Thoughts from a communications thinker and tinkerer
I love this uber flash mob effort by T-Mobile in the UK. It might have been mostly made up of dancers but it’s still a hell of an execution. I think I just like the optimism and general fun of it really.Will it spread? I reckon so, job done Saatchi & Saatchi.
Here’s T-Mobile’s Youtube channel and the public’s reaction. Warning, some real cockneys are present in this clip
Posted in Communications
Authenticity is a holy grail now for companies but as a word it is massively subjective. Joseph Pine chats at TED giving a bit more context to the latest buzz word. I particuarly like the REAL REAL, FAKE REAL, FAKE FAKE explanation about half way in. Enjoy
Posted in Brands, Communications
Here’s nice post from MIT’s Convergence Culture Consortium blog. But probably the most salient point it makes, is way bigger than just product placement and arguably relevant for all kinds of communications:
‘Product placement works best when products are integrated into an already intriguing plot. For example, characters on Gossip Girl use Verizon cell phones to spread rumors, form alliances, and conspire against enemies. While cell phones are essential in moving Gossip Girl’s plot forward, the show is not about the phones themselves’.
Posted in Communications
I’m always interested in some of the little spin offs and initiatives agencies work on in their own time. I don’t mean blogs either, I mean actual stuff. I think it says a quite a lot about them really. In fact, it would be the first thing I would ask an agency if they were pitching for my business.
Here is a list of some of my favourites;
One of my old favourites was Karmarama’s Mr T and Kofi mugs. Get it…genius
Anomaly has several fingers in several pies. One of which is a music inspired online T-shirt shop, called Identitee.com.
W+K also has its music label W+K Tokyo Labs and now a radio station
And then there is also a Taxi’s, ‘Taxi Cafe’ concept that decided to have a barista rather than a receptionist. Like it.
UPDATE: Faris has just found another example. Mother has launched a series of comics called Four feet from a Rat
Posted in Branding, Brands, Communications
Dig out your soul, by Oasis was one of the presents that Santa lovingly wedged into my stocking this Christmas and whilst it isn’t their greatest effort, it is certainly a return to form. Now the thing about Oasis (apart from either loving or hating them) is that they are kind of renowned for being quite anti marketing, so to get them to do anything outside of an interview has to be a pretty good idea (and by the creds, it looks like it was BBH that came up with it).
To launch the album in the US, before its release Oasis got some of the best buskers in New York to play a couple of their songs in their own unique styles and created an 18 minute, high definition documentary that you can find on Myspace. In the eloquent words of Liam, here is how he described the project, Full Myspace HD version, Oasis – Dig Out Your Soul In The Streets:
“Without sounding like a wanker I’m totally blown away. I thought it was going to be like opportunity knocks or the X factor or something, but it’s real people doing what they love. They’ve put a lot of people to shame”.
Not only is this a great piece of content and a good use of Myspace, it highlights how digital is really starting to be used to make interesting things happen in the real world. You could describe this as PR, guerrilla, grassroots, social media or film. Which is good, but that’s beside the point. They use a variety of tools to create a really awesome experience that has loads of nice little narratives hanging off it that people can interpret and use in their own way. It might be going to these impromptu street shows, playing the songs yourself and uploading your effort on Youtube, or simply admiring the Liam swagger. Whatever, the point is it’s not restricted to the screen. Russell Davies describes this brilliantly in his post on ‘post digital’.
Posted in Brands, Communications, Digital, Music
In the ever deepening era of the Great Disruption, nicely coined by Scott Anthony in the Harvard Business Review, I’m an even more vehement supporter of transformative ideas and campaigns than normal. Who likes things that are average? And more importantly who likes to think of themselves as average? So if everyone hates averageness why do we spend so much time trying to target and appeal to the median?
I’m not just hoping that 2009 will see brands tackle the anesthetised state that people are currently in when it comes to communications, but see it as a necessity to develop an extreme position that fundamentally breaks up this ever shrinking median. This is also much bigger than tweaking the advertising message; it will have to start with getting the product experience into a truly polarised and interesting space. Gone are the days of covering up your faults with a shiny button of a campaign.
In a study conducted by economists at the University of California they challenge the perceived notion that winning election is about appealing to the swing voters;
Extreme positions can build trust among an electorate, who value ideological commitment in times of uncertainty.
“A rational electorate is reluctant to support someone who does not exhibit commitment to some ideology,” Carrillo says. “Voters rightly perceive that someone without ideological commitment cannot have developed a valuable political program. They reason that, ‘If you tell me what I want to hear, it probably means that you don’t have any ideas of your own to share.’”
Carrillo and Castanheira’s paper is an important challenge to the widely accepted median voter theorem. In the median voter theorem, voters who are fully informed will use their understanding when casting a ballot, choosing the platform that is closest to their own beliefs. Thus, it stands to reason that to attract the majority of votes, parties should try to appeal to the majority of voters.
But, as the researchers point out, it is rare for a voter to be fully informed in real life. More likely, voters will have incomplete and sometimes inaccurate information about how left-leaning or right-leaning stances actually translate into high quality proposals for, say, withdrawing troops safely or reforms.
This information comes from the press and other sources, such as campaign advertisements.
“To attract a majority of votes, parties cannot simply try to appear ‘median.’ Quite the contrary,” Carrillo says. “Winning an election is generally about crafting a convincing philosophy that the electorate will view as superior to that of the opponents.”
This is closely related to the debate around the Bell Curve and the Power Law views of the world which is covered in the entertaining and thought provoking Black Swan, but if you want a detailed and somewhat more objective view on the subject John Hagel’s post is probably a good place to familiarise yourself with the argument.
Posted in Advertising, Communications
I will read more books and blogs that are not, or only indirectly related to communications stuff. But I will try and blog more…not off to the greatest start
I won’t use words such as brand and strategy in such an arbitrary fashion
I will get more involved in the real world planning community rather than lurking virtually
I will start playing football again. Seeing as I can’t watch the good stuff over in Aus
Happy new year!
Posted in Uncategorized
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