Location-Based Genius

I came across this today and I had to write about it. As a group, the social media team at Horizon is constantly contemplating new and exciting ways to leverage location-based initiatives for our clients. Simply creating a remote local through Foursquare to have people check-in to doesn't really cut it. Being creative is top of mind, and the above activation really caught my eye
Imagine a location-based app that downloads and streams a new album release only in a specific stretch of land. Anywhere outside of that stretch, and you couldn't download it. This does two very important thing, crucial in any social marketing execution. First, it creates exclusivity and and drives social sharing and word-of-mouth buzz and awareness through the "cool factor", and second, it is truly interactive - encouraging users to remain engaged throughout the process.

According to Bluebrain band member Ryan Holladay, "The music changes and evolves based on your chosen path within the park." The Park is a mall in D.C., which they tagged with music hot spots. By following the virtual map on the application, you could hit different locations, and download different songs on the album. The experience literally changes the more you wander around. Landmarks such as the Lincoln Memorial will trigger a new song, and evolve your experience in real-time.

What's even more interesting is that this application only works in the The Mall. Nowhere else. You cannot download it online or through iTunes. It lives exclusively in that location and the music was written to compliment the live experience of walking around and enjoying the surroundings.

What this means for marketers such as myself is clear; I have to step up my game. The beauty of the myriad socially-integrated tools such as location-based apps is that there is no limit to the potential user experience you can create on behalf of your brands.

Let's Go Viral

As anyone else in the digital media world can attest to, our clients want to "go viral." This doesn't necessarily mean they even understand what they're asking, but they know they want it - Just like they want 100K fans on their Facebook page. Many things need to be in alignment in order for a video to go viral, and one of those things is luck. You all probably know the Jennifer Aniston video for Smart Water that made a mockery of viral videos, and subsequently went viral. Though this video is awful in every way, it succeeded by having core elements in play. A celebrity, money behind it to make it look professional, and a ton of PR.

But, as the cartoon points out, most of us don't have videos that will go far past the fungal state. Lack of imagination from the client perspective, lack of funds, no solid vision for what the video should look lie, and the smacking of heads between creative shops, PR and big Media, are only a handful of barriers along the way. Couple this with brands wanting a huge bang with minimal spend, and you have set the stage for high expectations and the pressure to go along with it.

To quote Jim Meskauskas, VP - Director of Online Media at ICON International, INC, "Viral marketing isn't a strategy. It's not even a tactic. Viral is a possible outcome that brings an unplanned life to a piece of advertising." Amazingly well-put. For something to catch and spread like a virus, there is a large piece of luck. Something we cannot plan towards and align a guarantee too. All we can do is build a strategy around the dissemination of our content, and make sure our content is catchy, stylistically sound, and backed by a spend that will place it in the front of the right eyes. Even then, however, it may not catch.

Understanding Consumer Psychology

Jason Burnham, President of Telepathy, Inc., published an article today titled: The Keys to Mastering Consumer Perception and Behavior - http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/29106.asp
By diving in to the three fundamental thoughts that human beings can conceive: certainty, probability and possibility; he outlines how these cognitive functions determine what decisions we will make and what ultimately motivates or inspires the decisions we take action on.

According to Burnham: "Marketers fail to obtain the insight into how or why someone made a particular decision or behaved in a certain way. This is where the real answers to what drives consumer behavior lies." This is very apt perception on his part. Much of the current marketing tactics are based on retro-active, knee-jerk strategies inspired by previous outcomes from similar campaigns...but we don't reach back to determine the most important question; Why?

To determine Why, we first have to determine Who. And the who is broken up into three types of thinkers: Past, Present and Future. The beauty of this breakdown is in its pure simplicity. Though extremely thought-provoking, it is also so obvious. Past Thinkers want verification and store information they gather to apply to future decisions. Present Thinkers observe the world and use what they find to solve problems they current face. Lastly, Future Thinkers take what they see and apply to something they may potentially come across in the future.

Taking a quick step back, we can see how bucketing potential consumers into these three categories can serve as a fantastic starting point when developing your marketing strategies from the ground level. Because most marketers focus on the who, what, where and when - they miss the why - and thus limit their success to the very short-term. In short, a narrow focus will always garner narrow results.

In order to truly scale, we as marketers will need to retool the engine driving our efforts. By foreseeing what drives consumer purchasing habits, we can model a campaign that compliments, targets and activates buying around it. This is no simple task, however, as it requires us to reset and rethink - to contemplate a psychologically driven, tactical, and strategic approach. For myself, I am eager to give this a go. Beginning small, in an effort to test this system and learn from it. More to come.

Outreach Done Right

My team and I have executed dozens of blogger outreach campaigns; and they are all different. There is no way to predict how they will roll out. You can have a good idea of course, but each execution carries with it a set of learnings that enables you to build upon your capabilities. For me, this is the best part. The unpredictability of these campaigns is what makes them so interesting.

I just read an article on iMedia called: "Blogger Outreach Based on Quality Not Quantity" - http://www.imediaconnection.com/summits/coverage/28928.asp The article really packages the process nicely. The most important thing is knowing your publishers. Our process internally is predicated on establishing lasting, mutually beneficial relationships. Using relevant and timely content as the currency to activate them. A group of 20 bloggers can initiate a ripple effect of earned media that can garner millions of impressions; that is value you simply can't put a number on.

Over the past couple years I have worked on several CPG campaigns, where activating Mom Bloggers was the #1 priority for the client. The Mom Blogger category is the fastest growing blogger network on the web. There are over 4MM moms who actively blog, and it just keeps growing. Obviously, only 3-5 thousand of them are truly influential, but again, it's not about the numbers, it's about selecting the right ones, and bringing the right content to them at the right time. This gets them excited, it activates their social extensions, and it spreads the word virally through their collective readership.

In short, don't shy away from doing these types of campaigns, but if you do it, do it right. You can have a negative experience if you don't organize the process and execute it appropriately. Remember, know your audience, know your publishers and know your brand...only good things will come from there.

Responding to Humor with Humor

A couple months back, I stumbled on a massive series of images poking fun at Bear Grylls. I suppose no one can be surprised after the episode where he consumed his own urine in order to hydrate. Urine is nearly 95% water, and totally sterile, and can serve as a means to stay alive when in survival mode. What does this have to do with media you ask? Well, I'll tell you. But first, you have to watch the video, and you have to do some of your own dilligence to get the full picture. Enjoy.








Now that you've seen the video, and searched for the images, let me get to the point. In a recent tweet, Bear made a joke about the joke. He shot out this tweet to his fans: "In honor of all your @replies about pee drinking. am on vacation in LA. looks like I'll have to drink my own pee!"

Bear is a brand unto himself. He has a huge following and a very entertaining and wildly popular show on Discovery. He had a number of choices here, but by wearing the joke like a badge of honor, he stepped over it instead of away from it.

Twitter is a remarkable way for an entertainment brand to get the word out, big or small, funny or not funny...people see it. This tweet got picked up by mashable and a number of other online, social news outlets. When working with your clients in any kind of crisis management, I suggest the road of humor whenever possible. Won't work for everyone, or everything, and it won't solve every problem, but it's a great way to soften the blow upfront.

Cheers to Bear and his piss.

The Value of Social Marketing

This morning, I read an article on iMedia by John Baskin titled: "5 Reasons Social Media is a Waste of Marketing Dollars." http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/29053.asp Currently, I work in the Social Media and Relationship Marketing division at Horizon Media. Our group has grown from 5 people 2 years ago to 14, and we are still growing. So the point about marketing within this space being a waste of marketing dollars simply isn't accurate.

I have participated in these debates, in which the argument on the value of Social Media, and its long-term ability to increase sales, or drive tune-in, etc, is called into question. It's important to view the value of social media through a non-traditional lens. You cannot apply the value, spend and rationale of a typical media buy to activations that take place in the social space. Social Media is best at building awareness, and driving conversations around a brand. It's also an excellent way to find your most powerful targeted audience, and apply that intelligence to all aspects of your clients future marketing initiatives.

Moreover, you can change approach, direction and tactics in real-time within the social space, and gage and interpret conversations to strengthen your strategy. Having said all that... John is right on several points. Pepsi did see a dip in sales, even after their refresh project, which was wildly publicized and enormously "successful" through the lens of social media. But, it didn't impact sales the way it was expected to. My point is, it shouldn't have been expected to.

Many activations within the social space are going to be test and learn opportunities for brands. Considering the spend made versus the ROI, it's foolish to debate the value, or assume the money was not intelligently spent. 74% of consumers trust a friend recommendation over a traditional ad, and it will only increase. The voice of the people cannot be overlooked.

Tabula Rasa

As a blank slate, the mind is capable of understanding anything. My Latin teacher from high school, Father Ryan, would refer to our minds as the tabula rasa. In ancient Rome, the mind of a student was considered one of the most powerful things. A blank slate upon which anything could be drawn. Having worked for nearly 10 years now, I have seen the world of digital marketing completely change the way brands connect with consumers, and how consumers interact with brands.

Today, I decided to create a blog, and put to paper (so to speak), my life as a digital marketing professional. Self-education is the best way to stay focused and remain at the top of your game. This blog will serve as my conduit to the rest of the digital universe, and will hopefully springboard my enhanced understanding of the space.

Approaching this every-changing and ever-evolving landscape must be done with the mind of a student to ensure that nothing is missed or overlooked because my mind was too closed off to understand its value or appreciate its long-term potential impact.

Here is a great article I read on Mashable this morning: http://mashable.com/2011/05/13/likeonomics-rohit-bhargava/ This is a good place to start.