DC Interactive Group’s SmartMarketing Blog

Those who know me would agree that I’m a big Blackhawks fan — even through the lean years.  There’s a certain energy that goes with this game full of speed, grace and power that can’t be found anywhere else — especially during playoff time.  Plus, hockey fans are a tight group.  We know who we are, and we know how to communicate with our tribes.  Newcomers are respected and appreciated, but that doesn’t mean we don’t know that their background is limited.

This camaraderie among fans is partly why I feel Amstel Light’s new TV commercial is so good, even though the spot never shows or mentions hockey.

You see, this year the Blackhawks introduced a new song that gets played every time the team scores (except when Kane, Toews or Sharp scores, then they play songs unique to their names).  According to John McDonough (Blackhawks President), Chelsea Dagger, a 2006 song by The Fratellis (band from Glasgow) was selected for it’s unique energy, but the crowds early on weren’t overly impressed early on and the sound technician thought long about changing it.  But McDonough held tight and said to give it some time.  Good thinking John.  By mid-season, the catchy “duh, da-da-duh, da-da-duh, da-da-da-de-da) was being sung by over 20,000 people after every score.  But outside of the United Center, few people if any even heard of the song.

Enter Amstel Light, and their attempt to market their beer to hockey fans.

Anyone who saw the Blackhawks score this year (unless it was Kane, Toews or Sharp) will easily identify the song — and likely recall the beer after watching the spot because by using the same song, they got our attention.  Then by cleverly building on the “Dam” in Amsterdam visually, they get their message into our heads.  And isn’t that what advertising is supposed to do — get the attention of a select, targeted group (in this case, hockey fans), and attach your message to one that they already know (in this case, the good feeling of listening to that song when the only time they would’ve heard it would have been during those joyous moments after a goal).

All that’s missing is a link to something where rabid fans can connect with each other — and Amstel Light.  And that’s a big mistake.  Why they would not carry this to the next level is beyond me.  Maybe their agency only knows how to make good TV spots?

Anyway, well done Amstel Light.  And thanks for talking our language in Chicago.

Go Blackhawks.

You’ve all seen those tests and quizzes on Facebook and other places online. They’re fun. They’re quick. But did you ever think about who is creating them? One of the most popular quizzes online called “RealAge ” has achieved popularity through “America’s Doctor,” Dr. Mehmet Oz’s regular appearances on Oprah and other news programs.  The test assigns users a “biological age” based on their answers to 150 questions. Recently, the New York Times reported that the popular RealAge quiz is really a marketing tool for drug companies. This is especially odd because the questions seem to be designed about living a better life through healthy habits, not drugs.

Most people would not voluntarily fill out an extensive survey with all of their personal information, or allow them access to all the information in their Facebook profile. So that’s where RealAge comes in. Disguised as a fun (and maybe helpful) survey, RealAge collects information and sells it to drug companies. It’s hard not feeling like you’ve gotten the shaft when your private information is being handed over to the makers of the little blue pill. Viagra is manufactured by Pfizer , but they are not the only drug company purchasing your information. Novartis and GlaxoSmithKline also use RealAge to not only get general marketing information, but also specifics. Pharmaceutical companies can find hard-targeted potential customers through test questions about how depressed someone feels, how much exercise they get or even how happy someone is in their marriage.

Legality seems to be covered in the fine print, but a lot of people don’t feel like that’s enough. RealAge has issued a statement that attempts to clarify their practices, but in the end the New York Times was correct. Be careful about who you share your personal information with, read their privacy policy.

Sherman Hospital will be featured on ABC’s Good Morning America
on Thursday, April 16th, 2009 at 8:05am CST.

The surgery that we helped Sherman Hospital simulcast on Twitter and Facebook has helped a lot of people better understand the benefits of Sherman’s high-tech surgical robot and how they have become a leader in advanced medicine. Possible candidates for surgery in the community followed along and became more comfortable with the procedure. Even the patient’s family was able to watch on a Blackberry from the waiting room! We’ve helped Sherman get featured on TV, websites, blogs, medical journals, magazines and newspapers across the country and as far away as India and Australia. But tomorrow morning we’re proud to announce that they will be featured on ABC’s Good Morning America at 8:05am CST! Check your local guides for channel information.

Background

With getting media attention, timing is everything. The press seemed to be primed for a great story about how Twitter and Facebook could be used for a practical purpose. We did some research and came up with the idea have Sherman become the first ever hospital to simulcast a surgery live on Twitter and Facebook. Not just any surgery, but a high-tech robotic surgery. It takes a lot of courage to do something like this, and we would officially like to thank some very important people at Sherman Health:

First we would like to thank Sherman’s patient (who of course remains anonymous) for graciously agreeing to let her surgery be Tweeted. Secondly, Doctors Rajah Chatterji and Humberto Lamoutte who headed up the six-person, robot-assisted surgery team. And let’s not forget the marketing team at Sherman:

Christine Priester | Follow on Twitter @cpriester
Transition Director, formerly Marketing Director

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Josh McColough | Follow on Twitter @joshmccolough
Marketing Manager
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Michelle Howe | Follow on Twitter @michellehowe27
Marketing Specialist

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Of course, you are also welcome follow myself @marcbattaglia and Walter Ottenhoff @wottenhoff — we work here at @demicooper and ran the simulcast for @shermanhealth .

You have to love the internet.  It’s so free and open, and yet at the same time it can be rather dark and mysterious.  We see blogs, posts, comments and reviews everywhere, yet nobody really knows the writer’s true intent, or whether he or she has any hidden agenda.

Companies feel this heat, and are struggling to figure out how to police, or at least how to monitor, their own staff’s online contributions.  So I’ve assembled here a few links to the guidelines and policies that were put out by some of the bigger names in the corporate world.  While these guides may not serve all your needs, you should be able to pull some valuable information from each as you craft your own policy.

If you know of any I’m missing, please share here.  Or even better, if you have a link or document that directly relates to a certain industry, please pass that along too.  I’m sure the readers will appreciate getting some direction.

Some of these have links within the sites, so look closely.  And enjoy!

Mayo Clinic

IBM

General Motors

DELL

Intel

DePaul University

U.S. Airforce (note: this is a pdf)

Every month we have a technology meeting here at Demi & Cooper so that we can continue to stay on top of the latest advancements online - with social media, CRM systems and beyond. We’re developing quite a reputation for ourselves for being one of the most knowledgeable and forward-thinking advertising, marketing and interactive agencies in the country. You can be sure that when new technologies arise, we will be the first to adopt them into practical marketing tools. Today, two of our designers, Deanne Marrano and Christine Ohme brought up a couple videos that I’m sharing here.

Earlier this year in Feburary, at the Wharton Business Technology Conference, Microsoft’s Business Division president Stephen Elop unveiled the latest production from Microsoft Office Labs called “2019″ . We think Microsoft has created a very cool Mac-like version of the future that combines the stark white palette from George Lucas’ 1971 masterpiece THX 1138 , healthy doses of tech from Steven Spielberg’s Minority Report and graphics from the opening sequence from Stranger than Fiction . We can’t help but wonder why the future looks so sterile and is populated by stock photo men, women and children, but nevertheless it’s pretty sweet — let’s jump right in:

Main Video: Microsoft Lab’s Vision of 2019

Microsoft’s Vision of Retail Shopping (Target)

Microsoft’s Vision of Home

Microsoft’s Vision of Manufacturing

Microsoft’s Vision of Healthcare