AHC Pacific
Digital media has attracted both positive and negative attention lately - and some commentators have questioned the ethics of marketers who have pulled a few stunts.
We've seen the excellent Queensland Tourism campaign slightly tarnished by the hoax 'tattoo lady' and the YouTube 'owner of the jacket' appeal revealed as a Witchery campaign. Both appeared to fool some people and both generated lots of additional media coverage.
Called 'astroturfing' in the US, this technique seems to want to emulate 'spontaneous grassroots behaviour' through a forced start that then gets noticed in more traditional media. It worked initially in both cases. But how different is this to a planted traditional PR story about, say, a Hollywood celebrity? Do we automatically believe such a tabloid story in the press or on the commercial TV and radio networks? And, if we don’t, do we still enjoy the story? And what role do the traditional media have in checking the original story before they run it?
Again, in both cases the clients had the courage to try something new. Perhaps the overall strategy and execution doesn’t stand up to rear view analysis but this is a new way of using media and experience will eventually help set the standards. As spoofs they were pretty harmless examples and the real question is whether the campaigns helped or hindered the brands concerned. I suspect that, given the likely target market demographics, they haven’t done any harm where it counts.
The first truly digital election
The US Presidential campaign certainly relied on digital media to harness support in a way never seen before. The inauguration of the new President of the United States stretched digital capacity literally to breaking point. As the CNN feed collapsed at a crucial point and other websites couldn’t handle the traffic, we watched it all on an old fashioned television screen which gave us plenty of options! Since moving into the White House and discovering a rather old and poor technical setup, Obama aides have worked tirelessly to trade security issues with technological necessity to keep the Obama supporters involved and onside.
This presidency will use digital media as part of its communication strategy, involving a demographic that may not otherwise have developed any interest in following current affairs. And, at least Barrack has got to keep his Blackberry!
Digital Ministry Editor, Brad Down, commented in his blog: "With the inauguration of Barrack Obama there is a renewed confidence underlying uncertain times. I get the same feeling of underlying confidence from within the digital industry. It could be the continuous upbeat banter of Twitter or the optimistic commentary on the monetisation of social media."
We can hope that as we all get better at using digital media, and consumers become more sophisticated in their selection and appraisal of it, that it becomes as much a part of our marketing arsenal as direct marketing has become over the past two decades.
Online videos become standard fare
As more data about 2008 Internet usage in the US is released, online video increasingly looks like one of the year's big winners. US Internet users viewed 12.7 billion online videos during November 2008 alone, up more than one-third over November 2007, according to data released in January 2009 by comScore Video Metrix.
In Australia we are seeing a more professional use of video in online news media sites and reference to YouTube material crops up everywhere. The only problem with this is the enormous distraction of the 'related videos' that come up alongside the one you've clicked through to. But once again, this is part of an emerging new style of consumer driven communication with customers and prospects.
On business sites, eTV and online video clips are being used to great effect by B2B marketers and B2C marketers alike. In our own business we are finding more and more demand for this service and have recently revamped our own studio and technical capacity to meet those needs.
And finally: Are we glass half full people?
As the year develops amidst economic gloom I am constantly reminded in Australia that we are a 'glass half full' type of people and the old adage "she'll be right, mate" still seems to apply. Christmas, annual holidays, Australia Day - all seem to have given us some respite and a chance to reflect. Most people I have spoken to in business and personal life since the start of 2009 have at least some optimism about the future and their own role in it.
The recent tragic events in Victoria have confirmed the collective strength of character of Australians facing adversity and personally I have no doubt that if enough of us talk up rather than talk down the world as we see it we'll get through the next year or so.
One commentator I read suggested that we should "think about those things that are within your area of influence. Don't sweat the big picture when you can't fix it on your own." Sounds like a good start. My contribution to that is to suggest we invest wisely in resources that will assist in building and strengthening relationships with our customers for the future.
