Guerrilla Customer Research Made Easy

It only takes 4.5 minutes out of your day to watch Harvard Business School professor, Clayton Christensen, demonstrate what he calls "disruptive innovation".

He and his team wanted to know why customers were buying milkshakes for breakfast, and were able to uncover and understand this odd behavior.

The method they used is highly replicable and easy as 1, 2, 3...

1. Before you interview, observe. 

• The team spent an entire day watching and taking notes on the milkshake buyers. Observing was essential for they gathered that half of the milkshakes were sold before 8 A.M to people who were alone and took it to go. 

2. Ask the big-picture question.

• The next step was to ask the customers, "What job are you hiring the milkshake to do?" The team learned that customers weren't necessarily wanting an actual milkshake for breakfast, but it was something that was easier to eat and kept them occupied on their long drive to work. 

3. Conduct research face-to-face.

• Asking such a deceptively complex question in person allowed for the team to further explain what they meant by "job", ask follow up questions, etc. This was an effective approach for they were able to get more out of the consumer, revealing surprising preferences when it came to the early morning commute. 

Check out the video and let us know what you think! Would you consider a milkshake over your typical bagel in the morning? 

5 Tips to Jumpstart Creativity

It always seems that those great ideas come to us at the worst time...while taking a shower, right before we fall asleep, yet never when we need it most. Whether writing a press release for a client or solving a scheduling problem, creative thinking is an essential skill that will set you apart from the rest. So here are 5 tips to help get those creative juices flowing! 

1. Ditch the quiet office.

Blocking out all distractions actually inhibits creativity. Having a moderate level of ambient noise allows you to think in a more abstract and creative way. Research has found that this noise can be anything from a TV show running in the background to someone using a vacuum cleaner. It has been found that lower or higher levels of noise did not positively impact creative thinking. 

2. Silence the inner critic.

You have heard the saying, "you are your own worst critic", meaning we are the first to shoot down ideas. However, constantly worrying about something not being good enough only blocks the creative flow. 

A great exercise that will help silence this negative voice is brainstorming. Write down everything that comes to mind. Don't worry about it being perfect, some great ideas stem from the most random of thoughts! 

3. Experiment with your work environment.

In addition to accepting some distraction while working, try making changes in your workspace itself. A study has proven that experimenting with color has provided a positive impact on creative thinking. 

Just as red is associated with caution like in a stop sign, the color red can also activate a sense that makes us vigilant. Being more alert helps you perform detail-oriented tasks such as proofreading. On the other hand, hues of blue make you feel at peace and safe, allowing you to be more open to exploring abstract thoughts. 

4. Sift out the busy work.

If your days, weeks and months are packed with “getting things done,” you’re not leaving any room to experiment. Google famously lets its employees use 20% of their workweeks to pursue special projects. Following Google's advice, try taking some time out of your hectic day to let your mind relax. Doing so will cause your brain to stimulate creative thoughts and feel recharged to pick up on your previous project. 

5. Branch out beyond your comfort zone.

Sometimes the best path to creative and inventive thinking is to be intentional about experiencing new things in life. Inspiration can come from listening to a new Pandora station, to having lunch with an old friend from college. So have fun trying something out of the ordinary...you never know what it could lead to! 

Rebranding Abercrombie & Fitch

There has been a lot of buzz lately about Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries statements on the type of people he would like to attract to his stores. Jeffries has made statements such as, "In every school there are the cool and popular kids, and then there are the not-so-cool kids,” he says. “Candidly, we go after the cool kids. We go after the attractive all-American kid with a great attitude and a lot of friends. A lot of people don’t belong [in our clothes], and they can’t belong. Are we exclusionary? Absolutely."

In efforts to redefine the brand, Greg Karber is working to rebrand Abercrombie & Fitch. His goal is to make Abercrombie & Fitch "The World's Number One Brand of Homeless People." Karber has asked everyone to donate their Abercrombie & Fitch clothing to a local homeless shelter. He wants everyone to share their stories on Facebook and Twitter using #FitchTheHomeless. 

Greg Karber is trying to turn the negative publicity toward Abercrombie & Fitch and turn it into a positive social good, well at the same time creating a new target audience for the Abercrombie & Fitch clothing line. Karber is making a statement that it is wrong to discriminate and be exclusive toward the "cool kids." 

What do you think about Karber's action to rebrand the clothing line?

Good News for Twitter Advertisers

Within the past couple years, Twitter opened their advertising API to third parties, which has allowed companies to create more sophisticated advertising. When they launched this new program they were partnered with Adobe, Hootsuite, Salesforce, SHIFT and TBG Digital.

On Tuesday Kevin Weil, Twitter's senior director of product for revenue at Twitter, made the announcement that advertising on Twitter will now be open to all U.S. users. The change from invite-only advertising to all U.S. users is due to all the feedback the company has received from businesses. Business owners gave suggestions and areas for improvements, which Twitter took in to consideration and have enhanced their advertising and expanded their targeting and reporting in the U.S.

This change will allow companies to expand their target audience and draw more users to their product or service. Social media has been growing since the big digital push and this will continue to help companies reach consumers. Another big step in the advertising world!

Facebook Revamps Brand Pages

Facebook has changed once again, no surprise there! But this time they made huge improvements to the mobile app. Facebook has been changing the design of its mobile brand pages. This new design has been focused around interaction instead of content, which is easily accessible at the top of the page. New changes to the Facebook web page are coming soon!

Facebook took a different approach by changing their site to be more mobile friendly. More than half of Facebook users access their profiles through their mobile devices, so the change has already proven to be more user friendly.

Facebook's Timeline is Changing....Again!

Can you handle all the changes in less than one week? Facebook has made yet another change to their website! They have created a new layout for your timeline. Originally, this design was being tested in New Zealand, but now has now expanded to affect all users.

Your timeline navigation will now be located in the top right corner. The "About Me" information will now have its own box below your profile picture. Your name will be placed next to your profile picture overlaying your cover photo. Also, there will be a new section added that allows your to add music, movies, books and TV shows that interest you in the form of apps, placing them right alongside your photos and your friends list.

Facebook said the new layout will allow more customization to your profile. Different apps, such as, Netflix or Goodreads will show what movies you've been watching or books you've been reading. This new look is expected to be in affect within the next couple of weeks. 

This means great news for advertisers! Because of the focus on images, businesses will have a better opportunity to grab the attention of their consumers. This also means that businesses pages will have a more attractive look to them. Along with consumers, business pages will be able to customize their profiles too, allowing them to give the consumers more of what they want.

Powerhouse USA Congratulates the 2013 Orlando ADDY Award Winners

The ADDY Awards have announced their 2013 winners, among them Disney’s Yellow Shoes Creative group and Hard Rock Café took home multiple awards. 

The ADDY Awards are organized yearly by the local chapter of the American Advertising Federation. This group selects and recognizes the talent and hard work that go into Orlando ads and celebrates the creative excellence and achievements in our advertising community!

The ADDY Awards are unique among advertising and creative competitions since they include three levels of judging: local, regional, and national. The local ADDYs are given based on the competition in Orlando, which makes it easy to see how well local competitors do. This also allows to local competitors to compete regionally and nationally based on their success!

To see some of Orlando’s best ad works head to http://www.theorlandoaddys.com/winners-2013/

Orlando Ad Market Finishes Strong First Quarter: Good Second Quarter Forcasted

Orlando ad spending has increased throughout the first quarter but despite previous quarters experiencing sluggish markets. Both TV and radio have seen spending gains in numerous categories this quarter.

TV spending was up 10 to 15 percent in January, and it’s expected to be up at least 10 percent year-to-year for the remainder of the quarter. Large categories including auto, financial, telecom and furniture have all increased spending by double-digit percentages versus a year ago, putting a squeeze on inventory.

Prime-time and news day-parts have the highest demand this year, but other day-parts will also pick up in coming months. With predictions for a strong second quarter the market should remain healthy.

Radio spending has also been ahead year over year throughout the first and second quarters, despite pricing being down as compared to a year ago. Financial, retail and auto advertisers have all increased radio spending this year.

From Dec. 6 to Jan. 2, WMGF averaged a 13.6 portable people meter rating in its holiday season, according to Arbitron, more than five points ahead of the No. 2 station WPOZ-FM, which averaged an 8.5. Stations owned by Clear Channel and Cox perform the best; In December those companies accounted for seven of nine top Orlando stations.

Super Bowl Ads that Confused Us All

BlackBerry and Best Buy are two struggling companies with a whole lot in common when it comes to their failing business models and slump in stock sales. Now they are also two companies who have recently given the world two terrible Super Bowl 2013 ads which don’t seem to have much hold on consumers.

BlackBerry’s recent introduction of its new Z10 smartphone, which was unveiled last week was intended to keep its current customers engaged with the brand while enticing its former customers to return. The product itself could be what BlackBerry desperately needs to get back on track, and with the right ad campaign, they could have done so. But instead of showing consumers what their product does, BlackBerry did a full 180 and gave us this monster of an ad.

Meanwhile, Best Buy featured an ad which portrays Amy Poehler as a shopper, harassing a sales associate with personal questions. The ad has hints of humor but confuses consumers with non-direct messages and endless questions on what seems to be hundreds of products. With the tagline, “Thousands of Experts Ready to Help,” One would think the commercial would showcase the expert actually answering questions, instead our expert stands dumbfounded and speechless in the wake of the inquisitive tornado that is Amy Poehler.

With Super Bowl 2013 ads being said to average $4 million dollars for each 30-second spot, big box stores like Best Buy battling online competition, and BlackBerry fending off the ever growing iPhone following, it is clear that neither company should invest in risky, unclear and confusing ads. Super Bowl ads have always stressed creativity but with BlackBerry’s flat out weird ad and Best Buy’s borderline obnoxious and aimless ad, it seems as if sense and logic are being removed from the process creating new ads.

Infographics: The Newest Way to Digest Data

Infographics have been popping up in social media everywhere recently and the buzz is all about how they educate viewers more quickly and efficiently than traditional posts.

Infographics visually express data via the use of small icons, bits of text and basic graphs; this seems to be the best formula to help viewers digest content faster. With info expressed visually and usually in within a moderate amount of space viewers are more likely to view an infographic as compared to a basic post. With the pressure from users for faster data and instant results, infographics seem to be the best way to grab attention.

 In the world of social-media and marketing expediting the relay of data is paramount and infographics are a great way to boost relevance and engage a target audience. To grab attention and engage your audiences experiment with infographics, but don’t rely on them as a primary means of advertising. Infographics should be supplemental to your marketing tactics!

Mobile Business Apps: Increasing Productivity and Revenue

The buzz is all about mobile business apps! Mobile productivity and process apps went mobile in 2012 and revenue associated with them is estimated to be around $25 billion for 2012. Research firm Strategy Analytics says this number is expected to rise to $50 billion by 2017.

The mobile experience has evolved from simple mobile email and messaging apps to productive apps with content authoring abilities like enterprise resource planning (ERP) and consumer resource management (CRM).

The importance of worker productivity on the go has driven the rapid growth of mobile business apps and has pushed the market revenue to new highs. It’s exciting to see the ways businesses are stepping up to the plate when it comes to mobilizing their business operations.

The mobile device has evolved to fit each and every business need and surely the apps market should be one to watch in the times to come.