Digital – distribution or outreach..??

Technology is expanding, digital is scoping the impossible, advertising – redefining the communication between brands and the audience.

The audience, renewing ways the consumer now sees and reads the brand.

Multi-routed, the reach of this rich media is clearly changing the face of how a brand can touch a potential consumer. Engagement, is the new mantra.

The question though is if the distributional effect of digital media is helping brands only distribute the message, or is also helping them outreach the consumers..?? If both, or either, how can the channel be used to combine the effects of both these positions..??

If..

Twitter..??

So really.. Do I fail to understand.. or am I missing something..?? Where does Twitter make money.. and how..?? Or is it just one of those hype technologies which services marketers but fails to service self..??

And I wonder..

Social media is everywhere, but how?

So what is social media all about? It is about community building. Finally humans have achieved bringing into market, the most intrinsic instinct of their existence.

What are the essentials of a great community?

1). Sense of belonging.

2). Common cause or purpose.

3). Experiences and ideas related to the cause.

4). Personal relevance to concerning issues.

5). A sense of identity in the environment.

6). Exchange of ideas and feedback.

7). Ease of participation.

8). Togetherness.

9). Leading entity continuously fuelling the cause or ideas.

10). Constant energy.

Can us marketers use these in our social marketing? HELL YES..!! If we serve all the above cause in our social marketing designs, we can achieve more than success in our objectives.

These are just my brief thoughts. Tweet me to add more relevant ones. @shreyasghuge

A question and an answer

If you are a professional in advertising or an aspirant who also loves to keep track of industry happenings through your readings, the phrase social-media is definitely the talk of the moment. It seems to be Aladin’s magic lamp for all marketers who are hoping to rub in some extra audience involvement and engagement using this latest tool.

Blogs, business publications, news – the buzz word in any marketing or strategy plan is – you guessed it right, social media.

But when something begins to become everything, I have a tendency to – Question it!

Can social media capture required attention? Is social media strong enough in one channel, or does it require support of another media channel to achieve the desired effect?

On a quest to find my answers, I planned a small experiment.

The procedure began with a post on my blog. The reason to use a blog was to facilitate measurement of both factors – catch attention and induce engagement. I used a blog provider which gives me free daily statistics of blog visits and also the source website which linked the visitor to my blog.

My lessons in advertising come from my experience, and my learning says that pop culture is one of the best ways to catch attention. I modified slightly, the definition of pop culture and chose a topic that was a top social concern. I blogged a few facts on Swine Flu, pulled off news media. These were purely impersonal figures and none reflected my personal opinion and beliefs. I chose Swine Flu because it was a topic which had the potential to encourage discussion due to the prevalent confusion and fear in recent times. My blog hence became my product, to which I aimed to get attention.

The next obvious step was to get my product injected into social media channels for this attention. The channel was to be an important choice. For the sake of simplicity, I decided to avoid clutter of comparisons that can come from multiple options and concentrated on Facebook and Twitter.

A search on Facebook for Swine Flu related groups brought in many results. I chose the top three, restricted number again for simplicity, and joined each. Applying my knowledge of using strategic content I created an attention-grabbing headline, added a link to my blog and posted it on the discussion wall of each group.

Similarly, I created a Twitter update with the same content and requested my followers to ReTweet (RT) it on their updates. Although I do not have many followers on Twitter, I have some pretty influential followers who RT-ed the link for me. The choice of media channels was hence not unbalanced as far as exposure to my blog’s link on both channels was concerned.

All set and done, it was time to wait and watch.

The results were quite on track to answer my curiosities. Blog provider statistics showed 80 visits since the time of posting links. Discussions ensued on the comments section, some in favor, most against and some negatively critical on my approach to the topic in concern – Swine Flu. I must tell you that my blog is fairly new and before this experiment, on a good day, the number of visits was 1 or 2. Of the 80 visits, 41 came from Facebook group pages, about 20 came from other blogs which linked randomly to my post and the rest from Twitter user links.

I refrained myself from adding another link the next day, to check results in case support is discontinued on these social media channels. My blog visits went down to zero the next day and remained so for another day. I had my answers now.

So here is what I learned. Social media is definitely the answer for anyone looking to get an engaging audience. Also when not being used for promotional purposes, social media can be used as a research tool to gain valuable consumer insights. One of the best aspects of social media is that it provides real-time results for analysis of the impacts of an agency’s efforts in the channel. My concern though is the fact that it is simply not enough to put your brand / product out there and initiate a dialogue. It is equally important for the representing agency or client to keep the conversation going. Not only will this action keep the audience engaged, but will also help build a good brand image. A two way communication will enable the course of a focus group, only in a virtual setting. The only condition which can come in the way of getting authentic feedback is when competition starts playing an unfair game on our established social media platform.

Also necessary for ensured success is to have a supporting media; an integrated media strategy in place to support efforts on either platform, in order to present a veneer with more surface area for the audience to enjoy. The alternatives can be considered from a parallel social media channel/s, or a supporting conventional media or both.

A quest I undertook to find answers for my understanding definitely enhanced my knowledge in a way that could not happen only from readings of industry happenings. I find myself more ready now to get in the agency work zone and apply my formative thinking to create and convert ideas.

For us, who are aspiring to take advertising to another generation, and define a new era for this industry, it is important that we question the norms and seek our own answers. The foundation that we build will shape and create a shining future for this industry we are all so passionate about.

Its bad to see how poor you can feel with everything but without anyone..

How rare it is that you can bring yourself to a point where everyone leaves you.. and you actually see that being alone is not just a thought of the mind.. but a reality of the real kind.

Enjoy, the experience though. Not everyone gets to live it.

The new flu..!! – 6 essential facts.

1) WHO (World Health Organization) – Level 5 threat alert (Level 6 is the highest). “Such diseases have an unpredictable behavior and we cannot say anything about the risk this disease poses.” – Dr. Margaret Chan, Director General.

2) United States – 300+ schools closed by government orders. 2 days and 109 + “detected” cases, 33 critical conditions, 1 dead. 12 states declared under alarm.

3) CDC (Center for Disease Control), USA – “If all goes well, which hardly ever happens in such cases, we might have a cure for Swine Flu earliest by September.” Till then we will have to go trial and error treatment.

4) CNN – 36,000 people die of seasonal flu each year and more than 200,000 are hospitalized in US. This, when the seasonal flu already has treatment. What about the Swine flu, in case of which, there is no treatment available and the number of cases reported are as high as 109 and rising in just 2 days?

5) CDC – The disease stands a chance of spreading in any public setting and the virus strain can thrive in regular atmospheric conditions of temperature and pressure. This means the virus can stay alive even on shopping cart handles, or bus and subway support bars, basically any place, people can touch anything.

6) CNN – 675,000 people were killed in the last flu pandemic of 1918.

So with 300+ schools closed and more closing, WHO asking employers to put in place contingency plans in case employees get infected, 12 states declared on alarm already,  is this the time when people start quitting their jobs and move out of these states to places of more secure nature to protect themselves, their families and their children from falling victim to this uncontrollable disease?

Think..!!

Out of school, and where..??

This question, all the more critical now, what with fuzzy horizons on the job market, is definitely the cream and pie of every new grads thinking and concern. Consciously avoiding the de-route to discussing what recession has brought in and to what can alternatively be done to avoid the pit holes and landmines on this walk to seeking your path to that unclear horizon, allow me to talk of what options advertising is expanding into, so you decide your direction of- Focus.

Focusing digital is the mantra of the season and agencies are picking up every thread that shows even a slight promise of turning into a social fabric. This net of network binding people has turned in as the latest craze since marketers and advertisers discovered the power of ‘engagement’ (interactive or otherwise) and ‘word-of-mouth’. Technology, mostly digital is showing promise of controlled (perceived control for the audience) spread of word. The sweet nectar that advertisers find most appealing is the fact that digital media now provides the promise of measurement of where their efforts are leading. This was almost impossible or very deceptively measurable in the days of mass media channels like print, radio, television and out-of-home.

Let us call it conventional media for the sake of ease. The reach and power of conventional media hasn’t yet been totally discarded. The theme is hence integrated marketing, which involves simultaneous efforts on a combined set of media.

The idea hence is to get the alphas and betas of the brand from the analysts and marry technology with the audience’s choice of media, give them the tool to discuss and think about your client’s brand, and let the power of social consensus take over.

The options for you hence are – to research the alphas and betas of your client’s brand, to keep in consultation and connect with clients, think digital (develop skills to identify, create, innovate, measure) or to unleash the creative you.

Field the choices by exploring internships, READing industrial happenings, thinking (yes, it works to get the mind running in a direction) and when the market gets ready to embrace you as an employee – You will be ready to run a riot of the developed you.

Out of school, and here.

You – then – age.. yeah..!! ((pronounced: Euthanasia))

I felt like riding the rain drop.. on its way down..

Felt good to be free.. from being shelled up in those clouds..

And then.. like a secret destroyer.. the landing that I had awaited..

Shattered, the moment we kissed the earth’s embrace..

All anticipation, and smiles.. up in a cold flame..

Burning in all that rain, and what do I get for my pain..??

Betrayed desires.. and feeling of being another piece in the game..!!

The way YOU showed me the AGE.. the time.. YEAH..!! I wish someone would give me my want of – Euthanasia..!!

bROKEN.. by Lifehouse.., my new anthem..!!

Of desires and journeys..

“Any Buddhist will tell you, you cannot exist as a human being on this planet for thirty seconds without desiring something.” – Where you dream by Robert O Butler.

The sweet thing about desires, I realized is it always leads you on a journey of conflict with the self.., mostly a conflict with the inner-most feelings. No, there will be no barrage of philosophical meanderings on this blog; but there will be a story.

The bright morning sunshine created a glow on the water flowing over a carved white stone fountain. The melange of sunlight and shadows of the leaves created a picture of a beautiful orgy in motion, while the crowd carried on with their daily activities across that very love making of shadows and sunshine, oblivious of the passion in the air.

The old lady tried to catch up with her bubbly grand daughter, an old couple walked their dog, an executive looking man sat on a bench in his suit and an over coat, working on his laptop, while a young woman found the morning to be a right time to hook her iPod on arm and go for a jog.. and a charcoal pencil worked vigorously on his canvas.

Central Park is a silently busy place, any New Yorker will tell you.

Carving a picture on what was a plain white background, the shades of black were now creating a story. Another story, even he was not aware of, was to paint his life’s canvas soon.

A darkness faded out the glow on the water as her lips reached it. A cloud shadowing a stream, it seemed. The glow now shined her hair. Everything around seemed to have come to a sudden pause.

It was now – him, her, the love in the air.. the passion of the leaves and sun rays.. and.. A burst of desire.. The journey he would embark on in pursuit of this desire.. was the next part.