We have been running a Foursquare campaign for the Topeka Subways for the past couple of months. In that time, we have claimed each store in Topeka, grown our following on Foursquare to 64 active people, offered specials, and expanded our reach and following using the Topeka Subways’ Twitter and Facebook accounts.
I was privileged to work with the terrific and dedicated people of Nonprofit Connect. While we did not develop the current website, Brain Bucket did consult regarding the website after npconnect received a Google grant for their Adwords efforts.
Brain Bucket also helped create strategy and execution goals for a Nonprofit Connect Facebook Page efforts as well as a npconnect Twitter account.
In order to help automate and systematize the organization’s efforts, we also set up a YouTube Channel, and a Posterous Blog that auto posts to all online properties.
Our goal was to grow the online presence for Nonprofit Connect, an organization that is similar to a chamber of commerce for nonprofits. The organization’s website has a popular job posting section, but that does not always translate to broad exposure and recognition.
We worked with npconnect staff to help utilize online properties to interact with current and potential members.
Buying a sandwich from Subway isn’t really something you make big plans to do. I’m hungry, I want to eat healthy, I see a Subway…I go get a sandwich.
I like the way you can see the ingredients, the way the people there…The Sandwich Artists…care about what they make for me.
Brain Bucket is currently working with the great folks at Topeka Subways, Emporia Subways, and Junction City Subways.
The Big Idea:
The Subway customer is very tech savvy. They are particular about what they want. And, there are “regulars.” I suggested that these franchises need a way to engage with their 
customers without doing empty, repetitive and ineffective “campaigns.”
The Approach:
A) Engage people on a very local level by studying community relationships the franchisee already has, and use a few social media tools to broaden the reach / visibility. Thus, Topeka Subways will be a sponsor at Heartland Park this summer in a number of ways…more on that later!
B) Time the launch of online properties with efforts already happening during the Subway National advertising windows. For example: timing the launch of the launch of a new local website with the national advertising push for breakfast offerings.
C) My customer also wanted to create an email list, in order to time email marketing with the advertising windows. Thus, we created a give us your email for a cookie push in his Topeka locations. This has resulted in collecting approximately 500 emails in less than two weeks.
Online Properties:
Brain Bucket, in partnership with Zero Design, has recently completed a three-month long emerging media strategy and execution contract with Ruxter.
Ruxter is a service that provides a free .mobi website plus up to 100 texts free each month for businesses to develop innovative ways to connect with their customers. Ruxter is a company very firmly focused on developing functionality for the mobile browser as an alternative to downloadable apps.
Brain Bucket developed a strategic approach for the Ruxter team, set up and connected key online properties, helped execute plans, and had a project management role in the development of each web property. Zero Design acted as lead design, and had a role in all strategic marketing consulting work.
Goals for the Ruxter project were to attract users to Ruxter.com in order to set up a free .mobi site, to encourage users to attract subscribers, and to illustrate user successes.
After three plus months, Ruxter has more than 500 users, more than 700 Twitter followers, and a growing blog readership. They are preparing to launch a Spring contest and are maintaining their own activity on Twitter, their blog, and Facebook.
Below are the properties Brain Bucket has consulted on, set up, used and trained the Ruxter principles to use.
@Ruxtermobi - Twitter
Mobile Symmetry hired Brain Bucket (in conjunction with strategic partner Zero Design) to design and create an early phase website for this start up: Try.MobileSymmetry.com
I worked directly with the principles, James Patterson and David Bottoms, as well as multiple members of their team, to create this website. For this initial phase, we suggested a wordpress platform that is quick to set up, but can grow as the project grows.
The initial goal for this website is to build a list of people willing to a) sign up to beta test the mobile product, and b) to share information about their current phone, wireless provider, etc.
In the first 2+ days the site was viewed 1200 times with 60 sign ups.
My role in this project has been everything from initial sales relationship, to strategy consultant to copy writer to testing and trouble shooting.
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Julie Mulhern Development Director, Turning Point |
Phone: 816-517-0019
Email: Tobin@Brain-bucket.com
I am very proud of the client services work that I do, and the skills that I have gained in my 8+ years of sales and marketing work. Acting as the bridge between the customer and creative as well as production teams has always been a part of what I do.
Because my sales work has taken place in small organizations, I was always responsible for ongoing client management. For almost 10 years this has meant being responsible for creating and maintaining strong ties with customers, forecasting client budgets, communicating about client needs and business objectives. I have also always participated on design, production, and implementation teams, been a part of developing proposals and managing projections of client spending, and been required to present the final product to the customer.
For the past 3+ years I have owned my own company, Brain Bucket. Using the experiences I mention above, I have been able to expand my client service work. As the owner of Brain Bucket, I have worked for a hugely diverse client list. From creating a series of mini-marketing sites for DuPont Crop Protection as sub-contractor for an agency, to creating and setting up an online marketing plan for local PR and Communications Firm, Nation Ranch, I have been charged with developing proposals, writing customer profiles and using project briefs in a team setting. I have also assumed a consulting / education role in many of my interactions with customers.
Below are more detailed descriptions of my customers and the work I have done with them and for them over the past several years.
You may also use the tag cloud to the right to review my projects according to my responsibilities.
I hope you will connect with me by one or more of the following methods:
DuPont Temporary Websites & Web Banners
Brain Bucket was hired by McCormick Advertising Agency to set up 6 temporary websites for marketing to a series of very specific audiences. The goal of these sites was to drive database capture efforts for DuPont Agriculture. These websites are no longer live, and we were not allowed to retain the videos.
These websites were very successful for the customer. Their initial goal was to use database / direct mail efforts to engage more completely a small but very specific target customer. These websites brought hundreds of people in touch with DuPont Crop Protection products in ways that they had not done before. We used Google Analytics to illustrate just how many people came to the sites, how long they stayed, how often they forwarded the video / entry form to others, etc.
For example, the first site we launched had an almost 5% response rate to the direct mail, (more than they had ever had), brought between 500 and 600 people to the site, and had an average time on the site of between 7 to 8 minutes. DuPont was used to intereacting with 50 o 60 respondents. The customer was very happy. On the strength of those results, we were hired to create the remaining 5 sites over the course of 8 months.
In support of these ongoing efforts, Brain Bucket was also hired to create animated banners for use on websites where DuPont was advertising its products. These were used to point traffic to the temporary websites, as well as the product-specific pages on the main DuPont Crop Protection website.
Brain Bucket was hired to consult, coach, and set up tools for Nation Ranch in its effort to grow its presence online.
Project Included:
Phase I
Graphic Design: I managed this project using a freelance designer. We updated the logo, created look and feel for the website, set up the website using the CSS-based CMS tool: Terapad.
Online Marketing Plan: I was personally responsible for creating the customer profile, project brief and marketing plan for Nation Ranch. We then moved to Phase II: Consulting & Implementation.
Phase II
Consulting: I worked with Mr. Patterson and his team to consult on overall marketing efforts and how online marketing & social media strategy could help them achieve their goals.
Execution: I set up & connected online marketing tools: Twitter, Facebook, You Tube Channel, and Blog. I have periodically been called in for additional coaching & consulting for the most effective use of these tools.
The ongoing social media efforts are now in the hands of Bill Patterson, Nation Ranch owner. After completion of this project, Mr. Patterson has recommended me to other organizations and has hired me to speak as a part of the State of Missouri’s Missouri Tourism Conference series in January and March of this year.
