Jacqueline Parker | FreshGigs.ca

Author Archives: Jacqueline Parker

Inside Brands and Social Media In Canada

Brands-and-Social-Media

Understanding the mediascape of social media is critical to a company of any size. When we look at branding through the ages, there has been a clear evolution leading to where we are now, and where we are on the verge of going.  The social media landscape as a great place to be if you’re a brand who wants to converse with your consumers, not just sell to them.

Social Media is forcing companies to make the brand as a person, come alive

It used to be that commercial messages were all that a consumer would receive. If you wanted to sell a product to your consumer, you would say ‘here’s our product’. Now we are in the next phase which is being referred to as the ‘information age’. Now the product is accompanied by information to help the consumer learn more and make a more informed purchasing decision. This is also in the storytelling phase where we’re talking about the brand as well as the product. We’re sharing a story that might include a bit of history on the brand, a vision, and a glimpse into the personality and background so that consumers feel more familiar with that brand and not just the product it’s selling.

It makes sense that brands start to really look at the way they use social media and compare it to how we live and act in the real world.  So a company website would be the equivalent of a bricks and mortar store where people visit the website to go window shopping, see what’s new in-store, and buy things. This versus Facebook which would be like friends hanging out at a coffee shop (think of the sitcom ‘Friends’), which means the way a brand speaks on a website has to be very different from the conversations they create on Facebook with their fans.

A brand is more like a person today, more than ever before

Some brands have done a remarkable job of engaging consumers through social media conversation. A brand is more like a person today, more than ever before. Social Media is forcing companies to make the brand as a person, come alive. The message is loud and clear, if you want to be successful as a brand, you have to put a face to the name and strike up dialogue with your customers and give them a personality to converse with – not just a logo.

This is an exciting time to be working in the social media space but the best way to create those conversations and engage consumers isn’t just to know how to talk to them – you have to know where to speak to them, when they’re listening and know how to provide them with the content they want – not the content you want them to have.  This is a conversation – not a push strategy.

Media Planning and Buying in Canada: Interview with OMD Canada’s Deanna Dickie

Media planning and buying is a critical component for any successful ad campaign, as Deanna Dickie, Assistant Strategist at OMD Canada knows.

OMD Canada is one of North America’s leading media agencies and has won ‘Agency of the Year’ 8 times in the past 10 years. Deanna Dickie shares her thoughts on what it’s like to be at the hub of a great campaign and what a ‘day in the life’ looks like in the world of media.

The Art of Marketing turns Marketers into Artists

Art-of-Marketing

This year’s Art of Marketing conference held on June 5th at the Metro Convention Center was nothing short of spectacular. The audience were wide eyed, enthralled and entertained as speaker after industry leading speaker shared their visions, insights and tips on turning marketers into artists and storytellers in order to engage their consumers and win their affection.

Ron-TiteThe day started off with a witty opening from advertising guru and comedian Ron Tite. He sets the pace by talking about the need to ‘be greater’ and ‘cut through the clutter”.  And then at everyone’s expense, Ron has lumped Ad people into 3 car categories and there was an audience wide applause as well failed to realize we were laughing at ourselves:

“When you think of different types of business people, it’s easier to think of all of them as vehicles:

Sales people are like pick up trucks. They have big back ends, don’t mind getting dirty, and when you really need to get stuff done, they can do it. 

Finance people are like minivans. they’re kinda geeky, have a ton of gadgets, and they’re in your way whenever you’re trying to get somewhere fast. And like a mini-van, you always think there’s no way in hell you want to be seen with one but then you get one and you think, “..actually these things are pretty handy”. 

Marketing people are like PT Cruisers. They look a little different. They think they’re kinda cool. But when you pop the hood, it’s just a friggin’ neon. “

And that got things rolling…. Continue reading →

Talking the Talk and Walking the Walk

Walk-The-Talk

Social media isn’t just for marketing a product or business. If you aren’t using it to market yourself, you may want to think again.

Facebook began as a social space where you could let your hair down, post wild pictures and share updates with friends on your weekend shenanigans.

They are looking first and foremost for marketers who are passionate about creating content on the Web.

Today, marketers and companies have caught on and now it’s changed you’re the way you job prospect and the way your potential employers learn about you – all of you.

Big Brother is watching and now when you apply for a position, they can see what you’re really about through your Facebook and other social media channels. You know, the questions they don’t ask in the interview.

CEO’s and upper management are being encouraged to ignore the resume for senior-level positions, and go to Google for the ‘Google test’ to eliminate potential candidates. The problem is, it usually eliminates most of the candidates. Continue reading →

Art & Copy: How Ad Agency Departments (Didn’t) Work Together

art and copy

Art and copy never used to co-exist. In fact, they weren’t even neighbours!

The art department and the copy department lived in two different areas within an agency but they never worked together. You can see how far the role of the art director has come and how the position has become unified with the copywriter.

Where as once upon a time, the writer and art director may not have even crossed paths at the water cooler, today they are best buddies at the local watering hole.

Check out this short film on how life used to be in the advertising world:

(Update: The original film shared he from Youtube is no longer available. The film’s trailer has been added instead).

More details on the film available here: http://www.artandcopyfilm.com

When it comes to Social media, whose job is it?

Who-Does-Social-Media

Now that social media has become a critical part of most marketing strategies, who should be at the helm?

In the world of Social media there are many stakeholders involved. Brands work with several different divisions in advertising, marketing, public relations and communications to reach out to their audience through social media. When a brand needs a strong social media though, who do they turn to first and whose responsibility is it to create and own the strategy?

With things changing so fast in the social media space, what you set out to do isn’t always what you end up with.

Many cooks. One kitchen
It may seem like there are many cooks in the kitchen but ask Priyanka Goswami, Account Director at Proximity Canada and she’ll tell you “Social media is everyone’s responsibility – the client, the brand agency, the digital agency, PR, etc.,” she explains.  “Each stakeholder will bring a unique perspective and strength to the table in crafting the overall strategy.” So while several different areas of discipline will be involved in the overall strategy, Priyanka feels that there has to be central ownership or “champion of the strategy at the client level, who can bring the various perspectives together.” Continue reading →