Rather than simply pandering to a younger demographic Discovery’s new channel, Planet Green, came up with a pretty inspired & humorous promo spot. The acting isn’t oscar caliber but this certainly will connect with their target audience a heck of a lot better than paying them to read a list of reasons why being eco-friendly is the prudent thing to do. You have to give it to them for pulling this commercial off, it’s extremely hard to successfully use celebrities (Rocker Tommy Lee & Rapper Ludacris) as spokespeople. Just look at this terrible example from TNT for the 2008 NBA playoffs featuring Terrence Howard as a comparison. EEEKKKK:
Penguin UK is re-releasing Ian Fleming’s classic James Bond novels with these BEAUTIFUL covers illustrated by Michael Gillette. Here are a few of my favorites, but they are all worth ogling.
A great day in Texas. Mary and I gave our presentation/workshop to the Amigos folks in Dallas this past week. The workshop, “Can Libraries be Sold Like Soap?,” was similar to our CARL presentation but we did make a few adjustments. What’s great about the way we have structured the workshop is that we can easily tailor it to fit any size group. We’ve worked with groups as small as ten and as large as fifty. We can also easily cut or add activities to accommodate for time constraints. One hour workshops work, but they’re not as effective as the three hour workshops we have given. “Can Libraries Be Sold Like Soap?” is constantly evolving. At the core is our commitment to offering a workshop that is engaging, practical, entertaining, and of course, educational. Still, we are always updating it with analyses of new social marketing campaigns and new activities that really allow participants to come out of the workshop with the beginnings of a campaign. The folks at Amigos came out of the workshop with some great ideas including the “Take One for You and One for a Friend” school library campaign and the public library campaign “Steal Music for Free at Your Library.” We got to meet some great folks from the area including Nancy Hill from UTEP and Betty Long from the New Mexico State Library. We hope to see these folks again and develop workshops aimed at their particular staff and needs. Only regret is that we had to leave so early. Mary to Chicago for another workshop and me back to Tucson for work and three-year old play. Thanks to Eddy and Laura at Amigos for all the help behind the scenes. Presentation and travel went off without a hitch thanks to their support. And again thanks to our guru, Katya Andresen, for continued inspiration via her book and blog. One last thing. If you doubt Mary’s presence and stardom, just click here: http://genneaux.wordpress.com/2008/05/09/i-am-a-tool-of-engagement/ The gal’s a rising star!!!
This week Mary is presenting at two conferences. Woah Mama! Keep an eye out for her if you are attending either of these conferences! A Brand You World: Amigos Member Conference 2008 Breakout Session with Yvonne Mery Wednesday, May 7th, 2008
Can Libraries Be Sold like Soap? When: Wednesday, May 7 – 1:00 p.m. – 3:10 p.m. (Breakout Session) Speakers: Mary Evangeliste Director of User Services & Outreach, Gettysburg College and Co-Founder, Fearless Future: Marketing for Things That Matter; Yvonne Mery, Assistant Librarian, Undergraduate Services Team, University of Arizona Library Audience: Branding and Marketing Traditionally, many librarians have had little faith in commercial marketing, perceiving it as unnecessary and claiming, in effect, that you can’t sell libraries like you sell soap. This session will present an alternative perspective on commercial marketing: social marketing and its applicability to libraries.
What are the most creative libraries doing to engage current and potential users of the library? Join us as we explore great new ideas for reaching and engaging users and look at some results of users’ involvement in shaping library services, programs, and spaces. This program will go beyond PR, to involving our various communities of users in shaping the libraries of the future. Panelists include an accomplished library social marketer and outreach librarian, a very successful public library director who has integrated her library with other public agencies, a leader in college student engagement programs, and a recent MLS graduate exploring new ideas. This teleconference is 90 minutes–Noon to 1:30 p.m. Eastern Time
Along with the discovery channel’s new branding, they have rolled out a really charming commercial. I really like the new commercial (it gives me the warm & fuzzies), and I also really like the new typography of Discovery’s new logo, but I’m not crazy about the “D” and globe combination they have started using as a stand-alone component of the branding. [rebranding via AdGoodness]
I was working on a new site design with Mary this past weekend, when we started to play around with colors for the layout. I showed her a website that Adobe created that allows you to create color palettes with up to five colors and see how they interact with each other. The site is called Kuler (get it?? color spelled funny) and is supremely useful. You can create your own combinations or just browse the site for inspiration. Another site that I love to browse for color inspiration (but have yet to use their palette creation capabilities) is ColourLovers.
Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty made quite a splash when it hit the interwebs in 2006 with their 1st viral video entitled “evolution.” As a testament to Dove’s success, Foster Farms has just made a spot-on parody of the “evolution” ad entitled “transformation.”
Dove’s “evolution”
Foster Farms’ “transformation”
While not exactly new, this is also another great example of culture jamming… Unilever is the parent company of Dove as well as Axe, a men’s cologne who’s ads usually catch ire for being misogynistic. As a response to the apparent hypocrisy coming from Unilever, an internet user re-mixed Dove’s second viral ad “onslaught” with clips from Axe’s commercials.
Honda wanted to raise the green credentials of its lawn and garden equipment and to remind avid gardeners that Honsa’s range of products its not only good for their garden, it’s also good for the environment. Their solution was a letter that grows. They printed the direct mail piece on specially made paper containing seeds that could be planted to grow flowers. When consumers planted the letter, it became a permanent (and lovely) part of their garden. In terms of a gardening message, “Honda” literally became part of their garden. In terms of a green message, they went beyond “Carbon Neutral” and created an idea that would ultimately remove carbon from the atmosphere. Both the envelope and paper were 100% recycled, acid free and environmentally friendly. They even used green friendly inks. Agency: Inferno London, United Kingdom
A great day in Texas. Mary and I gave our presentation/workshop to the
This week Mary is presenting at two conferences. Woah Mama! Keep an eye out for her if you are attending either of these conferences! 
Along with the discovery channel’s new branding, they have rolled out a really charming commercial. I really like the new commercial (it gives me the warm & fuzzies), and I also really like the new typography of Discovery’s new logo, but I’m not crazy about the “D” and globe combination they have started using as a stand-alone component of the branding. 
[rebranding via 
I was working on a new site design with Mary this past weekend, when we started to play around with colors for the layout. I showed her a website that Adobe created that allows you to create color palettes with up to five colors and see how they interact with each other. The site is called 
