<img src="http://bigorangeslide.com/wp-content/themes/theslide/images/title.gif" alt="Big Orange Slide">

Drumming up business

October 21, 2009 by Dave Hamilton

When Sweden’s IceHotel set about extending its brand with the opening of its IceBar concept in Denmark, they created an equally original launch tactic: A video of Robert Eriksson of Swedish garage band The Hellacopters playing a drum kit made of ice.

The Icehotel in Jukkasjärvi, Sweden is the biggest hotel of ice and snow in the world. The whole thing is made from scratch each year, out of snow and ice blocks taken from the Torne River, and exists only between December and April. The IceBar concept aims at bringing this unique experience to a broader (though perhaps less committed) audience.

Before the launch of the bar in April of this year, IceHotel released a viral featuring drummer Eriksson smashing a drum set made of ice. The video, along with its “making of’” companion, has amassed more than a million views on Youtube so far.

Safe to say the tactic is a smash hit.

1 Comment

Unpacking a new kind of consumer

October 13, 2009 by Dave Hamilton

growingup

I recently finished Don Tapscott’s Grown Up Digital: How The Net Generation Is Changing Your World.

My two cents:

Essentially, Mr. Tapscott is telling us how genuinely excited we should be about a generation many social critics have written off as borderline unemployable, and with an attention deficit rivaling that of a Jack Russell in a cat kennel.

Tapscott introduces us at the beginning of his book to his subject, those between 11 and 31, who’ve been characterized as: ignorant, easily distracted, self-obsessed and work-shy, and quite possibly the most advertising resistant cohort – ever!

He rebuts (successfully in my view) the criticism about Gen Y’s work ethic, but the ad-resistant thing, not so much.

The Net Generation – as he refers to this demographic who’ve grown up immersed in digital technology – is upsetting the apple cart for marketers. They won’t accept the one-way approach we communicators have come to love so much for its convenience. They’ve been immersed in two-way communication from childhood. They are more adept at filtering, fast-forwarding, and blocking unsolicited messages than previous generations. And they are quick to compare what brands have to say about themselves with what others have to say, including critics, and especially their social media peers.

Tapscott’s net-take on the Net Generation as future consumers?

“As shoppers, the Net Generation are tough customers. They usually go online to scrutinize a product – both its features and its price – before setting foot in a store. They expect plenty of choice and high-speed service. They think fun should be embedded in the product. They’re not satisfied with one-size-fits-all items that can be bought only in certain places and at certain times. They want something that fits them – where, when, and how they want it. They’re no longer passive consumers of the broadcast model. That’s yesterday’s news.”

My net-take on his book?

While the larger theme is one of employability and opportunity for those of us willing to re-frame our expectations of the classic work ethic, there is also a lot of valuable learning here for brand builders.

Ultimately, Grown Up Digital is a book about paradigm shifts from the workplace to the marketplace, from politics to education, with technology as the catalyst for rapid shifts to the models we might take for granted based on the experience that has shaped our world view (as Boomers and Xers).

It may not be a crystal ball. But it offers a deeper understanding of why and how this particular consumer segment thinks they way they do. That’s worth a skim at the very least.

Good for the Goose, good for the Bear

October 9, 2009 by Dave Hamilton

gaggle

For three generations and 50 years Canada Goose has made the warmest parkas on the planet.

To celebrate the brand’s success, and the customers who swear by it, they’ve published a book of stories and images; about 50 people from around the globe they call “Goose People.”

From storm chasers to filmmakers to Venetian gondoliers, the book is a celebration of one of our country’s most enduring brand stories, and most coveted exports. You can flip through its pages online.

The “made in Canada,” coffee table book is $120 CDN (plus taxes) and all profits will benefit Polar Bears International, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the worldwide conservation of polar bears.

Honda-palooza

October 6, 2009 by Dave Hamilton

hondaGreen

Honda’s green theme took on a musical bent this summer in a partnership with Lollapalooza, the iconic music festival, which I had the pleasure of attending in Chicago’s Grant Park. The effort put them at the centre of a hard-to-reach target, with a timely message that I found very on brand.

Honda’s purpose at the festival was simple: encourage festival attendees to complete eco-mindful activities while enjoying the music. Honda promoted a range of “Rock and Recycle,” activities that included: taking public transport or riding a bike to the festival, refilling your water bottle at any of the free H20 stations on-site, visiting a non-profit group, buying a Lolla Fan Tag carbon offset, or “Getting the Insight” on their new hybrid at the Eco Zone. Each activity earned you stamps on a Green Card, which in turn earned you entry for a chance to win a spanking new Honda Insight.

Their really big idea was encouraging entrants to earn one “megastamp” by collecting a bag full of recyclables from the park grounds during the 3-day festival. The number who chose this route to enter the contest was heartening and I (along with most everyone else I observed) went out of their way to drop empty beer cans into their bags. Suffice to say I walked away feeling a little bit better about everyone involved.

If you’re interested, there’s an in-depth account of Lolla’s eco performance at Greenbase, a popular site about the music industry and climate change.

One million giraffes (and why you should care)

September 30, 2009 by Dave Hamilton

4518

Image by Robin L., 17 years old, from Germany for OneMillionGiraffes.

Every month or so, I get a terrific little e-newsletter from a terrific little brand called Innocent Drinks, out of the UK.

This month, down in the corner of the newsletter was a little gem that I can’t resist sharing: A Gallery Of Giraffes, brought to you by the world at large.

What’s going on here, in simplest terms, is someone has a bet with a friend that they can build an online gallery of one million giraffes by 2011. What I’m charmed and a little bit fascinated by, though, is the kind of collaboration – net-driven collaboration – that’s driving this thing.

People from all over taking time out of (presumably) busy schedules to create something, give it freely, and all in the hope of helping someone achieve something that someone else bet was impossible.

Along with the usual tools for posting to social media, you can view giraffes at random, search for a specific giraffe and even view statistical data on how often and from where giraffes are being posted – a beginners’ guide to web analytics, if you will.

For me, this is a simple lesson in the power of whimsy as an engagement strategy and the potential for cloud marketing if we allow ourselves to play (and I do mean play) in that space.

As of today, there are 301,525 giraffes (698,475 to go) and 457 days left. Go world!

Attack of the attack ads

September 24, 2009 by Dave Hamilton

gripBlog_image_attack

Election talk is heating up. That means the dreaded political advertising campaigns are upon us. Attack ads (the ones we publicly revile) as well as those of the self-congratulatory nature will be targeting us via radio, television, the internet and, to a lesser extent, print.

The first shot off the bow? The Liberals soft sell of Mr. Ignatieff in English Canada and a more critical (of the Harper government) stance in French language ads running in Quebec.

The media and the bars will soon be abuzz with what seems like our age-old debate: Hard Sell vs. Soft Sell in election advertising.

I’ll keep my bias to myself, but for those of you chewing this over at some point, I thought you might appreciate a link to John Geer’s Attack Ad Hall of Fame.

Geer’s bias is decidedly in favour (he wrote a book called “In Defence of Negativity”), but wherever you sit on this, the ads he’s chosen to shortlist provide a quick lesson in what works and why.

If nothing else, watch the earliest known attack ad and answer me this: Is that the voice of Fred Flintstone flogging the GOP?

Tell me a story

September 21, 2009 by Dave Hamilton

Great storytelling has always been the differentiator among great brands. Unique Selling Propositions and benefits, specifications and price are all helpful, sure, but they are few and far between as competitive advantages go these days.

Today, the battle to win minds – and ultimately market share – will be won with stories that lever emotion. And to connect with customers on a truly emotional level, you’ve got to engage them with stories they care about; tales linked to values few of us would refute, such as the championing of Equality, Freedom or Self Respect, to name but three.

The art of storytelling is as old as communication itself. It’s how our history is passed down and how people share their day with each other. We all know someone who spins a yarn better than most. The good news is that once you define it, a great story can be spun across all spokes on your connection wheel – product placement, online content, promotional, whatever.

“Corvette Summer,” for example, isn’t just movie about a man trying to get back his stolen car. It’s a brand story about freedom that’s linked to America’s most iconic automobile.

Pepsi’s “Forever Young” campaign offers us the universal saga of fleeting youth while subtly de-positioning its competitor.

And Grip’s own campaign for Budweiser in Canada builds chapters in a rulebook that engenders male leadership.

So, heard a great story lately? Let’s hear it.

Why blog? Why now? Why us?

At Large, Culture

September 13, 2009 by Dave Hamilton

Okay.
You’ve stumbled onto Big Orange Slide, a window into the world of an advertising and design firm in Toronto. You’ve noticed we focus our ranting and raving on four topics (strategy, design, digital, culture) that are near and dear to us. And you’ve realized there are at least five of us here at GRIP Limited with the right combination of ambition and time on our hands to be out here self-promoting under the guise of a corporate communications initiative. But there’s still plenty of ‘why’ surrounding whether or not you should care, isn’t there?

So here goes…

gripSlide

Why blog?
Because as the world of marketing (our world) continues to fragment, and dialogues become more and more targeted to niche audiences, fewer and fewer become the ubiquitous case studies (Apple’s “1984” or the Pepsi Challenge) we’ve traditionally relied on for best practices. So, Big Orange Slide is where we’re going to talk about the less ubiquitous, but no less powerful initiatives that separate the wheat from the chaff, both here in the agency world and in the pressure cooker that has become today’s Marketing Department.

Why now?
Because eight years in, and 100 strong, many of us at Grip Limited have a good deal of learning we’d like to share, and a great deal more questions we’d like to ask. So, our bet is that by providing a resource for, and forum to discuss the very steep learning curve we are all facing as channels, analytics, and consumer behavior continue to move ‘madly off in all directions’, we just might make some new friends along the way.

And, last but not least…

Why Us?
Because Matt, Bryan, Steve, Patrick and myself (along with Colin our Art Director and Ian our Editor) have opinions, laptops and a genuine belief that we’ll find something or other worth bringing to your attention each week.

Cheers,
Dave Hamilton
Partner – Creative

9 Comments