Yesterday MediaPost published an article entitled "Puma Employees Become Ambassadors," describing Puma's new campaign called "Puma Employees Only." This marketing effort showcases the distinct personalities of 14 Puma employees through a series of YouTube videos, a Facebook Fan Page (with over 1 million fans, thank you very much), and future in-store and out-of-store events. These employees share fun info like their favorite things, pet peeves, and best places to visit in their respective cities.
I love the idea of Puma employees being ambassadors for their brand. I love their use of online video, social media, and in-store/out-of-store events to make Puma more personal - to give a face to the brand. To let the customer "get to know" the real people who work for Puma, and to think "This person's cool; he reminds me of me. He likes Puma; maybe I'll like Puma, too."
But MediaPost got it wrong. These Puma employees didn't become ambassadors for their brand when they were featured in this campaign. Employees are always ambassadors for their brands, whether they star in online videos and Facebook Fan Pages or not. Whether they intend to be ambassadors or not. Whether they show pride in their brands or not.
If your employees don't show pride in your brand, if they talk about coming to work as if they dread it, if they complain about their coworkers or bosses or management or customers or work-hours, they are representing to the world that your brand is dreary, thoughtless, inconsiderate. As ambassadors, they are influencing people against your brand.
If this is true for a significant number of your employees, it is time to look at your corporate culture. Is your company a place where people are respected? where their jobs are appreciated? where their skills are recognized? where ideas are rewarded? where departments work together? where coworkers encourage and help each other? where individuals can get excited about the work they are doing, the products they are delivering, and the difference they are making in the world?
If not, start making it so. It begins with you.
Showing posts with label corporate social. Show all posts
Showing posts with label corporate social. Show all posts
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Monday, August 10, 2009
Your Neighbor vs. The World
Sometimes we're so busy saving the world that we forget to help the guy next door.
This fact was brought to my mind on Saturday as I tried to do some research for this blog. I intended to gather information so that I could write my final post for last week. (I try to post every weekday; last week I had missed Friday, and needed to catch up.) And so, on two separate occasions on Saturday, I took my laptop to a quiet, studious place in order to write my belated post and start thinking about some posts for this week.
On both occasions, as I headed to my quiet spot, I encountered friends who needed my assistance - one with moving into her new apartment; one with talking through a difficult situation. This posed an interesting dilemma: do I act responsibly and complete my over-due research so that I may be faithful to my readers? or do I help my friends with their needs?
I chose to help my friends. A few years ago, I would not have done so. I hope that my readers will forgive me.
It's the old Good Samaritan story. We aspire to act like the Samaritan, who stopped to help a stranger in need. But how often are we more like the priest and the Levite who went before the Samaritan? Both of these men were so busy serving in the temple that they could not find time to serve a person who was truly in need.
Do we do this in our companies? Do we donate a large percentage of our profits to charity, but refuse to support fundraisers for the local Boy Scout troop or football boosters? Do we send volunteers to help dig wells in Africa, but forget to give time to help clean up the community park? Do we brag about how our products improve the lives of our customers, but treat our own employees with lack of respect and appreciation?
Continue to change the world. But start in your own backyard.
This fact was brought to my mind on Saturday as I tried to do some research for this blog. I intended to gather information so that I could write my final post for last week. (I try to post every weekday; last week I had missed Friday, and needed to catch up.) And so, on two separate occasions on Saturday, I took my laptop to a quiet, studious place in order to write my belated post and start thinking about some posts for this week.
On both occasions, as I headed to my quiet spot, I encountered friends who needed my assistance - one with moving into her new apartment; one with talking through a difficult situation. This posed an interesting dilemma: do I act responsibly and complete my over-due research so that I may be faithful to my readers? or do I help my friends with their needs?
I chose to help my friends. A few years ago, I would not have done so. I hope that my readers will forgive me.
It's the old Good Samaritan story. We aspire to act like the Samaritan, who stopped to help a stranger in need. But how often are we more like the priest and the Levite who went before the Samaritan? Both of these men were so busy serving in the temple that they could not find time to serve a person who was truly in need.
Do we do this in our companies? Do we donate a large percentage of our profits to charity, but refuse to support fundraisers for the local Boy Scout troop or football boosters? Do we send volunteers to help dig wells in Africa, but forget to give time to help clean up the community park? Do we brag about how our products improve the lives of our customers, but treat our own employees with lack of respect and appreciation?
Continue to change the world. But start in your own backyard.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Can Art on a Billboard Still Be Called Art?
Palisades Car Insurance is making an apparent effort to beautify the highways of New Jersey, its home state. How? Not through the Adopt-A-Highway program. Not by planting trees and shrubs. No, Palisades is making its contribution to society by displaying art - fine art - on billboards.
The campaign, which began on July 13, is called "Drive With a Smile," from the company known as "The Nice New Jersey Car Insurance Company." According to a recent New York Post article, the goal of the campaign is three-fold: 1) to give drivers something pleasant to view while stuck in traffic; 2) to showcase the work of local New Jersey artists; and 3) to promote the scenic locations of New Jersey. The first two billboards are already on display (see photos below); the art for the remaining billboards will be selected by online vote from New Jersey scenes submitted by local artists. Art submissions, viewing, and voting takes place at drivewithasmile.palisades.com
The question on the table is this: can art on a billboard still be considered art? If a billboard displays a painting, can it still be seen as an eyesore? Or does the painting succeed in beautifying the signage?
I think that Palisades' campaign sounds like a great thing - it sounds like a community service, turning the highway into an art gallery. Beautifying the road. Benefiting society. But, based on the photos above, it seems that Palisades only made a half-hearted effort at their corporate social responsibility.
With the Palisades logo and "Got a Nice Piece?" tagline taking up so much space, it seems that drivers would hardly be able to get a good look at the art. The view seems comparable to looking at a thumbnail of a photo online, without having the luxury of opening the full-size version. Or, if the highway were an art gallery, visitors would be examining an 8" x 10" painting from across the entire length of the room.
I agree with mep's comments on the subject from a discussion on ArtBistro.com: "if you are going to put a landscape painting on a billboard then make the whole 'canvas' just that." Palisades ought to relax their ego and remove the logo and tagline. Let the art fill the entire billboard. Let the billboard truly be art, and truly bring joy to drivers. They ought to build the Palisades brand through the free publicity Palisades would get (both through news channels and through viral marketing), not with a logo that crowds out the art and ruins the effort.
If Palisades simply cannot bear to post a billboard without the Palisades logo, they could place the logo in a corner of the full-sized art. Or, better yet, simply print the website URL, drivewithasmile.palisades.com, along the bottom of the art.
Palisades is almost-but-not-quite there on corporate social responsibility and viral marketing. Hopefully they will change the layout before they post the remaining billboards.
The campaign, which began on July 13, is called "Drive With a Smile," from the company known as "The Nice New Jersey Car Insurance Company." According to a recent New York Post article, the goal of the campaign is three-fold: 1) to give drivers something pleasant to view while stuck in traffic; 2) to showcase the work of local New Jersey artists; and 3) to promote the scenic locations of New Jersey. The first two billboards are already on display (see photos below); the art for the remaining billboards will be selected by online vote from New Jersey scenes submitted by local artists. Art submissions, viewing, and voting takes place at drivewithasmile.palisades.com
The question on the table is this: can art on a billboard still be considered art? If a billboard displays a painting, can it still be seen as an eyesore? Or does the painting succeed in beautifying the signage?
I think that Palisades' campaign sounds like a great thing - it sounds like a community service, turning the highway into an art gallery. Beautifying the road. Benefiting society. But, based on the photos above, it seems that Palisades only made a half-hearted effort at their corporate social responsibility.
With the Palisades logo and "Got a Nice Piece?" tagline taking up so much space, it seems that drivers would hardly be able to get a good look at the art. The view seems comparable to looking at a thumbnail of a photo online, without having the luxury of opening the full-size version. Or, if the highway were an art gallery, visitors would be examining an 8" x 10" painting from across the entire length of the room.
I agree with mep's comments on the subject from a discussion on ArtBistro.com: "if you are going to put a landscape painting on a billboard then make the whole 'canvas' just that." Palisades ought to relax their ego and remove the logo and tagline. Let the art fill the entire billboard. Let the billboard truly be art, and truly bring joy to drivers. They ought to build the Palisades brand through the free publicity Palisades would get (both through news channels and through viral marketing), not with a logo that crowds out the art and ruins the effort.
If Palisades simply cannot bear to post a billboard without the Palisades logo, they could place the logo in a corner of the full-sized art. Or, better yet, simply print the website URL, drivewithasmile.palisades.com, along the bottom of the art.
Palisades is almost-but-not-quite there on corporate social responsibility and viral marketing. Hopefully they will change the layout before they post the remaining billboards.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Normal vs. Boring: Toshiba's New Campaign
Have you heard the latest in reality tv commercials?
Toshiba just launched a campaign that pits six citizens of Normal, Illinois, against six citizens of Boring, Oregon. After being selected from a series of casting calls, the twelve contestants received brand new Toshiba laptops. Now they have one month to break free from "normal" and "boring" and be innovative - in using those laptops to increase community activism in their respective towns. The team that makes the best use of the laptops will win $15,000 worth of Toshiba laptops for the local school district.
A film crew from New York's P-13 Productions is documenting the progress of the contestants. On July 27, videos of the competition will be posted on MySpace, and viewers will vote for the winning team.
This is beautiful picture of interactive marketing meets corporate social marketing.
Residents of two towns with unassuming names get to participate in a one-month reality tv show requiring an innovative use of technology to help their communities. People around the world get to participate online in watching the videos and choosing the winner. The students of a school district get a shot at improved education facilitated by new technology. And Toshiba gets people interested in the brand and aware of Toshiba's commitment to corporate social responsibility.
A wise man I know once told me, "A good deal isn't a good deal unless it's a good deal for both parties." Toshiba has created a good deal.
Toshiba just launched a campaign that pits six citizens of Normal, Illinois, against six citizens of Boring, Oregon. After being selected from a series of casting calls, the twelve contestants received brand new Toshiba laptops. Now they have one month to break free from "normal" and "boring" and be innovative - in using those laptops to increase community activism in their respective towns. The team that makes the best use of the laptops will win $15,000 worth of Toshiba laptops for the local school district.
A film crew from New York's P-13 Productions is documenting the progress of the contestants. On July 27, videos of the competition will be posted on MySpace, and viewers will vote for the winning team.
This is beautiful picture of interactive marketing meets corporate social marketing.
Residents of two towns with unassuming names get to participate in a one-month reality tv show requiring an innovative use of technology to help their communities. People around the world get to participate online in watching the videos and choosing the winner. The students of a school district get a shot at improved education facilitated by new technology. And Toshiba gets people interested in the brand and aware of Toshiba's commitment to corporate social responsibility.
A wise man I know once told me, "A good deal isn't a good deal unless it's a good deal for both parties." Toshiba has created a good deal.
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