Ideen, LLC -- Westward Ho!

This week, Ideen moved its headquarters from historic Old Town Alexandria to the mountains of Colorado.  Located in the Cherry Creek North neighborhood of Denver, Ideen is bringing its mission-focused marketing techniques to the western states, while still serving our clients in the nation's capital. We're excited to be in this part of the country and know we'll be inspired by the glorious Rocky Mountains, the Colordo culture of pioneers, and the entrepreneurial spirits we see all around us.  Westward Ho!

Super Bowl 2012 Ad Smorgasbord Review

Ideen asked its talented Associate, Monica Witzig, to evaluate this year's Super Bowl ads from a twenty-something's perspective.  What follows are her critiques...Enjoy!

By Monica J. Witzig

The average cost of a 30-second ad during Super Bowl 2012 was $3.5 million. Are the impressions worth it?

The Catchy

Hyundai's employee sing-along to "Gonna Fly Now" (aka the Rocky theme): How do you resist running up and down your apartment complex's stairs? How do you not "DA DA DA, DA DA DA!" along with everyone?

Samsung Galaxy's "I Believe In A Thing Called Love": Darned if I can sing that high, either, but I know I'm among thousands who try — and enjoy doing so. JUST LISTEN TO THE RHYTHM OF MY HEART!

The Sexy and Sexist

David Beckham for H&M: I have to admit hitting the Web to figure out what exactly this was advertising; I was distracted. I was distracted by the skin, the muscles, the tattoos, the sex ... We finally had one that appealed to those of us who are not the stereotypical Super Bowl ad base — and I am grateful. I think it was for guys' skivvies. I guess. I am merely dubbing it a favorite and moving on.

Adriana Lima for ... everything else: OK, no, just two items — Teleflora and Kia. Back to the stereotypical Super Bowl ad base. Bye bye, equal time.

Justfab.com: Actually, let's assign the "maybe it's your first time and you're trying too hard" sub-bullet here. Orgasmic shoe shopping? I'm going out on a limb and asserting that few women who hear two other women heaving and oohing on the TV will enter the living room joyously to find out what's on. The shoes, by the way? Ugly.

GoDaddy: You knew what you'd see the second the logo appeared: The general sex and sexism that sells enough domain names to give us similar ads each year.

The Annoying

The Etrade baby: He must be stopped.

Dannon's Oikos yogurt: John Stamos, it was cute the first 472 times. Getting old. (Stamos or his "keep the yogurt playfully" ploy? Your call.)

Acura: Jerry Seinfeld's methods, although excessive for comedy, just made me wish he were given the 2015 car — and on top of that, Jay Leno swept in and made it even worse.

"Pepsi for all": Flashy and loud and all for a soft drink. I admit to getting a headache until the end, when Flavor Flav was in the dungeon. Worth our brain cells, though?

The Funny

Hyundai smokes a cheetah in a race: Man-screams and slapstick humor. I think we're done here.

VW's "two-fer" commercial: A dog working out is funny. Viewers almost even feel bad for the guy as he ignores morsels dropped to the kitchen floor. Felt a little hiccough as VW transitioned from its commercial-within-a-commercial to the cantina scene to remind everyone of last year's Vader kid. (He found your lack of faith disturbing.)

"Matthew's Day Off" for Honda's CR-V: This was among the most-anticipated ads this year — if not the most anticipated, sprinkling lines an entire generation has quoted for 25 years. "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."

The Poignant

Clint Eastwood nails it with a message backed by the Dodge vehicle family: "How do we come from behind? ... This country can't be knocked out by one punch ... and our second half is about to begin."

The Obligatory Mentions

Audi's "daylight in a headlight": Over the vampire craze? Maybe Audi is, too: Kudos for killing 'em off. Too much glitter and too many fangs these days.

Coke: Coke and polar bears have had this relationship for decades. Is it cute, or do we think all that high-fructose corn syrup might end them?

Downy: The play on the nostalgic Mean Joe Green commercial ... didn't flop. In fact, it was very realistic in how rank I'm sure NFLers are after hustling, but I don't expect to talk about it on Monday.

Pinterest: Curation and Attribution

By Monica J. Witzig

In case you thought you had fully covered and traversed the Web with your profiles, your posts, your comments, your likes, your follows, your +1s, your thumbs-ups, your RTs, your friends, and your subscriptions, be prepared to take one more step.

Your community corkboard has reached the Internet: Pinterest. The invitation-only organization site launched in March 2010 and absolutely burst at the end of December 2011, according to analyses by Hitwise and Shareaholic. Pinterest boasts 260 million unique visitors each month and — put simply — owns YouTube, Reddit, Google+, and LinkedIn in referral traffic. (Does MySpace still exist? ... Do I hear laughter?)

At Ideen, we're hearing lots of buzz about Pininterest and here's why: Hitwise reports Pinterest appears to claim the clicks and pins of women (almost 60 percent of users) and those in the 25-44 years age group (again, almost 60 percent), but a quick search reveals "pinboards" are not limited to shoes, weddings, and DIY crafts for your toddlers. Web humor, social media, sports, gadgets, and Super Bowl cuisine all still have significant showings on Pinterest.

The Daily Dot runs down a list of ten of what it calls "superusers." Admittedly, lots of home design and weddings here, but users want those creative stairwells and sunflower champagne flutes.

One of the great things about Pinterest might be that posts are images (with some linked to further elaboration) — so you don't have to scroll through your Twitter and Facebook timelines to miss someone's rant. Don't want to see quiche? Don't have to.

But what — in an era of online piracy and the rush to yell "first!" for every instance, be it news organizations or your sister-in-law — should appeal most to creators and moderators alike is Pinterest's commitment to attribution. Even if you think the language is a little soft, Pinterest's etiquette listing cheers citing sources. (No. 1, by the way, is one your mother, your boss, your little brother, and the Rev. King all support, too: "Be nice.")

Worthy of the buzz from a marketing perspective?  Definitely...

Bad Government Writing? Try This Short Check List to Improve Your Content

At Ideen, we work with many government clients who deal with weighty, complicated issues. To borrow a phrase – these are “wicked problems” that require complex solutions. But, do they require complex writing?

While our clients understand that they must reach out to their stakeholders and communicate information about these issues as clearly as possible, they often fail because they obfuscate their message. Nothing kills buzz like unclear writing.

We find that many times, our clients don’t realize that their communications are opaque, wordy, or otherwise difficult to read. Our government clients tell us that formal language “sounds more authoritative.” Our government IT clients argue that “everyone understands cloud computing or enterprise architectures.” And our government policy clients claim that federal law and authorities will always win the day.

Our work with the public, however, indicates otherwise.

Check Your Content Quickly for Warning Signs

We've developed a short checklist of warning signs for government writers to use when drafting content for broader audiences:

• Check your white space. If the text looks dense, it probably is. Look for extra words that can be eliminated.

• Check for active voice. Show your audience that you’re taking action – use the active voice.

• Check for headers. Try breaking up your message into bite-size chunks with headers. These wonderful little phrases can serve as guideposts for your readers.

• Check for visuals. Where possible, use imagery and visual representations of your message. Do you use a lot of numbers? Put them in a chart. Do your discuss topics geographically? Include a map.

• Check for acronyms. Reduce your use of acronyms where possible. This requires a lot of creativity for government writers, but the payoff is clear, buzz-worthy writing.

Government Agencies: Why Aren't More Using Social Media?

The use of social media is growing exponentially, and it appears that this expansion isn't stopping anytime soon. We see hundreds of federal agencies and organizations jumping on the band wagon to use social media to build professional networks, engage in dialogues with stakeholders, spread information quickly, etc. There are many tools available, but this doesn't necessarily mean that government agencies are embracing all of them, even the most popular ones.

For example, we recently read at Federal News Radio that the National Archives has jumped on the social media bandwagon after trial pilots proved "very successful." Their discovery that a more direct and stronger connection with the public can be built using these media forms. And although some organizations, like the Archives, applaud the convenience and consistency of streaming media and other social media tools, others find it hazy whether or not these tools are advantageous.

Many agencies are hesitant and may see several detriments or risks. Arguments against social media usage include:

• The more relaxed constraints are for employees, the greater the risk that loose-lipped sharing may spill confidential information
• Employees are distracted at work by the constant binging from information feeds and consequently, are unproductive
• Privacy is compromised as hackers or viruses find new avenues into an organization

Consequently, some agencies, such as Veterans Affairs and Homeland Security, limit use of social media tools to a case-by-case basis or block streaming media, according to Alica Lipowicz. It will be interesting to see if these agencies loosen their restrictions over time, and jump on the social media bandwagon, as well. At Ideen, we'll keep assessing the trends ...

Government and Social Media -- Who Is Using It?

Ideen has been exploring the social networking phenomenon that closes gaps and opens doors when it comes to sharing information online. Recently, we've come across a website -- http://govsm.com/w/Federal_Agencies -- that provides a lengthy list of federal agencies that use popular social networking tools, such as Twitter, Facebook, RSS, and Flickr.

The list includes 142 organizations. Of these, we find that:

• 86 use Facebook
• 101 use Twitter
• 68 use YouTube
• 102 use RSS
• 34 use Flickr
• 25 use other social media, such as UStream

The 24 largest and perhpas best-known organizations -- e.g., The White House, the Commerce Department, the US Treasury -- appear to make the most use of the social networking tools. Lesser-known organizations -- e.g., the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, the Administration of the Aging -- appear to use them less. Is there a connection here? Is it resource deriven, or is something else at work?

We imagine that these descriptive statistics don't tell us the whole story. How do we know if the organizations that appear to use the tools most are actually the most savvy in their use of the tools? Social media tools are prized for being user friendly, simple to set up, and beneficial in their respective ways. So, why might different departments and agencies that are capable using social networking tools elect to use only certain ones? Ideen will be further researching this topic to identify trends in the government sector.

Government Agencies Embrace LinkedIn -- More So Than Twitter or Facebook...

In our last blog, we took a look at government agencies that are trying to promote transparency by using social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter. After that blog was published, we went back through the list of agencies and cross-checked all of them with groups and companies listed on the professional networking site, LinkedIn.

The results were staggering: nearly all of the agencies on the list, including the ones with low or no output on Twitter or Facebook, have active LinkedIn accounts. Some of these accounts have several hundred to several thousand connections. Given this revelation, we should no longer assume as we had previously that government agencies’ interactions with social networking sites are patently inhibited. Rather, they appear more focused on the human capital aspect of networking rather than actual reciprocal information sharing. The data seems to indicate that despite the agencies’ use of social networking sites, the intention is not to be social, but rather to network on a professional level.

Which Government Agencies Are Tweeting?

When Twitter and Facebook got their start over the past decade, they became the epitome of social networking. People could connect with old and new friends and find out just what they were up to at any given moment. Pretty soon, companies saw these locales as an opportunity to reach out to potential consumers, a strategy that proved so effective that one very big, very important entity decided to dip its toe into the waters of social networking: the United States Government. But to what purpose?

To be fair, government agencies are doing exactly what they think their constituents want them to do: provide as much transparency for the inner workings of the government with daily, if not more frequent, updates. Ideen, LLC recently took a sample of over 30 government agencies with Twitter accounts and cross compared them for frequency of updates and the information each one contained. Here's what we found:

● Most agencies tweet at a low to medium frequency (less than 5 tweets per day, sometimes not even every day)

●Agencies that tweet frequently (more than 5 tweets per day) are more likely to have Twitter accounts for sub-offices and departments

●Amongst the highest ranked organizations in terms of volume of tweets were the Department of Agriculture, CDC, Department of Homeland Security, FEMA, and the Department of the Army

●The lowest volume of tweets came from the Department of Health and Human Services, FDA, and the Department of Justice

●Nearly all government agencies tweet links to external blogs or news updates, with only a few actually posting information directly to Twitter.

A brief look into agency Facebook pages indicated a limited level of public interaction, serving as another webpage instead of a social network.

We live in an age of information overload. Everywhere we turn, there's another newspaper, another blog, another podcast, all vying for our immediate attention and consumption. Is it not strange, then, that a Newsweek study taken this year showed that 29 percent of Americans could not name the Vice President? America undoubtedly suffers from a serious problem of T.M.I. (Too Much Information), and now the government wants in.

So what does all of this information tell us about the U.S. Government’s attempts to break into mainstream social networking? Quite simply, they have a ways to go. It’s not that these agencies are not making a concerted effort; to the contrary, they’re working harder than they’re given credit for. The main draw to social networking sites is actual interaction, so as far as reaching the public is concerned, Twitter may be these agencies’ best bet. Perhaps there is no magic formula for piquing public interest in Veterans Affairs or the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, but the information is there, and it is being distributed in the most generationally relevant way possible.

Ideen -- Finalist in ICY Awards!

Ideen is pleased to announce that one of its video productions was a finalist in the 2011 Intelligence Community Media Excellence Awards, fondly referred to as the "ICY Awards" by those who work in the Intelligence Community (IC). The finalists and winners were announced at the 17 March 2011 awards ceremony, hosted by the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO).

In 2010, Ideen worked with the National Counterterrorism Center and the NRO's Media Services Center to produce a promotional video for the Worldwide Incidents Tracking System or "WITS." The video was designed to raise awareness across the IC and academia of WITS, a free, highly accurate database that tracks terrorist incidents across the globe. (WITS can be accessed at NCTC's public website -- http://www.nctc.gov/.) The video was tested at a small conference of academics in June 2010, and based on the positive feedback generated, was then released at the 2010 GEOINT Symposium in New Orleans, which is attended by thousands from across the IC.

The WITS video, which competed with dozens of short videos from IC agencies, placed among the top four in its category.

Ideen is excited to be recognized for its work by its communications peers within the IC.

THON: Smart Marketing for a Great Cause

By Monica J. Witzig



(Photo: NY Daily News)
Instead of relying solely on aggressive phone crusades or door-to-door canvassing and old-fashioned pleas, this charity smartly blends old-fashioned "Please?" with snail mail and social media.

The Penn State IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon, widely and affectionately known as THON, got its start in 1973. That year, students still went to Rec Hall to register for classes, a gallon of gas was less than 50 cents, and a tweet was the sound a bird made.

The largest student-run philanthropy in the world aims to raise funds and awareness for pediatric cancer by partnering with The Four Diamonds Fund—and dancing for 46 hours straight. A long way from 78 dancers and $2,000 in 1973: 2010 saw 700 dancers and nearly $8 million. THON has raised more than $69 million total to help offset treatment costs not covered by insurance.

THON uses traditional outreach methods like e-mail forms and letters (this author received snail mail from her younger sister, a senior at Penn State and on the Rules & Regs. committee). What helps THON get recognized locally is canning, which is exactly what it sounds like: Groups of students head to someone's hometown, generally in the mid-Atlantic, and collect donations in coffee cans. What has helped THON get recognized on a more national scale is its online presence.

YouTube features highlights, like the football team's song and dance, unveiling of the logo or amount of funds raised, a year's line dance, and more. Victorious stories, donation reminders, and well-wishes from former dancers and the community comprise THON's Facebook page. THON's Tumblr includes posts on looks at the folks behind the scenes and transcripts of speeches given by those affected by childhood cancer.

And there are your friendly celeb shout-outs. A perhaps unsuspected proponent last year was Khloe Kardashian, who made it her own mission last winter to tell readers of her blog and followers of her Twitter about THON and to encourage the dancers during the marathon.

THON's Twitter account tells quite a tale, too. Unlike some campaigns that are only big seasonally, THON is a year-round project and commitment. In addition to how easy it is to click "Retweet" to share a message, fundraising is "for the birds"—the Twitter kind. Abolish Cancer pledged to donate a dollar to THON for each new follower on Feb. 4 of its Twitter account. The response was huge: $4,000 for THON, simply because of a click of a button on one day.

Kids these days—and their highly effective social-media campaigns for philanthropy.