eROI NYC Interactive Agency

A couple of months ago I wrote a pretty scathing post about Greenpeace and how they were doing a poor job reaching their audience. I wanted to follow up that with a Greenpeace WIN. As a montly donor to GP it is nice to see them embracing the power of crowd sourcing and engagement. As if someone there read my post they just launched a terrific campaign. In response to the gigantic and cataclysmic human failure that is the Gulf Oil Spill…Greenpeace is launching and new assault on BP. To help drum up support and awareness for their battle they crowd sourced their version of the “new” BP logo. This new logo, supplied from its community will serve as the center brand piece for the effort. Enter or read more about it here. Great job Greenpeace…that’s what I call leveraging the community and creating engagement. Here are some examples:

I have been supporting Greenpeace for almost 2 years now. I actually converted with one of those Greenpeace guys on 23rd Street. I know, how could I right? Most people hate those guys, but he camped right in the spot where I used to smoke cigs and thus we got to talking. And isn’t that always the trick…just communicate. (communication means listening too).  At any rate I signed up to give them 5 bucks a month. A drop in the pan but in the world of micro-giving not bad. So I get their usual messaging….an email every month…oddly enough a DM piece every once in a while (doesn’t seem very Greenpeacey to send out junk mail…but for the 60+ crowd direct mail still works)…but I got an email from them this week that raises some issues with me. Although I applaud their effort to engage…the overall effort is weak and outdated.  I will let it speak for itself:

“Help us get started by putting up “wanted” posters for Mr. Tillerson in your hometown!”

The idea is a simple one: download our short one-page toolkit and print out a few copies of the “wanted” poster we have created for Rex Tillerson. Then, take some time over the next couple of weeks and put them up around town. It’s as easy as that and should be a lot of fun.”

OK…so let me get this straight….Greenpeace wants us to print out a bunch of flyers to get the word out? I mean seriously? Does it really make sense to have one of the  ”greenest” orgs condone printing out a bunch of wack flyers that won’t have any impact. I know I know they’re supposed to be looking “big picture”…but that is exactly my point. If the goal is to get the word out about this horrific CEO let’s get the word out. Any organization/non-profit, whatever it is, no matter what you are trying to do or push, should fear the same thing….being irrelevant. Once your message and how you deliver it become obsolete so does your mission. I think the most frustrating part is that they are almost there…the idea is like flirting with something that can have legs.  So let’s examine this thing and see how they could have done better.

First of all I do like the whole “wanted” theme. Its catchy, it makes sense, its provides a nice motif to work with. Where the mission goes astray is the delivery and the overall design of the campaign. You are telling people to put up flyers around their town? What good will that do? No one can share that info easily….you maybe get 5-10 seconds of the person’s time, if that, as they are passing the flyer…there is no incentive to take any action. Rather than using the 1945 approach to marketing they should have gone to where the conversation is…the internet. Why not push Greenpeace supporters to use the Wanted Poster as their profile picture on social networking sites. Why not use twitter to create a digital “America’s Most Wanted” of sorts. I would also create a micro-site that functions as both a petition and a billboard for the movement. People like to discover things….so give them stuff to discovery. On the micro-site I would include as many videos and links as I could that could that illustrate why he is on the “Most Wanted List”.  I would provide incentive for singing up and spreading the word.  Currently there is only a blurb about this on their Facebook wall with pretty much the same messaging as the email. It is paramount that GP engage the users on their level. Give the people something to talk about. Give them something to do besides print a bunch of paper flyers.

In today’s world causes are like little badges people where to help differentiate. Making the “Wanted” movement a part of the current vernacular would create evangelists out of people who never would have otherwise reach. For instance…remember when the Iran elections were going on last year? I can’t tell you how many people changed their profile pictures to reflect the green hue indicative of the opposition candidate. That created curiosity…”why is your profile picture green? Oh…that’s because I support democracy in Iran.”

Get the conversation started Greenpeace. You are falling behind. Call me…we can help.

“Let’s get conversions!” they cheer from the cliffs and huts of the village. We hear it everyday. How do we increase conversion rates? No matter the vertical or the offer the answer is simple. Provide value….be compelling. I converted myself on an offer this weekend so I thought it relevant to share. And perhaps bring you some value. First, remember that everyone is competing for eyeballs both online and offline….what the internet provides is interaction with the brand….eyeballs plus action so that to me is the goal. Let’s go through the steps of my recent conversion.

Step 1: I received the below email. Delivery time Friday 4:45pm…Subject Line: Happy Valentine’s Day from eMusic…the offer: Here is a gift for you. How curious and tempting right. I am fan of the “Unwrap it now” call to action as well. Visually the creative is decent. I have issue with the header navigation. I know the old “best practice” hand book has a chapter on this but in this case I say let the V Day offer stand alone. Its going out to existing users and its a conceptual event driven offer. Nav in the email is just not necessary in this case. But alas the offer was compelling so I clicked.

Step 2: I was routed to a landing page and was auto played a short Flash Video. The video was good I suppose. Not to intrusive but not that big of a WOW factor. It works though as it is an offer for existing users. The action isnt to forward this. So the video is short and the song is too which is nice. The end state of the video plugged the offer and below the vid there is a link explaining the gift….5 free downloads.

Step 3: I clicked the redem button and was on the home page ready to log in.  So now I am here….logged in with free stuff to use. I noticed something I liked on the home page (see below)….I read about the artist…then downloaded her whole album. The experience was so good I searched again and downloaded another album. I pay for 35 songs a month and used almost all of them in this one session.

So I interacted and had a brand positive experience in just three clicks.  There are a couple reasons I like this besides the fact that it brought value.  For these kinds of sites and services its important to remember that sometimes your users forget they are even a part of the community. I know I do sometimes…I have lost my downloads a few times because it just slips my mind that I have them waiting for me there. While it may seem like it doesn’t matter if I use my downloads or not as E-Music will make their money anyway I contend that it means everything. They need to show that people use their service so they can intern sign more artists and labels to get an even broader audience. So this offer is relevant, compelling, it brings value and encourages interaction. Good job E Music. Still a fan. Here’s a sample of what I found…pretty sweet…the drop at 0:49 seconds in is ridiculous. Enjoy

Last week I was invited to speak at Scholastic publishing in Soho. As i mentioned on twitter I kept a look out for one Mr. Potter but saw neither he nor Clifford roaming the halls. I was asked to speak for 20 minutes about optimizing landing pages. Wow. So many things to say so little time. I racked my brain trying to figure out a way to provide value to these people while still trying to come up with something new and relevant. What makes this a difficult topic is that Landing pages, and the things that make them successful, just like everything else on the internet change all the time depending on so many things.  How can I be educational to the education people? I set out on the usual research of sites and blogs that anyone else would…google, marketing sites, etc…I needed more. I needed something new. The more I read and discovered the more I realized that there is no answer. There were sites offering “Top 10 Landing Page Secrets” and the usual “Your Guide to Landing Pages”. No smoking gun thing that makes a landing page “optimized”.  For as many products as there are in the world there could be equal number of landing pages that work. There has to be a framework in which we can talk about all landing pages across all verticals. Then I considered this…..a constantly changing system never has answers….it is all theory. At the heart of it…optimizing a landing page is nothing but a guess. Thus was born Landing Page Theory. (Only pronounced properly with your tongue in your cheek…)

The 5 rules of Landing Page Theory

1. Landing Page Equilibrium (L) = The point at which a landing page achieves balance and is thus optimized against other systems
2. The right combination of variables (V) and constants (C) will equal (L) V +C = L
3. L can only be proven through testing various combinations of (V) and (C) using the scientific method
4. All choices should be made in consideration for the user
5. All if this is only theory: there are no rules if you convert

What is a CONSTANT?

1. A clear and concise goal
2. Your audience
3. Your entry points

What is a VARIABLE?

1. Clear call to action
2. Appropriate forms
3. Consistent imagery
4. Solid brand message
5. Good user experience
6. Copy in “F” shape pattern
7. Stickiness: Do I want to click out?
8. Testimonial
9. Product shot
10. There are a ton more…

After explaining my new Theory I took a look at some case studies to provide some concrete examples. I identified the constants and then we worked as a group to identify the variable and decide if they indeed equaled L. The below is a Pin Code campaign we did with Breitling Watches. What are some of the variables?

Do you have any landing page examples that we could examine in this context? A special thank you to Stephanie Miller and the DMC for including me in the panel.

I took a walk over to The Dessy Group the other day to give a shout to one of our first NYC clients Alan Dessy. He is with out a doubt one of my most savvy clients and always has something cool to share. This time I was blown away. The Dessy Group partnered with Pantone to create Pantone Wedding. Brides to be can create unique inspiration boards for their wedding that they can share with friends and family. The user experience is great. You can import your own pictures and choose from galleries to create a visual mosaic of the wedding. Pantone Wedding swatch cards can then be divided into color chips for easy distribution to vendors ensuring it all matches. Love the progress Alan. Rock.

I need to give some props this week to MoMa and the new launch of their web based Summer Planner App. MoMa traditionally does a great job with their email marketing but this latest round added another level of unique engagement. I can envision the brainstorm session that lead to this….”let’s make it fun to plan your day/week at the museum” How do we do that? I received an email from them last week (image 1) promoting the new online planner. I clicked through to find a well designed and very easy to use site that thought out of the box in terms of usability and function. The interface is fun and colorful and the overall user experience lends itsself well to discovery and exploration. Hallmarks of a good museum right?

Upon entering the dates that you are interested in, you are prompted to sign in. They utilized a clever Facebook user sign in tool that allows you to use your Facebook page in sign in (image 2). You can also create a user profile with in the app. Nice move with the Facebook connect as it lends itsself well to sharing without having to flat our forward stuff. After you enter in all of your info it builds an itinerary for you based on your interests and the availability of the exhibits (image 3). The navigation is great and its tied into some cool features that help you select exhibits that might be of interest to you (image 5).  Nice work on this MoMa.

This week marks the start of Restaurant Week here in NYC. Aimed at showcasing NYC eateries and cafes Restaurant week offers foodies and non-foodies alike the opportunity to eat some where they might not otherwise choose. Most places offer a fixed menu for a very reasonable price usually around $30-$35 a person. I thought they have done a great job with their online marketing. These are just the fundamentals but they nailed it. Below I have displayed some of the assets from the campaign, but I encourage you to check it out yourself. Here are five observations:

1. Consistent visual messaging = All the pieces tie together from a visual prospective. I liked the way they handled this from color to form.

2. Consistent Offer = All the collateral consistently directs you to make a reservation.

3. User Experience = Top notch flow from email to site to conversion.

4. Multiple Tools = They leveraged email newsletter, email promo, banner ads, Twitter, home page call outs, commenting, reviews. All of this adds depth and broadens the coverage.

5. Builds Community = Overall the campaign works so well because the “product” is so engaging and fun. They play to that through out and pull on the fact that it is fun to make reservations and take advantage of Restaraunt Week.  They make it easy to join the conversation and participate.

Click an image for slide show:

Over the last year I have done some posts following intriguing and innovative campaigns. @vitaloca forwarded me an article on Media Post News that describes one such campaign.
Doritos created a unique and innovative experience with their Bags of Doritos Late Night. The bags have some special technology on it that allows you to “launch virtual 3D performances” of bands featured in the campaign (blink-182 and Big Boi). The description of it from the post sounds eerily futuristic but curious at the same time. It reads “[The bags] bear markers that are recognizable by augmented reality technology — technology that enhances video imagery with computer-generated graphics in real-time.”I am not sure what “augmented reality” means but I want to find out. Isn’t that the solid foundation of any campaign? Get me curious get me engaged. I guess the deal is you point the marker on the bag to a web cam and these performances seem to jump of the packaging in real time. Even if this doesn’t work you gotta give some love for the thought and inspiration. I love the audacity of it.  They are no stranger to crazy marketing campaigns either. They did the X13D naming contest a couple years back and their packaging seems to morph every time I go into a bodega (click an image below for slideshow). And of course no one can forget  their great super bowl commercials over the years. I am not sure the world is ready for what eROI would do with a 5 million dollar budget. Robots son….Robots.

Remember this:

We talk about it all the time here at eROI….relevance and engagement. Having said that I want to give a shout out to CBS Sports for their timely and relevant emails following the Stanley Cup and NBA Finals. For both events I was sitting in a bar sharing the excitement of the game with my fellow New Yorkers. Only 15 minutes into the post game I received an email from CBS pushing merch for the winning team. Kudos CBS for taking advantage of the immediate post game excitement. If I am a Pittsburgh or LA fan and I see my favorite players rocking some sweet championship gear, then hell yes sign me up. Great timing and execution. The design of the emails is a different story, but for now I will concentrate on the good stuff. Great job team CBS Sports.

I have gotten Quiksilver emails for a while now as I love the brand from back in the day. Growing up in Hawaii Quiksilver is like the "North Face" of the West Coast (I swear it seems like if you were born in NYC you get a North Face jacket every year for life…they are everywhere here). Anyway, I think this campaign is sick… It encourages interaction, gives the reader something sweet to do, there is potential for a ton of great content, clear message, totally on brand and on and on. For all you shredders out there get your cameras ready. I would participate but they don’t let people who are sponsored enter.