Finally, eleven years after the popular animated movie Toy Story 2 the long awaited sequel Toy Story 3 is here. And Disney-Pixar is pulling out all the cards to ensure proper exposure for the film’s debut. Toy Story 3 has appeared in various commercials including US Postal Service priority rate shipping, Visa debit card, and Aflac.  But how are these efforts going to surpass other blockbusters like Shrek Forever After, geared toward the same target audience?

Disney-Pixar has aimed for the social media target, using both Facebook and Twitter to allow for more exposure of the popular film. On Facebook, Toy Story 3 has over 2 million likes, a very funny toy creator, interactive video games, and ticket purchasing options.  Fortunately, these features are fun for both adults and children and a wide variety of customers may be reached because of this.

On Twitter, Disney-Pixar is the first company ever to have a successfully promoted trending topic. Just like regular tweeting trends, Toy Story 3 appears at the bottom of the trending list but it’s highlighted yellow and clearly labeled “promoted.” The response has been great and Toy Story 3 has been a large topic of discussion on twitter and has countless retweets.  Yes, Toy Story 3 has become quite a buzz topic for their use of promoted tweets.

This popularity of promoted tweets leads us to think, has Disney-Pixar’s release of Toy story 3 sprouted a revolution for promoted tweets?  Well, slightly.  Twitter has stated they will not be running promoted tweets for every brand, but that promoted tweets have to “resonate with users.” This is aimed to cut out potential promotional tweets that will not be discussed or accepted by twitters users.  Other brands such as Best Buy, Red Bull, and Starbucks were brands that first used promotional tweeting, yet none have experienced such success as Toy Story 3.  The success from Disney-Pixar’s promotional efforts appears to be a perfect mixture of all the right ingredients which has no doubt made Toy Story 3 this summer’s biggest blockbuster.

The Tulsa Metro Chamber isn’t just one of the first Tulsa organizations to get an application on the iPhone, it is the first chamber of commerce in the country to do so.

The application, simply called Tulsa Metro Chamber, recently went live on Apple’s App Store. The feature, which can be downloaded for free, includes a searchable directory of chamber members, news and a calendar of events.

Chamber officials credited Cubic, a local creative firm, for coming up with the idea and developing the app.

“Cubic proactively did the research and sought out the programming approval,” said Sheila Curley, vice president of communications.

Billy Kulkin, Cubic’s president and managing partner, said the app is a way to keep the Tulsa chamber ahead of the curve.

“We want to train the members to use the iPhone app in order to obtain the right information at the right time,” he said.

Work on an update already has begun.

On an unassuming, cold January morning in 2007, a man began playing a violin at the Washington DC Metro Station. He was a young, white man dressed modestly in jeans, white long-sleeved t-shirt and baseball cap. It was rush hour, and most of the 1000+ people who would pass by in the 43 minutes he played would hardly notice him or the music he played. Most were on their way to work and accustomed to seeing an occasional street performer in this urban area dominated by government workers. A few would slow down or stop for a few seconds and then rush away to keep their schedules.

Four minutes into his performance, he received his first dollar from a woman who threw the money in his case as she walked by. 10 minutes in – a small boy stopped, but was hurriedly pulled away by his mother. He could only turn his head to catch a few more notes as his mom dragged him along. This played out several more times with other children and their parents.

The man played for roughly 45 minutes. His audience comprised of 7 people who stopped long enough to enjoy part of his performance and 27 people who donated money. His total – $32.

By now, I’m sure you’re wondering how this story could possibly apply to Branding. Here is the segue.  Of the 1000+ people that passed, only one recognized that the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the best musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with an 18th-century violin that once belonged to the great Austrian-born virtuoso and composer Fritz Kreisler worth $3.5 million dollars. Two days before, Joshua Bell had played at Boston’s Symphony Hall where average seats were $100.

True story. This social experiment about perception, taste and people’s priorities has many lessons. However, for the basis of this piece, the question raised is, “In a common place environment, do we perceive value? Do we stop long enough to appreciate it? Do we recognize value in an unexpected context?”

Here’s another example of how important Branding is in our times. I recently attended a breakfast event where Pattye Moore, former Sonic Corporation President, spoke. As a member of the Board of Directors for a particular company, she was trying to convince the Board that they needed to move forward with a Branding Proposal that they had received. To a fault, most Board members felt that spending money on branding was a waste of money. She struggled to find an example to illustrate the importance of branding. As with most great ideas, her revelation came most unexpectedly. As she was rushing to her child’s 3rd grade party, she picked up some Oreo cookies as her contribution to the party. Upon arriving to the party, she placed the Oreos next to the only other cookies – a generic brand. As the children began eating she noticed that all of the Oreos were gone before the other generic brand cookie was even opened. This was the spark. She offered to host the next Board meeting. She bought a mix of name brand drinks and snacks (Coke, Pepsi, Nature Valley, etc.) along with an equal number of generic brands (Sam’s Choice, Great Value, Always Save, etc.). As the Board meeting began it didn’t take long to notice that her Board members were acting just like the third graders. All of the name brand drinks and snacks were eaten first before they tried the off-brand items. When she let the Board in on her little experiment, they quickly realized the point they had been missing.

The lesson is simple: Whether it’s a conscientious decision or not, consumers choose items based on the perceived quality of a Brand and are “manipulated” by Brand presentation whether it occurs on television, on the Internet, in print advertising, or by the packaging. As well, the context in which you present your Brand is equally important (i.e. The DC Metro station is not the best venue for a world-renowned musician, nor the right target audience for the Joshua Bell Brand).

Your company’s Brand is important. The way you present your Brand, whether it’s a service or product, will determine the perception of your current and potential customers. Having the best product or service in the world is not enough. Companies have to show that they know their target audience, understand their brand and value it enough to present it in a positive light.

The bottom line is clear: If you don’t invest in your Brand, consumers won’t either.

Footnote:
The story of Joshua Bell came from an excerpt of a 2007 Washington Post article. The article described the details of what amounted to a stunt which shed a lot of light on human perception. The stunt was the brainchild of Washington Post writer Gene Weingarten. You can read Mr. Weingarten’s original article, “Pearls Before Breakfast” to see how it all transpired from the original idea. It’s a great story.

I called  Dell’s support number and had a difficult time trying to get through to a person.  The automated system kept asking me for a number that I didn’t have since I had only bought a monitor.  ( I had the serial number but not this other number they were asking for.)  After about 20 minutes of getting passed around from menu to menu and finally to a person who told me I was in the wrong area, I got irritated and hung up.  Frustrated, I posted a comment on a Twitter account that I use to rant about things from time to time.

This is where things started to change.  I got a response from a person who asked if they could call me to resolve the issue.  I replied with my phone number, and a support rep from Dell called me.  (Yes he called me!) The rep asked me for my serial number and upon giving it to him he said that he saw I had purchased the unit on XX/XX/XXXX date, to which I replied, “yes that’s the one.”  He walked me through some steps to try to resolve the issue, and we ascertained that in fact it was a hardware issue and the unit was still under warranty and they would replace it.  (This was late in the day on Thursday mind you.)  The support rep then informed me that a new unit would be shipped to me and explained the return process to me.

This is the awesome part .  I worked from home on Friday, and at about 10 AM I heard a knock on the door.  It was FedEx standing there with a new monitor box.   I opened the box and there were simple to follow instructions on who to call to schedule a pick up after switching out the monitor.

Bottom line… this was a customer service issue that could have been a lousy experience, but it was resolved quickly and easily due to a simple posting on Twitter.  I just wanted to pass a good experience on.  Thanks Dell.

Billy Kulkin, Cubic

Billy Kulkin is president and managing partner of Cubic. He has more than 15 years of experience in advertising, marketing and interactive strategy development and implementation. Before forming Cubic, Kulkin worked for Littlefield inc., Dallas-based Belo Corp. and the Super Bowl host committee.

1 Can you describe what Cubic does?

Ask me in an elevator and I’ll tell you Cubic is a creative agency. Ask me over your favorite beverage and I’ll tell you we’re a creative team that builds and promotes brands through trans-media innovation. We focus on delivering sales opportunities and building stronger relationships with clients’ audience.

When we talk about trans-media, we’re referring to the difference in the way we think about marketing communications.

For us, it’s not about developing and placing ads or TV spots, it’s about a seamless integration of your brand message with your audience’s life habits.

We don’t sell process. Every one of our clients is different, so every client receives a creative strategy custom-built for their business and for their specific goals.

2 Are there advantages to operating a tech-savvy business like yours in Tulsa rather than in Los Angeles or New York?

Yes. The two biggest advantages are profitability and sanity. Fortunately, with our business, we can live anywhere we want.

The cost of doing business in Tulsa helps us stay competitive — it’s an affordable city for growing a business. However, what is most impressive to me is that underlying feeling that Tulsans want other Tulsans to succeed. Having come from the LA area, I can tell you that is not the case everywhere. As a business owner I am not sure how you put a value on that, but it sure is a good feeling.

3 Social media is the current rage. What advice are you giving your clients?

Breathe.

Here’s where most people have it all wrong. Social media is not a “thing” that you can own and have. It’s a water cooler conversation that reflects what people think about their lives, their activities and the companies whose products they buy.

The content, tone and location of the conversation changes every day, so it is certainly not for everyone to jump into like the next gold rush.

At Cubic, we keep our sight on the goal: to connect our clients with their audience in a meaningful way, no matter who the audience is or where they are.

So, if your audience is spending more time in social media land, our job is to find them, then change the way our clients communicate with them.

Social media is a two-way dialog instead of a one-way sales pitch. Hearing in real time what your customers and prospects have to say about your brand is a powerful tool.

4 You’ve said there’s an “uprising” in customer satisfaction. What do you mean?

Now more than ever, consumers have some control over a company’s image.

Whether it’s “cold coffee,” “my mechanic didn’t fix the car right” or “the delivery guy needs a bath,” customers will let their networks know about it.

Conversely, customers also will let their networks know about a “great flight,” “great new smoothie” or “easy-to-use Web site.”

The power of the conversation has shifted. The trick is to recognize this shift in power and be smart about it.

Companies that want to succeed will embrace the uprising.

5 With digital media changing every day, how do you keep up with the trends and still be able to run a company and have some work-life balance?

First of all, it’s part of our DNA. We love new technology and applications, and we enjoy keeping up with it. Second, our social media lab has helped propel our understanding even further. We hire students and young graduates to run the social media lab. These are people who grew up with the Internet and have been engaged with social media from the beginning. Tapping into their knowledge and way of thinking has allowed us to stay ahead of the curve on trends and topics.

Regarding work-life balance, we don’t think they are mutually exclusive. The secret is to embrace what you are passionate about and find ways to integrate it into your everyday routine. By JOHN STANCAVAGE World Staff Writer

TULSA – Many companies are hiring social media directors, but Tulsa-based Cubic decided to go a different route.

In response to client demand, Cubic will open a Social Media Lab this summer.“We have been living social media because it’s been our passion, and we have been doing it for years,” said Jeff DeGarmo, vice president and chief technology officer for Cubic. “We’ve been on Facebook and Twitter and we do not have to hire one person to develop this.”

The Tulsa-based creative agency signed a lease to take over more than 1,800 square feet for the lab.

About a year ago, Cubic moved into a building that provided expansion capabilities at 1631 S. Boston Ave.

“From a sociology standpoint, social media has been around forever,” said Winston Peraza, creative director for Cubic. “It’s a good bridge between the digital realm and the offline world.”

Billy Kulkin, president of Cubic, said social media – like any form of communication – needs to have a strategy in place.
There are two aspects to Cubic’s Social Media Lab: one targeted toward students and the other for the business community.

Cubic plans to hire up to seven interns to work on projects for its clients, said Peraza.

“We also hope to learn from these kids because, for them, this idea of social media is a natural part of life,” he said. “The lab is more of an environment for experience.”

DeGarmo said he thinks the company will get value out of the interns’ social media knowledge.

“We are developing a strategy and giving them an opportunity to look at tactics while we are watching them,” he said. “These college kids are the ones that know what’s coming and the ones more engaged to what’s happening right now.”

Kris Oakes, director of interactive media, said the lab could serve as a marketing tool for Cubic.

“If we can get the brightest students in, this gives us an opportunity to mentor them and help them grow,” he said. “Ultimately, we find the brightest kids out of college and potentially hire them.”

Kulkin said he’s actively involved with organizations – like Tulsa Young Professionals – that aim to keep the younger population in Tulsa.
If Cubic can show the next generation that the agency is on the forefront of trends, people may be encouraged to stay local instead of find jobs in other cities, he said.

Cubic also wants the lab to provide an educational resource for the business community. DeGarmo said they are in talks to bring in speakers and possibly hold monthly social media forums.

These troubled economic times have not put a damper on business, said Kulkin. The company has charted steady growth at about 20 percent every year. Kulkin said this year’s first-quarter numbers were better than a year ago.

While they offer similar services to an advertising agency, Kulkin said Cubic is not designed like one.

“I believe most agencies sell a process,” he said. “We don’t sell a process; we are selling the way we think. We felt the term ‘creative agency’ doesn’t limit us.”

Peraza said when Cubic was created several years ago, the company believed in a strong focus on technology and how it can bring value to their clients.

At a traditional advertising agency, less than 10 percent of the staff is technologically trained. About 70 percent of Cubic employees have tech skills, said Peraza.

“I say being a tech person is a lifestyle,” he said. “Technology has already become so embedded in this world.”

1. Take an existing Social Media strategy for a particular client and perform specific tasks related to that strategy and document the findings and/or results.

a.   Research competitors use of SM
b.   Monitor feedback on SM platforms
c.   Research popular SM sites for client vertical

2. General research on Social Media – what’s current, what’s working, what’s not, what’s coming, etc.
3. Brainstorm SM strategy ideas for Cubic and its clients

Send your resume and interest to social@cubiccreative.com. This is a paid internship.

Obviously, there’s the direct approach many companies have been trying (some failing miserably – Skittles anyone?). Companies have incorporated Twitter into their sites, created Twitter accounts, Facebook fan pages, Myspace pages, and hired blogger evangelists to get the word out.  These can be effective ways to market, but there exists a two-pronged fault with this route.  First, many companies don’t understand social media (SM).  They still attempt to engage their customers and potential customers as transactions.  Instead, these companies need to shift to building long term relationships with their customers and potentials, and focus on building their brand with these new SM utilities.  Secondly, the public is still skeptical of these tactics.  Businesses have begun encroaching on their domain, and are what many consider to be abusing it.  That is to say, in many minds bullish businesses and their outdated practices are unwelcome in this medium. Posting product information on Facebook and Twitter is not the answer. Succeeding in the social media world requires a well-developed strategy and execution.

Is there another way businesses can utilize this new medium? A more efficient way?  Let’s quickly analyze the user interaction with Twitter.  If something important (to the user) bubbles up in his/her mind, he/she now has an outlet for this thought a la Twitter. A simple blurb of information is broadcast to all of his/her followers, and some of their followers may even decide to ReTweet this information, broadcasting it to all of that user’s followers, and on it goes.  How can companies take advantage of this process?  It should be fairly obvious. They have to be the instigator of the initial bubble.  How do they do that?  They do it by creating something Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos, refers to as the “Wow Factor.”

Creating the “Wow Factor” is pretty straightforward – make your customers happy.  Tony Hsieh cites this as the primary driving force behind Zappos – spreading happiness.

Case Study – Zappos

Zappos allocates many of its so-called marketing dollars into creating this wow factor.  First, they deliver world class customer service.  Customer service agents are expected to do whatever is required to please the customer, this can obviously incur expenses.  However, if for every 100 customers they deal with 3 of them experience the “Wow Factor” and go on to Tweet about the exchange on Twitter, this automatically reaches some number of Followers, commonly on the scale of hundreds. A small percentage of these Followers ReTweet the Tweet, resulting in an even larger number receiving the message, and so on.  You can see how the number of possible customers reached could easily grown into the thousands.

Zappos also surprises many of their repeat customers by sending their purchase overnight, instead of the usual 5-7 day shipping (another, possibly better way to create the “Wow Factor” and trigger the same potential social broadcast).

So, how can your company create the “Wow Factor”?  It’s simple –make your customers happy.  Beat deadlines. Exceed Expectations. If there’s ever been a time when doing the right thing can be directly tied to success and profit, that time is now.  Go make some people happy.

Twitter is a great resource for businesses but is one of many tools in the larger picture of social media marketing.  The success of a business marketing themselves on twitter will be directly related to how many users within their demographic are reachable through that medium. Although twitter works great for several businesses, not all businesses are suited for success by using Twitter.

In the world of social media marketing, information flows freely and quickly.  Good or bad, information about your business spreads.  The twitterverse allows businesses to reach their demographic through relationship building.  The old ways of face to face relationship selling which would happen over a series of weeks or months can now be condensed.  The days of push marketing are over and we are starting to see new ways of earning the trust of the consumer through the new media techniques. Personal thoughts are becoming the brand of business and blurring the lines between personal and business.  Within Twitter, personal is business and business is personal.

Now, what about the future of Twitter?  Twitter is thought by some to become the next search giant and maybe even take Google’s spot on top of the search heap.  The open API’s Twitter offers allows 3rd parties to develop Twitter based applications and there are many of these applications or add-ons popping up everywhere. This is allowing Twitter to expand its capabilities quickly.  With this sort of growth, Twitter is here to stay.