Epic spot from W+K London/Amsterdam for this year’s World Cup. One can only imagine the nightmarish logistics involved, big kudos to Director/Producer Alejandro G. Iñarritu.

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Meridian Group worked with CBS Evening News on a very special Father’s Day segment for our client Wounded Warrior Project. The feature piece highlighted the stories of two wounded warriors who are also fathers. Both men were injured in the line of duty and are thankful each year to be able to celebrate Father’s Day with their families. We salute all the wounded warrior fathers out there! 



To learn more or donate to Wounded Warrior Project, visit www.woundedwarriorproject.org.

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■ 14 June 2010 | 12:02 PM

Perfect BBQ ribs . . . and a wad of cash, too!

I’ve long had this fantasy that The Bossman strolls over to my desk, smiles and says, “Lorraine, we’d like for you to take the rest of the day off. Just go and relax and enjoy yourself.

“And when you get back tomorrow, we’ll give you a raise.”

Over at The Meridian Group, a Virginia Beach advertising agency, The Bossman kinda does that. Each year, Joe Takach invites his staff to take a certain summer day off – with pay – and join him over at his place, poolside, for a barbecue cook-off with actual cash prizes, and a margarita machine, too!

I was honored to be a judge for Friday’s “Eighth Annual Q,” and I can vouch that pool and margarita machine aside, these people are not slackers.

Five teams competed and they rolled out fondue, crab cakes, Brussels sprouts with bacon and cranberries, slaw, sliders, bison and succulent pork bbq ribs. Team Sugar Coated even concocted a bacon martini, mixed with home-made bacon-infused vodka.

Like at any great party, it wasn’t enough to serve memorable food. Participants also imagineered presentations – the judges favorite were these “Mad (Wo)Men,” a play on the “Mad Men” series, dressed in their best hostess aprons. And the prizes? Up to 500 bucks, plus a copper pig trophy for the grand prize winners.

Now that’s a party!

Anyway, if you’d like some of the recipes, click here for The Meridian Group’s website and blog. And you might want to forward the link to this blog post to your own bossman or bosslady to give them some ideas.

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For the past eight years I have hosted a barbecue cooking competition at my home for all of our employees. There are a lot of components of the competition including the development of a logo and T-Shirt design each year, how the teams are structured and even the categories which are unique each year. All in all the annual investment is approximately $3,000 including category and grand prize awards, production of T-shirts, food, a keg of beer and everyone’s favorite; the margarita machine.

So, why do we host this annual event and what is the true value to the agency and our employees? We are in a creative business that is very competitive and requires a great deal of teamwork. Everything about this event supports our core values as a company while allowing everyone to let their hair down a little.

CREATIVITY: This is not your run of the mill BBQ competition that you might see on Food Network. People use every creative cell in their body to win, place or show. Not everyone is a culinary genius so they use online resources to come up with something unique. Others really do have the talent and expertise to create unique and crowd pleasing dishes that people would pay good money to experience. At yesterday’s event the judges commented that if local restaurants served this level of cuisine they would never have to write a negative review. Who would think that these amateur chefs would create items like baby back ribs that were dry rubbed then finished off by tossing them in a buffalo sauce or scallop and bacon lollipops, tofu sliders and brussel sprouts with bacon and  cranberries. And how many people do you know that would stay up half the night infusing vodka with fresh bacon. These are all perfect examples of creativity and passion, the same talents we need to succeed in the marketing world.

COMPETITION: I often get negative feedback from some members of the agency that nine out of ten of our recreational events involve some sort of competition. Guess what? This is our life. If we want to succeed and keep moving the needle we must be prepared to compete at the highest level. That doesn’t mean we can’t have fun. Competition is fun if you put your heart and soul into it. For this year’s Q, I was told that some people didn’t like to present their dishes to the judges so we had the judges visit each station, which was fine but I feel like we compromised to a certain degree. It was kind of like doing a new business presentation and asking the prospect to come to us or e-mailing concepts instead of presenting them in person. We also take the competition to a new level by inviting some of the most respected food industry professionals in the area to judge. Lorraine Eaton and Judy Crowling from Virginian Pilot, Patrick Evans-Hylton from HR Monthly, Debi Gray from Johnson & Wales, Sam and Cindy McGann, Jennie Capps from CBWC, Yiannis and John Milleson. Every year the judges are blown away by the quality of the event and promise to steal or “borrow” a few nuggets to share with the world.

TEAMWORK: If you are going to take home any money from the Q, you better work as a team. We do not reveal the teams or the categories until late afternoon the day before the event. Each team is comprised of people from teams that they don’t necessarily work with every day. They have less than 24 hours to develop a menu, determine responsibilities and action plans and to execute the dishes in a four hour period the day of the event. Some people prefer to work in a vacuum but over my 30 years in this business they never reach the top unless they know how to play in the sandbox. This is typically the result at the Q as well.

So, call it what you will – an excuse not to work, a blatant waste of company money, a good excuse to imbibe in the middle of the afternoon. I call it an exercise in life that will help us be a better agency.

We will post many of the recipes and photos from this year’s event on Monday.

JT

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Somehow Crispin & Porter is able to convince conservative brands to take a leap of faith and break the mold in the category. This time with a brilliant campaign for Kraft Macaroni & Cheese. Not only is it a great multi-media campaign but they have integrated the website with the new approach – as they should but often ignored by traditional brands. Maybe, just maybe, the success they are having with most of their clients will help open the eyes and minds of other marketing directors to kill the milk toast and get real. JT

By STUART ELLIOTT
Published: May 26, 2010

KRAFT FOODS wants grown-ups to get the blues in the night, and in the afternoon and at snack time, too.

The “blues” in this instance are the familiar blue boxes of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese Dinner, a product that Kraft has long sold to adults as a meal to make for children. In a new campaign — the first work on the brand from a new creative agency — Kraft tells adults that its macaroni and cheese has, to quote ads for Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes, the taste adults have grown to love.

To underline that message, the macaroni campaign carries the playful theme, “You know you love it,” and continues in that vein with lines like “The most fun you can have with your stove on,” “Outgrow outgrowing it,” “Imported from your childhood” and “Parents need warm cheesy hugs.”

The campaign will sell the entire Kraft Macaroni and Cheese line, which in addition to the classic blue boxes includes varieties like Deluxe, Easy Mac and Homestyle. The campaign began on Wednesday with a commercial during the ninth-season finale of “American Idol.”

There will also be other television commercials; print ads; billboards; ads online; a Web site, youknowyouloveit.com; a presence in social media like Facebook and Twitter; and even “noodle art” — replicas of macaroni noodles, 20 feet long and 9 feet high — placed in and around landmarks like Fisherman’s Wharf and Wrigley Field.

Kraft executives say they intend to spend more than $50 million this year to promote the macaroni products, an increase of more than 30 percent from last year.

Most of the spending last year was devoted to ads that peddled the product to recession-weary consumers as a good value. For example, the headline of a magazine ad declared: “Small price. Big cheese-eating grin.”

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Kraft is changing pitches as the economy seems to be improving. But consumers are still dining more at home than they did two or three years ago, offering an opportunity for giant purveyors of consumer packaged goods to reintroduce shoppers to pantry staples.

Kraft joins mainstay marketers like Campbell, ConAgra, General Mills, Heinz, Hershey, Hormel, Kellogg and Smucker in increasing ad spending, bringing out new products and restaging old favorites.

Macaroni and cheese joins a lengthening list of Kraft products to benefit from new campaigns, among them Bull’s-Eye barbecue sauce, Chips Ahoy, Oscar Mayer, Miracle Whip and Philadelphia cream cheese.

“There’s no big project corporate-wide that says we must reinvent all these businesses,” said Chris Miles, director of advertising for the grocery business at Kraft in Northfield, Ill., but he says there is a goal of “raising the bar on creativity, taking more risks, be more arresting and engaging, maybe test a little bit less.”

“We’re realizing a lot of our brands have the right to play in a more emotional space than the rational territory we’ve mined in the past,” Mr. Miles said. In other words, fewer descriptions of how macaroni and cheese costs “about a dollar a box,” as one recent ad says, and more efforts to sell it as a fun food for adults who could use some fun in their lives.

“We’re excited about finding avenues of growth to tap into the full potential of the brand,” said Alberto Huerta, senior marketing director for the meals business at Kraft.

“Kids love us, but adults love us, too,” he added, “and there’s a lot of business to be had there.”

In the first commercial, a son suggests that his father had “put me in time out” during dinner so the father could “scarf down” macaroni from the child’s plate.

“Have you had enough?” the son, speaking like a grown-up, asks his father accusingly.

In another spot, a daughter gripes as her mother eats off her plate as if the child were not noticing the theft. “The crime wave continues,” the daughter says in an adult voice.

The creative agency for the campaign is the Boulder, Colo., office of Crispin Porter & Bogusky, the MDC Partners agency known for rule-breaking work for marketers like Burger King and Microsoft. Crispin Porter won the macaroni assignment in March from the longtime creative incumbent, DraftFCB in Chicago, part of the Interpublic Group of Companies.

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The assignment from Kraft was “to make the brand more of a family food,” said Rob Reilly, partner and chief creative officer at Crispin Porter, reflecting that although “it’s a favorite of kids, it’s not kid food.”

But “the amazing job Kraft did marketing it to kids” meant that “adults felt they couldn’t eat it without feeling they were eating kid food,” Mr. Reilly said. So the campaign will borrow a page from the Frosted Flakes playbook and use humor to “unleash a little bit of permission,” he added, and let adults “say they love it.”

“Sometimes, you’ve just got to enable it,” Mr. Reilly said, “and advertising is a great enabler.”

The other agencies on the campaign are the Chicago office of Landor Associates, part of the Young & Rubicam Brands division of WPP, for new packaging; the Chicago offices of two Publicis Groupe agencies, Digitas and Mediavest, for digital and media planning and buying; and Hunter Public Relations in New York.

A version of this article appeared in print on May 27, 2010, on page B3 of the New York edition.
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Our client Wounded Warrior Project was featured on CNN’s Newsroom with Kyra Phillips today, thanks to the PR department’s great working relationship with CNN. In light of Mother’s Day weekend, the segment featured two mothers turned caregivers who have given up their lives to care for their sons. Both young men were injured in the line of duty in the current wars and require full time care. A truly inspirational story!

See their story here.

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A new business book by author, Patrick Lencioni, “Getting Naked; A business fable about shedding the three fears that sabotage client loyalty“, is one of the most inspiring as well as entertaining books I have read over the past year. I guess the primary reason the book has inspired me is because it is based on the same basic philosophy that has always driven the agency’s growth – WHY? Unfortunately, the past two years of economic turmoil has made it difficult to be true to ourselves and our principles.

Mr. Lencioni weaves a story around two consulting firms; one that has grown quite successfully through an aggressive sales approach and the other, although smaller, has much more satisfied clients, happier employees and higher margins. The three fears that the author outlines are:
- The fear of losing business
- The fear of being embarrassed
- The fear of feeling inferior

In this world of inter-office politics, power struggles and cheese protecting, this book is a quick lesson in transparency and just might inspire a few to cut the BS and get down to what’s best for the client.

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THE GOOD:
A lot less competition: So many companies have dramatically reduced their direct mail efforts and most of the others are doing a pretty poor job at. These leaves the door open for honest, well-written and professionally produced direct mail that will be consumed not shredded. And I am not referring to the multiple inserts, fake hand writing type of direct mail. I am referring to a quality piece of communication printed on quality letterhead with the person’s name and address on the letter and the envelope.

You can tell the whole story: A well written letter is priceless and will be read if it’s compelling while providing a real benefit to your prospect. But don’t play games and pitch too hard. Give them a reason to support your business or cause.

If it is of value, they will save it: A schedule of events or something coming up in a few months helps. An offer that must be redeemed helps even more. They can hold it in their hand. You can’t hold an email in your hand or past it on your refrigerator.

THE BAD:
It can be expensive: As with any worthwhile effort, it’s going to require an investment on your part. If you do it well, you will reap a healthy return. Do it half ass and you shouldn’t bother at all. Direct mail will never be as inexpensive as email marketing but it can be more effective.

THE BOTTOM LINE:
Any marketing tactic can be effective if it is done properly and the timing is right. I am not advising anyone to cease using email communication. It is a great tactic that will deliver significant results if done well. I do think that now is a good time to go back to something that most companies are quickly abandoning. It’s as simple as zigging when everyone else is zagging.

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Derrick Borte, who we have had the pleasure of working with, has just released his first feature film The Joneses. He produced and directed the movie with major stars – David Duchovny, Demi Moore, Lauren Hutton – and a script he wrote himself. Derrick has worked with us at Meridian Group for clients including Hall Automotive, Cox Communications and Chartway Federal Credit Union. We are proud of Derrick’s accomplishment – this is BIG TIME!

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THE GOOD

Email is fast: Not only does it get to your prospect immediately, production time is limited. We produce most within a 24 hour period.

Email is great for testing an offer: There is no better trackable medium out there and if you are a company doing transactions online you can track your ROI day-by-day and hour-by-hour.

Downloadable components are easily accessible: Online videos, interactive games, interactive brochures. But don’t get lazy and do simple PDFs.

THE BAD:

Email environment is bursting at the seams: Thanks to all the spam, sorting through all the BS to get something of value is a pain.

Keep it short: Write the novel on weekends from your cottage but keep marketing messages short and to the point.

Don’t do it yourself: And don’t let Jimmy or Jane in accounting develop what you believe is a graphically pleasing email and for God’s sake don’t use a smiley face or I will personally hunt you down and give you a wedgie.

Great email lists are hard to get: If you must purchase a list make sure it’s a valid one that is relevant to your prospect. You are better off taking the time to grow your database from your website and blog.

Follow best practices: I’m not going to list them for you but if you don’t you will be blackballed by the inventor of the internet, Al Gore. Google them, they are easy to find.

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