Trevor Talks

As a lifelong fan of The Exorcist, I’m instantly connected to this spot. But it’s the brilliance and creativity that makes it an instant classic.

As you’re watching, try and guess what the ad is for…

I’ve long been a fan of Nissan’s advertising. Loved what they did with the Cube and loved their recent work with the Juke.

When I first heard about the LEAF last year, I was very curious to see what kind of messaging they would come up with for this all-electric car.

True to form, they (and the their wonderful agency, TBWA) did not disappoint!

The first spot I saw had the polar bear coming down from the North to give a LEAF owner a hug - which was great! But this new one takes the cake!!

Enjoy!

Advertising: The Mammoth Mirror

This article from Time Magazine, was originally published in October, 1962. It is a tremendous article that is well-written and insightful, but what’s most interesting to me are the parallels between advertising in 1962 and advertising in 2011.

Sure, the scale has changed and the media have changed, but it is a very similar reality that we face today. Quotes like this one, from Y&R President George Gribbin:

“Before long the day of the shouter will be gone.”

This is what we say today when talking about social media. The best marketers converse rather than shout. And this was true even back in 1962. And speaking of the new frontier that is social media, advertisers in 1962 were facing down the television and trying to figure our how to take their reliable print ads and translate them into moving images.

All in all a very fun read for anyone who loves the art of advertising. 

TMP Worldwide recently hosted a New Media Breakfast in Calgary, Alberta.

The presentation was delivered by members of the TMP team along with Elsbeth Mehrer from Calgary Economic Development.

Titled Employer Positioning and Recruiting Today, the presentation explored the employment landscape in Calgary and the dove into branding and differentiation for employers in the digital age.

Want more info? Feel free to drop me a line.

Recently updated my By The Numbers: Digital Recruiting in Canada slides and thought I would share.

Some of the stand-outs, from my perspective:

- Canadian Job Boards Unique Visitor Traffic dropped 15% in 2010
- Canadians spend, on average, 42 hours per month online… #1 in the World!!
- 42% of Canada’s Facebook population is between the ages of 25 and 44.
- Over 50% of college students now prefer to access the internet from a mobile device.

Enjoy! And if you have any questions or comments, feel free to drop me a line. 

This mobile campaign for Reporters Without Borders is an excellent example of how to use QR Codes properly.

The code is simply an opt-in. It’s what’s behind the code that makes the campaign special.

Mine Something Different

TMP Canada’s creative team recently launched Mine Something Different, an all-text Careers site for our gold mining client, Centerra Gold.

One of Centerra’s key challenges is filling positions at it’s mines in Kyrgyzstan and Mongolia, which means uprooting mining professionals from other (perhaps more ideal) locations and moving them to either of these two (slightly more remote) locations.

Not an easy task, but to do so they decided to highlight the differences rather than shy away from them.

The first step was creative that looked and felt like nothing else in the industry. And as you’ll see in the site, it’s all about bold headlines and even bolder stories. 

It’s brave and original and I love that Centerra was willing to take the risk!

Recently, I had the privilege of speaking at the Petroleum Services Association of Canada’s annual conference, in Red Deer, Alberta.

For those of you unfamiliar with Red Deer, it’s a small city, about half way between Edmonton and Calgary. It is not generally regarded as a hub for social media. The same could be said for PSAC.

Petroleum services were described to me, by one of the group’s leaders, as “the folks who build and service the machinery used by the drilling companies”. She went on to say that these were not the “sexy oil jobs you see on TV”. I’m still not entirely sure what that last one means, but she said that most of her jobs ads don’t get a reply unless there’s a fax number included! I took that as a warning that this was a traditional industry with traditional jobs. Not the place for fancy-pants social media.

These comments stuck with me through the planning phases of my speech. I was preparing for the absolute worst: a half-empty room of people trying desperately to stay awake.

I’m happy to say that I was very pleasantly surprised!

The audience was eager and engaged and unwilling to accept that their businesses, locations or workers weren’t ready for social media. The speech was titled: “Social Media: Evolution, Not Revolution” and it explored social media as not a grand departure, but rather just the latest development in the ever-evolving field of communications. The speech went about 30 minutes and then I spent about as much time answering very informed and relevant questions.

I left Red Deer a changed man. What I expected to find was the industry that was described to me by one of the group’s leaders. Instead, I got to meet an industry that is ready for change and that is open to new ideas.

So thank you to PSAC and thank you to Red Deer for opening my eyes as well!

Google +1

Google takes a step into the social space with its new +1 button. Check out the above video for a full rundown on this new search feature.

Proud to announce the launch of TMP Worldwide’s new homepage!

It’s a beautifully designed site and does a great job of showcasing who we are and what we do.