Branded Content - Social Marketing deal : Groove Armada and Barcardi Rum

Groove Armada and Barcardi Rum deal

There are “No Rules”  anymore when it comes to the music industry and how band or musical acts market themselves in the digital age. To underscore the changing ways of doing business and the ability of an act taking control of its music and image outside of the “record deal”  -  traditionally label based system, Groove Armada’s deal with Barcardi Rum is unprecedented. Its a pure play “Branded Content”  deal.  The UK based , world renowned DJ  and dance music act Groove Armada, has signed an exclusive one year  recording, DJing and promotional deal with Barcardi.  And it  has the music industry pundits questioning whether its a  ”Sell Out” or another wake call in the ever evolving era of media portability and its impact on all traditional  entertainment media. 

In the 21st Century music scene, with music sales down and the internet transferring power to the artists, their options are wide open. In what could be called a symbiotic exchange or  promotional deal, Groove Armada gets to be promoted and play to new audiences worldwide under the marketing flagship of Barcardi. It is what could be called a branded content  viral or social marketing deal too.  Bacardi is  the facilitator of content or  music sharing, is  associated to a “hip act ” and right in touch with core audience and their media and social habits.  A  four-track EP - the only music to be released under the contract  -  was launched by Tom and Andy Cato at the Midem international music convention in Cannes yesterday.  

The Branded Content - Social marketing deal 

The EP will be delivered through an innovative sharing mechanic called Bacardi B-LIVE Share; a pioneering online application encouraging and rewarding consumers who share Groove Armada’s music from the EP with their own online communities.  Andy Cato says of the model -
“Sharing music has always gone on. It’s giving music away that’s the problem. We wanted to come up with a 21st century version of what we used to do with cassette tapes. When you give music away for free it’s disposable. When you share it, it’s done with love.” 

The first track  has just been released  as a free  download for free from http://www.bliveshare.com , Baracardi’s brand spanking  new music / promotional sharing platform. 

In what is surely  an experiment in Social Media and Viral marketing , to get the other three tunes, fans must share the first with their friends, who share it with their friends, who share it with their friends.

To get the second track, the fans and their network of friends must spread the first 20 times through the website. To get the third, the network must share it 200 times. And for the fourth, the first MP3 must be shared 2,000 times in total.  The originator or ancestor  being able track their spread of music through their social network with a window of six weeks to spread it, after which time all four songs will go on sale through normal digital stores.

The site includes social sharing applications with Facebook , MySpace , blogs , websites , and a call to social  email campaigning.  

 So download your  exclusive Groove Armada track “Go” from me :) 

Tags: branded entertainment, buzz, consumer engagement, content, engagement, Social Media Marketing, social networks, user experience, viral, word of mouth

The Email Marketing Media Channel - The Tool of “Digital Dialogue”

In the world of “Digital Dialogue” Email  is possibly one of the most accessible forms of media and communication for consumers and as such should be considered as a pivotal media channel.  In todays marketing world where the  pundits description of  a consumers exposure to media is “fragmented “,  it is best to consider Email  as a marketing imperative not  a “nice to have” or  a one off throw away campaign .  Email impacts  brand relationships and loyalty and should be considered as a integral personalized communication channel in any marketing mix.  

 Its use  or misuse can also effect a brand’s image or the trust a consumer can have in a brand. In a time where we consider the consumer in control of their media consumption, via a myriad of choices, Email,  in the consumers mind  has become the most convenient and controllable channel available. In the digital world where consumers are taking charge, Email is a tangible, flexible media they can control. Take it. Leave it. Delete it. Opt in, Opt out. Respond to it. Pass it on:  Think about it ,  who do you know that hasn’t received an email that contains a witty piece of humour, movie, picture, or  link passed on from a trusted colleague or friend who knows them well?    

And when it comes to looking at consumers and consumer trends surrounding Email marketing the question of whether you want a Digital Dialogue channel with your consumer base  it becomes a no brainer. 

• Consumer have the power to choice with  an Email  e.g. do I  want to receive , open,  save , delete or act on an email
• 90% of consumers will use email to engage in and determine the value of a relationship with a company -JupiterResearch
• Consumers ranked email ahead of traditional media like newspapers, magazines and radio as a good way to learn about new products - American Marketing Association, Mplanet
• •68% of consumers said they were prompted to browse a Web site after receiving an email from a retailer  -RightNow Technologies & Harris Interactive 
•  25% of US internet users share content via Email (word-of-mouth) on a daily basis; 63% share on a weekly basis - eMarketer, Email and Word-of-Mouth

Here are some other facts  to mull upon:

• 50 million people per day  check email 5 times per day
• Email drives 80% on retail sales
• Email is an everyday activity for most us
• 94 % of companies use email
• Marketers worldwide are sending 5.2 million  promotional Emails per month
• On average email users receive 41 messages per day – 34% receive 31 or more messages per day
• 45% of Email users say they are interested in receiving email about products and services
• 53% say they unsubscribe when the Emails are irrelevant

Source: Jupiter Research LLC 05.2007

•  Email is a Highly Effective Branding Tool
• As advertisers ask for accountability, more agencies are launching email disciplines
• In 2007 email marketing generated $21.9 Billion in sales**
• Email will be a $4 Billion industry by 2011*
• Email is the 3rd Major Media Channel!

Source:  Forrester Research 2008

Tags: digital dialogue, digital marketing, Digital PR, email marketing, engagement, media, media channel, word of mouth

Web 2.0 : The basics of the Open and social web

“An emerging network- centric platform to support distributed,  collaborative and cumulative creation by its users.” 

- John Hagel 

Web 2.0  is such an amorphous terms that defies a hard definition. In the many years that  have been talking about and working in in web development and interactive marketing I would often describe the evolution of the web as  generational,  heralding each leap in concept  from media, content,  browsers, systems and platforms  as contributing generational stepping stones to where we are today. The hyperbolic change that occurred in the early internet years seemed to have generational change each successive year with competing technologies, media companies and battling it out for a controlling position. When the dot com bubble finally burt in 2001  there was a  turning point in the web. The point where after a shakeout the ascendent technologies began to differentiate themselves from the raft of “frothy flotsam ” washed up in wake of the the crash. Perhaps the corporate agendas of owning  or controlling the web , the antithesis of its organic and free form, had failed. What was apparent at this time was that new sites and technologies kept on revitalizing the digital space in an open and collaborative way. 

While the boom was definitively over the web just kept evolving in open way and the  transition to  Web 2.0 was enabled by the emergence of platforms such as blogging, social networks, and free image and video uploading, that collectively  allowed extremely easy content creation, access and sharing by anyone who had a computer and a connection. The barrier to entry of web publishing or content creation was over and the social voice of the digital consumer  had begun its transformative ride over traditional media. 

 If you think Web 2.0  as simply social networking or just about the technical or geek jargon…. you really need to think again. Every aspect of Web 2.0 is driven by consumer participation, from content, its voice, browser development, technology platforms, and an ever evolving digital life.  The most definitive trend and primary direction of Web 2.0 is for users to control  the content they create, the data captured about their web activities and their identity and their willingness to participate and socialize collectively. The gradual opening or advances in  digital standards  have allowed for a common interfaces and integration across content and applications allowing a less constrained environment then had previously existed before.  Decentralized in its architecture, participation, and usage, Web 2.0’s  real  power and flexibility emerges  from distributing applications and content over many points rather than having them locked down on centralized or controlled systems. Its is truly becoming a  plugin and play open environment for digital interplay between content and devices where the consumer experience  of  media or content mobility is quintessential. 

What is very clear is that the Web 2.0  is not a trend or fad, it is not going way or will disappear, its here to stay. What is even more interesting is that the internet development chatter is about the next evolution , Web 3.0 or the semantic web, an intelligent web based on  behavioural understanding of the consumers digital actions.  What’s going to be  interesting about Web 3.0  and will define just how far it can go will be the consumer privacy laws. There’s potentially an imminent consumer back lash looming in the near future concerning the use of known and personal data points surrounding behaviours.  

There are a small number main characteristics that help define web 2. 0 In the marketers world there are a few we should be aware of as these have become  part of the mainstream  marketing language: 

New Media Marketing: a term to describe the building and managing of social networks and online or virtual communities, and extend the reach of marketing to the low-frequency, low-intensity consumer in a cost effective way.

Buzz Marketing: The strategic use of word of mouth, the transmission of commercial information from person to person in an online or real-world environment.

Viral Marketing: The intentional spreading of marketing messages using social networks, with an emphasis of the casual, non-intentional and low cost.

Collective Intelligence or Collaborative Filtering : Essentially what this means is that “users” contributions greatly help build and make the foundation stronger and more popular by adding their content, such as links, comments, forum posts, reviews, rating others, an aggregation of the best work of thousands, then millions of web users (example: YouTube – more comments, more “thumbs-up” the more popularity), and any content contribution really. Without the end “user” the sites popularity goes down – if there is no interactivity for the end user, it’s not collective “anything.” So in short – the site grows organically in response to user activity.

Users Add Value: The architecture of your software development relies on “public” users to add their own data thus adding more value to your application. FireFox, Mozilla , Red Hat Linux WordPress ,(possibly the most used blogging software in the world ) grow in functionality through a network of contributing developers.  

“Some” Rights Reserved: Expanding the range of creative works accessible for others to legally build upon and share. The Creative Commons (CC) is a non-profit organization dedicated to just that. The organization has released several copyright licenses known as Creative Commons licenses. These licenses, depending on the one selected, restrict only particular rights (or none) of the work instead of customary copyright, which is more restraining.

The constant Beta: Sites like, Frappr, CafePress, Flickr, FeedBurner…etc. rely on a services evolution or constant improvements and enhancements , New features  are  packaged up into massive releases, but instead added them on a regular basis as part of the normal user experience. 

Rich User Experience:  Web 2.0 applications are built of a network of cooperating data services. 

When it comes to the driving  Web 2.0  technologies  we should also aware of: 

Aggregation: Bringing multiple content sources together into one interface or application. 

AJAX : (Asynchronous Javascript and XML) A combination of technologies that  enables highly interactive web applications. 

API : (Application Programming Interface) A defined interface to a computer  application or database that allows access by other applications. 

Embedding: Integrating content or an application into a web page, while the original format is maintained. 

Folksonomy: Rich categorization of information that is collectively created  by users, through tagging and other actions. (cf. taxonomy) 

Mashups: Combination of different types of content or data, usually  from different sources, to create something new.

Remixing: Extracting and combining samples of content to create a  new output. The term was originally used in music but is  now also applied to video and other content. 

RSS : (Really Simple Syndication) A group of formats to publish  (syndicate) content on the internet so that users or  applications automatically receive any updates.

Ruby on Rails: An open source web application framework that  is frequently used in Web 2.0 website development. 

Tag cloud: A visual depiction of tags that have been used to describe a  piece of content, with higher frequency tags emphasized to assist  content comprehension and navigation. 

Tagging: Attaching descriptions to information or content. 

Virtual architecture :The creation of avatars (alternative representations of people), buildings, objects, and other artefacts inside virtual spaces. 

Widget: Small, portable web application that can be embedded into any web page. 

XML : (eXtensible Markup Language) An open standard for describing data, which  enables easy exchange of information between applications and organizations. 

Open web: The entire space of the World Wide Web open to anyone to access and participate. This has been the initial domain in which Web 2.0 technologies, applications, and attitudes have developed. 

  Suggested reading Future Exploration network

Tags: blogging, buzz marketing, collaborative filtering, collective intelligence, consumer engagement, consumer voice, content, convergence, creative commons, digital life, digital marketing, media, new media marketing, platforms, social, social networks, user generated content, viral, web2.0

Online Rich media advertising and Mobile advertising will be the winners in the media meltdown of 2009

The advertising outlook  for 2009 looks resoundingly is bleak. Following a downturn in revenues for 2008 and the fact that most forecasters see this continuing  through  2009 and 2010: the worst years of decline since the Great Depression. But !  and there is a big but here,  Online and digital advertising channels are the the only ones predicted to outshine the doom and gloom and  grow even in a downturn . This forecast view seems to be apparent across a number of forecast agencies , from the digital to traditional , there a a glimmer of optimism  in the air.

In Jack Myers’ recently -updated Media Business Report, he forecasts traditional media outlets will  take major hits in 2008 and 2009;
“The brunt of the 6.9 percent fall-off in 2009 ad spend will be felt by newspapers (-15.0%), Yellow Pages (-14.0%), consumer magazines (-13.0%), radio (-12.0%), local television (-10.5%), business-to-business and custom publishing (-9.0%), and broadcast network television (-4.0%). Even online media will feel the pain, with projected overall growth of a meager 2.7 percent. Online display ads are forecast to grow only one percent, with search engine marketing increasing 8.0% and online video, search engine, widget advertising increasing at a 25.0% rate to $1.5 billion. Online growth will pick up again in 2010 with overall 8.5% increases.”

What’s forecast to grow, if anything?  Search marketing, online video, (rich media) widgets and Mobile advertising. The real star being mobile that  jump 30 percent this year and another 15 percent next year. By the time the economy begins to regain steam, mobile advertising will jump another 30 percent in 2010, he forecasts.

Rich media and it recent upgrade to Digital Interactive media has  greater increases in brand metrics than standard web ads. Experientially they impacts attitudinal metrics, such as message association, brand favorability and awareness, more than non-rich media and allow the  incorporate video streaming of original content and help drive users to generate it and share it. With the coupling of transactional systems scuh as CRM and e commerce , the media buy can become a pure sale or pure consumer acquisition.

Mobile is definatly the flavour of next coming years . With SMS or text messaging is running hot as “Texting” has reach and ubiquity . Its simple  medium with reach of  160 characters and   the possibly of a  hyper link . MMS banner ads on WAP sites are a little richer in content and interactivity but are not ubiquitous because few people have data plans that can access WAP pages the estimates being between  10%  and 15% of all cell phone users.

Where the predictions for mobile seem to be going  it just might Voice!  Voice or sound is an interesting medium as it has no barriers to the existing  5 billion phones in the world. Just how intimate or intrusive it will be is another question. If my cell phone became a message bank a for un-announced  advertisers I would not be happy but if I am opted in to a premium audio experience  it’s richness because of its intimacy would make it  influential and experientially based . It may well be the way  to  reach a massive audience with a unique , engaging and compelling experience.. And everybody can get it regardless of plans and standards.

Tags: consumer acquisition, CRM, data, digital advertising, e commerce, interactive advertising, media, mobile, new media, rich media, sms, texting, video media, wap

Digital Marketing ?

The many faces of  Digital Marketing

Is it a website,  a media campaign, a banner ad or pay per click?, rich media ?  Is it  an email campaign,  mobile campaign or maybe a microsite, SMS or Intelligent Voice Messaging (IVM)? consumer generated content ? 

What  about blogs, Twitter, Social Media Networks , Bebo,  Hi-5,   Linked-in, e-acadamy and Facebook, or Web2.0 dynamic, distributive content-driven websites. Does it include optimized keyword searches (SEO), SEM SSM, Digital PR or buzz? Is it e commerce , widgets, or mobile location-based marketing?

Digital marketing is all of the above - born out of the information age  at the end of the 20th century  it’s simply marketing in the digital age.  Consumers’ lives have becoming increasingly connected. Convergence and “always on” connectivity is becoming  increasingly mainstream, and new important channels of communication and opportunities are opening to marketers.

Social Media Marketing is emerging as one of the most important, if not the most important, source of information for the consumer but also for the marketer in listening too, responding and measuring consumer sentiments. 

Marketers have now gained the ability to enhance, empower, interact, converse and otherwise live within ever deeper segments of consumers’ lives, well beyond the reach of traditional media.  In the 21st century, the database is the marketplace and the way in which a consumer interacts or engages with a brand and vice versa may well be a new form of marketing . And one thing is clear - data is and  will be at the centre of it all. 

Digital marketing is  not digital for the sake of digital but an application of established marketing practices  re-thought or re engineered in the digital world. It is  all about permissioned based , persuasive and at times pervasive consumer engagement.

Tags: buzz, data, Digital PR, engagement, mobile, net, SEM, SEO, social, Social Media Marketing, SSM, web2.0