Jamin Rathbun & Superdink.com

Who is this Jamin guy anyway?
I am the husband of one and the homeschooling father of five. I am a singer, songwriter, and a worship leader who plays guitar and piano. I am the Executive Director of Trinity Arts Center, a small Christian Arts Academy in Eastern Tennessee. I'm also a guitar teacher and -- I spend about half my time building web sites and helping companies organize their thoughts, fine tune their products, and turn their customers into company evangelists. I've been involved with four music projects in my life -- Hot Pink Turtle, Spin Radio, Stand Like Stone, and of course, Jamin Rathbun. I'm also training to be an Ultimate Fighter (that's not true). = )

bible

2 Corinthians 4:16-18
Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

Hang in there. The prize for running the race is a good one. = )

stuff

The only soquid you eat with a fpoon.
Wendy's has a great new commercial promoting their Frosty treat and, the unique eating utensil required to eat it. = )

So a bit of a shout out to Wendy's for a great campaign... It caught my eye, made me giggle, and began a growing urge in me to try a Frosty sometime this week.

With that said, what should have been a home run for them is more likely a stretch double, due to the lack of new media integration into the campaign. Reference what other companies like Burger King and Go Daddy have done to create campaigns that do more than just leave a 10 second urge to get a Frosty but, in addition, draw ongoing traffic to their web sites and to online video distribution sites around the web. The result is a much larger return on investment for their advertising buck that creates more than just new customers... It creates customer evangelists.

In Wendy's case, they haven't planned for capitalizing on the potential viral aspect of this commercial in any way. Their own web site doesn't include any content supporting the campaign. Instead, it offers a handful of run-of-the-mill spots with close up shots of their food. How exciting. This lack of support for the campaign does more than just miss the boat... It communicates an entirely different "personality" for the company, leaving potential customers (at least this one) feeling a bit disappointed.

It's as if I got to know Wendy's as this creative, witty, intelligent person that I like. Then I find out that they have a shrine to Milli Vanilli in their home and confess their all-time favorite song to be Party All The Time, from Eddie Murphy. It kind of ruins it for me and -- I think I might have to start hanging out with someone else. = )

How is it that these big companies with millions of ad dollars keep missing the bandwagon of new media? Your stuff can't get distributed (and seen) if you don't put it out there. They've clearly spent money with an ad agency to develop the concept, shoot the commercial, and distribute the spots across the national television media. They believe in the message and their ability to deliver a product that will meet our needs. Spend the extra dollars to integrate an online component and voila... it's a home run, and money well spent.

By the way, check out Naked Conversations for more on the subject of using new technology (like the YouTube videos included above) to distribute your message. It's definitely worth a read for you marketing and PR folks out there, as well as, just about anyone with an interest in succeeding in today's marketplace.

And of course, I have to include a link to In Bubble Wrap, where I won my free copy of the book. = )