Advertising

Evian Shows Traditional Media and Advertising Far From Dead

There’s a lot being said about traditional media suffering in the wake of social media acceptance. Print publications, advertising, marketing et al – they all need to “use social media or die” being a common mantra.

But I’m not so sure. Yes, adapt and combine the new tools and mediums available to you. But to say that mainstream media is dead on its feet seems to be a bit of a push, particularly when many average consumers aren’t even aware of social media in its many shapes and sizes.

Emphasizing this point is Evian’s new video advertising campaign. Playing up to the mineral water producer’s Live Young tagline, Evian are currently running a set of commercials featuring babies. But these are no normal, “Aww, look at the cute baby” videos.

Instead, they’re smart, funny and hip in a way that many people would say traditional advertiser’s have forgotten how to be. Not to mention an excellent reminder that traditional media still does many things better than social media.

What do you think about the ads? Does entertaining make you more or less likely to buy from a company? What other companies are using combined advertising as well as Evian?

(Thanks to Wicked Lil Pixie for the heads up on the videos).

Is This How to Market Your Product?

If you’re a marketer, are you thinking about how to promote your new website or product? And if you’re a consumer, are you getting tired of lazy pitches and ideas?

Take a look at the five images below – each one belongs to a Twitter account that I was notified was now following me.

Every single message is the same, from how old the girl is, where she’s from, what she wants to do this weekend and what video she’s just watched.

Now, either the UK is currently enjoying a great spell of Twitter awareness in provocatively dressed female teens or there’s a little bit of shenanigans going on here. I’m going with the latter.

Looking at the accounts themselves, it would seem that it’s a marketing push for web host Cool Blue Solutions. Each account has a background designed by the web host company, and Cool Blue’s Twitter account mentions designing the background for our teen friend Sandra B. Smith.

But then you look at the URL for each of the five girls. That takes you to RevTwt.com, which used to be known as TwtAd, an advertising model for paid tweets.

They’re in the process of a relaunch of the service and are looking for advertisers. They claim to put your ad in front of more than 23 million Twitter users – pretty impressive considering that’s about the estimated number of all Twitter users at present (including bots and spam accounts).

So what’s the story here? Is it a marketing push to promote the web host services of Cool Blue Solutions? Is it an advertising push by RevTwt on behalf of Cool Blue Solutions? Is it a little of both?

Whatever it is, here’s the thing. Marketing your message properly means targeting your audience properly. It means knowing who would use your services and what would attract them to that service, and why it stands out from the rest.

Does a semi-nude teenage girl create the right message for Cool Blue Solutions if it’s their campaign? Are they looking for business users of their web services or teenage boys hoping to hit it off with a girl just like the one in the above Twitter accounts?

How about RevTwt, if it’s their push? Did they target anyone with these Twitter accounts or is it just a hit and hope approach? I only ask as I had all five accounts follow me in quick succession, and their bio’s just make your BS spider senses tingle.

Whatever the deal is here, I don’t think it succeeds. The majority of people have moved on from booth babe advertising and marketing pushes and are looking for real people behind the products. Teenage girls in bikinis don’t quite shout web host to me.

What do you think – is this kind of marketing still valid? If you’re a consumer, would you be convinced to sign up to Cool Blue Solutions from the recommendations of these Twitter accounts?

What if you’re an advertiser and RevTwt is behind these accounts – do they make you want to run a campaign with them? Or would your approach differ?

Update Monday July 06. Looks like Cool Blue Host may not have been as marketable as they thought. All Twitter accounts mentioned in this post are no longer live and their domain is also available.

Real People, Real Adverts

The advertising industry is like many other creative industries at the minute. Advertisers are looking at new ways to reach their audiences as the print industry continues to suffer and new mediums challenge ad agencies to think differently.

Some agencies are doing this better than others by letting real people tell real stories.

Instead of going for a celebrity endorsement, Visa Europe opted to go with Brooklyn-based artist Bill Shannon as part of their Life Flows Better campaign. Bill was born with avascular necrosis, a degenerative hip condition that destroys the joints of a bone. Despite this, Bill has made dance his unique art form by dancing on skateboards and crutches.

As Visa themselves mention when talking about Bill and his involvement in their ad:

“Bill Shannon is for real, he isn’t gliding along on wheelie shoes and he isn’t a stunt man. The beauty of Bill’s movement is as inspirational as it is mesmerising. The fluidity of his dance moves meant that it didn’t take us long to realise that he was the perfect embodiment of Visa’s flow campaign.”

So, Visa are saying that it’s real people who matter. Real people, doing real things. Real people doing inspirational things every day through normal events.

And it’s working for them. Feedback is extraordinarily positive about Bill’s involvement. Profits are up 35% since the Life Flows Better campaign began in earnest. Visa is being seen as a card for people. People that are also customers.

Make your customers feel like people and they’ll talk about your product. Doesn’t seem that hard, does it?

Why Social Media Needs the FTC

While some people might think that Ashton and Oprah on Twitter is the only news, the real social media story happening at the minute involves the FTC (the Federal Trade Commission).

Their announcement that they want to regulate social media advertising has been met pretty negatively by many in the social media field, particularly bloggers and advertisers. The feeling is bloggers will refuse to publish content that could see them being sued for false advertising, meaning a reduced social media-led advertising spend.

Now, call me naive, but personally I don’t see the FTC’s announcement being a problem. If you’re honest.

The Good, The Bad and the Sponsored

Think about the current discussions taking place about sponsored posts and the ethics behind them. The main argument against sponsored blog posts is that the blogger immediately loses credibility, since you can’t possibly be unbiased if you’re being paid for something.

While there’s some merit to this, I actually do believe you can remain both ethical and unbiased. Of course, it all boils down to the individual, but it can be done.

However, introduce the FTC into the equation, and it immediately lends authority and credence to both the blogger and the advertiser using them to promote their products. Immediate benefits include:

Blogger and advertiser has to adhere to FTC standards
Blog readers can read a product review and know it’s honest
Builds trust between blogger and reader

On a long-term basis, the professional blogging industry gains more respect, advertisers see that social media is a field to take seriously, and consumers get the best of both worlds.

Yet still there are the complaints that it’s a bad move for social media.

Against the FTC

One critic is Richard O’Brien, vice-president of the American Association of Advertising Agencies (4A’s). He claims, ?Bloggers and other viral marketers will be discouraged from publishing content for fear of being held liable for any potentially misleading claim.?

Meanwhile, Nathania Johnson of SearchEngineWatch.com states, “The FTC should go back to elementary school. That’s when kids learn that opinions are not true or false – only facts are. They even have homework assignments about it.”

Let’s take both arguments at face value.

With regards Richard’s claim, surely the only people that will be discouraged by the new regulations will be the ones that were skirting around false advertising anyway?

Wouldn’t a claim only be misleading if any of the facts are distorted? Which would be the fault of both the blogger and the company using them.

Looking at Nathania’s position, it’s not opinion that’s being questioned – it’s false advertising. They’re two completely different things. Nathania herself points this out further in her piece (and, in a way, contradicts her opposition) when she asks, “When you see a celebrity endorse a consumer brand in traditional advertising, does anyone really believe that celebrity uses the brand?”

No. Most people don’t believe that the celebrity uses that product.

Because it is quite clearly a paid advertisement.

The difference with sponsored or paid blog posts is that it’s not always apparent that this is the case. While the blogger should disclose, not every one does. And this is where the false advertising argument comes into play.

Food for Thought

If I read someone and they say I should eat at Joe Average Burger Joint rather than Wendy’s or McDonald’s because they use healthier ingredients, and I then find out it’s not the case, I’m going to be angry. I’ve been lied to.

If I then find out that the blogger who reviewed and recommended Joe Average Burger Joint has never been there in their life, but instead was paid to write a positive review on their food blog because that’s Joe Average’s core audience… This is no longer opinion – this is paid advertising, and false advertising at that.

If anything, if social media is seen as being regulated properly it may actually encourage more businesses to become involved, knowing that the competition is fair.

The very fact that the FTC wants to step in and stop this kind of unethical and questionable consumer manipulation can only be a good thing. At least for the majority of those affected.

Otherwise, doesn’t it just raise the question of what are you hiding?

photo credit: tricky ?
photo credit: Yersinia

Value Currency

Market value is a key commodity between businesses and their customers.
Word of mouth, both good and bad, is the currency behind the value.
What are your customers saying about you?