Gaga Over In-flight Saftey Demonstration

Campaign Asia is the marketing communications trade book in Asia Pacific. Currently they are looking back on the best viral campaigns of 2010. As one would expect the Old Spice Guy is on the list. What you may not expect or know about, was a viral video for Cebu Pacific the Philippines second air carrier. The crew performs the standard safety instructions to the vocal styling of Lady Gaga and they and the passengers don't miss a beat. The video was picked up globally by major news networks.

Cebu has a fun and friendly positioning and this just reinforces it. Maybe Air Canada can use Nickelback to bolster their instructions. Just a thought. Enjoy the video below.

The Power of Celebrity

Image via Wikipedia

I had seen the power of music during my time working on ad campaigns for Canadian brewers Labatt and Molson in the late 1980's and early 1990's. Molson Canadian set the bar high with their iconic music video style campaign for Canadian, and the rush was on for beer brands to try and jump it. However, it wasn't until I was working in the agency business with McCann in Asia Pacific, a few years back, that I really became aware of the power of celebrity.

You see in Asia, celebrities are used to sell everything. In many cases if a client did not have a relevant strategic idea they would default to using a celebrity. If you have been to Asia, you will know what I mean, as you are inundated with fresh faces (with signatures underneath them) on every street corner and flat panel HDTV set.

It is with this mindset that I attended an event put on by Trixstar and Axe Productions in their Edmonton warehouse this past weekend,. It was a great example of the power of celebrity, in that they sprung upon an anticipative crowd, season two American Idol winner Ruben Studdard, and 1980's Canadian rockers Streetheart. While neither of these acts are the biggest celebrities today, the mood at the event went up dramatically when they respectively hit the stage, making the event an even bigger success. The power of celebrity has arrived and Mike Anderson, Trixstar's CEO, knows this better than most in the Edmonton area.

Agents Of What?

Image by DavidErickson via FlickrI recently asked several of my peers in the advertising world for their views on a few things, one of which revolved around the future of the Ad Agency. Tony Altilia, one of my first bosses in the Agency game back in 1985, (who is now a principal at http://www.maximpartnersinc.com/ in Toronto), replied with this link to a recent article in Fast Company called Mayhem on Madison Avenue. http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/151/mayhem-on-madison-avenue.html?page=0%2C0.

To me I think the article is required reading for anyone who is related to the Advertising Agency world in anyway today. Lines like "They're all well aware that coding is now prized over copywriting and that a resume that includes Xbox and Google is more desirable than one featuring stints at BBDO or Grey." should make classic agency people shudder. Currency today is technology and insight to stakeholders and communities. Both of these demand an open mindedness that has not been the hallmark of the traditional advertising agency.

As another one of my former colleagues, Chris Beaumont (Past CEO Grey Japan), said, "perhaps this Brand New World demands a new 'agency' paradigm - where we look at what it is important to be an 'agent for'...". I think Chris has hit the nail on the head and that those firms that figure out what the word "agency" means today will be the winners. The days of Mad Men went decades ago, as did the original definition of "Agency". No longer do you need an ad agency as a 'go between' media companies and marketers. No longer do you need an ad agency as a 'go between' stakeholders and the organization. So the question I ask you is what defines "Agency" today?

Related articles

• The Future of Advertising: Three Agencies' Visions (thedenveregotist.com)
• Digital Youngsters Have Mad Men On the Run (observer.com)

Is On-line Pivoting Marketers Into Publishers

The discussions rage about the deepening of the media pool from the shallow end of paid media (think traditional media) to the deeper end of owned media (think web site, facebook page) and earned media (think rating sites). Some, like the attached McKinsey article, advocate for the addition of two more levels of deepness, in the form of sold (my site sells ad space to another brand) and hijacked media (some community member rallies opposition on facebook to my brand). The key to the definition, as laid out by McKinsey, is in the definition of "who owns the interface with the consumer".

No matter where you stand on the topic, one cannot help but ask the question, as marketers go deeper into engaging with their customers, will they have to start to think like publishers, in that they now must create content themselves that continues to service the more demanding needs of their customers/readers?

Furthermore, with the knowledge that McKinsey has learned, that as consumers move through the journey with a brand they hunger for something deeper, more authentic and transparent. Do you think the ad/digital agency creative talent is currently capable of delivering this, being a third party resource to the client and brand?

As marketers build their online presence (in an owned or earned manner) to stay relevant, they will have to feed the channels/publications they have built, and this takes a commitment internally to have talent that can quickly say the right thing to quell a hijacking, or write with passion and knowledge about the company's products, services and promotions.

I believe many things will challenge marketers going forward but to me one of the biggest questions that I have, and one I get from my clients on a regular basis, is who will own the web/social content development and its consequences, because they know they have to but they also know it will mean creating a skill set intenally that they do not have. They will have to learn to think like publishers!


Enjoy the thought provocative piece form McKinsey in the attached link. Make sure you also listen to the audio piece inside the link. (I am aware you have to become a member to the McKinsey site to get the full story but it is worth it. They are the world's number one business consultancy out there. Oh yeah, and it's free to join.)
http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/Beyond_paid_media_Marketings_new_vocabulary_2697

Love This Presentation Aid

Daniel Pink is indeed a smart guy. I often think his insights are real real good. This time though what blew me away was how RSA Animate took Pink's insight to another level of comprehension. It just shows how important visuals (or painting a visual) are to effective communication.

Click on the video link to be wowed.

RSA Animate -- Drive: The surprising truth about what motivates us from Daniel Pink on Vimeo.

Sneakerpedia

The ad below is a real good example of how to build a community and have your brand be at the center of it. Now this ad from Foot Locker is how to build brand relevance!

Leaning Into Frame

In the past I have talked about business being careful in how it participates in the highly personal social media space of people. I am a big believer that you don't barge in and interrupt their online experiences if you want to build any sort of relevant long term relationship with them.

Well this clip via Mike Walsh and his agency Tomorrow provides an interview with New York Agency Anomaly about a concept they call Leaning Into Frame. In short Leaning Into Frame is recognising that "there are lots of interesting conversations going on in society at a point in time, and some of those conversations are appropriate for you (your business) to lean into."

I love the love subtle nature of the lean into frame mindset and the example they give of using the i-phone launch is perfect.