Here’s an easy test: Do you want to be found by your target consumer? If the answer is yes, then yes — your business should be on YouTube.

Here are some stats to back this assertion up:

• YouTube is the 3^rd-most-visited website in the world. In the world. A quick search on compete.com shows that in September 2011, YouTube had 141,721,097 unique visitors in the United States alone. That’s almost 50 percent of the entire population of the U.S. And with a broad demographic of 18–54 years, YouTube is not just something “the kids” are using.

• YouTube is the second-largest search engine. It ranks just behind Google. If you are concerned about having good organic results for your website on Google, you should be concerned about having a consistent presence on YouTube.

• More video content is currently uploaded to YouTube in 60 days than the three major U.S. networks have created in the past 60 years. That’s a lot of content — something for everyone, including your audience. Find those channels and tell your story there.

• More than half of the videos on YouTube have been rated or received comments. Considering how many videos there are on YouTube, half is quite a lot.  Do you want to get the conversation started with your consumers? YouTube is a great place to start.

Still need more proof that your company should be on YouTube?  One word: Blendtec.

Blendtec is a company that manufactures food blenders in the U.S. You may have seen some of their “Will It Blend” videos on YouTube; if not, here’s one for your viewing enjoyment:

Several of these videos are on YouTube, each with millions of views. “So what?” you may be thinking. “Millions of views? What does that mean, and who really cares?”  According to a case study performed in January 2009 by SocialLens, Blendtec saw an increase in their retail sales of 700 percent — a 700 percent increase in sales as a result of one YouTube video campaign.

Perhaps not every brand video on YouTube will result in a 700 percent increase in sales, but if your consumers cannot find, like, share and interact with you, they’ll find, like, share and interact with your competition.

Advertising agencies don’t usually make an announcement when they say goodbye to a client. Today, we are making an exception.

Wichita Mid-Continent Airport has become more than a client over the past five years. Like others we have served for a longer period of time, they have become part of our extended family.

We have shared successes that went way beyond traditional advertising. By any measuring stick you might choose, Armstrong|Shank over-delivered on the advertising goals, while we under-spent the annual budgets. Among our accomplishments:

• Initiating a courtesy crew team to provide positive experiential marketing
• Increasing awareness of the airport to unprecedented levels
• Reducing leakage of travelers to other airports
• Building social media promotions to reach our community in new ways

It has been a busy, and rewarding five years.

Now, as this very special client moves on to another agency chosen by the City of Wichita, we want to wish them well. Our hope is that they will have an exciting journey, filled with new adventures.

And, of course, we want them to return safely home to us someday.

Because that’s what we do at Armstrong|Shank: wish our clients well, and hope to see them again and again.

Many thanks to our friends at Wichita Mid-Continent Airport (Victor White, Valerie Wise, the fabulous Courtesy Crew, and the Airport Advisory Board). You have made each challenge a joy to tackle together.

Bon voyage.

We’ve previously written about the exposure that is possible using PR, and more specifically, creative PR efforts. Well, recently hair-stylist Patrick Lomantini of Lomantini The Salon took the idea of creative PR to record-breaking heights … literally.

Lomantini decided to create awareness for his salon by embarking upon a quest for a Guinness World Record. The challenge: 72 straight hours of haircutting. Lomantini took the first step by promoting the event on his Facebook page. Then, a chance sighting by Armstrong|Shank Director of Marketing and Public Relations Mark Chamberlin set off a chain of PR fireworks.

“I contacted Patrick and recommended using online PR tactics to promote the event,” explained Chamberlin. “The idea was to target local and fashion news, fashion and style magazines, as well as salon-related publications. Patrick agreed, and we quickly put together a distribution list.

“Within a week, the news release found its way onto hundreds of websites, and even prompted a news inquiry from AOL News.”

One of the big benefits of event-related PR isn’t just the exposure you can receive at the outset. By creating an event that is unique and intriguing, Lomantini The Salon positioned themselves to receive another flurry of exposure after completing their record-setting endeavor.

A big congratulations to Lomantini The Salon. With the right combination of a fun, newsworthy event, and strategic use of social media and PR, they’ve become a front-page story in the world of hairstyling.