A few years ago, we were hired on to manage social media for the company. Since Seigles had been out of the public spotlight for a few years, and the public had recently started migrating online, the move made sense.

“This program reaches our targeted markets in a very expedient and efficient manner. Since selling my business in 2005 and buying it back in 2009 there has been a total paradigm change from traditional forms of media to web marketing. As of this year we have ceased all forms of marketing except for web marketing based on its potency.”
-Mark Seigle

We established a Twitter handle, Facebook page, blog, and a monthly eblast. We have helped to grow their list of eblast contacts to be sure we could communicate with interested people. And we have built and helped to foster valuable relationships using Linked In. The relationships we build through these networks continue to help Seigles obtain new customers, including directly traceable connections that have allowed Seigles to bid on large projects.

We also have helped to create and promote quarterly incentives for customers. During 4th quarter 2011, new customers who spent $7,500 or past customers who increased their prior purchase amount by $7,500 would earn a free iPad2. Seigles ended up giving away 74 iPads—well above the hoped for 40—and during the promotion had their best sales month on record.

This isn’t about whether the car is green or not. I’m speaking purely from frustration over what I believe is an advertising campaign designed to cripple the sale of a product. I’m not suggesting the Chevy Volt ads are weak. I’m not suggesting they were put together by someone who didn’t know what they were doing. I’m suggesting that the creative direction that was given to their ads was meant to do two things:

1. Convince the public, shareholders (which, post-bailout, also include the American public) and government officials that GM is indeed trying to promote the Chevy Volt
2. Hobble sales through confusing advertising that does not effectively persuade a consumer to purchase a Chevy Volt, much the same way a political party will muddy the water on an issue until people tune out

Yesterday, the Detroit News reported that GM sold about 7,700 Volts last year, far below their target of 10,000. During the bailout process, GM had originally told congress and the American public they expected to sell a whopping 45,000 this year — but now they are gearing down production to match the (supposed) lagging demand.

Meanwhile, last year Nissan sold about 9,700 of their all-electric Leafs. They expect that number to double this year, perhaps in part because of their competent advertising campaign.

Maybe it’s because some decision-makers at GM didn’t ever really want to build the Volt. What would make me think that? Well, their latest ad would. In this likely expensive spot, a manufacturing line somberly proceeds through a worn-down Detroit community more like a funeral procession than a parade of hope and change.

It’s grimly titled, this isn’t just the car we wanted to build, it’s the car we had to build.

Before it was built, in 2008 the Chevy Volt was sold to the American public as the savior for GM. We bailed GM out in part because we were told they could build a vehicle for the future — one that will have high demand, help lessen impact on the environment and decrease our dependency on foreign oil.

GM’s other ad features a befuddled Chevy Volt onwer taking a potty break at a gas station and being harassed about his purchase by a loudmouth kid and his even more abrasive father.

…and, in this upcoming weekend’s pre-released 2012 Super Bowl spot, some poorly rendered CGI aliens also harass a Chevy owner. At least the spot isn’t depressing.

So why does GM want the Chevy Volt to fail? I don’t know, but this 1996 nuclear holocaust-inspired ad for the now defunct EV-1 suggests a deep level of internal conflict over the existence of an electric car.

First, let’s cover some background. It’s a harsh truth that 40% of children in Georgia are overweight. And as you know, Georgia isn’t alone. What you may not expect is how frighteningly fast the rates are rising. The last time data was collected for Illinois, 34.9% of children were overweight — which was a staggering 19.1% rise from 2003 when the rate was 15.8%.

2003 Rates of Overweight and Obese Children

2007 Rates of Overweight and Obese Children

* Obesity is defined as body mass index (BMI) at or above the 95th percentile of the 2000 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention BMI-for-age growth charts. Children with BMI between the 85th and 95th percentile are classified as overweight. BMI is calculated as weight in  kilograms divided by the square of height in meters. Children age 10-17 are included in this data. Courtesy of National Conference of State Legislatures.

It’s a problem not many wish to address for a variety of reasons. We don’t want to embarrass our children. We don’t want to seem mean or judgmental. The fact is that weight issues are deeply personal and emotionally charged. 75% of parents who have overweight or obese children do not recognize the problem.

At the heart of this issue is the fact that most people view being overweight as a cosmetic problem — and while personal appearance is a concern, the real trouble are the heath problems that inevitably worsen as a result. Understandably, it’s often difficult connect health problems that can sometimes occur far in the future. Children are viewed as either resilient (and may grow into a healthy weight) or needing to be protected and sheltered (their self-esteem needs to be insulated).

From a healthcare perspective, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, liver and kidney disease, joint replacement surgery and other health issues precipitated by weight cost over $3.4 billion annually in Illinois alone. That’s because one out of five children are obese and one out of three are obese or overweight — and 62% of our state’s adults are overweight.

The officials at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta have had enough. They’ve launched a five-year, $25 million anti-obesity campaign that includes training pediatricians, developing educational programs in schools, setting up a health clinic, developing a microsite, TV, radio, outdoor, print ads and social media.

The campaign is being praised by the community, families, experts and health officials, but isn’t without controversy. Rodney Lyn of Georgia State University’s Institute of Public Health feels the effort is too harsh and says, “This campaign is more negative than positive.” Frustrated by so much preventable disease, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta patterned the ads after popular anti-smoking and anti-methamphetamine campaigns — and intended them to be blunt. “Ignoring this problem is what got us here. It’s time to wake up,” clearly states the hospital’s microsite strong4life.com.

Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta’s campaign is part of a growing movement in the United States to address weight issues head-on. Today, more and more hospitals are already offering nutritional counseling, healthy eating programs, bariatric surgery and other services to adults. Creating a campaign to help children and their parents learn to manage their weight is a courageous undertaking — which can have a truly positive effect on our future.

The Center for Studying Health System Change performed a massive survey of 17,000 patients and released their findings two months ago in November of 2011. They found that between 2007 and 2010 visits to physicians dropped 4%. Surprisingly, the percentage of adults who sought information about a personal health concern in the previous 12 months decreased from 55.5% to 50% in the same period.

I find this study surprising for a number of reasons — including who is searching for health information. We tend to think that the number of older Americans and those with chronic illness who are looking for health information should be on the rise — especially with our aging baby boomer population. But that demographic, along with those who have lower education levels, have shown the largest decrease of interest in health information.  While searches for health information declined across every demographic, not surprisingly, those with high education levels remained the most likely to be interested in their health.

This all seems very disturbing, doesn’t it? It’s easy to worry that the general population has given up and isn’t interested in their well-being anymore — and in turn, easy to worry about the economic well-being of healthcare providers. Why are doctor visits down and searches for health information seemingly declining? As with most complex problems, there’s a complex answer:

1. The overabundance of health-related information. There is such an overabundance of health information that people are now so easily getting the information they need they do not perceive themselves as actively searching or researching. (And thus not answering the survey questions correctly.) In other words, you don’t think about how you’re going to water your garden in a rainstorm. This overabundance of information may lead people to believe they already know what they need to know. Finally, when you’re in an echo-chamber it’s hard to remember where a specific sound originated.
2. Confusion over or lack of health insurance/benefits. Health insurance has become so complex that some individuals are emotionally skeptical that they won’t be covered and will have to pay high out-of-pocket charges. Even if they are covered, some may still fear their claim will be unjustifiably denied and they may become embroiled in a paperwork hassle. The increasing population of illegal immigrants and the unemployed may further explain the decline.
3. Immediate/urgent care, supermarket and pharmacy quick-serve clinics. 2009 and 2010 saw easy-access and quick-serve healthcare brought out of the hospital and into the grocery store, greatly increasing competition. As well, with easier access, people would be less concerned about managing their healthcare when they can see someone so easily — and pick up a gallon of milk in the same place. Nurse practitioners and physician assistants are now able to treat many conditions that only doctors were able to take care of in 2007.
4. Alternative care isn’t as alternative anymore. Major corporations are beginning to cover chiropractic, massages, acupuncture and other once-alternative treatments in an effort to reduce or stave-off medical claims and costs.
5. Online resources have matured to become trusted veterans of healthcare information. Once-feared online resources have given way to sites like WebMD which have become trusted proprietors of reliable and updated health information. It wasn’t long ago that you had to visit your library or bookstore to search for the latest information as new technology and knowledge progressed. Books become outdated and have to be replaced — but WebMD does not. It’s easier to say you don’t think about where to get health information when it’s available on your smartphone anytime.
6. We’ve realized doctors are human. I have a friend who once told me, “I used to think doctors knew everything. And then I married one.” Her point was meant to be funny, but it’s true as well. As we all have gained more access to information, doctors have been taken off the pedestal we gave them as exclusive authorities of health information.

Source: Surprising Decline in Consumers Seeking Health Information, Center for Studying Health System Change, November 2011

It comes down to this: I don’t think that anyone should fear the appetite for health information has declined  — anymore than you should fear that people are reading less because book sales are down. We’ve just changed how we’re consuming — while at the same time it has become harder to tell truth from opinion. It’s up to us to rise above the cacophony of information to position healthcare providers as  safe, reliable and up-to-date resources.

John Williams is a little upset. He’s noticed that afternoon-drive host Garry Meier gets billboards. New morning host Jonathon Brandmeier gets billboards. But not him. So he’s asked listeners help him out. It’s all in fun, but sometimes that’s what good advertising is about. I found out about this through social media — which is helping give his campaign a further push.

A porta-potty at a construction site in Berwyn, IL asks users to listen.

A sign asking to “Save Millington Post Office” is re-appropriated for John Williams.

A post-it note ad left in a free copy of “Coffee News.”

Lynn Genter’s snowman decal promotes John Williams from the rear seat of her convertible.

Pzazz Gifts & Home Decor in McHenry, IL is giving shoppers a 15% discount for mentioning the John Williams sign.

Austin’s Barber Shop in Beloit, WI placed an ad on the ceiling.

WGN’s Traffic Reporter, Leslie Keiling put a sign up in her local Jewel Osco.

John Williams’ own sign in WGN Radio’s Showcase Studio in the Tribune Tower.

Malls and big box stores are getting smarter. But will the public and politicians view it as acceptable or an invasion of privacy?

Privacy is a funny thing. We all say we want it — but we’re also willing to quickly give it up if we believe it’s in our best interest (think national security) or if we don’t really understand how we’re giving it up (think Facebook and Google).

Website analytical tools have long been able to track visitors as they click through menus, products and pages. Full disclosure: tracking website visitor and social media behavior are some of the things at which we excel. Based on click-through data, we’re able to find how visitors move through a site and what they’re interested in based on the patterns of breadcrumbs they leave. This information is important. It makes better websites, better user experiences and, of course, helps increase sales.

But if you have a brick-and-mortar store you’ve had to rely on surveys, eye-witness accounts and inventory and purchase data. That is until now. Companies like Beemedia, RetailNext and Path Intelligence have invented technologies to learn about shopper behavior in real-world pedestrian environments.

Anonymous data collected from the paths people walk through their environment can provide a wealth usable information — just as it does online. For example, tracking how people respond to sale signs and banners during an event (ie. how effective they are at causing a shopper to visit a particular display or area) can help create more effective advertising and promotional tools. It can help tell a manager where to deploy sales associates, what products to highlight and which to remove. It can even help reduce inventory shrinkage (products lost through deterioration, obsolescence, pilferage, theft, and/or waste.)

The technology to track pedestrian behavior works in different ways. Beemedia offers free wi-fi — and uses the signals they receive to anonymously triangulate wireless devices. RetailNext uses advanced software to monitor existing in-store security camera video, as they do for Family Dollar. Path Intelligence’s FootPath technology uses anonymous cell phone signals. This past holiday season several malls began testing Path Intelligence’s FootPath technology, but after being installed only one day, the experiments were suspended following privacy concerns from Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.).

Real-life retail tracking is coming — and the necessary results it will provide will not only translate into profits for stores but also better shopping experiences for visitors.

And this can even work more specifically. Let’s say in the above example, you were looking for a cowboy hat for that square dance you were planning to attend. You spent a lot of time on Hats R Us in the Western section—and so all the ads that show up are specifically cowboy themed. The Hats R Us truly has your number, and after seeing the ads multiple times, you are more likely to remember and revisit their site when it comes time to make your purchase.

We call this an orchestrated fate for you and the hat. And whether you are a retail vendor, looking to increase appointments or registrations, building an eList, or simply branding, this gentle nudging of people who have visited your site is something we can help you accomplish.

Let’s say you are a hospital, and you have a lot of visitors to the cardiology section of your website. Visitors come, browse for information, but don’t always fill out eList sign up forms, make appointments, or take an action. You don’t have to end your visibility with them when they leave your site. We can help you program your site pages so that if a visitor has been to those pages, when they are browsing other sites your ads recognize that this person has been to your site, and are more likely to display. When it comes time to make an appointment, you are more likely to come to mind—or it’s possible that seeing your ad will push them to revisit and take a next step.

If you want to get into the nitty gritty of how we accomplish this, here are the basics: within your website, we tag pages with a special code. Then we program your ads to recognize that code even after you leave the site. We can tag your entire site, or specific pages within your site to make the ads more targeted (like in the cowboy hat and cardiology examples above).

This benefits you, since your relationship with the consumer doesn’t have to end when they leave your site. And your consumers are happy, since they know you know what they want. And when their cowboy hat arrives, they can be pleased that fate brought them together.

All you have to do is copy and paste the link into ‘Is It Old?’ It then uses open API to analyze how many times it has been posted to Twitter and how many days ago it was first shared. Depending on these factors, you’ll get a response on a scale of “Dead” to “You’re the first!”

Although it can help you figure out how long the link has been around, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the link is or isn’t worth your time. It will tell you how many people have shared the link before you, and how long ago it was published. It’s ultimately up to you to decide if it’s still worth sharing.

Do you see yourself using this tool before sending out any content you find online?

However, some small social media or sharing platforms do end up making a nice little name for themselves. One of these platforms is Elfster. It’s name alone gives you an idea that it is centered around the holidays. Basically Elfster gives you a way to organize a Secret Santa gift exchange online.

The interface is simple, attractive and clean; just the way it should be. Elfster is perfect for the office holiday party. You create your Secret Santa group name, set the exchange date, spending limit, and give it a little description. Then you can start inviting friends, family, and co-workers.

On your own Elfster profile, you can create a Wishlist. And if you’re like me and never know what you want, there is a “Trending Gifts” section. Below is a quick video from Elfster explaining how everything works.

Clockwise from Top Left: Walter, Josh, Luke, Mark

One month ago, Sherman Health announced a new Facebook contest: mustache-growing for men’s health awareness. Deanne wrote about the contest last week, and you can get contest details here, but for this post, I wanted to toot the horns of some mustache submitters who, because of their affiliation with Sherman, are not eligible to win prizes. All mustache scores below are out of a possible 10.

1. Walter

The Man: Walter is Web Art Director and the man we rely on at Demi & Cooper for all things technology. As far as we know, Walter controls the Internet. If you told someone besides Walter to go reset the modem, we’d stare at you with a blank face until you went elsewhere. We literally need Walter to function.

The Mustache: Luckily, Walter does not need his mustache to function. It’s nearly indistinguishable from his skin, which is not ideal. His lips are pursed in the photo above, implying he’s chewing something, he’s super creepy, or both. The hand on the chin tells us he’s thinking about something, most likely prunes.

Also, the name he gave the photo (“You stay classy, Chicago”) reveals a close affiliation to the movie Anchorman, a film whose protagonist was #1 on our Top 5 Movie Mustaches list.

Creepy Score: 7.5

2. Josh

The Man:Josh is Sherman’s Marketing Communications Manager, and a man with a quick wit and an open mind for any idea. His unmustachioed personality is one of the best we could hope to work with.

The Mustache: The smirk is unsettling, as is the black background. This photo may have been taken in an underground lair. Extra credit goes to Josh for going for a creepy look and nailing it (he titled it “Not at all creepy”, which just made my sarcasm detector explode).

Creepy Score: 9.99

3. Luke

The Man: Luke is me, and thus I will stop talking in the third person. I write things at Demi & Cooper, and I am newly married to a beautiful woman who is fully supportive outside of all things mustache.

The Mustache: It’s in black and white not for stylistic purposes, but because of necessity: my mustache in living color is one of the most horrifying things you will ever witness.

I said earlier Walter’s mustache is almost skin-colored, but that’s nothing compared to this. To properly explain, I recently described the mustache to a group of people who were wondering what it looked like as “fleshy”. Eww.

I titled my submission “1950s blog author”, which is funny because blogs did not exist back then, you see. And just like that, I ruined the joke.

Creepy Score: 4 in black and white, 12.5 in color

4. Mark

The Man: Mark is also recently married, to Michelle, Marketing Specialist at Sherman. He is ineligible to win because of his wife’s ties to the contest. Dealbreaker? Dealbreaker.

The Mustache: I cannot stress enough how much more awesome Mark’s mustache is than the previous three.

We’re all friends here, so I’ll shoot straight. I’ve creeped on some of Mark’s Facebook photos. In my defense, whatever, man. Creeping happens. I had no idea that beneath his seemingly clean-cut exterior lay the perfect Hulkamania trucker mustache.

Awesome Score: 10

Want to vote in the Sherman Health Movember Mustache Contest? All you need is a Facebook profile. Click here to get started, and remember not to vote for Walter, Josh, Luke, or Mark.