Times are tough within the ad industry, not just for us agency folks vendors and reps are killing for a buy right now. Reps have started calling weekly to check in for updates and whoring out their rates just for a tiny bit of cash flow.
CBS Outdoor in England has taken a different approach to the recession. They utilized their network of signage within London’s tube’s to launch a campaign which demonstrates the effectiveness and value of their space. As much as I adore digital, out of home has so many opportunities to be creative and reach a mass of people without the constraints of electronic mass media. It is definitely not included enough in most campaigns, especially tied back to digital.
CBS Outdoor utilized their signage network within 35 Tube stations throughout London, placing controversial images that lead viewers to the site TimeToConsider.co.uk to vote, comment and engage with the campaign images.
The ad campaign ended on May 20th and generated millions visitors to the site, thousands of votes and 617 comments in total on the four images (shown below).
The Brand Republic had this quote from Mike Hemmings, CBS Outdoor’s London Underground brand manager in this article.
”Using a standard Underground pack, we’ve shown that Underground advertising can be central in leading opinion, debate and awareness, not just within London, but across the UK.Who knows how many conversations this has created over a pint in the pub, but the volume of online debate alone highlights how Tube ads are remembered, talked about and acted on far beyond this initial three-minute exposure.”
Yesterday I attended my first San Diego Social Media Breakfast where the discussion centered around social media privacy from the user standpoint.
The arguments for and against sharing have been debated across the web:
How much personal information should you share online?
How should you segment your social networks and your audiences?
If you don’t share everything with everyone are you still authentically you?
Personally, I’ve never understood this struggle. Just like in real life you have different groups of people, you share different information with them and that information can live on its own through gossip and pictures passing through real life social networks. When I tell my friends about a crazy weekend, I don’t also text everyone in my phone or send everyone pictures. We’ve already been trained to differentiate our social groups and modify our behavior and our conversations based on the social group we are interacting with, why do people struggle with that when those social networks are online?
Sharing or not sharing information is your own choice, just as in real life sometimes you tell one person something and not someone else.
I only have two recommendations. The first is that most social networking sites allow for some degree of privacy settings – USE THEM. I create different groups on my Facebook for Work, Work Friends, College, High School, Family and BFFs. Each group has different access to my profiles, I know and trust those with the most amount of privacy and those work connections receive minimal information. The second is don’t be a DOUCHE BAG. Just in real life if you spend your time and energy spreading false information, wasting people’s time or just being an ass you’ll damage your social connections. You’re smart, you’ll figure out the rest.
I honestly don’t know which is more disturbing – encouraging ladies to mow their lawn through a song or a how-to video teaching guys to trim the underbrush “so the tree looks taller”. Oy vey…While I can appreciate its a hard subject to get across through video I don’t know that a song or how to video are really the best choice.
The power of community is evident through many social media platforms. Companies are learning that cultivating a positive brand experience through open communication and 24/7 availability can create consumers who are your brand advocates. I am a huge believer of social media participation and online reputation management (really you can’t create your presence without closely monitoring the results through a rep management process).
Sometimes the community takes something and owns it in a way you could have never imagined making it 100 times awesomer. In those times you can only be thankful that some people have way too much free time on their hand and just the right dose of creativity. Yahoo Answers, Amazon Reviews and some people’s random sites have generated hundreds of users to participate and hundreds of thousands to view.
This item has wolves on it which makes it intrinsically sweet and worth 5 stars by itself, but once I tried it on, that’s when the magic happened. After checking to ensure that the shirt would properly cover my girth, I walked from my trailer to Wal-mart with the shirt on and was immediately approached by women. The women knew from the wolves on my shirt that I, like a wolf, am a mysterious loner who knows how to ‘howl at the moon’ from time to time (if you catch my drift!)……
…The internet burned brightly as an escape, a way to show who you were to a wider audience, a way of discovering and sharing things you never knew existed, a way of forcing back the ever encroaching shadows of the real world to keep your internal flame burning just that little bit longer….
One should not be intimidated by Tuscan Whole Milk. Nor should one prejudge, despite the fact that Tuscan is non-vintage and comes in such large containers. Do not be fooled: this is not a jug milk. I always find it important to taste milk using high-quality stemware — this is milk deserving of something better than a Flintstones plastic tumbler. One should pour just a small dollop and swirl it in the glass — note the coating and look for clots or discoloration. And the color — it should be opaque, and very, very white. Now, immerse your nose in the glass and take a whiff. Tuscan transports you instantly to scenic hill towns in central Italy (is that Montepulciano I detect?) — there is the loamy clay, the green grass of summer days, the towering cypress…
I don’t even know what to say about this spam. Apparently it is still impossible/against the rules for spammers to use proper grammar and capitalize their “I”s , but at least the’ve moved on from the whole Nigerian Prince scam. While I clicked the link to localdatelink.com I couldn’t bring myself to register for the site so I could check out the profile for “wishfulthinking” because I don’t want more spam.
If you can’t read the email – I’ve copied and pasted the body of the email after the jump. Lovely stuff.
Back in the olden days of the internet, Facebook was just for college kids, flash sites were cool and you couldn’t rely on someecards to be there to help you communicate openly with your friends.
All the way back in 2003 you had to rely on your own internet skills to send out cards to your friends, family and complete strangers. You bought a URL, maybe the name of your pet, you created a real life card and then you uploaded it to the previously mentioned URL.
Simple, effective and peaceful. Thank you Geoff and Jara. You made my day.
I can’t even be mad that I wanted your URL for a client. You’ve paid 6 years worth of domain and hosting fees so you could continue to wish those closest to you (and those of us who stumbled upon it) some much needed Peace on Earth.
Taking something lame and making it cool again is the ultimate re-branding. A major crisis is difficult to come back from, but it happens all the time; coming back from the depths lameness is a rare phenomena. Which is why I applaud you Happy Cow.
Fanny Packs are for the 80s costume parties, older tourists, Hulk Hogan and people who wear socks with their sandals. But you Happy Cow, have decided to make them cool again as “Side Bags” and “Hip Bags”. Tricky.
Not only did you change their name, you’ve also changed up the look of the fanny packs on your website.
By far my favorite is the pocket skirt, because why would I want to ruin the look of my pants with bulging pockets or an unsightly purse when I can cover them with a skirt with one tiny little pocket.
Please, please, please make an infomercial…I can only imagine how incredibly awesome it would be. Ok back to figuring out how these “pockets” work on all my pants. Ugh I wish I could afford your innovative “waist pouch”.
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