Shocking News: We Win Electronic Distributors Awards

Carlton-Bates was recognized at this year’s Channel Marketing Awards. The annual event is sponsored by the National Electronic Distributors Association (NEDA) and CBC took home two awards.

In the Web Promotion category, www.carltonbates.com received a Gold. This new site is intended to serve as a “bridge” site until a complete e-commerce site launches next year.

For the Integrated Marketing category, the Platinum winner was CBC’s Energy Industry Campaign. It was an internal campaign sent to employees to excite them about the company’s potential with customers in the energy industry. Included was an eight-page brochure, microsite, a CD of high-energy music and energy bars and drinks.

Congratulations, Carlton-Bates, and thanks for letting us create award-winning work for you. We really get a charge out of it.

Almost Human

In the fast-paced, quickly outdated world of smart phones and other cellular gadgetry, one thing has remained the same over the past two years – Apple’s iPhone is all anyone seems to talk about.

And we’ve noticed there’s a reason for that. An outstanding product on its own, iPhone’s consumer-targeted marketing efforts have created a substantial amount of hype and garnered the phone immense popularity. Upon its release, its slick touch interface and clean overall design dominated others in its category. But looking past these dominant features, Apple may have done the smartest thing of all for its phone by only making one – one device, one name, one operating system and one place to buy it. To this end, Apple never had to be branded as another cell phone company; it merely projected its already stellar image on to a phone.

This new, singular offering, brought something entirely new to the table, where other cell phone companies tender devices of every size, shape and color imaginable. Further contributing to this marketing madness, many providers offer the same phones, but under different names. With this sort of confusion all around, thoughts of the iPhone dominate consumers’ minds, though it has only a 2% share in actual cell phone sales.

One company hopes they’ve found a way to fight back. Hot on the heels of “There’s a map for that” ads bashing AT&T’s seemingly inferior coverage, Verizon introduced a series of eyebrow-raising, “iDon’t” ads, criticizing the iPhone for its shortcomings and touting two phones running a whole new operating system from Google called Android. The Motorola Droid and the HTC Droid Eris are two Android-based smart phones made by two completely different manufacturers. By running the same operating system on these phones and others, Verizon has the ability to brand multiple phones under one recognizable name. Google Android is free to any cell phone maker who wants it, so it will turn up with more providers eventually, but Verizon is the first company to take these steps toward a more unified offering.

Every phone manufacturer and service provider has been looking for the elusive “iPhone-killer,” but have fallen short without the ability to brand one device. However, AT&T and Apple might finally have some competition if this line of Droid-driven phones proves half as good as its branding effort.

The lesson we learn from this and hope to apply with our clients is the need for brand simplicity and consistency. Consumers are being bombarded with too many competing messages to give them any reason not to remember your brand. And the fewer brands you have, the fewer brands you have to support. Not to mention, the more likely you will be to create brand awareness, understanding and, hopefully, preference.

New Member of the Sells Agency Family

Laura Kuykendall, who usually just produces ads, completed a much more important project last Friday. Always willing to work past five, Laura delivered Lucy Elizabeth at 5:35 p.m. Mechanical specs were 6 lbs. 14 oz. and 20 inches long. With a full head of hair and clean bill of health from the doctor, both she and husband John seem pleased with the results. She'll be out for the next few weeks bonding with Lucy and recovering from the exhausting project. Congratulations to Laura, John and Lucy. We look forward to having Lucy intern at the Sells Agency in the summer of 2027.

We've Got Mike Mania!

Boss's Day is this Friday, but since Mike is going to be out of town, we're celebrating today. And in full Sells Agency tradition, food is involved all day long. From donuts and biscuits and gravy for breakfast to chicken spaghetti and cheese dip for lunch – even cake for an afternoon snack – an agency-wide sugar coma is expected from the staff by 4:00 or so.

But we really do appreciate Mike as a boss, and we’re glad to take a day to show him how much. If you know Mike, you can imagine what it's like to work for him. There are no boring days with a boss whose energy level never goes below "full-blast."

Enjoy the day, Mike! Now excuse us while we treat ourselves to another piece of cake.

Unsocial Media

You’re one of the more successful car companies – Honda, to be exact – and you have a new vehicle debuting this fall. To build buzz, you do all the things a good marketer in 2009 would suggest. You release a few camouflaged photos to pique interest. You create a teaser website to capture emails of potential buyers. You set up a Facebook page so you can keep fans updated. There’s only one problem. When you unveil the car, people think it’s ugly.

Not borderline unattractive, but Elephant Man/Shrek/Joan Rivers ugly. It’s the 2010 Honda Crosstour, basically, an Accord sport-ute/wagon/crossover. See for yourself here. And, we admit, from some angles, it’s a car that only its mother could love. That’s the problem with social marketing. You don’t always control the message so you can’t hide the truth.

So what should you do when post after post contains comments like “very disappointed,” “betrayal of your brand heritage,” “inept PR,” and (our favorite) “if I had a wallpaper of this car, I’d have to find a way to clean vomit outta my keyboard”?

Well, Honda deleted some of the comments. Not a wise move. Honda says it was only in instances of foul language, but now they look like oversensitive censors in addition to poor auto designers.

Now all of the comments on the Facebook page weren’t bad. One fan, Eddie Okubo, wrote “Interesting design. I would get this car in a heartbeat.” Nice, huh? Well, turns out Mr. Okubo is manger of product planning at Honda. Ouch. When this was discovered, it made the company look desperate and unethical. Honda immediately removed his comments and said that it violated their policies.

But the damage is done. Honda is now about to introduce a product that has tons of buzz, but none of it good. And word is spreading about the public’s opinion of the car. Very few people will spend $30,000+ on a car that their friends and neighbors think is ugly.

What can you learn from this story? Two things: 1) Even a company like Honda can get burned by social media if the product isn’t perfect. 2) The new wave in marketing may be viral, but not all viruses are good ones.

Our advice to clients? Don’t let your desire to jump into social media get ahead of itself. While there are numerous opportunities in social media, there are just as many potential pitfalls and problems. Being “cutting edge” is great. Being cutting edge while also being strategic and successful is even better.

Movies We Love

Around here, we’re all fans of cinema in one form or another. Though our tastes may differ, there is one genre on which we can all agree. Elusive and never screening nearby, it’s the independent film or documentary highlighting our craft. Design, typography, copy, form and function – many a fascinating plot has unfolded within the story of advertising.

A favorite and resident of many of our DVD collections, "Helvetica" is a feature-length independent film centered on the prolific rise of one typeface and the way type, as well as design and global visual culture, affects our lives. Love it, hate it or even notice it, Helvetica is a big part of our world. How big? Watch.



Also from director Gary Hustwit, "Objectified" has raised many an agency eyebrow. This feature-length documentary moves the focus of design critique from the page to the everyday, examining the form of the physical objects that fill our lives. The film has been screening in select cities since March and will be available on DVD soon. It is the second of a three-part “design trilogy” with details on the third film “to be released soon.”



Among the new and noteworthy, "Art and Copy" was released in August after several film festival stops, and trailers have us pining for a local screening. In the film, director Doug Pray introduces the creatives behind some of the most recognizable and significant campaigns of our time – from “Just Do It” and “I Love NY” to “Got Milk?” and “Think Different.” Hear the stories of how these radical thinkers influenced millions while maintaining relative obscurity outside the industry. It’s the ultimate inside look at agency life and the birthplace of big ideas. If you’re near us and you’d like to take a look, email gotinfo@artandcopyfilm.org to ask for a screening in Little Rock.



And finally, our favorite type foundry, House Industries, has a new film in the works. Details are few, but check out this preview featuring the late, great Ed Rondthaler and his thoughts on the clarity of the English language.

And we shall name it “Stevie.”

A direct mail piece that we created for Acxiom was a recent winner in the national Stevie Awards, also known by the less interesting name of the American Business Awards. Competing against companies from across the nation, Acxiom’s mailer took home the trophy in the category of “Best Marketing or Sales Brochure or Kit.”

This complex piece was part of the company’s efforts to increase awareness of the company’s broadening role in integrated marketing initiatives through multi-channels. The target audience was influential industry analysts and media.

The piece included a large, metal box, printed on the cover with a mosaic representation of Acxiom’s iconic ‘X.’ Inside were collateral pieces that outlined Acxiom’s capabilities and a video player which included a presentation from John Meyer, CEO and President.

Pictures don’t do it justice. Call us and we’ll be glad to show you the real thing.