Burger King Bets on Tony Stewart and a Polygraph Test

Burger King’s newest celebrity endorsements are coming from NASCAR driver Tony Stewart.  I just saw my first Burger King commercial starring Tony Stewart this week, and it wasn’t bad.  Considering how popular NASCAR is, I’d imagine the pairing of a popular driver with fast food is decent.

Then I heard that Tony Stewart is taking a live polygraph test online where he will be asked if he really likes Burger King Whoppers, and the appeal of this campaign from Crispin Porter & Bogusky became clear to me.  It’s a clever attempt at creating an integrated marketing program driving television audiences to Burger King’s special website — where visitors can submit their own questions for Stewart’s polygraph test.  And that site is in addition to the existing BKracking.com site that already has interactive features and a sweepstakes game.

Will the effort sell more Whoppers?  It’s hard to say.  I’m not well versed in the NASCAR audience demographics, but it certainly can’t hurt.  If nothing else, it’s got people talking, which has to be good for the Burger King brand.

However, I’m not so sure about the Carrot Top and Erik Estrada appeal (check out the commercial below)?  Since Carrot Top got all pseudo-buff on steroids, he’s disturbingly freaky to look at.  On the other hand, what person older than 35 doesn’t get a bit nostalgic when they see Frank Poncherello?

What do you think?

KeySplash Creative Conversations Included in Junta42 List of Top 42 Content Marketing Blogs

For the second quarter in a row, KeySplash Creative Conversations made it onto the list of Junta 42 Top 42 Content Marketing Blogs.

This quarter’s update to the list included a record 276 blogs, up from 224 last quarter.  According to the Junta 42 website, “the Junta42 Top 42 Content Marketing Blogs list highlights the best bloggers on the web discussing content marketing. Each blog on the list has been rated by our expert staff in terms of content strength, depth, regularity and, to a very small extent, popularity.”

Here is the list of the Top 42 Content Marketing Blogs according to the Junta 42:

1 TippingPoint Labs
2 Copyblogger
3 Marketing Interactions
4 Online Marketing Blog
5 PR 2.0
6 Marketing with Meaning
7 Post Advertising
8 Conversation Agent
9 Brain Traffic
10 Web Ink Now
11 Buzz Marketing for Technology
12 EyeCube
13 ContentMarketingToday
14 Convince and Convert
15 Influential Marketing Blog
16 Internet Marketing Blog
17 Dan Blank
18 The Harte of Marketing
19 Writing on the Web
20 The Toadstool
21 PR 20/20
22 Keysplash Creative
23 Chris Brogan’s Blog
24 Social Media Explorer
25 Content Rich
26 Drew’s Marketing Minute
27 Seth’s Blog
28 9 Inch Marketing
29 The Content Wrangler
30 Greg Verdino’s Marketing Blog
31 IdeaLaunch
32 Hard Knox Life
33 Direct Marketing Observations
34 Nigel Hollis
35 Rexblog
36 Daily Fix
37 Sales Lead Insights
38 Techno//Marketer
39 Eat Media Blog
40 Savvy B2B Marketing
41 Social Signal
42 Web Strategy by Jeremiah

You can follow the link to read more about the Junta 42.

Building the Perfect Website

I’ve been giving a lot of thought about online content lately.  One of the terms I often use when discussing online content and marketing with my clients is the shift that happened many years ago with the birth of the social Web that is at the forefront of the online environment today and still growing — that is moving from destination-centric to audience-centric in web design, web development, online brand building, and web usability.

No longer can websites exist simply as an online destination.  Instead, they must be 100% audience-focused and deliver the information consumers are looking for — and they must do it fast!

So what’s the first step to building a perfect business website in the early years of the 21st century?  Make sure every page, every sentence, every image, and everything else on your website is audience-centric.  Focus on the consumer, not you.  That’s one of the core rules of social media marketing success, but truth be told, it has become the core rule for online marketing as a whole. I even discuss that rule in my book, Kick-ass Copywriting in 10 Easy Steps, as it relates to copywriting.

For example, a website like YouTube is great as a destination for online video.  However, it can be challenging to find the specific content you’re looking for on YouTube.  In 2009, highly targeted niche sites are all the rage, and the trend from creating destination sites to audience-focused sites makes sense — consumers have neither the time nor the desire to sift through page after page of useless information.  They want specific information and they want it fast.  Deliver it to them on your website by developing the structure and content with your audience’s needs and wants ranked as the top priority.  Be audience-centric, not destination-centric.

Your thoughts?

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Free eBook from Newstex – The Truth about Blog Syndication

I wrote an ebook for one of my clients, Newstex, which is now available for free download on the Newstex website.  It’s called The Truth about Blog Syndication, and its purpose is to teach bloggers the facts about licensed blog syndication (which Newstex offers) versus free and ad-supported blog syndication.  There is actually a very big difference, and many of the myths about blog syndication that bloggers hear are true of the free and ad-supported syndication models but not the licensed syndication model. 

Without giving away everything in the book, licensed blog distribution gives bloggers a way to increase their exposure to audiences that are not likely to find them through traditional web searches, and it gives bloggers royalty payments when their content is viewed by end users.  It’s worth looking into, learning the facts, and considering for your own blog.  At the very least, don’t make a decision until you know the truth about blog syndication.

You can download The Truth about Blog Syndication on the Newstex website.  It’s free and licensed under Creative Commons, so you can share it, tweet it, blog about it, repost it, etc.

I should also mention for full disclosure purposes that I’m a marketing consultant for Newstex, and I syndicate my blog through Newstex.

Online Video Advertising Tips

My newest article is now live on Entrepreneur.com.  This month, I wrote about online video advertising, which is a great opportunity for businesses to connect with the rapidly growing online audience that actively watches online video. 

You can read the article here and start thinking about how you can add online video advertising into your own business’ marketing plan or add related services to your client offerings.

And you can follow this link to view my previous articles about copywriting and marketing communications published on Entrepreneur.com.

Social Networking and Blogs are More Popular Than Email

Have you shifted your marketing investments to match consumer habits?  Did you know that statistics show social networking and blogs are now more popular than email?  Is your brand represented where it needs to be?

Learn more in my guest post on the Womenkind.net (an ad agency based in New York City) blog, Social Networking and Blogs are More Popular Than Email.

Brand Building for Search Engine Optimization

My go-to-person for SEO, Gab Goldenberg of SEO ROI wrote a great post that’s full of resources to help internet marketing companies merge brand building and SEO, but much of the information included in the article can be applied to any blog or website. 

Gab provides more than theory in his article.  He cites examples and provides case studies as well stories from his own experiences to support his tips and suggestions.  It’s worth a read!  Follow the link above to check it out.

Special K Ad Embraces White Space and Gets Noticed

Every advertiser knows (particularly online advertisers) that white space is important, yet it can be so easy to fall victim to the allure of that unused space and fill it up with more messages.  The result is inevitably a confused customer who doesn’t know where to look and ends up simply looking away.

That’s why it’s great to see an ad that makes great use of white space, clean design and simple colors to get noticed in one of the busiest of places – the home page of Yahoo!

Several times yesterday I found myself on the home page of Yahoo!, and each time, my eye was immediately drawn to the ad on the right side of the page.  An ad always appears in that spot, and my eyes have been trained not to notice it.  However, sometimes an ad jumps out at me and makes me take a second look.  Yesterday was one of those days, but instead of just making me take a second look, this ad made me take a second, and third, and fourth look.  Each time I visited Yahoo.com yesterday, I stopped and looked at this ad.  Check it out below.

Taking the ad out of its context, you’d never guess that it could be so visually compelling, but amdist the cluttered mess of the Yahoo! home page, this simple red and white ad for the Special K Challenge stood out like a beacon.  It simply catches the eye and makes you look at it.

Is the message compelling enough?  That’s another story entirely, and the design details could use some tweaking.  But the point is this – the design concept with the stark red and white colors and heavy use of white space worked. 

Just food for thought next time you’re creating an online ad that has to compete with clutter on all sides.  White space is good!  Embrace white space.

What do you think?

Image: Kellogg

Six Degrees to Barack Obama – Time Magazine Person of the Year 2008

It’s certainly not a surprise that Time Magazine chose Barack Obama for its 2008 Person of the Year title.  What is unique about this year’s announcement is the interactive web page that Time created showing how every other Time Magazine Person of the Year ever named can be connected to Barack Obama in 6-degrees or less (just like the classic game, 6 degrees to Kevin Bacon).

The web page adds a fun, interactive element to the annual person of the year announcement, and I have to give Time props for putting it together.  You can follow the link to view the interactive 6 degrees to Barack Obama page.  Once you get to the page, hit the Enter button to enter the site, and then select the Skip Intro link if you want to skip the introduction and go directly to the interactive 6 degrees to Barack Obama page.

What do you think?  Clever and cool, huh?

Image: Time

JCPenney Issues Viral Warning – Beware of the Doghouse

Kudos to JCPenney for putting together a video that’s gone viral and is actually funny.  The JCPenney video is called “Beware of the Doghouse” and includes a website, too.  The effort promotes the JCPenney jewelry products, and the website is very interactive.  Users can connect via Facebook, put people in the doghouse or send warnings, and more.  It’s a fun effort that coincides perfectly with the holidays.  Check out the video below.

Beware of the Doghouse- Hilarious! – Watch more free videos 

What do you think?

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