Why Versa Loves Halloween (And Your Ad Agency Should, Too)

Every Halloween, Versa Creative Group likes to get extra creative. It could be the magical spirit in the air, or the fact that the winner gets a sweet $50 Target gift card. But we think it’s because Halloween is the time of year when everyone gets to show off their creative skills and do a little impromptu acting for the camera. Witness these examples from last year’s epic Halloween contest:

Designer Kyra as Olive Oil & Copywriter Caitlin as Peter Pan

If you’re ad agency hasn’t had a Halloween contest yet, think of the benefits. Everyone gets to come up with their very best creative concepts while celebrating their hard work throughout the year. A themed Halloween contest or a group Halloween costume can be a fun way of boosting office morale. Plus, you could make your group costume extra funny, like this group that imagined what Jersey Shore would look like after 50 years, or these ladies that became enthusiastic social media interns!

If you do run out of ideas, try one of these tried-and-true themes, courtesy of Versa:

*Celebrity Look-Alikes

*Ad Puns

*Famous Victors Throughout History

*Office Impressions

*Food & Drink

*80s and 90s TV

*Flora & Fauna

*Cartoon Characters

*Mad Men Characters

*Bad Jokes/Puns

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Brand Relevancy: How Top Brands Stay in the Hearts of Consumers

Top brands like Coke and Swiffer have made into the everyday lives of consumers worldwide, but as consumers become increasingly health and eco-conscious, these brands have the particular challenge of proving to the public that they are still worthwhile products. Convincing consumers that a can of Coke or a disposable Swiffer mop are household necessities by appealing to their nostalgic quality is not enough. Instead, brands like these have to make their place in a new world where caring about long-term health and happiness comes first.

The new UK commercial spot for Coke encourages consumers to drink Coke the way it used to be had—as an occasional treat that compliments a simple meal or a pleasant afternoon with family and friends. In a split screen, we see two men, one from the 50s and one from today, on an average work day. Pairing a computer with a typewriter, an escalator with stairs, and a macaroni dinner in bed with spaghetti meal at the dining table, the ad shows how both men lead a fairly simple life. At the end of the commercial, we discover that the man from the 50s is actually the grandfather of the man from today as they stroll down a park with bottled Cokes in hand. The tagline: “Live like grandpa did. Move more, eat well, take it easy.” Watch the TV spot here.

The eco-conscious consumer may opt for a reusable mop that doesn’t waste synthetic materials, but there is an important place for reusable mops, says Swiffer’s new commercial spot featuring a happily married elderly couple trying to live the good life. “There should be some way to make it easier,” says Morty, worrying about the risks his wife takes to clean furniture and wipe the floor with a heavy bucket of soapy water. At their door, “some kind of a mopping device” appears. “So it’s like dancing,” he says as his wife tries the new mop out with ease. They dance in the kitchen. Now that they don’t have to spend extra time cleaning, the couple can spend time enjoying their life together. Watch it here. 

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What's Your Angle?

One of the challenges of advertising is reaching a diverse audience.  To meet the needs of different demographics, ad agencies will make multiple versions of ads for a campaign, adjusting the images and copy accordingly. 

One way of reaching multiple audiences with the same ad is the use of lenticular printing.  By using a lenticular top layer, the ad can convey different messages when the image is viewed at different angles.  Though not new, improvements to lenticular printing have made for higher quality images and reduced production costs.  

Recently, the advertising agency Grey Spain demonstrated an innovative use of lenticular printing in a campaign for ANAR (Aid to Children and Adolescents at Risk) Foundation, an organization that advocates for children’s well-being.  The idea is to deliver differing messages to children and adults.  

The outdoor poster features the photo of a young boy.  From an adult height (or over 4’5”), the poster reads, “Sometimes child abuse is only visible to the child suffering it.”  From this higher angle, the boy’s face appears normal and healthy.

From a child’s height (under 4’5”), the poster reads “If someone hurts you, phone us and we’ll help you.”  Visible only to children is an image of the same boy, however at this lower angle, he has cuts and bruises.   The lower angle also provides a help line number for children to call for help.

This ad received a lot of media attention earlier this month appearing on news websites and popular media blogs like the Gawker sites.  While some commenters were critical of the campaign’s approach, feeling that the release of information on how the ad works detracted from its purpose.  Grey Spain responded to critics noting that the reblogging of the ad drew much needed attention to the issue of child abuse, to ANAR, and to the helpline. 

Use of this technology need not all be about serious social issues.  Lenticular printing, now that it’s becoming higher quality and less expensive, can be used for all sorts of messaging and product promotion.  McDonald’s has created the ad below which highlights the joy of being able to devour a Big Mac at any time, day or night. 

Notice that the McDonald’s ad works from left to right so the viewer can move horizontally from one side of the ad to the other to see how the image and messaging change.  This creates a dynamic experience for the audience--however, everyone can see the full range of images.  

The Grey Spain ad is interesting because it highlights the potential of using the same ad to market to adults and to small children, giving different age groups (or height groups) different experiences.  

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Versa Logo Designs

At Versa Creative, we think a good logo design should adhere to the same principles as a good print ad or billboard. An effective and brilliant advertisement features a disruptive image that is surprising to the viewer and clear and clever copy (tagline). A well designed add should also stay true to the brand's identity and call attention to the fact that they are versatile, progressive and have their customers' best interests at heart. Creating the perfect logo should be no different. Our talented design team welcomes each logo challenge with enthusiasm and a well planned strategy. Below, we have included five of our logo designs that pay close attention to the principles of simplicity, memorability, timelessness, versatility and appropriateness.

We designed the logo above for WG Consulting, a firm that provides consulting and tactical solutions to clients in the oil and gas industry. Their logo is simple, easily recognizable and memorable. 

The Oak Bar and Nightclub is a new, trendy Houston spot that specializes in cocktails and live music. We wanted to capture the elegant atmosphere and vibrant dance scene with this memorable logo design.

Our client, 1919 Wine & Mixology, wanted a logo that would be timeless. We paired a regal crest, lush color tones and a clever tagline to achieve just that.

Clients use the logos we design for them across a variety of marketing materials, including flyers, posters, e-blasts, billboards, websites, social media pages and more. For that reason, we want to ensure that the design is versatile and easily scaled to any size.

An appropriate logo design is paramount when it comes to functionality and aesthetic appeal. For example, our design for Kid's Table, a branch of Corner Entertainment, utilizes a fun and youthful typography, bright and inviting colors and Corner Entertainment's trademark rooster sitting happily atop one of the letters.

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April: The Ad World at a Glance

Is spring the time when brand catch their breaths after the holiday and New Year rushes? Or, is it when they regroup, creatively, and put their heads together to devise a plan for the long summer and fall seasons? How do their strategies carry over into their social media efforts? These are just a few questions we are asking ourselves at Versa as we work hard to make our clients stand out this spring.

There is one huge trend creatives have caught on to: the Facebook Share. The like has been “common practice among marketers for years,” says a recent article by Adweek (Heine). The like is easy, instant, and gratifying, but does not carry the weight or intrinsic value that a share does. Ultimately, marketers want consumers and Facebook users to talk about their brand, they want a great deal of chatter, and they want ‘“to percolate a frenzy”’ around their products and services (as cited in Heine). The Facebook algorithm that determines what shows up near the top of a user’s feed gives “1,300 percent more weight to shares than likes” (Heine). Word of mouth, which is one of the best sources of organic advertising, just became a little more complicated, and a little more competitive.

What is the secret to converting a lot of views to a lot of—more valuable—shares? Dennis Y, the CEO of BlitzMetrics, a social media insights firms says, “‘Brands should focus on storytelling to create real engagement” that fans are willing to share with their friends (as cited in Heine). And, to do that, the story and accompanying photo must be memorable. A recent article by Forbes.com has a short and helpful list of elements that make a brand’s advertising great and memorable.

A great ad must do a lot of things, and it must do a lot of things very well. To begin, it must present a strong brand identity. A brilliant headline, of course, is a must. A visual that is both engaging, relevant and, to use a term from the Forbes story, “disruptive” (Geller) is also a must. The very last and most important element is something a little bit extra. A little bit extra, we’ll admit, is hard to pinpoint and define. But, here’s how we interpret it: something that makes you do a double-take, something that makes you laugh and want to share your amusement or surprise, and something that makes you secretly admire a brand even if you profess to be opposed to advertising. In short, ads that will attract even the cynics.  That’s all.

Works Cited

Gellar, Lois. “How To Make Your Advertising Memorable.” Forbes.com. Forbes.com LLC, 23 Jan. 2013.

                Web. 3 April 2013.

Heine, Christopher. “Brands Favor Social Shares Over Likes: Chatter is key.” Adweek.com. Adweek, 1

                April 2013. Web. 3 April 2013.  

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Optimize your LinkedIn Profile

If you have not joined the 58 Million (and growing) professionals on LinkedIn, that is very bad. If you do happen to boast a profile on this influential network, but are not consistently checking your page, updating information, or are in fact guilty of committing a certain eight faux pas (according to Forbes.com), then that is even worse.

While LinkedIn may not be—or sound—as glamorous as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr, or Instagram, it is distinguished from its sassy and wild brethren as a purely professional site for career networking. To do this successfully, job hunters must understand the system and their roles within it. To be more specific, they need to make their public profiles a beautiful, functional, and unique sight to behold.

Checking your profile every once in a while, when the mood strikes, is not going to cut it. In fact, it can be detrimental to your career! If you have not accessed your account in two weeks, Versa Creative recommends that you immediately log in and shake your profile free of those pesky virtual cobwebs intent on ruining your chances of employment, or upward mobility.

While you’re at it—here are 8 things, according to www.Forbes.com, that you should avoid at all costs. We have summarized the main points for your viewing pleasure:

1. The Mystery Photo – LinkedIn users who actually have a professional looking photo are more likely to be viewed than those who do not. No photo these days equals suspicious, especially to employers on the hunt for attractive (and skilled!) team members.

2. The Inappropriate Photo – Even worse than no photo at all is a profile pic that includes your 3-year old son, your pet parakeet (although, he does look cute on your shoulder), or the 30-year-old version of you. This last point is only a faux pas if you are actually, say, 47, 53, or 61…You should never misrepresent yourself, your age, or your appearance.  Just show the world your winning smile and a carefully crafted profile that represents your invaluable skills and experiences.

3. Keeping News to Yourself – We recommend that you update your status at least every few days. What, you may ask, should I include in my status? Share a recent promotion, a restaurant blog you contribute to, a huge account you just landed, a new intern you just hired, or a training course you successfully completed. Stick to professional accomplishments and progress (Forbes 1) and be sure to include eye-catching photos.

4. Using General, Boring Connections – You can go crazy with connecting to everyone you went to high school with, but is that really going to help your career in the long run? We think not. When connecting, the point is to build valuable professional relationships (Forbes 2). When you reach out to another professional and ask them to “connect,” customize your message to them and they will be impressed and more likely to accept.

5. Privacy Schmivacy – So, you’re connected to your current boss on LinkedIn, but you’re desperately searching for a new gig. Thanks to the world of LinkedIn Privacy Settings (which should never be ignored!) you can scour the planet for new jobs without them ever knowing. To adjust these, simply choose “Settings” from the top drop-down menu.

6. I Cannot Possibly Summarize Myself – Oh but you can! The LinkedIn world is ruthless and competitive. It’s up to you to optimize your public profile in a way that will give you that edge you need to seal the deal. The summary section of the LinkedIn profile affords you with the perfect opportunity to do just that.

7. There is NO Past; Only the Future – While this is a romantic notion, you need to make your LinkedIn profile as robust and comprehensive as possible. That means including the titles and related responsibilities of your last four to five positions—at the very least. Prospective employers want to see your experience and diverse skills. If this so happens to include your time flipping burgers at Whataburger, then so be it.

8. I am Not Obsessive or Sneaky – “Profile stalking” may be frowned upon (but often done) in the Facebook world, but it is a must when it comes to LinkedIn. Beyond joining groups related to your area of expertise or personal interests, make your presence known to companies you are genuinely interested in. If they see you consistently engaging with their updates and checking in, they will notice. We know this because we are watch-dogs of our own LinkedIn company profile. The bottom line: don’t be afraid to be a little obsessed.   

Source:

Kane, Libby. “8 Mistakes You Should Never Make on LinkedIn.” Forbes. 4 Mar. 2013: 1-3. Forbes.com

                LLC. Web. 7 Mar. 2013. 

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Is your Brand's LinkedIn Rockin'?

The Most Influential Professional Networking Site:

LinkedIn is the largest professional networking site with a user base that will soon surpass 200 million. With business owners, entrepreneurs, executives, and other professionals tuned in, LinkedIn is a place where individuals and companies can self-identify and communicate exactly who they are and what they do. So, the question is not: Why should I be on LinkedIn? Instead, ask: Why shouldn't you be?

The most successful brands are already taking hints from Best Practice guides to optimize their presence on this giant networking site. IBM, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, and others have used recent LinkedIn updates to their advantage by creating attractive cover images, posting frequent status updates, and making their Products/Services tab fun and easy to navigate.

Unlike other social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, the LinkedIn "stream" is not yet overcrowded with status updates. In other words, brands should take advantage of this now while they have the chance to appear in other companies' and individuals' streams. Well crafted updates can create dialogue and emphasize a call to action that is invaluable to network growth and targeted marketing.

Posting on-brand content that attracts potential talent, investors, or grows the follower base in general, is just one way to rock your brand's LinkedIn. Ultimately, your brand's page must be carefully thought out in order to accomplish two very important things: give LinkedIn users a reason to follow you and convert followers gained to leads. By converting a follower to a lead, you are encouraging them and in some cases, helping them, see the benefits of your products and services.

LinkedIn has a high visitor-to-lead conversion rate that is 3 times higher than that of Facebook and Twitter. The bottom line: people will visit your website more by clicking on links you provide within your LinkedIn page and this will generate more business for you. Below, we've listed 10 easy ways to optimize your brand's LinkedIn presence. Next week, we will give you another 10 great tips.

10 Ways to Rock your Brand's LinkedIn:

1. Claim your "vanity" URL and get rid of the unattractive string of numbers associated with your brand's page name when a LinkedIn user searches for you.
2. Create a profile badge that will take users to your brand's LinkedIn page with just one click from your main website, blog, or other social media platforms.
3. Search engine optimize your LinkedIn profile's content by choosing key words and associated landing pages that hold the most value for you. SEO terms can be incorporated into headlines, the summary section, or other areas.
4. Post frequent brand updates and include calls to action and links driving LinkedIn users to the Products/Services page, your brand's main website, or other social media platforms.
5. Include job postings for prospective employees.
6. Participate in Linked in Groups and Answers to establish your brand as an authority and approachable expert in your related industry.
7. Add applications to enrich your brand's profile, including: WordPress (directly syncs your WordPress blog posts with your LinkedIn profile), SlideShare (allows you to upload and share recent company presentations), and Portfolio Display (highlights creative work and shows users a different side to your brand).
8. Add Employees to your brand's profile to highlight team members' skills and expertise, and show the community that you are proud and committed to your employees.
9. Include links where possible (without over doing it) that leads visitors to desired landing pages.
10. Consider running targeted LinkedIn ads to gain followers and promote your brand's products, services, and mission. 

LinkedIn Ads:

The image above is an example of our tenth and last tip of this blog. Recently, HP effectively used an ad like this to boost its following by the hundreds of thousands. Brands can use ads that encourage LinkedIn users to view, recommend, and share products and services. Like Facebook ads, LinkedIn allows brands to use targeting advertising, so their message is reaching the desired audience or professionals and companies.

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The New Frontier of Experiential Marketing

What is experiential marketing?

First, we explain what it is not. It is not event marketing, which it is commonly confused with. But, experiential marketing does share some things in common with their advertising cousin. It does allow for an interactive space where the public can engage with a brand. However, it goes one step beyond a simple promotional event and delves into the realm Ad execs love the most: the psyche of the consumer.

Experiential marketing appeals to the consumer's emotions and imagination. It also seeks to engage as many senses as possible. By breaking away from traditional advertising methods, like TV, Commercial, and Billboard, the experiential approach blurs the lines between a brand's message and the personal world of the consumer. When the two spaces converge, the consumer may realize that a particular brand's product or service fits perfectly into their lives. Experiential marketing provides a unique space where people can experience brands where they least expect to find them, and in ways they never have before.

The "living" billboard above is a perfect example of experiential marketing. While Natural England has still relied on a traditional advertising method, they have totally turned it on its head by making it interactive in a way that directly correlates to its message. Banrock is preserving thousands of acres of wildflower meadows, and the pedestrian can literally stop to smell the flowers. And, they can even water them.

The second example, above, also relies on the pedestrian and his or her nose. To promote fine Scottish Whisky, passersby are encouraged to experience the flavors for themselves by smelling four different varieties. This experiential ad particular targets those who consider themselves to be Whisky connoisseurs.

While it isn't out of the ordinary to see a vehicle placement in a shopping mall, this advertising company went one step further and positioned the car in a way that would be surprising. The car looks like it is just a part of the shopping cart's inventory of products. The ridiculousness of this scenario draws people's attention, as we can see by the small crowd that has gathered around.

Our final example of experiential marketing is a bus stop that has been taken over by Vodka Absolut. While waiting for the bus, the pedestrian can sit comfortably in a stylish chair while a lemon tree grows behind him, spreading its leaves and fruit-bearing branches out to cover the roof of the bus stop. A simple glance to the left, and the pedestrian will see a beautiful and seductive woman out of the corner of his eye, and a table with two glasses and a bottle of Absolut waiting. This mirage may be tempting enough to make the viewer want to stop by the liquor store on the way home.

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Lady Gaga Graces Houston and Facebook

In less than two weeks, Houston will be graced by who may arguably be the feistiest Queen of Pop to ever don a meat-dress. Lady Gaga. Her highly anticipated "Born This Way Ball" kicked off five days ago in Vancouver and other chilly areas of the northwest. Houstonians will surely give her a warm welcome, given the buzz that has been surrounding her spectacular show(wo)manship, elaborate sets, and scandalous props. We've been dying to go to the show, but have settled on creating some awesome marketing materials for our wonderful client, Bel Furniture, who is giving away a pair of tickets to see Gaga.

Bel has teamed up with the popular radio station, 104.1 KRBE to offer fans a chance to enter and win tickets to see Lady Gaga at the Toyota Center on January 31, 2013. While 104.1 listeners can call in and win that way, Bel thought it would be fun to reward its fans and customers who follow them on Facebook. To enter to win, all you have to do is "like" their Facebook page and enter to win through their simple "Promos" tab. We've had a lot of fun building up the buzz!

While Bel Furniture and Lady Gaga may seem like an odd pairing, we thing it's a wonderful opportunity for Bel to reward its loyal customer and reach out to a new audience of younger Houstonians.

As we get closer and closer to the concert date, we'll continue promoting the pair of tickets on all of Bel's social media pages. The credit for these rockin' designs truly goes to one of our newest designers, Annette, who joined the Versa Creative Team a couple months ago.

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What Marketing 2013 May Bring!

The year 2012 saw revolutions, political elections, art, and natural disasters that rocked the world, sending ripples across our interlinked economies and societies. We don’t expect anything less from 2013, the first year since 1987 to have four unique numbers in its sequence. While the integration of traditional and digital marketing enjoyed a phenomenal boost last year, it will only continue to gain leverage in the market place and in the hearts and minds of consumers. Social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter are the perfect embodiment of this beautiful creation. We expect to see businesses, particularly top brands, continue to push their presence across the social media landscape.

In addition to the growth of the already giant social media scene, Amazon will continue its domination of the e-commerce market. And, they’ll be offering a few more things you may or may not have expected from them: an app lover’s store, a genuine Amazon tablet competitive with the top brands, a bulked up advertising platform, video streaming services, and…what’s that? Is it a bird? Is it a plane? NO! It’s an Amazon cloud computing platform. How they manage to juggle all of these new services will be interesting to see.

Here is another pinteresting development also worth mentioning for the coming months of 2013: Pin for the Win. Pinterest is quickly gaining as much popularity and mentions as Instagram. Will this pin-happy service be purchased by one of the social media giants? Does Facebook have them in their sights? Only time will tell.

The final trend to keep an eye on for the 2013 marketing world is something called, "native advertising." Ads "go native" by adopting the voice, format, and style of the specific platforms in which they appear. In other words, it is advertising that exists under the radar. Viewers no longer consider them to be an intrusion upon their web surfing experience because the ads do not disrupt the flow of viewing, nor do they scream "deals!" or "specials!" from the sidebars. This type of content shift will not be easy, but it will be integral to the success of smaller brands trying to compete with larger, well-established companies. 

At Versa Creative Group, we look forward to what's in store for the world of social media marketing and digital advertising in the year 2013. And, as always, we welcome any comments or opinions here or on our Facebook page. 

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