Personal

2 weeks ago, I stumble upon the most amazing dish rack I have ever seen, made by a company called Simple Human. I did not expect to see this in a Costco for some reason, which basically added to my surprise. Sonia was exasperated to see how crazy I was becoming over this dish rack, but not so much my friend James, Chief Punk of AdHack, a DIY (Do It Yourslef) Avertising Community who immediately suggested that I should do an AdHack about it. Just in case you were wondering, an AdHack, like the name suggests, is basically an ad that I would do myself and that could potentially be commissioned to the company who popularized the product or service. Like most of you would think, what could be so special about a dish rack. More than you think. Stay put, you’ll see, it gets even better when I unfold the story.

So last week, considering I did not know exactly where to start creating an AdHack for my brand new dish rack, which only cost $45 by the way, I sat down with James to go over the creative brief. The creative brief contains the thought process by which you must go through in order to come with the killer idea that will make the ad to stand out. Here are some of my notes:

Goals:
The ad must raise awareness towards the existence of a better dish rack out there that destroys the one you currently have. The initial hypothesis is that you endure your old dish rack because you have never thought that there could be a better option. Dish racks are usually not something we shop for or think about. (I found it by accident and I have never shop around for a dish rack before)

Audience:
People who already have a dish rack: most likely old (the dish rack!), ugly with faded colors and too small. The audience is urban and they live close to where they work.

Context:
We thought that the best context to come across this ad would be in a urban-type setting, like in public transit for instance. The setting must be somewhat relaxed in order for the audience to open up the idea that they should replace their old dish rack.

Promises:
Ad promise (story): The ad is a personal testimonial based on my discovery of a new product & the delight in finding that product. More than just a dish rack, the experience of doing dishes is becoming augmented because you now think about where you are going to put the dishes. As in any intellectual games, doing dishes is becoming like a puzzle game, which transforms the experience completely.

Potential tag lines:
Now, I look forward to do the dishes
Makes a Mundane Task Extraordinary

Product promise: It is more than just a dish rack, it looks good. It is also very functional, versatile, flexible and customizable. You can also consider it like a game where you need to construct a puzzle with all the dishes you have. There are multiple options on where to put the dishes, which makes the experience fascinating.

Proof:
I am the proof. The ad is a personal testimony which gets its authenticity by the person who does it (me).

Tone:
Fun, Playful, Brisk

Requirements:
Not applicable

Directions:
Not applicable (yet) - experimentation

Executions:
Not applicable (yet) - experimentation

So after a few minutes of playing around with these ideas and picnik, a free photo editing online provider, I actually came up with something quite different than what I envisioned initially. This is the first test:

I do think that the polaroid treatment puts the product in the right category and convey the idea that it is so much more than a dish rack. Who would photograph a dish rack, unless it is really good quality? This still needs some work done, which is why I post it. If you have comments or would like to help me make it better, please let me know.

If you want to know more about the company, please go to simplehuman.com

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My dad, Carl Brabant, was a chemistry teacher at the College de Rosemont for most of his professional life. He retired last year after 35 years (or something like that) of dealing with students that rarely wanted to study. My dad, just like me, is known for having a bit of a mad scientist persona so no wonder he does not always make friends wherever he goes. (just in case you were wondering where this character was coming from) This post has nothing to do with search and I got it from another scientist: Mario Beaudoin from the Nanofabrication Facility at UBC. Thanks Mario! I just felt like posting it because I know he is going to appreciate. That’s for you dad:

A New Addition to Chemistry’s Periodic Table Research has led to the discovery of the heaviest element yet known to science. The new element, Governmentium (Gv), has one neuron, 25 assistant neurons, 88 deputy neurons, and 198 assistant deputy neurons, giving it an atomic mass of 312. These 312 particles are held together by forces called morons, which are surrounded by vast quantities of lepton-like particles called peons. Since Governmentium has no electrons, it is inert; however, it can be detected, because it impedes every reaction with which it comes into contact. A minute amount of Governmentium can cause a reaction that would normally take less than a second to take from four days to four years to complete. Governmentium has a normal half-life of 2-6 years; it does not decay, but instead undergoes a reorganization in which a portion of the assistant neurons and deputy neurons exchange places. In fact, Governmentium’s mass will actually increase over time, since each reorganization will cause more morons to become neurons, forming isodopes. This characteristic of moron promotion leads some scientists to believe that Governmentium is formed whenever morons reach a critical concentration. This hypothetical quantity is referred to as critical morass. When catalyzed with money, Governmentium becomes Administratium, an element that radiates just as much energy as Governmentium since it has half as many peons but twice as many morons.

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I discovered the band Keepers a few months ago when my friend Dan Beauparlant told me he was working on a music video for the group. Today, Ric Antonishin and the rest of his Keepers are releasing the video and I am pleased to share it with you. I really like this local rock band and I am pleased to mention that they will be playing at the Coppertank in Kitsilano on December 31, 2007. Tickets are sold at the Coppertank, 3135 West Broadway, Vancouver. I will be there.

Here is the video:

For more information on the rock band Keepers, where they play, when, or if you want to hire them for an evening, please contact Ric Antonishin: ricantonishin{at}shaw.ca

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My friend Taron Hall has traveled extensively during the last few years and he sent me a video today of a crazy road trip he made in Africa to find the Himba Tribes. He made this video as a demo to get himself known as a good host for a travel show which is why I am sharing it around. Taron is a great guy with a big heart and I a confident he would be awesome in such a position. I think you’ll find the video quite entertaining. It’s just 6 minutes long, check it out and send him your comments at tarongoneaway {at} yahoo.ca

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Just in time for Halloween Lee Lefever from Common Craft gives us Zombies in Plain English in the same format as his other cool introduction clips from the Common Craft show.

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My friend YB from The Dizzy Racers is in town and for the next few days, we will be heading to the Island. I will most likely not answer emails but I will be reachable by phone in case of emergency: 778-371-9988. I will be back on Friday, October 19.

Lorenzo Pistone, aka. YB

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My friend James from Up In Ontario wrote a story today on Google’s influence on how we seek and connect with information, across generations. He talks about how his grand-parents perceive our intense daily use of Google. Very touching. You should read it. The Onion also talks about the same topic where they report the launch of ”The Google”, the same great Google search engine results with a different interface to appeal to older adults. Hilarious in a typical Onion’s style. 

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I represent a group of French guys from Quebec and we are looking for some other French Speaking hockey players (if possible, not mandatory) to complete the teams. We have an ice time every Wednesday at UBC from 8h00PM to 9h15PM, starting next Wednesday, September 19. This will be a weekly event, for 32 weeks. The cost is $25 per game (drop-in fee) or $600 for the whole year ($18.75 per game). Please communicate with me if you would like to join us or get additional information. There are still plenty of spots available. Alex Brabant (778) 371-9988 or reach me at abrabant{at}gmail{dot}com. Thanks!


Groupe de Hockey Le National

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As you might know, it was my birthday last Saturday, September 8. For the occasion, I got something that has NEVER been given to anyone I know for a special occasion: A LINK. My new friend Boris Mann from Boris Mann Consulting wanted to be clever and he came up with this idea. If it is coming Boris, you can expect something out of the ordinary since he is one of the most passionate & creative individuals I have met (and I am trained to think that I am in the top 5 when it comes to passion). I was really impressed. He said, Alex, for your birthday, I am offering you a link from my home page, which is a PageRank 7, to any of your pages, and with ANY keywords you want. A link of that quality with such a level of control on the anchor text and title attribute is extremely valuable. For the time being, you have to be an SEO specialist to fully appreciate the value. But, this is about to change as everyone with a site should hunt for more incoming links.


Boris Mann

Another friend of Boris, Duane Storey, decided to do the same thing. He has a PageRank of 6. If you don’t mind, I will get back to them. My birthday gifts are waiting.

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I love airshows and yet I haven’t seen one in years. I think I was 9 years old the last time I had a chance to see the Snowbirds. The whole family was in Quebec City and we waited for 2 hours before they finally show up. When you are a kid, 2 hours seem like a month! So now, being grown up and all, I did not even know what to expect but I decided to take a road trip to Abbotsford for the well known Abbotsford Airshow. It was the 45th edition so everything was in place for a lovely afternoon.

I have to admit, between the current Canadian & US AirForce planes and their historic equivalents laying on the ground, the air show was definitely the most interesting part. And yes, the snowbirds were there, I was thrilled like the last time I saw them. Seriously, they are great. They made a heart in the sky with exhaust smoke on a Celine Dion’s song. So nice. To tell you the truth, I am rarely patriotic about Canada but the sequence where they made a pass with the Diamond Formation was absolutely spectacular. The picture was quite nice too:

I have some more. You can find all my pictures of the Abbotsford Airshow on my Picasa account.

That was for the sweet part. Concurrently during the same event though, armed army officers are walking around their army vehicles and dozens of information booths to recruit new Canadian forces personnel. They were giving away inflatable sticks that kids were beating each another with. I understand the concept of sponsors for that kind of events and the connection between the planes and the Canadian army. But, it is absolutely necessary to teach kids how to use guns during these events? Is it just me who finds it odd? Check it out, I took some pictures that are quite revealing:

The Abbotsford Airshow is a family event and I have serious reserve with regards to the relevance of having that many Canadian forces information booths, with guns that kids can try. And oh, I almost forgot, every 15 minutes, you could hear the sound of a real machine gun. Very entertaining. That deserves an adhack. 

Yeah, I know. It has nothing to do with search. But this topic is important enough to mention. Comments are welcome. 

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Ça faisait un bon moment que mon bon ami Daniel Beauparlant travaillait la dessus. Voyez-vous, c’est que Daniel vient de s’acheter une nouvelle caméra video qui prend de suberbes images. Pour ce qui est du montage, ce fût un peu plus long que prévu. Il esperait que le vidéo soit prêt à temps pour la visite de Francis Cabrel à Vancouver le 11 juillet dernier. Mais même avec quelques semaines de délai, on est tous très content du résultat et on garde un très bon souvenir du passage de Francis Cabrel à Vancouver, le premier en 30 ans de carrière. Merci Dan de souligner cet événement!

Si vous voulez faire un vidéo corporatif, faire du vidéo blogging ou n’importe quel contenu vidéo de qualité à mettre dans votre site, n’hésitez pas à communiquer avec lui: dbeauparlant{at}gmail{dot}com

If you want to make a short corporate video, do video blogging or any good quality video content to put on your site, don’t hesitate to communicate with Daniel: dbeauparlant{at}gmail{dot}com

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As everyone else that chooses to spend long hours bolted to their computers, I have to admit it feels great just planning to do something else. In 24 hours, I will be much closer to being chased by a bear than any Internet connection. As a result, I won’t be responding emails, phone calls or any request about Search Marketing. I should be back in the office at some point next week. In an emergency, please try the phone 778-371-9988 but I don’t guarantee anything.

Enjoy the summer!

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As part of the effort for revamping my business activities within eMarketing 101 on a full time basis, I need to relocate my old PC to my girlfriend‘s place and take her laptop instead. Yes, she is in fact very kind. As such, please let me know if you would have an extra keyboard and mouse. I will pick it up anywhere. That would be appreciated.

Can you help me find the last few pieces that I need?

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I was brainstorming this morning with a friend about their web shop and how the different components of an online development presence & advertising resembles in many points what it currently exists in traditional ad agencies. Online PR, Developers, Copywriters, Designers, Bloggers, Search Specialist and so on are all specialties of the online world and they each have their offline counterpoint. Then I came up with the expression the “Next Ad Agency” and I am wondering what it would be like. If the current ad agency model is based on talking, communicating something, an idea, a product or service, along with a brand message, is it possible that the Next Ad Agency will actually listen?

As a search marketing expert, I can honestly say that I spend more time listening to the searchers, understanding their search patterns and search terms than I spend time communicating to them. I basically don’t communicate much and I don’t need many words. I don’t need many words as I am only answering their request. “Here you will find what you are looking for” is the basis of what I say when I am crafting my copy for a paid search advertising campaign for instance. And you know what? It works! Of course, it can get a little more elaborated than that on the SEO side but there will still be a lot of objective descriptions and simple sentences about what’s on the site. On top of that, when I explain to self-proclaimed communication experts what my communication “strategy” is for my search marketing plan, I often get a glaze on their face as it seems overly simplistic to them. It is simple and I am not ashamed to admit it. Since the consumers are now doing most of the talking, does this mean we have to do most of the Listening? Is it possible that user centricity implies that we start listening more than we talk? And that we can only talk if consumers give us the right to do so? Someone told me once we can way more friends listening than talking. It does work. My uncle was saying: we have 2 ears and one mouth which means we have to listen twice as much as speak. As far as I can see, the Next Ad Agency will do just that.

It seems like polarities have been reversed as consumers are taking control. I love my new verb: “listen”. Let me know what you think. I can’t wait to hear. 

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Over the last few weeks, I have been revising for a friend of mine an area of SEO that has been largely overlooked: selecting a keyword-rich domain name. Since I have been asked that question hundreds of times and I have been reviewing, suggesting, assessing & buying domain for 10 years, I thought it would be a good idea to put it out here. I will not be covering everything here but this is start. For those of you who have not been introduced to the concept of domain name selection, speculation, the value of a name and how to select a good name, please read on. This will allow you to take a second look at your own name.

As I am researching writing on this topic, I came across a great article which presents the points to consider when buying a domain name. For better results, your domain name should be memorable and easy to remember. Remember the following tips when purchasing a domain name.

* The domain name should be short.
* The domain name should be simple.
* It should be suggestive of your business category.
* It should be unique.
* It should be easy to interpret and pronounce.
* It should be personalized.
* It should not be difficult to spell.
* It should not be difficult to remember.

Selecting a domain name, your web address, the location of your store online is a critical decision. You must take your time reviewing all your options before you make that decision. You also need to talk to your favorite SEO specialist as he/she might add a few suggestions you may have overlooked. He/She will be able to point out previously owned domains, talk about link equity of each domain, identify the age of a domain name/site and explain how these are important Google ranking factors to consider as part of the decision making process. 

Examples:
In my previous job at a local phone dating company, buying domain names was a big part of my workload and it is not because I liked it. The president thought that the more names we own, regardless of the words it carried, was a great idea. At some point, we owned more than 500 domain names, most of which did not have any value and did not produce any traffic. It actually costs a lot to keep them as part of our inventory. One day, they asked me to assess/buy giggle.com. Are you serious? Giggle.com was too expensive to purchase without a proper business plan. For the matter of discussion and education, I then showed them sedo.com: a great website for buying and selling previously-owned domain names and websites. Few weeks later, I put half of their domain inventory up for sale. Bottom line: it is very hard to buy/sell something if you don’t have the knowledge to assess its value properly. That is why you need to educate yourself & document your ideas before you can actually make these important financial decisions.

Here is another example. A few years ago, I was working for finetravelcompany.com and I convinced them to change their name for luxuryvacation.bc.ca. My recommendation was that finetravelcompany.com did not say anything about their business and this was a serious drawback for their long term success. Since the name of your business and the promotion of your business online go hand in hand, make sure your initial plan of attack includes the decision of your business name and your domain name. They might be the same or complement one another.

If you are not sure about your domain name and what better options would be, feel free to get in touch with me. Your name will make a big difference between success and failure and it should be selected wisely. I can help. 

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