We had our second webinar in the Melamed Riley Grad School online lecture series last week featuring art director Joseph Hughes. That’s just his official title, however. You could easily call him designer, writer, enthusiast, citizen, student, and more. Joseph’s talk was about just that — how to go beyond your job description, impress your boss, and become an invaluable asset at work.
Here is a peek at just five of the 10 simple but critical tips Joseph shared:
You can always learn about the latest tech, it is important to focus on the piece of tech you’ll have your entire career: Your brain #MRGrad
To hear Joseph’s other five tips, you can access the “Invaluable Isn’t Impossible” webinar by clicking on the link below and entering your email address.
Not sold yet? Here is a short video from Joseph on what to expect from the webinar.
If you have a question for Joseph about becoming a Swiss Army Knife for your organization, leave us a comment below or tweet @MelamedRiley using the official #MRGrad hashtag.
If you have surfed any social network or used any type of electronic device connected to the internet over the last decade, you have probably witnessed at least one of the many photo crazes that have lit up the internet. Being quite entertained by the genre ourselves, we thought we’d recreate some of the most popular photo crazes to ever hit the internet for your viewing pleasure.
What will be the next big snapshot shenanigans? Only time will tell, but we’re eagerly awaiting the challenge to recreate whatever it ends up being.
Which photo craze is your favorite? Have you ever taken part in a photo craze? If so, tweet us your picture @MelamedRiley to share in the photo craze madness.
Have you got your Vine on yet? In case you’re wondering what Vine is; Vine is a new app that allows users to create and share short, looping 6-second-long-videos created by piecing together multiple quick cuts. You can currently share your Vines on Twitter, Facebook and within Vine’s own app experience.
Twitter launched Vine on January 24th, 2013 and it has not left the top 20 list in the iOs app store since. Just a little over two weeks after Vine came onto the scene it had its first big bang due to a combination of three big events: the Grammys, New York Fashion Week and the snowstorm that hit the Northeast. Over the weekend of February 8-9, users and brands on Vine shared 113,897 videos on Twitter or 2,324 videos every hour (excluding data for videos shared just within the Vine app), according to data from Simply Measured:
Click the image to read the full report.
In the ever changing world of social media there is always a new platform, tool or app popping up that creates a buzz in the marketing interwebs. I know personally as a social media marketer I can feel like a 5-year-old with shiny object syndrome researching and testing out the latest and greatest “It” social media platforms. The real question when testing out these new tools is: Does it align with my business objective? Does it fit into my strategy? Are my customers actually on it? Will my customers want to engage with us on this? If so, how can we relay our brand’s strengths in a way that’s unique to the platforms’ key features?
There is a big difference between having a first mover advantage on a new platform and just jumping in because it’s new, it’s cool, and “because everyone else is doing it” (my personal favorite). I took a look at some of the early adopting brands on Vine to see how they were using it. I was pleasantly surprised to see a number of brands doing some really fun and strategic things with this new, nifty video app. I definitely developed a few Vine crushes.
Here are some best practices we can all learn from some brands on Vine:
Anyone a fan of The Office? They did a couple of fun Vines to compliment and promote last week’s episode “Paper Airplanes.” This will help you get ready for your office’s next paper airplane competition.
General Electric is possibly my favorite brand on Vine so far. Here is an engaging Vine they recently did for April Fool’s Day. Gotcha!
I have been loving Tropicana‘s advertising recently and now I heart their use of Vine. Here’s what they did for Valentine’s Day featuring two love-struck oranges:
Storytelling:
If you have not bought into content marketing and telling a story about your brand then you are missing out. Here are some brands on Vine that get how powerful storytelling can be.
General Electric (yet again) created a simple story to explain a complex topic in line with their brand, big data and brilliant machines. Check it out:
I also loved GE’s Vine demonstrating the chemistry of coffee. Science rocks on Vine:
Lowe’s just recently started doing #lowesfixinsix Vine spots where they solve common household problems in 6 seconds. Got a squirrel problem, here’s how to fix it in six:
Highlight a Cause:
Aligning your brand with a great cause is something all brands do. Social media lets marketers showcase it in different, sometimes wittier way.
Red Vines, a personal favorite of mine, made great use of their product to create a clever Vine for #EarthDay:
Showcase Product Quality:
Who doesn’t want to showcase their product’s superior quality? Restaurants specifically have a unique ability to highlight just this using social media and especially Vine.
I wanted to spread some Cleveland love so my first example is from a local restaurant, The Greenhouse Tavern. GHT is a destination spot for foodies from near and far, and why not with such fresh product? Caution, a fish was harmed in the making of this Vine:
Highlight Promotions:
Promotions are always going to be a part of a brand’s social DNA. It is refreshing to see brands do it in a creative way, especially when only given a 6 second window of time. I blink longer than that on some days.
Wheat Thins found a creative way to do a 6 second commercial-like spot highlighting their new flavor protection promotion. It is just wrong to mess with someone’s Wheat Thins, wrong I say:
Another local but global favorite is Progressive. They have taken action to warn good drivers like you to be on the lookout for Rate Suckers. What are Rate Suckers? Brace yourself this could get scary:
Share Unique Brand Experiences:
The unique advantage social media has over other mediums is the opportunity to create unique, creative experiences that invoke an emotion or action from your audience in real time. Vine is just another awesome addition to your brand tool belt.
Red Vines sneak attack is fun and makes me crave a Red Vine. If anyone knows the whereabouts of the Grape Vines drop me a line, I am on a manhunt:
GE did it, yet again, with this fun periodic table, word scramble Vine. How many words can you make?
Lowe’s 6 minute fixes are another great example of highlighting your brand in a fun and engaging way but with a useful benefit for customers. Who knew a hair dryer was so handy?
Feature and Preview Products:
At the end of the day every brand has a product or service it needs to sell. Social media is just a vehicle to communicate your products’ features and strengths.
Fashion icon brand, Kate Spade did a stellar job using Vine to highlight how their bold bloom patterns can be mixed and matched to create various unique looks. I give you a 6 second look book on Vine:
Pac Sun brought their new Bullhead Denim jeans to life with Vine. The use of movement makes you feel like the jeans are going to jump off the asphalt they are so wearable in a cool, hip kind of way:
Spotlight Brand Advocates:
Every brand has advocates. The real value is in how you engage and leverage them.
I love this use of Vine by Red Vines (confusing, right?) to interact with one of their loyal fans:
With all of the distractions and new start-ups popping up every day, it can be hard to decide what is worth your time and what isn’t. The brands on Vine are still experimenting and may not have a ton of stats and ROI to report right now, but they are innovating when they need to. Vine is still new, but is already showing great promise. My personal opinion is that this platform is worth your time. Just a few weeks ago I attended a social media conference, You Too 2013, and heard Kevin Dungan speak on how visual communication is growing–and more importantly video–as it increases as a binge consumption medium. He stated that “Vine is as important to Twitter as YouTube was to Google.” Only time can tell how popular Vine will become, but I have a sneaking suspicion it is going to be the new “It” social media platform.
What do you think we can glean from these innovators as we embark on yet another evolution of the social media landscape? Are brands on Vine wasting their time, or are their early efforts worth it?
Don’t forget to share the Vine Love. I am always looking for a great new Vine to follow, so please share any great brands on Vine you have come across.
We kicked off Melamed Riley’s Grad School web series last week! Our inaugural webinar featured the agency’s two principals, Sarah Melamed and Rick Riley. Both learned early on about having to sell themselves and their work before getting into advertising. Aptly titled “The Nightmare About Your Dream Job,” this webinar provides useful insights and tips to give you the edge when you launch your career in the advertising or marketing business.
Here are just five of the simple but critical suggestions Sarah and Rick shared:
Most people don’t realize how critical making great presentations will be in their career. Being able to sell yourself is crucial! #MRGrad
If you didn’t have a chance to tune in, don’t worry! We recorded the entire session so that you can listen to it on your own time. To access “The Nightmare About Your Dream Job” webinar, just click the link below and fill out the simple form.
Not sold yet? Here is a short video from Rick and Sarah on what to expect from the webinar:
Big thanks to everyone who did attend the live webinar, we hope you gleaned some takeaways you can use in the near future. Here are just a few tweets from some of the #MRGrad School attendees:
Just finished the 1st session of #MRGRAD web series! Awesome information! Thanks Sarah and Rick! @melamedriley
If you have a question for Sarah and Rick about getting into advertising leave us a comment below, or tweet @MelamedRiley using the official #MRGrad hashtag.
The next Melamed Riley Grad School webinar is already on the books. Register now to hear Joseph Hughes’s talk, “Invaluable isn’t Impossible.” Just click the button below for more information on his webinar:
