Latino-In-Marketing

I am a Nuyorican content strategist who creates and drives excellent results for his clients.

[chrislebron-adman-blog]

5 Things You Need to Know: SXSW 2016

1. Do you need to be there?

Yes because your audience is going to be there. You may not need an activation, you can simply attend, and utilize the opportunity to scope out what could work for your brand, what won’t, and then move forward by developing an informed plan for 2017. Needless to say you will end up making connections and partnerships you would have never met if you stay in your office and read the daily run downs. 2. If you are certain about an activation this year these are the things you NEED to know:  

Determine your brand goals and create a comprehensive strategy

Stick to them

Conduct a competitive analysis. What are/or have your competitors done there? Are they renting out the Austin Music Hall w/Jay-Z & Kanye or are they hosting private dinners with top influencers or creating a one-of-a-kind experience? 

Prepare for a lot of walking, activities take place at various locations throughout the city

Get ready for margaritas, tacos and a wild ride!

3. Think of an activation in terms you understand:

Media Buy and ROI and set realistic goals/metrics. 

If you build a large scale activation that lasts five or 10 days and your spend is six figures, figure out what that equates to in CPM, CPA, CPD or social media impressions/interactions. Make sure that the people that you hire to activate tell you what their metrics plan/baseline/estimates are BEFORE you hire them. 

   4. Hire competent people who have activated at SXSW before -  Just like you would not hire a mechanic to take your teeth out, do not hire someone who hasn’t been there. Why? 

If you are going to spend six figures then you are going to need to justify your spend to your bosses. 

Does your agency know what permitting in Austin is like?

No?

Don’t hire them.

Do they have local vendors to help reduce costs?

No?

Don’t hire them.

Do they have a “guy/girl” in Austin who can make magic happen, while you’re working in NY/SF/Chicago?

No?

See, the pattern I’m creating here?

Have you figured out where are you staying? It’s close to Halloween and you’re still looking for housing? Is there nothing available? If the answer they give you is “No”, run away from them quickly. If they don’t have a plan to help you get SXSW housing (that’s not in San Antonio), they are not the partners you need for this endeavor.

5. Know the lay of the land: Should you be SXSW official or guerrilla? It all depends on what you’re going to do and the type of impact you would like to make. Check and find out if your competitor is SXSW official, if they are, you will probably have to re-think what you’re doing, because conflict rules are real at SXSW. One last thing to consider, the weather in Austin, Texas in March is a tad unpredictable. There are really two ways it can go: sunny and beautiful or cold and raining - every year is DIFFERENT. So be prepared for whatever you do and have back up plan. And, that backup plan, better include an umbrella!

[chrislebron-adman-blog]

7 Steps To Successful Campaigns

I had to sit down and think about why certain campaigns have been winners and why others have crashed and burned over the years. The conclusion I came to as to why good things happen in our industry can be boiled down to 7 critical elements needed to have campaigns explode in the digital and physical world.

1. Planning

My biggest successes have been when I have sat down and begun strategically breaking down the task at hand. I suggest knowing your base better than you know the story line to "Scandal" because without an in-depth knowledge of what they love you cannot create content that will be the hot subject of conversation. For long campaigns planning starts Friday evening and ends Monday morning sharing the focus of content to meet that weeks' KPIs.

2. ideate

This is the fun part. Working with the team, and client brainstorming, and conceiving content. All methods of creation are on the table. It is often the simplest idea that will break the internet.

3. Present

The greats in our industry just do not create they sell and present with strength and vigor. Marketing teams have to understand the ethos behind what you have taken time to conceive otherwise the content you want to create will not get the thumbs up.

4. Create

Validation of a strategist's time in the three previous steps are seen in the creation phase, where the ideas are developed and made ready for execution.

5. Program

When you activate is just as important as how the content came to be. Timing is everything and if you want to make a splash in the physical or digital realm scheduling can make or break your campaign. Do you want to fall to the waste-side, do you want to trend for a day or dominate an entire week's news cycle?

6. Monitor

You can be great with words, you can create great content but is that content serving the intended purpose? That is why I love marketing and advertising because you can take a great art form and track it in real time. You can watch the conversation and take part in it. Before I even say that I am a strategist I like to say that "I create human reaction through marketing."

7. Analyze

As the numbers start coming in you get to analyze human behavior, and get to ask "Why is this thus?" "Did we hit our goals?" "Should we continue with the same chemistry?" "Should we pivot and reevaluate our position in the global conversation?" Breaking down the metrics for each channel swiftly will give you ample time to plan all over again for the following week.

This wheel model is a sure proof way to succeed and is something that I have embraced over the years with great results. How do you prepare a campaign to hit the mark?

[chrislebron-adman-blog]

Who Am I?

I'm no secret agent that's for sure, but, I often wish I had that movie star quality, debonair, high fashion in my closet. Whether its Archer's finely tailored suits or James Bond's to die for tuxedos and cars I love that clean 00-awesome style. It is probably why I enjoy working with lifestyle brands.

My name is Chris but by virtue of being raised in New York City and playing sports all my life my friends and acquaintances call me LeBron. In fact a lot of them celebrated my name publicly when a certain basketball player came into the lime light. I am a Nuyorican from Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan that grew up with one of the craziest families and diverse up bringing one could possibly ask for in America, think "The Birdcage" only bigger.

My passion for advertising and marketing did not come to me one day contemplating life, while lying down in the quad on a sunny afternoon in college, but from my childhood. I grew up in the shadows of Time Square in the 80's, before the days when giant 4K fixtures were mounted onto the sides of sky-scrappers. Billboards were static, or if you were lucky to have a budget like Coca-Cola, Kodak, Cannon, and Fuji animated with bright neon, when steam coming out of a giant cup of coffee mounted 30 stories high was ground breaking content. My father, ever the resourceful man, collected Warhol prints during his 20's and my access to that and MoMA filled my mind with wonder.

When it comes to content strategy it is that unique diversity which allows me to build out of the box concepts, and see the early utility in new technology for my clients' campaigns. I love playing with new tech, new mediums of media, and examining the value of the tried and true standards of our industry.

As an account manager my ability to build, and maintain relationships with clients/strategic partners is attributed to my multi-cultural family and multi-lingual friends. Being raised in a Spanish speaking household has its perks when catering to the needs of clients all over the country and Latin America.

Stay tuned for most posts on here high lighting my methods, fandom off new tech, and changes in industry strategies that are really avant-garde.

[creativity-online]

Tiny Soldiers Rally Around the Globe in Impressive Ads for ‘Game of War’

[chrislebron-adman-blog]

I love what this company has done. It is such a great story line and a perfect exploit of their demographic: L.A.R.P., Game of Thrones, Comic Con and those who just miss playing the PC game Age of Empires.