SIXT: ASCII Ads

By using ASCII ads in Google Adwords SIXT was able to stand out from the crowd. They also brought forward a ban on this practice too.

Unilever Offers Cash For Consumer Feedback

Igor Beuker @ viralblog

Unilever is set to launch an online collaborative community to encourage women to contribute ideas for new products. The approach includes offering a cash incentive for consumer feedback. Read about the interesting social approach of Unilever…

Mindbubble targets women aged 25-50 and gives them cash rewards for their contribution. The site enables users that will be asked to give their opinions on products and marketing campaigns through focus groups and polls. In social media marketing we might call it: creating an online “brand ambassador” community.

Unilever hopes the project will result in greater engagement with its range of brands, which include Surf, Dove and Persil. The FMCG giant will involve consumers in forums, blogs, diaries and polls as part of the project, which is consistent with a policy of using digital engagement to increase brand affinity.

Unilever has increased its digital spend in the US from 2% to 3% of its marketing budget to around 15% and intends to make similar changes in the UK.

Babs Rangaiah, Unilever’s global communications planning director said: “The company plans to shift marketing focus away from interruption towards engagement.”

Babs Rangaiah further explained: “We are all about the masses and scale, and interruption is becoming a much tougher proposition. So we have this term: ‘penetrate the culture’. It’s about getting into what people are interested in, what they are engaged in.”

How do we feel about the Unilever approach within the social universe? Mostly two thumbs up! Why? Because we like Unilever’s DNA. It’s open, willing to try and listen.

It at least seems that Unilever brand marketers are capturing the “true power” of social media. And that they dare to go beyond running just interruptive banners at social networks or pushing an intrusive pre-roll commercial before UGC video content. No, Unilever understands it must go beyond “plain advertising” to become successful within in the social space.

I sincerely hope that other brands and their media agencies are paying attention to this social media marketing approach.

For the brand marketers that have doubts, look at the dramatic shift in marketing realityand do believe us: the only constant is change the coming 10 years!

Also see our previous items about Unilever: Dove Onslaught, Unilever Lux and UnileverThe Rising Star in Social Media.

Other brands that use social media marketing to gain consumer feedback and new ideas are Dell and Starbucks. Again companies that are unleashing the power of social marketing to transform their brand and business.

Source: Revolution Magazine

Social Media Ad Metrics

IAB

This document specifies standard definitions for Social Media Metrics. With the rapid growth seen in the Social Media space in recent years, many publishers and vendors are offering supplemental performance metrics to their clients as additional ways of gauging ad effectiveness. This document defines these supplemental metrics in more detail in an effort to stimulate growth by making the reporting of metrics for agencies and advertisers across multiple media partners more consistent. The IAB hopes that all players in the Social Media space will coalesce around these metrics to encourage growth through consistency.

Social media speaks to a new way of understanding how individual users are interacting with branded content via online publishers, social networks, blogs, and applications. Before the proliferation of social media, the primary way for users to receive advertiser information was one-way. Social Media has changed the paradigm of how people consume online media.

The most profound difference is that Social Media has added a participatory element where an individual not only receives information but has the ability to take part in the creation and distribution of content. Furthermore, social media tools have enabled a dialogue and discovery around this content. It is the combination of these unique and appealing aspects that defines the true value of social media.

Value is derived not only from the primary distribution of branded content but also the additional interactions that result as users share, participate with, and propagate advertising content. In the end, social media adds another layer of value through its ability to engage users and create additional reach.

The current Social Media landscape can be broken into three distinct categories:

• Social Media Sites
  
• Blogs
  
• Widgets & Social Media Applications
  

This document first defines each of the categories, and then defines the supplemental metrics specific to each.

Download Social Media Ad Metrics Definitions

How to restrategize your company in an economic crisis - updated and expanded

by Ouke Arts

To restrategize is not to maximize shareholder value, nor is it about mergers and acquisitions or growth and expansion.

To restrategize is to adapt to an economic crisis.

And it takes ten steps to adapt:

1. realize you are in an economic crisis; 
   
2. redefine your leadership; 
   
3. reestablish your mission; 
   
4. revise your vision; 
   
5. rethink how you communicate in your market; 
   
6. redefine your value proposition; 
   
7. redistinguish yourself from your competitors; 
   
8. redesign your organization; 
   
9. reorganizae your alliances;
10. and refinance your company.

Nielsen Online Global Lanscape

rabbit @ rabbitblog

Identifying Opportunities in a Challenging Market:

• Short tail sites continue to rule.
  
• Social media and video engagement deepens.
  
• Mobile Internet use triples.
  
• Select industries continue their online investment into the recession.
  
• Online commerce strategies for retailers.
  

Movie Theaters Get Interactive

Written by Paul van Veenendaal @ viralblog

Advertisers are finding new and innovative ways to turn movie theaters into interactive venues. MK2, MSNBC, Volvo and Fiat show us, how to engage the public in cinemas around the globe.

MK2 VoD is the Video on Demand website of MK2, one of the largest cinema chains in Europe. Callegari Berville Grey, Windows Live Messenger and Universal Pictures successfully worked together to get moviegooers laughs and attention for the MK2 VoD service in 58 movie theatres during 2 weeks. See the video after the jump.



MSN chat window appears during Fast & Furious 4 trailer


MSNBC & Volvo: CrowdGaming

In the summer 2007 Msnbc.com introduced the first ever in-theater audience participatory video game concept: CrowdGaming. Modeled after classic video games, NewsBreaker Live combined live msnbc.com RSS newsfeeds, the movement of the audience (tracked with motion-sensor technology) as a human joystick, and the big screen as a game board to bust audiences out of their pre-movie doldrums with an interactive game that delivered real-time news headlines to kick start the moviegoing experience. Created by SS+K in collaboration with Brand Experience Lab.



Moviegoers of all ages swaying, swinging and rocking in their seats

In October 2007 car maker Volvo followed MSNBC’s example. In 12 UK cinemas the audience was simultaneously waving their arms in the air to guide the new virtual Volvo XC70 around the screen, each aiming to collect the most points and win the game. Carlton Screen Advertising sourced and developed motion-sensor technology that tracked the audience’s combined movements via a wireless video camera set up at the front of the theatre.



Cinema audiences became human joysticks to guide the new Volvo XC70

The concept was developed in order to engage a group of people and take video gaming, traditionally an individual pastime, to a truly sociable environment. By working together as a team, having fun and sharing the experience, Volvo created the perfect way to communicate Volvo’s ‘Life Is Better Lived Together’ brand message.

More CrowdGaming examples: Dove Soap in São Paulo, Vodafone in Kinepolis Madrid and Sony Ericsson in Portugal.

Fiat: Interactive Adventure by SMS

In 2006, Italian car maker Fiat and Ad agency AgenciaClick created the first interactive movie theater experience ever in Brazil, to promote the new light off-road car “The Fiat Idea Adventure”.



“Choose your onw adventure” by SMS

The audience in fashionable cinemas in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo got to determine, by voting by SMS, how the adventures of John would unfold, a busy man whose day is about to turn into an adventure. Based on the most voted combination of answers the audience was shown a six-minute film, compiled from the 16 different versions possible. At the end of the story, viewers were invited to create other day in John’s life at http://www.ideaadventure.com.br/. The campaign helped position Fiat as an innovative car brand and gained extensive editorial coverage in national and international magazines and newspapers as well as on TV.

Source: Europa Cinemas, CMD Global, Brain Sells, Zer Customs

Instead of Advertising book is released

You can order it here

You can read more info about the book here

Case Study: Optus Whale Song

A great little piece called Optus Whale Song from Mark/M&C Saatchi.
Such a simple idea and crafted beautifully.
Playing with the whale is relaxing and engaging.
The TVC is below and I feel it extends this well.

Social Media Pro/Contra

Executive Social Marketing Bootcamp Presentation

Who is David?
VP Marketing & Community at Radian6
Radian6 provides the social media monitoring platform for marketing, communications and customer support professionals.

Reklám Helyett. A marketing jövője a hálózatok világában

Mányai Csaba 2009 április 29-én, a Brand Festival Digital konferencián elhangzott prezentációja.

View more presentations from Attila Bujtas.