How Would Modern Marketers Have Their Way with Telegrams?

The 2015 Masters Tournament marked the 40th anniversary of Jack Nicklaus' win at the 1975 tournament. While recently watching highlights of the 1975 final round showcasing the stellar play of Nicklaus, Johnny Miller and Tom Weiskopf, I noticed a pair of glaring omissions. None of the golfers were wearing hats and there were no corporate logos on their shirts.

This observation was a good reminder that the propensity for marketers to exhaust all opportunities for logo placement has rapidly grown over the years.

From promoted tweets to text ads bordering your Gmail inbox, modern communications are cloaked in marketing messages. Taking the above realization further, I wondered how modern marketers would have their way with forms of communicating that are no longer around - like telegrams.

Before we start exploring, we all would probably benefit from a quick review of what a telegram actually is...or was.

Let's say you live in Atlanta and you want to send birthday wishes to your friend in Memphis. You would simply visit your local telegraph operator and have your message transmitted to an operator in Memphis who would print your message for your friend. Telegrams were at their height in popularity before the increased use of telephones. Western Union was the most recognizable commercial telegraph operator. In fact, perform a Google image search of a 'telegram' today and countless photos of telegrams printed on Western Union telegram templates will be provided.

The following clip from NPR first aired back in 2006 when Western Union made the decision to stop its telegram service.


In an ironic twist for the modern age, "Telegram" is the name of a very popular messaging app that touts its speedy and secure delivery of mobile messages.

So how would modern marketers have their way with telegrams? I think we would see more of the same methods in play.

ADS ON THE BACK
Since the front of telegrams usually featured a uniformed look, I would expect to see modern marketers take advantage of the space on the back of telegrams. I've noticed this practice at Winn Dixie grocery stores where advertisements and coupons for other businesses are printed on their rolls of receipt paper.

HASHTAGS
Hashtags prompt targets to take action the best when they’re featured in an electronic format. But they're also seen on bumper stickers and t-shirts. Why not cover all areas and include your campaign's hashtag in a telegram?

MASS MESSAGING
It has been several years since I last received or sent a fax. However, mass messaging via fax machines is still a common technique. I know because my employer's fax machine frequently spits outs offers for health insurance and cruises - to no one in particular. The economics of sending a telegram would probably produce a poor ROI but hey, it's an idea.

In 1975, Jack Nicklaus earned $40,000 for winning the Masters. Jordan Spieth earned $1,800,000 for winning in 2015. Telegrams trended in a much different direction. Considering all the ways we communicate (and advertise) in today's world, is that a good thing? Please let me know by sending me a telegram tweeting me @nick_baggett.

Thanks for reading!

Wedding Hashtags

In 2009, my wife excelled at her calligraphy hobby so quickly that she began receiving requests to write invitations and address envelopes for weddings in the Birmingham area. I’ve always been impressed with her skill and dedication. After particularly large jobs, I like to pick her brain about any new trends that she noticed. When she recently shared an example of a modern communications tool elbowing its way into her time-honored craft, I wasn’t surprised.

It seems that more and more brides are featuring social media hashtags as a way to further memorialize their special day. And why not? A quick hashtag search on Twitter or Instagram can be a great way to harken memories of your wedding day years from now.

My wife was sweet enough to answer some additional communications-type questions about wedding hashtags.

Prior to hashtags, have you noticed any other examples of people incorporating digital or social media into their wedding? 
Wedding websites may not be as common as they once were but they were the first real example I noticed. I would say that Pinterest plays a huge role in wedding planning these days. Pinterest is great because it gives access to ideas and concepts that brides-to-be may have never considered. 

Do these brides indicate a specific social media platform through which these hashtags are to be used? 
I haven’t seen where they specifically say where to use the hashtag but Instagram seems to get the most activity. 

Are these hashtags being featured on wedding invitations or kept to less formal places? 
I recently wrote a hashtag for a sign that was placed by the guest book at the couple’s wedding reception. I think that hashtags will be regularly featured on wedding announcements like “save the date” cards and maybe on the wedding program. I also think it will be a long time before we see hashtags on formal invitations. 

As a calligrapher, what suggestions would you give brides-to-be when they create their wedding hashtag?
You might want to be mindful about using numbers in your hashtag. If your calligrapher has a more formal style, chances are he or she will write out the house, street or apartment number on your invitations and envelopes. For the sake of space (and hand cramps!) you probably don’t want numbers in your hashtag. 

Did the “#” symbol already exist in the world of calligraphy or did you have to build a version from scratch? 
I work best when I have an example to study. I Googled “calligraphy hashtags” and quickly discovered that there aren’t many samples to go by. I ended up creating a hashtag from scratch that looked nice and formal. I would say that it worked - one recent hashtag I wrote helped generate over 100 uses on Instagram alone! 

It was very interesting to learn about this case of old school communications clashing with new school media and I’m thankful that my wife shared some of her observations. Please be sure to visit her calligraphy blog if you would like to see some of her beautiful work.

Thanks for reading!

Wasted Videos: The Tacoma Ads

I drive a Toyota Tacoma. An old Toyota Tacoma. Although I'm not quite ready to taken on an upgrade, I enjoy perusing the Toyota website and observing the features of the latest Tacomas. The website is very helpful - I've learned a lot about the new models and the lazy person in me is always glad to see that not all of the information is text and copy. No, there are some very well-made videos available for viewing on the site that do a great job of prolonging my visits.

See for yourself:

The thing that amazed me the most about these videos was the fact that I had never seen them before. I watch a lot of YouTube videos and have performed a lot of Google searches for Tacomas but I have never had any of these videos pop up as a pre-roll advertisement. It's puzzling because these videos are quirky and short - the prototypical video to use in a pre-roll spot. These videos/ads haven't appeared during my short, TV-watching stints either.  It's clear that Toyota paid for and received high quality videos. But I'm not so sure why the videos are only used on their website. Each of the videos' descriptions on YouTube features a #TacomaWins hashtag, which would strongly indicate that they're part of a campaign that extends to social media. I'll have to begin following the Toyota or Tacoma social media pages to see if I can spot the videos there. If they're not seen there, it will be difficult to resist questioning if these great videos were wasted. 

Best Practices for Hashtags in Marketing Campaigns

Hashtags have always been synonymous with Twitter and smart brands make sure to incorporate them into their marketing campaigns. As we've seen in the world of sports, hashtags help embody an experience and marketers are wise to tap into that feature. As Google+ (and now Facebook) has embraced the use of hashtags, these tools aren't going away anytime soon. Here are five best practices for hashtags to consider for your next marketing campaign.

KEEP IT SHORT

Twitter, Google+ and Facebook allow different character amounts. Since hashtags are mostly associated with Twitter, it's important to be considerate of Twitter's 140-character limit when creating your hashtag. You don't want your hashtag to be so long that it impedes on the length of Tweets. Your campaign’s hashtag should also be short enough for today’s short memory spans.

MAKE IT UNIQUE

If your campaign's hashtag is similar to a hashtag that used in another campaign or in another context, you run the risk of your hashtag not being used for its intended purpose. Even worse, your hashtag could get lost in the mix. Be unique and your hashtag will have a better chance of reaching a trending status.

Along these lines, do you know who really excels at coming up with unique hashtags?  Jimmy Fallon, that’s who.

CONSIDER PARODIES

Can the letters used in your hashtag be rearranged to spell out a vulgar or unintended phrase? If you’re not sure, you better believe that social media trolls will be happy to make this determination for you. Having someone play on your hashtag could negatively overshadow all the other great elements of your campaign. 

USE IT OFTEN (AND EVERYWHERE) 

If you want your hashtag to catch on, it’s got to be seen often…and not just in Tweet form. Include your hashtag on all of your campaign’s printed materials, on your website, on promotional items, on business cards, in your email signature…the opportunities are endless.

AVOID NUMBERS, IF POSSIBLE

Some may consider this last practice to be a little nitpicky. I only suggest it because numbers can be easily transposed by Tweeters sharing your hashtag, which would point follwers in the wrong direction. If your hashtag is associated with an annual event, the use of numbers would be acceptable when indicated the year of the event in your hashtag.

I hope these practices help your hashtags or at least give you something to ponder. Please feel free to tweet some of your hashtag tips to me - @nick_baggett. Thanks for reading!

Hashtags in Sports

Courtesy Athelon Sports

Sports franchises are like businesses in that they benefit from engaging with their customers – or fans. This engagement can come in many different forms and serve many different purposes. One emerging tool for generating engagement from sports fans is the hashtag. I really like this move as I see more and more teams putting it into play (no pun intended).

Before we go any further, let’s define a hashtag.

From Dictionary.com:  A word or phrase preceded by a hash mark (#), used within a message to identify a keyword or topic of interest and facilitate a search for it.

HASHTAG TRENDS  Many people associate hashtags with Twitter but other social media outlets are adopting them, including Google+ and Facebook. We've seen hashtags used in visual ads (billboards, print, TV, etc.) for a few years. Now we’re seeing franchises and schools feature hashtags all over their stadiums to tap into the realm of fandom.

WHY DO TEAMS USE HASHTAGS? I admire the way the Washington Nationals have embraced hashtags and used #Natitude to connect with their fans. As a Chicago Cubs fan, I don’t know much...er... anything about on-field success. However, I like to think that a team begins trending towards success when fans become more engaged. And in today’s world, engaging with fans – or customers – requires the use of social media.

Courtesy GeoffLivingston.com

WHAT’S NEXT FOR HASHTAGS IN SPORTS? I look for teams and schools to continue the use of hashtags and even incorporate them more into the beginning of their annual campaigns. It could be that teams adopt a new hashtag each season to reflect a theme, goal or persona. I’m no guru but as long as social media stays relevant, I feel that the use of hashtags in sports will only grow.

If you like to check out stats associated with hashtags, be sure to visit hashtags.org.

Which professional or collegiate teams are doing a great job with hashtags? Let me know your opinion by leaving a comment below.  Thanks!