![I’ll have to politely disagree that there’s not a social network out there for the “physiological” needs of human beings. Hint: it’s a multi-billion dollar industry that is in most cases the first to innovate technologies and sets the trend for most other industries and no, it’s not Aerospace.
And since social networks are a relatively young and evolving at a rapid clip, many of these fulfill more than one psychological role so there’s a lot of overlap. Some existing and emerging networks are still being “defined” in terms of user experience and interaction….the where, how, when, and which needs being met are still up for grabs. Realizing this, brands and their agencies are seeding communities with their products and content.
As the “social” movement rewires the global [digital] landscape, expect to see more interactive and innovative ways to fulfill oneself on the web. Also expect to see more (smart) brands reevaluating how they interact with their consumers (e.g. “Customers are not a subject of a sale but an object of an experience”). Marketers, use Maslow’s original hierarchy as cheat-sheet to develop your content but never forget that yesterday’s Myspace is today’s Facebook, etc.](http://www.tumblr.com/photo/1280/vladgorenshteyn/18058885597/1/tumblr_lzi0xlaCTi1qz4fj0)
I’ll have to politely disagree that there’s not a social network out there for the “physiological” needs of human beings. Hint: it’s a multi-billion dollar industry that is in most cases the first to innovate technologies and sets the trend for most other industries and no, it’s not Aerospace.
And since social networks are a relatively young and evolving at a rapid clip, many of these fulfill more than one psychological role so there’s a lot of overlap. Some existing and emerging networks are still being “defined” in terms of user experience and interaction….the where, how, when, and which needs being met are still up for grabs. Realizing this, brands and their agencies are seeding communities with their products and content.
As the “social” movement rewires the global [digital] landscape, expect to see more interactive and innovative ways to fulfill oneself on the web. Also expect to see more (smart) brands reevaluating how they interact with their consumers (e.g. “Customers are not a subject of a sale but an object of an experience”). Marketers, use Maslow’s original hierarchy as cheat-sheet to develop your content but never forget that yesterday’s Myspace is today’s Facebook, etc.
(via thenextweb)
Studies show I’m about 55% right and 35% left. The other 10%? Thinking about how blue the water is in the Caribbean…
A beautiful piece by Young & Rubicam for Mercedes Benz in both imagery and copy:
LEFT BRAIN- I am the left brain
I am a scientist. A mathematician.
I love the familiar, I categorize. I am accurate. Linear.
Analytical. Strategic. I am practical.
Always in control. A master of words and lenguage.
Realistic. I calculate ecuations and play with numbers.
I am order. I am logic.
I know exactly who I am.
RIGHT BRAIN- I am the right brain.
I am creativity, a free spirit. I am passion.
Yearning . Sensuality. I am the sound of the roaring laughter .
I am taste. The feeling of sand beneath bare feet.
I am movement. Vivid colors,
I am the urge to paint on an empty canvas,
I am boundless imagination. Art. Poetry. I sense. I feel.
I am everything I wanted to be.
A few months ago, I put together a digital strategy brief for a multinational media-conglomerate that would basically recreate the functionality of Facebook for one of their child-facing networks…
My first question was, “why are we creating something that already exists” which I quickly answered myself after I saw that the target demographic was 14 and younger. Facebook TOS requires users to be 13 or older which is only a one year campaign/platform overlap.
As I saw the above picture, I thought about how the modern child’s digital footprint starts (in many cases) long before conception and follows the little booger through their 13th birthday.
Which brings me to my question: why doesn’t Facebook create a limited, sub-network geared specifically towards children (e.g. no advertising, adult-content filters, etc.) that would be administrated by a child’s parents or guardian and would give them access to the network they’re already signing up for themselves using false identities or with the help of their parents?
I’d love to hear the “objections” from parents who currently have a child that is younger than 13. Thank you!
“How do organizations measure the success of their offline advertising (e.g. billboards)?”
You’ve probably heard the canonical quote by management theorist Peter Drucker: “If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.” So, it’s no coincidence that the above question gets frequently asked, however offline marketing campaigns present marketers with a challenge since there is no inherent or baked in analytics tool to measure such endeavors. The answer IMBO is actually “digital tie-in.”
I don’t believe any marketer that is worth their salt will disagree the efficacy of an offline campaign largely depends on digital-traditional (or tradigital) integration.
Here’s my answer to the above question recently posted:
- Setup a personalized URL or PURL, and/or a QR code—displayed prominently on your billboard (assuming your target audience knows how to use this medium)— that will lead your customers to a highly-relevant landing page where they can read more about the offer and most importantly “take action.” This online behavior should be tracked with analytics.
- Give your customers the option to call: have a unique phone number on the billboard that is tracked (e.g. # of calls, duration of call, resulting sales) so that you have a clear view of your sales funnel. I’ve seen companies large and small use google voice to funnel this traffic. There are much more sophisticated systems out there for larger campaigns but this one is free and give you simple analytics.
- If you’re displaying on a digital billboard, you should have the unique opportunity to do A/B testing to see which offer is pulling more action—lather, rinse, repeat.
- Always have clear, strong and low-friction calls-to-action (CTAs): make sure the consumer can answer the “why” in your advertisement (e.g. why should I call in, or “like” them on facebook, or inquire more about the offer?)
- Depending on your organization/product, you may want to run an on-hold advertisement for your CS and sales lines, again the same concepts apply (PURL, CTA, measuring sales funnel).
- Depending on the size of your brand and marketing budget, send periodic surveys and make sure to include a question about where your customers have seen your brand (e.g. billboard, direct, tv, radio, in-store, etc.) and if possible ask this question and take note at the POS.
These concepts will also work for direct mail, radio, tv, etc., except that with direct you can segment your list which gives you the opportunity to display/sell a more targeted offer and television/radio/billboard will be more of a broadcasted message, though there are niche time slots and programming options in today’s hyper-fragmented media model.
Another note: I don’t really believe that you can run a truly, “offline” advertisement. When is the last time you saw a billboard without a URL? How many consumer-facing companies don’t have some sort of (albeit poorly managed) social media presence. Consumers are so “wired” and digitally enabled these days, it makes no sense to run a siloed offline campaign because a) it’s more difficult to measure—which I presume is why you asked this question in first place, and b) you’ll get a poorer response rate. There are exceptions to probably everything that I’ve mentioned here, however, I use these best practices with my clients.
Can anybody add to my list or provide experience that contradicts my points? Please post below…
To support the anti-censorship movement with regards to PIPA and SOPA legislation, [ digital. marketing. speak. ] will be going offline around 12:00 EST, Wednesday, January 18, 2012 for 24 hours. If you don’t want the internet to break, we encourage you to do the same. Please also use the app above and the infographic below to help spread the word and show your support.
After being out of a country and off-the grid (yikes!) for just under a week, I’ve finally been able to comb through my emails, address most of the fires, and already fail at project “inbox zero.” Fantastic! Happy 2012, world!
In my heap of 985 emails (in 4 days!), I found a private beta invitation to Microsoft’s so.cl network from David Sascino, Senior Program Manager (FUSE Labs) at Microsoft Corporation. You may have heard about this FUSE labs project under it’s working title “Tulalip” which, in true Microsoft reactionary style, launched right around the time Google Plus did in 2011.
There’s really not too much value I can add to this conversation because Jim Stroud already made a pretty amusing video which you can watch for thoughtful analysis + I’ve only perused the network briefly…enough to understand that (currently) there’s no apparent value or technology I need from so.cl that doesn’t already exist in my digital portfolio.
What I need is time. So unless Microsoft invents a time machine (oh wait! MS Windows is kind of like a time-machine since I get to experience 2nd rate technology that mac users have had for years only with archaic limitations that don’t let me install an SSD hard drive unless I buy a new license! what?) or the next best thing and does it first (i.e. Kinect), I’m not really interested but you decide for yourself: http://so.cl (I have 10 invites if you don’t yet have access).
Please post your comments on so.cl below…
