We already know that there is an ongoing exponential increase in social media usage. Facebook is now used by over 500 million people worldwide. A third of worldwide Internet users log into Facebook to update their status and photos. That’s a lot.

From an advertising and marketing perspective though, it pays to understand just how in-depth this usage is. North American Technographics conducted an online survey to ascertain the depth of online usage. This was compared against results from a survey conducted in 2006 by the same organisation.

The population was divided into Creators, Conversationalists, Critics, Collectors, Joiners, Spectators and Inactives. It revealed that 70% of the population identify themselves as ‘Spectators’, which includes reading blogs, listening to podcasts, watching videos and reading online forums. Only 24% identified as ‘Creators’ who were defined as people who’ publish blogs, publish web pages, upload videos and music and post articles or stories.’

At face value, this may all seem a little bit ‘captain obvious.’ It’s not exactly an astute observation to suggest that there are more people online who are ‘spectators’ as opposed to ‘creators.’

I do, however think it’s something to bear in mind when we are in the process of creating campaigns. It’s so easy to get carried away thinking of exciting ideas for consumers that involve content generation and sharing. ‘Why don’t we get them to upload a video to win something?’ is quite a common catch phrase. Next time though, consider the audience and how many of them are actually the type to create and share content.

theaustralian.com.au/news

forresters

Easyjet has recently launched a holiday planner within its Facebook fan page. It’s an application that allows fans to plan holidays with their Facebook friends. There is also an option to purchase tickets directly from Facebook eradicating the need to even visit the Easyjet website.

This is not the only case of ecommerce ever seen on Facebook (take 1-800-FLOWERS and Basketballer Amar’e Stoudemire’s Facebook fan store) yet it raises some interesting questions around the role of the social networking tool in marketing. Instead of using Facebook as a channel to drive traffic back to a central hub, in this instance Facebook is acting as the location for business transactions. So then – is this a one off or the beginning of a trend? Well it all comes back to value – will Facebook users feel they are gaining value being able to shop on Facebook? Or, conversely, will they feel that these ecommerce elements will interrupt their social networking experience? From a business perspective Facebook is a very clever way to reach diverse audiences and interrupt conversations and opinions around products, however, if ever the day were to come when Facebook was evidently more marketing activity than personal interactions and conversations I believe this functional shift would result in turmoil for Facebook.

easyJet on facebook
1800 Flowers on facebook

Nike recently developed a campaign that used the London postcode grid and existing telephone boxes as the main components for the Nike Grid experience, driven virally online.

As the video demonstrates, the aim of the game is to run to as many post codes in the London grid and prove you did it by dialling in from a phone box and entering your given number – all in 24 hours! Sound like a challenge? Perhaps, until you take a closer look…

Some responses online include, “how can you stop people from cheating and driving the circuit” and “can’t you get your mates to sneakily help out”? Perhaps I am taking the game element a little too seriously…

While some may have found holes in the execution, results speak for themselves…15,000 you tube views, 2851 people who gave it the thumbs up on Facebook, hundreds of twitter postings, not to mention the many blog postings – including this one!

Check out Nike Grid online.

It is always great to get clients who want to push technology to the edge – however it usually comes with a large price tag that is hard for some marketing managers to grasp. But as digital equipment evolves the outcomes are only going to get more impressive and show stopping…

Take for instance, this incredible virtual catwalk created for Diesel. Not only does it tick the “wow” factor box, but it also has fantastic legs from both a viral campaign and WOM perspective. This is a great example of how some creative thinking can produce a small event that can be leveraged online and shared with the rest of the world. I love it! Just make sure you watch at least 1.30 into the video because it will surprise you…

Not wanting to come off as a, raging bra-burning feminist, but I did go to a very interesting ‘Marketing to Women’ talk last week run by agIdeas. I learnt that women allegedly make around 80% of household purchasing decisions yet they are still considered a ‘niche’ market. In the US, women’s annual earnings total 1 trillion dollars, but their spending amounts to 2 trillion; this means they are spending their own salaries…and their husbands!

So…here’s some food for thought – key areas to consider when marketing to women:

1. Highlight the benefits not the features. More time poor than ever before, she wants to know what she will gain from the product. How will it enable to her to save time and improve the way she carries out tasks?
2. Consider her body. It’s hard to believe, but there are still a heap of products that women use which were not designed with her body in mind. Sporting equipment springs to mind!! The days of women fitting into men’s products should be well and truly over…. and yet they continue.
3. Consider her life stage – does she have kids, is she a baby boomer? Women all have different needs and motivations and their emotional approach to purchasing decisions will make her frustrated with marketers who don’t understand this.
4. Consider how it makes her feel. It is ridiculous to believe that a women will be happy with the ‘shrink it and pink it’ approach. Consider her feelings and how you want to product to make her feel… this is what you should communicate to her.

Visit agIdeas online

This story begins in March 2009. It was at this time that three separate ‘Jesus sightings’ occurred across separate European cities…yes, that’s correct, on three separate occasions people believed they had seen Jesus! Religious, agnostic or atheist, these claims are fascinating and naturally attracted a great deal of commotion.

In the midst of this pure madness, Kit-Kat recognised that this unusual trend was actually an opportunity to leverage their famous ‘Have a break’ strap line. So…using a fake email address and identity, they sent an email to the two largest Dutch news sites, claiming that, after taking a bite from a Kit-Kat chunky someone had yet another ‘Jesus sighting’.

Several news sites picked up on the story immediately and within four days ‘Jesus Kit-Kat’ was on more than 100,000 websites with an abundance of comments such as ‘Have a break, have a Jesus Kit-Kat,’ ‘Even JC needs a break’ and ‘Jesus spotted in a Kit Kat Bar…gimme a break.’ This campaign is a great case study to illustrate the power of digital viral campaigns; Kit-Kat received an inordinate amount of free-publicity with virtually zero cost per contact. Furthermore, not only did they get the Kit-Kat name on everyone’s lips, they even had people adapting their strap-line unprompted. Gimme a break!

While a consumer trend forecast is no crystal ball, we have to admit that contemplating what 2010 may hold does create a certain kind of excitement. Big ideas inspire bigger ideas, enter Trendwatching.com. They’ve just released their “10 crucial consumer trends for 2010” report and we thought you’d fancy a bit of a preview. Here’s a few that caught our attention:

1. Business as unusual

Companies are going to need to get increasingly creative to move with—and stay one step ahead of—today’s diverse, networked, chaotic society. And be transparent. Oh, and collaborative. One more thing: greed is out; generosity is in.

2. (F)Luxury

Luxury, and what it means to a number of diverse market segments, will remain in flux. Will luxury be all about time? About eating organic? About personalized everything? All of the above? Only one way to find out…

3. Maturialism

Mature materialism is predicted to be on the way for 2010. With consumers having access to pretty much everything in the universe (thanks to the Internet), their expectations of brands are significantly higher than if they only had access to print media and a couple of boring old TV channels.

4. Mass mingling

In contrast to what naysayers of the online world have to say, real, living, breathing interaction is actually on the increase. Social media and mobile communications are fueling more get-togethers, more minglings and more live connections than ever before. Your social calendar could be very full in 2010…

5. Eco-easy

The eco stakes will be higher next year. Words like “sustainability” have been bandied around for quite a while now, but in 2010 there’ll be no room for complacency. This is where the “easy” comes in. Corporations, companies and businesses will have to take their eco-ness to new levels of accountability, and give consumers no other option than to step up. Easy, because there’s only one choice to make: eco of the highest integrity. For example, UK sandwich chain Pret a Manger decided to stop selling tuna sandwiches after the Earth Day 2009 release of “End of the Line”, a documentary exposing over fishing. (Sandwich decisions at Pret just got a whole lot easier.)

Some of these forecasts might help you with your own ideas for 2010… some might not. What’s good about them is that they get you thinking about possibilities. 2010 is full of potential waiting to be realised. Go get ‘em!

Want the full list? Go to trendwatching.com/briefing/

Online reviewing of brands, products, services and experiences has taken off in such a big way that trendwatching.com has named ‘Transparency Triumph’ the global trend for September 2009. For anyone not quite at home with that naked truth, it’s definitely time to change. Brands must be prepared to be sized up, talked about and scrutinised. The opportunity for anyone in the business of building brands (like us) is understanding how consumers are being influenced, how they’re making decisions—and how a brand can engage in this dialogue without it feeling forced.

A Nielson Global Online Consumer Survey of over 25,000 online consumers from over 50 countries has revealed “recommendations by personal acquaintances and opinions posted by consumers online are the most trusted forms of advertising globally. The Nielsen survey shows that 90% of online consumers worldwide trust recommendations from people they know, while 70% trust consumer opinions posted online.” Exciting stuff. Reviewing, it seems, is the new advertising. This shows a definite shift in consumer purchasing trends. The old ways of advertising are certainly over.

As people rely more and more on the word-of-mouth provided by ‘peers’ they’ve never met, the credibility and authenticity of a brand becomes increasingly important. With an empowered consumer audience that talks to each other at lightning speed, brands need to make sure they are listening to the conversation at the very least… and if they decide to join in, they should be prepared to be honest and authentic. Just the way we like it!

To read the article in full click here

Whenever some cool, new technology hits the market, everyone suddenly wants a piece of it. And if you haven’t heard of Augmented Reality… you’re about to.

Augmented Reality makes it possible to bridge digital content with live experience something anyone interested in brand experiences should be very keen to get their head around. Basically, augmented reality puts a digital creation into a real life setting. You may view this through your computer screen or, most recently, your phone. Loads of brands have dabbled with Augmented Reality in some way (see examples here) but one of the most practical and useful applications is the iphone “Nearest Tube” app. As posted above this application actually turns one of life’s everyday experiences (if you live in London, that is) into an exciting adventure.

Perhaps the most inspiring example of Augmented Reality so far is the way IBM created the Seer application for Wimbeldon 2009. Not only does it help you navigate your way around Wimbeldon through your phone, it provides you with real-time information on everything that’s going on, in and around the grounds. Now that’s mind-boggling. Imagine the possibilities with technology like that… Check out IBM’s Seer Android for Wimbeldon 2009

How do you get a simple, heartfelt message across in the middle of a super-competitive world-class sporting event? Just ask Nike. As part of their sponsorship of Lance Armstrong and their LIVESTRONG campaign for the 2009 Tour de France, Nike worked with mobile software design agency Deep Local and Standard Robot to come up with something very, very cool: Chalkbot. We love it because it’s powerful, it’s immediate, it’s clever… and it’s a chalk-printing robot. (Fantastic.)

Supporters in the US and France were encouraged to text inspirational messages for cyclists, that were then printed in yellow chalk on the roads of the Tour de France. They could also send in messages of hope and courage for people living with cancer. The whole campaign just feels good and has been executed brilliantly.

Those who sent messages were then given the GPS coordinates of where their message would be chalked. In terms of engaging people with the race, with the brand, and with the bigger picture of fighting cancer, we find this to be very inspiring stuff. Chalkbot rocks!