Case in Point: MCT Loans

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Case in Point: Buck the Norm

Bucking the Norm

Tinker Federal Credit Union’s Buck the Norm Gen Y initiative is all about financial empowerment. Don’t overspend or be irresponsible with debt. That’s the concept they want 16-24 year olds to grasp. But to grasp this type of behavior change there needs to be hands-on and engaging initiatives. What’s more hands-on and engaging than social media hosted contests?

Every year Buck the Norm hosts several contests, but the video scholarship contest is the one that attracts the most attention. What’s at stake: a $2,000 scholarship and a MacBook for the first place contestant and cash and iPods for the three other placed contestants.

The Challenge

The first challenge was with unfair voting. In past years the contest had been hosted on Buck the Norm’s website. Voters were allowed to cast a ballot once per day which was tracked by email addresses. There was no way to stop people from creating fake email addresses and submitting multiple votes per day. It’s the digital media equivalent to hanging chads.

The second challenge was a stagnant Facebook page that was seeing little growth. Leading up to the 2012 contest timeframe Buck the Norm’s Facebook page had 600 fans which hadn’t seen a big increase in some time.

Prescription

To get the voting to a more legitimate level, it was decided to host the contest on Facebook utilizing a Facebook application. Facebook only allows one profile per user. It was a perfect match because we could also focus on growing the fan base. Instead of voting once per day, Facebook users could only vote once for the entire contest. This grew the need for contestants to promote their videos which ultimately drove more traffic to the application.

Promotion

The major tactical execution was the Facebook application itself. Contestants were able to upload their video through the application which was hosted on the Buck the Norm Facebook page. People could then view the contestants' videos, comment on videos and vote.

The contest was promoted through several traditional and non-traditional channels including geotargeted online ads, social media and print ads in local college publications.

Results

Entries: The 2012 contest yielded the highest number of entries with an increase of 71% over 2011.

Voting: With previous years littered with voting fraud, an expected 200 people voted over 21,000 times. By moving the contest to Facebook and allowing one vote for the entire contest there were more than 2,100 individual votes which was a 950% increase in individual votes (and in the exposure to Buck the Norm’s message).

Page Fans: From the 2011 contest to the beginning of the 2012 contest there were 30 new fans to the Facebook page. During the 40 day contest period there was an overall fan increase of 75% as the number of fans went from 630 to more than 1,100 fans.

Q&A with Casey

Q:  Perhaps we start with a history lesson? Talk about your background, professionally.
A:  Okay, this will be a hundred-mile-an-hour, highlights-only tour.

In 1995, I cut my teeth at a small Oklahoma City agency called Fellers Marketing and Advertising. The focus of the company was client service, which I took to naturally and it helped me ascend to Associate Creative Director.

After almost seven years at Fellers, I moved to Barkley in Kansas City. Their impeccable reputation for award-winning work is what drew me to them and I spent four years leading a fantastic team.

From Barkley, I went to work at Hallmark (also headquartered in Kansas City). Despite being the biggest “creative” brand in the world, I had entered a realm where research and planning was every bit as important. The work from there is some of the best in my career.

Q:  Why Third Degree?
A:  I’ve kept an eye on Third Degree since I left Oklahoma. It’s a company that works as smart as it is creative. So, the opportunity to be a leader here was a no brainer... it's the kind of job you just don't pass up.

Q:  Now something not work related. You run, even when you’re not being chased. What’s that about?
A:  My running shoes are one of the first things packed when I travel for work.  I’ve found a healthy body makes a healthy mind. Since I ran cross-country in college, jogging is sort of the low-hanging fruit of working out. It's a "dance with the devil you know” kind of thing.

This year my goal is to do a half marathon in one hour and thirty minutes…right after I stop eating so much chocolate cake.

Q:  So goals are important to you?
A:  Yes, it’s a holdover from my competitive athletic days and something I’ve found to be very important in my creative success. Just like a brand, it’s important to have a clear vision of where you want to go and what you want to achieve.

Q:  Which is more important: Creativity or Strategy?
A:  I use a lot of sports analogies and here’s one now:   In football you can’t win without solid play on both sides of the ball. Weakness on defense hurts the offense and vice versa. Essentially, it is a recipe for failure. Creativity and strategy have the same symbiotic relationship.

No concept, no matter how inspired, can overcome a weak foundation. And no strategy can truly come to life if the message isn’t well delivered and received. So to say one is more important to the other, in my opinion, couldn't be more short sighted.

Q:  Quick. Name your favorite movie, album and book.
A.  Cool Hand Luke. The Smiths – Meat is Murder. Watership Down.

The Digital Revolution

More and more Americans are going digital, and they couldn't be happier about it. In the past 10 years the number of people that have access to the internet has doubled. Not only are we engaging with the digital world at home and throughout our days at the office, but we are doing it on the go, with the amount of people buying smart phones continuing to rise. We are a nation addicted to information, with a voracious appetite that doesn't seem to be diminishing.

Source: Nielsen's Q3-Q4 2011 US Digital Consumer Report

But what are we as marketers doing to take advantage of this trend and harness this insatiable thirst for knowledge? Well... maybe not JUST knowledge — we also are watching the latest father/daughter wedding dance on Facebook. It is a time to re-examine your marketing resources. Have you positioned your brand to take advantage of this trend? or are you spending dollars in places that the public seems to be leaving?

Third Degree Nostalgia

Awe. Moving. It conjures thoughts of new beginnings. Excitement over things to come. Dreams of our new space, all shiny and new. And lets face it, how close each of our desks will be to a window.

We are ready for the next leg of our journey but for us, as we pack, we are feeling a bit nostalgic.

Original logo on a mason jar mug.

Current logo on a coaster.

Don't you just love old photos?

A coaster. And a reminder.

Oh, the creative that could be found on these old hard drives. And the incriminating emails.

Do they even make HOT DAMN anymore?

Media Buyer by Day. Office Designer by Default.

Everyone knows those people who work hard to develop a knowledge base and craft in college only to move on to start a career in an industry unrelated to their degree. That’s me. With a Bachelor of Interior Design from the University of Oklahoma, (and countless all-nighters in the College of Architecture studios) I’m now working on 8 years at Third Degree. As a Media Buyer, my Excel spreadsheets are not only strategic and thoughtful, but let’s be honest…color coordinated.

Did I mention it also qualifies me to judge coloring contests?



I interviewed for a temporary position as the Receptionist to pay the bills after college. Having spent a couple weeks in a hot warehouse, checking the caps on tubes of “Femoré” (I’ll leave that product description in the hands of Google), I was ready for a job in a climate controlled office. Little did I know most of the summer, shorts were considered “office chic” in the old Mercantile building.



After falling in love with these guys…



and these characters…



And learning that Media at Third Degree was not just about numbers and spreadsheets (no matter how colorful) and was more about finding targeted, creative and impactful ways to get our clients’ messages out…I stuck around…for awhile.



I was later asked to co-design our Diner/Breakroom/Conference Room with coworker Kathleen Shannon. We rented a cargo van, shared scandalous stories with each other (her more so than me) and crossed the Red River to IKEA.



Now, with the help of Creatives, Adam and Brett, I’m calling that the Trial Run before the new task at hand.



A whole new office space: demolition, construction, codes, timelines…may I suggest a little wine? And one excited Media Buyer.

We're Moving.

That’s right. You heard correctly. After 14 years, Third Degree Advertising will be uprooting from our home in Bricktown and relocating our headquarters to new offices in Midtown Oklahoma City (corner of Fourth and Walker).

More information to come.