Charlie Wollborg in Crain's

Here is the actual article - GREAT JOB CHARLIE!

Businesses try to get customers atwitter by using networking sites, blogs
By Nancy Kaffer

When you think of a business that might have a profile on an online social networking site such as Facebook and MySpace, Pontiac-based Curve Detroit is the kind of company that comes to mind - a hip, 30-something ad agency with the sort of puckish sense of humor that leads founding partner Charlie Wollborg to give his official title as "chief troublemaker."

With a company Web site now de rigueur, small-business owners such as Wollborg are expanding into social networking arenas, building online communities to identify and attract customers, showcase offerings and test-market products.

Curve's employees have been early adopters of the various media referred to as Web 2.0, embracing blogging alongside free networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn and microblogging site Twitter, Wollborg said.

"We're now at the point where we're getting a new invite (to a social networking platform) each week," he said. "We tend to set up a profile but do not do much with most of them."

Key, he said, is choosing the sites most likely to attract the customers who fit your business.

Twitter, a site that allows users to broadcast succinct messages to a network of contacts, has proven fruitful ground, Wollborg said.

"Each member of the Curve team has a Twitter account, and we post everything from "Wow, this is a great article you need to read,' to "This company just launched a neat new brand,' to "There's this new tool,' " he said.

The value of such posts, he said, is to push brand by creating an image of Curve in contacts' minds.

"We do a lot of public speaking on marketing around town to raise our profile, but this raises our profile with a different demographic," he said. "We almost use our Web site so prospects select out. It's snarky and tongue-in-cheek, so if you come to our site and read a couple of things and don't laugh a little bit, you probably don't want to use us."

Wollborg said that building an affinity with potential customers can prove the tipping point when the time comes to close a deal.

"Until we connect with people, we're never going to work together," he said. And by putting ourselves out there, we get a lot of comments. Like maybe our art director will get a call because she happens to like the same song as a client. It opens up doors."

For Bethany Shorb, owner and principal designer of Detroit's Cyberoptix TieLab, Internet marketing allows a connection with her customer base in a way that adds value to the handmade ties she sells.

Shorb has profiles on MySpace and Facebook as well as a company blog.

"People are buying into this because they want a personal experience, and they want to communicate with the designer," she said. "Otherwise they would just go to Target. But they don't want to know I had a tuna sandwich yesterday. I try to not put in too much diary stuff."

The sites have another draw for Shorb. She can unofficially test-market new designs by posting a prototype on her blog or the social networking sites.

"Some designs work a lot better on different colors, and sometimes what looks best to me doesn't look best to everyone else," she said. "This allows me to decide what I'm going to put into production."

Creative professionals may be early adopters of social networking media, but they're not the only businesses logging in.

Clarity Patton, quality controls manager of Metropolitan Lincoln Mercury in Garden City, said the dealership has been on MySpace for about a year.

"A lot of our customers are there, and we want to be able to engage with them more conversationally so we can keep them informed of things we're doing," she said. "We keep in touch even when we're not trying to sell them cars."

The company's MySpace profile has practical information but also has links to dealership commercials posted on YouTube, the free online video site.

For Metropolitan, MySpace is more about building community than marketing. Patton said the dealership doesn't post sale information or promotions.

As a marketing professional, Wollborg puts his money where his mouth is, often including a social networking component in marketing pitches - with mixed results.

"The traditional clients we're working with are very interested in it but not willing to dedicate any budget to it yet," he said. "There's much more toe-dipping from that side."

Tom Nixon, partner at Bingham Farms-based Identity Marketing & Public Relations, cautions businesses eager to get into Web 2.0 to look before leaping.

"A lot of our clients love the idea of all of this Web 2.0 stuff, and they want to get involved somehow," he said. "But take blogs - they don't understand the amount of work it takes to make a blog work. They want to update once a month, which isn't really a blog."

Viral marketing, in which word-of-mouth and the Internet combine to raise brand awareness or drive sales, has become another buzzword, Nixon said. But like all of Web 2.0, business owners need to understand the tactic and decide if it's a good fit.

"A lot of our clients say, "We want to do a viral marketing campaign, we want to have a presence on Facebook,' but they don't understand what that entails," Nixon said. "What we do is say, "you can have a Facebook page, but that doesn't make it viral. To make it viral, you need to engage your audience and make it work for you. ... You have to know your audience. Don't do it just because everyone else is doing it.' "

Here is the other article that Charlie (and for the record it is Wollborg) was in for Crain's back in May!

Case Study: Really Sweet Re-branding Results
By Charlie Wollborg, partner, Curve Detroit, a boutique creative design firm based in Pontiac

I dream in hot fudge. Not just any hot fudge, mind you. It's gotta be Sanders. And it's all the better drizzled over a slice of Sanders Bumpy Cake topped with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Some of my favorite times as a kid were heading down to the parlor with my Grandma. I'd lick the tin bowls clean (I miss the little silver water cups with the paper liners).

So when my partners and I started up our own advertising, marketing and design firm, Sanders was at the top of the list of dream clients. We really wanted to share our love of Sanders and help revive a century-old Detroit tradition.

The good folks at Morley had recently taken over the Sanders brand after a couple of decades of hard times. Sanders new management team put their trust in Curve Detroit to get the branding rolling. First up, tackling the visual identity. Curve developed a brand style guide to ensure a consistent message at every consumer touchpoint. We revamped everything from business cards to packaging to merchandising.

With the foundation in place, we re-imagined the Sanders catalog. For most folks, catalogs were the only way to satiate their Sanders cravings. Our first mailing proved to be a big success - sales jumped 20% using the same mailing list with Curve's new, head turning creative.

Next, we moved our attention to an email campaign to drive web orders. Starting with a list of 2,500 customers, Curve filled inboxes across the country with enticing photography and irresistible offers. The list has now grown to over 25,000 friends of Sanders and a new web site is keeping America supplied with the best hot fudge and chocolate in country.

Sanders is back in your neighborhood too. We've helped Sanders open parlors in Birmingham, Grosse Pointe, Livonia and Wyandotte (with more on the way). Now we're working on sharing the tradition with more chocolate lovers across the country through a new packaging program for national retailers.