Star Wars Review - 1 of 7

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxKtZmQgxrI

Social-Media Power of Justin Bieber Beliebers

An interesting article in AdAge today re: the Social-Media Power of Justin Bieber Beliebers. As one of my coworkers put it "YouTube is the MTV of this generation".

Bieber may be the biggest legit pop star ever created by YouTube. Other viral-video phenomena have garnered more views over time, but in terms of transitioning from genuine obscurity to massively monetizable pop superstardom, Bieber is unmatched. Three years ago he was a kid living in a small town in Stratford, Ontario. After competing in something called "Stratford Idol," he put some of his surprisingly soulful covers of songs by the likes of Usher and Ne-Yo on YouTube, garnering more than 10 million views before getting signed by, yes, Usher. (By the time "My World" came out last November, he'd surpassed 100 million YouTube views.) As he notes rather hilariously on his MySpace page (Bieber was just 13 when this was all happening), "I sang for Usher, and his people and he really wanted to sign me then and there, but I still had a meeting with Justin Timberlake, who also wanted to sign me. It turned out Usher's deal was way better." (Go, player!) He went on to become the first solo artist in history to send four songs into Billboard's Top 40 before his debut album was even released.

Here he is in action:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kffacxfA7G4&feature=fvw

And then there's this:

Eight days ago, the hashtag trend #Lilyallenfatwhore hit Twitter's Trending Topics list. Why? Because on March 12, British pop star Lilly Allen tweeted this: "Justin bieber should have kiddie bras on the merch stall.... Ha" -- which caused Justin Bieber fans to go ballistic, with one of them creating the #Lilyallenfatwhore Twitter meme with the hopes that it would go viral. (Naturally, it did.) Word to the wise: Do not eff with the Beliebers!

Stumble Upon

http://www.stumbleupon.com/

InstaPaper

Similar to a concept we were ptroposing to Bloomberg - tage pages you want to read later:
http://www.instapaper.com/

Instapaper gives you a Read Later bookmark.
When you find something you want to read, but you don't have time, click Read Later.
Come back when you have time, or read your articles on the go.

And here is an article from PC World on why it may be one of the first big iPad Apps.

SXSW WInners

http://sxsw.com/interactive/webawards/winners

Agencies Hiring - Want People With Traditional + Digital Expertience

An encouraging article from AdAge this week that agencies are hiring en masse, and are primarily looking for people with a blend of traditional and digital experience.

They are looking to fill the slots vacated with 2009's layoffs, with people who have more relevant skill sets for the new marketing landscape:

Ann Brown, founder of recruiter Ann Brown Co. , said it's not just digital jobs that are being filled. "Fortunately there are a number of agencies evolving the way they need to be and are hiring people with 360-degree experience," Ms. Brown said. "They don't want to train anybody in digital if all they have is a traditional background. They want people coming in to look at things from all sides."

I have certainly seen this uptick in the number of calls I have received of late, and know that a lot of agencies are immersed in multiple large, NB pitches. This is a good thing - all boats rise with the tide.

Whopper Face

Brilliant work by Ogilvy Brazil as reported by AdAge:

"Have it Your Way" reaches a whole new level in this Brazilian BK stunt.

Ogilvy Brazil took the Burger King "Have it Your Way" tagline to new heights and presented diners with a "customized" surprise when they ordered a Whopper.

A secret camera at a BK restaurants took customers' pictures. Their photos were then printed instantly onto the wrappers of their freshly made burgers, giving a super personal meaning to "having it their way."

The Power of "No"

An interesting article by Media Post today on the power of saying No. This is certainly one thing I learned at TBG, where we had to pick our battles wisely due to the project based nature. Lots of times we would decline a project due to the parameters ($/timing) and the client would come back with more $/time, allowing us to do the work in the appropriate manner.

It's quite natural that we want to please everyone when we can. But, we can't. And most people figure that fact out over time -- certainly the successful ones do. However, many people still try to make as many people happy as long as they can, to the point that they never make any of them as happy as they could -- and make some unhappy. Those situations call for using the word "no" early and often.

But like everything, No is best when used in moderation.

Google Introduces YouTube Overlay Ads

According to Ad Age, Google announced that they will be selling Overlays on YouTube videos. Essentially it is a long tail approach, much like buying keywords on Google. Advertisers can buy words and select the videos the overlays will appear on - e.g. a "dog on skateboard" video may have an ad overlay to Pets.com. The long tail nature here means they will need to make their $ here based on volume vs. individual mass buys. Overlays can be purchased by CPM or cost per click. Interesting to see how this goes - may be a nice balance between maintaining the credibility of YT amongst users, and allowing advertisers to tap the audience, thereby skirting the longtime YouTube conundrum (how do you maintain cred with users but also make advertisers feel safe in the existing environment).

Mobile Coupons in 2010

I have been discussing this a lot lately with potential clients. The reality of mobile coupons in the near feature.

According to this report by Media Post (citing Forrester), while businesses are interested in the possibility of serving coupons via mobile devices, technical hurdles and a limited audience mean that mobile coupons may not have their breakout year in 2010, but that the functionality is likely in the not too distant future.

There is the issue of multiple platforms for different phones (iPhone, Backberry, Android, etc.), then the cost of getting franchises to pay for any necessary hardware (scanners) and training, and the customer adoption rate, which according to this report seem to be a little lagging (only 3% of mobile consumers to date have asked for a coupon, and only another 3% have actually used one, according to Forrester).

Location based, mobile coupons are obviously going to be a big benefit to QSRs and retailers in the near future. The ability to offer someone a coupon for $1 off a sub as they are walking past your store, during lunch hour is a huge benefit to all parties. The ability to serve customized, real time deals,potentially even based on past behavior/purchases, and tie into a loyalty or rewards programs, ups the ante.

So the takeaway seems to be - start laying the foundation and be ready so that when the technology and consumer demand catch up, your brand is ready to deliver.
-

Partners + Spade = Brilliant

Gotta say I dig Partners + Spade. They create gorgeous advertising for clients like Kate Spade, store designs like the J Crew Liquor Store, films that have been featured at Cannes, books, documentaries with Mike Mills, and they have their own store that sells exclusive items.

Partners & Spade, est. in 2008 by Andy Spade and Anthony Sperduti, is a storefront and studio on Great Jones Street off the Bowery in lower Manhattan. The studio produces films, books, apparel and conceptual products as well as consults on marketing and branding projects for select clients. The shop, open on weekends to the public, showcases a transitional and continuous group show of artwork, collections, found objects, and ideas generated by Spade and Sperduti as well as a changing cast of collaborators.

Oh, Andy Spade, is the co-creator of Kate Spade (with his wife), so there's that little side project as well.

So cool. The many outlets for their talents, yields great work in many forms. So inspired by their talent, and their brazenness to believe they could do it all and break the traditional business models.

The Evolution of UGC and Crowd Sourcing

An interesting Media Post article on the evolution of crowd sourcing and social media.

I agree with his premise and he does a nice job of taking the 40k foot view, and articulating how it all works together and how it has evolved.

The UGC space and crowd-sourcing are still very much alive... but the focus seems to have shifted from consumers creating the content, to their becoming a waypoint for the content as it spreads.The consumer's perceived value has become less that of an instigator and more as the kinetic energy needed to pass the messaging along.

A few years ago it was about the brand listening to and inserting itself in the social media conversations. But the pendulum seemed to have swung too far in one direction and is now coming back to center. The whole "consumers creating Doritos commercials because-they-can" thing is (hopefully) behind us. Sure consumers can generate content (UGC.CGC) but it seems like the more appropriate fit is for them to become a conduit to the content. They use their social media channels to pass alog things they like.

Advertisers should take a cue from this as well - they should stop forcing themselves into places they should not be (obligatory FB brand pages) and rather givng the people the content they want and making it easy to distribute and share with their friends (embed YouTube videos, post to FB, Digg, etc.).

I also like this articulation on how UGC/WOM fits into the larger digital marketing universe:

The present strength of digital marketing lies in its balance between broadcast and word-of-mouth. Broadcast refers to the standard banners, buttons and rich media units that most publishers employ. The word-of-mouth component encompasses all of the social media efforts like sharing and referring friends, endorsing brands and becoming fans of your favorite products. Crowd-sourcing fits directly between the two. Its day is still likely to come, as more marketers finally grasp how to use both aspects -- broadcast and word-of-mouth -- individually and together.

Barbie "Mad Men" Dolls

Per this NYT article 4 figures based on Mad Men characters (Don Draper, his wife, Betty; Roger Sterling; and Joan Holloway), will be released in limitied edition and a $79 price point.

The dolls come with period accessories like hats, overcoats, pearls and padded undergarments, but no cigarettes, ashtrays, martini glasses or cocktail shakers.

Nice!

McKinsey : Building Organizational Capabilities

Paper from McKinsey & Co. on Building Organizational Capabilities.

Have not rad it yet but wanted o keep track of it.

Growth of the Internet

An interesting piece here on the BBC about the growth of the Internet over the last 10 years. Specifically the growth by region of the world.

Look at the disparity between 2008 and where we were back in 1998.

Africa is the one continent very behind on the curve.

Large V Small Agency Structure

Change has been coming to the agency world for years and it has been accelerated by the recession. Large agencies try to figure out how to do digital, and their approach is typically hire or every possible position. Kind of like when my boss at an old agency hired a VP of analytics, when we didn't have anything to analyze and what I really needed were 4 more Flash people to create the sites. Anyway, the large agency model of checking every box with an in-house resource is not practical or profitable, because the nature of the business is so fluid. Advertisers even tend to use 2-3 digital shops for hat niche expertise - and they should.

Today I came across some research by Second Wind Online called The Small + Smart Agency Model. In brief the two charts represent how big vs. small agencies staff - you can see which is the smarter model.




This is something that I have definitely seen in my journey the last few years, from small to large shops. I believe the smaller shops are best poised for success, since they are staffed with competent old-school big agency people, but are nimble and can make quick adjustments, they do not have the enormous overhead, and they do not have resources in every seat and are more able to leverage the outsourcing model - building a dream team based on the needs of a specific client/project.

Here is an excerpt from Second Wind on the topic:

Here are the steps to follow to attain this Small + Smart Agency status.
1) First, email Jim Hughes at jim@brandestabishment.com. He has a lot of ideas about how to move agencies into the Small + Smart model.
2)Find your core competency. All agencies do particular things exceptionally well. Find those things your agency does well and get even better at doing them.
3) Increase your outsource options. For the other skills you need to fully service clients, you need to increase the number and level of freelancers, strategic partners, virtual employees and consultants you have access to. AND, you need to work on methods to pay them fairly, make money on the deal, lock them in as partners and make sure they don’t bypass you and go directly to your clients.
4) Be competitive. You can compete with ANY agency in the future. All you need is the right mindset and the desire. There are numerous “creative communities”, as well as lots of unaffiliated talent out there—those who have given up working for agencies or companies and want to be independent—enabling you to construct any team, pitch any account and always have the best people ready to do the work for your clients. Let the networking begin…
The Small + Smart Agency is the high quality, low overhead, high capability agency of the future.

I read a whole book dedicated to this topic last year by Seth Godin - "Small is the New Big". The old agency model is broken, as is the old way of doing things in business. It's a brave new world.

Digital Coupons Beat Newspapers in 2009

Coupons.com research reports that Digital Coupons Beat Newspapers in 2009.

The redemption values carried by digital coupons in 2009 grew ten times faster than those of coupons printed in newspapers, according to statistics from Coupons.com, a digital coupon platform.

"For the first time in almost two decades the use of coupons increased in 2009, in part due to the growth of digital coupons"

Now this is obviously largely fueled by the recession - I know lots of people using coupons who never did before, but it is also a testament to the technology. This should encourage QSRs to invest in scanners (most require that franchisees cover the hardware costs). The investment would obviously pay off - especially if there was a loyalty component to the program encouraging and rewarding repeat visits.

Google Cloud Back Up

From ZD Net :

Hoping to build confidence in the safety of cloud computing, Google will now offer enterprise customers something called "synchronous replication." Simply put, the free feature backs up data within Apps to multiple data centers so that, if a disruption were to occur, the amount of data lost (or the amount of time without access to the data) is minimized greatly.

"Every action you take in Gmail is simultaneously replicated in two data centers at once, so that if one data center fails, we nearly instantly transfer your data over to the other one that's also been reflecting your actions," the search giant explains. "Our goal is not to lose any data when it's transferred from one data center to another, and to transfer your data so quickly that you don't even know a data center experiences an interruption." Google goes on to qualify this statement by saying that "no backup solution from us or anyone else is absolutely perfect."