We recently developed a mixed media campaign for Memorial Physician Services (MPS), an affiliate of Springfield, IL-based Memorial Health System. The beautifully-shot 30 second spot conveys a clear message: that MPS doctors are more than just doctors; they’re personal guides to great health.

Several different scripts were presented to Memorial Health System. Their marketing department, physicians, and staff chose the script you see in the video. It was a complex shoot, but efficiency allowed us to both shoot and edit into a final polished spot within one week. At Demi & Cooper, we take pride in using technology to our advantage. It used to be producing a spot that looked half has good took twice as long. No longer!

Wondering what Demi & Cooper can do for you? Drop us a line!

“Social media is a great way to present consumer-friendly health topics endorsed by local physicians,” said Tonya Lucchetti-Hudson, Director of Marketing and Public Relations at Sherman Health. “Our Healthy Heart campaign used interactive social media tools to educate patients on the importance of heart disease prevention and screenings. I feel it was extremely effective, and we are taking this same approach with other diseases.”

Goal

In recognition of Heart Month, Sherman Health came to us wanting one measurable outcome when the month was done: more Healthy Heart CT Scan signups in February 2013 than they had in February 2012. Read the full story

In this television spot for the Memorial Medical Center (Springfield, IL) Orthopedics department, designed as part of an overall campaign, six adults use their hips and knees during various everyday activities. They get some multitasking in as well. While the activities are performed, each person explains why Memorial Orthopedics is the most experienced in the region.

If you’re in marketing, or if your idea of a good time is following privacy issues beyond just those associated with Facebook and Instagram, you’ve certainly heard the phrase “remarketing” in 2012.  From a marketing perspective, remarketing is a dream.  It’s the web world’s automated equivalent of a salesperson getting the phone number of a prospect who visited the “store” in order to contact the person at a later date — except remarketing does not know anything about the person to whom the sales messages will be delivered, other than that the person had visited a coded website, and remarketing simply feeds ads to the prospects as they peruse various websites fed by Google ads.

In a nutshell, once someone visits your site, a code from your site is placed on the person’s browser that allows Google to feed your remarketing ads to the person at a schedule you create.  These can be pay-per-click ads, so it only cost you money if the person clicks on the ad.  Even better is that if, while on your site, the person does what you want him to do (ie purchases, signs up for a class, fills in a contact form, etc.), the remarketing code can be removed automatically.  The thought is, why spend money marketing to someone who just bought?  Then again, your remarketing dollars to that person can be spent on getting a testimonial from the buyer.  Pretty cool, huh?

Here’s Google’s webinar on remarketing.  It’s one hour long, but worth it if you want to understand how it works.

Consumers like to think that they make buying decisions with their heads.  Some are adamant, even without provocation. But advertisers know better.

While at dinner parties and social business events, I’ve had more than one fork of food stall on its way to my open mouth as I tried to digest a stinging comment from someone I didn’t even know about how my chosen profession is “full of bad art without any real purpose”.  “C’mon, you got a couple in separate bathtubs . . .out in the woods . . . holding hands . . . why would anyone in their right mind think that a commercial like that could sell a pill for Erectile Dysfunction?”  My lack of response, coupled with raised eyebrows, is misunderstood as signs that I’m actually looking for another example.

“Or that gecko . . . selling car insurance. . . I know people like the little creature, but how many stupid people are there who would buy insurance because some lizard says they should?” (click this link to see the type of person I’m describing).

Well, a lot of people.  And they’re not stupid.  They’re, well, people.  They’re human, and they react to human things that appeal to the most persuadable parts of their minds — their emotions.  Rarely do we buy based on our intelligent minds.

Successful advertisements aren’t trying to win debates.  They’re not even trying to be logical.  Instead, they’re trying to cut through all of the clutter that has filled a viewer’s mind, connect with a need the viewer has, and associate the product or service with the successful fulfillment of that need.  Logic has nothing to do with this, and neither does passing along valuable knowledge. Indeed, as proven in the medical community, having a whole lot of knowledge about a subject has nothing to do with how a person views the subject.

In research published by the Journal of Internal Medicine titled “Healthcare and Lifestyle Practices of Healthcare Workers: Do Healthcare Workers Practice What They Preach?”, it was shown that the lifestyles of healthcare workers were basically no different than the general population when it came to important medical concerns like weight control, binge drinking, and cigarette smoking.  Amazing, right?  Despite all of the facts and knowledge they have on these subjects, and all of the deadly reminders they see daily, healthcare workers act, in general, no different than those with much less knowledge of the dangers of these lifestyles.  They’re fat, drunk and stinky just like everyone else.

Clearly, knowing the facts doesn’t sway people.  Knowing that 60-something % of smokers will, in fact, die from smoking doesn’t stop people from smoking — not even healthcare workers.  These people are choosing to follow unhealthy lifestyles, despite knowing clearly the risks they are taking.  The decisions they make have nothing to do with knowledge.

What persuades people, what overrides all logic and rationale thinking in the minds of all people, is when a clear message gets wrapped up in an emotion that resonates within the population. How else can you explain a brand of flavored carbonated water selling for five times the price of a no-name brand?  Logically, it’s just a drink; but emotionally, it’s so much more.  Indeed, it’s “The Real Thing,” whatever that means.

“We’ve taught over 10,000 people how to play the piano in just three months!” has nothing on “Everybody laughed when I sat down at the piano, but then I began to play . . .”  One gives facts — big, ho-hum facts.  The other hits an emotional nerve — “man, I’d love to impress people by playing the piano.”

All advertising, including healthcare, connects better with the audience when it involves emotion.  “Our Retina Center Has More Modern Technology Than Anyone In The State” cannot compete with “Jimmy’s Parents Feared That He Would Never See Again. Then They Saw Us.” I was able to add even more emotion, and thus more power, to the second headline by simply adding a child.  “More Technology” is a brain phrase for “better”.  However, “Fear” is an emotional word for “do something”, which really is the point of the ad.  The first headline explains.  The second headline gives hope. People react to hope.  They want opportunity.  They don’t want knowledge because they really don’t know what to do with it.  And I think the health habits of our medical community prove this fact.

Maybe the next time I’m confronted at a dinner party, I’ll point out that the Erectile Dysfunction ad was aimed at men, giving them hope by talking to their pleasure centers.  I’ll then ask my “friend” if he would prefer that the ad say honestly and factually,  “This pill has thrilled millions of men and, at the same time, aggravated millions of wives”.

Nah.  Let them believe they buy using their brains.  We advertisers know better. I’ll just try not to choke on my food when the subject comes up.

Until this week, I hadn’t heard of Carlton Draught. It’s one of Australia’s most popular beers, as it turns out. Boring details: 4.6% ABV, pale lager style, made by Carlton & United Beverages.

Not so boring? The latest entry in a series of what’s become known as quirky and memorable Carlton Draught advertising. It’s a 90-second cops and robbers chase through city streets that manages to get the “don’t drink and drive” message across while poking fun at (by my count) close to ten action movie tropes.

It’s a great time. Watch responsibly.

Yes, 2012 is not yet half over. And yes, I love sports. So if you find a better 5 minute ad this year, post it in the comments and I will apologize for jumping the gun.

But you won’t. Pepsi Max’s brilliant 300 seconds (which tallied 5 million views in its first week) tells the story of Uncle Drew, a cranky Bill Russell lookalike who bemoans the current generation of ballers and longs for the old school talent of Oscar and Wilt.

Uncle Drew shows up to an outdoor basketball court in New Jersey to watch his nephew play. But when someone goes down with an ankle injury, the old man steps in and plays exactly how you’d expect a weakened elder to play. And then, magically, everything changes.

Meet Michael Dubin, real-life CEO of recently-funded Dollar Shave Club. The premise: for as little as a dollar per month, get your razors shipped to your home. Great idea, right? That alone would likely have been enough to secure funding. But just to be safe, DSC threw in this startup launch video, which is just about the greatest thing ever.

The lesson? Have fun with your product, and if there’s room to ease up and maybe not take it so seriously, then by all means do it.

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.

I’m a sucker for contests. I absolutely love them and I enter them all the time. Contests are not only a great way to win something cool or gain some extra cash…they are a great way for the company who is running it to advertise themselves or their product. Lets be honest, we all remember the Doritos contest winner from last year’s Super Bowl. Why? Because Doritos did some serious marketing to promote their contest last year, therefore leading to crazy amounts of brand awareness for them all over the internet. I mean, if you see something you like or you have a friend who submitted a commercial and you want to help them get votes, where are you going to post a link? More than likely you will post it on Facebook or tweet it to get exposure from the widest audience all at one time without having to know everyone’s email address.

Some friends of mine recently entered a submission in this year’s Doritos Crash The Superbowl Contest. Within days of posting their video, it is one of the most viewed commercial submissions on the whole site. This proves two things. One is that the use of social media can spread the word rather quickly and two is that Doritos just got oodles of exposure without spending money on media placement. Think about that. Someone just created a commercial for them for free and even if it’s not picked, about 1,400 people have seen it without them even having to do anything. That is excellent marketing! Of course, they are offering the winner 1 million dollars and the chance to work with The Lonely Island, but your prizes don’t have to be so extravagant to get people to participate. Let’s be honest, we all like free stuff.

Our client, Sherman Health, is currently running a contest for Movember. If you don’t know what Movember is, it’s a month long event where men grow mustaches. For Sherman, the mustaches symbolize men’s health and through their Movember Contest, one lucky guy sporting a sweet ’stache will be taking home some Blackhawks tickets. If you haven’t heard about the Movember contest, take a look at the Sherman Health Blog and see what other fabulous prizes we are giving away! Don’t forget to start growing out that mustache .