August 13, 2010

Thrills Lighter Than Air

Filed under: General, Our Life — Monica Hebert @ 12:34 pm

This past weekend, a few of my friends and I took a 50-minute drive to Baton Rouge to enjoy the annual Pennington Hot Air Balloon Festival. For the past few years, I had been hearing about how great it was from a multitude of family and friends and decided to see what all the fuss was about.

We arrived around 6 p.m. The event begins much earlier, but it’s August in South Louisiana, which translates to “excruciatingly hot.” We killed time to beat the heat and took advantage of VIP tickets to the COX tent — they are a yearly sponsor of the event. We spent the first part of our experience in that tent enjoying the perks before exploring the grounds. Balloon owners were scattered around the grassy area, but no balloons were inflated. The owners remained pleasantly accessible; you could walk up and talk to them right next to the baskets. I struck up a conversation with a friendly ballooner, asked why they were not flying and was notified that the air was too turbulent. Oh, no, I thought. Did I bring my friends out here for nothing?

As we ventured around the site, there was a band playing on a stage, games and rides for all ages (mostly kids) and food vendors like I’ve never seen. Then, suddenly, action. Balloons were being rolled out onto the grass. We hurriedly found a spot and set up camp to watch. There were about 35 balloons slowly being inflated while onlookers sat just three feet away. It was amazing!

By the time the balloons stood tall, the sun had set. The announcer on stage directed the balloon operators for what they called the “Balloon Glow.” The countdown began, and the photo attached shows what an amazing site was revealed.

balloon-fest

All in all, the balloon festival was great and the “Balloon Glow” was the highlight of the event.

August 6, 2010

Is your boyfriend starting to smell like your grandpa?

Filed under: General — Sara Ashy @ 2:14 pm

I must admit, I don’t really even know what Old Spice smells like. I don’t even really know what it is. What is it anyway? Is it a men’s cologne or more like a men’s toner with a kick of smell-good? All I can really remember about Old Spice are the gift box sets that always seemed to appear around Christmas time, but I cannot say that I ever remember any guy in my life (whether boyfriend, brother, uncle or dad) ever mentioning the product — ever. I mean, aftershave and especially Old Spice, is not at all a sexy product. Until now that is.

old-spice-guy-gears-of-war

Apparently the new marketing strategy introduced by Wieden + Kennedy, marketing agency for Old Spice, has resulted in sales increase of 107% in the past few months. How did the marketers of this dusty, antiquated brand bring it full force into the modern mainstream again? A very simple formula, really.

A great concept + a fully integrated marketing strategy + a flawless social media strategy to complement the advertising = an unbelievable success story for the Old Spice brand.

Women love this campaign because it’s funny and charming. Men tend to love the things that women love, especially if they think it will increase their own “charming-ness” with said women. Marshall Kirkpatrick of ReadWriteWeb shares the story of how these brand strategists took the social web by storm in one day.

So, if your boyfriend is starting to make you feel, well, a little nostalgic for the old days, blame it on some really brilliant creative people and a flawlessly executed traditional/online strategy. If you’d like to brag a little about your own branding story sometime in the future, call the brilliant creative professionals at BBR.

August 4, 2010

10 Tips for a Successful Email Newsletter

Filed under: General, Strategically Speaking, Tips and Tricks — Holly Lutz @ 10:07 am

bbr_enews_web

When used appropriately, company newsletters can be very effective. There are dozens of helpful tips available to make your newsletter more successful, but here are 10 that I believe are most important. They may seem obvious, but you’d be surprised at how often company newsletters don’t follow one or more of these simple tips.

1. Use the Same Format – If you keep changing the layout or color scheme of your newsletter, your readers won’t be able to easily identify it. Your newsletter is an extension of your company’s brand image and should be formatted the same each time you send it out.

2. Use Compelling Subject Lines – Don’t bore your readers before they’ve even opened your newsletter by using subject lines like CompanyXYZ Newsletter: Volume 25. Make your subject line interesting to draw your readers in wanting to learn more.

3. Frequency is Key – The easiest way to lose newsletter subscribers is to overwhelm them with too many e-mails. Ask yourself: Is the content newsworthy? Relevant? Interesting? Try developing a tentative editorial calendar. This will help you maintain a list of possible subjects to write about while keeping you on track with your newsletters.

4. Use Visuals – People love pictures! Your newsletter will be much more appealing and engaging with visuals to accompany them. Additionally, most online newsletter services make it easy for you to insert photos and format them.

5. Be Aware of Length – Your readers will appreciate a newsletter that is short, simple and to the point. Too much copy or technical jargon can cause your readers to lose interest. If you must write a longer newsletter, give your readers the option to click to read more of the article about halfway through.

6. Get the Timing Right – Try to coordinate your newsletters with current newsworthy events or the seasonal aspects of your business. For example, it’s more sensible to send out a 10 Tips for Choosing Your Tax Preparer newsletter in January rather than July.

7. Learn From Others – Subscribe to a few newsletters that are similar to yours or to your competitors’ newsletters. While you don’t want to copy your competitors’ newsletters directly, you may be able to take an idea and add your own twist to it.

8. Show Some Personality – There’s no rule that says the content of your newsletter has to be serious material only. Got a new product to debut? Celebrating a major milestone? Take fun staff photos for moments like these — it helps you to develop a connection with your readers.

9. Be Respectful of Unsubscribers – When readers unsubscribe from your newsletter, don’t take it personally. It is important to be sure they are removed from your mailing list as soon as possible. Most online newsletter services will automatically remove unsubscribers when they request it.

10. Track Your Stats – Most online newsletter services allow you to see statistics about your newsletter such as click-throughs or the number of readers. Use this helpful information to improve your newsletters by taking note of which elements of your newsletter are most popular.

You’ll be able to find many more tips to create a successful newsletter that is targeted to your industry, but the bottom line is that you want your readers to look forward to receiving your newsletters. Put yourself in their shoes — what are the elements of a newsletter that will be most beneficial to them? If you can keep that and these simple tips in mind, your newsletter should be a success!

There are several services to help you build and develop your own company newsletter. Click Here for a List of Newsletter Services

July 14, 2010

A Blog about Blogs about Blogs…

Filed under: General, News & Views — Tags: , — Eddie Talbot @ 5:32 pm

Who can remember the “Olden Days” when you couldn’t look up the Prime Minister of Tuvalu? (To save you the time, it’s Apisai Ielemia.) You now have access to a world of facts and opinions. It is so easy to get lost in a sea of information and contradictory rhetoric. The question today is how to acquire relevant information without having to sift through mountains of irrelevant content.

In steps the blogger.

The blogger serves as an information gatherer and micromanager. You can look for the smaller subjects you are interested in on a daily, granular basis. You don’t have to wait for a news giant to get around to the stories you are interested in. If you are interested in keeping up with technology you can check blogs like:

http://www.macrumors.com/
http://www.techcrunch.com/
http://www.arstechnica.com/

If your thing is keeping up with the latest in the Marketing/Advertising world:

http://www.brandfreak.com
http://www.adweek.com
http://www.brandweek.com

Or for a leap into the deep end of the weirdo pool:

http://www.peopleofwalmart.com
http://www.freakingnews.com/Celebrities-Upside-Down-Pictures–2433.asp
http://www.cowabduction.com/
http://www.awkwardfamilyphotos.com/

The point is that whatever you are interested in is there for you. There are so many options, like bookmarking, RSS feeds and search engine home page bookmarking, that you can get your information fix when you are ready for it — without having to wait for the 5:30 news.

It is sometimes tough not to get flooded by information. With a little research, blogging can function as a release valve that allows us to pre-filter the information we need. By publishing (ahem) relevant content, bloggers allow us to save time and free our days a little so we can do what we do best.

June 28, 2010

Side Stitch - Designers at Heart

Filed under: Side Stitch — Tags: , , , — Burt Durand @ 3:13 pm

ss_dah_web2

Welcome back for another episode of Side Stitch! Here we follow a young design pair from initial campus crush to the Request for Proposal (RFP), seeing all the adorableness and designer in-jokes in between.

I started concepting the story after I thought of the RFP/marriage kicker. I tried to think of a bunch of design-related situations in which to put the couple. The challenge wasn’t to try and squeeze in as much design references as possible (that was the easy part), but to illustrate two people falling in love in a very finite number of panels. So we see them working together to ace their design final, the initial inquiry to a first date, bonding over the industry’s beloved design annuals, starting their own design studio, painting a house, adopting their own pet and, finally, proposing marriage.

I put a lot of heart into this comic, so I hope it shows, haha. Please feel free to link this comic to your designer friends. Or account execs. Or, really, anyone who might get that RFP joke, haha.

Thanks!
-burt

Note: To view at a larger size, please click on the image and make the browser window as large as you can.

June 24, 2010

King Crawfish: Culture Committed to Film Yet Again

Filed under: General — Tags: , , , , , , — Tim Landry @ 5:53 pm

As a lifelong Louisiana resident, I have this unfortunate tendency to gaze right through the inherently amazing. Festivals come and go while Cajun and Zydeco music echoes through my neighborhood on a near daily basis. I’m not immune to it all. Heck, I’m a great dancer. It’s just that I just don’t stop to consider its role in my community all that often.

The truth is ours is a culture worth celebrating — because ours is a culture of celebration. In any other region, our routines would be considered anything but routine. And I’m thankful for every passing reminder of that.

Take, for example, the latest documentary from locals Conni Castille and Allison Bohl. You can view the trailer below.

King Crawfish - Official Trailer from Allison Bohl on Vimeo.

From the film’s official release: In King Crawfish the Cajun spirit gets poured out on a communal table, even as the wild harvest is diminishing. At the [Breaux Bridge Crawfish] Festival, everything Cajuns value takes to the stage — their language, their music, their food, their dance, and their crawfish. Thousands of pounds of crawfish get served up at the festival, much of it coming from their natural habitat, the Atchafalaya Basin. But, as the film traces the crustacean from festival to Basin, it finds fishermen fighting to retain their way of life in one small fishing community.

Produced by UL Lafayette’s Cinematic Arts Workshop, King Crawfish marks Castille and Bohl’s third Acadiana-centric documentary released since 2007. Previous, well-received offerings included the award-winning I Always Do My Collars First and Raised on Rice & Gravy. Each painted an endearing portrait of the people, places and practices that we all could stand to stop, if only for a moment, to simply admire.

King Crawfish, with a special introduction by National Geographic Explorer Jon Bowermaster, will debut 7 p.m. Thursday, June 24, at the Bayou Bijou Theater in the UL Lafayette Student Union, 600 McKinley St. Admission is free. For more information, call (337) 277-5292, or e-mail connicastille@gmail.com. Check this space for updates to future showings.

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