Felt like a little Friday fun. Here are two commercials I like right now.
Travelers Insurance – Prized Possession
Orbit – Big Pak – Droppin 35
Droppin 35 with Travelers Insurance
July 10, 2009
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Advertising, Just Fun | Tagged: big pak, droppin 35, Gen Y PR Prescriptions, James S. Walker, jaywalk1, PR Prescriptions, travelers insurance | 
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Posted by jaywalk1
Talking “at” Not “to” Everyone: A Note on Twitter and Hashtag Use
June 23, 2009Everyone knows that Twitter is all about the conversation, right? It’s about connecting with people, developing relationships and sharing information in 140 characters.
Some communicators are better at balancing the three than others, but this post is for the PR and Marketing folk who use this platform to share valuable information. Here’s my first question for you (”experts” can jump to question two):
Do you know what hashtags are?
Hashtags.org defines them as “ a community-driven convention for adding additional context and metadata to your tweets. They’re like tags on Flickr, only added inline to [your message].”
There aren’t any major rules when it comes to using hashtags. Simply throw in the “#” before the message and tweet away.
One of the most popular ways to use hashtags is to use the agreed upon hashtag when live tweeting from conferences. Here’s an example of that in action from BlogPotomac 2009:
“jaywalk1: @loryn24 Some would say YOU don’t determine your brand. The ppl you know and interact with do. I’m not buying that 100%. #blogpotomac“
The hashtag doesn’t need to go at the end of the message, but it often does, and as you can see, by using hashtags, you are able to track tweets posted by anyone using that same tag.
People create all kinds of tags and participate in themed discussions such as #followfriday and #charitytuesday. One extremely popular and useful tag at the moment is #iranelection. This brings me to my second question:
Are you using hashtags appropriately?
I know, I know. I just finished talking about how there were not any rules to this. I’m still sticking with that, and if you have been on twitter long enough, I’m sure you have a friend or two who get a little “hashtag happy” and create their own tags for everything. I’m not here to regulate, but I’d like to point out the fact that there are established communities forming around these tags…some you know about and some you don’t.
It was at BlogPotomac during a talk from Shireen Mitchell (@digitalsista) that I really began to give this some thought. Being in the District, I follow a healthy amount of people truly engaged in political discussion on twitter, and I thought I was decently clued in to the popular tags people used- #tcot (top conservatives on twitter) and #tlot (top liberals on twitter).
As someone who tends to throw in my own tags from time to time, I was foolish to think that these were the main ones. In her discussion, she listed a host of others that I had never even heard of and said something that really drove a message home. I use these tags to speak to groups, but I speak to everyone.Through her use of these hashtags (and there are SEVERAL!), she is able to speak to and share information directly with groups all across the spectrum. She doesn’t simply put the message out there.
You may be thinking, well I do the same thing right now. But do you really?
Many of us simply tweet and put the information out there. There is a beauty to the way twitter works, the serendipity that can occur with the right person just happening to come across the information you shared, but how much stronger could our message be?
How much longer could the trail of the pass along or re-tweets be if really took more time to check out the communities of people we are trying to reach to determine the tags they use, the communities they interact with, the communities they would benefit from being connected to?
My final thought: you could talk “at” everyone and dangle the fishing line, but you’ll do much better in connecting with the right people if you spend some time looking into the communities building around these hashtag conversations and speak to them directly.
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Advertising, PR, Professional Development, Public Relations, Resource, Resources, Social Media | Tagged: #charitytuesday, #followfriday, #iranelection, #tcot, #tlot, Blog Potomac, BlogPotomac, digitalsista, Gen Y PR Prescriptions, James S. Walker, James Walker, jaywalk1, PR Prescriptions, top conservatives on twitter, top liberals on twitter, Twitter | 
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Posted by jaywalk1
Commercials that Make Me Chuckle
April 8, 2009
I wouldn’t mind having a closet like this.
If only my broom cared as much.
Just cuz. I can imagine the faces in the room where this concept was first shared.
Love the stats: “233,000 people just twittered on twitter. 26% of you viewing this have no idea what that means.”
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Advertising, Just Fun | Tagged: Baby Come Back, Heineken, Now network, Sprint, Swiffer | 
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Posted by jaywalk1
Slick Mick: Introducing the Dollar or a Bit More Menu
January 21, 2009
From the creators of the Big Mac and Chicken Selects comes the “Dollar or a bit more menu”. Sounds a little weird, right? Well, it was weird to me because I’ve already seen several “bit more” items on what used to be the dollar menu.
Why is this ad running now in DC metro…after the fact? Will the “bit more” menus soon be a “bit more and then some”? Hope not.
Regardless of that, I have dubbed them “Slick Mick” because they manage to tell us that they have raised prices and that WE should THANK THEM all in one ad!
Leave a Comment » | Advertising, Just Fun, Thoughts | Tagged: dollar menu, Gen Y PR Prescriptions, James S. Walker, jaywalk1, McDonald's, PR Prescriptions, Slick, slick mick | Permalink
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Drinkability: Not too heavy. Not too light.
January 3, 2009I think I’m about to make another first, a post about alcohol. While reading up on Flowing Data, I came across this Bud Light commercial where a guy is explaining the concept to his friends by mapping the drinkability of Bud Light beer.
Maybe I’m into the mapping concept right now or something, but the commercial seems relaxed, different and funny. Not too heavy, and Not too light. Enjoy!
And if you choose to really enjoy, please drink responsibly!
Leave a Comment » | Advertising, Just Fun | Tagged: Bud Light, Budweiser, Drinkability, Flowing Data, Gen Y PR Prescriptions, James S. Walker, jaywalk1, PR Prescriptions | Permalink
Posted by jaywalk1
Forget Viral for Just a Moment: Aveo Livin’ Large
October 5, 2008Between Twitter, the papers and Ad Age, I’ve gotten different bits of info on the Chevy Aveo Livin Large campaign, enough to want to check it out.
Ad Age writer Jean Halliday reports:
“Chevrolet is trying a new twist on viral marketing. General Motors Corp.’s volume brand said it’s offering up to 10 free rides a day to college students on six campuses in a Chevy Aveo5 hatchback and filming the experience.
Students are encouraged to ham it up. The videos will be posted within 24 hours of the ride to a special site, AveoLivinLarge. From here, the students can see the footage, pass it along to friends, or upload it to their blog pages or sites like Facebook.”
Later in Halliday’s piece, Chevrolet North America VP Ed Peper is quoted saying that the “College Cab” program “leverages the online tools young people are already using in a fun and interesting way.”
I have to say that the videos, especially the ones featuring freestyles, are pretty good. They provide a nice 3pm metal break, but I imagine that Chevy’s goal isn’t to go viral. It’s probably closer to something like selling more Aveos, and they’ll do it not because they were able to get some nice videos online but because they were able to create a cool experience for their target audience inside the car.
When it comes to cars, you can have the greatest commercials, the most clever taglines and the craziest celeb plugging the model for you, but in the end, it’s about the car. How do I feel when I get in? How’s the ride? Did I feel at one with the wheel? (Ok, the last one may be a little personal, but you get the point.) It’s about the experience.
This jumped out at me becuase I recently had a few errands to run and needed to rent a car. When I went to pick it up, they didn’t have the one I requested and asked if I wouldn’t mind trying out the HHR.
I would never have voluntarily chosen to get into this vehicle. It just didn’t speak to me, at least not in the same way the ultimate driving machine did. It took about 10 minutes to get used to it and before I knew it I was zipping up and down 66 and 395. I know some of you are making faces right now, but this thing can move! Even though it was by accident, I came to like the car. I had to actually get in the car to see myself in the car. Not an earth-shattering revelation, but it just occurred to me.
To all the marketers and PR pros out there, before you begin putting all your stock in going viral, remember that the best way to do it is still getting nonbelievers to have their own physical, offline experience with your product or service.
3 Comments | Advertising, Just Fun, Public Relations, Social Media | Tagged: Ad Age, Aveo Facebook, Chevrolet, Chevrolet Aveo, Chevy Aveo, Chevy HHR, Gen Y PR Prescriptions, James S. Walker, James Walker, Jean Halliday, Livin Large, PR Prescriptions, Viral Marketing | Permalink
Posted by jaywalk1
The Mac Op-Ed: One Welcome Distraction
September 10, 2008Anyone out there hate online newspaper ads?
I think most are okay, but I HATE the ones that disrupt my ultimate quest for enlightenment (also known as my attempt to read the news) by sliding down the whole page of news, causing me to frantically search for the microscopic ”skip this ad” or “close this ad” link. By the time I actually click on it, the advertisers usually have won and some uninvited company has become etched in my mind.
After preparing myself for battle, today I went to the Washington Post’s site and received a welcome distraction. The page loaded and I noticed some activity on the right hand side of the screen. It was PC Guy.
PC Guy dragging in his Op Ed
What was he up to? Dragging in an Op Ed about people switching to Macs.
Stop Switching to Mac Op Ed
Being a PR guy, I thought this was hilarious on several levels. If you love the all the great Mac-PC Guy interactions as much as I do, here’s one for you.
2 Comments | Advertising, Just Fun, PR, Public Relations | Tagged: Apple, Gen Y PR Prescriptions, James S. Walker, James Walker, jaywalk1, Mac, Online Ads, PC, PC Guy, PR Prescriptions, Washington Post | Permalink
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Apple, Just a-lingering in the back of my mind…
July 15, 2008So I was poking around on the source of all these days, Twitter, and I came across a pretty cool blog called The Machine is Us. The most recent post featured Feist’s Sesame Street appearance. Check it out:
Ok, so tell me you weren’t wating to see that glorious white Apple icon to appear! If you weren’t, you’re better than me. That commercial ran months ago, but as soon as she started “1,2,3,4″ I was thinking “iTunes, iPod, iPhone, download, buy, buy.” Maybe I’m just a little more susceptible to ads than the average guy.
Anyways, I always found these appearances on Sesame Street amusing. Here’s one of my childhood favs featuring the Queen of Salsa, Celia Cruz:
1 Comment | Advertising, Just Fun | Tagged: Advertising, Apple, Celia Cruz, Feist, Gen Y PR Prescriptions, James S. Walker, James Walker, jaywalk1, PR Prescriptions, Sesame Street, Sun Sun Bae, The Machine is Us, Twitter | Permalink
Posted by jaywalk1
