Everyone wants a viral sensation where your audience spreads your message (well maybe not some of our media agencies and owners) but in an online world where relevance is key how do you get people to pass on the message? Of course there is still the chance to produce a piece of work that catches everyone’s imagination like the Levis flip ad a few months back, but increasingly people produce poor viral that’s just space junk and not particularly targeted or personal. On the other hand the work glue has produce for mini (the much praised and awarded Vinnie Jones campaign) or Brando’s campaign for Sony Ericsson go a long way to counteract this. For example in the later’s campaign you can customize the viral video to contain imagery, locations via Google maps and of course personal information to ensure that the viral is specifically targeted and personal. Of course such a video is only going to be relevant to friends and communities but at least its not space junk, it’s coming from someone you are connected to and its tailored and relevant. I’d love to know the difference in the success of such campaigns, anyone know?
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As our web gets mobile and personal GPS is gaining momentum will location services be the next boom. Now that we are all hyper connected and plugged into the network, carry it around in our pockets and freed from wires our physical location will become more important to our internet and media experience. Of course we want and need different things on the move from when at our desks or on our sofas, so adding intelligence to our web experience depending on our location offers up great possibilities. Getting geo targeted special offers and content will connect our online world in a richer way to our physical world and day to day life, of course there are privacy issues and security concerns but I’m sure connecting with where we are will be a major boom. Rather than social networking and social-media we will be geo-networking and loving the power of geo-media.
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"So, the killer apps that have really worked on the web have always been about connecting people to one another. So, whether it is instant messaging and e-mail as communications to connect people to one another, whether it’s photo-sharing as a way to connect people to one another through photos, or blogging as a way to connect people to one another through the words, people have always been social and the killer apps that have really succeeded on the web have always been social."
I was very interested to see Orange using a search based call to action on their ‘I am’ campaign. As none of us seem to care for URL’s anymore I found it to be a smart idea (unfortunately the micro site that it leads you to is very flat, lifeless and rather pointless). So is this another nail in the coffin for URLs?
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Back in 94 I got really into email, although very few people I knew actually had an email address. By 2000 I was really bored of email and these days I think I have about 8,500 unread mails in my Gmail. Then last year I got into blogging and these days I know I don’t commit to it as much as I should – I’m afraid my interest drifted. So I got into twitter instead – it seemed faster and less effort. But after 2 months of twittering periodically my attention’s drifted and I’m just a consumer of content again rather than the producer. That’s not to mention Facebook - which I feel in love with, had an intense affair with and only check for periodic messages from time to time. Each vehicle or platform seems to be a shorter love affair. Am I just getting old and what's next? Maybe I will have a 2 hour addiction to QIK.COM
The Nationwide amusingly try and tell us how they are proud to be different when it comes to customer service in their commercials. However ….. The other day my wife attempted to open an account at the Nationwide and was hit by a multitude of jargon, leaflets, conditions as if she was stepping into one of their adverts. However in their commercials it is another bank that is making all the complications – whilst the Nationwide positions itself as the honest simple bank or financial institution. Unfortunately this seems not to have trickled through to the staff who were actively keeping my wife from opening a new savings account (especially one with a rate to ‘hoik her in’). So in turn rather than open a new account my wife is very angrily closing her accounts and moving her business elsewhere. It makes me wonder after all these years why organisations spend such massive sums of money attracting customers only to completely screw up the sale with their customer service – this is especially worrying in a referential world where customers broadcast their opinions is it not?
As a keen follower of all things digital I thought I’d check out the Downing Street Twitter so after adding them to my list I get this email:
Hi, barry christie.
DowningStreet (DowningStreet) is now following your updates on Twitter.
Check out DowningStreet's profile here:
http://twitter.com/DowningStreet
Best,
Twitter
Has anyone tried to play the Doritos (US) mystery game (that suspiciously reminds me of the classic Mac game) ? I know its supposed to be an exciting quest with clues on packs but surely you should allow the players to get inside the game and tantalise them first? Instead there is just a brick wall that doesn’t even allow you to gather any interest.
I get the mystery game idea but I would have thought a little more sell is required upfront. Oh well
http://www.doritosthequest.com/
For a while I’ve been getting increasingly excited about how the web is becoming more and more tele-visual and how convergence is really starting to happen in interesting ways. Whether is youtube, iplayer or itunes much of my media fix is through this screen, never mind the kids that are growing up with it as their first screen.
Of course this is nothing new to most of us but what’s getting me today is the problem of media rights across borders. In the early days of the web and largely still today, the web was not restricted to simple geographies – it’s a World Wide Web after all. But when it comes to TV distribution online that worldwide bit gets a bit more nationwide.
A point in example is the Italian Giro, which as an avid bike fan I am desperate watch wherever I can; however it is only available to viewers in the US and Canada although the company that is ‘broadcasting’ it is a UK company licensing the rights from an Italian channel!
As media owners are looking to rebuild their empires in the networked economy should they not be reviewing their notions and views on licensing and distributing TV content across borders? It’s not as it we are limited by national transmitter networks or anything anymore.
It seems that rather than inventing new models for the possibilities that digital technologies provide, broadcasters are more committed to simply reworking their existing means of distribution within borders but online. Are they hiding their heads in the sand like the music industry did with downloads? Will the next wave of pioneering media owners that will usurp the old giants? Only time can tell – but in the world of digital technology I wouldn’t put my money the traditional media guys.
Then I should be able to watch the giro rather than the more important work I need to be getting out of the door.
Modern consumers are increasingly becoming fickle, with word of mouth and apparent infinite choice meaning that loyal consumers are a dying breed.
From a recent JWT trend letter I found the following:
“Loyal consumers are a dying breed across many industries and brands, aside from a few “lovemarks”—at best, “brand sluts” have a portfolio of brands in any given category and shop among them.
And who can blame them? Brands themselves aren’t loyal to their suppliers—they source wherever they can.
Posting to a Forum at www.makeuptalk.com
“Too many! I'm a total brand slut. I really like to try a little bit of everything fromeach brand. If I included skin care, my list would double! Burt’s Bees, Benefit,E.L.F., Paula Dorf, Bare Escentuals, Clinique, Sephora, Hard Candy, Bonne Bell,Urban Decay, Stila, Tony & Tina, MAC, Kryolan, Passport, Bobbi Brown, Mary Kay, Avon, Chanel, Cookiepuss, Lancôme, Estée Lauder, Smashbox, Ben Nye, MOD, Trucco, Origins, Diane Von Furstenberg, Aveda, Almay, Alba.”
Tough job ahead I think. I know I’m not the brand snob I used to be. We better start trying to chat up these brand sluts rather than just talk down to them from up on high.
But PR darling.
In our new referential society is PR the marketing discipline that is most appropriately positioned to lead a brand? Working in an advertising agency and specialising in digital I should probably say no, but…
Of course we need integration, 360 degrees, convergence and a whole plethora of other concepts and buzzwords but when it comes to perception and opinion in a hyper-networked world the fundamentals of PR seem stronger and more believable to an over advertised cynical public.
As highlighted in Advertising 2.0s’ post the hiring of DDB’s head of European planning by Weber Shandwick illustrates how the big guns are all shifting their position and lining themselves up to own brands rather than above the line agencies.
To counter this shall we see ATL agencies hiring PR directors? Or will they hide their heads in the sand like they did with digital for so many years? Of course there is the network or holding company model and so often that works with WPP’s team HSBC for example but on another level should we not all be building our PR skills and talent as much as our digital?
Prprprprpr – well this time it is my cat as I stoke it in a Blofeld manner plotting world domination.
In this converging channel universe hear David Lynch's views on watching a film onyour mobile
I picked up NMA today yes a paper version and other than being surprised that people still pay for a paper version of it these days, I was more surprised by a Vodafone job ad.
The ad promotes their new online business unit which is going to drive the business forward in the converging market however it just sound so 1998, the language and tone was more embarrassing than inspiring “…will revolutionise the way we do business …” come on please!
For your attention Vodafone this has already happened! Posting a one page press ad just goes to show you missed the wave, where’s the online that should be attracting the online talent? Make the most of then seems more appropriate a tagline.
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If you are to believe AOL’s latest report the internet has overtaken most media as the destination for relaxation with more users 60% now using the internet for downtime that TV at 58% and radio at 41%
Read what AOL has to say for yourself:
AOL launches new research that finally cracks the elusive 'third dimension' of the internet
Rising consumer demand for comfort and relaxation online represents an opportunity for the advertising community that is waiting to be further exploited, according to a major piece of newresearch into consumer mindsets and online behaviour across Britain published today by AOL UK.
The study reveals that the internet is taking over from other media as a destination for relaxation, with more users now using the internet (60%) for this purpose than the radio (41%), television (58%) or newspapers (50%). The findings of ‘Brand New Britain’ also show that while the majority (55%) of consumers use the internet out of work to ‘relax’, few describe the experience as comforting (8%) or safe (6%).The research offers new insights into the lesser-explored ‘third dimension’ of advertising - the psychology of users. Until now advertisers have largely relied on the first two dimensions, audience data and context/content, to influence online advertising strategies. However, this study begins the process of cracking this elusive element and opens the door to further exploration of the mindsets of internet users.Michael Steckler, managing director, AOL UK, said: "Consumers claim to use the internet to relax, so there is a desire for the internet to deliver on the basic human need for comfort. However, when we ask what words consumers would use to describe the internet, safety, calmness and comfort are way down the list."The very nature of the internet allows for advertisers to reach consumers and provoke a direct reaction – such as an immediate online purchase – in a way that television or printed media has never been able to.Steckler went on to say, "Advertisers are already exploiting market research on consumer behaviour, but any edge that can enable them elicit real-time response from consumers is incredibly valuable. The study highlights the impact of understanding intent and mindset of a consumer, and responding effectively. It’s about ‘when’ as much as ‘who."
The project involved in-depth interviews with academics, advertisers, marketers and consumers, as well as a quantitative survey of consumer attitudes towards the internet.AOL originally commissioned the study to test its theory that the demographic typically known as ‘Middle England’ does not exist at all and that ‘Middle England-ness’ is actually a response to uncertainty and change that takes the form of a desire for tradition and comfort.Steckler added: “Middle England as a demographic is a myth. Our study has found that it is not a place or group of people at all – it is this same desire for comfort and community that is universal to us all. The study suggests there is an opportunity to capitalise on that mindset online and the opportunity to do so is compelling."
... was the thread of discussion in our creative department the other day. This was quickly responded with the “futures every day these days” (well I paraphrase and have edited the colourful language).
But it is a point of some interest. I used to be a fan of good sci-fi (I am a bit of a geek, but hey geekdom is having its age), but these days where has it all gone? It’s either all old vintage or ridiculous dragons and goblins fantasy craptrap.
So as we are all becoming increasingly technologically competent and sophisticated are we taking it for granted and expecting everything here and now rather than dreaming of a future of science and technology? (My mind drifts to 1950’s TV visions of the future where we should really be driving flying cars to our holidays on the moon right now - but I digress).
I suppose the point we got to was that with the ubiquity and immediacy of technology we expect everything in an instant these days. Whether this is downloading a tune on demand or ordering a book that is delivered the next day; time has shrunk and as such the future has become a lot closer. As such we don’t seem to be dreaming of sci-fi futures theses – it’s all about making the most of now.
Now where did I hear that from again?
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barry christie
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