Jetpacks in South Dakota

Post Haste - and HenkinSchultz in general - recieved some nice praise from one of my favorite ad blogs: Where’s My Jetpack.

From WMJ’s post “They Do Advertising in South Dakota?”

Some coastal dwellers (probably of the NYC and LA variety) long ago deemed the interior of the nation “flyover country.” But until you’ve lived there, you don’t know what you’re talking about. The cost of living is waaaay cheaper and they get the same channels on their cable boxes that you get. The sushi is a little suspect, but that’s offset by the ability to leave your front door unlocked.

So I was checking out my tanking ranking at Technorati to see who links here when I found that rare thing: an agency blog that doesn’t suck. (There are a few over in the sidebar that fit that description.) It’s from agency Henkin-Schultz of Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

That’s us!

National attention - even on the blog level - is always appreciated. Even if those who leave comments spend more time talking about the shape of our parking lot and landscaping than anything else.

We’ll take it. Here’s to hoping these two links helped raise your Technorati score, WMJ.

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The Difference Between the Colas…

Two rivals. Two very specific strategies. Two of the most recognized brands in the world.

On one hand, there’s Coke. At a recent South Dakota Advertising Federation meeting, we were treated to a presentation by the brand manager of Coca-Cola, Terisa Monroe. She walked us through the history of Coke – the name, the logo, the bottle, the ups and downs and successes and failures.

One thing stood out. They have found success through a strict dedication to their history. Their logo has been unchanged for over a century. Their bottle has become an icon unlike any other. They have the same colors, the same attitude and the same marks.

And the one time they strayed from the original? New Coke. We know how that ended.

On the other hand, there’s Pepsi. The agent of change. The cool kid in the cola market. Generation Next. And on. And on. They’ve spent the last few decades racing after a younger market, fighting to stay on this generation’s minds as they grow older.

And while their logo has stayed the same for the most part, it has been tweaked and re-shaped at least three times since I became old enough to notice such things. Every several years there’s some kind of identity crisis. The logo undergoes a million-dollar-rebrand and emerges – let’s be honest here – a little goofier than the last.

Which leaves us with this. The new Pepsi logo. A little too subtle (it’s supposed to be a smile…get it?) and a little too disingenuous. As if they are taking Coca-Cola’s message of happiness and enjoyment a little too far, attempting to create brand loyalty by simply stating that there IS brand loyalty.

The logo smiles, as if we’re smiling too.

What I wonder is if this is becoming expected. Pepsi is unable to keep their logo stable, always changing it to meet oncoming trends, and I wonder if the public is now more likely to subconsciously expect a change every several years? Are they able to look back on old logos and realize how dated they look?

When you look at the Coca-Cola logo (acknowledging that, yes, they have that secondary “Coke” logo, etc.) there is no change. None. You know what you’re getting. It’s stable. It has the “everyone loves us” market tied up.

Likewise, Coca-Cola shrewdly positions itself ahead of the game, dictating trends rather than following them.

Which leaves Pepsi no choice but to try to play catch-up.

It looks a little desperate, if you ask me.

(For more thoughts on the new Pepsi re-logo-ization and, more specifically, the “blogger outreach marketing plan” that Pepsi attempted, check out my more random and harsh thoughts over at Make the Logo Bigger.)

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Happy Election Day

It’s election day.

This means a lot of things. For those of us who are able, we have the privilege of voting. To make our voice heard. So go out and do it, for Pete’s sake. Seriously. What are you waiting for - tomorrow?

Also, it means we can gain a little respite from the barrage of political ads that have battered us into submission. I mean, you know, it gets to the point when you simply don’t care who wins, as long as you can get away from the yard signs and negative campaigning and endless e-mails about giving cash to already rich campaigns.

But before we say goodbye to all of the political advertising, let’s take a look at some historically negative campaigns.

For instance, the vicious hate-mongering that Stephen Douglas riled up against future President Abraham Lincoln.

Or what about the fear that George Washington placed into our hearts. At 3 a.m., we’d all want him leading our country.

(A major thanks to two of the best ad blogging minds in the adblogosphere: Make the Logo Bigger and Where’s My Jetpack? In fact, I’ll be the first to make the endorsement: MTLB/WMJ 2012.)

Happy Election day, everyone.

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HS Happenings

You know, it’s been a busy few months for us here at HenkinSchultz. But I promise not to take it out on our poor Post Haste anymore. It’s just an innocent blog – there’s no need to stoop to abandonment or neglect. We’re better than that.

Of course, things have happened in those few months.

First, we took a trip to Huron to visit our new friends at Dakota Provisions.

Well, let’s be honest. We went up to race turkeys.

The HenkinSchultz team consisted of Wendy, Teresa, Karla, Craig and Phelps the Turkey. Together they managed to come in second. But I’d like to think that, in a turkey race, everyone is a winner.

Unfortunately, the International Turkey Race Committee of America thought otherwise. There was only a prize for first place.

We were happy just getting a picture of Teresa and Wendy gently leading a turkey down the streets of Huron.

Oops. Wrong way.

WINNERS! (Once removed, that is)

In real business news, HenkinSchultz spent nearly all of October preparing for the 102nd Sioux Falls Area Chamber of Commerce Annual Meeting. It was a grand affair, chronicling the Modern Marvel that is Sioux Falls. Tom Brokaw was there, as was nearly everyone else in the city, and it seems to have been a smashing success.

The Stage, part one.

The Stage, part two.

The venerable Tom Brokaw.

Even the construction equipment seemed happy.

For a long (and long-loading) view of the entire stage, click here.

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E-mail Subscribers…

If you used to subscribe to the site via e-mail, you will need to resubscribe using the link to the right.

We have updated our e-mail script to FeedBurner, and unfortunately there’s no way to transfer the subscriptions.

Sorry for the trouble. You know how these Internets work sometime.

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The Good, the Bad, the Nike

Some days, you just need to sit back and enjoy the beauty of a great Nike commercial.

Maybe it’s the Ennio Morricone track. Or, maybe it’s the consistent entrance of each player (LaDainian Tomlinson: always from the right; Troy Polamalu: always from the left). Regardless, it’s a wonderful story.

(Via: V.V.I.’s twitter)

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Saying what you mean. Showing what you say.

It’s simple.

In marketing, you want to say what you mean.

And visually, you want to back up what you say with images that correspond.

Any disconnect will be noticed. Pounced upon. Seen as weakness, as an disingenuous attempt at trust.

Say what you mean. Show what you say. Mean what you show.

These are all common things to keep in mind when designing and writing and developing a concept in all aspects of marketing. But really, I’m using these common sense ideas as an excuse to play this great YouTube clip: A’Ha’s “Take On Me,” as if the song was written to match the video.

It all makes so much more sense now. Take me on.

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When the audience helps. Or not.

When you ask the general public to come up with great ideas for you, you risk the backlash of information overload. Even more, you risk an unfiltered flow of unfocused and pedestrian ideas.

At the same time, you also tap into the untapped – reaching outside of your cozy office, looking past that copywriter who may be stuck on his or her own idea and into the vast world of unbridled creativity.

Which will you get?

Example one: Best Buy is looking to reach out to a female market that doesn’t quite jibe with the current color scheme. Blue and yellow are about as attractive as neon pink and lime green, apparently.

Their idea is to ask their customers to help create an interior design that better suits the buying styles of women.

Putting aside the assumption that more stylish carpets will lead to more television sales, my question is with the validity of tapping into customers for a retail redesign.

From what I know about interior design (which admittedly isn’t much) it seems like this is counterproductive. Design – both interior and in other fields - isn’t something that can simply be cobbled together from different minds. There’s a fluid method that benefits from likeminded ideas, each leading into the next, creating consistency. Creating a larger view of the situation.

In other words, taking one idea from this person and one idea from another and smashing them together is kind of like matching plaid with stripes. They might work on their own, or as part of an overall theme, but how well will they look side by side?

Example two: There’s an art in collecting the views of an outsider. Which is exactly what David, a fellow copywriter and Moleskin enthusiast, does for Write In My Journal, a project that asks complete strangers – people David may never meet again – to, fittingly, write in his journal.

It’s simple. David finds someone who looks interesting and asks them to write what they want. In doing so, he has developed a collection of thoughts that span from introspective to absurd. And it’s fascinating. I can’t stop reading it. He’s gathering together an army of ideas. He’s showing how the collective effort can be greater than the individual parts. It succeeds in spite of it’s randomness, because it’s unfocused and unbridled.

There’s a fine line between success and failure when it comes to asking your customers for help. Does it work? Is it hampering? Do you get inspired work or do you get a watered down, ideas-by-committee feel? The answer is cheap – but accurate.

It depends.

(via brand flakes for breakfast and metafilter)

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How Mad Men is doing it wrong.

Imagine this for a second.

You’re producing a very successful television show. You have a loyal following. You can’t open a magazine or newspaper, or read a blog, without seeing a pile of praise heaped on your show. Popularity is rising. Everyone is jumping on the bandwagon.

You’ve helped create something that’s difficult to make: a critically acclaimed television show that is receiving tons of public attention.

Everything’s looking good.

Now imagine that a group of fans hops on the Internet and starts emulating the characters in the show. They are true to the nuances of the program. They are gaining quite a following on their own, in fact, leading those who love the show to become even more involved during the six days in between new episodes. They are promoting your product in a fresh, original way.

Why would you sabotage that?

I’m not sure. Let’s ask the creators of Mad Men.

It’s no question that Mad Men, the AMC drama about advertising life at fictional 60s shop Sterling Cooper, has gained a big following. So it’s no surprise that, given this era of global online marketing, someone was bound to take the Mad Men idea and make it better. And they did – on Twitter, of all places. (What is Twitter? Watch this video.)

What this group has done is take the personalities of the main characters from Mad Men and created a series of online avatars. Acting out the parts. Furthering the behind the scenes identities of the characters. Being as completely true to the original concept as possible. Go ahead – ask them questions. They’ll answer in the way you’d expect the character to answer.

The only problem: they’re not AMC employees. Just fans. And now, AMC is forcing Twitter to suspend these accounts (via VentureBeat) due to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).

I understand copyrights, and I get that AMC thinks they’re protecting their intellectual property. But this is fan fiction. This is like telling a group of Star Trek fans that they can no longer dress up as their favorite characters. Because that’s exactly what this is – it’s a group of fans dressing up, using an Internet avatar instead of a pair of pointed ears.

Even more, this is a golden opportunity; to create a cult following, to promote the television show in new ways. Don’t suspend them – heck, HIRE THEM. Give them a stipend to keep the banter up. Use them to your advantage. I’d guarantee that almost every one of them would accept some kind of payment for doing something they loved doing for free.

Because even though it isn’t an official series of accounts, the Mad Men doppelgangers are more than just fictitious slander magnets. They are an extension of the characters that many of us have grown to love. Fans of Mad Men get it. Those who aren’t fans are intrigued. Awareness is rising.

And for AMC, apparently, this is a bad thing. As if they don’t realize the public relations dream this could turn into to.

The goal in today’s marketing world is to be embraced by those who follow you. To be allowed into the precious circle of permission marketing. To gain feedback from those who know your product best. Business models are based on taking free publicity and working with it, not against it. Consumer generated content. Letting the people speak freely, feel comfortable and, in turn, become loyal.

In other words – before you rush to grab the lawyers, take a chance. See if the road bumps in your path can actually help you before tearing them down.

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New. Improved. And all of that.

It’s been a while, but we think the wait is certainly worth it.

Introducing the new HenkinSchultz Web site - a new look, with easier navigation and prettier pictures of, say, yours truly. Copywriter extraordinaire. Guitar Hero champion. All around great guy. Etc.

We’ve freshened up, cleaned out the corners and given you what you’d need in an agency Web site - the people, the work, the ideas and the philosophy. In the immortal words of Outkast, We’re “so fresh and so clean. (Clean.)”

And, we’ve even given Post Haste a facelift. Hooray blogs!

If you’re new to the site, go ahead and click the RSS feed and get Post Haste updates whenever we make them. Or, enter your e-mail for e-mail updates. Whichever you prefer. The choice is up to you.

And if you’re a seasoned veteran of Post Haste and HenkinSchultz, well, we hope you like the new look.

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About HenkinSchultz

HenkinSchultz is an agency. An advertising and marketing and branding and design and production agency. All of those things, and then some.

But, underneath all that, we're really a bunch of thinkers. As in, we think about stuff, both pertinent and not, with and without boundaries, as if our lives depended on it. And this right here, Post Haste, is where we write about it.

Visit us at http://www.henkinschultz.com.

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Recent Posts

• Jetpacks in South Dakota
• The Difference Between the Colas…
• Happy Election Day
• HS Happenings
• E-mail Subscribers…
• The Good, the Bad, the Nike
• Saying what you mean. Showing what you say.
• When the audience helps. Or not.
• How Mad Men is doing it wrong.
• New. Improved. And all of that.

Recent Comments

• bg: This election is too important too not vote early—and often!
• Paul: Worthington, MN is the Turkey Capital of the world. Much love.
• Deane: Loved that.
• Clint: that IS a thing of beauty… makes me want to go buy some shoes, and watch a Rocky movie.
• David: A very interesting post - I hadn’t heard about the Best Buy/decorating idea. And thanks for the...

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