Purpose of the Internet

I've never thought much about what the point of the internet is. I grew up with the internet, it was something that was always there, it something that was always accessible. While, when I was younger it was accessible in the sense that if we disconnected the phone and hooked up the dial-up connection then we were connected to the internet.

When I first started using the Internet it was a source of information. Granted my pre-teen self was most likely looking up new facts about the latest teen heart throb, but still I was seeking out information. The exchange of information was why the internet was frist created in the 1980s at CERN.

Over the past 20 plus years, the internet has expanded beyond simply share information. It has built an online economy with companies solely doing buisness online, it has also allowed users to document their lives through social media websites like Facebook and Twitter, and it has also become an exchange of arts and culture.

Now,  the internet is a communications tool to share our thoughts, knowledge, interests, and lives with others around the world. Is not longer just for sharing information, but a communication tool that allows us to exchanges thoughts and ideas.  This is changing, not only the way we interact with each other, but the social and economic landscape of the world. The arab spring in 2011 could not have ignited a spark if it weren't for international influence and social networking sites such as Facebook.   

The purpose of the internet extends far beyond sharing information. It is about collaborating to shape the future..

Yeasayer & PSCYVOTV: Digital Scavenger Hunt

This week one of my favorite bands, Yeasayer, did something pretty inventive to create some hype about their upcoming album and to control the inevitable leak of the album online.

Titled PSCYVOTV, standing for Preemptive Self-Commissioned Yeasayer Vorstellung of Track Visualizer, Yeasayer released all 11 tracks from their upcoming album, Fragrant World,  online. Each song was transformed into a video vignette by Yoshi Sodeoka. The videos were then scattered on websites based all over the world. Yeasayer tweeted hints to the videos' location from their official Twitter account @Yeasayer. The videos were available online for 3 days before being removed.

Every music blog, magazine, and Yeasayer fan were taking about this scavenger hunt. It was a fun way to engage with fans and create some buzz about their upcoming album and tour, while allowing Yeasayer to be the first to share their new music with fans.

Well done Yeasayer!

Pinterest.com

This year Pinterest has dominated talk in the marketing world as the new up and coming social media network.The site has gained popularity and has received considerable attention.

I've been using Pinterest  for a few months now and, until recently, I was not impressed with how companies were interacting with users on the site. But over the past month I've come across a few companies who are successfully leveraging Pinterest for marketing purposes.

The Canadian fashion company Joe Fresh is using Pinterest as a forum to post pictures of their lastest items and press clippings. Overall, this is not innovative and, this type of activity, would be expected of any company attempting to leverage Pinterest for marketing purposes; however where Joe Fresh differs is the the board "Joe Fresh, Oh Orange!" This board consists of pins relating to the company's signature colour - orange. This board showcases the brand's personality and displays their high fashion and trendy items.

The online fashion community Polyvore allows users to explore, create, and share the latest trend all over the world. Polyvore has a Pinterest account, but what is really interest is that through the site users can create pins of their favorite items, or full outfits, and pin it on Pinterest. This allows users to share their favorite items with other Pinterest users. But where Polyvore really differs is that these pins link back to the Polyvore site where users can then find the purchase information for the items.

For many companies, Pinterest is an unexplored frontier. It's new and there are many unforeseen possibilities and challenges ahead; however, by using boards to showcase brand personality, like Joe Fresh, and use it to increase sales, like Polyvore, then any company can leverage Pinterest to engage key targets and successful increase sales. 

Getting back in the swing of things.

This year has brought may new and exciting challenges. I've been working on finding the right balance and I hoping this results in me making more time to post about all the great ads, marketing initiative, and social media campaigns that I find interesting and exciting!

But for now I will leave you with some videos from my favorite digital campaigns. The campaign is or Method cleaning products and feature great music and fun visuals. Method has really taken a step forwards since launch this new campaign which focuses on "Clean Happy".

ENJOY!

Method: Clean Like A Mother 

Clean Happy Anthem 

Welcome to 2012!

Photo by Creativity103

After the craziness of preparing for the holidays and then taking a few (or 10) days to celebrate with family and friends, I find myself wondering what 2012 will bring. In the midst of 2011 round-ups and best of the year lists there are a few hints at trends for 2012.

On Marketing Magazine's website the Q&A with Terry O'Reilly hints at the continuation of advertising moving form a monologue to a dialog. As the number of media channels grow so do the number of challenges. 

2011 saw Google's foray into social media with Google+, Facebook's creation of Timeline, and Pinterest sweep across the social-sphere. It is no surprise that social media keeps expanding and marketers are still figuring out how to engage and speak to their audience. 

Marketers need to be able to create a dialog with key audience that extend beyond Facebook. For example Danier used the Danier Design Challenge to engage students to designs a new jacket. The winner of the Challenge had their design produce and sold in stores. The Challenge was facilitated through the Ryerson University School of Fashion and it leveraged social media to choose the winner.

Even toy giant Mattel is taking advantage of expanding its social media presence. In 2011, Mattel created the Fisher-Price Mom Panel to expand its online community at  FisherPricePlay.ca. Mattel may leverage other social platforms but they have created their own platform to engage their key audience. 

In their annual Marketer Survey, Strategy reported that in 2012 41% of respondents will focus their budgets on social media. An interesting discovery in the report was the desire for marketers to receive more strategic insight from their creative partners. (For the full results visit: http://strategyonline.ca/2011/12/09/2011-marketer-survey-results/)

Although it is no surprise that social media will dominate in 2012, since it clearly dominated 2011, it appears that using social media in a more strategic manner is going to be the key challenge over the year ahead. Some marketers, like Danier and Mattel, have already achieved a social media model that engages their audiences in a meaningful way, however some still have a long way to go.