In the late 1990s, the Internet Dancing Baby came into our lives and the viral video was born. Back then, the video was passed around via email, but ever since, marketers have been on the warpath to produce the next viral sensation. Today, with YouTube and Facebook as well-known platforms where videos can connect with huge audiences and deliver brand messages, marketers still want to go for the gold and proclaim their project a viral success.

But can it really be done in today’s online culture?

To find out, I recently had the opportunity to sit down with Pat Carew, CMD’s social media video expert and a member of the agency’s film and video department, and ask some questions about what viral video means and how achievable it is as part of a larger campaign. The big question, however, was can you plan a viral video?

“By definition, something viral happens on its own,” said Carew. “The bottom line is you just don’t know if your plans will succeed. They are incredibly hard to do. While you can say you want to produce a viral video, ultimately it’s up to the audience to decide if you have succeeded.”

If you do attempt to make a go at producing a viral video to reach your audience on YouTube or Facebook, Carew suggests a few tips to include in your strategic planning:

Go with humor: Most popular videos contain sex, violence or humor. Since brands tend to stay away from the first two, humor is left as the most-used theme. But, according to Carew, humor is the most difficult to pull off. The most popular videos on YouTube, like this one, simply make people laugh. Be sure to work with professionals on this task to represent your brand well and be tasteful.

Ditch the call to action: A viral video must have a cool factor; it should not be an advertisement. That means no call to action, such as a phone number or email address. This can be the most difficult thing for marketers to pull away from, since it’s a traditional part of video advertising, but remember the goal is entertainment and eyeballs, not direct leads. This Old Spice video is a good example. Notice there’s no call to action. It just entertains while delivering its message in a humorous way.

Monitor for production trends: Stay on top of production trends by researching top videos. Whether they’re stop-frame animation, tilt photography or auto-tuning vocals, there are always interesting production trends that sweep though social media videos that can make them more eye-catching. Don’t worry about the technique being a fad, either. Your goal is to get as many positive impressions as fast as you can. As you can see from this search, auto-tuning is particularly popular right now.

Provide the unexpected: Like the Old Spice commercial, and this video that was produced for Microsoft, the best chance of a video becoming viral is when you provide something unexpected. The viewer doesn’t really know what’s going to happen next in the Old Spice commercial, and although the stunt in the Microsoft video is not real, it provides a “no way” response when viewed. Making the impossible seem real is a big trend now in the most popular online videos.

Be transparent: Above all, be honest in your video distribution. Refrain from posting a video from a personal account or trying to promote it without identifying yourself. This is risky in today’s social media world and can potentially be a big problem.

Finally, remember a video can be successful without being labeled as viral. A video with the right message, like this one produced by CMD, seen by the right people, might be more effective than a wide-reaching clip viewed by the masses.

What are your favorite online videos? Would you label them as viral? Share your thoughts and links with us, and we’ll revisit viral videos in future posts. If you have any questions about video best practices, contact Pat Carew at pcarew@cmdagency.com.

Did you collect enough eggs from your chicken farm? When was the last time you sent your friend a virtual cupcake? If you participate in two of Facebook’s popular external applications, then you are aware of what I’m talking about.

Now with more than 400 million users and 500,000 active applications that users can connect with, it’s obvious that most of us are jumping on Facebook for reasons other than finding out what our best friend from 8th grade did this past weekend.

For many companies, having a simple fan/company page is no longer enough to communicate with its target audience about client information or recent news. Such interactive entertainment applications like Farmville, Birthday Cards, iLike, Top Friends, and Mafia Wars demonstrate that millions of consumers on this social platform are interested in playing games, interacting with their friends, sharing personal interests and forming teams for a great cause—key traits that any marketer can and should easily incorporate into real-life interactive campaigns.

With 70 percent of Facebook users engaging with some of these interactive applications every month, it’s time to find out more about this strategy. Consider the following for effective application implementation:

1. Allow team building to be a factor for success: participants enjoy coming together for a greater cause and making a large difference all together. On Facebook, sharing is very much caring. Example: Best Buy has online “Best Buy Communities” that help answer customer questions and assist in finding the best price possible for products.

2. Make it easy to interact with your company: one-click downloads, photo uploads, donations, and “forward to a friend” buttons will help spread your message quickly. Example: T-Mobile Blackberry has simple “download now” buttons for wallpapers, applications, and tips of the week.

3. Have a variety of communication tools available for use: Captivate people’s attention by offering videos, photos, music, ability to make wall posts, and direct chat. Example: American Red Cross posts live video updates from natural disasters.

4. Make your page visually appealing: Colors, shapes, fonts, and placement of accomplishments on personal profiles will spark the interests of consumers. Example: Target allows fans to flip through an online magazine and mix and match new product lines.

5. Offer a “game mentality”: It always feels good to reach a set goal. Set goals for participants and they will thrive on the instant gratification. Example: Chase Community Giving encourages its Facebook fans to vote for their favorite charity to receive money, then Chase makes the donation on their behalf.

Are you a fan of any interactive applications? If so, are they missing from my list? We want to hear about what you do on Facebook and what makes you choose to participate.

The other day I did a quick survey of my overflowing email inbox to see how many subject lines really made me want to open the message. The results were about 30 percent. That means seven out of 10 senders, such as newsletters, seminars, and brands fall short in enticing me to read their correspondence. This low number tells me there’s lots of room for improving subject lines, as these are the vital words that determine if electronic communication gets digested.

With nearly 90 percent* of adults on the Internet using email, sending electronic messages is one of the easiest ways to reach out to potential customers. To do so effectively, however, you must grab their attention immediately with a strong, active subject line. Otherwise, all of that great information within the body of the email will be wasted. In short, email subject lines must stop readers in their tracks.

Here are a few tips we use at CMD to create attention-getting subject lines:

• Read news headlines and popular Twitter users for inspiration: Ever notice how headline news writers and great tweets have the uncanny ability to grab your attention effortlessly in just a few words and characters? That’s what you should strive for.
• Avoid SPAM language: Terms like “win” “save” and “hi” may send your message straight to the junk folder. For example, instead of saying “Enter to Win a Vacation,” say “CMD Wants to Send You to Hawaii.” For your reference, here’s a list of over 200 SPAM words and phrases to avoid.
• Use power words: Whether it’s a call to action or a report of action, the lively tone of the subject line will move readers to open your email. For example, instead of writing “Google, Facebook Don’t See Eye-to-Eye,” write “Google Fights Back against Facebook.”
• Think numerically: Using numbers, like “Six Tips for Becoming a Better Communicator,” will let potential readers know what to expect from your email. Plus, having a set number implies a set length, which is inviting—especially in the age of information overload.
• Make words count: Odds are if your subject line rambles on, your readers will trail off. No matter the length of your subject line, make each word pull its weight. Remember, if you succeed in convincing the reader to open your message, you have the entire body of the email to fill with details.

What exactly does an effective subject line look like? Here are some examples that grabbed my attention:
• Appealing to curiosity, from the Smart Brief on Social Media: “Dispelling the No. 1 social-media myth”
• Listing the most provocative headlines of the day’s news, from AdAge Global: “U.K. election ad airbrushed; Pepsi is now Pesi in Spanish; 8 Things Foreigners Get Wrong About China”
• Posing an interesting question, from Real Simple: “What Would You Give Up for a Free Hour?”

With these basic tips, you can put together compelling subject lines that get results. Remember, your target audience will never get to the juicy content you’ve created if the subject line doesn’t pique their curiosity. Nor will they see the email if the terms in the subject line send the letter straight to the junk folder.

*From the Pew Internet & American Life Project http://www.pewinternet.org/Static-Pages/Trend-Data/Online-Activites-Total.aspx

How to evaluate a social media partner

What’s the biggest bandwagon for marketing/communications firms in 2010, covering the span of Web developers, creative and advertising agencies and PR firms alike? No shocker here: it’s social media.

Having worked in social media for a few years now with a wide variety of clients, and hearing how different “gurus” sell themselves, there’s no doubt it pays to evaluate as well as ask the tough questions. Here are a few from our perspective that any skilled social media pro would not only be willing, but eager, to answer:

Do strategies and tactics always start with listening/monitoring?
Social media is the equivalent of joining a conversation at a cocktail party. You wouldn’t just burst in and start talking without first listening to know who is there, what topics of conversation are being discussed and what perspective you might be able to lend. Gauge your approach with these questions:
• What industry-leading share of conversation tools have they used, what do they recommend and why?
• How is monitoring information analyzed, shared, reported and utilized?
• Is it considered top priority before embarking on any effort?
• Are recommended strategies based on listening?

What’s the depth of experience?
Social media strategy is much more than deciding when to start a Twitter handle. Consider:
• The variety of brands, products, efforts, projects and the ability to spark word-of-mouth movements utilizing the right combination of solutions is a gauge.
• Determine how long social media has been an integrated core competency (beware if it’s just recently been tacked on).
• Find out what combination of experience the hiring manager prioritizes for the social media team.

How deep is the knowledge about your brand, tone, voice and priorities?
Social media gives voice to a brand. Does your partner understand what tone to take?
• What depth of experience is offered when it comes to knowing internal and external protocol, products and offerings?
• How integrated is your social media partner with the rest of your organization?
• Is there a willingness to team up, help educate and share best practices with internal partners who may be best suited to represent the company?

How are long-term plans/management realities considered?
It’s one thing to start a social media initiative, it’s quite another thing to keep it going.
• What is the game plan for not only building, but maintaining and partnering for the long run?
• What experience is there for not only starting, but fostering and building communities over time?
• Are ongoing costs in terms of time commitment/budget impact factored in up front?
• Does your partner think in terms of social media “campaign” spurts or long-term customer engagement?

Are PR best practices and principles integrated seamlessly?
At the heart, social media is simply a form of how your brand relates to and interacts with the public.
• What experience is offered for building communities, generating news and sparking word-of-mouth movements?
• Is top-level print and broadcast journalism expertise for content generation offered?
• What experience is there for handling online crises/issues?
• Are quality user-friendly ideas and content that compels and attracts audiences prioritized over developing tools, apps and channels?
• Is the philosophy to treat people like people, not marketing categories–tapping into audience passion points and interests vs. simply pushing marketing messages?

How are social media solutions weighted in terms of the overall marketing mix?
Social media should be part of an integrated marketing effort to best reinforce brands and to determine what the most effective communications solutions may be. Find out:
• Will social media be evaluated objectively and appropriately balanced as part of the larger, overall mix? How will this be accomplished?

What’s the biggest challenge/biggest success you’ve experienced?
Social media is a relatively new frontier, and it is evolving all the time. Anyone who tells you they have it all figured out isn’t being transparent (a must for social media, by the way).
• What is the biggest lesson you’ve learned when it comes to projects you’ve worked on?
• How do you set objectives and measure success?

Finally, does the approach follow overall marketing best principles?
Be wary of any social media plan that doesn’t start with research, strategy, objectives, audience identification, tactics, measurement.

Social media isn’t a bandwagon, it’s an increasingly important part of the mix and a great way to build relationships with audiences. We’re interested to hear your perspective on how you’ve vetted the right partners to help build your brand’s presence.

With the advent of the iPad, mobile Internet devices are shaping up to be the the hottest tech story of the year. Frankly, I’m over the hype, so I wanted to know what the everyday reality is for tech-savvy folks around the office. What devices are worth their weight? What do they have, and what do they want?

I quizzed a few tech-forward CMDers to find out what’s in their bags and on their minds, especially when it comes to tech trends. The results yielded some popular apps and devices you might want to bag for yourself.

Dean McBeth, power user

It has to be good to go on two wheels in order to make it into Dean’s Chrome bike bag. Here’s the tale of the tech tape for this digital strategist. Watch out Sun Tzu.

ASUS Eee PC netbook (We hear Dean’s been doing a lot of cloud computing lately.)
HP Elite laptop
Sony camera
Microsoft wireless mouse
iPhone
Clear WiMAX dongle
Moleskine (“The original PDA”)
Iron Maiden Blu-ray Flight 666 DVD (on loan from Patrick Anderson)

If you were trapped on a desert island, what could you not live without?
A solar-powered laptop

What was the biggest trend in mobile Internet devices in 2009?
One word – DROID

What is your prediction for the mobile technology space in 2010?
It’s all about the iPad this year.

What do you wish you had in your bag?
I can’t tell you my first answer on the company blog, so how about a solar charger.

Whose bag would you like to peek in and why?
Lance Armstrong’s – he always has the latest cycling gadget.

What feature should all the folks out there be sure to get in their next mobile device purchase?
4G

What is the best app you’ve downloaded in the last 30 days?
Foursquare

Erik Sebellin-Ross, multimedia maestro

Erik’s flair for online trendspotting comes across in his social media consulting, and his Timbuk2 commuter bag holds multiple options for staying connected and storing media.

HTC TouchPro2 Windows phone
iPod Touch
Nintendo DS Lite with ScribbleNauts and Gunstar Superheroes
Microsoft Bluetooth Notebook Mouse 5000
Monster Cable Beats by Dr. Dre (translation: expensive earbuds)
SD card adapter
Moleskine
Stabilo left-handed pen
Handfuls of USB drives and game cartridges

If you were trapped on a desert island, what could you not live without?
My iPod touch

What was the biggest trend in mobile Internet devices in 2009?
Proliferation of social networking apps

What is your prediction for the mobile technology space in 2010?
Bigger screens and longer battery life – the iPad will set a new standard for interactivity on the go.

What do you wish you had in your bag?
No surprises there – an iPad

Whose bag would you like to peek in and why?
George Clooney’s – “Up in the Air” got me thinking about what people like him carry around.

What feature should all the folks out there be sure to get in their next mobile device purchase this year?
The ability to install apps – feature phones are so 1990s.

What is the best app you’ve downloaded in the last 30 days?
Eucalyptus, the e-book reader that connects to the Project Gutenberg database

Tracy Johnson, the minimalist

Associate Creative Director Tracy makes it a three-fer for Moleskine journals – the only common element that runs through all three bags in our straw poll. Count on Tracy to have insightful recommendations up her sleeve, if not in her teeny Overland bag.

iPhone
Earbuds
USB drive
Moleskine and colored pens

If you were trapped on a desert island, what could you not live without?
My iPhone

What was the biggest trend in mobile Internet devices in 2009?
More apps than ever before

What is your prediction for the mobile technology space in 2010?
More quality, less quantity – we’re past the stage of gimmicks and the next cool thing. We’re all waiting for the devices that actually make our lives easier.

What do you wish you had in your bag?
Unlimited battery supply – I have every gizmo I could want and I upgrade eagerly, but when it comes to battery life, I have to plan my use. I hate that.

Whose bag would you like to peek in and why?
The guy who writes the Museum of Modern Betas blog – he’s searching the globe for new apps, so I want to know if he actually embraces them.

What feature should all the folks out there be sure to get in their next mobile device purchase this year?
Touch-screen capability

What is the best app you’ve downloaded in the last 30 days?
Momento – it aggregates your social media posts into a daily journal you can add content to.

So, what’s in your bag?

Over the years, printed newsletters have been popular vehicles for communicating company news and information directly with customers and employees. Today, many clients ask us if newsletters are still relevant in an increasingly digital world.

In short, the answer is “yes.” They’re not dead, and here’s why: company newsletters have been redefined, and can be leveraged across new platforms to expand their reach and cross-communicate in various channels. That’s a big payoff and great ROI on content that otherwise would have been sequestered in a printed piece. If you plan strategically, today you can get more bang for your buck out of newsletters than you ever could before.

Here are five tips to keep in mind to set your company up for newsletter success:

Content is king. No matter what form a newsletter takes–printed or email–content is still the most important element. Develop stories that help, encourage, and inform the audience with timely information. Expand the content out beyond just you and your company to include industry trends, case studies, and tips that readers can benefit from. The best content is brief enough to engage those with short attention spans and not too self-serving. As the news media shrinks, this approach is an opportunity to tell your story directly to customers.

Plan, plan, plan. Organizing a successful newsletter takes planning. The first step is setting a purpose for your newsletter. Ask yourself what you want to accomplish for all the effort and expense. Next, establish deadline and publish dates to keep everyone on schedule, and evaluate timing to coincide distribution with trade shows, product launches, or other timely opportunities that can support the brand message. This has proven to work for both printed and email newsletters.

Leverage social media. Newsletter content makes great fodder for a company’s social media channels. For example, post newsletter stories on your website and distribute links via a Twitter account to your audience. Or post on Facebook and ask customers to comment. By doing so, you reinforce your message and get more mileage out of your efforts. Social media is also a rich environment for gathering content. For instance, we use one client’s Twitter account to conduct quick survey polls using SurveyBob on industry topics and run the results in the company’s quarterly newsletter.

Appoint an in-house publisher. CMD works on newsletters for several clients and the most successful ones are those that have a single, internal contact who acts as publisher. Our experience shows that bringing too many people into the newsletter process is like inviting too many chefs into the kitchen. Everyone has an opinion and the end result usually isn’t that good. Plus it never goes out on time.

Survey says. Have you asked your customers recently what they want to read about, or do you just think of story ideas that sound interesting? Remove the guesswork and survey your audience about stories, frequency, distribution method, etc. You can’t give them what they want if you don’t know what it is. This step could save you time, money, and improve your odds of positively connecting with customers.

The year 2009 will undoubtedly go down as the year that Twitter exploded onto the communications scene. With so much attention and interest, Twitter gave us a new and interesting way to engage in two-way conversations with people, clients and customers, as well as take advantage of a plethora of off-shoot companies built to service the microblogging site. Also, due to Twitter, breaking news that was usually delivered 45 minutes or more after an event is now delivered in a mere 45 seconds.

To help our clients keep up-to-date on Twitter best practices, the CMD Earned Media team has presented numerous Twitter how-to seminars over the past year, guiding and showing how to use the channel strategically and addressing the basics of getting started. (See our earlier blog post on our Twitter 101 session for local Portland media.) We recently held a seminar for our CMD colleagues to offer insight and best practices to those who wanted to learn more and get started. The session was spirited and full of interesting questions, including these five:

Q: I’ve set up a Twitter account, but really, why should I be on it?
A: We all use social media to communicate in various ways. Some people use it to keep in touch with family and friends. For business-savvy users, you can listen to what is being said about your clients, research your competition, find recent news pertaining to an industry and connect with media and people who share common interests. If you’re interested in what others are interested in, then Twitter is for you.

Q: What type of information should I list in my profile?
A: It’s important to note that all information on your Twitter profile is searchable, which means that what you tweet will show up in real-time search results based on keywords that you use. Make it easy for people to find you by listing the company you work for, your current location, occupation and interests. Now that Twitter search results show up on Google and general Web search, it’s more important than ever to ensure that what you’re twittering is relevant and interesting, and not just a space-filler, i.e. “I’m eating lunch.”

Q: How do I develop followers or find people to follow?
A: There are many ways to develop followers. For example: using Twitter’s search bar, doing a Google search, or using one of our favorite free tools, www.twellow.com. Twellow is like the Yellow Pages of Twitter – with over 12.5 million profiles listed, you can harness your following/followers by looking up your favorite hobby, the industry you work in, location and more.

Q: What if I accidently share something on Twitter that I did not want to?
A: As we like to remind our clients, once you send a tweet, it technically lives forever in the “twittersphere.” Sure, Twitter offers the ability to delete a tweet (when you hover over your update when viewing your home or profile page, you’ll see a trash can at the end of the update), but there is no way to prevent it from ever not turning up in search results. When in doubt, re-read what you’re about to tweet to make sure you’re comfortable with the message.

Q: Can I update multiple social media channels at once?
A: Yes. We are busy people, and managing different social media profiles takes time. If you are interested in integrating both your Facebook and Twitter profiles simultaneously, visit: http://www.ping.fm/ (another favorite tool of ours). Also, LinkedIn has recently been enabled for Twitter updates, so your tweets can appear in your network updates section.

Questions? Tweet us @CMDPortland. We’re here to help.

Thank you.

As we take the next couple of days to spend time with family and friends this Thanksgiving holiday, we want to say thank you to our clients and friends of CMD. As we all know, it’s been a challenging year for many – both personally and professionally. Through it all, we’ve battled to create more from less, set the bar higher under some pretty extraordinary circumstances and pulled together as a team to not only survive, but thrive. We’re grateful especially to our clients, our partners and everyone on the CMD team who work together each and every day to help make us all better, tougher and wiser. We wouldn’t be here without you…literally. You’ve kept us inspired to reach beyond expectations and we are thankful for the opportunities as well as the challenges, and for all those times we’ve dotted the i’s and crossed the t’s together. Because of you, we are confident that there will be many more successes and plenty of excitement ahead of us going into 2010.

So from our “agency family” to yours, Happy Thanksgiving. Above is a little video and some pictures to share with you how we celebrated Thanksgiving this morning here at CMD – thanks to our very own account services team for always taking good care of us, including getting up bright and early to prepare a fantastic breakfast for the whole agency!

- CMD

More than anything this year, the 2009 International PRSA conference hit some emotional nerves that have been sparked by an industry in the midst of a complete and utter transformation.

There were flashes of brilliance and forward-thinking from leading innovators ready to speed toward the new era. There was also denial, filtered through the lens of disbelief. There were those just now coming around to realize the industry they’ve known for years is undergoing a change that is deep, permanent and real. The collective question overall: how will this change the world we’re living in and how do we get prepared?

Time and again, every presentation involved the idea of challenging the norms of the past. But in addition, it was striking that some fundamental truths remain self-evident. Here’s my own perspective on the various conference presentations about which traditional PR and marketing ideas still have solid legs and which are being demolished right before our eyes.

Live by new rules…

Turn over your brand.
The days of one company, one agency defining what a brand or a product means in isolation are over. A brand is now made up of collective thoughts and opinions from the public - people increasingly engage and express opinions about who you are and what you do. Be ready to embrace and empower those who are inspired by your brand; and work just as hard to listen to and win over those who are not.

Change your idea of the traditional agency model.
If your agency hasn’t recognized that the one-to-many model is crumbling right along with the old icons of the mass media, proceed with caution. No longer are traditional lines being drawn between PR, media, digital, advertising, etc. Today, it’s more about listening, strategy development, content creation, community builders and recruiters with small, nimble, knowledgeable strike forces that go after and build relations with influential audiences using the latest techniques, not the big, mass mentality. If your agency is still thinking in the old silos and the lines aren’t crossing, it’s time to blow up the model.

Remove strict boundaries.
It used to be that PR results were clippings, shared in a book that gathered dust on the shelf of the marketing head’s office. That’s how companies determined how we were being talked about. No more. Share of conversation, Web analytics and real-time reactions and opinions are going on between real people; they need to be captured, analyzed and shared with business decision makers including R&D, management, marketing – even legal and HR. Direct consumer feedback is readily available and it’s not just about metrics for the marketing department, it’s about strategy setting for the entire organization.

Focus on content and context.
Quit thinking short-term “campaigns.” Today, it’s about creating movements that empower your customers, encourage them to take ownership, inspire them to engage with your brand, help spread the word to others and get results. They don’t start and stop, because the conversation really never starts and stops. Be ready to engage consistently, offer ongoing value and work to keep building.

But keep the old…

Listen up
Again, listening is the most valuable tool marketers and businesses have today. Good PR and marketing initiatives have always been based on research. The good news is, it’s easier than ever to tap into what customers are thinking real-time about brand, services and marketing initiatives.

Make strategy paramount
It is as it always has been. Marketing without a strategy is garbage – a complete waste. Strategy helps you be relevant, reach the right people and engage in ways that are meaningful and generate results.

Be tactically selective
This goes back to marketing 101 – this step comes third not first. Good tactics are the meat of any plan, but launching the latest tools, rushing headlong into trying to do it all just because it’s new, shiny or available, without taking the first two steps is just plain silly.

Put measurement into practice
More important than ever, this is what it’s all about. Did we turn the dial? Did we have an impact and meet our goals? Luckily, it’s also easier than ever to measure in more meaningful ways, and then refine the strategy and re-engage.

For me, this year’s conference was great reinforcement for the direction CMD’s Earned Media team is going, and it’s reassuring that we’ve not only embraced the latest thinking, ideas, tools and techniques, we’re also staying grounded and true to principles that are the basis for exceptional results.

The top public relations campaigns from Oregon were on display last night at the PRSA Portland-Metro Chapter Spotlight Awards. This annual event serves to recognize strategic initiatives that produce great results, and we’re proud to say that our Earned Media team picked up four awards during the course of the evening.

These awards showcase the reasons behind why we’ve transitioned from CMD’s Public Relations team to the CMD Earned Media team, which better describes our approach for seamlessly leveraging both social and traditional PR practices. To us, earned media is the attention, reputation, credibility and awareness that is earned organically by non-paid means through the value of the information and the merit of the interaction you have with the audience/public. That includes a strong combination of solid PR thinking and the ability to tap the latest opportunities social media presents. It embodies our commitment to remain on the forefront of emerging trends in communication while continuing to deliver great results.

Thanks go to our clients who work day-in and day-out as our partners in these campaigns and allow us the freedom to concept solutions to meet their business objectives. Here’s a brief recap of CMD’s work that received 2009 Spotlight Awards:

JELD-WEN Contest Scares up Terrifying Utility Bills – Spotlight Award

Situation
With rising energy costs and a growing interest in environmental concerns, energy efficiency is top of mind with homeowners.

Strategy
The CMD team created the JELD-WEN Scariest Utility Bills Contest to tout the importance of home energy efficiency and find a real-life example to prove that efficient windows and doors can help homeowners save money.

Results
The contest was wildly successful, nearly doubling the contest objectives and earning placements in publications including the Chicago Sun Times and Houston Chronicle. The U.S. Department of Energy even expressed interest in using JELD-WEN’s contest winner as a case study of its own, positioning JELD-WEN as the expert on reducing energy costs.

Be sure to check out this year’s Utility Bill Bailout Contest. It just might win you new JELD-WEN ENERGY STAR qualified windows and doors and an appearance on an upcoming episode of the nationally syndicated show, “Today’s Homeowner with Danny Lipford.”
http://www.jeld-wen.com/bailout/

JELD-WEN Lighthouse Campaign – Spotlight Award

Situation
JELD-WEN Windows and Doors needed to raise awareness and directly link its products with reliability, a crucial factor for homeowners, builders and remodelers when considering which windows and doors to purchase.

Strategy
The CMD team created a campaign that helped JELD-WEN walk its reliability talk and prove product performance by helping restore highly visible landmarks, America’s lighthouses, which also face some of the toughest climate conditions in the world.

Results
The campaign has helped build JELD-WEN’s image of reliability, created strong product performance proof points, and generated millions of media impressions, all while fostering tremendous goodwill.

The CMD Earned Media team also received two Award of Merit honors for “An Exploration into the Digital Frontier for Intel and Lenovo” and “Building the HealthCareGoesMobile.com Virtual Community.”