Obama Outperforms Agencies with Online Content

Most people think Obama’s appearance on Between two Ferns was out of place.  However, it shows a pattern of him going to where the conversation is, rather then asking people to come to him.

Plus from a media syndication perspective, it shows that the white house really understands influencer identification, star-power, and the effectiveness of their campaign strategy.  They also understand that influence happens at both the individual level and that certain outlets / programming channels are very effective to hit target demographics. Both of these campaigns were very successful and entertaining PSAs.

Whether going after geeks, doing an AMA, or his late night appearances, it has shown his ability to adapt, appeal to be likable, and get noticed.  And if that brings attention to the media agenda they are pushing, thats quite smart.  A second wave of an amplification effect kicks in about media talking about other media as well, allowing his message to have an even broader reach.

Whether you like him or not, I think it says something when the white house starts out performing other major ad agencies on healthcare reform.  

Think smarter about content planning and media distribution through earned media channels.  And lets learn from those who are doing it right.

18 minutes.

Pd

Advertisement

Magna Carta Jay Z Album Marks Milestone in Corporate Collaboration

What does it mean that major albums are co launched by a mobile company for an artist?  Jay Z teased the release of his Magna Carta album today signifying a milestone in artist marketing.  The video above showcases tracks, producers, and story, but its presented by Samsung Galaxy.  More and more we are seeing corporate endorsements of the changemakers and creatives of our times, and I personally am intrigued on how this awareness and shift in paid media dollars will effect content creation.  What does it mean when a new album from the heart is cosponsored by a secondary brand ?  This is commonplace in sports, and social entrepreneurship, but music has usually only maintained this relationship after the fact. Ex. Tailor Swift and Pepsi.  However, to co associate your personal brand with a tech brand seems like a new frontier in a pre launch environment.  Do you think any other artists will follow this trend?   Or for a brand like Samsung, maybe this is the best time in the “hype cycle” to endorse a product / person to get the maximum brand transference to impact their bottom line. What do you think?

-Patrick

ps. The other interesting note is that he teased the announcement using imagery via social media.  More and more, Artists and personal programming channels are being used to interact with fans wtih RTM ( real time marketing ) rather then relying on older PR channels and wire services.

where the “Pepsi Like machine” hits a tipping point between earned media dollars and privacy

 

“The Pepsi Like machine” in addition to being buzzworthy makes really good business sense.  Lets look at this from a math perspective.

According to 2 different sources ( link 1   Link 2 ) the cost of a “fan” is over a dollar. One says 1-7 dollars, another says way over 100, but lets skip over all the different methodologies and say its over a buck – this way we get to agree on the main insight rather then the details of why the research is wrong.  So, what is the cost of a soda ? Maybe 75 cents, or 1.25 ?  The beauty of the coke like machine is that people are opting into a loyalty program for a free sample.  The cost of giving away that soda is equal or less then the amount of dollars they would have spent to gain that fan.   Additionally, the documentation of this stunt by pepsi translated into earned media dollars ( via viral video and blog editorials ) which is bound to give pepsi an edge in awareness and brand equity – that is… free advertising.

This was a great execution of digital marketing moving its way into physical computing that makes sense.  They are also very lucky that they are some of the first ( not the first ) to ask people to trade their social capital for real assets. Because if everyone starts to ask fans to like their product for a free, people will start to value their privacy more then the transaction that occurs. A reverse tipping point comes into play between free stuff and privacy. 

The other interesting thing here to note is that documentation has make this appear to be a huge campaign when this really just occured at once concert. Lets say it only had a reach of 100 ( I have no data to back this up). The video of this campaign itself far exceeded the actual number of people that got free product.  This is where many guerilla marketing campaigns have gone where they set up a special campaign to reach only a few ( 007 promotion comes to mind (coke )) and most of the effort is spent on sharing this story throughout social networks in place of paid media.  It really shows an interesting trend in how marketing dollars are moving from paid medias to earned and owned networks.

Social TV meets earned media dollars – The Voice Season 4

 

 

 

Many reality TV shows utilize people’s “social capital” ( shares, likes, tweets ) to raise its own level of influence and boast higher levels of engagement and earned media levels.  However “the voice” has take this to a new level.  If you have wanted to vote on these shows in the past you could pay for a text (sms) if you were on a specific carrier, or sometimes vote through on online portal.   However, this year ( Maybe last year)  they added a new element where part of the voting is dependent on how many people download (pay for ) the contestants songs on itunes. Now this changes the cost per vote from a few cents, to dollars. This is several orders to magnitudes greater, and is a really smart profitable decision. And I am not sure how I feel about it.

One one side I feel that they are double dipping on getting paid. Once with traditional ad based models on tv, and a second time with itunes. However, I actually wonder if this creates a more authentic version of how these shows should work. I like that the artists probably get a small cut per each song sole. And I also like that the people voting in this sense, are more likely endorsing their song versus someone they think is cute or a good showman – 90 more cents is a larger barrier to entry compared to a nickel.

There is one thing I still dont understand. I wish the voice was a bit more like the Jersey Shore. In the sense that everyone wins. This is still reality TV. However, with new publishing models around, there is NO reason except for entertainment value that there should be a winner.  I feel like at the end of the show, everyone should publish an album. Obviously those who were on the show longer have a higher chance of  getting more screen time and thus free advertising – but this show still runs on a hunger games type of model. There does not have to be only one winner. As far as I see it, they all have incredible talent, and I hope they all go one to use this show as a springboard.  The models they have introduced to TV really blur the lines between what is owned media, how does real time marketing change programming, and how do influencers ( hosts / cohosts ) act as curators of the crowd, and ultimately . . . who can win ?