What’s going on in new media marketing, pulled from social bookmarking site Creativing.com:
“The Last Exorcism” Viral Campaign Spooks Chatroulette
This is really well-done. I presume the prank is real, i.e., the people on the other end of ChatRoulette aren’t staged. For the record, this was done a few months ago, but this production is much better: Here’s the original: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMG8FT1TKkw
CriticalPast.com: Stock video site with great archival footage.
Just about anyone can use a stock photo site with fresh content. (Where else can you find footage of Richard Nixon playing piano at the opening of the Grand Ol’ Opry in 1974.)
How Coca-Cola Could Bring Pop Appeal Back to MySpace – Advertising Age
The headline is certainly a grabber. And music does seem to be MySpace’s only bullet left. But I think it’s because Facebook hasn’t spent real effort in the area. And they might not until MySpace or someone else demonstrates real opportunity. Then they’ll move in and do the same “Netscaping” that they’re taking to the location-based industry. Facebook has the user data — even their data on personal musical preferences surpasses MySpace. My guess is that if they rolled out a monetization model for music-related apps, they could sprint past MySpace in music pretty easily.
Facebook Places: What It Is, What It Isn’t, And Why It May Change The World | Forrester Blogs
A good detail on the Facebook Places launch. Facebook is wisely taking the platform approach, vs product, emphasizing a partnership relationship with the current field of location-based services. The also provide a lucid example of what these location checkins can mean emotionally. Their example: Imagine your children visit a beach in 20 years, and find out that’s where you and your wife exchanged your first kiss. That should have brands like Hallmark licking their chops. This idea of driving routes and hiking trails becoming flush with new reference points and notations holds a lot of promise for brands to make rich contributions to people’s lives, if done correctly.
Mashable Poll Results: Will You Use Facebook Places? [POLL]
This is my screen grab after taking the poll (my answer was YES, given I’d already used it). I’m a little surprised it’s not higher, but am guessing there’s some blow-back from current fans and early adopters of other location-based services. And for people who say they see no value in it, I’d just give it time.
Foursquare Experiences Record Signups After Launch of Facebook Places
Interesting headline in the wake of the Facebook Places launch. However, the article pinpoints what has to be the real story here. That Foursquare is drafting a lot of the buzz the Places launch has generated, as it’s hard to find an article about Places that doesn’t also mention Foursquare. It certainly indicates the value of press, even if it hasn’t been favorable to Foursquare regarding the launch. As the saying goes, write whatever you want, just spell my name right.
Facebook Mobile: 100 Million and Growing
Just a perspective on the launch of Facebook Places relative to the current crop of location-based services. Keep in mind that, as I reported last week, less than 1% of people use location based services more than once per week. Foursquare, the media darling of location-based services, has 3 million users. Facebook has 100m as of last Feb. Probably way more now, given the growth trajectory stated here. So for those asking how will Places impact the existing LBS companies? For future users who will be joining the LBS fun, Facebook offers a more familiar interface, an app they’ve probably already installed, and a place where most of their friends already are. Simplicity, familiarity, and mass penetration. I’d hate to be competing against that.
Shopkick Teams With Best Buy To End Fake Retail Check-Ins
This challenge for brands using Foursquare is very real. The checkins can be easily gamed. And while that’s fine when friends are fighting over the mayorship of the local dive bar, when brands start to spend big money on coupon-driven campaigns, millions of dollars can be at stake. Shopkick is offering a tighter grip on the situation. The technology behind this is quite clever. The Shopkick app picks up an inaudible sound emitted from their in-store device which tells them the user is actually in the store.
The CMO’s Real Conundrum « iMediaConnection Blog
If advertising is about understanding your customer, then every agency person should spend a lot of time studying CMOs. This is a good overview of the recent Accenture report on the challenges facing CMOs in the digital age. It also reflects the findings from the May 2010 article in BusinessWeek on what CEOs really want from their ranks: http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/content/may2010/id20100517_190221.htm