Have you noticed this colors appearing on the facebook status today? Black, blue, green, yellow… Actually it’s the color of the bra the girl is wearing. It’s cool viral campaign on social media to raise awareness for the breast cancer. Advertiser: Breast Cancer research
Thankfully, some of you have dropped me messages to alert me that my the retweet button from tweetmeme on this blog was not working anymore since a week. I have done some research to find out what has changed… Basically since 1 week google has migrated the feedburner url to […]
Wow, awesome, spectacular…. a few words that have been used to describe the movie of the moment – Avatar. I’ve seen it, you’ve probably seen it, and well yeah IMHO it’s deserved of its accolades. But that’s not the point of this post.
I have searched on twitter for the name of the biggest advertising agencies. The rule is to add only the name of the agency after the famous twitter.com/name_of_the_agency to find out whether or not the agencies are owning their brand on twitter. Here are the results in a table with a ranking […]
Do you have already run a test with a name on goolge wonder wheel? Here is what I get for Barack Obama. And here is what I get for myself. You can try the google wonder wheel here.
High profile speakers from TedMed conference discuss how online social networks and open source models might be harnessed by institutions, patients and practitioners to transform healthcare in the future. Advertiser: TedMed
I bet all these hastags will be the in the top in the next 2 weeks: #christmas #merrychristmas #2010 #NYE #happynewyear
Google’s version of real-time search was unveiled today, where ‘live’ search results are displayed via AJAX on the search results page.
At first glance, it’s a pretty nice execution, blending real-time with relevance, rather than just real-time, which is the focus of all new social/real-time search engines.
It looks like the real-time results are surfaced when real-time […]
Earlier this week my colleague Sam Granleese posted an entry on this blog debating the notion of user pay content? I thought therefore it might be a nice follow up to have a little look at another emerging market; that of Virtual goods.
Now, virtual goods are certainly not a new idea. We […]
On Monday I spent the day at DMMS09 an event that saw string of digital marketing and agency types address a large and mostly awake crowd at the Hilton on the Park Melb.
An instructive video that reviews a lot of successful examples of social media campaigns in BTC, BTB or even in Politics. They all made a huge return on investments by starting a social media activity for their business. by Socialnomics
Sometimes we let fear get to us and lose sight of one simple fact: As long as clients need to convince consumers to purchase their products and services, the ad industry will never disappear. Clients need creativity and are willing to pay if you can help them accomplish their goals.
From time to time a new technology comes along that convinces clients they don’t need your creativity anymore, so they cut back or let us go entirely. It’s a cycle that has happened time and time again, from the first shopkeeper who put up a painted sign to attract more business to the latest application of Facebook. Before long, though, everyone adopts the latest technology and the need for fresh creativity to distinguish themselves arises.
What is different this time? Many new technologies and tactics have hit the scene at the same time. It didn’t help that these tactics are often much less expensive than traditional media. Oh,we also hit the worst recession in more than 70 years. When the economy comes back, I think we’re going to see a rush back to creativity. When it does, it’ll do us well to concentrate more on the message and less on the messenger.
I think we’re already seeing a dire need for creativity. The obligatory Facebook page, Twitter account, and YouTube page is already old hat (and often a necessity), but it’s not enough without significant creative backing to get interaction. I think marketers are starting to grow weary of the social media snake-oil salesmen. These outlets are important and will never go away, but we’re starting to see it’s just part of a much bigger picture.
Search will also be a permanent marketing fixture from now on, but it’s one thing to show up in a search, and it’s another to be convincing. Once seen as enemies, Google and Madison Ave. are working together to capture display-ad dollars (35% of Internet ad spending last year) and make a more cohesive experience for consumers. Neilsen is in a relationship with Facebook and are proving to marketers the viability of display ads. The need for creativity is growing.
This industry will never be easy again. There will never be another television advertising business model. The best way to get a consumer to notice your brand will always be a moving target. Dare I say not every client is a candidate for a huge social-media campaign, just as every client doesn’t need a 30-second TV spot. It’s important to learn how to play in these new playgrounds, but we also need to stop trying to be experts in tactics and instead try to be experts in creativity, an unattainable but not unworthy goal.
Josh Fahey is a freelance copywriter with a passion for creating creative and strategic content and communications. Check out his website where you can find his blog, portfolio, and resume. joshuawfahey@gmail.comor Twitter: @joshfahey
His name is synonymous with advertising genius. Got Milk? That’s his. There Can Only Be One. That’s also him. Now, Jeff Goodby backs Pepsi. He’s also launching an online “Twitter-centered” campaign. To all the advertising geeks reading this, if there was any doubt in your mind about going digital, then let this be your reassurance. If this man is doing it, you damn well better.
In times like these, we need a quote from the man himself. “I like big fonts,” Goodby said.
He’s obviously referring to his 117 year-old Victorian house. That’s really the topic here. Goodby has inspirational and evocative words painted on the outside and inside of his house, words that evoke what takes place inside.
It’s this house that seems to have played a part in Goodby’s digital switch. See, he needed someone to paint the words on the house, and it was done digitally. Upon completion, Goodby created a Web site: www.poemhouse.org and promoted it on Facebook. The rest, needless to say, was history. Once captured by the blogging fanatics, publicity instantly ensued: Tweets, re-tweets, traffic, publications, you name it.
If this is not a prime example of digital prosperity, then I don’t know what is. This small event exemplifies the marketing shift occurring today. The shift that more agencies, like Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, have adapted should be adapted elsewhere. The key here is versatility. The new wave of advertising professionals are versatile (like me!! ): They take classic technique and weave in a digital mind-set. They are more marketable and more valuable. Now, if more could firms could see that value, maybe we could even afford to live off of it.
Rena Prizant is a Copywriter, Ad Creative, SEO Gal, and mammal in the Chicago area. Visit www.RenaPrizant.com or @WriteLeft.
I have been applying to various agencies, consulting firms, digital design houses, and the like, and one of the so-called Human Resources’ policies has moved on my “corporate irritation scale” from irk’d off to pissed off. For the sake of this writing, I include only the personnel departments at advertising, marketing, online agencies, vendors, and companies as the places I’ve been focusing upon.
When did it become standard for HR Departments to determine they need not respond to applicants? Doesn’t this seem a bit counterproductive, especially at a time when companies are refocusing their entire efforts on personalizing relationships, speaking to their audiences on a one-to-one basis?
During the past year, many professionals have been let go, from C-level executives on down. Thus, there’s been a glut of qualified pros searching. As a professional, when I fill out an application and submit my résumé (usually using Taleo or some other third-party vendor), a cover letter, and samples in a nice package, it’s indicative I either know your company well and am an “enthusiast,” or I’ve researched it enough to realize there’s strong potential for both parties to match on various levels, creating a win-win situation.
Thus, I submit what’s required when I apply at XYZ. Not two seconds later, I receive an e-mail stating that after review, if my qualifications are a match, I may hear from someone. Otherwise, due to the volume of applicants, I will not hear another word. First off, this is not only rude, but belittling. I have 11 years experience, and if I qualify, you may contact me? I cut my chops. I have respected your requests, filled out your paper in addition to submitting my own, and you “may” get back to me? It’s at this point I regret applying, job or no job.
A week passes.
I call the office switchboard. I’m dumped into the HR general voicemail. No once calls back. Knowing I already have no contacts within the organization, I try to figure out if there is another way to get past the wall of silence. I begin to dial the main number with a ploy to speak to the Marketing VP I just looked up on LinkedIn.
While waiting, I wonder what’s transpired. Is the job closed? How many applicants applied? Are they still accepting applications? Was my résumé submitted correctly? Was there something that screamed out I was wrong for the position? Did I make it to the final first cut, only to be weeded out due to my salary requirements?
I leave a voicemail for the VP. After a couple weeks without contact, I make a note on my spreadsheet that no one ever responded and move on to another opportunity.
Social media
Surprisingly, I see a lot of HR people using social media, especially on LinkedIn, Twitter, and blogs. To me, this states that HR departments are versed in basic social-media tenets:
- Listen.
- Ask questions.
- Listen some more.
- Initiate on-to-one communication.
HR departments use social media to recruit. Why then is it so difficult to get anyone to respond? Why do I have to call the VP of Marketing to get a response, knowing at this point my job hopes have just been shot down?
HR peeps I know say it’s due to the massive amount of résumés they receive, and they’re too busy.I have to say this is a cop out.
Everyone is busy, everyone does more with less, and times are tense. However, most people at a business (with one exception) cannot risk ignoring anyone who contacts them, especially in an industry as fickle as this one.
As HR is capable of using social media for recruiting, then why not use social media to keep job posts updated?
It’s efficient, simple, and effective. Set up a blog page with job updates. Send out Twitter updates that a position’s been filled. Write a Facebook App that will cross-reference a job number with a status update. Have a prerecorded job line that applicants can call to learn of any updates.
Problem Solved.
Jeff Louis: Media Planner, Brand Project Manager, blogger, and aspiring writer. Please leave a comment or follow him on Twitter. As always, thanks for reading.
Há alguns dias, o Daniel Sollero avisou sobre uma apresentação que ele havia subido para o SlideShare, intitulada “The Fake Innovator’s Dilemma”. Trata-se da apresentação de um paradoxo que se encara diariamente: ao mesmo tempo que o falso inovador quer algo novo e original, ele procura uma solução segura, com um histórico de sucesso comprovável.
Vale a pena bater um pouco nesta tecla, já que muitos daqueles que querem inovar não parecem perceber quando o seu briefing pede um absurdo destes.
Afinal, o que define realizar algo novo? Seria a vontade de fazer como uma marca arrojada faz? Talvez. O problema é quando o briefing pede para fazermos exatamente o que uma marca arrojada realiza. Diferença sutil ao primeiro olhar, mas que é fácil de perceber quando a peça está na rua.
Se buscamos a novidade ou a forma de fazer da novidade um atributo da marca, não podemos oferecer como solução aquela que estão todos procurando, a não ser que efetivamente tenhamos algo de novo para contar. Se o Twitter é a bola da vez, vale a pena lançar uma conta na ferramenta apenas para constar? Se o site institucional de agência está com os dias contados, vale a pena lançar uma simulação de presença digital, com meia dúzia de fotos no Flickr, um vídeo no YouTube e um verbete apagado na Wikipedia? Só porque alguém já fez? Acho que não.
Também não parece que vale a pena ser o só o primeiro a usar determinada tecnologia. Cases como “o primeiro vídeo interativo publicitário no YouTube” ou “a primeira empresa brasileira a utilizar QR Codes” falam muito pouco se não estiverem bem amparados por uma boa idéia. Não é o caso de usar uma ferramenta nova por usar. Cairemos fatalmente no erro de apenas constar ali.
No fim das contas, a questão de inovar pode ter releituras do passado. Pode comportar até o que uma empresa mais descolada já fez por aí. Mas é o caso de ter algo novo para contar. Alguma outra faceta ainda não explorada, algum feature matador. Algo que transforme aquele esforço de comunicação em único, e não mais um numa ruidosa pilha de intervenções diárias que temos que agüentar.
Em suma, eu posso até considerar o que uma outra empresa já fez. Mas para fazer diferente, da concepção criativa às metas de sucesso, para estabelecer um diálogo ainda mais eficiente com os meus consumidores, para, enfim, fazer algo que seja pertinente.
Se eu fosse um cliente e precisasse “inovar”, talvez fosse isto o que eu pediria à minha agência. Mas enquanto eu sou agência, não custa sonhar.
Post originalmente publicado no Brainstorm #9
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Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, Revver, WordPress, Reddit, Digg, Ning, Xing, Squidoo, Tumblr and Flickr (overwhelmed yet? I can go on) are all social media. What is the hype? It’s the talk of the town and everybody is doing it. However, is it of any use as a tool for marketing? It is! And you aren’t using it yet?
As a follow up to my last post, 10 Reasons to Use Online Video for Your Business, and a non-related follow up to Megan Green’s post, I thought I’d keep the ball rolling with 5 reasons why you must use social media to advertise your business:
It’s FREE – Connecting with customers/clients through Facebook and LinkedIn, posting your deals on Twitter, and demonstrating your expertise through a blog or video can all be done at the cost of $0. What it will cost, however, is time and some DIY prowess because each social media platform requires its own variation of communication for optimal effectiveness. Some initial research is suggested to decide which platform may best suit your business. However, if you’re a strong believer of “time is money” and are too busy to teach yourself social media, there are companies that can help you and your business get started for as little as $299.
Location, Location, Location – You want your product/service seen by as many people as possible, and, without any statistics to back me up here, there are a lot of people on the internet using social media sites. A lot. We’re talking hundreds of millions. For you naysayers: as of July, Facebook alone had 250 million users. Can you afford to ignore these people? A better question: can you afford to have these people ignore you?
Sharable – Not only will your product/service be seen, you can also have it shared. If a person on Twitter sees your tweet promoting your business and knows people in his or her network that can use it, he or she may pass the promotion on with a retweet. If you write a great blog post on the benefits of your service and submit it to social bookmarking sites, people can discover and rate it moving it up the site’s ranks, which allows more people to discover it. If you made an entertaining video about your product, it could be passed around to hundreds, thousands, and possibly millions of people. Imagine that, a :60-second video about your product seen by millions. It’s FREE advertising.
Long Lasting – Once your business/product/service information makes it onto these social media sites, it can live on forever. That’s a long time (don’t worry, it’s a good thing). There it is, your info being seen and promoted long after you posted it and readily available when you want to put some extra muscle behind it.
Engagement – People who use your product/service will have an opinion about it, and more often than not, they will voice their opinions through social media, and you should know exactly what they are saying, good or bad. If someone sings your praises by writing an elaborate blog post, you can share that with your network or use it as a testimonial on your website. If someone tweets a complaint about your product/service, you can address it and ideally change their mind. No one likes to feel ignored, so if you can show your customers/clients you care and listen, that will definitely strengthen relationships.
There are easily more than five reasons to use social media for your business, so be sure to come back for updates. As usual, feel free to ask a question or drop a comment.
P.S. Once again, to redeem my cool points, here’s a video from my Creative Director poking fun at so called “social media experts,” because you can’t be an expert in something that is constantly changing with new platforms, bells & whistles.
Tommy Liu, the man, the legend (to be) wields his pen of creativity against the injustice of mediocrity plaguing the world as the Senior Account Executive at Supercool Creative & SpotZero where he also manages the blog. Click here to view some of his battles (he doesn’t always win).
Our latest launch for client Virgin Mobile.
Virgin Mobile’s Members’ Lounge is the pointy bit of a new approach to Telco marketing based around rewarding members for their custom, rather than hooking them in on fancy plans and deals and then forgetting about them.
In the new world of Virgin Mobile, members get benefits like:
Access to […]
In June, Beyond Madison Avenue ran a post about designer Rachel Nasvik, a New York City designer famous for chic, custom-made handbags, and the “scavenger hunt” in New York city where consumers followed clues published on social media sites to discover where she had hidden 96 of these designer handbags around the city. The campaign was a great success, and displayed a great use of social media as well as a natural knack for getting noticed.
Well, Rachel Nasvik has again taken to the streets, but in an entirely different manner.
New York City (NYC) is known for many things, one of them being a place where consumers can purchase merchandise that has been pirated from well-known designers. Basically, knock-offs sold on the street for nothing that look like the original.
Well Nasvik and team turned the tables on the design pirates by using their fly-by-night grocery carts as a means of promoting original Nasvik designs. In what could be called a second scavenger hunt, Nasvik sent clues to her 1,000+ followers on Twitter, alerting them that the game, once again, was a-foot. This time she was hiding her designer goods amidst the copycats roaming the streets of NYC. The cost for a Nasvik original off the cart was an affordable $10, while down the street at Saks, the same bag brought in $300. This obviously was not going to make Nasvik any money.
Yet, what she lost in terms of dollars was replaced by her gains in public relations, love from her fans, earned media coverage, and a creative use of distribution channels. She has taken social media to a whole new level, interacting with her fan-base personally with a fun and competitive game that was not online, but in the “real” world.
Plus, her brand is now being copied by pirates…meaning that Nasvik’s designs have truly “made it.”
Jeff Louis is a Strategic Media Planner, Brand Project Manager, blogger, and aspiring writer. You can reach him on Twittter or LinkedIn. He is always searching for great ideas and new friends.
Sometimes the past is fulfilled with wonderful memories of friends, music, good times and lots of laughter. Or, the past should remain exactly where it is, especially when remembering how you dressed, your bodily piercings, and that mullet with the spiked top that would never go out of style. If you remember the mullet, do you recall these lyrics?
Buying bread from a man in Brussels He was six foot four and full of muscles I said, “Do you speak-a my language?” He just smiled and gave me a vegemite sandwich”
By: Men At Work, “A Land Down Under
What in the heck is Vegemite, anyway? Until writing this post, I didn’t know, nor care. Then I found out that Vegemite is actually produced by Kraft Foods, and that Kraft has developed a new Vegemite formula and has rolled it out in Australia…
My first thought: “Would this be the next huge marketing FAIL, akin to the New Coke Formula back in 1985?”
Knowing absolutely nothing about the product, I had to do some research. What is Vegemite?
Vegemite is similar to the British product Marmite, which is a tacky paste, brown in color, with a salty “beef broth” or “meaty-like taste.” Marmite is usually spread on toast or biscuits but can also be mixed with hot water to make a drink. Marmite is made out of yeast extract saved after the beer brewing process. During World War I, the flow of Marmite to Australia was interrupted and an Australian cheese company, Fred Walker & Co., commissioned an Aussie scientist to come up with similar replacement.
Vegemite was introduced with great fanfare (including a national naming contest) in 1923. The naming campaign was a big success; the product flopped. Despite various marketing efforts, Vegemite sales remained poor. Kraft purchased Walker & Co. in 1926 (forming the Kraft Walker Cheese Company) and in 1928, changed the name to Parmite, which killed Vegemite’s tiny though hard-won market share. Vegemite never recovered.
So, with plenty of Vegemite on-hand, the Kraft Walker Cheese Company started giving it away with Pontiac automobiles and cheese products. Sales responded positively; then, the British medical association proclaimed that Vegemite was a great source of Vitamin B. Sales increased more. By World War II, Vegemite was in 9 of 10 Australian homes, had become part of a soldier’s daily ration kit, and was even carried by Aussie’s traveling abroad due to lack of availability in other countries. Today, Vegemite is one of the most well-known global brands and outsells Marmite in Australia by huge margins.
Kraft tried to extend the brand with a cheese and Vegemite “single,” but failed. However, marketing contests, such as limerick and song competitions, boosted sales. Then, following the war, the baby boom hit and Kraft jumped on Vegemite’s Vitamin B content for infants;
“…baby care expert Sister Mc Donald, said in the Women’s Weekly that “Vegemite is most essential”, further cementing Vegemite’s reputation for nutrition and wholesomeness. Infant Welfare Centres were recommending babies have their quota of Vitamin B1, B2 and Niacin. Vegemite had them all!”
By the 1950’s, Vegemite was to Australia what apple pie is to America, aided in part by consumer-oriented campaigns initiated by J.Walter Thompson.
On July 7, 2009, Kraft released a ’second’ Vegemite. The new Vegemite is a mix of Vegemite and cream cheese, is less salty, spreads much easier, and supposedly tastes better. To coincide with the release of the new recipe, Kraft is running a competition to give the new flavor a name, hearkening back to the competitions that worked 50 years ago. Kraft recently launched a comprehensive marketing campaign to name the new Vegemite, drawing on the successes of past campaigns that involved the public.
In fact, the new campaign mixes both traditional and Social Media, including an interactive website that includes fun facts, the naming contests, and the history of Vegemite. The new Vegemite can be found on Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter. Below is the one of several commercials. This one has been extended to be 48-seconds long:
And, just as in the early days, J. Walter Thompson was chosen for creative expertise. While some wait to see if this brand extension will be a coup or a pile of crap, early research shows that Vegemite has more brand affinity than Coca-Cola, Starbucks, and Nike (globally);
The research analysed 1.5 billion posts across 38 languages within social networking sites, blogs, message boards, and online news. The results discovered 479,206 mentions for Vegemite, with brand affinity found more often than any other product globally.
If this was an election, the early results would show that the new Vegemite is a serious contender; however, all the votes haven’t been cast. Based on my research, I believe that the new Vegemite will most certainly take space in Australian kitchens.
Jeff Louis: Strategic Media Planner, Brand Project Manager, blogger and aspiring writer. To contact Jeff, leave a comment here, or find him on LinkedIn or Twitter.
Got some data on twitter upstream and downstream traffic
From this there are a couple of interesting outtakes:
1. Twitter appears to now firmly be embedded as part of an internet users daily practices: they are reading email, searching and Facebooking all before or perhaps simultaneously to twittering. Google is also evidently an essential source of […]
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
