With the proliferation of social media, more and more organizations are realizing its value as a marketing and public relations tool. As such, we now have a multitude of examples that provide lessons on what to do and not to do when it comes to social media campaign planning and execution. We’ve recently seen two great examples of both.
Old Spice launched a campaign in Februrary around the Old Spice Guy with a television ad themed, “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like.” This initial ad campaign recently climaxed this month with a flurry of 180 YouTube videos personalized for fans and celebrities alike. The original ad attracted 19 million views, with this latest “Old Spice Responses” campaign resulting in 5.9 million views and 22,500 comments, all since the middle of July.
What’s great about the campaign is how Old Spice and marketing agency Wieden + Kennedy used viewers to go viral, noting that brands don’t make viral videos, users do. To achieve viral success, they not only sent customized video responses to random individuals, but also to celebrities like Alyssa Milano and Ellen DeGeneres. The campaign also took a positive approach, offering valuable, but funny advice, as opposed to a shocking or over-the-top attitude to help the content go viral. This approach made people want to be a part of the experience.
On the other hand, in an effort to be seen as edgy and youthful, Dr. Pepper launched a Facebook campaign in the U.K. with ad agency Lean Mean Fighting Machine (LMFM) that used Chat Roulette as part of April Fool’s jokes by “punking” users, showing them a cheerleader to get their attention then switching her out for someone less desirable. Later, LMFM led a campaign that gave consumers a chance to win £1,000 if they allowed the brand to take control of their status updates on Facebook. This campaign eventually offended a 14-year-old girl (and her parents) with an inappropriate message.
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I’m what most would categorize in the “early majority” when it comes to adopting new technology – not an innovator, but not a laggard either. So when I first saw that Steve Jobs’ letter about Adobe Flash was the number one trending topic on Mashable a few days ago, I didn’t think much of it. But then I considered that, since I’m one of more than 20 million users of the iPhone, I took another look.
Adobe Flash is a multimedia platform popular for adding animation and interactivity to Web pages. According to Adobe, the Flash Player is the world’s most pervasive software platform, used by more than two million professionals and reaching 99 percent of Internet-enabled desktops and devices.
So, why doesn’t Mr. Jobs like Flash, and why doesn’t Apple use Flash on any of their products including the iPhone, iPod and iPad? Here’s the letter in a nutshell:
- Adobe Flash is a proprietary system and not ‘open’ like other Web standards, including HTML 5, CSS and JavaScript.
- Even though 75 percent of video on the Web is developed in Flash, most of this video is also available in a more modern format, H.264, and viewable on iPhones, iPods and iPads.
- Adobe Flash was recently rated by Symantec for having one of the worst security records in 2009. Flash is the No. 1 reason Macs crash.
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I recently heard an NPR story on my morning drive about an increasing number of customers switching from large national banks to small community banks because of the recent bailouts and bonuses. As people make decisions on where to keep their money, financial institutions everywhere are utilizing social media as a new way to reach out to their existing customers and gather new ones.
The Financial Brand, an interesting Web site that offers information about just that – financial brands – offers an extensive 80-page report about how financial institutions can “harness the power of Twitter.” Granted, you may not have the time to review such an extensive report, but it’s interesting to know that the research is out there. Highlights include:
- Promote new products and offers
- Share personal finance tips
- Express their brand and reveal their personalities
- Build community outreach programs
- Provide information about community events and activities
- Increase exposure for their charitable and philanthropic efforts
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Triana leads Saxum’s Intelligence Department as a media relations specialist, conducting research, writing and gathering information of interest to Saxum’s clients. Triana also supports Saxum accounts with campaign development and daily operations.
Prior to joining Saxum, Triana interned with Conde Nast publications in New York and later as a freelancer for W magazine. Triana served as an intern for Saxum before joining full time in February 2008.
Triana graduated from The University of Oklahoma in 2007 with a bachelor’s in journalism and mass communication with an emphasis in public relations and a bachelor’s of business administration in finance.
He lives with his wife, Bethany, in Oklahoma City.
