Break Through Buzz is the creative stuff that impressed Ketchum’s creative community this week. Check out what captured our imaginations and inspires us to keep pushing the boundaries of possibility.
Rubber Duckie, I’m Awfully Fond of You
Selected by Jane Morgan
Artist Florentijn Hofman’s giant rubber duck has been swimming the globe, and last week it arrived in Hong Kong, anchoring next to Harbour City shopping mall. Thousands of people filmed, snapped and shared the unusual phenomenon on social media, proving a very visual, fun stunt can be incredibly effective. Of course, Harbour City capitalized on the arrival of the giant rubber duck and built further excitement on its social media feeds to create a welcoming committee (and extra traffic to the mall…). The duck made people smile and struck an emotional chord that led to mass talkability – it’s as simple as that.
An Old Master Learns New Tricks
Selected by Jeff Lewonczyk
Context is everything. People creating tableaus based on famous paintings is nothing new, but how about taking it a step further, by, say, disrupting an average day at a shopping mall to bring a Rembrandt canvas to life – complete with criminal backstory, live animals, period costumes, actors rappelling from the ceilings and a high-speed chase? What better way to raise awareness for art than to integrate the painting into people’s everyday lives?
The Brand Within
Selected by Courtney Walker
This Forbes article states: ‘If your teammates and/or colleagues don’t know what your personal brand is, the fault is yours and not theirs. Having a personal brand is a leadership requirement.’ My takeaway from this piece is quite simple. Remember the song, ‘Free to be You and Me?’ Be yourself. Bring your unique perspective to each client call, team meeting, networking event or mentoring session. Sure, it’s scary. In some ways, we are trained to be the same as others simply because we are part of the same PR world, but we do a disservice to others – and ourselves – by conforming.
Etsy Goes to the Dogs
Selected by Danielle Henbest
The dog-friendly office policy at Etsy has been in place since 2005, and it’s one of the ways the innovative company strives ‘to maintain a casual, creative, and inspiring work environment.’ The entire blog post includes images and research to support how having dogs around the office improves employees’ overall quality of work and life. One employee says of their canine friend, ‘He is also really goofy and cute which is a good reminder that nothing is such a big deal, even if a work thing is stressful at the moment. He offers levity to situations, and he gives good hugs.’
Innovation: Not Just for Kids
Selected by Tera Miller
I woke up Monday morning to the news that I’m not too old to innovate. American Public Media’s Marketplace was reporting on innovation and branding consultant Tom Agan’s assertion that innovation is not just for 20-somethings. The New York Times also recently published an article on the same topic. Another reason to get out of bed!
(Do) Play With Your Food
Selected by Sue Maloney
I love the daily trend report from Cassandra, which always has little themed nibbles that inspire me. This example made me think about how food clients might embrace these innovative people and methods to showcase food beyond the obvious. So delicious!
