MORE THAN ADVERTISING

With more than 150 million active users that spent together 3 billion minutes each day on the site, Facebook is not just a social network, it is a powerful media channel. (source)

And the big broadcasters have to re-evaluate how they operate in a world where content is available on the web.

CNN for example teamed up with Facebook, for a unique live-streaming event that integrated CNN.com’s video player with Facebook status updates, so users could update their statuses with up-to-the-second commentary.

“Live TV shifted from a passive to a social/interactive experience and underscored the power of the internet to deliver video programming to a massive number of users simultaneously.” says media analyst Rich Greenfield

And according to early data, as of 3:30 p.m. on Inauguration Day, CNN.com had generated more than 136 million page views, while CNN.com Live had served more than 21.3 million live video streams globally. via AdAge

But there are more good examples how to use the  “The Facebook Channel” to communicate.

One of them are Applications:
Over 14 million people interacted with Facebook Applications in August and the numbers are increasing.

A great example how to use applications for your marketing is “Kidnap!^SM” conceived by Rapp for Travel Channel.  It is part of a broader Travel Channel online loyalty program. The game challenges users to kidnap their friends to their favorite international hideout city using a variety of “methods” such as “Eight ball in the Sock” or “Faulty Human Slingshot.”  To escape from the hideout city and begin kidnapping their friends, kidnapped players must answer a trivia question related to that city.

In the 6 weeks after launch:

• 1,711,300 Kidnap Requests Sent
• 225,521 Monthly Active Users
• 23,034 Daily Active Users

Facebook and other social networks are offering so many new ways for us to engage with the people we want to talk with, we should definitely take these opportunities more serious and create own ideas and campaigns for them.

Obama’s continues using social technology to change the american politcs. His first step towards bringing the vision of running a cross-party campaign is the launch of Change.gov, a portal for transparency and interaction. This page is not only to communicate, it is also to listen and interact. But what makes it so revolutionary is that this site gives voters a voice.

I will listen to you, especially when we disagree…and to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn, I may not have won your vote tonight, but I hear your voices. I need your help. And I will be your President, too. said Barack Obama

And to make sure that these voices can be heard Barack Obama’s online team has implemented a project called “Citizen´s Briefing Book” . An idea site, complete with voting and viewing of others’ ideas. 

A great way to engage people in current politics even if the the topic is to decriminalize marijuana possession, which is right now the second most popular idea.

Here is a short report about Change.gov on cnn:

And here is what  Brian Solis said:

“This isn’t just about broadcasting content through new channels or merely soliciting feedback, participating in popular networks or actively listening. It’s the ability to identify and internalize themes to precipitate change and earn support through action—not just words.”

I really hope that not only politicians understand the need to listen to the people and to give the them a voice. I hope brands will do the same too.

Via. TechCrunch

This is an Ikea version of the Oval Office built in Union Station subway station in Washington DC. Together with severeal other brands, they kicked off an out-of-home ad campaign called “Embrace Change ’09″ that honors President-elect Barack Obama.

Ikea will also strap “furniture fit for a president” on top of vehicles to symbolize the incoming president and his family moving into their new home.

And on their website www.embracechange09.com you can furnish the Oval Office using a drop-and-drag click tool.

“We have never had an opportunity to do anything surrounding the message of change from a national standpoint,” said Ikea public relations manager Marty Marston.

I mean, this is not the most innovative idea from Ikea but still a good piece of advertsing.

via. Brandweek

Right now I´m doing my research to get a deeper understanding of how the chinese communicate. It´s so interesting to see how vital this social media landscape in China is. 253 million us the internet, over 107 million have a personal blog, that makes them the world leading country when it comes to online usage.

Here is a good summary and more intersting numbers:

Social media is alive and well in China, says CIC CEO Sam Flemming. CIC is the leading Internet word-of-mouth consulting firm in China.

They analyse all the chinese online buzz and distill the relevant data for their clients. A perfect source for rich consumer insights and better than any market research.

Here is the interview with Pop Tech:

Sam Flemming also writes an blog about social media which is absolutely worth reading. So eveybody who wants to understand this market, have a look.

Update: Just found this video podcast with a brief introducten of CIC:

This video is a nice little summary from my friends at S&F. A good way to end my first workday in Beijing.

Have fun!

Last year Eve online was facing a scandal involving one of the game’s developers, who used his status to cheat. The other players were upset and recvolted.
But instead of doing some crisis pr bla bla bla they developed a strategy that solves the problem and rebuild trust between them and their customers. (wich is vital in this business)

They decided to give the actual players of EVE Online a voice and and invited more than 200,000 users to vote for nine representatives from around the world to convey their concerns and suggestions about the game to the company.

Then this elected group of nine players, have been brought to Iceland for two weeks of meetings and debate. Their decisions influenced the direction of the product.

I think this is a great example how a company can handel complaints. It needs a lot of courage to give your customers a voice, but it proofs that you really care about their concerns and that´s a good way to build strong realtionships with the people who buy your stuff.

Here is the link to the Washington Post article

The brief is the beginning of every campaign. It contains facts, inspiration and necessary insights as well as a defined target group including all the information about their purchasing habits and how they are related to their media exposure etc.

The problem is, that most of the time the definition of the target group is something like this:

We want to reach all male between 31 and 42, with high incomes living in major cities etc. (bla bla bla)

Ähm…what…I mean how can we create an idea that reaches those people when we have no clue to whom we´re really talking to.

This demographic description fits Michael Balack as well as Dennis Rodman. And I´m pretty sure that those guys don´t share the same lifestyle, drive the same car or buy the same products.

So let´s think about a new way to describe the people we want to reach with our ideas:

Think of each one of your customers as a member of a tribe, the tribe you lead.

Seth Godin

I love this idea of thinking of a brand or product as a vital part of a tribe. A tribe consists of a social group, and members of this group express themselves with the brands and products they use, wear and buy.

So if we would try to define the particular tribe instead of a target group, we could talk directly to the people that buy our stuff and won´t waste our money to convince Michael Ballack to buy an Hummer in place of his Audi. (Because he never will!)

Let´s think of marketing as tribe management and that every brand is able to build and lead a tribe. Imagine that people are joining it and want to hear from your company because it helps them connect, it helps them find each other, it gives them a story to tell and something to talk about.

Apple for example does a great job on that and there are many more company’s out there.

Seth Godins new book “Tribes” is about how to manage, lead an market to a tribe.

And if you want to know more about it, watch his presentation on Mixergy.com or download the audio book for free.

Tribe management is a totally new way to see the world. And if we are using our marketing budget to be relevant to our tribe instead of bombarding them with ads they don´t wanna see, if we help them to connect to each other and if we give them something to talk about, we will reach and involve them and they will love to buy our products. And thats what good marketing is all about.

Just a short update on the “Change I believe in post”. I found this great presentation about Obama and his Social Media Campaign. For me, this is one of  the best examples for what you can achieve when you dare to use social media in your communications.

Yes he can. Barack Obama is the new president of the United States of America. But what is even more fascinating than the fact that Obama moves into the White House is how he came there.

Politics, after all, is about marketing – projecting and selling an image, moving people to identify, evangelize and consume. Thats the reason why a political campaign is very similar to an advertising one. So let´s have a look at it from a brand perspective.

“Barack Obama is three things you want in a brand. He is new, different and attractive. Thats as good as it gets.”
Keith Reinhard chairman DDB Worldwide.

What I love the most is his openness to the way consumers communicate with one another and how he distributed his messages in this new way. Obama and his team transformed politics with its use of technology and turned them,selves into a media organization.

On BarackObama.com they featured constant updates, videos, photos, ringtones, widgets and events to give the supporters a reason to come back.

But they go even further. Together with Chris Hughes, one of three Harvard roommates who invented Facebook four years ago, Obama’s team created their own social networking site, my.barackobama.com with over 1.000.000 active users!

A short introduction video:

Here you can write your own blog, send policy recommendations directly to Obama, set up your own mini fund-raising site, organize an event or even use a phone-bank to get call lists and scripts to tele-canvass from home.

This movement is a conversation where everybody is invited. And those who join the conversation get constant feedback from the campaign and from each other. For marketers a cheap and effective way to get in touch with personal supporters around the globe and for the users a great experience to be connected to a huge community of soul mates.

Their social media activities do also reach people over the age of 30. It proves that there is a immense potential to involve elderly folks within this medium:

“I’m a political junkie who watches Chris Matthews and C-Span,” he said. “But instead of just sitting there . . . this allows me to become involved. It’s real grass roots.”

Mr. Goodburn a 56-year-old grandfather

or another interesting statement:

“With the organizational tools Barack’s campaign is giving us, we, the people, can change history.”

Valli Frausto, a 50-year-old mother of two from Columbus

Also a great example is the use of viral videos to spread the word online. This one here is my personal favorite:

And even after Obama has won the election he uses the web as a channel to communicate with his audience.
This here is the latest post on his own youtube channel:

Barack Obama: “We Have a Lot of Work to Do”

Obama was successful at converting online clicks into real-world currency. And I truly believe that many brands and their products out there could do the same. We simple need to rethink the way we work and make some changes.

Every forward-thinking business would be wise to examine his marketing strategies and leadership styles.

“Change will not come if we wait for some other person or if we wait for some other time…We are the hope of the future”

said Barack Obama on Super Thuesday

So let´s start today and change the industry! YES WE CAN!

Lee Clow is not only the Global Director of TBWA Media Arts, he was also the guy who created the legendary Apple 1984 ad.

here it is:

He did some of the best campaigns back in the 80ies, and at that time advertising was all about TV commercials, radio spots or print ads. (The good old days, ha?)
That is the reason why it is even more encouraging for me to hear him talk, together with Alex Bogusky, who is one of the ad-revolutionary, about the fundamental changes in the industry.

He talks about the massive shift from a monologue to a dialogue and that advertising has to be a constant conversation and every piece we create has to interact with the audience.

“The Internet opened up a whole new world for us, a great time to be in this business…”

What an attitude! Instead to be frightened by all that weired stuff, he wants to explore the possibilities and create something exciting with it.

I wish there would be more people like Lee and Alex out there, because we need everybody to join this revolution and to stop wasting all our energy by fighting against it.

So watch this 28 min video and get inspired by these 2 guys and their work.