Pretty Little SnAps... "A" Stroke of TV Marketing Brilliance

I'm constantly telling people how on top of the digital marketing game one of my fave guilty please shows, Pretty Little Liars, is. (Okay, maybe it's not that much of a guilty pleasure... I mean, I have written on this topic once before.) With that, it's no shocker that the show that knows it's Gen X audience the best has hit the major TV milestone of 100 episodes.

To mark this occasion, the show teamed up with one of the many brands ready to market to its sought-after target audience — Audi — for a fun new promotion featuring PLL fan-favorite Ian Harding, who plays Ezra Fitzgerald (half of the much-loved TV couple "Ezria"). What's truly interesting about this promotion, however, is how it made use of Snapchat.

Begun as strictly a mobile app for sharing short videos or photo snippets with your cell contacts, Snapchat is evolving into much, much more. The developers are continuously rolling out new features for the app and often (mainly on holidays and to launch said roll-outs) send messages to all users. It hasn't taken long for marketers to realize the potential here: Snapchat can allow a brand to have a "private" conversation or highlight an exclusive event/new product/etc. with fans willing to add them as a Snap contact.

Have a seat. Get comfortable. @IANMHARDING is hosting #PLL100 tonight live on our Snapchat. Get ready. #PLLAudi pic.twitter.com/1Lfwot168J
— Audi (@Audi) July 8, 2014

Audi jumped on this as an early adopter in a big way — with TV's most social show — and it worked. I caught wind of the promo via Instagram (screenshot below from @prettylittleliars) and added the brand to see exactly how it would unfold. The results? Pretty creAtive indeed.



For even more fun from #PLL100, including a live chat with a returning cast member, check out the hashtag's Twitter feed. Then, comment with what brands you'd like to see on Snapchat!

Polar Plunge: Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel's Twitter Challenge

Hey @jimmyfallon, got this for you. See, I told you, the City of Big Shoulders has your back. -MRE #jimmyplungewithus pic.twitter.com/f8p58xjwJJ
— ChicagosMayor (@ChicagosMayor) February 21, 2014

Oh, the joys of Jimmy Fallon and his social media prowess. If you don't already follow the man on Twitter, you need to. He is honestly the best tweeter out there because he just gets the platform and the Twitter generation.

Thanks to Fallon's open invitation to a Tonight Show appearance for — and admittance to his fear of — Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanual, which he mentioned while being interviewed about Tonight by a Chicago news outlet, Emanuel reached out to Fallon, challenging him to be a man and do the Polar Plunge. In honor of the Special Olympics, the Polar Plunge has a $150 ticket price and involves people "plunging" into the cold waters of Lake Michigan this Sunday, March 2. 

In exchange for Fallon's plunge, the mayor will appear on an upcoming episode of Tonight. To check out all the conversatin around this, follow the hashtags #JimmyPlungeWithUs and #SwimmyFallon (and Fallon's most recent tweets below).

Chicago - I'm wearing a suit and tie for the #PolarPlunge. Show solidarity by wearing a necktie. (I'm not telling you what else to wear.)
— jimmy fallon (@jimmyfallon) February 24, 2014

How cold is it in Chicago this Sunday for #PolarPlunge you guys still doing this? #imstillin
— jimmy fallon (@jimmyfallon) February 26, 2014

Read more on the Chicago Sun-Times.

The World's Greatest...

...Commercial.

The below Foot Locker commercial surrounding their big pre-holiday sale has so many things right about it that I don't know where to begin. I know it's a bit out-dated at this point but I just had to share because this tie-in is so on-brand and catchy, mixing humor and a pseudo "inspirational" style that I was blown away when I first saw it. If you're a sports fan at all, please enjoy watching some of the most notorious moments resurrected and made right.

Now, tell me you didn't smile. :)

Happy Wednesday!

No Hate

I'm going to kick this off by pretending it's not the truth that I haven't blogged in months. I feel compelled to get back into old habits and talk about all the great marketing projects both in my life and externally that people are doing and I'm excited about, but before that I want to say... Happy New Year!

I'm kicking off 2014 with not just resolutions but a whole plan of things I'd like to make happen (the least of which is getting my first pet). This new year I'll be blogging more, journaling, reading books recommended by family/friends, and (perhaps) attending my first country music festival, among other agenda items I've crafted. Lofty? Maybe, but I choose to dream big. I also choose to forgive, which is why I leave at the end of this first month of a new year, with wisdom from a great man:

"Let no man pull you so low as to hate him." —Martin Luther King, Jr. on hatred

This Makes June...

...the best. Thank you, Backstreet Boys, for making me smile. Again.

#ShipMyPants by Kmart

In a time where one single video (in this case an advertisement) can put you on the map, brands have to  really think outside the box to make their message compelling to audiences across multiple levels — social, print, digital and television. Kmart's most recent endeavor to "break the mold" did just that.

Kmart, a relatively conservative retail brand, took the topic of online shopping and turned it into a play on words that highlights their we'll-ship-it-to-you-free-anywhere (home or your favorite location) program while also appealing to its audience's sense of humor. The retailer used social listening as an early test to anticipate the reaction of a much wider audience, partnering with ad-creator agency Draftfcb Chicago for the full spot. The result? Up to 13 million views within the week and 18 million to date, on par with "viral" YouTube views of spots that aired during the Super Bowl.

Key Lessen: Pay attention to your social audience and use their reaction to help inform larger business decisions. The results could, and most likely will, surprise you.

Quote of the Week: April 16

"When I was a boy and I would see scary things on the news, my mother would say to me, 'Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.'"
—Fred Rogers on 'scary' news