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

WARNING: Guerrilla Marketers Stalk Streets For Maximum Buzz

This will keep you amused if you're into really clever guerrilla marketing tactics. Strong creative ideas and solid execution = positive buzz and 'talkability'. 

Hat tip to Rogier van Wagtendonk who compiled the presentation (along with various sources, as acknowledged by Rogier).

I recommend you view full screen via Slideshare for full effect.

Enjoy!

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Summit Outlines Challenges Ahead for Marketers

Yesterday I attended day one of the 2008 Advertising Marketing & Media Summit and heard a number of insightful presentations from a broad sweep of experts.

Leo Premutico, co-founder of Johannes Leonardo, was first up and spoke passionately about the 'The Creative Revolution'.

"The audience is no longer the destination for our messages. They are the medium for them," he said.

Leo spoke about the Nomis Right Boot Store, in which the soccer boot brand set up a store in Berlin where consumers could take the right boot home with them and test it out.

If they didn't like the right boot, the could keep it for free, no questions asked. If they wanted the left boot, Nomis would send it to them for the cost of a regular pair. Very cool idea and no doubt one that created a lot of buzz, as you could imagine.

Peter Williams, of Deloitte Digital, urged marketers not to think in terms of a three-month campaign but rather a 15-year sustainable community.

Melanie Ingrey, from Nielsen Online, presented a lot of statistics focusing on consumer generated media in Australia.

According to Nielsen's latest Consumer Generated Media Report, in the past 12 months 4.5 million Australians (or 48 per cent) have read a blog, while 1.5 million (16 per cent) have created one.

Here is a snapshot of the Australian/NZ statistics compiled by Nielsen.

I'm speaking today (Day Two) of the Advertising Marketing & Media Summit - I will be on a panel that will look at public relations and the role it plays in the overall marketing mix; we will also be discussing the influence social media is having on PR, and the future of digital communications. It should be a lot of fun.

Are Events 'Yin' to Social Media's 'Yang'?

I helped a client today run a CEO level 'roundtable' luncheon. We had as the theme business leadership and the environment, and while we stuck to the topic generally (and there were some fascinating views from around the table), we also discussed other 'hot' topics/issues such as Gen Y and corporate ethics.

All in all, it was a very successful event.

There were 12 of us - a really great mix of people, including several Australian CEOs of global companies, heads of professional representative bodies plus a CSR expert and members of the media.

What today's activity really brought home to me was how powerful face-to-face communication really is.

In an industry that's moving at light-speed, with the advent of 'social media' and various internet technologies being introduced seemingly on a daily basis, it's great to see there's still plenty of room for good old-fashioned conversation, eyeball-to-eyeball.

In fact, I'll go out on a limb and suggest that the deeper companies and organisations go in terms of communicating with their constituents via the internet, the greater the need to also get face-to-face with the people who matter most to their business.

I like to call it 'marketing balance'.

Any thoughts?

The Race to Reinvent has Ad Agencies on Edge

The steady decline of mass market 'push' advertising is well documented. There's been a massive amount of talk from experts the world over that interruptive advertising is going the way of the dodo bird. A scan of the world's marketing media will tell you that in an instant.

The knock-on effect, obviously, is the race between advertising agencies (and PR and marketing consultancies, for that matter) to reinvent themselves so they're well positioned for the 'new' marketing landscape. Of course, this reinvention is more to do with dollars and retaining 'brand custodian' status than really giving a toss about communicating more effectively with consumers.

Let's face it, most ad agencies would love nothing more than to return to the pre-internet days where the 30 second TVC ruled. Some agencies over the years have rebelled against that school of thought and genuinely believed there was a better way of doing things, but you'd have to say these 'new model' agencies were few and far between.

So, in light of overwhelming evidence the world really has changed and that clients have taken notice and are starting to do things differently in terms of communicating with the marketplace, it will be interesting to see which ad agencies can effectively reposition themselves for the bumpy marketing road ahead.

Of course, we will see plenty of spin, hype and lip service paid to 'new' marketing by the advertising industry. This is a given. But I hope to also see some genuine evangelists who have the guts to embrace new and different marketing methods, as well as including in the mix a broader spread of communications disciplines such as public relations and strategic word-of-mouth marketing.

Until that happens, ad agencies will simply be ad agencies. They won't die out, and nor should they, because there is still a great need for mainstream advertising, as there is for traditional media. But, as advertising's influence declines, the inverse should (and hopefully) will happen and other disciplines will come to the fore. As to who will be in the 'driver's seat', well that's the $64,000 question.

According to Brand Republic, consumer relationships are the key to future agency success.

Brand Republic reports that agencies will have to evolve from pushing advertising campaigns to nurturing communities of consumers and matchmaking them with brands.

Citing a new research report from Forrester Research, it says industry relationships may even change to the extent that instead of pitching for a brand's business, agencies may 'sell' access to groups of consumers in whose interests they learn to act.

The report was co-authored by Mary Beth Kemp, who has worked for both clients and agencies during a 20-year career in marketing, and Pete Kim. It was based on conversations with marketers from Coca-Cola, Procter & Gamble and HSBC and with agency bosses from WPP Group, Publicis Groupe and Omnicom.

Speaking to Brand Republic ahead of its publication, Kemp said she could not cite any current examples of agencies working the way the report predicts they will.

However, emerging trends such as social networking, word of mouth marketing and agencies harnessing user-generated content are leading down the road to the new-look agency-consumer-brand relationship.

Meanwhile, Peter Imbres’ excellent Point-Oh blog points out that CMOs are getting smarter and that "it’s much easier for a CMO to start a few new specialty areas than it is for an agency to tell their creative department to completely change the way they think".

Interesting times ahead!

Think Big, Take a Risk to Generate Brand Buzz

Two ‘big’ promotional stunts caught my attention this weekend.

Both were for global brands (adidas and Ikea) and both required a leap of faith by each company’s respective PR and/or marketing department.

ADIDAS

To launch its latest shoe, the Barricade V, adidas constructed a three-quarter sized tennis court on top of the scoreboard at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Glamour girl Ana Ivanovic, Marcos Baghdatis, Alicia Molik and up-and-coming Aussie player Brydan Klein – hit up on the adidas-branded sky-high court in front of TV cameras and news photographers, resulting in some strong post-event publicity for the brand.

IKEA

The second stunt was in Paramus, New Jersey, where comedian Mark Malkoff took up residence in an Ikea store while his New York apartment was being fumigated.

Malkoff, an audience coordinator for Comedy Central’s The Colbert Report, put the idea to the company but reportedly thought that “never in a million years (would) Ikea go for it, but miraculously they have agreed.”

Good on Ikea! How many brands would have frozen at the prospect of having a comedian move into their branded ‘space’ and film the experience for the world to see?

Sure, Malkoff had credentials behind him – his short film project 171 Starbucks garnered media attention – but it was still a potentially chancy proposition on Ikea’s part.

In his latest project, Malkoff has turned a showroom mock-up of an Ikea bedroom into his temporary home.

Malkoff reportedly told the New York Post he thought of living at Ikea because 80 percent of his furniture was from the store…“so I figured I’d be pretty comfortable. I may ask them for a part-time job if I start to get bored.”

In videos posted to Malkoff’s website, viewers can view updates from his temporary home where his morning routine includes putting on a terry towelling dressing gown to shuffle off to the Ikea cafeteria for breakfast.

The stunt has generated strong buzz globally, with TV, press and the blogosphere all getting in on the act.

Coopers, Crumpler, Camper...and RockWiz!

Consumers' 'soft spot' for authentic brands has allowed thousands of start-up companies across myriad categories to take it right up to the bigger corporate brands. It's also allowed many genuine 'home grown' brands, often family-owned and run by consecutive generations, to find a broader market beyond the niche.

For example, in Australia we have Crumpler, an urban bag brand established by bike courier, Stuart Crumpler. The company, which gained notoriety for a promotion in which it traded bags for beer, is a real success story and has successfully expanded overseas.

Camper Shoes is another great example of a brand retaining its roots while broadening its influence worldwide.

Also in Australia we have Coopers Brewery, the South Australian family-owned brewing company whose origins stretch back to 1862. Today, Coopers is a shining light in a market dominated by two multinationals - Foster's and Lion Nathan.

Coopers has chipped away at the majors' territory over the past few years and as a result today as a solid following around the country. It has obviously touched a nerve, because Lion Nathan has tried, unsuccessfully, to take it over.

What these outstanding brands have in common is a genuine story to tell - stories that resonate with consumers.

They eschew massive TV advertising campaigns, preferring quirky low-key marketing and advertising campaigns that accurately represent each brand's enduring attributes. All three of these brands have received strong word-of-mouth over the years, which has contributed to their ongoing success.

What these brands also have in common is they have managed to retain their individual senses of humour - a real grassroots quirkiness that has seen them stand apart from the often 'vanilla' marketing approaches taken by their more established 'corporate' competitors.

Coopers recently took out what I believe was their first television advertising campaign (they've done cinema for some time) - a major sponsorship of RockWiz, an independent TV production on Australia's multicultural broadcaster, SBS.

RockWiz itself is an 'authentic' brand success in an industry notorious for 'production by committee' (i.e. commercial TV broadcasting). The program, which operates on the fringe and manages to produce an entertaining weekly show on a budget tantamount to two-tenths of stuff-all, recently won the Australian Film Institute's Award for Best Light Entertainment Television Series.

The coupling of RockWiz and Coopers, two truly authentic brands that know, understand and respect their audiences, is a marketing match made in heaven.

Check out this fantastic performance of Tex Perkins and Claire Bowditch on RockWiz's 2007 Christmas special.
Happy new year...enjoy!!

Disconnect Between WOM Spending and Planning

Somewhat conflicting research from the United States indicates that while word-of-mouth marketing is growing, marketers are still not inclined to include it in their communication plans.

On a positive note for the WOM industry, according to PQ Media, spending on word-of-mouth marketing in the US is expected to top $1 billion in 2007, making it one of the fastest growing alternative media segments in that country.

PQ Media has just released Word-of-Mouth Marketing Forecast 2007-2011, the first in-depth analysis of the emerging word-of-mouth marketing industry released. The report predicts WOM marketing spending will reach $3.7 billion in 2011.

BUT...

According to new findings in the annual “Media, Myths and Realities” report from Ketchum and the USC Annenberg Strategic Public Relations Center, less than a quarter (24 percent) of communicators have a word of mouth strategy in place.

According to BizReport:

"This year's findings magnify the point of last year's benchmark survey, which showed that communications professionals need to vigorously reassess their communication priorities to meet consumers' needs in this multimedia channel world," said Nicholas Scibetta, Ketchum senior vice president and global director, Global Media Network.

A potential explanation for this disconnect is that marketers are perhaps confused as to what constitutes WOM marketing. Public relations has for many years confused marketers as to what does and doesn't fall under its remit.

Given WOM marketing is a kindred spirit of PR and there is considerable cross-over between the two, it's unsurprising then that marketers are confused.

Nike Connects With Your Life

Have just stumbled on to this article in the New York Times (The New Advertising Outlet: Your Life) - it crams in a lot of good stuff on the trend towards big brands spending money on marketing activities that better connect with consumers.

In the article, Nike executives say that much of the company’s future advertising spending will take the form of services for consumers, like workout advice, online communities and local sports competitions.

Here are some interesting points, as mentioned in the article:

• Last year, Nike spent just 33 percent of its $678 million United States advertising budget on ads with television networks and other traditional media companies. That’s down from 55 percent 10 years ago (SOURCE: Advertising Age).
• Companies like Nike have been experimenting with alternative forms of marketing since the 1990s. But now, even the most conventional marketers are making these alternatives a permanent — and ever bigger — part of their advertising budgets.
• The amount of money flowing out of the traditional media is huge — even at a time when ad budgets in general are growing, advertising research shows.
• Behind the shift is a fundamental change in Nike’s view of the role of advertising. No longer are ads primarily meant to grab a person’s attention while they’re trying to do something else.
• “We want to find a way to enhance the experience and services, rather than looking for a way to interrupt people from getting to where they want to go,” said Stefan Olander, global director for brand connections at Nike. “How can we provide a service that the consumer goes, ‘Wow, you really made this easier for me’?”

Now there's a title I like: 'Global Director of Brand Connections'!

According to the article, a number of well-known brands are also trying new approaches, hoping to generate buzz both online and off.

• Procter & Gamble opened a temporary Charmin-brand public bathroom in Manhattan.
• Microsoft dropped thousands of parachutes holding software onto a town in Illinois last year.
• Target suspended the magician David Blaine in a gyroscope above Times Square for two days.

World's First Unlimited Website Launches

UK telecommunications brand, Orange, has launched a 'never-ending website' to underpin its new £6m marketing campaign for its unlimited mobile phone call packages in the lead-up to Christmas.

The campaign, dubbed "Good things should never end", promotes Orange's portfolio of "unlimited" pay-as-you-go and pay-monthly packages launched earlier this year, which allow users to make unlimited weekend calls and/or texts, depending on how much they spend.

The focal point of the three-month campaign is what Orange describes as "the world's first unlimited web page".

The 'Good Things Should Never End' website was developed by London digital agency, Poke.

According to Brand Republic, the website has been designed to make it impossible for users to scroll down to the very bottom of the page. Instead, they are presented with a never-ending rainbow graphic offering games, downloads and giveaways.

Cool idea, very buzzworthy, and strategically  sound as it strongly reinforces Orange's 'unlimited' proposition.

Don't log on to the website though if you don't like the colour orange!

I've just had an EPIPHANY - sort of!

I've just had an EPIPHANY (bugger of a word to spell, great word nonetheless!).

It was a moment when all things 'digital' and 'PR/comms' for me came together. Like a clearing of storm clouds that have been casting a dark shadow over our industry, or more specifically, my role in it!

You see, I've practised PR and marcomms for years -- in today's hyper-competitive market, there are dotted lines all over the place...what were once 'boundaries' are being massaged as technology and clients' requirements change on a regular basis. I've gone with the flow, and changed accordingly - willingly! - and am all the better for it.

What was the 'epiphany'?

Thank you for asking! Epiphany - it's a great word, so I just wanted to use it! Nah, kidding. I've been into this 'space' for years, and getting deeper and deeeeeper as time go by. But this weekend, I reckon it's all come together for me.

The skies have cleared, the 'storm clouds' (of doubt, if there were any in the first place) have parted and I reckon I've got a handle on things - well, as good as you can get when there's so much change occurring seemingly on a daily basis! After listening to about 40+ different podcasts, reading 100+ different blogs, being involved in God knows how many online conversations, I reckon my online life is about to 'crank'!

People who reckon they 'get it' without doing the hard yards are, to put it bluntly, kidding themselves.

This space we're in - communications - has changed forever. The consumer is now in control, and has been for some time. Embrace it , or die...or at least, fade away. It may take a year, it may take two - but you've got to think, it will happen.

I love the fact these virtual communities are springing up all over the place. I love the fact we - PR practitioners, and the brands and organisations we represent - now have a voice over and above the traditional media. It's scary, but it's also liberating...and exciting!