TCC Insights

Food trucks serve up street food…and social media know-how?

 By: Kellie Mazur, Administrative Assistant

Food trucks have long been embracing the power of social media. In a way, social media is the fuel that keeps the food trucks going.  Very practically, our four-wheeled friends tweet their whereabouts for the day. Although at Travers Collins we pride ourselves on memorizing the Lloyd’s Taco Truck schedule, in the off chance we lose track of every other Wednesday, a friendly Twitter reminder ensures us a coveted spot in the local food truck’s line.

Google+, The Other Facebook

 By: Lisa Cialfi, Account Coordinator

After just a few days on Google+, I’m really impressed. The new social media site is Google’s answer of the widely popular Facebook, and I think it has a lot to offer users.

There's a right time and a wrong time to join Twitter conversations

 Lisa Cialfi, Account Coordinator

We often advise our clients to join in the trending conversations happening on Twitter (and we do the same with our Twitter account @traverscollins). We tell our clients that a company should not simply share information through social media, but interact with consumers through meaningful content.

However, there’s a time to add a little humor to the conversation, and there’s a time where it’s just inappropriate.

  
It’s a risk for a brand, such as Entenmanns, to comment on hot-button topics. The Casey Anthony Trial is not a laughing matter to a lot of tweeters and even a harmless comment, like the one above, can be offensive.  In fact it doesn’t take long for a controversial tweet to leave Twitter, I found out about this tweet through a blog. 

What's in a Name?

  By Drew Shields, Creative Intern

Yesterday morning I awoke to an interesting story on the Today Show about how the founders of US Fidelis, the automotive extended warranty firm, had been indicted on multiple felony charges. The laundry list of white-collar crimes was read over mugshots of the owner brothers, followed by a slideshow of expensive cars, watches, and helicopter shots of million-dollar mansions bought with defrauded money. Turns out that after an damning NBC investigative report in April 2009, the company discontinued selling its services in December 2009 and declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy in March 2010.

At this point, the company's clearly down for the count, but I elect to take this opportunity to kick it while its down to learn a thing or two about "misleading" marketing messages: chiefly, how not to market a service so it is perceived as a skeevy scam.

The USDA Ditches its Pyramid Scheme

By Caitlin Zulewski, Account Manager

In case you hadn't heard, today the United States Department of Agriculture officially retired the food pyramid, the 20-year-old visual icon that described the USDA's (former) recommended guidelines for nutrition.

Helping Joplin, Mo., Without Leaving Your Computer Desk

By Lisa Cialfi, Account Coordinator

Admittedly, I’m a social media addict. A lot of my friends who don’t work in the communications field often tease me by saying “What, are you going to tweet about that??” anytime someone so much as sneezes. While I’m not quite at the point of tweeting about sneezes, I humor them with a laugh. This week my love of social media was reinforced.

A Disappointing Finish

 Carolyn Human, Account Manager

This past weekend, three of us at Travers Collins made the trek down the I-90 to run the Cleveland half marathon. Despite the blog title, we did not have a disappointing finish – in fact all three of us earned a PR (personal record) at the race.

However, one company trying to sell a product at the race expo set a PR for the most misleading and disappointing packaging in my book. For those out there trying to get into social media, this is a perfect example of what NOT to do.

Giving Buffalo a Real Brand

 

 By: Joe Sweeney, Associate Creative Director

Yesterday, Visit Buffalo Niagara (formerly the Buffalo Niagara Convention and Visitors Bureau) unveiled a new brand for our city, during a classy, no-frills presentation at the Burchfield-Penney Art Center. Anchored by the tagline “Buffalo. For Real,” this campaign attempts to encapsulate the spirit of the Queen City, in a bid to attract “cultural tourists” (aka history buffs, art geeks, architecture dweebs, etc.).

Simply put: I love Dash’s Market.

 By: Lisa Cialfi, Account Coordinator

I live in walking distance to the Tonawanda/Kenmore location and visit the store about five times a week. With four locations total in western New York, it’s a true mom ‘n pop shop, which is why I choose to shop at Dash’s over larger grocery stores.

As an avid Foursquare user, my check-ins at Dash’s earned me the Mayorship of the store. Because of this I receive free coffee, daily from the SPoT coffee that’s attached to Dash’s.

It's All Art, Baby

By Sue White, Production Design Supervisor

As much as Lady Gaga never thought she'd be asking Cher to hold her meat purse at the MTV Video Music Awards, I never thought I'd find myself at a Lady Gaga concert. Yet, here I was, thanks to a gift from my brother, taking in a Gaga concert last Friday at HSBC arena, ready to "just have a fun time." Now, I certainly am not president of the Gaga fan club, but I can appreciate her creativity, and passion and energy – clearly, she has an abundance of that. But the concert evolved into much more than just a "fun time." I was able to experience some effective guerilla marketing first-hand.