Coca-Cola Snowball

Well, I am pretty happy that Coca-Cola didn't go with some sappy, all the nations love each other, human achievement is awesome, the world is better with sports than war, and just like with the Olympics we can all come together and have a Coke together spot.

But I am not 100% sold on this one. It is missing something that makes it feel truly Coke. I feel any product (A Coors Light for example) could be dropped into the spot and nothing would change (except for some added cleavage).

Nontheless see the Coke Snowball spot here:

Get involved in your conversations

This image shows the search results for "aniston globes" after the Golden Globes. I wanted to share the amazing dress that Jennifer was wearing at the event with a colleague. In the search results and clearly highlighted was relevant conversations happening in twitter and showcased by "recency" not quality, or accuracy. This is on the first page, not hidden down below.

If this is what consumers will see every time they Google your brand you had better be participating. The countdown is on until the term SECO (Search Engine Conversation Optimization) is the latest buzzword in the social media world.

*SECO (Search engine conversation optimization) is officially trademarked by me :)

Are we all doing the same thing? ... continued.

Before I jump into my post and share with you some thoughts I want to point out to everyone that Tyler has moved to London so beyond taking Adjoke global a few other things have changed. The biggest change Tyler and I can no longer grab a beer or sit on the couch and discuss and debate each others posts and thoughts.

This change will be great for Adjoke as we now have the opportunity to share our conversations with you.

So onto my post....

As Tyler mentioned brands and agencies are flocking to the social media world faster than 16 year old girls to a Coach 75% off sale and by the end of 2010 every brand will have some sort of social media campaign, page or presence.

As we flock to the space and companies invest they are looking for "tangible" results and they are looking for them very quickly. This demand paired with agencies that are lost in the space and generally a lack of strategy has turned the social media brand experience into a contest corner or a bargain bin. Brands are looking to get tangible results so agencies deliver high-value contests and promotions as it is the easiest way to build a base of fans (not targeted consumers or quality networks). The problem is that this is also the strategy that the agencies are using to sustain the social media efforts. If your agency is recommending an ongoing strategy around pure promotional engagement do yourself, your budgets and your fans a favour and send out and RFP or email me :).

Before I continue to talk about the brand and agency challenges, lets talk about the most important piece of the puzzle, the consumer. If you were to ask 1 million users of social media why they joined Facebook, or why the signed up for Twitter, etc none of them would say it is because they are "excited about how social media offers them a completely new way to engage with brands" OR "that they are looking to deepen their brand relationships".

Brand experiences and promotions is NOT why consumers flocked to the space or why they will continue to engage with it.

They started engaging in social media and continue to because it offers them something of value. The benefits of social media are different for almost every user, whether it be connecting with friends, access to entertainment, a channel to share their creations, to join in conversations they care about, to keep up to date on content and topics that matter to them, to raise their profile within their industry, to find a job, a girlfriend/friend, drive sales or identify insights and learn about their target market; everyone has a different motivation.

Now brands can use promotions to drive initial awareness and build a base, but before they do they should have a strategy about how they will transition to offering something valuable (content, exclusive access, connections, etc) to their consumer that also benefits the brand. If the only value you can bring to social media is contests your organization is in a lot more trouble then not having a strong social media presence.

Once you go beyond delivering free shit to everyone and begin delivering value to your target consumer through social media your brand will be rewarded and thanked by consumers.

Create experiences, not messages and destinations.

Some brands just "get-it". If you or your clients are still demanding that everything must drive hits to their website with every campaign than they need to wake-up. Advertising to consumers in the digital space has quickly evolved from driving consumers (through media) to destination sites to intersecting consumers with experiences.

The best campaigns are no longer about building a flashy microsite then blanketing the world with banner ads, emails and mass CTA's to visit the site (then probably a call to action on the site asking visitors to "fan your brand on Facebook").

The best campaigns create multiple experiences that can be detached and distributed from any touchpoint anywhere. Utility and value are delivered everywhere and through these experiences consumers understand the message that the brand is conveying.

Coca-cola and Unilever announced that they will be dropping their campaign site to focus on delivering value within their targets existing communities.

In short they are trying to add value to the consumers existing digital world, not try to get the consumer to come to theirs.

From New media edge:

Coca-Cola and Unilever are shifting their digital focus away from traditional campaign sites and towards community platforms, such as Facebook and YouTube, as social media begins to dictate their marketing activity in 2010.

The FMCG giants are moving away from sites created on a campaign-by-campaign basis in favour of investment in existing communities. While both companies will continue to create campaign sites for certain brands in the immediate future, they have said the long-term future lies with social media on platforms populated by their target consumers.

Coca-Cola will position its official Facebook and YouTube pages as the lead online channels for upcoming international activity for its Coke Zero and Fanta brands, new media age understands.

Are we all doing the same thing?

A few months ago, Razorfish published a report called FEED. The report outlines findings from a comprehensive survey that polled 'highly connected' US internet users and asked them a variety of questions dealing with their branded online experiences. It is a fairly quick read (for a Razorfish deck) and contains some good stats for anyone in an agency to be aware of.

Here are some that have got me thinking:

• "40% of consumers "friended" a brand on Facebook or MySpace"
• "37% of consumers who "friended" a brand on Facebook or MySpace did so for the deals"
• "26% of consumers have "followed" a brand on Twitter"
• "44% of consumers who follow a brand on Twitter do so for the deals"
• "70% have participated in a brand contest"

Deals, offers, promotions and social spaces. See the pattern here?

Let's look it another way, from the client-agency side of things:

CLIENT: "My daughter says that Twitter and Facebook are huge. We need a social strategy asap!"

AGENCY: "Got it. Facebook page and Twitter account will be up in two days."

...3 days later...

CLIENT: "Why do we only have 47 fans and 6 followers"

AGENCY: "(Sighing) It's a tough one. Let's get a promotion up there. Make people vote for stuff, upload content, create viral impressions. Then we will own Facebook and Twitter."

(high fives all around)

Of course we all know the next part of the story because we all have either been the agency or the client in this situation. I certainly have been. The contest gets run. People engage, metrics go up and the feelings about the brand are generally positive. It was a success, albeit a small one when compared to what Apple or Nike are doing, but still.

If 2010 is truly going to be the "Year of Social" than social network users are going to have to brace themselves for the 365 / 24 / 7 contest schedule that is about to happen.

And this brings me back to the Razorfish stats. A huge portion of respondents clearly stated that the reason the engage with these brands is via a promotion. But is that because they like the contests or because every brand uses a promotion as the "carrot" for the consumer to join their community?

What about adding real value vs. buying fans on an ongoing basis?

Many brands have been successful on the real value front and, guess what, they're brands that typically have strong positioning, creative and (surprise!) products. They might create cool tools, connect with you new people who share your passion for the brand or simply show you new ways to use the products that they already know you love. Sure, they throw in competitions and promotions in every once and a while but the pages are about enhancing the brand experiences, not just giving away more free stuff.

My point? In 12 months almost every major brand will have a page on Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, WordPress, Foursquare and whatever else that their appointed 'social media expert' advises them on. They will go there without a real strategy or a plan but just to connect with their consumers where they are.

The problem with that approach? Consumers are busy, they're being spammed by their own friends so that they can try to win some contest and they are generally tired of seeing 'Become a fan to win' messages every time they buy something online.

Brands who use social to augment their positions and create holistic experiences will win a piece of our attention. They will break through the clutter and the "EVERYTHING MUST GO" mentality of the other 80% and meet their objectives. I don't think that many brands can achieve this type of success and most need promotional elements to drive engagement.

But I do hope that every brand thinks beyond the contests and challenges themselves (and their agencies) to create strategies and ideas that don't hinge on paying consumers to engage with them.

Adidas (and Sid Lee) Do It Again

If you haven't seen the new Adidas Star Wars spot and microsite yet, you're missing out. First off, the launch spot (posted below) follows the tone and style of the original Adidas Houseparty work. But with the addition of Star Wars and some sweet Darth Vader shots, the new spot is set to make a mark and stop a lot of people from fast forwarding through it on their PVR's.



The real gem of this campaign, though, is the microsite. Launched in late November, the site integrates Facebook Connect and creates a short story about Darth Vader targeting your location. When I logged in via connect, my profile picture was pulled into the movie and so was a Street View picture of my flat in London (not sure how they pulled this one into the experience...somewhat strange but still cool!).

Vader then, using the Death Star, targets my flat and blows it up - leaving a large Adidas logo in the Google Map where my flat once was.

After the experience is over you get the usual stuff (send to a friend, become a fan, etc). I like this campaing because it creates a digital experience around the product, incorporates social aspects into it (and Adidas as over 2 million fans on Facebook) and generally gets the user excited about the product.

I wouldn't consider myself a hardcore Star Wars fan by any means, however after watching the spot, going through this experience and checking out the inspired kicks, it's hard not to want a pair.

Go to the microsite now.

Original post found via So Sticky.

Mobile. You Don't Know Until It's Gone.

For the last week, I haven't had a mobile phone. I've been in the UK for just under a week now and just haven't had time (or a bank account, until today) to actually get one. For someone who had an iPhone and a BlackBerry for the past two years, it's a dramatic and strange change.

I know, I know - 1 week? What's the big deal? In reality, when you're addicted to a variety of digital outlets (social networks, texting, gaming, photo's, etc), you'd think that you could just get your fix on your computer. But in reality, when you're busy running from meeting to meeting and project to campaign, you don't have time to spend checking Twitter, writing blog posts or commenting on the go. And this has had a huge impact on me.

To be honest, I didn't notice it until yesterday after work. Getting home around 9PM and being obsessed with getting online and doing 'personal stuff' (read: messing around online). Fast forward to midnight and it felt like I hadn't acheived anything. Why is this?

Because having a mobile allows you to compartmentalize your personal bits throughout the day. Like leaving your inbox for two hours and coming back to a hundred emails, I find my personal digital endeavours are the same. If you don't manage them in your daily downtime, they build up and you spend your online moments trying to catch up.

But that's the strange thing - the phases of the withdrawl from a mobile life. For me, they are the following:

1. Relief: Nobody can get a hold of me (sometimes quite nice) and I can find anyone - when I want to - online. I can focus on the tasks and just unplug and shut down.

2. Missing out: The DM's and messages start to pile up. The blog posts stop getting posted and the Reader has 1000+ unread posts. I start to get worried that I'm deeply behind.

3. Panic: Seeing a title wave and wondering what to prioritize in the limited amount of downtime that I might have. Do I chat with people on Facebook or read my favorite blogs from the day? Do I watch a TED talk or update my LinkedIn profile? With a mobile, you never have to choose, you just prioritze.

4. Evaluation of digital essentials vs. time wasters: Right now, I'm questioning some of my digital 'priorities'. Do I need to update Twitter on a daily basis to maintain my follower base? Do I need to check my 60+ subscriptions ever morning to find new news? What, in my digital life, can I give up?

When you have a mobile, you have another way to connect. You can squeeze more, short, experiences into a day and feel as if your multi-tasking. But if some of those tasks don't really matter, what - exactly - are they worth?

Apps, geotracking, AR, location search, Sixth Sense...all mobile technologies that are going to give us more capabilities and connections. But at the end of the day, if you don't have them right now, do these technical add-ons become things you can't live without? Or just things that you wish you might have never found in the first place?

Simplicity turns me on....honestly.

If you haven't seen the video for the Nexus One phone have a look at it before you read the rest of this post.



The simplicity of the communication, the minimalist approach to the design makes that video an absolute stand-out. Think about how complex the features of that phone are and think about the endless list of benefits those features can deliver to the end-user. Instead of killing our eyes with details and over-loading our minds with messages the showcased the product in a way that to me is magical and turns me on.

Coke: Happiness Machine

Definition 6 and Coke are delivery happiness. It reminds me a little of the VW Fun Theory from an experience standpoint, but that is more than OK. That is awesome.

The way that this execution will ignite the conversation around the brand and how it delivers happiness is the way more agencies and all marketers should be thinking. 5 years ago this execution would not have the impact or even be executed the same. To have impact move beyond the walls of the campus and the friends they would have needed to have a PR campaign supporting this, hoping that the video they shot gets shown on the evening news, covered in the dailies the next, shared in the school newspaper, etc. Then they would hope that consumers who viewed the PR would go online and visit coke.com or search for the video and find the site to see the full video.

That or they would have had to turn the vidoe into :30 and :60 spots and spent a bucket of money on media to get the world to see what they are doing (delivering happiness).

The social web has made the cost of distribution move to $0 very quickly so brands should be spending their money on creating experiences & content that consumers will see as valuable and distribute on their behalf, not on media.

Currently the video is at 4,700 views on YouTube and it appears has been up for about 16 hours. Lets see where it is in 24 more hours.

Cera-nation meets Jersey Shore: Youth Revolt

I was just introduced to this wonderful piece of promotional advertising.

A last minute attempt to connect with the MTV & Jersey Shore fans before the opening night of the film. In my opinion it is hilarious and achieves exactly what it needed to. Well done.

Trident: The people have tweeted

Everyone has heard the stats that consumers trust the recommendations of peers and friends more than advertising (big surprise there). At the same time we all know that social media and the features and functionality of the always evolving world wide web have enabled us share, express our opinions and make our networks and communities know all of our likes and dislikes.

Trident has picked up on both of these nuggets of knowledge and created this print ad. Well done.

Thank you to the wonderful Christine Santimaw for sharing. Image from Mashable.

LT DANCE: The Electric Glide

I really hope that this video is a part of some Nike Superbowl commercial. Oh my do I ever pray that this is a calculated part of a strategy that will ultimately reveal itself as a genius superbowl campaign.

If not, I have lost all respect for LT.

Eat This, Diamond Shreddies

I'll admit it, I'm a fan of the Diamond Shreddies campaign (and not just because it's Canadian). But this new webspot from Raisin Bran Crunch is hilarious and instantly classic.

Like Shreddies, Raisin Bran is a pretty boring and unchanged product. It's extremely difficult to get people talking about it and most of the existing advertising is easy to ignore (see any US spot). Not anymore. A fun idea with nice execution and one that will get noticed by a large target.

Check it out and tell us, what do you think?

Please. Take me back.

Loving this new campaign for LactoFree (a milk product). It would have been so easy to do a boring "Guess what? Now people who are lactose can drink milk again" spot but W+K choose to do (what they normally do) and create a campaign built around an insight and an idea.

People with lactose have typically had a bad experience with a milk product (after all, how do you think you initially figure out your lactose intolerant? You spend the morning feeling awful and then go see a doctor who tells you that it was probably the milk you poured on your favorite cereal).

As a result, they are very reluctant to try milk again - even if it's lactose free. As a result of this fact, W+K uses the "take me back" approach that a boyfriend traditionally uses on his girlfriend who has either kicked him out or dumped him (or both).

The result is some entertaining TV.

AdJoke Goes International

Sorry everyone for the lack of posts thus far in 2010. It's been a wild few weeks for Paul and I. I've recently moved to London, England to continue working in the ad biz and I'm excited to bring more of an international flare to AdJoke over the next few years.

As anyone who has been to another country knows, advertising is dramatically different. Sure, the same mediums exist (and digital is still just as important), but the brands, messages and ideas are (sometimes radically) different.

You might remember some of my posts during my various London trips about how wild some of the brands here can be. With Paul trucking away in North America and me chilling here in Europe, expect more ads, opinions and ideas.

I'm also going to be doing a number of posts about the differences between the Canadian and UK ad landscape. My transition into the workforce starts Monday and I will be sure to update ya'll with the latest and greatest campaigns.

Thanks for your patience and, as always, for reading and commenting!

Ask the Right Questions

Welcome to 2010. While we all make our usual resolutions (not drinking for a month, working out more, reading more, etc), here's one idea for you to think about over the next 12 months: don't ask the obvious questions, ask the right one.

Malcolm Gladwell gave a TED talk in 2007 about what we can learn from spaghetti sauce. The talk focuses on the food industry and the way that thinking differently about a product (creating the perfect product vs. the perfect products) altered the way that we eat in a dramatic fashion.



This talk has profound implications within the ad industry even though it has very little to do with it. We assume that there is a set path to acheiving an idea that resonates with our target consumers. A brief, informed by resarch and coupled with an insight, is given to a creative team which typically consists of an Art Director, Copywriter and (if you're lucky enough) a digital expert. The team then gets some time (a week or two) to come up with a few ideas which they present to the broader agency (and revise), then the client (and revise) and then (maybe) launch to the general public.

This process has existed for decades. Brief, creative teams, client presentations, launch, repeat.

Over and over and over. It's produced great work. It's produced awful work. And it's been copied and repeated by almost every agency in the world.

Is it right? Should we be doing things differently?

Or rather, what happens when one group dramatically alters the 'process' and shifts everything?

It's not about digital or TV or print. It's about the way we approach the process to conceive impactful ideas that change our client's businesses.

As Gladwell proudly states, there is no perfect idea. There are only perfect ideas. Much more to come on this topic.

(Happy New Year, by the way!)

Farewell to 2009

Found on The Curious Brain.

Crowdsourced Star Wars

Star Wars: Uncut Trailer from Casey Pugh on Vimeo.

Although this is a few weeks old, I just stumbled on it and love the idea. A few rabid fans have decided to remake Star Wars using user generated clips cut together. Simply go to their microsite, register for one of the 1100 or so 15 second clips and shoot your segment. Upload it to the site and the team will stitch together the entire film for all fans to see.

While this might seem incredibly geeky, I think this could become a huge idea. The amount of passion behind film and television creates niche groups who love this type of stuff. I can think of a dozen shows that would be fun to re-create in the 'real world' and hope that more sites like Star Wars Uncut sprout up in the near future.

Found via Socialgraph.

The Best Ad of the Year?

It's not a TV spot or a website. Not an experiential marketing tactic or social media promotion. Not a banner ad, billboard, branded game or special product placement. Not a CRM program or integrated campaign. It's not global campaign, it's a one-off execution.

And it's just a newspaper ad. A black and white newspaper ad. From former Toronto Blue Jay, Roy Halladay.

Halladay was recently traded to the Philadelphia Philly's. He'd been the face of the (struggling) Blue Jays for years and always gave fans a steadfast hope that anything was possible. A true class act and champion.

To truly express his feelings, he ran this ad in the Toronto Star today:


The full copy reads:

"My wife Brandy, sons Braden and Ryan, and I would like to express our deepest gratitude to the Toronto Blue Jays organization, its incredible fans, and the city of Toronto.

I feel blessed to have been part of the Blue Jays since 1995 and am extremely thankful for the opportunities it has provided. Throughout the past 15 years, there have been so many people within the organization that have made a wonderful and significant impact in my life, it would be impossible to name them all.

I am sincerely grateful for the incredible support and compassion the Blue Jays fans have shown me. I am in awe of your overwhelming passion and devotion.

Toronto will forever have a special place in my heart.

The memories will last a lifetime and so will my gratitude.

Best Regards,

Roy"

A class act rarely seen in today's sports world. For a guy who has made millions and has been consistently one of the greatest pitchers in the game but has never won a championship, he never had to do something like this. It's not the $50K he spent on media to make this happen, it's the thought that he wanted to do it in the first place.

Great brand management? For sure. But I get the sense that he did this for us - the fans - more than he did for himself. After all, we would have loved him no matter what. This just makes him that much better.

Nice work, Doc.

Found here. Image credit.

p-card.ca: Send your Warmest Wishes

Extreme Group (where I work) is out with our holiday cheer.

With stream options including normal, trickle, firehose and tipsy you can customize your own warm wishes in the snowbank for all of your loved ones to see. A full video of your masterpiece is shared with all to see from first drip to the last drop of warm holiday love.

Drop by p-card.ca to create your own.

Guiness Scout: A drop of greatness in every man

This spot will be running through-out Africa to coincide with the African Cup of Nations and FIFA 2010. I have a feeling Guiness sales will be up over the next few months in Africa.

Best Christmas themed ad of 2009?

I have a feeling that these ads will be getting talked about a lot more over the next few weeks. These :10 second spots take classic Christmas imagery and add some live action arms and voice-overs to bring to life the party.

It is excellent and entertaining creative from Mother London.

Orangina: Maybe too bloody

Maybe this is a brand missed in the top 10 bad ass brands of 2009 requested by Emma.

I guess they think an out-of-shape naked man being dominated by a sex panther will sell juice.

My god this ad sucks

Are you kidding me? How about another alcohol brand creates an ad that shows that their product is for care-free, we live by our own rules, create our own party, cool and spontaneous people. Give me a break. It's a load of shit. We don't buy it and neither do consumers.

People die so you can propose

Ok, the title might be a little harsh but...well nevermind. This spot is both intriguing, well shot and well a good idea.



They should create a site where you can enter your diamonds certification number and see the area it was mined and its "safe and legal" journey to its new home.