Yesterday in my blog I echoed Steve Smith in saying that your landing page should be a launch pad to your brand's story.
So, what is your story?
For TOMS shoes, the story is that for every pair of shoes purchased, they give a pair to a needy child.
For Whole Foods, the story is that they care for the health of people and their environment by providing the highest quality natural and organic food products.
For Southwest Airlines, the story is that they work to give travelers the lowest possible fares and the best possible customer service.
For Apple, the story is that they provide people with a high-quality personal computing, digital music, and mobile communication experience that is intuitive, innovative, and beautiful.
For Progressive, the story is that they provide fast, fair, and better insurance services to cost-conscious customers.
For Smuckers, the story is that they bring families together around the breakfast table and dessert bar.
What's your story? What is your brand about? Why does your company exist? How do you bring meaning to the world? How do you make the world better? What's the point?
That is what you must know before you can communicate your story to the world you're trying to serve.
Friday, July 10, 2009
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Landing Page or Launch Pad?
At the end of his Mobile Insider blog post today, Steve Smith posed a question that bears repeating:
"Why is a 'landing page' a 'landing page?' Shouldn't it be a launch pad to a [story]? Why would you want to have your audience lean back to watch a clip, when they could lean in to interact with a visual story?"
Well put, Steve. Intuitively, we know that a website landing page is not meant to be the final resting place of the viewer. It is meant to draw the viewer into your website. A landing page is akin to the cover of a book, or the trailer of a movie. It attracts attention, gives a preview of the content, and draws the viewer in. A landing page should do three things:
Intrigue the viewer:
A landing page should convey the personality and purpose of the brand in a creative way - without using gratuitous, flashy animation and sound. As the adage says, "form follows function." A landing page can feature a cool Flash animation, but not simply for the sake of having a cool Flash animation. Design for the sake of the viewer, not for the sake of the designer's ego. Be tasteful. If you must use sound, include a sound on/off button; don't build something that takes forever to load; create your design with a purpose that serves the viewer and makes him want to continue.
Inspire curiosity:
A landing page should give the viewer a hint of what on the site is interesting and relevant to him. The viewer wants to know why it is worth his time to continue to browse your site. So convey information about "what's inside". And allow some mystery to remain - make your viewer want to continue through your site to "find out more."
Generate involvement:
Make your landing page interactive (as the rest of your site should be). Help the viewer to customize his experience on your site. Show him where he can explore relevant (not gratuitous, remember) videos, or photo albums, or virtual tours on your site. If you use animation, let the viewer control what he sees; use mouseovers, hotspots - something to let him click and direct and see more. Allow the user to comment on something, or build a sample, or take a poll. Make him feel like he is engaged with the brand, and make him want to continue that active relationship.
Let your landing page be a launch pad to your brand's story.
"Why is a 'landing page' a 'landing page?' Shouldn't it be a launch pad to a [story]? Why would you want to have your audience lean back to watch a clip, when they could lean in to interact with a visual story?"
Well put, Steve. Intuitively, we know that a website landing page is not meant to be the final resting place of the viewer. It is meant to draw the viewer into your website. A landing page is akin to the cover of a book, or the trailer of a movie. It attracts attention, gives a preview of the content, and draws the viewer in. A landing page should do three things:
- intrigue the viewer
- inspire curiosity
- generate involvement
Intrigue the viewer:
A landing page should convey the personality and purpose of the brand in a creative way - without using gratuitous, flashy animation and sound. As the adage says, "form follows function." A landing page can feature a cool Flash animation, but not simply for the sake of having a cool Flash animation. Design for the sake of the viewer, not for the sake of the designer's ego. Be tasteful. If you must use sound, include a sound on/off button; don't build something that takes forever to load; create your design with a purpose that serves the viewer and makes him want to continue.
Inspire curiosity:
A landing page should give the viewer a hint of what on the site is interesting and relevant to him. The viewer wants to know why it is worth his time to continue to browse your site. So convey information about "what's inside". And allow some mystery to remain - make your viewer want to continue through your site to "find out more."
Generate involvement:
Make your landing page interactive (as the rest of your site should be). Help the viewer to customize his experience on your site. Show him where he can explore relevant (not gratuitous, remember) videos, or photo albums, or virtual tours on your site. If you use animation, let the viewer control what he sees; use mouseovers, hotspots - something to let him click and direct and see more. Allow the user to comment on something, or build a sample, or take a poll. Make him feel like he is engaged with the brand, and make him want to continue that active relationship.
Let your landing page be a launch pad to your brand's story.
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.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Online Video Advertising that Works?
Here's a new approach to online video advertising.
VideoClix.tv is a video sharing site that seems to have found a workable solution to the monetization dilemma plaguing YouTube. While YouTube is experimenting with choose-your-own pre-roll, mid-roll, and post-roll "promoted video" ads, VideoClix steers away from the "tv commercial" approach altogether.
Instead, VideoClix uses its own Smartrack technology to add dynamic (moving) hotspots to the uploaded video. The hotspots function rather like "tags" on Facebook photos; as the viewer rolls the mouse over images in the streaming video, labels appear. The viewer can click on a labeled hotspot to see a relevant advertisement appear in a sidebar to the right of the video screen. If interested, the viewer can then click on the advertisement to open the advertiser's website in a new browser window.
For example, in a video of Maui honeymoon spots by The Knot wedding planning website, hotspots connect to ads for the Hawaii Visitors & Convention Bureau, The Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea, National Geographic, and The Knot.
Although VideoClix seems to be slow in gaining contributors (due in part, I suspect, to their business model - with their $5,000/year license fee, they are seeking corporate- and network-created content, not customer-created), I think this advertising model is a winner. Viewers are happy, because they see ads only if they are interested in the material, and the ads do not interrupt the video. Advertisers are happy, because their ads are reaching the customers who are actually interested in their products and services. It's a win-win (as any good business deal should be).
I hope that the VideoClix method catches on. Perhaps if waiting for more contributors isn't working, VideoClix should license their technology to YouTube instead.
VideoClix.tv is a video sharing site that seems to have found a workable solution to the monetization dilemma plaguing YouTube. While YouTube is experimenting with choose-your-own pre-roll, mid-roll, and post-roll "promoted video" ads, VideoClix steers away from the "tv commercial" approach altogether.
Instead, VideoClix uses its own Smartrack technology to add dynamic (moving) hotspots to the uploaded video. The hotspots function rather like "tags" on Facebook photos; as the viewer rolls the mouse over images in the streaming video, labels appear. The viewer can click on a labeled hotspot to see a relevant advertisement appear in a sidebar to the right of the video screen. If interested, the viewer can then click on the advertisement to open the advertiser's website in a new browser window.
For example, in a video of Maui honeymoon spots by The Knot wedding planning website, hotspots connect to ads for the Hawaii Visitors & Convention Bureau, The Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea, National Geographic, and The Knot.
Although VideoClix seems to be slow in gaining contributors (due in part, I suspect, to their business model - with their $5,000/year license fee, they are seeking corporate- and network-created content, not customer-created), I think this advertising model is a winner. Viewers are happy, because they see ads only if they are interested in the material, and the ads do not interrupt the video. Advertisers are happy, because their ads are reaching the customers who are actually interested in their products and services. It's a win-win (as any good business deal should be).
I hope that the VideoClix method catches on. Perhaps if waiting for more contributors isn't working, VideoClix should license their technology to YouTube instead.
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Happy Independence Day
In honor of the birth of my country, of the freedoms which our founding fathers proscribed for us, and of the men and women throughout history who have died to preserve those freedoms, I would like to share this, my favorite Super Bowl commercial of all time. (My gratitude to Anheuser-Busch and to the person who posted this video on YouTube.)
This commercial aired during Super Bowl XXXIX in 2005. Only recently did I have the honor of participating in a similar welcoming home of American troops as they disembarked in the DFW airport. It thrilled my heart to see the number of people who stood and applauded - regardless of personal views on Operation Iraqi Freedom and the present and former presidential administrations - as these servicemen and women walked by.
It is always an honorable thing to give thanks where thanks is due.
I thank God for orchestrating events so that there was brought forth upon this continent a nation conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. I thank God for showing mercy to our nation, even when we have trampled on the avowedly inalienable rights of some - the American Indians, the enslaved, the unborn.... I thank God for the men and women who have, for their allotted time, stepped into terribly difficult positions of leadership in our government. I thank God for the men and women who have risen in the midst of fierce opposition to declare to our country what is right and true. I thank God for the men and women who fight every day - with arms, with words, with actions - to protect the liberty of American citizens and of people around the world. I thank God for men and women who love my country enough to want to make it better.
"Greater love has no man than this, that he would lay down his life for his friends."
May God continue to bless America. And may America bless God.
Happy Fourth of July.
This commercial aired during Super Bowl XXXIX in 2005. Only recently did I have the honor of participating in a similar welcoming home of American troops as they disembarked in the DFW airport. It thrilled my heart to see the number of people who stood and applauded - regardless of personal views on Operation Iraqi Freedom and the present and former presidential administrations - as these servicemen and women walked by.
It is always an honorable thing to give thanks where thanks is due.
I thank God for orchestrating events so that there was brought forth upon this continent a nation conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. I thank God for showing mercy to our nation, even when we have trampled on the avowedly inalienable rights of some - the American Indians, the enslaved, the unborn.... I thank God for the men and women who have, for their allotted time, stepped into terribly difficult positions of leadership in our government. I thank God for the men and women who have risen in the midst of fierce opposition to declare to our country what is right and true. I thank God for the men and women who fight every day - with arms, with words, with actions - to protect the liberty of American citizens and of people around the world. I thank God for men and women who love my country enough to want to make it better.
"Greater love has no man than this, that he would lay down his life for his friends."
May God continue to bless America. And may America bless God.
Happy Fourth of July.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
BMW Redefines "Art"
I am writing from a seat in Terminal A of the Dallas-Fort Worth airport, and I can't resist commenting on an advertisement I passed by as I walked to my gate.
The piece to which I'm referring is an advertisement for the BMW Z4 Roadster, part of BMW's Expression of Joy campaign. The ad features a white background streaked with tire tracks made in brilliant reds, blues, and greens. In the foreground sits a sleek blue Z4. The tagline says, "Not all artists are depressed."
This ad from the same campaign should give you an idea of the ad I'm describing:
I love it. I want to show this ad to my dad, because it fits him perfectly. Male, 45-55 years old, married with some children still at home, from a modest family background in farm country, intelligent, who gained relative affluence through hard work, frugality, and smart financial decisions, and moved to a more cultured life on the Florida beaches. He loves art, architecture, and sports cars, and could potentially convince my mother (his wife) to allow him to purchase a new toy with his "mad money", since he doesn't splurge very often. And he doesn't believe that artists should be starving. Or depressed.
If BMW's market research tells them that the people most likely to buy their Z4 Roadsters are men like my dad, I'd say they did this ad campaign just right.
The piece to which I'm referring is an advertisement for the BMW Z4 Roadster, part of BMW's Expression of Joy campaign. The ad features a white background streaked with tire tracks made in brilliant reds, blues, and greens. In the foreground sits a sleek blue Z4. The tagline says, "Not all artists are depressed."
This ad from the same campaign should give you an idea of the ad I'm describing:
I love it. I want to show this ad to my dad, because it fits him perfectly. Male, 45-55 years old, married with some children still at home, from a modest family background in farm country, intelligent, who gained relative affluence through hard work, frugality, and smart financial decisions, and moved to a more cultured life on the Florida beaches. He loves art, architecture, and sports cars, and could potentially convince my mother (his wife) to allow him to purchase a new toy with his "mad money", since he doesn't splurge very often. And he doesn't believe that artists should be starving. Or depressed.
If BMW's market research tells them that the people most likely to buy their Z4 Roadsters are men like my dad, I'd say they did this ad campaign just right.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Kid-Created Content
Thanks to Creativity Online, today I learned about a new venture into customer-created content by Penguin Books publishers. At their site wemakestories.com, Penguin Books enables kids to write stories for virtual "publication" in animated book form on the site, as well as print and share their stories, view others' stories, customize old classics (Mad Libs-style), and create audiobooks, treasure maps, pop-up books, comics, and more.
What a fun thing! Especially for kids who love to write. And kids who write nearly always love to read, too, making them the perfect kids for Penguin Books to reach! And parents have to love a fun website that enables kids to use their imaginations beyond figuring out how to best decimate the bad guy.
Could other companies create similar sites for their customers? Sure. Nike or Adidas could launch a site that lets kids (or adults, too) to create virtual sneakers, experimenting with different materials (rubber, wood, cloth, bamboo, metal...), designs, and colors, to see which ones enable their character to jump higher, run farther, etc. Coke or Pepsi could make a site that allows visitors to mix virtual soft drinks and send them to friends (via email or Facebook). GM or Ford could create a site that allows people to design and "drive" virtual cars. The possibilities are endless.
One thing that surprised me about the Penguin Books site is that Penguin Books is charging parents a $10 membership fee for kids to use the site. It seems that the membership fee is a one-time deal (so members will forever have access to the site), but I question the publisher's reasoning in creating this barrier to entry. With so many free games online, why risk turning kids and parents away from this great (and almost free to Penguin Books) marketing opportunity?
Perhaps Penguin Books believes that the $10 membership fee will increase the value of the site in the eyes of the customer. We'll see if they're right.
What a fun thing! Especially for kids who love to write. And kids who write nearly always love to read, too, making them the perfect kids for Penguin Books to reach! And parents have to love a fun website that enables kids to use their imaginations beyond figuring out how to best decimate the bad guy.
Could other companies create similar sites for their customers? Sure. Nike or Adidas could launch a site that lets kids (or adults, too) to create virtual sneakers, experimenting with different materials (rubber, wood, cloth, bamboo, metal...), designs, and colors, to see which ones enable their character to jump higher, run farther, etc. Coke or Pepsi could make a site that allows visitors to mix virtual soft drinks and send them to friends (via email or Facebook). GM or Ford could create a site that allows people to design and "drive" virtual cars. The possibilities are endless.
One thing that surprised me about the Penguin Books site is that Penguin Books is charging parents a $10 membership fee for kids to use the site. It seems that the membership fee is a one-time deal (so members will forever have access to the site), but I question the publisher's reasoning in creating this barrier to entry. With so many free games online, why risk turning kids and parents away from this great (and almost free to Penguin Books) marketing opportunity?
Perhaps Penguin Books believes that the $10 membership fee will increase the value of the site in the eyes of the customer. We'll see if they're right.
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