extrovertic

I Love Chocolate (and Happy Chinese New Year to You)!

2012-01-30T14:28:00.000-08:00

Oddly enough, the start of Chinese New Year and its corresponding festivities enabled me to indulge my chocolate obsession. But we’ll get to that a bit later.

Monday, January 23^rd marked the first day of Chinese New Year, and specifically the Year of the Dragon. With it came the first extrovertic celebration in its honor.

To help mark this holiday, we were fortunate enough to have someone truly knowledgeable about the proceedings on hand—our recently appointed extrovertic cultural attaché, Desmond Yuen. Having grown up in Malaysia, Des has celebrated this holiday his entire life. As a result, he is a font of knowledge about the traditions associated with, and the reasons for celebrating, Chinese New Year.

As with many holidays, food plays a vital role in the merrymaking. So, after a brief introduction highlighting the:

· Whys (involving lions that feasted on villagers),

· Hows (involving cleaning one’s house), and

· Whens (involving the lunar calendar),

we proceeded to enjoy a traditional Chinese New Year luncheon. The traditional staples included whole fish (for good luck) and noodles (for longevity). We also feasted on a number of different Malaysian dishes, including nasi lemak, sambal shrimp, and kangkung belacan.

The highlight of the meal, however, was the yu sheng, a salad comprised of many different vegetables, raw fish, and noodles, literally tossed together by the whole office. Standing around a table, we collectively mixed the salad in the symbolic hopes of bringing fortune and prosperity to us all (and to extrovertic in the process). The higher we tossed, the greater our fortunes in the coming year!

Another memorable tradition we experienced was the handing out of red packets, or hóngbāo, in which unmarried (traditionally younger) folks receive gifts of money symbolizing luck from the older generation. For our extrovertic party, red packets packed with chocolate gold coins were distributed (hence the title of this post).

In keeping with extrovertic’s tradition of utilizing analogs and drawing inspiration from outside sources, celebrating a hallmark of Chinese culture was as good a subject to learn from as any. And so we kicked off Chinese New Year with a bang.

Interesting factoid: If you were born in the years 1928, 1940, 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, or 2000 (or if your age this year is divisible by 12), 2012—the Year of the Dragon—is your year:

Kung hei fat choi!!

-Jamie

Simple On the Outside Doesn’t Always Mean Simple On the Inside.

2012-01-23T10:33:00.000-08:00

Steve Jobs’ legacy of incorporating design into EVERYTHING, no matter how seemingly small or inconsequential, inspired Extrovertic to seek out design elements in unexpected places within the agency model.

Seeking inspiration (and new ways to approach this goal), I purchased the new Steve Jobs biography by Walter Isaacson as soon as it was available. And I loved every word of its 656 pages.

Now, if you’ve ever tried to write anything (even a blog post), you’ll know that the creative process is never simple. In fact, a key takeaway from the book for me was that simplicity requires relentless effort, revisions, editing, and reediting.

Given the runaway success of all things Apple, one might assume that the iPad and iPod had easy births. However, Jobs dispels this myth, saying, “It takes a lot of hard work…to make something simple, to truly understand the underlying challenges and come up with elegant solutions.” Isaacson notes, “Jobs had aimed for simplicity that comes from conquering complexities, not ignoring them.”

To conquer these complexities, Jobs went with his gut. While creating the iPad for instance, instead of doing consumer research to find out what people wanted, Jobs expressed Apple’s approach as, “We figure out what we want. And I think we’re pretty good at having the right discipline to think through whether a lot of other people are going to want it, too.”

In addition to the tireless pursuit of an elegant solution, Jobs encountered other speed bumps on the road to success. His former CFO Joe Graziano infamously dismissed the Apple Store concept by saying, “Apple’s problem is it still believes the way to grow is serving caviar in a world that seems pretty content with cheese and crackers."

Fortunately for Jobs, at the end of the day, his naysayers became inconsequential because he had the internal resources to see his vision through.

After spending some time processing Jobs’ situation, I began thinking about times when I didn’t succeed in realizing my own vision. Was there anything about my mindset in those situations that got in the way? How could stronger internal fortitude help me slay those “I can’t do this” thoughts that arise when facing a difficult challenge?

With a little introspection, here are a few lessons I came up with:

1. The little voice inside your head doesn’t always require medication. In fact, I’ve found that ignoring that voice has always gotten me into trouble. In the early years of forming Extrovertic, I sometimes didn’t push enough on some critical fronts. When starting a business, there will always be things that get in the way of pushing yourself to the limit. So, trust your instincts and push, push, push for a better solution.

2. Leaders—broadcast the little voices in your heads. On a personal level, it’s not always easy to be relentless. As Extrovertic has grown from a 4- to a 40-person agency, I’ve realized that success is directly linked to the performance of each and every Extrovert. To gain maximum leverage, my job is to set the bar high and keep raising it.

1. Do not be a “blame sponge.” When I was at Pfizer, during our first attempt at building a patient database, I got myself into a lot of trouble for accepting cockamamie excuses for numbers that made absolutely no sense. I blamed myself for not understanding. Finally, I found someone who could explain to me what had gone wrong and how to fix it. We then made a plan, executed it, and built a functional database.

So that’s the tack I am going to take in my quest for simple, elegant solutions. Does any of this resonate with you? How do you bolster your inner resolve to achieve your goals?

-Dorothy

“Soldier on, partner,” and other notes of inspiration from a cough drop.

2012-01-16T07:15:00.000-08:00

It's been a few weeks since we Extroverts embarked on our quest to identify how good design can add value to the healthcare agency model. As a result, I am now seeing smart design everywhere, from the construction of our company chairs to the wrappers on my cough drops.

To be more specific, the power of design really hit me as I unwrapped a cherry-flavored Halls Defense drop. I had recently stocked up on them to help fight off an impending cold. While looking at the packaging, I expected to see the usual ingredients—zinc, Echinacea, and vitamin C (to give me a little boost). What I hadn't expected was, "A pep talk in every drop." But that’s what I got.

Printed on each Halls wrapper were 3 or 4 brief, aspirational messages. My wrapper reminded me, "You've survived tougher," implored me to, "Be unstoppable," and told me, "Don't give up on yourself." As intended, the drops gave me both a physical and a mental boost.

What a great example of taking customer insights and transforming them into a design element aimed at generating customer delight! Halls takes the concept further with their corresponding TV spots, which are sure to put a smile on your face. The print ads are great too!

Halls’ clever design makes me wonder how we can incorporate little pick-me-ups into all the patient education, packaging, relationship marketing, and digital programs we create for our healthcare clients.

-Dorothy

First, AIGA. Next, Jetpacks.

2012-01-09T12:45:00.000-08:00

As Extroverts, we are naturally inclined to seek out others whose work relates to what we do. That’s why, in keeping with our Designing Extrovertic theme, we recently took a company field trip to see the best of the best in design, as captured in an exhibition sponsored by the illustrious AIGA.

For those who are unaware, AIGA is the professional association for design. Their philosophy is to highlight exceptional pieces in every product category whose design particulars increase their ability to communicate.

Our team of Extroverts walked down the block to the AIGA NYC chapter on Fifth Avenue and 21st street to view offerings from the winners of the AIGA 365 Design Effectiveness competition. We saw a collection of clean, sophisticated items that clearly outshone the pedestrian designs we see on a daily basis.

Two features stood out to me as consistently effective design elements—strong geometrical precision and clutter-free layouts. These elements were utilized on a wide range of products, from 3-D design books to coffee bean packaging to corporate financial reviews.

With these pieces fresh in our minds, we returned to the office, where we had a free-flowing brainstorming session. We discussed our thoughts on the out-of-the box design principles we’d just seen, and shared personal insights. Feedback on various design elements ranged from “niche ideas work(ing)” to “surprising and delighting (your audience).”

Beyond the elements of design, we began thinking about ways to apply these approaches to our own work. Taking a “no ideas are wrong” approach, we shared our thoughts on different ways to improve the agency’s design profile. The resulting suggestions ranged from “embracing cool for cool’s sake” to “providing company jetpacks,” (which was my personal favorite tidbit).

What I am learning at Extrovertic is that advertising doesn’t begin and end with fulfilling client requests. It also involves looking to the forefront of creativity. Every piece we produce should explore different ways to present material that will benefit our clients and the patients they serve.

This ability to integrate design and creative problem solving into everything we do will eventually become part of Extrovertic’s status quo. A smartly designed communication affects account people and creatives alike—it makes our collective work better, which benefits everyone involved.

That’s why we look to AIGA to identify pioneers at the forefront of integrated creativity.

Who knows, maybe someday Extrovertic will be the first agency to introduce jetpacks into everyday office life. An AAE can dream….

-Thomas

Brilliant—A Gift Card That Doesn’t Work At Any Store In Town.

2012-01-06T16:32:00.000-08:00

Who doesn’t want to give back? We all like to think that most people are inherently good and, if given the opportunity, would donate either time or money to worthy causes. That said, people are also busy, perhaps now more so than ever. There are tweets to tweet, Facebook posts to post, blogs to read, and trends to follow. We also need to find time for those family, friend, and job things that seem to take precedence in many of our lives (for some reason!)

But what if giving were made easy? Isn’t that what holds us back from giving back—not having the resources to do something good simply and efficiently?

This holiday season, I received a truly inspired gift from a friend via globalgiving.org. GlobalGiving defines itself as:

“A charity fundraising web site that gives social entrepreneurs and non-profits from anywhere in the world a chance to raise the money that they need to improve their communities.”

The front of the elegantly designed white gift-card holder reads, “Brilliant. A gift card that doesn’t work at any store in town.” The back of the card holder offers the headline, “But gladly accepted in over 100 countries throughout the world.”

Below that is a biodegradable gift card that, after removal from the holder, reveals the instructions:

1. Go to www.globalgiving.org/redeem.

2. Find a project you are passionate about.

3. At checkout, select “pay with a gift card.”

4. Feel good about changing the world.

Donators (and gift card recipients) are urged to “select the projects you want to support…and you'll get email updates from the project so you can see how your gift is making a difference.”

Everyone loves getting presents, but this was a different sort of present that really made me feel good. Aside from being impressed as a writer/creative with its cleverly written copy and tasteful design, I also love the idea behind it. Both giver and receiver benefit, as does the global community at large. It’s the type of Big Idea creatives aspire to stumble upon and the sort of big idea we work to produce at Extrovertic. In pharma especially, we strive to employ these same themes—simple, elegant, and easy to understand and implement.

You can do it anytime, but isn’t this holiday season a great opportunity to visit globalgiving.org and give back, simply?

-Jamie

We Need Holiday Parties.

2011-12-19T07:33:00.000-08:00

The annual holiday party is a curious rite of passage for just about any agency. It’s an obligatory ritual that’s squeezed in among the hustle-bustle of many year-end activities: financial reports, evaluations, and finishing up OPDP submissions before the holiday break.

For those given the task of organizing the holiday party, there’s tremendous pressure, whether it’s for a shop of 20 folks or an agency with 500 employees. You’re charged with ensuring the merriment of your colleagues. You’re responsible for making sure they have a good time. That is the only agenda: to have a good time.

The quality of holiday parties is as varied as the agencies that host them. Some are so monumentally epic that your grandchildren and people in foreign lands will be reading about them in their history books. (If you were there, you’d know what party I’m talking about.) Others are so awful you just want “Die Hard” to happen in real life.

Good or bad, fun or not, one thing is clear: We need our holiday parties. Because holiday parties are cathartic.

They’re not just some drunken convergence of people who go to work in the same building as you do every day. Holiday parties are important milestones in every agency’s year. It’s a time to get together with the folks with whom you spend a majority of your waking hours and reconnect as people, as friends, as trusted partners. It’s a time to stitch up the past year, pat everyone—including yourself—on the back, and look ahead to the coming year. There is always something to celebrate at the holiday party, no matter how big or small.

Extrovertic holiday parties—yes, we have more than one!—have much to live up to. It’s not like we have a choice—we’re called Extroverts for a reason. In a year of such explosive growth, it would’ve been tempting to overdo it and go all out and over the top—“go big or go home” style.

Instead, the first of our parties, was rather…nice, charming, and a little quirky. Very Extrovertic.

Berklee College of Music students brought the jam.

A tarot card reader helped us look into the future. (Will anyone use this new app I’m designing?) We ate, we drank, we sang, we danced, and we drank some more. And then we all hopped into cabs, went home, and watched the sunrise.

Like I said, cathartic.

Desmond

Form, Meet Function.

2011-12-12T08:04:00.000-08:00

What’s the first thing you do when you move apartments? Offices? Desks?

You clean house.

You sort through everything you have and decide which pieces can fit into your new space and which need to be left curbside for the garbage trucks.

Following this culling down of belongings comes the fun part—the need to acquire new furniture. Which is exactly what we did for the move to our new 21^st Street location.

In keeping with our emphasis on design, each piece of furniture for our new digs was carefully researched and evaluated prior to being purchased. We ended up with snazzy turquoise desk chairs, frosted glass desks, and polka dot-covered work stations (to name but a few).

But the coolest pieces of furniture (in this Extrovert’s opinion) are the Interstuhl chairs designed by Christine Lüdeke. Uniquely designed, visually stimulating, and bright chartreuse in color, these chairs at first glance counteract the idea of form following function. This principle states that:

The shape of a building or object should be primarily based upon its intended function or purpose.

By just looking at the chair, however, it seems to be…,well, non-functional.

But the Contemeporist, a product discovery site for architects and interior designers, quotes Interstuhl and clears things up a bit:

First of all you have to use your imagination to identify an easy chair in the 60-degree slanting element. But if you let yourself down at an angle you will experience something unique. You will be rewarded by a very comfortable seating sensation in a type of cantilever model that has been made possible by modern fibres and new weaving methods.

So, when it comes down to it, the modernist approach to design really does hold true—form usually follows function even when that doesn’t appear to be the case at first. Modern design merely asks that we work a bit harder to reap the benefits.

What are some ways that you can integrate form and function into your home or office?

Jamie

* A special thanks to Account Extroverts Bill, Thomas, and Steve for modeling in these chairs, thereby kicking them up yet another notch.

Massive Health’s Holy Trinity: Technology, Healthcare, and Design.

2011-12-05T07:40:00.000-08:00

As a healthcare communications agency devoted to raising the bar on strategic and innovative thinking, Extrovertic has launched an initiative to explore how the principles of design can be employed to improve our processes, products, and daily agency lives ((see post date 11/28/11)).

One of the first places we looked at during our design exploration was Massive Health, a startup dedicated to infusing design and technology into healthcare. Massive Health believes a new approach to tackling the healthcare crisis is needed. According to their website, Massive Health is about “making beautiful products that sit in your pocket and give you deep insight into your health conditions.” Massive Health turns “data into meaning, and make(s) that meaning actionable.”

They recently launched an iPhone app called “The Eatery,” which is designed to help people make lasting changes to their diet. Using an iPhone, people take pictures of everything they plan to eat, give it a simple rating (Fit or Fat), and submit. Massive Health’s wonderfully executed app makes it easy to adhere to the simple rules of healthy eating and to implement the basics of successful behavioral changes.

There’s also substantiation that this approach to eating works:

1. Sharing your goals makes you more likely to accomplish them: With The Eatery, you can share your food selections with your friends and get their reactions. In addition to helping make you more accountable to your goals, your friends may help bust your personal food myths. For example, is that daily smoothie really healthy or, as their site suggests, is it “a sugar bomb?”

2. Eating colorful foods is a must: In keeping with Michael Pollan’s belief that food needs to be colorful, The Eatery allows pictures of your meals to become part of a patchwork quilt that can you can evaluate in a glance. Is it bland and brown or full of orange, green, purple, and red?

3. Making small sustainable lifestyle changes is more effective than strict dieting: By compiling your eating habits in pictures and easy-to-read colorful graphs, you are able to identify small self-defeating patterns. For example, is every coffee break accompanied by a cookie break too?

I compare this beautifully designed app to the tools my daughter was given by a nutritionist to ensure she eats 4,000 calories daily—the amount required for her to participate in competitive skating. Flora got a boring three-ring binder and a stack of what looked to be slightly off-kilter mimeographed sheets straight out of a 1960s health class. Only a highly motivated, disciplined athlete like my daughter would stick to that regimen. Her baby-boomer mom certainly wouldn’t!

Massive Health says on their blog, “this iPhone application offers a simple, beautiful approach to eating better.” This is quite an accomplishment; simplicity is something we aspire to but often encounter obstacles in attaining. As someone who has spent close to 2 decades banging the health literacy drum in Big Pharma, I know how hard it is to get the simple stuff through review committees. Bigger words and complex graphics are often more technically accurate, and therefore safer from a regulatory/legal point of view.

Deadlines loom, and the folders stack up. However, apps like The Eatery provide inspiration to push back just a little harder (perhaps there’s an app that can help us make small, sustainable review committee changes). Massive Health’s first foray into merging design principles and healthcare, raises the bar for all of us involved in healthcare communications.

Dorothy

“Designing” the Service Business Model.

2011-11-28T11:33:00.000-08:00

With the passing of Steve Jobs, the central place that design has played in infusing everyday products with value has received tremendous airplay. That got me thinking, how could a design mentality create additional value in the service business? Specifically, the healthcare agency business?

What would a well-designed contact report look like?

Would the structure of our meetings change?
How would our creative product be affected?

So, for the remainder of 2011, our Extroverts will be devoting time and energy to wrestling with these questions. We will start by immersing all New York and Boston Extroverts into the world of design. Extrovertic leadership will be giving presentations, taking the agency on a field trip or two, and bringing beautifully designed items into the office. We plan to culminate this effort with an Extrovertic idea storm, where we will apply the principles of design to generate ideas on improving our environment, processes, services, products, and work lives.

The inspiration behind Extrovertic idea storms is to look beyond the world of pharmaceuticals for interesting ideas and initiatives. Using a structured brainstorming process, we then develop ways these ideas can be applied to specific business challenges. In this case, how can Extrovertic raise the bar and offer a distinctively different level of agency service? Our clients have told us Extrovertic is different, that we offer a higher level of strategic thinking than most agencies. But we want to take that further.

Until the end of this year, we will be using the world of design as inspiration to offer a distinctively different level of agency service. The world of design has already provided us with a lofty template for our initiative. It comes from Mauro Porcini, 3M’s Head of Global Strategic Design, who was featured in Fast Company’s October Design issue.

“The designer’s goal…is not customer satisfaction. That’s a terribly low bar. You’re just meeting someone’s needs. If you’re a designer who loves your customers, you surprise. You enter the sacred field of the magic, of the extraordinary, of the memorable.”

At Extrovertic, we love our clients, their patients, and the healthcare space. So we will be idea storming on how we can surprise and delight them in 2012 and beyond. Please follow our blog, add your thoughts, and enjoy a design-infused end of year.

Dorothy

A Very Extroverted Halloween.

2011-11-17T14:16:00.000-08:00

As Extroverts, we are naturally inclined to go a bit over the top when given the opportunity to do so.

Take Halloween for instance. Some people go minimalist—

A pair of kitty ears = a cat costume.

Horn headband=devil.

Not so when it comes to Extroverts.

Instead of merely dressing ourselves in a costume, we take it to the next level.

So for Halloween this year, we hired face painters to come to our New York and Boston offices to kick our otherwise “non-extroverted” costumes up a notch.

Although the initial concept had been to create offices full of “walking stiffs”, the Extroverts had other ideas. While some zombies were seen walking around Cambridge and 21st St., looking like the dead, others took creative license (as we are known to do) and went a bit rogue with our designs.

Jr. Art Director, Nathan Noyes took it upon himself to photo-composite the pictures to maximize the effect.

We had beautifully butterflied account folks.

As well as creepily two headed ones.

Copywriters gone morgue.

And project managers turned pro.

Fiendish art directors made an appearance, too

And the creepiest? Nathan (the very Extrovert who compiled this whole creepy slideshow) was the scariest of them all with a ghoulish Batman inspired clown getup.

Last but not least, Chief Extrovert, Dorothy, took us off the charts with her lovely Arab Spring ensemble.

Looking pretty darn fabulous, The Halloween festivities continued late into the evening (as did the face paint). And the take away? If you want to have a good time, all you need are a bunch of Extroverts and some face paint.

Jamie

If Facebook were a country…

2011-11-15T08:52:00.000-08:00

It would be the third largest in the world. In fact, “there are 750,000,000 people on Facebook, worldwide.”

What is it about Facebook that has gotten people so obsessed? Why do people log on over and over each day, frantically checking for news updates, party invites, offers, games, likes and relationship status changes?

These were some questions I was hoping to have answered at the Social Media Strategies Summit I recently attended.

I was able to participate in this great conference because of a recently instated policy at Extrovertic. This program allocates a very generous annual budget for each employee to attend conferences on virtually any topic. It enables us to learn about cutting edge practices in different areas of the business. When we come back, all Extroverts are then expected to translate what we’ve learned into innovative ideas for our clients.

So why did I choose this particular conference? Even though Social Media has not yet found its niche in Pharma, if and when it does make an appearance, I want to help prepare Extrovertic. Notebook in hand, off to Boston I went.

At the conference, we had the chance to participate in one of three tracks (Non-profit, Business-to-Business and Business to Consumer). I opted for business to consumer (since it was most relevant) and, I think I made a good choice. I got to attend talks given by the VP of Technology for Tasti-D-Lite, the PR and Social Media Manager of Dunkin Donuts (yes, she brought donuts), and the Director and Interactive Media Manager of the Boston Celtics (to name a few). Over three days, I got to attend lectures on everything from the NCAA marketing approach, to the Marines' social media platform.

The conference was an amazing opportunity to meet people in different areas of the business, all around good time and a great chance to learn about effective social media ventures that other brands have produced. I was also pretty excited about the fact that I won a Definition 6 moleskin notebook and pen because of my frequent participation in their Snaptag contest. It was the first time I’ve ever won something!

At the end of it, I walked away with a broader understanding of social media marketing initiatives. For people who are even somewhat involved in the development of social media programs for their companies, this is a great conference series.

I think social media and pharma are unfortunately a ways away from intersecting. But, in the future, it seems like the first place social media may find it’s home in pharmaceutical marketing is in the unbranded sector. Because of this, it’s important that we keep up to date on what is going on in the social media world.

What do you think might be a good way in? Do you agree with social media’s heavily regulated nature in the medical world? Leave a note with your opinion!

Jamie

My 9/11 Began On 9/10

2011-09-08T21:23:00.000-07:00

I don't know if it's a symptom of the mass post-traumatic disorder we all experienced after 9/11, or if it's simply because each decade becomes proportionately smaller as we age, but for me, the past decade flew by like no other. Just as it does for many people, 9/11 feels, to me, like much more recent history.

But my personal 9/11 odyssey began not on that day, but the day before. At 6:00 pm, to be exact.

That's when my creative partner, Alfredo Rossi, and I were at Ogilvy; attending the pre-production meeting for a TV commercial we were to begin shooting early the next morning.

Ironically, the spot to be shot was for New York City tourism.

The concept?

"New York City: The Ultimate Theme Park." A wonderland filled with all kinds of exciting rides (the subway, buses and cabs), more international experiences than Epcot, and lots of great characters (the Naked Cowboy and other such street performers).

We wanted to focus on the things that give our city its vibrancy and character, while only peripherally showing the typical tourist attractions, like the Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building, and yes – the World Trade Center.

Our director took us through the board, frame by frame, as the producer spelled out the logistics of each shot: we'd start just after dawn at the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens, then move on to a street scene in Prospect Park.

Suddenly, a client who we had never met before (but a pretty famous name) interrupted the proceedings to announce, "I want to see the Statue of Liberty. The Empire State Building. The World..."

The director, a man obviously skilled at these matters, finished the sentence for him. "The World Trade Center. We end our day near there tomorrow, so if you can get us the permit, we can shoot a scene there in the early evening."

Satisfied, our surprise celebrity client remained quiet the rest of the meeting.

Around 6:00 am on 9/11, I pulled into a garage on Duane St. in lower Manhattan and walked to a coffee shop, where our crew had been assembling. We boarded a couple of vans, which whisked us past the Towers and into Brooklyn.

The first scene, in the Botanical Gardens, went beautifully. After all, it was, as everyone will recall, a gorgeous, clear day. A perfect day for our shoot.

As we massed at the vans in a parking area in the Gardens, before moving on to our next location, I noticed a strange cloud formation directly ahead of us.

"It looks like smoke," said Alfredo.

At that very moment, Carrie, our producer, came running towards our van. "Turn on the radio," she said. "A small plane just hit one of the Twin Towers."

As we turned on the radio, another plane came into, and then out of view, swallowed by the smoky cloud. A voice on the radio completed the picture. This plane had hit the other Tower.

Two planes had just slammed into the two tallest skyscrapers in NYC. This was not an accident. This was beyond horrible.

We didn't know what to do.

In retrospect, it seems insane. But we went to our next location – the entire production crew – set up our scene, and started shooting. We had a bride and groom coming down the front steps of an old brownstone.

As our beautiful scene unfolded, a more bizarre one enveloped us. Debris started raining down. People were coming out of their homes in a panic, their mouths covered. Sirens were blasting everywhere.

The first Tower came down.

Everyone was looking up at the sky as rumors began spreading about other planes heading for the city. Military jets started appearing overhead.

We finally decided to scrap the shoot and all wandered into a restaurant on Atlantic Ave. Some of the crew then ventured over to the Promenade just as the second Tower fell.

Carrie and I walked to the Brooklyn Bridge, hoping to get back to the city. But the exodus of the walking wounded was coming our way. People in tatters, covered in dust, dazed, expressionless. The police weren't allowing anyone to go the other way.

After many hours of trying to get a cellular signal, I finally reached my wife, who reminded me that my cousins, Scott and Jen, lived in Brooklyn Heights. We made our way to their apartment and were graciously welcomed in. Amazingly, the windows of their place looked out straight across the water, perfectly framing the spot lit, smoldering crater where the Towers had stood only a few hours earlier.

Scott, who worked at the Trade Center, had arrived shortly before I did. Fortunately, he was okay. But I could tell he had witnessed things nobody should ever see.

After a sleepless night, I nervously took the subway back into the city, to Penn Station, where I would catch my train back to New Jersey and the hugs of my wife and daughters.

10 days later, my daughter, Hannah, and I were at Shea Stadium when Mike Piazza hit that magical, winning home run against the Braves in the first baseball game played after the attacks. It's often said that the healing began with that swing of the bat.

My 9/11 experience was Zelig-like. Surreal. Bizarre.

Here's to the thousands for whom it was simply tragic.

-MD

It's a Billboard. It's a Store. It's Brilliant.

2011-08-31T18:23:00.000-07:00

I was looking at this year's Cannes Lion award winners and was struck by one idea so simple, innovative, and transformational, it's no wonder it won the Grand Prix for media.

Tesco, a leading supermarket and general merchandise store just about everywhere but here in the U.S., wanted to increase its share in South Korea (where the brand is called HomePlus and is ranked number 2), but without investing in real estate.

The company found that South Koreans are the 2nd busiest, hardest-working people in the world. These folks need a break. After all that work, who wants to spend time shopping?

So instead of making these busy people find time to go to the store, Tesco brought the store right to where the busiest people are: the subway.

It placed backlit transit posters throughout the Seoul subway system that look amazingly like grocery store shelves. Dairy case shelves. Produce shelves. Butcher shelves.

The "products" on these "shelves" are perfectly to scale, and perfectly realistic. And on each product is a QR code, the graphic stamp that is starting to replace the bar code around the world (even here in the U.S.).

When a commuter/shopper snaps a picture of a product with the QR code reader app on his or her smartphone, it is ordered, paid for, and delivered soon after he or she gets home.

What we have here is a perfect combination of understanding the target, finding a way to bring value to his or her life, transforming a billboard into store, and a commute home from work into a painless trip to the supermarket.

Nice job.

-MD

At Least For One Extrovert, the Quake Was Earth Shaking

2011-08-25T05:29:00.000-07:00

Copy Extrovert, Jamie Silverman reflects on the Great East Coast Quake of 2011. Just as I discovered in Rome back in 2009, the first real reverberations were felt online.

-Mark

Technical prowess, digital capability and Internet advancement have changed the way we experience and share news with one another. In olden days, people would sit down with a newspaper to learn the latest goings on (okay, so this is one trend that's still hanging by a thread for the moment – you get the point). But seriously, way back when, a man arriving on horseback shouting about what was going on over yonder in the next town used to be the expected mode of getting news. Word from abroad took weeks to arrive. Fast forward a few hundred years and we are receiving news updates up to the second.

Why my current obsession with the news? Because of Tuesday's earthquake, that’s why.

While sitting at my desk in the corner of the Extrovertic office, I felt the ground shake. I looked up and asked my coworkers if they felt anything. Once the tremors stopped, we all wanted to know if we truly had felt an earthquake or if it was all our imagination. So everyone tuned in to the local news websites.

I on the other hand, logged on to Facebook and Twitter.

Within minutes, I had received confirmation from the social-media sphere, that we had in fact experienced an earthquake of a 5.9 magnitude. Some of my favorite posts:

Credibility be damned, my first inclination was not to check out the New York Times or CNN.com, but rather to assume that the tweeters of the world would be the best source of information.

Though I do think Twitter, Facebook and the like are great sources of information, I have to wonder if it’s sort of a modern-day Wikipedia. Chock full of information, some of it credible, some not, all requiring an open mind and critical eye upon reading.

What do you think?

-Jamie

Social Media Overload?

2011-08-14T10:50:00.000-07:00

Goodwizz. Facebook. Match.com. SocialOomph. LinkedIn. Twitter. PlentyofFish. Flickr. Buffer. Meetup. Yackit. And on the list goes.

Some of these names, you might recognize. Others, you probably don’t.

All of them are various iterations of social networking sites; a phenomenon of the last ten years or so, that has changed the way we interact with one another.

When it comes to social networking, the list of viable tools is endless. Whether you are interested in finding someone who shares your passion of small dogs or jade plants, future husbands, job opportunities or frustrations with parking spots in New York City, you can log on, sign in and find someone who fits the bill.

For some, these endless opportunities to meet and interact with people is highly enticing. For others, completely and utterly overwhelming.

Which is the right site for you? How can you work a job, have a family and friends, and simultaneously be expected to be ridiculously plugged in?

In a recent NY Times article about strategizing for those people who are “digitally fatigued,” it was reported that one in every four-and-a-half minutes spent on the Web is spent on a social networking site or blog.

So what’s the answer: Should you log in more? Less? Find new sites? Stick with the old ones?

As suggested by the article, one solution is find one or two sites that really work for you and stick with them. For the socialites, perhaps Facebook is your best bet. Looking for job opportunities? Join LinkedIn.

Or maybe the choice is to rotate your networking sites. Join Yackit discussions for the first half of the year and then begin tweeting in the second half.

With so many choices, the possibilities are endless. All you have to do is find your personal networking groove.

-Jamie

Twitter Cuts To the Truth

2011-07-03T12:08:00.000-07:00

It's Sunday, July 3rd. It's pouring outside.

I had to go into the office for a while yesterday, so I feel no remorse in dedicating today to complete rest and relaxation.

Djokovic has just won the Wimbledon title, so I pick up the remote and start channel surfing.

I land at MSNBC and find myself transfixed on something I had vowed never to follow: the Casey Anthony murder trial. But not just any day of the trial – the closing arguments.

I miss the prosecution's argument, but catch defense attorney, José Baez, as he tries to raise reasonable doubt in the minds of the jury.

He mentions garbage that had been left to rot in the trunk of Anthony's car, possibly creating the "smell of death" that the prosecution has made a focal point of their case. He says the trash left in the trunk included cheese.

Then, he says something that blows my mind.

In wrapping up the defense argument in a trial in which his client may face the death penalty if she's found guilty of the gruesome murder of her child, Baez says to the jury, and I quote:

"They want you to know who cut the cheese."

My jaw dropped. I have no idea what his intent was. Was he trying to use humor to break the tension in the room? Did he not realize that this phrase is used as a euphemism for something else?

I don't know.

So I do what I've done for a few years now, whenever I want an instantaneous snapshot of people's reactions to something I've just seen or heard:

I search Twitter.

I find that I'm far from alone in my shock and disdain. Twitter is such an amazing tool for reading the mind of America.

Apparently, the mind of America considers Baez a tool, too.

-Mark

Extrovertic Has Gone to the Dogs

2011-06-25T13:58:00.000-07:00

Those who have been up to the 7th floor of our West 20th St. office in New York City will attest to the fact that space has gotten a little precious these days.

We've been growing rapidly to such an extent that we've had to take additional space on two other floors at that address as well as in an office on West 19th St.

The good news is that construction of our big, beautiful, brand new office at 30 West 21st St. will be completed within the next month, and all of the NYC Extroverts will soon be under one roof.

So what does an agency short for space do to boost the morale of its people?

Bring in more bodies!

Not human bodies; canine ones.

In support of Bide A Wee and Pet Sitters International, we invited our employees to bring in their 4-legged family members for not just one, but two days of togetherness. First on Tuesday, and then again on Friday, the official national Take Your Dog to Work Day.

I have to admit, the presence of these pooches in our office really did have a great effect on the environment. I think our collective blood pressure was probably brought down quite a bit.

For the most part, everyone got along fabulously. (Harley Reilly and Lily Wetzel-Sugarman did have to be kept apart for a while.)

Herman Drossman and Sally Shechtman were both pretty laid back, while young Luna Merino (in her best little skirt) is still not quite office-broken. Cassie Graff was very well-behaved during her short visit.

Speaking of visits, on Friday, we were graced with the presence of Dr. Robert Gordon, director of the Oakland Animal Hospital in Oakland, NJ.

Dr. Gordon spoke to us about the human-pet bond, which is something in which we at Extrovertic have a particular interest.

As our name suggests, everything we do is about improving the bond between various parties– patient and brand, patient and doctor, patient and caregiver, and now pets and the people who love them.

And in the process, Extrovertic and Extroverts.

-Mark

Regardless of What You Call the Business, It's Evolving

2011-06-11T11:14:00.000-07:00

Interactive Marketing Trends

What an amazing time it is to be in the healthcare/pharma/advertising/marketing strategy/digital/social media/relationship marketing/closed loop marketing/consulting business.

Every day brings new challenges. New solutions. New technologies. New surprises. New potential. New growth.

This is not your father's healthcare/pharma/advertising/marketing strategy/digital/social media/relationship marketing/closed loop marketing/consulting business.

It's certainly not the world of advertising I grew up in. And thank god for that. (Actually, I didn't know then what I was missing.)

Then, creative was strictly left to the creatives. We were tasked to develop smart print/radio/TV/direct mail. Later, there were banners/Web sites/emails...

Today, everyone has to be creative. And I mean everyone. Because the charge of an agency today is to create more than just great ads and online messages. It's about creating strategically smart, compelling, holistic, cross-platform programs that strike just the right chord with patients/caretakers/professionals. That connect with them at just the right place in their hearts and moment of their journey. That maximize engagement, incite doctor-patient dialogue, invite more positive and healthful behaviors, better adherence and spread overall good karma.

Then, the creative brief was the domain of the planners and creatives.

Today, everyone needs to get involved, because everyone can bring their unique perspective to the party, and the earlier they do it, the better.

And today's version of "everyone" is different from tomorrow's, as we try to keep up with the ever-evolving tableau of insights/technologies/solutions/regulatory issues...

As I said, it's an exciting time to be in the healthcare/pharma/advertising/marketing strategy/digital/social media/relationship marketing/closed loop marketing/consulting business.

Which by next week, will probably have an even longer name.

-Mark

Sunday Was No Walk In the Park

2011-05-20T21:01:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday, Copy Extrovert Jamie Silverman (above, far right) braved the rain to take part in the annual NYC AIDs Walk. Here's her report:

The crowd roared, “EX-TRO-VERT-IC!, EX-TRO-VER-TIC!, EX-TRO-VER-TIC!,” as our band of merry Extroverts crossed the starting line at the NYC AIDS Walk this past Sunday.

Okay, so maybe that didn’t happen. But, clad in our Extrovertic-branded shirts, we did make a fierce showing on a dreary, rainy day.

And we were just mere specks in the sea of thousands of dedicated folks who braved the elements to do their part in the fight against AIDS.

Young, old, gay, straight, in drag, or wearing their team T-shirts, every possible demographic was represented. Free snacks abounded (always a cause for excitement).

But I would say that the surprise appearance of the cast of the television comedy, “Modern Family” (Eric Stonestreet, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Ty Burrell, and Julie Bowen), at the opening ceremony was the highlight of the day.

Briefly meeting a coworker’s mom en-route was the piéce de résistance.

(The festively clad cheerleaders showing their pride, and lubricant – brand sponsored garbage cans, tied for second.)

The 6-mile walk began on the east side of Central Park, took us on a scenic (albeit extremely slow moving) tour up through Harlem, and back down the west side.

Celebrities and mom sightings aside, what really made the day special was the sense that every one of us – no matter our ethnicity or sexual orientation – were in this thing together. Slogging through the raindrops and mud, we all marched on, in the hope of making a real difference. A veritable army of Extroverts. All working towards the common goal of elevating the patient. We were walking for the brave people who suffer from AIDS.

It was a great experience. And, quite likely, the first of many Extrovertic AIDS Walks.

-Jamie

Unmasking an Extrovertic Hero

2011-05-13T10:42:00.000-07:00

Last night, a number of us at Extrovertic had the privilege of attending the Cielo Latino "Unmask AIDs" gala in support of the Latin Commission on AIDs, for which we were a sponsor.

It was an incredible night. The food was superb (the event was held at Cipriani Wall Street).

The crowd, extremely diverse and primed for a wonderful evening.

The presenters, top rate. (Rosie Perez was as hysterically raunchy as she was passionate about the night's cause.)

But Rosie wasn't the only person whose dedication to the evening's success was palpable.

Our Digital Creative Extrovert, Russell Wakelin (above left), was our personal master of ceremonies. Russ has sat, for the past few years, on the commission's board, and serves as Creative Director for the annual event. It's something he cares about deeply and it shows.

It quickly became clear that he was as much a part of the fabric of the evening as the red carpet we all got to pose on before entering the building. (Guillermo Chacon, the President of the Commission, greeted Russ – and the rest of us – with open arms for the paparazzi. Mr. Chacone also saluted Russ warmly from the podium during his opening remarks.)

And for good reason. Russ did terrific job, which was no surprise to us. He helped make the evening extremely powerful and memorable.

And his colleagues extremely proud.

Russ showed the rest of the world why our Extroverts are truly something special.

-Mark

When a Duck Tweets and Other Birdbrain Social Media Gaffes

2011-04-17T12:14:00.000-07:00

Last month, comedian Gilbert Gottfried was relieved of his 11-year job as the voice of the Aflac spokes-duck, for tweeting a series of offensive jokes about the Japanese earthquake and tsunami.

(While the jokes were truly in bad taste, the fact that 75% of Aflac’s business comes from Japan probably didn’t help Gottfried’s situation.)

He quickly offered an apology, but the damage had already been done. And while the duck had lost its voice, Aflac had smartly turned a major social media gaffe into a huge opportunity: it invited the public to audition for the role. Thousands have tried out so far and the press coverage has been a boon for the company. Also, Aflac got behind the Red Cross in Japan and created a Facebook page to raise funds for it that currently has about 249,000 “likes.”

The company’s quick response to Gottfried’s insensitivity was brilliant. Others have not been so smart:

Jordan Spriggs, a freshman defensive back for the Auburn Tigers sent out this tweet: “man who is good at writing papers?????????????? I pay.” Obviously, the young man is as unknowledgeable about tweeting as he is writing school papers.

Kim Kardashian, Ryan Seacrest and a number of other semi-celebs threatened to stop tweeting until the AIDs charity, Keep a Child Alive raised $1 million. The thought was nice. But seriously: who in his or her right mind could feel that a life deprived of Kardashian tweets is a life not worth living?

In Syracuse, NY, a customer of the Price Chopper supermarket chain tweeted a complaint about the local store. A customer service person at Price Chopper responded by complaining to the complainer’s boss. Somehow this all ended up going viral.

These are just a few examples of the dangers of social media when it’s not used thoughtfully. There must be many, many more. I invite you to share any you’ve heard.

-Mark

Nice Party, But It Could Have Been Better

2011-04-07T16:23:00.000-07:00

Well, I did it again: I hosted another House Party. This time, a “Celebrate Life at 50” party for AARP. (My previous one was for wine and cheese on behalf of the French government. Here's my post about that.)

A confluence of factors led to my repeat engagement as a House Party hostess. First, I wanted to show clients the power of word of mouth marketing. Second, my best friend has a business relationship with AARP and was curious about the House Party experience.

AARP definitely benefited from my party. One guest had been interested in joining, but thought she had to wait till age 55. Another claims to not have received any AARP mailings. If any one of them ends up enrolling by calling the special 800 number provided to the partygoers, then it may well yield a positive return on the $200 per party cost for AARP (my estimate). However, House Party could have been a far more powerful tool for AARP if a few more marketing basics were followed. Here are a few of my suggestions:

Single-minded focus: The party theme was too general and the suggested activities ranged from tips for staying physically fit to a quiz on party etiquette around the world. (Did you know that in the Middle East you should leave a little food on your plate or else it will be refilled immediately?)

AARP would have done better to have focused on a single benefit area. For example, building a compelling party around a travel theme. This would have naturally raised curiosity about AARP travel benefits. I ended up featuring food and cocktails from the '50’s as the hook for my party. (French onion dip and a Tom Collins anybody?) Fun for my guests, but not really “on message” for AARP.

Clear consumer benefit: Hostesses are looking for some “social currency,” being the first on their block to know something. The AARP site features a travel section with a well-known travel expert, Peter Greenberg. On the site, Peter offers insider travel tips. For example, a list of small cruise lines with interesting destinations. This is the type of information hostesses could have internalized and actively shared with their guests

From the guest standpoint, the party goody bag was very generous, but what 50 year-old really needs another water bottle? Most of us have too much stuff already. (Vintage Advil mini-marathon tee shirt anyone?) If the 50-55 age group is the target for membership growth, what about an activity helping us with our particular sandwich generation stresses?

An organizational face and voice: Social media has raised customer expectations around engagement. They don’t want a nameless customer service representative, they want Comcast Frank! Staying with the travel theme, AARP could have leveraged Peter Greenberg. One way would be similar to the French Wine & Cheese party concierge who dispensed valuable tidbits and answered questions on the House Party Hostess site. Peter could have had a similar column and answered questions, leading hostesses to having a more meaningful engagement with AARP.

Branding Assets: Beyond the AARP logo on party bag items, the branding was largely left up to chance. Hostesses were expected to print out the AARP brochure and list of AARP links. Being a marketing nerd, I did it, but I wonder how many others would have made the same investment of time and money.

And where was AARP's magazine? One of my guests said she loved the magazine because all the famous over 50 celebrities made her feel more “on trend” about being over 50 herself. If the magazines were lying around the party, they would have been picked up and discussed. Better yet, what about a special issue devoted to travel? Part of me wonders if it wasn’t organizational silos getting in the way of providing customer value. I would bet that the magazine and customer acquisition teams are separate profit centers.

Net-net, I am still a big House Party fan and believe with the right attention to marketing basics and a little creativity, it can be a terrific business building and brand engagement tool.

-Dorothy

Some Spend to Win an Account. At Extrovertic, We Tighten Our Belts

2011-04-02T13:17:00.000-07:00

Recently, Extrovertic was given the opportunity to pitch the creative portion of an account for which we had already won the strategic part.

To ensure that our creatives truly appreciated the plight of those who suffer from the rarely discussed, but extremely disturbing and uncomfortable disease state that the drug treats, Planning Extrovert Laura Radosh had an interesting idea. On her invite to the creative briefing, she wrote, "Please wear or bring a belt."

At the briefing itself, Laura instructed everyone to take out – or off – their belt and to position it high up on their belly. Then to tighten it as much as we possibly could.

"Okay, now close your eyes and imagine you've just finished eating a big Thanksgiving dinner. How do you feel?" she asked.

"Stuffed," a writer responded.

"Do you feel like having desert now?"

"No," we all answered in unison.

"How about going to to the beach?" she asked.

"No, way," an art director answered. "I wouldn't be caught dead without a shirt on right now."

"And what about sex?" she asked, cheekily.

"No way." "Uh-uh." "Are you kidding?" "Uh, not right now, thank you..."

It was an interesting experience getting briefed in such a visceral way. We really got a sense of what it feels like to suffer from the problem.

Says Laura, "We're talking about a condition that affects the sufferer in a deep emotional way. I felt it was important to try to have the creatives 'walk in their shoes' as much as possible. And the best way to do that was to have them try to physically feel like the sufferers feel 24 hours a day, 7 days a week."

The idea worked. Our work was not only great by creative standards, it demonstrated that we really understood how it feels to have this problem.

We won the account. It was good to get that experience under our belts.

-Mark

Extrovertic's Social Media Guidelines

2011-03-20T14:08:00.000-07:00

We recently created an Extrovertic task force to develop a set of social media guidelines for our own use at the agency. Here's what it came up with:

Social Media is a reality. It is ever present, all encompassing. We are connected to it on our phones, our computers, TV, advertising. It’s everywhere. As amazing as it is in certain respects, it also poses a whole new slew of problems for those who are plugged in. Who is exempt from viewing our Facebook pages, depicting incendiary pictures of our weekend debauchery? Who follows our tweets about who we hooked up with last night? There’s a lot of information out there and a lot of people we don’t want to see it.

Taking a step back, we must be cognizant of the positive aspects of social networking/media. Our clients are able to see us as well rounded individuals. Our networks can be used to locate new coworkers and connect with old friends. And most importantly, these mediums are integral to the promotion of the brands we support.

So where does that leave us? We need social media but, it has the potential to wreak havoc if used without due diligence. We also need to bear in mind the fact that as an advertising agency, we thrive on creative expression. Here are some simple guidelines to tweet, LinkIn, Facebook and YouTube by:

If you wouldn’t want your mom to see it, the picture is probably not appropriate to post on the Web
If you wouldn't want it on the cover of the New York Times you shouldn't put it on your profile page
You know how when you write or create something, you want to get credit for it? So does everybody else. Respect copyrights and fair use whenever you publish anything onto the Web
The brands we represent trust us to be their advocates. They also trust us to treat their brands with respect. Make sure to not cite any of our clients or other people or agencies we work with, without their approval. Always make sure to link back to the source if you make a reference. Also, it’s a good idea to avoid publishing anything that has the potential to cast a less than stellar light on a client
Let's say you are cruising Facebook, and you come across an interesting article about a brand you work on. And you feel compelled to post the article to your page with a snazzy comment. Or you decide to write about Extrovertic on your personal blog. Even if you have something positive to say, you should include a disclaimer that whatever you write, are your opinions and your opinions alone
“R-E-S-P-E-C-T”. Aretha had it down. Show respect for your audience. Don’t use slurs, obscene words or personal insults when talking about clients
If you absolutely must post the picture of you in the adorable but obscenely short dress you bought for that “Jersey Shore”-themed party, make sure your picture settings are limited to viewing rights for your closest and best friends only
Same applies if you are incapable of resisting the urge to post the picture of you doing a keg stand last Thirsty Thursday
Try to add value to every piece of social media you participate in. Whether its promoting a brand you work on or highlighting an interesting article you read, try to make it have a purpose
Facebook is sort of like Farmville in that if you let it, it can take over your life. And your job. Facebook’s a part of advertising so it makes sense that you spend some time on it every day. Same with YouTube. And Twitter. Just make sure you keep a good balance between work and surfing the social media channels
If you are going out with co-workers, and want to post pictures on Facebook, keep it kosher. Our clients may be less than inclined to see us slumped in the corner of a dusky bar, coworker turned nurse plying our lips apart with revitalizing liquids
These days, virtually everybody tweets. Maybe even your mom, sister or priest. Just make sure to tweet clean and if you tweet about/for work, keep it professional
Last but not least, the infamous YouTube. Videos of your kids having a food fight and putting mashed potatoes in each other’s hair; super cute. Videos of you drunkenly singing “I Will Always Love You” at a karaoke bar, you might want to leave that on your personal computer

These guidelines were created for all of you, so please take advantage of them. They give you not only a great opportunity to practice what we preach, but also to get the word out to potential clients and employees about what sets Extrovertic apart from your average healthcare agency.

So be social. Be media savvy. Be respectful. Be Extrovertic.

And have fun.

Thanks to Jamie Silverman, Pete Van Bloem, Susan Wall, Richard Bloom and the rest of the Extrovertic Social Media Task Force. And an advance thank you to our readers, who I'm sure will be sending us their great thoughts and suggestions.

-Mark

Goodbye, Charlie

2011-03-06T13:44:00.000-08:00

Like millions of other Americans, I found myself fascinated this week by the train wreck that is Charlie Sheen.

As much as I didn't want to, I still felt compelled to catch as much of his week-long interview binge as I could: On TV. Online. In the paper. In the tabloids at the supermarket checkout counter.

How could I not? This guy has tiger blood. He's on a drug, "It’s called Charlie Sheen. It’s not available because if you try it once your face will melt off and your children will weep over your exploded body."

His gnarly behavior is epic. Duh!?

But the more I watched, the sadder I got. Not just for him. Or for the two kids the authorities took away from him in the midst of this media mess.

I felt sad for all of us. For the way we collectively take pleasure in someone's obvious mental illness.

This man clearly has a problem beyond drugs. His grandiosity and sense of self-importance suggests major psychological issues. Yet we become an enabler, feeding his need to rant before the cameras with our need to gawk at him.

"C'mon, Charlie. Show us how low you can go! Take us to the depths of insanity. We love it! We love you! Really go off the deep end!"

Perhaps he unwittingly did us all a favor.

Now maybe the next time Brittany, Lindsey or Mel show their ugly sides, we'll just shrug it off and think it amateurish compared to the master. We'll be so desensitized that nothing will hold our attention in the same way.

Maybe then, our lack of interest will stop feeding into the needs of these celebrities who so clearly need our attention, regardless of how they attract it.

That would be winning.

-Mark

And the Award for Best Supporting Actor Goes to All the Extroverts

2011-02-27T13:59:00.000-08:00

In the spirit of tonight's Academy Awards acceptance speeches, I figured what better time to offer my personal thanks to all the wonderful folks who have helped Extrovertic grow so quickly into the kind of agency that we had hoped for when we started it just over two years ago.

At the risk of getting all verklempt, we have an amazingly talented, smart, dedicated –and just plain nice– group of people in our New York and Cambridge offices.

There are a few things that separate our extroverts from the employees of the standard healthcare agencies:

First, while our people recognize that we're in the business of helping our clients' businesses, they understand that the best way to do this is to truly make a difference in the lives of patients. When an extrovert says he or she is passionate about patients, this isn't corporate speak. It comes from the heart. Every one of us feels a responsibility to immerse ourselves in the lives, lifestyles, and challenges of the patient populations we aim to help. And this need to understand and feel the pain, problems and joys of patients carries through every part of our organization, from our interns on up.

Second, everyone has a say at Extrovertic. We have a weekly staff meeting in which everyone gets to hear what 's going on with the agency and share what's going on with them. Nobody is too big or too small. And as extroverts, nobody is afraid to speak their mind.

Third, we all want to be the very best at what we do, whether it be creative, marketing strategy development, RM – anything. We all support each other in our collective quest to be the very best possible partner to our clients.

Fourth, we all work very hard, but we have fun doing it. What can be more fun than being involved right at the start of something that is growing as fast as our company?

A sincere and heartfelt thanks to all the extroverts. And an invitation to anyone who thinks there's an extrovert inside of them, just dying to get out...

-Mark

The Power to Remove Despots and Keep Customers

2011-02-13T15:51:00.000-08:00

It’s being said on all the political talk shows and op ed pages that the past week’s people’s revolution in Egypt could not have happened without the power of Facebook and Twitter.

Yet while social media is proving itself time and time again to be a positive force in people’s lives, pharmaceutical clients are still a little nervous about adding it to their marketing toolbox.

Why? Because they fear that they could lose control of the discussion. That someone may step over the line in terms of adverse events. They feel they have to wait for the FCC to make good on its promise to establish guidelines for the industry to follow.

They don’t get how to assign the dialogue a monetary value. ROI is understood; ROE (return on engagement) is something pretty foreign to them.

But the perception is not the reality. Reportable adverse events are far less common than assumed. Nielsen randomly picked 500 postings on Yahoo Health boards. Only one of them qualified as a reportable adverse event. That’s a rate of 0.2%. The fact is, most comments don’t qualify as an adverse event.

As for the ROI question, Dorothy has been preaching since even before we opened Extrovertic that “ROE should be your new ROI.”

Back then the “E” was for “engagement.” Now, many in the industry have broadened it to mean, “experience.” Regardless, there are a number of ways to quantify the monetary return on it.

I guess the irony is, that while social media can help rid a country of a dictator in 18 days, it has been slow to convince marketers to take up the cause.

Still, I have no doubt: the revolution will prevail.

-Mark

CouchSurfin' USA

2011-01-31T19:40:00.000-08:00

The people asked for social networking.

And God said, "Let there be networking." And so He created MySpace.

But the people wanted more. And they prayed and thumped their chests and cried out for more.

And so God (and possibly Mark Zuckerberg) created Facebook.

But the people were still not satisfied. Neither the Book of Faces nor the Space of Mine sufficiently appeased their desire to be heard.

And so God created Twitter. And He said, “Go forth and speaketh in 140 characters or less.”

And so, the people tweeted.

But the people still were not satisfied. And so God created…

Couchsurfing?

What is this “couchsurfing” we speak of?

A recent phenomenon (the first couch was surfed, circa 1999), it all began with couchsurfing.org, “a service in which members offer a spare couch – or bed, or floor space – to fellow couchsurfers, at no charge.”

The concept has since grown to include many other sites at which people can rent out apartments and homes all over the world. (AirBnB.com and iStopOver.com are just two popular newcomers to the scene.)

Couchsurfing takes social networking to a whole new level. Though some say that the very nature of social networking ironically makes us anti-social (interactions are far more limited across a computer screen), this concept allows for entirely new friend-making possibilities.

Couchsurfing networks bring together the virtual and the real. It also brings together random strangers. (Unlike traditional social networks which help us more deeply connect with people we already know.)

So where will social networking take us next?

And God said, “Ye faithful social networkers, sit back and think about it.”

-Jamie

An Extrovert Goes Mobile

2011-01-21T07:31:00.000-08:00

On Wednesday, The Business Development Institute held a program, "Mobile Healthcare Communications: Case Studies & Roundtables," at The Graduate Center of the City University of New York.

We asked Supervising Account Extrovert, Jared Shechtman (shown above), to attend and report back to us. The following is his recap, verbatim.

Hope you find it as helpful and enjoyable as we did:

From: Jared Shechtman

Sent: Wednesday, January 19, 2011 11:45 PM

To: Extrovertic DL

Subject: Recap: Mobile Healthcare Communications at BDI

Hi All -

I had the opportunity this morning to sit in on Mobile Healthcare Communications Case Studies and wanted to pass along some of the learnings.

First observation: the number of people who stare at their mobile devices throughout a mobile healthcare conference is astounding.

Key learnings/notes:

• Protonix just launched a mobile co-pay program allowing patients to text to enroll and receive a mobile based coupon for fulfillment in addition to the ability to opt in for adherence program features.
• Pfizer Australia has launched an app that indicates pet friendly locations (restaurants, beaches, etc.)

   – A non app version is also available on: http://www.pawclub.com.au
• Pfizer's mobile traffic has increased x4 since last year and is expected to double again by Q3
• A mobile friendly version of pfizer.com launched yesterday
   – Consider mobile using when building all websites, this is an excellent example of online best practices
• Pfizer goals for mobile are to increase visibility, traffic, awareness and to optimize their site
• It was noted that at present Pfizer has been very Apple focused (iPhone apps only) but that will be changing in the near future
   – Being mobile platform agnostic is important as Android continues to increase share. Mobile is moving so quickly new data is coming out almost daily!
• One of the most important keys to any mobile / social push is that applications/assets need support via media and other drivers
• 96% of gen Y (tomorrows customers) are on social networks
• RipRoad in association with Mount Sinai presented a case study on a text based Q&A forum for teenagers that has proven to be highly successful
   – Concept could be applied to a nurse help line offering
• Overall takeaway: Mobile/social will quickly not be thought of as completely separate specialities but will become a standard part of the mix

Lastly, this conference shamed me into finally signing up for Twitter, follow my adventures at JaredS81

Thnx!

Jared

While we're at it, my Twitter address is MDrossman and Dorothy's is Extrovertic. Hope to hear from you soon!

-MD

Remembering the Future

2010-12-31T13:04:00.000-08:00

Sometime in the early seventies, I discovered a stash of old comic books in my grandparents' house in Flushing, New York.

They were all circa 1954-1955, mostly science fiction-themed, and formerly (though in hindsight, still) the property of my Uncle Doug, who at the time was serving as a medical officer in the U.S. Air Force in Austin, Texas.

But my grandmother said to take them. And take them, I did. To a guy who came to our local library, showed a few episodes of "Star Trek," and offered to buy everyone's old comic books for cash.

God knows how little I got for them. And how much they'd have fetched today.

The one I remember best took place on Mars in the distant future of 1974. Men and women in fashionable tights used laser weapons to fight off the various indigenous reptilian creatures that were always trying to make a meal of them.

Imagine that: 1974 was the far off future. Just like Orwell's 1984. And the 2001 of the Kubrick/Arthur C. Clarke film.

And here we are, on the eve of the 10th anniversary of 2001.

What used to be the future is now the past.

Nobody is using lasers to defend colonies on Mars from invading reptiles. And fortunately, not everyone is wearing fashionable tights. (Although my daughters and their friends have been known to wear a jeans/leggings hybrid called "jeggings.")

But with the Internet and all it offers, we've certainly achieved many of the dreams of the science fiction writers of yore. And the pace of technological evolution seemingly compounds every day.

Tomorrow, today will seem like the Iron Age.

Here's to the future. Starting with tonight.

Happy New Year, everyone.

-MD

The Night Before Christmas, v2010

2010-12-25T12:23:00.000-08:00

I read an interesting article about how today's kids use various online social media tools to track Santa's location with the help of NORAD (the North American Aerospace Defense Command). With apologies to Clement Clarke Moore, I felt compelled to rework his classic poem for the times:

‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house,

Not a creature was stirring, just Junior’s mouse;

The kid was on the PC, surfing Facebook with care,

In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;

The others were nestled all snug in their beds,

While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads;

He picked up his iPhone, and opened an app,

Up on his screen appeared a new Google Map;

He searched around Twitter, to check out the chatter,

And found out that NORAD was streaming live data.

He reinstalled Windows and updated Flash,

For fear that his father’s old HP might crash.

He logged onto YouTube as it started to snow,

And widened his eyes at the cool video;

For what on his 20-inch screen should appear,

But an avatar sleigh and eight avatar reindeer,

With an avatar driver, so lively and quick,

He knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.

Slower than molasses, his browser it lagged,

He slammed on the table and cursed as he tagged;

“%#^@, Dasher! &*%$#, Dancer! %$#@, Prancer and Vixen!

@$#%, Comet! %$^, Cupid! $#^@!, Donder and Blitzen!

The DSL line, it was pushed to the brink,

“It better not freeze,” Junior heard himself think;

Soon, over Paris, then above Amsterdam,

As seen by millions, on the live Santa cam;
Eight tiny reindeer, a sleigh and a man;

Now up on the roof, the sound of a sled,

Getting snagged in the cable,

As the connection goes dead.

-MD

Can We Cut the Cord on Our Wireless Phones?

2010-12-17T13:44:00.000-08:00

I often jokingly tell people that my BlackBerry is my second brain and losing it would be like losing my mind. Now I know it is no joke. And I am not alone.

“My Device, Myself,” is the caption beneath a photograph in a New York Times article by Damon Darlin, entitled, “Digital Devices Can Become Objects of Affection.”

According to Darlin, we love our devices because they make us better and smarter. I know that this is the case with me. Once, I even pulled out my BlackBerry in the midst of an interview to get the name of a mutual acquaintance (PS: don’t try this, I didn’t get the job. I think they were looking for someone whose primary brain worked better.) According to the article, people literally, “grieve when they lose a personal electronic device.”

This “device as self” phenomenon isn’t some little wave cresting but a full-blown tsunami. In fact, one of the key lessons that NYT Tech writer David Pogue, imparts in his recent round-up article, “The Lessons of 10 Years of Talking Tech,” is that “Some people’s gadgets determine their self-esteem.” He adds, “You can’t use the word “Apple,” “Microsoft” or “Google” in a sentence these days without stirring up emotion.”

Given the New York Times source, I might be tempted to think this attachment to devices is merely a bicoastal trend. But it is not just the province of the MIT students and tech workers I see glued to their mobile screens when I visit Extrovertic’s new Cambridge office. This “Tech as Self” trend is now deeply woven into the fabric of the American psyche.

Case in point: my recent visit to Milwaukee for the “International City/County Managers Association” annual conference-planning meeting (I know, I know, my life is really too glamorous, I really need to join FourSquare so people can track me).

As an icebreaker at the conference, city managers from around the country were asked to “pick something in your hotel room that says something special about you.” About 50% of the respondents picked a personal digital device. Comments ran something like, “my iPod, which I use when I go running,” “my iPhone, which has pictures of my kids,” and, “my BlackBerry because I can use it to reach anybody, anytime.”

And these weren’t typical coastal hipsters we are talking about. Most of the participants were men in their 40s, from cities that make Milwaukee, Wisconsin seem like a mega metropolis: Brentwood, Tennessee; Coon Rapids, Minnesota; and Sequin, Texas.

The point is tech is defining and intensely personal – and therefore of great interest to marketers as seen by the mushrooming numbers of them lining up for mobile device healthcare conferences. After all, healthcare is intensely personal too. It makes perfect sense to think about sending health messages via mobile devices. However, as we move into this new mobile era, we should remember we are entering someone’s personal space.

Otherwise, we will suffer the fate of Aaron, the “close talker” from the classic Seinfeld episode: the very people we are trying to attract will back away.

Or worse yet, give you a social media slap in the face a la “Motrin Moms.”

–DW

Customer Service In the Age of Twitter

2010-12-12T11:57:00.000-08:00

Earlier this month, Mashable announced its 5 Nominees For Best Social Media Customer Service.

It got me to thinking about how important customer service is in today's transformational marketplace.

We live in a world where user experience is everything. It isn't enough for the product to be great. Every touch point connected with it has to be great, as well.

It's no longer enough to sell the benefits of the product. Every contact with the brand must add value that syncs with the brand's personality and literally helps the consumer to experience a transformation for the better.

This goal must be imbued in every channel – from print, TV and point of sale, to online.

The digital realm, of course, is the easiest in which to have a meaningful, real time dialogue with the consumer. Twitter and and social networks like Facebook are particularly useful for demonstrating a brand's commitment to providing beyond the expected levels of customer service.

Take the two examples shown here. HP (at top) has technical support people available on Twitter. They proactively provide proof of their interest in customer satisfaction.

ZocDoc (above), a service that helps patients find doctors and make appointments in the same step, uses Twitter to show empathy for their customers and, in the process, gives the brand a much needed human face.

Check out Mashable's finalists. They have some good ideas about how to use new technology to provide better service to their customers. But there are a many others out there, too. Some that already exist, and some still waiting to be discovered.

We'd love to hear any examples you have.

-MD

America's Tweethearts Go On Strike

2010-11-30T17:12:00.000-08:00

Oh, my god.

As if things weren't bad enough.

251,287 secret state documents leaked to the press. The Korean War on the verge of breaking out again. The economy showing very little improvement.

And now this?

In an effort to raise $1 million for World AIDS Day (tomorrow), a number of the world's greatest minds are going on strike.

Yes, Lady Gaga, Justin Timberlake, Ryan Seacrest and…better sit down… two of the Kardashian sisters are removing themselves from all Twitter and Facebook activity until the goal of $1 million is reached. They're calling it the "Digital Life Sacrifice" and the picture above is from an ad promoting the campaign.

I know what you're thinking.

"Shades of Dr. Evil! They're holding us hostage until we pay the money. How can America get through the day without knowing what Kim Kardashian is having for breakfast?"

Somehow, a bunch of pseudo-celebrities think that the public is so hungry for their every tweet that it'll be willing to contribute its hard earned cash during the Great Recession.

You know what?

They're probably right.

Well, for the benefit of the charity, anyway, I hope they are.

But the ultimate result would be if America follows Steve Colbert's suggestion on the Colbert Report last night:

The donations should stop at $999,999.99.

Then we'd have the best of both worlds.

-MD

Talking Turkey At The Healthcare Table

2010-11-23T19:07:00.000-08:00

With the holidays upon us, it’s natural to think about who will be seated at the table. That’s what interests me most about Sharecare, the new healthcare site founded by WebMD founder, Jeff Arnold: checking out who's sitting around the table.

Sharecare lets patients search for answers to common health questions, and ask new questions. Answers are provided by a bevy of non-profit health care experts including The Cleveland Clinic, The Red Cross, and the American Heart Association. But sponsors, such as Pfizer, J&J, Dove and Walgreens were also invited to the table.

This “participatory” sponsorship is a marked departure from the usual practice of seating sponsors at the “kiddy table,” while the grown-ups talk about the serious stuff. The site trusts that its sponsors will “behave” and provide answers untainted by commercial interest. Some things don’t change, however. Sponsors have to fork over several million dollars in order to participate.

The site clearly references the source of every answer. In a recent New York Times article, Arnold claimed that, “in tests of the Web site in the last year, the brand answers were read as much as the expert answers.”

The article reports that sponsors take their seats with the intention of minding their table manners and not do any overt selling. Pfizer, for example, will provide information on fibromyalgia and smoking cessation, but not about its products that treat those conditions. According to Paul Ewing, senior director for patient marketing at the United States primary-care business unit of Pfizer in New York, the company’s rationale for participating, “stems from a belief that informed people make better decisions about their health… and have better interactions with their health care providers.”

Not everyone, however, is happy about the new table mates. Headlines of blogs covering the post point to a graying of the line between professional content and information (The Medical Quack) and the forming of an unhealthy alliance (The Healthcare Marketer).

But in my opinion, this could be a meaningful way for pharmaceutical companies to participate in interactive communities. Pharma has spent years accumulating scientific information and developing relationships with experts. This is the kind of information that communities crave and the type of action that builds good will over time.

Who knows? Maybe if pharma keeps this up, they won’t even have to pay to sit at the table.

Probably a little holiday wishful thinking!

-DW

'Tis the Season to Be Wondering

2010-11-20T14:27:00.000-08:00

Is it me, or does the Christmas season start a little earlier every year?

This year, the leftover Halloween candy wasn't even gone from our kitchen counter (and it goes pretty quickly at our house), before the interminable sound of Sugar Plum Fairies began dancing in my head.

Those damned holiday songs were already on the radio, TV, and department store PA systems.

Bah, humbug.

Excuse me, but didn't proper holiday etiquette used to dictate that the Christmas season will not start until after Thanksgiving?

In fact, wasn't the official opening of the season Santa's appearance on the VERY LAST float of the the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade?

Yes, Virginia, it was.

Between the effects of global warming and the ever sliding holiday schedule, it seems as though the whole concept of seasons has been redefined since I was a kid.

I'm a true believer in the power of transformational marketing, but this is ridiculous.

The way things are going, I won't be surprised if not very long from now, the Christmas season starts a few days after the 4th of July.

-MD

Dorothy's DTC Hall of Fame Acceptance Speech

2010-11-11T15:27:00.000-08:00

Last night, I was privileged to be inducted into the DTC Hall of Fame, along with some of my esteemed industry colleagues – Minnie Baylor-Henry, National Director, Regulatory Life Sciences, Deloitte & Touche, LLP and former DDMAC Director; Andrew Schirmer, EVP, Managing Director, McCann HumanCare and Scott Grenz, Director Media Buying NA,GlaxoSmithKline. I was very touched by how many of my colleagues, past and present, came to celebrate with me. We were given the opportunity to make a few remarks, so being a typical Extrovert, I took full advantage of my time in the spotlight. Below is what I said, or more accurately, what I meant to say!

“I am very honored to be inducted into the DTC Hall of Fame. I have always admired the company Bob has built and his thoughtful commentary. The occasion also serves for me as an important reminder of something I should be doing more of everyday: thinking of all the people I am grateful to for having guided me throughout my career.

I am grateful to have started my career at Whitehall-Robins, now Wyeth Consumer, working for Andy Davis and Holly Crosbie-Foote, both of whom encouraged me to let my creative juices flow. I somehow have always been a little different and they cheered me on. I am equally as grateful to Randy Goldmann, who I had the privilege to work for at Pfizer. She taught me how to channel some of my enthusiasm so it could actually be productive. I also thank Mike Trepicchio of SaatchiHealthcare for giving me the opportunity to learn what life is like on the agency side. It’s a little harder than it looked from the cushy client side seat.

Which brings me to today and Extrovertic, the agency I founded with my creative partner, Mark Drossman. We wanted to create a different kind of agency, one that could build both the innovative marketing strategies and cutting edge creative needed to infuse new life into the healthcare marketing mix.

We were very lucky for the opportunity to start working very early on with Vertex Pharmaceuticals, whose marketers have an incredible passion for their patients. It is this kind of passion to serve patients that I hope will transform the face of DTC.

One of my favorite planners of all time, Nat Puccio used to say, 'He who knows the consumer best, wins.' That saying is now foundational to any successful DTC communication effort. In the future however, we have to go further, not only to understand but also to employ our knowledge in making a tangible, lasting difference in patients’ lives. That will require going beyond our traditional communication messages and tools to address the more stubborn barriers to good health such as financial inequities, gaps in healthcare delivery and insufficient personal coping mechanisms. To all of us at Extrovertic, the maxim for 2010 and beyond is, 'He who serves the patient best, wins.'

Thanks again for the honor and I look forward to working with you all to make a difference in patients’ lives."

-DW

What Would David Ogilvy Do?

2010-10-24T08:49:00.000-07:00

Prior to my conversion to pharmaceutical marketing, I spent more than a decade at OgilvyOne, New York.

It was, at least for most of those years, the best, most productive and educational experience of my agency career. (And I've had many experiences in my agency career.)

Ogilvy prided itself in being the advertising equivalent to a teaching hospital. Training was as big a part of the culture as its red hallways. You really could learn something new there every day.

It all stemmed from the old man, himself. Anyone who has read any of David's books or seen one of his many interviews knows that he had some very strong opinions about what advertising should and should not be.

Some of these pronouncements were so subjective and limiting that even the agency had long looked the other way when it came to them. (For example, one of David's rules was that an ad should never have reversed out type.)

Others are harder to shake. Particularly David's ultimate credo, "We sell or else."

At OgilvyOne, the direct response arm of O&M, that statement gave us our reason to be. (Along with his statements that direct response was his "first love" and "secret weapon," which were quoted ad nauseam.)

In a rather prescient video he taped for the Direct Marketing Association, sometime in the '70s, David accurately predicted how direct marketing and general advertising were each headed on a collision course. He was right: Today, clients do indeed demand more accountability and measurability, and virtually every advertisement has some sort of call to action, via a phone number, or more likely, an email address.

But what would Ogilvy make of today's marketing world?

Consumers are savvier and more skeptical of advertising than ever before. They abhor being sold to. Thanks to the Internet, they can more actively seek what they are looking for on their own terms. Rather than merely sell to them, businesses need to strategically position themselves where those raising their hands can find them.

Furthermore, brands today need to provide customers with more than just great products. (And products today better damn well be great.) They need to provide them with a brand experience (in store, online, etc.) that truly pushes the right buttons.

But even that isn't enough. In today's experience economy, brands must seek to transform – to literally improve the lives of those who use them. Success is when a customer can actually credit a brand for having had a profoundly positive influence on their lives.

Think of the classic election time question, "Are you better off today than you were four years ago?"

I'm not sure how flexible D.O. was. If he was willing to change with the times. Would he now say, "We transform or else."?

-MD

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Tweeting

2010-10-16T10:28:00.000-07:00

I was browsing the net the other day, thinking about the new movie, The Social Network (which I just saw, by the way, and it’s GREAT), when I happened upon an article that mapped out what Harry Potter’s foray into social media would look like.

One element that The Social Network stressed was the timeliness of Facebook and how nowadays, we all want something that connects us to each-other in a digital setting. It would seem that the world of Harry Potter would be exempt from this desire for intense connectivity. Wizards do, after all, have slightly bigger fish to fry, what with the Dementors kissing and Ogres plundering. In spite of the very Muggle-like nature of the online social network, our favorite four-eyed wizard has, at long last, entered the world of FACEBOOK!

Ok…so Harry has actually been online, having his life tweeted away for quite some time now. But not until recently did an exploratory into what a real-life Harry Potter Facebook page, Youtube account, or Twitter stream would look like, actually exist. Thank you New York Magazine for showing us what Harry would have to say if he were to write posts, update his status, Foursquare himself and “friend“ others. The results are entertaining to say the least, and confirm the fact that if you are not engaged in social media, you’re missing out.

(My personal favorites are Dobby’s comments. Take a look for yourself!)

And while these parodies offer a few laughs, they also inadvertently demonstrate how a brand can carry it's message and tone across multiple social media channels in a consistent and engaging way.

Enjoy.

-Jamie

Power to the People: The Power to Transform

2010-10-09T14:14:00.000-07:00

This being the 70th birthday of John Lennon, I thought it the perfect time to look into why he holds such a special place in our collective memory, beyond the obvious contributions he made as a Beatle and during his solo career.

Like the other three members of the Fab Four, he was a decent musician and singer. And fortunately for all of us – he was also the perfectly acerbic counterbalance to McCartney's saccharine sweetness.

But in my opinion, what made Lennon so transcendent and transformational was not the power of his musicianship, songwriting or singing.

It was the power of his ideas.

Lennon brought "power to the people," imagined a world in which there was "nothing to kill or die for," and asked us to "give peace a chance."

He and Yoko spent their honeymoon in bed for a week, talking to and singing for the press, to promote their dream of world peace. Imagine if they had Twitter to play with.

The point is that even the most incredible talent and great production values can only get you so far.

Regardless if you're a Beatle or a marketing executive, to be truly transformational, there's nothing more powerful than a strong idea.

-Mark

What Makes a Viral Video Viral?

2010-10-02T06:42:00.000-07:00

We've been working on a very cool assignment to drive consumers to educational content through the power of viral videos.

In order to make our viral videos as viral as possible (meaning irresistible for people to pass around to each other), we've spent a lot of time analyzing the most successfully viral videos of all time.

We've watched everything from the "The Evolution of Dance," to "David After Dentist." From "Charlie Bit My Finger...Again!" to "Charlie the Unicorn."

We found that the most viral videos share a few common qualities: They are either obnoxious and annoying (see "The Annoying Orange") or bordering on "naughty" in terms of scatological or sexual innuendo. It seems adolescent humor appeals to more than just adolescents.

Wired Magazine

But these are just my thoughts and observations. I'd love to know what you think makes a great viral video and see some of your favorite examples!

-Mark