Conan’s back: and surfing the social wave

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i'm with coco, conan o'brienMost of you know the story about Conan and how he was kicked off The Tonight Show only months after he became the host.  What you may or may not know is the new Conan.  He will be hosting his own show on TBS starting in early November, but he has already captivated an audience of millions before his show has hit their airwaves.  From viral marketing videos to his own blimp he has caught the attention of many and his most recent stunt may be the biggest of them all.

The Live Coco Cam was up and running for 24 consecutive hours last Monday and Tuesday.  The webcam was placed in the corner of a stairwell at their office to give viewers a “behind-the-scenes” experience.   Whether it was the dancing taco or the binge eating contest or any other random skit performed by the interns at the office, it sure was an experience.  The best part was that users were able to post comments on the site and staff members would read them and come onto the webcam and answer certain ones.  It really became an experience for everyone involved.

Before Conan was kicked off The Tonight Show he did little to interact and engage with his fans online.  But now he has a Facebook page and a Twitter account which has only added fuel to his fire.  He has taken his marketing efforts to a whole new level and with over 1.75 million followers on Twitter, people are listening.

(Another Awesome) Video of the Week: Gillette – A Mayne and his razor

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OK, so we have two favorite videos this week. Hey, it’s our blog, we can post two videos if we want to! And this one has actually killed all the competition in views this week, topping the Ad Age charts with 2.5 million views.

I know we bashed Gillette’s last campaign – no need to remind anyone of “Mullet Nation” – but props for getting your stuff together this time, Gillette!

It’s the company’s newest viral – a spot featuring ESPN analyst Kenny Mayne. Mayne peps himself up with a little self-talk before the show, and although it’s a little on the dry side, we like it. This is one of a series of spots featuring other ESPN personalities in Gillette’s newest campaign. Instead of airing on ESPN itself, on Visible Measures’  distribution advice, the ads appeared on guy-oriented video sites like Break.com and DailyMotion’s Mag.ma.

Video of the week: The Twit Network

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So we’ve all heard by now about the soon-to-be summer blockbuster, “The Social Network” – a movie about the making of Facebook. While it it sure to be riveting, word on the street is that a lot of it will only “loosely” be based on any true events. The story of one of the youngest self-made billionaires ever and the creator of a world-wide phenomenon is nothing to sneeze at, but I haven’t met anyone as of yet who’s planning to camp out for a midnight release.  I mean, I enjoy hours of coding as much as anyone, but I’m more likely to spend two hours surfing Facebook than watching Facebook the Movie.

But what are we totally excited to spread the word about this week? The trailer for the OTHER social paradigm of our generation. A few guys called Indy Mogul created a hilarious spoof trailer for Twitter’s movie, called ‘The Twit Network.” Aptly self-described in the ‘Rated Awesome’ series, it is definitely a good one. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, it’ll become a part of you.

It’s self-deprecating but so true at the same time, and will probably only make you love the Tweet even more. (It kind of reminds me of the “Jersey Shore” – such a ridiculous show full of ridiculous characters and inane drama and idiotic situations that I can’t get enough of it!) It’s sometimes amazing how the most wide-spread, popular, effective and successful tools, and in this case a marketing phenomenon, can spur from the simplest, and perhaps yes pointless of ideas. The best ideas and often the simplest.

@Companies – Tweeters just aren’t that into you

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In recent marketing history every brand and their mother have been talking about using the most popular social media outlets at hand, in this case, Twitter, for promotion. Well, the companies may be tweeting, but is anyone listening? A study just came out today suggesting that companies still aren’t in on the conversation.

Now this study only considered a sample of 1,800 tweets, which you can only imagine is a fraction of the eternal chirping going on, but if we did assume that the results are a fairly accurate representation of the whole, the study concludes that brands are still having a one-way conversation.

So here’s the deal: 90% of tweets are posted by individual – or “real” – people. Of these tweets, only 12% mention a brand name. Which brand name do you think constitutes most of these shout-outs? Yup, Twitter itself. What other companies made the short list? Apple, Google, YouTube, Microsoft, Blackberry, Amazon, Facebook, Snuggie, ebay and Starbucks, in that order. Continue reading →

Could bringing Facebook to work make you more productive?

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What if signing in to work was just like checking your Facebook profile? It’s always such a thrill when you see that bright red alert flag in the corner of the screen, and you can’t wait to see what good news lies beneath that mouse click. Updates, alerts, postings and notifications – things are happening in real-time and we’re all in the loop. How beneficial could that be in the office. In short, very!!

Just think about the kind of intricate collaboration that we’re used to thanks to the social network phenomenon – profiles, status updates, feeds, groups, lists, filters. It’s pretty remarkable how organized our social lives have become, really. Most of us already use these networks to make business connections, but just think about how organized our work lives could be if we took a lesson from the social scene. Continue reading →

Wassup?! DDB’s new creative director talks about how to engage

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Remember the good old days?

We used to watch TV just for the iconic commercials that we loved to recite. On Budweiser’s prompt, we greeted each other with an affectionate “Wassup??” and serenaded friends when they acted as “real men of genius.” Remember this gem…

We can thank the creative minds at DDB for these well-loved campaigns that permeated into our national culture. But despite apparent recent turbulence, we may again look forward to a golden age of commercial creativity. One of the most acclaimed creative talents in London is returning to DDB, this time in Chicago, as Executive Creative Director. The American creative industry will soon greet Ewan Paterson.

Ad Age printed a short interview with Paterson yesterday, in which he explained his bounding expectations and high hopes for DDB Chicago. Even in just five questions, he continued to reference the lasting iconic and crowd-pleasing campaigns of DDB past, and the potential for future pop culture greatness. Continue reading →

The hottest viral campaign: walking on water

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The biggest human breakthrough this century and the hottest new sport in the country is a massive viral phenomenon. The video is hot and everyone is trying it at home, despite the advisory warnings. So what’s the catch to the advertising success of liquid mountaineering? It  isn’t a real past time at all. But it sure is brilliant marketing.

Well, according to its creators, a quirky group of sports shoe marketing creatives, liquid mountaineering, or literally walking on water, may not by possible by the law of physics, but  “you just have to believe.” Continue reading →