Imported From Detroit

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It’s no secret I have a soft spot for the Motor City. The romance began as a child, when my grandparents, who lived in neighboring Toledo, would take my brother and me to Detroit for the day, to see the museums, visit the big city. As I got older, crushes on a couple of boys and countless concerts kept me coming back to a city that seemed to be disappearing with each visit. Until now.

I think we all felt the thunder when that amazing Chrysler 200 ad debuted during the Super Bowl earlier this year. Say what you want about Detroit, it’s pretty tough not to feel a little pride when you see that ad with those streets, the car, Eminem … hear phrases like “This is the Motor City. And this is what we do.”

And for once, the auto industry is again making it an exciting time in Detroit. Perhaps on the brink of a renaissance? As pointed out in a recent AdAge article (Meet the ‘New’ Motor City), with the revival of the auto industry, Detroit is seeing many talent imports adding a unique, fresh perspective to the marketing and design of not only the vehicles that its producing, but the actual city itself. These folks are working with many Detroit natives to revitalize the city through very innovative marketing campaigns. It’s becoming a hot bed for creativity. And it’s incredibly exciting to watch.

I leave for New York in the morning for an exclusive sneak peek at Dodge’s latest “imports.” I’m very excited to see what’s in store from them and learn more about the marketing and branding efforts they have underway. Stay tuned. More to come.

In accordance with the FTC Guidelines, We are disclosing that our time, travel and accommodations have been compensated by Chrysler Corp. for our participation in the Dodge Avenger Ride & Drive. Although we have a material connection to Chrysler Corp., any publicly stated opinions of Chrysler Corp. and their products remain our own.

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Lose Yourself in the Motor City

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I love music. And despite growing up in Columbus, Ohio, and being taught from birth to hate our neighbor to the north, I love Detroit. Even in its current depressed state, that city has more soul than most places I’ve been to in my life. I love the music, the history, the houses, the culture … most of the people. Even the coney dogs are worth noting.

So it came as no surprise that my favorite Super Bowl ad this year was the Chrysler 200 ad highlighting the good, the bad and the ugly of Detroit, with Eminem‘s Lose Yourself as its powerful score. It’s a bad ass commercial with a bad ass narrative. This ad would make even the most die hard Buckeye give Michigan a nod for being home to the Motor City, a place that has been “to hell and back,” and yet still seems determined to persevere.

And just who is behind this masterpiece? A lot of people, but we can start at the top with Olivier François, president and CEO of Chrysler Brand. Yesterday AdAge ran a wonderful profile of the daring, sharp-minded, Detroit-obsessed Frenchman. According to the article, the idea of featuring Detroit, its heritage and history, was not a new idea at Chrysler, but it took a gambling man like François to give it the go ahead.

I love this ad and the impact François has had on Chrysler’s marketing efforts. I can’t wait to see what’s next for both Chrysler and the Motor City.

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Brands Insignificant on Twitter, But They Don’t Have to Be

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AdAge recently ran a story titled “Study: Most Brands Still Irrelevant on Twitter,” which covered the latest report from digital marketing agency 360i. For brands and marketers, some of 360i’s findings could be, well, scary. According to the report, an astounding 94 percent of tweets analyzed were personal updates – conversations between friends, information about what users are doing: “drinking a skinny latte @Starbucks!” And 360i’s findings show that more than 90 percent of tweets come from consumers, of that only 12 percent of consumer brands mention a brand.

While this news could be frightening to all the marketers out there who spend countless hours blasting out branded tweets to no avail, this should be seen as an opportunity.

The study also shows that 92 percent of users have unprotected accounts, which makes their profiles and tweets public, allowing anyone to monitor their conversations. A marketers dream.

The study also finds that Twitter is a conversational platform with more than 40 percent of all tweets starting with @, meaning they are directed at someone. Marketers are still talking TO people and not WITH people. Twitter reports more than 100 users that log 65 million tweets a day. 360i points out that Twitter reports 190 million site visitors per month, showing that an enormous amount of people are coming to Twitter to read content, and not conversing.

As BuzzRocket wrote in a previous blog, keep the “social” in social media. A significant factor in running a successful social media campaign is to keep your online activities very conversational.

360i summed it up nicely in their report, “The real value for marketers who participate in Twitter is in creating an ongoing dialogue with consumers that enables brands to become a more meaningful part of people’s everyday lives.”

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