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Monthly Archives: July 2008

A Graveyard for YouTube Videos And How To Make Your Own Ending

25 Friday Jul 2008

Posted by Michael Seaton in Stuff

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Choose Your Path Video, Encyclopedia Brown, MIT, The Hardy Boys, Video, YouTomb, YouTube

Couple of YouTube related items found over the last few days that caught my attention. I mention them here only because I am continually fascinated by the tangential and evolutionary paths we are watching unfold in the nascent world of online video.
The first item is an interesting look at where YouTube videos go to die, meaning when copyright infringement is declared and YouTube takes them down. What happens to them? Where can you track the offenders? Well, for those interested enough to know, you can check out the history of it all at YouTomb, which is an MIT based project.
The second interesting item I came across reminded me of my youth. Around the time I was reading Encyclopedia Brown, The Hardy Boys and the like by flashlight, I remember a craze of “alternative” ending books. These were the kind of books where you make choices along the way and the story / ending change accordingly. The novelty wore off quite fast (for myself at least) but now, through the magic of online video recycling old ideas, you have the chance to “Choose Your Path” via YouTube.
What will they think of next?

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From Creative Brief To Market Execution

25 Friday Jul 2008

Posted by Michael Seaton in Adjusting the Pitch, Advertising, Agency Stuff, Brands & Branding, Client Stuff, Digital Marketing, Ideas & Experiences

≈ 2 Comments

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Advertising, Agencies, American Copywriter, Clients, Creative Brief, Focus Groups, Marketing, Stop Sign

Anyone who has ever sat on either side of the table in a creative brief meeting will find this amusing in the same way The Office is amusing. It is uncomfortably real.
I’m a strong believer that a brief should be no longer than 2 pages maximum. It is called a “brief” for a reason. The only thing the video is missing (the cherry on top) is a riff on focus groups. But that is a whole other rant we can leave for later.
Have you caught yourself saying any of same things the video depicts? C’mon, it’s okay to admit it. Its cathartic.

Hat Tip John January over at one of my favorite sources of commentary and insight, American Copywriter. Via marktd

Time For Some Campaignin’

16 Wednesday Jul 2008

Posted by Michael Seaton in Stuff

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2008 Election, JibJab, Politics

JibJab does what they do best with their run up to 2008 Presidential Campaign. Enjoy.

http://aka.zero.jibjab.com/client/zero/ClientZero_EmbedViewer.swf?content_url=http://aka.zero.jibjab.com/files/production/tentpole_config.xml&service=sendables.jibjab.com

Send a JibJab Sendables® eCard Today!

We Commerce Is What E-Commerce Is All About

09 Wednesday Jul 2008

Posted by Michael Seaton in Brands & Branding, Digital Marketing, Direct Marketing, Ideas & Experiences, Social Media

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Brands, Cartman, Customer, Digital, Digital Marketing, eCommerce, Mobile, Mobile web, Online reviews, We Commerce

A quick look at what is going on today with online shopping shows that it is all about ” we commerce ” that is a key driver of eCommerce.
As consumers, we want reviews from other consumers and peers to help steer us in the right direction. We value feedback, recommendations and warnings from people like ourselves. And, increasingly, we are turning to them as a big part of influencing our purchase decisions – both online and offline. As Cartman says, “Respect my authorataay!” (translation for marketers = value the voice of the customer as it is authoritative and valuable).
New%20Picture.png
So, should we be shocked or surprised at this online chatter having so much influence, sway and say in what we end up buying or not buying? No, not at all.
This simply mimics offline behaviour as it has existed since consumers started deciding on what to consume. So, it stands to reason that with a more social web this type of activity was bound to take hold. And, it has. Services like Bazaar Voice have even created an industry around it.
It also makes sense that, as studies have shown, when reviews are from people that we don’t know personally – random folks we find online – there is strength in numbers. Close to 50% of those who shop online need a minimum of 4-7 reviews to help them decide (see eMarketer Chart below). So, although we are skeptical of unknown individual comments online, there is a “wisdom of the crowds” at play here.
Online%20reviews.jpg
I experienced a different scenario recently when I was in a retail location and overheard a conversation between a customer and salesperson. The customer, having done online research by reading reviews and specs online before visiting the bricks and mortar location to purchase, was much more knowledgeable and informed than the sales person in the neat and tidy company uniform. So, I did what any smart person would do. Instead of waiting for the sales person to help me, I began talking with the other customer who was able to help me out. That was a great example of “We Commerce” as the purchase was not a minor item.
It left me without a doubt that whether it is offline to online, online to offline or any other combination of consumer conversations, they work because they provide help at it most basic and human level. There is really nothing new here except for how we use new media channels to gather relevant information in our decsion making process – but the source is the same. It’s us.
In this light it is not hard to see that the web is more about sociology than technology. So, the implication for marketers and brands is that it really boils down to the fact that consumers have jobs and tasks they face. They want and/or need something and want to accomplish what they set out to do with confidence.
Social web elements are a huge aid with such jobs and tasks. It works to the advantage of brands that get it and thus accommodate. Those who discount this new sphere of influence will find out the hard way that consumers are just a simple search and click away from getting it elsewhere.
And, as mobile enters into the equation and becomes more prevalent, more of us will bring the mobile web with us into the bricks and mortar environment. That altogether another game changing world to wrap our heads around.

Google Gets Lively With 3D Web

09 Wednesday Jul 2008

Posted by Michael Seaton in Social Media, Stuff, Very Cool

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3D Web, Google, Lively, Terminator, Virtual Worlds

I was just checking out the Official Google Blog and was totally sidetracked getting into Google’s kick at the 3D world with Lively. First impression is that it seems pretty much like Second Life, but is a whole lot easier to approach and get into.
I like the idea of the 3D web and where it is going. I was into Second Life for a little while and got a good feel for the online world. But Second Life was a pig on the system. Google overcomes an major obstacle with Lively because it is so much more accessible. And, more importantly, Lively rooms and avatars designed to exist outside of a walled garden. A feature most 3D worlds do not provide.
As I read over at Diabolical or Smart:
In essence, Google is looking to create a massive distributed virtual world, where every Google account can have its own avatar that can be used wherever a Lively virtual room is present – for example, on a blog, a social networking profile, or a Web page.

Ok, I’ll check it out a bit more because I am interested (my avatar is mlseaton). However, I am now convinced more than ever that Google is actually Cyberdyne Systems Corporation.
Check out my room below…
http://embed.lively.com/iframe?rid=6006493273739170598

Sometimes Marketing Is Like A Bad Parking Job

04 Friday Jul 2008

Posted by Michael Seaton in Adjusting the Pitch, Brands & Branding, Client Stuff, Customer Experiences, Digital Marketing, Social Media

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Bad Parking, Brands, Communities, Conversations, Digital Marketing, Loyalty, Marketing, Non-zero sum marketing

I saw this video and could not help but think about the change in today’s marketing environment. We now face a landscape of unlimited choices, new ones and old ones. A plethora of opportunities and ways to experiment beyond what history tells us worked at one time.
Yet all too often you see this kind of hack job that the video below depicts. Trying to cram something in where it does not belong just because there seems to be a space to fill. And then what? We just walk away while observers just stand, stare and wonder “why?”.
Ultimately that is the problem with the campaign mentality in the industry that we have come to know and to practice since the early 20th centrury. We think in terms of getting in and getting out. We strive to create as large an impact as possible over a short time-frame. Make a lot of noise with as little damage as possible. Rinse and repeat.
In hindsight, we have been very good at manufacturing the problem we now stare in the face; consumers are trained to ignore marketing, question authenticity and scrutinize what “loyalty” really means with a brand (hint – it is not bonus points for a free alarm clock, or 5% off your 100th purchase – there is more to loyalty than gimmicks).
In building our own beast, the fight is on to survive in an environment where consumers expect more than hollow promises. They now demand tangible demonstrations (on a regular basis I might add) of what the “brand” is really about and why they should be loyal. In other words, we can no longer eschew community for a shot at critical mass.
Marketers have a chance (the best chance ever) in today’s digital world to build communities and tap into the people who really care. It is very clear that it can’t be done on the back of campaigns alone. It will be done through real connections, conversations and a new wave of thinking in terms of “non-zero sum marketing” with consumers.
http://images.stupidvideos.com/images/player/player.swf?sa=1&sk=7&si=2&i=167123

Kanye West And Absolut Give You The Chance To BeKanye

03 Thursday Jul 2008

Posted by Michael Seaton in Digital Marketing

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Absolut, Kanye West

So, ya wanna Be Kanye eh. Cute.

My Twitter Drivel

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