CrapHammer

EMI embraces web 2.0?

Many thanks to ViralMeister who turned me on to EMI's recent PhotoStream project via their case study.

In an effort to expose new fans and promote the new Sigur Ros album, the project utilizes a flash player to pull photo feeds off FlickR that have been tagged with emisigurrossphotostream.

View it here.

Note: I'm a big Sigur Ros fan so I'm biased and sort of amazed I never head of this as it's been running for some time now.

Pros

• Great idea.
• Sexy display of images using the block layout
• Get to hear Sigur Ros for free!
• You can choose your own keywords

Cons

• Interface doesn't allow you to select photos to view individually.
• Lack of curator experience doesn't always jibe with the music.

Big Brand Exploitation vs. Utopia

This is a followup on my earlier post titled "How does blogging fit into a corporate marketing strategy?"

I got into an interesting debate today where we were discussing Hugh MacLeod's view of blogging in the corporate sense as a "disruption channel".

I love this concept. But at the same time, I can't help but feel irked by this utopian view of blogs suddenly breaking down the walls of the "membrane" separating employees from customers. It sounded very much like the cluetrain and a long history of manifestos that have popped up with each new web "technology" or innovation.

The core of my argument was that, yes, smaller firms utilize these innovations in ways that re-focus their organization and create massive rewards due to the process of engaging with consumers directly. At sometimes significant costs. But larger organizations, and the agencies employed by them, focus on ways to utilize these new "innovations" as channels in their more traditional communications strategy. And they expend significant effort in this regard.

And this is not to take away from the power of blogging. Or even from the concept of blogging as a disruption channel. It simply points to the fact, in my mind, that this is likely not a utopian event that will change the brands of the world. Rather, the big brands of the world will look for ways to exploit this "phenomenon" with minimal impact to the business. Their very size may make this a necessity.

I would love to know if you disagree. Send me a comment.

Squeeze my apple and what do you get?

Greenpeace has launched greenmyapple and is looking to involve the blogosphere in the effort.

I was surprised by the lack of any spoof on the Apple White Ads but see now that the idea is to get people to create their own ads. They've done a neat job at creating a unique technorati tag and even providing ways to spread the campaign.

Based on my most recent discussions with Kate, the only thing missing is a blog badge.

It's the targeting of the campaign that I found most interesting. The idea of putting pressure on manufacturers has proven to be less than effective in the past. By comparison, it's proven quite effective when activist organizations attack the distribution channels. ie: In the paper industry, very few firms were interested in coming to the table until the big box stores agreed to not carry certain types of paper. Suddenly everyone was willing to discuss saving the rainforest all the way down the supply chain.

Be an interesting one to watch.

How does blogging fit into a corporate marketing strategy?

Certainly not a new question. Putting blogging into the realm of corporate marketing is almost anacronistic. Namely that it is a very personal act and often rejects oversight/control.

I see a number of ways that blogging could be, and is being, integrated into the corporate culture.

1. Utilizing blogging as a direct tool of communication (launching a blog)
2. Policy on employee blogging
3. Leveraging the blogosphere to accomplish communication objectives

The first one generally ends up being a struggle of voice/ownership/participation. So it works well in small technical or creative firms but not so well on the larger scales. Could be Dunbar's number resurfacing.

The second is a very interesting area. Robert Scoble is a good example. An individual can achieve a voice in the industry that rivals the PR group of the company he works for. And at times, this voice can be at odds with the organization. A dance forms.

And the last has been the focus for many of us in the marketing/communication space. From "leverage" to "exploit", we are looking for measurable results (reach, purchase intent or brand awareness.) Perhaps incorrectly (in this context.)

Hugh MacLeod writes on his blog about using blogging as a disruption channel. Some interesting case study details are available as well.

In essence, Hugh argues that blogs do not directly drive sales, but rather it disrupts the currents stories and beliefs at play in the organization.

• "by interfacing with the blogosphere, it fundamentally changed how Stormhoek looked at treating their primary customers"
• "It caused an internal disruption, both within the company and the actual trade"

The value of the blogsphere in this case forced/enabled the company to "align itself more closely with said habits [of wine consumption]".

Hugh credits this realization partly through a discussion on how blogs can punch holes in the "membrane" or barrier between employees and the customer. But this distinction lacks the system-wide adoption at an organization that would be required. His new focus on the blogosphere as an element of disruption is awesome as, in my mind, it capture this requirement for congruent involvement throughout the organization.

Links for 23 Sep 06

• New Virtual Economy
  • Tim O'Reilly's Interview on Vitamin. I'm not big on the style of the interviewer, but Tim always rocks, even if he is cut off before he finishes part 1.
• Long Tail in bizarre action
  • It's hard to describe a page like this. This person has compiled and (with online submissions) created thousands of the "best" band names he likes along with full descriptions of each. One of the best examples of the Long Tail in action regarding media diversification and niche interests.
• Creativity boost using Social Networking tools
  • Gotta love it. See Dave Jeffrey's article on Top 10 Creativity boosters for some fun ways to kickstart your creativity every day.

Horribly old and inappropriate

Crossover ads. In honor of the strategy I dissected earlier, here is a great example of a cross-over ad that has proven quite effective in a viral sense. Of course, I believe it was never-aired ad due to its contents...

Note: political insensitivity is required to view.

The little viral lie...

I was recently working on a presentation for a global brand involving a viral, or rather, word of mouth strategy.  It was to be a classic endeavor. 

• The global creative agency was already on the second round of creative,
• the media-buy partner was elbowing in for a larger piece of the pie
• and the client (having already purchased the horse and buggy) was looking to understand what they had purchased and how to seed the campaign.

So I was reviewing what one of the media partners was presenting on viral when I got to the third slide.  They felt it pertinent to highlight a Jupiter Research finding that

63% of people who have forwarded an ad to a friend are in the 15 to 34 age range.
(Jupiter European Consumer Survey 11/03)

From this they were concluding that viral activity is targeted at much younger audiences.

Okay.  It's hard to know where to start.  The survey appears to be from 2003.  Further they are implying that viral activity is captured by "forwarding ads".   20% of the unmentioned were in the 35 to 44 range.  And there is no discussion on word of mouth advertising and other forms of viral media/activity.

So best case, if we ignore the ad centricity and outdated statistics in the proposed argument, we assume we have a younger audience and build from there.  Aside from the fact that this is not the demographic being targeted, the rest of the presentation is built around television ads that relied on or were assisted by paid online media placements.

While there was an interesting short format and edgy mockumentary presented (Ravenstoke Axe Ad), the majority were basically attempts at funny cross-over ads.  And even the Raventock mock-fest was a strong ad format piece in the end.  ie:  The product benefit and the product itself were both heavily featured.

Apologies for the German translator on the above link.  Couldn't find the English version.  The animals humping at the end did make me laugh, no translation required.

To give some slack and credence to the rest of their presentation, no one I have met has all the answers yet.  There are so many questions.  What is Viral?  How does it relate to Word of Mouth?  What forces are involved in shaping each of these?  What makes a viral or WoM campaign effective?  How should measurement be deployed?

The good news is that the pieces are out there.  It just takes a bit more research and effort to dig them up and assemble them into a stronger framework.  And there will never be one answer.  So in the meantime, we continue to see partial and potentially misleading presentations based on the myths most satisfactory to the presenter.