Tag Archives: michigan

Nope! It’s Chuck Testa.

Posted on by Andrew Rushmore

Soon, if you haven’t already, you’ll be watching a video shot for Chuck Testa out in California.

As I’m writing this, I have had to opportunity to watch his video spread from a tiny comment on www.reddit.com to a full out internet meme.

(A meme (play /?mi?m/[1]) is “an idea, behaviour or style that spreads from person to person within a culture. Pronounced like “cream” it was coined by Professor Dawkins)

Here’s the video:

Hilarious yes?

What makes this video great, is that Chuck Testa pops out and says “Nope! It’s Chuck Testa”. But if Chuck had said “nope” to the video producers creative ideas, he would have seen far less exposure for his content.

Published August 14th, the video saw minor success. Chuck was probably happy enough with the video too! But wait. Check out the insights below. Once there internet “found out” about the commercial, his views skyrocketed.

Not every viral video will work. In fact. Most don’t. Our city saw great success thanks to Rob Bliss and his team producing a Lib-Dub video for the classic song  American Pie. Rob and his team poured their time into that video – and views kept climbing. Grand Rapids got another 15 minutes of fame (more like, 4MM+ views of fame!).

So why did Chuck Testa’s video hit off with the internet? Simple. They didn’t try too hard, but they experimented with a creative solution that ended up becoming a booming success.

He’s actually hosting a contest right now on his website for the best “NOPE!” photoshop. (http://www.ojaitaxidermy.com – if you want to enter.)

Here are my key takeaways from the Chuck Testa ‘experience’ (and he still makes me laugh outloud, FYI.):

  • First and foremost: don’t be afraid to be creative.
  • Pushing the boundaries doesn’t have to be “offensive” – you can push boundaries and still be noticed.
  • If the internet “finds out” about something you’ve done and it goes viral – let it. Heck, join it!
  • Don’t. Be afraid. Let your brand explore a creative message that wouldn’t normally “fit”.

If you find any good Chuck Testa stories, share it with us on our Facebook or Twitter!

www.facebook.com/weareagentx

www.twitter.com/weareagentx

Addendum: I should add that the video was shot by professionals for “Commercial Kings“. Just note that while shot by professionals, the beauty of the video is how long it took to be “discovered” by the internet. Very impressive viral piece.

Surviving CES and Experiential/Event Marketing

Posted on by Andrew Rushmore

The office is buzzing even more than usual lately and that can only mean one thing for our team: CES is coming! This will be the fifth year our client (Fulton Innovation) attends the show; we’re excited, as always!

Experiential and event management is exciting yet there are many ‘nail biting/ nerve racking’ moments that can be averted with a proper strategy. If you’re interested in experiential marketing, in the middle of planning an event, a marketing student, etc. than then post is for you. I’m going to share the top ten tips and tricks I’ve picked up in my five years of experience with CES – hopefully you’ll stop biting those nails now! Click below to read more.

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Community Involvement: Our Opportunity to Lead

Posted on by Andrew Rushmore

We live in a fast paced world in tough economic times: focus on the bottom line is just as important now as it is when the economy is flourishing. Yet just as there’s value behind every plan, every marketing strategy and every well thought out business model that drives revenue, there’s value in giving back to the community.

I’m grateful to the leadership at Steketee Greiner and Co. for their encouragement with my interest in engaging the community; ever since I joined the company in January I’ve been encouraged to grow not only as a professional but as a community leader as well. My interests carried over from my leadership position as Chair of Ad 2 West Michigan’s Public Service Campaign for Wealthy Street Theatre, located in East Grand Rapids and blossomed into opportunities with assisting Grand Rapids Whitewater (GRWW) as well as the Cool Cities/Cool Connections outreach program.

Over the last two months I’ve had the opportunity to provide guidance to young adults who graduated or were in high-school in the Ionia School District. It involved touring their town, giving feedback on marketing efforts the young adults had in place to encourage safe driving, meeting with city leadership officials in Ionia and then letting them see the Grand Rapids. After an hour with Mayor George Heartwell and Third Ward Commissioner Elias Lumpkins, we ended the experience by helping the young adults paint bus shelters by Veterans Park, downtown; it was a great way to let them leave a short term legacy of how Grand Rapids looked through their eyes.

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Passion for Advertising is Becoming Passion for Social Media

Posted on by Andrew Rushmore

I want to begin by greeting our readers, as this will be the first post I have had the honor of contributing to our company’s blog since I came to Steketee Greiner and Company (SGC) almost six months ago. It’s been an amazing journey and I’ve been thrilled to be a member of such a dedicated team of professionals.

In my professional development, before being an employee with SGC, I joined a local organization called Ad 2 West Michigan; in a year I was elected to the role of Chair of Public Service, where I have worked with my friend and professional club associate Ray Cashbaugh (Chair of Creative), as well as the handful of dedicated, to build our charity campaign for the Wealthy Theatre (located in East Grand Rapids).

Ad 2, a division of the AAF (National), is a club for young professionals in Advertising, Marketing, and Public Relations between the ages of 18 and 32. In light of my involvement, I had planned to join the AAF and Ad 2 for their National Conference in Orlando, Florida, as a representative of Ad 2 West Michigan even before my employment with Steketee Greiner; imagine my pride to represent not only Ad 2 West Michigan, but also a rapidly growing company driven by an innovative spirit. The passion I have for my relationship to SGC allowed me to network with professionals in the Advertising industry with a vigor that perhaps Seth Godin would be proud of. Continue reading →

SGC Selected to Develop 2010 Strategic Marketing Plan for Founders Brewing Company

Posted on by admin

Founders Brewering Logo

Sorry for the moment of shameless promotion, but great news! We’ve been selected by local beer juggernaut, Founders Brewing Company, to work with them to develop their 2010 marketing strategy. The project is a perfect fit for our consulting group as it taps into our rigorous strategic planning process. Also, we love beer, and they happen to make some of the most recognized craft beer in the world, so that worked out nicely.

Read the full press release here.

We’ll now return you to our regularly scheduled value-added blogging…