Two Awards of Excellence recognizing two extremely different campaigns is just one of many examples of how Oneupweb isn’t constrained when it comes to  innovation and talent.

Oneupweb’s community outreach program, the One for the Road: Operation Michigan tour, has been recognized once again for its creative philanthropy. Last summer, our CEO, Lisa Wehr, had the brilliant idea of providing the state of Michigan with our digital marketing services and consultations for FREE! And to make the act even more playful and enticing,  Lisa and staff packed into her 1970’s motor home to travel to the very backyards of Michigan business owners, professionals and entrepreneurs. Venturing to Ann Arbor, Lansing, Grand Rapids and ending in our stomping grounds—Traverse City—Oneupweb was able to help a number of individuals with implementing digital strategies in their marketing mix.

And the motor home was just one vehicle that led us to an international BMA B2 Award of Excellence. We were also honored with a second BMA B2 Award of Excellence for our augmented reality piece, the StraightUp Rocket! This 3-D work is out of this world…and no, not just because it’s a rocket.

Whether it’s giving back to our community or developing astounding projects, here at Oneupweb we enjoy what we do and we do it with passion and sincerity.

Most importantly, we live by our Be Relentless™ mantra. Thank you to the BMA B2 judges for recognizing that.

That’s my prediction. This is the year that business-to-business marketers will decide that they’re tired of standing on the uninspiring, tried-and-true sidelines while watching the consumer brands have all of the fun. They want in on some of the cutting-edge action. And they’re tired of taking themselves so seriously. As they should be—it can be taxing.

Personally, I’ve never been able to understand what the fear of new marketing initiatives is all about (hence my line of work, I suppose). None the less, 2009 brought about many of the same arguments from our b-to-b prospects and clients, some of the most common being:

• “Social media looks great. But we’re marketing to businesses; we’re not a consumer brand. It’s just not for us.”
• “Sure, iPhone apps are intriguing—but we’re not selling deodorant—we’re selling medical supplies.”
• “Augmented Reality—looks great, but our steel manufacturing technologies really don’t lend themselves to that kind of interaction.”
• “We’d like to wait.”

Wait for what? For your competition to do it first?

Don’t get me wrong, I can see some of the reasoning behind the concern, especially with the restricted and closely monitored budgets of last year. And truth be told, it’s still hard to show a business-to-business company concrete case studies of their peers embarking on trailblazing marketing strategies and reaping enormous rewards. But only because most b-to-b companies are still hesitant to make the leap.

So here’s my rebuttal—my case for trying out new marketing initiatives in 2010, if you will. You’re marketing your products and solutions to organizations. Not to be confused with moms, avid golfers or movie fanatics.  You’re marketing to businesses.

Who is it within those businesses that ultimately decides to purchase your product, or hire your company?

I know, when you type it out, it sounds ludicrous and a touch patronizing—but listen up, Business-to-Business Marketers (and I can call you that because I am one): you’re targeting decision makers. Decision makers are people (at least for now). People are the reason why technology continues to advance and evolve. It’s because people are using it and demanding more of it. People, like you and I. The moms, avid golfers and movie fanatics of the world.

So let this be your year. Embrace the utility an iPhone application can bring to your prospects. Jump into Facebook. Go mobile. Launch a YouTube channel. Get crazy and test out a widget! Sure, your message will be different than that of consumer brands—but the medium is there. Ready and waiting.

You’re marketing to people. So Be Relentless™ in 2010. Make it fun, make it useful and make it personal.  And the case study will write itself.

As always, if you need help getting started, contact Oneupweb.

A few of my relatives and my siblings are quite computer savvy. But when I say “a few”, I really mean three. So trying to explain to the rest of the assorted relatives that I work for a digital marketing company, let alone what we do, can be a bit tough. I don’t think my own parents get it. Last year they told everyone where I worked, and got it dead wrong. I won’t tell you what it was, let’s just say I was horrified when I looked it up later that night. But I digress.

I think I’ve made some progress explaining SEO and PPC, and I’ve even had a few friend me on Facebook. But now, clever techie people (including a few at my office) had to go and make it hard on me all over again. Enter augmented reality.

According to Wikipedia, augmented reality is a term for a live direct or indirect view of a physical real-world environment whose elements are merged with (or augmented by) virtual computer-generated imagery. True, but that definition simply won’t work. I think in this case, it’s probably better to show than to tell. So I decided to explore the best augmented reality offerings out there. Here’s a quick list of what I’ve found:

• BMW Z4 (shown below)

• GE’s Plug Into the Smart Grid
• Doritos Late Night
• Papa John’s ‘72 Z38 Camaro
• and soon, Coke Zero and McDonalds will partner for Avatar.

Do you have any others to add to the list? Please, send them my way. And I guess if that doesn’t work, I can take a page from a recent AdvertisingAge article and tell them to think Princess Leia in the first “Star Wars” — “Help us Obi-Wan, you’re our only hope”. That’s sure to do the trick.