Tocquigny

Anyone who thinks you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, pay attention. 

The latest shot at leveraging the growing influence of social media and Facebook and Twitter comes from The New York Times. For the purposes of our discussion, bear in mind that Facebook was established in 2004, Twitter in 2006, and The New York Times in 1851. (161 years old!)

At the tail-end of April, the New York Times Company launched Ricochet, its new approach to advertising and digital marketing. 

What is it, you say? Well, this blogging troupe thinks it’s brilliant.  

The Ricochet platform creates a unique Web address that contains “sponsored” articles. In other words, marketers can handpick the stories they want to advertise alongside.  

Even better, when readers “Like,” “Follow,” or “Recommend” such articles via Facebook or Twitter, the custom ads tag along. Like a dog that follows you home. 

SAP was the first company to bite. Here’s their Tweet.

Here’s the related page with the SAP ads, which is the URL in the Tweet.

And here is the same NYT article without the SAP ads.

Get it? 

So suppose we included a link right here to some cool, 80s hipster reference to Jon Hughes. As you remember, Mr. Hughes died a few years ago.

He made all movies you know by heart, assuming you grew up when Molly Ringwald and Anthony Michael Hall grew up.

Well, those pages you just clicked to have random ads that we have no control over. 

But what if I was a savvy marketer and, in addition to supplying you those links, I placed ads on those pages? That would be smarter, right?

And if I was a publisher, like the New York Times, I’d be pretty clever for keeping my content relevant and income generating even beyond the link. 

Income. Generating. Content. 

That, my friends, would be a smarter way to bird-dog your audience and keep the wheels of commerce turning. Well played, Grey Lady. Well played. 

Anyone want to bet on who will be still around 161 years from now?

Hello Mr. and Ms. Early Adopter! Got a minute?  

How’s that iPhone 4S working out for you? 

Hey, if you don’t mind me asking, what did you do with your old iPhone 4 that SIRI rendered speechless? Say, what became of your 3G iPhone with the cracked screen from too much…how you say, “butt dialing”?

You threw them all away?!?!

Earth Day is just around the corner – and this is an intervention. Sit down. 

Of course, we love it that you buy the latest and greatest before everyone else. You deserve a statue outside Best Buy. 

But you have a problem. Your e-waste stinks. 

Oh, you don’t have a problem? 

Well, every time you buy a new device, you discard the old one like it’s just trash.

Think about it. Every phone, computer, TV, DVR, remote control, hard drive, laptop, keyboard, iPad, Kindle, Kindle DX, Kindle Fire, Nook, Nook Simple Touch, Nook Color, Nook Tablet, iPad2 and now the new iPad. And all those iPods. Something new begets something old. 

And those old devices are not meant to go to a landfill. Your e-waste should be recycled. 

It’s not just you. According to the Electronics Take Back Coalition, US consumers will replace approximately 400 million consumer devices this year.

Here’s how it all adds up. The EPA says US consumers disposed of 2.4 million TONS of e-waste in 2010. And only 600,000 tons of it, or 17.7%, was recycled. The remaining 83.3% was either incinerated or is now filling up our landfills. 

Still not impressed? OK, let’s see if these stats scare you straight: 

• The US produces 3 million tons of e-waste a year, the highest in the world. China is second with 2.3 million tons.
• The EPA estimates that only 15–20% of e-waste is recycled, with the rest going into landfills and incinerators.
• In the US, an estimated 70% of heavy metals in landfills come from discarded electronics.

As you can see, the most obvious solution to the e-waste problem is recycling. 

You must change. 

Look, we love it when you get a new gadget. But now we need you to realize that most devices contain precious metals that can be recycled and repurposed — and shouldn’t end up in a landfill where they pollute the soil and water. More importantly, energy is saved, because you reduce the amount of greenhouse gas emissions caused by manufacturing new products when they can be made with recycled materials. 

So next time you come back with your latest purchase from the Apple Store, or after Amazon Prime has made your day, use the Consumer Electronics Association’s online recycling locator to do the right thing with the old thing. It’s at www.GreenerGadgets.org.

Cool? Consider yourself rehabilitated. In case of relapse, consult the EPA eCycling page.

Think Google is an innovative company? Sure its eponymous search engine, maps, Android and even YouTube were game changers. But you ain’t seen nuthin’ yet. Check out Google’s most groundbreaking announcement yet: Google Maps 8-bit. 

Despite the long-standing popularity of the Nintendo (NES), Google unthinkingly left its legions of users in the dark. To remedy this, Google has finally redeemed itself by designing and building a Google Maps interface just for them. 

We almost gave up hope. 

“Our engineering team in Japan understood the importance of maps on retro game systems,” Google mentions in its Lat Long Blog. “With the power of Google’s immense data centers, and support from Nintendo and Square Enix, we were able to overcome the technical and design hurdles of developing 8-bit maps. Today, we’re excited to announce the result: a version of Google Maps for NES, with beautiful low-res graphics, simple and intuitive controls, and a timeless soundtrack.”

The full NES cartridge version will be available in stores soon, so get those NES systems out of the attic. Bad news if you already jumped the gun and made the switch to HDTV. The NES system is optimized for cathode ray screens. Bummer. 

Fortunately, Google has a limited trial available for the desktop. Be sure to watch the instructional video for key tips on optimizing the new interface. For instance, almost all bugs can be fixed by ejecting the cartridge and blowing on it. The dial-up technology takes care of the rest. Makes you wonder why Apple can’t get its act together too. 

(Of course, this latest Google development will do little to please devotees of Commodore 64s, Intellivision, Atari, Colecovision or the Magnavox Odyssey2. Screw ‘em. Some people just never learn.)

Click the image below to check out this groundbreaking application:

P.S. It’s already April — you’d be a Fool not to check this out.

As a copy editor, I often get asked, “Is it web site or website?” People ask me, “Do you add the last comma before the ‘and’ or not?” One time, on a dark, stormy night, she walked into my cube and asked, “Is that a thesaurus in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?” Oh wait…that’s for a different blog post. 

Back to my point, most people want to write right.

Here’s the dilemma: There is not always a “right” way to write. The most important factors are consistency and comprehension. For instance, if you use “website” in one section of copy, you write it the same way throughout the piece. Be consistent. If you use the serial – or Oxford – comma in one place, use it throughout. 

With all that said, I must admit that when I read various user-generated online content, I am quite horrified at the current state of grammar. 

In fact, its literally enough two make you loose you’re mind. (Extra points if you can identify the three intentional errors in the previous sentence. Extra extra points if you find four. If you find five, you can have my job.)

Our friends over at copyblogger have devised this infographic that compiles the most common grammar errors. It’s a great guide for knowing when to use “your and you’re,” “its and it’s,” and “then/than,” which are very common errors. (Of course, it also covers the most egregious ones, such as “loose/lose.”) 

Stay legible, my friends.

We are proud (and humbled) that Tocquigny was named one of the top 3 interactive agencies in the nation by BtoB magazine alongside such luminaries as MRM and Digitas. More than anything, we’re thankful to our clients. 

Here’s what BtoB says about their Top Agencies list: “Despite the still-sluggish economy, the top b2b agencies won new business and grew their overall revenue in 2011. While total ad spending in the U.S. increased in the low single-digits last year, many winners in BtoB’s Top Agency report saw revenue gains in the double digits.”

So how did we make the list? The same way you get to Carnegie Hall. Work. Work. Work. 

In determining which agencies it would rank in its annual list, BtoB uses a set criteria which includes: innovative online marketing campaigns, percentage of business that is business-to-business, new client wins and effective use of new technologies. In 2011, Tocquigny accomplished all of that and more.

Here are some standouts from our work in 2011: 

• The agency’s social media campaign strategy for Insperity; 
• The integrated “VoIP Brand Launch” campaign for Momentum Telecom, which included a website, social media and lead-gen campaign; and 
• The “Oracle Migration” lead-generation campaign for Teradata, which included online advertising, email, search, social media and direct mail.

Score another win for A Measured Approach™. 

Enjoy the whole article here.

And watch out. We’re going for #1 this year.