Three Tips for B2Bs Using Twitter

More B2B marketers are incorporating Twitter into their social media initiatives and may wonder how to improve their following, as well as follower interest and engagement. Here are three ways:

Use hashtags. Many Twitter users are set up to follow hashtags, for example #Brand or #Advertising, and so it's possible to acquire new followers, and exposure to those already following, by using them.

Recognize the content source. It's beneficial to include the name of the person or website that you're tweeting about, and even include a direct hyperlink to them.

Re-tweet and ask to be re-tweeted. Re-tweeting others' relevant content (as long as it's balanced with a higher rate of unique tweets), and asking others to re-tweet your unique content are both tactics that will give and gain recognition.

For Your Inspiration

I was directed to this Dutch artist, Joram Roukes, by a website called The Cool Hunter (bookmark this website now!) His work is an intense mixture of colour, textures, street art, collage, pop culture, consumerism… there's a lot going on. This stuff makes me want to break out my own paintbrushes!

Zeta’s Top Ten in ‘10

We’re approaching the year’s end and you know what that means… well, besides the holidays and all of its ensuing hooplah. December is the month when pop culture gets its annual report card. Official and unofficial critics from all over the web, television and print media wrap up the year by weighing in on what “made the list” in a myriad of categories.

Social media has made these annual assessments all the more legitimate, by giving us the ability to capture real discussions from real people, painting an even more accurate picture of who liked what this year. Zeta Interactive, a company based out of New York that mines blogs, comments on Twitter, message boards and posts in social media, has compiled its’ top ten list of ads that have generated the most buzz in 2010.

* One interesting thing to note in this list is how many of these ads actually exceed two minutes – a definite foreshadowing into the death of the 30-second spot.

1. Axe – “Clean Your #*&!” (*careful – this one has some highly suggestive innuendo)

2. Nike – “Rise”

3. Google - “Parisian Love”

4. Old Spice - “Smell Like a Man, Man”

5. Domino’s Pizza - “Making It Right”

6. Nike - “Human Chain”

7. Snickers – SuperBowl Spot

8. Red Bull – “Way Back Home”

9. Adidas - “Fast Don’t Lie”

10. K-Swiss – “Tubes”

BSL Christmas 2010

The glitz was in full effect this past Saturday, as BSL rolled up to Arc the Hotel for our 2010 Christmas Party. No style was spared, as the evening welcomed a cornucopia of fashions – black lace, red satin, suspenders, pin stripes, bow ties, no ties, a whole lotta heels, and one fedora that sure did make the rounds. In summary, BSL was lookin’ fresh to death.

Beyond our wardrobe, BSL kept the tradition strong by spending a large portion of our evening and our energy tearing up the dance floor of the Arc Lounge (fueled by a notable variety of libations). But throughout the night it became clear that our group just couldn’t be contained in one area. So we spilled the party vibe over to the hotel itself, and spread our audible Christmas cheer throughout most of the second floor (on which many of us had reserved rooms, in lieu of a cab home).

It’s been a long and busy year for us at BSL, and it seems we were able to blow off a relatively proportionate amount of steam on Saturday, in celebration of all that we’ve accomplished. Despite a few quiet regrets from those who found themselves slightly “overserved” that night – it has been widely hailed that the 2010 BSL Christmas Party was officially off the chain.

Check out some of the highlights on our Flickr page.

Hooray for Thursday: Launching Ottawa This Week

Notice anything different in your mailbox recently? No, not that surprise “gift bag” left by Halloween pranksters. We’re talking about the inaugural copy of Ottawa This Week, a new weekly newspaper that landed on doorsteps across metro Ottawa last Thursday.

Ottawa This Week features “hyper-local” content such as neighbourhood news, humorist Charles Gordon, community calendar and special events listings, and local sports scores. And it promises to be invaluable for families planning their shopping and activities — just in time for the weekend!

This last became the focus of the kick-off campaign.

In keeping with their local commitment, publisher Metroland Media chose Banfield-Seguin to help launch their newest paper in the heart of Ottawa. We developed OC Transpo king boards proclaiming Thursday the new start of the week, while radio spots brought excited pro-Thursday declarations to a fevered pitch.

Print ads in Metroland’s surrounding community newspapers heralded the coming of Ottawa This Week to readers and to potential advertisers who would, for the first time, be able to reach the entire region. In OTW itself, one ad calls upon readers to submit their local event information, sports scores, and letters to the editor, while another encourages local businesses to advertise locally. Not a bad idea, really.

Since Metroland publishes over 100 community newspapers in Ontario with a combined distribution of nearly 5 million copies, advertisers can target specific neighbourhoods or connect with the entire region while enjoying some of the lowest CPMs (costs per thousand) of any media in the area.

So this Thursday, have a look in your mailbox and rejoice — the weekend is almost here!

ng Connect Solution Concept Series

The BSL office has felt noticeably quiet this last week and a half, as many of us have been sporadically swept offsite to participate in a series of videos for our clients at ng Connect.

In this new world of network-driven content, the Solution Concept video series will illustrate how demand is the driving force behind emerging opportunities in consumer technologies and solutions. Each video details how the multi-partner, multi-discipline ecosystem approach of ng Connect is ideal – not only for conceiving and developing solution concepts, but for quickly evolving them from ideation to market reality. If commercialized, these solutions have the potential to revolutionize a great many industries, from professional photography to advertising to perhaps most critically – our health sector.

A significant project in scope, the video series recently graduated from the months-long planning stage, and was quickly kick-started into production. Shooting a series of three videos, that require multiple days and locations for each, is not easy. The project has required a sizeable expansion in the number of hands on deck, and the BSL Video Team has been expanded for the occasion.

Throughout the shoots, BSL has spared no opportunity to take advantage of the new toys in our video department. All three videos are being shot with the Canon 5D, and to convey the journalistic approach the series calls for, the camera (along with BSL Motion Media Director Sean Cusson) has been strapped to the Steadi-cam for days (a handy tool for creating a smooth ‘spectator’ look and feel for each shot). The project has also required the recruitment of some outside talent including a Productions Manager, Sound Technician and Locations Manager, to further ensure high-quality production from all angles.

The team is at it again today, with all shooting scheduled to be fully wrapped by next week. Several of us were lucky enough to be part of the big project, and have been capturing the moments on Flickr as they happen.

Going Once, Going Twice…

BSL struck the ol’ proverbial gavel this week, in support of the Canadian Breast Cancer Network. Breaks for Breast Cancer is a nationwide event that encourages companies across the country to host an office-wide coffee break and ask for donations in exchange for coffee and baked goods.

BSL saw this as a gleaming opportunity to stage one of our classic bake sale/auction bonanzas, to give our donations a little boost. Having previously hosted such events to support the United Way, these auctions require several of us to slave in our kitchens the night before, to produce an excessive spread of delicious treats on which the staff can grossly overbid.

This year welcomed the usual (albeit impressive) range of baking mastery from the employees – the temptation of which was greatly enhanced by our seasoned auctioneer, Ms. Carolyn Eaves. Carolyn knows how to strike that perfect balance between selling both the product and the cause itself – a balance that had some staff bidding up to $80 in one shot!

We are please to report that the event was a smashing success - despite a palpable office-wide sugar crash later that day. But it was all worth it to be able to support such a critical cause. Breast cancer is a startlingly common disease, affecting virtually everyone – family members, friends, co-workers, and of course the brave fighters themselves. Showing our support was a no-brainer.

And as the daughter of a woman who just recently kicked her cancer to the curb, I can tell you I did not think twice about paying 15 bucks for a cupcake.

Bridging the Gap

This week we helped Alcatel-Lucent launch the official website for their new brand Optism, a game-changing solution for the mobile advertising industry. With many key players involved in the game, Optism was created to leverage the opportunities that lie within the valuable network/subscriber relationship, and pave the way for true one-to-one advertising, by way of a little something called Permission Marketing.

Permission Marketing begins with network operators adding value for their subscribers in exchange for submitting more personal information, which operators can then translate into an audience profile. As part of the exchange for a greater network value, subscribers are then asked to opt in to receive advertising that specifically suits their needs and wants, based on their customer profile.

For advertisers, this is highly appetizing. Permission Marketing in the mobile space is making the dream of one-to-one advertising become a reality. Marketers have long fantasized about being able to speak directly to their customer, and now that network operators are able to harvest this inventory of valuable and volunteered audience information – the relationship between customer and advertiser just got a whole lot closer.

Optism forms partnerships with leading agencies, brands and mobile operators worldwide, to ensure that each link grabs its place in the value-chain. Operators benefit from a stronger relationship with their subscriber while generating revenue from this new advertising inventory. Advertisers are able to engage one-on-one with a receptive audience, through interactive and measurable campaigns. And finally the subscriber is benefitting from a network relationship that now offers them greater value, while being targeted by advertising that is tailored specifically to them, without the extra clutter.

Everyone wants a piece of the mobile ad pie, and Optism is serving everyone up a slice. Check out their website that was branded, designed and developed by BSL.

Another Close-up on QNX

The BSL video team was at it again yesterday, for another shoot with our clients at QNX Software Systems. For those who don’t know – QNX has been developing highly reliable software that has impacted virtually every sector you can think of. From aerospace to coal mining, cars to microwaves, even online shopping and hospital bed monitoring – QNX technologies are everywhere, and they’re evolving the way we live.

Starring the Connected Car once again (alongside the talent of QNX Product Marketing Manager Andy Gryc), this particular video will be promoting yet another collaborative innovation called Nokia Terminal Mode – the latest game-changer for in-car infotainment. Nokia Terminal Mode is another example of how QNX is helping transform the enjoyment, safety and convenience of our day-to-day lives.

The day itself was a fairly well rounded success – from the achingly beautiful weather (despite Sean’s palpable disdain for the sun) to our always-amicable clients, to the teams’ impressive penchant for problem solving on the spot (lighting and noise control are certainly two of the more challenging variables) – we all left the shoot feeling pretty good.

Check out our Flickr page for a glimpse of the team at work. Or take a look at our first shoot to see how it all began.

From the Mall to Montreal

BSL headed to Montreal recently with our longtime client Place d’Orleans Shopping Centre, as we staged a full day shoot for their new fall campaign. Together BSL and Place d’Orleans have spent the last two years building on a fresh, new brand image for the shopping centre – one that reflects style, sophistication and a real focus on fashion.

This particular photo shoot gives a behind-the-scenes look at what’s coming hot off the racks this season. Place d’Orleans is enticing shoppers to make all of their own custom looks for fall, so what better place to draw inspiration from than backstage at a fashion shoot?

Taking place in a Montreal loft-style studio, the shoot brought together a dynamic group of people who were all after the same thing – getting that perfect shot. Or shots, rather. And this team was a definite testament to the small world that is this business. Our Art Director Tim happened to work with Stylist Patricia Coté over a decade ago, and he also went to school with and even modeled for Photographer Patrizia Castiglione – this extra dash of chemistry surely contributed to the success of the shoot.

These ongoing, branded campaigns always feature one model that embodies the style of the season. Since the launch of these campaigns, the new Place d’Orleans brand has been represented by a hot mix of subjects, each with their own unique look. After taking inventory of these past looks, it was decided that the fall campaign was destined for a brunette. We flew the lucky recruit, Pamela Bernier, in from NYC but are proud to note that her talent is in fact homegrown, right outside of Ottawa. Her career has recently hit it big and we managed to snag her while she tours the globe.

Armed with some big talent and an arsenal of eclectic outfits, the team was ready for success. You put a group of creative people in a room with an espresso machine and anything’s possible. In fact, the shoot called for a series of backdrops, all to be constructed in the same location. This was seen as a welcome challenge. The events of the day were actually so inspiring that before the day was done, the team had already done a few test shots of their vision for the 2010 holiday campaign.