Tele•Comm•esis

Faster, Stronger, Harder, Better ⋅ by travis

In athletics, it’s often said that competition breeds excellence. A competitor pushes you, drives you and forces you to perform at the next level. Train with someone better than you if you want to push your limits. Except for the elite few out there with no peers, there’s ALWAYS someone better. If there’s not, then you can go ahead and bet that there’s someone behind you ready to step up and take your place.

So, how does this translate to a business context? I read a quote earlier today on the 4A’s Smartbrief newsletter that spurred this train of thought and prompted some questions…

“Sometimes it’s very difficult to keep momentum if it’s you that you are following.” (lyricist Tim Rice, from the operetta “Evita“)

Are you pursuing your competition and improving yourself?  Or, are you ignoring them and settling for complacency and irrelevance? Figure out who that competitor is that will keep your momentum at the level you need for growth.

Who’s in your rear-view mirror ready to pass you on the way up? Take a quick look back, and then let the knowledge that they’re there just push you that much harder.

The Tipping Point as a Social Media Lens ⋅ by travis

The first time I read Malcolm Gladwell’s The Tipping Point was before social media. At the time it was insightful and fascinating in it’s examination of epidemic ideas. I’m currently re-reading it, and while I expected it to still be great, I also figured it would be the same information as the first time around.

Amazingly enough, this book seems to have transformed for me in light of social media. The concept of Mavens, Connectors and Salesmen is such a powerful filter when applied to Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn or any other platform.

Think of your connections in this context and you can start to see the Mavens, Connectors, and Salesmen. The implications of these categories registered with me as more definable and more readily identifiable than when I read it previously.

Social media seems to act as a loudspeaker for these concepts of identity within a community because it has so greatly transformed the concept of community. By amplifying Gladwell’s categorization of these unique people-types, social media has grown the intensity and volume of these possibilities. Is everyone “louder” now, or did the volume go up mainly for those who know how to best manipulate the tools? I’m curious what Gladwell would say…

“Friction” is a great term for the barriers to communication that slow down the speed and ease of transmitting information. Social media reduces this friction because it blows away the effects of time and space in everyday communications. One implication of this thought is that the difficulty of becoming a Maven, Connector or Salesman becomes a question of degree rather than actuality. People who might have almost been Mavens prior to social media, but definitively were not, can now access tools that remove an obstacle of communications that previously barred them from taking on that role. They either communicate more quickly now than before or they connect to a community that was geographically or culturally isolated from them, or have a greater depth of information than before.

Take some time to re-read The Tipping Point or if you’ve never read it before, add it to your reading list! You can find some great principles in there for understanding communications in the social media landscape and identifying the roles of the people in your communities.

The 2010 Winter Olympics from a Creative’s Perspective ⋅ by travis

The 21st Winter Olympics are in full swing by now with all of the drama and spectacle we’ve come to expect! In the past few days I have come across numerous fascinating articles among the myriad coverage of these games. First I’ll give you some of my thoughts on why the Olympics are fascinating to me, and then I’ll share some of those links with you that I found particularly engaging.

First of all, the major sponsors of the games are garnering plenty of high-profile marketing opportunities and gaining the usual amount of exposure. This alone is usually enough to keep me interested since it’s always a great opportunity for marrying your product to a compelling story. However, this year there is something new to be observed in the marketing efforts and in the media coverage of the Olympics, a different current running through the games. This year, social media is making a profound impact on how results, stories, and news is being relayed, as well as audience participation, marketing messaging, and the overall conversation.

In addition to that particular reason for interest, there’s also the design elements of any Olympic games that makes it particularly interesting to me as a creative person. The Olympics bring together talent from all over the world and seem to always exhibit some unique and inspiring designs in the architecture, marketing, uniforms, and numerous other elements.

I’ve gathered a few of the more insightful articles from the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, and the Harvard Business Review just to give you a sampling of the impact that social media could have on this global event.

WSJ: NBC Rallies for the Count: Network Uses the Olympics to Test Measures of New Media

HBR: Welcome to Vancouver, the World’s Largest Social Media Experiment

NYT: Facebook and Twitter Compete for Olympic Glory

Mashable: The New York Times and Foursquare Partner for the Olympics

Twitter: Verified Olympians List

Mahalo: 2010 Olympics Schedule

Lastly, here are some great articles that focus on the design elements of the Olympics, both current and historic: FastCompany: Designing The Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics

FastCompany: What Will Vancouver Look Like When the Winter Games Are Gone?

Winter Olympic Games Posters from 1924 – 2010

Enjoy, and GO TEAM USA!

Off to the races… or the story of January 2010 ⋅ by travis

What a whirlwind month January 2010 has turned out to be! We were stoked about 2010 before it even started, but after January’s growth we are really truly excited here at PECULIAR.  It’s our privilege to announce three new PECULIAR clients that signed in January, 2010.  We see this news as a sign of growth in a time when many businesses are struggling, and we are truly thankful for these new opportunities. We will serve as agency of record for both Complete Commercial Solutions and LESCO Restorations.  We have also signed with The Children’s Museum of the Upstate for several projects.

Here’s what our CEO/Idea Guy Tim Pecoraro has to say: “We’re so proud to sign with difference-making companies, because that’s also how we view our firm. I believe our relationship with each of these clients is going to be one that lasts a very long time.”

So here’s a quick rundown on our new client relationships:

Complete Commercial Solutions (CCS) is one of the upstate’s fastest growing facility services corporations, focusing on the janitorial, maintenance and landscaping needs of building managers and owners.  As agency of record for CCS, we will provide a full creative mix, including strategy, marketing, interactive and design services.

LESCO Restorations is a leader in outsourced facility maintenance, serving clients in 16 states. With 35 years experience in waterproofing and restoration, they are a diverse facilities company.  PECULIAR’s partnership with LESCO is a continuation of an on-going relationship that has grown to their new role as agency of record.

The Children’s Museum of The Upstate is one of the largest children’s museums in the United States, with three floors measuring 79,000 square feet. We are partnering with The Children’s Museum to develop a new website and to provide creative services for their annual Chocolate Soiree fundraiser.

Stay tuned to our blogs for more information and announcements as we continue to grow in 2010. This year is off to a great start and we’re so proud of our team!

Remember, you can also connect with us online:

Twitter: @we_are_peculiar

Facebook: PeculiarInc

Die Internet Explorer Die ⋅ by aarika

Wow!  Today I had a real eye-opening experience with the difficulties web developers face on a regular basis with Internet Explorer browsers. As a layman, please bear with my analysis of the situation…

Unlike other browsers, Internet Explorer versions are built to varying standards. So, instead of building on current versions and making new versions compatible with what already exists, Internet Explorers are created in a whole new direction – perhaps improving but ultimately dooming the elder versions of the browser.

I watched today as our web developer changed code and saw the difference simultaneously in each IE we were testing. IE 6, 7 and 8 all read the code differently, and the change we made was only to FONT SIZE! This allowed me to see for myself what all development-wise has to go into creating a site to actually perform and look decent in all versions of IE currently in use. To get the ideal results, you’d have to develop separate code (kinda like separate sites) for each one. Talk about tripling efforts.

The kicker… Firefox, Safari and others don’t have these issues. These browsers are configured to up-to-date web standards at all times, even in older versions, making the developer’s job much easier. Ultimately, users have a better experience, too, having more capabilities and none of the faulty text, sizing, forms, image, and banner issues (just a few we’ve run into ).

That said, come one come all technology-challenged and get on board with some browsers that are worth a damn.

Get your Mozilla Firefox browser here

Get your Apple Safari browser here

Super Bowl Commercials ⋅ by michelle

I have and always will be a football fan.  I have grown up watching and learning about the game, following, cheering and never abandoning the team I love.  Televisions across America will be showing the Super Bowl on February 7, whether at a party with friends, the relaxation of home or a bar enjoying the show, people will be watching.  Although the game is the main event, from a marketing perspective I enjoy watching the commercials.  There are those that are funny, some are considered controversial, and others informative.  No matter what category they are placed in, these spots are reaching obscene amounts of people in one day.  Check out this link for a run down of what companies will be showing commercials during the 2010 Super Bowl.

http://www.superbowl-commercials.org/466.html

Glory, Glory! ⋅ by aarika

In my line of work, some projects can be so massive and time-consuming that after completion you just want to burn all the drafts and do a ferocious dance around the fire… celebrating the end in a “mad scientist” fashion.

One such project that incited these feelings was the billboards we created for Miracle Hill Ministries.  We had a long conceptual process, a long revision process and a short time frame once we actually gained some ground.

When the billboards first went up, I was ecstatic.  All the frustration I felt flew out the window as my car whipped by my favorite board over the Church Street bridge.  I was telling everybody… I mean, other clients, my neighbors, delivery guys… EVERYBODY!  I was so proud.

Now, our company is entering the American Advertising Federation (AAF) ADDY Awards competition for the first time, and MY BILLBOARD is an entry for one of the campaigns.  Once again, I am ecstatic.  Just having our work displayed so prominently and receiving such amazing feedback was validation enough, but winning an award would truly signify that all the hard work really paid off.  Wow!

Dreamers! All. Together. Now. ⋅ by travis

Tonight is the kickoff for MLK Dream Weekend here in Greenville, SC. We have had the honor of working with this great organization throughout the past year on all of the marketing and communications initiatives that make this event come together. This year marks the 5th anniversary of MLK Dream Weekend as an organization here in the Upstate honoring the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

MLK Dream Weekend is about community, about coming together, and about dreams. I think all of us here at PECULIAR are thankful for the opportunity to work on this event and have enjoyed what it taught us about ourselves and our community. Not only that, but we are quite proud of the great work we’ve done for them. So here are a few pieces that showcase our projects for 2010 MLK Dream Weekend:

MLK Dream Weekend Street Banners

MLK Dream Weekend Website

MLK Dream Weekend Ad for REJOICE Magazine

It’s a Consumers’ World ⋅ by aarika

Best part of my day… arriving home from work to find the athletic shoes I ordered from Finish Line sitting on my stoop.  I opened the box with glee and plan to go to the gym tonight to break them in.  I started to think, “This is why I’m in marketing.”  Because people like to shop.  People like to buy.  And people like to enjoy their purchases.  It’s a consumers’ world!

It’s not a reset – it’s POTENTIAL ⋅ by travis

It’s the last week of the year, actually make that the last week of the decade, and the vibe with most folks seems to be RELIEF that 2009 is almost behind us. Typically, this is a time of reflection and strategy, making lists and plans, and deciding what you’ll do differently this year as compared to last year.

“The New Year is not a reset button! It’s the yearly opportunity to understand, release and maximize your potential.”  These were the words that Tim Pecoraro, our fearless leader and Idea Guy chose to motivate with this morning.

That statement gets to the core of what this week is about. POTENTIAL!

The retrospectives that have been written in the past few weeks attempt to sort out the best and worst of 2009 (and the decade). Rather than figure out how to make 2010 a more stable version of the status quo, let’s take up the challenge to find the opportunities in the changing climate and push toward something great.

Let’s make 2010 whatever we want it to be!

The New Year is one of limitless possibilities – it’s what you choose to make of it. So for at least this week, 2010 is still on the cusp of your imagination, waiting for you to give it shape. What will you do with that potential?