Not according to Tribal’s Eric Weaver.  He encourages us to focus on a business objective, rather than the ‘tool’ called Social Media.

One person’s perspective: via Tech Crunch as blogged by James Gross.  I think this is pretty spot on, although I might rename to merely ‘Social’ MegaTrends.  Tech is too expansive in my opinion.

Interesting infograph from Oxford Communications.  Personally, I think Portland is more social than we’re given credit for…

]]> http://veneski.com/2010/09/15/whats-your-citys-social-rank/feed/ 0 http://veneski.com/2010/08/12/social-vehicles-get-vintage-advertising/ http://veneski.com/2010/08/12/social-vehicles-get-vintage-advertising/#comments Thu, 12 Aug 2010 18:32:19 +0000 David Veneski http://veneski.com/?p=1829

From Laughing Squid… Awesome

This graphic pretty much captures the essence…  it’s not just one component – it’s all components dancing in unison.  (courtesy: FastCompany).

Normally, I shy away from profanity in my blog posts.  Today I came across a great presentation on Social Media through, well, my Twitter feed via David Armano.  Passing along for your benefit. Some compelling data, visuals, and theories to be mindful of.

Sporting events are one of the largest branding opportunities around.  There is not a more popular sport in the world outside of soccer – it’s truly a global game with an unparalleled fan base. The World Cup takes that to a whole new level.  The brand that is leaving the competition in the dust is not even an official Fifa Partner or World Cup Sponsor, but a company that has winning in it’s very DNA – Nike.  Their campaign, Write The Future, is a prime example of ‘ambush marketing’.  Not an official sponsor, Nike turned to the web for initial distribution of their 3 minute, highly produced spot featuring some of the best ‘Footballers’ in the world.  Greeted with overwhelming praise, this long form advertisement has been deemed by Trevor Edwards (Vice President, Global Brand & Category Management) as “one of the best we’ve ever done.” (courtesy, OregonLive).  The traffic would agree, with the spot having just surpassed 15M views in only two short weeks.  Even Nike CEO, Mark Parker, gave high praise to the campaign:

“Our ‘Write the Future’ football campaign is the most complete, innovative and creative project we’ve ever done, and we’ve got more excitement on the ground than anybody else in the game.” (courtesy, MediaPost)

No doubt that Landon Donovan helped extend the fictional narrative into a literal embodiment of the ad with yesterday’s heroic goal in the 91st minute sending the U.S.A. into the knockout round in this year’s Cup.

The campaign goes far beyond the initial video.  As you can see from the graphic above, Nike has invited the fans into the experience – giving them the opportunity to ‘Write The Future’ through social means with the chance to have their headline displayed on one of Johannesburg’s largest skyscrapers (100 will be displayed each night).  What I love about this is that it empowers the fan to be an active part of the campaign and involves them in a meaningful way (very similar to the way we {Intel} included everyday people in our Sponsors of Tomorrow Campaign last year).  This is the human face of advertising.  People naturally want to be included in the celebration.  They want to be heard, and they want a participatory voice in their favorite events and with brands they are passionate about.  Hat tip Nike – you’ve created an amazing campaign and you’ve invited your biggest advocates, your customers, to help Write The Future.

Unbelievable Web traffic today around the World Cup match between the U.S. and Algeria. Personally, I was sitting in our company cafeteria with about 400 of my closest Intel friends watching the dramatic conclusion to the game – which was capped off with a stunning goal by Landon Donovan in the 91st minute.  Amazing.  The whole room erupted and I think more than a few laptops and smartphones hit the floor in all the excitement.  I immediately hit Facebook and Twitter with the excited exclamation of GOOOOAAALLLL!!! which was commented upon almost instantaneously by my friends on the social graph.  I wasn’t the only one.  According to Mashable, who’s staff was watching the net traffic on Akamai’s Net Usage Index, traffic spiked tremendously soon after Donovan put the ball in the back of the net:

“In the minutes following Landon Donovan’s game winning goal in the 91st minute of action (which sent the U.S. to the round of 16), traffic spiked to 11.2 million visitors per minute, which moves the event past the 2008 presidential election as the second highest traffic spike of all-time.”

Even their Editor in Chief, Adam Ostrow, called the impact on the social web with this tweet:

“that goal is so taking down Twitter …”

Pretty impressive…and you can see from the chart below, the English have got nothin’ on us.

Arguably, the 2010 World Cup will be the most watched sporting event in history.  What’s unique about this edition of the largest futbol tournament in the world is how it will be activated on the social web.  Try Google’ng ‘World Cup 2010 Social Media‘.  Boom – NINETY EIGHT MILLION results.

I didn’t think that was possible.  This social revolution is not just limited to blogs, message boards, and the random video posted to YouTube.  Quite the contrary – the depth and breadth of how people are sharing – Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare, Live Streaming – is astounding.  Fifa is getting in on the action, with the latest post on their official Twitter page exclaiming:

“People are singing on the streets, fireworks are being set off – a great day for football and South Africa #worldcup ”

Not only that, we’re in the year of Mobile.  As such, we can expect people to be strolling down the street, driving, or in their next boring staff meeting staring down at their iPhone to see if Wayne Rooney, Landon Donovan, or Ronaldo have placed the ball in the back of the net with a strike from mid-field.

In short, social media has changed how the world watches the most popular sport on the planet.  How will you be tracking your favorite team and players throughout the next month? I’m sure I’ll send a tweet or two with the emphatic #Gooooaaaaal!