United Breaks Guitars Song three

Third Song Posted for United Breaks Guitars

After a year- long battle with United Airlines and the release of the now infamous United Breaks Guitars viral video, Dave Carroll has released his third and final song in the trilogy, as promised to United Airlines in response to their poor customer service and refusal to compensate him for breaking his guitar. United Breaks Guitars first made the rounds of the Internet last summer, boosted by the catchy tune and humorous video which popped-up on news programs around the world. Companies beware, social media works and United Breaks Guitars is a prime example.

The first song, released July 6, 2009, has received over 8 million views on YouTube over the past 8 months, with over 25 thousand comments. The second song, uploaded on August 17,2009 is reaching 1 million views, with the third song, just released on March 1, 2010, already enjoying over 64 thousand hits to date – and all for the cost $200 for the first video and about $600 for each of the remaining two! Of course, this pales in comparison to the millions of impressions generated by the songs’ exposure on TV stations such as CBC, CTV, BBC, and CNN ... just to name a few - not to mention a recent interview on THE VIEW.

You can read details on the saga at http://mktgcliks.blogspot.com/2009/11/united-breaks-guitars-reaches-over-6.html with Dave Carroll’s insights on the events posted in the Grand Rants blog at http://grandrants.wordpress.com/2010/03/01/exclusive-dave-carroll-files-a-new-flight-plan/. It would be interesting to know the impact this adventure has had on Dave Carroll’s music career in terms of the amount of music he is now selling, versus before the first upload – comments anyone so we can see the final impact of this social media escapade?

Below you can listen and watch the three United Breaks Guitars songs – enjoy – and thank you Dave Carroll!

United Breaks Guitars – Song 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YGc4zOqozo



United Breaks Guitars – Song 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-UoERHaSQg



United Breaks Guitars – Song 3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P45E0uGVyeg

Hippos and Humour in Telus ad Campaign

Just when we were tiring of those cute animals in the Telus campaigns, their ad agency, Taxi, rose to the occasion and creatively took it up a level using humour and hippos to create the unexpected to get attention. Their new Hippo campaign, launched in early March, features two hippos, Ghost and Polita - a follow-up to their recent Hippo ad from the Telus holiday season campaign. Hazina the hippopotamus first appeared in a DDB created spot for Telus in a 2005 holiday ad campaign in Western Canada that used the 1953 "I Want A Hippopotamus For Christmas," song.

A little background – Telus first began their animal-focused ad campaign in 1999 with an eye-catching red-eyed-bright-green tree frog jumping out of a jar. This campaign still continues today using a consistently simple approach of a white background as the backdrop to a cute animals and the slogan, “The future is friendly.” TV spots use popular songs as memorable center-pieces of the ads, giving them stopping-power that gets attention.

The March 2010 Telus Hippo campaign features two humorous spots that will have you chuckling to their bold combination of music and unusual images.  A large and awkward hippo portrays the Telus network as fast, nimble and extensive. The first humorous spot spoofs the hare and the tortoise fable, replacing the tortoise with a hippopotamus to showcase the network’s large size, also using a cute bunny rather than a hare!  It uses the music “Speedy Gonzales,” by Pat Boone to ad a humorous touch and get attention. The second spot focuses on two hippos swimming in a water hole to the light-hearted tune "Splish Splash" by Mina Mazzini and uses clever editing to reveal the hippos are actually swimming in the face of a cell phone. The Telus spots use repurposed footage from the original 2005 Christmas spot and new scenes that include the new hippos-stars who are the brother and mother of the original Hazina who lives in a zoo is British Columbia. For all the animal lovers, Telus donates money to the Zoo for the use of the animals in their commercials and donated $10 thousand dollars for each of the first two spots.

Below you can see the two latest Hippo ads from Telus as well as their repurposed 2005 spot for 2009 – enjoy the hippos and humour!

Telus “Fast” spot

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2ypCK0QpR0

Telus “Best” spot

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Dhq-gkyCQs

Hippo for Christmas ad

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjStRjpiedU

How to get an entry level job in marketing

A number of people have asked for advice on how to find an entry level job in marketing. There is no magic formula, but there are a number of important elements that will help you find that entry level job. Here is a checklist of things you need to do:

1. Create a dynamite resume
2. Create a business card
3. Write an interesting cover letter
4. Create a strong profile on LinkedIn
5. Develop a network of your peers
6. Network with business professionals
7. Bookmark relevant job sites and check LinkedIn for job postings
8. Sign up to your schools' career centre job alert list

Resumes
       Resumes  - These are  important calling cards for finding that entry level marketing job. Resumes are difficult to write so be prepared to edit your draft numerous times until it is a vibrant reflection of you. Your starting point is to make a list of things you have accomplished in your  life. Group these accomplishments into three categories - (1) jobs, (2) projects completed in post-secondary marketing courses, and (3) your personal life. This list should not be a laundry list of job titles but instead highlight things you achieved in a job such as meeting sales targets, winning an award, or dealing with difficult customers etc. Using tangible marketing-related projects as examples of educational accomplishments will give your resume some substance and create interest in your achievements.
     An example of a resume format that you may want to consider can be found at the following link - Resume Format. You will notice that this format includes a profile and a skills area at the top of the resume -remember people are busy and a solid profile and skills area will allow a reader to quickly determine whether you qualify for the entry level marketing job to which you applied. This  profile and skills area should also be modified to meet the specific requirements of job postings. Resumes-applications will often be electronically scanned for keywords, so you can include the key words for the job posting and marketing skills in this area as well as throughout the relevant sections of your resume.
     Business Cards - Create a double-sided business card that has your contact information on the front - including a LinkedIn URL, with a list of your main marketing-related skills on the reverse. Your LinkedIn profile URL is in the settings area of your account, under  public profile.
    Cover Letters - These should be short and be tailored to the job posting. An excellent resource for writing cover letters and getting a job in Canada is the book Landing a Job for Canadians which is part of the For Dummies series.


Networking & Websites 
     Creating a network is an invaluable tool that can keep you informed on entry level marketing jobs that may not be posted. Do not hesitate to reach out to people in your network to help find that entry level job - people will help if they can. You can expand your network by volunteering and /or attending networking events in the marketing industry. These events are often run by marketing associations. The Toronto chapter of the American Marketing Associations has a number of networking events which students can attend at a reasonable price of about $20.  Check this site frequently,  http://www.ama-toronto.com/Events.html, and scroll down to see the reasonably priced events.
     Attending guest speaker sessions at your educational institution is a MUST - networking with the speakers from the marketing field can sometimes help open doors that will lead to that entry level marketing job. Be sure to add your contacts to your LinkedIn profile.

     Websites - Once your resume and cover letter are completed, register on the main job sites such as Workopolis and Monster for the entry level marketing positions that appeal to you. LinkedIn has host of job postings - review the following video to learn how to use LinkedIn to find a job LinkedIn for job seekers and review their Grad Guide.  Please note, sales positions will provide you with relevant work experience which is very positively viewed by the marketing industry and can often be a way of getting into the marketing field.  The following marketing-related websites have career/job areas and should be checked regularly for job postings that may interest you:

• www.marketingmag.ca
• www.strategyonline.ca
• www.the-cma.org,
• www.nabs.org
• www.mediajobsearchcanada.com. 

     A job website that services graduating students and includes a number of entry level marketing jobs is http://www.talentegg.ca/ . Good luck, be patient, and persevere.

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