ChaosScenario

Social networking wars

Ever feel like you belong to too many networks? Hate those "friend" requests on MySpace?

- Paul Herring

How to Do Viral the Right Way

After seeing this excellent JibJab video, I knew it would be an big hit. With the YouTube version being viewed over 100,000 times in a day, I'm pretty sure it satisfactorily meets the definition of "viral."

 

Send a JibJab Sendables® eCard Today!

When we encounter brilliance, it is commonly useful to examine the elements of it that make it successful, so that we can also duplicate it.

1. Create compelling content
There are many ways to create content that is likely to be widely distributed. Content is compelling to mass audiences if it contains at least one, but preferably two of the following elements:

• It is unexpected
• It strokes the egos of the intended audience (Case in point)
• It is considerably funny

2. Make it easy to consume the content
Be platform and website agnostic. Commit to go wherever your consumers are. That means, as in the above example, if your audience is on YouTube, if the content is video, post it on YouTube. The chances of your content being consumed decreases proportionally to how difficult it is to consume. Typically (but not always), this forbids requiring users download extra software to make it work.

3. Make it easy to distribute the content
This is where a lot of efforts fall short. It isn't necessarily because they are overlooking the step, but that they don't recognize the viral potential of it. Maybe they'll even spend the money to point a few ads at it and miss a great opportunity to help others pass it along. (Related post: Missed Opportunities and Distributable Content)

As a viral campaign, even ElfYourself would have died in its tracks had users not found a ready link to participate.

4. Plant the Seeds
It's tempting to overdo this. If your content truly is remarkable and compelling, it will spread organically pretty quickly. However, don't underestimate the time it will take to plant the seeds right.

It is critical to first identify the brand or category-specific (or even just the brand or category-friendly) conversations already taking place. Even if it doesn't fit your predefined notion of who your audience is.

For instance, you may be in the underwear category, but if your approach to marketing your underwear really is compelling, let the marketers know about it. Chances are, someone will want to talk about it.

I don't know how they did it, but the above video (minus my head) made one of the morning talk shows, and I have little doubt radio DJs across the country have been touting it, too. Part of this is seeding it where it will be seen, but even that would have been impossible but for the nearly universally compelling content.

What makes something viral?
The term "viral" was not selected by accident. A viral video or campaign, like a virus, is communicable. It infects our consciousness to the point that we feel compelled to pass it on to someone else.

JibJab's effort with Time for Some Campaignin' here was successful because they incorporated all of the essential principles of making content viral." It wasn't easy, and it certainly can't be considered "free advertising." However, it's funny and relevant, but most of all, it's communicable.

Tipping the Boat

Last month I attended summer camp with my son's Boy Scout troop. It was a great and challenging experience. While there, I noticed what great life lessons we can learn from kids -- when life and the media haven't beaten them into cynics. And that was on just the first full day of activities.

On the Monday following our arrival, our scouts put together a team to run a relay that consisted of the following events:

1. Swimming
2. Running
3. Knot-tying
4. More running
5. Paddle-boating
6. Still more running
7. Canoing

Most of our scouts were pretty young. They hadn't really been in long enough to learn all of the skills that would give them an edge on this relay, but true to the scouting spirit, they gave it their best effort.

At the end of the first event, our team was in last place.

Because of a mixup by the relay organizers, we had fallen far behind the other 3 teams. However, by the time they completed the next 5 tasks and arrived at the waterfront to don their safety gear and get into the canoes, all of the teams were pretty much neck-and-neck.

I was excited that they stuck with it to get to this point,.

But if they held any notion of winning the contest, it was dashed when, as they launched the canoe, it immediately tipped over and became submerged in the water.

Seeing this, I jumped up and down with glee as I shouted encouragement to the scouts.

This little mishap was sure to guarantee that they'd lose the event. They were in last place -- by far. Why would I be so happy that they just tipped their boat over?

At that moment, I knew that had they not tipped the boat over, they stood a good chance of winning. Had they come in first or second place, their admirable performance would have given them bragging rights for the rest of the evening. Most would have forgotten it by the end of the week.

However, falling into the lake cemented that moment in their memories for years, if not a lifetime.

It seems so often that we're told by others (or our own fears) that we shouldn't rock the boat. The problem is, we don't often remember those instances where, when the time for testing came, everyone did what they could to stay in the background, unnoticed.

We remember when someone rocks the boat.

We remember when the boat tips over.

We remember when we have to find a way to get back in it.

We admire people who challenge us to persevere in spite of our fears and difficulties. We follow those who inspire us to do greater things and to be better people.

It doesn't mean it's easy, and it doesn't mean it comes without pain.

No one can credibly make any such promises, anyway.

We do know that when we fail -- and we all fail -- we can persevere, and in our perseverance, we find one of the several forms of success that will sustain us and convince us we can recover when we inevitably fail again. - Cam Beck

Paul Herring for President*

I hear his unofficial-official campaign slogan is, "Not Nearly as Repulsive as the Other Candidates. Unless You Like That Sort of Thing."

As this is a grassroots effort and he does not have any lawyers on staff to navigate the muddy waters of political donations, Paul's campaign is not accepting contributions. However, you're encouraged as always to donate to your favorite charity. - Cam Beck

Hat tip to Drew McLellan.

*Related Post: John and Cam Exposed.

More Hellboy 2 Pod-Busting

Feed readers click through to watch videos.

American Gladiators on USA

Chuck on NBC (Part 1)

Chuck on NBC (Part 2)

Reality TV
Not sure what this is for, but it would work on a reality show like Project Runway or American Idol (though either of them would be more effective if they casted the actual judges).

- Cam Beck

Related Article: Supertargeted Television Advertising

The Log In Our Own Eyes

A concerned colleague sent a link to this ABC News 20/20 report by John Stossel about how we should all check the dates our tires were manufactured before our ignorance kills us. I suggest you watch it. Don't wait. Do it now. We'll be here when you get back.

Alright. Welcome back.

What caught my attention (besides the part about how I might die if I don't know this) was how the reporter seemed incredulous that the manufacturer made it so hard to read and understand the date the tire was created.

Well of course it's hard to understand. So are the rest of the numbers on the tire.

I also marveled at the incredulity because the ABC News site wouldn't let me select the video I wanted to watch, which was supposedly about a $65 million house.

I kept clicking on the video thumbnail that promised the content I wanted, and the site served me the preroll commercial, but then just loaded the next one in the "Top Videos Playlist."

I may not die if I don't watch the video about the $65 million house, but I may have died if the video I couldn't watch was the one about the tires.

Now, maybe it's because I'm on a platform or browser they don't support, or maybe it was a temporary error.

Maybe it's unrealistic, after all, to expect a big company like ABC News to deliver content to little-old me since I work on a computer that has something like a 5% penetration rate.

But what can I say? I'm a consumer. I don't care what their problem is. I just want my problem solved (Note: Your consumers are no different).

Besides, before they dismiss me and my platform of choice as too insignificant to matter, does the number of people who are at risk from the tires they're talking about exceed 5% of the entire driving population? Somehow I doubt it. Yet they managed to strike a tone of scorn on others that they could as well have used on themselves.

Now go check your tires, and have a great weekend. - Cam Beck

Watch What You Say or Watch Who's Listening

The recent Jesse Jackson dust-up over candid remarks he made about Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama reminded me of a story I heard. A client service representative got canned because he blew off some steam about a client (presumably clueless) after they finished a conference call. Problem was, the client was still on the line. Neither group bothered to hang up.

It's a big world. I'm sure this wasn't the only time that happened to someone.

If you're like -- I don't know -- everyone... you, too, have been in a situation where you've had to maintain a cordial relationship with someone you don't like or someone who frustrates you from time to time.

That's okay. We're human. And we don't approve of everything anyone else says or does 100% of the time. This can be frustrating. 

Sure, you could say what you think in the same manner the thought comes to you, but your judgment tells you (probably accurately) that it isn't in either of your best interests, as it could create a hostile environment and ultimately damage the relationship and your common official duties.

Sometimes, though, you just have to say what you really think to somebody or else you will go mad, so you reveal your true objections about this person to someone you trust.

Maybe it's about a coworker. Maybe it's about a boss. Maybe it's about a client.

The Franklin Method

If you truly have a problem with someone you have to get along with, look into the possibility of dealing directly with that person diplomatically.

Consider the way Benjamin Franklin advised his friend Thomas Paine concerning the publishing of the Age of Reason, after Paine sent Franklin a manuscript:

...I would advise you, therefore ... to burn this piece before it is seen by any other person; whereby you will save yourself a great deal of mortification by the enemies it may raise against you, and perhaps a good deal of regret and repentance. If men are so wicked with religion, what would they be if without it. I intend this letter itself as a proof of my friendship, and therefore add no professions to it; but subscribe simply yours, B. Franklin (Source)

(Notably, the defiant and impertinent Paine published the tome anyway, and the rebuke he received was so severe that, in spite of his contributions to whipping up support for the American Revolution, he lived the rest of his years as an outcast, and no American cemetery would accept his remains. The author of the most widely read pamphlet ever written at the time, Common Sense, would be buried in a farm field accompanied at his funeral by only 6 mourners.)

If you cannot approach your antagonist in this way, either learn to filter your thoughts before they escape your lips or confide in only the most trusted sources. And for goodness sakes, make sure no one else is in a position to listen in, lest they find out what you really think. - Cam Beck

In the Land of the Blind

One day I was walking down a sidewalk and came up to an intersection. A blind man was waiting there, and I offered my assistance. He allowed me to help him to the other side, and we talked a bit as we walked.

When we got to the other side, he thanked me and asked me to confirm which street we were on. I told him that we were on Queen Emma Street, and he had a look of surprise about him.

He asked, "We're not on Richards?"

I looked up and, sure enough, we were on Richards, not Queen Emma.

"My mistake," I said. "We are on Richards."

He looked relieved, announced his departure and went about his business, and I on mine.

One benefit from this moment was that I discovered my true location. I may have gotten lost if I didn't get this new knowledge.

The most important benefit I got was this: I learned that you should never underestimate what someone is capable of just because of their perceived limitations or what others tell you that you can expect from them.

The most pleasant surprises come from unlikely sources, but you'll never know that until you give someone a chance. - Cam Beck

(See related article: Don't Be Fooled by Pedigree)

Bureaucracy Must Die

Maybe you’ve been there. You toiled for weeks on a large website and collaborated closely with your contact. You asked for and received approval every step of the way, went above and beyond to meet nearly impossible deadlines, answer and rebut requests that are not in the best interests of the client, and you practically nursed the contact along to prepare them for the brave new world of the Internet.

Presentation day arrives. Not including the time it took to perform the research and create the plan, it takes you 5 days to prepare the slides. You give your best performance.

The contact looks at you and says, “This is great, but I can’t approve it. When are you available to give this presentation to the committee so that we can move forward?”

Wait. What?

The work you just performed wasn’t just the culmination of weeks of work, but years of accumulating knowledge – knowledge you had to dig up and pass along to your contact at key intervals, overcoming what you now assume was the decrees of the bureaucracy.

Now you know… you just know this committee will dream up silly requests born of ignorance and groupthink. They will ask that you break all sorts of conventions and usability rules because the boss thinks being different for its own sake is “cutting edge” and “best in class.” You’d better come prepared for anything, because you’ll likely have to deal with it.

Don’t look at your contact, Einstein. This is your fault.

First, you took the job without knowing who had approval authority, or worse, you knew all along that the person you were presenting to was just a liaison to the bureaucracy that controls the purse strings, and you didn’t find the source of the objections when you were addressing them with your contact.

Navigating around office politics can be tricky. Because they’re pervasive, there aren’t many companies that can afford to turn away paying clients because of such things.  It’s a part of the job.

But the sooner you can identify the impact the bureaucracy has on the process, the quicker you can find the remedy and work more efficiently. When you do this, you can do better work for more clients for a longer period of time. When you fail, expect to chase your tail and use all of your time explaining and reexplaining the same things over and over again.

If you’re successful, the bureaucracy will take all the credit, but if you really have the client’s best interests at heart, you won’t have a problem with that. - Cam Beck

Supertargeted Television Advertising

While watching a horror movie on the SciFi Channel, I saw a couple of ads done in a way that show that advertisers are at least beginning to understand the value of niche communities and how to effectively communicate with them.

This ad for the upcoming film, Hellboy 2, for instance, wouldn't work as well if it were placed on any of the major broadcast networks, but (without doing any research of my own to confirm it) the marketing team for the movie seem to understand who their target audience is and what they're watching. (Feed readers click through)

Importantly, it promotes both the SciFi show Ghost Hunters and the science fiction movie Hellboy 2, but it is directed at not just a specific category of audience, but at a specific audience on a specific channel watching a specific type of movie. Though this ad may work somewhat on other sister channels where research shows a significant overlap in audiences, it probably doesn't work any better than it does on the SciFi channel.

Except for the Super Bowl, I'd be hard pressed to find many television commercials that are tied to a specific network so tightly.

Likewise, this ad for Verizon Wireless just wouldn't work if it were placed in the midst of a rebroadcast of Steel Magnolias, but it worked well because it was attached to a horror movie.

This one, a not-so-subtle nod to the classic Stanley Kubrick film, The Shining, could be transported from network to network fairly easily, as long as it stayed within the horror genre.

I've always said that the most effective advertising is that which is most relevant to the audience. And as such, between the two, the Hellboy 2 commercial takes the cake. To wit, the thing being advertised, a science fiction movie, is most relevant to that audience's needs and goals, and it's done in a way that is nearly exclusive to what they are watching where they are watching it.

The Verizon Wireless commercial, on the other hand, relies entirely on its creative execution to communicate a message to a specific audience, but it's about a product that other audiences (anyone who owns or is thinking about owning a cell phone) certainly appreciate.

I don't heap praise on television advertising very often. Most of the time it seems mailed in.

However, I have to appreciate the thought and consideration these two placements show advertisers are giving to their audiences. - Cam Beck

Update: Jay Ehret of The Marketing Spot sent me a link that led me to this New York Times article that deals with this technique, called "pod-busting." Here's the money quote:

"'The engagement metrics are off the charts, when we do it well,' said Mike Pilot, president for sales and marketing at NBC Universal, part of General Electric."

I did notice that only Fox Broadcasting seems to be considering cutting down on the number or duration of commercial breaks to make what is advertised more memorable, but at least some media executives recognize this shortcoming.

"But Mr. Lotito of Media IQ dismissed pod-busters as 'flawed' for reasons that include the 'silly' nature of their content. He would prefer that the networks shorten each pod because, he said, 'anything more than three or four spots is just too many.' Often a pod will contain six to eight commercials and promotions — or more."

At any rate, it's still nice to see that advertisers are looking at more creative ways to use advertising to deliver relevant content, rather than just another opportunity to shout at their audience.

Since Fox Broadcasting is going to experiment with longer programming time with supertargeted pod busters, assuming they're done well, we'll likely soon have some metrics to learn from.

The commercials in these shows ("Dollhouse" and "Fringe," which will run in 50 minutes instead of the industry average 42 to 44) will come at a higher price -- both in terms of production and media, but potentially will fetch a higher ROI. We'll see.