Yesterday was a wonderful case in point of fast paced dialogue between the Obama and McCain campaigns. With the help of live news coverage and coordination of the campaign reporters, you may think, the campaigns stayed on top of every word the other makes. They are then able to respond, almost as if they were having a dialogue.

While news organizations have a lot to do with the speed of the discourse, in this election cycle there is more. Now there is more for the candidates, the campaigns, and most importantly, more for the electorate, upon which the candidate’s future depends, to stay on top of information.

Today, probably even as you read this, there are individuals’ blogging about campaign stops as they happen. People using Twitter, Jaiku and Utterz (microblogging platforms) to report and interpret giving you both a “what did they say” report and just as important “how did an individual interpret what they said perspective.

Better yet, quickly posted YouTube videos and even new phone streaming platforms like QIK reframe the definition of “instant reaction.”

Corporate marketers stop and consider the other uses. Here’s a list of examples that are perfect for these types of instant reporting and reaction platforms.

1) Events, games, a period of time to capture, if there is some uncertainty that’s even better. It’s why they always have a camera on the President.
2) Remote expertise whose commentary adds value
3) Scientific & R&D topics, think about that one for a minute
4) Product launch

Add to the list if you’d like. The fact is, time and space are compressed to almost real-time and all formats of communicating are available, allowing marketers to use the format and medium that best makes their case.

The social media idea path is like watching cells grow and multiply. Here is the exciting path of this idea related to Dunkin’ Donuts and the Super Bowl. Sunday, January 20, I’m on Twitter the night of the Green Bay/New York Giants NFC Championship game. People tweeted about the final moments of the game and upon its conclusion, I started tweeting with my Boston friends who like Dunkin’ Donuts, how that popular east coast franchise can capitalize on the Super Bowl with two teams competing from their two largest markets, Boston and New York City. Those friends included Doug Haslam, Chip Griffin, Geoff Livingston (DC guy but also responded to tweet string), Scott Monty, Sarah Wurrey, and Mike Volpe.

A quick review of the Dunkin’ Donuts website reveals that Dunkin’ has extensive experience working with NFL promotions and even has run contests with both the New York Giants and New England Patriots. Excellent. Dunkin’ Donuts slogan is America Runs on Dunkin’ - Are you thinkin’ what I’m thinkin’?

On Monday, January 21, I thought of an idea and blogged about it on our marketing blog about a Super Bowl contest that ties into the slogan, Dunkin’ Donuts Has a Super Opportunity , the team with the most rushing yards would earn for that market a free something, maybe a Dunkin loyalty card with a free cup of coffee loaded on it or a free coffee during the two hours after the game (you get the picture). I also sent in a link to the idea on the Dunkin’ Donuts website, through customer relations.

on Wednesday, January 23, I received the resonse below. I’ve given the response grades, and invite yours as well. A couple of more data points here. 1) I did not submit to a PR or media inquiry because I did not find an email for one on the site at the time and 2) Dunkin’ Donuts is currently running (pardon the pun) a user generated campaign on You Tube called How Do You Keep America Running.

Here is Dunkin’s reply to our Rushing Yardage contest idea:

Dear Albert,

Ref # 4488839
Here are my grades for their response:

1) Timeliness they at least replied within a couple of days. - A Excellent,

2) Sincerity, it looks like a boilerplate response - C to me some of the copy is a bit condescending , however, I can understand this given that someone might claim rights to an idea, which leads to my next grading topic,

3) Legal cover, nice job lawyers - A

4) Brand loyalty impact, has the response improved your feeling of the brand - B While the response did not uniquely notice the submission, it did attempt to respond in a timely and polite manner and for that Dunkin’ Donuts deserves some credit.

Overall It’s a B, time for another coffee.

Time 15:00

Put a taste of the Iowa caucus into your corporate communications. This will be an ongoing theme on the Marketing Edge during this election year. My premise is that social media is like oxygen to the embers of ideas. The networks and groups formed using social media resembles grassroots organizations and therefore companies need to take a page from political campaigns.

In this podcast we chat with David Almacy, VP of Digital Strategies for North America for Waggener Edstrom.

He also was at the White House for President Bush in 2005 – 2007 as the director of internet and e-communications. David was also recently recognized by PR Week in their 40 Under 40 issue.

We share some views on the Iowa Caucus about social media and mainstream media. There is also more on my perspective on this issue from Minn Post reporter Christine Capecchi in an article entitled Caucuses 2.0: Online efforts become instant political laboratories in Iowa

Having spent a decade in political communications, and a few years covering politics as a reporter, social media has the potential to help change society, because of the speed with which it can spreading ideas, and the ability to galvanize more people around an issue/brand faster.

Look, the civil rights movement didn’t need social media; but the same fundamental tactics for grassroots organization and communication skills are now necessary for companies who wish to participate in, not market with, social media. There is more of a movement in social media than a marketplace.

If I was to crystallize the general difference of perspective between political communications and corporate communications pre-social media into a bumper sticker, it would be this:

Brand champions may say this is the same as Lovemarks. I agree, and in the world of politics and on the battle field of ideas that shape a society, people have died for the brand they love.

In this discussion David and I touch on the use of social media, the fragmentation of information sources, and the mysterious mix of mainstream media quantity with social media passion.

Another interesting take on measuring social media in this presidential campaign is the Spartan Political Performance Index. Stay tuned as this election year, creative minds will tweek, shape, and test all forms of social media. The winners will be those observers in corporate marketers who can see applications for their brands.

Another Marketing Edge Book Drawing

We are holding a drawing for the book The New Influencers by Paul Gillin, he’s another thought provoking guy at the Society for New Communications Research. So if you want in on the drawing send me an email to marketingedge@providentpartners.net with the words New Influencers in the subject line.

Marketers, here is a social media recipe with some zing. You can build an opt-in network of followers for just about any objective you want: new product launch, latest bargains, thought leadership, consumer engagement. The ingredients are all here if used with healthy amounts of honesty, transparency, and interaction. Let’s take a comprehensive look at a handful of technologies that will make a succulent dish and we’ll use one of my favorite places to shop: the outdoor recreation retailer REI. Disclaimer: I’m also an REI member, but so are thousands of other people. I don’t own stock and they don’t pay me for anything. Here’s a recipe I’d love them to try:

1) Create a Twitter profile for REI Outlet and build a following. Dell Outlet did it (http://twitter.com/delloutlet) and received an award from the Society for Ne w Communications Research. REI can build a larger following in 2008 across its wide variety of constituents: campers, cyclists, kayakers and on and on.

2) The Twitter piece can tie into a microsite with a combination REI expert- and user-generated content for REI Adventure. Right now, www.rei.com has nice photos and text, but I’m at a loss as to why they are not taking advantage of a variety of media to embrace the visitor. Give us more: more personality, more views, more experience. REI is all about outdoors — take us there.

3) Then REI Adventures (their travel packages division) can use Utterz and Flicker to create instant posts of audio, video or pictures from hikers on its Zion National Park trip, with its unique hoodoos rock formations, or other campers photographing a grizzly in Denali National Park – from a safe distance of course. Bring the trip to life for customers’ family and friends, those researching on REI.com and those following REIcamping or REIcanoeing or REIhiking on Twitter, Utterz or any other site built for easy content creation. I bet some of REI Adventures customers have twittered from a trip already. Some have posted on YouTube like this REI Costa Rica cycling trip.

4) Then, enhance the Web and in-store experience by creating “buying guide” podcasts and/or vidcasts (with RSS feeds, of course) by area of the store. These could be downloaded to portable devices or played on the Web site. I realize the REI Web site is full of great information, but are you asking the customer to print stuff and bring it in? That’s not very green. Instead, post audio and video to download, which will add even more “green” to the REI marketing effort.

5) Lastly, bring all of these aspects of REI together with a social network, either on the REI site or another location like Facebook, Ning or MySpace. At the very least, by using blogs on the REI site, enthusiasts can share their experiences together under the REI banner.

As an REI enthusiast, I’d love to see part or all of this implemented. The interesting part of social media is that people can do this themselves without REI’s blessing, but I believe the store and brand are such a strong presence, that it is missing an opportunity by not participating in social media. Now what do you think about that?

The technology dilemma: New technologies are developed quickly and less costly today than even 10 years ago. New technology implementation requires the precise work of three groups: path finders, bridge builders and commoditizers.

1) Path finders: They forge a wild river. They develop for the joy of a challenge and/or the dream of wealth. Many times they traverse to unknown places. They prudently cut a path with precision moving toward a desired destination. They may not know exactly where they are going, but they are learning and discovering with every step.

2) Bridge builders: These are the ones who help the masses on the populated side of the river come across. They painstakingly educate those fearful of going over the bridge and in some cases hope they don’t loose sight of the path finders.

3) Commoditizers come along with the masses and build different uses for technologies that have become common. They help drive the price down, expand usage and, with it, less risk in implementing that technology in a typical business.

The issue that Jeremiah Owyang of the Web Strategist Blog raises in his Utterz post from Nov. 29 is whether the technologists are moving too fast. In my parlance, are the path finders rushing ahead so fast that they are in danger of being alone in the wild?

The pace of what technologists can do is outracing how significant portions of the population can use it or can pay for it. The question technologists and consumers should answer jointly is: Can the new technologies be applied to provide sufficient value that it is worth changing from what we do now?

Social media and different issues than the 90s:

• A more fragmented market, which could mean less total revenue per technology
• Less costs, which potentially mean higher profits per technology
• Insanely short product life-cycles, putting all technologies in danger of being overtaken
• Potentially misunderstood brand power of technology, when the real asset is the communities

The Bar Syndrome

What would make me the most nervous as an investor? Understanding exactly what the asset is and how will that asset sustain itself and grow. I believe a good metaphor is that many of these social media technologies are like investing in a bar or restaurant. If that establishment can be replicated to attract enough people, then you’ve got a winning franchise. If, however, the people are fickle or a new bar opens down the street with better looking, livelier people, then what is left?

The accessories

We are to the point of application accessories; widgets is the accepted term. The issue is how these accessories are going to be paid for. An interesting question formed in the negative, just to make it more painful: What two technologies can you give up today?

A typical business with an abundance of meetings, limited budgets and cautious management needs time just to understand how these technologies are going to add value to the company. Patience is a virtue. Will the marketplace reward patience?

I worked at a venture capital firm in the 90s. There were companies working on 360-degree images of shopping malls, med-tech applications for desktop radiological reading, and video-on-the-Web capabilities. It was just a question of timing more than applications. Those ideas are well in place today and profitable.

History does help predict the future; we just need the patience for the future to catch up with us.

Ah! I really like Brightcove, but there model is changing which may cause users to look at other alternatives. Here’s the email they sent out this morning. Those using Brightcove need to review their videos and potentially move them before Dec 17.

Dear Brightcove.TV member,

Beginning December 18, 2007, we plan to end support of direct consumer uploads to Brightcove.TV. As a result, you will not be able to upload new videos to Brightcove.TV after December 17, 2007. But videos you have already uploaded to Brightcove.TV will remain available on the site and through your Brightcove.TV channel. Videos you have embedded in other sites and blogs will also continue to play.

If you have a Brightcove Platform or Network account, which means you use the Brightcove Console, then you will still have the option to promote videos on Brightcove.TV.

Brightcove.TV will continue to be a guide to great video from Brightcove media and business partners. The site will have new videos added to it daily from these partners and these videos can be saved as favorite videos in your channel.

If you work for a media company, marketer, non-profit, or business and are looking to purchase the Brightcove platform to publish and distribute video on your own site, please visit the Brightcove Products Overview section of our website.

We appreciate your interest in Brightcove and apologize for any disruption this change may cause you.

Sincerely,
The Brightcove Team

Added November 28, this is a great article by Jeremy Allaire, CEO of Brightcove about the current landscape for video players on the net and the 2008 for the category. http://www.brightcove.com/about_brightcove/perspectives.cfm

www.brightcove.com

Time 17:04

Many companies are trying to understand how forms of social media can be applied to achieve their business and branding objectives. This podcast features two examples of the successful use of social media and user generated videos.

On this episode of the Marketing Edge, we feature Vespa scooters’ Go Green Challenge and the UPS new product launch of Delivery Intercept. We also provide some of the elements of these very different campaigns that may help other companies determine whether they have the chance for a successful social campaign.

The technology platform used in these two cases is Vsocial www.vsocial.com . To me Vsocial is a video platform that is on the opposite end of the spectrum from YouTube. It is structured for businesses to host a video generated campaign as a complete web-based platform or with developer APIs so agencies can create the custom experience for those engaged in their campaign. Provident Partners has a vSocial site at http://www.vsocial.com/user/?d=144923

The agency work featured here is Matrixx Pictures for Vespa’s Go Green Challenge and Lbi Atlanta that created the UPS Delivery Intercept program. Side mention here, Archie Manning (old school) Peyton Manning’s dad, is the spokesperson for the Delivery Intercept program. Script and copy writers should listen to Archie’s segments, the writing is outstanding.

What Makes These Good Campaigns

Here is a general list of criteria for these two examples that I believe companies can use to evaluate their audiences as they consider similar types of campaigns. Let me underscore, these are general profiles of an audience. In some ways even trying to put people in categories goes against the grain of social media and 1-1 marketing, nonetheless, marketers like to have some semblance of structure as we describe the market we are seeking to attract. So here goes.

The Vespa campaign audience I categorize as Creative and Socially Conscience. This includes people who may be in areas including:

The creative type of audience is more likely to participate when the campaign involves producing something from scratch or interpreting a situation. Some may be in it for professional exposure so incorporating a set of judges known in that craft is also helpful. These types of campaigns involve lots of work and time on the part of those producing the content.

The UPS Delivery Intercept campaign is what I call Naturally Occurring

These are events that are part of everyday life and as such are likely to be recorded. This audience is participating for fun, hobby, 15 minutes of fame, and being part of a group.

In this category, there is less burden on the participant to be creative in building a storyline and requires less production skills. Their submission is a chronicle of an event that is potentially appealing to a similar audience. These are the characteristics of the Delivery Intercept program. In many cases, successful campaigns also have some recognition and reward, whether it is prize money for the winner or a charity of the winner’s choice.

Comments Bring Good Things

Remember any comments to this blog or emails to marketingedge@providentpartners.net will result in a food item contributed to a food shelf in St. Paul, MN. Also did you listen to the opening minutes of this podcast for the movie quote question? If you are the first two listeners to submit the correct answer you will win a $10 gift certificate to Subway, so quick hit the play button and send your email answer. What can I say, we like to see people satisfy their hunger.

The YouTube era becomes mainstream.

You know, I’ve been at a few of those goat rodeos called presidential debates back when I was press secretary of the Republican National Committee. My expectations were low regarding the YouTube experiment with CNN and Anderson Cooper.

I was hoping it was not dominated by a bunch of people who finished uploading a Jackass contest entry and threw on a question for the candidates. I thought CNN would do its usual headline grabber followed by the always handy “Most Trusted Name in News” or something like that. It is entertainment after all: plot, conflict, antagonist, protagonist, etc., etc., etc.

But no. Anderson Cooper and the producers earned a good deal of praise. The questions did, for the most part, seem to represent a cross section of the country’s most pressing concerns. It did indeed seem like we were talking in America’s living room. Congrats to Senior Vice President David Bohrman and CNN Political Director Sam Feist — not to mention YouTube — for giving a voice to individual.

Of course, some of those individuals are political types, playing the game, working the system. So be it. It’s a free country. Expect it and live with it.

The way this format works — if the American people want honest answers — is to reward those answers. For example, when Joe Biden keeps hammering on the fact that you can’t physically get the troops out of Iraq for a year, and gets others to reluctantly concede that fact, then Biden’s numbers need to move in a positive direction.

For the public’s role, they need to appreciate that an honest answer is likely one with which they might not agree. And the manner in which we reach these conclusions needs to be one of mutual respect and civility. Only then will candidates and the political machine take notice and change. If not, then this format runs the risk if further trivializing the election cycle circus.

A couple of questions were, well, questionable. For example, reparations for descendants of slaves. I thought, “Where did this come from?” There are plenty of other significant ways to get to the issue of race: police brutality, predatory lending practices, and so on. But reparations? Maybe the question-selection team wanted to get questions that would allow for a clear split among the candidates instead of the lip service usually applied to those issues.

CNN needs to be careful on questions like the snowman talking about global warming and the gun toter. Stick to the substance; we can handle it. The format is engaging enough without dramatizing the questions, too.

Other questions were priceless, like the gay marriage question asked by the two women from New York. Great timing gals. The best question of the bunch was the one that attempted to separate BS from real deal on the issue of “working together,” the current politically tested phrase that means nothing. The question went something like this: If you are so good at working with Republicans, which one would you pick as a running mate if you could only pick a Republican? Nice answer from Biden on that one.

I hope the format underscored that we are all Americans, and it’s not about Democrats and Republicans. Statistically, one side can’t be wrong all the time and visa versa.

The media tries to play that “you’re wrong, I’m right” game, as well. Anderson tried to get Edwards to say yes or no about whether he is better on women’s issues than Hillary. To Edwards’ credit, he did not take the bait. Why? Because that’s the bait that leads to unnecessary, mindless conflict. It might be good for TV in the old model — the “Hey, fight in the schoolyard!” sort of dribble — but the country needs more substance.

Perhaps this format will teach the media that lesson.

Image courtesy of CNN.com.