My Thoughts
- A Call for Creativity: Let's Have Fun With Rewards
I (we?) are obsessed with why people share, how to build engagement and how to create real life value for brands and individuals alike utilizing online channels. We need to become more obsessed with rewards and with reinforcing on and offline behaviors.
We need to become more creative in the way we encourage and reinforce behavior, especially with all of the channels and tools that are now at our disposal. The possibilities for creating innovative rewards, tailored to types of social sharing, is something that’s really exciting.
Recently in WiredUK, John Battelle created a chart about how “The Check in extends the great database of human interactions”
Online here: (thanks Mobile Behavior)
Isn’t that awesome? We’ve created a whole new category of human interaction basically in the last year? While this is fine and dandy, the speed at which types of interactions are evolving leaves us lagging.
While it is a daunting task to try and keep up with all of the technology, we can keep up with motivations. I love the “signal” category of John’s chart. Once we understand the signal and implications, we can effectively dream up ideas to reinforce and change behavior.
I took the liberty to make a chart using John’s “signal” category, and I added types of currency that can be utilized to affect behavior. The ideas in the chart are all rewards dreamed up by brands that I’ve come across, I may be leaving something out — the larger point is that we can do better. We don’t need to increase the size of online ads, we need to create online movements.
So help me out here. What innovative rewards should go in these boxes?
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- A New Job! And A New Challenge -- How To Create, Ignite, and Measure Online Movements
I’m happy to announce that I’m joining the team at Imagination Publishing, as the Metrics and Analytics Manager on the General Mills account.
I could not be more excited about my new co-workers, employer, and challenge.
Bottom Line — It is my task to interpret numbers, make recommendations and help to develop strategies that fit with the clients business objectives.
The generic nature of this statement got me thinking, “What am I really doing?”
My answer (or goal) at this moment is to create, ignite, and measure online movements that change behavior both virtually and in real life.
These are a few of questions that have already made work interesting, that I will wrestle with daily:
How, and when, does an online community become an online movement that benefits both the participant and organizer?
What rewards, both tangible and virtual, change behavior?
What inspires collective action?
What are the big ideas that brands can support, to both better the world and motivate current and future customers?
While these questions may not be ever fully answered, this diagram helps me to visualize my thoughts, maybe you will find it useful too? Suggestions are, of course, welcome.
I’m excited to tackle these questions, and I’m so lucky to be working with and guided by such talented and smart individuals. Here’s to infinite curiosity, and maybe, just maybe, answering some of these questions.
On a side note, thanks to all who helped with my job search (there were so many of you), and most of all, thanks to everyone who takes the time to share and create pieces of analysis, observation, and strategy that inspires me daily.
A second side note, my absurdly over-simplified visualization above is inspired by two incredible posts by Mike Arauz , and “Harnessing Crowds: Mapping the Genome Of Collective Intelligence” from M.I.T.’s Center For Collective Intelligence. Thanks!
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- Sharing as Branding: 3 Great Examples
The phenomenon of social sharing is here to stay. Individuals build their reputation sharing links, sharing public conversations, even sharing purchases. We are what we consume, and the brands we believe in and support inform the world of our personal tastes, preferences, and allegiances.
Ok. That’s branding 101. How does the social web and digital culture change the way brands and consumers associate themselves with causes, feelings, and communities?
It is easier than ever for a brand to align with a cause, community, or even idea. It is easier than ever for an individual to construct an online identity and share it with the world.
When I was a teenager, I wore a lot of skateboard clothing, listened to “indie” music and showed up every thursday at school with the sports section of the L.A. Times, so I could make weekend football picks in front of my friends.
Wearing skateboard clothing, listening to independent music and making football picks at school projected a calculated image and personality to the world. If I was the same teenager today, I would make my football picks in an online league with my friends, post videos of my favorite skateboarder and share songs and albums by new artists I found digitally.
As individuals, we can create online identities by sharing content and aligning ourselves with larger issues and causes. If I post links to articles form Good magazine or PSFK on my personal blog or twitter feed, I’m telling the world I like thinking about larger social issues and am into tech, innovation and new and emerging trends.
We share digitally to construct our identities, and brands are beginning to do the same.
Here are some great examples of brands utilizing online and social sharing to target consumers with relevant content, to gain credibility in a niche market, and to allign themselves with a specific issue or cause.
1) Nike Futbol
With the World Cup arriving, soccer brands are competing for authenticity. When every brand gets World Cup fever, how do you attract the attention of die hard soccer fans? By sharing.
On the Nike Football Facebook page, a hub for World Cup Soccer news and information from Nike, they shared this video with fans. While it is very much an advertisement, it also provides utility and gives Nike a leg up in the battle for true soccer fans during World Cup Fever.
But what happens if you don’t have the budget to produce a commercial filled with cool effects and a world renowned soccer star? You share someone elses content. Check out this fantastic work, although just in its infancy, from Havanias:
2) “RSVP to Summer” From Havanias:
Havianias = Summer. They are taking that brand association even further with this fantastic Tumblr blog that provides tips to make your summer run smoothly. A flip flop company telling you how to make the perfect Caiprinha? Now that’s useful.
3) Asher Roth Music
Asher Roth is a rapper who is definitely a character. Regardless of how you feel about his music (you may know him from that “I love College” song), his new site, built by BBH Labs in NYC is fantastic:
This is the homepage, where you can enter the world of Asher Roth. Here is the blog:
Asher is his own media outlet. By sharing content that would interest his fans, he is solidifying his brand, showing his personality, and building a strong community of fans. He is moving from rapper to media mogul — By sharing.
These are just a few examples of brands that are utilizing sharing as branding. Find me some other great examples? Is this sort of sharing right for every brand or business?
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- The Challenges of Social Sharing, Why I Worry More About Relevancy Than Privacy
Social sharing is a major behavioral shift. We are constantly answering questions like “Where are you? What are you doing? What are you buying?”
Sharing information allows one to show their personality, and connect and collaborate with others across the globe based on a mutual interest in a topic. In our hyper connected and information filled world, finding and sharing great content targeted at specific groups or audiences, is a skill that is increasingly important.
Even news publications, who sell online advertising by getting traffic to their site, are looking to increase the amount of offsite links included in news stories. Everyone is jumping on the curation bandwagon.
Ok, so now that we agree on that, here come the challenges–
If you’re a brand how do you share and create content that keeps the interest and attention of all of your customers?
What is the right mix of news, press releases, and content from other sources that will keep your audience on the edge of their seat?
Oh, you also have to mix in replies to customer service requests and intelligent banter with your current and potential customers?
This whole social sharing thing is starting to sound a bit more challenging.
From a personal perspective, you have many friends with a variety of interests. How do you appease all of them with a Tweet, or by sharing a blog post on Google Reader or Facebook?
Regardless of the larger privacy issues of the social web (What you want the world to potentially see, and what you do not), the question of relevancy is becoming increasingly important.
How do you control what you want some friends to see and not others?
In all honesty I’m less worried about Facebook having control over my data, then I am about clogging a high school friend’s FB stream who has little interest in me or digital culture.
How do we solve these issues with social sharing?
I think that individuals are going to become more aware of their sharing, and group both friends and information by topic and interest.
How cool would it be to just share an article about soccer only with your friends who cared about soccer? Have a deal that you found in Chicago? Easily share that deal exclusively with people who are currently in Chicago, and no one else. Just as brands and media companies alike have had to increasingly focus on targeting and relevancy, people will begin to do this with personal accounts and information.
What are the larger implications?
Every individual will begin to think like a media company, asking themselves questions like, “who in my network should I share this piece of content with? How do I make this quip or joke interesting to the majority of people who are reading my streams?
So here’s my question for you, if each individual begins to think of themselves as a media channel, how does that affect behavior? Will it change the way we interact with the world around us?
Posts that inspired this:
Confusing *a* Public with *the* Public
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- My Love For Brand Utility Continues: Great Examples from Chrome Shoes and Kodak
If you’re a regular to this blog, well, even if you’ve read it just once or twice, you know I have an unhealthy obsession with brand utility. Every time I see a brand engage with consumers in a meaningful way, i.e. offer them something of value, my heart is filled with rainbows and unicorns:
A recent example of brand utility comes from Chrome, an urban cycling lifestyle brand. They are well known for their bags, and were looking to build up awareness and sales for their burgeoning shoe brand.
Chrome came up with a trade in program:
On March 17 , at 9:06 a.m., Chrome posted the following status update on its wall:
“Hey Everyone! We’re doing a “Turds For Gold” Shoe Exchange and, starting RIGHT NOW, we’re sending a FREE PAIR OF CHROME SHOES to anyone that sends us a crappy, worn-out pair of kicks. The exchange is two days ONLY and packages MUST be postmarked by 3/18 to qualify. In your shipment, please include a return shipping address and shoe size info.”
The head of marketing for Chrome, expected to give out 500 or so shoes. Turns out, over 5,000 people sent in shoes. Every Chrome employee, plus volunteers found through Facebook, made sure that everyone go their shoes.
So, Chrome gave away a bunch of shoes, way more than they expected. Who cares?
1) The total cost of the promotion is about what it would have costed to advertise in the top two urban cycling trade magazines for the entire year.
2) Word of mouth: I found out about this story, via an article on Clickz , from a writer who actually swapped an old pair of shoes for a new pair of Chromes. How many other people, whether in the cycling world or communications world, now know about Chrome shoes?
3) This kind of marketing creativity, and playfulness, fits perfectly within the Chrome branding. As outfitters to urban cyclists, they are catering people who see themselves as unique, creative, and interesting. Marketing that reflects the identity of your customers– A huge branding plus.
All of this being said, there are many more metrics that Chrome could have/should have tracked, to accurately determine ROI from the campaign. In fact, there is no complete record of who they gave their shoes out to! I would venture to guess that the earned media from the promotion + the cost of the promotion = less than advertising expenses for similar media exposure.
Brand utility doesn’t always have to be about giving something away, it can be about offering a better product, that your customers pay for, because it makes their lives better. The Kodak Share Button is a fantastic example of this kind of utility:
People love to share photos with their friends via social networks, email, or by any other means out there, electronically or otherwise. Kodak now has taken a step out of the sharing process, no need to upload the photos to your computer. The photos are also higher quality than the 2 or 5 megapixel cameras on the best mobile devices, so you get the convenience of mobile sharing with the quality of a digital camera.
So the next time your sitting in a meeting and ask, “how do we drive awareness, sales, or traffic”, don’t forget about utility. I know that this line of thinking isn’t revolutionary, but I thought these examples were especially impressive.
Here are some more examples, and explanation, of the power of brand utility from Ingmar De Lange:
View more from Ingmar de Lange.What are some of the great ways you’ve seen utility in communications? What are some of the worst?
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- The Facebook "Like", Moving Us Closer to "Oneline"
At the F8 conference Facebook released developer tools that allows Facebook to be powerfully integrated across the entire web. With a little line of code, you can now “like” anything on the web, and it will be published on your Facebook profile for all of your connections to see.
I can go to the Levi’s website and “like” a pair of jeans:
I can even see which of my Facebook connections have “liked” a certain product:
As of right now, none of my Facebook friends have “liked” a pair of jeans, but I’m sure that will change shortly.
News and culture sites are also integrating the “like” button in interesting ways:
Here’s a screenshot from CNN:
In the bottom right hand corner of the homepage, it shows you who, from your network, has shared or recommended a certain story. Once you click on a specific article, it is easier than ever to “recommend” it to your friends on Facebook:
Facebook has become a recommendation engine, a news aggregator, and a social shopping facilitator. Social connections have become the currency for the web, and will soon surpass Google as the number 1 traffic driver to websites. Plenty of people have been saying this for months, even years. What’s most exciting about Facebook’s digital domination?Facebook’s open graph expansion further blurs the line between online and offline connections and experiences. Facebook has succeed as a social network because, more than anything else, it fosters real world friendship and interaction. It allows users to control who sees what elements of their information, and it allows users to connect in ways that would have been virtually impossible years ago. Obviously, this is a rosy portrait.
There are absolutely privacy issues, and a majority of users are blissfully unaware of how to change or edit their sharing or privacy settings.
But as social currency becomes the fabric of the web, we are moving closer to a “oneline” world — where your online and offline worlds co-exist, where digital connections impact my real world experiences, and vice versa. Think of all the parties you’ve planned using Facebook, the music you learned about, or even all the times you remembered to send a card, yes, a physical card, because Facebook reminded you of a family members birthday.
Because Facebook is the network that is most in tune with our on and offline life, it is in a fantastic position to help brands create “oneline” experiences and to target the influencers that matter most — our real life friends and family.
In the latest Forrester report on online influence, they reported that 500 billion impressions were made last year on peer to peer brand recommendations (Nielsen). These impressions are infinitely more credible than a banner ad, as they come from a peer who you trust (Hopefully).
Currently the online influence landscape is dominated by news and media junkies who share everything to benefit their friends. They love to curate, and they love to influence. They pride themselves in being ahead of the curve, and being an “expert” in their circle of friends.
Now, with the explosion of the Facebook “like” button, the opportunity for every Facebook user to become a “Mass Connector” and “Mass Maven” is easier than ever, with a huge broadcasting platform.
While traditional online influencers are still important, and may inform the choices of mass connectors and mass mavens alike, the Facebook open graph protocol makes it easier than ever to integrate on and offline experiences, and for consumers to listen to all of their friends for recommendations online, not just their friends who are early adopters or social media fiends.
Will the Facebook “like” button increase the ability for everyone to share and recommend products online, or will the usual suspects (the content creators, mass connectors, and mass mavens) continue their domination of online word of mouth?
FYI, here are all of the stuff that my connections have Liked, on major sites, since the button was released last week:
If you want to see a mashup of what your friends are “liking” go to likebutton.me
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- Go Ahead and Judge Me, But I Love the Sienna Campaign
I realize that on this blog sometimes I talk a lot about what is wrong in the communications industry, and what needs to change.
Today, I’m going to take a break from thinking about how communications professionals can do better, and instead, celebrate a campaign that I like:
I think this campaign is pretty intelligent for a few reasons.
1) It’s Effective Branded Entertainment
The commercials on TV feel more like a sitcom than an advertisement. You begin to know, feel for, and relate to the characters in the commercials. Even the Title, “Sienna Family” moves the focus of the advertisement away from the car, and instead to the characters involved.
2) Invested in a story rather than a lame attempt at “viral”
Toyota could have paid to make a 30 second video of a Sienna driving off a 30 foot parking garage, flying through flames, and saving a baby panda. 100 million people may have even watched that video. Guess what? I’d venture to guess that none of those people would have bought a Sienna because of that video.
Engaging storytelling, relatable characters, and smart direction on multiple channels where your target audience already spends their time (TV/Youtube)? That sounds like a better bet to me.
3) Integration Into Overall Digital Strategy:
It is easy to check out the car once you have watched the video with one click access to Sienna Photos, and 360 views. You can even join the Sienna page on Facebook, to read what other people have to say about the car.
This being said, I can’t help but critique one or two things.
1) Have a Better Engagement Strategy:
There are plenty of negative comments on Youtube and on the Facebook channels. While Toyota is not deleting the comments (a good first step), they should consider being more proactive in providing links and information in response to specific comments. To be fair, they are doing better on Facebook.
So how should Toyota respond to these comments? Should they at all? I’m not sure. I feel like it may be beneficial, at the very least, to show that they are listening?
2) Take This Even Farther, To More Media Entry Points
You might think this is overkill, but I would love to see these characters built out even more, across even more media entry points. Yes, I would like to follow SiennaDad on Twitter. I would love to see blog posts about their day to day life, and the antics with their kids get into. Imagine Sienna Dad starting an online feud with Phil Dunphy from Modern Family? I applaud Toyota’s foray into digital storytelling, and I hope they take it further.3) Not Quite Enough UtilityThe storytelling may be on point, but it needs a little something extra. Some kind of reward for engaging with the Sienna content, a way to incorporate your own family’s story with the Sienna family. I would love to see some kind of parenting advice stream, slightly humorous, and slightly informative from the Sienna family.What are your favorite campaigns right now? Online, TV, Print, or otherwise?
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- How Are Your Imitation, Collaborative, and Problem Solving Skills?
So here are some things I’ve been reading that informed this post:
ReWork — By the guys behind 37 Signals
The Imitation Economy –Drake Bennett
Gainful Employment — Daniel Pink
I still remember when I had my first experience with “Plagarism.” I took a paper to the writing center in 10th grade to get the first draft of a paper critiqued by another teacher before I re-worked the second draft. I sat there as he read it. After he finished reading the first words out of his mouth were, “Did you write this?”
I sat there and assured him that no, I didn’t copy it from the Internet.
Everyone will tell you that plagiarism, copying and remixing are becoming increasingly ubiquitous. Here’s a fun example: Look at this copy of “Super Mario Galaxy” by a Chinese software company:
All throughout school, even in college, you are told not to copy words, let alone ideas, and to credit every single source, even if it was a drunken conversation with a friend at 3 AM.
It makes sense that intellectual property exists, and that educational institutions take plagiarism so seriously. The only thing a professor can sell is their ideas and writing. Beyond this cynical economic look, I see the value in intellectual honesty. I believe in crediting your sources.
At the same time, this emphasis on individual learning does not prepare students to work in today’s connected and collaborative global economy. I’m of the firm opinion that collaboration, and social creativity rather than isolated paper writing, while you quiver in fear of copying an idea too closely, is more conducive to today’s global business realities.
This is not to say that traditional liberal arts education is not important, but along side teaching the value of analysis and synthesis we need reward students who best utilize the technology available to connect with minds and experts beyond the classroom, to join relevant communities, and use the internet to expand and improve classroom experiences.
For me the future of work lies in collaboration. Let’s reward kids who find ways to solve problems quickly, resourcefully, and creatively– and not just the ones who follow directions. Stop obsessing over ideas and start obsessing over how you can make current ideas better. What can you build? How can you fix something?
How can we teach kids to collaborate, remix, and problem solve more effectively?
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- 5 Reasons Why (The Best) Ad Agencies Will Survive (And Thrive)
By now, many of you have seen this video, produced by Saatchi and Saatchi:
Many folks have called this video a wake-up call, a sign of the future, and a reflection of what’s to come in the advertising world. With the rise of social collaboration, crowdsourced ad campaigns, and the rise of user generated content, it may seem that ad agencies aren’t necessary.
If the goal of communication strategy these days is to create a group of brand ambassadors who market your product for you, where do advertising agencies fit in? As more and more users continue to adopt social tools where unfiltered conversations about brands are the norm, shouldn’t every brand solely focus on customer service, reputation management, and building a great product that will spur word of mouth?
At first glance, based on this thinking, it appears that PR agencies are going to dominate the world of communications. Once you scratch the surface of social media 101 type posts, you’ll realize that while customers do want interaction, engagement, and fantastic customer service they still want brands to help them define who they are.
Here Are 5 Reasons That (The Best) Ad Agencies Are Here To Stay:
1) Media Consumption is Growing Exponentially:
A recent survey of 2,000 children 8-18, by the Kaiser foundation found that kids consumed more media than ever, and managed to pack in a whopping 8.5 hours of media consumption a day. In 2004, the average was 6.5.
People are hungry for media with a storyline that translates over all entry points. Ad agencies that tell a great story and consistently deliver that “wow factor” , will see consumers that are hungry to not only engage with their projects, but share them as well.
2) (The Best) Ad Agencies Are Concerned With Why, and Not Only How, People Share
A great ad agency recognizes that the term “viral video” is at the very least a misnomer. Unlike a virus, a video doesn’t sneak its way into your computer and replicate itself, forcing all of your friends to watch. This terms implies that the “how” people share t is magical and important, rather than the content of the video itself, or understanding “why” people share.
via Mike Arauz
This line of thinking extends way beyond a video. Why would people “fan” your brand on Facebook? Because it says something about their personality. Every online action is part of the creation of a complex online identity, and (the best) ad agencies are consistently better at understanding online identity formation than their competition.
3) As the Novelty of Social Media Wears Off, People Will Want Beautiful, Creative, and Entertaining Brand Experiences
No one is impressed anymore that your “insert company name here” has a Facebook Fan Page, it is simply good business practice. What’s the next step? Offering value to your customers in a creative and targeted way . In other words, build something that makes your customers online experience memorable, inspirational, and informative. Build Something with social media.
Check out the CoolHunting.com/Cadillac Co branded Ipad app from BBH labs:
If you have an Ipad, chances are you’re into style and design. This is a fantastic way of making the newest Cadillac CTS coupe appeal to design obsessed IPad early adopters.
4) Ad Agencies Can Think of Creative Ways to Utilize User Generated Content for Brands
Generally, ad agencies pride themselves on creativity. User generated content is extremely valuable to brands, but it becomes more so when placed within an appealing package that accurately reflects the brand.
How do iconic and luxury brands retain brand equity when they have little control over the design of a specific channel? They build their own.
Check out Burberry’s “Art of the Trench“. This is a fantastic way of engaging customers without losing any brand equity:
5) Ad Agencies Understand Cool
This is what we share: Celebrities. Music. Sports. Design. Cooking Tips. Irreverent stories that make us chuckle during the work day. Media that inspires awe.
The best advertising changes behavior. In new media, we want to inspire folks to share content, to talk about your brand, build engagement, and ultimately, drive sales.
Social media purists may argue that everyone has a voice, everyone is important, and anyone can become an “influencer”, overnight.While this is true, creating content that inspires awe, that makes consumers feel “cool” both when they experience and share that content — This is where the opportunity lies for ad agencies.
That being said, there are many aspects of the advertising world that aren’t working: Selling impressions, lauding a 3 to 5% conversion rate as industry standard, business practices based on an antiquated TV rating system… The list goes on, but that is another post for another day, and lots, who are smarter than I, have already written on that very topic.
Fundamentally, ad agencies have an advantage over other communication agencies — They are better at building brand experiences and making users feel special. Here are some agencies that are already taking advantage:
1) Odopod
4) Plan B
7) Humungo
8 ) Mullen
9) Undercurrent
10) Carrot Creative
11) R/GA
12) Deep Focus
13) Boone Oakley
14) Digital Kitchen
Feel free to ad to this list, and I invite disagreement with any statements made in this post.
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- The Importance of Infographics
Infographics, for those unfamiliar with the term, ”are visual representations of information, data or knowledge.” Infographics act as an important teaching and business tool, inspring awe and presenting information in a powerful visual manner. Recently, I’ve observed an uptick in the amount of infographics shared on social media channels. Part of this could be due to the people I follow, but now that Mashable has been going infograph crazy, I think it’s a trend that’s here to stay. Here is an example:
Beyond merely being pretty I think this uptick in infographic creation and sharing on social media channels represents some larger shifts in the way that we consume media.
If Twitter is “Crack for media addicts” , infographics are heroin. Social media users, and Twitter users in particular, love information. A great Infograph presents information in a visually stunning way that is easy to digest. What’s more, most infographics get at the “why” people share:
Sharing infographs is statement of geekdom, packaged in a cool and attention grabbing design. Infographics scream “I’M SMART AND I LOVE INFORMATION, BUT I ALSO LIKE COOL THINGS LIKE ART AND, SPORTS, AND MUSIC, AND GOING OUT WITH FRIENDS”.
In all seriousness, for me, infographics represent a better way to present data and information. As our culture technologically evolves, content providers are responding to a need to see information and news presented in ways that move beyond words.
Our online culture is becoming more visual, and visual elements are now basically a requirement for a popular blog post.
Visual elements and presentation of data in a an attention grabbing package are just as central to building engagement on social media channels as tweeting 1,000 times a day. Creating something, rather than “reaching out”, may be a more powerful route to increasing your trust, credibility, and influence.
Here are some infographic resources if you want to jump on the train:
1) Chart Porn — If you see an infographic floating around on the internet, and you don’t know who started it? It probably started here.
2) Chart Go — A great place to start making your own charts.
3) Gliffy– For those with a penchant for design, or a desire to learn (like this guy), Gliffy is a great way to make a chart from scratch.
Have infographics jumped the shark? Are they here to stay? Do they represent a larger trend where visual elements such as design and packaging will play a larger role in building engagement on social media channels?
This one, was also too good to pass up, by Phil Gyfford:
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