Red Bricks Media’s News Blog

Red Bricks Media has appointed Dan Weiner the new Managing Director of the company’s New York office.Prior to Red Bricks Media, Weiner held product and marketing roles at Sony BMG Music Entertainment, Idealab, and Priceline.com. In his most recent role, Weiner was Vice President of Sony BMG’s Online Media Network and was responsible for deploying new ad networks across the company’s hundreds of artist and label sites and developing compelling marketing offerings around its content and artists. He also launched a range of new content delivery and community tools, including the industry-leading Musicbox video network.

CEO Ed Kim is enthusiastic about Weiner’s leadership. “Dan is the perfect person to lead our New York office. He’s a creative and experienced professional who has pioneered online tools and properties for some of the world’s top media and web companies. I am confident that Dan will lead Red Bricks Media East to provide the same innovative marketing solutions and outstanding client services that characterize our other offices.”

Weiner is equally enthusiastic about his new role at Red Bricks Media. “I’m very excited to be joining the incredible Red Bricks team and building on their success in New York and the East,” he comments. “With the rapid emergence of nontraditional digital tools and channels, Red Bricks’ unique mix of rigorous performance marketing, great design, and technical depth offers a chance to develop ground-breaking new ways for marketers to reach and engage with consumers.”

Contact Dan at dweiner [ar] redbricksmedia.com.

Do you want new ways of reaching your consumers? Are you itching to expand your campaign beyond the internet? With Red Bricks Media’s new print, TV and radio capabilities, you can now reach consumers through online and offline channels.

We like to call our approach to these campaigns “media planning 3.0.” Offline media buying can now be done more efficiently than ever before, thanks to companies like Google, SpotRunner and Spotzer, who sell their offline media inventory online. Our media planners can now avoid the long process of dealing with multiple reps and resources, and instead place bids and receive updates in real time, on one seamless interface. The many advantages of media buying 3.0 include connectivity, real-time reporting, ease of campaign management, and improved efficiency.

So what are you waiting for? Start exploring media planning 3.0 today! Contact sales [at] redbricksmedia.com for more details.

by Bain Smith, Lead Copywriter

Eight months ago the creative team at Red Bricks Media performed an experiment: we wanted to see if we could create a viral video on YouTube. There were a few videos that inspired us:

* OK Go: Here it Goes Again
* Teaspoon Slide Guitar
* My Hands are Bananas
* Tea Partay

It’s easy to see why each of these videos is viral, because they all contain one or more “viral” elements: humor, uniqueness, strangeness, and of course, undeniable talent in the form of musicianship, synchronized dancing, singing, and a well-written script.

So how does one get viral on YouTube without incredible talent, high production value, a great idea, lots of practice, or many thousands of dollars?

Red Bricks Media did it, in a modestly successful way, by creating:
* a catchy, impossible-to-avoid video title
* tags that cast a wide net for content seekers
* arguably controversial (taboo) content
* a video featuring an animal

The headline/title? Dog Attacks Polar Bear.
The tags? Rottweiler, Dog Attack, Polar Bear.
The content? Our own beloved Massimo, demolishing a one-foot high, paper-mache polar bear.

See it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1CBXGp9s9Y

What were our measurements for success? They were modest: 100 views a day, and at least 100 comments, over the course of a year.

The results?
143,000+ views in 250 days = ~570 views a day, and 144 comments so far. Success!

We don’t deny—especially considering the recent indictment of Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick for dogfighting—that the video can be construed as controversial or taboo, and perhaps this is the main contributor to its viral nature.

In our opinion, however, and being semantic professionals, we believe the most important viral feature of the video is the video title. People are tempted to watch the video because it says, “Dog Attacks Polar Bear”, and they want to see if the video delivers on what the headline promises, because obviously the headline creates a sensational, titillating idea that YouTubers just can’t help but watch. Apparently, people really do want to see a real dog attack a real polar bear.

Addressing the very opinionated comment section and any outlying concerns from our readers, I can only say this: Massimo is the most loving dog you can ever hope to encounter, which is more than I can say for the rabid population of YouTube, whose comments reveal a dark side of anonymous internet chatter.

If any readers still doubt Mossimo’s loving nature, come by the office anytime. He’s definitely got some love for you.

by Lauren Quan, Associate Marketing Manager

It’s been a summer of social responsibility at Red Bricks Media. Commitment to the community is one of our core values. In the past few months, our employees have donated time and supplies to local organizations Edgewood Center and Bessie Carmichael School. During her vacation, account manager Joyce Chang visited Mexico to help out with Projimo, a non-profit dedicated to providing services to the disabled. Our creative director Theresa Lee took her vacation in Cambodia, where she taught English to children there. Read on to learn about the organizations we’ve supported and how you can get involved.

- Edgewood Center for Children and Families -
On Friday, August 3rd, Red Bricks Media brought a taste of Miami to our San Francisco office with a Miami-themed event featuring salsa lessons, mojito how-tos, and tropical drinks and appetizers. Top marketers mingled with local community members and competed for items like spa treatments and wine tours in our silent auction. Our copywriter Peter Vaughan put the “buzz” in buzz marketing, shaving off his hair into a mohawk for charity after reaching his fundraising goal of $250. Thanks to everyone’s generosity, we raised a grand total of $2,067.18!

We donated the auction proceeds to local nonprofit Edgewood Center for Children and Families. Edgewood Center was founded in 1851 and over the last 155 years has evolved to become an innovative, multi-dimensional organization. One of the largest children’s agencies in Northern California, Edgewood helps some of our community’s most vulnerable children to heal, learn, and thrive, providing a range of residential, community-based, and school-based services to more than 5,000 children and families each year.

To learn more about the Edgewood Center, visit edgewoodcenter.org. Thanks again to everyone who came out and made our party a success!

- Projimo -
While many use their vacation time to hang on the beach in Mexico, Red Bricks Media account manager Joyce Chang spent her two-week vacation in Mexico filling holes in the roads and helping disabled people with physical therapy and personal care. Joyce volunteered with Projimo, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping the disabled in Mexico.

Projimo was founded in 1980 to “to help persons with disabilities, for the purpose of recovering their dignity as human beings and at the same time, fighting for their rights and the rights of other disabled people to be integrated or reintegrated into the society.” Projimo’s compound in Cuyotitan includes workshops where volunteers build wheelchairs and other rehabilitative devices from donated materials. People come from all over Mexico to live in the community and learn to understand and accept their disabilities as part of everyday life.

To learn more about Projimo, visit the organization’s website at http://www.projimo.org.mx/. Projimo gladly accepts monetary and supply donations. You can also learn how to become an on-site volunteer.

- New International Builder’s Community -
Red Bricks Media’s Creative Director Theresa Lee had an eye-opening ten-day trip to Cambodia when she volunteered with her church’s mission group. She and twelve fellow church members visited Siem Reap to teach English to the local children. The group was traveling through New International Builder’s Community (NIBC), part of www.bbglobal.org.

NIBC is committed to improving education in Cambodia, a country with only a 40% literacy rate. There’s a shortage of teachers throughout the country due to the tragic genocide of many educated citizens during the Pol Pot regime. The schools where Theresa taught employed only two teachers full-time, and the students often could not read and write in their own language. She and her fellow teachers taught English through games, songs, skits, and art. “The kids were so bright-eyed and eager to learn,” says Theresa. “Experiencing Cambodia helped me realize the tangible things I can do to contribute to this world.”

NIBC’s future plans include building a university and 100 more kindergartens and secondary schools in Cambodia. In addition to building out educational opportunities, NIBC also has plans for clean water and urban development projects. To learn more, visit www.bbglobal.org.

- Bessie Carmichael Elementary and Middle Schools -
In an office-wide community service day, thirty Red Bricks Media employees brought back-to-school enthusiasm to Bessie Carmichael elementary and middle schools. We helped teachers prep for back-to-school by delivering essential classroom supplies, including bookshelves, filing cabinets, overhead projectors, and crayons. We were reminded of our school days as we cleaned, colored, labeled, assembled, and had an awesome time getting to know the teachers and faculty.

To learn more about Bessie Carmichael, visit http://portal.sfusd.edu/template/default.cfm?page=es.carmichael.

Throughout the year, we’ll continue our commitment to community service. Our social responsibility team has big plans for the holidays – stay tuned for more updates!

by Kathy Guis, Associate Copywriter

Red Bricks Media’s Media Director, Beth Morgan, Chief Search Strategist, Craig Hordlow, and CEO, Ed Kim, have been invited to speak at conferences in San Francisco, San Jose, Boston, Chicago, London and Barcelona this fall.

- Beth Morgan at Search Engine Strategies -
Our Media Director addressed the online marketing minds assembled in San Jose for Search Engine Strategies (SES) on August 22, the third day of the four-day conference. This year, she spoke in a session entitled “In House: Big PPC” with Jay Middleton, Worldwide Search Manager for Adobe. They detailed how to effectively manage auction-based ad models at the enterprise level, including strategies for managing keywords across business units and geographies. Beth has previously presented this session at SES conferences in New York, Chicago and San Jose. “Marketers who attend this session come away with practical advice that they can immediately implement,” says Beth, explaining her presentation’s popularity.

- Craig Hordlow at Adobe Max -
Our Chief Search Strategist has been invited to deliver four presentations at this years’ Adobe Max conference series. Adobe Max is a chance for everyone who uses Adobe products to network, share ideas, learn new skills, and glimpse emerging technologies. Craig will speak twice at Adobe Max North America, taking place in Chicago this year, and twice at Adobe Max Europe in Barcelona. His presentations will address the much-discussed antipathy between rich internet applications (i.e. Flash) and search engine optimization (i.e. Craig). He will share tried-and-true SEO secrets, as well as new methods that allow search crawlers to index flash-based websites.

- Ed Kim at Marketing Sherpa -
Later this year, our CEO Ed Kim will speak at Marketing Sherpa’s B2B summit, whose focuses include search marketing, video & viral, marketing to Fortune 500, white paper maximization, and how to measure & manage leads. The conference takes place in Boston October 15-16, and in San Francisco October 29-30. Ed will present a case study entitled “Global B-to-B Search Marketing: How Adobe Conducts Multinational Campaigns” with Anne Wadia, Senior Marketing Manager at Adobe Systems. Ed’s talk will be a must-hear for anyone with prospects outside the USA, and will cover regional search engines, copy and keyword translation, and the impact cultural differences have on search results.

- Ed Kim at Vodafone Ventures -
On September 6 in London, Ed Kim delivered a presentation on Web 2.0, social networking, user-generated content, and emerging media. Vodafone Ventures is a unique event, attended by every senior executive at Vodafone (the world’s largest mobile service provider), including CEOs, CMOs and CTOs of major operating companies and emerging markets. The conference’s purpose is to increase the pace of innovation at Vodafone by exposing key players to ideas and innovations from around the world. Kim rode the wave of his success at Baptie Marketing Focus 2007, where he received the highest audience rating of all 32 speakers.