Image courtesy of DisneyWorld.Disney.go.com
I recently attended a medical conference in Orlando, FL. One night, when my coworker and traveling partner Christina Gibson and I found ourselves facing a rare free evening, we decided to treat ourselves to a night at Disney World’s Hollywood Studios.
We went there to have fun, but couldn’t help admiring Disney as a brand and a marketing success story. Nothing short of an empire, Disney Studios, Parks and Resorts, Disney Products and Media Networks have built lasting relationships with consumers all around the world.
On this particular visit, I observed a few examples of how deliberate and intentional Disney was when working to form this lasting relationship with… well, me. My post today is a tribute to a master at creating memorable brand experiences, highlighting a few ways we can sprinkle that Disney Magic on brands we represent:
- People want to interact with people. When possible – empower your employees to put their own personal stamp on brand communications. Standing in line for the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror (and yes, we were terrified), we giggled when a particularly comical ride attendant made a point of pulling us into the experience with an impromptu scary skit he and his coworkers performed for us. Whether the interface is in-store or via customer service, your employees are on the front lines, and have the power to enhance customer relationships. Let them!
- Never stop innovating. Our last stop for the night was Toy Story Mania in the Pixar area of Hollywood Studios. We weren’t sure what to expect, but were surprised to find a completely new type of ride – 4D interactive gaming, where we were part of the attraction! Even if you’re a legacy brand, maybe especially if, don’t underestimate the power of wowing people with something totally new. Just ask the 300 million iPod users.
- Surprise and delight. Hopefully, the relationship you form with your customer is a lifelong one, so make the experience something memorable that they’ll want to revisit again and again. When we left the Park, after a great day, the tram to the Parking Lot was one of the most enjoyable experiences we had. Our driver was funny, cracked some jokes, and sent us laughing all the way to our car in the Goofy Lot, wishing we had more time. In other words, they turned what could have been a mundane tram ride into an actual attraction. Maybe it’s offering a rewards program to your most loyal customers or cash back at the register, but think about how you can go above and beyond to thank your customers for investing in you.
How do you bring Magic to your brand communications?
Image courtesy of CareNetworks.com
Yesterday, I attended a conference from PR News titled “Digital PR Next Practices Summit” that featured panelists discussing what every PR person loves to hear: how to leverage social media to produce results, build relationships with your brand’s influencers, and gain alignment with your organization’s most senior executives.
The case studies were excellent – including Shauna Casey, Head of Social Business at Nordstrom, who has increased her Facebook Likes year upon year, and keynote speaker Perry Hewitt, Chief Digital Officer at Harvard University, who provided insight into how her team has shifted from the traditions of a 375-year-old institution to integrating social media into university communications and marketing efforts.
The most exciting part of the day for me were the surprising new and practical applications for features of platforms I’m already using for myself and my clients.
Here are two examples of creative ways people are using familiar platforms – Twitter and LinkedIn.
Twitter: More than a newsfeed.
- Consider Twitter in your crisis communications strategy. It can help you spot trends in real time. Listen and respond quickly and in some cases, directly to a follower with a specific question. Consider setting up a separate Twitter feed to update your followers about the crisis, and make sure to tell your audience where to find you.
- Does your brand have a global audience? 65% of Twitter users are outside of the U.S. Consider a targeted Twitter party to reach and engage them.
- YouTube provides one of the biggest integration opportunities on Twitter – 720M YouTube videos are tweeted daily. Make sure your videos are optimized and easily sharable.
- Brands and organizations that just tweet are missing an opportunity. Use the “@” feature to connect 1:1 and thank fans, retweet relevant posts from your followers, and most importantly – get to know your followers.
LinkedIn: More than a professional network.
- The number of journalists on LinkedIn has increased by 85% since 2009 and more journalists are members of this social network than any other. Many reporters use LinkedIn to source a story. Help them find you by updating your spokesperson’s profile page for keywords that are likely to come up in search.
- The media landscape changes by the minute and journalists may not be updating their profiles as regularly in PR databases like Cision. Use LinkedIn Advanced Search to vet your media list against the most recent journalist profiles and find new beat reporters and freelancers.
What other creative ways are you using to tap into social platforms?
Wednesday night, I was invited to attend PopSugar City’s first “Girls Night Out” event in New York – a pre-screening of the new comedy, “Something Borrowed” starring the ever-charming Ginnifer Goodwin and John Krasinski. PopSugar City is the latest example of “geo-targeting,” where digital brands like Facebook, and Google focus editorial and marketing efforts on the local level to drive even deeper engagement with their readers.
PopSugar, part of the women’s media conglomerate Sugar Inc., is one of the hottest female-targeted entertainment sites. It’s taking geo-targeting to a new level with events for readers, starting with Boston, Chicago, LA, New York, San Francisco, Seattle, Silicon Valley and Washington DC. Each event features a national sponsor that bridges all the cities (last night, that sponsor was Almay), along with local sponsors like NY Cake Pops and Pure Yoga.
Here are some other creative opportunities for brands to consider if they want to test this new trend:
- Twitter announced recently that it will allow beta testers to target Promoted Tweets (the ad units are actual Twitter messages, launched just last year) by country. First to test this new feature? McDonald’s Canada.
- DailyCandy and PureWow create similar city-specific email blasts and web content
According to digital media consulting firm BIA/Kelsey (as reported by Website Magazine), geo-targeted ads will more than double in the coming years from 897 million in 2008 to 1.9 billion in 2013.
How can your brand benefit by taking your Marketing or PR efforts to a local level?
City offered free treats and tickets to a private screening of “Something Borrowed” in New York City on Wednesday, marking Sugar Inc’s foray into “geo-targeted” events. MMC’s Devonne Sutton and Sarah Pfeiffer were two of several MMC-ers who were invited.
Most people you ask will tell you that you’re only a New Yorker after you have lived in the city for 10 years. A good friend of mine recently celebrated this momentous milestone, and it got me thinking: What truly makes someone a New Yorker? Surely there are experiences before the 10-year mark that carry some weight. In my opinion, here are a few that have gotten me (a Maryland native) a bit closer to the title …
1. Catching a music show at 11pm on a weeknight. This is one of my favorite things about this city – on any given night, you can hear jazz, bluegrass, indie rock, or “hard core” (not my personal taste, but it’s out there!) at venues both large and small all over the city.
2. Getting a NY Driver’s License. After three years of living in the Big Apple, I finally took the leap of legally committing to the state as my official place of residence. (Disclaimer: Don’t try this at home. NY law states you must get a NY license within 30 days of moving here. Three years was definitely a major “no-no” on my part.)
3. Referring to the city, rather than where you grew up, as “home”.
4. Not getting lost in Central Park and knowing where to find your friends if they tell you they’re at “The Pond,” “The Mall” or “The Lawn.”
5. Sampling the “best” of the foods we all love:
- Savoring a pie at Lombardi’s/Grimaldi’s (I’ll leave it to you to debate which is better)
- Sinking your teeth into a burger at Corner Bistro (NY Magazine agrees with me on this one; if you haven’t had one of these juicy burgers – and by the way, they’re one of the better deals in the city at $6 a pop with a $3 mugs of beer to boot – you haven’t really lived)
- Treating yourself to a cupcake at Magnolia (personally, I prefer Crumbs, but Magnolia is definitely an institution not to be missed)
- Having a steak at Peter Luger’s (ok, I admit – this is still on my list. I guess I do still have a way to go before New Yorker status)
What experiences do you carry as your New Yorker badges?
Ok, I admit it. I am head-over-heels crazy about the holiday season. For me, it’s all about the build-up: smells of sweet spices from steaming beverages, songs you know by heart even though they only come around once every 12 months, the crunch of leaves beneath your feet, and how your cheeks flush as you rush from shop to shop in the increasingly colder air to find the perfect gifts for everyone on your “Nice List.”
Here are just a few ways I celebrate every year. Try one, or all of them, but most of all, have a very happy season!
1. I make a playlist of my favorite holiday tunes for my iPod and whenever I’m dreading that trip to the crowd-packed streets of the city (always in the rain!), it picks up my spirits. Here’s what I’m loving right now:
“Frosty the Snowman” by Fiona Apple
Hotel Café Artist Medley of “Auld Lang Syne” (various artists)
“Silent Night” by Priscilla An
2. I send a little “care” package out with my holiday cards. Whether it’s a copy of the holiday mix CD I made for myself or a small bag of homemade peppermint bark (so easy to make), it makes me smile thinking about my friends and family opening up that little something:
Peppermint Bark
Ingredients
Crushed candy canes, to yield 1 cup
2 pounds white or dark chocolate
Peppermint flavorings, optional
Directions
Place candy canes in a plastic bag and hammer into 1/4-inch chunks or smaller. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler. Combine candy cane chunks with chocolate (add peppermint flavoring at this point if desired.) Pour mixture onto a cookie sheet layered with parchment or waxed paper and place in the refrigerator for 45 minutes or until firm. Remove from cookie sheet and break into pieces (like peanut brittle.)
3. I squeeze in some extra work-outs so I won’t feel as guilty helping myself to that second piece of pumpkin pie. Because let’s be honest, it really is worth it.
4. I don’t wait until crunch time to pick up gifts. If I’m out and about and I see something I think someone might like, I get it! And boom cross that one off the list. I wrap as I go, too. There’s nothing better than seeing a stack of festively wrapped presents every night when you come home!
5. I make a list of the things I loved about the past year stand-out memories, risks I took, friends I made, things in my life I’m grateful for and a list of things I wish may have gone a little differently. I’m not into New Year’s resolutions (mine always seemed to fade away by February), but reflecting on the year, writing it down, and then getting to spend time with everyone I love is a great reminder of the things that truly matter. And after all, isn’t that what this season is really about?
“What did I get myself into?” I wondered as the plane began its ascent, slowly putting distance between the safe, solid ground and me — strapped to a stranger by a few (too few, in my opinion) straps and clips.
I turned my head and shouted to Mike, my tandem jumper, over the plane’s engine, “Those are fastened, right?”
“Stop asking silly questions and just relax,” he responded. (Did I mention he was 72 years old?)
That’s when the panic set in.
I have never felt actual fear like I did that day. At the time, it was awful! But looking back, I realize that maybe it’s good to be afraid of something and go for it anyway. Stepping out of an open door of a tiny, propeller plane flying at 12,000 feet may not be everyone’s idea of a good time. But what about pushing past the limits of what you thought was possible?
So how was it, you ask? When I looked out that door, I wasn’t sure I could do it. And honestly, I don’t think I really did much Mike essentially jumped for both of us. The moment I left the plane, my mind went totally blank; it was so surreal. All I knew was that the wind was hitting my face so fast, rushing into my mouth and nose with such force, that I could barely catch my breath. For two minutes, we were flying it was both terrifying and amazing. The parachute finally opened and I started laughing. Because then I knew, I was going to be ok. Now we were floating, soaring through the air and I could see for miles. And I’ll never forget the feeling when my feet touched the ground with adrenaline racing, I felt with certainty that I could do anything.
It might not always be an airplane exit door it might be a new campaign, moving to a new city, some challenge that we’re not sure how to take on at work or in our private lives. But it is jumping from the biggest heights taking on the biggest challenges that will be the scariest, will make you doubt yourself the most intensely, and will also be the thrill of your life when you land on your feet.
PHIL-A-DEL-PHIA Freedom!
We all know the song that brought Elton John to the top of the charts in the mid-70s that I admit to have had on my “Gym Mix” for years because of its catchy music and upbeat tempo. But recently, I have become better acquainted with the real meaning behind Elton’s song, and with the woman he wrote it for.
Billie Jean King played with the Philadelphia Freedoms tennis team the year after she won the fateful “Battle of the Sexes”. match against the world’s number one tennis player Bobby Riggs. He claimed he could beat Billie Jean, who was one of the world’s best female stars at the time. But she surprised the world when she beat him.
Billie Jean describes herself as a champion for change. For social change, equality for women, and most recently, for making positive lifestyle changes to manage diabetes.
She is an incredible woman with a strong message about change and personal empowerment. And in July, MMC helped bring that message to the Philadelphia Freedoms home matches at the King of Prussia Mall on behalf of our client, Novo Nordisk.
I have worked with Billie Jean since March on the Novo Nordisk Be the Face of Change diabetes awareness campaign. Novo Nordisk has been a sponsor of the Freedoms team for years and earlier this year, partnered with the legendary Philadelphia Freedoms player and type 2 diabetes patient to serve as the Be the Face of Change campaign spokesperson. The campaign’s focal point is a stunning photo exhibit of more than 40 people living with diabetes who have shared their story about how they take charge of their lives and of diabetes.
So far this year, the campaign has reached new heights an audience of more than 2.5 million through the media, and more than 30,000 who have seen the exhibit in person.
The Philadelphia stop was one of the longer ones for the exhibit, stretching over two weeks, and was my personal favorite. It was amazing to see Billie Jean in her element, reaching people who know and love her because of tennis, or maybe because of who she represents for women. But now these people will also remember her because of her passion for change and empowerment regarding diabetes.
Novo Nordisk has that same passion for change and I know that’s why not only she, but I, am proud of the work that we do together.
Image courtesy of DisneyWorld.Disney.go.com
