Social media. Heard of it? Use it personally? Professionally???
While recommendations from Social Media sites are still not as well regarded as true word-of-mouth from friends or family, social media channels are an important means of connecting with current and potential customers. The common rule of “don’t put all of your eggs in one basket” still applies, so social media should not be seen as THE solution to all marketing problems, but should definitely be part of the mix. And not just for da yoof, as Facebook is experiencing biggest growth amongst the 50+ age group.
Pepsi are taking this on board, as they commit more to social media conversation and interaction with their customers, rather than just shouting messages. They have even gone so far as not placing an ad in the Superbowl this year (the first time in 25 years), reasoning they get better return on investment from alternative media.
Here are some tips on effective use of video marketing for small-medium businesses. Of course it includes social media distribution! I hope we all know this already, but it doesn’t hurt to reinforce the basics!
So how will you access your favourite social media sites in 2011? Desktop, laptop, netbook, smartphone, game console, television? What about a games console/smartphone in one? There are whispers that Sony is planning to launch a Playstation smartphone sometime in 2010. Where will it end? And when can I get my hologram-video-phone-watch like they have in the movies?!
In more local news, TVNZ have made a couple of announcements recently. Reservoir Hill - TVNZ’s first online-only, interactive programme for teens – has been nominated for a Digital Emmy. That’s the real deal, so they can be very proud of themselves. It’s not often NZ-produced TV gets awarded anything!
TVNZ today also announced they will be launching a new channel on Sky. It will be available as part of the Sky start-up package, and will be called TVNZ Heartland. Content will be entirely NZ-made, sourced from TVNZ Archives.
My picks for programming: A Dog’s Show, Country Calendar, maybe University Challenge and Krypton Factor? It will be a challenge to present “old” content that is relevant and not just reminiscing, but they say they are aiming for a 40-64 year old demographic, so perhaps reminiscing is the way to go. The channel will carry advertising: TVNZ say they are in the process of approaching selected advertisers for exclusive agreements with the channel. Read TVNZ’s report and see an interview with John Fellet (Sky TV) and Rick Ellis (TVNZ) here.
Ads of the week
Two more outdoor executions that utilise the environment to carry the message.
Painting the town red… and blue and pink and yellow and green…
Clever, but I don’t know about walking through in a white shirt…
Cheerio!
I’m not sure how recent these ads are, but I enjoyed them.
Smirnoff put on a party in movie theatres. Another good example of creating engagement and a memorable brand experience. (Australia)
