GINGERS HAVE SOULS SERIOUSLY

Everyone's  done it.  Whether out of malice or light-hearted ribbing, everyone's made fun of a ginger.  Or should I say GINGAAAAA.  A couple of weeks back, all this ginger-baiting got too much for one young (and disturbingly angry) American kid who decided to unleash his fury on YouTube by filming an anti-ginger-bashing diatribe in his back yard.

Cue massive YouTube hit and new internet meme.  That's the "Gingers have souls" meme, with 100's of YouTubers remixing and parodying our young ginger friend's video rant to the tune of 3 million+ views.

The thing that fascinates me most is the sheer scale of remixing and "replying" as well as how this meme's spread so quickly.  And the answer to this seems to lie in a mixture of the film's subject matter - "life as a persecuted ginger" -  and its execution - a mixture of LOL and WTF.  The fact that everyone knows a Ginger in their email address-book, and that the film is genuinely disturbing/amusing in equal doses, means that it has a defined relevant well-connected community and reasons to share within the community - the two key ingredients to creating true virality. 

My favourite - the Dubstep remix

The simple pleasure of Sandy Balls

This is possibly the ultimate in accidental virals.  So the story goes - nice Hampshire Centre Parks wanna-be holiday resort "Sandy Balls" decides they want to advertise their wares on TV.  They get a local agency to create their ad - pitched (no doubt) as a mix-between Baz Luhrmann's Australia and the Sound of Music.  The CEO of Sandy Balls takes the bait and goes for the treatment.  It's what he's always wanted - TV fame at last for his beloved holiday park.

Several thousands of pounds (and takes) later, local ad agency delivers a beauty of a film.  Overwhelmed by the Luhrmann-esque results, the Sandy Balls' PR agency pitches to "seed" the film on YouTube and make Sandy Balls "famous".  And they do.  On Failblog.  In America.   Amongst 15 yearolds (and me) who find the name Sandy Balls delivered in clipped English tones so fricking hilarious they send it to their whole address book racking up 10's of thousands of YouTube views . . .

And you know what, I love it.  It's a truly great piece of work, and having enjoyed it on the small (laptop) screen can't wait to enjoy the simple pleasures of Sandy Balls for myself . . .

@Rubber_Republic

What a viral really looks like

So following on from my obsession with models (the graph not busty/leggy type) I've drawn up what a typical viral campaign looks like.

And the truth is your typical viral looks a bit like a roller-coaster.  Starting with a sharp climb as the campaign launches and the early-adopters starting buzzing-up the campaign, we then reach a plateau with numbers hitting a constant for a while until we see the campaign peak and then WHOOOOSH! the campaign enters its long-tail stage zooming downwards, with numbers slowly (or rapidly) decreasing over-time.

Of course, the better the viral the bigger and more extensive the long-tail of the campaign, which I'd argue is where much of the value of viral campaign lies . . .

@Rubber_Republic

The Bell Curve of insanity

So following on my conversation with the Devil, I've modelled sane vs insane blog postings and comments derived from a viral campaign (or in fact anything that remotely generates conversation).  I've called this the "Bell Curve of insanity" as I reckon the sane vs insane ratio of blog comments about a viral follows a normal distribution model . . .

And if you missed the inspiration for this modeling, check out "the insane" Devil Worshipping comment one our campaigns recently inspired . . .

The Devil's agency

Viral campaigns can generate a ton of weird comments and commentary for a brand.  However, being accused of being devil-worshippers tops them all!

Check out the full conspiracy comment here + see a snapshot below . . .


A quick bit of context: Delib is our sister agency and specialises in providing e-democracy software to government.  We helped them develop a viral campaign aimed at Civil servants in Washington who work in the Open Government scene.  All very niche.  So, as part of this Delib developed up a short documentary called "Open Gov the Movie", and we seeded around gov + tech influencers.  It worked - we got the right people chatting and engaging . . . well mostly the right people - as evidently there's a few vocal loonies out there who will always want their insane tuppence worth.

Possibly the scariest part is that Marco Ponce and his conspiracy blog was the 8th biggest (accidental) influencer of the campaign.  Am not sure what that says about the world out there, but I'm scared!

TweetBeat - the weird and wonderful world of tweeting policemen

At the weekend I became weirdly obsessed by following Policemen on Twitter.  I don't know why or how - but I did.  Maybe it's something to do with the fact that my grand father was a policeman.

Or maybe it comes from my fascination with the relationship between organisations and individuals - typified by the relationship between the police and the public.  Or more interestingly the bobby on the beat and Joe public.

The traditional trusted position of the local community policeman has undeniably been lost over the last 20 years.  The reasons for this change in relationship are many - however, two things really stick out as the drivers of this change
1) The loss of the hyper-local police station, and local bobby on the beat (which I assume has been down to funding cuts - though admittedly don't really know)

2) The erosion of the "local community" - largely driven by a change in media consumption and improved transport - meaning people no longer socialise so much at a local level, or access services (shopping / post office) at a local level too either.

So I was interested to discover the phenomenon of Tweeting Policemen - the most interesting subset being the "Beat Tweeter" - those bobbies that tweet whilst out the beat.  The two I initially picked up on are @pc6785lewis and @NYPHaxbySNT.

I was particularly taken by @NYPHaxbySNT as he happens to work in a village neighbouring my home in Yorkshire - so I could really connect with what he's been tweeting about, and was very reassuring to hear about his work from the frontline.

I find this hyper-local use of Twitter extremely interesting in the wider context of the Police's organisational relationship with citizens, as I have a sense that social media could become the glue that reconnects communities - helping bridge the social gaps previously created by mass media.

+ finally as a wee experiment I've set up a Twibe and Twitter group called "TweetBeat" as a mini-hub for all those tweeting bobbies on the beat!   Check + follow it here: TweetBeat

Publicis and the YouTube bear pit

Everyone has an inner-agency-bitch.  Your inner-bitch is most likely to surface when you see another agency's work.  If the work's from an agency you like you'll irrationally love it.  If it's from an agency you hate - hate stemming largely from the fact that they work in the same industry as you and are not you -  then you'll irrationally hate it.  If you happen to see the piece of work on YouTube then you'll be irrationally driven to write some kind of hate-filled illogical bile in the comments section to make yourself feel better.  If you're even more cunning, in your hateful state you'll use your secret anonymous YouTube account and make the comment sound like it's from a real person  - rather than from an irrational agency bitch - making the comment even more hurtful for the maker of the work.



All of which leads me nicely to Publicis' Christmas video - a tongue-in-cheek festive  take on a classic internet meme.  Or, in the words of YouTube commenters "a bag of bollocks" (Mattycfox) made by ". . .a bunch of talentless c*nts." (MonsterMozz).  Obviously Mattycfox and MonsterMozz's eloquent use of language immediately outs them as (not very good) agency copy-writers in disguise . . .

The problem with industry virals outwardly created by agencies is that they're a magnet for inner-agency-bitches.  Which is annoying, as these kinds of comments are irrational and illogical and a waste of time.  Publicis' staff Christmas video was just that - a Christmas video made as a bit of fun by agency staff, based on a popular YouTube meme.  Nothing more.

So if I had one wish for the New Year - other than world peace - then it would be STOP ANONYMOUS AGENCY BITCHING AS IT'S FRICKING POINTLESS, a little bit hurtful and not really that amusing.

Making things better from a hospital bed

Pain can be a beautiful thing. And in my case quite an inspiring thing too. For the last 5 days I've been stuck in hospital with severe back pains - which have meant I've been totally bed bound, and completely dependent on the nurses at Kings College Hospital London (who have - by the way - been really great!)

Anyway, lying in bed - in pain - inspired me yesterday morning: could I be of any use to hospital lying here? The hospital staff are being great - but could I add anything - could I help improve how the hospital is run?

And the answer is of course YES. As a patient I - and the hundreds of other patients - are in the best place to help the hospital improve, as we're the ones at the coal-face, experiencing the end products that the hospital delivers - whether that's a quick fix in A&E, or a longer stay in one of the wards. The only issue is how you collate and make sense of this collective experience. And the answer to that is the internet - create a crowd-sourcing website with a focus on collating "ideas of how to improve the hospital" and let patients share ideas, and self-organise the value of those ideas via rating and commenting systems. Given I'm the co-founder of an e-democracy company - Delib - that specialises in citizen empowerment - this was the easy bit!

Check the site crowd-sourcing site here (and add ideas if you have any!)

With the prototype site up and live, I'm now in the process of getting patients to take part and share their experiences and ideas - a bit of a tricky feat given I can't walk, but they're coming in slowly as I lynch people walking past my room! I'm also in the process of talking to the Patient Involvement team @ Kings - as obviously to make this work, we really need them on board to actually turn the ideas generated into concrete actions.

So there you go - an example of bottom-up patient power - empowered by the wonders of broadband and a wonderful set of e-democracy apps. Social media empowerment at its finest!

And most importantly this is a lesson to all those brands / businesses / government departments out there who are trying to work out how to make their business work better - the answer: empower your customers and employees and they will in turn help power your business!

Why I didn't have a Ferrari aged 21

Back in 2001, I started out life as a bedroom internet publisher.  Me and a couple of University buddies decided to set up a political satire website called "Spinon" in the run up to the 2001 General Election - in a similar vein to Jib-Jab in the US.

Spinon became massive.  It was an instant hit.  First in Westminster.  Then around the country, as we progressively worked our way up the media-ladder, first with appearances on local news (Bristol Evening Post), then radio (Radio 5 and Radio 1) and then TV (BBC 9 Nine O'Clock news).

We had an idea.  We created some buzz.  We generated a ton of traffic to our site.  We became famous (for 5 minutes).  We made a sh*t load of cash (from advertising).  We bought a fleet of Ferraris.
This is the classic model for successful internet entrepreneurs.  Apart from the last 2 point s didn't happen.  We didn't make sh*t loads of cash through advertising.

And we didn't make sh*t loads of cash through advertising because of one major problem - lack of relevant advertising inventory.  Of course back in 2001, internet advertising was still finding its feet - however the situation still stands for broad entertainment-based (not issue-based) publishers, that it's still much more difficult to make money finding "relevant" advertising for your site and making money from it.

As a reader of an entertainment website - be it a satire, gossip, celeb or otherwise - as I'm reading / watching the fun on the site, the most relevant kind of advertising you can deliver me would be "fun advertising".  I'm having fun on the site, so I want the advertising to be equally entertaining - NOT some bland direct-selling banner shouting BUY BUY BUY at me.

That's why after our failed publishing venture - we got into viral advertising, and a couple of years down the line launched the Viral Ad Network.  An ad network which allows publishers - from Twitterers to Bloggers to giant publishing networks - to make money through publishing fun ads next to their fun content.

And it works.  Publishers like having viral ads next to their content, and are happier to embed it more closely within the actual content of their site.  Advertisers are happy, because viewers engage with their ads.

And I like it because I get to drive a nice shiny red car at last ; - )

**Monitored alarm systems** Mmmm, tasty!

Me and Shel Israel

So, there I was chatting away to a nice lady (Orla) next to the toilets of the the Lewis Media Centre (there is a relevance)  explaining (rather loudly) why I was so excited to hear Shel Israel talk when - *TAP* (on the shoulder) - and there was the great man himself introducing himself to me.

Well - introduce himself wasn't exactly what he did (as he kinda expected me to recognise him - which I didn't immediately) - it was more like "Oh my Gawd [he's got a great Noo Yawk drawl] I'm pleased I've got at least ONE fan!".

So that was it.  My introduction to the great Mr. Israel.  Blogger.  Marketer.  Writer.  And Twitterer extraordinaire.  The introduction, though, was pretty short lived - and was swiftly followed by a "Do you know where the men's is?"

Shel is one of those guys who you wish was your uncle.  And if he was your uncle then he'd be your favourite uncle - the one that isn't overly enthusiastic about you (as he's got better things to be interested in), however he's the one that is unashamedly wise (but quite often openly wrong in a humanising way) and says off the cuff remarks that make SO MUCH SENSE.

And the things that made SO MUCH SENSE in his talk were:

- "I'm a story-teller": I've heard this from other people too, but being a story-teller is what every marketer (self-marketer) and brand should be like.  We all need to tell stories better.  As stories engage and entertain.  They give.

- "Buzz is what you hear before you get stung": am not 100% sure what this means - though it sounds kinda profound.  I guess it's to do with hype and reality.  Reality bites once the hype dust has settled.

- "Every business should have a 17 year old on their board": I like this. Getting different perspectives in business is essential.  Bring on the teenager non-execs . . . (this actually came from Peter Whitehead from the FT)

Social networks + smart phones = perfect harmony

Did you start using social networks more after buying an iPhone or one of its smart phone rivals? Before I joined the iPhone bandwagon I interacted with Facebook in fits and starts.

However, since being inducted into the iPhone cult, I've become a more active user. It's especially good for uploading photos on the move that you want to share and if you ever find yourself in an office where Facebook is banned (a surprisingly high number of workplaces do) it's great for getting around this inconvenience.

A US-centric report by Openwave has backed up this anecdotal evidence with some stats, in which it found that four of the top 10 mobile domains by page impressions are social networks including Facebook.

Perhaps more surprising though is the absence of Google although this can be explained by most people accessing Google via their tool bar rather than google.com. Given that Twitter's short, quick updates are perfect for mobile users, this trend is only set to grow.

Balls out brand borrowing

I've been over in NYC for the last couple of days, and whilst out in Soho spotted an overly enthusiastic girl selling Obama Condoms.  Her pitch was pretty tight - buy one for $5 or go for the ultimate triple stimulus package for $10.  I went all out for the $10 stimulus deal.  Bang!

Beyond the amusing concept of politically themed condoms, I'm kinda intrigued as to whether they've had any law-suits / threats from Obama / the government lawyers. If someone had launched Beckham branded condoms, the Beckham's legal-eagle(s) would swoop within seconds, however politicians seem to have a lighter legal touch.

Anyone for the "Brown French-tickler" (a favorite amongst the gay community) or  the "Cameron CONdom" (one for the Notting Hill set)??? 

Supermodels strip off for climate change

If the idea behind a viral campaign for climate change group 350.org is to make people take the threat more seriously having nine supermodels strip to their smalls is perhaps not the best way to persuade people it's a bad thing.

If a warmer planet results in scantily dressed supermodels, some might conclude climate change is a good thing. Notwithstanding that the ad trivialises a serious subject; we learn nothing about climate change and it might alienate a large part of the female audience, some of us at Rubber Towers quite like this new viral. We can't think why.

On a positive note, if the viral campaign is designed purely to generate a bit of PR and easy headlines with a bit of harmless titillation, it's bang on the money. See what you think (thanks to Rev for bringing this to our attention) ...

Bono boost for YouTube

YouTube is on a roll at the moment, which looks like being a good thing for users, advertisers and agencies alike after a period of what felt like continual negative press.

The video-sharing website has revealed it got close to 10m streams for a live broadcast of a U2's Rosebowl concert on Sunday, meaning it was the single largest event the site has streamed to date.

Given that the 20th most watched show in the US last week attracted 11.8m viewers (The Mentalist), the U2 YouTube audience gives you an idea of the site's enormous reach and the type of league it is now playing in. Admittedly, the 10m figure, which was spread over 2+ hours, doesn't drill down to how many people actually watched the broadcast.

However, after repeated questions being asked about YouTube's ability to monetise its huge popularity, it's nice to see things moving in a positive direction.

The U2 concert comes hot on the heels of the Google-owned site announcing earlier this month that it now serving up more than 1bn streams per day. And don't forget Channel 4's  recent decision to put its entire programming output on YouTube free of charge and the introduction of Google's AdSense for YouTube's search.

With sites like Hulu breathing down YouTube's neck, it's great to see YouTube fighting fit. Healthy competition between these sites - unlike the search arena where Google has a far easier ride - is proving beneficial for everyone.

Twitter is like word of mouth on crack, the Peperami Animal and other tales from Media140

The breakfast of choice for the social media crowd is a healthy, humble bowl of Shredded Wheat. This was one of the Twitter generated insights Rubber Republic picked up at Media140 today. The one-day conference in London kicked off Media140’s ‘Around the world in 140 days tour’, which is set to rock up in all sorts of far flung places including Bangalore, Italy, Sydney, Perth, Mumbai and the Middle East.

The Media140 movement is all about exploring the future of real-time web and its impact or to put it simply … Twitter. The audience was mainly comprised of agencies and brands, with a smattering of publishers. The day began with a talk from Tom Bedecarre, the San Francisco-based CEO of AKQA, who was battling the effects of flying overnight. Tom’s agency has just launched a new Volkswagen model solely through an iPhone app, which carries over to Twitter and gives users who play a virtual racing game the chance to win cars.

Tom revealed that social media is the number one requirement clients are coming to the agency’s door with. He said: “It’s taking over the conversation”, and added “everything we do whether it’s a website build or mobile has a social media element”. Although Tom admitted the biggest FMCG advertisers were only “tipping their toes” in social media, he was in doubt that this nascent market will lead to more robust business opportunities than it is at the moment. Why? Tom cited the reaction of established players, Google, and Facebook, to Twitter’s arrival. “Google and Facebook are scared shitless of Twitter,” he said. What else happened?

A panel wrestled with the question ‘Can you change a brand in 140 characters?’ But for some, there was too much intellectualising and not enough in the way of successful case studies, according to questions from the floor and tweets on the live Media140 twitter feed. However, Scott Seaborn, head of mobile at Oglivy Group UK, suggested the agency has been forced to completely rethink its creative approach.“The paradigm shift in the media landscape means that consumers have all the power,” he said. “Creative has to come from the heart – social media acknowledges consumers have the power and gives them the tools to use that power.” Seaborn’s fellow panelist, Mel Exon, managing partner at BBH Labs, agreed: “We are witnessing a huge shift from short campaigns to platforms and programmes. Fundamentally, we are having to rethink everything we do in the social media space.”

Quote of the day came from Seaborn, who contributed the following gem: “Social media is word of mouth on crack”. Given that some of the audience were getting testy at the lack of examples to back up the eulogising, it was a good thing that Unilever was up next to talk about its crowd sourcing initiative for the new global campaign for Peperami. In short, the brand has ditched the traditional creative agency approach for a wiki-style route that has generated 1,200 ideas from the creative community. The FMCG is currently in the process of whittling those ideas down to 20 as it nears one big idea for a TV and print campaign. The creative will feature the suicidal Peperami Animal character, which has been experiencing endless gory slapstick deaths since the mid-nineties. Noam Buchalter, marketing manager at Peperami, Unilever, said the main benefits were cost and “gaining an insight into customer ideas through listening”.

A panel that debated the dos and don’ts of social media debated lots of different methods but basically arrived at two conclusions: be honest and transparent and don’t lie and fake it. Or as George Nimeh, managing director at Iris Digital, said: “Be nice, don’t be an ***!” Other gems included “Be the rapper, don’t be the wrapper” (also George) and “Twitter is earnt media – it takes time to earn trust and build reputation” (Daren Forsyth, founder of 140characters).

Ciaran Norris, head of social marketing at Mindshare, offered a whistle stop tour of social media, crammed with amusing anecdotes, case studies from across the pond and those at his own agency. Norris said that one of the lessons he has picked up from working on a football campaign for a client is to engage consumers with precise questions. “You need to share the debate – frame questions rather than ask open questions,” he said. And on the note, it seems only right to ask ‘what have you learnt from social media?’ It’s over to you.

More on Media140 from BR - Gordon MacMillan on Personality and social media – do you need one?