Brett Macfarlane

Rethink the Obama Rethink?

"I cringe with embarrassment when I reread the article my Newsweek colleague David Stone and I wrote after the 2008 election. We raved about how Obama's internet army would, as one of his tech strategists put it, "want to participate more, not less, and take part in the governing process.". We foresaw online brainstorming sessions where Netizens would generate ideas and vote them up or down in a free-flowing open-source manner. We even suggested that the very nature if democracy was changing."

"What were we smoking? In two years, the pro-Obama Netroots movement has collapsed faster than the dot com bubble."

- Daniels Lyons, Newsweek November 22, 2010

Now that the Social Media Revolution has been with us for a while, and meshed with our daily lives, one must ask a few questions. Are the marginal incremental units of changes diminishing? Does it prove our need to believe in something is insatiable? That our ability to lose interest in something inescapable?

Like most things, the answer seems to be "it depends."

 

Thoughts?

Anything good on YouTube tonight?

With the explosion of ways to tell a story, your story or just something weird/funny/gross, something I've been thinking a lot is the difference between a story and great storytelling.  As the novelty of user generated content wanes and technology allows improved distribution of higher production value content more reliably will the craft of great storytelling again be the focal point of success?  Hopefully.

More on this to come, but till then closely follow this contest in the event you make something actually good to post on YouTube.

Politician Generated Content

There has been no shortage of coverage on new media and it's affect to come on the Presidential campaign.  Whether it's the Hilary spoof of the Sopranos ending or the upcoming CNN YouTube debates.

The one thing that seems to be an interesting hypothesis, which we will see if it comes true, is that this might actually make the next presidential election the more positive.  The thinking is that because falsehoods and excessive spin can be outed fast than before, politicians, cannot play that game and therefore have to be more true to themselves.  People will also be accepting of the real personal nuances and even shortcomings.  Perfection will not be trusted or believed.

Regardless, it will be a real wait and see.  The Brits are one step ahead with 10 Downing having their own YouTube channel and attempting to try and open up the behind the scenes of what these folks elected by the people do all day with the people's money.  In fact here is Tony Blair's first ever YouTube address of a World Leader, followed by new Brit PM Gordon Brown heading to his first day of work yesterday.

This is just the next step in furthering consumer's expectations of brands themselves becoming more transparent.  Consumers will always expect and accept to a degree brands positioning themselves and using flashy "ads" (be it on TV, web, the street, whatever...) but they will not accept falsehoods or two facedness.  They will hold you up to what yo believe.  Which is great if you as a brand have a true and pure mission.  The challenge is to get it out honestly. 

Sure some companies through basic size and lack of choice (telecoms and banks) will for the foreseeable future be able to play the game they always have but for most brands in ever more competitive landscapes you just can't see this being the case.

Celebrity generated content

This doesn't fall under consumer generated content, it also doesn't fall under studio generated content.  It's celebrity generated content.

Yes, Alanis Morrisette does My Humps by the Black Eyed Peas.  Fabulous.  Karaoke never sounded so go.

Revolt?

Consumer generated content - can we formally begin the backlash yet? 

No disrespect to Mr. Jaffe, but this is hardly a historic moment in marketing history.  Is CGC really the new form of advertising, or just another voice and another degree of fragmentation of consumer's attention.  It's great that Coke is embracing EepyBird, it's not something to ignore, but what happens after their 15 minutes is up and Coke-Mentos goes into the quiver of party tricks up there with sabering a champagne bottle and card guessing.

Didn't the Doritos  "whatever" response to their CGC Super Bowl ads further prove that it's just another stunt, not a sustainable means of brand building and storytelling in advertising and marketing communications?  I may be eating my hat in a couple years, but I like my odds...

oh dear...

The insanity doesn't stop.  Now Dove's on board the consumer generated TV ad bandwagon.

Surprising given Dove's incredibly strong work over the past couple years.

Consumer generated garbage

Glad to see someone, the cunning minds of Adrants no less, agree with me.

Consumer generated content, democrotization of news, web 2.0 and all that is a really really big big deal.  Time brings this to life well for a mainstream publication in naming You (and me) the Person of the Year.  But handing over the reign and asking consumers to make you ads is not a way to drive your brand.  Really it is a barometer of how you are doing.  CGC is simply consumers putting the mirror up for you to show you what they think of you brand, or what they think you're trying to convey.  Or in the case of consumer generated ads, what they think makes for an ad based upon past ads.  You need strategy to shift perceptions, and consumers are not connected to the strategy.  This is where I see weakness with them being called the Agency of the Year by Ad Age. 

What all this really means is that companies have to pull up their socks and be honest with themselves.  And make communications relective of that. Because if they don't, people are going to call them out.  Just ask Starbucks:

 

Consumer Generated Content - Part II

Consumer generated content in the context of advertising for most big brands has defaulted to asking consumers to make your ads.  Lame.

A better approach is having an idea where consumers can be part of actual execution.  Nike's Joga Chain is a very cool example of this.  It hits the right balance of consumer's drive for community and participation with Nike's need to evolve and deepen their role in the overall sport of soccer.  A very powerful association when seen as fostering better and more beautiful performances by players of all levels.