Ad Geniuses| Paul Silburn

Londoners use to say their city is the greatest in the world. And, let´s be reasonable, when it comes to advertising, they are right. Just check out Paul Silburn curriculum. In any other place in the world, he would be the best advertiser ever, but in UK he is just, let´s say, in the top 20. He has won over 20 lions, including legendary campaigns like "No nonsense" or John West Salmon´s "Bear Fight" and, more recently, "Life´s for Sharing" for T-Mobile.

Paul has worked in a row of agencies that include Lowe, TBWA Leo Burnett, BBH and Saatchi & Saatchi, we could say, half of the best London agencies. He has also made a small adventure at Fallon Minneapolis, but it didn´t last long. Pat Fallon fired him and, since them, things haven't been working at the classic agency.

Different of other creatives, its hard to identify his strong point. He has done funny physical comedy, sensitive subjects and down-to-earth advertising. He has been awarded in alternative media, film, print and outdoor. One thing, although, it´s easy to notice. His ads all look real. If he had done any scams, we don´t know, but their biggest award campaigns are pretty real.

Ad Genius 17: Paul Silburn.
Countries: UK, USA.
Agencies: Lowe, TBWA, Leo Burnett, BBH, Fallon, Saatchi.
At Cannes: Over 20 lions, 7 Gold.
Strong Points: Versatility.

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12 Twitter Tools Every Event Marketer Should Know About

Twitter has about 18 million active users, which is forecast to grow to 26 million active users in 2010. In a recent survey by Champion Exhibition Services, it was found that 54% of association event marketers use Twitter. Of these, 82% used Twitter to create a buzz before an event, and 68% use Twitter to support PR efforts. Only 36% use direct messaging, and even fewer (23%) use #hashtags. This survey points out that even for the simplest Twitter purposes in events, adoption is still quite low. Despite all the buzz, Twitter is still a relatively untapped resource on the social media landscape. As such, we’ve only begun to understand how we can best use it as marketers, and have just scratched the surface of its application as a complement to event and experiential marketing.

One way to advance the conversation around using Twitter for event and experiential marketing is to leverage third-party applications. There are literally hundreds of Twitter applications available. A case could be made for using any and all of them for your event marketing program. I’ve spent some time reviewing some of the more interesting applications which can complement your events beyond creating buzz. In some cases there are alternate tools which perform the same function as those listed below. Feel free to explore. These are some of my favorites.

Twellow: The Twitter yellow pages. This directory searches the profiles (bios)of Twitter users when you enter a keyword. This application can be used to identify potential attendees, speakers, exhibitors, suppliers, etc. Its very simple to use, and ranks search results by number of followers.

Icerocket Twitter Search: There are several Twitter search tools out there. This is one of my favorites. Its a real time search engine and searches for keywords used within tweets. For events, Icerocket can be used to find trending topics, monitor hashtags, or find people of interest based on what they tweet. Bonus: Icerocket also searches blogs.

Tweet Later: This is one of my favorites for event marketers. If you plan ahead of time, you can schedule some of your tweets to coincide with the event schedule. Great for reminding followers of speaking sessions, or promoting your booth and other activities throughout an event. The perfect tool for press releases of new product launches, etc. I’ve used this tool for tweeting key points of my presentation while I was giving it. With rehearsal and timing it can work out pretty well. Keep in mind, while you can schedule some of your tweets ahead of time, its important to stay connected and be a part of the ongoing conversation live.

Tweetdeck: Monitoring the conversation around your event is critical. Tweetdeck makes this simple by allowing you to monitor several keywords, hastags, and people at once. Consider using Tweetdeck to monitor the conversation around your event in realtime. You can also set up Tweetdeck on large format monitors for attendees to see what content is buzzing in the twitterverse while they’re at an event. Bonus: Tweetdeck also integrates with Facebook and MySpace.

Tweetbeep: A very useful tool that monitors keywords and links and sends activity alerts by email every hour. Imagine having trending topics about your event, sessions, speakers, etc. delivered to you as they happen. Deploy Tweetbeep in addition to Tweetdeck to monitor hot topics.

Twtvite: a free event management tool that helps you organize and promote local Tweetups (informal social gatherings of people with like interests). You can use Twtvite to organize tweetups around your event. If you are using Tweetdeck or Tweetbeep to monitor conversations around your event, Twtvite can be the perfect tool to organize adhoc discussions to complement planned event curriculum based on what topics are trending.

Poll Everywhere: Need an audience response system on the cheap? Poll everywhere allows audiences to submit messages or answer multiple choice questions via tweet, SMS or the web. The best part: their feedback is instantly embedded into your live Powerpoint presentation. This tool has some amazing applications for hybrid events. Here you can get feedback from both face-to-face and virtual audiences during a presentation that is also streamed live via the internet.

Twtpoll: Simple polling application that allows you to submit a question to the twitterverse. You can choose form 17 types of questions and set a time limit for answers. This is great for gathering information for presentations before an event, or getting feedback after an event. Bonus: You can share Twtpolls across any social network.

Twitpic: This tool allows you to share pictures via Twitter – complete with geotagging. Share live pictures of your event with the world! Encourage attendees to share their event pictures as well. You might even incorporate a photo scavenger hunt into your event using Twitpic.

Twitvid: Like Twitpic but for video. Super easy to use. Share videos of speakers, entertainment, demonstrations, etc. via Twitter. Encourage attendees to participate. Bonus: autosharing to Facebook, MySpace and Youtube is integrated.

Twitcam: Create a live twebcast! Broadcast your event via this simple, instant streaming video application. This is great for speaking sessions, demonstrations, etc. Integrates with a twitter window so observers can comment / ask questions during the presentation. Its a good idea to have a moderator and a decent webcam / mic hooked up to your computer.

Tweetchat: Very cool application that allows users to conduct  live chat over twitter via #hashtags. I participate in the #eventprofs tweetchat as often as I can. You can organize tweetchats during your event on trending topics, or schedule these as part of you planned curriculum. Tweetchats can also take place off hours or for virtual participants.

These twelve Twitter tools will help you advance your event program beyond the profile, #hashtag and promotional tweet. If used appropriately these applications can drive community engagement before, during and after each event to create real relationships with your audiences across your event program. Use one, use some, use them all, its your choice. Understand your audience and objectives first, then pick the best tools to meet your needs. I’ve only scratched the surface here. Again, there are hundreds of third-party Twitter applications out there, and they come and go daily. If you find something that’s worked for you please share!

Cresta Awards 2009

Winners of the Cresta Awards for 2009 are available online, providing an interactive exhibition of creative work from around the world. The awards were launched in 1993 by Creative Standards International, in partnership with the International Advertising Association. The 17th annual competition provided honours for 65 winners from 19 countries, with Grand Prix awards going to Euro RSCG, Singapore, Farfar Stockholm, HEIMAT, Berlin, Leo Burnett, Lisbon and Publicis Conseil, Paris. The 2009 Ceremony was launched online as an electronic event on Monday 26 October, at ads online at Cresta, allowing winners from all parts of the world to take part in the awards presentation.

Press

Grand Prix went to Nikon’s “Faces” campaign, by Euro RSCG, Singapore
Leica “Wide angle lens – Photographer”, Austria
Opti Parquetcare/Henkel “Reflecting Parquet”, Austria
Jin Si Ping “cure for Parkinsonism”, China
Stihl “Hedges”, France
Rowenta RO4541 Silence Force “Duck”, Germany
Audi A6 Security “Bulletproof”, Germany
IKEA Austria “Sale”, Germany
IKEA Austria “Delivery Service”, Germany
Sony Ericsson “Sound Proof City”, Germany
Olympus “Zoom”, Germany
Air France “Double Life”, Spain
Museum of Childhood “Memory Back Guarantee”, “Inner Child’, “Playing”, UK

Posters

Orange “Music Max”, France
Vitakraft “Powerbird”, Germany
Comedy Central “We take it serious”, Germany
ISHR (International Society For Human Rights) “Ahmadinejad / Raul Castro”, Germany
Black & Decker Hammerdrill KD990 “Power Drill Campaign”, Germany
Sony Ericsson “Sound Proof City”, Germany
ZDF “Interruptus”, Germany
McDonald’s “Freshness Box Salad”, Germany
Tryvann Winter Park “The Snowing Billboard”, Norway
Strepsils “Mouth Athlete, Mouth Parade, Mouth Child”, Spain
3M Automotive Window Films “Shadows”, United Arab Emirates

TV/Cinema/Digital

Grand Prix went to Orange’s “Rewind City”, by Publicis Conseil, Paris
National Museum “Munich”, Czech Republic
Fazer Leipomot Reilu Bread “1/3 True love, 2/3 Make-up, 3/3 Tie”, Finland
CANAL+ “CANAL+ Cinema”, France
Volvo BLIS “Slap”, Germany
HORNBACH DIY / Home Improvement Stores “IMAGINATION“, Germany
HORNBACH DIY / Home Improvement Stores “SoundsCampaign – Bath/ Stairway/Nursery”, Germany
Audi A4 Exclusive Line “Robbery”, Germany
Audi quattro “Urban Carving”, Germany
Beate Uhse TV “Inkblot Test”, Germany
UHU super glue “The first one-second-commercials for super glue”, Germany
Opel/ Vauxhall – Zafira and Meriva “Adjustable World”, Germany
Marie Curie Actions “Chemical Party”, Germany
MINI “Have you seen that?”, Germany
PM’s Office Hungary – Campaign for Disabled People “Job interview”, Hungary
Pert Plus “Stop the Suffering”, Lebanon
Norwegian Association of the Blind “Don’t disturb the ones working”, Norway
Amnesty International “Everybody against everybody“, Portugal
MTV/Aids Awareness “Chewing Gum”, United Arab Emirates
Verizon “Deadzones”, USA

Radio

Muenchner Ticketcenter “27″, Germany
MORTEIN DOOM “SLOW DEATH”, Kenya

Interactive

Grand Prix went to Nokia Eseries “The Unloader“, by Farfar, Stockholm
Clear Channel Finland “Follow Me Project Helsinki”, Finland
Levi’s 501® “Live Unbuttoned”, France
Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt: “Exhibition: Playing the City”, Germany
Björn Borg Fashions “In Action Screensaver”, Sweden
British Gas “Generation Green”, UK

Ambient Media

Grand Prix went to Pampero Rum “World’s first ephemeral museum“, by Leo Burnett Lisboa.
IKEA Austria “The first IKEA cinema catalogue”, Germany
Fiftyfifty (magazine for homeless people) “Transparent Man”, Germany
Amnesty International Promotion against human trafficking “Amnesty promotion: woman in a suitcase”, Germany
The Asahi Shimbun Company “The Asahi Newspaper Moves”, Japan
Portuguese Red Cross “Hope Store”, Portugal
Norwegian.se Airlines “Snow Stamp”, Sweden

Integrated Campaign

Grand Prix went to Hornbach DIY The House of Imagination, by Heimat, Berlin
T-Mobile Image Campaign “MESSAGES”, Slovakia
American Legacy Foundation “Sunny Side of Truth”, USA
AOK Health Insurance Fund “An Apple a Day Calendar”, Germany
Wüsthof knives “Onion calendar”, Germany

Twitter, Customer Service, and Good Brand Management

If monitoring conversations and knowing what you're listening for is the first ingredient in good online best practices, knowing when and how to respond is much more than good etiquette. It's become an integral aspect of brand management and can mean the difference between a flop - or worse, a crisis - and a deposit in your company's reputation bank.

It's easy to dismiss Twitter's usefulness as a tool.

That is until you figure out that on Twitter you can find mentions of your brand and you can actually connect with customers directly and provide a first line of response. Chances are, that in 140 characters, you won't be able to do much more. But don't underestimate the importance of that public gesture.

How to use Twitter for customer service

Many companies started integrating customer service on Twitter. This list I created is purely for customer service, but there is another important aspect of customer support, which is why in many companies there is a community evangelist role carved out.

There are also individuals who opted into community builder roles - some in official capacity for an organization, some because that's who they are. Go ahead and promote your many customer support people on Twitter by creating a list.

Ben Parr at Mashable wrote a handy post about using Twitter for customer service. As he says, it's ideal because:

• You can respond to a customer question or complaint immediately after seeing it without needing to have all the facts - take the problem solving part off line. Monitoring and responding is lightening fast, and right now it will cast you in a good light, especially if your normal customer service channels are in need of repair.

• You can be proactive and let your customers know where to find you - I started a list linked above, let me know if you'd like me to add your company's team to it. This will ease some anxiety over which number to call or being on hold. Provided you don't take two days to get back to them as I described here.

• You provide the added bonus of good service/product stewardship, which in turns creates a nice halo for your company and brands. Let's face it, Twitter is the most social of social networks. People have the opportunity to humanize the brand experience over time by being helpful and personal. I do wonder if companies are developing Twitter scripts? 

How do you track tweets?

There are many tools you can use to track customer conversations on Twitter. For free, you could:

• Search for key terms or your company name with Twitter Search
• Build a Yahoo! Pipe (watch the how to video here) - here's an example ofhow Salesforce.com uses the tool
• Get email Twitter alerts with TweetBeep
• Use TweetScan to search for key words combined with a user
• Test drive monitoring up to three key words in real time with Monitter
• Distinguish positive from negative tweets with Twitrrater
• Look up who's following you in TwitterKarma
• Try Twittervision to see the global nature of this tool
• Look up daily top influencers on Twitterholic - expect to see more tools on influence
• Find and filter content by influence with PostRank
• Find out how many times a term was mentioned with TweetVolume
• Set up Google Alerts for the terms you want to monitor - you can route them to your email, or your RSS reader
• Use Social Mention for alerts on social media sites
• Track and rank the URLs people are talking about on with Twitturl
• Use Hashtags to learn what's happening right now
• Find a list of regular chats on Twitter

As it's the case with tools, your objectives will determine which ones are most useful to you.

Online monitoring is broader than Twitter. WebWorkerDaily pulled together some advice on how to make a monitoring dashboard to track online conversations. As Dawn explains, the real magic is in the content you're monitoring - your strategy and goals should come first.

For a fee, and for more than just monitoring in many instances, you can utilize:

• Radian6 - which allows you to set up a dashboard to monitor mentions across sites and tools and shows you brand sentiment, along with location, and integrating with WebTrends and SalesForce.com
• RapLeaf - helps you understand your customers better, simplify online media planning, enhance customer databases, and manage fraud risk
• BrandsEye - for monitoring online reputation and tracking negative sentiment
• ScoutLabs - web-based application that tracks social media and provides you with data on sentiment, trend spotting, buzz trend, share of voice, email alerts, customer rants and raves, as well as a platform to coordinate your response, assign tasks, add comments, and share product and marketing ideas
• Cymfony - collects all forms of content, organizes and categorizes it, and provides a powerful but easy-to-use interface with data visualization and discovery features that allow you to gain valuable insights from selected discussion most relevant to your brand
• BuzzLogic - technology platform identifies and organizes theconversation universe, combining both conversation-topic and audience to help brands reach more than 44 million users who are passionate on everything from the latest tech craze and cloud computing to parenthood and politics
• Spiral16 - for monitoring, collecting, and measuring the social media conversations, semantic analysis, conversation sentiment, and visualizing data in a 3D mapping so you can better understand the hubs of influencers (based on linkages) and how a message is potentially being spread

Customer service = brand management in social media

More and more companies are discovering the power of being first line responders on Twitter for customer issues. Microsoft just announced that it is joining Twitter with their own support channel. There are many examples of great brand management through customer service. Matt has aggregated a few.

And if you think that one customer with two followers may not be all that important, think again. Analysts and journalists are increasingly participating actively and may pick up on a random conversation - all of a sudden, you could have what we've come to call the Streisand Effect.

So don't jump to rash conclusion. Instead, jump on Twitter and join the customer conversation. Even if your customers are not there yet, chances are that those who talk about your company and brand on Twitter will come up in search - as in search engine search [hat tip Louis Gray].

Plus, you could start from a less than ideal position and turn things around to the point that your company develops a well though-out Twitter strategy, complete with customer segmented offers like Dell did.

[image by Neuro Productions Twitter Browser]

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Related posts:

You're on Twitter, now What?

Twitter: Macro Insights from Micro Interactions

Business Uses for Twitter

Premium design references

Waffer Tosh: Beach

Check out the site: http://www.tosh.com.co
Advertising Agency: Netbangers, Bogota, Colombia
Strategy: Netbangers
General Director: Daniel Lacorazza
Creative Director: Camilo Ramirez
Project Manager: David Pinilla
Creative: Juan Guerra
Script-copy writer: Juanita Uribe
Designer: Sandra Ramirez, Andres Rojas
Animation: Mario Polo
Developers: Luis Sanchez, Leonardo Moreno
Audio-Music: Juan Lacorazza
Published: October 2009

'Viral Loop' by Adam L. Penenberg - The Power Of Pass-It-On

At the Adtech London conference I presented my model of 'the Destination and the Conversation' and spoke about how everything now works together.

Traditionally it was (primarily) about pushing people to a Destination (a website, a microsite etc) through broadcasting a message along the lines of 'go here now!' However, the prolification of social platforms on the web has now added a second element to marketing, 'the Conversation.' The Conversation is where people discuss, share and interact in online social spaces - from blogs to Facebook to YouTube etc.

The Destination and The Conversation from my presentation to Adtech
(click for larger / higher res image)

Brands are now able to directly participate in and leverage this Conversation. This delivers traffic to the Destination, but in a more subtle and potentially engaging way than traditional broadcast messaging.

The real value though comes from a kind of built in, self-fulfilling loop. The more people who go to the Destination, the more prominently it features in the Conversation and thus the more people go to the Destination and so on (all the time improving Search Engine visibility and further enhancing 'discoverability.')

I go into more depth on how these mechanics work on a previous post about The Destination and The Conversation here.

This idea of a continuous loop is also a key component of a new book by Adam L Penenberg - 'Viral Loop: The Power of Pass-it-on.'



Viral Loop says 'the potential of pass-it-on lay unrealised until forward-thinking Web companies got hold of it and created their own, mightily efficient, money-spinning model known as Viral Loop - the ability to grow a company exponentially because the customers themselves spread it.'

Viral Loop is an interesting read, featuring a multitude of examples and first hand accounts as well as occassional theories on virality measures. The text covers examples of early viral loop businesses such as Ponzi schemes and Tupperware, before arriving at the current day with discussions of social networks and the like.

In some ways Viral Loop also acts as a history of Web 2.0, analysing some of the online success stories from recent years. Penenberg goes into depth on sites like Hot Or Not, looks at the origins of Hotmail (and how the Hotmail mesage footer spread the service), looks at Ebay and Paypal, how Birthday Alarm evolved into Bebo, browser wars and Marc Andreesen (charting his progress from Mosaic designer to Ning founder) before moving on to more recent developments such as Friendster, MySpace, Facebook and Twitter.

The book is also peppered with examples of how different people have harnessed the Viral Loop to gain attention for their products and creations. For example how independent film makers harnessed the Loop to gain attention for films like 'Four Eyed Monsters' and 'Open Water' or highlighting activity such as the Mentos / Diet Coke YouTube experiments - all set against the context of the Loop.

Furthermore, in its promotional campaign Viral Loop tries to practice what it preaches. The book has beenserialised in Wired UK, has seen guest posts penned for sites like Techcrunch and Viral Loop has a trailer on YouTube here:

Popout
Viral Loop is also represented through specially created social applications. The Social Networking Application 'How Much Are You Worth to Facebook and MySpace?' can be accessed at viralloop.com/social and a Viral Loop Predictions App for iPhone can be downloaded through iTunes or from viralloop.com/prediction - with everything highlighted by the author on his @Penenberg Twitter account.

I recommend Viral Loop to anyone working in or around online / social marketing. The book provides a wealth of examples showing how the Loop has been used, as well as outlining some frameworks for planning / analysing viral distribution (viral co-efficients etc.)

Related posts

My presentation to Adtech London - 'The Destination and The Conversation'