Digital Lessons from The Cyber Lions

Hi everyone

Well Cannes is wrapped up for another year, and Leo Burnett doing did particularly well in Digital/Integrated campaigns, especially in Asia!

Beyond self promotion though it's worth checking out the winners and what we can learn about what's going on globally in digital.

I've looked at 3 key developments that have made digital @ Cannes different this year:

1. Digital Comes to Life: The thing that was most noticeable for me was that most digital campaigns were really made real, and brought to life, in offline environments where people could experience them. One big winner was Nike Livestrong Chalkbot - which invited people to create messages of hope to be chalked by a robot-like device on the 2009 Tour de France roadway. People sent roughly 36,000 such messages via SMS, Twitter, Web banners, and a website at WearYellow.com.

Another winner was Volkswagen Fun Theory added interactive sound effects to physical environments to encourage healthier behaviors. The most famous, "The Piano Staircase," was turned into a video that's been viewed more than 12 million times.

There are plenty more examples championing this 'physical approach', two favourites of mine being Canon Photochains and our very own Heineken Stadium of Dreams, for their real world integration in photo exhibtions and a real Heineken Stadium of Dreams*, to truly engage people.

2. Digital in Real Time: Another big development was the real time nature of campaigns now, in line with the always on nature of our consumer (mobile,social media) and the expectation of instant answers to meet real needs.

One campaign I talked about before was the celebration last year of the first lunar landing in "We Choose the Moon" created for the JFK Presidential Library, recreated the Apollo moon mission exactly 40 years after it happened. Over four days, more than 100 hours of audio transmissions were streamed to WeChoosetheMoon.org and to a Twitter account that grew to 30,000 followers.

Another campaign I loved, in real time, was Nokia's World's Biggest Signpost. This is a nice installation from Nokia in the shape of arrow was lifted 50 metres above London by a crane. People on the street could send text messages directly to the live sign with their favorite places to visit, and the arrow would move to point to that location, and also provide the distance!The installation was streamed live to Nokia.com, where all the locations were synced with Nokias good things map. A great way to promote their geo-localization for mobile Maps.

Finally Leo Burnett got in the act with David on Demand at Cannes. A bit of fun at a website http://davidondemand.com/ that allowed anyone to Tweet David about what you wanted him to do at Cannes, in real time. Scary results I can imagine!

3. Beyond Social Media Integration: As I read recently, everyone now has Facebook or Twitter or Foursquare connected to their campaigns, "so what"? The question is how we can make our social media campaigns into a useful and engaging utility or experience, not just a campaign add on to make us all sound 'cool'.

Best Buy has done a great job with Twelpforce where they mobilized a small army of experts who give tech advice in tweet form based on the immediate needs of Twitter users.

I also loved the Facebook Showroom campaign from Ikea. What a great way to use a popular social media feature to give people a chnce to engage with products and brand in a fun way.

*P.S. Our Heineken Stadium of Dreams was short-listed as a finalist, but missed out on a prize. We'll keep trying but great effort team we should be proud!

Cheers, Rob

A Positive Network for Thailand

Hi everyone

Following on from last week's post, a great local example of using digital and integrated communication for good, with the below information from this article.

Last week saw the launch of the Positive Network, from major communications agencies in Thailand. It's a social campaign designed to reflect the voice of Thais from all classes and social groups in a systematic and sustainable manner.

Through workshops, many talks in all areas throughout Thailand, and in various online forums, the activities are designed to promote awareness and understanding of the country's real issues such as politics and society, and to become another source in gathering the voice of people to push the government to work in line with the real needs and wants of the public.

Chaipranin Visudhipol, chairman of TBWA\Thai, said the communications agencies chose to launch this campaign because they wanted to see Thailand become a better country. "We want to become an important mechanism in reflecting the voices of Thais and become a gauge in measuring their temperature, and reflecting their power in managing the country," he said.

Chaipranin added that public polls would be conducted by the end of this year in cooperation with all leading poll agencies to reflect the voice of people in issues related to their livelihood, the economy as well as society and the country's politics.

Bhanu Inkawat, creative director of Greyhound and former MD of Leo Burnett Thailand, said Thais should become active citizens and understand their roles, duty and their own power. He explained that every person's action had a big impact in society.

"As professionals in the communications sector, we have joined up to encourage Thais in all groups to hold more talks, listen to each other and understand their role in using their personal power to make our country better," he said.

Sounds like a great idea to me. Find out more and get involved via these sources below:

Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/PositiveNetwork?v=wall

Twitter:

http://twitter.com/IgniteThailand

You Tube Video at Launch:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SM_AlRqyTdM&feature=youtu.be&a

Cheers everyone

Digital For Good

Hi everyone

After a bit of a break we're back.

Given the troubled times in Thailand here of late, perhaps it's a time for some good news digital stories.

The great thing is brands are starting to create lots of these online. During the recent recession, many brands turned to CSR to help build brand metrics, and digital was ideally placed.

Seizing the power of tools like social networking, engaging web sites, streaming tools and mobile platforms has enables companies to create major programs to help with humanitarian efforts, environmental concerns and community engagement programs.

What I've done today is listed the 3 main criteria when establishing these programs for brands to consider, along with some wonderful examples of what is possible.

1. Identify Right Issues for Community & Brand:

• The key is of course to choose a cause that means something to people, and people feel that they can take a part in and actually make a difference. It's not always easy, but a great example of this was done by Leo Burnett in Australia for Earth Hour. Get behind saving the world and the environment by switching off your lights for 1 hour. Here is the latest 2010 campaign
• The issue must also be right fit for the brand. But this does not mean the campaign should be about sales, in fact linking these campaigns to sales is in many ways against the point. The idea is to align the brand with real change and get people involved in understanding your brand values, not sales values. The campaign by Tide called Loads of Hope, is a wonderful example of a brand getting involved in the right movement for them.

2. Create an Engaging Movement:

• The next step is to create a campaign where people can engage with you across all the digital touch points - both in a emotional (understand the need) and practical (how do I contribute) way. One of the keys to getting the story out has been the use of social media to drive both awareness and engagement with the idea. A great example of this is the Target Bullseye Campaign, where people could vote on Facebook for a cause they wanted and Target would donate.
• Another way of engaging is for a brand to build an always on digital platform devoted specifically to the cause, and to use all channels to drive awareness and participation. Pepsi has done this with the Pepsi Refresh Campaign, as a way of driving community engagement in ideas that matter to their customers. Check out Refresh Everything 2010

3. Make it Real

• The key to these movements is their action or effect is often not just confined to online. people want to see their action have effect in the real world. That is the point after all. Most of the campaigns run by brands make a big effort to link the online participation with offline effects.
• A great example is the The Dulux Let's Colour Campaign. It takes the idea of revitalizing community through online suggestions, they actually goes and makes it happen. Real change in the real world. After all, isn't that what it's all about?

Cheers, Rob