5 Fantastic Digital First Campaigns

Muchos besos for running this first, iMediaConnection!

Broadcast vs. digital-first
What is the role of TV in the new media environment? Most brands continue to see TV as a one-way broadcast medium -- a platform by which we can deliver marketing messages that consumers should simply absorb and remember. In this world view, digital is an add-on -- a means of overlaying an interactive element onto what is primarily an old-school sledgehammer-to-consumer-skull effort. Little more than checking a box. You know the drill. Or perhaps I should say mallet. The brand blasts away a nice "strategic ad" over the airwaves, but spends 7 percent of the budget pushing some "viral" or "social" effort that essentially asks consumers to spit back the broadcast message.

Fortunately, a few brands are leading a transition. They understand that TV is no longer a broadcast medium so much as it is a mass distribution channel -- one that establishes awareness for a larger campaign effort that gives consumers a real role in shaping and communicating the brand essence. These are "digital-first" brands. That doesn't mean they necessarily spend a larger proportion of dollars on digital. Not at all. Rather, they use all media -- traditional and digital -- to seek out consumer participation. Participation that is channeled through digital platforms.

It might sound like a nuanced difference, but it really isn't. A good digital-first campaign has participatory experiences that consumers seek out; TV simply grows the awareness for such efforts and uses its unique experiential qualities to make the larger campaign more vivid and impactful.

We all know a little prime-time can blow the doors off awareness and seed an idea to a broad audience. With such a foundation, literally millions of people seek out interactive experiences that make the campaign and brand a vivid part of their lives.

Here are five brands and their efforts that showcase the power of the digital-first model, along with one brand that really needs to embrace this approach.

Axe

Those who read what I write regularly (Hi Mom!) know that I talk about Axe a lot, and it's because the brand is a leader in so many digital areas. And digital-first marketing is no exception. While TV certainly communicates the "get Axed 'n get laid" message, the best bits of Axe marketing always take place online. In part, no doubt, because broadcast standards wouldn't let them do this stuff during the family hour.

Need an example? Oh good Lord. Everything Axe does is digital-first. Check out the Axe Undie Run, proof positive that even dirty birdies can care about their fellow woman:



In short, the people at Axe are geniuses, and part of their wisdom is in always being digital-first.

Pepsi

While charity is a small overlay for Axe, it's a big deal for the new Pepsi.

We knew to expect significant changes in Pepsi's marketing approach when it broke with BBDO after something like 2,000 years of partnership. The old Pepsi sought to create TV epics that associated the brand with the hottest celebs of the moment. It was a subtle-as-a-nail-gun effort to link the brand to the next generation. And it worked like a dream until people became the new brand marketing engine.

Here's the "before" vid:



The new Pepsi connects with youth by relating to one of their deepest held values -- community and social responsibility. Pepsi fronts a portion of the marketing budget to help charities, and asks Pepsi drinkers to choose the recipients of blue largesse.

Extended across all traditional and digital media, the effort puts the brand in service of user desires instead of treating their brains as sponges for "we're young and hip and cool like Britney" messaging.

Kia

Auto advertising is perhaps the biggest creative ghetto on the planet, but the Kia hamster campaign for the entry-level Soul stands out as a shining example of how being different and digital-first can drive big dividends.

Let's face it: Most Kia advertising is pretty much invisible. It's the usual shiny car doing the usual things in the usual places making the usual claims, with a bit of value thrown in for differentiation. Not so with the Soul ads.



There's message in all that fun. About juxtaposing the attractive Kia with its toaster-like competitors. That the brand went digital-first for a car targeted primarily to younger and more venturesome buyers is a natural. What isn't is how well the brand delivered this idea across popular forms of digital and traditional media -- and did it in so many ways that consciously invite consumer participation.

It starts with the 60-second viral bait commercial, but there's also a lot more. From "making of" videos to Facebook apps to dedicated social sites in support of the hamsters, this brand clearly understands that attracting attention through TV advertising is only part of the opportunity for this campaign. Rather, TV was simply the catalyst for getting people to seek out and take ownership of other brand experiences featuring the furry spokesrodents.

The side scroller Go Hamster Go app is an example. The user fires up his or her webcam to enter the hamster world and drop hamsters into the Kia as it rolls by.



Kleenex

I think it was two years ago that Kleenex began its Let It Out campaign with TV ads and interactivities inviting consumers to share their feelings.



Of course, feeling has both physical and metaphorical meaning, so it's a nice way to tie up tangible and emotional benefits.

But this is by no means Kleenex's first digital-first effort. From promotions like Choose Your Mom to an interactive application that lets you upload photos and design your own Kleenex box, this brand is way ahead in interactive and marketing evolution in general.

Bing and Yahoo

One of the most interesting things to watch is how digital companies approach traditional media campaigns. Portals can be fascinating on this score because their offerings are, by their very nature, participatory.

Let's start with Yahoo. Forgive me, my fair purple sweet, I have used these pages to confess my love for you before. And I am well aware you have replaced this effort recently with something far better. But your old effort was a good example of what not to do.

Here goes.

You and Yahoo was a classic broadcast-style effort. It had some other layers. But ultimately, it was about delivering a message for us to remember and regurgitate. Me: individual. Yahoo: for individuals. Ergo. Me likey Yahoo. C'mon. I don't even know where to begin. Oh, yes I do. How about with what Yahoo called its anthem spot?



The campaign seems to have evolved into something a little less ether-y with new efforts titled "It feels good to feel." A combination of TV, print, and online is seeding the idea, but the centerpiece appears to be a host a ways that consumers can share their own feelings and memories.

Not "new" ways. "You" ways. Get it?

Yahoo -- Je t'adore. Let me say that again. Je t'adore. But good grief! It strikes me that this was an ideal time to let people experience how Yahoo can be the center of their online lives. Or to let people like me tell the world how Yahoo is the center of our lives. Je t'adore, Yahoo, but those jeans did make your butt look big.

Meanwhile, in Redmond...

Now, obviously Bing's challenge was different. The company needed to make people try a new search engine, not communicate the site as the center of an online life. But Bing could have done the broadcast thing and promised us the most unbelievably unbelievable search experience. Ever!

And oh my god, can you imagine the 60-second spots packed with vignettes of Sydney Opera House and Tuvan yurts and tea parties in the Sahara and people on Melrose just being in-di-vi-du-als that Bing could have served up? And a sort of whitewashed anthem, "If search is your thing, now try Bing (brand search engine)."

Instead, Bing's campaign really hinged on a variety of placements that made it easy to try Bing and see how the results are different.

I can look up words in in-text ads. I see Bing's stab at search results as a supplement to site search. I get to start the process of using Farecast in an ad unit.

Oh, and there was broadcast as well. But these TV ads made you ache to try Bing and see if it was really different. Cuz you've been there. We all have. Wanna see what it's like to be somewhere else?



Conclusion: Is digital-first best?

It's tough to imagine a brand that wouldn't be well served by inviting its users in -- as a central part of its marketing efforts. But perhaps even more than choosing such a campaign idea is inviting the consumer into all aspects of a brand.

Digital companies have unique opportunities to do this. That they sometimes don't makes me wonder if they understand that so much of their brand power comes from the minds and hearts and mouths and typing fingers of consumers -- not 1-inch tape or however TV ads get distributed these days.

Now, there's nothing like TV and those tapes to get the word out. Nothing. But brands that decide to use their TV to invite consumer to participate are going to fare better. It's time that we drop our sledgehammers and start sending out engraved invitations to join us in our brands.

The Mind and The Heart

First published on iMediaConnection.com

Working at the intersection of marketing and technology makes for a dynamic and exciting time most every day. But one of the unfortunate consequences of living in a technical age is that most people in the industry try to fact their brands into leadership and differentiation. Facts are great, and can be (but are not always) necessary for long term differentiation. But where are the digital brands? And by brands I mean the offerings that make you feel as much as they make you think.

The thought came to me as I was developing a presentation about social networks and how the business has changed over the years. And as I made my slides, I got to thinking that perhaps part of the reason why so many once mega colossal digital properties have died quick deaths is that they have focused all their efforts on communicating attributes. Now, I don’t dispute that attributes can and should help govern who wins and who bites it. But surely there is a place for both reason and feeling.

Why did Friendster fall from grace so quickly? Well, the rational answer was that it took like 20 minutes to load a page. But perhaps there was more. Perhaps part of it was because Friendster never touched us emotionally. MySpace brought so many of us into the world of social media, but many people shifted away just as soon as there were other options. Again, there were rational reasons. Like trying to load a page and being greeted with glitter and a slow loading song and garish graphics and and and. But again, I suspect there was an emotional void where the brand essence was supposed to be. And hey, they still have more than 200 million users, so they may yet return as a dominant player. It’ll take some product changes. But I believe it’ll take kindling some brand love as well.

The premise works far beyond social networks. Why is it that Yahoo has endured where Excite and Lycos and Netscape and all the rest declined precipitously? Of course there were rational reasons, notleast their email dominance. But Yahoo also gave and gives you something to like. You aren’t a user, you’re a Yahoo. Your kid isn’t a user, she is a Yahooligan. I believe that kind of personality and emotional connection is a key to why Yahoo is the 900(0) pound gorilla while other sites ebb.

Sample size of one, I LOVE Yahoo. I stick with them in part because I feel a part of a movement or a club with Yahoo. I once wrote a love letter to Yahoo and meant every word. I make no money from them. They are not a client. I am not an investor. But I friggin’ love that brand. My suspicion is that the younger set may not have that same feeling for the brand. Perhaps it’s time for some emotional marketing again. But in the meantime, I stick with them even when other sites develop whizbang new features. I have faith that Yahoo will get around to those same innovations quickly, and in the meantime, I can still think of myself as a Yahoo.

My brilliant coworker Nirali has a deep bond with Google. Like any good analyst, she explains her love in rational terms. By I see the twinkle in her eye when she talks about the big G and I know it’s also about what the brand stands for – consumer first, respect, accuracy, and a geeky sense of humor. Like the day they swapped out their logo with the word Topeka to celebrate their alliance with that city. That was pure class, and hits you in the heart instead of the mind.

What other brands have that kind of emotional side? Not many. Twitter flirts with it, with their funny little bird and their dedication to honesty and user empowerment. And that emotional side may have helped them weather the 9 million service outages that plagued their meteoric growth.

Apple has it.

Bing has some emotional oomph too. Emotional branding is a particular struggle for a software company. I think that the Bing people need to ask themselves, “In 12 months, what should people feel when they use Bing?” Are they rebels fighting Google hegemony? Are they the bold new upstart spirit of a new MSFT? Does using Bing make them feel brilliant? Cool? Confident? Inspired?"

That kind of emotional bond builds loyalty, and helps brands weather stormlike periods when new companies and arch competitors come up with things first. It also helps hold the eyeballs when they make a mistake. Because we forgive the errors of the ones we love. But when rational machines screw up, we scrap them and buy something new.

So I ask you, what does your brand make people feel? Ten years from now, will you have users writing your brand love letters?

What's NEW in Social

Much love for iMedia Connection for printin' this puppy first.

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If you said "social media" to a marketer 18 months ago, chances are they'd have thought exclusively of social networks. No more. We're seeing social capabilities incorporated into virtually every digital experience. This has brought opportunities and dilemmas for marketers. I say dilemmas because lots of brands got online by pounding to fit a broadcast-shaped peg into an interactive-shaped hole. They developed one-way websites, banners, and search programs. Social media analytics tools are showing us that this model had many flaws.

But as more and more brands embrace social for the two-way offering it is, it's important that we keep abreast of major news in the segment.

This post is designed to give marketers some highlights of what new initiatives, offerings, and companies appear to have traction. It's not for the social "expert." Rather it's geared to the generalist who wants a survey of some of the more important and interesting developments.

Without further ado, check out this summary of social developments divided into four "buckets":

Facebook Open Graph and the socializing of content sites

Facebook's new Open Graph (OG) initiative is a means of adding value for its members across the web while simultaneously enabling content publishers to offer social features. In OG's launch week, more than 50,000 sites incorporated OG components. Many of those implementations were small, such as adding a "like" button embedded in content. But here are some of the ways it's being used on a grander scale:

Pandora is leveraging Open Graph to facilitate the sharing of music and discoveries between friends. Capabilities include:

•See a list of friends who use Pandora
•See which artists and songs are "liked" by friends
•Import Facebook pic into your Pandora profile
•Listen to friends' stations
•Get music suggestions based upon music you "liked"
The Huffington Post has socialized its content by offering a "Hot on Facebook" module, a "what your friends are reading" module, and a "like" button on most stories.

Newspaper sites are incorporating a sort of "your news" box that lists the latest "news" you have received on Facebook. Yes, Facebook's hit some roadblocks and hurdles over privacy. Assuming it gets past those, Open Graph will make profound changes in how we consume content.

Promoted Tweets debut

The big news on Twitter is Promoted Tweets. These are sponsored tweets that appear in the Twitter Search results.

Twitter announced Sponsored Tweets and its charter sponsor list (Best Buy, Bravo, Red Bull, Sony Pictures, Starbucks, and Virgin America) in April. More recently, Twitter altered its terms of service to ban the Twitter platforms and third parties from embedding sponsored tweets into users' tweet streams. Twitter shared this rationale:

First, third party ad networks are not necessarily looking to preserve the unique user experience Twitter has created. They may optimize for either market share or short-term revenue at the expense of the long-term health of the Twitter platform. For example, a third party ad network may seek to maximize ad impressions and click through rates even if it leads to a net decrease in Twitter use due to user dissatisfaction. Secondly, the basis for building a lasting advertising network that benefits users should be innovation, not near-term monetization.
UnFacebooks and user control

Partly as a response to concerns about Facebook's privacy missteps, a number of alternative social networks are attracting attention. From tech blogs to Elle.com, the UnFacebooks are a popular story. Of course Orkut, MySpace, and Friendster are also trying to capitalize on Facebook's stumbles. But here are some new sites getting play:

Diaspora: Billing itself as "an open source personal web service that will put individuals in control of their data," Diaspora is the brainchild of four NYU students and has raised more than 20 times its initial funding goal. The idea behind Diaspora is essentially opt-in, versus the major social sites' opt-out approach. It is working feverishly to get everything going this summer.

Pip.io lets users define different "rooms" of people that they want to share information with. Users can also define if they want one- or two-way communications with their rooms.

A self-described "social operating system," Pip.io is clearly trying to be more than a social net. When you visit, make sure you are using Firefox or Chrome, not MSIE.

Story of My Life is a new platform enabling members to tell stories in a variety of media and make them private or public. I love the idea of letting more people tell the stories of their lives. And not just in words.

Does it sound like a blog platform to you? Yes, but the community features make it more than that. And it's really more about defined stories than a stream of consciousness.

Social search

The biggest proportion of online dollars goes to search, so let's take a look at some of the "new" social search offerings:

Mahalo bills itself as a human-powered search engine that combines machine results with expert and consumer recommendations. From its beginnings as a search-focused entity, it has now added a lively Mahalo Answers section and Mahalo How To, where experts help users accomplish tasks.

Wowd (disclosure: a Catalyst:SF client) helps users understand what content is popular now and what content users like best. Users download the application, and conduct searches that reveal:

•The most popular pages related to the search query
•The freshest content available on a topic, whether just created or just viewed by other Wowd users
•Real-time content from most sites, not just a select few
•Pages that other users have rated as most valuable
Wowd is for people who are interested in the latest information on a topic -- in the things that are happening now and the content that has just been created or updated.

By combining a sophisticated search algorithm with consumer behavior and ratings, it provides a unique perspective.

Delver is a social shopping community that helps people find the best products and make the best buying choices with the help of friends, family, and the community at large. The idea behind this offering is to create a community around shopping and help people learn from each other about interesting products and the best places to buy them.

The bigness of this concept is that the site is out to make online shopping fun, rather than a utilitarian experience.

The portals (and Meebo)

The social strategies of the major portals are very different from one another. At one end of the spectrum, Yahoo is leveraging social content from its own sources as well as third parties like Facebook. Apparently, Yahoo has concluded that trying to create a new social media entity won't work. Instead it blends the information available from existing platforms to enrich Yahoo channels.

On the other end of the spectrum, Google is still trying to create a homegrown social platform to help it become a leader in providing social content. One of the more interesting integrations is its flavor of social search. By linking your Google profile to social platforms, you get search results that include comments and content from connections.

Google Buzz is a social sharing service integrated into Gmail that lets you share statuses, text, photos, and videos easily. Public and private sharing are offered.

Google Wave is a collaboration platform that creates a shared space for teams. Participants can add text, photos, and videos in real time. The vision for Wave is to replace a variety of other applications with a single environment.

Microsoft's strategy sits between these two poles, though it's closer to Yahoo's. Bing is leveraging existing third-party communities to socialize search results. Now tweets, blog posts, and shared links are incorporated in results.

But Bing is also striving to create unique social-centered experiences. One example is how it integrated social into Bing Shopping. According to its blog, "With a single click you can ask for advice from your friends on Facebook and followers on Twitter for their take on a product you saw on Bing Shopping."

Meebo's strategy is to focus on its strength in instantaneous sharing to carve out social territory. Its new "Meebo Bar" offers publishers an easy way to socialize content and promote virality. This ad-supported bar appears when a Meebo user visits a bar-enabled site. Users can send pages and content via IM of course, but also through email, Facebook, Twitter, Google Buzz, and Yahoo.

Conclusion

Sharing content and opinions is something consumers seem to want in many of their web experiences, not just on specific social sites. How some of these companies and platforms will work with marketers, or indeed if they will work with marketers, remains to be seen. But consumers show a marked unwillingness to pay for content, so my guess is that many of these companies will be a-knockin' on our doors before long. That doesn't mean that they will work with us using the classic advertising model, though.

I would be remiss not to mention blogs as the "sleeper" of social. It seems that these high-quality, high-passion, high-depth environments often get overlooked by marketers. While social nets and Twitter can offer us enormous reach, so can blogs, many of which offer the added benefit of expert perspective and depth of content. They may not be the shiniest of the social objects, but in my view brands would do well to spend more time and attention on them.

An article like this omits other good companies and developments. If you are working on something that is more real than vapor and want me to talk about it as a follow-up, send me an email. If I like it, I will be happy to follow up with a brief piece about you.