A Modern Day West Side Story (Life Online)

If West Side Story was re-told today, this is what it would look like. Too true and completely hilarious.

http://www.collegehumor.com/video:1913584

Pepsi and FedEx Take a Pass on Super Bowl 2010

Both Pepsi and FedEx are taking a pass on Super Bowl 2010 advertising. It shouldn’t be a surprise that FedEx is sitting out this quarter, as the overnight shipping giant fumbled in yet another earnings quarter with a 30% Q2 profit fall with a 10% decline in revenue. Spending a few million on Super Bowl Sunday might raise a few eyebrows from shareholders.

Pepsi – a 23-year Super Bowl advertiser – is pulling out of this year. The only Pepsi brand that will remain an event advertiser is Doritos with its $5 million Crash The Super Bowl contest, a truly amazing integrated marketing campaign that brings both offline and online together. Could the reason be the one-time $900 million payment Pepsi will make to Dr Pepper Snapple Group for the rights to distribute some of its beverages (including Dr. Pepper, Crush and Schweppes brands) in North America? Hmmm…that’s a lot of Super Bowl commercials.

Could this be a time for Coke to blitz Pepsi during Super Bowl 2010? I doubt it..unless they can build a similar action-oriented integrated marketing campaign like Doritos. A lot of big brands are still not getting past integrating their online and offlines campaigns. Forget the big brands, the major agencies are still not doing it...so how can we expect traditionally siloed corporate marketing people to understand it?

Furniture for Black & White People: Stop thinking like a corporate marketer

  To be successful with social media marketing or viral marketing, you have to stop thinking like a corporate marketer.

Two lifelong friends who look like they just graduated from college last year – Rhett & Link – decided to marry their dream of becoming film makers with their comedy, music and the Internet.  Today, they have their very own new media production company. I believe the duo’s success comes from their ability to NOT think like corporate marketers (both have an engineering background) and to have fun with the product. Think about it. What would you react more positively to and be willing to share with your friends – a funny, quirky online video or one that’s a run of the mill corporate sell?

While they don’t always get it right (e.g. get the message or brand across), sometimes they really capture the essence with a lot of fun. When that happens, the viral spread is social media marketing at its best. Take The Alka-Seltzer Great American Road Trip as an example. I’m not sure how successful the campaign was, but the online video and song sure is catchy – and it speaks to the product.

Another extremely successful local commercial is the Black & White People Furniture – Red Hour Commercial – where the video spread quickly online beginning on YouTube. It’s so popular that the local North Carolina furniture store (Red House Furniture) started selling “Black & White People” T-shirts. 

What’s the point of all this? Sometimes, you just have to take off your corporate marketing hat and start throwing out zany ideas. See what sticks. 

 

Twitter as a Conduit of Fiction

TechCrunch's Jason Kinkaid explored whether or not Twitter could be a conduit of fiction in yesterday's Can Twitter Authors Capture the Magic of Lonely Girl 15.  Hmmm...only 140 spaces to fill up. 

Twitter has become the text version of “Reality TV” online. I know so many people hooked on Twitter and “watching” people comment on the most mundane things or retort in some witty fashion. Will Twitter capture an audience for authors, dramas and other fictional mediums. I say yes. For goodness sakes, there are a bunch of mad men (and women) posing as the MadMen characters on Twitter and they have a huge following.

So, I'm afraid the answer is going to have to be yes. I think authors could write their novellas on Twitter and have a following.

Some questions come to mind.

• Would a chapter consist of 3 tweets or 4?
• Is this the death of literature as we know it?
• Will acronyms like LOL and IMHO begin becoming an acceptable form of grammar in the publishing world?
• Will literacy decline? 

Lonelygirl15 Going Hollywood?

Is the ever popular lonely girl15 going Hollywood?  Miles Beckett and Greg Goodfried - co-producers of longlygirl15 - has formed a new company, EQAL, after raising $5 million in VC funds.  EQAL is touting the equally popular lonelygirl15 spinoff with British accents - KateModern.  According to AlwaysOn's Andy Plesser, it may happen. With reality shows and contests on every d*amn channel and live voting influencing the outcome(s), will Miles and Greg really show Hollywood how to do it right?  They sure know how to capture eyeballs, but let's see how they monetize the business.

And, here's to the video that started it all.