This Isn't the End!

Two posts.

Wow.

I managed to only write a whopping two posts in 2017. Now that the dawn of 2018 has already passed, if I were to make some claim about doing better this year, I feel like you would see right through it.

I wouldn’t blame you.

So let’s not even go there. I haven’t accomplished enough to bow out as graciously as the Birmingham Blogging Academy but I’m here to tell you that life certainly gets in the way, man.

This won’t be my last entry but you and I should temper those expectations of an increased frequency of posts. Working, trying to be a helpful spouse, parenting, yard work and other to-dos really eats up the hours.

I feel good about getting this off my chest. I don’t want to stop blogging but blogging can’t be a priority for me these days. Being in this situation makes for a good opportunity to revisit the reasons why I began this blog.

First, I felt (and still feel) that posting regularly keeps one’s writing muscles nimble. I believe that well-written content is extremely valuable, even though video seems to be the go-to for quick, self-education. If you are a marathoner, you need to stay in shape for the next race, right? Writers need to have that same mindset, in my opinion.

Secondly, I wanted this blog to share my observations about communications with employers and colleagues – sort of a way to say I know what’s useful and what’s pointless. More often than not, I found it easier to critique than compliment (what does that say about me as a person?!). In fact, if I could dive into some research, I’d love to answer:

• Why are radio station websites are so poorly designed? 
• Is that Addiction Network cable TV commercial tacky or pure genius? 
• Who are the consumers that sustain the need for robo-dialers and telemarketers? 

I have so many other weird questions on my mind, too.

The award for Most Random Star Wars Promotional Item goes to #Dole. Can you imagine next month's sales meeting? "Great news! Sales of shredded lettuce are up 62% since we began featuring R2-D2 on our packaging!"

A post shared by Nick Baggett (@nick_baggett) on Dec 13, 2017 at 7:30pm PST

Remember when using Twitter was referred to as a micro blogging? I’ve always tried to mask my late timing and lack of cleverness with scheduled tweets about digital advertising. If I can no longer blog regularly, maybe I can be a more spontaneous tweeter? I’ll give that a shot. I’ll try to give my followers a true look at me and scale back on the boring work-related stuff. Hold me to this claim – look for the changes at @Nick_Baggett.

Thank you very much for reading and please do drop me a line sometime. I’ll be back!

Random Post Time

The 6-month (!!!) span between this post and my last entry correlates with a lot of activity on the home front and at work. I've also struggled finding topics to cover. I've always tried to center on advertising techniques that I find interesting or tactics that I want to learn more about. The point of this post is to bust the atrophy off my writing muscles. I'll do that by touching on a few topics that I've considered covering on this blog. Maybe I'll expound on these topics in their own posts. This post, however, scores off the Randometer charts. Sorta like this Bitmoji.

(Some friends at work introduced me to Bitmojis, which may or may not have contributed to that 6-month span.)

Sports Cards and Marketing

Growing up, baseball card collecting was a huge hobby of mine. I spent hours reading the stats on the back of cards and looking over every last detail of the photos on the front of the cards. It's hard to imagine getting so much enjoyment out of pieces of cardboard. The internet was not a thing yet so all that I learned about the hobby came from interacting with my friends. I was recently served the following ad while killing time on YouTube.



Sports cards have changed and so have the marketing efforts of card companies.

Instagram Frustration

I want to keep my Instagram profile public so I can continue embedding posts from my account. Unfortunately, some very questionable accounts have declared open season on my profile. Anyone can follow my public profile without requesting permission and boy do I attract some weirdos. I'm certain these are not actual people - they're obviously phony profiles. Each one has zero posts and zero followers but are following several hundred accounts.

I'm blocking most of these followers but if you know of a way I can fend off these weirdos while keeping my profile public, please leave me a tip in the comments!

NIKE Golf

So NIKE just announced that they will no longer manufacture golf clubs, balls or bags. They will continue to make golf shoes and apparel.

I think a lot of people share my stance on NIKE's equipment. I don't think the lack of equipment will hinder the success of their shoes and apparel. I've been a fan of both and have never owned a NIKE club.

Yep. Played on the Farm Links greens today!

A photo posted by Nick Baggett (@nick_baggett) on Aug 12, 2014 at 3:23pm PDT

Jim Varney

I was flipping TV channels the other day and came across the description for the 1993 Beverly Hillbillies movie, in which Jim Varney played the lead role. I never realized that he starred in any movies other than his "Earnest" films. Where a lot of people remember him for his movie roles, I remember Varney more for his 1980s television commercials. I've written before about the risks of celebrity endorsements and the safety of character endorsements. Reading up on Varney, I learned that he was a central part in a unique marketing strategy that enabled him to gain acting work across the country because he was not (yet) a nationally-recognized figure. This interview touches on that concept:



This approach allowed the commercial directors to use the same story frame for multiple ads and products.

For example, here's a local ad for Doubles Pizza.



And here's the same type of ad for Mello Yello.



Wonder why Vern was always on his roof?? And will we see a return to this kind of simple character endorsements?

OK, told you this post was going to be chopped full of randomness. I hope to return to consistent posting now!

A Solution for the Nostalgia Drought

As the world became more connected over the past 15 years, nostalgia had a huge influence on what people shared online. Nostalgia is still a big factor but it's increasingly difficult to come by. But, just when it seems the nostalgia well has run dry, someone introduces a much-needed hit in the form of a photo or video of a celebrity or event that's never been seen. A recent example would be this footage of Michael Jordan playing basketball in high school.

You've probably never seen footage of Michael Jordan dunking in high school ... until now. (via MaxPreps)
Posted by CBS Sports on Thursday, July 9, 2015

(Lots of sources for the above video but I think it originated from MaxPreps.)

Why is the rush of nostalgia from this clip so great? Obviously, video capturing equipment wasn't widely available when Michael Jordan was in high school. So...in a way...this footage is new to us. High school highlight tapes of today's NBA stars are not nearly as hard to come by - or old. The video above really gives you the sense of looking back in time.

Recently, I realized that the sports world offers tremendous amounts of opportunities for this type of nostalgic flow. A light bulb went off for me when I came across the image of this baseball card on Twitter the other day.

Greatest sports card EVER. Thank you @UpperDeckSports. #FoundItInMyChildhoodJewelryBox pic.twitter.com/00LWc5UWjp

— Corrine Morris (@corrinemorris) July 15, 2015

Now, the scene depicted in this baseball card is another story for another day. Let's just focus on the video camera the ballplayer is holding. This was a very common sight back in the 1990's and 2000's before smartphones.

When I saw the image of this archaic camera, I was hit with a cloud of nostalgia and the memory similarly archaic cameras in the hands of basketball players during the NBA All Star weekend festivities I watched as a kid. The video below features greats such as Shaquille O'Neal and Kevin Garnett capturing their perspective from the 2000 dunk contest.



If those cameras looked big in their hands, you know they were huge by today's standards! How great would it be to watch some of those tapes?!

Any blogger that manages to get their hands on that footage would be able to lay claim to the nostalgia crown for at least the next decade. I can't help but wonder if there is an abundance of this type of behind-the-scenes videos out there.

I'm surprised that Shaquille O’Neal hasn't made any of his footage available. He's a pioneer in terms of celebrities on Twitter and he seems to take pride in being tech-savvy. Converting all of that old footage into the proper format for today's devices can't be easy. Maybe Shaq needs to give Val Kilmer a call for some pointers.


Yes, that is behind-the-scenes footage from one of my favorite films. Val shared this on his YouTube channel, which features a lot of blasts from the past.

If anything, Val Kilmer proved that sharing old video footage through new mediums can be done. Time will tell if NBA legends will ever share any of their prized content and provide a much-needed solution for nostalgia drought.

Corporate Blogs Done Right

Corporate blogs are great tools that companies can use to connect with customers. The stories shared through corporate blogs can even give consumers new ways to use your product, which is always a good thing. In this post, I want to brag on a few of my favorite corporate blogs and explain what they do well.

Hootsuite

We are all familiar with Hootsuite by now. Often viewed as the leader in social media management tools, the Hootsuite blog does a great job of continuously sharing examples of why we need their product. The bloggers at Hootsuite get an A+ for consistency (multiple posts each day) and for blogging about relevant examples of social media techniques. Hootsuite’s posts about their educational resources are very helpful too.

Infomedia

Infomedia is a Birmingham-based marketing firm that specializes in web communications. They cover all the bases – from web development to e-commerce to digital consulting. When supplying such a visible product, it’s important to have examples on hand, right? Infomedia does just that with their interesting company blog. Multiple Infomedia employees contribute to the blog where they share their opinions and expertise. Visit the Infomedia blog for help with spotting social media trends or to understand how a particular web marketing tool will benefit your company – plus much more.

Pillsbury

Food: it’s a basic necessity and a culture. Recipes are the tools of the trade and we always like to hear about new twists on old favorites. Pillbury features a weekly series of their favorite food obsessions. These obsessions include a list of ingredients, preparation details, nutritional info and more – all for a different dish, dessert or drink that you can try each day of the week. Best of all (and this is soooo smart), Pillsbury features posts by The Makers, six food bloggers that share ideas and stories to make your next meal really stand out.

I hope this post has helped you think of new blogging ideas. Do you have a favorite corporate blog? I’d love to check it out – leave me a link in the comments! As always, thanks for reading.