Harmonic Aftershock

What’s your core social voice?

Partnering with my colleague Steve Bagdasarian, we took a stab at categorizing how brands engage on Twitter. The model uses two axes to form four quadrants:

Axes

• X-Axis (Content): The degree content is customized/produced specific for Twitter
• Y-Axis (Conversation): The level of 2-way interaction with followers

While, arguably, many of the brands we plotted might also fit into other quadrants, we looked first at how the brand has defined their channel. For example, the American Red Cross’ social engagement is primarily around disaster preparedness updates but that’s not to say that the company doesn’t also engage with its followers.

Some brands have set up separate channels for different “social voices” as is the case for Jet Blue. The company’s primary Twitter channel is focused on customer service but they also set up @JetBlueCheeps channel to broadcast limited time airfare deals.

[In the end, is any one quadrant better than the other?]

It all depends on your company’s business goals. Some may criticize that using Twitter simply to broadcast goes against the “social” purity of social media. But if you look at @DellOutlet and its 1.5 million followers and the fact that the channel generates sales for the company, how can this be a bad Twitter strategy? Especially since Twitter’s partnerships with Bing, Google, and (most recently) Yahoo gets Twitter content into the hands of the “non-tweople.”

This post was cross-posted on Hill Holliday's blog.

Fragmenting Marketing? Digital vs. Social Media Agencies

Last November I wrote a post in response to a debate that’s been happening about “traditional” agencies and “digital” agencies in terms of what kind of an agency is best positioned to be a lead agency. In it, I questioned if we were on the verge of further marketing fragmentation with the onset of specialized social media marketing agencies.

Triggered by a recent Ad Week article that featured the acquisition of Joseph Jaffe’s CRAYON by Austin-based Powered with the goal to become the “lead social media agency” for clients, Mitch Joel (of Montreal’s Twist Image) debated Joseph Jaffe on his Six Pixels of Separation of Podcast.

SPOS_187_-_Social_Media_Agency_Jaffe

Boiled down:

• Joseph Jaffe’s stance: Social is its own category like digital became its own category.
• Mitch Joel’s stance: All media is social media…Agencies must evolve to where customers are engaging – there isn’t a need for another vertical agency.

It’s a debate worth listening to as both Joseph and Mitch bring up compelling points. And my perspective remains as I originally posted: The one thing that is certain, is that advances in technology will continue to change how people consume and interact with media (and brands). So whether or not a given and specific agency has the capabilities to deliver an effective marketing strategy (given the ever-changing landscape) is what’s up for debate -- there will always be "new media."

And if you’re craving more about the future of agencies and live in the Boston area, be sure to check out the MITX/Forrester roundtable on Thursday, February 25th.

#brandbowl 2010: Is Pepsi the real winner?

Mullen and Radian6’s Brand Bowl was almost as interesting as last night’s actual Super Bowl. For anyone who’s interested in real-time conversation monitoring (or as Mitch Joel often says, “Permission-Based Stalking”) the experience was extremely well done.

Pepsi chose not to advertise last night and while Mullen declared Doritos the winner of #brandbowl 2010, was it really Pepsi after all? Check out my post on Hill Holliday’s blog.

The Value of a Fan

The big question amongst many-a-bean counter is “What is the value of a Facebook fan or Twitter Follower?” And while it’s difficult to quantify, it hasn’t stopped companies and brands from using paid media to try and acquire them. 

This is just one of two places I stopped in on my way home from the office making the appeal for both Facebook fans and Twitter followers:

Now if only the folks behind Boston's Copley Place Mall marketing used Pongr to automatically make me a fan when I took this picture ;-)

Social media doesn’t stand alone: And “Hot Tub Time Machine” proves it.

Christina Warren did a great job on Mashable breaking down the marketing strategy of the motion picture: “Hot Tub Time Machine” which releases in March. More and more, movie studios are recognizing the power that word of mouth (via social media channels) has on ticket sales and the folks at MGM are off to a powerful start in energizing movie fans.

While this campaign’s social media components are well thought out (and you can read all about them on Mashable), the brilliance behind MGM’s marketing strategy is, once again, integrating media across channels.

A couple of times I’ve heard individuals say that “social media should stand on its own” (meaning sans paid media) – I don’t, personally, subscribe to this philosophy. While I do believe that online communities should experience elements of “self fueling”, many noted marketing campaigns that were deemed “social media” had heavy mass/paid media behind them (i.e. Vitamin Water).

And for the Hot Tub Time Machine “social media campaign” (as Mashable refers to it), the (paid) integration with Thursday’s season finale of the Jersey Shore is what gave the campaign its kick-start. Both the thematic tie-in with the show and audience synergies made this media buy brilliant as the TV spot’s voiceover epitomizes, “You’ve watched them in their hot tub all season long. Now get into ours.”

And it should be no surprise, by now, the effect this had on searches (below) for “Hot Tub Time Machine” and mentions within the social Web (above) as a result of the Jersey Shore TV spot.

Searches on "Hot Tub Time Machine" soared the night of the Jersey Shore season finale. (Source: Google Insights for Search).

There will come a time when we stop using the label “social media campaigns” or “digital campaigns” and simply use “marketing campaigns.” Media is much more powerful when it is strategically used is concert with one another. Social media doesn’t stand alone.

“Anyone Know?” Lots of people ask on Twitter.

Type in “Anyone Know” in Twitter Search and you’ll see a constant feed of questions from the Twittersphere ranging in everything from Season 2 of Fringe and screen printing supplies to Chili recipes and Dog Friendly Hotels.

This just goes to show the growing number of hand raisers on Twitter looking for information. For businesses, these are potentially untapped sales and marketing opportunities. And for entrepreneurs, I’m sure there’s a way to curate this content and match with answers. Perhaps the hashtag #anyoneknow could sweep the nation. -- "Anyone Know" of someone who wants to work with me on this? :-)

 Here are some of the more random/disturbing "Anyone Know" Tweets (paraphrased):

• Anyone know how to get blood out of clothes?
• Anyone know any dragons?
• Anyone know of a good shooting game?
• Anyone know how to knit two socks?
• Anyone know where to find a Captain Kirk Poster?

And in the short time it took me to write this, over 264 more people asked “Anyone Know”?

The Potential Power of Foursquare.

It’s as if Yelp, Twitter, and Facebook “got together” and somehow had a baby – and they named it Foursquare. In our ever increasing hyper sharing of status updates society, Foursquare has been said by some to be the breakout hit of 2010.

The premise is simple (and, admittedly, a bit addicting): As you’re out and about, go to Foursquare on pretty much any mobile device to “check-in” as you arrive at your destination. Once checked-in, you can find out things like:

1. Who else is currently checked-in
2. Tips about the spot from others who have been there
3. How many total check-ins (and hence popularity)

The more you check-in the more you’re rewarded with social currency in the form of various badges -- and you can share your “virtual acquisitions” automatically on Twitter and Facebook.

And, of course, each location has a Mayor – the person who has checked-in to a given location the most.

[So why all of the hype?]

In addition to the obvious social implications, there are powerful opportunities for brands – some of which, like Pepsi, have already taken advantage of the service for sponsorship.

Image Source: DPstyles Flickr Photostream

There are increasing numbers of local businesses who offer specials and discounts to Foursquare users understanding that each time a person checks-in, it’s free promotion for their establishment.

And last November, BART (The Bay Area Rapid Transit) partnered with Foursquare with a special BART-themed badge and contest.

It’s been under a year since the service was announced (at 2009’s SXSW) and it seems as though user-behavior and technology are primed, ripe and aligned going into 2010 for location-based services like Foursquare to scale for mass usage like we’ve already seen from Twitter and Facebook.

And now is a good time for brands to take advantage of some early “test and learn” opportunities with the service to establish a foothold within an almost certain-to-grow user base.

More Domino’s: The Power of Paid + Social Media

Yesterday morning, I posted about Domino’s Pizza Turnaround campaign and just did an updated post on Hill Holliday’s blog.

One of the things that I subtly pointed out on the update was the jump in close to 100,000 views of the brand’s Pizza Turnaround YouTube video as a result of the campaign’s paid media kicking in.

Above are some stats from YouTube that clearly show the harmony that takes place when social media is coupled with paid/mass media and underscores the benefit of cross-channel, integrated media design.  It puts a smile on my face going into the new year and new decade ;-) Great job to Domino's and their Agency(s). Happy 2010 everyone!

Hat Tip to @scheuguy for sending out a link to the Domino's video on Monday.

Who’s fit to lead? The answer is a Marketing Agency.

Can someone let me know when (and by whom) it was decided to rip marketing into “traditional” and “digital”?

There’s an interesting debate happening about what kind of an agency is more capable as a client’s “lead”.  Ana Andjelic says “digital agencies” are not capable. Jacques-Herve Roubert asserts that “traditional agencies” aren’t adapting. And Mitch Joel says a client needs both.

My perspective?

[We’re having the wrong debate.]

Brands do not have traditional business objectives and digital business objectives – they simply have business objectives which require a cross-channel marketing strategy -- not a traditional marketing strategy and then a digital marketing strategy.

What is traditional vs. digital marketing these days, anyway?

• More and more I can interact with my TV
• Billboards/out-of-home ads are going binary big time
• I can listen to the radio on my iPod and online radio is on the rise
• And I can watch video in magazines and interact with them via my webcam

These mediums have always been labled "traditional" yet they've naturally evolved/are evolving because of "digital" technology.

The one thing that is certain is that advances in technology will continue to change how people consume and interact with media (and brands). So whether or not a given and specific agency has the capabilities to deliver an effective marketing strategy (given the ever-changing landscape) is what’s up for debate -- there will always be "new media." 

I once worked for an agency specifically focused on “Social Media Marketing” and whose leaders strongly believed that “traditional” AND “digital” agencies would never “get it”. So does this mean we should fragment and silo marketing even more with a 3rd kind of lead/specialized agency?

No. At its most basic level, an agency is simply a collection of people—each with a set of talents, skills, experiences, and knowledge. 

[It’s not agencies who “don’t get it”, it’s people who don’t.]

Shame on any agency leaders who hold on to a snapshot of what marketing was or think that “new media” is the only answer. The fittest agencies are the ones that inherently cultivate a mix of insanely capable people with strong leaders who foster a “with it” culture, period.  As individuals within this industry, we must  be nothing short of passionate life-long students who continue to evolve and shape the places at which we work.

I’m not suggesting that there isn’t a role for specialty or boutique agencies.  But I strongly challenge the notion that agencies should be bucketed as “traditional” media, “digital” media, and “social” media. We are doing a disservice to our clients if we do not approach media as a holistic consumer experience.

Let’s consider the fact that:

1. Not only is TV viewership at an all-time high, but most people are online while watching it.
2. Initiating a search is the most common response to an offline ad.
3. Mass media events dramatically affect online media consumption.

The lines of media channels have officially blurred and are converging rapidly. Marketing strategy must be tackled with people who hyper-collaborate across media channels every day. To do that, we need to stop fragmenting marketing by channels (each with their own agency) and lead our clients with a capable integrated marketing agency.

Wisk It: Relevancy, Utility, and Innovation

Let’s face it, in this world of citizen paparazzi, there are pictures of us on Facebook that we may not have elected to post ourselves. And while one can untag their name, removing the photo isn’t an option if it was posted by someone else.

When brands decide to actively market on Facebook, it can feel forced given the primary purpose of a social network is to, well, be social. Wisk not only seems to get that but they’ve managed to provide a something kind of useful to the Facebook community while marketing their brand.

 “Wisk It” is smart marketing on at least 3 levels:

1. It’s relevant. “Washing” is used in context to something familiar to the Facebook audience.
2. It’s useful. We’ve all fell victim to unwanted photos of ourselves on Facebook.
3. It’s innovative. And innovation helps to create buzz.

Sure it’d be great if the app could automatically find all of the untagged pictures of oneself but nonetheless the app is clever and a step in the right direction of relevant, useful, and innovative social media marketing.