The Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) announced the winners of its Fifth Annual Global Mobile Marketing Awards on 17th November in Los Angeles.
These awards recognise companies and their campaigns across the globe for spearheading the adoption of the mobile channel for marketing purposes. Winners are selected by a commitee of global industry leaders from wireless carriers, technology and content providers, agencies and industry publications.
And we won!
Who Killed Summer? won Best Mobile Campaign Overall in a three-way tie with TIM Father's Day + UPS Jobs.
It also won the award for Cross-Media Integration Campaign (Europe, Africa + Middle East).
Amazing stuff!
Who Killed Summer? is an online drama that took place across the summer set against the backdrop of the European festival scene + targeted at a young, hyper-connected audience. Sponsored by Vodafone, Who Killed Summer? is a collaboration between MWorks, Hideous Productions and Big Balls Films, with OMD and Cake responsible for the media campaign and project co-ordination respectively.
Thursday 19 November 2009
Wednesday 11 November 2009
Top 10 digital trends for 2010
Shamelessly 'borrowed' from Ruth Mortimer's blog, these top 10 digital trends for 2010 below (created by Drew Neisser from Renegade Marketing) make for an interesting read.
Some are more obvious, others are less-so.
1. Social Media: A Marathon, Not a Sprint
Neisser says that a lot of brands – hoping to become fast friends with their targets – rushed into Facebook and Twitter in the last 24 months without investing sufficient time or resources. In 2010, savvy marketers will increase their commitment to social media by first listening and then offering up a steady stream of engaging content that their fans actually want.
This will be particularly true for B2B brands, only 38% of whom included social media in their 2008 marketing plans (vs. 71% for B2C brands). With one comScore study indicating that brandedsocial media activities can have a multiplier effect on search results, there is a quantifiable rationale for brands to up the social media ante in 2010.
2. Mash-Ups: Taking Inspiration from Biathlons
Neisser predicts that more innovative mash-ups will become standard in 2010. He recalls 2009’s campaign by E.P. Carrillo, a new cigar manufacturer, which created a Twitter and Google Maps mash-up for its “coming soon” site that tracked cigar tweets (http://www.epcarrillo.com/) from around the world. Neisser expects to see more campaigns that glide seamlessly between personal and business, online and offline, mobile and desktop, just like consumers do all the time. Farsighted marketers will bring together formerly disparate elements into a cohesive and self-perpetuating social media experience.
3. App Happy: On Your Mark, Get Set, Go Crazy
Given the success a handful of marketers enjoyed with their “apps” in 2009, Neisser expects a blaze of new entries in 2010. iPhone apps that provide demonstrable utility like Kraft’s iFood Assistant recipe finder, Benjamin Moore’s color matcher and Zipcar’s GPS-based car finder will continue to gain traction. Expect more apps that integrate with other social media like the Gap StyleMixer that allows you to mix and match clothes and share them with friends on Facebook. And don’t forget the non-iPhone universe. The steakhouse Maloney and Porcelli cooked up a humorous and somewhat deviant web-based app at Expense A Steak that extrudes faux expense reports.
4. Measure Up: Track Every Second
With more dollars earmarked for social media, marketers will undoubtedly use new tools to monitor the conversations that are happening with or without them. Neisser claims that Radian6 and Scout Labs emerged in 2009 as two of the leading social media monitoring tools. And while Neisser says these tools are great, each requires a sizeable commitment by the marketer in time of staff. Just ask JetBlue who manages to enhance customer loyalty daily by responding to any and every customer Tweet within minutes, following 117,000 on Twitter, and in the process generating over 1.3 million followers.
5. POV Power: Don’t Just Talk the Talk
Neisser says that while lots of brands raced into social media in 2009, few established true connections with their targets. The reality is that consumers engage with brands that they like on a visceral level and that provide a distinct perspective on the world. Aflac’s Duck quacks up a gaggle of quirky content, including charitable requests that appeal to over 161,000 fans on Facebook and 3,000+ followers onTwitter. Meanwhile, Geico’s Gecko has been left in the social media dust due to its surprisingly dry and unresponsive online voice. Ironically, a brand by definition is a point-of-view that once clearly definedshould guide all communications, social or otherwise.
6. Expose Yourself: Win the Crowd With Honesty
Neisser argues that the emergence of several “tell all” consumer-created sites signals the arrival of a new era of honesty and transparency – especially for brands targeting those under 35. Sites like fmylife.com,textsfromlastnight.com and MyParentsJoinedFacebook.com reflect a generation willing to bare and share all without the least trepidation. Even the emergence of “Untag Mondays” speaks to the socially acceptable norm of posting embarrassing content that one might not want a parent or employer to see. Marketers that share this sense of honesty, that admit mistakes and address shortcomings in real-time willfind a youthful army of comrades willing to do their bidding. As Comcast discovered, this kind of honesty can even transform a PR nightmare into an industry-leading customer service.
7. Hold the Presses: Major Comebacks are Possible
Though a 50% decline in ad pages certifies 2009 as the worst year in its history, don’t write off print as a viable media channel just yet. Neisser claims that more than 80% of US consumers still subscribe to at least one magazine and 83% believe newspapers are still relevant. Experimenting with video in print publications = like Entertainment Weekly is but one of the ways certain magazine segmentswill hold onto their targets and satisfy their advertisers. And while P&G shut down its 72-year-old TV soap opera Guiding Light in 2009, they are cranking up the presses with the custom published glossy, Rouge, which expects to reach a whopping 11 million North American households in 2010.
8. Go to the Video: Separate from the Pack
The emergence of viral video rankings in 2009 reflected the mainstreaming of this approach to audience engagement, claims Neisser. While everyone and their branded brother aspired to cut through with aviral hit, surprisingly few found an audience. In 2010, marketers will undoubtedly crank out more of the same while a savvy few will worry less about mass reach and focus more on grass roots appeal, providing content that their core target really wants. B2B marketers in particular will find that using informative videos that transform the complicated into the comprehensible, like Commoncraft’s Plain English videos, will generate quality leads from grateful prospects.
9. Mobile Media: Catching Up at Last
Despite all the hype by this author and others, less than a third of marketers had a budget for mobile in 2009. In 2010, smart phone penetration should rise to at least 25% (from 17% in Q2 ‘09) making it alot easier to deliver a rich mobile experience worthy of consumer attention. Neisser says that the blending of mobile and social apps like Facebook, Loop’d and Twitter has also created a new openness towards this medium. Given the desirable demographics (18-34, good income) of smartphone owners, at minimum, marketers should give strong consideration to creating a mobile friendly website, thus allowing prospects to engage whenever and wherever they happen to be.
10. Be Positive: Attitude is Everything
Neisser says that while honesty is a worthy friend to marketers, don’t forget that almost no one wants to date a Debbie Downer. A recent poll by Adweek/Harris found “relative little enthusiasm and lots of indifference for ads that refer to the downturn.” Even if the economy is slow to recover in 2010, find the silver lining for your customers and prospects with both words and actions. Like the athletes whose positive outlooks and superior skills propel them to victory, so, too, can marketers find success with an upbeat message and an unimpeachable value proposition.
Some are more obvious, others are less-so.
1. Social Media: A Marathon, Not a Sprint
Neisser says that a lot of brands – hoping to become fast friends with their targets – rushed into Facebook and Twitter in the last 24 months without investing sufficient time or resources. In 2010, savvy marketers will increase their commitment to social media by first listening and then offering up a steady stream of engaging content that their fans actually want.
This will be particularly true for B2B brands, only 38% of whom included social media in their 2008 marketing plans (vs. 71% for B2C brands). With one comScore study indicating that brandedsocial media activities can have a multiplier effect on search results, there is a quantifiable rationale for brands to up the social media ante in 2010.
2. Mash-Ups: Taking Inspiration from Biathlons
Neisser predicts that more innovative mash-ups will become standard in 2010. He recalls 2009’s campaign by E.P. Carrillo, a new cigar manufacturer, which created a Twitter and Google Maps mash-up for its “coming soon” site that tracked cigar tweets (http://www.epcarrillo.com/) from around the world. Neisser expects to see more campaigns that glide seamlessly between personal and business, online and offline, mobile and desktop, just like consumers do all the time. Farsighted marketers will bring together formerly disparate elements into a cohesive and self-perpetuating social media experience.
3. App Happy: On Your Mark, Get Set, Go Crazy
Given the success a handful of marketers enjoyed with their “apps” in 2009, Neisser expects a blaze of new entries in 2010. iPhone apps that provide demonstrable utility like Kraft’s iFood Assistant recipe finder, Benjamin Moore’s color matcher and Zipcar’s GPS-based car finder will continue to gain traction. Expect more apps that integrate with other social media like the Gap StyleMixer that allows you to mix and match clothes and share them with friends on Facebook. And don’t forget the non-iPhone universe. The steakhouse Maloney and Porcelli cooked up a humorous and somewhat deviant web-based app at Expense A Steak that extrudes faux expense reports.
4. Measure Up: Track Every Second
With more dollars earmarked for social media, marketers will undoubtedly use new tools to monitor the conversations that are happening with or without them. Neisser claims that Radian6 and Scout Labs emerged in 2009 as two of the leading social media monitoring tools. And while Neisser says these tools are great, each requires a sizeable commitment by the marketer in time of staff. Just ask JetBlue who manages to enhance customer loyalty daily by responding to any and every customer Tweet within minutes, following 117,000 on Twitter, and in the process generating over 1.3 million followers.
5. POV Power: Don’t Just Talk the Talk
Neisser says that while lots of brands raced into social media in 2009, few established true connections with their targets. The reality is that consumers engage with brands that they like on a visceral level and that provide a distinct perspective on the world. Aflac’s Duck quacks up a gaggle of quirky content, including charitable requests that appeal to over 161,000 fans on Facebook and 3,000+ followers onTwitter. Meanwhile, Geico’s Gecko has been left in the social media dust due to its surprisingly dry and unresponsive online voice. Ironically, a brand by definition is a point-of-view that once clearly definedshould guide all communications, social or otherwise.
6. Expose Yourself: Win the Crowd With Honesty
Neisser argues that the emergence of several “tell all” consumer-created sites signals the arrival of a new era of honesty and transparency – especially for brands targeting those under 35. Sites like fmylife.com,textsfromlastnight.com and MyParentsJoinedFacebook.com reflect a generation willing to bare and share all without the least trepidation. Even the emergence of “Untag Mondays” speaks to the socially acceptable norm of posting embarrassing content that one might not want a parent or employer to see. Marketers that share this sense of honesty, that admit mistakes and address shortcomings in real-time willfind a youthful army of comrades willing to do their bidding. As Comcast discovered, this kind of honesty can even transform a PR nightmare into an industry-leading customer service.
7. Hold the Presses: Major Comebacks are Possible
Though a 50% decline in ad pages certifies 2009 as the worst year in its history, don’t write off print as a viable media channel just yet. Neisser claims that more than 80% of US consumers still subscribe to at least one magazine and 83% believe newspapers are still relevant. Experimenting with video in print publications = like Entertainment Weekly is but one of the ways certain magazine segmentswill hold onto their targets and satisfy their advertisers. And while P&G shut down its 72-year-old TV soap opera Guiding Light in 2009, they are cranking up the presses with the custom published glossy, Rouge, which expects to reach a whopping 11 million North American households in 2010.
8. Go to the Video: Separate from the Pack
The emergence of viral video rankings in 2009 reflected the mainstreaming of this approach to audience engagement, claims Neisser. While everyone and their branded brother aspired to cut through with aviral hit, surprisingly few found an audience. In 2010, marketers will undoubtedly crank out more of the same while a savvy few will worry less about mass reach and focus more on grass roots appeal, providing content that their core target really wants. B2B marketers in particular will find that using informative videos that transform the complicated into the comprehensible, like Commoncraft’s Plain English videos, will generate quality leads from grateful prospects.
9. Mobile Media: Catching Up at Last
Despite all the hype by this author and others, less than a third of marketers had a budget for mobile in 2009. In 2010, smart phone penetration should rise to at least 25% (from 17% in Q2 ‘09) making it alot easier to deliver a rich mobile experience worthy of consumer attention. Neisser says that the blending of mobile and social apps like Facebook, Loop’d and Twitter has also created a new openness towards this medium. Given the desirable demographics (18-34, good income) of smartphone owners, at minimum, marketers should give strong consideration to creating a mobile friendly website, thus allowing prospects to engage whenever and wherever they happen to be.
10. Be Positive: Attitude is Everything
Neisser says that while honesty is a worthy friend to marketers, don’t forget that almost no one wants to date a Debbie Downer. A recent poll by Adweek/Harris found “relative little enthusiasm and lots of indifference for ads that refer to the downturn.” Even if the economy is slow to recover in 2010, find the silver lining for your customers and prospects with both words and actions. Like the athletes whose positive outlooks and superior skills propel them to victory, so, too, can marketers find success with an upbeat message and an unimpeachable value proposition.
Monday 2 November 2009
Demographics are dead..
It's funny how the TED Talks seem to magically answer the questions that are going around in your head.
I've been thinking lately, as we work more and more on 'content' briefs, that the traditional approach of developing a proposition to connect a brand + a story with its intended audience just doesn't work here. Different people connect with stories in different ways, depending on who they are, what they're into, what they've experienced themselves + what they're looking for.
Novelist Chimamanda Adichie talks about the temptation to form an opinion on a person or a place based on just one aspect of its being. A person, a place, a situation cannot be described by just 'one story'. It is what it is because of the multiple stories that have shaped it.
By taking the time to appreciate the many stories that surround who we're talking to will help us understand how we are all different, instead of how we are similar. Afterall, everyone is unique + wants to be seen as an individual, not as part of a demographic group.
So rather than transmitting a single message designed to appeal to a large audience based on just one aspect of their being, we can instead engage all sorts of people in different ways, through the various aspects of the story we're telling. Enabling them to interpret it in their own way, take what they want from it, share their thoughts, debate, hypothesise - and ultimately demonstrate their individuality- all of which allow us to connect with them on a much deeper level.
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