CONFESSIONS OF A SPOILT CREATIVE

It has been an interesting month for me as I have had to make several adjustments in my life. The biggest one I think has been getting used to using public transport all over again. My car has been in the shop for quite some time getting a well-deserved makeover and I don’t see myself spending Pampers money on using cabs daily. So I got over my rather spoilt self and decided to start javing like a normal Kenyan - and boy am I glad I did it.

I think moving up the ranks spoilt me in a way. I started hanging out exclusively in up-town spots. Is this a good thing for a creative? In a sense yes and in a sense no. Up-towners are great for networking and finding out the inner udakus of the industry. But on the other hand too much up-towning makes you forget what’s going on in the greater world.

You see when you start getting out more, you start getting amazing insights that you will never find behind your desk or on that i-pad. Getting into a mat has taught me what radio stations guys are really hooked up to, it has taught me what ads really get noticed out there, it has taught me what the person I try to communicate with cares about or does not care about.

Couch, google or desktop creativity is a really dangerous thing. In fact, it is not surprising that when most clients see a creative walking into the boardroom, an undercurrent sense of mistrust starts flowing. You see some clients get the jitters and often ponder about the stuff you put in front of them -  "Is this really going to connect with my consumer or is this just another abstract art exhibition to fuel egos at Caribana?"

I believe that creatives can gain client confidence by once in a while coating conversations with small talk about the things they have observed consumers doing. Clients want know that you have sat next to the guy they are trying to sell to in real life – and not just in air conditioned research group rooms. Clients want to know your views on how you saw their consumer interacting with their brands. Clients want you to be their brand spy in a sense. You cannot achieve that by confining your life to an android phone, the Art Café or your Subaru Legacy.

Ask yourself. How are you going to come up with that great on ground experiential campaign unless you are on ground yourself? How are you going to notice that innovative competitor radio station activation in the city center if you don’t take casual CBD walks? How are you going to come up with that great Kenchic, Coca-Cola or Dettol hand sanitizer idea if you don’t go to a face the wall chips joint at lunchtime? How are you going to notice the potential of that great ZUSHA idea for responsible public service vehicle driving if you don’t sit in a mat? How are you going to learn about mobile phone surfing  if you are not in that City Hopper during rush hour? How are you going to come up with that great safe sex campaign if you don’t observe different walks of shame in tao? How are you going to know what works for rural folk if you don’t hang out with your relas in shags? Catch my drift?

So there you have it folks. If you are a spoilt creative, it’s time to wake up and smell the dirt and smoke. You’ll be amazed at how much inspiration you’ll get. Go on, Get out NOW!

But hey, that’s just my opinion?

How social is your brand?

Hello folks, its that time of year again and apart from attending Christmas party after Christmas party there seems to be a slight slow down on brief traffic (at least on my end). So what else to do but spend time educating myself on trends courtesy of the great www.

So this got me thinking. Have Kenyan brands really embraced social media and if so, what succesful social media campaigns come to mind? Ummmmmm......ummmmmm none actually apart from maybe that clever campaign that Safaricom conducted i.e the King and Queen of facebook. Not bad when you think about the objective of growing data numbers.

I stumbled across the following article on the 10 most successful facebook campaigns of 2010 (Guess the 2011 list is not yet out). Cool thing is that they have amazing numbers to justify their success. Interesting read. Enjoy and maybe learn something.

So what Facebook marketing campaign you have noticed recently that impressed you? Please share your opinion.

The 10 Best Facebook Campaigns

Facebook campaigns seem to be going all warm, caring and fluffy recently as brands realize that solving problems and helping those in need can be a very effective marketing tactic.

Three of the Facebook campaigns in this list have an altruistic reason behind their campaigns, from donating $500,000 each to 20 schools to raising funds for the “Make A Wish Foundation”.

The marketing goals for the Facebook pages vary but quite often the simple goal of just increasing their fan count to their Facebook page seems to be top of the list as brands have worked out very quickly that being able to communicate to 1,000′s or even millions of fans via a simple status update is very efficient highly leveraged marketing. Companies have also realized that  people’s main reason for becoming a fan for the most part is not so charitable, but is about having access to the latest special offers and freebies.


1. Kohl
The Department store Kohl’s gave away $10 million to various schools decided by the votes of their fans on Facebook. It was an excellent promotional campaign as the 20 schools with the most votes were each given $500 thousand. Kohl’s Facebook page sky rocketed to well over a million fans, and the winning schools each tallied well over 100,000 votes. Kohl’s hit it out of the park so to speak with this campaign centered around the social network, and they did an excellent job utilizing social media tactics to help in its social responsibility efforts.

2. Target
Popular department store Target left the choice of where to donate $1 million into the hands of their fans on the social network. The company used an application titled “Super Love Sender” and kept fans updated in real time which charity was in the lead. St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital ended up being the winning charity. Overall though, the excellent campaign was a complete success as it created quite a boom on the store’s Facebook page.

3. Ford Explorer
Ford shifted promotion techniques as they began gearing their campaigns towards social media outlets, and they really pushed the boundaries with innovative ideas. This past summer they released tidbits of info leading up to a Facebook event unveiling the 2011 Ford Explorer. The campaign was the first time a car company has ever used a website to reveal their new model as opposed to an auto show. Ford also went as far to randomly select one of their fans to giveaway a free Explorer upon their fan total surpassing a certain number.



4. Jack In The Box
Popular fast food chain Jack In The Box, and their slightly creepy mascot Jack, added a nickel in an imaginary jar for every new fan they accrued on Facebook in their October Rich Fan Sweepstakes. They started at just over $2,000, and when they gave away the money about a month later to a randomly selected fan, the jar was up to over $11,500. Needless to say, giving away free money is one of the best and easiest ways to acquire new fans on the social network. It was certainly a creative campaign though that helped the fast food chain see an explosive increase in fan numbers.

5. Bing and Farmville
A little before the beginning of Spring, Microsoft’s Facebook page for Bing launched a campaign that helped them accrue almost a half million new fans on the social network. The search engine did this by giving away FarmVille currency to all new fans that hit the “Like” button. Bing drew in great traffic and their page grew rapidly, but engagement of the content on the page was drawn into question. The Microsoft page responded by making itself a hotspot with the latest news about the popular Zynga developed game to keep their new fans around.

6. Papa Johns Pizza
The first pizza chain’s Facebook campaign to appear on our Year End list is Papa Johns. They promoted their Papa’s Speciality Pizza Contest using Facebook, and it created quite a buzz and a growth in fans as a result. The contest put the fans taste buds and creativity to the test as it was up to them to come up with a new pizza for the company. The winner also saw a piece of the profits, so it was not too much of a surprise that this creative campaign helped the popular chain’s fan-base on Facebook continue to expand.

7. Southwest Airlines
To go a whole list without mentioning at least one company that has utilized Facebook’s new popular feature, Places, just would not be acceptable. Southwest partnered up with the Make A Wish Foundation for an excellent charitable promotion that had the airline donating a dollar to the organization every time a passenger checks into a Southwest served airport. The promotion has had great success, as it is for a great cause, and it has it helped Southwest gain over 1 million fans on the social network. Be sure to check in on your next flight and join an excellent campaign.

8. Kellogs
Popular cereal company Kellogg’s teamed up with Feeding America, and the Facebook page Kellogg Cares comes as a result. The page has been a quick increase in fans, and the content posted makes it such an interactive success on the social network. The page’s aim is to educate younger generations on proper nutrition through posts and video updates. Kellogg’s used Facebook in an extremely humane fashion to raise awareness for a particular issue.



9. Domino’s Pizza
Domino’s Pizza has completely revamped its brand image this year through advertising campaigns, and a heavy focus on interactive social networks. As they were coming to the realization that their pizza previously tasted similar to cardboard, they started a tab on their Facebook page where fans could voice all of their complaints with the popular chain. Regardless of any opinion on whether their new pizza has actually improved, their use of Facebook to listen fans opinions was a great way to begin to improve a deteriorating image that was initially attached to their brand. Domino’s continues to be extremely interactive on the page offering responses and updates for fans.

10.  Corona
Corona Light cross-media campaign this past year included a goal to become “The Most Liked Light Beer In America.” A most notable part of this was to use Facebook, and by fanning the page you could see your picture up in the bright lights of New York City’s Time Square. The campaign was a great social media success in the sense that it had fans interacting on the pages as well as spreading the story of the billboard by word of mouth. The billboard ran for a month until the beginning of December, and many fans were able to snag pictures and be a part of this Facebook-based advertisement.