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

Sprite’s ‘Green Eyed World- reality remixed by Facebook community

I’m really liking this idea by Sprite called ‘Green Eyed World’.  It’s obvious part of this brief was to create an authentic role in grassroots music for youth. Instead of making a TVC, they created a social music series built in real time, following an emerging artist, Katie Vogel for a year on youtube, with her fans being able to interact with her via Facebook connect. The idea was called ‘reality remixed’ and it’s got loads of follow factor. It has produced 4 seasons with 13 episodes, I’ve watched 3 of them and they’re not too bad.

The content itself isn’t that amazing, but what’s really interesting about this idea is how they cleverly linked in all the social media platforms and created a REAL TIME interaction method for the community to really get up close and personal with Katie V and her journey. The integration of Facebook connect along the journey has been brilliant and you can help her decide what to do, the whole way. The community helps create the outcome of the story, it’s truly an interactive brand narrative.  This is what creates the ‘follow factor’. It’s done very well, with 2.5m views on youtube.  My only criticism is that Sprite as a brand doesn’t really add that much value to the user experience, it’s in the background, which is maybe enough, but I would have pushed for more integration into the brand narrative.

‘WannaMe’ – the better digital version of my real self.

WannaME culture/Facebragging- uploading the best version of yourself to Facebook

We all know that social media has turbo charged our connections to each other and the conversations we have, this is particularly prevalent when you think of Gen C. The last few weeks I’ve been talking to quite a few 16-21yr olds here in Sydney about their ‘digital life’ and what’s become more and more obvious, is this concept of ‘WannaME’.

WannaMe (a rip off of an Aussie slang word, Wannabe), is when young people build digital personas on Facebook and other social networking sites which show the absolute best parts of their lives. Call it Facebragging, showing off, call it what you will. It’s all about how they meticulously craft their online personas to share with the world, i order to ensure they pass judgement from other members of their tribe.It’s about creating the best version of yourself – as we all know perception equals reality.

Belonging to a tribe is and always will be a primal need for youth, but now we’re seeing youth needing to constantly upload pics, show that they’ve been invited to the right parties/concerts, be seen wearing the right clothes, hanging with the right crowd. It’s all a part of their desperate need to fit in and this competitive pressure to be in the know is overwhelming alot of young people I spoke to. It’s like the 1980’s ‘cool kids’ phenomena all over again, where you were either in or out based on how you dressed. Now it’s just dimensionalised in real time.

When you talk to these teens, you realise that the pics they’re uploading from music festivals, parties, make up about 10% of their life, but on facebook, it looks like they are uber social, connected and little party animals. One guy I spoke to even said he pulls out old pics from last summer and posts them if he doesnt have anything good to contribute to the conversations happening. So they are re-using old versions of their social life to ‘keep up with the Jones’ if you will.

The WannaME culture that has been charged by social technology has definitely also made youth more extroverted. What was unacceptable to share with friends is now completely acceptable, and Aussie kids are trying to one up each other on facebook. Boys are uploading pics of them doing risque sporting tricks eg: jumping off a bridge illegally, whereas girls are being more and more provocative with how much flesh they show. Psychologists talk about the need to highlight the  ’social risk’ in communications when you’re trying to change a certain ingrained behaviour eg: drinking driving, smoking, drug taking etc. Now it seems that this social risk is being celebrated online.

WannaME culture is permeating through pretty much all youth subcultures, it’s not just the rich urban indie kids, it’s across the board. More than ever young people are carefully crafting their digital personas and brands need to understand this mindset in order to engage with them. Thoughts?

‘Weak’ links create buzz, ’strong’ links generate advocacy

Some really interesting thinking from my colleague PC which I’ve put a bit of a spin on.

What’s the difference between an idea that creates buzz  then dies off quickly and an idea that builds momentum and  goes viral, creating real influence within a tribe? The answer could be how your idea travels through social networks via  ‘weak links’ or ‘strong links’.  In terms of our social networking platforms like Twitter, Myspace, Bebo, Twitter – many people have ‘weak’ links which are the  200-300 friends they have added who they may share ideas or thoughts with. When someone shares something they like it may create a flurry of buzz as the idea spreads through the weak links as people comment, but the buzz is short lived as the conversations move on to other more interesting social objects. In terms of these weak links,  it’s about sharing information with this broader social network but the expectation of dialogue around that idea is low and rarely happens eg: 1 or two people may say ‘Dan likes this’ and give the idea a thumbs up.

However, to create real advocacy and influence around an idea, turning people into message carriers, you’ve got to influence the the ‘strong’ links people have within their social networks.  The strong links are those 10-15 close friends or members of their tribe who are the ones they go to for advice when recommending a brand. Their tight knit group if you will.  These strong links are the friends whose opinion they really value within their tribe and seek approval from. They also are the ones who share common interests around certain social objects eg: they may all be into heli skiing.  The strong links between these people  has the power to spark group decision making and get people swarming around a brand.  If one member of a strong link loves a heli skiing resort and talks positively about it, more than likely the strong links between members of the tribe will mean they’ll interact with the idea.

So what does this all mean for brands?

Well, to infiltrate ‘strong’ social network links, there has to be shared  value and conversational currency coming out of the social object that is being discussed.

Ideas that help people connect the tribe around a passion point will always get heat within social networks. People want to connect around interesting cultural objects, you’ve just to create an idea that organises them and gets to the strong links quickly.

In todays media environment where cultural trends travel at hyper speed, youth brands should be focusing much more on the speed or VELOCITY of an idea, how quickly it can spread through weak links and then on to strong links. Speed is the new big. Small gestures in marketing can be equally as powerful as big scale marketing initiatives, if these gestures spread through influential strong links.eg: just because I post a piece of content I like that I found on youtube to my 600 friends on Facebook, doesn’t necessarily mean there will be an engagement with that idea, unless I have strong links as well.

To create brand influence, social ideas have to be culturally relevant, people become fans of culture, not ads or widgets. If it’s just a piece of funny content, it won’t go further than the weak links (and 90% of your friends will ignore it), it will be disposable and the idea/content will be forgotten quickly.

In my mind, in terms of seeding strategies for youth campaigns, it’s far less about getting to so called ‘opinion leaders’ who have loads of friends, but the vast majority are ‘weak links’. Rather, it’s about finding the right people (true believers) to spread your message who have highly influential ‘strong’ links and are motivated to spread your message for you and become carriers. It comes down to people wanting to be seen as influential within their tribe, we all want to contribute something positive within our strong links, it helps us belong – which as I’ve spoken about before is the fundamental youth need that’s been turbo charged by social media.  That’s the difference between generating buzz that comes and goes, and creating real advocacy and conversational currency that leads to influence. Food for thought?

Strong links vs weak links in social networks

MC Hammer and his 4 rules of social media

I didn’t go to the Sydney Social Media Club function last night where MC Hammer was talking about social media. I can’t say whether it was insightful enough so I recruited Di Chua, an amazing up and coming Social Media Strategist at DDB Radar to write a guest post for me. Helps she’s also a huuuuge Hammertime Fan. Take it away Di….

Di Chua and Clare Anderson with MC Hammer at Sydney Social Media Club

It was a packed house at UTS for the Social Media Club lecture where MC Hammer spoke about his social media experiences. He’s the 14^th most influential Twitterer (according to WeFollow) with more than 1.5 million followers. I love MC Hammer and know all his dance steps… So while there were “intellectuals” in the room, I was just dying to scream “I LOVE YOUUuuu!”

Amazingly, he’s more than just a rap star, he actually knows his sh*t.  I have much respect for this guy because he’s in the fireline. I’m in the trenches myself (listening, planning conversational campaigns and managing communities) and it’s really not as easy as it seems. So BOO to all you Hammer haters out there… Do it first, and then judge!

 MC Hammer’s 4 rules for Brands in Social Media:

1)      “Never let someone else tell your story”

- Ties in with authenticity and transparency

- connecting with people humanises your brand

2)      “Be at the center of the flow of information”

- be a “super geek”- you have to touch it, feel it, experience it. He has loads of  smart phones and screens

 - listen and monitor conversations (he even has a screen in his bathroom!)

3) “Perception is more valuable than reality”

- So make sure you manage it

- stay ahead of the story through Rule #2

 4) “If you’re not connected, what are you hiding from as a brand? “

- Don’t run, Engage!

- again transparency is key, people will be suspicious if you’re not open

And finally, he said one must establish a culture in your community. So if someone is being negative and not adding value to your experience then block them. “If you negative, I block you!

The question of the night-

Warlach: Dear MC Hammer, can you give me any advice as to what I can and can’t touch?

Mc Hammer:  “What you can’t you touch? The concept of Hammertime!”

Some interesting learnings here from MC Hammer, although they have to be couched by the fact that often with celebrities they have ‘follow factor’ built in to their handles by virtue of who they are. So applying the same principals to a brand trying to leverage social media needs to be taken with a grain of salt somewhat in my view.

The future belongs to those who create

Ajaz Ahmed, Chairman of digital agency AKQA recently presented his agencys core beliefs. I’ve pulled some key thoughts from a post from Nicolas Moerman who attended the conference in London. The above Nike + idea is their latest work which is awesome.  His belief is that  ”The future belongs to people who create” which is spot on in the era where ‘doing’ is far more relevant than ’saying’. He spoke about some key trends that are shaping the technology and media landscape – no major new learnings here, but relevant nonetheless:

- On-demand reality is here

- Media fragmentation and ad-clutter everywhere

- Consumers customize and create

- The profound rise of “Channel Me”

- Marketing and product have converged

- Entering the age of perfect information

- Virtual is reality

What I really found interesting was that based on these trends, these are the internal principals guiding the agencies creation of ideas/platforms etc:

- Think the impossible

- It’s good to be first, it’s better to be good, it’s best to be both

- To create the future live fully in the present

- The best advertising, isn’t advertising

- If it doesn’t capture imagination it’s a no go

- Consumers must be able to answer ‘what’s in it for me’

I especially like the idea of ‘living fully in the present’ to create the future. All too often, people are looking to micro consumer trends to generate insights for their ideas , rather than creating the future themselves by bouncing their brands off pop culture and exploiting tensions in culture.

Somebody stop the crowdsourcing..Snickers just don’t get it

I said a few weeks back if I saw another youth brand going down the crowdsourcing route and getting young people to make ads for them, I was going to lose it. Well, I just saw on Twitter that Snickers in the USA are doing exactly that, trying to get youth to make ads for them. This is so lame.  As part of the Tell The Snickers Story campaign through Poptent, they are asking people to make either a 30 second TVC or a 30 second viral for the chance to win $5k. This is just ridiculous on many levels. Firstly, why differentiate between a 30″ TVC and viral content.  Viral is what happens to an idea when people want to share it, it’s not an end in itself. Secondly, Snickers are probably the 50th brand to do it this year. Ben & Jerrys, Doritos are a few brands that have done it, there are countless more. Unfortunately what it tells me about Snickers is that they have no clue how to use ‘collaborative creatity’ to engage young people. The reality is, a couple of hundred young film makers will put together some random content, 2-3 of them may be remotely interesting, but most likely none of them will gain any traction at all. Just like the Doritos ‘Make us an ad’ idea. No traction whatsoever wiht youth.  I’m just getting really annoyed with brands who think that by getting young people to ‘make their’ ads’ they think they’re involving youth in the brand. I’ve said before brands need to think of youth as ‘partners in production’ – the thing with this view is that you have to have an idea first that youth can play with, remix, create their own story. Leaving them to do all the work for you, is just down right lazy. Epic Fail Snickers.

Has social media influenced creativity in brand communications?

 I’d say the answer to this question is a resounding YES. We all know great creativity when we see it, it’s easier to define what it isn’t than often what it is. For me, it’s when I get that little rush of blood and I think WOW, if only I came up with that idea. For me, creativity has and always will be the ability to simplify and turn the ordinary into something extraordinary. I read an interesting post by Edward Boches recently about ‘Creativity in the age of  Social media’ and I’ve pulled some key thoughts from that post as well as some of my own thoughts and quotes from people I respect in the marketing communications industry.

In todays social media context, brands have to embrace being far more free form in their approach to creativity.  Being agile, adaptive and continually culturally relevant is far more important than being structured and ‘right’. Creativing ideas is about being fluid.  Trends are moving at hyper speed so creativity in the era of social media is about constant experimentation with popular culture, bouncing your brand off different aspects of culture to find fresh tensions and conflicts to exploit. As one blogger put it ‘people becomes fans of culture, not advertising…so cultural relevance is always the key for creativity”

As marketers we may give birth to an idea, but it’s the collective community who sculpt it into something interesting that makes it go viral. Today in the era of social media, ideas live and die quickly, it’s not about the size of the idea, it’s the VELOCITY the idea has through social networks that it’s success should be measured by.

Some thoughts on what creativity in the era of social media is all about from some industry leaders:

ABILITY FOR OUR BRAND STORIES TO BE TOLD FOR US

“It’s not the stories we tell, it’s the stories we get others to tell for us” Edward Boches

THE DEMOCRATISATION OF CREATIVITY

“In the age of social media, creativity has both an acid test and genuine advocate in one place. Good work is embraced and gathers momentum and the bad stuff dies on the vine very quickly. The important thing to understand is that the brand, creative director or client’s voice is just one of many now and all have an equal share in the destiny of great work! “ Sudeep Gohil. Partner, DROGA 5

ERA OF SPARKING AND PARTICIPATING IN INTERESTING CONVERSATIONS

“Creativity in the age of social media is about sparking and participating in conversations. Success is making something go viral. Ideas must not only be great stories that want to be shared but are also shareable. In this new age, creativity has been UNSHACKLED. No longer does the elite own it; it is now a commodity. It’s what you do with it that counts “ John Winsor, Partner, Victors & Spoils  Author  of ‘Baked In’

LETTING PEOPLE ‘PLAY’ WITH YOUR IDEAS, BEING OPEN SOURCE AND ALWAYS IN BETA MODE

“In the past creativity was solid and stagnant, you created it and people reacted to it. Now you create it and it can evolve, continue, be built upon, torn down, remixed. The creative process in social media isn’t something that ever ends”  CC Chapman, Creative Director, Campfire NYC

THINK ABOUT HOW YOU CAN SPARK A CULTURAL MOVEMENT AROUND YOUR TRIBE

THINK VERY CLOSELY ABOUT WHAT YOUR BRANDS ‘FOLLOW FACTOR’ IS…WHAT WILL KEEP THEM ENGAGED AND ENSURE YOUR IDEA ISN’T DISPOSABLE

EMPOWERING TRIBES TO CONNECT WITH EACH OTHER OVER COMMON GOOD, CREATIVITY TODAY IS MORE ABOUT COLLECTIVE INTELLIGENCE SOLVING WORLD PROBLEMS

Just some thoughts, certainly there are other viewpoints, just putting some stuff out there I found interesting.

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.

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