Archive for the ‘Engage’ Category

We can’t believe it’s already summer 2010! When it comes to our camp experience so far, there’s a lot to write home about! For starters, we partnered up with some new clients, including Mattel, Epson and Google’s YouTube. We also completed our first company-wide Foosball competition, enjoyed a special visit from the famous Korean BBQ Kogi Truck, ate lots of ice cream and worked really, really hard for our clients! We also asked a few new Buddies to come aboard. Please welcome and get to know Marc Anthony, Beth, Sheyda and Jennifer!

Marc Anthony “Party Animal” Barrette
I.T. Director

When we interviewed Marc Anthony, we were really impressed with his extensive experience that included holding such positions as Chief Technology Officer, I.T Director and Sr. Engineer. But, when he told us he worked on the animated film Barnyard: The Original Party Animals, we knew we had a winner who would fit right in.

As part of our employment interview, we asked him a few random questions, and then required him to put his responses in code. Okay, we didn’t do that…but that would have been funny. Anyway, here are some fun facts about Marc Anthony:

The Buddy Group: If you could be any animal for a day what would you be?

Marc Anthony: A dragon.

TBG: Good choice. We can use a built-in marshmallow roaster! So, what’s your favorite saying?

MA: If everything seems to be going well, you have obviously overlooked something.

TBG: Words to live by, Marc Anthony. Okay, if you’re stranded on a deserted island–what are the three things you must have?

MA: A banana, my dog and a Swiss army knife.

TBG: Interesting. Somehow we think you’d be able to build a computer network out of those three things… without using your dog, of course! Okay, next question: What does your fortune cookie say?

MA: Energy, passion, wisdom–you have it all. Use it!

TBG: Now our final question…What does Buddy Up mean to you?

MA: Buddy Up + Collaborate = The Best of Both Worlds.

Thanks, Marc Anthony. Welcome aboard. We’re glad to have you!

Beth “Extra Mile” Steffen
Senior Account Executive

Beth’s a true pro. She’s always finding ways to make her clients shine in front of their customers—from developing strategic marketing plans for their brands to flawlessly executing events and projects on their behalf. A recent example…Beth attended a trade show for one of our clients (James Hardie). A customer came to the booth and wanted a giveaway bag. Even though the client was out of bags, Beth came to the rescue. She dove into the supply room and found the last reusable James Hardie bag. That’s Beth–always willing to go the extra mile. Here’s more about Beth:
The Buddy Group: If you could be any animal for a day what would you be and why?

Beth Steffen: A cheetah. Then I’d be able to run faster than a ten minute mile.

TBG: We like your competitive spirit! But don’t you already have a ‘cheetah’ named Tiki? (Beth has a feisty cat the size of a medium dog). Okay, so what’s your favorite joke?

B: I’m stumped. Do you have a good one?

TBG: We’ve never heard of “I’m stumped. Do you have a good one?” Someday after a few drinks, you’ll have to tell us how that one ends. Next question: You’re stranded on a deserted island…what are the three things you must have?

B: Good friends, good music and good fruity drinks.

TBG: Good answer. What does your fortune cookie say?

B: The good you put into the world comes back to you ten-fold.

TBG: Sounds like there’s a lot of “good” in your life! So what does Buddy Up mean to you?

B: Having each other’s back, mutual respect, sharing in each other’s success and picking each other up during challenges.

We couldn’t have said it any better ourselves. Welcome to The Buddy Group, Beth!

Sheyda “Flying High” Lale
Senior Account Executive

Before landing at The Buddy Group, Sheyda worked with a myriad of big-name clients from Gold’s Gym and Mattel to FX Network and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. And while she’s a seasoned Account Executive, what stands out is her personality. You can’t help but like her. Here are about a few facts about Sheyda to help you get to know her better:

The Buddy Group: If you could be any animal for a day what would you be and why?

Sheyda Lale: A bird, because I need to be able to fly high.

TBG: True! Plus, you could get into Disneyland for free! What’s your favorite joke?

SL: Shoot. It’s in Farsi, so I’d need a translator for that!

TBG: Drats…our Farsi translator just quit last week. Here’s an easier question: You’re stranded on a deserted island…what are the three things you must have?

SL: Fire, under eye concealer and faith.

TBG: Great choices. So what does your fortune cookie say?

SL: My future always looks bright, apparently.

TBG: Finally, what does Buddy Up mean to you?

SL: Bringing friendship to all things!

Thanks Sheyda. You’ve come to the right place to fly high!

Jennifer “Multitasking” Madrigal
Office Manager

When you meet Jennifer, one of the first things you notice about her is her easygoing, energetic personality. You’d never guess that outside of work, she’s also a mother to three young boys and she’s earning a Masters of Arts degree in Literature from California Polytechnic University, Pomona. We don’t know how she does it all, but we’re glad to have her at The Buddy Group!

Before joining us, Jennifer worked in the highly respectable academic environment as assistant to the Dean at Riverside Community College. Naturally, we had to ask her what she thought about our camping theme, bunk bed desks and Foosball table. According to Jennifer: “I looked around and thought, wow…this is like a grown man’s playground. How sick. No, I’m totally kidding. Actually, I thought it looked like a really fun place to work. When I was offered the job it was like winning the job lottery and I was SUPER excited to start!!”

To add to Jennifer’s long list of accomplishments, she also holds The Buddy Group’s record for the longest favorite joke. Here goes: “An airline captain was breaking in a new blonde stewardess. The route they were flying had a layover in another city. Upon their arrival, the captain showed the stewardess the best place for airline personnel to eat, shop and stay overnight. The next morning, as the pilot was preparing the crew for the day’s route, he noticed the new stewardess was missing. He knew which room she was in at the hotel and called her up wondering what happened. She answered the phone, crying, and said she couldn’t get out of her room.”You can’t get out of your room?” the captain asked, “Why not?” The stewardess replied: “There are only three doors in here,” she sobbed, “one is the bathroom, one is the closet, and one has a sign on it that says ‘Do Not Disturb’!”
That’s a good one, Jennifer! Keep the blonde jokes coming!

With even more happy campers on board and lots of exciting things in the works, we’re looking forward to a great 2010, Part 2 at The Buddy Group!!

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The next time you chug down a can of soda and toss it into your overflowing trashcan, think about this… America throws away enough un-recycled steel each year to build all the American cars in Detroit. Soda cans are aluminum and GM sales aren’t that great lately, but the point is—we waste way too much. And now it’s time to do OUR part to be green and help Mother Nature out a bit. It’s in that spirit, The Buddy Group launches our “Make Cans Count” Campaign.

Starting April 1^st (but this is no joke!), we’ll be cashing in our recycled bottles and cans and donating all the proceeds to a charity of your choice! This is how it will work: Each quarter, we’ll tally up all the Tweets and Facebook wall posts we receive to nominate charities. The charity with the most votes at the end of each quarter wins! Make sure to share our updates with your friends so they can vote for your charity, or recommend their own charity to benefit from our quarterly donation!

This is a great way to make a difference, while continue to consume junk food at an alarming rate. It goes without saying that TBG, with your help, has the drive to make this a huge success.

Spread the word and stay tuned for more news about our “Make Cans Count” campaign.

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We’re so happy to be loved for our content. And this month, when REELZCHANNEL approached us wanting to buy the rights to one of our digital productions, we couldn’t be more proud. Another one of our babies has made it! HollywoodPressTV.com has arrived!

When we developed HollywoodPressTV.com with our client in 2007, the idea was to create a unique comedic and satirical site for Hollywood movies, TV and events. The host, Steve Patterson, would interview A-list celebrities on the red carpet and on-location. The result is entertaining; the spots are unique—and needless to say, HollywoodPressTV.com has become a hot ticket item, drawing a huge and growing fan base of more than 2 million followers.

At the end of the day, we couldn’t be happier about getting our clients’ content to the masses. We’ve got a lot more “big” projects in the works. Stay tuned for more news about The Buddy Group digital productions.

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2009 has come and gone with the blink of our eyes, and we are beginning to gear up for the opportunities that 2010 has brought our way. As we prepare for these new adventures we are very excited to announce the new additions to our TBG camp. Our new buddies go together like peas & carrots, peanut butter & jelly (grape not strawberry) or even better My Buddy & me!

We’ve gathered a few things we thought were funny or special about each buddy to share with you as to why our new buddies are so great!

Tricia “Hazel” Bouzigard

Account Services Director

There is a new kid on the block and she is rockin’ her stuff! We give a warm welcome to Tricia who has chosen to call The Buddy Group her new home. With over 10 years of experience and a proven record of successful customer acquisition, retention and brand integration in consumer products and wireless, she has been a great asset to our team. Here’s a few things Tricia, (digital marketing guru by day and avid blogger-tweeter-shopping enthusiast by night), felt you might want to know:

The Buddy Group: What’s something that not a lot of people know about you but you wish more people could know?

Tricia Bouzigard: I am addicted to chewing gum, but I only chew it for a min and then get a new piece.  I can go thru a pack in a matter of minutes.

TBG: What’s your favorite movie? You can only pick one!

TB: Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby — “You’re either first or you’re last.”

TBG: What does “Buddy Up!” mean to you?

TB: Two people are better than one

Michael “Pops” Todd

Account Manager

Now we had no idea we would be hiring such a genius when we interviewed Michael, but when said he “told Al Gore to invent the Internet,” we knew we had a winner! Michael has over 19 years in advertising & marketing, specializing in interactive campaigns, so all jokes a side, we knew he would be a great addition to TBG. One thing we didn’t know is we would be getting a 2-for-1 deal because Michael Todd is quite the comedian! So scroll on down and enjoy a few jokes on Michael.

The Buddy Group: So Michael, Three words that describe you?

Michael Todd: Forgetful, and..uh…uh redundant and repetitious

*Now if you have ever worked with Michael Todd you may disagree!

TBG: Who is your favorite 80’s Performer?

MT: I thought I would be, but I tapered off in the mid-90s.

*We found out at our Christmas party this year that Michael, back when he still wore acid washed jeans, was jamming out to his own 80’s music and taking over any stage he could. Ask him for his single… we think he has a few tapes lying around.

TBG: How do you like your eggs?

MT: Colored.

*We know that Easter must be Michael’s favorite holiday. We will have to make this year’s Easter egg hunt super hard!

Tim “Tim” Henager

Associate Director of Development

Tim’s true love is Flash design, but don’t tell his wife! He loves making things interactive, creating engaging movement and pushing the envelope as far as it can go with interesting user experiences. This was one of the many reasons we felt he was a great fit for our development team. No Tim, it has nothing to do with all the amazing baked goods your wife has you bring in – honest! So what makes Tim so special? Is it his tiger-like 3-year-old that he counts as both his son and his pet? Or maybe it’s the fact that home is where his heart is because “nothing beats taking a vacation [at home] and having absolutely NOTHING to do.” It could be the fact that he truly knows the meaning of Buddy Up, making him a team player and perfect fit with our campers. Either way we are glad to have Tim aboard!

Jae “Nickename in the works” Lee

Mr. Jae Lee came to us from Disney where he was a Senior Producer for their online department. Not only is he focused, relentless, and easy going, but he doesn’t have a nickname! Yup, you read right. Mr. Jae Lee does not have a nickname, so it became our job to come together and give him that everlasting tag name that some wish would go away! So far we have Thundercat, (TBG has no comment as to how this came about at this time,) but are still open to any other suggestions. Here are a few other things about Jae that you may not know:

• Favorite Animal: tiger
• Favorite Snack Food: nachos
• Favorite Color: beige

And he also likes long walks on the beach, nap time and legos (even his desk is made of legos)!

We are thrilled to have our new buddies on board! You may have already met some of them. If not you’ll be introduced soon, as they’re here and eager to help with your digital marketing needs!

Buddy up and enjoy the holidays!

-The Buddy Group

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People love their James Hardie Siding. But, home siding isn’t usually a trending topic on Facebook, Twitter or typical conversation. So, The Buddy Group and our promotions Buddies Vertical Marketing Network teamed up to help James Hardie build a little conversational buzz via the “Why I Love My Hardie Home” Video Contest.

The contest invited James Hardie customers to submit a YouTube video completing the phrase “I love my Hardie home because…” for a chance to win three months mortgage paid by James Hardie! The contest lived on the TBG designed microsite MyHardieHome.com and was publicized via Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, online advertising, press releases and blog outreach.

Dozens of entries came in. But our favorites were from: quirky Bill, Cathy, Mike and the octuplets; Bob, who wears a fantastic t-shirt; Mccallfilms incredibly touching story; and, of course, the winner, Karla!

We are proud to say the promotion was a success on many fronts. Entrants shared their videos with thousands via social media and email. James Hardie employees gained better insights into their customers and how their actions help those customers. Not to mention, the contest resulted in press mentions that spread the word about James Hardie even further.

Best of all was seeing the photos from and hearing the story of Karla receiving her check for three months mortgage! We see successful analytics all the time, but there’s nothing like seeing the smile on the winner’s face!

So, thank you and congrats, Karla!

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As brands begin to emerge into the social media world it is vital that we at The Buddy Group, as their audience engagement ambassadors, not only establish their presences on these mediums but also ensure that they comply with the legal requirements and avoid potential issues that may arise from making their brand more interactive. Although social media continues to have some unexplored territory basic legal considerations still apply when creating content for social media outlets. The Buddy Group’s Audience Engagement team recently held an internal briefing about the things to watch for and thought some of our followers would find it useful.

DISCLAIMER (because what would be a legal post without that?): Content should be considered a guideline and his is not legal advice. We strongly encourage you consult with your own legal counsel.

Now that we’ve given you the disclaimer, let’s get started…

Giveaways, Sweepstakes, Contests—

No matter how you phrase it, rules apply—otherwise it can be considered illegal. I know, who would have thought a giveaway that randomly selected winners and had a prize under $100 could become a legal issue, but unfortunately, folks, it can. Even the smallest sweepstakes should have a clear set of terms or rules. Depending on the amount of the prize, lump sum or total product value, you may even need to register the promotion and get bonded in some states. So what are the red flags that should make you think twice before executing a sweepstakes?

It’s actually pretty simple. An illegal sweepstakes consists of three elements: prize, chance and consideration. In order to have a legitimate sweepstakes one of the three elements has to be eliminated. Otherwise the contest could be construed as illegal gambling.

Prize. Well this one’s pretty easy. Who is going to have a sweepstakes without a prize? So let’s leave this element alone in order to attract people to participate.  This means either chance or consideration has to be adjusted to be in compliance with sweepstakes regulations.  But you might want to make sure that your total prize value is under $5,000. That will help you avoid registration and bonding requirements in some states.

• Chance. One way to eliminate chance, and perhaps the easiest, is making your contest a game of skill. For instance, a trivia, contest, or completing a task which can be judged, etc. Basically, the winner has to compete using some level of skill or special knowledge to win the prize.
• Consideration. This can be thought of as a cost of participation which can me monetary or something less tangible like the use of your time.  The simplest way to eliminate consideration within a sweepstakes is by having a “no purchase necessary” option making entering the contest available to everyone. If you have a purchase option, such as requiring a purchase, or other consideration like watching a 2-hour sales presentation video you should also allow a backdoor type entry, such as a mail-in entry.

Brand or Product Claims—

This really comes down to wording. How are you presenting your statement to your audience?

Pricing Claims: in order to advertise a discount one must have regular pricing or another benchmark price, such as a competitor offering the same product at a higher rate—sorry folks, there is no such thing as a permanent discount. You must also clearly identify any conditions of that pricing—Buy One Get One? Well, can they buy a $5 item and get a $200 product for free? Probably not so you better say equal or lesser value and tell them how long the offer is good for. Otherwise you could find yourself giving away more $200 items than you budgeted for.

Performance Claims: My mama always said “don’t say it unless you can prove it,” and she was right.  This means you cannot say our product is “faster than lightening” or “able to go from zero to sixty without making a sound” or make other performance claims unless you can substantiate it.

Comparative Claims: Along the lines of Performance Claims, you better be sure you’re right if you think you’re better than someone else. Unless you can prove that your product is the best in particular category, or better than or faster than a competitor you should avoid such claims. You might be able to say simply “We are the best!” or “Product X is #1.” In the right context, these claims may be considered merely puffery, and not claims that need substantiation.

There are simple and honest ways around these types of limitations with creative copy-writing, but make sure to check with your compliance department before publishing content making a claim.

Other People’s Intellectual Property

Finally, who likes their property to be taken without their permission? Between you and me, I can’t stand when someone steals last soda from the fridge and leaves a sticky note saying “IOU” in its place. Many companies and brands feel the same way when they see others using their slogans, trademarks, items without proper copyrights, even images of famous places, music photos, etc.

If you are using any type of image, copy or asset that is the property of others or contains another brand, for your own self promotion it can be considered infringement.  You might not be able to include the name of another brand in your comment about your electronic product unless they have given you the right to leverage their brand with your company, especially if you’re implying a relationship to heighten visibility of your brand. If you are shooting a video on location, make sure you have the permits from the property owners whose brands and recognizable icons might appear the background. These suggestions are relative to exposure the content will receive but in the end, like they always say, “better be safe than sorry.”

So, is it all doom and gloom? Definitely not! Buck up campers. It may seem overwhelming, but that’s why we have promotion agencies and lawyers—to help us ensure that our brands are safe from lawsuits and damaging, or potentially costly situations. So don’t hesitate to strike up a conversation with your friendly legal professional if you have any questions, content or promotions that may raise an eyebrow. They’ll help ensure we’re all playing nicely in the sand box.

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It’s all about the draft here at The Buddy Group! We are proud to announce the recent launch of a new website, www.DraftZone.com, for our buddies at Draft Zone. In addition to a killer new user interface and thanks to a little thing called teamwork, a common factor with any professional sports team, we were able to hold a photo/video shoot with NBA professional Gary Payton, produce 11 Frequently Asked Questions videos and develop the Video Player used throughout the site without any overtime or team fouls! This online experience is one of a kind.

So what’s all the draft about? (more…)

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The new version of JMOG- Johnny Money Online Game, an online business simulation game for the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) Young Entrepreneur Foundation, is up and running! The FREE online game engages students as they explore the risks and rewards of business ownership. The other exciting Johnny news is NFIB has recently reached over 100,000 businesses established since they originally launched the game one year ago. JMOG has successfully helped thousands of teachers and students experience, engage and interact with entrepreneurial decisions and events in a virtual setting.

Version 2.5 of the game offers a leader board and achievements, which is something the students have been asking for since the game launched. The students will be able to choose between a surf and skate, or gifts and gadgets shop and manage their business for a virtual two-year time period. This is a fun way for young entrepreneurs to run an online business as if it were their real business and be able to create, maintain, analyze and influence the essential factors in running it successfully.

We are proud to be part of such an innovative and beneficial project that allows the business owners of the future to learn what it takes to be successful. Great job NFIB—our campers salute you!

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Over the last year, The Buddy Group and Western Digital have worked tirelessly on the development and deployment of one of the hottest new media players out there, WDTV. This HD Media Player allows your TV (or other monitor) to play all of the media on your external hard-drive in FULL High Def (HD). As we have mentioned in previous posts, The Buddy Group designed the highly acclaimed user-interface, developed several marketing videos (see below) and created a unique product emulator which is currently being used as a sales tool to better learn its feature and benefits.

Our latest (but not last) engagement with the Western Digital WDTV Player team allowed us to produce a highly informative digital out-of-home experience allowing potential customers to learn about the features, benefits and ease of use while walking the isles of their nearby Best Buy.

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It’s no secret that every once in a while there is a buddy that we have to keep hush-hush, but we still want to share a few things about this particular adventure with you. Recently, a buddy came to us with the task of promoting a certain product with hopes to increase traffic at their various release events across California.  The two main outlets our buddy chose to use during this campaign were Twitter and online blogs/forums which significantly limited our outreach tactics, which made us even more intrigued with this project.  So as usual we held a camp pow-wow, gave a round of high-fives and then broke into teams to get it done.

With a two-week timeline we were able to execute from start to finish a Twitter and blog/forum campaign that received numerous amounts of publicity among our target audiences.  Our “buddy” mentality really took full effect in this project since we shaped the tone of our campaign as friendly resource passing the word to our other friends about a great product being release along with a few awesome freebies — Who doesn’t love to get free stuff?

Our “little birdie” said the events opening weekend had an incredible turn out. They were completely “unprepared for the amount of traffic they received and felt this was a great situation to have!” The following weekend had another significant amount of traffic providing a great end to the campaign. So this story goes to show it isn’t the tools you are given but how you use them that will create success.

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