News and media in the 21st century have centered on conservation and improvement. Whether it’s conserving energy, money or time or just improving our planet in general, the most progressive and innovative companies have realized that changes in their advertising and marketing have to be made to stay relevant.
And the next generation of millennials is going to have an undeniable influence on which companies survive and which don’t. Both conservation and improvement are extremely important to millennials and ultimately determine where this generation spends its money. It is no longer enough for a company to donate to a good cause; the company needs to be innovative and show ways that it is actively making the world a better place.
According to Karl Greenberg of Marketing Daily, the best up-and-coming companies are those that believe that doing good for the planet is just as important as making money, if not more so. Even better is when companies make money by utilizing business practices and strategies that are good for the planet and humanity. One company that has adopted this mantra successfully is TOMS.
Originally categorized as a sort of hippie company, TOMS has seen tremendous growth since its founding in 2006, and their products are now worn by people all over. Their success comes greatly as a result of their “One for One” campaign, in which TOMS gives a pair of shoes to a child in need for every shoe purchased from the company. They are making the world a better place one foot at a time thanks to millennials’ commitment to improving the Earth we live in.
Key takeaway: The companies that focus on advertising their efforts of conservation and creating an image keen on global improvement will ultimately be better off in the long run. Millennials will continue to have a rising influence as time goes on, and it will be important to follow their behavioral patterns and preferences very closely.
Celebrate Mother’s Day socially this Sunday. Your mom will love having her own personal media campaign created just for her!
Send her a digital card and virtual flowers. E-cards are customizable and you can send them in an instant. Check out Blue Mountain or American Greetings to find the perfect card for your mom. Digital roses or daises will last a long time – look at Virtual Flowers.
Throw your mom a surprise Mother’s Day brunch using an evite or Facebook event. Go green and broadcast the event to everyone who should be in the know. This will show your mom just how special she really is!
A heartwarming YouTube video is a great gift. Whether it’s a collage of old family photos, a reading of her favorite poem or just a quick clip of you saying “Happy Mother’s Day,” this will be something she will always remember.
Moms always love pictures and a Flickr account is a great way to collect her favorite photos in one place. Your mom will appreciate the organized way to search family photos.
Use Groupon to get your mom a day at the spa. This website has great deals when it comes to finding luxurious gifts.
Does your mom love using her Kindle or iPad? A subscription to her favorite magazine or newspaper would be such a fun and unique gift. This will definitely make her feel socially savvy.
G|J’s The Art of Cool Open House was definitely one exciting event full of cool people who came to see our new digs.
With enough food to keep everyone full and satisfied, the air was filled with the delicious smells from the Devilicious food truck, which served up some incredible lobster grilled cheeses, and gourmet dogs and bratwurst from Let’s Be Frank. People really seemed to enjoy the fact that they could get seconds and even thirds!
A photo booth and a beat-busting DJ really made this party come to life. Everyone had so much fun getting their photo taken while bobbing their heads to the music.
Overall, everyone had a great time enjoying deliciously mixed drinks and meeting a host of new faces.
Thanks for coming out and celebrating our new space with us! To view more pictures from this super cool evening, click here.
We’re only a few months into 2013, but there have already been a number of commercials that have brought us some big laughs here in the office or inspired us to dream bigger than before. So we thought we’d share just a few of our favorites with you!
California Lottery Powerball TV Commercial – Snowfall
Powerball came to California this April. With jackpots starting at $40 million, it’s your chance to dream big, really big…and this commercial begs the question, if you won Powerball, what would you do?
Old Spice Pure Sport TV Commercial – Shower
Freshness is a man’s ticket to ultimate success. Or it might cause extremely expensive property damage. No matter what – we’re convinced that something will definitely happen when you shower with new Old Spice bar soap.
Kmart TV Commercial – Ship My Pants
This ad is a promotion for a free-shipping feature available to Kmart’s Shop Your Way customers on 65 million products if they can’t find them in Kmart stores. The commercial uses wordplay in a crude joke that has resonated with the masses.
Taco Bell Super Bowl Commercial – Viva Young
This commercial tells the story of a group of retirement residents who sneak out and hit the town doing all kinds of crazy things, from swimming and dancing to getting tattoos and eating at Taco Bell.
Samsung Galaxy Note II TV Commercial – The Next Big Thing
Featuring Seth Rogan and Paul Rudd, this ad shows the two actors offering competing pitches to see who will represent The Next Big Thing for Samsung. Of course, from this point on they go into taking jabs at each other.
Now that we’ve shared our favorite commercials from 2013 to date, share your favorites with us in the comments below!
Today we had the honor of celebrating Laura’s birthday with the whole G|J Team.
With a delicious spread of our favorite Mexican dishes, our plates were full of rice, beans, quesadillas, handmade soft tacos and enough guac and chips to have seconds and thirds.
It’s always so fun to get together and enjoy a lunch where we can all chat about new trends in music, fashion and, of course, what we are doing this weekend.
Today’s birthday festivities ended with a strawberry cheesecake fit for a queen. Yum yum! Happy birthday, Laura!
A successful business needs to have loyal relationships with its customers and clients.
Here is a list of four simple ways you can use Pinterest to make connections and show your value as a company.
Tell your company’s story.
This helps you establish credibility and create personal connections. The best place to start is with your company’s history. Pin images of past ad campaigns and products. This will also help show the growth and evolution of your work. Show office parties and behind-the-scenes photos and other important moments that are meaningful to your company. Remember, don’t be afraid to show a sense of humor!
Recognize your loyal customers.
A great way to do this is by using a guest pinner. This gives your followers and customers a chance to share and contribute their own thoughts and ideas about your brand. And guest pinners will be excited to share the news with their friends.
Make your boards a resource.
This is the best place to put your customers and clients first. Be sure to feature your own products in addition to helpful projects, inspiration and instructions from other websites, blogs and Pinterest boards.
Verify pins before you share them.
One of the biggest pains we’ve found is liking a pin that doesn’t link back to the original source! Without a link, your pin loses value and actually can discourage users from re-pinning your content.
Pinterest is a social media platform that builds connections and trust in a visual way. Why not connect with your clients and customers on all levels? Enjoy pinning!
Up until recently, Facebook had set some regulations with regard to how much and what type of text or copy could be included on a business page cover photo, including: no calls to action, no pricing, no contact information and no references to Facebook features such as the LIKE or share buttons.
But Facebook has made revisions to their guidelines on business page cover photos. What does this mean, you ask?
Cover photos are now allowed to include a call to action within the photo. Be sure to take advantage of this!
Here’s how the new guidelines read:
“All covers are public. This means that anyone who visits your Page will be able to see your cover. Covers can’t be deceptive, misleading, or infringe on anyone else’s copyright. You may not encourage people to upload your cover to their personal timelines. Covers may not included images with more that 20% text.”
Here are a few reasons why we’re so excited about these changes:
The revised regulations allow marketers to easily generate more Facebook leads by including links to special offers and event promotions.
You also now have the capability to better analyze how your photo impacts users by tracking how many clicks your cover photo receives.
By sharing a product launch on your cover photo, more people are able to learn about it. Plus, this sort of exclusive information makes users more likely to visit your page.
These new guidelines not only mean you will be able to promote your offers, products and events but also that you’ll be able to host better conversations around them. More conversations mean your content will be shown more frequently in news feeds — that’s how Facebook’s EdgeRank algorithm works — which means more leads for your company.
So it’s time to get creative with your cover photo and give people a reason to follow you!
Are your Facebook fans just not that into you? You may have a super cool brand and a large following, but engagement on your page may not be ideal… well, here’s why!
Branded imagery. You might have too much overly branded content on your page. Don’t make your posts your advertisements – instead, use images to create a conversation and entice people to want to talk to you. Also, make sure your imagery is share-worthy to improve your viral reach.
Product reviews. Humanize your brand! Share how well your company, product or service offering has done – but make sure you communicate this information in a conversational manner, not in the form of a formal PR-like story.
Posting frequency. You want to stay at the top of your fans’ minds, but you don’t want them to get tired of seeing your messages. Post compelling content once or twice a day. Also, remember to keep your posting time as consistent as possible.
Responsiveness. Your fans are looking to converse with you, so a generic thank you doesn’t cut it!
Bonus Tip: Ask for LIKES and shares. You can easily do this by adding a call to action that solicits this type of engagement from your fans!
After moving into our new place in Long Beach, we decided that it was time to give back to the community we call home. So we did some extensive research and determined that the Long Beach Rescue Mission would be the perfect place to volunteer as a team. We call ourselves, G|J Gives. Here’s a look at our first team adventure!
Tables were set for lunchtime!
Rachel knows how to mix a salad just right.
Onion cutting and crushing garlic was quite a potent task. Filling a 5-gallon bucket with chopped onions can lead to a lot of tears!
Maria and Kevin weren’t afraid of that garlic.
Getting ready to serve! Lookin’ good guys!
Katie takes care in cutting the bread in even pieces.
Drying dishes is a fun task for Laura.
And for Kevin…
A small kitchen doesn’t stop G|J. 17 tortilla casseroles were created in a long assembly line – talk about team work!
Ken and Andrew spreading tomato sauce with care.
Chili dogs mean lunch is served!
The serving ladies, Laura, Rachel, Camy and Maria, put a smile on everyone’s face.
Hallie shreds cheese like a pro. And Jen is the best can-opener in town!
Meredith doesn’t care about getting dirty.
Meredith, Danny and Rachel were the salad team.
Show me your fingers – Let’s make sure you leave with them.
G|J Gives was honored to serve the city of Long Beach. We got to know each other as people and had fun working together in a different environment. We are so excited to serve again at the Long Beach Rescue Mission!
Gunn/Jerkens Marketing Communications is based out of Long Beach, Ca. Stop in frequently to see what’s happening, share your stories, questions and perspective.
