What is Crayon? Crayon is a different kind of company that specializes in new marketing - new marketing for a new consumer. The consumer has changed. The world has changed. Marketing has not. Someone has to bridge that gap. We bridge that gap. Companies hire us to help them make sense of this change. To connect the dots between the burgeoning possibilities out there (such as blogs, podcasts, RSS, wikis, interactive, consumer generated, experiential, mobile, branded entertainment). To differentiate. To win. To get to the future, first. We call ourselves shape-shifters -- a mash-up, if you will, of the best of the consulting, agency and M&A advisory, custom publishing and training/empowerment worlds. Our solutions include a suite of strategic and advisory services (think), creative ideation and implementation (do), change management (feel), and empowerment or training programs (notice) At the end of the day, this is what we do. We eat, sleep, breathe and live new marketing. Ultimately the question is this: do you want to work with a company that puts these opportunities as 13th, 14th and 15th on the priority list…or 1st, 2nd and 3rd? We specialize in what our founder, Joseph Jaffe, calls "New Marketing." In short, new marketing for a new consumer. Technology is the change agent, consumers have changed, but the marketing communications world has not. Our goal is to connect the dots and, in doing so, eliminate the widening gap and disconnect between brands and their consumers. New marketing refers to the cultural, organizational, strategic and tactical incorporation of bold and progressive approaches, techniques and solutions to better reach, connect and effect meaningful relationships with prospects, customers and loyalists. crayon helps its clients (and their brands):
Through a four-phased approach of Validation, Generation, Integration and Activation, we help our clients amplify, extend and enhance their existing programs, as well as create fresh, original and unique new marketing centric solutions to complement ongoing efforts. Our methodology focuses on conversation and transformation (innovation) above communication and to do this, we work collaboratively with like-minded partners - including our clients, their existing partners and even consumers. Yes and No. And the same applies to the other nodes of our pentagram - consulting, advisory, publishing or training. We're a mash-up; a shape-shifter. We're whatever you want or need us to be. We're a solution provider. We're an extension of your team. Consider us a new breed of partner - one that keeps everyone honest and on the right path. Our client is not consumer; our client is the truth. Our methodology pivots around conversation and transformation above communication. Our value proposition is designed to activate passions, enthusiasm, organic dialogue and no-strings-attached referrals and recommendations. We are in essence campaign-neutral, opting to Sheppard fluid experimentation and/or new marketing budgets in a bottom-up or non-linear fashion. We also do not discriminate when its comes to working with like-minded people and organizations. One of our largest clients is an agency - and a forward-thinking one at that. What solutions do you provide? crayon will help marketers, advertisers and public relations professionals better understand the tremendous changes, challenges and opportunities in today's dynamic and complex world of fragmented attention, increasing consumer control and hardening attitudes towards marketing communication. Crayon helps marketers and communications professionals make sense of these profound changes in order to connect the dots between the burgeoning new approaches and possibilities available to them. Some of the new marketing approaches offered by Crayon include social media such as blogs, podcasts, RSS and wikis, experiential marketing, long form content, consumer generated content, open-source marketing, virtual worlds, gaming, mobile, and non-paid media digital solutions. Our solution set includes:
We fundamentally believe in following a two-tiered approach of value-based and performance-based pricing. Ideas are not a dime a dozen; they are the lifeblood and the future of any business that puts any stock creativity, storytelling, problem solving, innovation and ultimately transformation. If it's true that you get what you pay for, then we'd recommend staying away from freebies. Ultimately we subscribe to shared-risk and shared-reward. It's the only logical solution. Does the industry need a new kind of company? What do you think? The sum content of industry evolution and innovation has been a combination of consolidation, unbundling, specialization and sub-specialization. Like the media landscape, we seem to be mirroring the seemingly endless fragmentation of choice and proliferation of clutter. And at the same time, we seem to be swimming in the entirely opposite direction to that of our consumer. Bigger is not necessary better; better is better. Who's connecting the dots? We are! What do you mean "connecting the dots"? We connect the dots between brand and consumer; between internal constituencies; between multiple agency/communication partners; between the plethora of touch points and approaches. Our goal is to be able to weave an intricate and complex tapestry, which helps tell the kind of complete and compelling story that has been proven to build brands and transform businesses. Our mantra is that the sum of the parts is greater than the whole. Perhaps you should ask, "What makes us similar to any other company out there?" If you notice any sameness, please tell us and we'll take immediate steps to rectify it. For the record, we don't see anyone out there as a competitor (partly because our founder invented the phrase "new marketing," along with its philosophy and culture) and partly because we subscribe to a collaborative (co-optition), communal and even at times an open-source methodology. The ship set sail a long time ago on one-stop-shopping in the complex and challenging marketing and communications world. Any company purporting to be all things to one brand is either a liar or a fool. The only way to work today is to cultivate a partnership ethos - not just between client and its suppliers, but increasingly with its customers, prospects, antagonists and loyalists as well. In addition, there are a number of ways we're different from the pack, starting with the fact that we launched our company in Second Life and intend to extensively operate in this global panacea, or the fact we commissioned an original song from one of podcasting's hottest talents, Matthew Ebel. If "The World is Flat", then we are truly a flat organization - hierarchically and structurally. Crayon's expanding team is both global and virtual (hence our primary base of operations in Second Life). We did this for three major reasons:
We are not a company that advises its clients on solutions based on outside-in perspectives, superficial assessments and shared syndicated and therefore commoditized research. We don't just preach We are a company of bloggers, podcasters, Second Life residents, advanced users of social media collaboration and communications tools (status meetings in Second Life; collaborative wikis, etc). We train the people you're currently turning to for answers. They're subscribed to our blogs and podcasts. Oh, and one more thing, which should give you a pretty good idea of who we are, how we think and how we're different -- we created a manifesto. Why crayon as opposed to anyone else? Simple. I'll ask you 2 questions:
Please take a look at our bios here in the Press Centre. At launch, our clients include Coca-Cola, the world's largest and most valuable brand, Omnicom's GSD&M. Additional clients will be announced shortly. Get the PDF version of this FAQ here. |