Connecting advertisers with bloggers through an online marketplace, or... in Jeremiah's words it's an "inventory of bloggers, where you can purchase sponsored blog posts".
I browsed a bit but I didn't find anything similar in the Italian marketplace. A good idea to gain/offer visibility.
In Homeopathic medicine,
“…serial dilution, with shaking between each dilution, removes the toxic effects of the substance, while the essential qualities are retained by the diluent (water, sugar, or alcohol).
Common homeopathic preparations are often indistinguishable from the pure diluent because the purported medicinal compound is diluted beyond the point where there is any likelihood that molecules from the original solution are present in the final product… (Wikipedia here)”
Tiziano Terzani is really evocative, he rises fascinating questions about this topic: is it possible that after all those diluting processes the diluent save a sort of memory of the initial substance? Is it that memory that actually treats the illness? What do we really know about what is not “scientific”?
Today I found the website of Whereamiwearing (“a book that explores the complex web of the global garment industry. Author Kelsey Timmerman set out on a world-wide journey to understand where, and by who his clothes were made” via PSFK here), and I started wondering about Terzani’s hipothesis…
How many memories do we bring around?
May they affect our daily life?
My dad hate DVD, CD, divx...
No way you get him to see a rented movie. He loves radio, and in his world I think he would get rid of all the doors and windows, no matter the temperature.
It's somethinkg linked with connectivity.
Public channels (tv or radio), connect you with the rest of the nation, you feel to be open towards the outside, and at the same time you feel to be part of a group, even without joining Facebook.
I remember when I was at school, it was quite easy to find someone asking you: what did you watch yesterday night? Having just six main channel, it was reasonably a good starting point for a chat.
What's more, you didn't choose that much: on one side you had less freedom, but on the other, you might "taste" something unknown.
When we are free to decide we go for something we think we will like, and we will probably avoid all the rest. But, this might represent a barrier to our open mindness.
In a word: curiosity is great to discover something new, but also leaving someone else choose for us.
I decicded to post this now even if it's nothing new (2008),
and even if I'm not the only one who thinks it's a great campaign (Grand Prix in the Direct Lions)...
I really hope it will be able to inspire at least one Italian newspaper.
Last week I read an article about the changing role of men in the society.
It seems it's getting more and more difficult to identify the right kind of relationship and attitude to fit women needs and desires.
Sometimes rough blocks, sometimes sweet lovers... men are struggling to find a proper direction for their new, changing, masculinity.
The issue is perfectly dramatized by the campaign: "save the males" (Baron's brewer)
This is a real Hell
and this is an unreal Paradise
But just the second has something to sell, will it?
Nice creativity, but... are we ready to see innocent children-oriented drawings, mixed with some erotic content?
Something to be proud of:
A way to:
- Monitor your driving habits
- Save money
- Decrease pollution
- Challenge your green performance
- Join a community of EcoDrivers (Eco Village)
Everything through a USB key that one can plug into his Fiat car
My best wishes to Fiat to be as successful as the Nike+ project: the idea is great and useful for everybody.
here the website
We will probably see many more of these games out there.
I really look forward to seeing someone starting to run without any apparent reason.
It might be a new world for brands too.
Developing interactive experiences in "parallel worlds" will push a step further engagement and brand experience.
but jumping in the street, or try to escape while driving might be dangerous, so please, play responsibly.
via: PSFK
What if you could choose to avoid advertising and change it with interesting contents?
Advertising should probably try to be interesting to avoid your filters.
That is: how should advertising be to be considered interesting and worth seeing?
How will we define brand-usefulness?
The need to answer to questions like this is more and more urgent.
Doritos offer a plugin to eliminate advertising from your browser, and change it with the content you prefer, from the internet or from your own hard drive.
via: DoubleBlog
Transport for London is running this campaign in which they promote their Journeyplanner service linking it with major events around the city.
It's a good way to communicate a service, showing how people can use it, and at the same time informing about interesting stuff.
They are in the city, pro the city, for the city.
Views from the future, what the web may be in the next years: great article from Faris Yakob: here
"Suddenly, the web is invisible because it is everywhere. No longer a tool, it is an extension of you, just like the blind person's cane: it is functionally part of how you experience the world."
2010: Entertainment and Communication from Faris Yakob on Vimeo.
via: Only Dead Fish
Hybrid campaign form BMW. DM mechanisms for a print campaign.
BMW pays for your attention:
Solve the puzzle and you'll have
- incredibly low interest rate
- 10% down payment on 2008 models
Is that enough to push sales?
I don't think so.
But it's a way to enagage, entertain, and show proximity to the audience.
Via Adland
Yes, I'm late, but it's not a good excuse to avoid this post. It is useful for me, and it can be useful for someone else, so it's worth sharing.
The list of the 150 worlds top media and marketing blogs, by Ad Age: here
James Gordon-MacIntosh has published a UK specific Power 150 ranking on his blog: here
While Nick Burker compiled a list of the best European ones: here
IGN Entertainment, and Ipsos Media CT released some research findings from the study "Are you game?", a "comprehensive study examining the growing diversity, consumption patterns and social activity of videogamers".
Videogamers are actually more social and more active than non-gamers
- twice as likely to go out on dates as non-gamers in a given month.
- 13% more likely to go out to a movie
- 11% more likely to play sports
- 9% more likely to go out with friends than non-gamers
Videogamers have surpassed non-gamers as pop culture influencers
- friends and family relied upon them to stay up-to-date about movies and latest technonology
The average age of gamers now topping 30 and more than half of gamers married with kids
The average gaming household income is notably higher than that of non-gaming households
via PFSK
---
It strongly remind me Steven Johnson's theory written in his Everything Bad is Good for You: How Today's Popular Culture Is Actually Making Us Smart
Probably gamers are changing because culture is changing, and games with it. Anyway games may be a sort of accelerator in culture adoption and social adaptation (sharing dynamics, problem solving activities, fast reactions, multi mediality...)
You know what you gain playing games.
But it may be worthwile to think about what you loose, too.
The picture is awful, ok, as soon as i get a job I'll buy a new mobile with a better camera.
In the meantime let me share this ad for directski.com
(Summer has tried and failed)
I like the idea of a winter-suppporter movement against the summer... and I love the summer.
It's probably because it's better to be season-enthusiasts, than season-nostalgic.
Even if it's more appealing for snow lovers, it doesn't alienate the sea fans...
Being against the summer, and standing for the winter, might have propelled many good creativities... unfortunately directski (in it's website at least) doesn't build on the idea...
What's on the other side? An against-winter movement might be interesting as well...
An ability test may be a good way to increase offerings.
"The number of published apps continues to grow steadily (to over 32K) but total usage remains flat. Besides the fact that the top 10% of apps account for 98% of total usage, aspiring Facebook app developers should know that only about 6% of apps average at least 500 active users per day"
"the most popular applications on the Myspace platform continue to account for slightly less users than their Facebook counterparts"
That's what Ben Lorica (O'Reilly radar), was writing about Facebook apps usage in July, and here is a chart (May data) about the kind of applications (via Flowdata) that dominate.
Data are not recent, but the picture is quite clear if you want to engage with this audience.
Promoting their new book The Brand Bubble, at Young & Rubicam decided to give a sample of their Brand Asset Valuator.
It's a powerful tool that allows to explore brands' performance as to the four identified key-dimensions of Relevance, Esteem, Differentiation, and Knowledge.
Here a graph with Audi, BMW, and Toyota
Even the worst people in the world, need the world,
via The Hidden Persuader
IPhone is dead.
The new Pomegranate phone is much much better...
Projector
Razor
Coffee
Anything you want, here: Pomegranate
In Uk we have to drive on the left
but on escalators we have to stand on the right
WHy?
The excellence at work.
Thanks to BrandRepublic it is possible to bowse the winning projects of Digital Awards 2007
Don't forget to check out "Nike+". In that case the new product was boosted by a great digital project which attracted, inspired and motivated an entire community. The overall integrated campaign is an outstanding example of engaging communication.
But, most of all, what I really appreciate in this project is its ability to deliver value to the community.
I really liked also "Philips a Simple Switch". When you have to make people really do something, choosing the right gratification is often the hardest part. Charities know it well: you have to convince your audience that their help will actually make a difference.
In this digital project Unit9 greatly dramatized the concept.
Looking forward to seeing who will win in 2008
Peter Kim has published a list of companies "using and being used by social media marketing" , it will take a while to review them all, but it's definitely worthwile.
It would be really useful to have an archive with all those efforts, and considering that it is a good publicity for companies too (the list was initially smaller, it grew thanks to many people who wanted to see the name of their companies - or of their clients - in the list), I'm looking forward for someone thinking about it.
Anyway, I'm very happy to see that the first one in the list is Italian... the power of numbers!
here the link
update
I just realized that at Forrester - with their Groundswell Awards - while promoting their book, they are also showing a list of companies who decided to submit their works: here
It would be great to have more of this resources.
If you know any other browsable and public archive of social media initiatives, please let me know, I'll attach them here... waiting for the ultimate list, it might be useful for us all.
Four days in Munich have been really relaxing. Rambling around for museums, beers and parks.
Munich is a lovely city, unfortunately it seems that they are not very interested in tourists or not german-speaking people in general.
It was quite disappointing to discover it in the Deutsche Museum. In the area dedicated to Chemistry the only word I could understand was "interessante"... interesting, isn't it?
And the same at the zoo: Tierpark. Everything was written just in german.
I'm not a real great reader of museums explanations... but in the science museum you loose half of the visit if you can't understand what experiments and tools deal about.
I'm sorry, Munich but I have to say that the most "understandable" museum I visited has been the BMW museum at the olympic park... A lot of "hands on" exhibitions and everything was translated in English.
A great brand-experience delivered by a car company: I think someone in Munich should do something... for science's sake!
A clear mission
Getting the nation excited about cooking delicious meals from scratch again
Addressing customer needs (in the past as well as today)
…when World War II broke out, the government appointed the Ministry of Food to help families make the most of wartime rations. Because of this incredibly valuable service, people knew how to use their food rations properly and were able to eat - and live - better, even during the war! Today’s diet-related problems aren’t linked to a shortage of food this time, but are serious in a very different way. The research shows that people who cook more are generally healthier than those who don’t. That’s why this movement is so important, because it could really be good for your health and the future health of the country.
With engaging and viral dynamics
As soon as you've done your first Pass It On, and your guests have confirmed you've taught them your recipe, you'll be able to see your own Pass It On Chain. Each new person who confirms you've passed your recipe on to them will be added to your Chain - and there's no limit to how long it can grow. The people you pass your recipe on to will then need to pass your recipe on to at least two more people to get their own Pass It On Chain. What I really like about this idea is that it is helpful, and not only for your health. On the website you can find tips and easy recipes to improve (or start) your cooking expertise.
Lots of projects all linked by a credo.
Jamie Oliver is running a Tv show, he has written more than ten books, he opened (and is opening) restaurants (Fifteen and Jamie’s Italian), and websites, blogs, forums… he took parts in projects aimed at banning junk food from schools…
Here the website
A very simple interaction:
- you decide what you are interested about and make your choices
- add your mail
- they send relevant contents to your mailbox
It's easy, fast, useful and not intrusive.
In my opinion a very good way to start a relationship with customers/visitors.
I'm still thinking about grocery stores and recipes: they might adopt a system like that. Consumers might select the recipes they want.
Receiving recipes and ingredients on their mobile, they can walk around picking up what's necessary, (and adding a voting system they might even tell the database which are their preferred ones...)
Recipes might be sent to the customers' private area on the chain website, a sort of "save in my account"... but that make me think about another possible service... I'll write about in the next post.
I like the consumer-centered approach in the car industry and I think it might go much further (environment is fine but there's also health, well-being, a wider understanding of social responsibility).
Cars are a mean... to get to a better living. That is: improve our self esteem, better relationships with our planet, our children, families and fellows and, of course, take us where we want to go)
Honda, Toyota, Kia... did a very good job communicating these concepts through advertising but... their websites don't seem to back them up
Considering their improvement in the hybrid sector I really don't get the point. Why they don't capitalize their achievements promoting a new driving culture and a new driver mindset in a more engaging way?
Something from the past: Kia. think before you drive.
And here a new commercial from Toyota
I'm looking forward to seeing a real commitment that goes beyond commercials and build on people performances instead of cars ones: you don't need to run faster and faster if you wake up 10 minutes earlier, and if you do... the driver behind you probably doesn't need super-powerful brakes or two thousands airbags.
As Saturn claims in this old commercial: I would like to see companies thinking more about the people and less about the cars.
The last word about Kia. I love the "Think before you drive" concept, and I would like it to go beyond "greeness" to (again) "humanism"
Move up your alarm by ten minutes and you can save thousands of pounds in engine, brakes and air bags.
Or, better:
If you sleep more you'll have a safetier journey, and we too.
Grocery chains have always fascinated me, and I really enjoyed working for one of the biggest that we have in Italy.
When I was studying in Austin, I remember H&B was organizing cooking shows to teach customers how to cook depending on their needs: time, price and calories. Every hour you could watch a chef preparing a different course.
They probably realized that the lack of cooking abilities was threatening sales: education was the answer.
Marks & Spencer is running it’s “dine in for two” campaign (here one of the commercials). It’s addressing the price issue (dine in for two at just 10 pounds). In credit-crunch times it seems an obviuos move (even if it seems that londoners, despite of the crisis, are eating more and more out, I read an article about this countertrend just two days ago)…
Anyway, I like the way M&S communicate it. It’s definitely appealing, stilish… very far from the cheesiness of many domestic lunches or dinner…
Will customers be able to cook and “feel” the way the commercial show them?
Here is, I think, an opportunity for M&S to push things further and work on the “dine in experience” (preparing food, cooking, preparing the table, the atmosphere…) they are doing a good job in repositioning the perception of dining in: please go ahead. Education plays an important role.
The challenge: change your customers into to chefs.
(I skimmed through their website and it seems there’s nothing like that…)
Some time ago I worked for a car insurance company.
They were targeting male/female drivers older than 23.
The reason is quite simple: young drivers cause more accidents.
Checking competition this seemed to be a common approach among car insurances: they earn more if people don't crash they cars.
Isn't it weird?
Our researches showed that usually people don't have a very good impression of insurance companies... "they steal your money... lot of notes in the contracts... you never know if they refund you or not..."
But, actually, insurance companies are worried about your driving capabilities and expertise...
There we saw an opportunity. What about a "2nd level driving school" providing real and effective courses and tests to its customers? It seemed a win-win game. The more they would have had good drivers, the more they might earn. And the less accidents its customers caused, the more money (and health) they saved.
An insurance company that takes care of you, teach you driving, and gives you all the information you need to drive safely. Why should they? Because they want to get rich. And they will only if you behave correctly.
"The less you risk your life, the more we earn: isn't it love?"
Anyway, I was nicely surprised by PruHealth.
In my opinion, they should think about a new advertising approach... but they have an interesting product.
Here is a summary (by Rory Sutherland) of the debate that was hosted by IPA in August...
some points:
I like the fresh and creative language used to position "Solero Smoothie" as a light ice cream.
Attention to calories is not a serious, frustrating attitude, but a fresh and "easy" one. Not a renunciation, just a different, fresh, choice.
I like th concept of "money can't buy".
It makes me think.
Commercial purposes might evocate the exclusivity of the experience... but actually what is really exclusive is our own way to perceive/interact with all is around us.
We all have our own "money can't buy" experiences/things... (sharing might be interesting).
Again, Oscar Wilde:
"A cynic is a man who knows the price of everything but the value of nothing."
“...social media owners can't risk losing the support of partner brands and advertisers whose funds pave the way for new waves of innovation”
This is a quote of Steve Richards (managing director of Yomego) interviewed on BrandRepublic's article Social Media Websites at pivotal pointIn my opinion, the above warning, should concern social media owners but in a different way.
Social media (and all the rest of 2.0 websites) flourish where people feel free. Free even to decide what's fair and unfair.
Digg docet (do you remember this?)
What if people decide to move to a different platform?
Are social media facing a breaking point?
This is the Italian translation of "The Many Challenges of the Social Media Industry" by Jeremiah Owyang
Le tante sfide del Settore dei Social Media
07 Agosto, 2008
Come ogni settore, quello dei Social Media sta affrontando una serie di problemi che, per adesso, non sono ancora stati risolti, se non in minima parte. E’ importante riconoscere sfide ed punti deboli, in modo da poterli superare. Dai dati in nostro possesso non c’e nessun motivo per credere che i Social Media scompariranno, tutt’altro. Questo andamento e’ reso piu’ che evidente dal tasso di adozione della generazione Y.
Ma vediamo piu’ da vicino gli aspetti principali.
Attuale Scarsa Profittabilita’
Il mondo dei social media, mondo in cui ognuno puo’ entrare e contribuire, ha portato rendite nulle o scarse alla maggior parte dei partecipanti. Ad esempio, ci sono milioni di bloggers e solo pochi di essi possono effettivamente vantare rendite cospicue: soltanto una parte ancora piu’ piccola ha costruito dei veri e propri imperi mediatici. Lasciando per un attimo da parte gli utilizzatori stessi, molte aziende si concentrano sulla generazione di hits, visite, o numero dei registrati, preoccupandosi poi di trovare il modo migliore di monetizzare questi numeri. Date uno sguardo ai Social Networks, alcuni sono stati valutati cifre da capogiro, e cio’ nonostante non abbiamo ancora sentito storie in cui siano stati fatti soldi a palate. I profitti sono rari, e la maggior parte dei creators (coloro che creano attivamente contributi) non generera’ alcun profitto.
L’innovazione e’ spinta dai finanziamenti – non dalle rendite.
Al tempo stesso problema e opportunita’, gli investitori (VCs) continuano a immettere soldi in questo mondo – spesso finanziando dubbi modelli di business, o tecnologie appena nate. In settori piu’ maturi, e’ piuttosto improbabile che si assista a finanziamenti di questo genere, spesso perche’ l’innovazione viene spinta proprio dal buon andamento delle rendite. Con cosi’ tante aziende che vengono finanziate senza produrre effettivi profitti, il mercato si ritrova esposto a una serie di varianti dello stesso problema.
Scarse barriere in entrata generano una competizione spietata
Quando il software diventa una commodity c’e’ sempre da preoccuparsi, e quando cio’ avviene nel giro di poco vengono ad esserci cosi’ tanti fornitori che il mercato ne resta confuso – incapace di determinare il partner adatto. I molti concorrenti rischiano inoltre di finire col mangiarsi i margini a vicenda. Prendete ad esempio l’affollato settore delle piattaforme per community (aka white label social networking), e’ un setttore che conta oltre 100 fornitori – tutti che propongono software molto simile
L’eccesso di rumore occulta il segnale
Essendo tutti in grado di creare dei contenuti e condividere i dettagli della propria vita personale con attenta minuzia, l’eccesso di contenuti diventa un problema da considerare. Ogni 60 secondi, vengono caricate 13 ore di filmati in YouTube (riferisce un dipendente), e ogni giorno vengono generati milioni di tweets. Con cosi’ tanti contenuti, come e’ possibile filtrare cio’ che e’ veramente importante?
L’amatorialita’ minaccia la professionalita’
Strizzando l’occhio alla critica che Andrew Keen muove al fatto che ci siano molti amatori che creano contenuti poco professionali (quando non addirittura sbagliati) e li diffondono poi massivamente, va detto che questo crea notevoli preoccupazioni a chi questi contenuti, poi, li fruisce. Il problema, certo, non sta tanto nella qualita’ dei contenuti, ma nella capacita’ di distinguere velocemente cio’ che e’ importante e cio’ che non lo e’.
Le aziende entrano senza tenere in considerazione le community
Ovunque la gente vada le aziende la seguono; ma mentre alcune lo fanno in modo intelligente e saggio, molte altre adottano approcci differenti. Ad esempio, il “pay for post”, un certo tipo di ottimizzazione per i social media, la presenza di contenuti spazzatura su blog e social networks, ed altre dubbie operazioni di marketing, sono e continueranno ad essere una sfida ogni volta che si viene a creare una community (aggiornato grazie a Jennifer)
Dirottamento dell’immagine corporate e personale
Sta diventando sempre piu’ comune. L’immagine di marche e individui puo’ facilmente essere oggetto di dirottamento. Cio’ avviene quando altri si appropriano dei loro username e domini, e si spacciano per chi non sono. Dato che ci sono centinaia, se non migliaia di siti web da controllare, liberarsene diventera’ sempre piu’ difficile con l’andar del tempo.
La mancanza di standard genera esperienze discordanti
Seppure la cosa vada meglio rispetto ad altri settori, l’open web si muove ancora lentamente verso standard comuni di login, social graph, e tipi di contenuto. Persino protocolli come l’OpenSocial di Google che erano stati progettati per riunire attivita’ e applicazioni provenienti dai vari social network, in maniera trasversale, stanno stentando. Ogni contenitore (social network) richiede delle modifiche per adattarsi alle varie piattaforme, mentre altri (come Facebook) non partecipano affatto.
Il cambiamento culturale causa delle resistenze.
Senza dubbio questo movimento di auto-pubblicazione e messa in contatto, rappresenta una rottura che riguarda tanto il mercato quanto i media, interviene sul ciclo di acquisto, e sul marketing funnel. Barriere di vecchia data si stanno sgretolando nel passaggio da metodi di “controllo e comando” ad un piu’ aperto e collaborativo stile di business e di comunicazione personale. Con questi cambiamenti radicali in atto, arriva la resistenza da parte di coloro che precedentemente detenevano il potere (media, management, aziende e governi) che sono lenti ad adottare queste nuove logiche – e quindi si oppongono.
Individuare la vera expertise e’ difficile
In settori piu’ maturi, gli andamenti sono definiti da anni, a volte addirittura decenni di dati relativi ai risultati. In questo nuovo settore, e’ spesso difficile capire quali sono i veri esperti – e quelli che hanno veramente condotto interventi sostanziali nell’ambito dei social media. La maggior parte dei dati a disposizione va indietro solo di qualche anno, e sono pochi quelli che possono dimostrare un effettivo ritorno dell’investimento.
La difficolta’ nel misurare il ROI
Nonostante i molti tentativi di misurare “l’engagement” o “ROI” non c’e ancora uno standard del settore in grado di reder conto dei risultai ottenuti nei social media, sia per quanto attiene l’immagine personale sia quella corporate. Mentre molti hanno sviluppato una loro abilita’ nel misurare le proprie attivita’ in modo ad-hoc, non e’ ancora stato realizzato un modello rapido ed efficace che tutto il settore possa usare per le proprie misurazioni.
Mi rendo conto che questo post possa far infuriare alcuni puristi dei social media, ma la mia intenzione e’ quella di fornire una visione obiettiva di cio’ che e’ sotto i miei occhi, in modo da individuare i punti pericolosi, cosi’ che collettivamente possiamo superarli. Spero leggiate i miei altri post in cui parlo delle sfide di social networks, widgets, blog ed altro ancora. Se decidete di entrare in questo mondo e’ bene che prima ne conosciate gli ostacoli.
Se vi vengono a mente altre sfide del nostro settore – siete liberi di lasciare un commento (qui). Sono curioso di ascoltare le vostre reazioni.
Hard times are challenges.
We need them.
Honda says: difficult is worth doing.
I agree.
Do something difficult, it's the only way to see rainbows.
Yesterday I had a chat with a friend of mine that struck me.
But it was only today morning that I understood.
I like to think of myself like an open minded person... I don't know if I am.
I find locked gates in my mind.
I know that I'm not able even to see many others...
Anyway, this is my morning take:
some words can be much more inmost and private than sex
