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?

I don’t catch many TV ads these days thanks to Windows Media Centre  but the occasional one slips through when I am not paying attention. I was first drawn in to the latest AAMI Safe Driver Rewards TV spot by the tongue-in-cheek use of an annoying yet comfy Gen X classic ‘What about Me’, and the twit who crashed into the shop .. whilst tweeting…

Then as the stereotypical scenarios rolled out it kept me engaged and entertained. It also appealed to me because, like everyone else, I am the most responsible, safe and best ever driver in the history of driving and it annoys me that I pay for other people’s stupidity. A strong product built on a solid insight. And a well pitched campaign (even if they do drive ‘lorries’ at Badjar Ogilvy) that has generated some good early social media chatter.

After just two weeks there have been over 7,700 youtube views with over 60 positive comments . (they couldn’t all be from the agency could they?)

A quick search of Twitter reveals a similar picture of overwhelming positivity:

can’t get rid of the soundtrack in AAMI’s latest TVC out of my mind “what about me….” it’s been playing in my mind whole night…”

Lol at the aami add lol “I was twittering and drove into thr corner shop” :p

You know that car insurance add for aami, does that dude say he was twittering away before he crashed into the corner shop? Lolol

♫ ♫ ♫ I was twittering away when I crashed into the corner shop ♫ ♫ ♫

What about me it isn’t fair .. Cldn’t help myself AAMI TV ad LOL Lol -AAMI Insurance Ad – What About Me?

And ofcourse the odd whinge (can’t please everyone):

Anyone else cringe over the new AAMI TVC with “What about me?” song (orig by Moving Pictures)? The talent can’t sing, the song is wrong.

With so many fans of the ad I wonder what AAMI are going to do to nurture them? How about a simple facebook ‘what about me’ fan page where they get people talking about their own experiences and scenarios. Maybe incentivise them.

Does this campaign strike a chord with you too?

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

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?

1234 Telstra assist ridiculous ad is made even more ridiculous after you try the service. This Saturday I called the 1234 number in distress. I wanted to get phone numbers of clinics near my area as I was searching for a doctor (I was offline for a few hours so couldn’t do this properly). The pleasant operator told me of several clinics in my area. When I asked for the numbers she said she could only give me one number per call. One number out of 5-6 options. I felt like I was just put in prison with one phone call to make. After picking one clinic randomly and calling the number I realised I got to the Massage clinic. A Massage clinic when I was looking for a doctor. 1234 couldn’t even tell me this number wasn’t what I was looking for. It’s such a shame this important service makes you feel you’re talking to a sock and I wish Telstra will learn from some smart people at the end of this post and a bit from Zappos.

Zappos was sold to amazon a few weeks ago for around $900 million. Why did Amazon paid so much for it? it wasn’t for the distribution channels, for the stock or for the technology. It was for a secret sauce – their culture. Zappos has an amazing customer service department which provides word of mouth in abundance. People hear about Zappos from other people. People also hear and talk to Zappos on their Twitter account – this is a feed from all their employees who tweet (more than 400). Oh and Tony Hsieh, Zappos CEO has more than one million followers on twitter – Maybe there is a relation between number of followers on twitter/employees twittering and business worth?

Who do you think is the most advanced and friendliest customer service company/brand in Australia? Who do you think deserve an “Australian customer service” award?

Andrew Mudgway (no “e”) joins us today, 17 years after he began his career in advertising with George Patterson Bates. Mudge (with an “e”), as the industry knows him, has worked his way through Patts, DDB, OMD, Zenith Optimedia and latterly Austereo. Now at the sagacious age of 37 he has seen the wisdom of joining FRANkVizeum.

Clearly a smart guy Mudge’s forte is marketing communications and brand strategy. In addition to being responsible for the Carsales Network portfolio of sites including homesales.com.au Mudge will also have a senior role in helping to run the FRANkVizeum business.

We’re very happy to have Mudge onboard and we’d ask you to join us in wishing him every success.

“Social media” is all the buzz now and clients want to “get on it”, “use it” or “leverage it”. Many people think social media is just another media. It’s not. (Tip: if it’s not a dialogue between your company and users it’s not social media). Many people also believe that social media is just another part of their “Marketing”. It’s not. Being social starts from the inside. From your organisation. You cant start a conversation only to leave the room a month later. To fully understand what needs to be done to GET IT RIGHT lets take a step back.

David Armano’s latest presentation (from the SXSW2010 panel picker) about “social business strategy” (what we call immersion).
I like the term “social business strategy” – probably the biggest and toughest part of social media because it’s not about paid for/set and forget marketing solution. It’s about asking questions first, research and probing. It’s not about “Lets do it” it’s about “Lets think about it”. It’s about your organisation being ready for it. So, bringing this down to the essential ingredients, it is about 1. strategy 2. tactics 3. measure. I also love Armano mentioning the scale element of this approach.

Seth Godin’s post “when tactics drown out strategy” is highlighting the difference between strategy and tactics. “Building a permission asset so we can grow our influence with our best customers over time” is a strategy. Using email, twitter or RSS along with newsletters, contests and a human voice are all tactics. In my experience, people get obsessed about tactical detail before they embrace a strategy… and as a result, when a tactic fails, they begin to question the strategy that they never really embraced in the first place. Seth is right. Most brands want to go viral/facebook/youtube before they have a clear strategy. It’s like attempting to drive a truck before taking any driving lessons.

Matt Dickman summarize this nicely in his post: Want better digital strategy, ban seven dirty words. If you don’t have a strategy you shouldn’t talk about “what we’ll do with xyz tool”.

To end this up here’s Paul Isakson’s post that started my search (Thanks Paul).
If you don’t want to fail in “social media” don’t treat it as an add-on. Have someone in charge of it, have a plan and create a budget. But first, start with a strategy. Only then you can start talking about “that viral idea on youtube”.

Thought of the day post.

Is it easier to remember him as “Geoffrey Normandy” or “The Guy with the Beard“?

If your customer had to find a way to describe your brand / product / business, what would that be?  And are you addressing them in your consumer touch points?