Leave it to The Muppets to utilize all the best social media strategies available to date to launch their movie. The big lessons here are how early they started working the social media channels, capitalizing on the fanatic love muppets have for all things muppets, and letting the muppets be the muppets.
http://mashable.com/2011/11/20/muppets-social-campaign/
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Hipster Humor. Tweet this hipsters.
The Colbert Report
Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,Video Archive
Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,Video Archive
Monday, September 19, 2011
The State of the Web --Summer 2011 Edition
It looks like the interweb has been changing dramatically during my maternity leave. The only thing missing from this infographic is the new addiction sweeping dayjobs and productivity known as pinterest. Tumblr who?
http://theoatmeal.com/comics/state_web_summer
http://theoatmeal.com/comics/state_web_summer
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Television versus Social Media
The Latest from NoahBrier.com |
Whenever someone argues more brand money should shift out of TV it's accompanied by some statistics about how much time people are spending in digital channels. But clearly that doesn't tell the whole story (which we all know, but sometimes fail to admit). Two quotes I ran across today help speak to other side of that coin. The first, from John Battelle in his 5 Question interview over at Digiday (I've been loving these 5 question things they're doing, btw). When asked specifically why the money hasn't followed the attention, Battelle responded:
Marketers haven't seen the clear line between investment and return. They see that with TV. We just can't avoid the elephant in the room. When Kraft puts $25 million into six DMAs [on TV] over one week and sees an 11 percent lift in its scan data off retail, it says let's do that again. That is a direct line between investment and return. That hasn't been established online. It leads all sorts of inteligent people to have six or eight lines of debate. One is that it's the wrong question. Online is a different medium. You can't expect to draw a bright line between investment and return like TV. Another is we don't have the right unit/creative/scalability/This sentiment is reflected in this morning's FT Lex column which talks about companies becoming more adept at harnessing the power of social media, including finding some correlation between stock price and the number of Facebook likes added over a period. They close with this, though:measurement. I really think the core is the large marketers who are the drivers of this debate, whether they're actively participating in it or driving it by not moving the money, haven't seen the return yet. They don't think they can trust it.
But correlations are one thing and causality quite another. Perhaps a company's share price is rising at the same time as it is adding thousands of new Facebook followers because of a huge marketing push elsewhere. Also, do social media reduce the chance of a brand surviving a big negative shock? The internet is unambiguously good for consumers. But it remains a double-edged sword for companies.Obviously I'm a believer that there are big opportunities for brands on the web, but I'm also a believer that the situation around why money is moving more slowly than many think it should is not as cut and dry and many want you to believe.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
For the love of power point.. and keynote
I AM THE
ORSON WELLES
OF POWERPOINT.
BY OYL MILLER
- - - -
I am the Orson Welles of PowerPoint 2010.
Next slide.
I don't let marketing get in the way of a potential masterpiece. You see I don't create mere presentations. I use technology and the language of our times to evoke human emotions from my audience. I don't settle for default settings and I've never met a template I didn't break.
I'm not a junior sales manager, I'm a storyteller.
At one point, artists and the alleged tastemakers of society scoffed at the notion of motion pictures. However, generations of innovative film directors have rendered fools of those early dissenters of cinema.
So too will history one day be unkind to those who belittle the artistic merits of my PowerPoint journeys.
My slides are arranged with a careful eye to typography and design; two well trusted guardians of the Modern Arts.
The transitions I select from the pre-determined palette are individually chosen with consideration for both aesthetics and narrative lubrication. As Alfred Hitchcock once furthered the cinematic transition of the radial wipe, so do I pioneer with the provocative primacy of the PowerPoint Fire Transition.
No two of my PowerPoints are the same. While I have yet to craft my Citizen Kane, I consider the PowerPoint I gave at the conference in Atlanta last year to be my Taxi Driver. The regional sales meeting in Denver was my Ishtar. And right now I'm experimenting with 3D technology to create a visually immersive PowerPoint experience that will rival the cinematic wizardry of James Cameron's Avatar.
I don't use PowerPoint in the same manner as my peers. I am a PowerPoint iconoclast. A PowerPoint auteur. Breathing the spirit of Nouvelle Vague into inspired template tweaked slides. I don't use PowerPoint to spew hollow facts and meaningless statistics. I aim to deliver revolutionary corporate poetry into the hearts and minds of marketing vice presidents across this country.
I believe that sometimes a PowerPoint demands five consecutive pages of full bleed abstract images. Just to make people feel. To get mid-level managers to loosen their ties and take off their name card necklaces. Too much logic is the death knell of any PowerPoint pursuit.
When I'm faced with a new PowerPoint, I don't think about what my manager is expecting. I think about Shakespeare. I think about that feather at the beginning of Forrest Gump. I think about Marlon Brando's monologue in Apocalypse Now. I wonder how Scorsese would judge my section dividers. I think about how Homer would break the Odyssey down into slides.
I'm trying to figure out how can I use this ubiquitous PowerPoint program as a vehicle to build my legend. To hone my craft. To start the next revolution, not in business, but in art. How can I use this oft-overlooked format to get me into the Tate Modern?
Such is the stuff of my PowerPointing dreams.
http://www.mcsweeneys.net/2010/9/16miller.html
Friday, March 25, 2011
How to make your agencies work better together...
How to make your agencies work better together...
We are not witnessing an evolutionary change in marketing communications. Rather, there is now an inflection point which requires new communication models, different people, a revised set of capabilities, new organizational structures, and different ways of partnering with agencies. Firms are recognizing this new reality and are struggling to cope with it, as evidenced in a recent BCG report on this topic, based on nearly 100 interviews with practitioners and others close to the issue.
The maturation of social media is defining the inflection point. Social media provides the power of word-of-mouth communication, involvement, credible information sources, and personal recommendations that is next to impossible to duplicate elsewhere. Pivotal to the inflection point, it has now achieved scale which means that it is an option to some and an indispensable resource to others. But social media strategies are complex, require specialized expertise, and are much more labor intensive than traditional media communication. Further, the challenge of generating integrated marketing communications is made much more difficult by this new media form.
In the research for my book Spanning Silos, I observed that the communication silos both inside and outside the firm, such as advertising, PR, event marketing, and promotions represent silos that often not only fail to communicate and cooperate but actually compete. The problem only gets worse when social media is added because it is even more separated in terms of background, language, and metrics. The silo crisis just got worse.
The solution is to replace isolation and competition with communication and cooperation using teams. So a team is in charge of a communication campaign rather than a set of silos doing their own thing and only being loosely connected. The team should have a central goal with metrics, incentives to work together, and a set of people that are capable of functioning within a team structure.
Who should be the leader of the team? Jim Stengel, the former CMO of P&G, developed the idea that the communication vehicle and the team that generated the home-run idea would become the leader and the others would support. So it might be the NASCAR sponsorship for Valvoline, being the go-to website for baby care for Pampers, a “real beauty” advertising campaign for Dove, or a series of video clips for BMW. But there would be one leader and one focus. The team structure and its leaders could evolve and change over time but the central organizational structure would always be a team.
In any case, it is not business as usual. It is an inflection point representing real change as an imperative.
Brand building and social media—the silo crisis just got worse
http://www.prophet.com/blog/aakeronbrands/20-brand-building-and-social-mediathe-silo-crisis-just-got-worseWe are not witnessing an evolutionary change in marketing communications. Rather, there is now an inflection point which requires new communication models, different people, a revised set of capabilities, new organizational structures, and different ways of partnering with agencies. Firms are recognizing this new reality and are struggling to cope with it, as evidenced in a recent BCG report on this topic, based on nearly 100 interviews with practitioners and others close to the issue.
The maturation of social media is defining the inflection point. Social media provides the power of word-of-mouth communication, involvement, credible information sources, and personal recommendations that is next to impossible to duplicate elsewhere. Pivotal to the inflection point, it has now achieved scale which means that it is an option to some and an indispensable resource to others. But social media strategies are complex, require specialized expertise, and are much more labor intensive than traditional media communication. Further, the challenge of generating integrated marketing communications is made much more difficult by this new media form.
In the research for my book Spanning Silos, I observed that the communication silos both inside and outside the firm, such as advertising, PR, event marketing, and promotions represent silos that often not only fail to communicate and cooperate but actually compete. The problem only gets worse when social media is added because it is even more separated in terms of background, language, and metrics. The silo crisis just got worse.
The solution is to replace isolation and competition with communication and cooperation using teams. So a team is in charge of a communication campaign rather than a set of silos doing their own thing and only being loosely connected. The team should have a central goal with metrics, incentives to work together, and a set of people that are capable of functioning within a team structure.
Who should be the leader of the team? Jim Stengel, the former CMO of P&G, developed the idea that the communication vehicle and the team that generated the home-run idea would become the leader and the others would support. So it might be the NASCAR sponsorship for Valvoline, being the go-to website for baby care for Pampers, a “real beauty” advertising campaign for Dove, or a series of video clips for BMW. But there would be one leader and one focus. The team structure and its leaders could evolve and change over time but the central organizational structure would always be a team.
In any case, it is not business as usual. It is an inflection point representing real change as an imperative.
Friday, February 25, 2011
A logo from the past comes back
NY Cosmos
Does anyone else remember the excitement of the NY Cosmos? We were huge fans as kids and I remember having t-shirts, soccer balls, and shorts with this logo. I am glad to see the logo and team make a comeback. Hope they have more longevity for this round.
It is really interesting to see these old brands be revitalized for future generations. Sometimes brands are more powerful than people realize.
Does anyone else remember the excitement of the NY Cosmos? We were huge fans as kids and I remember having t-shirts, soccer balls, and shorts with this logo. I am glad to see the logo and team make a comeback. Hope they have more longevity for this round.
It is really interesting to see these old brands be revitalized for future generations. Sometimes brands are more powerful than people realize.
Monday, December 13, 2010
Everything is Media
Some big thoughts for a Monday. A nugget of truth for everyone.
Everything is Media
View more presentations from nbrier.
Friday, November 12, 2010
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Social Media Glossary
Just in time for a new season of Buzzword Bingo:
A Jargon Refresh Is in Order
by Pete Blackshaw Published: September 28, 2010
http://adage.com/cmostrategy/article?article_id=146161
Well, the end of the year is approaching, and The Official Social-Media and Mobile Glossary of 2010, which I created in January, is already obsolete. A jargon refresh and "social stimulus" is in order -- this against a backdrop of "no-blink" social-media and digital speed. Here goes, and yes, a few of these are autobiographical. Send feedback (or complaints).
Mayoral graft: The all-too-frequent practice of Foursquare fanatics falsely claiming an appearance at a location -- a restaurant, bar or coffee shop -- in order to secure or solidify early major status.
Hash bragger: A person who consistently (and annoyingly) uses hash tags to brag about exploits, exclusive conferences or envious travel. Often uses multiple hash tags.
App rat: A relentless app collector who is known to download apps and then leave them to gather cobwebs. Related to Appotato, a compulsive app addict.
Faux pocket pas: That all too common (and always embarrassing) situation where your iPhone, Blackberry or Droid phone misfires to someone you'd rather not call -- often in the middle of the night. Can put major stress on relationships. App-happy children are also known to trigger such misfires.
Geo crasher: A person so intent on following a GPS-powered map or app that they can barely walk straight. Inevitably they crash into everyone -- in airports, on sidewalks, in ballroom stalls. According to social guru Kevin Dugan (@prblog), there's even a Flickr group dedicated to this.
Brandonment: When consumers un-friend or unlike brands that create lame experiences. Brands that fail to properly maintain and update Facebook or Twitter pages are at high risk of Brandonment.
Instantinence: The uncontrollable, compulsive and usually ego-dominated need to check "Google Instant" for real-time tweets, blurbs or inane comments or news items about you or your brand.
Tag Lady (or Tag Man): These folks have more tags on their blog posts or tweets than followers or friends. These folks never met a tag they didn't like.
Brand stand: Branded social-media outposts that revolve around the website. Facebook and Twitter are classic brand stands.
Trail marker: This person takes double-downs on Gowalla and Foursquare (and more recently, Facebook Places) to spot their trail wherever they go. They are easy to spot in bars and restaurants -- they always have their heads down and are flustered.
Textgression: The curious migration of adults into youth behavior, habits and practices, especially when it comes to texting. Here our language quickly digresses into comedic short-form. R U w/me?
Jack rabbit: A tech freak who skips from jack port to jack port, almost as though he or she is on a mad quest for frequent-flier miles. Jack rabbits are common in airport lounges or coffee shops.
Snowcial: A social-media meet-up in the snow or on the slopes. There's actually a conference by this name, sponsored by Vail/Heavenly Resorts & Harrahs. (Full disclosure: I'm an informal adviser and mogul-happy Snowcialite).
Top squatter: A person who reads, tries or buys anything at the top of the "best of" or "most shared" lists, whether it's iTunes, apps, Huffington Post, Ad Age or New York Times. This person never slips beneath the fray.
Proud padder: An excessively proud iPad user. Known for over-embellished iPad demonstrations on planes or in public. (Guilty as charged.)
Tag stab: The injury inflicted when someone is inappropriately tagged in compromising, unflattering or just plain stupid social "moments." Mostly unavoidable, unless all cameras are "checked at the door."
Four squire: A person who uses Foursquare in pursuit of dates or relationship starters (or who knows what else). Beware!
Password penitence: The need to continually use the "Forgot my password" function on websites, services and applications-often digital overload. (Courtesy of friend John Stieger, consumer-relations leader at Procter & Gamble.)
Like meister: That person on Facebook who "likes" everything. Borders on compulsive. Even the goofiest photos get likes.
Pal purgatory: When you put a friend request on hold, sometimes indefinitely, via Facebook or Twitter.
Spot scrambler: A person who delays or shuffles tweets or GPS check-ins for reasons of safety, security or just plain paranoia, i.e. you don't want the world to know you are not at home with the family.
Wiki whipped: When you just can't change your wiki entry, under any circumstance. Often activist groups, detractors or others will completely own your entry.
A Jargon Refresh Is in Order
by Pete Blackshaw Published: September 28, 2010
http://adage.com/cmostrategy/article?article_id=146161
Well, the end of the year is approaching, and The Official Social-Media and Mobile Glossary of 2010, which I created in January, is already obsolete. A jargon refresh and "social stimulus" is in order -- this against a backdrop of "no-blink" social-media and digital speed. Here goes, and yes, a few of these are autobiographical. Send feedback (or complaints).
Mayoral graft: The all-too-frequent practice of Foursquare fanatics falsely claiming an appearance at a location -- a restaurant, bar or coffee shop -- in order to secure or solidify early major status.
Hash bragger: A person who consistently (and annoyingly) uses hash tags to brag about exploits, exclusive conferences or envious travel. Often uses multiple hash tags.
App rat: A relentless app collector who is known to download apps and then leave them to gather cobwebs. Related to Appotato, a compulsive app addict.
Faux pocket pas: That all too common (and always embarrassing) situation where your iPhone, Blackberry or Droid phone misfires to someone you'd rather not call -- often in the middle of the night. Can put major stress on relationships. App-happy children are also known to trigger such misfires.
Geo crasher: A person so intent on following a GPS-powered map or app that they can barely walk straight. Inevitably they crash into everyone -- in airports, on sidewalks, in ballroom stalls. According to social guru Kevin Dugan (@prblog), there's even a Flickr group dedicated to this.
Brandonment: When consumers un-friend or unlike brands that create lame experiences. Brands that fail to properly maintain and update Facebook or Twitter pages are at high risk of Brandonment.
Instantinence: The uncontrollable, compulsive and usually ego-dominated need to check "Google Instant" for real-time tweets, blurbs or inane comments or news items about you or your brand.
Tag Lady (or Tag Man): These folks have more tags on their blog posts or tweets than followers or friends. These folks never met a tag they didn't like.
Brand stand: Branded social-media outposts that revolve around the website. Facebook and Twitter are classic brand stands.
Trail marker: This person takes double-downs on Gowalla and Foursquare (and more recently, Facebook Places) to spot their trail wherever they go. They are easy to spot in bars and restaurants -- they always have their heads down and are flustered.
Textgression: The curious migration of adults into youth behavior, habits and practices, especially when it comes to texting. Here our language quickly digresses into comedic short-form. R U w/me?
Jack rabbit: A tech freak who skips from jack port to jack port, almost as though he or she is on a mad quest for frequent-flier miles. Jack rabbits are common in airport lounges or coffee shops.
Snowcial: A social-media meet-up in the snow or on the slopes. There's actually a conference by this name, sponsored by Vail/Heavenly Resorts & Harrahs. (Full disclosure: I'm an informal adviser and mogul-happy Snowcialite).
Top squatter: A person who reads, tries or buys anything at the top of the "best of" or "most shared" lists, whether it's iTunes, apps, Huffington Post, Ad Age or New York Times. This person never slips beneath the fray.
Proud padder: An excessively proud iPad user. Known for over-embellished iPad demonstrations on planes or in public. (Guilty as charged.)
Tag stab: The injury inflicted when someone is inappropriately tagged in compromising, unflattering or just plain stupid social "moments." Mostly unavoidable, unless all cameras are "checked at the door."
Four squire: A person who uses Foursquare in pursuit of dates or relationship starters (or who knows what else). Beware!
Password penitence: The need to continually use the "Forgot my password" function on websites, services and applications-often digital overload. (Courtesy of friend John Stieger, consumer-relations leader at Procter & Gamble.)
Like meister: That person on Facebook who "likes" everything. Borders on compulsive. Even the goofiest photos get likes.
Pal purgatory: When you put a friend request on hold, sometimes indefinitely, via Facebook or Twitter.
Spot scrambler: A person who delays or shuffles tweets or GPS check-ins for reasons of safety, security or just plain paranoia, i.e. you don't want the world to know you are not at home with the family.
Wiki whipped: When you just can't change your wiki entry, under any circumstance. Often activist groups, detractors or others will completely own your entry.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Monday, August 23, 2010
Good Meeting Everyone: boy meets coil, hope springs eternal
Everyone has been in a meeting like this and it is not a joke but it should be a joke. Luckily this video is a joke. The article does bring up a good point about comfort food and people wanting to make things that make them comfortable. Comfort isn't always the answer in advertising. If creative is too familiar it has been done before and it won't differentiate for you or what your selling.
Friday, August 20, 2010
I is for Influencers
I is for Influencers: In a networked world, the soft power of social connection matters a great deal, whether you're selling music, celebrity, or socks. One school of thought says that it's "influencers" who matter online: identify them and you've got it made. The other says what matters are the influenced-- we need to understand when and why people copy others. Both rely on the notion of "influence" as a vector of transmission, the luminiferous aether of the online world, a medium everyone knows must be there and nobody can quite measure yet.
Read the entire article on Pitchfork, but this is the best definition of the elusive influencer and why they are critical.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Friday, August 6, 2010
Why Interruption Still Trumps Engagement - Advertising Age - CMO Strategy
Why Interruption Still Trumps Engagement - Advertising Age - CMO Strategy
I can't wait to read the comments section on this one my Monday. There is need for lively discussion on what an engagement strategy is and does. I don't think many Clients know when they sign onto a campaign. They are incredibly hot right now and do produce results for the short term.
I can't wait to read the comments section on this one my Monday. There is need for lively discussion on what an engagement strategy is and does. I don't think many Clients know when they sign onto a campaign. They are incredibly hot right now and do produce results for the short term.
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Unlikely Social Media Leader: Sarah Palin
Monday, August 2, 2010
Social Media Meets Bumper Sticker Wisdom
Social Media Meets Bumper Sticker Wisdom
By: ML Haynes
http://www.mlhaynesdesign.com
It’s funny how things come to you at the oddest times and in the strangest situations. I’m getting used to it, but ideas and solutions can still strike me when I least expect it. I had one of those experiences recently, as I worked to find the Holy Grail of “selling social” to clients -- and even colleagues -- who aren’t there yet in understanding the how and the why of it.
If you pitch pixels, you know what I’m talking about. You have a marketing director, an exec out of the C-suite, or maybe even someone out of biz dev who hasn’t seen the shining light of his or her first badge or felt the rush of a retweet. You can throw all the stats you have like so many Ninja Stars, but they just don’t get it. After far too many of these meetings, I realized I needed to pull it in and rethink my approach.
Then it hit me. It was really quite simple. I broke it down into four simple steps. Take a look. Try it out. Let me know if you don’t agree that sometimes (and this is one of those times) it’s best to go low-tech and keep on truckin’!
Step 1: Get In. Social Media should be experienced. If you want to know what’s going on, join. Reading, researching are not substitutes for total immersion. Sure there’s the obvious -- and the ubiquitous -- but maybe you walk in slowly at the shallow end. Get off that chaise lounge and get in!
Step 2: Sit Down. Get comfortable, too. You’re going to be here for a while. If you’re going to make this a worthwhile venture -- and meeting business objectives is certainly worthwhile, to say the least -- you’ll need to take the long view on this. You also will need to be present, actively present, when you’re here.
Step 3: Hold On. The ride can get bumpy, so reach up and grab that handrail when you feel the need. Remember, this is why you’re here -- to take in everything. The good. The bad. The ugly. Social Media is like a focus group on some really good stuff. Once you get your bearings, you’ll be glad you rode it out.
Step 4: Shut Up. This is sometimes the hardest part: listening. There’s a reason why we call these intentional communities “listening platforms," and this is where the gold is. That tripped-out focus group I mentioned earlier -- they come up with great stuff. If we take the time to let it soak in, inform our thinking and insights, and change and improve our perspective, it’s a ride that’ll take us to interesting -- and fruitful -- places.
By: ML Haynes
http://www.mlhaynesdesign.com
It’s funny how things come to you at the oddest times and in the strangest situations. I’m getting used to it, but ideas and solutions can still strike me when I least expect it. I had one of those experiences recently, as I worked to find the Holy Grail of “selling social” to clients -- and even colleagues -- who aren’t there yet in understanding the how and the why of it.
If you pitch pixels, you know what I’m talking about. You have a marketing director, an exec out of the C-suite, or maybe even someone out of biz dev who hasn’t seen the shining light of his or her first badge or felt the rush of a retweet. You can throw all the stats you have like so many Ninja Stars, but they just don’t get it. After far too many of these meetings, I realized I needed to pull it in and rethink my approach.
Then it hit me. It was really quite simple. I broke it down into four simple steps. Take a look. Try it out. Let me know if you don’t agree that sometimes (and this is one of those times) it’s best to go low-tech and keep on truckin’!
Step 1: Get In. Social Media should be experienced. If you want to know what’s going on, join. Reading, researching are not substitutes for total immersion. Sure there’s the obvious -- and the ubiquitous -- but maybe you walk in slowly at the shallow end. Get off that chaise lounge and get in!
Step 2: Sit Down. Get comfortable, too. You’re going to be here for a while. If you’re going to make this a worthwhile venture -- and meeting business objectives is certainly worthwhile, to say the least -- you’ll need to take the long view on this. You also will need to be present, actively present, when you’re here.
Step 3: Hold On. The ride can get bumpy, so reach up and grab that handrail when you feel the need. Remember, this is why you’re here -- to take in everything. The good. The bad. The ugly. Social Media is like a focus group on some really good stuff. Once you get your bearings, you’ll be glad you rode it out.
Step 4: Shut Up. This is sometimes the hardest part: listening. There’s a reason why we call these intentional communities “listening platforms," and this is where the gold is. That tripped-out focus group I mentioned earlier -- they come up with great stuff. If we take the time to let it soak in, inform our thinking and insights, and change and improve our perspective, it’s a ride that’ll take us to interesting -- and fruitful -- places.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)