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Let's Talk About Stuff.
Our Blog
Our goal in posting our blogs is three fold: To introduce timely industry news that is relevant to our clients; to post items we find interesting and entertaining, and finally, to give you a glimpse of TSW US “Behind the Curtain”. We take the business aspects of what we are doing very seriously, but we like to have fun, hopefully that shines through here.
Our Blog is a puzzle being assembled. Sometimes the individual pieces of the puzzle don’t look like the whole picture once completed – You have to keep adding pieces one at a time to make the image clear. We hope you keep coming back to see how the TSW US puzzle takes shape.
Throwback Thursday - Ham and Cheese and Schlitz
Making your product feel special in an ad helps encourage people to buy it. "That guy had an ice cold Schlitz in his pajamas, I want that life." It may see simplistic, but how many of us would be happy with a cold beer and a ham sandwich while in our PJ's? Sign us up - we love this ad!
Wit & Wisdom Wednesday - Dr Seuss on Going Wiith The Flow
It is Wit & Wisdom Wednesday at Elarbee Media, and today we want to say Happy Birthday to Dr. Seuss. Born on March 2nd, 1904. We are certainly game for enjoying the ride ourselves.
Celebrate Leap Year - February 29th
It is February 29th. Celebrate the Leap Year! You know we will at Elarbee Media!
Cocktail Friday Tactile Interaction
It is Cocktail Friday at Elarbee Media, and today we pay homage to a very little used but beautiful item in our collection. This hand carved wooden wine stopper gets a lot of attention as an object of Art sitting on my desk at the office, but little practical use as a wine stopper. Once Cocktail Friday is in full swing, there is little reason to suppose there will be leftovers.
As an object of Art in the office it is a gorgeous example of fine hand carving. The tactile nature of the execution makes it almost impossible not to hold the wood and run your fingers across the scoring.
Because so much of what we do in our business is fleeting and flat in its execution, we crave the interaction of touching objects. If we feel that as people, we feel it as consumers also. Engaging consumers with a physical and tactile interaction with your product creates a bond…and perhaps a sale.
We Are Hiring
Elarbee Media is hiring for Account Coordinator and Media Planner/Buyer positions. We are also looking for 2 Summer interns, and are happy to work to coordinate credits in additon to paid internship hours. For more details e-mail Kelly@elarbeemedia.com.
Throwback Thursday IBM Electric
It is Throwback Thursday at Elarbee Media and we thought we would highlight a breakthrough in technology. The electric typewriter. We saw this ad, and though immediatley that it was different. Why? Well, it does two things. It highlights new technology, but it also combines two mediums - photography and graphics. The graphics aren't only surrounding the photo, they are becoming part of it through extension.
When you first see the image, it looks like a photo, but the flatness of the red extension cord pulls you back in. The layout is clean and simple, and the trickery of the combined photo plus graphic makes you do a double take. CLEVER! The color choices are also compelling. We like it. (Not enough to buy an electric typewriter though)
Wit & Wisdom Wednesday - Caldwell on Storytelling
“Many Southern writers must have learned the art of storytelling from listening to oral tales. I did. It gave me the knowledge that the simplest incident can make a story.” Erskine Caldwell
It is Wit & Wisdom Wednesday at Elarbee Media, and we are happy to be back in the South for the some much needed office time. If you read our blog regularly, you will know we are fans of Southern literature and of Caldwell in particular. Having been on the road in meetings over the past two weeks, we have come to realize just how much of our role in client relationships and new business development is actually dependent on storytelling.
In business, this is called a "case study", but in its most effective application it is actually just a story. The ability to convey a message to another person or group in a memorable and meaningful way can be the difference between success and failure. Dry data points are a great supporting items to follow up with, but rarely win the day.
The most effective business story telling I have seen in action is by a close friend from Texas. Like Caldwell, he manages to take a small mundane incident, and envelope it in a level of hilarious detail that makes it memorable. Almost exclusively, the stories are self-effacing, and that enhances their value to the audience. Someone that would poke fun of themselves is surely worth listening to. It builds trust. There is, however, always a gem mixed in with the humor that is the intended if subtle takeaway. Without realizing there is a "lesson" underway, the audience hangs on every word.
This Wednesday tell a story.
Art Tuesday Perspective Checking
It is Art Tuesday at Elarbee Media and today we are focused on perspective. We are not speaking of artistic meaning of the word, but in terms of “changing” ours.
This Howard Finster-esque picture is by Colette (7). It was only natural for her to see a board with blue-green paint on it and assume it was a “canvas”. It was an ocean ready to be filled with fish. What it was, in fact, was a test board to choose a front door color for a beach rental property.
How you look at something determines its value to you, as well as how you approach and employ it. Having children around can often impart some of the most important lessons, ones we had learned long ago but forgotten,
In our business lives, change is a constant. Being able to see that change as a canvas ready to be painted is a valuable skill, and one we needed to be reminded to employ.
Cocktail Friday - Cheers Jess Barrows!
It is Cocktail Friday at Elarbee Media and today we are reflecting on a month of having Jess from our UK partner the Specialist Works in our offices. Jess went home earlier this week, and we already miss her. Much like the image of bottle caps in a tray that we chose to pair with this posting, having someone from outside in the office for an extended time feels very different. Like a cider cap in a tray of beer caps often times is it very different, and foreign.
Working across cultures has its own unique challenges. With the help of our capable “translator” Jess Barrows, we know we will be fine. We are fortunate to have had such an enthusiastic and supportive liaison, and we can’t wait to move forward with greater understanding and facilitated communications with her help. Cheers Jess!
Art-Tuesday - Haunting Art
Art speaks to us. When we hear but fail to listen, it often haunts us. We are not talking about “decorative” Art, but of the soul sharing, emotionally explicit variety of Art. It is the kind of Art that makes you uncomfortable.
When something speaks to you and you walk away have you lost out or does the haunting mean as much as the initial experience? Does being memorable have as much value as being present?
For advertisers, is the message and imagery that stays with people more important than continued exposure?