Those of you who follow the AdWeek blog AdFreak may have seen its recent post on 2010’s best and worst ad agency holiday cards. Most agencies pull out the big guns at this time of year to create the most creative and inspiring company greeting cards. One of the best this year comes from Droga5 in Sydney, Australia, and it’s essentially an ode to advertising (and the people who make it happen).

A simple, clean, minimalistic piece with smart copy, it may look long but is definitely worth a read, especially if you work in marketing.

As Droga5’s card says:

… we laugh less that we used to, smile less than we should, and beat ourselves up a lot more than is medically advisable… [what we lack] is a place where we can celebrate what it is we actually do: conjure up, produce and ultimately defend these strange, fragile things called ‘ideas.’ After all, it does take a rare breed of courage to fight for ideas. When they’re young, wobbly, and unformed, they can’t defend themselves, and depend on us to stand up for them – an increasing challenge in these increasingly brutal times… [we do it] because we love the idea of what those fragile thoughts could potentially become, if just given the chance to grow. We dream, albeit surreptitiously, of making something brilliant, captivating and, yes, even enduring… isn’t it fitting we take pause after a long, grueling year, and give ourselves a pat on our collective back?

… So, let us concede at least one resolution for the New Year: for god’s sake, let’s have more fun.

Now, doesn’t that make you feel at least a bit more warm and fuzzy? Thanks, Droga5.

Here’s an interesting question: how do you choose the best social network for your company or brand? Of course Facebook is powerful, but there are a plethora of other networks out there… how do you know which are the best? Or rather, which are the best for you?

From The Boom of Social Sites, by TechCrunch

Different social networks can have different effects on the perception of your brand. Certain networks are more popular among certain demographics – based on age, geography, common interests, lifestyles. etc. While networks like Facebook and Twitter may seem like social “cure-alls,” there are a number of things to consider before choosing a social platform for your company or brand. As Lisa Barone points out (for Business Insider), “it doesn’t matter how pretty a house you build if you’re putting it in the wrong neighborhood.” Barone lays out a few questions you may want to ask yourself before setting up your social presence on a particular network:

1. What are the strengths of this network/site?

2. How much time can I afford to spend on this network/site? Each day? Each week?

3. What are the demands of this network?

4. Does my target audience/community use this network?

5. If engaging on this network cost $500/month, would I still join it?

6. Will this network/site integrate with the rest of the promotion we are doing?

It’s wise to prepare for a social campaign in this way; social media is a marketing strategy and should be managed as such. Since so many people utilize social media for personal and recreational purposes, you’d think it would be easy! But social networking still requires work to be used as a successful marketing tool. Barone says, “These are social channels. In order to see a return on them, you have to actually be social on them... When you go and create that social media account – you’re actually going to be expected to do something with it.”

We know a thing or two about social networking – having always offered social media campaign preparation, planning, and set-up services, Ashworth Creative is now offering full social media campaign management. So, drop by and let’s get social.

Happy holidays, from our awkward family to yours.

via Andy Dunn, Bonobos CEO

According to this illustration of how men and women shop for clothes:

• For many women, style, trend, and fun are the most important factors.
• Many men focus primarily on fit, and want to minimize time and hassle.

Knowing what can facilitate purchases from customers is extremely valuable for any e-commerce business. While this particular data applies specifically to shopping for clothing, the results are still insightful. Furthermore, according to Andy Dunn, CEO of Bonobos, a men’s apparel online retailer:

• For an e-commerce website, fast, free shipping and returns are important factors to drive men’s apparel sales.
• Men develop a loyalty to brands and retailers that have clothes that fit them well.

And for a customer’s lifetime value?

• For most female shoppers, their lifetime value comes from their frequent purchases driven by entertainment shopping.
• For most male shoppers, their lifetime value comes from brand loyalty to a brand with clothes that fit and a fast and easy buying process.

Via Lightspeed Venture Partners.

Tech and new media addicts rejoice: the new Betali.st, created by Marc Köhlbrugge, provides an updated listing of not-yet-public startups that are currently (or will soon be) giving out invites to their private betas. Via TechCrunch: “be first to try the next Twitter or Instagram, call dibs on your account name or just see what the competition is up to.”

Svpply (pronounced “supply”) is a recent invitation-only retail product bookmarking service with a lot of potential. As of late November, it’s already raised $550,000. With a sleek, minimalist design, an extremely easy-to-use bookmarklet tool, and a user base of design-saavy tastemakers, Svpply is the place to browse for the most modern, unique, and trendy products.

Rather than online shopping as you would in an e-commerce store, Svpply’s interface shows products in a feed format, unencumbered by product details (though you can see those by hovering over the product) and easy to share. Products link back to their store of origin, so purchasing is just a click away. A “follow” feature, allowing users to follow each other as well as their favorite retailers, adds a social element to an otherwise simple shopping/browsing experience. Even without an invitation or account, you can browse products, which can be easily sorted by gender, product type, and price. I used it myself to find the perfect Christmas gift for my sister.

There’s a mass of design junk out there–and if you’re a design junky, consider how much time you spend just sifting through it, looking for the perfect chair/shoes/alarm clock… Svpply works essentially the same as FFFFOUND, a visual resource that’s drawn a huge following among designers, looking for inspiration. Applying that to shopping? Pretty brilliant.

(Cliff Kuang, Fast Company)

Pretty brilliant indeed.

Screenshot via swissmiss.

A recent CNN Opinion article by Jason Fried explains why the office may be the worst place to work.

Why? Well, according to Fried, “The modern office has become an interruption factory. You can’t get work done at work anymore. When people walk into the office, they trade their work day in for a series of work moments.”

When you’re in the office you’re lucky to have 30 minutes to yourself. Usually you get in, there’s a meeting, then there’s a call, then someone calls you over to their desk, or your manager comes over to see what you’re doing. These interruptions chunk your day into smaller and smaller bits. Fifteen minutes here, 30 minutes there, another 15 minutes before lunch, then an afternoon meeting, etc. When are you supposed to get work done if you don’t have any time to work?

Fried explains that work is a “process,” that you don’t just begin working effectively as soon as you sit at your desk, but you have to get into a “groove” first. He compares this process to sleep: “I don’t think anyone would expect someone to get a good night’s sleep if they were interrupted all night long. So why do we expect people to get a good day’s work if they are interrupted all day long?”

Fried offers some suggestions for limiting interruptions in the office; “No-Talk Thursdays,” passive rather than active communication (i.e. e-mail rather than face-to-face), and canceling your next meeting (”Life will go on.”).

Do you agree? Where is the best place to get work done effectively?

On Friday, we celebrated the season (and our Movember efforts) at our Ashworth Creative Mo-Holiday Party. We partied with our colleagues, friends, and family, as well as our friends from the Poughkeepsie Journal, Page Park Associates, New Image MD, and others. Thank you all for coming!

Eve as Miss Movember

Chase & Eve

Today we had a photoshoot for our first ever Ashworth Creative Family Holiday Photo. Of course we don’t want you to see that final photo yet, but here are some shots from our day preparing for it. As you can probably tell, we went for a “tacky/ugly holiday sweater” motif, like the awkward family we are.

Paul

Kaitlin, Paul

Chase, Caryn

Additionally, Chase (above) is officially our Man of Movember, most notably because he’s the only one who maintained his moustache for the full month (of course, he also received the most donations for the Movember Foundation). We’re so proud.