I had to lol at the radio this morning. They were screaming how the stressed out Susan Boyle story is all over the news. Well, it is everywhere because mainstream media loves singing the same tune. Old media's own re-tweeting system means bits of sensationalized gossip gets relayed from outlet to outlet, building up an ephemeral thundercloud of noise.
But why the rush to judge and jump on the unlikely celebrity they helped build up? Why must everybody have an opinion? Amanda Holden — who has buffed, blonded and botoxed her own naturally beautiful body — even had the nerve to tell this less genetically blessed woman not to change a thing.
Personally, I think the clever chaps behind Britain's Got Talent have manipulated this whole song and dance. Rather than allow the Susan phenomenon to destroy the drama of the final show, they gushed about the other contestants. Anything to avoid viewer perception of a Ms. Boyle fait accompli win. So the new stars are an adorable little boy, then a darling little girl, then a lovable father and son. (Who strangely are allowed to celebrate flab and funny hair.) Now Susan is on the brink of quitting the show. Or so says Piers Morgan. Oooh noz.
OK, it is admittedly none of my business what Susan Boyle does. But as a fan and another person with an opinion, I hope she follows her Elaine Paige dream into musical theatre. She’d be perfect as Mother Superior in the Sound of Music, don’t you think? No need to dance around or act up. Just look good in black and sing your heart out. Climb ev’ry mountain, Susan. FTW.
Follow me on twitter as I root for #SusanBoyle
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Last night our agency had a sweet evening event (#hksocial) which I was jazzed about because we invited one of the best UK examples of a brand embracing social media.
Dogs Trust is a wonderful charity that helps educate folks that “A dog is for life, not just for Christmas®.” They live and breathe their brand promise to “never put a healthy dog down.”
Founded in 1891 (wow), Dogs Trust has over 600,000 members and supporters. Like many charities, they traditionally communicate with their base mostly through direct mail and a lot of the messaging is around fundraising. They're a client of my last agency, but mostly I follow them because I sponsor a smiling pup called Smudge.
About a year ago, they hired Alex Goldstein to be web editor. In her presentation last night she told us that the marketing department didn't have big spreadsheets and endless PowerPoint strategy decks proving the ROI of new media. But Alex and her boss, Jacqui Darlow, did have the conviction that their brand needed to be where their audience was. And more and more that is the social spaces of the web. So they tried a Facebook app and built from there. My admiration comes from how they have brilliantly and instinctively use multiple 2.0 platforms — mostly unpaid or earned spaces — to talk with the different segments of their community, like their young supporters on Bebo. It is classic listen and learn from the very people you are trying to reach.
Our own David Jones detailed how to assemble a Social Media Team in his talk. The heart of it needs to be the Community Manager, who is human, not a message machine. That's Alex. Responsive and helpful and a personable face for a brand that's already warm and cuddly.
Last year, Dogs Trust looked after over 16,000 dogs through a network of 17 Rehoming Centres. Since they started tweeting, they have rehomed three lucky dogs via the twitterverse. Those pups would consider that awesome ROI, don’t you think?
Follow me and Alex on Twitter, even if you are a cat person (we are too ;-)
Check out Dogs Trust around the interwebs:WebsiteDogs Trust BlogFacebook PageMySpace ProfileBeboYouTube ChannelFlickr PhotostreamTwitter
candace kuss
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Member since: 03 Jun 2008
Last login: 18 Nov 2009
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