Exploring rich media advertising- live streaming
We have all heard about this ad infinitum: Advertising is getting more sophisticated though the use of emerging media technology and services on offer.
But it’s one thing to know it, and another thing to be able to actively make the most of this fact.
Well I am happy to report that here at our agency we can take advantage of some of these new Flash-y techniques through our relationship with a leading ad-server which allows for larger than normal file sizes.
Have a look at this example created for a Hollywood studio to advertise their latest Jim Carey movie, Number 23. Yes, it is streaming video through an ad unit, but also better still is that they are streaming rotating confessions from people off the street, who happen to be in a bar in Washington DC.
The plotline for the movie is based around confessions, so this seems a nifty and simple way to get this message across without using a usual piece of footage from the movie.
So, without further ado, please visit this page and press the red play button within the ad unit…..and don’t forget to turn up the volume.
Remember, this is simply an example (and, incidentally, not one we’ve created), but if you came across this ad unit while surfing the Web, everytime you played the ad, you should get a newly streamed confession. Brilliantly addictive!
The art of conversation and how not to fake it
Anyone remember The Cluetrain Manifesto?
Rik and I were chatting a little while ago about how relevant that book is even now. The main thrust of that book was to introduce the notion that the Internet has initiated global conversation and as a result consumers are becoming smarter and faster with their consumption of information than companies can cope with. It also raises the idea that ‘….markets are conversations. Their members communicate in language that is open, honest, direct, funny and often shocking. Whether explaining or complaining, joking or serious, the human voice is unmistakenly genuine. It can’t be faked.’
Great stuff and something we still need to bear in mind when introducing brands to social networking. Just because it is becoming easier for companies to use these channels (like Facebook and MySpace) and just because technology allows for it, does not always mean it is the right approach.
We need to continually become more savvy about how we can get brands to consumers in a non-intrusive, engaging and clever way.
So, welcome to the new manifesto- The Age of Conversation. This book went on sale on Monday. Where The Cluetrain Manifesto seemed to alienate brands and consumers from each other, suggesting consumers are having conversations without brands, this new tome suggests that there is still a place for the brand monologue, just that brands need to be clear on their point of view and have a true statement of intent.
Aside from all of that, 100 marketing bloggers have contributed to one chapter within the book, so it could be an interesting read. The proceds also go to Variety, The Children’s Charity.
Lots of interesting thoughts and a good cause – what are you waiting for?
The transformation of a new marketing agency
Anyone read the great article by David Benady in Marketing Week last week?
Basically, Benady is commenting on the recent decision by EBay to appoint Albion, a ‘self proclaimed integrated agency’ to manage their advertsiing. Normally this would have been in the arms of above-the-line agencies like WCRS or Mother. So, what does this say? Digital agencies are making high profile in-roads into the arena of above-the-line agencies. The same could be said about Agency Republic winning integrated marketing for IKEA.
The point here is that it is becoming more and more possible that digitally focused agencies will become the mainstream and traditional agencies will be the boutiques.
Murphy from RKCR comments: “If you look at the industry over the next ten years, you will see a group of very premium agencies emerge that will provide a new total service.” These high-quality, full-service agencies will combine the technical skills of the digital specialists with the planning and creative abilities of the traditional agencies.”
”In future, advertising will be driven by agencies that are capable of digitally locating and monitoring audiences rather than those that can create beautiful campaigns aimed at anyone prepared to watch and listen. ”
So, back to us…..
The good news here is that we are totally in tandem with this thinking. We pair clever strategic customer insight with creative thinking and then deliver in the channel that best engages the customer. Our obssession with first getting to know the customer and using proprietary tools and top drawer technology providers to get under their skin is coupled with developing campains that mirror behaviour and capture attention is SPOT ON.
Social networking’s global reach, April 2007
Some useful statistics, sourced by MyMetrix.
Give me ( Alex Stoneham ) a shout if you would like more detail or some help making sense of the numbers.
Youtube.com
total unique visitors (000): 12,723
reach (%): 40.8
average daily visitors (000): 1922
Total minutes (m): 1363
total pages viewed: 1355
total visits (m): 86,094
MySpace.com
total unique visitors (000): 9893reach (%): 31.8
average daily visitors (000): 2111
Total minutes (m): 1172
total pages viewed: 3876
total visits (m): 133,261
Bebo.com
total unique visitors (000): 8302reach (%): 26.7average daily visitors (000): 2358
Total minutes (m): 2689
total pages viewed: 6597
total visits (m): 148,884
Facebook.com
total unique visitors (000): 3694reach (%): 11.9
average daily visitors (000): 827
Total minutes (m): 633
total pages viewed: 1815
total visits (m): 59,213
Total Internet users of SN sites
total unique visitors (000): 31,150reach (%): 100.0
average daily visitors (000): 21,767
Total minutes (m): 64,331
total pages viewed: 107,144
total visits (m): 2,189,900
Your Visual DNA
I have to admit that I am not a huge fan of Facebook and Myspace. they just seem to be for people so much younger than me. Sob. But really it’s also because I find it a bit predicatable after a while. So, imagine my surprise when I was told about Imagini.Net. This is a way of communicating using pictures, but in an engaging, creative and simple way. I find this site interesting, good looking and really fun. Plus, from a business perspective, I also think the concept translates well from being a personal tool to being a really useful marketing idea for our clients too.
The basic premise is that you go into the site to choose photos that best represent what you feel about something. Once done, you have effectively created a unique theme palette. It’s not so unique to be exactly like DNA, because the fun bit is that you can now find other like-minded individuals who have chosen the same photos as you. Quite cool really. There are a couple of other simple but cute features….you can upload a photo of yourself to be on the FaceWall and they have a giftfinder service which connects particular themes with gift ideas that they have stored in the database.
It’s currently in Beta and whilst i have palyed with it a few times, I am unsure how sophisticated it can get as yet, but worth a look.
Like Twitter Love Jaiku
Why would anyone want to be harrassed throughout the day by ‘friends’ telling you at every minute, what they are up to at that exact moment? Hmm, well apparently millions of us. Twitter has spread around the aether like wildfire. It’s not so much the concept, but the many other iterations that are really showing how versatile the Web has become for social interaction (just ask Bryan Miller!). In fact Mike Arrington at Techcrunch believes this cross platform functionality is the next big thing. But then, have you heard about Jaiku? Think of it like Twitter, but in many respects it’s better because it offers more features in one tidy place. Again, it’s totally immersive and addictive once you and your friends start using it. My handle is intune99. Hope to see some of you there soon.
What’s the time again?
If you ever needed to know the time, and wanted an interesting and different way to get this information, then check out Human Clock. With each passing minute of every single day, you can see a different image represnting the time. This could be people holding up a sign to license plates from cars. You are strongly encouraged to upload pictures to add to their database, but please don’t add anymore license plates as they have way too many already. You can also keep things going in a smaller window on your desktop by clicking ”gimme a cute window”.
This is the time right now….
Looking to give away some money?
Just when we thought comparison sites were all about helping you choose the best mortgage, airline, gas supplier, ISP, all sorts of spin-offs are appearing. Charity Navigator is one of the latest to spring up and obviously it is all about helping you select charities to support. I think at its heart it’s a great idea, especially as it helps you make an informed decision AND most importantly, it is not for profit. So unlike the likes of uSwitch, it seemingly does not rank based on a pay per click business model or use black hat SEO techniques (which some are guilty of doing). That said, they have their own evaluation methodology that may or may not be considered fair and unbiased. Currently it is only really focusing on American charities, but that won’t be for long. Something to keep a check on…
Mike Tyson wants to do Bollywood movies
Ever heard of Tailrank? It kind of works like Technoranki, but it concentrates on top news stories that are being discussed across the blogosphere and pulls them into one place, ranking them based on how much chatter they are receiving. What I love about this is kind of obvious- who has time to sift through the BBC? But better than that, I love the fact it ranks news stories not on what the BBC or CNN or Sky or any one of those conglomerates chooses, but rather on what people on the Web think is worthy of discussion. Clearly Tyson in tights…
Mobile everywhere
I’m loving all the great mobile apps out there. Yep, Dodgeball, Google and Tiny Twitter are all pretty cool. But my personal favourite has to be Genemation which is an invention that has come out of Manchester university. Imagine taking a photo of your friend through your mobile phone, sending it to a service to be quickly modified so that her ears look really huge like an elephants, and then either sending it back to her, or (if you are really nasty) posting it to Facebook or Flickr? Fabulous time wasting. But then on a serious note it is also an effective way to show the lasting effects of years smoking or using a sunbed for Cancer charities…..hmmm, now there’s a thought.
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