via curatorsofsweden.com

People have character. They have flaws, they make mistakes, they're funny, they're sad. And that's why we are drawn to eachother, the personal narrative we all have attracts us to eachother. Brands often try to hide their charater, instead portraying their own version of perfect. The image that they think will bring customers but instead makes for a bland mush of brand greyness. It's gross.

Sweden is putting it's labia (apparantly a Swedish expression, proof here) on the table and baring all. It gives a select group of Swedes control over it's twitter account, with all the mistakes that come with it. Talk about a daring digital media play.

After a few gaff's which included misspelling Finnish and speak of some very private activities it's becoming clear that Sweden is going all in with this one. They're putting themselves out there and that's great. I wish more countries and brands would do that.

Nice one Sweden and agency Volontaire.

Platform publishes embarrassing photos to blackmail users into being more productive

Aherk! threatens to publish embarrassing photos to users’ Facebook profiles, in order to encourage them to complete tasks within a deadline.

9th May 2012 in Lifestyle & Leisure.

This app is simple:

• The user defines a goal 
• The user uploads a compromising picture 
• The users friends decides if the user reached the timebound goal - if not, the picture get's posted

I'm a big fan of social pressure to achieve goals. My biggest concern here, wouldn't friends indicate that the user did not achieve their goal...even if the user did...just to embarrass their friends. That's what friends do.

What do you think?

An oldie but a goodie. Thanks to Brian Solis.

An oldie but a goodie. Thanks to Brian Solis.

A great little chat by Paul Bennet on customer experience.

People don't trust mobile display/text ads. Is this because we're not creating good ones?

A TV ad is far away, it's content pushing, it's mass, I can forgive an ad made for the masses.

My mobile is an extension of me. It's personal. If you talk to me through a mobile ad then talk to ME, not to the masses.

Are you using personal mobile add space to talk to everyone? Time to rethink that proposition.

Without going through methodology and doing some fact checking. Some impressive numbers here. 

At Antics we often say it's not about the likes of the followers, it's about the engagment with your crowd and what your fans do after that like or follow. We frown at brands that are just looking to pump up their likes and followers.

But in the end, even if there is no clear goal or strategy yet. It's ok to listen. It's ok to start getting more social media fans. It's ok to just start getting involved.

That's the beauty with digital and social media, it's not meant as a one off hit. It's a marathon of activities and communication. So go ahead and start, at whatever pace you would like.

Has your company waited too long?

"It isn't possible to stop it," said Michael Sprague, marketing director at Kia Motors Corp.'s North American division. "Consumers are going to continue to drive with phones and all we can do as a manufacturer is to provide what the consumers are asking for and make it as safe as possible."

"It is absolutely a selling point," Mr. Reyes said. "People are already distracted by their phones in their car, but we can make it safer for them to do what they are already doing."

Car manufacturers are catching up quickly integrating technology into their products. I like it. I also like that industry is pushing government standards to make sure people get what they want in a safe way.

Do you let government restrict you, or do you find ways to push the boundaries?

Calling the results “remarkable,” Nike Inc. says its fiscal second-quarter revenues climbed 18% to $5.7 billion, from $4.8 billion in the same period last year. Net income rose 3% to $469 million, compared with $457 million in the year-ago period. Sales in North America were particularly strong, up 21%, with double-digit gains in stores and online on Thanksgiving weekend.

The results beat investor expectations, and Nike executives say the strong performance is a result of steady gains in both its basketball and running divisions, as well as its continued digital transformation. “We’re using digital to change everything about the product creation process,” Mark Parker, president/CEO, says in a conference call that was also webcast. Not only has that sped up its manufacturing, beginning with design and moving into factories, it’s also been a game-changer in its marketing approach.

“Social media is helping us unite and expand,” he says. “We have never been closer to our consumers, as they connect more with each other, their heroes and their favorite teams.”

Great to see digital at the center of product creation. 

For all the talk of Social Media being hard to measure Nike is able to come up with some very clear figures. If you're having difficulty measuring the middle but see the end result, do the results still count?

Have a great Christmas everyone!

Ogilvy just released a study on the business value of Social Media. In the wake of the Harvard study concluding that taste does not rub on on your friends through social media this seemed to be an appropriate topic to bring up.

The Harvard study is useless to most businesses. What does it matter if my taste is different from my friends. What matters is that I spend more on your brand because the shared taste with my friend and their confirmation of the awesomeness of your brand makes me want to buy it. (read that really quick, it is an awesome run on sentence)

Kapow!

So what do the Ogilvy brains share:

1. Social media exposure is directly linked with increases in sales. Integrated social media (social content + one or more other channels) exposure is linked with significant increases in spend and consumption—for example, social media + PR exposure was associated with a 17% spend increase compared to the prior week without these. 
2. Integration matters. Exposure to social content was most consistently effective when it was combined with exposure to other types of media channels. 
3. Social media is a top driver of impact. Out of the 20 channels analyzed, social media was No. 1 or No. 2 in magnitude of impact on spend and consumption. 
4. Social media exposure is directly linked with changes in brand perception. Social media by itself is particularly effective at rapidly impacting brand perception—exposure to social media generated the largest impact on brand perception over a short (one week) period of time. 
5. Brand exposure in social media is low. Weekly social media exposure to brand mentions was relatively low (24% of panel) vs. television branded exposure (69% of panel), even in this selected high social media consumption group of consumers.

Seems to me it's an effective way of getting closer to consumers...regardless of taste.

And we need to change that.

Groupon, Gilt Group, Savvy, etc. All companies that are looking to deliver the best prices for the consumer. Not only the best prices but sometimes unachievable prices.

The digital age brought in the age of cost reduction and lean. That's great. But it's time to think of the other side more. Let's really start looking at how digital can increase the value of goods.

Layar, Ruck.us, CraftCoffee. etc.

Besides making the world cheaper, can we also make it more awesome?

As everyone is becoming a media outlet it is only natural to want to measure influence. Adweek just published a nice little overview of the influence measurement services out there.

There is lot's of talk about how Klout is stupid. And yes there is a long way to go. But the simple dashboard style influence analytics's tool is here to stay.

Do you use one of these tools? What are you thoughts?

If our markets are based on trust. How can the financial industry keep people in check? We have seen the power of ubiquitous uncontrolled communication through the Arab Spring. What will stop people from doing the same for the financial industry, from organizing against "the man".

Only time will tell. But if this instance of a twitter rumour instigating a run on ATM's predicts anything, it shows that the consumer is back in the drivers seat. People are getting back into the drivers seat.

What is your company doing to be on the people's side?