Roy De Young

Brands I Love The people at Nuts.com really have it together and...

Thu, 09 May 2013 10:15:00 -0400

Brands I Love

The people at Nuts.com really have it together and make doing business with them a pleasure. From the simple ordering process to the out-of-box experience they are remarkable. The freshness of the product, sweet packaging and whimsical brand story-telling are still producing a grin on my face.

Check them out: http://www.nuts.com/

Top Social Media Trends 2013 Our new infographic, kudos to my...

Mon, 06 May 2013 15:36:36 -0400

Top Social Media Trends 2013

Our new infographic, kudos to my team!

"See me in DM News..."

Tue, 18 Dec 2012 14:00:08 -0500

“

See me in DM News Today!

http://www.dmnews.com/how-a-heavily-nostalgic-brand-can-and-should-evolve-its-story/article/273025/

”

Shoppable Content! Check out the Juicy Couture campaign on...

Thu, 15 Nov 2012 18:01:30 -0500

Shoppable Content!

Check out the Juicy Couture campaign on YouTube, undisturbed video and seamless linking to actionable experiences!

http://creativity-online.com/news/youtube-helps-retailers-embrace-shoppable-video/238296

TD Bank Definition of “Legendary Customer...

Sat, 25 Aug 2012 10:20:58 -0400

TD Bank Definition of “Legendary Customer Service”: they negligently debit my account for $500 one night and take 3 to 5 days to give me the money back. Their customer service folks are worthless and arrogant—time for a new bank! Talk about not delivering upon a brand promise and placing customers at risk. I would strongly advise to stay away from a banking institution that takes a customer’s financial situation this flippantly.

Life Is Short. Drink Good Gin. I generally don’t blog...

Thu, 14 Jun 2012 16:38:25 -0400

Life Is Short. Drink Good Gin.

I generally don’t blog promoting products but if you like gin you must try Farmers Organic Gin, summer is here, get busy.

When Homepage Takeovers Work Is the homepage takeover promotion...

Thu, 14 Jun 2012 11:22:32 -0400

When Homepage Takeovers Work

Is the homepage takeover promotion diluting my positive user experience? Not when I might win $500, in fact bring it on! Good job American Apparel.

Showing Off Again; Scholastic Books I am really proud of the job...

Wed, 06 Jun 2012 10:48:23 -0400

Showing Off Again; Scholastic Books

I am really proud of the job we did creating a unique experience for the Teen segment at Scholastic. From initial conceptualization to a rapidly developing, highly social and engaging brand community, we knocked it out of the park on this one. Check it out:

http://www.thisisteen.com/index.htm

project-adotme: Now that’s how you write a brief.

Tue, 05 Jun 2012 10:44:34 -0400

project-adotme:

Now that’s how you write a brief.

Customer Aquisition Via Email: Top 3 Considerations To Ensure...

Thu, 31 May 2012 11:23:00 -0400

Customer Aquisition Via Email: Top 3 Considerations To Ensure Registration

Email continues to grow as an efficient and effective tool to engage with customers and as an essential part of the conversation ecosystem. My team and I see impressive and measurable results in the campaigns we create and manage for our clients when these conversations are relevant, mobile enabled and intuitive in design.

Email success is dependent upon having a sizable targeted audience receiving relevant messages tailored to their likes and interests. Frequently we consult with brands that are struggling with collecting enough names to see the desired response and ROI in their email programs. We address the issue of anemic email registration results by evaluating the Placement, Proof and Process involved in the collecting of names.

1. Placement: THINK: “Hi, I am here whenever you are ready”

By placement I am referring to the location(s) within an online property where we display email registration units or callouts. Nearly every major brand we have consulted with in the past two years has acquisition teams that do not understand this concept. From usability studies to behavioral analytics the conclusion is clear; people register at places where value has been proven.

These value “zones” include content pages, product detail pages, download/video pages, and Facebook plug-ins. At these locations one must employ proximity design principles to ensure that value association is intuitive and encourages registration. One of the most common oversights we encounter and one of the major flaws responsible for yielding weak results is concealing registration units in the page footers or headers in an attempt to keep the page design clean and simple.

2. Proof/Incentive: THINK: “Let’s talk, I’ve got some great stuff to share, just ask your friends”

What are you going provide in exchange for a prospective customer’s email address? Special offers, exclusive content, coupons, first-to-know news, are key incentives with measurable proof of value that encourage registration. It needs to be good and it needs to be stated simply in strategic proximity to the registration unit. In addition, the value of social proof displayed within the same proximity can’t be over emphasized. This must be viewed from the customer’s perspective: “why should I surrender my personal information? Will this be a nuisance or will it provide value?”

3. Process: THINK: “A simple handshake will do!”

To ensure acquisition request the customer’s email address only. Trying to collect too much information initially via multiple fields is perceived as “work” by the customer, and behavioral data concludes that this approach will result in high abandonment rates. Once the customer submits their address they should immediately receive a confirmation notice, followed by a welcome email. At this point we can begin our conversation and eventually persuade customers to engage with a preference center where gathering additional info can be facilitated.

Any questions feel free to reach out to me directly: rdeyoung@pmdigital.com

#1 Reason Your Ads Should Not Suck

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 14:07:38 -0400

#1 Reason Your Ads Should Not Suck

Socializing A Killer Brand I’m a big fan of San Pellegrino...

Mon, 26 Mar 2012 11:56:00 -0400

Socializing A Killer Brand

I’m a big fan of San Pellegrino and especially love their Limonata and Aranciata soft-drinks. These drinks are unique and unparalleled in flavor as well as their packaging. They are not sugar-laden libations for kids, but have distinct tangy orange and lemon zest flavors, which appeal to adult palettes. The overall visual branding, which includes a beautifully designed tinfoil top that is peeled back to expose the flip tab, gives one a sense of being part of an exclusive Italian taste experience.

From a marketing perspective, however, I’m surprised by the lack of interaction this brand has with their customers and advocates. I reasoned that it’s just one of those instances where they want to stay scarce to fuel the mystique and cool-factor around the brand. This notion proved wrong though after reading that Nestle, their parent company, in the 2010 Annual report stated the following goals: “increase customer communication, differentiate our brands, commitment to shareholder value.” Other cool Italian products, like Peroni Beer, successfully manage their brand uniqueness and are actively keeping their brand top-of-mind, especially on Facebook.

What would I do differently as San Pellegrino’s Limonata brand manager? I would get inside the heart of my customers and brand advocates, and rapidly begin activing conversations to find out how they think. Peer-to-peer conversations would be encouraged and I’d start by pumping up their anemic Facebook experience with interesting content, giveaways and seasonal excitement. With summer a few months away why not have a contest for a circular beach towel that replicates the exquisitely designed Limonata can foil topper? I’d pay dearly for one of those so I can imagine how great it would be to win one. I’d also explore a number of on-brand giveaways from logo drink coolers to a pair of logo Marcello Mastroianni sunglasses!

As a brand loyalist, I’ve invented a number of summer cocktails whose main ingredient is Limonata and have demonstrated my brand passion by starting a San Pellegrino Pinterest Mood Board…so why not introduce Facebook registration for “Mixologist” alerts via mobile or Twitter when a new cocktail recipe has been approved/posted. The mobile experience could include delivery of a range of brand experiences from a retailer locator to allowing fans to upload photos of the product in the hands of advocates.

What is the measure of a brand’s success in the social realm? Whatever the plumb line is, Limonata falls short. I’ve introduced this product to several friends and neighbors. Nestle has a great product, they just have to find new ways to put a can in the hands of their future customers and facilitate the passionate conversations of current customers.

http://pinterest.com/roycdeyoung/san-pellegrino-limonata-aranciata-mood-board/

Top 10 Edible Type Executions

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 09:53:45 -0400

Top 10 Edible Type Executions

Top 5 Things Overheard Before An Ineffective Email Is Sent: 5....

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 16:30:03 -0400

Top 5 Things Overheard Before An Ineffective Email Is Sent:

5. “Spam, schmam, the customer loves us!”

4. “Get the word FREE in the subject line at least twice, heck maybe three times!”

3. “The more big graphics the better”

2. “What’s this business about a preview pane?”

1. “Testing? Just send the same deal again, they’ll eventually respond!”

Extending An Iconic Brand: NEJM My team and I just helped our...

Mon, 12 Mar 2012 13:32:11 -0400

Extending An Iconic Brand: NEJM

My team and I just helped our client New England Journal Of Medicine promote the extension of their brand from print and Web to an iPad experience. Key messaging, campaign development, blogger outreach, print and email, our efforts are reaching and resonating with a time-starved, information overloaded medical and healthcare audience with measureable success.

Netflix & Original Content ‘Bout time Netflix, very...

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 14:04:28 -0500

Netflix & Original Content

‘Bout time Netflix, very good idea just looking at what HBO has accomplished by doing the same. And I did watch episode #1 of Lillyhammer and look forward to more, I really liked it!

Tumblr Spammers Should Be Shot! If you have a Tumblr account be...

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 13:56:56 -0500

Tumblr Spammers Should Be Shot!

If you have a Tumblr account be wary of bogus pop-up windows (branded like Tumblr) that request log-in. They will hack your account and post Starbucks ads by the dozens.

Beckham In His Briefs, H&M Not Encouraging A...

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 11:46:59 -0500

Beckham In His Briefs, H&M Not Encouraging A Conversation?

Seems that every woman I know is talking or thinking about the H&M Beckham TV spot today. People on the streets are handing out coveted little brochures showing off the exclusive line of Beckham bodywear available only at H&M stores. But where can one share or talk about this?

The website and brochures provide a link to shopping but nada for Tweeting, Facebook, QR codes, or other ways to keep this well-executed creative alive and top of mind. At the H&M Facbook page I clicked the pre-gate Beckham icon (one amongst many others on the page) and was directed to the website—no social opportunity! What is going on over at H&M? I don’t get how such a glaring hole could exist in a potentially stellar campaign.

L’oreal Ad Banned For “misleading…” The...

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 10:53:09 -0500

L’oreal Ad Banned For “misleading…”

The client’s fault or the agency’s? Either way, the “misleading” advertisement with a super-airbrushed Rachael Weisz has been banned in the UK. And it was only a few years ago the actress also told Harper’s Bazaar that she would like to see Botox banned and that English women are much less worried about physical appearance than those in the United States! How times change. Check it out:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2094440/Rachel-Weisz-advert-banned-LOreal-admits-airbrushing.html

My Activism, Again. I am not a big fan of what Monsanto is doing...

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 11:30:23 -0500

My Activism, Again.

I am not a big fan of what Monsanto is doing in regards to the global food supply and their negating true sustainability of species, soil and water. So I did what I tend to do when I get pissed-off at a brand, a really evil brand that is; rethink their logo for them!