My top 10 posts of ‘09

As 2009 draws to a close I thought I’d recap with a list of  the top 10 posts (according to you guys) that gained the most traffic on my blog. It seems the posts you guys tended to navigate towards were those that were about how brands should behave in the new media environment when trying to engage youth in conversationas well as learnings from the world’s best youth brands.

Here are the 10 posts (in terms of site traffic) in  2009 for those that haven’t read them.

1. Nike: We don’t do advertising , we do cool stuff (by far and away the most popular post of the year)

2. Levi’s ‘Go Forth’ – Inspiring Generation Optimism

3. Youth want TRIBAL IDEAS – tips on creating a movement

4. Youth are Cyborgs

5. 10 Principles for engaging Teens

6. 10 Observations on how the best youth brands behave

7. Why Red Bull is the world’s best youth brand

8. Youth marketing is about Culture Creation

9. Experimentation is the new Engagement

10. Brand Ecosystems and Participative Branding Comms Model

Principles of Transmedia Storytelling

Watched an interesting lecture by the ‘father’ of transmedia storytelling, Henry Jenkins, author of Convergence Culture, who recently returned to MIT (he’s now at USC) to speak to students about the 7 principles of transmedia storytelling. You can find the full 50 minute lecture at his blog  here, but I’ve summarised some of the key points I took out of it.

Essentially ‘transmedia storytelling’ is cross platform entertainment where each media touchpoint makes its own unique contribution to the story and the audience/community is encouraged to engage with the story and remix it to help influence the outcome of the story. In terms of brand communications, there has been quite a few famous ‘transmedia’ ideas, most notably the ARG’s (Alternate Reality Games) used to launch moves like The Dark Knight, or McDonald’s ‘The Lost Ring’ ARG associated with the Beijing Olympics. There’s also been Audie’s ‘Art of the Heist’ and numerous others. I’ve always been fascinated by ARG’s just because they generally ask people to play an active role in the outcome of the story, and what’s ‘on screen’ is only part of the story.

In a nutshell here are the 7 principles of transmedia storytelling which Henry spoke about:

1.       DRILLABILITY

With transmedia narratives it’s about ‘depth of engagement’  – you have to create a story arc that allows people to deep dive into it’s complexities and uncover nuances. This makes it far more engaging for the true fan as they have a reason to keep coming back.

 2.       MUTLIPLICITY over CONTINUITY

Most traditional advertising communications speak about ‘continuity’, but in fact the success of transmedia storytelling comes down to ‘multiplicity’, where people are encouraged to have different perspectives on characters. A great example of this is Batman, in terms of all the comics, anime and cartoons, there are always slightly different perspectives on the character which make the franchise ever more appealing and contextual to youth.

 3.       IMMERSION/EXTRACTIBILITY

For me, the most interesting part of great transmedia ideas are when elements are taken out of the story and put into the real world which enable deep immersion by the consumer. Brands that are driving digital scavenger hunts like for HALO 3 ODST are doing well at building extractability within their ideas so the consumer id engaged beyond their computer screen or mobile.

4.       WORLD BUILDING

The story created is just the beginning, what really matters is what happens in ‘their world’ – how people interact and taken on what fans have gathered. Think Pokemon, which has over 200 characters to collect or the complex relationships between all the X-Men characters . In essence people want to map the stories of these characters and take joy when brands take them on a journey.

5.       SERIALITY

Sounds really obvious, but seriality is a critical component of a transmedia narrative. A series of instalments drive both anticipation and speculation of what will happen next with the idea, resulting in deeper engagement for the individual.

6.       SUBJECTIVITY

Transmedia ideas typically work best when people can uncover a ‘backstory’ or secondary characters within the mix who have or will influence the outcome of the story. So in the case of ARG’s, people want to know the lead in and reasoning behind what’s happening. It comes down to people’s fascination with mythology and a world where people are constantly interested in hearing different points of view and comparing them.

7.       PERFORMANCE

This principal should really be called REMIX, as it’s all about fans bring the content into their own world and putting a spin on it, it’s about crowdsourcing and reconstructing the narrative. The Hunt for Gollum story is a perfect example of fans creating this narrative as a prequel/backstory to the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

As a youth marketer, there’s alot we can learn here, first and foremost is that brands today need to think about how their brands story unfold over multiple touchpoints as well as how the colletive remixes that story along the way. Nothing should ever be set in stone, what we do as marketers is START SOMETHING..hopefully a conversational in culture that can then unfold and be remixed in culture.

What communication agencies & brands can learn from ‘The Wire’

Last week I  was chatting with one of my fellow planners, Cat Collins about things that have had inspired us creatively. She got talking about how the HBO series ‘The Wire’ was an amazing piece of storytelling and that brands could learn alot from this masterful series. So I asked her to do a guest post. Here tis. Thanks Cat, love your work

I believe that The Wire is the greatest work of creativity to have emerged in recent years, maybe even in my lifetime. So surely, there must be some lessons we can learn for our own creative endeavours. Here are 5 observations that I think we would benefit from applying to our work with brands and communications. Sheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet.

1.       Don’t be scared of scale.

The Wire is epic. It tells the story of the disintegration of an entire city from every angle – education, drugs, the law, politics, the media, industry, families. A lot has been written on the demise of the big idea as communications becomes more nimble and agile. The Wire shows that a big idea, told through multiple, interwoven stories is a very powerful thing indeed.

2.      Don’t underestimate your viewer.

The Wire makes no attempt to make the show watchable. The dialogue is fast and the Baltimore dialect takes a while to understand. The storylines are complex and you have to be paying attention to know what the hell is going on. I’m pretty sure that the Millward Brown scores for comprehension would be abysmal. But it is the effort that you make to step into the world of the Wire which makes it so compelling and makes the reward for watching that much greater.

3.       Tap into big human truths.

I don’t have much in common with a drug dealer on a West Baltimore corner but the issues the show tackles ensure I relate to every character. Love, loss, moral codes, ambition, family, loss of purpose in life – all big issues which strike a chord with anyone on the planet.

4.      Embrace unconventional heroes.

Omar, the gay, black, stick up boy who whistles while he hunts. Stringer Bell the brutal henchman with a mind for commerce. Snoop, the diminutive girl whose bloodthirsty appetite for violence is extraordinary. All too often in communications we fall back on stereotypes and miss the opportunity to surprise.

5.       Be true to your vision.

When David Simon pitched the Wire to HBO he presented a coherent vision of how all 5 seasons would pan out. He knew the characters stories and had a vision for how theses would be played out on screen. Comparing the pitch to the finished work, it’s extraordinary to see how much of his vision he managed to pull off. Next time you pitch a creative idea and then watch it get pecked to death by 1000 ducks, remember why it is worth fighting to keep the integrity of an idea intact.

Aussie music festivals and tribes

Great little presentation from Sally on the Australian music festival scene. Last summer she went to a whole heap of festivals and captured the key vibes of each.

Festivals have become really important to Aussie youth, primarily because it is something they all use to create their own identity and as a form of self expression. It’s a chance for them to escape the rules and restrictions of the everyday and express themselves through dance and social interaction.  Whether you’re a festival rat who is addicted to the music, or a kid who just goes for the social scene and chance to dress up, it all comes down to a statement of belonging.

It’s impossible to classify all the youth tribes that have been born out of music genres and festivals. Over the past few years we’ve seen the emergence of the INDIE KIDS, as there’s been a move away from techno and hard house, toward more indie electro sounds at major festivals. The reality is even within ‘indie kids’ there are man different variations of dress, lifestyle, even they way the speak, based on what there other music interests are. So it’s all about fusing and mashing music and festival tastes together so you’re seen as fluid and up to speed with the latest. Even more traditional ‘rock’ festivals have seen an increased number of indie bands and indie electro acts in the lineup. However, don’t ever try and box a kid in and say they’re just an ‘indie’ or rock chic. According to Erica, you can be a rock chic who likes a side of hip hop and a dash of pop.

It will be interesting to see which festivals rock this summer in Australia and whether we’ll see an emergence of a new youth tribe born out of a specific festival.

Youth Interview with Greer- team WOW finalist for Coke Expedition 206

I wrote a post a few days back on Coke Expedition 206. They’ve got 3 teams of 3 people, one team will be chosen as Happiness Ambassadors to travel around the world for a year in 2010 spreading happiness in every country Coke is sold in. It’s a global expedition on Coke (excuse the bad pun).  It’s a cool idea that really only a brand like Coke could pull off. I was lucky enough to get in touch with a fellow Sydney-sider Greer, who is one of the finalists in  team WOW who are currently in second place with 38% of votes.  She’s got some interesting perspectives on Happiness and why the expedition will be valuable to her (if her team wins). So vote for Greer in Team WOW. Here’s some thoughts from Greer on the Expedition, Happiness, youth culture and what she stands for.

Tell me how you got involved in Expedition 206?

I was lucky enough to be on the mailing list for Lonely Planet suppliers as I had sold them a travel video about Italy. When Coke put out the call for applicants they did it through companies/agencies who would be able to find people with relevant experience for the project; it was not private just targeted. The initial job application did not state the company that you would represent, it was very secretive. It was not until the final 18 were invited to go to Atlanta for a week long selection process did we find out that is was Coca-cola. I, along with 17 others spent a busy week in Atlanta. We did team building exercises, filming expeditions, under pressure video editing as well as psychological testing. On the second last day, we found which which 9 had been selected as finalists and who was in which team. We then had approximately 24 hours to film and put together our promotional videos, when I finally got on the plane home you can imagine how exhausted I was! It was a roller coaster experience. we got to know that other 17 people very well and formed some great friendships. When we found out who was in the final 9 and who had not made it, it was bitter sweet. Happy to be included but also thinking of your new friends who had not been selected. Having 18 talented people to choose from I am sure the decision about the teams would have been very tough to make.

Team WOW from Coke Expedition 206

What does ‘happiness’ mean to you and why do you believe it’s important for global youth?

I am happy when I am content with the things I have happening in my life and I am able to just relax & enjoy them. Everyone suffers pressures whether it be from work, family, peers or themselves and I think happy people are the people who can accept or ignore those pressures and just be content with who they are. This is a tough concept for youth as I know when I was a little younger I was constantly aspiring to be, have or do something other than what I was, and that can make it harder to enjoy the ‘here & now’. Of course it is still important to have goals and work towards them but smell the roses along the way and live in the moment not in the future.

 Is there a ‘happiness’ issue/crisis?

I believe happiness has always been and will always be an important issue. It seems to be a simple concept but in fact it is very complex. It is not just about enjoying happy moments but also about living in a happy/positive state of mind. Being happy does not need to depend on your economic situation, and I think by being able to ask people in so many countries from so many walks of life; will give us a great understanding about what truly makes people happy.

Why do you think ‘happiness’ is so important for global youth culture?

I am not an expert, but when you hear stories about youth suicide and depression; it does make me very concerned. As youths our lives should, in theory, be less complicated and more carefree than adult life, but so many youths to not have a healthy state of mind and do not enjoy their younger years. In privileged societies such as our own it would appear that we are less content with all we have than those in poorer countries who are content with far less. I think it is very important to address this and help show youths how to be happy with less and how to be content with themselves.

 

Team WOW trying to become Happiness Ambassadors

How is it that two Aussies made the final 9? What do you think it is about Aussie youth that make us ‘happy’?

I can’t be sure how they picked us, though I think what appealed was our sense of humour and easy going nature.  Australians, generally speaking are a culture of people who are always ready to have a good time but we are also hard working. Internationally I think we are well liked by most other cultures; travelling, I never had a negative response towards Australia.

What’s your life mantra?

 My mantra is not very fancy, its very simple. It will all work out, one way or another. When ever things don’t seem to be going to plan, I just think ” Ah well, its going to work out somehow.”

Why do you think your team deserves to win over the other two teams?

 I’m not sure if its a matter of deserving it more, but I think our team is best suited for the trip. We will live in each others back pockets for 365 day to survive that you need to have the right personalities. I am very driven and love to be busy so I will adapt well to the hectic schedule of the trip. All three of us have high energy but also know when to buckle down and focus. We also have the perfect skill set between us; EZ (Erin) is the writer of the trio, Brendan and I both of plenty of video experience and we are all experienced using online technologies and blogging. I studied digital media at COFA and have technical knowledge as well as a creative eye. Aside from our skills we are all genuinely nice people. Working together so far we have all been under a lot of pressure and we have proven we can make quick and sensible decisions together. We all contribute and compromise to work together as a team. Being a prima dona on this expedition will just not work.

Complete these sentences…

I believe in…what goes around comes around

I am inspired by…people who rise above their circumstances.

I hope..to always be happy and enjoy my life.

I hate..feeling like I am wasting time.

I care….about other peoples feelings.

I wish….that’s a tough one because I wish can be something almost unattainable… I wish there was no war

My friends…are all important to me.

My dream….is to be able to live my life creatively, without feeling trapped by circumstance or finance.

The link to vote for our team is :  http://www.expedition206.com/TeamWow.aspx

And our facebook page is:  http://www.facebook.com/pages/Team-WOW/169501557448

Experimentation is the new Engagement

This is the short presentation I gave at AIMIA (Australian Interactive Media Industry Association) ‘Getting Inside Gen Y’ conference last week. My presentation was titled ‘Experimentation is the new Engagement’ and it was all about how brands today need to continually experiment, play with youth if you will. It’s about creating an interesting brand game, far less about your brands story. It’s about social ideas which spark a rapid mobilisation of youth, and some recent examples of brands that are experimenting with culture – from Red Bull’s Project X (Shaun White secret halfpipe) to Coke’s Expedition 206 to VW Swedens ‘Fun Theory’ social experiments. Enjoy.

Presenting at Australian Interactive Media Industry Association

Am presenting tomorrow at AIMIA’s ‘Getting Inside Gen Y’ conference in Sydney. My presentation topic is ‘Experimentation is the new Engagement’ , so I’m gonna talk about brands needing to create social experiments, be agile, bounce off popular culture to keep Gen Y constant guessing and connecting with each other. I’m presenting after Jy Smith, Julian Cole and Em Copeland so some real social media and pop culture experts down here in OZ. Hopefully I can also bring some fresh insights. Will upload my presentation tomorrow. Cheers.

Hot Hatch Tribes – looking into the Mini Cooper, GTI and Subaru WRX drivers

A while ago I did some research into the HOT HATCH market. I looked at understanding all the tribes associated to the different brands, eg: Mini Cooper, VW GTI/R32, Subaru WRX, Civic Type R, Volvo C32, Mazda MPS. It’s amazing the different mindsets that fall out of this super popular car category amongst Gen Y’ers, from the Subaru WRX ‘Boy Racer’ tribe to the Mini Cooper ‘Fun Fashionista’ tribe.  I also looked into the semiotic codes of advertising in the hot hatch sector – essentially they are all marketed as ‘creatures of the night’, as brooding menacing beasts that transform their drivers, bringing out their devilish side if you will. This is all based off qual interviews I did as well as my own observations of who drives these cars in Australia.

Experimentation is the new engagement – the Funtheory by VW

I’m presenting next week at AIMIA on ‘Experimentation is the new Engagement’ . I’m going to talk about the fact that the future of youth marketing is about creating social experiments with youth, letting them play with ideas, create their own story, help them connect with other members of the tribe. Just found this awesome idea out of VW Sweden called ‘The Fun Theory’. It’s basic psychology brought to life, if you make something mundane ‘fun’, more people will do it. This idea is about making something fun will get people to change their behavious for the better. I love its simplicity and playfulness.  It’s about DOING STUFF for people and in this instance it’s about their curiosity to engage with a fun meme.

To keep fans of these experiments intrigued and  tuned in for the 3rd experiment they have released behind the scene footage of the mechanics involved in developing turning a bottle recycling center into an arcade game

Getting Inside Gen Y – speaking at AIMIA October 22

I’ve just been asked to be a speaker and panelist at the annual AIMIA Conference (Australian Interactive Media Industry Association) October 22nd  on the topic of ‘Getting Inside Gen Y‘. I’m going to be presenting on 10 key principals brands need to think about when wanting to engage in conversations WITH this audience in the digital space.  This conference will have the who’s who of the social media world in Australia including experts like Julian Cole from The Population and Jy Smith from Switched On Media  so I’m in good company. Will post my presentation after I present/write it