Well it’s over for another year and big thanks to anyone who contributed in any way. There are masses of photos on Movember’s flickr showcasing the gala parties from around the globe. My favourite set is “Brushes with Fame” where mo bros and mo sisters have their photos taken with celebrities. Here’s Melbourne’s Man of Movember.

I’ve been wrestling with this issue for the last few weeks and i’m not sure i’ve resolved my head. The shift in emphasis for me is feeding value-information to an opt-in data base versus having a dialogue. The theory of opt-in data bases is fine but rarely do they deliver on the promise. I don’t know what the norm and i accept that opening rates will vary but an opening rate of 10% or less for most eDM’s might not be far off….even a bit generous. By comparison a healthy dialogue with a brand takes us to a multi-segmented, bespoke relationship.

My view, and i’d love someone to challenge me, is that databases will be dead in 3-5 years as social media chatter eclipses their relevance. Here’s some other opinions.

Tim Pethick, entrepreneur at large, brand guru and founder of Nudie, said

“I don’t believe so. We all find our way onto databases at specific moments of time in relation to a particularly relevant context in that moment of time. Change the context and the time frame and a push to the database just becomes more spam. Consumers want to be in charge and that will mitigate in favour of ‘pull’ based solutions.”

Ben Freund, CEO of goswitch, said

“I believe that data base marketing will always have a place as it gives consumers a chance to register for offers that of interest, and it gives marketers the ability to target their offers for specific market segments.”

Josephine Evans, Marketing Director of Tireworld, said

“When considering our specific industry, we do believe there is a long term future for databases and pushing information via databases.  For most part, the products and services we provide are a need and not a want and as such, databases enable us to cost effectively communicate with our customers with timely and unobtrusive messages.   The ongoing challenge for us is to better educate our employees on the importance of capturing the “right” data so that what we communicate is always meaningful and relevant to our customers.”

Adam Garone, co-founder of Movember, said

“It’s depends how the data base is sourced. If you are purchasing a database from a third party and sending them an e-mail or direct mail then, in my view there has never been any value or long term future in that.  If however your data base has been sourced through building your own community, then there is absolutely a future in continuing to provide valuable and timely information to the data base. The key being valuable and timely information.”

 ”The dynamic pull of social media has added a new dimension to how brands can communicate which presents a huge opportunity.  In this environment the tone of the communication needs to change as you are participating in a two way conversation.  That demands that you are transparent, real, don’t attempt to control the conversation and provide value to the conversation and the community.”

So opinion is fairly evenly split…i still think that databases will die a slow death. Thoughts anyone?

Last year enthusiastic Mo Bros & Sista’s raised more than $20 million in Australia for Movember, supporting the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia and Beyondblue – The national depression initiative.

There has been great media support again this year which will include TV, radio, outdoor, street posters, cinema, online support and much more.  We look forward to seeing the campaign progression from the official kickoff on October 12th. Stay tuned…

Amongst the many celebrities who are currently Twittering, Hugh Jackman is using his profile to try and make a difference.

The Twitter post (pictured above) outlines his charitable approach, with Twitter the forum for each non-profit organisation to pitch to Hugh the reason why they want the AUD$100,000 in 140 characters or less. Hugh currently has c. 96,000 followers, giving the star a significant amount of sway on the social network.

Earlier in the month Hugh was criticised for not writing his own Twitter posts, raising the issue of authenticity, which is absolutely crucial for brands and personalities on the site. His post referred to Sydney Harbor (sic) and the Opera House as the ‘Opera Center’. But in true Hugh form, the Aussie star was upfront and honest, stating that someone else ghost-writes his profile, and that this particular Tweet was lost in translation.

We think this funding would be great for our fantastic men’s health client Movember, Hugh! As the perfect picture of men’s health, we need your voice, and your money!