In Search for an Effen Great Bloke

Today is D - Day. The search for an Effen Great Bloke and his mates is on.

All you have to do is log onto www.effengreatbloke.com.au and register your details and that of your mate's to have a chance to win a year's supply of beer for you and your mate. How awesome is that!

What is an effen Great Bloke? He is many things - he shares a drink or two with you, he doesn't shag your missus, he is there when he needs to be, he doesn't dump you for the first chick that comes along, he likes to hang out, watches the football and more. www.youtube.com/effengreatbloke - check it out! I bet you can do better.

Become a fan on facebook, twitter, myspace and flickr and make sure you enter the competition and share www.effengreatbloke.com.au with your mates.

Most of all, have an effen great time!

Marketing Eye is proud to be associated with this promotion about mates having an effen good time. Isn't that what life is all about?

www.marketingeye.com.au

Who is an Effen Great Bloke?

In the past 4 months, I have learnt alot about beer. Too much, some would say.

After being approached by another agency to work with them on a beer brand, and then eventually taking over the account to launch the brand through a digital marketing campaign, Marketing Eye has pulled together to understand exactly how this market works.

There are literally thousands of beer brands out there, yet only a few are on our shelves.

The bigger companies like Fosters and XXXX (you can tell I am a Queenslander) claim much of the market share and they are complemented by hundreds of craft beer brewers who have done exceptionally well with their aromic flavours and creative marketing spin.

There's Little Creatures, Barons and Effen that really stand out from the crowd. If you haven't tried all three, then it's a must. Drop everything and go out and buy these beers - you won't regret it.

With craft beer, it's not so much about the loyalty that VB and XXXX drinkers take pride in that makes them a must have, but more the uniqueness of flavours and the sheer enjoyment of drinking a well-brewed beer in limited stock.

After substantial taste testing, I am pleased to say, that even though I have never really been a beer drinker, effen beer tastes really good. In fact, great!

It's an easy drink that everyone must try at least once - or perhaps twice. Get the picture?

With craft beer, it's all about marketing, because if you don't market your beer and people don't demand it from their bottleshops and the bars they frequent, it won't last.

Effen is unique, and the Engineer behind it, Ryan Leslie, has put alot of blood, sweat and tears into making sure it is an effen great beer for effen great blokes.

Marketing Eye is pleased to be working with effen to launch their 'effen great bloke' campaign.

Everybody knows an effen great bloke and now is the time to reward them for being there when you need them to, making you laugh and knowing that with them, you will always have an effen great time.

Become a fan of effen - Live the Oath! on Facebook, twitter, myspace, flickr and youtube. Read about what others have to say about effen and why not write what you think of this effen great beer on a blog yourself? And, very importantly, enter the competition to win a year's supply of beer for you and a mate.

I know I will be!

www.effengreatbloke.com

www.marketingeye.com.au

'I'm on a boat' viralling to success

This week, on my return from an overseas holiday, on a boat, I have had an office full of creatives brainstorming viral campaigns for clients at least 12 hours per day.

Whilst, everybody is different and it really comes down to individual preferences on what is a good viral and what is in fact, not, I am continually surprised by what is a hit and what is a miss.

A viral, for those who can't think beyond health related meanings, is a phrase used to describe popular email-forwarded or word-of-mouth propelled video clips on the Internet and as a business that promotes companies in the b2b and b2c sectors, we are destined to do quite a few viral video clips each year.

It gives our young creatives a way of unleashing their inner-most out-of-the-box creativity and ultimately sense of humour - or lack of it!

At the ripe old age of 36, I am less likely to be spending evenings or weekends looking at virals but I guess, I am not really the ultimate target audience for many of the very successful virals that have been staged on the internet. My ability to consume such things is limited as away from the workforce, I live a fairly sheltered life from the various media mediums.

Having said that, I do remember vividly the humour that came from the Mastercard virals 10 years ago and how successful they were amongst my peers and the world over.

And more recently, having been on a boat with a few guys that were avid consumers of viral videos, I had the opportunity to see 'I'm on a boat' which coincidently, I was. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_YlkEUOonI&feature=related)

A group of 7 people in their mid thirties all engaged by a video that is somewhat silly, but humourous, taking the 'piss' out of people 'on a boat'.

Even though I am a person who often misses the punchline in a joke (I definately inherited this skill from my mother), I could see the value in this viral email. Here I was, on this glorious boat in the South of France, enjoying the sunshine, and there we all were, looking at a computer screen watching a video. What is that about? Seriously, I wasn't bored soaking up the rays of sunshine, yet, even I spent the 5 minutes looking at this viral that ultimately promoted Vodka.

We were all engaged and we couldn't stop talking about it. So much so, after a few glasses of wine we were all ready to do our own clip (and thankfully that moment passed quickly and there are no videos floating around that I would be a tad embarrassed about).

Virals are a cost-effective way in which to promote certain products and services. If done well, they can achieve millions of hits and the word-of-mouth value for those ones that are successful, are often in the tens of millions.

Companies that do it well, reap the rewards... but if you fail to ignite a sense with the recipient of your viral video to pass it on, then it is a waste of money, time and effort and can ultimately damage your brand.

Youtube (how did we survive without this?) gives even those backyard videos a level playing field. Some of the most creative and funny virals are done by Mum's and Dad's at home having a good time. Anyone can do it, anytime, anywhere.

Television programs like Britian's Got Talent have been tens of millions of dollars worth of publicity through the viral promotion of Susan Boyle (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8OcQ9A-5noM&feature=PlayList&p=41424DCD1015CA16&index=0&playnext=1.

www.marketingeye.com.au

Greek One Hat Wonder

When a bunch of marketers get together and one happens to be Greek - anything can happen. Not only great ideas, but in this particular case, even better food.

L'Oliver is a restaurant in the third district of Paris and is run by a Greek family who have just been given One Hat by the Michellin Guide. Affordable food, great atmosphere and not too imposing for those of us who tire of eating at the high end of town.

The food is to die for. Commencing with a starter of Fromage Chypriote au Lait de brebis poele sesame and miel au safran (Fried goats cheese with saffron honey and sesame), followed by Croussillant d' aubergines en feuillete, viande de boeuf and bechamel a la mozzarello (eggplant gratin in leaf of crust, beef mince meat and mozzarello) and completed by an orgasmic special chocolate mousse with blueberries, the menu in spectacular.

Our table could not stop raving about how good the food is and for Paris, it is incredibly affordable.

The problem is that no-one knows this restaurant exists. The chef is a food scientist with his appetite for creative food combinations that leave your mouth watering.

The business is in a bad location and has never been promoted until the faithful day that a Michellin reviewer came in. Now, of course, this is all about to change with the new guide coming out in early 2010.

Why do some restaurants succeed whilst others fail even when their food and service is second to none?

The answer is marketing and location. Located close to Republique on the Boulevard de Temple, L'Oliver is quaint with many personal touches. But for some, not as conveniently located as it could be.

Vassilis Alexiou, the chef, is kind, respected and immensely talented. His wife, who tends to the restaurants customers works hard and is committed to every single person in the restaurant.

They are for now, the small guy but in time thanks to a chance meeting and subsequent review, they won't be a hidden secret but instead the Greek Restaurant of choice in Paris.

Go visit next time you are in town. It's a must see and do experience in Paris that you will not regret.