New Media Revolution

Learning from BP and Starbucks: Using Digital Channels to boost Awareness and Interactivity

noreply@blogger.com (New Media Revolution) — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 02:35:00 +0000

Utilizing digital channels in one’s marketing schema is not new. In fact, it is expected. It is however, expected to be done well, and seamlessly, never being so self aware that it becomes a parody of itself. Starbucks has followed in the footsteps of such socially embedded brands as Band-Aid and Kool-Aid (totally without the Aid, btw) to become a part of pop culture consciousness. If I had a nickel for every time someone asked me, “hey, is there a Starbucks near there?” while asking for directions, well I’d probably have a few hundred free frappacinos under my belt. From sing-alongs to commemorate World AIDS Day

to their campaign with foursquare

http://mashable.com/2010/05/17/starbucks-foursquare-mayor-specials/

Starbucks has positioned themselves as a “customer-centric” company that knows how to utilize digital channels to ensure interactivity and loyalty with those that pay their light bills. It is Starbucks commitment to driving sales through pushing social media technology that allows them to benefit from their efforts. They are not simply using it because it is expected, they are using it because they see its value and they are using it to further connect to their patrons.
That is not saying that digital channels are the path to achieving marketing greatness. Unlike Starbucks, other companies have seemingly begrudgingly used digital channels in ways that countered their efforts and literally set the company back in its public opinion; enter BP. The oil giant, reeling from one of the worst eco-disasters of our time, showed the media and anyone else that not only was their technology behind the times, but their PR was as well.

http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2010/06/bps-social-media-campaign-going-about-as-well-as-capping-that-well/

With Starbucks pushing the envelope and BP failing to even find a stamp, how open is the frontier of using digital channels in today’s oversaturated media marketplace. Well, we can all take a cue from Starbucks and do something they seem to be achieving quite effortlessly: having fun. Facebook is not just a tool, it is a story, guestbook for relationships their demise and the phoenix of new connections from their ashes. MTV has realized this with not only viral campaigns but apps built around new reality programming

http://www.insidefacebook.com/2009/04/09/mtv-builds-viral-app-for-new-reality-show

Is it also too near sighted for today’s social media environment? Let’s broaden out creative focus. What about a contest to create a brand-associate personality on facebook where the winner has the most friends? Imagine the daily exploits of a Ronald McDonaldesque mascot that fails at love, has a fantasy football league and is overcoming a crippling gambling addiction. OK. Maybe that’s a little darker for the usual fast food faire, but you get the idea. What about using foursquare for a scavenger hunt, offering coupons or even larger incentives to the group or individual that completes the quest first. We’ve all found Waldo at least once. What if Waldo was hiding in surveillance video for a popular restaurant chain? What if these videos were uploaded to Youtube, part of a campaign that gave its customers to spot the elusive character throughout several clips uploaded weekly? Although these might seem flippant, they all represent an interactivity that propels customers to visit multiple digital channels in hopes of receiving rewards to use at their favorite spots, becoming part of the company’s viral marketing lexicon in the process.

Going Viral: The Importance of Video in the Digital Marketing Arena

noreply@blogger.com (New Media Revolution) — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 01:32:00 +0000

We live in a “show-me” society. The gap between technology and user has narrowed and the wired world is not only wireless now, but is seeing an unprecedented accessibility to all kinds of media. We don’t just want someone to tell us directions anymore, we want to see the twists and turns of the road on our GPS in real time. We are a visual people made even more so by our ability to seek and find content at the speeds of our internet connection. Visual media is not just an option, it is an expected aspect of the entertainment experience, and video has become the lynch pin to that expectation. Digital marketers should not be worrying about whether they are going to include video, they should be asking where and to what extent their video will be included. With social media at its height and not slowing down, the inclusion of video is essential in a world where anything can go viral. A well-placed video ad on a social networking site can easily reach scores of other viewers by work of mouth alone on the right forum.

It is the forward thinking attitude of digital marketers and the entertainers they represent which has spurred some rather risky and unexpected video campaigns. The morning show duo of Opie and Anthony would be the last pair expected to embrace video as one of their key promotional devices, but with contests involving strippers, outrageous homeless personalities and more, video was a medium that complimented their efforts well. Some of their videos, uploaded to Youtube exceeded 1 million hits, such as this clip featuring a regular on the show, that while homeless impressed the staff with his stirring renditions of popular rock songs on his acoustic guitar.

Another example and one that stands out as on of the most successful of campaigns was the Youtube sensation Here it Goes Again, an amateur video from pop musicians Ok Go! The video featuring band members dancing in choreographed time to their own song, all while on operating treadmills went viral and catapulted to group to superstar status practically overnight. The mark of a successful video campaign is sometimes not so much in its accolades as it is in its parodies. The video made the rounds on many different video sites, re-edited by users to include high school dance troups and even a version done entirely with Legos.

Whether its logos or he girl sitting next you in drama class, imitation is often a sincere form of flattery. So the next time you find yourself writing copy for your ad campaign, ask yourself this: Should I be writing this while dancing on a treadmill. Better set up the tripod.

Become a Consultant? Maybe You Already Are.

noreply@blogger.com (New Media Revolution) — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 23:45:00 +0000

Looking for a job while you work on that start up in new media you’ve been pulling together all of your resources for? It might be more self-serving than you think, and you might already have all the credentials you need. You might in fact be able to use social media to become a social media consultant.

So you have a dream. You have a business model in mind that will revolutionize its industry if only the idea can reach the right people with the right money. Utilizing various social networks and business networking sites can not only lead you to the right people, but the very act of networking itself can give you valuable social media skills that can position you as a consultant to others. So just how easy is it to become a social media consultant? Odds are you are demonstrating your proficiency at this moment. Freelance Folder, a useful blog site dedicated to freelancers and their industry, lists the very first step to becoming a social media consultant as using social media (http://freelancefolder.com/how-to-break-into-social-media-consulting/) As an entrepreneur we all know that Facebook and Linkedin are the dinner parties of the digital age. If you want to meet your next partner or investor and your local well has run a little dry, this is the best alternative. The more you understand the process and how it can affect your business and increase your visibility the better you will be at explaining and implementing the process for other people.

Every career is a results-oriented exercise. As a consultant, the strength of your livelihood is results. If you can show results that you’ve generated for yourself within a specific industry, well, then you already have one cornered. That might night sound like you’ve carved a huge niche out for yourself, but it can allow you to talk about what you love while you do it and get paid a little more for your research and ultimately your results. This is exactly what Rachel Wilkerson did (read all about on Rachels’ blog at http://www.rachelwilkerson.com/2010/06/02/how-to-get-a-job-in-social-media/) in the health and fitness industry. Rachel embodies it the “do-it to show you can” philosophy behind becoming a social media consultant.

The theme and ultimately the moral here is to use social media in a capacity where it helps your personal goals while still giving you one more skill to add to your resume after graduate school. If you are starting a multimedia company, use video blogging. If you are starting a design company find a way to incorporate your pieces into your Facebook posts. It is your arena, your audience and it could very well earn you an interim title before those angel investors finally come around and make you the next Mark Zuckerberg.