Your Story Alive: A Live Communications Blog

June 14, 2013 3:29 PM

What’s Your Favorite Children’s Story?

Posted byAlisha

Have you ever looked back on your childhood, and immediately thought of the one book always made your imagination wander?

We would love to know what that book is! Help EWI by sharing your favorite children's book in support of Sammy's House, the Healthcare Convention and Exhibitors Association's charity of choice for its 2013 Annual Meeting, June 22-25.

Just click the link to share your favorite children's book, appropriate for ages 0-8 and we'll donate it to on your behalf. If you're coming to the show, stop by booth #413 during the Meeting and we'll help you personalize and commemorate your contribution.

As we get closer, we'll share out the rare finds and trending favorites. Thank you for your support!

Tags: Brand Stories, Healthcare, Special Events

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June 05, 2013 9:30 AM

EWI Wins Award for “Choose Your Subaru Adventure” Interactive

Posted byKatie

EWI Worldwide and client Subaru of America, Inc.'s digital engagement program, “Choose Your Subaru Adventure,” has won an Industry Excellence Award for best digital out-of-home campaign deployment for self-service / interactive kiosks from the Digital Screenmedia Association (DSA). The awards honor the best self-service, digital signage and mobile technology deployments across all vertical market segments.

The “Choose Your Subaru Adventure” (CYSA) program, debuted at the 2012 LA Auto Show, was designed to create a seamless brand extension that captured the spirit of the Subaru lover – including their passions, activities and how they use their Subaru. The experience invited guests to pose in front of a green screen, where their image was then wirelessly transferred to one of three kiosks in the booth. Guests worked with product specialists to choose their photo and add in different digital layers – from a background location to the vehicle, and a number of fun options ranging from retrievers to armadillos, while sharing information on whether they were a current owner, looking for a vehicle or looking for a local dealer. Not only did booth dwell time increase significantly, but nearly 10,000 attendees emailed themselves their images.

The awards were presented during an awards dinner at the Hilton DFW Lakes, in conjunction with the Digital Screenmedia Symposium. For more details, check out the full news release here.

Congratulations, team!

Tags: Brand Stories, Cool Stuff, Creative Inspirations, Exhibits, Innovation, Technology

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May 21, 2013 12:54 PM

Coca Cola Happiness Without Borders

Posted byAdam Sweet

This is a really beautiful experience; helping to unite two groups of people who may not interact at all, yet are similar on so many levels.

Interestingly, it has almost nothing to do with the brand or product, and everything to do with the user and lifestyle.

Enjoy this soulful video. More information: http://www.coca-colacompany.com/stories/happiness-without-borders

Tags: Brand Stories, Cool Stuff, Consumer Electronics, Global Design, Advertising, Guerrilla Marketing, Innovation, Interactives, Media, People, Pop Culture, Product Launch, Promotions, Pop-Up Retail, Special Events

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May 13, 2013 2:18 PM

Key Trends: Event Marketing Summit 2013

Posted byKatie

Waiting for class to start at EMS 2013.

The annual Event Marketing Summit is known for big ideas and big campaigns - and this year did not disappoint. Here are the top findings from our attendance this year - with the caveat that try as we might, we couldn’t attend every session that we wanted to.

Employees are gaining more market share and attention. Several brands talked about the importance of communicating internally – and not just to the sales force. One presenter from Textron, the maker of the Bell Helicopter – shared concerns about keeping new product details under wraps, even from employees. An information leak happened despite their best efforts, and when they realized that the leaked information wasn’t factual, they decided to embrace it instead, and go for full transparency. The resulting campaign was a mix of surprise and delight, starting with tactics as simple as window and floor decals in employee lunchrooms. The campaign that started with employees also served as the foundation for an incredible product reveal. They may not be responsible for sales directly, but employees certainly bring something to the table when it comes to brand integrity, reputation and buzz.
Long product cycles and sustained outreach. This year, we saw a bit more focus on those brands that face long product cycles. Whether its helicopters or cars, it seems that brands are shifting away from campaign or program-focused execution, and instead looking for the long game. What are the implications for the brand identity? What kind of messaging are we putting in the marketplace? By being considerate of the flow of information and cadence, some are finding a way to refocus on the sequence of live events – not just a few nights a year.
The brand ambassador is changing. Forget booth babes and the traditional product specialists! We kid. But seriously, for many of the events and case studies we saw, the idea of the brand ambassador is going through a fundamental shift, and not just for tradeshow programs. Take Genlivet’s campaign, The Guardian. This membership club brings together highly curated content, events and recommendations, anchored by the venerable, agency-created, Jonathan Dram. (Who, by the way, comes complete with his own Pinterest account: http://pinterest.com/jonathandram/pins/). Another presenter that we saw talked about how one automaker worked with an architect for a recent event and even asked him to open his home and car collection to journalists. And, Audi shared their efforts as they identified a niche audience representation, skiers, led by a former US team member, as they delivered experiences for one of their most niche products, the Audi allroad. While these representatives are implicitly talented and cool – they also safely guard their own creative content and presence, so good luck telling them what to do and say, exactly. In the words of the Glenlivet representative, properly vetting this group is a “fine art.”
The power of the personal story. We believe this goes hand in hand with the trend in brand ambassadors. While a corporate brand is cool, personal stories are better. The Textron marketer talked about how their sales meetings kicked off with a look at what makes their speakers unique – and those interests helped drive better connection during those meetings. Likewise, Paul Blurton of inVNT found that people who had the same personal aspects as those the brand was working to emulate (creative, adventurous, discerning, etc.) helped create touchpoints that prospects and customers could relate to. Interesting people, they are finding, drive more interesting conversation and more effective communications. While it means less control, better relationships are the tradeoff.

Sending a huge thank you!
Last but not least, thanks to everyone who joined us at our UX track session, “Big Footprints, Bigger Impressions: Making the Most of Large Real Estate.” Great questions were asked. If you want a copy of the presentation, leave a comment or contact us at media ‘at’ ewiworldwide.com.

Tags: Brand Stories, Creative Inspirations, Exhibits, Innovation, Interactives, People, Special Events, Technology

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April 19, 2013 2:49 PM

Look Out 2013

Posted byAlisha

The past five years have been rough, regardless of what industry is being used as an example. In 2013, the economy is finally turning around; spending and optimism is up and pessimism is down. EXHIBITOR magazine recently published an article, “The 2013 Economic Outlook.” It focuses on the exhibits industry and can serve as a tool for planning the 2014 fiscal year. Here are some of the highlights:

30 percent of exhibitors are increasing their budget this year compared to last.
81 percent of exhibitors said they feel confident or extremely confident that tradeshow involvement will achieve better results in 2013 than 2012.
The majority of exhibitors have definite or tentative plans to purchase a new booth in the next 12 months.

While the article does make a point to say that the economy is not nearly as strong as it was six years ago, there is hope. With all of this information at your fingertips, how is your company expanding their tradeshow experience?

Tags: Exhibits, Brand Stories, Special Events

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March 28, 2013 5:20 PM

Out of the Mouths of Babes

Posted byKatie

A few times a year there is a marketing campaign that rises to the status of being called a cultural phenomenon (think Old Spice guy), and the AT&T ads featuring precocious kids speaking about how more is better - among other observations - is the latest addition to the list.

With twelve commercials in total featuring the “It’s Not Complicated” tag line, so far, AT&T has used a semi-impromptu interview style to demonstrate how simple of a concept their services are while maintaining the authenticity of the responses of first-graders, from having a candy island, doing two things at once, and how you can make their grandma faster.

According to BlueFin Labs, the campaign has consistently ranked in the top three most-talked about spots.

Tags: Brand Stories, Creative Inspirations, Advertising

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February 21, 2013 11:29 AM

All About Digital Signage

Posted byAlisha

We are excited to have Andy Austin, President of Digital Engagements at EWI Worldwide present at the Digital Signage Expo with Christian Burke, Creative Services Manager at Tri Counties Bank (TCB) and Steve Collet, Owner/Producer at Synergy Productions. Their session “Using Digital Signage to Connect a Bank with Its Community,” is scheduled for 12:15 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 28. The trio will discuss how digital signage can bridge the gap between a bank and its community, leading to a more tailored brand image and increased customer satisfaction.

Digital Sign Expo (#DSExpo), hosted by the Digital Signage Federation, is the world’s largest international trade show dedicated to digital signage, interactive technology and Out-of-Home networks. The show is scheduled to take place in Las Vegas, February 26-28.

TCB was looking to change the look and feel within the lobbies of their banks in order to create a better environment for the customer. Their ultimate goal was to rebrand TCB to be a friendlier atmosphere and create a place that would assist in building relationships with the customer. This was accomplished when TCB and EWI Worldwide worked together to develop an interactive that was unique to each individual bank lobby.

Tags: Brand Stories, Interactives, Technology

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February 15, 2013 7:43 AM

Using Retail to Grow Brands - Organically

Posted byKatie

Photo via lithemethod.com

The New York Times featured an interesting trend this month. Specifically, SoulCycle, a group cycling chain, has turned a gym experience into a ‘lifestyle’ brand – selling everything from scarves to luggage tags and nail polish.

One frequent member of the class and avid retail purchaser said that of the organization, “It’s like any other luxury brand.”

Another fitness based organization, Lithe Method, sells food, leggings and much more, with product sales accounting for 30 percent of the business and requiring that they have retail space available in their gym space.

While many brands today are evolving products into experiences and services, it’s interesting to see that experience-based companies – like your local gym – are also moving in reverse. While consumer brands and products may have more opportunity than those in the B2B space, it still appears that we’re seeing a growing trend toward and investment in merchandising.

Tags: Brand Stories, Retail Environments, Pop Culture

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January 31, 2013 1:57 PM

Super Bowl Integration

Posted byAlisha

In a matter of days the Super Bowl will be upon us. With every Super Bowl comes the influx of companies vying for a spot within the four hour telecast. 2013 is another year for the highest priced 30-second spot at $4 million. This is forcing companies like Coca-Cola and Audi have to improve their promotions in order to drive up the number of impressions and influence sales. There is no better way to do this than a fully integrated marketing campaign.

Coca-Cola and Audi are using the pre-game hype to get consumers interested and invested early. This week, Coca-Cola released a minute-long teaser trailer of their “Mirage” campaign. It features cowboys, showgirls and badlanders racing through the desert towards a very large Coca-Cola bottle. The bottle ends up being a billboard with a sign attached it to saying “Coca-Cola, 50 miles.” The commercial then prompts you to go to their website to vote for which group you want to ultimately win the race.

Audi’s campaign features a young boy going to prom by himself. To brighten his spirits his father gives him the keys to his Audi S-6 sports sedan. The car transforms the young boy to a confident and daring individual. Once at prom he steals the principal’s parking spot and kisses the prom queen. Audi has created three different endings to this scenario and has prompted its customers to go online and vote for their favorite. The winning commercial will be featured during Sunday’s game.

By releasing these commercials a week in advance it gives the company longer exposure time and helps to increase the hype of the product featured. Both ad campaigns also feature a call to action from the consumer and takes advantage of the use of second screens. Most consumers have more than one screen in front of them while watching TV; the TV itself and a mobile phone, tablet or computer. This makes the consumer more likely to follow through with the call to action by going to the website and voting for their favorites, ultimately making the campaign more successful.

Tags: Advertising, Brand Stories, Media, Pop Culture

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November 29, 2012 4:05 PM

What marketers can learn from PR pros

Posted byKatie

I recently came across an article via PR Daily called "8 tips for an outstanding media interview." While reading these great tips for brand spokespeople, I was also surprised by how many cross over into marketing communications, especially when brands are launching a new product or service.

Here is the quick list - but be sure to make your way over to the full article for more.

Be first
Speak slowly
Be clear
Be different
Coin a phrase
Be nerdy
Practice
Reference your own authority

Have you come across any other media interview tips that also hold true for marketing? Share below!

Tags: Brand Stories, Social Media

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Your Story Alive

YSA

EWI Worldwide

This is a really beautiful experience; helping to unite two groups of people who may not interact at all, yet are similar on so many levels.

Interestingly, it has almost nothing to do with the brand or product, and everything to do with the user and lifestyle.

Enjoy this soulful video. More information: http://www.coca-colacompany.com/stories/happiness-without-borders