The Zach Attack

Workaholics addicted to social

zkrame — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 20:40:54 +0000

I’m used to seeing twitter hashtags overlayed on my favorite TV shows. Comedy central in particular has made a big push as of late to incorporate hashtags into their programming. But Workaholics takes the cake for the best use of twitter hashtags I’ve seen during the stations’ programming. The show changes hashtags displayed on the bottom of the screen based on the storyline on the show. In two of this seasons episodes I’ve watched twitter blow up with the “#blonders” and “#turtlepower” hashtags, days and even weeks after the episode aired. On top of the excellent use of hashtags, the show does a great job of engaging in fan conversation in social media. The three main characters on the show each have their own twitter personalities which tweet frequently, and each have their own tumblr accounts which they use to augment their characters on the show. These tactics have been used before on other popular programs, but Workaholics is one example of how the conversation can be truly be two ways, and a whole lot of fun.

Keeping the Hamsters Fresh

zkrame — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 04:24:01 +0000

The new Kia Soul commercial featuring their hamster mascots has one up’ed their last spot featuring the characters. The new commercial, featuring LMFAO’s Party Rock Anthem is funny, fresh, and works overall. This is one of the rare cases where a car company trying way too hard to communicate with a younger demo may actually be getting their point across. I’ll be interested to see whether we see more hipsters driving around in the Kia Soul or whether it becomes a mid-life crisis mobile for their parents.

A look into IDEO’s innovation process

zkrame — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 14:56:52 +0000

This example of how IDEO used their innovation process is a little outdated, but the process itself hasn’t changed. Given one week to design a new shopping cart, the team observed and talked with people in super markets and came up with several quirky ideas on how to improve the cart. The video discusses a bit about the corporate structure of IDEO and how lack of hierarchy and focus on talent allows for more productive collaboration and creativity. Take a look at how their emphasis on wild ideas and outside the box thinking led them to a really interesting new design.

Brand partnerships that make sense

zkrame — Mon, 16 May 2011 02:21:49 +0000

Originally aired during a episode of Glee, Google Chrome’s “It Gets Better” campaign is a great example of a partnership that works. The Google marketing campaign partnered with a great cause, the It Get’s Better Project, which provides support for bullied gay youth, in order to promote it’s Chrome browser. The spot showcases all the capabilities of the browser as well as the integration of Google’s services (Youtube, Blogger) while simultaneously delivering a very powerful and inspiring message about the It Get’s Better Project. The campaign should generate great press for Google, which as a company is frequently portrayed by the media as big brother, hoarding personal information for evil bidding (Google’s motto of course is “Don’t be evil”). This is just another initiative in Google’s history of support of positive social change.

Check out the Google Chrome and Itgetsbetter.org’s ad:

On a less impactful note, but similarly using marketing for the power of good, I noticed a great brand partnership while sitting at a local pub this weekend. On my coaster, I found a co-branded ad for Heineken and Taxi Magic. The two companies have partnered to help promote Heineken’s responsible drinking initiative. The promotion works great for both brands, getting word out for the Taxi Magic mobile app (for which I am a brand advocate) while positioning the Heineken brand as responsible and savvy. Hopefully anyone who had one too many this weekend also had access to a smart phone . . .

Extreme Brand Truth

zkrame — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 21:21:50 +0000

I’ve mentioned finding your brand truth in previous posts as the process of uncovering what your company truly stands for. Well what if you took this process to the extreme? Would Facebook just be honest and rebrand itself as “Procrastination”? Would McDonalds rebrand itself as “McDiabetes”? Take a look at some of these creative examples of honest logos.

Morgan Spurlock: Selling Risk

zkrame — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 17:19:31 +0000

Morgan Spurlock’s new TED talk discusses transparency in companies and their marketing, as well as how taking risks can lead to big reward. His presentation style is entertaining and engaging. Watch this talk and think about how you might be able to take bigger risks with your brand while at the same time remaining aligned with your “brand truth.”

SD Blog Post: Laying a solid foundation for your website

zkrame — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 18:44:47 +0000

I recently posted a new entry on the Search Discovery Blog titled “Building a website for growth.” It’s meant for all those managers in charge of a website that are in the midst of a site redesign. You may be thinking about redesigning your site in the complete wrong way – make sure you set up your site for success and growth. Have a read!

http://bit.ly/hOaBqr

Simple Communication Applied

zkrame — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 15:36:36 +0000

Along the same lines as my last post, imagine if some of the brands that develop the products you use everyday were to simplify their product design. One of my favorite cleaning product companies, for example, is Method. Their cleaning solutions are not so different from some their direct competitors, but were they really shine is in their product design. The bottles and dispensers use simplified, elegant design. When people choose to buy method for their washroom, it’s not for their less harsh chemicals or fancy scents (that seemingly always include cucumber), it’s because their product is a fashion statement. Their design is meaningful.

The design consultancy Antrepo applied that same thought to various well known brands. They took the current design of products and widdled their cluttered product design to its most base form. Fuel Your Creativity’s blog post on Antrepo aggregates some of the best examples of the project.

We’ve trained our mind to avoid advertising and clutter. In website design, users will subconsciously avoid any button or page element that looks like advertising. Maybe it’s time brands removed the 1950′s style advertising from their product labels. It could give them the design advantage that differenties their product. It could also save them some money on color sticker printing.

Simple Visual Communication

zkrame — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 16:02:32 +0000

The Noun Project collects highly recognizable symbols on their site thenounproject.com. Take a look at how B&W symbols are capable of communicating so much information in such little detail.

The pupil becomes the master (what we can learn from mobile)

zkrame — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 15:32:48 +0000

In a recent survey performed by Harris Interactive and EffectiveUI, it was found that people are increasingly expecting companies to create mobile sites and mobile applications. No surprises there; with smart phones continuing to flood the marketplace, and with an increased amount of traffic accessing the web through their phones, people expect that the websites they visit on a daily basis will utilize mobile technology. While on the go, the majority of users have less time to browse a site, not to mention a smaller, less robust mobile interface. Companies have therefore stripped their websites down to a simplified mobile app or site. A good mobile site usually provides the option of using the full site or a simplified version of the site with clear actionable paths.

According to the study:

73% expect a company’s mobile app to be easier to use than a website
76% think that a brand should have a mobile app to make interacting and shopping with them easier
74% of users thought the mobile site should be easy to use
75% think it should do exactly what they want to do
57% have recommended an app because of a positive experience

When we are thinking about translating our sites to mobile, we are simplifying our complicated sites to improve user experience. If you’re mobile site is simple and user-friendly enough, then people will share it with their peers. The model hasn’t changed. Positive experience leads to positive word of mouth which leads to SALES. Maybe its time we started learning a lesson from mobile. Instead of letting your site dictate the design and structure of your mobile app – what if you created a FANTASTIC mobile app, and brought similar thinking to your whole website. Users will always appreciate simplicity and ease of use. Why not at least give them the option of a simpler site version?

If an app isn't helpful or useful, user will have a negative perception about the brand. The same goes for your website.