This new online video from Bontrust, a German Finance Company, stresses the importance of tapping into global markets in a very unique manner (I’ll let you be the judge).

My reaction is simply “wow.”

Nevertheless, I’d like to know what you think. Is this crossing the line? Funny haha? Funny faux pas? Just right or so wrong? Did the video serve it’s purpose, will it go viral?

Please share…

That’s not to say that media won’t follow what you are saying in social media, just that the content that typically works best in social media may not always be of interest to media.

What you’ll find once you stop thinking about media as the audience is that it opens up the possibilities for content that may not have otherwise been conceived.  In traditional PR terms, that means things like timeliness, newsworthiness and appealing to the masses.  For social channels, you’re looking for the right context and content that will bring value to the discussion.  I’m not saying that it’s any less stringent than what you would offer media.  In many ways it’s more so.

The only way to know what will appeal to your community is to actually be in your community.  The ways and reasons to do that is the topic for another post, but it should be someone’s job to know what content the community wants, what it doesn’t and to know that it’s alright if it doesn’t draw in media or result in an article or post.

A great example is what WholeFoods has done with its @WholeFoods Twitter feed.  It’s billed as “Fresh organic tweets from Whole Foods Market HQ in Austin, TX,“ but what I get from it is a sense of the culture of the company, and useful things to know before I lay down my cash in the store.  It’s getting increasingly tough for WholeFoods to get out the information in the midst of addressing specific customer inquiries through this main channel.  But, you’ll see the variety in what they try to post and how it’s not necessarily something that media would have been interested in.  What they’ve created is as close as you can get to retail online in a Twitter feed – hints, tips, questions asked and answered.  Understanding what works requires someone(s) being in the community every day monitoring and interacting with the people.

This approach of not looking at media as a target also translates when deciding which content to post on social channels when that content originates as part of a program or campaign.  When deciding what to post to a social channel, have a discipline in place that says it’s not a foregone conclusion that all content will make its way to your social channels.

Remember that you’re building the trust of the communities that form around your content.  Every time you post something, you’re leveraging your brand’s social capital.  These are the daily decisions that can determine the overall strength of your social program.

By far the “most viral” social media ad of the year (thus far in 2009), we have EXTREME SHEPHERDING by Samsung. The two minute and forty forty second ad of time well wasted (aka entertained) was created by The Viral Factory.

The rest of the Top 10 in Viral Social Media videos: (via Adage)

	Last Week	Brand	Campaign	Agency	Current Week Views*	% Change in Views**	Watch the Spot
1	1	Samsung	Extreme Sheep LED Art	The Viral Factory	2,866,364	+39%
2	2	T-Mobile	T-Mobile Dance	Saatchi & Saatchi, MediaCom	876,946	-15%
3	4	Cadbury	Eyebrow Dance	Fallon	636,418	+27%
4	New	Geico	It’s the Gecko/ Numa Numa	The Martin Agency, Horizon Media	442,653	New
5	5	McDonald’s	Talking Filet-O-Fish	Arnold	378,488	-2%
6	9	E-Trade	E-Trade Baby	Grey, New York	323,100	+17%
7	New	Ray-Ban	Never Hide	Cutwater	304,970	New
8	8	Durex	Get It On	Fitzgerald & Co., SuperFad	235,290	-18%
9	Back on chart	Denny’s	Nannerpuss	Goodby, Silverstein & Partners	178,359	-3%
10	6	Vodafone	Lewis Hamilton and the RC Office Grand Prix	McCann Erickson WorldGroup	171,123	-49%

Written by Derek Rey. Social Media Strategist at Technorati. I’m on twitter: d_rey

My role at Technorati is to create relevant media experiences in the blogosphere. I do this with our media network of blogs sites, data, ad technology, community, and various other utilities that we have available from running the largest blogosphere search engine.

Recently, I’ve noticed an increasing number of inquiries from our advertisers (brands & agencies) surrounding “sponsored conversations.” I see this as a great opportunity to discuss the best practices being used in the blogosphere to achieve this objective.

The Rules of Engagement:

1. Transparency - disclose disclose disclose! Disclose the sponsorship. Treat this like a law instead of a rule…
2. Authenticity - blogger’s freedom to be genuine. Nothing is worse than seeing your favorite blogger write something that you know is spam. This ruins their credibility and it ruins yours as well. Let them be genuine.
3. Add “no follow” tags to the post and follow Google’s guidelines for sponsored content. (Small clarification: no, this doesn’t take away a viral component from your campaign. All it means is that any (paid) sponsorship content will be treated as such in the eyes of Google however, reactions and conversations stemming from these post will be treated as organic matter).

Good Practices:

5. Relevancy - keep your conversations relevant to the blog. E.g. A gadget review from a horticulture blogger doesn’t make much sense. However, parenting advice from a mommy blogger, gadget reviews from a tech blogger, and a restaurant review from a foodie, makes perfect sense! Keep it contextual.
6. Relationship - don’t be afraid to ask for a second date. All too often I see brands interact with a blogger then stop communicating immediately after the campaign is done. You’ve already started a relationship, why not continue it?!
7. Start Small - before you jump in feet first, dip your toe to see if the water is right. Jeremiah Owyang has a really good list of Sponsored Conversations and you’ll see that there are successes, and failures. A good starting point might be something as simple as a media campaign in the blogosphere.

Disclosure: when I say “sponsored conversations” I’m not referring to pay-for-post. Pay-for-post is something which I have VERY strong feelings against and believe that it compromises everything I cherish in the social web, that being a genuine and authentic flow of opinion.

The Beauty in all of this

Bloggers are amazing people. They epitomize “influential,” they’re first movers in every sense of the word, and typically, they are “that guy/gal” in a social group who have the answers. Simply put, they’re in the know.

When you, the company, reach out to these people and you put your product in their hands, magic things can happen. (In my mind I’m doing a small dance right now because I get so excited when I talk about this…) Not only can you build a relationship, but you can make friends! Loyalists even. You can look all over the web (e.g. Twitter, Facebook, Technorati) and find conversations happening RIGHT NOW where people are asking other people about your product, about your company, asking about YOU!

Social media is not about impressions, clicks, and eyeballs, social media is about people. It’s about building relationships. Making friends. Having conversations. So be real, be authentic and go out and FIND YOUR USER!

SnowJam is an annual event held by ThinkLA (www.thinkla.org), where 150 advertising, marketing, and media professionals converge on Mammoth Mountain in Southern California for three days. We take buses up together, we cabin together, and we ride (aka ski) together. It’s a really great way to meet likekind media people in the LA advertising industry.

This year the event sold out within 55 minutes and those of us lucky enough to make it in had a PHENOMENAL time! I snowboard a lot and this was the first trip in my entire life where 6 people went to the top of the mountain and came down together, in the same turn, at the same pace! Never have I randomly met up with a large group and didn’t have to wait for anyone! To Nathan, Chelsea, Peter, Margo, and Andrew, good times! Apologies I didn’t record more and sorry for waiting until the last run, a beginner run, to get the cam out… Next time we’ll have to drop the face with the Webbie!

For all of you wondering why I’m writing this on a social media blog, good question… Note, the camera used is the Webbie HD provided by SONY. If you were at South by Southwest (http://sxsw.com/) last weekend in Austin, you probably saw a lot of these. This camera rocks! Unfortunately I shot this video in 720P instead of the 1080P HD output that this thing is capable of. Apologies Sony, apologies friends.

Anyway, just like the bloggers at SxSW, this camera made my weekend and became a serious conversation starter for everyone around me. For those technical geeks (like me), the 1080P output (which I forgot to use, doe) is almost mind blowing considering that this camera fits into the palm of your hand. For those ski bums who have tried to catch a glimpse of your friends while on the slopes, this cam can easily fit in your coat pocket and the “cam shake” is nothing compared to legacy cams. Also this camera is extremly user friendly! I still haven’t opened the user guide. Lastly, this camera costs less that $200 bucks. If you break it, buy another one. It’s awesome!

The final point to take home is, brands, don’t be afraid to go out and find your user! (<- I know @GaryVee said something comparable at SxSW but I wasn’t there and can only quote in “ballpark” paraphrasing). Regardless, great job SONY for putting your product directly into the hands of people who will enjoy it most!

UPDATE #1: I just showed this video to my family and they’re giving me LOADS of flack for capturing a beginner run! lol. SO, to reiterate my apologies to my friends in the video who rode a much steeper terrain all day, I’ve included this image from the top which we dropped time after time. The only “beginner” run we took all day was the one in the video and for any of you familiar with Mammoth, that (in the video) is Quicksilver — the home run to Eagle lodge. (click on photo to expand) by Peter Szabo

UPDATE #2: @eMom busted me for not wearing my helmet. My bad. Sorry real Mom (*who reads every word on this blog*), and sorry @eMom. Thank you for keeping me in check though!

FACEBOOK + CNN INAUGURATION

With Superbowl-esque viewer ratings, the online winner of the inauguration coverage came from CNN and Facebook. The two teamed up to make a very unique and memorable expereince, integrating CNN.com’s video player with Facebook status updates. User’s could toggle between commentary generated from the entire Facebook community, or choose to see what only their friends were saying. All in all, it made for a incredibly powerful expereince, displaying the interactive power of the internet which passive television audiences probably missed. Two incredible statistics (1) CNN.com served more than 21.3 million LIVE video streams globally (2) People commented an average of 3,000 comments per minute. 
For more visit: AdAge, ReadWriteWeb.

SONY ENTERS THE COMMUNITY GAME

Sony has graduated to the social media big leagues. Evolving their social media strategy from blogging efforts in ‘08, to full-fledged community sites in 09. Spear headed by Rick Clancy and Marcy Cohen, these communities speak volumes for lessons learned in The Groundswell (e.g. listening, talking, energizing, supporting, embracing). It will be exciting to watch as Sony energizes its core!For More: Chris Brogan’s interview with Marcy Cohen. Kudos to Awareness who built the communities.

“DON’T BE LIKE THIS GUY” — A SOCIAL MEDIA LESSON

This true story goes as follows: James Andrews (aka @keyinfluencer, his twitter name) works for Ketchum, a PR Agency in Atlanta. One of Ketchum’s biggest client’s is FedEx, a Memphis based company. Upon arrival to Memphis, Mr. Andrew’s tweets “True confession but I’m in one of those towns where I scratch my head and say, ‘I would die if I had to live here.’” Someone inside FedEx was following Andrews on Twitter, and that person shared the tweet with top executives in the FedEx office! Two press releases later, Ketchum is up a creek, and we have an entertaining lesson on how not to use social media.

The Full Store by David Henderson, fittingly titled, “How not no be a Key Online Influencer.”

FACEBOOK = MYSPACE X 2

According to Michael Arrington of Techcrunch, Facebook is now nearly twice the size of MySpace worldwide. Arrington reports that in December Facebook drew 222 million unigue users, according to ComScore, at a 10.8% month over month gain. More that 1 in 5 people on the internet, went to Facebook in December.

The Full Story at: TechCrunch

THE WHITE HOUSE BLOG

Continuing momentum built during President Obama’s journey to the White House, the new administration is taking advantage of the internet to play a role in shaping our Country’s future. WhiteHouse.gov seeks to expand and deepen this online engagement. Stating priorities include Communication, Transparency, and Participation.

The Full Store at: WhiteHouse.gov

HERO OFFLINE, HERO ONLINE

Captian CB “Scully” Sullenberger, the hero pilot who safely ditched US Airways Flight 1549 into the Hudson River last week, has been all the rage on Facebook. Captain Scully has over 500,000 fans and has been growing by 100 fans per hour. Also made “internet famous” from the event was Janis Krums, a regular guy who happened to catch the first glimpse of the plane in the river, then posted to twitter. Here’s his photo http://twitpic.com/135xa.

AD OF THE WEEK (Repeat. Just in case you missed it!)

Filmed with hidden cameras and 350 dancers. This unsuspecting London train station filled with commuters was the setting for T-Mobile’s new “Life is for sharing” TV ad. Seemingly out of nowhere, the dancers start performing one by one and create a really unique expereince worth watching. The ad was created by Saatchi London and aired within 48 hours after the filming.

Reactions from the real life people caught off guard in the train station:

]]> http://beyondbanner.com/2009/01/24/inside-social-media-january-23rd/feed/ http://beyondbanner.com/2009/01/22/ad-of-the-week-t-mobile-life-is-for-sharing/ http://beyondbanner.com/2009/01/22/ad-of-the-week-t-mobile-life-is-for-sharing/#comments Fri, 23 Jan 2009 06:30:38 +0000 Derek_Rey http://beyondbanner.com/?p=464 Filmed with hidden cameras and 350 dancers. This unsuspecting London train station filled with commuters was the setting for T-Mobile’s new “Life is for sharing” TV ad. Seemingly out of nowhere, the dancers start performing one by one and create a really unique expereince worth watching. The ad was created by Saatchi London and aired within 48 hours after the filming.

Reactions from the real people caught off guard in the train station. Accents and all

This EXCELLENT illustration shines light on the massive clutter and competition present in our media environment. Created by German ad agency Scholz & Friends on how the world of brand management has evolved from the 1940’s.

Simple. Insightful. A good watch for any brand manager or AMD!

Via Fresh Peel

Whaddaya think?

Thoughts on branding in relationship to sensory overload? Does this shake up those “display ads should die” feelings? Do we need a new system? Is a ‘good message’ simply not good enough in today’s media environment?

I am a longtime user of both DELL and Apple. I’m writing this post from my MacBook Pro and I designed the graphic above on my DELL desktop (I moved from office to couch to watch the BCS Championship Game otherwise I probably would have finished this on the DELL). I’m a fan of Steve Jobs, I’ve had two iPods die (post warranty expiration) and I experienced DELL hell firsthand in 2004. I’ve experience the best and worst of both and don’t feel that I lean one way or the other when it comes to Mac vs DELL.

However, watching the disappointment from the final Macworld this week  and hearing the success of DELL at CES, I believe the momentum is changing between Apple and DELL. Social media being the component that differentiates the two apart. Here are three reasons why 2009 will be “The Year of DELL.”

1)  Real People

Big business is faux pas. I dislike big companies for the same reason you do (e.g. Corporate greed, CEO scandals, unprecedented bailouts). Edelman’s Steve Rubel wrote an excellent post on his Micro Persuasion Blog titled “Three Reasons the Internet is Eroding Apple’s mojo,” explaining that in today’s economy, “employees and ‘a person like me’ are far more trusted, according to data from the Edelman Trust Barometer.”

DELL has people like me. Apple…? None that I know of.

Richard Binhammer (aka RichardAtDELL) is DELL’s “person like me”.  If you have ever voiced a problem, concern, or complaint online about DELL, you’ve probably heard from him. He is a senior manager at DELL yet spends his entire day interacting with people on blogs, Twitter, and other social networking applications. He’s just one example of how the entire company has shifted it’s focus on embracing the global conversation. Here is a recent sample from RichardatDELL’s twitter account:

This type of response is immediate, authentic and genuine. If you continue reading RichardatDELL’s Twitter page you’ll see personal messages mixed customer service responses. You get to know him. You learn that he’s Canadian and has a good sense of humor. This type of transparency shifts the perspective from corporate, to personal. When companies apologize, nobody cares. When RichardatDELL apologizes, its an entirely different story.

2) Community

Dell has invested a tremendous amount of resources in building communities online.  Ranging from the award winning IdeaStorm that allows DELL customers to make suggestions and product recommendations, to ReGeneration.org, a community built on spreading environmental awareness, DELL is redefining what it means to be a customer.

If you’ve never visited one of DELL’s online communities, I strongly recommend their new Facebook page created for small and medium sized businesses to learn about using social media to grow their business (2,500 fans and growing). Here’s their introductory caption for the page:

Based on our experience at Dell and conversations with customers, we created a series of “Social Media Guides” to help small and medium businesses effectively use these tools to grow and better serve customers. Each guide includes an overview of the approach, the opportunity, tips for getting started, examples of best practices and case studies. We hope these guides help take the mystery out of social media and also spark conversation and idea sharing. Please join the conversation on the Discussion Board below.

In 2009 you will see these communities explode (in a good way). DELL will make new friends, new followers, and continue building genuine relationships with people online.

3) Products

Apple has set the bar extremely high for tech products. To catch Apple in 2009 is would be impossible however I am predicting DELL to close this gap significantly (gap being the delta in stock price. See graphic to the left). Unlike most tech predictions, mine will be tested within the next 24 hours since DELL is scheduled to debut at CES TODAY! Look for high quality aesthetic design at a price that makes sense. This will be their game changer. I’m also REALLY excited to see how DELL has incorporated the suggestions generated from IdeaStorm into this new generation of products!

The end game

DELL is listening, engaging, and communicating with customers like no other company in the history of business. Their doing this at a time when traditional one-way advertising and messaging have become unwanted and unfashionable. 2009 will be the Year of DELL, paving the way for social media and a new set of marketers.

Your Thoughts and Feedback?

What do you think? Does DELL have it in them? Can they close the gap? What about Apple? I didn’t mention anything about Steve Jobs but how does his health factor into all of this?

Update #1

First glimpse of DELL’s new game changing product line — the Adamo! (From Engadget)

Here is the latest edition of the eye opening Did You Know presentation, prepared by by Karl Fisch, Scott Mcleod, Jeff Brenman. Video version directly below. Text version following…

If you’re one in a million in China…

…there are 1,300 people just like you.

—

China will soon become the NUMBER ONE

English speaking country in the world.

—

The 25% of India’s population with the highest IQ’s is GREATER than the total population of the United States. TRANSLATION: India has more honors kids than America has kids

—

The top 10 in-demand jobs in 2010 did not exist in 2004

—

We are currently preparing students for jobs that don’t yet exist…
Using technologies that haven’t been invented…
In order to solve problems we don’t even know are problems yet

—

The U.S. Department of Labor estimates that today’s learner will have 10-14 jobs by the age of 38

—

1 in 4 works has been with their current employer for less than a year.

—

1 in 2 has been there less than five years.

—

1 our of 8 couples married in the U.S. last year met online

—

There are over 200 million register users on MySpace. If MySpace were a country, it would be the 5th-largest in the world (between Indonesia and Brazil)

—

The #1 ranked country in Broadband Internet Penetration is Bermuda. #19 The United States. #22 Japan.

—

We are living in exponential times.
There are 31 Billion searches on Google every month.
In 2006, this number was 2.7 Billion.

—

To whom were these questions addressed B.G.? (Before Google)

—

The first commercial text message was sent in December of 1992.

—

Today, the number of text messages sent and received everyday, exceeds the total population of the planet.

—

Years in took to reach a market audience of 50 million:

Radio 38 years
TV 13 years
Internet 4 years
iPod 3 years
Facebook 2 years

—

The number of internet devices in 1984 was 1,000
The number of internet devices in 1992 was 1,000,000
The number of internet devices in 2008 is 1,000,000,000

—

There are about 540,000 words in the English language
About 5X as many as during Shakespeare’s time

—

It is estimated that a week’s worth of the New York Times contains more information than a person was likely to come across in a lifetime in the 18th century.

—

It is estimated that 4 exabytes (4.0×10^19) of unique information will be generated this year.

That is more than the previous 5,000 years

—

The amount of new technical information is doubling every 2 years…
For students starting a 4 year technical degree this means that half of what they learn in their first year of study will be outdated by their third year of study.

—

NTT Japan has successfully tested a fiber optic cable that pushes 14 trillion bits per second down a single strand of fiber. That is 2,660 CDs or 210 million phone calls every second.

It is currently tripling every six months and is expected to do so for the next 20 years.

—

By 2013, a supercomputer will be built that exceeds the computational capabilities of the human brain. Predictions are that by 2049, a $1000 computer will exceed the computational capabilities of the entire human species.

—

During the course of this presentation:

67 babies were born in the US
274 babies were born in China
395 babies were born in India
And 694,000 songs were downloaded illegally.

by: Karl Fisch, Scott Mcleod, Jeff Brenman