Hi everyone, Welcome back to the GM! With all the madness of pitches and the usual workload I'm sorry that this one is a little overdue. In this version we look at two jeans companies who are trying to get your attention and two car company micro-sites with the same market - but a massively different way of talking to them. At the base of this email is a great thought-piece written by our shiny new Senior Account Director, Jeremy Brook. I loved the article and reckon it's well worth a read. See ya in two weeks - or on Facebook anytime! Mark   Diesel Dating http://www.diesel.com/ Diesel is online with the Fall Winter Denim collection and it's all about dating. I loved the campaign concept since the very first moment I heard about it, and now that I have seen it I'm even more convinced it's a very cool idea. Each denim model has his/her own characteristics and personality and is looking for the ideal partner. If you like one of the models, don't be shy, and email him or her, who knows, maybe you'll get an answer... The copy in the product site is brilliant. Of course, there's also a Web 2.0 side of the project, which is only for over 18 people ;-) If you're looking for a partner, you can upload your photo and your profile and be featured in the gallery on the site...   Get Nude http://www.nudiejeans.com/fitguide/ A new interactive experience developed for Nudie Jeans. It's an innovative denim guide much more focused on fitting than the usual collection's presentations. On the site you can meet Average Joe, Regular Alf, Bootcut Ola and their "friends" and discover how the Nudie Jeans models fit. Unfortunately, there is no e-commerce function attached, and it's a pity, because the product exploration is so interesting and engaging that clicking and buying could be quite instinctive (and probably finding these jeans in a retail store won't be easy).   Rhythm of Lines http://www.rhythmoflines.co.uk/ Audi chooses an artistic approach to introduce its new A5 model. A Rhythm of Lines by GT doesn't tell much about the car, but does a pretty good job in creating an inspiring online experience. You don't need to be an artist to enjoy it, just use your keyboard and follow the music...   C-Class Experiment http://www.c-class.co.uk/ I like the way Mercedes approached online communication to present its new C-Class model . Instead of focusing on performance, they decided to take more of a sensorial and aesthetic angle, creating an experience you might not expect from a brand usually so much focused on the reliability of its cars. Actually, on the site, the car is almost not present as it's all about indirectly presenting its characteristics through tiny interactive experiences with clicks and sounds. Even if I enjoy the idea of doing things in a different/unusual way, I believe that the product ends up being too disconnected from the Technicolor experience. It could be a nice branding exercise, but I rather see it as a missed opportunity to present the car with a 360 approach, not looking only at its performance and visible characteristics (as all car manufactures do), but also going into the "soul" of the car, mixing expectations and aspirations in the consumers' mind.   Vaio Life Remixer http://vaio-online.sony.com/prod_info/concept/remix/ Sony has launched a new site to showcase its Vaio range of laptops. Quite an odd site for showcasing laptops but I like it. Remix Your Life is the campaign title and it's all about matching your personality to the right laptop. Once you have checked out the three vids already on the site you can then hook up your webcam and microphone and create your own. Now this is cool, but I hate to imagine how many people who want to experience this site but can't as they don't have a webcam or microphone - therefore annoying them rather than selling them on the products and brand. It reminds me a little of the Lynx Blow campaign where users needed to blow into a microphone. I guess this site will serve many people well - and piss-off just as many others. :-) Buzz Focus Is social networking online a fad, or will it go mainstream? Jeremy Brook, Senior Account Director Lowe/Rivet Social Networking online is most definitely not a fad. Just as the question supposes - there is nothing new about Social Networking. Digital media (mainly the web and to a lesser degree Mobile) has only taken the principals of many 'offline' networks (think Alumni societies, Sports clubs) and found a new way to grow participation and penetration. For users of online social networking they are far less confined in what networks they participate in. This creates both niche and mainstream use. Niche interest groups develop across time zones and territories - bringing together likeminded groups of people in numbers that were previously impossible. But being less confined also allows people to 'shallow-network' - taking mainstream and popular interests (for example school leaver alumni groups) and allowing users to invest a smaller amount of time than what would be required if you tried to stay in touch with the same group of people face-to-face. Evidence of the popularity of both niche (e.g. Second Life) and mainstream (e.g. Facebook) social networks demonstrates that online social networking is here to stay. - How can brands get involved? eg the pros and cons of setting up pages or plugging a business/product? - What are the risks of exposing your brand, and can you get it wrong and spark a backlash? A lot of a digital marketer's time is taken up by this question. As new media develops, there is the need to develop new ways of integrating advertising opportunities. Brands see that more customers (and potential customers) are spending more time online and look to get involved wherever possible. But if agencies, clients and media planners that believe just because there are banner ads available in these spaces that they are going to genuinely engage customers - they should think again. Online advertising has its place but brands that are unable to be likeminded with their consumers will only achieve a click through rate - not a lasting or behaviour changing experience. When you are agreed that likeminded behaviour means being a part of the community (think entertainer, enabler, and cause champion) there are still pros and cons. The pros are obvious: better brand engagement, the opportunity to drive education and loyalty in far greater degree than other online media and conversion too. It's a pretty attractive set but with reward comes risk. Get the message wrong or fail to successfully place your brand in the community and you will have handed over your brand to wolves that through the power of consumer generated content (one of the pillars of all social networks) will tell you (and more importantly everyone else) exactly what they think. New South Wales' Roads and Traffic Authority (RTA) created a Myspace page for the Slow Down campaign in the hope of 'getting the kids involved' by featuring videos and allowing young drivers to pledge their support. What resulted was a public demonstration of disapproval - hundreds of comments about the RTA and their allegedly unfair targeting of young drivers. - What are the rules of engagement for talking to these communities? - Should brands intervene to try to dampen criticism, or is it best to keep the authenticity of communication across social networks? Here is a quick checklist that I would recommend every brand manager go through when getting involved: Have you done a media landscape audit to work out where your brand 'fits' online? (Every brand is unique in this respect and some are not immediately suited to social networks) Is your brand and product already online beyond the corporate website? (A quick audit or where people are already engaging in social dialogue is an effective way to short track your planning process) Does your brand personality lend itself to a meaningful role? Is it an entertainer (e.g. Lynx's humorous look at attraction), an enabler (e.g. Contiki providing travel advice for backpackers) or cause champion (e.g. Dove's Campaign for Real Beauty)? Assess social networks for their brand fit beyond whether or not your target audience are active in it? Don't assume for one second that your brand is as engaging to others as it is to you and your agency. Avoid setting up your own social network unless you believe you have unique and valuable content to offer. Spend time developing more than one social networking-lead campaign. Social Networks are still in flux and your target may have moved before you've launched. Assess the campaign length and set aside contingency funds to allow you to adapt new elements after launch. There are always learnings and things you'll want to improve. Have a maintenance strategy - there is nothing worse than a brand that invests everything in a social networking launch and then fizzles out as the support dries up. Second Life is littered with examples. Assess the potential negative backlash. Working with your agencies (Creative, Media and PR) is essential to develop good recovery plans. When it fails or goes bad - embrace it rather than cover it up. The RTA example represented an excellent insight into what young drivers really thought of them – valuable information they would never have had otherwise. Before taking down this profile (which the RTA did eventually) they should have used it to identify their issues and improve their next attempt. Finally, do the maths. Brand campaigns within the social networking arena can be expensive. If your only objective is to drive more sales - it may not be worth it when you estimate the response you would require to get a positive ROI. - What's the next big thing in social networking eg mobile social networks like Twitter Twitter is an excellent example of the new wave of social networks. Unfortunately given the relatively low cost of development and the broad number of interest groups social networks are already growing on a daily basis. Some will succeed and some will fail but most will cause increased confusion rather than opportunity. Below are my Top 5 examples of new networks that are going to be worth looking out for: Facebook - Not entirely new but Australian registered users of Facebook are apparently growing at over 30% every month. Its estimated to be around 400,000 users at the moment but do the maths and its going to hit 1.5 million in six months. Of most interest - Facebook have recently opened up their site to developers who can tailor widgets (add on applications) that users can apply to their profiles. Examples from Red Bull, Amazon and Warner Brothers, are just the beginning of integrated offerings that make brands integral to user profiles. More at http://developers.facebook.com/ LinkedIn - again not brand new this is a professional social network that allows consumers to connect with colleagues past and present and using the degrees of separation allows you to find suppliers, job opportunities, answers to questions. Not currently very commercial yet I expect big things from B2B marketing campaigns using this environment to target elusive one-to-one communications opportunities. Outside.in - This network allows you to target a geographic area and pulls together blogs and newsfeeds to give you a living journal of a location. Currently only North American cities are onboard but already its proven to have been a huge success amongst heavy digital consumers who are more likely to read about the local neighbourhood on a computer than open the window. Huge potential for local businesses. Socialight - Blogging and social networking from your mobile. Imagine asking a social network for a restaurant recommendation from your mobile? Socialite brings the technology together to make this happen. Second Brain - still in development this site is designed to allow users to pull together various profiles and manage the information (think favourite photos, friends, newsfeeds) in one place. In a world of social network overload its perfect.   Staff Profile Han is an outstanding designer, illustrator and animator. Armed with a degree in Visual Communication earned in Christchurch New Zealand, Han has put his skills to work on mobile and online games, web design, interactive campaigns, and advanced mandarin peeling. Working at Lowe / Rivet, Han has contributed to interactive projects for Football Federation Australia, Genesis Energy, Nestlé, Thomson Education, and Unilever. Chat to Han © 2007 Lowe Hunt. All rights reserved.