Socially Adept

Burma: It Can't Wait

Typically, I avoid posting anything on this blog that directly relates to activities completed by my agency, Digital Influence Group.  I prefer to not promote any campaign or activity as I think it's important that the work speak for itself and be promoted by others... not me.  With that said, occasionally exceptions must be made.

Today, marks the launch of Burma: It Can't Wait.  "The goal? To free Aung San Suu Kyi, the democracy activist confined by Burma's military regime to house arrest for 12 of the past 18 years," said Newsweek.  Please take a second to visit the site and learn more about Burma and becoming one of the 1 Million Voices for change. 

If you're a Facebook user, please become a fan and make your voice heard.  It's amazing how may people don't know about what's happening in the rest of the world.  Now is the time to educate yourself and others and take a small step toward making a difference.  Social Media provides us all with a venue to be heard and to join in the fight against injustice.  Although it may not seem like much, sometimes taking 30 seconds to add your name to a list can make all the difference.

Thank you in advance for the consideration.

Under Armour Wins The Z List Experiment with Power of Pink

Almost exactly one year ago, I started "The Z List Experiment" with a belief that at some point big brands would start paying attention to bloggers no matter how big their audience is.  I had some lofty expectations, but was confident that a few targeted posts would eventually capture the eye of someone and warrant a response.  Last month, one of my initial three brands finally took the time to touch base!

UNDER ARMOUR!

A month ago, I was contacted by Allison at MWW (UA's PR Agency) regarding the companies Power in Pink campaign.  Exactly one year ago, I wrote about the campaign as I thought it was a great platform for injecting Social Media initiatives.  This year, Under Armour is doing it again and the micro site looks great, but the Social Media is still a bit lack luster.  Here is the info on the campaign from Allison:

"The campaign is similar to last year’s, so you are probably already familiar with the program, but here are some of the main details: Under Armour is encouraging survivors and women currently living with breast cancer to share their inspirational stories of strength and survival at www.underarmour.com/powerinpink as part of their Undeniable Survivor Search. Under Armour will select three stories of undeniable courage to become the new faces of the “Power in Pink” campaign and star in national magazine and online advertisements and in-store visuals. Stories will be accepted through April 30, 2008."

I encourage everyone to visit the site and if you have a story to tell, please tell it.  I also encourage Stephen Battista or other members of the UA Marketing team to read "Marketing to the Social Web"... I believe you have a copy? : )  Give me a call when you want to talk about how Social Media can fit into your plan.

So, to wrap up, kudos to Under Armour and MWW for your blogger outreach.  As someone who works in social media instead of just talking about it, I appreciate the effort and time.  On occasion, taking a minute to touch base with the little guy can yield big rewards!

On another note... I never updated anyone on my UA cleats.  Durability is great as they lasted 40+ games so far.  However, they looked better in the box then they did on my feet.  A+ for performance and durability, C- for looks.  Oh, and the new cross trainers looked good in the commercial, but not so hot on the website.

(My apologies to Allison for taking so long to post and to my readers for being absent for so long.  Things have been busy and quiting smoking is no joke!) 

School Administrators are "Douchebags"

I don't even know where to start with this one.  A Connecticut school has barred a student from serving on the student council (even though she won the election... as a write in...talk about campaigning) because she referred to a school administrator as being a "douchebag."  This is a story that's been around since July of 2007, but it's back in the news today as well as appeals court. 

Here's my struggle. 

1) I don't care what anyone calls me on the Internet as long as they are willing to explain why they wrote what they wrote to my face.  If you think I'm a "douchebag," tell me why and maybe we can get to the root of the problem.  Believe me... I am aware that I can be a "douchebag" on occasion so there is a chance I might agree with you.

2) I am clearly a fan of free speech, but I am smart enough to know that slinging insults at an authority figure is not a wise idea.  If I were to slander my boss, coach, parent, etc. on my blog, I would expect there to be some sort of repercussion.  It seems all too frequently these days that respect is something that is on the decline. (The two girls that got booted off of a Southwest flight are the perfect example)

In the instance of Avery Doninger (The CT. Student who write the post on her Myspace Page) I do feel that the punishment was too severe.  Being the rambunctious, destructive hellion I was in high school, I know for a fact that I called the administrators worse than "douchebag."  In fact, I called all authority figures worse things and received less of a punishment than this 17 year old.  However, my parents let me know that there was a valuable lesson to be learned from those experiences...

Sometimes, it's better to say nothing at all.  If you have to say anything, make sure you can say it to that person's face and can take what ever comes to you.

Good bloggers start writing because they are passionate about something.  Passion can occasionally lead to poor judgment.  There is always more than one way to say something and there is always another way to receive something someone has said. 

Not only is this case one of the many instances that highlight our social struggles with the rise of collaboration and conversation on the Internet, but it brings awareness to the slippery slope of issues that await us if we start to regulate the conversation.  In my opinion, Avery should have been punished for her insult, but not by the school administration.  Her parents should take this opportunity to teach their child that there are better ways to approach problems. 

But what do I know... I'm just an occasional "douchebag" without any kids and an occasional blog post.

*For those that are interested.  This is day 10 without cigarettes.  Chantix does work wonders. 

Pfizer's Lack of Assitance and Not All UGC is Worth Reading

I'm 3 days into my Chantix prescription and slowly adjusting to the loss of a close friend...cigarettes.  I've been a smoker for over a decade and have come to a point in my life when enjoying the things in life that will eventually kill you is probably not the smartest choice.  The first week of the medication states that you should continue to smoke, but it fails to tell you that you will get no enjoyment from the cigarette.  I learned quickly that smoking on Chantix is the equivalent to taking a drag and not inhaling.  Pointless.

When I opened the package, Pfizer included a credit card style promotion that drove users to a website for support.  There was some info about a phone number to call and support groups, but I can't be really sure because I just tossed it aside.  I just can't bring myself to go to a support group.

Tonight, I noticed a commercial by Pfizer that promoted www.mytimetoquit.com so I decided to check it out.  Talk about Pointless!  No fresh content, no community, no tips or user information, no blog, no nothing.  I completely understand that the Pharmaceutical Industry has serious regulations about UGC, but this is a topic that so desperately could use some conversation.  There are plenty of independent sites that provide the information I would be looking for, like this one, but I want more from Pfizer.  Why?  Do a simple search for Chantix...the results will depress you.

- 55+/- people have committed suicide while taking Chantix

- The actual success rate of quitting smoking is 22%, the same as "the patch" after one year

Etc.

Do I believe this stuff?  Well, it's a bunch of strangers with a chip on their shoulder against Pharma companies, so I take it for what it's worth.  However, I know people who have had unusual experiences while taking the medication.  This is reason to take pause.  However, everyone is different, so much of the information you receive even from the most trusted of sources should be carefully considered.  Just because one person experiences severe depression from the medication, does not mean that I will.  Considering this, what could Pfizer have done?

Is there a way that the Pharma Industry can leverage communities and discuss their products without violating regulatory requirements that adds value to a community knowing that every user will have a different result?

Absolutely!  Look at companies like Patients Like Me. (Full Disclosure: This is a former client).  If Pfizer was truly committed to helping people quit smoking, they would create a destination that allows people to come together and discuss their experiences on the meds.  Allow users to track cravings, triggers and relapses.  Since smoking is habitual, as My Time To Quit frequently points out, wouldn't it be helpful to show people how to track these instances so that they can identify trouble spots?  Would the community be willing to blog about their struggles and agree to not make specific claims about Chantix?  I think they might be willing. 

The decision to leave cigarettes in the past is a big step...one that may not work for me and many others...but many of today's smokers wont pick up the phone when they are feeling weak and I'm sure a good chunk of us would never go to a support group.  However, I'd go online and blog about it.  I'd micro-blog about it.  I'd watch a Google Maps mash-up that shows me how often people are craving a smoke all around the world, just to know how many people out there are feeling the same thing.

Pfizer...take the bull by the horns and start using your microsites and unique URL's to do more than push people to your product pages.  Trust me...it will be worth it for both your customers and your bottom line.

Blogger Outreach is a Waste of Time

...if you're not paying attention and being memorable!  For the past two years, I've seen countless amounts of posts about the appropriate way to pitch bloggers.  Many of these posts are the same, but occasionally, it's nice to have a reminder that short cuts won't work.  Today, Matt Dickman posts about the topic from his perspective.  In his post, Matt revisits tactics that should be common knowledge for many people by now, but sadly, it isn't.

I spend a great deal of time investigating the best approach for establishing relationships with Bloggers.  As a Marketer, my goal is to help introduce my clients to Influential bloggers not solely for the purpose of covering news and products, but to help start what I believe will be, and should be, a lucrative relationship.  As you can imagine, there are often many challenges.  Whether it's time, identifying the appropriate individuals to participate, or standing out from the crowd of PR people who are throwing releases over the fence, there is always a need for something new and fresh.

I'm a big believer that PR Agencies and Professionals should definitely be adopting blogger outreach activities.  It's important to keep Influential bloggers informed and provide them with opportunities to engage with the brand.  However, Social Media open opportunities to build relationships beyond the traditional press pitch, release and pre-brief.  Essentially, the PR agency is only capable of taking the conversation so far.

So what do I mean by that?

Sending press pitches and releases to bloggers is a wise idea.  Especially if you've adopted the Social Media Press Release idea.  Pretty pictures can always grab attention, but it's no more personal than the traditional pitch.  Sure, it makes it easier for the blogger to access all of the content they need to post about your news, but does it encourage a conversation?  Most of us should know by now that conversation creates relationships.  If I deliver a monologue to an audience of one while holding up a few photos and logos am I likely to establish a long lasting connection?

As a former PR guy, I always viewed pitch writing as a creative opportunity.  A way to flex a bit from the standard press release.  However, it was still just text...and maybe it's just me, but I don't connect well with text.  Every once in awhile someone will send me a pitch about their new product or service and I'll read the email a few times and visit the site to check it out, but when I close my email, it's lost and gone forever.  Before you know it, it's old news.

When thinking about blogger outreach, it may be better to think small.  Instead of creating a list of 200 bloggers to reach out to, try focusing on the key 15-20.  If you're target list is too big, how can you customize each pitch and participate in the conversation?  If you're only contact a handful of people, isn't it possible to come up with a rich experience that makes you stand out from the crowd?

Absolutely!  By leveraging marketers and creative resources, you have the power to make a statement and be memorable.  Why confine yourself to the small box that is text?  Too often, we as marketers spend too much time thinking about the bigger conversation.  How do we reach the masses using social media?  How do we leverage Influencers to deliver our message to potential customers? 

We should be more micro in our thinking.  How do we have the conversation with the one person who is conversing with many?

We're all still in a time of evolution and experimentation, so where we'll be two years from now is still anyone's guess.  The one thing we do know, is how do we measure success?  How do we justify the budget spend to create materials solely for 15-20 people?  Why should I spend $10k for creative to deliver the message to such a small audience when I can spend the same amount and pitch 200 bloggers?

I think it would be wise for all of us to start thinking about the real value.  Reaching out to 200 bloggers is risky.  If you're approach is too standard, you could be the next person featured on Jaffe Juice for your poor pitch strategy.  Additionally, what is your success rate for coverage?  10% maybe 20% depending on the quality of your news.  Essentially, the majority of your spend produced zero results.  Sure, you've only spent $50 per Influencer contacted, but the resulting coverage cost $1,000/$500 per hit.

Now, if you reach out to 15-20 key Influencers with a rich experience that starts the conversation, you're odds for success may be much higher.  Based on your approach, Influencers may be willing to cover your news as well as the unique way you approached them.  Assume that of the 20 Influencers included in the campaign, half of them covered your news via a post on their blog, the numbers look like this: $500 per Influencer contacted and a coverage cost of $1,000 per hit.

Hmmmm?  Interesting.  And this doesn't even take into account the conversation that would occur with the influencer (which is much easier to manage on the small scale) and the distribution of more rich materials instead of a press release.  Same costs, same coverage, better results.

Something to think about.  Feel free to send me a message with any ideas or thoughts...after all, we are all still learning and evolving!