Digital Discourse

BMW Spreads DESIR3 with Co-Creation Branding

Head over to YouTube.com where BMW has launched a video contest with a home page takeover.  The contest is fun, creative, and the prize is pretty fantastic – win a BMW 3 Series!  I worked on the digital strategy behind this effort and have to say it’s really exciting to see your recommendations become a reality.

 

The effort is part of the larger DESIR3 campaign that is focused on raising awareness of the all new BMW 3 Series.  For this particular work, the original challenge was to develop a recommendation around how to fully leverage a large media buy and amplify the media value beyond the impression and click.  What we did was create a program that lives longer than one single day (during the homepage takeover). 

How it works:  Show BMW how much you DESIR3 the new 3 Series in 5.9 seconds or less and it's yours - but you have to be as quick as the 3 - which hits 60mph in 5.9 seconds.

 

One of the driving activation insights behind this effort is that collective branding via user generated content (UGC) can help aspirational drivers feel an emotional connection to the brand.  And further, co-creation generates creative assets that spread!  I posted my video last Friday and it already has over 1000 views (see bottom of post).  If you start to project that engagement out with hundreds or thousands of submissions you inevitably see a nice amount of earned media value. 

As a final thought - whenever working in UGC, it’s important to offer some creative structure to participants – or else it just becomes a free for all that loses site of the campaign and brand message.  The structure we provided was focusing on an emotional brand value and placing limits on the submission to 5.9 seconds.  "Less is more," right?  The cumulative effect – beyond media exposure and awareness – is that BMW’s DESIR3 means something completely different after this partnership with consumers has taken place.  In today's modern media landscape, brands need to show that willingness to cede some control to their enthusiasts.

If you don’t have time today, the contest will live on after our take over media.  The amount of time you have to enter is, of course, 3 weeks.

Here's my submission - I shot it on the Super 8 iPhone App!

 

Content for Non Profits

I’ve just returned from a trip out to Rwanda with the medical non-profit organization, Team Heart.  Their mission is to address and prevent Rheumatic Heart Disease in Rwanda and East Africa, which is a significant problem to the tune of causing 30% of all hospitalizations.  Their strategy is to administer penicillin for prevention and operate on those who need heart surgery.

When I first met Team Heart I realized that their mission was multi-layered and that the language of medicine is not easily familiar to those outside of the medical world.  I produced this video to help them explain their mission in an accessible and easily digestible manner.

For my most recent trip with Team Heart, my goal was to create a video that they can use for their fundraising efforts.  Strategically, my aim for this work was not just to help people understand the mission, but also to build more of an emotional connection between the story and prospective donors. 

Every messaging strategy mixes logic with emotion but I think when it comes to giving your money for good, the logic needs to hit a certain baseline threshold and then the emotion needs to be the ultimate selling point.  Generally inspiration will always beat out urgency of the mission.  There are lots of urgent causes – but inspiration is ultimately going to be what make people feel good about giving and telling their friends.  For Sr. Cardiac Surgeon, Dr. Chip Bolman, the patients inspire him.

Short term, I’ve been sharing photos on Tumblr and Picasa (hit me up on G+)… Mid term I plan to deliver a 5-10 minute video for fundraisers… As for long term?  Dave Wilson, Chairman of Team Heart tells me I should think Sundance - but we’ll see about that!

Of course non profits do not need to hire a photographer / videographer to produce great content.  Simply starting a blog, Tumblr or YouTube page can allow you to share great content frequently enough to keep everyone engaged with the mission.  The key is to keep it simple and let the story tell itself.  And as always, the more visual the better!  Make sure to check out Team Heart's Blog.

 

Team Heart Mission Overview

 

Team Heart is a non profit medical organization that aims to address rheumatic heart disease in Rwanda.  The approach is two fold.  First, the organization works to prevent new cases through screening and medical treament. For those who have advanced cases, surgeons operate on the heart to restore the individuals back to strength.

I met Ceeya and Chip Bollman and was instantly drawn to their story in its own right, but also because of my past experiences working in Rwanda.  Their effort is one of remarkable heroism and they cannot do it alone.  They've turned to digital and social media to spread the word and raise additional funding.

I worked with Team Heart to produce these video interviews, which are meant to more fully explain the organization's mission and approach.  While the video is basic, it is my hope that we can raise additional funding to support a trip out their to capture additional media, that can more fully tell this story.

During my last trip to Rwanda, I gained a great deal of understanding about how telling human stories can establish an emotional connection to organizations and individuals.  I hope that someday we will be telling the whole story of Team Heart from the field.

Website: http://www.teamheart.org/

Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/TeamHeartRwanda

 

CrossLink: Mobile Photography Installation & Meetup

On Thursday, August 4, colleagues from my team at KBS+P, in partnerships with Frontrunner Gallery hosted a Mobile Photography installation.  It was an effort to put on display the creative behaviors that have become common practice on the phone.  Hosting the output of serendipitous digital creativity in the gallery setting was somethign we saw as very similar to the Frontrunner mission - to support emerging artists and innovators.  The event functioned as part of the bi-monthly CrossLink meetup, which explores the connection between digital strategy and creativity.  Join CrossLink on Meetup.  Join Frontrunner Gallery on Facebook to see all of the photos!  The strategy presentation is featured at the bottomr of this post!

Official event description:

#MobileGallery explores the rapidly emerging behavior of connected mobile photography and the associated creative opportunities for artists, marketers, and everyday people.  The event showcases a selection of photos shot on iPhones by members of The Socialites, a group of social media strategists whose mission is to illuminate the frontiers of digital technology and creativity.  Some are practicing photographers while others are simply ‘cool kids with digital style.’   The combined presentation wrestles with the fine line between formal creativity and informal visual sharing among friends. Strategic points of view are offered regarding the space and directional trends that are making headlines today.  The show’s hashtag is #mobilegallery, on which a conversation, in both comments and photos takes place.

 

Mobile Photography at #MobileGallery

View more presentations from fasci624

The turnout at Frontrunner Gallery in TriBeCa for the CrossLink Event:

The State of Social Travel

Which do you trust more – travel marketing or reviews from people just like you?  The truth is, the traveler has never been more empowered to make informed decisions. The exchange of travel information on blogs, community review forums, flash sales, mobile apps and many other emerging media experiences have put much more information in the hands of travelers to plan, initiate, track, share and connect.  While there’s nothing new about friends and family informing and influencing their peers' decisions, what is new is the pervasive integration of consumer recommendations, the connectivity people have that spans well beyond their personal networks, and the fact that all of this happens on channels that scale and facilitate bookings in the travel space.

What's more, the mindset and experience of the traveler (much like participants of social media) is an inherently fluid and gregarious mentality.  For this reason, travel marketers aiming to expand their presence in social should start by sparking high quality, engagement-driven relationships.  As the metaphor goes:  Social media is a bit like a dinner party.  If I mentioned at the table that I’m going to San Antonio, how do you think I’d feel if everyone started shouting “book now!” at me?  Like any skilled conversationalist, it's critical to build rapport before making the hard sell. Once your brand has established social currency, begin to consider planning how social impacts businesses more deeply and how to gain greater scale. 

I’ve identified five trends in travel social media that were big in 2010 and will be important to track in 2011.  At the core of all these trends, social media is less of a broadcast “push channel” and more about loyalty, reputation and advocacy

Five trends to track:

1. Friends get special access to deals and programs: 

It’s important to remember, relationships are not just about a pat on the back; they also should deliver real consumer benefits.  Research suggests that 59% of those who became a fan/follower of a travel company in social media did so for special offers and discounts (eMarketer, “The Impact of Social Media,” 9/9/10).  

2. Digital travelers never travel alone:

Leisure travel planning is often more fun when it’s with friends and family.  Recent trends are providing tangible evidence for this basic insight.  20% of Facebook users have asked their network friends for travel advice (eMarketer, “The Impact of Social Media,” 1/10).  Further, apps and communities are beginning to empower shared planning among friends and connections by taking advantage of "network effect."  

3. Loyalty is increasingly about style, not just bookings:

Most travel brands limit loyalty programs to the transaction when in fact travelers are thinking about travel well beyond the swipe of their card.  With social media integrating into mobile devices, many hotels and airlines have realized that they can engage a significant number of travelers at touch points throughout the travel journey. 

4. What travelers discuss is found and compared:

The release of Google ‘Places’ and the recent whispers of the forthcoming Google ‘Place Recommendations’ reflect the close relationship of location reviews and search.  What can brands do?  For starters, actively engage in ‘reputation management’, which involves monitoring for issues, responding when necessary and optimizing how both brand sites and brand reviews are indexed in search. 

5. Service is extended via connections:

Social media is a “live channel” that can be leveraged for addressing customer issues in real time and for routing customers to service channels directly.  35% of travelers have used social media to interact with a travel company (eMarketer, “PhoCusWright Cross-Channel Survey,” 7/1/10).  

 

Setting Expectations for Digital Media

I'm here at the Pivot Conference listening to discussions about digital media, social media and "branding's next revolution."  One speaker effectively emphasized the importance of reflection by stating, “we are at the most important moment in advertising since the advent of TV… because the internet opens unprecedented ways to connect with people on their own terms.”  These conferences are really helpful for fostering important reflections about what we as digital marketers are doing right and wrong.  One of the major themes I've observed has been that digital marketers are not setting effective expectations with clients.  Expectations and business goals are where every program begins and how every program is judged in the end - so we better get the expectations right.  Unfortunately, many of us would agree that we're not getting the expectations and business goals right.

Some high level Pivot observations about digital expectations:

1. Embrace what’s different about digital and stop trying to make it fit into traditional conventions of marketing.  Awareness is not the specialty of digital (although it can play a role); facilitating opinion formation and purchase decision are far more relevant to the medium.
2. Stop focusing on the click!   The goal of brands for hundreds of years has been to build relationships with customers – and now it’s just about clicks (which means less and less than it did before).  We as marketers set expectations with our clients.  If we’re frustrated that CTR is overly emphasized, we need to set different expectations up front.  It’s different for everybody, but time spent, repeat visitation, engagement and influence are better insights to begin considering.
3. Don’t let the metrics muddle the long-standing goal: emotional connections.  Increasingly marketers will aim to establish emotional connections that are with the consumer all the time.  Digital is an “always on” and increasingly “always with me” channel.
4. Quality is better than quantity.  That doesn’t mean forget scale, but it means that we need to add deeper insights to the connections established with consumers.  Insights are what differentiate the digital medium!  Let’s bring more focus to digital insights and apply them to the overall process, which will show value through application.
5. Make marketing discoveries by testing, learning and asking/engaging your most loyal consumers.  Digital is the place to do this because it’s quick for implementation and you get direct feedback.  Feedback is what keeps all of us honest.  If you make mistakes that’s okay – just admit when you’re wrong.  Keep trying and focus on an iterative process.  If you stay committed, you’ll eventually get it right.  And if you’re trying to get into digital and social, the simple truth is that you will only learn by doing.
6. There is no such thing as a campaign – only a continuum.  Building a foundation for the long term will pay dividends when you really need it.  You may not need immediately need owned digital media channels and communities, but you almost certainly will find use in the future.
7. Measure what matters - sales and the bottom line are the first priority.  Response to promotions/discounts, loyalty, and continued engagement are great ways to prove value as well.

 

An Interview with John Wolf about Cause Marketing

John Wolf, Senior Director of Public Relations at Marriott International discusses in an interview some of the strategic thinking behind the TownePlace Suites 'Make-a-Bed' Program. www.facebook.com/makeabed

When you make a virtual bed at the promotion's Facebook page, Marriott will donate $2 to the Red Cross, up to $50,000. The Red Cross will use the money to provide comfort kits to people in need. Comfort kits include soap, razor, toothbrush and the like.  By making a bed, participants are also entered to win a free extended stay at TownePlace Suites, and other secondary prizes, such as Flip Cameras.

1. How did the Marriott / TownePlace Suites campaign come about?
Community service is at the core of Marriott International’s culture and TownePlace Suites has been a leading brand in giving back to communities where it does business. In this case, the Make a Bed Facebook application was a perfect fit. TownePlace Suites is an extended stay brand, serving people primarily on travel for weeks to months at a time with features, such as guest suites, kitchens, 24/7 access to food and beverage, and the TowneMap that familiarizes guests with the neighborhood. Because of these services and amenities, TownePlace Suites also serves guests who have been victims of disasters, as well as disaster relief workers.
 
We wanted to incorporate all these elements into a meaningful promotion with the American Red Cross that celebrated community while connecting with our guests online.
 
3. What was the goal of having it focus on Facebook?
Many of our guests spend a considerable amount of time on Facebook. In order to maximize the effectiveness of the program and its accompanying donation, we believed Facebook would be the best way to introduce TownePlace Suites to a new audience in a meaningful way, while ensuring success with the program. It's been a great decision and in a month more than 6,000 people have "made beds," so far.

5, 6. How will you measure success?   How is Marriott's donation structured? That is, does Marriott guarantee a certain amount? What's the cap on how much Marriott will donate?
The ultimate success is raising the full $50,000 donation limit for American Red Cross Disaster Relief. If we do nothing else, the program will have been a huge success. We also are measuring awareness and consideration for TownePlace Suites with users who have engaged with the program, using a variety of engagement metrics (Likes, views of videos in the application, sharing, surveys, etc.).

8. How did Marriott choose the Red Cross as a partner?
We have long admired their work and as part of the Marriott family, have had long-standing relationship with the Red Cross in the aftermath of disasters.  With over 190 TownePlace Suites locations, we are an active part of many communities across the country. Every day, the American Red Cross helps with disasters that sometimes touch those communities, from house fires to hurricanes, tornadoes and earthquakes.

9. The Red Cross is one of the top two or three largest charities in the U.S. And it's the only one with a Federal Charter. But it has had a reputation as being a little fusty when it comes to marketing. What concerns did Marriott about that?
We had none. The American Red Cross could not be a better partner. They have been fully engaged throughout the project.

10. TownePlace Suites is Marriott's long-term stay brand. What about long-term stay made this campaign appropriate for a relationship with the Red Cross?
As an extended-stay brand, TownePlace Suites serves primarily business travelers away from home for weeks to months at a time. Therefore, it naturally has also been a hotel brand of choice for people recovering from disasters, and for those that respond to disasters, such as the American Red Cross.  

 

IAB Launches Social Media Framework

The IAB is a leading industry organization for marketers and they have recently offered an official POV on social success.  As social media become less of a flashy, fun tactic and is held more accountable, it's very reassuring to see that industry leaders are starting to take leadership on this subject of social success.  

• Internet Advertising Bureau’s Social Media Council (IAB SMC) launched a social media measurement framework in the UK
• The framework plays on the letters “I,” “A,” and “B” to stand for Intent, Appreciation, Action, advocacy, and benchmark
• Intent – all social media activity should be pre-empted by a set of objectives to help determine which KPIs are measured
• Awareness, appreciation, action, and advocacy – all KPIs should surround these four attributes of social media campaigns
• Benchmark – all activity should be based on the identified target, gleaned from competitor and industry data

What’s in it for Marketers:

1. Consider starting all social media tactics with “I,” “A,” and “B” in mind, beginning with benchmarks from case studies and industry best practices to determine the best objectives for the campaigns
2. Explore the different lifts due to social media and how it relates to awareness, appreciation, action, and advocacy to help determine the best set of KPIs to help determine success

 

Social for Luxury: aSmallWorld

 

 

Over the past months I've found myself in a number of conversations around social media for luxury brands.  For that reason I'll be posting a series in the next week exploring how luxury brands are leveraging social and calling out the considerations and opportunities that brands need to keep in mind.

If you understand social, luxury should make a lot of sense.  Luxury consumers are often more likely to connect high-end products to their identities and discuss the role of those products in their lives.  Luxury marketers should encourage and empower individuals to share passions and experiences related to luxury brands.  These brands in particular can become focal points for social activity that facilitates new relationships amongst like-minded people who trust one another in especially unique ways. 

Just as is the case for all social media, luxury brands can achieve many goals.  Three such goals are:

1. Gain unique insights by listening to luxury consumers
2. Build relationships to foster loyalty and promote advocacy
3. Create platforms that foster long-term, brand-related social identities

For this first post on luxury, let’s examine social platforms:

Social for luxury demands that you establish a more exclusive social experience.  Often, social is about inclusive communication and connectivity that operates in terms of "one to many."  This type of broadcast communication can be useful for community discussion, collective action, and collaboration.  However, while luxury consumers are excited to socialize around their passions, they often want to make sure it's with individuals who will appreciate their tastes.  Fostering a sense of one-to-one and brand-to-one relationships is where social can be very compelling in the luxury context.

 

 

Recently, I had a great conversation with aSmallWorld, which is an invite-only, private community targeted towards a luxury savvy audience.  ASW's value for consumers is the idea of being connected with people who are in the know when it comes to desirable info in global cities such as New York, Paris or London.  To continually deliver on that value proposition, ASW only seeks to expand off of a core audience, and to limit blind friend requests.  Only about 20% of its members can invite new entrants.  Further, if you friend request those you don’t know, you may be flagged and exiled to aBigWorld, which effectively ends your membership.  The goal is to make existing members feel comfortable in the environment and, of course, to play off of the old saying that "everyone wants what they can't have."

The traditional nature of social networks is to drive engagement by facilitating connectivity.  While ASW’s rules reflect an exclusive approach that maintains mystique, the site faces a trade off between fostering elite social connectivity, while at the same time trying to grow as a media company.  To grapple with that dilemma, the community positions the ASW Magazine as a focal point, and often uses it to promote events and opportunities.  A prominent ASW publication promotion at current is around driving a Mercedes 2010 SLS AMG at Laguna Seca Raceway in Monterey Peninsula, CA.  Top down activations such as the publication, events, exclusive experiences and community personalities will be the only way that people have reason to return to the site.  Of course, that costs money and we will have to wait and see whether ASW is a sustainable  model as a digital platform for luxury networking.

To explore social media for fashion, also read Rohit Bhargava's recent post.

Mobile Blog Posting

This is a big deal because it brings substance to instant connectivity and media capture.  Roles are changing everywhere.  The role of the witness or the audience member or the event attendee has never before had so much significance.  The pressure for immediate, nimble journalism has never been so great.  The ability to share and describe media on the go will have lasting effects on how moments are experienced, reported and remembered.