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A good friend recently posted the following bit of client interaction, where the client says to him, “We really like what Old Spice did with social media, but our legal department wants to be able to review and schedule all of our posts. Do you think that will slow us down any?”
Now, the Old Spice “Man Your Man Could Smell Like” campaign has an awful lot going for it—a sharp creative agency, spot-on broadcast work that went viral organically, charming and willing talent. Yet it was the real-time nature of the Isaiah Mustafa response videos that took the whole deal into the viral stratosphere. That was the truly radical wrinkle. This campaign stands out not only because it was great work, but because they had the real-time playing field pretty much to themselves.
Real time response is a powerful thing. It carries a strong aura of authenticity and relevance, it demonstrates a level of effort and caring, and it suggests that a brand is not a cog in some hidebound corporate behemoth. Some savvy companies like Comcast, Southwest Airlines, and Best Buy have cottoned on to the benefits of using real-time social media such as Twitter for customer service. And bravo for that. But using it for marketing, that’s perhaps a bigger structural challenge. After all, customer service teams are designed to have actual contact with consumers; marketing and legal departments are not.
But let’s say you are, or are working with, that rare brand that can find a way to dive into social media without a long, painful process of reviewing and scheduling all posts with legal. What then? Iain Tait, Global Interactive Creative Director at Wieden + Kennedy, said they couldn’t have done the Old Spice response videos without a strong client-agency relationship. “There is such great trust [between the companies],” he said. “But we are being very responsible. They have given us a set of guidelines and if we get close to the edges we contact them.”
Wieden + Kennedy’s mixing of regular joes with celebrities, both of the online (4chan, Perez Hilton) and tabloid (Demi Moore, Alysa Milano) varieties, was undoubtedly a serious traffic booster. Yet there are other tactics that the less connected and lower budgeted have used to good effect. Take the recent #wookieleaks Twitter storm. There was no brand or marketing campaign behind this, just a citizen with a clever idea. Struck by the aural similarity of Wiki to Wookie, Greg “Storm” DiCostanzo tied obsessive Star Wars geekery to the blockbuster news story around the Wikileaks release of secret Afghanistan war documents and, in short order, a Twitter Trending Topic was born that would eventually be picked up by other news media.
The key elements here included: a clever name/catch phrase, a peg to current events, some timely seeding, tapping into an existing fan base, and darn clever writing.
A word of caution to the many people whose bosses or clients have said “we should do something like Old Spice”: Cisco appears to be first out of the gate with an Old Spice homage. While they get kudos for being near-real-time, their results were less than amazing, with fewer than 3,000 video views to date. Yes, the Ted From Accounting effort features a guy in a towel in a bathroom and a number of personalized videos posted throughout the day, and it’s not an inherently bad idea… it just falls flat. Critics have pointed out that Ted does not have the fans and cred the Old Spice Guy had already established with his TV spots, that the Cisco Twitter effort was fractured across accounts in a way that the Old Spice campaign wasn’t, and that they missed out on obvious gags like “Look at your router, now back at mine, now back at your router, now back at mine. Sadly it isn’t a Cisco.”
We’re not against the idea of homages or recycling core concepts whatsoever (in fact, we had a great success with ALL YOUR SNAKES ARE BELONG TO US, an homage to the very first internet viral video; that piece generated millions of video views on a budget of less than $5k). But we do sincerely encourage you to consider the key lessons of real time, and not just the bedazzling results one brand managed to achieve.
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I peer out across the landscape and I see you. I see your billboards and your banner ads and your TV commercials (hey, I really like the funny ones!) and I know you want me to buy, believe, or, at least, remember you. Don’t you call that “unaided awareness” or something? You spend money. I look your way.
I don’t know why, but I’ve been thinking a lot about you lately. I shop at your stores and buy your jeans and eat your cereal and occasionally, if I’m in the right mood, throw caution to the wind, and find I’m glad that my credit card is everywhere I want to be. But something has changed. I know more now. I know more about you… even if I don’t want to.
I’ll admit, I miss those more innocent “olden-timey days” (Sarah Silverman uses that phrase… she’s funny) when you could tell me something and, unless you REALLY messed up, I’d probably believe it. And so would 20,534,622 other people whom I didn’t even know existed. Boy, have times changed! With all these new social media tools, it’s like all the other “brand loyalists” are now my friends.
Even though I don’t really care about social media as a phenomenon, I do know a lot more about you than ever before. And I get most of this information from outside of traditional news channels. Heck, most of the time, the stuff isn’t even newsworthy… But that doesn’t stop my “friends” from sending it to me or me from forwarding it along if I find it interesting or funny.
How did we get here? I rarely reflect on exactly why I’m part of this chain, and yet here I sit… reflecting. When did I become your mouthpiece? Your advocate? Your gadfly (which would be a lot more fun… hiring?)? Why do I try to convince the people around me that you’re okay? Or not okay? Perhaps that’s the price of admission for all this free i-stuff.
Something’s not right though… it’s starting to bug me now that I think about it. Most of the time, when I’m dealing with news about you, you’re not even part of the conversation! I mean, someone says something lousy about you or something really bad happens with your product, and I then I see one of your ads all flowery and cheerful as if nothing ever happened! That REALLY bugs me.
Shouldn’t you be on top of this stuff? If I’m forced to deal with all of this real-time information and misinformation overload about you, then, at a minimum, you should be trying to deal with it, too. I know you won’t be perfect, but in this world, you get an “A” for effort! Sending out a press release three weeks after some disaster borders on being offensive… three weeks? C’mon! That’s ancient history!
Perhaps you could also avoid making silly mistakes like firing some minimum wage “associate” because they uploaded a video that amused MILLIONS of people but made your legal department nervous. You have to be smarter than that. The writing is on your “Friends” wall… all you have to do is read it!
Some of you guys seem to be figuring it out… Those Old Spice commercials were funny to begin with, but when the Old Spice Guy started talking to people commenting on him online? That was genius! They even figured out a way not to “jump the shark” as you media people say. Silver fish hand catch, indeed!
Like I said, I miss the old days, when I wasn’t burdened with every little chink in your armor, but the horses, as they say, are out of the barn! I’m not the only one out here fighting the good fight for you… there’s millions of us. Pop in and say, “Hi” once and a while. We’re just regular folk. If you continue to avoid dealing with us, it’s going to look like you just don’t care.
It’s time, don’t you think? It’s not like we haven’t given you some latitude. I mean Facebook just turned five years old! Isn’t that like 1000 Internet years? Step it up and join the party… Are you are waiting for a written invitation. Well, then… You are now cordially invited. 
Signed… Your Best Most Loyal Customer.
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There is so much noise and buzz about social media these days, it can be tough to put it in perspective. At its most simple form, social media tools enable a shift from large-scale, one-way communications (the good old days) and large-scale, two-way communications. The strategies, tactics and realities can get complicated, so perhaps we can simplify the discussion. Let’s pretend for a moment, your brand/company is a single human being… and that human being is someone’s friend.
How many people are you a great friend to? Not a good friend, mind you, but a great one. Do you contact them regularly, even if just to say hello? Do you remember what is important to them, like their birthday and their anniversary and what their favorite flavor of ice cream is? Do you arrange events with them in mind? If they say something really lousy to you, do you forgive and move on? Are you honest with them? Can you tell them the truth, even if it is hard to do so? When they are in need, do you come to mind because you are so reliable?
Are you a great friend? If you are, you are a rare bird indeed. A gem to be treasured. Because being a great friend requires work… a lot of work.
Maybe there are naturally gifted great friends out there—the Michael Jordans of friendship—but most of us are probably decent friends working hard to be better. And what does it take to improve one’s “frienditude?” It takes three things:
1. Desire. You have to want to be a better friend.
2. Plans. You need to set goals, take actions and adapt along the way.
3. Tools. Maybe it’s a new calendar, a fancy address book, a Facebook profile, or a new phone to handle all of the calls you’ll be making…
Which brings us to social media. If you believe what you read, you would think that by launching a company Facebook profile, or hiring a “Tweet Manager” that your company will instantly transform into the company of the future. So many experts are spending so much time and money talking about how you need to “do” social media, that it obscures the fact that being a great friend is hard, requires commitment and, in the case of many brands, a lot of cultural and systemic changes that take time and can be quite painful.
If your company has relied on one-way, outbound communications to engage customers, then turning on a two-way communications faucet is likely to be frustrating for both customers and employees alike, since the systems, processes, and top-down support needed to deal with all of your “new friends” aren’t in place. While it may be the junior staff that is best equipped to implement social campaigns, it is the executive suite that must be engaged and champion the corporate change required to make it all work.
Social media represent a seismic shift from traditional business practices and require companies to answer difficult strategic questions, like “What kind of friend have we been to our customers, and what kind of friend do we want to be?” Knowing the answers to these questions will inform how you move beyond the Desire be friends with your customers and determine your next steps with Plans and Tools.
With commitment and effort (like Jordan practicing at the free-throw line for hours each day) your brand will become a better friend. Perhaps even a great friend.
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It’s been said that upgrading your brand positioning in the midst of the 10,000 things of daily business is a bit like changing a tire on a car going 95 miles-per-hour. So we’re super impressed that a number of clients have come to us in the last few months to do just that. Some come to deal with marketplace changes, some to address specific needs, and some come hungry to raise their game to the next level. No one has yet come just for the sheer visceral thrill of it, but, hey, it could happen.
The process is fairly straightforward, with some minor variations as circumstances allow. We keep the Diagnostic & Assessment short and sweet, typically one-to-three weeks, during which time we do primary research and review existing assets, materials, and positioning. Add-ons might include audience profiling or interviews with internal groups.
Program Development typically starts with a Brand, Marketing, or Creative Brief, a small but powerful exercise that can hone missions and value propositions, talking points for PR and social media, and creative tone/voice/style. Unsure about a consultant or agency under review? Ask to see their briefs! Very revealing.
From there we might address business development approaches and targets or presentation pieces and collateral. We might develop internal training materials, white papers, tactical campaign ideas, social media strategies, or media integration plans. And we’ll most likely set an Activation/Distribution Calendar. It all depends on the state and stage of the organization, its resources and needs. We try to keep this phase to two-to-six weeks.
Then it’s on to Implementation, whether that’s an employee training program, outbound marketing campaign, sales support, or content/asset creation and distribution. Most likely, there will be some type of tracking/reporting/analysis piece to validate the whole deal. The timeline here varies, from quick and tidy wrap up to ongoing engagement.
Our role varies, too. Sometimes we serve as outsourced staff for lean start ups or overtaxed execs. Sometimes clients are mining our deep and rather unique experience. Sometimes we’re more coach, trusted advisor, or impartial third-party voice.
Of course, what sounds like three simple steps can unlock serious transformation. For one client, the process enabled them to turn around a slow decline that was sapping their vitality, expand their client base and services, and re-energize their staff. For another, a start up, it took them from promising business plan to market ready, with a list of meetings in hand and highly-customized materials for each target. And a third is working hard to move from solid performer to category leader.
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Check-in lately? Not long ago this may have been an odd question to ask someone, but the term is quickly growing commonplace, as location-based social networking becomes quite the trend. Using smartphone apps like Foursquare, MyTown, Loopt, and Gowalla, the always-connected crowd announce their present location to their friends at the press of a touch-screen button. Along with “geo-tagging” themselves, they may earn digital rewards ranging from badges to virtual money, or battle it out to earn some variation of a title that essentially translates to King of the Hill.
The game angle is meant to be addictive in a low-commitment way. MyTown comes off as a hybrid of Monopoly and Farmville, as users “buy” real world properties in a quest to build their own mini virtual metropolises. With Foursquare, people race to get exclusive badges and fight for the title of Mayor of a particular venue. Whether the gaming gag is the hook that lures the mainstream masses in, or the twee element that keeps them away, remains to be seen. That our geeky early adopter friends are all over these things does not surprise us in the least. That we see some regular people, including at least a few casual-game loving soccer moms, playing along is rather more intriguing.
This being America, the hop-step-jump from charming early days to full-on corporate infiltration is already underway. In Starbucks’s new partnership with Foursquare, mayors of individual coffeeterias can unlock a special Mayor Offer and enjoy perks like $1 off a Frappuccino. MyTown, partnering with retailer H&M, rewards users with exclusive in-game content when they are physically close to a store. Hoping to draw in the urban explorer, Gowalla has created a Trips feature that allows businesses, like the Washington Post and National Geographic, to create branded, location-specific walking tours.
Fad? Maybe. But that’s the marketing game, where first-mover publicity often more than makes up for the minimal reach of the nascent vehicle itself. As long as these newfangled social networks keep finding ways to keep the consumer experience engaging, folks will continue to bury their noses in their smartphones and marketers will be keen to play along with them. Our verdict: Go ahead, have a little fun with it. There’s something about the mobile-casual game-location mash up that feels right.
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Oversharing. It plagues social media, often cited by Twitter and Facebook resisters and old-school media pundits as the root of their derisive commentaries. Sometimes it seems like 98% of posts are the sort of mundane daily life activities that no one cares about. “Hey, I just got an oil change!”
Which raises the question: How often do you call your friends on their bad social media habits?
Pringles saw an opportunity and went for it. The P&G brand’s newest social media campaign introduces a tagging function that allows Facebook users to smack down their friends by tagging inappropriate posts with the Pringles Overshare button. The oversharer receives a message directing them to the Pringles website for posting tips and the network sees a public News Feed rebuke. Ouch.
While we certainly understand the desire to combat social media drivel, we have to wonder how this campaign will position Pringles in the eyes of those who are called out. The campaign can be compared to Burger King’s Whopper Sacrifice, where participants “unfriended” 10 people in return for a free Whopper. This effort received tons of press, delivered a tangible reward, and was generally perceived to be spot on for the brand’s positioning. It will be interesting to see if the Pringles campaign is taken in the same good spirit, or if it ends up pushing a few too many buttons. The topic is timely and germane, but does Pringles have the sass and unique credibility of the BK brand to pull it off?
The issue at hand highlights one of the great challenges of social media: Edginess is a proven lever that moves the needle, but is the edge where your brand belongs? We have received a couple of briefs lately that challenged us to be viral without sex, violence, or mean-spiritedness. That still leaves babies and cute animals, or… there’s our approach.
Where possible, we aim for telling a story that is provocative and/or inspiring in a way that makes people feel good and invites them to find their own place in the narrative. Sounds simple. But finding that authentic voice, without oversharing, is a great creative challenge.
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