FRANKthoughts

Well we are finally pleased to reveal how much fun we’ve had going through our online strategy process and community manager’s course with carsales.com.au. After immersing ourselves in the business we developed an internal and external social media plan. A big part of that plan was to introduce “community managers” within the organisation. Running for 4 weeks we covered topics such as earned media, social tools like twitter, facebook, youtube and flickr (with hands on exercises on the brand social profiles), community management roles, responsibilities and challenges (by our own GPO community manager Sarah) and advanced blogging techniques and social SEO by our Web ace Arnold. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive with most attendees wanting the course to continue for longer. Understanding that earned media is a process not an event we’re still working closely with carsales.com.au on an ongoing basis. Hey, why not check out carsales.com.au’s twitter and facebook and say hi?

The new ad for ANZ is starting by showing us “a bank” that is very good at ignoring their clients. I really like the lady actress there – she’s so good you’d think she’s working at your branch! The script is so clever, so bizarre and almost too real. Then, in the last five seconds, the ad becomes somewhat like science fiction.  It shows us the ANZ way – a guy/girl (they switch depending on customer’s sex) is welcoming the customer to the branch with a smile and the tag-line “we live in your world”. Wow, I’ve been a client of ANZ for the last seven years and NEVER was I greeted by anyone there. The result? the ad leaves you with the bitter taste of “no truth in advertising” while reminding you that “living in your world” means treating you the same but with a new logo.

But the ad isn’t the only thing broken. It’s the brand communication strategy that needs fixing. If you’re going to claim to be “living in my world” why don’t you have something about it on your website? in branches? How about having a real person helping people out on twitter?

In the last few weeks we’ve noticed many brands having interns manage, investigate and pursue their social media presence. This might be because interns are usually young people who “get” the space or the organisation state of mind where “this new thing” is something that sits outside of the normal/traditional media/marketing dept. Although it’s good to start somewhere I don’t believe leaving social media to the interns is the best use of resources for the following reasons:

1. Yes, Interns know how to use facebook but do they know how brands should act on facebook? do they have the experience needed to comply with legal requirements, customer service or negative buzz? Knowing how to do something doesn’t mean you’re good at it and brands should realise it’s not a tech thing, it’s a marketing thing.

2. Interns usually leave quickly. They’ve done their part and left you with an excel spreadsheet with some sketchy strategy. There is no implementation, no buy-in from management and in most cases no one to pick up the project where the intern left it.

3. Interns cant see the big picture. They will usually be working on the “social media stuff” focusing on one platform (probably facebook) without considering other aspects of the business. Social media should be part of your communication strategy and if your intern isn’t part of that team in your business your social media strategy will be lacking.

What are your thoughts? Is an intern better than nothing? thanks to Drew for getting me to write this post.

pepsi, originally uploaded by FRANkVizeum.

Pepsi is trying to save the world and get some advertising at the same time. How? Well, they would like YOU to come up with an idea, promote it and win between 5k-250k to make it come true. It’s a great idea that finally has been picked up by a mega brand (although the name: “Refresheverything” is a bit try hard). Think about all the money that goes every year towards re-branding/ad production/Superbowl broadcasting – Pepsi is going to spend the same amount (around $1,300,000 per month) to sponsor people’s dreams. True, they’re not doing it because they’re really concerned, it’s more of a way to get piggybacked into people facebook profiles but hey, beggars cant be choosers. Maybe this can be a new way we do advertising? How about a company helping out in a tsunami? How about a tyre company sponsoring a road? How about an energy company sponsoring people who make energy?

There’s nothing better than to start the new year with some fresh ideas. The Customer Learning Curve is showing that your target audience is made of different people in different stages of their relationship with your brand. Check it out and let me know what you think:

We had some FAIL, we had some NAIL but the most important thing is that brands are starting to understand more about earned media. I believe next year will see a growth in this area especially in social business strategy and brand community managers. You can check out some other opinions: Mumbrella’s FAIL list for 2009, Ben Shepherd and Julian Cole’s 2010 predictions (On Ben Shepherd’s blog with a great comment from Mo from NOVA) and this video by Laurel Papworth:

What are your thoughts about earned media towards 2010?

Here’s another (very funny) video via Mo and Henry Feagins:

Internet Archaeologists Find Ruins Of ‘Friendster’ Civilization

I’m not overly optimistic about the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen. In fact I don’t believe the answer will come from politicians. I think it needs to come from economists, entrepreneurs and the market. We need to change the debate from “saving the world” (which unfortunately doesn’t carry enough punch) to “making money”. What does this has to do with branding?

At the moment, all countries (brands) are more or less the same. Everyone is looking for someone else to lead or to come up with the best excuse for not cutting emissions. This is the chance to leapfrog. If I was pitching for the brand called Australia I would pitch a strategy taking the lead on environmental AND economic growth for it to become Australia’s next export in terms of knowledge, products and services. Investing in new sustainable energy solutions, social entrepreneurship and green collar jobs is not a “pie in the sky” anymore – New York is already committed to a greener buildings and better energy use: “New York City Council voted overwhelmingly to pass the Greener, Greater Buildings Plan – a package of bills aiming to reduce New York City’s carbon emissions by almost 5%, create more than 17,000 jobs, and save New Yorkers $700 million dollars a year in energy costs.”

In five years the Australia brand can be recognised as a global leader in sustainable housing solutions, environmental living, bio-fuels, and more. This move will have a positive effect on wild life (therefore tourism dollars),  Education (therefore more money from overseas students) and improved health care with huge benefits to the economy (less money spent on health = more money spent on other things like education). What do you think? Can we do it?

Is it the PR agency? the advertising agency? the marketing department? Whoever it is they need to practice what they preach. They need to be familiar with the tools, to know the language and have guidelines to follow. They need to have something to measure with both short and long term goals. They need to provide value for your customers and business. Can anyone do it?

Here’s something from Seth Godin in his post “Watch the money“: If you’re in the music business but you never buy tickets or downloads, can you really empathize with the people you’re selling to?… if you work for a non-profit and you don’t give money to charity, what exactly are you doing in this job?… Money is more than a transfer of value. It’s a statement of belief. An ad agency that won’t buy ads, a consultant who won’t buy consulting, and a waiter who doesn’t tip big—it’s a sign, and not a good one”.

If there is one rule when it comes to building your brand and business social assets it is to buy it from the people who invest in it themselves. They have probably faced the same problem you’re facing and have the hands on experience to build a sustainable social business solution. Do you think brands should have a community/social officer?

When the world is changing so quickly some organisations will survive and some not. The difference will be in how well you prepare and how good is your solution. Here are three examples of three different industries going through changes. These are my observations and I will love to hear your thoughts:

1.MUSIC: Artists are doing it for themselves – Superstar artists are now using social media to launch their new video/show/single using Ustream.tv and facebook: That’s right both Shakira and Chamillionaire did this in the last week against their record label’s advice and I expect to see many more artists doing this “social media” thing in the near future. So if you’re a record label or a music related business this act represent both threat and opportunity. When your artists know better than you how to reach their audience, there is a problem.  It’s up to you to keep up.

2.NEWSPAPERS: What will be the new model? Rupert Murdoch continues his war against google and wants to charge for online content. That’s great. Now he’s saying that without eTablets, “Newspapers Will Go Out Of Business.” Do you actually know anyone who owns an e-tablet? Any way you look at it, the newspaper model is broken (now they might charge you for a day pass?) . People are getting their news from other sources for free. Will people pay to get the same content on an e-paper? I don’t believe quality journalism is broken but I feel the delivery mechanism is. In a world where everything is shared by niches what’s the role social media and crowds can play within a publication? I’m sure Murdoch is working on it but if I was working for a newspaper or a magazine I’ll be thinking about it too.

3.ADVERTISING: The rise of the consumer-ambassador – When Coca-cola is doing it you know it’s real but they are not the only ones. More and more brands are using reality type “social” campaigns featuring real people to earn brand recognition, more fans/followers and the holy grail: organic google juice. Think about how many mentions your brand can get when people are constantly adding content, twittering and blogging about it, sharing the content with their friends and their friends friends. When the consumer journey starts with a google search, your first page is the most valued property you have. In this kind of world you need to be sure of what happens when someone is googling you.

This post is not about “social media”. It’s about media that is social. What’s the difference?

“Social Media” (Or earned media) is the collective term used for everything involving twitter/facebook/blog/youtube/flickr etc. It’s usually about listening, engaging and growing a community.

Media that is social is the sort of media that supports an idea by providing a community participatory solution. Here’s an example: Pavegen is the first commercial pavement that creates energy from people’s footsteps. The electricity produced is used to power signs, lights and information kiosks. The pavegens can be branded and will actually work nicely with a promotion leading people (literally) to a specific store.

It seems everyone is a winner: The brand gains publicity for the unique approach and saves on electricity bills. The consumer gets a better “experience” and the environment gets some help.

Here’s another example showing how The city of Denver is using parking meters to help raise money for homeless people in Denver.

It’s simple, Every time you put money in the meter you support food, shelter and care for the homeless people in your area. How many people will avoid paying for the meters now? How many people will feel better paying for their parking space? How good will the council look? Here’s from the Mayor: “This grassroots campaign is projected to raise roughly $100,000 per year giving the general public a constructive way to help Denver’s homeless. “The donation meter demonstrates yet another innovative way in which this community is responding to Denver’s Road Home and our commitment to ending homelessness” – Mayor Hickenlooper.

The real social media isn’t about twitter or youtube. It’s about people doing something together, a bigger idea and making things better.

Would love to hear about more examples of real social media. Got some?