Grown Up Thinking

I just sat in on a panel discussion hosted by Marci Ikeler, Director of Digital Strategy at Publicis. The focus was  on co-creating content in the social space and our need to adapt to real-time culture. As advertisers we strive to create ideas that will spread quickly among our audience. Ikeler says the key here is to adapt in real time and invite people to co-create in a way that’s comfortable to them without asking too much.

Marci says, “Whether you invite people into a community for co-creation or not, people are doing it on their own.” In the meme-tastic 4chan community, members can “bump” pieces of content as a way to self-select information they’re interested in. This is how members say they want to see more on this topic, and as Ikeler noted, “The best response you can get from your audience is that they want more.”

Will clients embrace a site like 4chan that can’t truly be regulated? She says they will because more and more things are being done in a crowdsourced way, advertisers will have to embrace that there will be content out there that’s off-brand.

So how do get consumers interested in produced or branded content when they could just go make it themselves? As one panel guest reminded us, “We as advertisers are the echo, not the boom.”

Ikeler talked through a few different strategies for effectively engaging your audience. “If you’re not creating ideas that develop naturally in a social environment it’s not going to work, you can’t just post any content in the social space and assume it will grow [...] Some videos aren’t as attuned to social spread and dialogue as more successful ones.”

Marci’s solution is micro-content: fast, small and sticky. Rather than coming up with a long-form, polished video, the most successfully social brands are posting micro-content more frequently. It can be risky to put that much content out there, but it allows advertisers to test which types of content and messaging will resonate best with their audience.

I follow 1,283 people on Twitter. With a newsfeed that is constantly refreshing, how can a branded tweet catch my attention amongst the clutter? I attended the “Being Funny on Twitter (Without Getting Fired)” panel at SXSW on Saturday and according to the panelist the way to standout is through humor.

One of the best things about social media is it allows you to humanize a brand and humor is a great way to let a brand’s personality shine. To be clear, in this panel humor is being defined as wit, not jokes (no knock-knock jokes per the panelists). If humor is on-brand then it can be an effective tool to establish a strong identity for a company/product/service.

A few no-no’s were mentioned, for example it’s best to keep any political tweets straightforward. There is a threshold as to what consumers are willing to take and it’s important to be strategic in not crossing it.

Follow Chapin Clark & Ross Morrison’s funny twitter feeds here:
@hugeinc
@rga

Remember the days before speech recognition took over Customer Service? When pressing “0” put you straight through to an operator, bypassing those endless options? I miss those days. And while I love how technology and workflow has provided new options to both brands and their consumers – there are inherent gaps created in the experience when communicating with brands. It’s important that we balance technology and “efficiency” with the ability to set expectations.

Last week, I had a quite the customer service experience after purchasing two tickets for a trip. Long story short – my credit card was charged twice. At the time, a quick phone call seemed like the reasonable approach toward a resolution. An exhausting 45 minutes later I netted out with a few consumer experience basics that brands should be adopting if they aren’t already:

- Is the experience built for the company or for the consumer? Many brands like to keep the consumer away from a call center. To do this, it takes clicks to get to a contact phone number. This speaks to the consumer by telling them the brand is there for the consumer if need be, but on the Brand’s terms.

- Does call center satisfaction make for a repeat customer? I would say YES. While this may cost more to the brand, the WOM and loyalty should be worth more in terms of long term relationships = $$$

- When does being courteous become a hindrance? While I think we all love pleasantries when communicating, at the end of the day the consumer is looking for solutions. If being nice doesn’t provide a solution, those formalities are just wasted time when the outcome will be negative overall.

- How can brands marry the online and traditional work streams? This is where UX (User Experience) can be playful and efficient. By tying the touch points together seamlessly, the consumer will see the effort. A great example is Citibank Online. I find that although the pleasantries are a bit tiring, the solution is consistent and carries back to all mediums in real-time.

In an attempt to find closure, my more patient better half took some time to reach out to the company and confirm the correction. She had a difficult time finding a phone number and by the time she did, only online support was available. Taking a chance, she reached out electronically and received a prompt reply. The response was timely, courteous and accurate. When she got home and shared the story we both laughed, and tried to dissect why our two experiences were so disconnected.

I’ve always gravitated toward the UX side of things. There is an experience in everything we do – not just in digital, but in our work routines, the mediums we interact with, and our own lives. Personally, I have always believed in the idea of creativity and personality in UX, that something created should speak to a person in ways the consumer may not have been expecting. The reaction becomes, “Wow! How did they know…?”.  But, before you can even approach personality, it’s vital for brands to cover the bare basics of a positive experience.

While the customer service reps I dealt with were pleasant, the time spent to solve the problem made for a far from efficient user experience. I need to call this company again since the credit has yet to hit my account – here’s hoping for a better experience this time around. What are some brands that have surprised you with a positive customer service experience?

As the name may imply, here at Mr Youth many of us are not that far removed from college and often find ourselves immersed in the culture as part of the job. Via our RepNation influencer platform, we spend a lot of time on college campuses working with students and studying youth trends. Whenever I find myself on campus, I can’t help but reminisce about the good ol’ days and it always surprises me to see how much social media and technology has influenced college life in the short time since I left.

The Notes:

(Then) Paper and pen. Many of my professors frowned upon students having laptops in the classroom as they felt it was a distraction. I didn’t own a laptop until my senior year of college, and even then I rarely took it to class.
(Now) Studies are being done at colleges like the University of Notre Dame that analyze the pros and cons of using modern technology in the classroom. In this study, iPads were provided to a group of students, intended to be used as an e-reader, but over the course of the semester students found the iPads to be more useful as an aggregation tool rather than a replacement for a textbook. They reported that the devices are hard to take notes on and the majority felt the $499 price tag was just too expensive for their beer and ramen noodle budgets. Still, when asked how they felt about giving up the device at the end of the study, 65% said it would be hard to relinquish the iPad.

The Courses:

(Then) Looking back on my college curriculum, my major in Strategic Communications was largely focused in Public Relations – writing press releases and learning how to gain PR through traditional news outlets. I can’t help but wonder how much the curriculum has changed in these few short years since I graduated, as I naturally assume a large focus must be on non-traditional media like Facebook, Twitter, blogs and the like.
(Now) Interestingly enough, I spent a little time on my alma mater’s website and it doesn’t look like much has changed in terms of the courses required to graduate with a BA in Strategic Communications. I’m going to guess that social media is interwoven into the current curriculum, which brings up an interesting question: Can social media really be taught, or is it something you can only really learn through practice?

The Phones:

(Then) Having a brother who works for a wireless provider, owning the latest and greatest cell phone has always been an obsession of mine. I vividly remember walking into college sophomore year with a hot pink Motorola flip phone with photo, video and texting capabilities, and wondering how it could ever get better than that.
(Now) Fast Forward to 2011, a recent study revealed that 49% of all college students own smart phones and this figure has nearly doubled over the past year. I would estimate that about 90% of the students we work with though RepNation equip themselves with iPhone, Droid and Blackberry devices which result in an expectation of near-immediate response time. It makes me wonder – in another 5 years, will students no longer have the luxury of reading emails and taking time to come up with a thoughtful and strategic response, in an effort to respond as quickly as possible? And, if this begins to become the norm so early on in one’s professional career, how will this affect the way we do business in the “real world”?

At the end of the day, I find the changes all very exciting, yet slightly terrifying at the same time. With endless potential it’s going to be hard to keep up with it all, but with the possibility of lectures being held via hologram, how can you not want to try?

Looks like the premiere of the new MTV show, ‘Skins’, is stirring up a lot of controversy, both from the Parents Television Council and advertisers alike. With allegations sparking that the show is breaking child porn statutes, brands like Taco Bell state the commercial time is not “fit for their brand”. Now other advertisers are following suit, with brands like Schick, Subway, General Motors, H&R Block, and Wrigley no longer purchasing ads during ‘Skins’ programming. The Parents Television Council is trying, and effectively so, to get other brands to opt out of that commercial time, as well.

It’s apparent that although corporate brands will not want to be associated with the show, the bulk of the series’ commercials will come primarily from movie studios and TV networks. The irony lies in the success of the show in the U.K., where it originates. Some of the U.K.’s largest brands still air their commercials during ‘Skins’, and it is a very successful show overall. Abroad, the show initially stirred up some controversy, but has just confirmed its 6th season. In the U.S., everyone is talking about it, everyone knows about it, but brands don’t want to be involved. Even with millions of viewers watching the show and talking about it both online and offline, it’s still a dangerous investment for a corporate brand to make when teen sex, underage drinking and drug use are the rampant themes of the series.

Is buying a car what’s going to come to mind when watching a show about teenage drinking and drugs? Not so much. I can understand why companies like GM or H&R block would not want to affiliate their brands through a graphic show such as ‘Skins’, it clearly doesn’t talk to the brands message and doesn’t make sense. At the same time, the target audience of Taco Bell and Subway, for example, are watching and they are passing up the opportunity to talk to that consumer. Is it worth abandoning that air time?

MTV is clearly pushing the envelope here, but people are watching; about 3.3 million viewers watched the premiere this week, and 1.2 million were underage, according to Nielsen stats, even though the program is rated for those 17 and older.

This article appeared as part of MediaPost’s Engage:Teens Publications. To read the original post, click here.

A teen, a Millennial and a Mom walk into a restaurant for dinner. The Mom has a coupon for 10% off that she got for “liking” the bar’s Facebook page, the Millennial checked in on Foursquare to get a free drink, and the teen has nothing and is too busy texting her friends to care.

Teens are a unique audience. They have their own needs and social drivers that are unique to their stage in life. Many marketers assume that, because teens are young, their needs are the same as Millennials and that they will interact with brands in the same way.

New research is showing that teens have their own needs and behaviors that are different from other generations. If you’re a marketer looking to reach teens, it’s vitally important that you always have your finger on the pulse of the teen audience. As technology evolves, teens are finding their own uses for it that are unique to their personal and social needs.

There are some myths about marketing to teens that every marketer can learn from.

Myth #1: All teens want smartphones
While it is true that teens want phones, smartphone adoption has only reached 31% as of 2010. If 90% of teens own a cell phone, why aren’t they buying smartphones? The answer is actually pretty simple: texting. Teens send an average of 3,339 texts per month, and typing that many messages on a touch screen is a lot more difficult than typing on even the most basic phone keyboard. That’s why BlackBerry is one of the most popular phones for teens.

Click here to read the rest of David’s teen marketing myths.

As a self proclaimed caffeine addict with an unreasonable loyalty to Dunkin’ Donuts’ hazelnut blend, I couldn’t help but be lured by their latest social media campaign aimed at finding the chain’s number one fan.

Named The Ultimate Dunkin’ Donuts Coffee Fan Contest, the contest requires consumers to submit a 60 second or less video to the Dunkin’ Donut’s Facebook page for the chance to win the ultimate Dunkin’-lovers prize – 60 months of free coffee and a trip for two to Costa Rica to tour the Dunkin’ Donuts Coffee Lab (a dream come true for a recent college graduate, like myself, who spends a whopping $2.05 on her morning joe).

Contestants can submit their videos through October 20^th. Public voting starts October 21^st; however, 75% of the video’s overall score will come from Dunkin’ judges. In addition to the grand prize, ten Facebook fans will earn 12 months of free coffee.

While Dunkin’ Donuts is no stranger to social media campaigns, this is their first Facebook-only campaign – a very smart strategic move for a company touting over two million Facebook fans.

With many other brands also administering number one fan contests to engage consumers, I believe Dunkin’ will come out on top. Knowing the nature of brand loyalty I can safely assume anyone even half the Dunkin’ devotee I am will be just as eager to jump on this prize.

Every relationship has its hiccups – but that’s not necessarily bad. This week, Foursquare suffered an 11-hour outage crippling its mobile apps and website, but responded in a way that illustrated the unique (and invaluable) opportunity to turn a consumer into an evangelist at that moment of truth when things go awry; when one party disappoints the other.

Active Foursquare users love checking in, seeing where their friends are, reading tips, and – what brands can only wish for – trying to cajole friends and strangers into joining. Active users also rely on the service; as a result, when we can’t check in, we feel robbed of something we’re entitled to – it’s the validation of our presence! When I couldn’t check in two nights ago, I was tempted to check-in to all locations the next morning. A lovely evening with friends (whom I looked forward to checking-in with) was stained… by Foursquare.

But how did the service respond to their devoted users after the fact? They tweeted honestly and apologetically – one could hear the nervousness in their tweets and the urgency with which they were fixing the problem. They promised a developers post-mortem in the morning, in which they were open about the technical difficulties and offered the following resources to users:

- Downtime and ‘we’re back up’ messages will be tweeted by @4sqsupport (their support account) and retweeted by @foursquare

- During these outages, regular updates (at least hourly) will be tweeted from @4sqsupport

- A new status blog at status.foursquare.com will have the latest updates

- A more useful error page; instead of having a static graphic saying they’re upgrading their servers (which they admit was not completely accurate), they’ll have a more descriptive status update

Foursquare’s attempt to ease my check-in withdrawal left me satisfied; in fact, I feel empathy for the developers who probably felt helpless for much of their Monday. I saw @dens’ and @af’s late night tweets; they were disappointed too. There was acknowledgement, a promise to do better, and action. I have more confidence than ever in the service and I look forward to continue spreading the good word, and you can bet I airplane hugged the pouty princess!

Several brands are creating more participatory content on YouTube these days and the channel as a whole seems to be making a slow but smart play from a passive content channel to a broader interactive digital hub. The new functionality will allow advertisers to engage in deeper and more unique messaging offerings by making the viewer a more active part of the content experience.

One of the first examples to catch my eye and keyboard this summer was the Google chromefastball game on YouTube. More recently two examples came up, one by a relatively unknown brand Tipp-Ex and the other from an old school legend, Trivial Pursuit.

What’s impressive about both of these is the level of viewer interaction with the content. In the Tipp-Ex video “A Hunter Shoots a Bear” there’s a “choose your own ending” format, coupled with an unexpected interactive ad unit. The Mac/PC ads famously started doing this on the NYTimes homepage, but it hasn’t yet reached critical popularity on YouTube.

So what do we call all of this? An interactive content ad? The viewer is clearly duped and then encouraged to fool a friend with a cryptic message through pushing out to their Facebook or Twitter networks. Smart play! The outcome of the content is unexpected and thus encourages continued pass along to drive up viewership.

Another example which takes the channel more into the gameplay realm is the Trivial Pursuit YouTube game. Are these just one-offs, or a small growl into the future of YouTube’s belly of awesomeness? Will developers start building games with YouTube in mind? Certainly all the mashups could gain from allowing users to easily make their own thruough some quick tools integrated within the YouTube channel. What else have you been seeing on YouTube or other channels that makes the content two-way?