A friend asks:
"A guy i work with (let's call him Bob) is trying to do some self-promotion to my boss. In doing so, Bob is providing bad info to my boss, misleading him in a few instance, and just flat out lying in others, all trying to make himself (Bob) look good. Should i tell my boss? How to do it without looking like a bitter competitor?"
Good quesion.
“We have been so overtly dependent on advertising as the turbine that runs this place, and that is a very, very risky model as we emerge from the recession,” Condé CEO Chuck Townsend told The Times. “In a company like ours where 70 percent of our margins are generated on the advertising side, we must develop a much, much more effective financial relationship with the consumer.” That is, get money from the consumer instead of the advertiser.
Wow. Forgot how much i liked this guy.
“Flipboard is a social magazine filled with all the the things your friends are sharing,” said McCue, who co-founded Tellme, the speech recognition service acquired by Microsoft (MSFT). “We’re trying to bring the timeless principles of print to social media.”
And, now we're really off to the races. THis is exactly the kind of conceptual flip that generates a ton of really interesting thinking. It's not, "how to bring the magazine to the iPad", it's "how to bring the timeless principles of print, to social media".
In fact, Old Spice Responses is one of the fastest growing online video campaigns ever. We took a look at some of the most explosive viral videos we've measured, including Bush dodging Iraqi shoes, Obama giving his electoral victory speech, and Susan Boyle, and found that in the first 24 hours, Old Spice Responses outpaces all of them. Now, that's fast.
If you’re a creative person interested in crafting worlds and telling stories and you are not chewing hard on this campaign, then you’ve missed the point (and quite possibly the whole zeitgeist). I actually think it’s a fluke that the substance of this stunt happened to be commercial.
via snarkmarket.com
well said.
Check out what Old Spice is doing with
twitter.
http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2010/07/13/want-a-shout-out-from-the-old-spice-guy/
I think it’s noteworthy for a couple reasons:
·
It directly supports the idea “anything is
possible with Old Spice” – in this case, the old spice guy sends real people
custom videos, but it doesn’t sell this idea too hard (notice that phrase is
rare to hear) with words, but communicates it through the actual experience
·
It’s a clear extension of the rest of the
campaign, it’s not something random
·
It’s super smart use of the media. It’s a
legitimate, real extension of how consumers are using the twitter and youtube
now: @responses, videos, social media conversations. (I don’t like that they lean
so heavily on celebrities, but I guess they needed something to get the word
out)
·
It’s the
right kind of “earned media”
o It’s
truly noteworthy: unique, surprising, valuable (in this case, because it’s
something funny that I can pass on to my friends)
o Critical point:
Earned media usually comes from people talking about the awesome stuff brands do.
Modern brands *do great stuff*, not just make great commercials. Old
Spice is doing something awesome
here for the people: Almost realtime videos that are funny, clever, and
surprising. Remember the “Will it Blend” series? They were doing something
really awesome – blending funny stuff – and that’s what got people talking and
sharing it.
·
It’s low cost – They’re using Twitter, Youtube
and, probably, a decent HD handicam, some basic mics, and some cheap editing
software.
·
It’s extensible – You can see how this effort can
grow and extend and become something bigger, all without losing the campaign
idea “Anything is possible with Old Spice”
Note: We really need someone to dissect the phrase "earned media" and create a good, working definition that is actually actionable.
What’s next?: Ford has said he’s interested in exploring opportunities for Time, Fortune and other Time Inc titles. Are they talking to Turner about more deals? “We’re always looking for partners and we’re always looking to expand Fortune in television. We’ll look at more scale for all of our properties, certainly at Time.com. They get more than favored nation status. We’d love to expand that relationship deeper.”
via paidcontent.org
This is Time Inc, giving up on ad, supported, dot.com properties, and focusing full stop on print media and paid apps.
How will the mobile split work?: The editorial control still stays with SI but Turner gets custody of all the ad-supported-only apps, while SI retains paid apps like the iPad. That follows the general shape of the deal, with SI keeping the subscription print business. Where I see cloudy with a chance of meatballs, they see simple and easy. “Will Terry turn a free SI app to a paid just because of some internal arrangement? No way,” says Ford. McDonell will produce a mobile road map to share with Turner. “We’re going to continue to develop applications in the same way,” McDonell said, adding that the “very generalized language” is “meant as guideposts.”
via paidcontent.org
uh, ok.
The last twelve months has been one of the most remarkable times I can remember in terms of sheer innovation and disruption in the digital video market. The long awaited “watch what you want , where you want, when you want” vision seems to be closer to becoming reality than ever before.
Great overview of what's happening in the TV/Digital convergence space.
The API is the centerpiece of NPR’s digital strategy. It’s what allows NPR to expand its mobile capacity, and it will play a part in the much anticipated Project Argo later this year. Separately, another API program aims to unite public radio and public television content into a common platform.
Another noteworthy example of setting your content free, and good stuff happening. Little discernable cannibalization across NPR's site, and (surprisingly) increased traffic at NPR's site.