What I've learnt from the douchebags at GASP

So we're all sick of hearing about the GASP situation. It got a whole lot of media exposure, and we all know the story: woman goes into store, store assistant is a wanker, woman sends complaint, reply shuts her down.

Whether or not the story is a media exercise is yet to be proven yet, but I've actually learnt something from the situation. Whilst GASP has executed the situation rather poorly, it's made me realise that it is actually ok to stick up for your product every once in a while. Most often, a complaint via social media or email is met with an apology. But is the customer always right? When you have a successful product that has been operating and growing for a long time, and you get a hollow complaint about your product, is it ok to defend yourself?

The GASP situation has made me rethink my attitude toward dealing with negative feedback. I think, when you have a brand that has proven to be successful, it is ok to stick up for yourself! What do you think?

Junkies, Bogans & Scum...Some good (?) PR for Metro

So if you're reading this, you're probably a Gen Y, constantly online, internet jockey (like me)...so you've probably already seen this story that was posted on The Age about 10 seconds ago...(no, not literally)

A small production company in Melbourne have produced a mock film trailer, for a movie about the danger, action and drama of being a Metro train inspector.

See it here:

There's no doubt that this is hilarious, and if you've ever travelled on the train system in Melbourne, there are a few bits in this that are a little too real!

So, this short video, which has no affiliation to Metro (as far as we know) has gone viral, and is getting some great publicity. I would argue that this is doing good things for Metro, as it has the underlying rules of the train system - validate your ticket, don't step over the yellow line, no alcohol on the platform, and the fundamental rule that there's nothing at the end of the line but "junkies, bogans and scum"

What do you think? Has Metro got something to do with this? Is this good for their PR or not? Post below!

Social Media at Dracula's Cabaret Restaurant

Here is my assignment on how social media has helped to deliver value to consumers. The company I have used is Dracula's Cabaret Restaurant which is a cabaret venue located in Melbourne and on the Gold Coast. They have been running for 31 years now and have entertained over 3.5 million guests. Social media is growing as a method for delivering brand value to consumers, and Facebook, Twitter and an online rewards program are examples of this.

See more at their website!

Enjoy! Let me know what you think...

One-off Advertising...a waste?

As usual, watching The Gruen Transfer this week has inspired me to get writing again!
There was a lot of talk this week on billboard advertising, and its ability for reach and frequency. The idea of putting a huge amount of effort into a one-off billboard was also discussed. The panel argued that putting huge resources ($$ and time) into one particular billboard generates talk. I want to go one step further. Yes, 'talk' is generated, but there's only so much talk that can be generated amongst people. Developments in e-Marketing mean that a company can put all their efforts into one particular form of advertising, and then utilise online tools to get value for those initial efforts.

The following billboards were taken from 10steps.sg from a page entitled "50 extraordinary and Attractive Billboards" - this is an example of where marketers want their one-off billboard to end up. Then it can be seen by millions of people around the world and shared rapidly and frequently.

Evolution of Mobile Phones

Last week, a select few weird nerds had a big party for the 30th birthday of the mobile phone....oh my how far we've come.

Mobile phones were once just a 'portable' tool for communication. But nowadays, mobile phones are so much more. iPhones can do pretty much anything (apart from wash the laundry, or write your blog for you....oh wait, it can do that). 

So how can marketers use new mobile phone technology to target consumers? Well for one, look at the millions of apps that are available for iPhones. If you download the free version of an app, chances are it will have advertising built-in to the app. 

These low cost advertisements are a great way to connect with consumers. Plus, it's so easy for brands to target consumers by choosing specific apps that relate to their product. e.g. General Pants advertising on a shopping app, etc.

If you're like me, you probably just skip over a lot of these adds, but is there still value for consumers? The fact that you physically have to swipe or click past the add probably means you taken in some of the info in it... what do you think?

e-Guerilla Marketing

It's pretty clear that the field of e-marketing is still developing and growing. This is because it's a fairly new field, and one that is rapidly growing to accommodate the increasing demand of the market.

One point that I seem to keep coming back to in my blog posts is the ability of electronic marketing to improve the value of traditional advertising efforts to marketers. For example, Guerrilla marketing is nothing new. Companies have been using this type of marketing for years, but e-marketing has made its effects far greater. 

Look at some of the following examples of some of my favourite Guerrilla campaigns. Whilst they would have still been successful for those who experienced them, the ability of consumers and brands to share information online has increased their value by hugely increasing the exposure of each campaign at little to no extra cost.

Seen any more examples? Post below!

Everyone's an advertiser now...right?

So there's a lot of talk around social media about how the individuals are creating the 'data' that spreads around the world. The TED Talks presentation by Clay Shirky outlines the idea that individuals are forming collaborations online, and that the real power of consumer opinion lies with these individuals.

So, if this is true, then companies are getting free advertising from random individuals all over the world, who are simply discussing their products/services. This is a good thing for those companies assuming the chatter is constructive and/or positive.

So assuming positive and constructive chatter about a product, why do companies even need to advertise at all these days? I would argue that it is the PR/marketing departments responsibility to encourage and stimulate social conversation regarding their products, and to answer to the negative feedback they are receiving.

What do you think? Is traditional advertising no longer necessary?

Viral Ads

Viral ads have been a hot topic for some time now. With the development of communication technology, something like a video can go around the world within minutes.

While the effectiveness of viral ads is questionable, and really related on the success of the video itself, they are nonetheless a very interesting form of marketing. One of the most interesting aspects of viral videos, to me anyway, is the way that a lot of the time they have nothing to do with the product they are trying to sell.

I just came across this commercial....see if you pick what the ad is for before the end of the video.

I would love to get some links to other viral ads that you've seen. Post below!

Can Online Advertising Ever Be Effective?

Can online advertising really be effective? As can be shown by Monash University's "Difference" campaign, most online advertising is totally wasted on consumers. We have learnt to ignore the stupid pop-up windows and annoying text on the side bar of pretty much every web page in existence.

But can the internet be an effective means of advertising a brand...ever?

Well I would argue that absolutely, yes it can be! Look at this example from our favourite Aussie idiots: The Chasers. They decided to post billboards advertising their program in the most obscure places, such as the middle of Iraq:

It's clear that The Chaser's Iraqi audience would be extremely minimal...but that's not the point. This campaign started a flood of feedback from web users who believed that the campaign was a hoax. Things got even better when the ABC published the bill, showing that the billboard cost a mere US$150.

The Chaser's ingenious marketing department have found a way to utilize the web for advertising, whilst catching our attention before we automatically tune out like every other web advert...well done guys...well done.

Source: Sydney Morning Herald

Reluctance To Share Data

Both Tim Berners-Lee and Kevin Kelly mention the idea of the 'new' internet being all about the sharing of data. During their TED Talks, they encourage this notion of allowing all of your personal information to be available at all times. While we are seeing more and more people ('innovators') accept this, there is still a reluctance for people to completely divulge all of their personal information to the web.
It's pretty fair to assume that there is a widespread opinion that publishing all of your personal info to this 'cloud' we call the web is not a secure way to store your data. People have a view that uploading your data isn't safe, and have a real issue with the privacy of their information.

The irony is, that most of us already have a whole lot of data in 'the cloud' without even knowing it.
Do you use a Gmail?
Do you have a Facebook/Twitter/MySpace account?
Have you used eBay or ASOS to buy clothes?

All of these sites use personal data such as telephone numbers, emails and postal addresses during your interactions. When posting this, I logged in with my Google account. Similarly, I didn't sign up for Twitter, I used my Gmail to log in. I also have this Google account linked to my address book and calendar. This means that all of my 234 contacts telephone numbers, emails, birthdays and postal addresses are all on the web.

Have a think of the online resources you use. Are you actually putting more data online than you're comfortable with?