Scrum50 Takes Home the Gold at PRO Awards for Beech-Nut Campaign
Leave a CommentScrum50 was recently awarded a top honor from the 2018 PRO Awards for its 360-degree Beech-Nut Real Food for Babies Turn the Labels Around Campaign.
The win, a GOLD award for Best Cross-Channel Engagement, is the next in a run of accolades for the campaign—which included several TV Spots, an impactful Online Anthem Video, Social Media Activation, Digital Banners, Print Ads, Radio Placements and more.
“Turn the Labels Around” was built around proprietary market testing which revealed that what mothers feed their babies is just as much an emotional decision as it is functional. With nationwide “mom shaming” at the forefront in pop culture (from celebrities to social media), the combination of insight and timing was a winning one.
The campaign had a halo effect, boosting sales significantly and creating positive brand awareness and sentiment.
Scrum50 credits its unique Agile Methodology and an A-team of agency polymaths for its successes.
Cross-Channel Engagement
Winners are selected from 30 categories by a panel of senior-level brand and agency promotion marketing experts. Over 1,000 entries were submitted from around the globe; winning campaigns were named the best of the best due to their demonstration of clear strategic thinking and their success in reaching the target audience.
See the full list of the 2018 winners here.
6 Reasons Not to Ignore Amazon As a Content Platform
Leave a CommentThough Amazon is a behemoth on its own, at the end of the day it’s really no different than any other marketing effort when it comes to content strategy. Visuals must be thoughtfully designed. Copy needs to mean something. But what you might not be considering is that your search engine strategy and Amazon search strategy should complement one other.
You might be saying to yourself right now, “But no one goes to Amazon for CONTENT. They go to shop!” You, my friend, would be wrong. Amazon actually represents the #1 opportunity for content marketing at this present moment as 64% of Americans have Amazon Prime and 55% begin their product searches on Amazon. (And you know what they say about first impressions).
In this blog, I’ll show you six reasons why Amazon cannot be ignored as a content platform and how to begin your strategy today.
1. Brand Building Starts Here
Thanks to newly redesigned Brand Stores, brands can get excited about a unique, dynamic, and more visually-driven chance to meet consumers where they are. Think browsing magazine-worthy imagery, comparing features and pricing, and getting drawn in by the brand’s DNA. Plus, it not only helps you create another entry point for your brand by capturing consumers you might not otherwise reach, but it allows you to protect your brand reputation by controlling the quality of your marketing efforts. The flexible templates also provide a rich canvas to showcase content that completes the story around a brand and its products.And it’s already proving itself. Our clients have seen sale increases in less than 6 months thanks to these content-rich brand stores. Cha-ching!”
2. You Can Take Advantage of the Rabbit Hole
Similar to the “Target Effect,” there is certainly an “Amazon Effect.” You go in for one thing, you come out with a cartful of items you never knew you needed. Brands can maximize potential customer’s ‘browsing and buying’ mindsets by presenting them with relevant content at just the right moment. Sometimes that moment occurs when a customer is considering one of your competitors.
3. Easily Editable Format Lets You Tailor Content
Personalities and motivations to shop are different for all potential consumers. Amazon’s flexibility allows you to develop and design content that closely aligns with these unique need states (and to change them on the fly if needed). If you think about mapping the “Amazon Effect” against the classic marketing funnel, “search” typically falls within in the TOFU stage, and “reviews” within the MOFU/BOFU stage. The way people shop and browse is fluid. So, you’ll want to hit them wherever they are in the funnel at any given moment for maximum impact.
4. It Bumps You Up in Search (and Trust)
If you Google “toothbrush,” you’ll get a search engine results page brimming with listings. Among those will be manufacturer’s listings (brands promoting and selling their own products) and Amazon listings. Then perhaps more Amazon listings in several content-based forms (e.g. best sellers, top rated, most wished for, hot new releases).
Plus, you know that on Amazon you’ll have instant access to thousands of reviews, similar products that you can compare easily, and perhaps even have free 2-day shipping with Amazon Prime. Which listing would you click first? Likely the one that feels more like a neutral third party versus name brands hocking their own goods. Most consumers feel the same way. They inherently trust Amazon listings more. If that’s not convincing enough, even at the most basic level, having keyword-rich and interesting content on Amazon automatically gets you ranked higher in search engine algorithms. In other words, you can’t win if you don’t play. In fact, according to Consumer Affairs, 70% of consumers trust reviews from people they’ve never even met more than brand statements
5. You Can Kill Three Birds With One Stone to Drive Sales
Awareness, consideration, and authenticity—three key objectives for most brands that traditionally can only be accomplished in store—can be addressed in Amazon with the proper presence and content. Conversely, Amazon can help amplify in-store efforts against these same objectives by providing a way for consumers to scan packaging, get detailed information and reviews, or ask questions right at shelf with the platform’s mobile app.
6. Address Purchase Barriers and Consumer Feedback in Real Time
Consumers head to Amazon to really understand the nuts and bolts of a product, providing a rich opportunity for research gathering. Anything can inspire content: reviews, questions, problems, behaviors. It’s all fair game. And in using such inputs as impetus, you can solve issues and continue to build your brand, filling unexpected gaps in marketing efforts. That includes talking to consumers at a deeper level than even your brand’s website can go. This type of dual-functioning content can help not only online, but also has a halo effect on brick and mortar sales.
Amazon should be the bakery-fresh bread to your peanut butter and jelly. Aligning with your brand’s overall content strategy is key so that complementary Amazon content feels like part of the larger ecosystem. Everything needs to feel like it goes together. The bottom line? As a content platform, Amazon is a new package for some of the things you already do, and a testing ground to try something different when it makes sense…like a scoop of delicious marshmallow fluff, perhaps.
Have you implemented Amazon as a content strategy for your business? What results have you seen from these efforts? I’d love to hear about your experience in the comments. Let’s keep the discussion going.
Why Content Strategy is Key When It Comes to Corporate Responsibility
Leave a CommentMost big companies produce Corporate Social Responsibility Reports or Corporate Sustainability Reports (CSRs) detailing their efforts and future goals in corporate responsibility, to the tune of 85%. But only 17% of their intended audience are actually reading them.
And, that’s precisely what makes CSRs such a huge opportunity.
One study showed that when it’s done right, Corporate Responsibility can increase a company’s revenue by up to 20%. To get there, however, the traditional way CSRs are developed and presented must be turned on its head. Engaging key stakeholders in the Information Age involves making your data clear, concise and…well… engaging. Here’s why:
Stakeholders of all levels have equally short attention spans
There is a widely held notion that stakeholders aren’t like the general population and live for poring over long, complex tomes. Not true! (spoiler alert: they’re just like us). Making dense topics into scannable, digestible content isn’t just an art form. It’s a necessity. Everyone can reap the benefits of a beautifully animated chart, elegant video, or well-designed infographic over reams of text.
Readers want to understand your story
Storytelling is an important pillar of content strategy. Your CSR is a perfect place to lead stakeholders down a semi-linear path of discovery and hang onto them until the end. Why? So they get a clear picture of the values and aspirations of the company, and can feel good about attaching themselves to it. They need to be invested to invest. And a laundry list of your organization’s achievements just won’t cut it.
Delivering the right content at the right time is critical
Figure out the most universally impactful points and pull them forward, in thoughtful order, as “tapas” to be consumed and shared. Then, if your readers are still hungry, they can get all the details…or move on to the next course.
Here at Scrum50, our team of agile marketers are seasoned at taking complex, technical narratives and distilling it into experiences that readers engage with, learn from, and share. Check out our latest work with the NHL or Xerox for example. Like what you see? Contact us.
Scrum50 Founder Mike LeBeau Named to NY Festivals Advertising Awards Grand Jury
Leave a CommentScrum50 is thrilled to announce that Founder and Managing Partner, Mike LeBeau will judge the 2018 NY Festivals® Advertising Awards as part of the show’s prestigious Grand Jury.
New York Festivals International Advertising Awards® honors advertising excellence through 20 competitions in all media from 80+ countries and represents the full spectrum of today’s advertising communications: Activation/Engagement, Audio, Avant-Garde/Innovation, Branded Entertainment, Creative Marketing Effectiveness, Design, Digital, Direct & Collateral, Film & Film Craft, Integrated Media Campaign, Media, Mobile, Outdoor /Out of Home, Package & Product Design, Print, Public & Media Relations, Public Service Announcements, Sports and Student.
The NYF International Advertising Awards has the largest, most creative international jury and judging system in the world. The Grand Jury, conducted online, evaluates all entries to determine the Finalists. The Finalists are then judged by the Executive Jury, known as the “Dream Team” – an exclusive group of prominent worldwide Chief Creative Officers from the world’s top advertising agencies. This elite group comes together for five days of live judging to determine the 3rd, 2nd, and 1st Place Winners, the Grand Winners, as well as the one entry worthy of being named the Best of Show.
The 2018 New York Show℠ will be held at the renowned Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Frederick P. Rose Hall in New York City.
New York Festivals® celebrates the World’s Best Creative Communications. Our internationally renowned award-winning judges review submissions in the most current and relevant categories to award creativity across all media.
Scrum50 Wins MarCom Award For CLEAN Perfume Social Media
Leave a CommentScrum50 was recently awarded a top honor from The 2017 MarCom Awards for its work on CLEAN Perfume.
The win, an HONORABLE MENTION for Instagram, is the first for the 3-year-old agency who credits Agile Methodology and an A-team of agency polymaths for its out-of-the-gate success.
Judges are industry professionals who look for companies and individuals whose talent exceeds a high standard of excellence and whose work serves as a benchmark for the industry.
AMCP (Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals) is the industry’s preeminent third-party evaluator of creative work. The organization has judged over 200,000 entries since its formation in 1994.
See the full list of the 2017 winners here.
MarCom is one of the oldest, largest and most prestigious creative competitions in the world. MarCom is sponsored and judged by the AMCP, a 23-year-old international organization consisting of several thousand creative professionals. As part of its mission, AMCP fosters and supports the efforts of creative professionals who contribute their unique talents to public service and community organizations. Over the past few years, AMCP has given over $250,000 in charitable contributions.
Scrum50 Wins Top MarCom Awards For Beech-Nut Campaigns
Leave a CommentScrum50 was recently awarded 5 top honors from The 2017 MarCom Awards for its Beech-Nut Real Food for Babies Turn the Labels Around Campaign.
The wins, which include 1 PLATINUM award, 3 GOLD awards and 1 HONORABLE MENTION, are the first for the 3-year-old agency who credits Agile Methodology and an A-team of agency polymaths for its out-of-the-gate success.
Judges are industry professionals who look for companies and individuals whose talent exceeds a high standard of excellence and whose work serves as a benchmark for the industry.
AMCP (Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals) is the industry’s preeminent third-party evaluator of creative work. The organization has judged over 200,000 entries since its formation in 1994.
See the full list of the 2017 winners here.
MarCom is one of the oldest, largest and most prestigious creative competitions in the world. MarCom is sponsored and judged by the AMCP, a 23-year-old international organization consisting of several thousand creative professionals. As part of its mission, AMCP fosters and supports the efforts of creative professionals who contribute their unique talents to public service and community organizations. Over the past few years, AMCP has given over $250,000 in charitable contributions.
The Agency Sweet Spot: Why We Want to Keep Scrum50 Small
Leave a CommentBy Michael LeBeau, Chris Parker & Jennifer Miller
Here at Scrum50, we very purposely chose our name to coincide with our thought process about our agency’s goals and objectives. You probably picked up on the rugby huddle reference with our Agile culture, but why the 50 after it? We think that 50 is the sweet spot for our small agency. 50 employees, specifically. After three years in business, we’re 25 people strong, and on track to what we believe is a critical point in our agency’s growth. As founders, we’ve been through it all at previous companies –agencies with just a few people, agencies that grew into hundreds of people, and everywhere in between. We’re confident that 50 is the ideal number, and here’s why:
Personal Touch
We love personally knowing each and every one of our clients. We know who our customers are and we WANT to be involved in their business directly. The founders play a significant, active role in the agency and client business, which is important to our agency philosophy. We want to have that personal touch at every level, which we believe allows for our clients to get the very best service — the benefit of having senior level thinking for all accounts.
Strong Culture
When starting up Scrum50, we wanted our internal group of employees to feel like a team and have a true level of closeness. We wanted everyone to know each other — not just know of each other, but really build a close comradery that results in a thriving culture of happy employees. It also builds internal trust, allowing for quicker “short-hand” as the teams work through projects. Ultimately, we want our employees to thrive and provide the best work possible for our clients through a strong workplace environment.
High-Level Thinking
We believe that a small agency setting is the best place to grow new ideas and bring them to fruition. Because everyone in our agency organically knows what is going on with our different clients, we often find teams sharing ideas or suggestions being passed along. In brainstorming, we’ve also found that smaller teams deliver breakthrough thinking, while big groups, bogged down by too many cooks in the kitchen, tend to produce ideas that are more vanilla.
Superior Work
With small agency teams like ours, we have experts in every level and have brought together some great minds. Together, co-workers have a healthy competitive edge between each other, but not a destructive one. Everyone works towards common goals and has a collective role in our achievements. At this level, we get the best work out of the staff and they feel as though their work is being valued by the rest of the team.
Flexibility
An agency must be able to pivot easily when needed, an idea that goes along nicely with our Agile mindset. With a team of 50, shifting gears and changing our process is immediate, because we don’t have to go up the ladder at each level to make decisions. Keeping our team small provides the flexibility we need to keep our Agile systems in place and service our clients with whatever they need at the highest level.
Speed
Another key element to our Agile philosophy is speed — again, made possible with our small team. We want to work as fast as we can without those layers of hierarchy. We are nimble and faster and can get our great ideas to market quickly and efficiently.
Our size is an integral part of our vision, not the result of any circumstance. By keeping Scrum50 in the realm of a smallish agency, we provide the most superior end results and work for our clients, while also creating the best work environment for our staff. To use common big agency lingo, “It’s Win-Win.” And… we promise never to do that again.
Check out our feature in the Ad Age Small Agency Guide!
5 Principles for a Mobile-First Mindset
Leave a CommentWhen it comes to digital design, there are multiple factors to consider when you first attack a project. Visually, where do you start? Beauty vs. functionality? Desktop vs. Mobile? Which gets priority? Where to begin? Let’s be clear – your digital experience needs to work flawlessly across all major devices to create a cohesive design and seamless communication so that your audience can choose where and how they want to engage with your brand.
In general, we as humans spend the majority of our time digitally on mobile devices rather than actual computers (71% of our digital time to be exact). Since more people are looking at your website on their phones as opposed to their computers or tablets, we have our answer! The mobile-first mindset is again reinforced by attacking the most difficult design challenge first – the limited space constraints of the mobile screen. As designers, we need to figure out how to capture the attention of the audience and portray the brand effectively in just a few inches. Not an easy task, my friends.
So to help deliver a flawless experience for your customers, here are a few UX principles to keep in mind as you start designing:
Create a Fully Responsive Experience
Being fully responsive means that whatever device your customer is using, the experience shifts and modifies to optimize for each device. The industry is moving to a place where the optimal design is dictating the breakpoints. You may start with a certain breakpoint but designing the interface to look good and be functional is the primary goal, therefore your breakpoint may shift to accommodate the best design solution. The jury is out, by the way, on how large is the largest size you should accommodate. 4K resolutions are not super common for the mainstream, but they are gaining traction. You really just need to know your audience to determine the outer-limits resolution to plan for. Here’s a guide to the most common starting points.
Don’t Reinvent the Wheel
Users are familiar with the main mobile operating systems and are already familiar with how they engage with websites on their mobile devices. Generally speaking, there is no need to completely reinvent what they are already familiar with. Take a que from common operating systems. For example, iOS and Android have already set up a strong visual vocabulary for button styles, toggles/switches and actions (swipe, pinch, tap, pressure-based actions, etc). You’ll want to mirror common user experiences, but use your brand identity to customize the experience.
Keep Content Visual
Content is King, and engaging, storytelling visuals are what rules today’s digital world. As our attention spans fade and consumption of mobile content increases, people’s expectation of visual content increases. They want to see more images, more videos, more infographics and more compelling (but also short) copy that gets right to the point and supports the visuals. As you are writing for digital, keep it crisp and cut out the excess clutter. Consider meshing amazing visuals and succinct copy for a win-win. (And yes, SEO is always important, but there are other ways to optimize for keywords other than copy-heavy pages.)
Functionality is Critical
The days of truncating the experience for mobile are over. Users expect to be able to perform the same interactions on their mobile phone as they can on any computer. They want what they want, when and where they want it. So, how do you translate a large screen into a tiny hand-held device? From a design perspective, that may mean abridging the UI elements themselves – for example using icons on mobile where words are used on a desktop.
Size Matters
When designing for a smaller mobile device, it goes without saying. It’s also important to consider your audience and keep the UX at the very forefront of your design elements. Font sizes need to be large enough for them to read, but small enough to fit on the screen. Touch targets like buttons need to be usable for your audience. Make sure you are allowing enough size on the screen for male targeted sites vs female targeted sites. Minimum size is generally 48px x 48px, erring on the larger side to avoid the dreaded “fat finger.” Images need to load quickly and create a consistent feel with the other elements on the screen. No matter how you dice it, size is critical in designing for mobile.
Keep these principles top of mind as you set out to design digital experiences that can be viewed on any device. A simple, intuitive user experience is what makes the biggest brand impression on your customers and these concepts outlined above set the foundation for success.
10 Reasons Why Agile Marketing Is A No Brainer
Leave a CommentWhat is Agile Marketing? Agile originated with software developers and tech companies like Apple, around the time that manufacturing companies pioneered “lean manufacturing.” The lean mentality started at companies, like Toyota, as a way to speed up production, promote collaboration, and identify cost efficiencies. And it’s a process that can be applied in a number of industries, more specifically, marketing and advertising.
Today, many brands and agencies still do things the old, traditional way (long lead times, high costs, modest success). That’s where Agile comes in…as a catalyst for the relentless pursuit of iterating and scaling to bigger, better ideas with efficiency and speed. A model much better suited to keep pace with the entrepreneurial spirit (and budget sizes) of companies today.
Here are ten reasons why companies of all sizes should embrace Agile Marketing:
1. Ongoing Engagement vs. Risky Big-Bang
Dumping all your money into a giant bet (unless it’s for a truly strategic reason) might take your brand to the cleaners…instead of to the bank.
The Agile Marketing approach calls for quick validation of ideas. Before launching full-scale campaigns, Agile allows you to learn early if the concept resonates. First, decide on an MVP (Minimal Viable Product)—this is the simplest essence of your final output. Then, get it in front of your audience. Your MVP might be a social post or an email, but its purpose is to gather immediate learnings. Ideally, test several versions in order to fail fast on the ones that don’t work and scale the ones that do. This process takes the opinion and subjectivity out of the equation, because crossing your fingers and hoping a concept will work for the market does not protect your investment, or guarantee success.
2. Scale What Works. Kill What Doesn’t
The beauty of real-time means you can dial up success and knock out failures fast.
One of the tenets of Agile Marketing is to start small, learn and scale. Once you understand what a customer responds and relates to, how you improve your output is critical. The Agile process allows teams to apply their learnings to a better and smarter version of their MVP—that’s when the real iteration begins. This fundamental approach allows you to keep up with and stay ahead of the rapidly changing marketplace.
3. Transparency, Collaboration and Trust
Daily rundowns make “agencies” and “clients” more like friends.
The Agile Marketing process inherently builds stronger teamwork between internal and external teams. Deep hierarchies have no place in Agile. Upper management must either be an active participant in the process, or empower someone on your team to make decisions on their behalf. It’s about making decisions quickly and not about watering down the ideas through internal gatekeepers. Success depends on the ability to get raw (but polished) ideas out to consumers quickly. Daily stand-up meetings keep the momentum going and foster an environment of self-regulation and responsibility. Key team members gather every day for 15 minutes to discuss 3 things: what did you get accomplished yesterday, what will you accomplish today and what barriers are in your way to accomplishing those tasks? This constant contact and collaboration creates true “community” within the workplace. Agile Marketing requires trust, face-to-face discussions, decisiveness and a general feeling of ownership across the teams.
4. Creates a “Culture of Doing”
We could spin in meetings all day long, but we all know that’s not how work gets done.
While you hope that all employees have the same spirit and personal stake in the work that you do, Agile Marketing encourages a sense of urgency among all employees to “get it done.” If the right people are empowered, there are less meetings, less wasted time and less roadblocks.
5. More Focus = Better Quality
Prioritized sprints without the churn and burn, make the work sparkle and the brand shine.
With daily stand-ups and project management tools (i.e. Trello, Slack, Jira, among others) designed to itemize tasks, assign owners and aid in real-time communication, all internal and external partners know:
- Exactly what’s going on at all times during the project lifecycle
- Who is responsible for what
- How (client’s) money is being spent
An equally important piece to the workflow is splitting the work into two-week sprints.
Assigning a deliverable at the end of every single sprint cycle also ensures that the team feels confident it is getting value out of the process.
6. You can do more with less
We’re all expected to drive more growth with fewer dollars. Now, we can.
Brands have limited resources and Agile allows teams to focus on what’s important and impactful, letting busywork fall by the wayside. By breaking down all projects (large and small) into manageable deliverables, and creating a backlog of all tasks to be done, the team can work together to promote the most pressing or easily doable tasks into the sprints.
7. Test. Optimize. Iterate.
Let consumers decide what they like, then take those insights and build on them.
Brands can’t afford to be slow to market, nor is there budget to outspend the competition. But you can outsmart and outpace bigger, more cumbersome agencies and brands with Agile Marketing. It allows (more like demands) teams to stay on top of trends, and learn what customers think in real time so they can turn around and utilize those data-driven results.
8. Meet consumers where they are with tailored conversations.
You need to approach your target and break the ice with common interests.
The days of crowded lecture halls are long over. Consumers expect to be courted, and your opening line better be good.
9.0 It makes your brand interesting.
Small talk doesn’t cut it. You need to mine for content diamonds.
Brands often struggle to find a place in the constantly changing digital world. Successful brands make killer content, and killer content is created by digging deep for reader insights and unearthing smart, sometimes obscure, nuggets of subject matter.
10. Flexible and fast-acting.
Something huge happen? Jump on it immediately and create relevancy before you can say, “John Snow Lives!”
You’re either on time, or you’re late. Being agile allows you to move quickly with less red tape so your message can see the light of day before the night is over.
Agile Marketing gets your teams to faster, better, brilliance in half the time (or less!) than traditional approaches allow, so you can get to market and in front of consumers quickly. Because the reality is, having the right message at the right time (before your competition) is critical to standing out from the crowd and winning consumers hearts—and wallets.
Scrum50 Reimagines Content Creation with New Agile Lab
Leave a CommentHere at Scrum50, we’ve been creating content since our inception in 2014 for clients like American Express, Xerox, Nestlé Waters, Conduent, Beech-Nut and more. Our clients love our strategic approach and methodology to create effective content to promote their brand message. We’re excited today to formally introduce you all to our Agile Content Lab. We’ve formalized our process, fortified our structure, and even hired a snazzy new content lead to strengthen our strategic approach.
Now we know what you’re saying… ‘sure, every agency has a content studio of some kind’. But not like this one. Our agile approach to content creation is what makes us different. We start with lots of little germs of content and messaging ideas, push them to market at lightening speed and with our proprietary algorithm, gauge which content and message gets the most traction with consumers. Then, we quickly grow those messages to bigger, better and more brilliant content, ideas and campaigns. We place smaller, less risky bets out there in an effort to scale the sure things.
Part of our process includes our Narrative Architecture approach that we employ for our clients that essentially defines their authority within their space in an engaging way. Think of it this way…we’ve all been to cocktail parties where there’s that guy who only talks about himself and how great he is without actually engaging in conversation with others. Let’s call him Bob. Well, Bob becomes boring really fast. He stands and holds court amongst unsuspecting party-goers who just came to have fun and meet some interesting people. Don’t be like Bob. We help your brand find the common interest with your customers and build a narrative approach to keep those customers interested in you because they like you, not because they’re held captive.
As part of the Scrum50 creative department led by Executive Creative Director and Partner, Jen Miller, Brady Coffey, VP Content Director, was brought on to run the Agile Content Lab overseeing a fulltime and contract editorial team along with video capabilities and executive producer. Coffey joins Scrum50 from past agency tenures at Digitas, Epsilon and Ryan Partnership, where he created work for the NFL, NASCAR, Abercrombie, MasterCard, Dove, Dove Men+Care, Hellmann’s and Simple. While he may not know a hooker from a line-out, he did rock a rugby shirt with wide-wale cords back in college. It was the ’90s. You know, back around the same time the Internet was being invented. So that means he’s been there since the beginning. Back when content was nothing more than HTML text littered with blue, underlined hyperlinks. We’ve come a long way since then, as have Brady’s fashion choices.
Nowadays we expect content that is more engaging, contextually relevant and intrinsically valuable. That’s the type of stuff we spend our time on, and that’s exactly the type of work Brady is leading at Scrum50. With his deep understanding of what motivates people to connect with brands, Brady is poised and ready to unleash Scrum50’s agile marketing ninja skills on an unsuspecting, content-hungry public.
Working Smarter Is Better Than Working Harder
Leave a CommentBy Michael LeBeau
CEO, Managing Partner, Founder
Scrum50
My favorite quote is from the “Wizard of Westwood,” John Wooden, the UCLA head coach who won 10 NCAA national basketball championships in a 12-year period, including seven in a row:
“Never mistake activity for achievement.”
— John Wooden
Everybody loves to learn from winners, and there was nobody better than Wooden in his business. His teams won a men’s college basketball record 88 consecutive games. Wooden’s unbelievable streak of seven consecutive NCAA championships needs to be considered in context: to this day no other coach or school has won the tournament more than two consecutive years.
Wooden’s wisdom teaches that:
- Working smarter produces more than working harder.
- Focusing on getting things done is what counts — not how busy you are.
- Dedication is what enables you to overcome obstacles and think creatively in achieving your goal.
- Streamlining your workload is vital, because if what you’re doing doesn’t lead to your goal, you shouldn’t be doing it.
The Design Sprint, the Google Way
Leave a CommentBy Michael LeBeau
CEO, Managing Partner, Founder
Scrum50
People pay attention when they hear Google is applying agile marketing to its creative processes. Google’s process is a six-step methodology called, “The Design Sprint.” It’s a way for designers to attack a marketing project and gather comments and quickly integrate that input.
Google “Google Design Sprint” and you will see at the top of the Google results in an article titled “How To Conduct Your Own Google Ventures Design Sprint.” There are a number of articles in the results below that article.
I like to point out that agile methodology is spreading beyond the marketing industry, but the impact is large, deep, and, may I say, “tectonic” in the marketing field because big brands are hustling to embrace it.
As Google pointed out, agile marketing’s technique of the “sprint” gives marketing teams a shortcut to learning without building and launching.
The interesting thing is the resistance level that agile methodologies are continuing to encounter at terminally traditional advertising agencies and old-school companies since this “lean mentality” was introduced.
Sooner or later, even the dinosaurs among us will need to embrace the agile movement…it’s the way the world is heading.
How Does Market Research Help You Succeed?
Leave a CommentBy Michael LeBeau
CEO, Managing Partner, Founder
Scrum50
Agile Marketing eliminates the need for traditional market research because there is an inherent feedback mechanism woven into the fabric of the movement Here’s why:
- “Agile Marketing has no room for subjective opinions (which are often wrong) and instead rely on objective consumer feedback (which is often accurate).”
- “The most accurate market research is when we can observe behavior (what people really do) rather than ask a bunch of questions.”
- “As agile marketing takes hold, market research will take the form of quickly deploying ideas into the marketplace and making decisions based on the behavioral feedback we gain. Scale up what works, dump what doesn’t.”
- We don’t vet ideas through the “dream crushers” at an agency or client who turn everything to vanilla. We incubate hypotheses which we then grow and field test. We let customer behavior be the final arbiter in our market research.
- By quickly getting an idea into the hands of consumers, you’re relying on the marketplace to verify your concept. You improve this “research” with each iteration. It’s like placing a lot of small bets rather than one big high-risk one.
- Agile is inherently quicker not just because the team is smaller and more nimble, but because you’re not waiting months to gather input.
- Rather than the traditional campaign development cycle in which you’re briefed by a client, go through a lengthy planning process, formulate ideas, mull them over, and finally present a concept, agile identifies a selection of smart ideas and quickly puts those concepts out into the marketplace to validate which ones actually work.
Glossary of Agile Terms
Leave a CommentWith help from MarketerGizmo along with other trusted sources, we’ve collected a glossary of terms used in Agile Marketing.
Be sure to check back. New terms will be added as we learn and discover them.
* Items are terms created by Scrum50
Agile: A tactical marketing approach in which marketing teams collectively identify high-value projects on which to focus their collective efforts. Teams use sprints (short, finite periods of intensive work) to complete those projects cooperatively.
Adaptability: The ability of a marketing team to adjust to changes in the market, feedback from their customers, the competitive landscape, and data from their campaigns. The goal of adaptability is to avoid being trapped in a pre-established marketing plan even when it becomes clear that changes need to be made.
Backlog: An evolving list of product requirements, prioritized by the customer (or customer representative), that conveys to an Agile team that features to implement first. Agile projects typically employ a top level backlog, known as a product backlog. Each Agile team working on a project usually creates a backlog for each development iteration, known as an iteration backlog or sprint backlog.
At either the release level or iteration level, a backlog typically comprises features or requirements, often expressed regarding user stories, that may be assigned estimates (e.g., in points or hours) by the development team. The customer or customer representative prioritizes the items in the backlog (and may assign them business value).
Burn-down chart: A visual chart showing the daily progress of tasks during a sprint.
Burn-up Chart: A chart showing the evolution of an increase in a measure against time. Burn-up charts are an optional implementation within Scrum to make progress transparent.
Business owners: A small group of stakeholders that has ultimate responsibility for the value delivered by a sprint. Their primary role is in sprint planning and review to help with prioritization.
Decomposition: The process of breaking user stories down into a) smaller, more executable user stories or b) tasks. Epics may be broken down into user stories, and tasks may be organized into more laser-focused tasks.
Development Team: The role within a Scrum Team accountable for managing, organizing and doing all development work required to create a releasable Increment of product every Sprint.
Epic: A large user story, goal or objective that needs to be tackled over multiple sprints and/or broken down into smaller, more manageable increments.
* Epic Platform: The essence of a brand that gives it a voice in marketing, advertising, and social platforms.
Fail Fast: A strategy of trying something, getting fast feedback, and then rapidly inspecting and adapting. In the presence of high levels of uncertainty, it is often less expensive to start working on a product, learn whether we made a good decision, and if not, kill it fast before more money is spent.
Fans: Other employees that, while not players in the sprint, may have projects that are impacted by sprint objectives. They typically observe and do not participate in sprint planning or review.
* Field Guide: A document that outlines the channel and content strategy for a brand.
Framework: A collection of values, principles, practices, and rules that form the foundation of Scrum-based development.
Hypothesis: A possible source for a sprint task/objective, this is something your team wants to test and evaluate. For example, by moving our introductory video so that it’s adjacent to our call to action we can improve the both video views and action completion rates.
Impediment: Any obstacle preventing a developer or team from completing work. One of the three focusing questions each member of a Scrum team answers during the daily Stand Up Meeting is: What impediments stand in your way? Impediments can include: A meeting to attend, a lack of technical expertise, a technical issue.
Iteration: A repeating instance or occurrence. Sprints are said to be iterative because they are repeated over and over with new tasks/goals/objectives. Waterfall marketing plans are not iterative because they are done only once.
* Path-Through-Purchase™: The journey a consumer takes from awareness, consideration, purchase, “use” and social sharing.
Persona: A fictional character with individual needs, goals, and habits, created by an Agile team as a representative user, to serve as a reference point for usability during product development. Agile teams may refer to a set of personas as they develop a product, to test whether or not the product meets these users’ needs and desires.
Players: Those taking part in a sprint by owning particular tasks.
Product Owner: Person whom holds the vision for the product and is responsible for maintaining, prioritizing and updating the product backlog. In Scrum, the Product Owner has final authority representing the customer’s interest in backlog prioritization and requirements questions. This person must be available to the team at any time, but especially during the sprint planning meeting and the sprint review meeting.
Retrospective: A meeting held at the end of a sprint cycle to determine what worked and what did not work with an eye toward continuous improvement.
Scrum or Stand Up: A daily meeting during which team members stand up and report to one another on what they did yesterday, what they plan to do today, and any obstacles they are encountering.
Scrum Board: A physical board to visualize information for and by the Scrum Team, often used to manage Sprint Backlog. Scrum boards are an optional implementation within Scrum to make information visible.
* Scrum Circles: A series of visuals that outline key brand values and what those values mean to the brand or company.
Scrum Master: The person responsible for running all sprint plannings, sprint reviews, sprint retrospectives and daily scrum meetings. This person ensures that things stay on task during these meetings. They are also responsible for helping remove impediments to progress brought up during daily scrum/stand ups.
Scrum Team: A self-organizing team consisting of a Product Owner, Development Team, and Scrum Master.
Sprint: The length of time allotted for achieving particular marketing goals. Software development sprints tend to run about 2 weeks; marketing sprints may need to be longer if statistically relevant data on current objectives will take longer to gather. Feel free to adjust the length of your marketing sprints based on what you’re trying to test/achieve for that particular sprint, but don’t go any longer than six weeks.
Sprint Backlog: A prioritized list of tasks to be accomplished during the sprint
Sprint Goal: A short expression of the purpose of a Sprint, often a business problem that is addressed. Functionality might be adjusted during the Sprint to achieve the Sprint Goal.
Sprint planning meeting: A meeting held at the beginning of a sprint. Attended by players, business owners, scrum master, and fans. During this meeting, you should determine what you want to achieve during the sprint using the product backlog and dialog with the entire team to determine the time that work will take. This will form the sprint backlog.
Sprint Poker or Planning Poker: How the team estimates the relative effort required for addressing user stories in the backlog.
Sprint Review: Business owners, players, scrum master and fans re-assemble just as in the sprint planning meeting, this time to see what goals were completed and which ones were not. Team members get to show off what they have completed and/or learned, such as new email campaigns, blog posts, or metrics. Incomplete goals may be moved into the product backlog for consideration in future sprints.
Success Criteria: Criteria used to determine if a task is complete. Typically evaluated by a product owner.
Task: In Scrum, a unit of work estimated in hours. During the iteration planning meeting, user stories are decomposed into tasks.
* Try Pyramid: A three-tiered triangle that outlines a brand’s entry stakes, valued attributes, and differentiating characteristics.
User story: A sentence that states in plain language what a customer or consumer may want or need from your product. They are used to drive what goals and tasks are addressed during a sprint based on their priorities.
Agile Agencies: Skunk Works of the Marketing World
Leave a CommentBy Michael LeBeau
CEO, Managing Partner, Founder
Scrum50
Lockheed’s Skunk Works became legendary for its ability to create impossible flying machines in no time flat. As Matthew E. May explains in his Fast Company article, “the term skunk works has come to refer to any effort involving an elite special team … usually tasked with breakthrough innovation on limited budgets and under aggressive timelines.”
When you look at the compressed timelines, lean teams, and simplified approvals process of the classic skunk works project, it all reminds you of the creative forces that shape agile marketing. What Lockheed’s Skunk Works did to aviation speed to market, agile methodologies promise to do for marketing agencies and departments.
What is agile? Agile originated with software developers and tech companies like Apple, around the time that manufacturing companies pioneered “lean manufacturing.” Lean started at companies like Toyota, as a process to speed up production, promote collaboration, and identify cost efficiencies.
Agile practices that grew out of the lean philosophy have spun off into agile marketing, which modernizes old school marketing and advertising habits.
Agile is a process that uses small, self-sufficient teams to work on projects meant to be completed in an abbreviated time-scale. Agile methodology delivers in three ways:
- Produces great work in the shortest period of time;
- Gains huge efficiencies with leaner creative brand management teams; and
- Improves the quality of client output by staying highly focused.
Instead of the traditional campaign development cycle in which you’re briefed by a client, go through a lengthy planning process, formulate ideas, mull them over, and finally present a concept, agile identifies a selection of smart ideas and quickly puts those concepts out into the marketplace to validate which ones work.
Agile marketing places great value on feedback from the field versus relying on traditional market research. Agile tests ideas, so they sink or swim. The key is securing real-world feedback.
You start by determining what a “minimally viable product” (MVP) may look like, and then you examine how quickly you can:
- Articulate your MVP and create a prototype;
- Get your MVP into the hands of would-be customers; and
- Prove your idea via customer feedback. Specifically, do they like it? Would they buy it? And what can be improved?
In each iteration, the agile practitioner is making a bet, with the idea of scaling up those ideas or programs that do work. But you’re placing a lot of small bets rather than one big high-risk one. Naturally, not every bet will pay off. But some will. Failure occurs only when the bets are limited, i.e., below the radar — limiting any damage to consumer relationships — not to mention brand reputation.
Agile marketing flattens agency hierarchies. It identifies the essential team members at an agency and leaves agencies lean because layers have been cut and the nonproductive removed. A traditional agency has multiple tiers of approvals; an agile agency has one. The agile agency model is compact, streamlined, and dynamic. Is it any surprise agile is attracting more and more attention — and assignments — from brands big and small?
Agile agencies are the skunk works of the marketing world.
Focus on Doing Great Work. Success Will Follow.
Leave a CommentBy Michael LeBeau
CEO, Managing Partner, Founder
Scrum50
I like what Jae Goodman has to say in her article about dealing with clients titled “The Client Is Often (but Not Always) Right, and 11 Other Rules to Work By — Including Only Do Business With People You Respect” in which advises, ” Clients don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” Yes, it’s the personal connection you make with your client that will always make all the difference.
Is It Too Early the Jumpstart the New Year?
Leave a CommentBy Michael LeBeau
CEO, Managing Partner, Founder
Scrum50
Resist the impulse to vet your marketing concepts through the “dream crushers” at your agency (or client) because they always seek consensus. And consensus is creative death.