Michaels Stores with $4 Billion in sales says they are “generating sales with Facebook. It’s not a toy it’s generating real ROI” according to Paula Puleo the CMO of Michaels Stores. Paula believes Social Media is the new prime time.
Paula uses the Michaels Stores Facebook page as the best way to interact with their customers. Michaels Stores doesn’t just engage their fans but makes them a part of the creative process. The most passionate customers actually get to create some of the products with the Michaels Stores creative team.
Chris Yates video interview with Paula at a DFWAMA executive luncheon.
In Crush It!, author Gary Vaynerchukrepeatedly speaks about passion and I thought this would be an interesting topic to discuss in how it relates to this company, Huddle Productions. Passion is defined in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary as a “strong desire or devotion to some activity.” I think we are all familiar with this word.
But how do we define it and relate it to our lives or our jobs?
Perhaps some insights into the characters behind Huddle Productions will shed some light. Take Chris Yates for example. I have known Chris for 25 years and since the day I met him, you knew he was passionate person.
Chris did not wait to graduate college to begin his career. He started it while in college, gaining valuable experience that would set him apart from the rest of the pack. It’s a great story and I know I won’t do it justice here, so when you meet Chris, be sure to ask him about it.
It started in College when Chris decided to take courses and appear on Public Access TV. Remember Wayne’s World with Mike Myers and Dana Carvey? Chris did this 3 years before Wayne’s World came out.
I was fortunate to be a very small part Chris professional start: helping him film various events and interview various sports starts. It must have been quite a sight to see a college kid using very old equipment yet stand toe-to-toe with the big boys in the national media. At the time, Chris did the majority of the filming, interviewing, editing, and production. And the reward for all this hard work? Time slot at 2 AM on Saturdays.
Chris parlayed this experience into a career that saw him start as low as one of the lowest markets in the nation Laredo(market 198) to working all the way up to one of the best Dallas(market 5). Along the way his creativity landed him 3 EMMY’s, numerous Katy, and Associate Press awards including the Sportscaster of the Year Award.
In 2007 Chris saw the proliferation of social networks and joined forces with others who shared his passion to form Huddle Productions – a Social Media Solutions company that specializes in video.
Chris’ passion stands out throughout his media career and it will continue with Huddle Productions.
Licensed under a creative commons share-alike. Use freely and link to huddleproductions.com
IgniteDallas, similar to TED Talks is a forum of ideas similar to TED but with a twist. Speakers at IgniteDallas get 5 min and 20 slides to share their ideas. Chris Yates and Corey Frey of Huddle Productions got video of the event.
Chris Yates talks with Dallas Mavericks VP of Marketing and Communications Paul Monroe about how the Mavs are using digital and social media marketing strategies to engage their fans and add to the game day experience.
Budweiser Executive Jay Black, 1996-2010, talks about how Huddle Productions’ Emmy Award winning concept Gameday Rivals boosted Anheuser-Busch’s regional marketing through social media interaction with college football fans. Chris Yates with the video interview.
Gameday Rivals on
Case Study of our Client-Bud Light.
Business Need: Anheuser-Busch wanted to create more community with Sports Fans
Social Media Solution: Creating video of sports fans on YouTube and building a frenzy.
Anheuser-Busch producer of the two best-selling beers in the world, Budweiser and Bud Light, wanted build participation and interaction with passionate sports fans. When they turned to Chris Yates and Jim Knox at Huddle Productions knew that the habits of television viewers had changed. Fans wanted to watch video whenever they wanted and as soon as possible. Viewers not only wanted a story – they wanted to be part of the story.
The distribution model had changed. The approach we created was Gameday Rivals, an Interactive Social Media campaign focused on filming football fans. Tailgaters compete all season to be crowned Bud Light’s Ultimate Tailgate Fan. Huddle Productions films the fans at stadiums then pushes the videos on Social Sites like YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter. Fans would vote, comment, create, and engage one another thus creating a frenzy all season. This was the kind of unique marketing and direct interaction with their fans that Anheuser-Busch was looking for.
Business Results: The Gameday Rivals show won an Emmy Award for the Best Sport Program of the year. Their concept of engaging fans and the use of Video in Social Media created the following results.
John Sabel, Executive Vice President of Motion Picture Creative Print Marketing talked with Chris Yates from Huddle Productions about the changes in Marketing. John was the keynote speaker at the DFWAMA Marketing Jam in Dallas.
John and his team have worked on Disney films such as Armageddon, Pearl Harbor, WALL-E and UP, as well as the recent billion dollar earners Alice in Wonderland and Toy Story 3. Current projects include work on the upcoming blockbusters, Pirates of the Caribbean 4, Cars 2 and TRON Legacy.
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