Conversating With Mzinga

Yes, I know that is not a word :)

A couple of weeks ago I had a conversation with Aaron Strout from Mzinga. He was recording for the Conversations With Mzinga Podcast--have a listen.

Mobility for the Masses

""

I still remember how excited I was when I created this blog a few years back and burned my first RSS feed through Feedburner. Having already been an avid RSS consumer for years--the feeling of producing my own RSS feed was incredible.

Fast forward to October 2008 and burning and RSS feed or creating a blog is very simple. The blogosphere has grown exponentially and it is fairly common place to have a blog.

The question is, how common is it to have a mobile app? It is my belief that publishing applications for mobile devices will, in a few years be as easy as publishing a blog is.

Take a look at AppLoop. I saw this on Techcrunch today and had to write a little something about it (how could I not).


iPhone Application Generator Demo from AppLoop on Vimeo.

Eating Your Way to Social Marketing Excellence

Denny's has run some pretty uninspired social marketing initiatives in the past. Take, for example, the Vote for Real presidential lookalike contest-in which breakfast enthusiast were asked to submit candidate lookalike videos in order to win a whopping $500 certificate to Denny's. The contest inspired the crème de la crème of presidential imitators. Have a look for yourself-



Hmmmm...

I recently saw a video on Ad Age's 3 minute Ad Age about the Denny's Adopt-a-Band program.  Having only briefly heard about the program before, I did some digging-it seems that Denny's is doing a lot of things right with their Denny's All Nighter Program:

• Band Ambassadors
  
  
  
  • That is right, band ambassadors. Denny's is sponsoring musician's on tour by allowing them access to meals at local restaurant while they tour the country
  
  
  
  


• Co-Creation with established artists
  
  
  
  • Denny's is working with artists to create a special late night menu. Here is an example of the conception of one of these late night dishes
    
    
    
    • Plain White T's took over the Denny's kitchen to create the cheesecake-inspired "Plain White Shake." Combining vanilla ice cream, an entire piece of cheesecake, whipped cream and white chocolate chips, the boys from Chicago have created heaven in a glass. Check out more photos from their kitchen session here, and watch a behind-the-scenes look at milkshake creation with them!
    
    
    
    
  
  
  
  

The Real Magic Will Happen Over Time



It is hard to say how effective this program is-with all the ideas that have been put into it, it still will only be successful if Denny's is committed to this program over time, and continues to harbor the bonds created during this program. The verdict is still out as to whether or not this program will be a profit center for Denny's-I am excited to see what happens!

The Steadfast Rules Of Blogging

One of the reasons that I love blogging is that it is free from the confines of editorial--this is certainly nothing new. Another thing I love is that I can blog when I want, and not blog when I don't want (an issue brought up on the Jaffe Juice Podcast many times).In reference to the title of this  post, the reason I love blogging is that there are no steadfast rules. Many bloggers ask questions about strategy as it relates to their business objectives (i.e. Chris Brogan, "Am I Too Naked") but there is no right or wrong--blogging just is.

For those of you that were reading this blog when I posted more frequently and more personal things, thanks for staying with me (I am assuming you are staying with me, as you are reading this post). Things at crayon have been going really well. It is a pleasure working with such great minds. I have been very busy with work lately, but have managed to get in some speaking and writing as well. I began writing for Minonline after a fortuitous run in with the illustrious Amy Novak. I also continue to write and blog for iMedia (who continues to serve as my media family).

Last week I spoke on a really cool panel about digital innovation at a 212 event. For those of you that made it, thanks so much! Today I will be speaking at the New Marketing Summit in the lovely (with no cell reception) Foxboro MA. I am very excited about this as well. Next week it is on to the iMedia Financial Summit where the bald marketing team will take on Geary Interactive in an agency shoot out (note, Vigor Branding is helping out with the graphic design, as that is not what crayon does--you can be sure Joe Szala and team will do an amazing job of supporting Mr. Verdino and my brilliant strategy--hey, we are bald, after all).

Anyhow, that is it from me. I would love to hear from you. Send me comments, email, what you are up to-I would love to hear more about the A Media Circ.us community. Did you know it has almost been three years!

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The Best Branded iPhone App Available

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

I have heard people say that if Barack Obama does not win the election,  he should start a social network.  While people are saying this statement, tongue in cheek, there is certainly cause for these statements.

I recently downloaded the Barack Obama iPhone and I have to say, it is brilliant. It hits some core elements that every app should possess:

1.       Added Value (content)

2.       Local Updates (events, news etc.)

3.       Social Networking Capabilities

The third point is where Obama's strategist really hit the nail on the head.  By taking advantage of the most social element of the most social device of all (the phone) Obama's team created an app where, passing along information for a cause can become a badge of honor.

Team Obama incorporated the users phone book data, parsed it into states (brilliant) and encouraged users to call others to get them to vote Obama. It is so simple, but I have yet to see an app (let alone a branded app) take advantage of the iPhone in this manner.

It just goes to show that creativity prevails above technology--it was not the iPhone that made this initiative a smart was, it was the creative folks that concepted it.





images from CNET

Android Is Far More Significant Than The iPhone and Blackberry

Image via CrunchBase

A recent article in the Harvard Business Review outlined the notion of shaping strategies[i] as, "an effort to broadly redefine the terms of competition for a market sector through a positive, galvanizing message that promises benefits to all who adopt the new terms".

In recent times we have seen many shaping strategies by various players in the digital space-some strategies are partial shaping strategies and others more complete shaping strategies. The notion of the shaping strategy is especially relevant in conversations surrounding recent progressions in the mobile sector. Some may consider the iPhone a shaping strategy-or an attempt to reshape an entire market sector.  While the launch of the iPhone certainly helped redesign the mobile space-Apple's attempt at reshaping the terms of competition falls short in comparison to those of Google.

HBR outlines three interrelated elements of a shaping strategy;

• A shaping view
  
  
  
  • Helps focus participants
  
  
  
  


• A shaping platform
  
  
  
  • Provides leverage to reduce investment and effort for participants
  
  
  
  


• Shaping acts and assets
  
  
  
  • Persuades participants that the shaper is serious and can pull of the shaping initiative
  
  
  
  

While Apple has seemingly lived up to all three of these pillars, various actions (including active policing of the app store and draconian rules to govern it, as well as carrier exclusivity) have some in the tech industry questioning whether the computer giant will actually be able to maintain its stronghold in the mobile computing space.

The key differentiator between the two platforms lies in the difference in how the companies are approaching the second tenet of a shaping strategy. HBR breaks out a shaping platform into two forms of leverage; development leverage and interaction leverage. Interaction leverage reduces cost for a "vast array of participants to coordinate their activities". Apple has only mobilized application developers to participate in their platform-Google has mobilized a whole industry.

The bottom line is as follows:

• Google will benefit from general widespread adoption of mobile computing-regardless of carrier or handset
  
  
  
  • Google will continue to monetize content no matter where it is consumed-this model is scalable
  
  
  
  


• Apple will only benefit from adoption of mobile computing if consumers are using an iPhone
  
  
  
  • This is the same predicament Apple got itself into in the early days of the PC
  
  
  
  

My prediction is that Android will be more pervasive than the iPhone in 2 years. You can take me to the bank on that.

---

[i] Hagel, Brown and Davison.  "Shaping Strategy in a World Of Constant Disruption". Harvard Business Review October 2008: 81-89

Location, Location, Location!

Image via CrunchBase

 cross posted from the iMediaconnection blog

A number of years back I recall hearing an incredibly prescient quote from Morgan Stanley analyst, Mary Meeker. The quote spoke about localization and personalization-and how these elements would be key drivers in the growth of the web as a commercial platform. While these concepts are fairly obvious today-at the time (I believe it was around 2003) it was not as obvious. Needless to say Meeker's statement had a profound effect on my work. Years later these notions have become fundamental elements of online marketing and are ingrained in my day-to-day operations (both professional and personal).

Localization Is Personal



With the onslaught of social networks, collaborative filters and search engines-there is no shortage of personalized content online. Localized content and services however are still fairly primitive, but remain one of the largest opportunities in digital commerce and communications. A bevy of new services aim to solve this problem, and it should come as no surprise that mobile phones are at the core of many of these services.

Geo+Social



Back in April Michael Arrington posted an epiphany he had about mobile social networks. This concept is one that I have been interested in for a while and could not have agreed with his commentary more (see my posts on what I was referring to as Social Networking 2.M). The value mobility adds to social network activity is-freedom from the shackles of the desktop-where social activity is largely virtual and often impersonal.  Mobility adds a human element to social networks. The mobile phone adds presence and experience sharing to social networking.  For those not following the space closely, I strongly recommend signing up for a few of the following applications:

• Loopt


• Whrrl


• Gypsii


• Twittelator (an iPhone app based on Twitter)

There are a lot more out there-this is my war chest.

Geo+Commerce



Having spent a significant amount of time focused on ecommerce, the promise of being able to search local, in-store inventory right from a mobile device is incredibly compelling. The marriage of clicks and bricks is something that marketers have sought after since the beginning of the ecommerce era. The marriage between online and offline marketing will be realized to a greater degree with the assistance of mobile commerce applications. Some applications you should be paying attention to in this space are:

• Slifter


• NearbyNow


• Scanbuy


• Frucall

One of the newer names in the space (the company is actually not new, they simply changed their name) is a company called Shopsavvy. They are incredibly hot this month due to the way in which their application takes advantage of the new T-Mobile G1 (powered by Android). The application combines the ability to scan bar codes, comparison shop both online and off-as well as a plethora of other features that include location and social media.



While I would never utter the words, "this is the year of mobile", I do feel that mobile devices are getting us closer to the second part of Mary Meeker's vision. Look out for further advances in the realm of localized content and services over the next year.

How Social Media Is Like Religion

Image via Wikipedia

Okay--I don't really have any bullet points on how social media is like religion, but I just recorded a podcast with the great Lon Safko who is working on a book called, The Social Media Bible.

I don't have a lot of time at the moment to explain all of the reasons that this project is awesome (you can trust I will do so in the coming weeks) but I wanted to share our conversation with all of you and get some feedback.

Enjoy!

[display_podcast]

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Who Suffers From A Slow Down In Online Ad Spend?

(cross posted from the new iMediaconnection blog)

After a hectic week on Wall Street some industry analysts are predicting a downturn in online advertising spend for certain sectors. Other analysts are predicting a cut in ad spend across the entire industry as early as Q4. These predictions beg the question-who will suffer from such a state of affairs?

Will brands suffer from fewer above-the-line video ads and rich media ads that largely serve to disrupt media consumption? My feeling is-not as badly as some would like to think. Brands may not be able to reach as many people if their advertising budgets are decreased, but smaller budgets don't always equate to diminished returns.

On the flip side, there is no question that agencies who charge a percent of media spend will suffer from this downturn-still; I won't cry myself to sleep for those stuck in a model that is inherently broken. To all my good friends working for traditionally minded agencies (agencies that will lose money this holiday season)-now is your chance to help change the model. Now is your chance to step out of the media-buying-as-commodity box, begin to charge more for your strategic thinking and intellectual property and spend less on canned media buying.

A month ago I moved to strategic consultancy, Crayon, in order to harvest my belief in the fact that what the advertising/marketing world needs now, more than ever, is more strategic thinking-and much less superfluous ad spending. Here are a few strategic arena's that have been on the brain this week in light of all the speculation surrounding cuts in ad spending:

Image via Wikipedia

The Lasting Value of a Good Mobile Strategy

This week we saw, what some feel is the dawn of a new day in the world of mobile marketing and advertising-but most of the commentary in both traditional media and the blogosphere focused on one thing; whether or not the HTC G1 is an iPhone killer.

As a marketer you should be considering how mobile marketing (notice I did not say advertising) can help achieve your business goals-in most cases it will not involve mobile banner buys and other forms of disruptive marketing (especially when ad dollars are being reigned in). The debate about the iPhone versus Android is relatively insignificant for marketers. The real ramifications (for marketers) of the burgeoning, open mobile ecosystem are the ability to create value added tools-tools that do not just serve the bottom line of a single campaign-but tools that have the capability of creating lasting value for consumers. A great example is Visa's announcement that they will be working with the Android platform on mobile payments.

At a time where the purse strings are being held close to the belt-longer lasting strategies are the ones that will win.

Image of Sean Cheyney

Digital Marketing Does Not Mean Marketing to Numbers

This week I listened to a great podcast on Susan Bratton's Dishy Mix. She interviewed friend and colleague, Sean Cheyney of Accuquote who had some really interesting things to say (I definitely recommended having a listen).  Sean told a story of a conference at which he posed the following question, "how many of you know what happens to a lead after you generate the lead?" Only one person raised their hand in response to this question.

I don't spend a lot of time deploying traditional lead generation campaigns these days-but it always amazes me when I hear stories of marketers still treating web marketing like a digitized version of a traditional medium.  Online lead generation has much greater potential then direct mail (at least in the ability to segment leads and create more custom follow up messages). Sean's anecdote got me thinking about the opportunity that exists at the cross section of lead generation and social marketing. If a lead is important enough to spend time mining-the consumer attached to the lead should be important enough to have a conversation with.

In future lead generation campaigns you may want to think about adding optional fields for a Twitter name. Strengthened consumers bonds fostered by conversation could certainly help close a deal.

Image of Greg Verdino

Innovation Involves Creativity

Innovation does not always have to break the bank. In fact, sometimes innovation only requires time and creative thinking-not new technology. We are at a point where there are so many new technologies that are untouched by marketers. There is a great deal of opportunity to leverage these technologies at relatively low cost. This week colleague (and bald brother) Greg Verdino wrote about how marketers don't always need to chase shiny objects, or the next big thing. He writes how marketers often lose interest in "the untried, in favor of the unknown".

As our economic woes continue-we as marketers need to find ways to weather the storm. While layoffs and cutbacks will be inevitable-the strategic, innovative marketer/media practitioner will always be able to find a paycheck. Those professionals dealing in tonnage and smoke and mirrors however may have to practice the dictum; "would you like fries with that".

Innovation does not always require new tools. In fact, some of the most innovative ideas are those that mix existing tools with a dash of creativity. Take ARG's (alternate reality games) for example. Often times they employ traditional media to create new experiences.

Don't fixate on tools-at the end of the day the most important things are strategy and creativity.

Half of My Social Marketing Dollars Are Wasted; I Will Tell You Which Half

Most marketers know the old adage (attributed to John Wanamaker):

"Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don't know which half."

This aphorism has actually become a battle cry for many digital marketers who-with the help of various ad serving technologies (and other means that were not around in Wanamaker's day) are able to better determine how well their advertising is doing.

This notion of accountability has been something that the social media marketer has been grappling more fiercely in the past few years.  The reason this has become such a hot topic for social media marketers is, most social media takes place in the digital sphere; and many marketers equate digital with accountability. For those of us living in the real world; this is simply not true. What is true is that-due to the fact that most social media takes place online-the ability to figure out what is working and what is  not working is substantial; as is the ability to optimize efforts.

Here are a few ways I think about optimizing social media efforts:

• Use search as conversational hearing aid-how well your conversations are doing at creating demand for a specific product/topic etc?
  
  
  
  • Search volume lift on major engines around a given term/concept that you are talking to consumers about is a way to determine how well you are doing at having effective consumer conversations online
  
  
  
  


• Content as arbiter of interest
  
  
  
  • Controlled, methodological content creation can act as a consumer question; web activity can act as implied answers
    
    
    
    • e.g. Put five product shots online-what is getting the most views? What are people commenting on?
    
    
    
    
  
  
  
  

• Learn to be a social media traffic cop
  
  
  
  • Define where most of your social media traffic is coming from.
    
    
    
    • Where does your audience spend most of their time?
    
    
    
    
  
  
  • Some properties don't allow tracking codes in URL's-but that does not mean you cannot build custom landing pages that cater to traffic coming from certain sites (i.e. http://amediacirc.us/facebook)
  
  
  
  

I doubt anyone will ever know how well the sum total of their marketing dollars are doing-and how many dollars are wasted. Still, we do have an advantage on Mr. Wanamaker!

2008: Definitely The Year Of Mobile

Okay--I am just kidding about this being the year of mobile.

We have heard many times that it would be the year of mobile; it is almost a joke at this point.

What does the year of mobile mean anyhow?

I don't think that their will ever be a "year of mobile"--I do however think that 2008 has been a significant year in terms of advancements in the mobile ecosystem.

Have a look at these numbers

Clearly the way in which people access the web has changed (notice I did not say, "the mobile web". It is the same web no  matter where you access it)

These M:Metrics/Comscore numbers are very compelling and clearly display drastic changes in the way consumers view mobile (especially in the US--very surprising to me). Say goodnight Yellow Pages.

While the numbers show a drastic change in behavior, what these numbers do not tell you is that only 9.2% of mobile subscribers search the web via a mobile device, and only half of those subscribers do so on a regular basis (once a week).

So is this in fact the year of mobile?

I would have to say probably not--but we are getting to the point where marketers need to seriously consider how they are optimizing for local search. Small businesses also need to be paying serious attention to LBA's on Google and other engines.

One thing I can say for sure is that--this is the year you need to start paying attention to mobile search (if you have not already).Search marketing has moved from searching the web to searching our world, and this is largely due to the mobile device.

Five Golden Rules For Facebook Marketing (brought to you by eComm2009)

Social marketing is about second chances.

If a marketer makes a mistake and angers a consumer-through the power of conversation they can get a second chance to win them back. We have learned this through countless examples (i.e. Dell Hell) but I always enjoy bringing new, close to home examples to light.

I recently got a Facebook request asking me to join the group for eComm Emerging Communications Conference. Having an interest in telecommunications-and all the other topics being covered at this conference-I joined the group. Next, I got a personal Facebook message from someone (who will remain nameless) on behalf of Lee Dryburgh requesting that I join the eComm FB.

• Rule #1- Personal Facebook messages are just that-personal. They are just as, if not more personal than email.
  
  
  
  • If you are going to use personal Facebook messages for marketing (I only recommend you do this in a very calculated, personal manner-if at all), you should abide by the same best practices that govern email.
  
  
  
  

While I was connected to Lee, I was not connected to the other person messaging me- and was a bit annoyed at the impersonal nature of the message-still, I was interested in the conference and saw there were openings speakers and extended myself as a potential speaker-I never heard back.

• Rule #2- Facebook messages are not email (I know, I know-that is counter to Rule #1-but we are having fun here). If you send a personal marketing message (not a message to a group, which is totally different) and get a response with a question or nicety, you should feel obliged to respond.
  
  
  
  • You started the conversation. You should commit to carrying on the conversation as long as your consumer wants to. A vocal consumer is a good consumer.
  
  
  
  

A few days later I got another personal Facebook message from yet another person on behalf of Lee Dryburgh.  The message had the exact same language as the one prior. It too was letting me know of the formation of the new FB group.

• Rule #3- Don't use templated emails in personal messages-that is what group messages are for.
  
  
  
  • Also, if you think you are fooling anyone by doing a mail merge and inserting the person's name in the salutation-you are wrong.
  
  
  
  

At that point I was sort of pissed off and was about to let the world know. I twittered and commented on Facebook about the incident. Within 10 minutes of my actions I got an irritated message from the fabled Lee Dryburgh-alas, he was real!

He was not happy and asked me not to make accusations and slanderous statements in public.

• Rule #4 If you are marketing in public places, expect the conversation to be public.

I told him the story and he did exactly what I would have had him do if he were a client of mine;

He listened!



Not only did Lee listen, he apologized and asked for my help.  He could have written me off as a blogger with a bad attitude, but he decided to take this negative experience and turn it into something positive.

• Rule #5 If there is a dialog going on (good or bad) there is an opportunity turn that dialog into something productive.

Lee and I took the conversation offline and I learned he was a nice, witty guy-a guy capable of something that all of us are capable of-making a mistake.

This was not the most pleasant experience while it was occurring for Lee and me, but through conversation and partnership we were able to turn this into something positive. As a result, eComm is the official sponsor of this post! I am going to be talking to Lee more about the conference-I will keep you posted!

Findability Is Luxury

My addition to The Luxury Letter is now live. I recommend having a read :)

By Adam Broitman, Director of Emerging and Creative Strategy, Morpheus Media

There is no doubt that over the past 10 years the world of media has gotten a facelift. The question I have been asking myself is–while the world of media was changing–did the definition of luxury change?

The definition of luxury has always been centered on certain core attributes–elegance, refinement, indulgence, comfort, service, quality and extravagance (to name just a few). Technology may have changed the way that certain luxuries are experienced but there is no substitution for the aforementioned qualities. In a phrase; luxury is timeless.

Click Here To Read The Rest

What Has Two Bald Heads...

...a huggable girl who is Virtually Social, an Earl, a Krivin and some Juice?

You guessed it-a crayon!



That is right folks, the rumors are all true. I will be joining the company is leading the way in New Marketing, Experimentation and above all, Conversational Marketing (we are so conversational that-between Verdino, Jaffe and me, we can probably talk you to death :) )

In all seriousness, I saw Joseph Jaffe speak about four years ago. It was after his book "Life After The 30 Second Spot" came out and he was on tour (as usual) warning the world about a new marketing era that was to be thrust upon us. While Jaffe does not claim to invent the idea of New Marketing; to my knowledge he was the first to see the maelstrom around the corner and rally marketers around the phrase. It is this reason that I attribute the use of this moniker to him.

After reading the book I bought a copy for everyone at Morpheus Media (we were about 8 people at the time. As of Friday, my last day, Morpheus Media was about 45 people). Just ask Emily Las, Associate Director Of Search and Emerging Media at Morpheus Media-my professional life took a turn (for better or worse-it remains to be seen :) ) after reading Life After The 30 Second Spot.

I immediately "Joined The Conversation" on the Jaffe Juice podcast and even started my own blog, A Media Circ.us (that was nearly three years ago. I do believe that commitment to conversation is key. While I don't have as many readers as some of the bloggers on the Ad Age Power 150, I am truly committed to the readers I do have, and could not be happier with my achievements in social media thus far).

Enough with the Man-Crush on Jaffe. We all know he is a smart dude and a true philosopher-but he is not the only reason for my life change.

Those of you reading who understand the need to never stop moving, learning and growing know that change is inevitable.

I owe much of my success to the founders and Managing Directors of Morpheus Media:

• Shenan Reed


• Jamie Driver


• Alex Golimbu

As well as my Co-Directors

• Jessica Coghan


• Raman Kia

You guys are my family and Morpheus Media will always be in my heart, but I think we all knew it was time for me to move on to new challenges. The timing could not have been better, as Morpheus is well on it's way to becoming one of the foremost digital agencies in the space. The last, nearly four years of my life have been the best professional (and personal) years ever, and it is all of you that made it possible.

As for the newbies at Morpheus, take care of what I helped build. I will be watching all of you and anything you do that is not aligned with the core principles Jamie, Shenan and Alex put in place nearly eight years ago will be seen by me-and you do not want that!

“What we call the beginning is often the end. And to make an end is to make a beginning. The end is where we start from.” -T.S. Elliot

Android App Store Has Me Thinking...

I just read about the Android App store, and while I found it very compelling, there is no need for me to be yet another blogger covering this topic. I was inspired though, and felt compelled to think about the ramifications of the proliferation of apps and what it means for our media ecosystem. I then put my David Armano hat on (okay, so I use stock .ppt graphics...so what!) and attempted to convey how the new media landscape has shifted in light of the new service economy.

In today's media lanscape it is not enough to provide good content (after all, we are the content much of the time) and secure good distribution (it is largely free online). In today's media landscape, it is just as important how content is received, and what value added services can bring to the experience of consumption.

Here is what I see the shift looking like:

The Old Media Paradigm

The New Media Paradigm

Armano, if you are picking up what I am putting down and can do better with the imagery- I owe you a beer :)

Information+Services=Ubiquity

There has been a large disconnect in the way the web works.

• On one hand, we have information-and we have a lot of people creating various types of information in a variety of formats that do not necessarily work together in a seamless fashion.
  
  
  
  • Many of the people creating information are not web savvy and do not care to be-many journalists, video producers and other content creators or more concerned with their trade (content) and have no time to deal with the inner working of the web. To a point, I don't blame them
  
  
  
  


• On the other hand we service providers
  
  
  
  • While very compelling and cutting edge, what good are software platforms with no information.
    
    
    
    • Facebook, Gmail and Yahoo are nothing without people
    
    
    
    
  
  
  • We in the tech world talk a lot about web services as the concept is relatively new-but they are not the end all
  
  
  
  

Mozilla is working to solve all this. Long live Firefox!


Ubiquity for Firefox from Aza Raskin on Vimeo.

Making Social Marketing Healthy and Balanced

Yesterdays blog post spoke about whether or not social media can drive a campaign for consumer packaged goods. In the comments section I responded to Jeremy Beyda by saying that value needs to be added to mundane products in order to stir up conversation. People are not going to simply talk about Crest without any additional compelling reason--why would they?

Today I saw this headline in Mediapost, "Old Orchard Using Social Media For Low-Sugar Lines". I got excited thinking I would have another social media campaign to discuss. I began to poke around the Healthy Living site as well as the blog and realized that the writer for Mediapost had put a spin on a press release that was not really implicit in the release itself.

I took a number of screenshots of the site and search results pages to see how well the campaign was doing (see presentation below...in order to see comments you will have to click through to Flickr) and I have to say that Old Orchard is missing the boat (we will see if they are at least listening to the conversation and respond to this post).

Here are some things I don't like about the campaign;

• NO RSS!
  
  
  
  • If a tree falls in the forest and does not make a sound, did it really fall? If a site has no RSS, is it a blog?
  
  
  
  


• No Distributed Web Strategy
  
  
  
  • This is along the same lines as RSS. I see no sign of carrying the conversation to social networks or anywhere that would make this conversation more visible. A microsite without a distributed strategy is like a picnic with no wine (sort of...well, let's just say it is bad)
  
  
  
  


• No Social Media Release

I hate to bash this campaign because they are doing so many great things for Diabetes (which hits close to home). Still, there is so much more they could have done. If the folks at Old Orchard want to give me a call, I would be happy to talk to you!

Can Consumer Packaged Goods Survive On Social Media?

I am always happy when I see a large CPG brand launch in an unconventional manner. Furthermore, I will always root for a brand that goes out on a limb and dips it toes into social marketing. Still, just because your efforts are deemed social does not guarantee success.

Earlier this month (I am not sure exactly when, I found out about this story in Ad Age a few days ago) P&G's Crest began marketing Crest Weekly Clean to bloggers and mom's. With little support from traditional advertising, Crest is looking to garner buzz in the social media arena.

A did a number of searches for Crest Weekly Clean and so far have come up with with one blog (the post is great) and one twitter mention. I also saw the mention on a number of blogs that had more ads than content.

I am hoping (for Crest's sake) that this is just the beggining. My concern is that if nothing is done to further market this product, it will be discontinued before it has the chance to gain traction.

Any further insight about this initiative would be appreciated!

Save Friendster!

I am sure that all of you out there remember the movie Ferris Bueller's Day Off, but how many of you remember Friendster? There are probably not as many of you that remember Friendster, but those of you that do probably have fond memories of it. In fact, you are probably still a member. How many of you remember seeing MySpace for the first time after having been a member of Friendster for a while and thinking, "sure, this site does cool things, but man is it ugly!".

Here are some interesting facts about Friendster that I was not aware of:

• Friendster currently has 75MM users worldwide


• Friendster is the number one social network in Asia


• Friendster is the 9th largest website in the world with 22.1 billion page views a month

Friendster is not dead! In fact, today Friendster made a big annoucement.

Friendster has announced it has deployed the OpenSocial standard application programming interfaces (APIs) as part of the Friendster Developer Program. The fact that Friendster has lasted as long as it has tells me one thing; it is not about the platform, it is about the people.

Many of us who used Friendster connected with old friends and family, that is what made it great. Sure, you can do the same thing on Facebook, and yes they may do a better job. Still, at the end of the day it is the social connections that make the platform meaningful.

Ben Stein, take it away!

Believe It Or Not, Conversations Happen In The Real World Too!

I have been extremely interested in geo-spatial technologies, location aware devices and augmented reality for quite some time. Much of my interest in these topics has been purely theoretical. Everything is changing rather rapidly.

Thanks to the iPhone (and other location aware devices of course) and companies like Loopt, what is commonly known as "the conversation" by social media practitioners is beginning to come to the physical world. Through the marriage of location aware devices and geographic plugins to social software, the idea of social media has taken on new meaning. Implied data (based on location) is now being brought into things like the Facebook news feed.

Today Skyhook Wireless, maker of the Wi-Fi Positioning System and XPS 2.0, the hybrid positioning system announced that they would be integrating neighborhood boundary data from Urban Mapping, Inc., the leading provider of location-rich content for interactive applications.

I found this video on CNET that explains the basis behind Loki. The video is extremely dated, but it is very interesting to look back at what people were concepting in 2006, and how these concepts are coming to life today.



What does this mean for marketers?

These new technologies have implications on many areas of interactive marketing:

• Search
  
  
  
  • No longer does search marketing solely apply to optimizing data to be found online. Search marketers must begin to consider optimizing data for location seekers
  
  
  • New search engines like Krillion are will be providing consumers with more locally based data
  
  
  
  


• Consumer Review and Social Networking
  
  
  
  • Marketers should also be paying attention to companies like Whrrl, where consumers have the ability to share reviews in real time
  
  
  
  

Many times have I said, "the conversation is going on about your brand with or without you". New location based technologies present new challenges for marketers trying to Join The Conversation.

It will be interesting to see how marketers deal with this new phenomenon.