And yet…

With one single advert, my view of iPhone 4 (as a consumer) is immediately positive again.

Yes, I know it has issues. I know Steve Jobs doesn’t really seem to care about us, as product users and advocates. I know that using all its features will set me back an arm and a leg for contract costs.

But seeing this advert last night makes me consider buying the iPhone. It makes me think that, despite all its issues, the possibilities opened up by this one feature alone make it worthwhile.

Funny how telling a simple emotional story can change our mindsets, huh?

The Art of the Story originally appeared on Danny Brown | Social Media Marketing Blog - The Human Side of Media and the Social Side of Marketing under a Creative Commons license.

I ask because when I logged into my Facebook page today to post an update on a future Bonsai Interactive event, I was met with this at the top of my wall (click to expand).

It was posted by Claire Reynolds on behalf of the DSNR Media Group. At least I think it’s by Claire on behalf of DSNR, since Claire’s Facebook profile has her located in the U.K., while DSNR are based in Israel.

DSNR describe themselves as “a recognized global provider of result-based online and mobile advertising solutions… with cutting edge optimization tools.” Really, DSNR?

So spamming your message onto a Facebook wall is considered cutting edge? Shilling your wares without permission is your great advertising solutions? Posting links to your service where they may or may not be relevant to the audience is ethical?

Here’s a heads-up – spam is not cool.

You can paint it whatever way you like, but you’re spamming.

You’re an online advertising company, so I’m pretty sure you’re aware of Permission Marketing from Seth Godin. Even though it was written over 10 years ago, it’s still more than relevant today. Check it out – it’s a great read and might open your eyes as to why your current spamming approach isn’t welcome.

In the meantime, I’m removing your post on my wall. I respect the community I have over there, and I don’t want them spammed by you either.

Have a great week.

How NOT to Win Friends and Influence People originally appeared on Danny Brown | Social Media Marketing Blog - The Human Side of Media and the Social Side of Marketing under a Creative Commons license.

We’re watching what you say; how you say it; and the conviction behind it. We’re taking in the words you use; the directions you’re giving; the recommendations you’re sharing. We’re taking you at face value and trusting what our ears hear and our eyes see.

Our eyes are our cameras and cameras never lie.

So next time you’re about to speak, remember – we’re watching.

We’re Watching originally appeared on Danny Brown | Social Media Marketing Blog - The Human Side of Media and the Social Side of Marketing under a Creative Commons license.

Marketing; PR; advertising; a lot of the time these disciplines share the same questions – what cool way can we get our product in front of someone? How much budget can we allocate to this product launch? What celebrity can we get to promote us? What lifestyle magazine can we get to write about us?

All valid points, all part of the process. And there have been many examples of truly creative campaigns over the years.

But sometimes, if you really want to drive home your message, you don’t need the special effects. You don’t need the dramatic smoke machines. You don’t need the mini Hollywood budgets.

All you need is the story.

All You Need is the Story originally appeared on Danny Brown | Social Media Marketing Blog - The Human Side of Media and the Social Side of Marketing under a Creative Commons license.

If you haven’t heard of him, you’re not alone – he’s still ranked 120th in the world and isn’t one of the first names you think of when you think “pro golfer”.

Yet despite his relative anonymity, Ryan Moore may just have made himself my new favourite sportsman. All because of $300,000.

Where Ryan differs from most other sportspeople, and certainly every other golfer it would seem, is that he refuses to be endorsed by any of the name brands that adorn other golfers. He buys his own clothes and golfing equipment, and often these are a mish-mash of some of the cheapest brands around.

It’s led to sports marketing companies questioning why Ryan is avoiding their pitches, when pro golfers have at least one brand sponsorship to their name. According to Ryan’s manager (who’s also his brother), it’s simple: “He doesn’t want to be a billboard.”

The $300,000 that I mentioned earlier? The projection of what Ryan could earn from sponsors – $200,000 a year for cap sponsorship, $20,000 for a chest logo, and $50,000 for a branded golf bag. And why is he my new favourite sportsman?

Simple. When mostly everyone around him is signing up for the big bucks, whether they like the brand or not, Ryan Moore is staying true to himself and showing that money isn’t always everything. His decision means that sports marketers may have to reconsider whether tapping up folks to be the face of a brand will continue the way it has or if it has to look at new ways to sell. And anything that helps move marketing and branding forward into new thinking can never be a bad thing.

Of course, this is the now. With Ryan winning his first tournament, his stock will go up and the offers will rise with it. Whether he’ll remain as loyal to non-branding when the million dollar endorsement offers start materializing is another thing. But for now… he’s definitely my new favourite sportsman.

How about you – is Ryan doing it right or will the marketing dollars win out?

photo credit: pga.com

Ryan Moore – My New Favourite Sportsman originally appeared on Danny Brown | Social Media Marketing Blog - The Human Side of Media and the Social Side of Marketing under a Creative Commons license.

Why does a Facebook update affect you if you’re on Twitter, or writing on your blog? Think of your Status Update box. Many users of both Facebook and Twitter have their accounts synced, so when you post on Twitter it goes to your status box (or main feed). The same for blog posts – a lot of bloggers auto-update their Facebook status with their latest post.

Now, however, if that tweet or post includes an advertisement from the likes of Sponsored Tweets, or a paid review from a company like IZEA and other paid blogging services, Facebook would be in their rights to see that as part of their “unauthorized commercial communications”. This could, in return, see your Facebook account closed or deleted.

Of course, the easy thing to do would be for IZEA and other companies to talk to Facebook. Or, for people to stop syncing accounts and blogs (Twitter updates is something a lot of “just Facebook users” have already complained about). The question is, will people want to change their current set-up?

What’s your take? Do you sync accounts? Will this make you change or will you keep posting regardless? Or should advertising companies be the ones taking the proactive approach to work to a solution?

Twitter Advertising on Facebook? No Thanks originally appeared on Danny Brown | Social Media Marketing Blog - The Human Side of Media and the Social Side of Marketing under a Creative Commons license.

In both the videos, each discuss the merits of being paid to advertise products on their Youtube channels. What’s interesting is their take on how companies are approaching this. Kristina praises Ford for its Fiesta initiative (which she’s part of) while Sanyo’s “insert here” example by Alex shows a company still getting to grips with the new tools.

Each video also acts as a nice rebuff to marketers and advertisers who say that Gen Y aren’t worth dealing with as they don’t have the influence or business savvy of older media users.

How about you? Would the approaches talked about in the videos work on you? How can businesses reach you?

What the Cool Kids Can Teach Us About Selling Out originally appeared on Danny Brown | Social Media Marketing Blog - The Human Side of Media and the Social Side of Marketing under a Creative Commons license.

But I’m not so sure. Yes, adapt and combine the new tools and mediums available to you. But to say that mainstream media is dead on its feet seems to be a bit of a push, particularly when many average consumers aren’t even aware of social media in its many shapes and sizes.

Emphasizing this point is Evian’s new video advertising campaign. Playing up to the mineral water producer’s Live Young tagline, Evian are currently running a set of commercials featuring babies. But these are no normal, “Aww, look at the cute baby” videos.

Instead, they’re smart, funny and hip in a way that many people would say traditional advertiser’s have forgotten how to be. Not to mention an excellent reminder that traditional media still does many things better than social media.

What do you think about the ads? Does entertaining make you more or less likely to buy from a company? What other companies are using combined advertising as well as Evian?

(Thanks to Wicked Lil Pixie for the heads up on the videos).

Evian Shows Traditional Media and Advertising Far From Dead originally appeared on Danny Brown | Social Media Marketing Blog - The Human Side of Media and the Social Side of Marketing under a Creative Commons license.

Take a look at the five images below – each one belongs to a Twitter account that I was notified was now following me.

Every single message is the same, from how old the girl is, where she’s from, what she wants to do this weekend and what video she’s just watched.

Now, either the UK is currently enjoying a great spell of Twitter awareness in provocatively dressed female teens or there’s a little bit of shenanigans going on here. I’m going with the latter.

Looking at the accounts themselves, it would seem that it’s a marketing push for web host Cool Blue Solutions. Each account has a background designed by the web host company, and Cool Blue’s Twitter account mentions designing the background for our teen friend Sandra B. Smith.

But then you look at the URL for each of the five girls. That takes you to RevTwt.com, which used to be known as TwtAd, an advertising model for paid tweets.

They’re in the process of a relaunch of the service and are looking for advertisers. They claim to put your ad in front of more than 23 million Twitter users – pretty impressive considering that’s about the estimated number of all Twitter users at present (including bots and spam accounts).

So what’s the story here? Is it a marketing push to promote the web host services of Cool Blue Solutions? Is it an advertising push by RevTwt on behalf of Cool Blue Solutions? Is it a little of both?

Whatever it is, here’s the thing. Marketing your message properly means targeting your audience properly. It means knowing who would use your services and what would attract them to that service, and why it stands out from the rest.

Does a semi-nude teenage girl create the right message for Cool Blue Solutions if it’s their campaign? Are they looking for business users of their web services or teenage boys hoping to hit it off with a girl just like the one in the above Twitter accounts?

How about RevTwt, if it’s their push? Did they target anyone with these Twitter accounts or is it just a hit and hope approach? I only ask as I had all five accounts follow me in quick succession, and their bio’s just make your BS spider senses tingle.

Whatever the deal is here, I don’t think it succeeds. The majority of people have moved on from booth babe advertising and marketing pushes and are looking for real people behind the products. Teenage girls in bikinis don’t quite shout web host to me.

What do you think – is this kind of marketing still valid? If you’re a consumer, would you be convinced to sign up to Cool Blue Solutions from the recommendations of these Twitter accounts?

What if you’re an advertiser and RevTwt is behind these accounts – do they make you want to run a campaign with them? Or would your approach differ?

• Update Monday July 06. Looks like Cool Blue Host may not have been as marketable as they thought. All Twitter accounts mentioned in this post are no longer live and their domain is also available.

Is This How to Market Your Product? originally appeared on Danny Brown | Social Media Marketing Blog - The Human Side of Media and the Social Side of Marketing under a Creative Commons license.

Some agencies are doing this better than others by letting real people tell real stories.

Instead of going for a celebrity endorsement, Visa Europe opted to go with Brooklyn-based artist Bill Shannon as part of their Life Flows Better campaign. Bill was born with avascular necrosis, a degenerative hip condition that destroys the joints of a bone. Despite this, Bill has made dance his unique art form by dancing on skateboards and crutches.

As Visa themselves mention when talking about Bill and his involvement in their ad:

“Bill Shannon is for real, he isn’t gliding along on wheelie shoes and he isn’t a stunt man. The beauty of Bill’s movement is as inspirational as it is mesmerising. The fluidity of his dance moves meant that it didn’t take us long to realise that he was the perfect embodiment of Visa’s flow campaign.”

So, Visa are saying that it’s real people who matter. Real people, doing real things. Real people doing inspirational things every day through normal events.

And it’s working for them. Feedback is extraordinarily positive about Bill’s involvement. Profits are up 35% since the Life Flows Better campaign began in earnest. Visa is being seen as a card for people. People that are also customers.

Make your customers feel like people and they’ll talk about your product. Doesn’t seem that hard, does it?

Real People, Real Adverts originally appeared on Danny Brown | Social Media Marketing Blog - The Human Side of Media and the Social Side of Marketing under a Creative Commons license.