We just finished building a new online video content manager for Ford dealers. It’s basically a YouTube for Ford, allowing the company and its dealer network to view training and informational videos. It also allows viewers to rate the content of each video – a powerful tool that will drive quality content to the top.

This project was extremely technical – file conversions, hosting issues, permissions, etc. It was a real accomplishment for our Web development and database teams. Our project management team managed the entire process with tools originally built for software development. 

So here’s a project that targets our client’s internal audience and is actually software – and I ask myself, “Are we really an advertising agency?” 

The answer is yes. But the channels are changing as we speak. 

This project actually leverages the dealer sales staff as our media — they will be better informed, more engaged and better able to help customers. A smart media buy for sure.

If there is one thing that makes us tick at T3, it’s listening to our clients’ customers.

I had a remarkable opportunity last week to sit down over breakfast with some farmers in upstate New York and talk. The coffee was pouring, plates clanking, eggs and pancakes flying everywhere. About as far as you can get from your traditional focus group.

But these people were totally comfortable talking about a brand they loved. They told stories, pulled out pictures and laughed with each other. We heard about their gardens, pets, kids and grandkids.

They told us what we were doing right (a lot!) and what we were doing wrong.

You could almost touch the work ethic in the room.

And when it was over, most of them came up to us and shook our hands and told us how much they appreciated us coming out and asking their opinion. And they said they enjoyed visiting with each other and hoped we would ask them to come back sometime.

We have all the high-tech listening platforms you would expect. But there is nothing better than talking face to face over a plate of chopped ham and eggs.

We got real insight. And we made some friends.

Listening is good.