the thought

Columbia Sportswear Company has launched a new campaign that highlights the pioneers of “greater” outdoor sports. Greater outdoor sports??? You know…Tundra Golf (golf in the dead of winter), Off Road Unicyling (what you are picturing in your head, only more amusing), Tanker Surfing (riding the waves generated by ocean tankers) i.e. “greater” outdoor sports. If you haven’t seen the :30 sec. television spots, be on the lookout or look them up online, they are pretty entertaining.

While the greater outdoor sport enthusiasts featured in these placements won’t find themselves in the Olympics in 2012; this unique campaign has put the brand back on my radar, a place it hasn’t been in years.

I consider myself an outdoor enthusiast and I frequently look for new, technical outerwear brands and/or products online. By technical outerwear I mean the most indestructible, lightweight, waterproof and dexterous products I can find. When I think of such brands I don’t think of Columbia, I think of Arc’Teryx or Millet.

The “greater” outdoor sports spots didn’t move the brand to top of mind when I think of technical outerwear, but noticing that Survivorman was wearing Columbia had me on their website at the next commercial break. (For those of you who don’t know of Survivorman: it is a show centered around a man trying to survive for seven days in a very unforgiving area with basically just the clothes on his back)

The clever commercials put the brand back on my radar. Combining the commercials with sponsorship of a tough as nails television personality drove me to a website I would never have gone to otherwise. Good work Columbia, you’ve got me heading in the direction you wanted.

12:19 PM | Permalink

There are those causes that touch us so deeply, have such an amazing impact on the world around us, and make a daily difference that we can’t help but support them in every possible way. For Thayer Media, Women’s Bean Project is one of those causes.

Women’s Bean Project is a nonprofit organization located in Denver that helps women break the cycle of poverty and unemployment by teaching job readiness through employment at the gourmet food organization. The women in this program learn skills that they take with them in all walks of life to support themselves and their families. The following video on the PBS website helps to tell the story:

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/indepth_coverage/social_issues/social_ent/

In addition to this being an organization that makes a difference, the product itself is out of this world. The soup mixes make the most delicious meals, the cornbread is unrivaled and the brownie mix is something you must experience in order to truly understand how good it is. These are just a few of the many gourmet products that the Women’s Bean Project creates.

For the holiday’s they also offer a variety of gift baskets and packages. Whether you’re purchasing for one person or as a corporate gift, there are options that will fit your needs. The Women’s Bean Project Annual Holiday Fair is December 5th, 6th, and 7th from 9am – 2pm. If you’re in Denver, stop by and see what looks good. As you walk into the building, the air is filled with the delightful scent of the different spices they use in their soup, dip, bread, andcookie mixes, not to mention their rubs and marinades…that alone is worth the trip! If you’re not in town but want to buy Women’s Bean Project products and support this hardworking group, you can visit their website, www.womensbeanproject.com. They’ll ship it to you or someplace else for you.

Please take a moment to check them out, it will be well worth your time!

10:31 AM | Permalink

Reach Out and Touch Someone

BabyCenter.com recently introduced a clever new mobile application for prospective parents. Targeting younger moms-to be (with the slogan “We’ll tell you when, you decide where!”), the Booty Caller feature allows individuals to sign up to receive personalized ovulation alerts via text message. A total of 18 reminder messages, 3 each cycle, are sent during a woman’s prime ovulation period. In addition to helpful tips and teasers, such as, "Your fertile window starts in 1 week. Find out if your chances of getting pregnant are better in the morning" and “Heat kills sperm so keep your mate away from the hot tub,” texts can also include fun information like the target due date if conception occurs that day. Although it is all a bit Big Sister, the charmingly cheeky concept may just be a very smart database-building move for the site.

11:12 AM | Permalink

Lately I’ve been shocked and amazed on several occasions by random new marketing and media placement ideas I’ve come across while out doing the most normal day-to-day tasks. I am of course constantly reminded by my fiancé, family and friends that I may be a little more poised to notice, but also more able to appreciate the seemingly unique and captivating ideas that may be lost on my entourage.

For example after having lunch at the Colorado Mills food court a few weeks back I was heading out to make the usual lap around the mall, and I noticed something that I really made a scene about. They now have machines in the food court where you can charge your cell phone for free! Now this may not sound all that ingenious to the untrained eye, but what I immediately loved was the fact that these small ATM like machines have a large LCD screen in them just above where you plug your phone in. I immediately started quoting out numbers of statistically how long I imagine someone would have to stand there to get enough charge on their phone to be worth their while (I assumed somewhere between 5-15 minutes on average) and how many 15-30 second ads could be running on the screen in that time frame. This is a great example of having a captive audience!

Luckily my poor fiancé is learning to cope with my sudden public outbursts, in fact the other day he just kept on walking as I stopped to marvel at the eye-catching LCD screen sticking out from the end stand at Super Wal-Mart, it was attached to a shelf fully stocked with V-8 juice bottles, running a bright and catchy ad for V-8. I stood completely still for just a moment in disbelief. Staring at that perfectly stocked shelf with the bright screen really making me want a bottle of V-8 juice blends…I felt as though I was in the Grocery store scene from the movie Stepford wives…where the whole store is so bright and vibrant, and your refrigerator makes your grocery list for you!

This really touched on the urge I know a lot of us have felt while watching commercials at home. During a 2-hour viewing of prime time shows I’ve been known to crave pretty much every food commercial I see, and I’ve especially begun craving one of the new phones with Google’s G1 on it. So I find it brilliant that we’ve now found a way to bring that subconscious pull into our “I–want-it-now” society. It was an interesting feeling to watch the commercial on the screen, then feel that craving for V-8….and have it right there within reach.

So, here’s a question. What do you do when there is no obvious outlet for your product? Why you create an outlet yourself! At least that’s what Clark Whittington did in North Carolina; he took an opportune suggestion from a friend and used an old cigarette vending machine at one of his art shows. He was able to sell his photography for $1 a piece in the machine and this idea caught on so quickly at the café gallery it was being shown at, that the “Art-o-Mat” as it is called, became a permanent installation. But it doesn’t end there, due to its success and creativity he now solely operates the Artists in Cellophane organization, which supports and runs the Art-o-Mat project that now consists of 82 machines housing the artwork of over 400 artists from 10 different countries! For the full story and to look up an art-o-mat near you, check out www.artomat.org.

It’s nice to see such creative ideas out there; I can hardly wait to see what I’ll come across on my next shopping trip!

04:11 PM | Permalink

I knew that this headline would be in the newspaper after the World Series: “World Series Least Watched in TV History.” I predicted that headline last year and I’ll go out on a limb and predict that we’ll see it again in 2009 unless something odd happens like the Chicago Cubs making it to the World Series. I also predict that we’ll see it for the upcoming NBA All-Star Game, The Academy Awards, and any other big TV event (the notable exception: Football).

This is just part of a much larger trend we’re seeing across media as the number of media choices to the average consumer continues to skyrocket. It is just simple math: the more options available, the more fragmented the audience becomes and smaller ratings as a result (Unless you are Fox who is blaming the weather instead). But this is only looking at one part of the picture as overall media consumption is not declining. No one is unplugging from it all, there are just more options out there than in the past, all vying for the same 24 hours that have always been there. Recognizing this is the only way to turn this non-news worthy issue into a no-news issue.

So I’m just not all that worried that this is the lowest rated series in history. I was expecting it, and had already accounted for that.

09:53 AM | Permalink

Did you know there is new research that shows internet browsing is a healthy for seniors? No kidding.
A University of California study, which looked at brain activity during web searches, resulted in a fascinating finding: middle-aged to older adults who regularly surf the Internet had improved their ability to make snap decisions and filter larger amounts of information. There was an increased stimulus especially in the areas of the brain that control decision making and complex reasoning.

While reading has long been considered healthy from the aspect of stimulating some mental processes, regularly surfing the net stimulates different areas of the brain not particularly affected by reading.

Another conclusion from the study shows the more experienced the person is in searching the Internet, the greater it engaged their brain.

This is really great news for those of us moving from middle age to “senior” status. And frankly as you reach a certain age to know that there are some processes that can be IMPROVED is encouraging.
Go Silver Surfers!

08:33 AM | Permalink

When I was a kid, we had a Halloween “box” that sat in the basement about 11 months of the year. In early October, it was the center of the universe for my brother, sisters and me. What to be? A monster using the cracked mask and the Raggedy Ann costume remnants? Dang, the dog costume is too small. I wonder if I can use Dad’s suit. That red silk sheet has got to be good for something. Could I be dirty laundry, nope, mom won’t let that out of the house. Mommmmmm, Danny took the good cape!

It was fun. The costume changed 57 times between October 1st and 31st. Sibling negotiations were constant. I went as a lamp one year, using the laundry basket as the shade. I don’t think anyone really got it. But I remember.

The marketing that happens for Halloween costumes is amazing, stores pop up overnight and go away just as quickly as of November 1st. These stores have every character you can imagine. Dozens of HSM3 (that’s High School Musical III for those of you who get to avoid it) costumes were everywhere in school, at parties and trick-or-treating. I think if you’re 5 and under, Spiderman for the boys and Disney princesses for the girls are a must. But what happened to the joy and creativity of creating your own costume?

As my 9-year old daughter was figuring out her costume this year, I was silently hoping that she wouldn’t be going for the Hannah Montana, Sharpay, or any of the other Disney characters. But I held my tongue and decided to go with what she wanted. Much to my surprise and delight, she and a friend came up with their own costume design: hobos/clowns/crazy twins. They had bits and pieces already, we stole a tie-die shirt from Makayla’s brother, and we ended up at the store for a few last “must-have inclusions”. But the end result was so much cooler and more memorable than any of the pre-packaged costumes that fall apart in about 30 minutes. And there were still plenty of Disney characters out there (I’d love to know the income Halloween costumes bring to that corporation!).

And my little girl was so happy. As she crashed and burned from the sugar-high, she told me this was the best Halloween ever. Mission accomplished. By noon on November 1st she was starting to wonder if maybe she could build something around a black and white wig next year…

Oh, and I bought one of the pre-packaged costumes for myself “big fat grandma who sat on her dog” as we affectionately called it. Which was refreshing from the mass of inappropriate and revealing female costumes out there…but that’s a whole other blog.

02:20 PM | Permalink

Anyone who has spent any amount of time with traditional media knows that the political advertising messages have reached fever pitch, trying to win over any undecided voters out there in the last few days before the election. Sitting at home the other night, I was watching television when I realized that now, instead of being actively annoyed by all the different messages telling me how I should vote and why the opposing candidate or issue is so corrupt and wrong, I have actually started tuning out these millions in advertising dollars.

This fact wouldn’t have normally jumped out at me, but as I was sitting there thumbing through a magazine during commercial break I was distracted by the sound of running water coming from the television. I looked up and there on the screen was a fall nature scene, complete with babbling brook. Accompanying this peaceful scene was a :15 second countdown clock and a banner at the bottom that said “Political Ad Break”. And when I realized what the station was doing, this non-ad actually made me smile!

That it took the sound of nothing but water to draw attention is testament to the amount of noise out there right now…and I think it was a brilliant move on the part of the network to make an effort to give its viewers a break!

09:38 AM | Permalink

I was driving back from a client meeting the other day and noticed a billboard on I-25 advertising some new beer. There was a big, bold headline: “New American Ale”. Being a guy, and a beer drinker, I was intrigued. Unfortunately the logo was nowhere to be found so the next time I’m having a beer, I have no way to know what to order if I wanted to try this “New American Ale”.
This is just one of those examples of someone saying: “Maybe we should make the brand name or logo more prominent. After all, the board is along a freeway, people will be travelling about 60-70 miles-per-hour, and they won’t have much time to read the board to begin with.”
I’m guessing it’s Budweiser since when I type “New American Ale” into Google, the whole first search page is blanketed by Budweiser related mentions. But still, I shouldn’t have to Google-it after the fact to find out what it is in the first place.
I’ll give the media people credit for picking the board that got my attention. I just wished that someone would’ve looked at the creative first before putting it up there to see if everything would make sense to passing motorist like me. Yes, the board is memorable but for all the wrong reasons since I still don’t know who’s brewing this “New American Ale”.

08:26 AM | Permalink