J.J. Buckfart* communications * environment * leadership * science *

I’ve noticed that one of the first things many marketers do when coming up with a campaign or anticipated product or service launch, is to check the availablity of a catchy or descriptive domain name. Why don’t we do this more often for our kids? It occured to me that the world’s human population is only increasing and the probablilty of more Darla or Kyla Dampiers (my two girls names) entering the world will only increase with time. So earlier this week I registered those domains.

So, if there is another Kyla or Darla Dampier out there, sorry I’ve got those domains.  I am pretty excited for the day that my daughters want to start up a blog, or launch a website. I know I will be waiting a while. It will be fun handing over www.kyladampier.com and www.darladampier.com to my girls.

Nothing says I love you quite like registering a domain name for your kid. So why not register your kids’ today.

Have you wondered why almost every major brand has a fan page on facebook? Check out Gary Vaynerchuk’s take on facebook fan pages and why “Like” is better than “Become a Fan.” (Facebook rolled out that change earlier this week.)

If your organization isn’t on facebook, what’s stopping you?

Part of my work responsibilities at LUCAS is to bridge the gap between technical staff and more general audiences. A quick way to connect with your intended audience is to think about and employ schemata. You make an assumption about what the audience already knows, and build upon that assumption.

Here’s an example from “Made to Stick” by the Heath brothers. They demonstrate the power of using a schema. In this example they are attempting to describe a type of fruit.

Description option 1.
A pomelo is the largest citrus fruit. The rind is very tink but soft and easy to peel away. The resulting fruit has a light yellow to coral pink flesh and can vary from juicy to slightly dry and from seductively spicy-sweet to tangy and tart. Question: If you mixed pomelo juice half and half with orange juice, would it taste good?

Description option 2.
A pomelo is basically a supersized grapefruit with a very thick and soft rind.

In your communications can you think of examples where you can make accurate assumptions about your audience’s schemata and adjust your message to capitalize on those assumptions?

This video has inspired me think about story telling. I love how the producer took a well known story line and creatively added a bunch of science. Enjoy!

Slagsmålsklubben – Sponsored by destiny from Tomas Nilsson on Vimeo.

I know this bill board campaign is something like 10 years old, but I still love it. Chick-fil-A did something pretty incredible with their bill board campaign. According to something I read in a journal article written by Leonard Berry the execs at Chick-fil-A knew they couldn’t compete with the big fast food companies such as  McDonald’s, Burger King, and Wendy’s. These behemoths had more marketing dollars to be spent on expensive marketing channels such as tv – than the smaller Chick-fil-A.

What did the chicken restaurant do? They decided to dominate one advertising medium, rather than spread their advertising resources thinly over multiple marketing channels. Doing this and they would likely go unnoticed.

If you want to read the original article, and you are having a hard time tracking it down,  email me and I should be able to help.

Maybe you are a bit clueless on how to properly use Twitter to connect with people and market your product or service. It’s taken me a few months to start to “get” it.

Facebook is much more straightfoward. If you are planning an event, you can set up a facebook event. If you are providing a service line, or promoting your brand you can create a page where people can become your fan. But how can Twitter be used effectively? It’s just a mini-blog right?

I found this pretty straightforward presentation on slideshare.net that gives some pointers on using Twitter… actually 140 pointers to be exact.

Enjoy!

I really like some of the Brita ads. They tap into the environmental sensibilities many people have. The first time I saw this spot, I thought they were selling a health product. The reveal at 15 seconds give the missing piece of information and the expected ahh-haa moment.

Check this following ad out. It points out a flaw in Brita’s reasoning. I think you will like it.

Have you every had a slice of Dominos Pizza where the crust tasted like cardboard? In this cleaver marketing campaign, the Pizza franchise takes its critics head on.

Does marketing like this ultimately help or harm the brand?

You can check out the full campaign by CLICKING HERE.

Henry over at ElementalCM posted about how a Christian group is raising awareness about climate change by dressing kids up in animal costumes and boarding a modern-day ark. I like the idea. Check it out.

Last Sunday, the New York Times ran a story about a Detroit church that had three SUVs up front during its weekend worship services. Only in Detroit, eh? Although I am not a big fan of SUVs, at least they were gas-electric hybrids. Check out Robin’s post on this story.

PRAYING FOR A MIRACLE S.U.V.’s sat on the altar of Greater Grace Temple, a Pentecostal church in Detroit, as congregants prayed to save the auto industry. Source: New York Times.