advergirl

Social Media in Action: Learnings from a successful flop

You’ve probably all been in that dead-end social media pitch. The one where you have a perfect audience and an authentic story, but your client heads down one of three painful directions:

• The Social Kids Table: (Or the Intern Factor.) Assuming social is just for (irrelevant) kids, they offload the brand voice to the nearest 20-something and hope for the best


• The Slow Lane: The mere mention of social starts the weaving of a bureaucratic Web. Mediation, distrust, individual approvals. How can we protect ourselves from the people who want to engage with us?


• The Soapbox: Prepping for command and control. Spewing content into the vast social underbrush. Comments locked down. Brand Invincible.

It’s enough to convince you that social can’t succeed with an average business. That – as the blogging boys say – your brand can never be my friend.

But just when you’re about to give up: A completely unlikely brand throws itself entirely into social and comes out smarter and more authentic for it.

Social media story in the making

I'm not sure how many Columbus natives follow my blog - or are interested enough to dig deep in the Experience Columbus campaign I covered last night - but, I think there's a larger story unfolding here. One that's less about Columbus and more about the power of - to borrow a phrase from a sister agency - an open brand.

In a few weeks I could be writing a post called: How bad advertising built authenticity for an embattled tourism agency. I'm totally kidding on the bad advertising part, but, you know, these things do require a little drama.

I digress.

A number of local bloggers have written about the Not in Columbus campaign with a mixture of hesitation and disappointment.

Pete McGinty (our hero - and marketing VP - at Experience Columbus) has not only stayed in the conversation - he's leveraged our feedback to revise the campaign.

Here are just a few of the comments Pete submitted around the local blog scene:

"Your feedback, as well as the subsequent comments in your blog, is very helpful as we go forward with the campaign. We couldn't have afforded enough focus groups to garner the input we've received!

One of the benefits of how the campaign is structured is that the elements allow for flexibility.

In fact, we have temporarily removed the videos so that we can rework the ending with a more positive spin. Stay tuned."

"We recognize the role of social media in our marketing mix. We are learning. As you know, we are not launching the NotinColumbus.com Web site at this time. We shared it to ask for the precise kind of input that we've received from you. That will only make us better going forward."

"I'm glad that you were able to make it to our event last week. We found it extremely valuable to gain the direct feedback of people like yourself. And, of course, the feedback keeps on coming, which is what we hoped for. It is exciting for us to hear from those who are engaged in this city and have the same kind of passion for it that we do."

"I'm glad you see the potential of the campaign. "Working the bugs out" is actually what we are doing right now."

"Thanks so much for coming to our event last week and for your support of the campaign.

We have received so much valuable feedback. It is great to feel the energy of so many people so passionate about our city.

Glad you enjoyed your t-shirt."

I have to say I'm somewhat floored by this. Despite the able counsel of a damn good PR partner, this kind of totally productive, chin-up response to feedback has to be really tough. As both the delightful Adverboyfriend and my loyal Adverbrother would point out - my skin isn't nearly thick enough to stand up to similar criticism.

Cheers, Pete! You've won over the mob.

cBus Syndrome: When your client has low self-esteem

Last Thursday, Experience Columbus invited me and 60 of my fellow bloggers to check out their newest tourism and convention campaign: Not In Columbus.

First, let me say -  it was a very well-conceived effort.

• Right people: Columbus is home to a really diverse group of Gen Ys and Xers who love the city. They blog, network and otherwise talk in just about every medium there is. Engaging them (um, us) to preview pro-Columbus propaganda is a great fit.


• Right partners: All local agencies and others (Creative: engauge; PR/Social: FahlgrenMortine; snacks and treats: Jenis; swag: Skeened)


• Right process: Over the last few months, a number of Experience Columbus staffers and leaders have started following me on Twitter. And presumably reading local bloggers. They've interacted with the community and gotten to know us.


• Right presentation: Pete McGinty - VP of Marketing - was tasked with talking to the bloggers. He  brought us in on the process of developing the campaign before the big reveal. He was happy to tell the back story and answer questions.

Which brings me to the unasked question: Can we see the other 23 concepts that hit the cutting room floor?

Ok, here's the setup:

Pete starts off by taking us inside the process. He holds up a board titled Challenges:

• No one outside Ohio knows us
• And, we don't have anything our competitors don't have

Sure, he couched it in it's not really that bad. But, the POV still seemed to be that we're somewhere between milk toast and total suck.

The agreed upon solution to this mediocrity morass was to have a little bit of fun; to make fun of ourselves.

Then the campaign was unveiled: Not in Columbus.

It's a collection of light-hearted videos, print ads and tShirts that point out some of the iconic things you can't do in Columbus and then pays it off with the variety of things you can do. It's a teaser, a page-turn stopper. If it works.

An example:

Browse the tees. Watch the videos. Download the print ads.

If there's one thing we've done plenty of in this town, it's make fun of ourselves. The variations on Cow Town alone are uncountable. It's part of cBus Syndrome: the ability to live in a vibrant, growing city and talk about it like it's a pile of cow crap.

And a campaign like this one feels like only more of the same. We're the marketing equivalent of the fat guy at the party making jokes about his girth so that the girls won't look at him with pity.

Oh, except, we only think we're the fat guy. We're actually the totally ripped hot guy who just has really  low self esteem.

If I were to re-invent this campaign, what would I talk about? What are the reasons to come to this city?

#1 for me: Columbus is a destination city for creative people. You're basically guaranteed to be rubbing elbows with an artist whether you're shopping the North Market or noshing on Hyde Park steaks.

Proof points:

• Robust creative economy
• Affordable, eclectic neighborhoods (i.e. places for artists to live)
• Groundswell of independent art activity
• Slew of professional arts organizations (from museums to the ballet)
• Nationally-known arts festivals - art fest, comfest
• Tons of programs and outlets for individual artists - from live/work spaces to monthly art sales and gallery hops
• Huge local music scene
• Nationally-recognized chefs
• Passionate foodie community

(Think you can't market that? Look at Toronto, Minneapolis, Portland)

#2 Ok, don't like that first one? How about the vibe? Columbus has this totally open, do-your-own thing vibe. The kind of city that has cool things to do at every level of hip. The kind of city that would produce the largest privately financed redevelopment project in the nation The kind of city that would have the country's third largest gay population and still almost go red in the election. The kind of city that would have multiple boutique and gallery districts - just to house that army of entreprenuers who feel like they have the right foundation to take the big risk.

(Think you can't market that? Look at Jamaica, Boulder, the other Portland)

#3 Still searching? Ok, how about we're a Big 10 town. And, we're home to the second largest college population in the country (behind Boston). That's exciting sports. A young, engaged population. And, all the cheap fun a college town has to offer.

(Think you can't market that? Ok...someone will have to help me here. You know Advergirl and sports. Like fish and bicycles.)

Anyway, my point is - Columbus has lots of compelling marketing messages. If we could just get over the cBus Syndrome and take an honest appraisal, I think we'd all see what the bloggers you invited over already see.

Investing in the agency brand: SCPF’s “Solutions for the Modern American Life”

I get a lot of emails about agency self promotions. Curious forays into what creative minds can do when unencumbered by practical concerns, like, for example, selling variable annuities or wedding registries.

And, I get a veritable slew of emails (and the occasional ominous paper wrapped mailing cylinder on my porch) from PR agencies working to build buzz about their client’s product or book or thing-a-ma-do.

But this was the first time I got an email from a  PR agency about an agency’s self promotion. Obviously, I had to investigate:

The site is called “Solutions for the Modern American Life”, which they describe as “a collection of high and low tech products, methods and techniques that will help America.” It’s a retro little throwback to the days when the recipes on the back of the Jello box were serious culinary stuff and agency self-promotions were a little more … well, like an episode of Mad Men.

And, I don’t think I’m going too far to say – it’s kinda out there.

So, I tracked down Gonzalo Marti, SCPF’s Creative Director out of Miami to get the back story on the development, inspiration and promotion investment:

Advergirl: Why did your agency decide to invest in a multimedia self promotion?

Gonzalo: In 2005, - closing in on SCPF’s tenth anniversary – the agency made the decision to leap across the ocean into the U.S. market. Since then, we’ve felt the need to explain the ‘newcomer’s’ point of view about the United States and the “American way of life” from a more Spanish and European perspective.

Advergirl: Where did the creative idea / concept come from? What was the inspiration?

Gonzalo: We wanted to develop a campaign that would speak creative volumes about our agency, our culture and our traditions to the business and creative community here in the U.S. We didn’t want it to seem too self-promotional but reflect how we do business and how we can help bring a different and certainly, fresh perspective to a campaign. 

Advergirl: What are your goals for the site?

Gonzalo: With our first ‘house’ ad campaign, we wanted to continue raising the agency’s profile in this market and to position ourselves as a key creative partner to our clients. We will continue to challenge the mainstream and bring new ideas to the table.

Advergirl: We’ve all worked in an agency where the big idea for self promotion hit some bumps along the way. I’m thinking of a certain agency holiday card that everyone was supposed to sing a carol for … except somehow the executives all had an identical whistle in the final rollout. Did you run into any internal challenges / objections during development?

Gonzalo: No, everybody was enthusiastic about this project and promoting SCPF. We believe strongly in the power of the creative product - that’s what SCPF has always been about.

Advergirl: [Oh, come on. Really???]

Advergirl: Thanks, Gonzalo

Those of you struggling with your own agency Web site design might want to check out SCPF’s temporary -> lasting solution
 

Why we do this: Sony foam city

Making a movie seems hard. But, you still want to shutter a downtown and create a cinematic mess. Sound familiar? Then advertising is definitely the career for you.

Check out these early shots from the "set" of the upcoming Sony spot dubbed foam city. Apparently millions of gallons of foam were dumped on the city to create the base scenes.

Now, come on, that looks like fun. And a much better way to spend the day than, say, pitching hot dogs.

The social media spinners are already buzzing about the coming spots - so, here's hoping they'll be as delightful as the original Bravia bouncing balls.

 

It should always be...

This EASY to use a press room:

The media room for Andy Beal's Radically Transparent offers enough content to power six news articles, four custom reviews, a buying decision and an ongoing relationship.

All in one place. All super easy to navigate.

This FUN to watch a branded video:

AKQA and Cake really fundamentally get it. It being social media and brands. You have to be able to take liberties - with yourself, your culture and your customers. You have to be able to delight and entertain and be completely different than a 30 second spot.

Little escapes the snark of this video from Pot Noodle. A piece that 200,000 people have already watched this month.

This PERSONAL to watch a recruitment video:

When Molly posted this video on Twitter, I had to ask her if it was sanctioned or organic ... the very simple delivery is so brimming with personality and conversation that I couldn't imagine it making it through any agency's self-marketing process.

But, somehow it did.

And, the simplicity of it - from an agency that COULD do anything - might just make it even more compelling.

This SIMPLE to share information:

Speaking of Twitter, I've been logged on for the past two days reading some of your favorite bloggers cover Ad Age's Digital Marketing summit in real time.

The posts include verbatims, analysis and a little argument. It's addictive.

This OPTIMISTIC to profile an audience:

After it sat for months on my teetering bedside stack of good intentions, I've finally picked up RenGen and dug in. Definitely my favorite industry book of this year... as much for its optimism as its smarts and illustrative examples.

Martin connects the dots from our creative and intellectual selves to a theory of renaissance that will define a generation.

Why blogs? Ask, Stella Artois

Full disclosure: I recently received a press kit from Stella Artois about the upcoming unveiling of their cinematic Web site ‘La Bouteille':

I’m super excited about this for two reasons:

As a blogger: A cinematic Web site? I love to play with shiny new Web things. Of course, I’m going to go check out the launch later this month and if it’s even mildly engaging, chatter about it like crazy in this space.

As a marketer / advertiser: I love to see traditional marketing organizations and agencies really “getting” what bloggers can bring to the table. Yeah, sure, Sony and BK have been doing it forever, but broader strategic adoption seemed to be stalled until this year.

Apropos of budgeting season, I’ll write a full business case for investing in blogging next month, but, until then, here are my top 5:

1. SEO: There is no cheaper, faster way to get solid organic search engine optimization than riding the coattails of the mega-servers at the top of the blogging service pyramid.
   
   
2. Low-hanging fruit: So, you want to talk to the advertising reporter at the New York Times. It will cost you and he’s got a lot of heavy hitters on his tail - but, yeah, you can do that.
   
   Or, you can invest half the money and talk to a couple of hundred bloggers – who by-and-large are pre-disposed to early adoption, curiosity about new products and general buzziness.


3. Share of voice: You’ve likely seen this Yahoo! Pyramid, representing "phases of value creation" at Yahoo! Groups as outlined a year ago by the company's head of technology development.
   
   Short-story: A very few people online are creating content. A larger number are aggregating it into ‘did you see’ posts. And the rest are, well, checking it out.
   
   Pair that with the recent report about the number of technology reporters who CITE BLOGGERS AS SOURCES. Not as man-on-the-street interviews, but as credible industry sources. It’s 67% of technology reporters. 67%.
   
   And, you start to see what we’re looking at: A small, vocal group of ProAms has been awarded a lot of authority – through Web behavior, RSS feeds, media attention and SEO - with little more than an interest in publishing.
   
   
4. On-demand delivery: Why wait for someone to find your Web site or read a review about your new product? Talk them into signing up for your feed once and deliver the content wherever they dine on feeds.


5. Changes in consumer behavior: Online ‘pre-shopping’ behavior and the emerging credibility and impact of user-generated consumer reviews has changed the offline game. Having people – real people, like bloggers, commenters, etc. – talk about your product / service / etc. has become hugely important as consumers go online in droves to ‘try on’ brands before going offline to buy.

THE most over-exposed man in advertising

I know what you're thinking: Alex Bogusky.

But, we're in a presidential-campaign-driven media blitz at the moment. Pundits and reporters alike are on a mad hunt for the  hottest catchy demographic moniker since the birth of the 'soccer mom.'

Today, this week, this month, the most over-exposed man in advertising is Mark Penn.

***

Now that even those of us who cloister our media consumption to the rarified liberal world of NPR, NYTimes and blogs have been inundated with his story*, I'm sure you know it: Penn is C.E.O. of Burson-Marsteller and chief strategist and pollster for Ms. Clinton's upcoming presidential bid. And, he recently released a book called Microtrends: The Small Forces Behind Tomorrow’s Big Changes.

Four notes:

• Adorable that he's stayed so on message and let whisper only a few of his named trends when anyone with an Internet connection can see the full list in the book's Table of Contents on Amazon.com ... unfortunate that the Internet has changed the playing field for an author's 'tease'
• I'm a huge, huge proponent of niche marketing for big brands - in narrowing your audience to build brand love based on affinity vs. the bland utilitarian approach of being all things to all people. BUT: very interesting when he talks about who will use the book, it's more skewed to entrepreneurs and business types who might leverage the insights for product development.
• Are teenagers really still into knitting? That seems kind of 2006 to me.
• Now that Penn's content creation has Burson-Marsteller on everyone's lips, I think Resource is going to have to step it up a bit to be the talk of thought leadership next year...

*He's even on Change This. The man is everywhere. (Are you really not reading Change This yet? Come on, it's manifestos - go forth and sign up.)

Bravia: Here comes the "play doh" buzz...

UPDATE:
Here are a few pics from the set:

Play doh BUNNIES? I'm as excited as one of those costumed Potter muggles camped outside a theater at midnight on a Tuesday waiting to see a movie about a book she already read...

Original post:

The buzz-masters behind the original glorious Bravia 'balls' spot and the follow-up-you-probably-had-to-be-there 'paint' spot, are teamed up with Immediate Future for early spinning as the boxes are unpacked for the New York 'play doh' spot.

Play doh!!??

Can't wait.

Watch them Twitter on set. And, keep an eye on the ad site for more...

 

Can brands be funny enough? (Or: Beat the meat)

Link: A branded viral video from BullsEye created by Greg Auer and Patrick Durkin at DRAFTFCB-Chicago.

I'm posting this for two reasons.

First: Let's forget the video for a moment. Greg sent me the single-most effective pitch email I've ever received. For those of you readers who are also fellow bloggers, you are no doubt familiar with the range of "outreach" activities perpetrated on bloggers by traditional PR types - emailed press releases, faux attempts at familiarity, strange headlines with disjointed form letters, etc.

While I'm sure it was still a form letter, Greg went about it in a much more genuine way. Summary: I'm proud of this work. I'm trying to get it out there. Will you post it?

THAT kind of approach makes the world seem smaller and more collegial. And, it gets response.

Second reason: This video is cute. It gets at lots of the "just a big kid" personality play of America's Joe Lawnmower-Griller. But, is it really fun enough to be viral?

Maybe.

As more brands get into this space of trying to be the post-next-door on YouTube and MySpace and (please let's stop) Second Life, I have to wonder how many brands can really pull it off.

Some of you are likely thinking: Subservient Chicken. That was 2004. What truly viral (meaning sans huge PR campaigns) site / campaign / video  has had that enduring and wide-spread success since then? I think Ted Ferguson could easily be nominated. Maybe a few others. But, for the few viral wins by brands, there are hundreds and hundreds of losers. Ideas micromanaged from laugh-out-loud funny to wouldn't-even-make-me-chuckle. Copywriters so deluged with brand attributes that they can't string a knock-knock joke together. Art directors who've jammed a logo on every frame.

Strategically, I think Miller Lite had the right approach back in 2005 - picking up the Carson's Christmas display - those flashing holiday lights synchronized with the Trans Siberian Orchestra score. It was proven viral. People liked it. It had the low pro, authentic feel. Miller Lite added corporate sponsorship and gave it an even wider reach.

For those of us with clients who may not be funny from white paper, it seems like a logical approach to present a slate of proven-viral hot candidates to approach for sponsorship ... before we drag out our home video cameras and water balloons.