There is a 3 week span in July each year where I am virtually worthless at night. I find myself spending massive amounts of time on my couch – remote in hand, watching 180 of the fittest athletes on earth climbing mountains on two wheels, racing through the countryside faster than the average commute, and literally wrestling each other to the finish line in an all out pedal mashing sprint. This year, Versus has nearly perfected their online presence for their coverage of The Tour de France. They offer several levels of quality – from low quality via the free selection to a full HD experience, on demand, with their paid season pass.
Versus brings a very strong social element to the site – pulling in the Twitter feeds of Lance Armstrong, Team SlipStream, and the official TDF tweet stream. Phil Liggett, Paul Sherwen, Bob Roll and others on the broadcasting team each contribute semi-regular blogs during the 3 weeks the tour rolls through France. Additionally, there is an extremely active communitycontinously interacting on the message boards – debating the likes of who is the odds on favorite to win the individual stages, sharing photos from the action, and kibutzing the team dynamics of Team Astana.
While I still spend hours on my couch each night watching these men on wheels fly through French countryside, I find that a quick peek (ok, sometimes it’s a bit longer than that if the stage is exciting) on Versus’ site makes for a great viewing experience as I kick off my work day…
Moonfruit nailed it. Give people the chance to win something they actually want. Tweet and potentially win a MacBook Pro each day, for the next 10 days. As you might guess – they are top trending topic on Twitter today. Well played.
I have a lot of respect for Barry Judge – the CMO of Best Buy. Barry is not only good at marketing, but he is excellent with his understanding of his customer, how to reach them, and most importantly – how to please them and help them become brand champions for Best Buy. We’re all trying to do that with our respective audiences. The difference with Barry Judge is that he is an executive that puts himself in a position of complete openness – right down to the average customer shopping in one of his stores or researching online.
He’s one of the few CMOs that I know of that is embracing the Social Web at all levels. Through his blog, his Twitter account, and other one to many activations like the YouTube video below, he is very clear with his message: Be transparent, show people what’s good and not so good about you to build trust, and talk WITH your customer, not AT them. Sage insight – all big brands would be exponentially more successful if they embraced that single tenant alone. Mr. Judge has a quote from the video that is important for all brands, big and small, to embrace:
“You’re a part of the conversation, a part of what is being said about your brand. You don’t get to tell customers what they get to think anymore”
“This growth is due to marketers seeking lower cost, more accountable channels which are also widely used by their customers. This year, we are also finding that marketers are migrating dollars away from traditional channels and into interactive ones.”
Cheaper, Measurable, and Useful. Novel concept.
Chas Edwards, Chief Revenue Officer @ Federated Media discusses the need for B2B publishers to migrate to digital faster. Even though they are increasing their online activities, that growth failed to offset B2B media companies decline last year.
Michael Jordan did it for Nike, Gatorade, and Hanes (the list goes on and on). A celebrity lending their likeness, their name, and their affinity to a brand. Athletes have a long history of being ‘pitchmen’ as do movie stars, former politicians, and even now with the eruption of reality tv – everyday, normal people who have had their 15 seconds of fame are getting the chance to be the ‘face of the brand’.
Why not bloggers? Arguably, with the meteoric rise in social media, these purveyors of information have a far greater reach and more penetrating influence on those that look to them as ‘trusted advisors’ in consumerism. Companies are beginning to take notice of this level of influence and are tapping into a resource that has exploded on the scene. Take Audi and Guy Kawasaki for instance. Must be nice to be him, rolling in his new A8.
There are different levels of ‘promotion’ associated with the blogosphere’s superstars. At my company, we have our Intel Insiders on board and they are “helping Intel learn how to better connect with online audiences interested in technology and innovation“. That’s smart – what better way to connect with an audience than working with a group of folks whose job it is to do that every day – on their terms, and on their turf? Other brands approach it with a different eye as is depicted in this AdWeek article where my professional collegue, Chas Edwards, is quoted on the need for advertisers to become publishers:
“….the reality of digital media means advertisers will need to become publishers. While they can create their own content, they are more likely to both aggregate content from professionals and pay for exclusive content.”
Razorfish released their 2009 Digital Outlook Report yesterday. Interesting read that covers a new role for agencies, what’s emerging, consumer conversations, the evolution of research and measurement, and 3 things every executive should know in 2009. I thought the “Trends in Social Influence Marketing” and “Bringing Media Mix Models Into the Digital Era” were very insightful.
