpets) to decrease their environmental footprint. Check it out on Weather Channel TV

A Dancing Gnome

2008-07-14T21:30:38Z

A friend recently sent me a link to a funny clip you probably have already heard of, or even viewed: "Where The Hell Is Matt?” This four and a half minute video montage introduces Matt Harding, your average Joe, as he dances his way through 42 different countries, vigorously flailing his arms and kicking out his feet in what is now his signature jig. There isn’t too much more to say about the video – it’s simple and surprisingly endearing. I had read about the viral phenomenon a few weeks back, but at the time, didn’t think it was compelling enough to YouTube. A random guy who’s hit fame doing something wacky? Eh, I’ve heard enough of those Jared the Subway Guy-esque stories. But after my friend emailed me the direct link, I had no excuse not to click on it. So click I did. ]]> I Love Lucy) and the floating astronauts who challenge gravity to dance at the Nellis Airspace in Nevada. Other than the fact that it’s cute entertainment, why am I writing about it? Well, the interesting part of this story is the role of sponsorship. This is Harding’s third video; his last two were sponsored by Stride Gum. It’s a basic exchange: Stride funds Harding’s travels, Harding thanks Stride in the video. But the sponsorship has achieved organic growth through word of mouth – the media notes the sponsorship, people talk about it, bloggers write about it. To date, the video has attracted nearly 6.5 million views. from which Stride benefits. Product placement is nothing new, but this type of product placement – internet + sponsorship – is a smart move beyond traditional marketing and advertising. YouTube remains the internet’s little darling, giving nearly everyone a lottery ticket to Hollywood. Plenty of companies post videos online to promote themselves, but bringing the commoner in to do it himself is even better, as we all have a greater affinity to, well, ourselves. Both Dr. Pepper and Sprint Nextel are already sponsoring online videos. The former features a YouTubelebrity, the latter engages the general public. The fun of the experience helps us forget that we’re being sold to, making it a very effective tactic indeed. For more on "Where The Hell Is Matt?" and this topic, check out this The Washington Post article .

This is my mom's house: How Google is changing the world!

2008-07-10T23:12:14Z

Have you seen the "street view" feature in Google Maps? It's astounding, really. You enter an address just like normal on any mapping software, and then click on the Street View button and a picture of your destination -- or any step in your route from point A to point B -- appears. Not the angle you're looking for? Just click and drag the image to change your perspective or position on the map. My wife is not great at directions (I can say that because she doesn't read this blog). She relies on landmarks to find her way, so this feature has been great for her. You can click on any point on the route, then back up a hundred feet or so and see what landmark there might be. How do they do it? Popular Mechanics shared some info on it. Basically, they've got an 11 lens camera and they shoot lots of video as they drive through the streets. Hugely labor intensive, so they must only do big cities, right? Clearly, they'd start with the most populous areas, but they've managed to make their way to the small town in KY where my mother lives -- that's her house in the picture. We live in a marvelous time in history!

Growing Up Online

2008-07-08T19:42:43Z

One of the most fascinating programs that my wife and I watched this year was an episode of PBS's Frontline called "Growing Up Online." We don't have kids yet, but it's in our future, and eventually our kids will be teenagers. I graduated from High School only 13 years ago, and the experience of being a teenager has completely changed. This new generation doesn’t know what life was like before the web.]]> http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/kidsonline/

Talk it out, write it down and sign it

2008-06-30T15:38:36Z

As VP, Director of Production Procurement I am some times called upon to mediate "issues" that have developed between a production team and a supplier. My first responsibility is to carefully listen to both sides of an "issue" to truly understand it and then see if I can help lead both sides to a meaningful and equitable solution. All too often I find myself trying to mediate a situation that has formed through poor communications. Emails have been fired back and forth and quick phone conversations have been had and yet nothing has been placed in formal writing and signed by both parties. I'm sure you can see that whatever the "issue" might be it is based in an honest miss-understanding between parties. The fact that there hasn't been anything placed in formal writing which shows the resulting "understanding" means there can't be an "oh, that's what you meant?" moment! I have found that 90% of these "issues" are the result of honest assumptions and miss-understandings which can lead to bent feelings and potential real issues. All of these types of situations can either be avoided all together or easily remedied when discussions and assumptions are placed into a formal document, reviewed, agreed to and signed by both parties. In the instance of a 3rd party supplier this document should most always be a Purchase Order (PO). The PO functions as your contract with a supplier and should function to show any changes in scope of work. A PO is your central and most effective tool to help facilitate clear and fully understood requirements. The PO seems like such a simple and relatively unimportant thing, but in reality it functions as the central document that facilitates healthy and productive relationships with your suppliers.