I saw this great presentation from Cannes by Kevin Slavin on the Limbic Residence and its impact on consuming media.
Slavin created the MTV backchannel (a social game - read more here)
Limbic resonance suggest that the meaning of an object is not just made up of our own interpretation of that object but in part what other people think of it. We look at other people’s reactions to that object to help form our meaning.
In his presentation Kevin states that the limbic resonance has a major impact on how we consume media. He suggests it dates back to the inclusion of the laughing track in television shows, they helped to fake the ‘people around you’ environment. However he goes onto suggest that this could be the power of social media in particular the back channel of Twitter, which can help amplify peoples interests in show and make it feel like they are watching it with a bigger audience.
Personally I know this was the case with Survivor for me this year (miss u). I think more shows should be embracing the back channel one of the better ones at the moment would be QandA which promote the #qanda hastag in program and they also have a great engaging site.
I think nightclub promoters were one of the first groups of people to really get Facebook and how to make it work to benefit them. It is always good to watch how they are communicating with their fans. The following are four things that I would ensure I did if I was setting up a club night.
1. Set up as groups It always surprised me that you could never set up events from Pages and invite all the members. For this reason it is better for promoters and club nights to set up a group so they can send out a mass invitation to all of their followers/fans.
2. Give away a sample Halfway Crooks puts on a hip hop night in Sydney, in the lead up to their night they give away a free online mix of hip hop, a great way of getting back in contact with your attendees.
3. Latch onto a bigger brand Some cunning promoters in Melbourne have set up Party Club for all of the universities in Melbourne. They are then running events which look like official parties off the back end of them.
4. Photos afterwards Quite simple, but adding photos afterwards and tagging people in those photos works well for gaining attention for club nights.
There is a big difference between watching a piece of content on television and online (Youtube for this case in point). Therefore you must make content for the medium, content producers must understand the difference.
The two differences are the mindframe of the audience and the context of the content.
Mindframe of the audience Your audience is active when they are online, when they are watching television they are quite happy to sit on a couch for 60 minutes and not do anything except light a bewg and watch CSI.
However online they have many more distractions and they're not used to watching content for longer than 3 minutes. One of the leading online content creators in this country 'Community Channel' has worked to decrease the time of her videos realsing the audience has less time to watch.
Context of the content Content is also placed in two different environments, online it has a title and description of what is happening in the video, there is also related content sitting there waiting to distract you. It would be the equivalent of watching television on a screen that lets you see what is on all the other channels at once. I do not know many people who watch television like this.
Some examples of Good Content which is not always good content
The Wire – would you watch this online for an hour NO, would you sit back on the couch and watch the whole of season 3 on a Sunday afternoon, YES Would you watch this online? YES would you watch it in show for 30 minutes of similar footage? According to Australia probably not, until Funniest Home Videos it would be safe to assume that this Australians do not always want to see this type of content on television.
The last post I talked about the different components of a meme (Stimulus, Conductor and Pushers).
Pick Up of a Meme = (Amount of influence of conductor and pushers) + (the relevance of the idea to the individual)
The chance to be influenced by the meme is ditacted by two components – how influential the conductor and pushers are to you and your network and the strength of the stimulus.
For instance, I automatically latched onto the idea of The Awkward Lean and was a massive fan, my friends has also become pushers of the idea. JTL – the idea was not as strong but the people pushing the idea had been on a lot of past memes that were good so I gave it an opportunity.
So there have been a few micro-memes popping up over the past week that I have noticed.
1. Yeah_lad – A Twitter account that is set up to imitate the lads of the western suburbs of Sydney. 2. The Awkward Lean – A tumblr picking up on the insight of girls who awkwardly lean their body or head in photos 3. Ask JTL – One guy who will answer any question, with straight down the line answers
A meme needs three important components to be created and nurtured. Stimulus – An idea that is remixed with a common theme tying all the pieces of content together.
Conductor – The conductor is the person who controls the idea who can help dictate the direction of the meme.
Pushers – Are the support networks to the conductor who help to promote the idea through their network to help get the idea/meme out there.
I think subconsciously, people understand their roles in helping to push memes and making sure that they get the best opportunity to flourish.
In my opinion, Twitter is better at pushing memes because updating your network with a tweet about memes can be done more than once whereas on Facebook people would be less inclined to update their community more than once about a meme.
Being less than 10 years old a lot of people are suggesting flash mobs are dead but after the weekend it is evident that there is still a chance to go bigger and better.
5. Valentines Day Pillow fight One of the earliest flash mobs recorded to Youtube back in 2006 in San Francisco.
4. The T Mobile Dance The first brand to nail a Flash Mob, it is also one of the most successful viral videos on Youtube at the moment
3. Improv Everywhere This put the group Improv Everywhere on the map, it was also one of the first flash mobs to get real mainstream success in early 2008, it now has over 21 million views
2. Black Eyed Peas and Oprah The biggest flash mob of 2010, they added another layer by including a band in BEP. It is amazing the sheer size of this dance.
1. Eurovision 2010 Marek pointed me in the direction of this video on the weekend. My jaw dropped as I thought about the amount of pre-production that would of have gone into creating this.
Something that I didn’t think much about before I began at TCO was the remote audience. The remote audience are the people who do not attend an event but view the event through media at a later stage. An important part of event amplification.
One of the best examples I saw of this was Diet Coke's Real Woman. It was before my time at TCO. They were tasked with filming the Rosemount Fashion Week for Diet Coke, instead of just filming the event they chose to create a story out of the event - 'Real Woman (watch the 2min video here)'. They found a girl of the street and made her into a catwalk model for one day. A more compelling story for the remote audience.
Another good example is Dr.Pepper's Chatroulette Cheerleader - (Zac has a good post on short term activity too)
Have you seen any other good examples of content for a remote experience?
So one of the projects that I have worked on recently is the Dell Alienware Clan Challenge. It is a great example of taking an offline event which has a rich experience for a small number people and using online to help amplify it to the masses.
The Conscience Organisation and MediaCom Sydney organised and ran the Alienware Clan Challenge 2010 which saw the best Australian Call of Duty players congregate in Sydney to battle it out.
Off the back of this we created a highlights reel of the event. We put a content distribution strategy in place and had a great result of getting the video to the third most viewed clip in Australia (April 29th) and most viewed Australian Gaming video (Daily and Weekly). It has currently had over 60,000 views and is increasing by the day.
Justin Bieber and his management team are some of the smartest people going around at the moment.
Justin started out posting dozens of homemade videos on YouTube in 2007, he racked up over 10,000,000 views doing covers of famous artist. This was purely from word of mouth. He then got signed by Usher and Island Records and has become the biggest thing to hit teens since Twilight. via Wikipedia
Hypebot wrote this amazing post on why Justin Bieber is so big.
Basically he sipping on the Lil Wayne syrup of – ‘Release more songs, more often.’ He has been in the eye of teenage girls for the last year releasing new material every month, be it a new song or video. He never turns off.
A couple of the other points of interest from the article, about Justin's songs, such as:
• Short Intros - the longest intro to one of his songs is 14 seconds, but "One Time" is only 7 seconds before it gets to the meat of the song. Always a good thing if you want to your song to chart. • Chord Changes - There's not a lot of changes in his songs but according to Frank, they happen when it counts - at around the 2 minute mark. This is just about the time that a bridge would enter, so it makes sense. Good songs tend to have a bridge. • Repetition - If you want to chart, repeat the title over and over. In fact, in his hit "One Time," Bieber repeats the title 32 times in the song and the word "one" another 17. via Bobby
Endorsed by the established
One of the other things that has stood out for me is his alignment with established artists. He has collaborated with Ludacris, Usher, Taylor Swift, Sean Kingston, Nick Cannon, Drake, P.Diddy, Wyclef Jean, Asher Roth and gets the endorsement from The Game?!!?
Hidden Talents The boy can Rap On Sunrise the other day and rapped Ludacris’ whole verse, this is a rapper who has been rapping for 20 years and Bieber puts it down with no trouble.
Comedian For April Fools Justin Bieber took over Funny or Die and renamed it Bieber or Die, I was genuinely surprised I thought he was going to be average but he is actually quite funny.
Who cares if he is a one hit wonder? He has absolutely nailed it, with this one album. This boy is pretty much owning at the game of life and I take my hat off to him.
‘What was supposed to turn out to be a small birthday party for a woman named Kate at her small apartment is turning out to be an event of the century. That’s because over 60,000 (as of this writing) random Facebook users have taken it upon themselves to invite themselves to Kate’s party.
The event’s description now reads:
“WTF?????????? WHO ARE YOU PEOPLE? WHY ARE THERE 10000 PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN INVITED?????? THIS IS A PRIVATE PARTY AT OUR APARTMENT.”
Meme Jumping I think it is interesting the people that jump on the back of these memes and try to make some quick money of them. Kate’s Party is a good example of this. The model is simple, catch the trend, secure the most SEO friendly URL, publish a little bit of relevant content and set up the advertising on the site.
The new 4Channers? Facebook users are getting a better understanding of the platform now and with this knowledge they are better able to play pranks and have a laugh. Expect to see more of these style memes start to pop up. It is very 4chan-esque.
Update: I have it on good word from Asher Moses that David Thorne of 27b/6 fame (Spider Drawing and Dear Neighbour) is behind this prank. Amazing!
Which one of the following three is an ad for a Facebook Page?
It is near impossible to figure out which is an ad for a Page or an external website.
If you are running Facebook ads prepare to see a decrease in action rate (how many people become a fan without clicking through to the site). The action rate accounts for about 70% of your fan growth, with the rest coming from people who check out the site and then fan or get an update in their newsfeed. I can understand why Facebook did this because they realized the language is not right, you do not become a fan of KFC, you become a fan of a Sportsteam, you like KFC. However calling it a ‘like’ which is the same as the rest of the external ads on the site seriously effects the amount of people who will click on those ads or the direct fan action that we used to see.
I have got some live campaigns running at the moment, so I will let you know if I see an effect.
The following activity is illegal on Facebook and could result in your page being permanently deleted by Facebook; A promotion that requires a user to; - tag themselves in the photo. - to change their status in any way - to change their profile picture - to answer a question in a status update - any kind of response in the status - like a photo or an update - add friends - respond with a photo not in a specific application
All promotions need to run through an application that does not use any of the basic functionality of Facebook.
However, I have not heard of any Brand Pages being deleted for this type of activity. I am not game enough to take any chances though.
I thought I would just do a quick post on something that is pretty much owning my working life at the moment. Bought, Owned and Earned Media.
Simply put these are the three ways that content is getting passed on for brands.
Bought Media – Buying adspace off publishers with audiences! E.g Banners
Earned Media – Media that your audience pass on for you, think passing on a youtube clip/article to a friend. E.g Viral Video
Owned Media – Are a brands direct channels with their consumers, this could be their email database, Facebook Page or employees
2010 has really brought Owned and Earned Media to the fore.
Owned Media The biggest effect for Owned Media has been the introduction of Facebook Branded Pages, brands are now getting scale and audience which are rivaling their bought media channels. Other smaller brands that didn’t even have email databases are going straight for these channels.
Earned Media A lot of people think that earned media is something that brands cannot control. It is up to the quality of the content. Wrong. Getting to the front page of Digg, the most viewed clip on Youtube or on a highly trafficked blog is not a fluke for a number of agencies but now a product that they are selling. Understanding and having the relationships to hit these earned media sweet spots is becoming a valuable commodity in this market.
I recently saw that Carsales have sponsored Rugby Live (NRL) and Footy Live (AFL) iPhone Applications. Last year the applications were selling for $1.19 in the App Store and is now free.
CarSales have also made a number of improvements to the app which have made it the closest thing to having Rex Hunt/Ray Warren in your pocket.
This got me thinking about brands sponsoring properties. I really think that there is three distinct times that brands can get involved with a property. When I say property I mean an idea, artist, product, event, sport, application, meme. Embryonic Stage This is where a brand can come up with a property or get involved with a property before it launches.
Positive – The brand is intrinsically linked to the property from the start
Negative - Higher risk, if the property is a flop, they have invested a lot of money in the idea.
Example – Rexona Ultimate Athlete,– V Festival
Infancy stage Brands have identified the property on their radar and get involved with the property after it has had a small amount of success.
Positive – Chance to get involved and linked to the product before it hits a critical mass
Negative – Property may be seen as selling out - May have hit its peak without the brand knowing it.
Examples – CarSales Footy Live, RedBull Air Race
Maturity Stage This usually looks like a sponsorship of an established property. The brand does not get a lot of involvement in shaping the property.
Positive – Lowered risk of reaching the desired audience as the property is established and they have good knowledge of the size and type of people who are involved with their property.
Negative – The brand has to fight hard to define how they are adding value to the property otherwise consumers may only see it as a marketing activity
- There is usually a number of brands that are involved with the property so clutter and cut through are an issue.
TCO is looking for a hungry digital native looking to get experience working with some of Australia’s top brands – think Fosters, Westfield, Art Series Hotel Group and Coca Cola, to name but a few - in the exciting world of social media marketing.
You’ll be working alongside some of the brightest little brains this side of the sun, being the kids at TCO, specialists in strategic thinking and idea generation across content, human experience, both offline and right through the digital eco system.
Specifically, we’re looking for a bright and passionate intern to support our Digital Strategy team. As the Social Media Coordinator, your role will be to coordinate social media campaigns, blogger outreach, Facebook community management, measuring and reporting. You’ll also be involved in digital strategy and idea generation.
Sound good so far? Hungry yet? You better be. Start pimping your Facebook and better get a Twitter account because they will be scrutinised. Got a Tumblr, your own blog, Flickr account, Foursquare mayor of everywhere, you can see where we’re headed with this right?
You get to hang out with us one day per week for 3 months. Note the position is unpaid but you will get props galore.
To apply, email your CV and a photo to hr@theconscience.org. Better yet build a CV online, mail us a life size photo of you hanging out with some dinosaurs, PDF a deck of why you should be our ninja … show us why you want this so bad.
I think out of all the technology that has come along, SMS melted my brain the most.
I was about 11 years old and at a Scout Camp. We were just getting ready for bed when one of my scout leaders got his phone out and was using it to send messages to another of the leaders in another tent. I remember they were using it like an online chat, every 2 minutes a new message would come through. The whole thing spun my head out, how could they send text via mobile phones!?!?!
I wonder if any technology will ever leave me as dumb founded as SMS.
It was only a matter of time before more daring brands turned to the 90’s-esque Online chat phenomenon, Chatroulette as an unchartered terrain of marketing activity. In recent weeks we are starting to see the first glimpses of these amongst brands in the edgy youth / fashion segment.
Last week I received a Press email from irreverent fashion eyewear brand SABRE that stood out: it involved a call to get involved in a Chatroulette “Creep Roulette” competition. The premise is simple: Send through your creepiest SABRE-related Chatroulette screenshot, win some free sunglasses. You can check out the details on that here.
Only days later I discovered that French fashion label FCUK have also launched a Chatroulette challenge, offering up $250 worth of free FCUK goodies for those savvy social media dudes who manage to “charm a woman on Chatroulette”. You can read more about the challenge here, and check out the attempts thusfar.
There has been a fair amount of debate already even in these early days, about the suitability of Chatroulette for marketing activity. I do believe both of these competitions are cleverly-executed forays into Chatroulette as a space for brands. I have read many bloggers and bonafide Marketing practitioners alike argue that Chatroulette is not worth the time invested, due to the fact it is a one-on-one interaction and therefore cannot reach a mass audience. However, these competitions tap into the reach of Chatroulette beyond the one-one-one connection of users, by prompting users to screenshot their activity and share it with the brand (and, no doubt, as a flow on effect, their friends also, via multiple other social media channels). The end result is in effect, branded meme-like content. The activity at this Early Adopter stage has also helped to position the brands as edgy purveyors of cultural phenomenons (such as Chatroulette), which is not something that is easy to pull off, and an invaluable quality for a young lifestyle or fashion brand.
My kudos go out to these brands for using Chatroulette in a cheeky and daring way. What are your thoughts?
Sport and music have to be the best social glue going around.
Professional Sport can help to make complete strangers friends. At the end of day friendships are formed on how many interactions you have with a person and how positive these experiences are. Sport gives us a reason to have more interactions with someone. For instance following the Parramatta Eels, I have become a lot closer with people who follow the Eels or take an interest in NRL.
This year I have jumped on the Dreamteam/Fantasy Football bandwagon. It has taken watching and discussing the sport to a whole new level.
What if brands could play this role? Brands could increase the social glue between two friends. I think Red Bull did this well for awhile with the game Rooshambull on Facebook.
It is interesting to note that Dreamteam/Fantasy Football is already becoming a subject in itself with break off sites discussing the strategy of picking a Dreamteam. In particular, for AFL DT Talk have created a site which is being sponsored by Boags Draught at the moment.
They have also recruited one of the most talented Australian Youtubers, Alex Williamson.
The homepage/newsfeed is the holy grail of Facebook for Branded Pages. However for a lot of Branded Pages their information doesn't get to fans feeds because of the Facebook Newsfeed Algorithm. Because there is so much information Facebook tries to make the feed as relevant to you as possible. They work out relevancy using three criteria.
1. How many friends are commenting on a certain piece of content - This is how many people out of your networks have become friends with the Page, the more people the better. I have also observed that the story can come up in your news feed multiple times as more people join.
2. Who posted the content (how many interactions have you had with them in the past) - The more times someone visits your Page the more chance you have of getting
3. What type of content it is (e.g. photo, video, or status update). As far as I can tell they preference joining Pages and Pictures rank pretty high whereas joining Groups and commenting on Pages or Status updates from Pages is not as highly valued.
If anyone has anymore information on FNO, please feel free to share.
