Brilliant! Google Wave explained Pulp Fiction-stylie

Source: Hypebot.com

Demographics are dead...

It's funny how the TED Talks seem to magically answer the questions that are going around in your head.

I've been thinking lately, as we work more and more on 'content' briefs, that the traditional approach of developing a proposition to connect a brand + a story with its intended audience just doesn't work here. Different people connect with stories in different ways, depending on who they are, what they're into, what they've experienced themselves + what they're looking for.

Novelist Chimamanda Adichie talks about the temptation to form an opinion on a person or a place based on just one aspect of its being. A person, a place, a situation cannot be described by just 'one story'. It is what it is because of the multiple stories that have shaped it.

By taking the time to appreciate the many stories that surround who we're talking to will help us understand how we are all different, instead of how we are similar. Afterall, everyone is unique + wants to be seen as an individual, not as part of a demographic group.

So rather than transmitting a single message designed to appeal to a large audience based on just one aspect of their being, we can instead engage all sorts of people in different ways, through the various aspects of the story we're telling. Enabling them to interpret it in their own way, take what they want from it, share their thoughts, debate, hypothesise - and ultimately demonstrate their individuality- all of which allow us to connect with them on a much deeper level.

A vamped-up me!

It seemed very important that to truly conduct vampire research I should 'vamp myself up' over at the True Blood site. Much fun...

Climate Chief Lord Stern "Go Veggie to save the planet"

Next time I'm at a dinner party feeling bad for being the 'difficult vegetarian', or when I'm having to defend myself against comments that I'm not observing the 'circle of life'...or even the next time I'm being chased around the room by a friend with a slice of ham, I shall remember this fact...

That meat production is responsible for about 18% of global carbon emissions.

That is a serious amount. Methane (emitted by livestock with each bottom burp) is 23 times more powerful than carbon dioxide as a global warming gas.

Lord Stern said that a successful deal at the Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December would lead to soaring costs for meat and other foods that generate large quantities of greenhouse gases. He hopes that over time, as people begin to feel more responsible towards climate change issues, we will soon regard the consumption of meat in large quantities as unacceptable.

I really hope so. Not only will it help reduce methane emissions, with reduced demand the conditions for livestock should improve (which will make Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall very happy). And since most people eat way too much meat as it is, our general health should improve too. It'll also reduce the destruction of forest land for cattle ranching and the production of animal feeds such as soy. Yippee!

However, considering how frequently I am verbally abused, chased by ham + served the vegetarian staple of Mushroom Risotto, I cannot see this happening overnight.

This thought-provoking?! image was borrowed from queenofheartss @ deviantart.com - thanks!

86% of brands plan to engage with original content

Good news!

An article over at at e-marketer shares the results of a survey undertaken by King Fish Media which reports that 86% brands are planning on creating original content with which to engage their audience, with 74% believing it to be more effective at generating ROI than traditional advertising.

In addition to this, brands now believe the best ways to communicate with prospective leads + customers are their corporate website (75%), social media (73%), custom content + media (70%) + face-to-face events (69%).

And in line with this, e-marketer + almost everything else I've read today (in particular) seems to talking about the importance of measuring the ROI of social media. And not just the non-financial intangiable return, or even against digital sales; but most importantly how we can measure its impact on offline sales.

Olivier Blanchard talks about this at length over here. And Coca-Cola's Carol Kruse shares a little about their aggressive digital plans for the future + how they plan to measure its affect on sales over here.

Eastenders online spin-off targeted at 'yoof'

The BBC is to launch an online spin-off of EastEnders in the new year in line with the show's 25th anniversary. EastEnders: E20 will be broadcast online 3 times a week immediately after the main show. Its 6-12 minute long episodes will show Albert Square from a different perspective, focussing on a group of sixth-form students trying to escape from “family problems and crises of their own making."

They say they're going after the Hollyoaks demographic but want to create a feel different to the Channel 4 show + other shows such as Skins. I like that it's storylines will overlap with those of the main show + that the whole thing will be flipped so that we'll see the characters from the main show in the background while this new cast lead the online version.

I also love that the BBC is working with a team of 13 young writers aged 17-22 to create the storylines (chosen through a competition run by the BBC). What a unbelievable opportunity for these kids...and hopefully by doing this, it *might just* mean that its storylines will actually connect with its audience.

You can't deny that this will benefit from a huge existing audience + that EastEnders is a well established brand. But how many young people watch EastEnders by choice*? I'm just not convinced that it being linked to EastEnders is really going to do it for these grumpy** teens who wouldn't want anyone to think they were into the same things as their parents? I get the whole Hollyoaks / Hollyoaks After Hours thing. They're targeting the same audience - with the later show giving the audience a slightly 'naughtier' version of the main show. Got it. Not sure if 'teen version of ya mum's favourite show' is really gonna cut it?! I might be wrong..

* my 17 year old bro has little choice in the matter. Since birth, 7.30pm has always been Mum's slot in the TV viewing schedule. Thank goodness for the internet.

** they're not all grumpy!

Source: Broadcast

Measuring the ROI of social media

Some nice tips here on how to achieve the impossible - to measure the ROI of social media activities. Now we just need to get sales data from our clients...possible perhaps, but certainly not easy?!

The original post shares all sorts of other helpful articles + presentations on this matter.

Kthxbye...

Olivier Blanchard Basics Of Social Media Roi

View more presentations from Olivier Blanchard.

Source: We are social