We’ve seen quite a few examples of corporate sites mashing up social media content and presenting it on a single page. Jeep is one of the earliest examples I can remember (they seem to have some special right now, called „urban ranger“).
Now, since June there is Fiat on the web. A wordpress powered site – actually a blog – with all the ingredients: a facebook widget, a youtube gallery, same with flickr, friendfeed is integrated, delicious links accessible, latest twitter updates: every „mandatory“ item seems to be present.
I am not mentioning that because it appears so fantastically special. Instead, I am slowly getting the perception that these kind of social brand presence aggregator sites are become „business as usual“. Or rather: should be considered by brand marketers as a mandatory online marketing component. Yet: how many of those sites have we really seen? How many brands actually have sufficient social media presences in order to justify such a site?
How about this viral idea of bungee jumping elephants in the middle of London?
(Doesn’t it look like it really happened…)
For whatever reason, Samsung is putting out one viral after the other lately, quite a few of them get good mentions throughout the social web. Does anyone know the creative and the seeding agencies behind this whole bundle of virals?
[Update: I just received the info that Samsung’s viral Agency is Viral Factory, see here.)
There were endless discussions in Germany about the successful social media tactics employed during the presidential election campaign in the US. Of course these discussions also included thoughts and recommendations about how politics in Germany should make use of social media during this years election period.
I agree to the general thought, however I was mildly surprised by the blunt and uninspiring German copy of a well known video from the US. Whoever made this copy, did not even try to add their own thoughts. The only difference: this time they’re German Celebrities. The rest is the same. Here it is:
Does that look familiar? It is just like this one, isn’t it?
If this is the way forward during this year’s election, we will probably see a lot more stupid copies of the stuff in the US. I’ll keep you posted.
Martin, Sarah, Julian and Cornelia are cruising from on Ikea to the next all throughout Germany as part of an Ikea Midsommar Tour, in order to find the best Midsommar bargains in Germany.
The whole journey is being documented in many (partially live) video shows, blogs of each of the four and a Google map where you can check on their current position. Of course, the four travellers also have twitter profiles.
What I find puzzling is the fact that the blogs neither allow for comments, nor do they offer permalinks. Not really blog-like, if you ask me.
Quite well done is their strategy to reactivate people that were fans of a previous campaign they did almost a year ago: the main character of that campaign – Nils, who back then was „waiting for September“ – started his Twitterfeed again, in order to point users who did not unfollow in the meantime (like yours truly) to the campaign.
The only thing that concerns me: it reminds me somehow of the Fake Walmart Blogger in 2006. Mind you, they do not conceil the fact that this is a campaign for Ikea, so you can’t really compare it…
14:00 audience session: context by Stefan Erschwendner
Some interesting questions arise after the kick off presentation:
Should agencies rather focus on context of the target audience? Will context drive marketing (communicationss) in the future?
Which type of agency will be best suited for this in the future? PR or ad agencies?
What happens when companies piggyback contexts without honestly solving the problems relevant to these contexts – when the branding effect is purely placebo.
How can you focus on certain contexts, for chocolate bars, for example? You can’t with the current system of target audience definition.
If the goal is managing relationships with consumers in different contexts, who will do that in the future? The brand, the agency? Probably the brand in the long term, agencies will turn in to coaches.
Will the time frame for communications programms change? The model of having „quarterly“ campaigns can probably not be sustained in the future.
11:05 second day just started, with some delay, as Roland points out explicitly 😉
First panel:
Trend Cocooning
Wie verändert die Krise das Verbraucherverhalten?
With Prof. Peter Wippermann and Roland Kühl v. Puttkammer (Organisator der remix09)
First, Roland explains the trend cocooning. Prof. Wippermann expands on it. The trend was orifinally coined by Faith Popcorn, before the internet existed in it’s current version.
Quote Wippermann: Freedom is being defined by technology…
Prof. Wippermann about scouting the web via software for identifying trends and topics. Sounds reasonable.
The below 20 year olds search for social connections preferrably online, instead of online. (?)
Now the panel is extended by two people from the audience: a young guy living in London, and John Groves, one of the sponsors of the conference. They are now discussing their personal media usage.
Especially younger people don’t have an internet presence such as a „homepage“, but rather facebook profiles, etc. Homepages are oldschool?
Wippermann: „Die Mitte ist die neue Minderheit“ (not sure how to translate that: the average German is a minority)
People in gerneral are very slow in adopting new things. 34% still calculate prices in Deutsche Mark.
Who has more knowledge about the consumer: the ad agency or the companies? Wippermann: the companies. Agencies are still busy being „creative“.
it is an idea of the industrial age to separate everything: ad agencies from the companies. Originally, advertising was part of the companies. In the network age, everything will be connected (again).
The middlemen (media companies, agencies) will have to proof their added value. Companies can directly connect with their target audience and gain knowledge.
Three Trends by Wipperman: freedom defined by technology, success defined by sharing, family as a „negative“ trend, because people are afraid/don’t want it…
12:00 – next session is about Hinz&Kunzt, a street magazine sold by homeless people here in Hamburg.
Hinz & Kunzt
Ein gemeinnütziger Verlag im Überblick
A monthly magazine, founded: 1993 by Dr. Reimers. A brand awareness of 94% The idea: helping people to help themselves. Financially and politically independent.
Each homeless person is a single entrepreneur. They purchase the magazine in advance for 0,80€ and then sell it for 1,70€ When starting, each reseller gets 10 magazines for free. There are about 400 resellers in Hamburg.
There also is a website, wich some of the magazine articles as a teaser. They even have a blog (because: you have to have one today…?)
Wo ich sonst so bin...