Hasta La Creative!

How do you govern the ungovernable? Isn’t social media by definition the ultimate democratic medium that empowers anyone who wants to publish content? And don’t you want a tone of freedom that drives organic, authentic engagement instead of command and control that yields shiny pre-packaged ad campaigns? Besides, power is so yesterday. To wit: “Power is decaying” (from “The End of Power,” by Moises Naim, 2014).

This may all be true, but in companies with tens of thousands of employees, hundreds of products and services, and hundreds of thousands of customers to support, social governance teams must impose guidelines to avoid confusion and disorder. You should commit to delivering a simplified digital experience that will make it easy for anyone to do business with you online.

So, how does one govern social media? Here’s a three-pronged approach we’ve used at SAP:

Continue reading at AdAge.com

Ce timelapse a été capturé au Canon 5D Mark III par le photographe et vidéaste biélorusse Dima Vazhnik lors de deux voyages réalisés avant et après la révolution des parapluies. Dima raconte alors le troublant changement de l’atmosphère urbaine entre ces deux visites dans la ville chinoise.

The Business Marketing Association, which merged with the Association of National Advertisers in October, is gearing up for its largest annual conference yet, which is expected to attract more than 1,300 b-to-b marketers this year — up 30% over last year.

The “BMA15 — Be More” conference will be held in Chicago May 27 to 29. Bob Liodice, president-CEO of the ANA, will kick off the conference with opening remarks, and Howard Sherman, global CEO of b-to-b agency Doremus, will take over as chairman of the BMA for the 2015-2016 term. Mr. Sherman will succeed BMA conference chairman Steve Liguori, CEO of Liguori Innovation and former executive director-global innovation and new models at GE.

“The ANA has many b-to-b marketer members who haven’t traditionally been active in the BMA, and vice versa,” said Gary Slack, BMA conference chairman and CEO at b-to-b agency Slack and Co., Chicago. He noted that of the ANA’s approximate 650 member companies, about 150 are purely b-to-b, although many others have b-to-b lines of business.

Continue reading at AdAge.com

Snapchat wasn’t built for brands, and barely behaves like a typical social platform. And yet, as it enters a new round of funding that would value the company at $19 billion, the photo-and-video-sharing app is working to become a more attractive place for advertisers. Brands see the opportunity to reach an audience that has grown to upwards of 100 million users, but how much value is there in paid placements that are ephemeral — up in smoke in ten seconds? And is there any room for organic success on a platform that takes pride in making discoverability difficult?

While Snapchat has its share of challenges for marketers, it offers something unique in the world of mostly-broadcast, feed-centric social media — intimacy at scale. Every time a user opens a snap, she has no idea who else if anyone is seeing it. It’s a tiny, personal gift, even when broadcast to a huge audience. And brands can use it to bring people closer to their culture, events and personalities. It’s the perfect behind-the-scenes platform because it’s built to deliver unfiltered, intimate content.

Here are a few things to keep in mind before you give up the ghost:

Continue reading at AdAge.com

Several hard-hitting outdoor campaigns have protested soaring home prices in the U.K. lately, including these bleak billboards narrated by people who’ve been priced out of London. Now, AMV BBDO has unleashed a clever campaign on behalf of Homes for Britain, which advocates pressuring politicians to help build homes people can afford.

The centerpiece is an outdoor campaign in the Westminster subway station. The ads call attention to their own square footage and calculate how much that amount of space would cost if it were part of a home in London, Edinburgh, Bath, York or Oxford.

In addition to wall posters, there are more intriguing placements, including ads on escalator steps (the area of a single step would cost £6,111 in central London) and inside train cars (a single car would cost £618,375 in Westminster and £302,182 on average in London).

Check out more ads below. Via The Inspiration Room.