It’s with great pleasure that we announce our receipt of a highly coveted award. Our materials for Model Suites were selected as a winning entry for the 2012 s!

We spent a significant amount of time at the open of 2012 selecting and submitting key projects that met a level of excellence which we deemed to be award-worthy, and the many hours spent flipping through entry guidelines and rushing to meet deadlines has paid off!

It is an absolute honour to have our work recognized. We are thrilled to have our winning entry displayed in the July/August 2012 issue of the magazine, the Winners Gallery, as well as on the website, and at their annual Winners Exhibit, which will be held on November 1, 2012, in Toronto.

We submitted a complete design program for Model Suites Realty, a labour of love that was beautifully executed by Creative Director Art Manadalas, Art Director Fernando Salvador, Senior Graphic Designer Anna Garcia, and Account Director David Barnes.  You can get a sneak peak of our submission below, and be sure to check out the website for another great example of the logo application.

Thank you to the judging panel and the team over at Applied Arts, and of course Model Suites Realty for giving us the opportunity to work on such a fantastic creative project.

A voice. Every brand needs one.

This concept is like a dead horse, one that’s now been beaten so badly we need dental records to identify it.

We talk about brand voices all the time, constantly pushing the idea that a voice is essential to any marketing initiative.  Voice this. Voice that.

But, what’s a brand voice really? Is it when you open a carton of milk, only to have it Moo at you? No.  That’s not a voice. That’s a sound effect, folks.

We’re talking about the tone, the personality, and specific types of conversation that this brand will initiate in a public forum.

It all has to be relative to your brand’s core values, and to put it simply, it should reflect what kind of person your brand would be if it were to appear in the flesh. To do this properly, you have to identify your demographic, and adjust your tone to resonate with those who are listening.  For example, The Ronald McDonald House is a wholesome charity, and they communicate that through their Twitter. They live-tweet fundraisers, post inspiring stories, and send tweets of gratitude to new followers. If they tweeted ‘Getting’ MESSED UP at da Jays game tonight and selling some raffle tickets #YOLO’ people might get confused about their intentions. Of course, that’s a very extreme case, but you never know.

When a brand approaches an agency, they already have a pretty good understanding of who they want to reach via Twitter. However, it’s up to the agency to develop a unique voice, and to post relatable content that interests the group they are trying to reach.

Using your chosen voice to interact with similar brands is a good way to start B2B dialogue that’s interesting to observe as an outsider. Seeing brands like Pepsi tweet at Arby’s about “getting together sometime” is cute, right? It’s like they’re old college buddies or something. Suddenly, they’re not  just faceless mega-corporations, but rather a pair of friends looking to kick back, and upset a few stomachs.

But this doesn’t happen over night. Keep a close eye on your analytics as you begin to mold your tonality.  It’s all about trial and error. Finding out what works.

I used to wear puka shells and snap-back visors. I don’t anymore.

Twitter accounts, and the brand voices that populate them, are not unlike people. Like a person, they must grow and develop. As a person, you change over time, and your brand’s voice should do the same.

So, that said, which brands have exceptional brand voices? Whose brand voice could use some work?
Did you ever wear puka shells? (Just kidding, don’t answer that.)

You know that old saying? If you have nothing nice to say, don’t say anything at all? Well, ever since the dawn of Twitter, this adage has taken a bit of a beating. People tweet whatever’s on their mind, at any given time, every hour of the day.

This has had both a positive and negative effect on the social media scene. On the one hand, there are always plenty of rib-tickling tweets to read, those tongue-in-cheek declarations that poke fun at others, or simply make the tweeter himself look remarkably silly. The negative effect, of course, is that sometimes a flippant tweet can be extremely hurtful to others, as well as damaging to your own reputation.

But who said that there’s never room for error? After all, Twitter does provide us with a “delete this tweet” button for a reason.

Whether you’re on the job, and have misspelled a tweet for a social media client, or sent a tweet, er, past your bedtime and after a few too many brewskis, you can always take the retroactive approach.

When in doubt, delete and redo.

However, if you’re still unsure about which tweets should get the axe, and which ones are safe to stay, have a look at this clever infographic by Danny Dumas for Wired.

Hello, my name is Daniella Gullo, and I’m a social media addict.

It began innocently enough.  I started with a Hotmail account. Everyone was doing it. After all, it was the 90’s.

Then, I got ICQ, followed by a MySpace account, and then MSN Messenger.  Not too long after that, I joined Facebook, followed by LinkedIn, and then Twitter, and Instagram, and I got a WordPress, and suddenly, before I knew it, I was updating Pintrest on my iPhone while searching trending topics on my laptop, and taking a breather only to empty my inbox.

It’s exhausting. But hey, it’s 2012. This is how everyone lives. Right? Right?

Nope. Wrong.

An infographic created by Heat, an ad agency in San Francisco, would argue otherwise. According to their findings, people working in advertising and marketing are knees deep in social media, while “normal” people are only dipping their toes in. The data collected states that industry folks are actually hooked on social media in a way that, say, an interior designer or an accountant would not be.

Don’t believe me? Check it out!

Scary.

“Every time I see an example of corporate happiness I can only see the reality of life. I can’t help myself anymore. I can’t stop rearranging their copy,” says one of the creators of Depressed Copywriter, a new blog making waves in the ad world.

The site has caught the eye of both advertisers and eternal pessimists alike, riffing on taglines and news headers, twisting them to reveal truly discouraging messages. Like a firm slap in the face, these reworked bits of copy shine a light on the murky truths about consumer culture, the presumed fate of civilization, and the prevalence of pathological despair in our society today.  Heavy stuff, eh?

AdWeek discovered the thread, and posted the link to the blog in an article early this morning.

According to AdWeek, the blog is run by four recent advertising graduates who, in between shooting off resumes, and complaining about unemployment rates in America, felt the need to poke fun at the very industry they’re hoping to be a part of.

Stupid move, right?

Maybe not. The truth hurts, but perhaps that’s what the ad world needs right now.  A new breed of copywriters and creatives who acknowledge the fact that the glass might, indeed, be half empty. Ballsy move on their part. But who knows? They might be on to something.

Because of this, we can’t wait to see what the future holds for these peculiar pessimists, and this provocative new blog.

Is there room for cynicism in advertising? Can sadness sell? Let us know in the comment sections below.

She carried you for nine months. She screamed, and swore, and push, push, pushed you into the world.  She woke up with you at all hours of the night, and burped you over her shoulder. And then, years later, scolded you under her breath about burping in public.

She taught you about manners. To say please, and thank you, and never to leave your dirty socks on your bedroom floor. She hugged you when you cried, and tickled you until you peed.  She put on your Band-Aids, and took off your snowsuits.  She packed your lunches, and dressed you for prom. She was there for your first haircut. Your first heartbreak. And your first hangover. And dried your tears when you experienced all three.

She watched you grow, with pride and delight. She applauded you in cap and gown, and bragged about you to all of her friends. She corrected you when you said I can’t, and smiled for you when you said I do.

Even when she becomes Granny, or Nona, or Bubbie, or Oma, or even good ol’ Grandmère, she will always be Mom to you.

This Mother’s Day, and every day, be sure to let her know just how much she means to you.

Here at Pulp&Fiber, we love our Mama’s. And in honour of this holiday weekend, we’ve collected the very best commercials that celebrate motherhood. Enjoy!

]]> http://www.pulp-and-fiber.com/mothers-day-commercials/feed/ 1 http://www.pulp-and-fiber.com/worst-iphone-apps-ever/ http://www.pulp-and-fiber.com/worst-iphone-apps-ever/#comments Thu, 10 May 2012 17:46:58 +0000 admin http://www.pulp-and-fiber.com/?p=2379

Need a taxi, and can’t seem to catch one? There’s an app for that. Wanna know which song you’re listening to you, and can’t seem to figure it out? Guess what? There’s an app for that! Need a caffeine fix, like, immediately, and can’t manage to track down a Starbucks? Wait for it… Wait for it… There’s an app for that, too!

Yes, it seems that with every passing day, a new mobile app is developed. The mobile gods are intent on making life as easy as possible for iPhone users, and touch-screen consumers couldn’t be more thrilled. There’s a wealth of downloadable applications to choose from, each one appearing (appearing, being the operative word here) more useful and intuitive than the next. Welcome to the future, ya’ll!

However, not every idea can be a good one. Indeed, for each certifiably useful app that’s developed, ten horrifyingly senseless apps follow in their wake.

Today, we’ve compiled a list of the five silliest iPhone apps available for download. Enjoy!

1. Rate A Fart 2.0
OK, time for some real talk. Everyone farts. It doesn’t matter your gender, chosen profession, or dietary predilection. (That’s right, we’re looking you, Mr. Soy-Milk-In-My-Coffee-Tofu-In-My-Burritos) If you’re alive and breathing, you’re passing gas from time to time, too. The difference here is that some people see it as a necessary bodily function, and others see it as a reason to laugh and high five.  Just as you’d imagine, based on the name alone, Rate-A-Fart 2.0 allows users to record the sound of their butt bombs, upload said sound to a database, and invite other fart enthusiasts to rate the sound using their mobile devices. We can only imagine the hilarity that will surely ensue once we develop the technology to capture and transfer smells electronically. Not.

2. HangTime
The perfect app for people with small IQ’s and large trust funds. It’ll only run you 99 cents, plus the cost of replacing your phone when it smashes into bits on the pavement! That’s right, folks. Here’s an app that measures how high you can lob your iPhone into the air, and the length of time between toss and catch.  We can’t imagine why anyone would knowingly run the risk of destroying their mobile device for the sake if sheer entertainment? But then again, the world is filled with stupid people.

3. Sexy Alphabet Deluxe
Letters are sexy. Just ask our copywriter. Lucky for us, the developers of this genius app have kicked it up a notch, offering lonely men everywhere the chance to practice their ABC’s, and get a little excited while doing so. This app is about as basic as they come. The app allows you to listen to the letters of the alphabet read aloud “in a sexual and sophisticated way.”  It’s like having a naughty kindergarten teacher in your back pocket at all times. And goodness knows, we all want that.

4. iSnort
Drugs are bad. We all know this. The short and long term effects are both detrimental to your heath, relationships, and in most cases, your career.  Unless you’re Charlie Sheen. (He has tiger blood, guys.) That’s why we’re utterly perplexed by iSnort, a mobile app that simulates the process of pouring, cutting, and snorting narcotics. Unless you get a high from looking like an absolute fool in public, we can’t imagine what the benefit to downloading this app might be? If you’re going to get hooked on anything, shoot for Angry Birds, ok?

5. Kiss Me
Hey! Here’s a sanitary idea! You know that iPhone that you’ve been leaving on tables, taking on the subway, jamming in your lint filled pockets, and forgetting in the backseats of cabs, only to be returned days later by a complete stranger who, somehow, believes in “karma”? You should pucker up and kiss it! Why? Because it can tell you what a good kisser you are! Yup, the Kiss Me app is able to rate your peck based on “how much time and attention you put into your kiss.” Practice makes perfect! One day, maybe you’ll get your first real-person kiss. But probably not. Sorry.

Did we miss any? Tell us about the dumbest app out there in the comments section below!

Ursus Beer bares all

It might possibly be the most clichéd concept in the advertising world. The idea that sex sells. We declare it caustically while hovering in the studio, pointing with flaccid finger toward the Photoshop screen, saying “scale up”, and referring to the model’s breasts while doing so. Then, we laugh with the designers. Maybe at the absurdity, or maybe not. But mostly because both parties acknowledge with humility (and defeat) that in the end, this ad will be approved based on the A&T alone.

Some experts hold that whether we elect to recognize it or not, just about every purchase we make links back to sex. Pure, connatural carnality. Be it the tagline, the spokesperson, or the product itself, mankind (and womankind) are drawn to innuendo, and genetically hardwired to ruthlessly pursue the possibility of sex.

Everything from your smartphone, to your car, to the shoes on your feet, the restaurant you eat at, and the lounges and bars where you drink, the records you buy, the beer you suck back with your pretzels, and the gum that you chew afterward. All of these purchases are governed, if not solely influenced, by sex. The probability of having it. The promise of bettering it. And the confidence in knowing that, with each dollar spent, you’re one step closer to climax.

And this, of course, is a hard pill to swallow. Are we that shallow? That easily swayed? And then there’s the debate. What, if anything, is the connection between this Mac that I’m typing on (“Apple makes, like, the raddest ads!”) and the ol’ in-and-out?

Evolutionary Psychologist Geoffrey Miller would argue that all acquisitions are prompted by the primal desire for procreation, for pleasure, or a combination of the two. Miller recently authored a book, entitled “Spent: Sex, Evolution, and Consumer Behavior”, wherein he hops on the Freudian bandwagon, arguing that sex is on the mind, all the time, and plays a factor in every decision we make. According to Miller, men buy expensive cars to project power, women blow fortunes on lipsticks and perfumes to appear beautiful, and the root of this spend-frenzy is the need to appeal to the opposite sex.

However, researchers from the University of California believe that the connection between advertising, consumption, and sex runs much deeper than Miller would have us think.

According to a study conducted in September 2011, researchers found that seeing an attractive man or woman in a print ad or commercial stimulates the areas of the brain that make people want buy on impulse, circumventing the sections of the brain that control rational thought.

How did they come to this conclusion? Logical persuasion (LP), the act of using simple, convincing facts to sell a product, turned out to be less effective than the adverts that used non-rational influence (NI), employing provocative, stimulating images.

For example, a denim ad featuring a sexy woman standing with her legs apart had a greater impact on the test subjects than an ad for a car that featured miles-per-gallon data. The reactions to both ads were measured using brain activity monitors, and you can guess which tested higher.

The frequencies of brain activity in the emotional processing and decision-making parts of the brain were much lower during the NI than the LP adverts. In short, we buy smarter when the ads are, for lack of better description, smart too.

Fittingly, UCLA’s Dr. Ian Cook instructed consumers to “watch [their] brain and watch [their] wallet,’” after publishing the study in the Journal of Neuroscience, Psychology and Economics.

“Viewing LP images was consistently linked with significantly higher activity levels in the orbitofrontal and anterior cingulate regions, the amygdala, and the hippocampus, all areas of the brain involved in decision-making and emotional processing,” says Cook. “In response to non-rational (NI) sensory inputs, activity was lower in areas of the brain that help us inhibit responses to stimuli.”

That’s a mouthful, eh? But don’t bother Googling the aforementioned. We’ll explain it for you in layman’s terms. An LP image causes us to think: Do we really need this T-shirt? Is this car actually worth the investment? Would this be a rational purchase? These questions help us to see the difference between ‘need’ and ‘want’ which decreases the likelihood of an impulse purchase.  However, NI images force us to skip the rational thinking process, and jump right to “I WANNNNNNNNIT!” simply based on the fact that the ad is, in effect, flipping on the Immediate Gratification switch.

So, does sex really sell? The long answer is… Mmmmmaybe. Indirectly, sex does sell. Looking at a seductive ad, we are more likely to be persuaded to pull out our pocketbooks based on something more subliminal. We don’t really look at an image of a woman being chased by nine male models and think, “If I use those wax strips, I too will have male models chasing me down the street.”

No, we’re not that credulous after all.

Skin, sweat, and sex make an impact on an audience, it’s true. But it has more to do with science than it does seduction, and that’s a theory you can sell us on any day.

What good would an agency be without its clients? Here at P+F, we’ve organized a pretty solid roster of regulars, those clients who trust and rely on us exclusively for a variety of projects and campaigns. Lucky for us, many of the “usual suspects” belong to the service and entertainment industry, and more specifically, the beer, wine, and spirit sectors.

Aside from just the sheer sense of pride we get when working with these well-respected liquor brands, there’s one more perk that cannot be overlooked. SAMPLES!

Like anyone in advertising, we enjoy a good cocktail from time to time. (Mad Men, anyone?) And, because we are a digitally focused agency, we also appreciate a well-made blog.  Naturally, then, an excellent blog with exceptional cocktail recipes gets a gold star in our books!

Summer’s so close, we can literally taste it. Because of this, we can’t wait to dust off our mortars and our pestles, bust out the blenders, and start toasting to the season!

Thirsty, yet?  Raise a glass with us, and check out our list of the Best Mixology Blogs on the internet today:

Alcademics
We love this blog for two reasons. The first being that the author’s name is, yep, Camper English.  That’s his real name. I know, right? The second reason is because it’s updated constantly with amazing cocktail recipes that are easy to make, and even easier to love. The site design is a little on the bland side, but after whipping up one of English’s cocktails, you’ll realize why he doesn’t use Flash. (His drinks are flashy enough on their own!)

The Liquid Muse
Perfect for the home entertainer or the rookie bartender. This blog offers updates on old classics, as well as new and inventive drinks for every occasion. With clever instructional videos and a nifty little blog featuring recipes and little bits of boozy backstories, this site has it all.

The Liquor Snob
No one likes a snob, right? Wrong. When it comes to our cocktails, we only want the best and brightest recommending our drinks. Offering mixing tips, brand reviews, and amazing prize giveaways, we can see past the snobbery and get down to sipping. Besides, after serving one of these drinks, you’ll be the one doing all the bragging. Guaranteed.

Dr. Bamboo
Cocktails and conversation go hand in hand.  And, good, solid, intellectual conversation is always best. (Spare us a weather re-cap, will ya? We get CP24, too.) Lucky for us, Dr. Bamboo provides just that; amazing recipes and interesting, thoughtful posts about liquor culture, the history of the cocktail, and his own personal experiences. It’s also refreshing to read a blog written by someone who, you know, can actually write.

Kaiser Penguin
Have a bit more experience under your belt? Do you practically secrete simple syrup from your pores? Kaiser Penguin is the perfect site for the more seasoned cocktailer.  And why the weird name? “It’s a well-known fact that penguins are members of high society and enjoy fine cocktails,” says the KP. (Odd, Morgan Freeman never mentioned that?) Sounds like we have another Liquor Snob on our hands.

Did we miss any? Which mixology blogs do you frequent? Let us know in the comment section below!

And, if you’re still thirsty, keep up with Disaronno as they launch their Mixing Stars challenge.

Why? Because it hasn’t been properly optimized!

The solution is simple, though. Search Engine Optimization (SEO). SEO naturally increases your visibility online, and generates more traffic for your site.

With so much competition, your website needs to be fully optimized in order to keep up.

Still don’t believe us?

Here are the top 4 reasons why your website needs SEO.

Reason #1: Gain Visibility on the Web

Gaining visibility on the web is the number one reason to implement SEO into your company’s online strategy. SEO allows your potential customers to enter key words relevant to what your company offers into a search engine, and find your website. What’s the main goal here? Having your business show up at the top of the search queue. Without proper SEO, your website may not show up on the first page, second page, maybe not even the fifth or sixth. Your site will, in effect, be buried. Extremely difficult to find. When your site shows up higher in the queue, you’re gaining more visibility, and therefore more clicks.

Reason #2: Assists you in your Business Goals

Whether you have a new business that’s still growing, or a seasoned company that’s been around for years, you’ll always be looking to recruit new leads and generate more sales. The internet has become one of the first places potential customers go to find the best picks for a product or service. For this reason, turning up in a search will be extremely beneficial. With the assistance of SEO, you’ll get to the top of those potential customers’ lists, resulting in more leads, more sales and hopefully, return customers.

Reason #3: Why Waste Money on Paid Searches?

As web competition becomes increasingly fierce, many companies are opting to use “pay per click” to get visits to their websites. The “pay per click” route does get you to the top of the list; however the price for this ends up being fairly steep quickly for several businesses. SEO tactics get you to the top of the search list in a more organic way, providing you with qualified leads that didn’t cost you anything out of your own pocket.

Reason #4: Organic Results are Preferred by Customers

It has been proven that internet users prefer that their search results be organic, rather than having paid or promoted results. More than half of both Google and Yahoo users will choose natural results over paid results. Because of this, “pay per click” is actually limiting to your business’ web visibility.

Here at Pulp&Fiber, we have the capabilities of providing you and your business with a SEO service. For more information or for a consultation contact us!