I have been an Adam and Joe fan for many years so there is no particular reason for the timing of this post, except that the lovely boys are back on air after their summer hols and I was reminded of how brilliant their podcast is.
A BBC podcast is hardly news but the A+J podcast is a weekly masterclass in editing, audience participation and use of digital channels. While most of their peers lazily find the best bits from their shows and add a few transitions, A+J create specific introductions and podcast-only jingles (my personal fave is the Beck one). And by allowing podcast listeners to retrospectively take part in the features from the live broadcast they have created themselves a second audience.
They don’t just ask people to participate by text either – they have started using jingles created by their listeners, there are loads of video entries to their Song Wars competitions on YouTube and they have even started a bizarre craze for shouting ‘Stephen!’ at concerts.
It’s a great demonstration that a podcast can be so much more than just ‘highlights’ and can increase your audience significantly.
(on a sidenote, the weather is dreadful but the margaritas and mexican food are pretty amazing. If you’re in Austin and want to go for a coffee/drink/brunch tomorrow, tweet us, we’d love to meet you: @plzfixtheiphone)
If you’ve been tuned to the online world, you’ve certainly came across the name Spore someplace. In case you’ve been wondering what it is, it is basically the new game from the Sims’s Creator Will Wright (The Sims anyone?). The name of the creator itself should ring a bell as he is one of the defining videogame creators in all of the Videogame history. And if the name Spore doesn’t ring a bell, then believe me when I say it’s just a matter of time before it does. Continue reading ‘Spore – How to create a Online|Offline Mashup’
Download scripts from the awesome Mad Men series, a show depicting the ad industry on Madison Avenue in the 60s, and film yourself saying Don Draper, Peggy Olson, Joan Holloway’s lines. Upload and collect votes. The winner gets to cameo in an episode of the Emmy-magnet series.
Video: Joan Holloway by Valerie Long (North Hollywood, CA)
So, we finally know what you guys want from a site. Give your opinion and read the ones posted by your peers, you want good deals, you want to make sure that you don’t get screwed, you want some video demos, you still love those cute newsletter in your inbox (some of you made the switch to RSS though), and you want to entertain and be entertained.
No rocket-science here but it’s always good to be backed-up by some good stats when you present a new project that includes one of the above mentioned.
In my last post, I talked about the dangers of user-generated content and asked you how you felt about UGC and how we should use it. Your replies allowed me to dig deeper into this subject.
There have been quite a few sucessfull UserGeneratedContent campaigns these last few years, and the first lesson I learned is that each UGC campaign is a different experience.
I love charts. And I know that you love your PPTs filled with them. Here are the latest ones I like to show off in my keynotes, for you to use and share.
You know how much we love user generated content, and how much it is changing marketing.
UGC sets new problems for brands: how to control what consumers will say under my name? how to react to abuses?
In 2004, an unknown NYC traveler managed to change an electronic sign to read: Pretty girls don’t ride the subway. An early attempt to engage in conversation? It took a few hours before the sign was actually unplugged and this message lost.
South California saw a more obvious form of abuse when a “graffiti artist” somehow managed to set his own trademark imagery on huge digital highway billboards (see above).
Those offline examples, remind us that abuses are not new, and not specific to the web; but the growing importance of Internet and the fast spreading of information online can turn the work of a simple graffiti artist into a marketing crisis.
How many brands have really opened the door to UGC on their website? How do they control it?
How much risks is your brand ready to take in order to enjoy the benefits of user generated content?
User Generated Content, in particular User Generated Advertising, is very important to brands. But only a few of them are aware of this and take advantage of the feedback and spontaneous expressions of the consumer’s viewpoint.
This is an era of change; the people now have the means and the power to stand up as a consumer through popular networks like Flickr and YouTube. Users make efforts to gain popularity and the recognition of their peers.
Yet, only a small number of brands and advertising campaigns have the power to make users interact with then. These enjoy playing with them, and they experiment true engagement that can output material that ranges from homage to satire. There’s lots of brilliant User Generated Content, but only a few privileged brands benefit from what is, in my opinion, this ultimate marketing nirvana – true brand engagement via User Generated Advertising.
I remember as a kid sometimes I used to draw logos of my favorite brands during classes. Logos of Nike, Le Coq Sportif… (it was really huge back then). In a way, those where my brands and they belonged to me.
Yes, I believe brands do become part of our lives and part of what we are. Today you could feel Lacoste, tomorrow you can look Levi’s.
To have a user taking his time to create a video or taking a photo dedicated to your brand is just too good. Unlike co-creation, these are priceless expressions of spontaneous real-life brand love.
The TrendWatch is the collective postings of some of the FullSIX Group’s designers, strategists, and consultants on new media and marketing trends. It is meant to be an impromptu think-tank, and is a way for us to share theories and beliefs about how we think communication and connectivity is evolving.
We work for The FullSIX Group; a leading full service marketing agency with digital DNA. From our 15 international offices with over 600 employees, we constantly embrace and encourage innovation to make integrated marketing and communication campaigns that are more accountable and efficient for our clients.
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