Resolution Copper Mining (RCM) has recently launched a new outreach campaign to help educate the public on their copper mining project in Superior, Arizona. Park&Co was tasked with developing a creative platform that would be used in a new website, print ads, collateral materials and email marketing.

Now right off the bat, many people might think, “Man, how interesting could it be to talk about a mine?”

Well, let me tell you. In my experience, every client has an opportunity to have their communications be memorable, effective and very creative. They can set themselves apart from what may be considered the industry norm. RCM was just such a client and the campaign was a classic case study of working in a true partnership that elevated everyone’s game.

The campaign was based on the fundamentals -  solid primary consumer and industry research from Dr. Bruce Merrill, Ph.D., Cronkite-Eight Poll and Elliott D. Pollack & Company. Just as important was the open sharing of information and viewpoints from RCM executive staff, consultants like Policy Development Group and Park&Co. The end goal of educating people and building support for the mining project was the focal point of every planning session.  With such focused cooperation, when it came time to start developing the creative platform, there was a strong, definitive, strategic direction for the campaign. It’s amazing what the effect of having a clear objective can do for developing compelling creative executions.

The outreach efforts needed to highlight all the straightforward facts and figures of the mining project and also inspire a sense of local community with an emphasis on the potential of a better future for Arizona. Not an easy task in today’s world, especially on a modest marketing budget. So, we dove right in with big smiles on our faces. I mean, we’re supposed to solve problems and get results on for our clients, right! (I’m sure I read that in some ad book somewhere).

Well, I could go on and on about the final campaign executions and how excited the client is. But as they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. So the best way to get a better taste of the campaign is to visit RCM’s new website securearizonasfuture.com. Once there, you might even be compelled to sign up to “Stay Informed” and get RCM updates as you discover the fascinating world of copper mining. We know that people are doing that now. Isn’t it great how you can track everything on the web.

Wow! Who would’ve thunk it. It’s cool to talk about a mine.

A lot of us have done street marketing, and its effectiveness can often be debated.  Recently however, a Phoenix resident took to the streets, and found it was the perfect method for selling his product – himself. 

Corey Gibisch, 36 years-old and six weeks removed from being laid off from his comfortable management-level aerospace industry position, explained that he needed to take his job search to “extreme measures.”  The extreme measures he was referring to included triple digit heat and cars racing by just feet away.  That’s the price the Phoenix man thought he had to pay for finding a new job in today’s economy as he took himself and a hand-written sign to a busy Phoenix intersection early last week.   

Check out the full story by Dennis Wagner in the Arizona Republic

Gibisch explains that in the six weeks since he had been laid off, he had done all the traditional job search methods but to no avail.  So his instinct told him to “do something crazy.”  As Gibisch stood on the street corner with a sign that read, “Will Work Hard for Good Company” and a fistful of resumes, his biggest fear was embarrassing his wife and kids.  Turns out his real fear should have been what job opportunity to choose from.  Hours later upon his return home, Gibisch already had multiple voice mails and even more emails regarding new opportunities.  Even more importantly, in the two hours Gibisch spent on the busy freeway overpass, he managed to hand out 100 resumes and collect 30 business cards.  Try doing that in two hours online. 

Here’s a guy who seems to have little to no marketing experience yet he perfectly executed something many of us are still trying to master: a great word of mouth marketing campaign.  The truth is that it doesn’t take much experience or high-level marketing education to be successful in word of mouth.  Those things help but what you really need is exactly what Mr. Gibisch perfectly displayed, the foresight and fortitude to understand that the status quo only achieves status quo results. 

He took a buzzworthy idea, supplemented it with quality materials to keep the conversation going (in his case, resumes), engaged people directly, and the next thing you know he’s the talk of the town.  Without knowing it, he put the tenets of a successful word of mouth campaign into practice as though they were written in a schoolbook case study, or more likely a title penned by WOM guru Andy Sernovitz.  People love a great story.  People love a success story even more and I can imagine companies clamoring to be recognized as the company that hired Mr. Gibisch. 

Let’s hope that one of these companies recognizes the importance of word of mouth in today’s marketing landscape and gives Mr. Gibisch the chance to put more of his “extreme measure” tactics into action.