Video presents a unique opportunity for brands to showcase their products in a way that’s not possible through print or the in-store experience. At Creative Concepts, we partner with brands to help them create engaging and informative videos that tell a story and draw the viewer in.

Our client Ecover recently hosted an Earth Day event in a jaw-dropping New York City penthouse, teaching guests how to make sustainable choices inside their homes. Attendees were taken on a tour of the penthouse and given tips on how to make healthy living choices for each room. Celebrity interior designer Robin Wilson along with Ecover’s Kipling Wagner brought the event to life on video for all to see.

When Ouidad threw a curly party, our cameras were there to record the effusive guests who were ecstatic about their gorgeous new hair styles. Their enthusiasm was contagious–something that definitely would not have come through had it been only in writing.

Video has the ability to turn something static into something dynamic. It brings the brand into the context of real life and helps people interact with the brand. The recipe for a successful video? Feature people who are passionate about the brand, add an expert who can teach the public something interesting about the brand, keep it exciting and easy to watch. Then put it on You Tube and get ready for the hits!

You should follow us on Facebook and Twitter!

Nothing makes a brand (or that brand’s agency) happier than seeing how much their customers love their products and services.  And when that love is shared in public via social media, so much the better — especially because that love is so often eclipsed by the increasingly public habit of complaining about bad customer service.

By now, we’re all used to seeing our friends rant about their latest perceived “retail fail” on Twitter and Facebook.  And the proactive approach that companies like Zappos and Comcast have taken to address these complaints publicly has created an expectation among casual customers that every complaint is valid and deserving of a swift response.

In our opinion, this is entirely understandable.  Social media is all about now, and when someone’s upset, they’re justified in expecting a quick remedy from companies who claim to care. In fact, we at Creative Concepts advocate proactive customer service among all of our social media clients, and we strive to help them create and employ practices that will turn those potential negatives into ultimate positives once a customer’s concerns have been alleviated.

But that very practice is what makes seeing unabashed (and unprompted) exhibitions of brand love from our client’s customers that much more rewarding.

Last week, a customer at the Ouidad salon enjoyed her hair care experience so much, she live-tweeted her experience throughout the day, including passing along tips from her stylist.  Needless to say, this made Ouidad’s day — and ours, since we were watching right alongside! ( In fact, it reminded us of a similarly enjoyable moment we observed last year, when a New York blogger shared her Ouidad hair model experience via Twitter and blog format.)

And here’s a helpful Twitter tip: if you really love a brand, make sure your tweets about them DON’T start with the @ symbol.  Why?  Because of the way Twitter categorizes conversations:

• Tweets that begin with @Ouidad, for example, will only be seen by three kinds of people: Ouidad, the sender of the tweetm and anyone who’s following both the sender and Ouidad.  (That’s probably a small cross-section of people who might see the tweet.)
• Tweets that include @Ouidad but which start with any character other than the @ symbol will still be seen by Ouidad, but they’ll also be seen by everybody who follows the sender.

Therefore, if you REALLY want someone to know about your awesome brand experience, make sure your tweets aren’t addressed solely to the brand.  That will give your praise the widest possible audience, and put an even bigger smile on the face of the employees who’ll be elated to see just how much you really love what they do.

Do you like us? Let us know on Facebook and Twitter!

As an industry that’s built entirely upon the exchange of opinions, the fashion world may seem like a field where social media would naturally take flight.  After all, aren’t terms like “word of mouth” and “viral buzz” the same keywords that signify success on both the catwalk and on Twitter?

But there’s a catch: the fashion world is actually built on a scarcity of opinions.  It relies on the reputations and influence of a select few tastemakers to tell the rest of the rabid audience what they’re supposed to like (and not like), and when.

So how did an industry that benefits from the existence of gatekeepers learn to embrace a new technology that essentially renders gatekeepers obsolete?

By turning their own world upside-down and offering everyone access.

In 2010, the vaunted New York Fashion Week — an event once so exclusive that access to it has been proffered as the grand prize on every season of Project Runway — went social in a big, big way.  Brands like American Express, Womens Wear Daily and Aveda helped sponsor a Twitterizing of Fashion Week, which spurred a wave of tech industry buzz.

Although the fashion world’s initial Twitter experiment was the source of much discussion, the model was reversed in 2011: instead of Twitter providing a top-down information hub, veteran (and aspiring) fashionistas seized the day and curated their own views of Fashion Week, resulting in a more vibrant variety of fashion coverage.  (Our clients Ouidad and Ecover even got into the mix!)

Today, the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week fan page on Facebook currently boasts more than 85,000 fans.  And while this year’s migration of fashion brands to Tumblr has had its share of ups and downs, the future implications of fashion’s affair with social media are clear: this once-insular industry is now actively seeking new ways to build buzz, generate awareness and connect with the general public.

As for fashion’s gatekeepers, they’re certainly not obsolete.  In fact, their expertise is actually even more valuable now, as a filter to help the public make sense of the flood of available fashion information that was once so highly restricted.

Who knew the industry that generates so much of the world’s art, imagery and gossip could get even bigger simply by opening their doors, pulling back their curtains and pressing the “share” button?

You should follow us on Facebook and Twitter!

Photo from 2010 Fashion Week by j-No, via Flickr.

When your brand is well-known in your field, you have a story worth telling.  But how do you find new audiences to share that story with?

You find something everyone has in common.

For example, it’s no secret that the fashion world has invested heavily in the social media market.  Tools like Twitter and Facebook, which are built to fuel conversations, are a perfect match for an industry that thrives on opinion.  And while not every brand is necessarily fashion-forward, a forward-thinking brand can always find ways to bridge that gap.

During this year’s Fashion Week in New York City, two of our Creative Concepts clients learned just how exhilarating the fashion world can be.

Ouidad (the best friend a curly girl could ever have) was live-tweeting backstage from several Fashion Week shows and shoots, sharing photos and channeling buzz as the fashion magic was happening.  Why?  Because, as a hair care expert who’s focused on empowerment and education, Ouidad knows that surrounding yourself with beauty is a key building block in your lifelong quest to feel fabulous!

Another of our clients, the eco-cleaning innovators Ecover, were thrilled to support Study, a sustainable fashion brand from Tara St. James that proves the fashion world sees “green” as more than just a color.  And since Ecover and Study are each using social media to communicate their passion for a cleaner, greener world, Ecover’s sponsorship provided the perfect opportunity to give each brand a common talking point which they could share with their own audiences.

So, how can your brand find new ways to share its expertise and passion with a new audience that might be a step or two removed from your existing fanbase?

First, find common ground — or a common enemy.  Then, reach out.  Be valuable.  Be interesting.  Be supportive.  Be worth knowing.

(And if you can do it while looking amazing in Armani or Burberry, there’s nothing wrong with that either!)

You should follow us on Facebook and Twitter!

As we’ve mentioned before, our client Ouidad is quite adept at creating hair care products that work wonders for those who otherwise struggle to tame their curls.  And while her core customer base is adult women, Ouidad long ago realized that most of these women were also mothers whose children’s curly hair needed just as much TLC.

So… voila!  Ouidad became a brand that was also kid-friendly!

But what happens when those kids become teens?  Does their attitude toward Ouidad as a brand begin to change?

To help navigate these waters, Ouidad highlighted yet another upside of her products: they don’t just provide a service; they solve problems.

Parents love Ouidad because her products allow them to style their childrens’ hair with no tears.  But teens love Ouidad because her products allow them to style themselves — with confidence!

Teens are a tricky demographic.  Marketing to teens is often like trying to hit a moving target that hasn’t yet made up its own mind about where it wants to go next.  But Ouidad removes some of that uncertainty by solving a key problem: her products grant teens the power to feel better about themselves.  Rather than viewing Ouidad as a trend or an option, they’re invited to embrace Ouidad as a solution.

Does your brand solve problems?  If so, your customers want to view you as more than just a line item on their shopping list; they want to consider you their ally against life’s uncertainties.  That’s a bond that even teens will remember well into adulthood — and it’s the kind of brand equity you can’t invent simply by positioning your products as a trend.

Want to hear more? Connect with us on Twitter or Facebook!

So, naturally, we helped Ouidad find a way to scale their hair care tips down for kids!  (Or, in this case, for moms, who sometimes feel like a straightening iron or a ponytail is their only recourse for getting the kids to school on time.)

Wondering whether your content might scale to kids and parents?  Ask yourself these questions:

• What are your brand’s core beliefs / offerings / products?
• Do the problems your brand solves also occur for kids?
• How would your products’ implementation change in the hands of kids (or parents)?
• How could your packaging or marketing change to appeal to kids (or parents)?
• Are kids (or parents) reachable via your current messaging channels?  If not, where are they reachable — and how would your message need to be adapted?

In Ouidad’s case, their core products solve a universal problem: “How do I look good without taking forever?”  Their products improve their customers’ self-esteem and self-awareness.  And these same needs and impacts are just as valuable (and maybe moreso) to kids and parents.

It helps that Ouidad has a line of KRLY Kids products specifically designed for kids’ hair.  But even if that weren’t the case, the same basic principles of content scaling apply.  Once you’ve identified your brand’s core values, adapting them for kids and parents is a great way to expand your customer base while simultaneously endearing your brand to a whole new generation.

And if your content (and your products) could be useful to children and parents, who else should you be reaching?

Want to learn more?  Follow us on Twitter or Facebook!

The video was supposed to be simple: a before-and-after interview with the winner of Ouidad’s “If These Curls Could Talk” contest, including a glimpse of her fabulous post-makeover ‘do, live from Ouidad’s New York City salon.

But we had one problem: the East Coast had just been buried by a blizzard.

In fact, the winner herself lived in Baltimore, which had just set a snowfall record.  Amtrak wasn’t running, the highways were shut down, and there was a very good chance the shoot would have to be canceled.

And then, miraculously, everything came together.

Trains and buses began running mere hours before the shoot was scheduled, and the winner arrived just in time…

… and with straight hair.

For those of you who don’t spend your lives in a hair salon, this is the equivalent of winning free tickets to a hockey camp and then showing up with a broken leg.  Whatever the camp intended to teach you, they suddenly realize they’ll have to heal you first.*

So Ouidad and her stylists set to work, not only to give their contest winner the curls of her dreams, but to help her understand why straightening her hair wasn’t the best idea in the first place.  We’re pretty sure their advice worked, because the contest winner was awestruck by her new look and her newfound understanding of how to best care for her curls.

The results?  See for yourself:

The lesson?  As we’ve mentioned before, live video shoots are all about being adaptable — even when time, weather and the video’s topic itself all seem to conspire against you.

So remember: in social media, there’s no such thing as a true negative.  Every stumbling block is really an opportunity for improvement, and another positive just waiting to happen — and when it does, you end up with an even better story to tell!

(Speaking of improvement, for more helpful haircare Q&As, visit Ouidad’s info-packed website.  If you’re not curly by nature, you’ll wish you were!)

* And speaking of hockey, enter this Facebook contest from Bigelow Tea — who is also our client — and you could win tickets to Wayne Gretzky’s hockey camp in 2011!  (But be careful about that broken leg.  Seriously.)

Want to turn your troubles into treasures?  Join us on Twitter or Facebook!

And then you blew it.

How?

Because you didn’t pay attention to the details.

The following three tips are so obvious, they should almost go without saying.  Yet we see these same mistakes being made time and time again — sometimes, even by us.  (Yes, we’re human too — which is why, like you, we sometimes need to remind ourselves of the basics.)

1. Proofread. Nothing hurts the impact of a message like a spelling, grammar or punctuation error.  Whether it’s due to haste, laziness or simply lack of knowledge, these mistakes happen.  The trick is to catch them before your audience does.  Some of the blog posts we help craft for our client Bigelow Tea are reviewed by half a dozen people before they’re published, and the last person in line still catches the occasional gaffe.

2. Watch the clock. If you’re using an ancillary tool like HootSuite or CoTweet to schedule your messages in advance, you need to be aware of two extremely common hiccups:

• Scheduling a tweet or status update to post at the time you’re writing it, rather than at the time you intend for it to publish.
• Scheduling an update for AM instead of PM (or vice versa).

Because nothing hurts the ROI of your message like publishing it at 4 AM…

3. Recycle. You have a killer piece of content… but you only post it to one of your channels?  Why waste it?  For example, our client Ouidad may have great photos from New York Fashion Week, but if they were only posted to Facebook, they’d never be searchable on Flickr.  Likewise, just because you’ve tweeted, blogged or otherwise discussed a topic once, that doesn’t mean everyone in your audience saw that individual message.  Repeat the important stuff often, so your busy fans and customers can have multiple opportunities to connect with your big news.

Want more tips? You should follow us on Twitter and Facebook!

But those requests for help go both ways.  If you’re asking your customers for feedback, you should also prepare to answer their incoming questions.  Here are examples of 3 ways our Creative Concepts clients have used Twitter to help solve their customers’ problems.

1. Store Locators

Both Bigelow Tea and Ouidad are store-based clients of ours.  Bigelow Tea is sold across North America, while Ouidad has certified stylists in salons nationwide (and beyond).  But sometimes their customers can’t find a certain tea flavor at their local grocer, or they wonder if there’s a Ouidad certified stylist in their neighborhood.

When these comments pop up on Twitter, Bigelow and Ouidad can reach out and offer lists of nearby salons or stores that can help a discerning tea lover or fashionista find what they’re searching for.

(Like tea?  Follow Bigelow here.  Got curls?  Follow Ouidad here.)

2. Helpful Suggestions

Just because your products or services are designed to solve problems, that doesn’t mean your customers necessarily remember to use them.  Sales are one approach to reminding your customers that you exist.  Suggestions are another.

During cold and flu season, Bigelow Tea offers moral support (and suggested tea remedies) to those poor folks with nagging coughs and sore throats.  Or, when people voice their frustration with inefficient (or ecologically unsound) cleaning products, Ecover can confidently suggest their own line of household cleaners.  (You can follow Ecover here.)

3. Shared Wisdom

Yes, a company is a business, but a company is also comprised of people — and your customers are people too.  Sometimes, questions can come up that have nothing at all to do with your products and services, and everything to do with life in general.  If you know the answer, don’t be afraid to offer it.

For example, letting someone know that a group of butterflies is sometimes called a kaleidoscope may not have anything to do with laundry detergent, but that doesn’t mean Ecover couldn’t share that information with a person who’d asked.  Did it sell another bottle of product?  Not necessarily.  But it did remind someone that Ecover exists, and that they’re listening — and that they know a thing or two about the environment.

After all, at the end of the day, people remain loyal to the brands they feel best about.  And when your brand takes the time to care, and to be personal, that’s one more reason for you and your customers to keep talking.

Want to talk more with us? Let’s connect on Twitter or Facebook!

The web is crowded and filled with distractions.  A successful business finds ways to break through the clutter and deliver compelling messages to the people most likely to act upon them.

But how well can you articulate who your target audience is?

The New York Times recently detailed the upside of The Economist, a rare success story in this modern era of downsized magazines.  The standout quote from that article is:

“Whole Foods is actually a psychographic, not a demographic,” said Paul Rossi, The Economist’s managing director and executive vice president for the Americas. “One of the things people say is, ‘You go after an affluent audience.’ But we don’t define our audience by their demographic. We define our audience based on what they think.”

That’s a bold move — and, at least for now, one that’s paying off on The Economist’s bottom line.  But, to do this, a company must understand what its core audience thinks, wants and needs, and be able to deliver those solutions in a manner that resonates.

If you can do that… why stop there?

How Creative Concepts Helps Its Clients Expand Their Core Audience

When a client asks us to help them deliver a message, they often already know what they want to say and to whom they’d like to say it.  What they initially expect us to do is help them find that audience online.  And we do.

But we also help them tailor their original message to the tastes of multiple audiences, each of which combines to form different aspects of their extended customer base.

For example, Ecover is a multinational company that manufactures sustainable cleaning products.  Their obvious core audience is “green” moms in search of healthier alternatives to chemical cleaners.

But the list of customers who are, could, or should be motivated by Ecover’s solutions is much broader, including:

• Journalists
• Scientists
• Teachers
• Fathers
• Kids
• Grandparents
• Gardeners
• Cleaning staffs
• Corporate buyers

… and so on.

Likewise, tea might not seem like an obvious conversational topic for sports fans, traveling salesmen or history buffs, but our work with Bigelow Tea has helped expand brand awareness among these unlikely audiences.

And while Ouidad may be the “Queen of Curl,” the interested audience for her products extends far beyond the walls of her New York City salon.  As we helped Ouidad track inbound web traffic and blog comments, we found passionate customers from around the world — many of whom speak Spanish or Portuguese.  This prompted us to begin translating Ouidad’s content, in order to better serve her growing multilingual audience.

Understanding your core audience is a key to driving your business forward.  But finding different ways to deliver one message to multiple audiences is one way Creative Concepts helps our clients expand beyond their core customers.

Do you know how to reach your extended audience?

To learn more, connect with us on Twitter or Facebook!

Image by calonda on Flickr