Good advertising gets people talking. Great advertising talks back. Example: Old Spice’s “I’m on a horse” dude responds to commenters and bloggers directly on YouTube. Here, he’s got a message for celebrity blogger Perez Hilton.
Pure genius.
Posts Tagged ‘awesomeness’
Blue Cross and Blue Shield picks Red Square.
Wednesday, June 2nd, 2010
Hey friends, we’ve been sitting on some pretty exciting news for the past few weeks: Red Square Agency has just won creative duties on Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama.
There’s not a lot more we can say at this point, but awesomeness is afoot. We’re all high-fiving around here, given the opportunity to work with very nice people on an iconic brand.
Red Square performs at the Hangout.
Wednesday, May 19th, 2010
The inaugural Hangout Beach, Music & Arts Festival was this past weekend, and what a success. Crowds from all over gathered on the very beautiful, very oil-free beaches of Alabama to experience an amazing event that was the culmination of the hard work of scores of people. Grace Potter said it best: “my God—it’s Coachella on the beach!”
Our creative/design and PR crews, led by Sarah Jones and Niki Lim, executed flawlessly. The designs, from the stages to the signage to the tickets, were killer.
As for the PR side of things, the Red Square kids worked like maniacs alongside our pals Music Allies setting up press conferences (note Alabama Governor Bob Riley giving the international sign of the fest), managing internal communications, coordinating live news shows, and dealing with the good people at Associated Press, CNN and other major media.
Congrats to all involved. We are thankful to have been a part of the festival’s success.
You heard that right: a green oil change.
Friday, March 12th, 2010
The dudes and dudettes here at the Square have been busy cooking up our latest offering to the Internet: America’s Green Oil Change.
We know what you’re thinking. “A green oil change?” In fact our development partners on this, Super Top Secret, pondered the same thing:
We know a green oil change sounds like an oxymoron but it’s an awesome oxymoron. In fact, we added it to our list of favorites. It’s right up there with boneless ribs, Christian gangster, firewater, lady boy, mobile home, real polyester and quiet riot.
Believe it people. So hit the site and do your part.
Senior Bowl > Pro Bowl
Friday, January 29th, 2010
Football fans know awesomeness when they see it. According to today’s ESPN Sports Nation poll, 65% of Americans are more pumped up about the Senior Bowl than the Pro Bowl this weekend.
You may be thinking yeah, but is that statistically significant? With over 80,000 votes from all 50 states, yes.
The kids at the Square would like to think it’s the advertising, but we’re willing to admit that the game, the players, the organization and the sponsors make it great. We’re glad America agrees. Hooray for football! Hooray for democracy!!
Rubber, meet road.
Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009
Today, I read about Square. In addition to the name, which I obviously like, I’m blown away by its ingenuity and simplicity. What is Square? TechCrunch writes:
The idea–let people quickly and easily accept physical credit card payments from their mobile phone. A small device attaches to the phone via the headset/microphone jack. The device gets the power it needs to send data to the phone from the swipe of the card, and sends the information over the microphone connection.
Think paypal, but anyone can now accept physical credit card payments, too. With no contracts or monthly fees. People are sent receipts by text and email.
This is a perfect example of how the iPhone (fine, Elena, all smartphones) is changing the game. The peripheral market created by these devices is huge. Rubber, meet road. In other words (and this is where brands need to pay attention), the technology is merely the means to an end. It is the conduit, the feature. The real gold is buried in its application. How does this stuff affect how I work, operate, live? Why do I care?
Square answers this question instantly. The first frame on the web site reads: Accept payments. Everywhere.
Good stuff–definitely one to watch. It also doesn’t hurt that its founder started another little venture you may have heard of, Twitter.
Shortformblog astutely points out, like Twitter, it’s dead simple. Unlike Twitter, it’s not a super-esoteric concept at the out set, begging people to figure out why it’s necessary. It just makes sense.
I’m just happy their logo is green. Otherwise, we would’ve had to throw down.
On Awesomeness.
Tuesday, September 29th, 2009
Can awesomeness be a brand differentiator?
Let’s first discuss etymology. According to the built-in dictionary widget on my MacBook and contrary to the popular belief that the term was coined solely for Chuck Norris, awesome made its debut sometime in the late 16th century to describe something awe inspiring. Makes sense. Flash forward a few hundred years, sometime around the filming of Fast Times at Ridgemont High, and the word is now a part of the pop culture vernacular. See also excellent, killer, rad, wicked and way cool.
Awesomeness, then, is something that exhibits the qualities of being awesome. At Red Square Agency, we believe that awesomeness, while ethereal and certainly intangible, is a very real brand differentiator.
A couple of weeks ago, over at the Harvard Business blog, Umair Haque posted The Awesomeness Manifesto. Fascinating stuff.
What is awesomeness? Awesomeness happens when thick — real, meaningful — value is created by people who love what they do, added to insanely great stuff, and multiplied by communities who are delighted and inspired because they are authentically better off. That’s a better kind of innovation, built for 21st century economics.
Beancounters feel challenged and threatened by it, because it feels fuzzy and imprecise. Yet, it’s anything but. Gen M knows “awesomeness” when we see it — that’s why it’s part of our vernacular. It’s a precise concept, with meaning, depth, and resonance.
Whether you think Haque has only jumbled around some conventional wisdom on brand authenticity and given birth to some new buzzwords or not, the bigger point is this: people know awesomeness when they see it. And they love it.
Awesomeness is hard to fake. Passion is palpable. Your stuff is either great or it isn’t.
This again brings us to the rare air a brand finds when it gains fans rather than “customers.” Think about your brand in this context. Re-read Haque’s definition of awesomeness and ask yourself, seriously, “is this us?”
