SxSW panels from Mullen and friends: hope you’ll vote and comment
It’s that time of year again. When we start thinking about Austin and ribs and digital friends and panel nerd badges. But first, we have to take care of business and do our job influencing, or at least commenting on, the submitted panels and talks.
Granted there is no shortage of great panels up at SxSWi this voting season. In fact there are more than I’ve had the time to plow through. So, just in case you’re in the same over extended situation, I thought I’d share a few that Mullen colleagues and I have either submitted or been invited to join in hopes that they meet with your approval and ultimate vote. Of course, in the spirit of honest engagement, don’t vote for anything you wouldn’t actually want to attend. I’m not a big fan of the popularity contest approach to anything.
Ad Agencies Need A New Mindset To Survive
Submitted by me: read more and vote
If the advertising agency is to survive in an era when the reigns of media have been transferred from a few professionals to 2 billion individuals, it will have to revamp its entire way of thinking. The mindset will have to shift from thinking about target audiences to communities. Strategy will require more insight about a consumer’s relationship to media and technology rather than just how she feels about the brand. The team will change entirely to include production, mobile, and experience design in addition to art and copy. And the consumer will play an active, rather than passive role, in the creation and sharing of everything. What does an ad agency have to do to survive? What are the practices it must unlearn? What new skills will it require? This panel, comprised of agency leaders, each in a different stage of evolution, will explore the challenges and offer ideas.
Radian6 and Mullen Hijack the Superbowl
Submitted by Christian Madden: read more and vote
In 2010 (and again in 2011) Mullen and Radian 6 turned the Superbowl, an old media event, into a new media event. With a simple website, a hashtag, and real time sentiment analysis, Brandbowl2010.com analyzed Twitter conversation to rate the game’s commercials in real time. Find out how sentiment analysis can fuel a creative idea and how an analog event can be converted into a digital experience. It’s a model that anyone can replicate.
Augmented Reality and the Launch of the Olympus Pen
Submitted by Michael Bourne: read more and vote
Augmented reality usually sucks. But this example is pretty good, (note it was done by Mullen). The agency, Total Immersion and Wired collaborated to create and run the first ever augmented reality camera demo. What were the challenges in creating a fully functional “digital” digital camera that shot videos and still images using a computer webcam and what did WIRED learn in the process of activating the creative in its first iPad edition? Interested? Give this panel a vote.
Beyond Mad Men: Are Traditional Agencies Dead?
submitted by Ross Kimbarovsky: read more and vote
This is a great topic. The old models are dying fast. If you don’t believe it just look at newspapers, magazines, and any of the traditional media (though it appears TV numbers are still up.) There are too many options for marketers and advertisers to be found, to engage, to generate and own their own content and to sell. There are also new options for how to source ideas, talent and crowd participation. Social media and crowdsourcing work hand in hand leading the change. We still don’t know the real impact of either as no one can predict the future. But it appears after a brief year or two of argument and debate that they are both here to stay. So you can fight it or embrace it. Hoping this gets in.
Agency Structure: Where Do We Fit New Creatives?
Submitted by Rachel Mercer, VCU: read more and vote
The students at VCU brand center have invited me and Ben Malbon to join this panel. As I’m a huge supporter of the 20-something crowd, I had to say yes. Plus we need to hear the new voices coming up. In their words “As new technology continues to intimidate unprepared agencies, this panel will bring together industry powerhouses to discuss the value of being agile in a changing media and social ecosystem.”
Generation C (for content): Changing the future of business forever
Submitted by Sherry Lowry: read more and vote
Forget about Gen X and Gen Y, it’s all about Gen C — the Content Generation. Business is changing and content is becoming king. Gen C understands this; Gen C is both audience and media, focused on creating, sharing and participating, versus promoting, interrupting and selling. Best of all, Gen C isn’t defined by age but by ideas — it’s 20-somethings working alongside 70-somethings. (Yup, we’ll have some on this panel.) Leading edge companies know it’s about collaborating, not competing, and Generation C brings that to the table. During this inter-generational panel, you’ll learn why age matters less and content is the new currency.
Some others I hope get in
Ladies Claim Digital Strategy is the New Creativity
Submitted by Ana Andjelic: read more and vote
Fear and the art of creation
Submitted by Jonathan Fields: read more and vote
Are thinkers and makers mutually exclusive?
Submitted by Trevor Eld of R/GA: read more and vote
Community Thunderdome, Branded vs Unbranded: You Decide
Submitted by Mike Arauz: read more and vote
The power of what we won’t wear
Submitted by Heidi Hackemer: read more and vote
Panel about nothing (that you don’t care about)
Submitted by Mike Schneider: read more and vote
This one is really interesting. Live, real time, interactive, audience decides on the topic.
For other recommendations you can read what BBHLabs has to say (they have some great panels, too) and also consider Mike Arauz’s recommendations. See you in Austin.
It’s SxSW panel submission time
I just got my SxSWi panel submission in under the wire. Was on vacation so totally forgot. Won’t have any idea whether it has a chance or not until September. But here it is. If you read stuff here regularly, you won’t be too surprised. Following the SxSW submission guidelines there’s the title (limited to eight words; agree mine still needs work); description (1500 characters max, though I’ve fattened it up a little bit for this blog post; who it’s intended for; the five questions it will answer; and why I’m qualified to participate (that was the really hard part.)
Title:
New Models Prove That Ad Agencies Will Survive
The title can’t be more than eight words — Rumors of our death are greatly exaggerated was an alternative — but they want something more specific, hence the reference to “new models.”
Description:
Social media enthusiasts, inbound marketers and digital shops have all declared that the advertising agency as we know it is dead. But is it really? The old agency model may have lost its relevance, but there is a new crop of “agencies” springing up all around us.
Still in their infancy, crowdsourcing agencies are succeeding at sourcing ideas from both the public and free agents.
Digital production companies that combine technology and production now offer strategy and branding in attempt to displace agencies of record.
Social savvy integrated agencies that boast innovation “labs” are experimenting with everything from the creation of their own products to the development of digital eco-systems rather than ad campaigns.
The implications of these new models are significant:
They create new opportunities for brands and marketers as they learn to engage rather than “broadcast.”
They force traditional agencies to adapt more quickly if they are to survive.
They call for a new set of skills and expertise from those who want to work and prosper in the industry.
This panel, comprised of leaders who represent each of the models, along with a leading CMO from a major marketer, will explore the following:
–Why rapidly changing consumer behavior (from spectator to creator, from reader to publisher) demands constant reinvention on the part of agencies
–Creating a culture that embraces change
–Criteria that brands and marketers should use to evaluate the new models
–The skills employees will need in the future if they are to prosper and succeed.
Who it’s intended for:
Ad agency executives, CMOs, marketing executives, ad industry employees will all benefit from this discussion. They’ll come away with ideas, examples of what doesn’t work, and new ways to think about the business they dedicate so much of their life to.
Questions this panel will answer:
- What does the next generation ad agency look like?
- Do I need one agency or multiple specialty shops?
- How is consumer behavior and technology affecting advertising effectiveness?
- What kind of skills will be most valuable to the industry in the future?
- What doesn’t work and how can I avoid making mistakes others have made?
What qualifies me:
Needless to say I wrote something that makes me sound impressive. After all, I am in advertising.
So, what do you think? Any good? Would you attend?
Experiments, community, social media and the3six5 project
The3six5 project: crowdsourcing, community and content distribution
Perhaps the most interesting thing about social media isn’t what brands are doing in the new space but what individuals and small teams are creating. I’ve written here before about some of my favorites: Erik Proulx’s ability to make Lemonade the movie; Sheena Matheiken’s clever Uniform Project that raised over $100,000 for the Akanksha Foundation; Michelle Ryan Lauto’s Facebook event, responsible for thousands of New Jersey students boycotting school in protest of tax cuts.
Today I participated in another project that’s pretty cool. Len Kendall’s and Daniel Honigman’s the3six5. The simple Posterous blog recruited 365 different people around the world to each write about a single day. The3six5 is a lesson in everything from crowdsourcing to generating free content, to harnessing the collective reach of a community.
It also offers the perfect formula for brands and marketers to follow.
It takes advantage of a simple, easy to use platform
No one built a website. Instead 3six5 uses the increasingly popular Posterous. The free platform comes with its own built-in community and offers an embeddable tab on Facebook. The old way of thinking was to create something you have to build. The new way of thinking is to build something from stuff that’s already created.
It invites participation
There will always be downright remarkable content toward which we all gravitate. But no one is content just to watch anymore. More and more everyone wants to join in and create. People will give more of their time, effort and ideas than you might imagine if they feel as if they’re contributing to something bigger and worthwhile.
It markets itself
Do the math. If 365 people contribute, and they each have a few thousand followers on Twitter, each of whom has hundreds more, well, you get the picture. It doesn’t take very long for those numbers to grow. In fact after just six months the3six5 has over a million views.
Ironically, my the3six5 post was about old fashioned community, the kind that doesn’t need social media. But if you’re a brand, a marketer, a small company or just one person who wants to make something happen, this is clearly the neighborhood to live in.
What do you think? I’d really appreciate it if you shared as many one person initiated projects that you can think of. Let’s start a collection in the comments below.
You don’t need a gigantic network to create, experiment and succeed
I was excited today to make a small donation to The Bucket Brigade, a project that might actually end up a book; presuming Bud Caddell’s attempt at crowdfunding its publication raises enough money.
According to Bud’s Kickstarter pledge page, if he manages to solicit $5000 from his social media friends and followers, he’ll have enough cash to take time off to write and pay an editor to help him complete what he promises will be directions for how to profit in the “attention economy.”
It’s my guess that Bud will raise his money in no time. And I hope this post helps in some small way. Bud’s experiment – in his words he’s “trying to prove that there’s more value in our networks than we can even fathom” – is the epitome of what new social media platforms like Kickstarter and Kachingle or old ones like Twitter and Facebook allow us to do.
We live in an age when anyone can publish, broadcast, design a product or start a movement. The only thing stopping us is fear, inertia or lack of a network. If Bud raises his $5000.00 – in $25 and $100 increments – it will be one more reminder of how much power has shifted to the individual.
Bud has 5000 followers on Twitter. That’s a pretty good number, though a far cry from a Chris Brogan. He has a blog that gets between 4,000 and 12,000 visits a month. That’s influence, but it’s not Seth Godin. I point that out as a reminder that you don’t have to be Brogan, or Godin or Gary Vaynerchuk to make things happen.
Sheena Matheiken’s The Uniform Project raised over $100,000 to send kids in India to school. Its Facebook fan page has 7,400 “likes,” while it’s Twitter followers number just over 5,900.
Erik Proulx, with his blog and his supporters on Twitter, was able to produce Lemonade the movie and get started on Lemonade Detroit. Erik has a similar number of followers and blog readers to Bud.
When you get started in social media – one person among millions, with nothing more than a Twitter account and no clear set of instructions – it seems unlikely that you can actually accomplish all that much. But you can. If you follow the examples of Bud, Sheena and Erik – engage, give, share, create, experiment – you’ll be surprised at what you can do.
Got other really good examples of what individuals have done by gathering a community, building a network and trying something ambitious? Please share here. And as always,thanks for reading.
Advertising should stimulate debate. Where do you stand?
New Economist poster campaign asks provocative questions that are harder to answer than you think
This week The Economist announced a new campaign, “Where do you stand?” The campaign poses provocative statements on posters: Prisoners should/should not be allowed to vote. Drugs should/should not be legalized. Trading human organs should/should not be allowed.
Each poster includes a few key facts around each issue that make committing a lot harder than you might initially think. For example, in favor of selling human organs it declares:
There is a desperate shortage of organs. Around 1000 people die each year in Britain waiting for a transplant.
In 1988, Iran changed the law to allow people to sell their kidneys. Within three years, the country no longer had a waiting list for kidney transplants.
Banning the sale of organs drives the trade underground. That makes transplants riskier for both donors and recipients.
It then asks you to text your answer to the designated number in return for a free copy of The Economist. Presumably the magazine will aggregate answers and publish results.
In many ways the new campaign is brilliant. It demonstrates the thought provoking nature of The Economist, turns you into a participant rather than a reader, and gets you to actually think in the process.
While the posters primary call to action is to text your answers, it’s also cool that the magazine has created a new Facebook page where the debate can take place on line.
(Note that I have modified this post from the original. When I had initially checked The Economist Facebook page there was no mention of the campaign. Nor did it appear on their site. But shortly after this post went live, suggesting that The Economist had missed an opportunity by not extending the conversation to Facebook and elsewhere, I received a note from Jamie Credland, a marketer for The Economist who corrected me. Gotta love social media.)
For sure this campaign belongs on places like Facebook and Twitter, or even better on Livefyre, where it could benefit from a focused debate. It appears that Jamie and his colleagues get that.
If the initial news announcement in The Guardian is correct, the campaign runs for a mere two weeks. I find that a bit perplexing as it seems this is an idea with a much longer life.
But on the positive side we have a traditional medium and an advertiser that realizes a reader isn’t simply a reader but a participant, content generator and distribution channel. I’m willing to bet that The Economist will see the debate and dialog continue long after the posters come down and that this will not only be the beginning of another great campaign from the magazine that brought us the great red and white posters of the past, it may be something we see copied elsewhere.
So, is this the new advertising? Where do you stand?
Here are some links that I’ve been able to find so far. Perhaps there will be more to come from The Economist and its agency AMV BBDO. If you find out anything else, please share.
The posters in Campaign
Story in The Guardian
The agency behind it: AMV BBDO
Faris’s Blog: Talent Imitates, Genius Steals
