At the same time social media or Web 2.0 or new media or whatever the heck you choose to call it certainly hasn’t disappeared either. On the one (marketing) hand we’re seeing significantly higher budget percentages being pushed at below-the-line, experiential and digital (for the purposes of this conversation including online and mobile) channels - a sure sign that business takes the effect that the social media evolution has had on their customers pretty seriously. Agencies are feeling this - a fact that keeps my company and me very busy.

On the other (internal) hand, many organisations have realised the enormous power in leveraging social platforms, tools and technologies behind the corporate firewall (a school of thought dubbed Enterprise 2.0) and traditional ERP vendors like Microsoft, SAP, IBM and Oracle are actively incorporating social features and functionality into their offerings.

But for you - the marketers, advertisers and brand custodians - social media can only be one of three things. Firstly, you may feel threatened by it, having listened to the doomsday prophets and their “Web 2.0 = the death of traditional advertising” sermons. They’re talking crap, by the way, but we’ll get to that later. Maybe you consider yourself a technophobe or digitally incompetent. Take heart in the fact that social media has got nothing to do with technology. Or rather very little. Understanding the technology of social media is no more critical to benefiting from it than understanding how to build a cellphone was important to using it to improve your business.

Secondly, you’ve seen the opportunity in social media but have no idea what to do next. This article is, in fact, written especially for you. That’s because the third group I refer to (and they do exist) have embraced the emergence of social media and are watching it add value to their clients and ultimately impact the bottom line.

So assuming you have gotten over the hype of social media and now seek to extract some substance in order to add the aforementioned value to your clients, how do you go about doing that? I’d like to offer a few tips and pointers from my experience running a social and mobile media company for (who would’ve thunk it) two years now - a company that has endured some hectic challenges carving out a niche in a completely new space. If you’re looking for the ROI on social media, or the real meaning behind Web 2.0, or just simple ways to take your agency to the next level, try these:

1. Focus on the WHY, not the HOW

If you get all wrapped up in the ‘how’ of social media you’ll get hopelessly obsessed with technology - RSS this, Ajax that, CMS at the back and CSS in the front - and spend all your time upskilling yourself on stuff you can outsource anyways. Rather spend energy understanding WHY social media is important - and it’s important for all the reasons you can read about at sites like www.cluetrain.com. Read it - you won’t regret it. Or download some eBooks by experts like Brian Solis or Seth Godin (Google them).

Quite simply - Web 2.0 is important because it gives ordinary people the opportunity to publish content online, shifting power to them, turning them into Prosumers (simultaneous producers and consumers of information) and the collective narrative they produce as a result has simply got to mean something for brands. Web 2.0 is also significant because it maps, often visually, the links between these prosumers in the form of social networks. The ability to see social networks is invaluable.

2. Integrate to Innovate

There is life beyond the 30 Second Spot (to quote Joe Jaffe, who wrote a book by the same name), and if you’re smart you’ve realised that. Still, I want to reiterate that the answer to the digital evolution is not scrapping everything you know to embrace everything you don’t. It’s about finding creative and innovative ways to integrate the new with the old, I mean, traditional. Our markets are smarter, more informed and more connected than ever before and if we don’t maximise our chance of grabbing their attention we’re wasting our time and our client’s money.
I believe social media provides a great opportunity to both sustain and measure the impact of above the line campaigns, while building community around brands at the same time. Conversely, investing in a blog or Facebook presence or whatever it may be without sending people there (one of the best ways of doing so obviously being via ATL channels) can be a frightful waste of time and money too. Succeeding in today’s marketing world means having an inclusive, integrated, 360-degree approach to campaigns.

3. Remember it’s a 5-day game

My colleague Angus Robinson has many favourite sayings, but arguably his favourite favourite is this “remember that it’s a 5-day game”. I think many of us approach new technologies and platforms thinking we’re in for a whirlwind experience with no structure or predictability.

In our experience of integrating social and mobile media with traditional campaigns, commitment, consistency and sustained effort is the order of the day. Find people within your business that understand the tools and platforms and who care about identifying content from within the business that will capture online audiences.

Start using these three tips as points of departure as you venture into social, new, 2.0 - whatever - and you may just find some value too.

You know I’m an Audi fan - let’s state this up front, and having just invested in a shiny new A4 I’m more enamoured with the brand than ever - it’s an amazing car. But really when it comes down to it there is little between the big three German luxury sedan manufacturers - especially in the class that includes the BMW 3-series, Audi A4 and of course the Mercedes-Benz C-class.

So when Dell South Africa (who continue to surprise me with their generosity and openness - a very funky bunch of people) invited me to a ‘day at the track’ with Mercedes-Benz Dynamic Driving, I wasn’t going to turn down the opportunity because I normally favour four rings over three pointed stars

And so I found myself at Zwartkops racetrack yesterday, being introduced to the C63 AMG (hear what Jeremy Clarkson has to say about this monster on YouTube) in the form of a dynamic driving session, high speed oval track spin and of course the mandatory skid pan orientation (in one of the biggest rain storms I’ve ever experienced - quite apt…)

It was an experience drenched in a cocktail of testosterone and adrenaline. But that wasn’t the best part. The best part was that all that excitement and craziness was balanced with the fine instruction of none other than Clint Wesson, of South African motor racing fame, whose enthusiasm and skill made the entire experience not only informative but valuable.

A huge thanks must go to Bronwyn and Sonelia at Dell for inviting me (and babysitting me) and to Hema and Destiny for organising such a super event. Now if only Dell laptops could run OSX…

If you’re interested some pics from the event are at my flickr account.

Two such people are very good friends of Wendy and mine (their beautiful daughter is my God-daughter) - Patrick and Lisa Clarke - who have stepped out in faith to fix something they identified as broken. To make it work they’re relying on the kindess of others who want to make a difference, and that’s why I’m letting you know - maybe you can help.

Hope iThemba is a center that provides resources such as councelling, information, ultrasound scans and clinical services to girls and women who may have fallen pregnant unexpectedly. Hope iThemba is pro life and wants to offer these potential moms the opportunity to make an educated decision about keeping their children, and supporting them in that process, before they seek an abortion in sub-standard conditions that could jeopardise their health in the process. It’s an ambitious, necessary and admirable project. An excerpt from one of Patrick’s recent newsletters:

One of the needs we now have in this regard is the necessity of security monitoring for the facility. Having an ultrasound significantly pushes up the value of the centre to potential thieves. At this point in time, we do not as yet have sufficient funds for the installation of a security system and the monthly monitoring fees thereof.

We are also looking for some working computers to assist the ladies with the administrative work around keeping accurate records (we are affiliated to Africa Cares for Life and one of our requirements to them is accurate stats), checking emails, and general day to day business in running the centre. For those that may have old machines lying around and or are willing to either assist in purchasing these items or provide a donation towards this, please feel free to contact us.)

So they need a couple of computers, or laptops (decent ones, but not necessarily new or top of the range) and a security system. I know you know someone, or can help yourself - help me help them. Thanks!

Significant portions of marketing budgets are moving to below-the-line, eventing and experiential and of course digital, online and mobile channels. Media buyers are being asked to identify blogs and bloggers worthy of advertising spend but seldom know where to look. AdGator solves that problem.

You can read more at the official announcement on the Afrigator blog, and of course Justin has done a marvelous job summarising the benefits of the platform.

I’ve signed up, why don’t you do the same?

Much respect goes to the interviewer for keeping a straight face.

Basically the idea is that I bake a loaf of bread (which will be interesting), blog about it, and then tag other bloggers to do the same. I share my unique recipe online, you vote for it or donate funds to the initiative, and hopefully we raise $1 million together to alleviate poverty in Africa. Or, better said (from Quirk’s blog):

So how does this campaign work and what can you do to help Breadline Africa alleviate poverty in Africa? For starters you need to join the campaign in order to participate. Once you have signed up there are various ways for you to participate depending on whether you have joined as a blogger, fundraiser or individual. These are namely:

• Making a donation to Breadline Africa on your own initiative or on behalf of a blogger or fundraiser.
• If you have a blog or website, you will be able to download our widget. You will need to sign up as a blogger or fundraiser first.
• Submitting your own bread recipe.
• Voting for your favourite recipe.
• Baking a loaf of bread and blogging about it.
• Baking many loaves of bread and hosting a bake sale.

Since Scott tagged me I have also been challenged by SimonB to donate R 200 to the campaign on the back of iMod’s clever idea (which I’ll do ASAP).

I think it’s a super idea and applaud the Quirkstars (and Sarah) for the initiative.

I’d like to tag Ethan Zuckerman, Tom Raftery, Paul Jacobson and Tyler Reed.

It may take a while for the damn thing to get baked, but I’ll do my best

We live in a world which operates at a rapid pace, people are consumed by the business of daily living. Consumers cannot process the masses of advertising messages which bombard them on a daily basis. Therefore, people tend to filter and ignore many traditional advertising messages. As a result, advertising to the masses is decreasing in its effectiveness and becoming less and less cost efficient. Brands need to use different methods in order to reach their consumers in this changing media environment.

Viral video is a phenomenon which is exploded in the online world with people watching hundreds of millions of videos a day on YouTube and uploading hundreds of thousands of videos daily. In fact, every minute, ten hours of video content is uploaded to YouTube. This has provided a huge opportunity for brands to communicate and reach their elusive consumers in a changing media landscape. In the United States many large brands are investing their time in viral video marketing. Well known brands such as Smirnoff, Nike, Cadbury and BMW have managed to use this medium to their advantage. Blendtec, a company which specialises in food processing appliances in Utah, has been highly successful in using viral video by creating a series of episodes in which Tom Dickson, their CEO, blends various objects like iPods and light bulbs (this is included in the video clip below). Blendtec has seen an explosive growth in sales of 700 % due to their escapades on Youtube and the publicity they have gained thereof.

In a South African context viral video sharing is in its infancy with many people and marketers being unaware of the benefits of this media platform. Although there are only 10 % of South Africans who have internet access there is hope offered by companies such as Neotel which are bound to bring about higher internet connectivity in the future. Youtube is the fifth most trafficked website in South Africa, following from Google, Yahoo and Facebook. Surely this provides a great opportunity for brands to communicate with their consumers in a more cost efficient, effective and approachable manner. Consumers can choose whether to seek out or watch your video clip via viral video sharing. People will be more open to let you into their lives when they are not being spoken at but rather engaging in a two way conversation.

The video clip below was created for professionals in the branding, marketing or advertising industry. It aims to inform and educate people about how to go about creating a viral video and using it as an effective means of communication. It includes 15 tips for viral video marketing and uses examples from existing viral videos produced by famous brands. This shows you the how to enter this crazy world of viral video in a light hearted manner. Learn, explore and go create. You can be the brand to gain the competitive advantage by seizing the day and taking hold of the power which viral video is offering you. Be the first South African brand to dive into this new and exciting communication medium.

So what do you think? Is she spot on or missing the mark somewhat?

My mom is a Grade One teacher at Benoni Junior School. She shared this cool service story with me the other day, I thought it was pretty exceptional and wanted to give them some airtime.

She tells it as such:

Sitting in the East Rand Toyota showroom recently while my husband negotiated the purchase of a new vehicle, I stared at some brand spanking new 14 to 16 seater busses parked on the floor.

As a teacher at Benoni Junior School (a Foundation Phase School in the centre of Benoni) I had, along with other colleagues, been wrestling with how we were going to transport 13 of our little ones to a Human Movement Festival. The majority of our children are bussed in from some of the previously disadvantaged communities and many of the parent body are reliant on public transport themselves.
The staff generally transport the children to soccer, netball and cultural events in their own vehicles but this event was taking place during school hours. We insist on all children being transported being “buckled up” so it would have necessitated at least 4 teachers leaving classes unattended to transport our little ones.

I knew our school would never be able to afford to buy our own bus but I idly asked how much “one of those” would cost, stating that the school would give their eye teeth to have their own vehicle to transport children. I must admit that in the big scheme of things the price sounded really fairly reasonable, but wearing my School Management Team hat I knew that purchasing one would be way out of our school budget.

Mike Labushagne, the sales person asked what we needed transport for and before I knew it, he was offering to transport or Human Movement Team to the festival. All he wanted was dates time and venue he said he would gladly assist! I was amazed.

I told my colleagues about Mike’s offer and they were delighted. When I called Mike to confirm details I asked how much we could contribute for the transport so that I could have a cheque made out to East Rand Toyota. His answer - no charge!

On the 14th August, the day of the festival, Mike himself arrived driving a 14 seater bus. With him were two colleagues who were so enthusiastic about the children that they were photographing them in their colourful outfits. They helped to carry sound equipment, extension chords etc and as we arrived at the school hosting the Festival, each of our team were given a party pack and a ruler by the Toyota employees.

I was astounded at their thoughtfulness and kindness. In this difficult economic climate these folk were giving of their valuable time to help us when they could have been in the showroom making another vehicle sale.

When the Festival concluded, I called Mike to pick us up and he was there within minutes. The children were bubbling over with enthusiasm because they had won the Cluster competition and were selected to perform at the District level competition to be held on the 28th August. They made sure Mike knew of their success and his immediate response was - give me the dates and times of the District competition and we will gladly transport the children again!

What a guy and what a company!

HATS OFF TO EAST RAND TOYOTA AND ESPECIALLY MIKE LABUSHAGNE!

After returning from Germany, where I was once again struck by the levels of service I experienced, it’s always heartening to know that there are those in SA who still try to raise the bar of service regardless of who the customer is.