Trumped Blog

Written by TRUMPED | 15 March 2010
Posted in Blog - 2010

As the competition progresses and more teams are eliminated the elite continue to rise to the top. Indeed the competition continues to increase in difficulty, ultimately demanding the very best out of every remaining team. You are now being judged against the groups who have so far, produced very outstanding work. Do not let this fact discourage you, stay true to the creativity that has got you to this point in the competition. You have already proven you have what it takes to come up with amazing ideas; all you have to do now is continue the outstanding work.

For the teams behind 18 Litre Productions the smartest thing for you to do is learn from their successes. Their concept was picked as the winner for a reason: It was really smart and it was plausible. Being creative is one thing, but knowing the plausibility of your campaign is crucial. You can have the most creative idea ever fathomed but if it is outrageously expensive or simply not feasible in the real world its only true value is conceptual. You’re marketing for real world companies and products so you have to come up with real world marketing concepts.

The third and final task will undoubtedly be a very entertaining one as it involves marketing and alcohol! It is obvious that giving away free liquor in a liquor store will not be the challenging part of this task. Coming up with a unique way to dispense the Molson samples will be the true challenge. You can bet the winner of this task will have devised a totally creative method to deliver Molson samples that is both intelligent and plausible. Simply put, the same ol’ sample table that we all know from our Liquor store excursions isn’t going to cut it.

All of us at Trumped 2010 would like to wish the remaining teams the best of luck coming up with your concepts for Molson. After seeing the work you have produced so far, we are VERY excited to see what concepts you bring to the table for the third and final task of this competition.

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Written by TRUMPED | 03 March 2010
Posted in Blog - 2010

Re-Branding without the appearance of having a midlife crisis

Alright folks, many of you are elbow deep in the current task at hand which heavily involves the concept of rebranding. Here are some of the things you should consider when it comes to a brand and its identity.

A good brand stands the test of time, is consistent yet dynamic, easily identifiable but not overly predictable or boring (I think I just described Regis Philbin…). An obvious challenge exists in creating and developing a brand. This is especially true when it comes time for a brand overhaul, or more specifically a rebranding campaign.

Fearing or resisting change can cause a brand to become the dreaded Kodak of today, whereas changing too much too fast will leave your loyal followers confused and disenfranchised; destroying exactly what a rebranding effort strives to maintain and cultivate.

The key questions that need to be answered before the arduous task of rebranding is attempted are:

Who do we think we are?

How do consumers actually see us?

What do our consumers value about us?

(And most importantly) What added value can we provide to our consumers?

Rebranding should be attempted with the intent to engage, NOT alienate consumers, to make MORE people happy with your brand or to make your current customers HAPPIER with who you are.

The final step is daunting:

Implement your rebranding strategy based upon the answers to the above questions. Do all of this without looking like your trying too hard, without doing too much at once and ultimately, not looking like your having a midlife crisis… nobody wants their brand to become their dad’s new corvette, or mom’s fresh lower-back tattoo. I got the willies just thinking about it.

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Written by TRUMPED | 12 February 2010
Posted in Blog - 2010

Wonder what its like to have an extreme career in the world of Advertising? We asked VP & Chief Creative Officer at Extreme Group, Shawn King to list some of his proudest accomplishments.

1 - Still being married to my high-school sweetheart.

2 - My 13 year old son

3 - Finally getting a full sleeve tattooed

4 - Getting a real job and working my way up to a partner, when I started as a production artist straight out of community college.

5 - Winning a Bronze Lion at Cannes

6 - Winning 6 gold and Best in Show at the Bessies (TV only advertising awards show)

7 - Being asked to write articles for industry publications

8 - Judging award shows

9 - Shooting 3 TV commercials in Chile.

Extreme Group’s collection of titles include: Top Ten Agencies in Canada, by Marketing Magazine, Small Business of the Year, a Bronze Lion at the International Cannes Advertising Festival, Most Creative and Memorable Ad, from the International Print Ad Awards, and Marketer of the Year, to name a few.

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Written by TRUMPED | 18 February 2010
Posted in Blog - 2010

Wow the Trumped contest has once again brought out the best in its competitors! We gave you an admittedly tall task yet the results are truly remarkable. We were blown away by the creativity you showed in devising your story boards and raising money for the CCS. Your combined efforts to raise.... $83,737(!!!) will truly make a remarkable difference in the lives of many cancer patients and in the laboratory's of cancer researchers across the country. The following are the well earned shout-outs to the teams who achieved outstanding results, resulting in their placing on top of the pile!

Best Money Raisers were Team Dynamic hailing from Dalhousie University who alone managed to raise over $8,000 for the CCS which deserves the utmost praise. CONGRATS TEAM you have set the bar remarkably high for single handed fund-raising in the Trumped competition.

Best Story Board went to the team named JK Morgan from SMU, they came up with a concept that was truly outstanding and they also were not too shabby at raising funds for the CCS. Their combined, weighted total placed them in first place overall making them the current team to beat. Remember JK, it is lonely on the top but that is where you want to be, so stay on your toes and keep producing the work that got you to where you are today!

On a final note, the latest task in all its glorious details can be found on the trumped2010 website. The basic synopsis is your team will have to come up with a promotional campaign for the Hamachi house... i know what some of your are thinking: " That delicious Sushi sells itself!" Although that may be true, we at Trumped know you can come up with a promotional campaign that will blow us away and sell even more sushi, if thats possible! Remember what we have preached in the past, and your task will be all the more successful...Be Creative. Momma always said, "Average don't win no awards"

Best of Luck.

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Written by Trumped | 02 February 2010
Posted in Blog - 2010

How Social Media can Make a REAL Difference

It’s an old direct sales (and dating!) adage: “Every ‘No’ you get gets you one step closer to a ‘Yes’”.

But what happens when you exhaust all of your interpersonal connections; you have knocked on the door of everyone you know and hit-up all of your relatives and friends? Well, at that point you start to look to strangers and friends-of-friends in hopes of finding generosity among the unknown masses. Social media is the tool you can use to connect with all of these people almost instantaneously.

Ultimately it’s a numbers game; it’s about how many people you can deliver a personal message to and connect with, in a very short time. And if every ‘No’ gets you one step closer to a ‘yes’ then increasing the size of the pool of potential contributors is a fool proof way to increase the total number of dollars you raise.

Social Media has changed the game when it comes to spreading the word about something. Facebook events have become our social life’s day planner (remember when invitations used to be paper), YouTube is now a showcase for up and coming stars (think Justin Bieber) and Twitter is a place where we can personally interact with celebrities ranging from Ashton Kutcher to the Pope (Yup its true). Your message has the potential to be heard by Millions, from goofballs to the Divine… find a creative way to connect with this audience and you will see the fundraising dollars flying in.

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Trumped Blog

Re-Branding without the appearance of having a midlife crisis

How Social Media can Make a REAL Difference

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