Trevor Young | PR Warrior blog | Where PR meets social media meets content marketing

Facebook Helps Public Maintain the Rage Against UK Xmas Pop Excesses!

This is a great story highlighting just how social media can rally the public into action (it also demonstrates the power of a single big idea)!

Each year the UK makes a big deal out of the number one song on its pop charts in Christmas week. 

Normally the winning song is a lightweight pop number. The Spice Girls, for example, have scored in the past although in recent years, the top tune has been by the winner of Simon Cowell's X Factor TV show. 

This year was no different, with young singer Joe McElderry tipped to top the charts this Christmas. That was until rock fan and part-time DJ Jon Morter organised a Facebook campaign to knock X Factor from its traditional top spot and instead propel hardcore Californian rock band Rage Against The Machine's 17-year-old song 'Killing in the Name' to number one.

The campaign was started as a bit of a joke but gained momentum until the point where 'Killing in the Name' (video below) sold 500,000 copies, 50,000 more than McElderry's ballad 'The Climb'.

Up to five million people reportedly tuned in to hear RATM take the number one spot.

The other big number is the Facebook Group, which at time of writing had nearly one million members (check it out here).

In a move that will undoubtedly endear them to fans, RATM have stated they would perform a free concert in London to celebrate the achievement as well as donate the proceeds from the chart-topping single to charity (source).

N.B. this post also appears on www.trevoryoung.posterous.com

What Brands Can Learn From U2

I've just seen (experienced?) the fantastic new movie U23D, the first live-action film shot and exhibited in breakthrough digital 3D.

Essentially, it's a concert movie. No fluff, no vox pops or interviews - just fantastic music and on-stage theatrics by Irish supergroup U2. Highly recommended!

Now, I might be biased seeing I've followed the band from its early recordings - remember Boy, October and War (1980-83)? - but I reckon that consumer brands the world over could learn a thing or two from U2.

And in saying that, I believe U2 is one of the most successful and enduring brands in the world. Not just music brands, but brands period!

Firstly, the band has been going for close to 30 years - not a bad effort in an industry where the release of one album is considered a 'career'. And rather than being reduced to a group of punch-drunk musos grinding out their long-forgotten former hits in some seedy bar in Soho, U2 is very much at the peak of its game and has never been more popular.

Secondly, the band is progressive. It's taken countless risks over the years, including significant experimentation during the nineties with albums such as Achtung Baby, Zooropa and Pop (1991-97). All the great brands take risks - it keeps them fresh and energised, and helps raise them above the pack.

The band pays considerable attention to the quality of its output, not just albums, but also its massive live shows. The U23D movie is case in point. Not content with doing just another big-release concert movie, U2 goes yet another step further than its contemporaries (with perhaps the exception of the Rolling Stones) and creates a a filmic event.

Toss in the band's cause-related activities (e.g. Bono's RED campaign to raise money to fight AIDS) and its use of social networks, and you have a b(r)and that truly 'gets it'.