Maytag Commercial Laundry runs new online campaign

Maytag Commercial Laundry is running a search engine marketing campaign for 2010 via Google. The goal is to generate leads for the sales force. The leads are counted when a user fills out an online form to request more information on Maytag’s new commercial laundry website, mclaundry.com.

The campaign includes multiple ad groups that will deliver different creative messages depending on the keyword the user types into Google search. Ad groups include Maytag Commercial Laundry general branding, On-premise Laundry, and Coin Operations.

Campaign success will be measured by the average cost per generating one lead.

Should you have a dedicated office strategy for using your Gen-Y employees?

I ran across this article on Friday on the Marketing Profs Daily Fix blog and thought it provided an interesting perspective — one that might be worth considering differently.

“Entitled” Gen Y: How They Add to the Integrated Hybrid”

What are the first words that pop into your head when someone says Gen Y? Go-getter, enthusiastic, tech-oriented? Entitled was more than likely among the more colorful adjectives. Those ‘My Kid is an an Honor Roll Superstar’ bumper stickers really went to our heads.

So, why should you want Gen Y on your marketing or public relations teams? Besides the obvious need for molding, educating, engaging and reverse mentoring, Gen Yers bring unique perspective to the table; those willing to research and learn know how to network and revitalize campaigns.

Check out the rest of the article at the link above. What do you think? Do you have a conscious strategy in your office for using the strengths of your Gen-Y colleagues? Should you?

Is social media a fad?

When two people who don’t know each other send you the same video in the same week, it’s got to be touching on something interesting.

The video was updated last year, so some of the stats are already out of date (Facebook would now be the world’s third largest country) — but that only makes it more staggering to consider.

Sit back, enjoy, and prepare to be amazed — if you aren’t one of the 1 million+ people who’ve already seen this. (Though I think it’s worth watching again.)

Why the art of design matters

Would Mr. Pollock have been able to survive today’s “office politics” and summon his talent at will?

Was he really the creative genius of his generation, or just some lucky schlub with a lousy temper and a propensity for booze, who simply stumbled upon creative brilliance?

Considering Pollock’s qualifications

Paul Jackson Pollock, an American painter, became a major influence in the abstract expressionist movement of the 1940s and throughout his brief, but brilliant, painting career. A reclusive artist, an alcoholic, and known in most circles to have a volatile personality, Pollock was not born to greatness. Yet still, an unflinching dedication to the exploration of his craft perpetuated Pollock to achieve creative brilliance on the world’s stage.

He established what’s known today as the “drip technique”:  a process of pouring and/or dripping resin-based liquefied paints onto a flat surface, then manipulating the mixture with a stick rather than brush. This technique is widely considered the origin of the term “action painting.”

Pollock’s ingenuity and brilliance quite literally turned the art community upside-down and opened the door to an entirely new method of creating art — as well as viewing it.

Pollock: good candidate for an art director?

Well, we can certainly say that his work inspired our world with creativity and vision. And for what it’s worth, I believe Pollock was the real deal creatively.

If Mr. Pollock were alive today and in search of an Art Director position, I would gladly hire him. Beyond the personal flaws (and yes, we all have a few), his raw talent and unbridled tenacity to push design and technique beyond the norm are attributes that any good Art Director should possess. A willingness to go out into the ether and explore the unexplored is more than daunting, and Pollock did so with both passion and grace.

I believe that if we can understand and capture even a Lilliputian portion of Pollock’s spirit (sans some of his more obvious flaws), it would enlighten and help us all to reach that elusive greatness dwelling deep within.

Do you agree?

Fodder for our next conversation, copywriting: William Faulkner and Jack Kerouac – bloated windbags or advertising prodigies?

Photo above is from http://jacksonpollock.com.

Pencils ready, everyone? Here’s your vocabulary lesson for the week.

Phrase of the week:  Advertising (Ad) Network

What does it mean? An ad network is a company that serves online advertisements throughout numerous websites.

Ad network inventory can include banners and text links on websites, mobile devices, RSS feeds, instant messaging applications and more. Large publishers often sell their remnant inventory to ad networks when their advertising sales rep is unable to sell it.

A couple nice aspects of using an ad network: 1) They have a very large reach across the online universe, and 2) The costs to advertise within a network are typically much lower than going to an individual website.

One negative side? Many ad networks are “blind networks” — meaning advertisers relinquish control of where their ads will run. The ads are served across a list of websites that is only visible to the ad network.

We have great news to share with you!

On Saturday evening, the American Advertising Federation (AAF) – Indianapolis club hosted the annual ADDY® awards, which recognize the best in advertising and creative talent in the area.

Our Miller Brooks team was truly honored to receive nine ADDY awards recognizing work we’ve done in the last year, including two Gold ADDYs and a Bronze award for our own, newly redesigned website. We were up against some really tough competition — 41 agencies, companies and individuals in the Indianapolis market submitted 248 broadcast and print entries.

To us, the awards signify the dedication we have to providing innovative ideas and exceptional work to our clients. Without those great clients, we wouldn’t have had the opportunity to exercise our creative muscle in the first place. (Thank you!)

The nine ADDY awards we received were:

We can’t say thank you enough to our fantastic clients. It’s a tremendous accomplishment and we’re looking forward to competing at the next level.

**Also, many kudos go out to our own Liz Gottlin for chairing the ADDY committee this year! Our traffic manager is already busy at MB, but this was like a second job for her. The event was fantastic, and she really did a great job. (We bet she slept for at least 12 hours on Saturday night after the event.) Great job, Liz!

Let’s face it:  life is a balancing act. I have been in marketing for over 12 years, and I became a mom almost five years ago. When I did, I realized that my worlds would often collide. And I can honestly say that being both a mom and an account supervisor have made me a stronger, more well-rounded person.

On the surface, these roles may seem completely different – but through the years, I’ve found that you can draw parallels between the two worlds. Here are my top seven.

1. Communication

Mom: When I can, I prep my son for what is about to happen. I tell him the sequence of events, so he knows what to expect. Setting expectations has saved us from many, many meltdowns, and it has helped him become a more mature, trusting person.

Account Supervisor: Working with clients to set and meet expectations is a key part of my job. Maintaining that open line of communication will always help to promote a  successful client-agency relationship.

2. Diagnosis

Mom: Illness is a regular part of life when you have a child. Determining exactly what is wrong and how it should be treated, on the other hand, can be very difficult.

Account Supervisor: Clients come to me with a variety of issues. How can we drive more traffic to our website? Sales are down – what can we do? The first stage in diagnosis is logging the symptoms so we can understand the problem. Then we can prescribe a strong marketing remedy that supports the original objectives and solves the problem.

3. Negotiation

Mom: Ah, the parent-child battles.  You may have dessert only if you eat your vegetables first.

Account Supervisor: Wouldn’t it be great if balancing deadlines with client needs could be solved with a bowl of ice cream? “If we don’t get the edits until Tuesday night, we won’t be able to have the piece printed for you on Wednesday morning. But if we get final art out on Friday, we can certainly deliver!” (Item 1 on this list, communication, also applies here. Then again, good communication applies to nearly every situation!)

4. Compassion

Mom: What is a mom for but to kiss those boo-boos and make it all better? Compassionate parenting also means helping him cope when he learns that not everything in this world is fair.

Account Supervisor: So many of my clients have gone through difficult times over the years, both in their personal and their professional lives. A compassionate, objective ear is invaluable when they realize that not everything in the business world is fair.

5. Patience

Mom: [Sigh] Patience has to be one of the more difficult challenges of being a parent.  “Stop running in the house!” I remind myself that 4-year-old boys have an endless amount of energy, and thank goodness he isn’t just sitting on the couch. (Learning deep-breathing techniques doesn’t hurt.)

Account Supervisor: “Why don’t they just do what we think is right?” Patience is a must-have while you help clients navigate the (often new or unknown) world of marketing. And sometimes, you find that their way actually was the right way after all!

6. Organization

Mom: Without organization, I would be a total mess. My mental to-do list is never-ending and always changing. First, I will get him dressed, then let the dog out, then pack his backpack, and I need to make him a doctor appointment… Establishing order and routine when I can makes all of us happier in the end.

Account Supervisor: If projects aren’t organized, it is guaranteed that chaos will ensue. And that strategy you worked so hard to establish will soon disappear.

7. Fun

Mom: This is 100% the best part of parenting. Yes, let’s play another round of Candyland!

Account Supervisor: We are all in marketing for a reason, right?  The fun stuff is why I love my job!

Sure, both positions have their own unique set of challenges. But isn’t that what keeps things interesting?

What parallels between roles do you find in your own life? And how have you used those skills to make your personal or professional life more enjoyable?

Time for the first digital media vocab lesson! Got your pencil ready?

Phrase of the week: Ad Serving

What does it mean? It’s the process of placing advertisements on websites. When someone sees an online advertisement, the ad has been served and an impression has been delivered.

BLUE was sweet to Katie when he delivered her Valentine’s Day surprise, but he is a mascot, after all.

Have a great Friday!

Watch for this guy at a coin laundry near you!