Check-out registers at Target

During the recent holiday season, nearly half of U.S. consumers said they planned to shop online, up from a third of the shoppers in 2010. The consulting firm Deloitte reported that shoppers tend to become impatient quickly and fail to take into account key indicators of what might slow down a line. They feel remorse when they think they’ve chosen the wrong (slower) line. Yet they prefer to choose their own line rather than wait in a single line for the next available register – even though that set-up has proven to be faster!

Apple Store Clerk

Stores are trying to solve line issues in various ways. Apple clerks use hand-held devices to ring up sales anywhere in the store and you can now use your Apple Store app to self-check-out for items off the shelves. Home Depot has added mobile checkouts. Whole Foods Markets, Inc. and various big-box retailers have been expanding self-checkout lanes. Disney Co. believes pre-scanning items while shoppers are in a single-file line is perceived as less chaotic than multiple lines.

Customers have their own strategies such as eyeing the items in carts ahead, and assessing the age of shoppers or the number of children tagging along so as to avoid slow shoppers. And they might check the age and sex of cashiers. Young male cashiers are usually faster, but tend to be sloppy and careless when bagging. Middle-aged female checkers are slower, but tend to take better care of fragile items.

Shoppers are likely to abandon a line after the first two to three minutes if they suspect the line isn’t moving fast enough. Envirosell, a retail consulting firm, timed shoppers in line to determine how real wait time compares with the shopper’s idea of wait time. Up to two or three minutes, the estimate was accurate. After three minutes, the wait time multiplied in their minds.

In research posted on YouTube, a single-file line leading to three cashiers is about three times faster than having a separate line for each cashier. Any delay in the multiple-line system will stop the line completely, while a delay in a single line might just delay one shopper. Although the single-line method may be faster, customers generally prefer to “jockey for position” in separate lines.

 

So as the weather warms up and you hit the stores for Valentine’s, Easter and Spring goodies, maybe do you own experiment. Let us know what your best methods are.

2012 Honda CR-V commercial featuring Matthew Broderick as Ferris Beuller

No, No. Not the Giants and Patriots. Pick the best commercial!

Join the millions who watch the Super Bowl to see all the great TV commercials that get their first showing before, during and after the game.

This is what we know is going to happen. We’ll get 30-second spots from a couple dozen brand names. Regular advertisers include Bridgestone, Bud Light, Budweiser, Cadillac, CareerBuilder, Cars.com, Chevrolet, Coca-Cola, Doritos, E*Trade, Go Daddy, Hyundai, M&M’s, Pepsi, Toyota and Volkswagen. In addition, studios will promote new movies. Those that regularly get in on the Bowl action include Walt Disney Studios, Paramount Pictures and Universal Pictures.

Some of the Brands listed above will have two spots to show; Chevrolet will have three commercials; and the average price for each 30-second spot is $3.5 million! Anheuser-Busch bought 4½ minutes of time for six spots and paid extra to be the only beer sponsor!

Joel Ewanick, global chief marketing officer at General Motors said about the Super Bowl advertising game: “This isn’t for the faint of heart!”

So be sure to watch all the Super Bowl commercials and tell us who you think came out with a winner — whether by getting a lot of attention, making a competitive point or showing some edgy creative. Then visit the Karsh Hagan Facebook page after the game and all day Monday to vote for your winner.

Post by: Tom Hagan

Why We Like to Watch
As marketers, we’re always interested in the stories behind the commercials. Every year the Super Bowl telecast features a bevy of spots with new approaches in terms of technology, talent and strategy. Last year, for example, the man-club sporting event featured more ads aimed at women. There were also more ads for high-tech products and services. And, start-up companies who could afford it got a jump-start in front of a record-breaking audience.

This year, Doritos is at it again, sponsoring a competition where the winning homemade commercial could win up to $1 million and get shown during the game.  (Doritos is protecting its own image by offering the winner “professional” production help.)

Where to Watch
The game is sold out, but the best and cheapest seat is still in front of your TV.  Of course, you can also get closer to the stadium. All you need is a ticket for one of the many Super Bowl parties in Indianapolis. There’s a Playboy party there, February 3, that’ll only cost you $1,200+. Too much? Join the Leather and Lace two-day party in Indy where tickets go for $425 to $850. Or, go big.  The five-hour Bacardi Bash in Indy will feature a live performance by the Rolling Stones. Tickets start at $1,038 but that includes a premium buffet and top-shelf open bar.

What it Costs to Get People to Watch
Not everyone is paying top prices, but the rate sheet says that a 30-second spot airing during Super Bowl XLVI will cost as much as $3.5 million. Of course, prices weren’t always that high.

The first Super Bowl, which took place in 1967, was televised by both CBS and NBC. In the ‘60s, networks offered 30-second spots for what now seem like bargain prices. Super Bowl I cost advertisers $42,500 on CBS and $37,500 on NBC. Super Bowl III spots cost $55,000, just a $500 jump from Super Bowl II.

The ‘70s marked a significant increase for 30-second commercials owing to the marked rise in TV audiences. The average total audience crept past the 40 million mark and by 1979 had surpassed 70 million. In the ‘80s, costs skyrocketed. By 1985, rates for a 30-second spot reached $500,000 and the decade ended with a spot costing $675,000.

The year 2000 saw the standard spot cross the million-dollar mark at $2.1 million. And by 2009, the barrier jumped to $3 million. Relief came in 2010 when the Super Bowl advertising rate dropped 10% to $2.7 million.

Watch on Sunday and Pick Your Favorite
Sports fans are all about picking a winning team.  At Karsh Hagan we’re more interested in which TV commercial you liked best.  So check out our Facebook page on the Monday after the Super Bowl and enter your choice for the best commercial.

If you can’t wait until Sunday to get your fix of commercials, pass some time by going back and viewing the best Super Bowl ads of all time curated by AdAge. Many of these spots changed Super Bowl marketing forever.

Post by: Tom Hagan and Steven McKenzie

Created by Ad Club Denver, The Fifty champions ideas. Big ideas. Creative ideas. Strategic ideas. Analog, digital, and what-the-heck-is-that ideas.

The only caveat: only 50 ideas get recognized. Which means a dogfight usually breaks out to capture even one of these coveted slots. And coveted is a bit of an understatement, considering the strong creative pedigree of the show’s world-renown judges.

More than 300 people attended Thursday’s event. It was electric. Loud. Fun. And we were honored and privileged to have five campaigns recognized.

The Brown Palace Hotel & Spa team scored two victories for their Integrated Campaign and the launch of Rooftop Honey.

The American Crew team also won for the widely-popular Social Animals  (appearing in Communication Arts this March), and the Brand Bible.

And the team for the Colorado Tourism Office  was recognized for its artistic Colorado flag, designed for the annual conference.

We’re also grateful to receive so much positivity from our peers within the Denver creative community. Thanks everyone.

All in all, KH was delighted to help represent the Colorado advertising community with widely-diverse work. Logo design. Print ads. Social media guides. Television. Tap handles. But the one thing all this work shares is the collective drive of the teams banding together to craft the best work possible. And that we’re lucky to have clients inspiring us along the way.

And one more thing: Ad2, an organization catering to younger advertising professionals, hosted a swank after party at Matchbox. Anyone who attended quickly learned that Karshies know how to tear up the dance floor.

Megan, Bridget, Camille, Karen & Nick in the only pic that passed our own SoMed Guidelines

A good time by all, and well-deserved congrats to all the winning teams.

We recently stopped in for lunch to check out all they have to offer. Although we felt the food was hit or miss, the atmosphere and service definitely made up for it.

Walking in, you’ll immediately notice the amazing ambiance with a mixture of rustic and industrial pieces that complement the energy of the restaurant wonderfully. It has a ‘great room’ that looks like it can be closed off for private parties (with an amazing chandelier) and a fabulous-looking bar and happy hour menu. Unfortunately, we did not have time to try the drinks.

The servers were very knowledgeable about the menu and were extremely attentive and helpful. The presentation of the food was beautiful as well.

Overall, we gave it a 3.5 Karsh star rating.  We will definitely be back to try out some other items on the menu — and maybe catch happy hour, too!

Posted by Sarah Nelson, KH Community Team Member

Pop quiz: what were Mr. Fymbo’s favorite courses at the University of Illinois?

Answer: Psychology and Creative Writing. What better introductions to the world of advertising?

Dave in Rio

It wasn’t long after graduating that Dave got his copywriting feet wet at Draftfcb Chicago, jumping into projects for everything from pet food to weight-loss drugs. He found advertising to be a financially-feasible way to write funny things (not to mention get healthcare). This also opened the window to cook up ads that would quickly win over the hearts of consumers, Dave’s creative directors, and award show judges.

Sea-level Chicago, however, couldn’t compete with the majestic mountains of Colorado. So Dave headed for Denver with his wife Brittany, and their white lhasa apso (yes, it is a fancy name for a dog). The couple later upgraded their family resume with Harrison, their beautiful four-month old son.

Today, Dave’s infatuated with Karsh Hagan. He believes his appetite for creativity is best served here in our open atmosphere and collaborative nature. He knows and loves that teamwork transforms good ideas into great ideas. Scratch that. Humongous ideas.

And now fully settled in as a Coloradoan, he loves taking pictures and recently joined a curling team. That’s right, curling. (Don’t ask. He can’t explain why either).

Nice to have you, Dave. Welcome aboard.

I didn’t ‘quit’ Facebook. I just…left for awhile.

Day 1:

Liberation! It’s only been three hours and I already noticed positive effects of not being on Facebook. I caught the news of the Texas Rangers’ entry into the World Series from Sportscenter, not from my virtually-annoying Dallas friends posting victory chants on their walls cluttering my news feed. I was free of a high school acquaintance’s (at best) daily update on her favorite shoes or post-lunch chocolate snack. My morning routine consisted less of status update checks and more national news reality check. However, right about the time I began bragging to everyone of my departure, I remembered a crucial element of the day’s agenda and my first speed-bump at a successful Facebook retirement: As a member of Karsh Hagan’s community/social media team, I was in charge of the week’s maintenance of our Facebook wall.

Lesson learned. I do have an occupational obligation to Facebook. I signed up to the ‘Communities’ team for a reason. I let them down, pure and simple. Facebook wasn’t just personal anymore. So, I reactivated my account – all I had to do was log back in – and uploaded a photo album of a work birthday celebration. Once this was complete, I again deactivated and left the lunch table once again…but not without surfing my news feed. I couldn’t resist.

Day 11:

Hey, this isn’t all that difficult. While I do catch myself reaching for the smart phone’s Facebook app, I then scroll down to Twitter or NY Times app wanting to quench my thirst of news feeds tailored to, well, me. It was at about this time when I observed how these sources affect my own awareness of the important news of the day. While I utilize Twitter, RSS feeds and other aggregators to help me set the agenda of what is important news, Facebook helped me pinpoint the agenda of my inner circle: the hilarious photo album my friend uploaded from his Golden 30 (turning 30 on the 30^th) birthday party. A friend’s misspelling of the word ‘especially’ (she thought it was spelled ‘ecspecially’). Those dang cat videos. While this may not seem like ‘news’, it definitely sets the agenda for Friday night’s conversation at the local watering hole (much more so than, say, the recent GOP debate).

Without my Facebook participation, it’s difficult to be included in these conversations. I am excluded from the value of these conversations, because without that pivotal social media participation I’m five minutes behind. And five minutes is a lifetime these days.

Day 23:

This is great. I called my sister this weekend and we talked for over an hour, as opposed to the routine 12-second Facebook post. I checked in with my five-month-old god-daughter via a Skype call, as opposed to looking at the recent photo album my sister-in-law had posted. She laughs in her sleep, it’s hilarious to watch. My communication habits, once dependent upon the easy yet distant Facebook post, are now more personal. However, social media is still a layer in my day-to-day life.

Twitter is awesome. It allows for the perfect balance of agenda setting of information from the outside world and my inner circle. I posted my first Tweet in over a year. And, those dang cat videos are still around. I originally thought I was just going to read more without Facebook. This is true, but not from actual long-form books, alone. I still enjoy the instantaneous ‘update’ from social media. So, essentially, in 30 days I traded my Facebook utilization with other social mediums. Is that right? Does there have to be a social media layer in my life, regardless?

What I learned is, it isn’t necessary, but if it is within balance and you know how to correctly use each medium – Facebook, Twitter or any other social medium – it can be a healthy habit. Just as long as you keep it balanced and does not rely on one single medium to set the agenda, like I did with those dang cat videos.

Post By: Paul Roberts, Media Buyer

I sat down to talk with part of the team – Brian Suter, Matt Ingwalson, Sean Topping, Kathryn Bass, and Lindsay Jacobsen – to uncover some insights that haven’t been shared before about the making of Social Animals.

The Whole Team: Marissa, David, Kathryn, Val, Andrew, Brian, Karen, Lindsay (Sean and Matt missed the photo op).

Q: Isn’t a book an old-fashioned way to talk about social media?

A: It’s pretty funny when people try to use a blog to explain how to use a blog. We wrote this book for beginners. It had to get corporate teams excited about social media, explain why it is important, and instruct them on how to use it. So we designed the heck out of it, and tried to make it as energetic and cool as possible. And let’s not forget it was created for American Crew, one of the most style-oriented brands in the world. A boring piece wasn’t going to cut it.

We approached the project as a social conversation itself. It was both printed and published as an e-book so it could be shared globally and updated frequently.

Q: Did you expect this kind of response from the advertising and brand communities?

A: We knew the client team was enthusiastic and it was creating a lot of positive buzz. It’s an infographic world, you know? And we knew that even someone who was new to the social space could feel prepared to represent the American Crew brand after diving into something this approachable. The magic really was that it was a design solution to a basic need: “Make a handbook to guide social network engagement.”

Q: There have been requests to purchase this as an actual book. Will that happen?

A: Maybe. Stay tuned.

Post by: Rachael Donaldson, VP Account Strategy

So when we started planning the next evolution of our website (now KarshHagan.com) in 2011, there were so many inputs and factors to consider that it was challenging (perfectly over-used adjective) to scope and deliver on our own project. The Agency became a Client, and it was a great reminder of what it’s like to be on the “other side.” If you’re on the client side or ever have been, I think you’ll know what we mean.

Top 10 Truths About Being our Own Client

10. How many cooks fit into this kitchen? 14 senior managers and 5 core team members. So…decisions were quick and easy. (Not so much.)

9. Scope creep. The longer the project went on, the more complex the wireframes and navigation became.

8. Where are our case studies? Awards, results, client quotes? Those we’ve got. Complete video case studies? Not yet. The content matrix expands. All. The. Time.

7. A little bit of this and a little bit of that. Ideas were bolted onto each other. We had to keep reminding ourselves that Phil Karsh and Tom Hagan founded this agency on the love of a good idea. That is all we are about. And we had to keep coming back to that to keep ourselves from wandering.

6. Content, calling all content! Creating and gathering content was a long process and required a herculean effort to pull off while keeping our main focus on our other clients. And every time we launched a new campaign — which is pretty much every week — we wanted to add it to the site. The pace of creation and execution was much faster than our pace of curation.

5. We’re going to refresh our KH Brand. That means new assets. When will they be ready? Date=site launch delay. We’re living what we preach — digital is an organic experience that’s ever-changing. Thank you to BaseCamp for making these constant updates, agreements, and shifting milestones as flexible as possible.

4. The scope included a mobile site. That means the QA test doubles in size. Tablets? QA test grows again. There’s a Flash component. Team decides to push forward and find an HTML5 solution for that functionality on the next version. Not an easy decision.

3. It’s just not possible to work on multiple new-biz pitches, current client’s businesses and our own website all at the same time. The project gets de-prioritized from time to time. See #5.

2. The site needed to reflect our personality. Our old site was too small. We wanted this one to be big and inclusive, with lots of work, lots of employees, and lots of ways to explore the connections between them. But how do you define who worked on what project, especially in a highly collaborative agency? How do you make it expansive without letting it become confusing? To the whiteboard! Embrace the dry-erase.

1. Do we love the result? Emphatically, yes. Are we planning version 2.2 already? You bet. Technology is already evolving.

Post By: Rachael Donaldson VP Account Strategy @MrktFrsh

The story behind Jay’s realization of his passion for advertising is unique to say the least. It began during a flight to Honolulu, right after completing his sophomore year at Colorado State. Jay sparked a conversation with the man seated next to him, and learned he owned a roofing company in Hawaii. When the man showed him a print ad he created for his company, Jay immediately began thinking of new ways to craft the ad’s message. Presenting his many ideas to the man, he was quick to realize that he was destined for a career in advertising.

Many advertising and writing courses later, Jay graduated from CSU and launched his 17-year (and counting) career. His work on household names and Colorado-based brands has garnished multiple awards from the One Show, Graphis, ADCD, The Denver Fifty, and Webbys for Best Copywriting. He has also served on the Art Director’s Club of Denver as President from 2009-2010 and Chairman from 2010-2011.

Now settled at Karsh Hagan, Jay is honored to call himself a Karshie. “People here are very collaborative,” he says. “You can tell that Karsh Hagan is the definitive advertising agency in the city, one that has grown with such traditional roots but has successfully transformed into being more digitally-minded.”

Jay spent the first ten years of his life in Columbus, Nebraska, before moving to Denver. He could not be happier living in Colorado, being surrounded by good-natured family, friends, and peers and being able to escape to Breckenridge for getaways. Jay also enjoys coaching his son’s soccer team and cooking (his favorite thing to cook is Cajun food). Perhaps challenge him to a jambalaya-off? He says he’s hard to beat!

Welcome aboard, Jay.