eMarketing Summit & InnoTech Conference: Day 2

The eMarketing Summit at InnoTech Conference kicked off great yesterday and I wrote a recap of Day 1. Day 2 was even better as the exhibit hall opened up. Some really cool IT, internet, and marketing companies were represented. One of the coolest things was that touch screen coffee table. I actually got to play with it instead of only seeing it on the internet. They day also featured more presentations at the summit. Here's a recap of what was discussed today:

• The morning started with reps from Microsoft demonstrating Windows 7. I've seen the new UI changes, but it was cool to see the IT/enterprise changes.
• The first summit talk was canceled, so in the second session was Jake Kuramoto of Oracle, Kelly Feller (@kellyrfeller) of Intel, and Dan Divens of Tripwire, Inc. They led a round table discussion of companies fostering online communities and how ti make them successful.
• After lunch, it was the keynote speach by Rahaf Harfoush (@rahafharfoush). She was on Barack Obama's new media team, running social media campaign to help him win the election. She discussed those strategies and the insights gained from the campaigns. I might make a whole post from this.
• The next session featured Brian Massey (@bmassey) trying to answer the question "how is your social media conversion rate?" It was a first-run for this presenetation and he did a great job outlining how to measure these campaigns.
• Next was another round table on the topic of social media marketing (I am starting to sense a trend here, no?) This was led by Carri Bugbee (@CarriBugbee), Kent Lewis, and John Cooney. They gave tips on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook marketing campaigns.
• The last session of the conference was the Hot Seat Panel, where Hallie Janssen of Anvil Media, Kent Schnepp of EngineWorks, Lisa Williams of Media Forte Marketing, and Scott Hendison of SearchCommander dissected two different websites. They took a look at the current site in front of the audience and gave tips on how to improve them (optimization, keywords, site content, usability)

The two day conference was a great introduction into the industry. I haven't even been doing this work for a year between my two different jobs. There is still a lot I can learn about analytics, seo, and sem. This was a great way to meet people and find out about the latest strategies. Portland proved itself to be a hub for social media and internet marketing. There are a lot of great minds and companies doing some great work. I look forward to more events in the future.

Sprint Gives a Shout-out to Twitter

Sprint released a great new commercial this week that demonstrates the world we live in today. In it, they reference Twitter and that "26% of you have no idea what this means".

Here's the commercial:


It's great that Sprint is giving recognition to Twitter. Although it's already been in mainstream for a while. News anchors use it and both John Stewart and Stephen Colbert have joked about it.

Now all the statistics in the commercial are fictional, but I like the commercial because it's still somewhat true. The amount of information going out in the world is staggering and the shear volume of communication we send out through whatever method is amazing. These are some good commercials.

Viral Marketing: A Good Lesson

Can brands manufacture viral popularity?  That's what Sun Products Corp. tried to do in last night's episode of "The Celebrity Apprentice."  The two teams of celebrities had to create a internet viral video for their All Detergent brand.  The results were less than stellar.  But I wouldn't put all the blame on the teams.

One video consisted of custom motorcycle builder Jesse James being scrubbed down of all the grease and grime by 3 little people dressed as the All bottles.  It was actually not that bad, kinda funny, and they certainly included that look of ameteurism with raw editing, awkward scene cuts, and "nervous" acting.  It looked like they were aiming for "viral video."



The other team went in a different direction, aimed for sexual innuendo, and never really got the idea of a viral video nor used the product properly. Essentially they made a joke around parents using "laundry" as a codeword for sex to say around the children. After first denying the husband, played by Clint Black, she comes back later that night revealing a skimpy little lingerie piece. Clint gives us the punchline with "Oh no thanks honey. It was a small load. I took care of it myself." Think about it...Yeah.

Suffice to say, the All executives didn't like either video. They thought the Jesse James video was clever, but not right for their demographic. In the end, neither team won the challenge and two people were sent home. However, I can't put all the blame on the celebrities for making bad videos.

Nobody is going to know All's target market better then All Detergent. But I think the All executives were looking at the wrong medium in order reach that demographic (Young women who happen to have children...not "Moms"). First when you think of viral videos, you think of "Chocolate Rain" or the Numa Numa guy.  I don't think moms are going to be flocking online to see Tom Cruise "kill" Oprah.

If they really wanted a viral video, they should have looked at past successes of the Dove Evolution video, Nike's Touch of Gold, or Gatorade's ball girl.  These were viral videos done the right way.  All's first mistake was asking for significant branding and product placement in the video.  People will immediately recognize that a "video" is just a commercial.  You can barely see the Gatorade bottle when the ball girl sits down.

What All was aiming for was a clever, cute internet advertising campaign, not viral video.  And that's exactly what they got in the end anyways.  If you go to their website you'll see two videos from Joan and Melissa Rivers.  But they are far from viral.  They are just "cute" commercials.

I'm sure not many people are watching the Celebrity Apprentice that much anymore, so I tried to spare you in this post.  But what are your thoughts?  Do you think All could have reached their target market through viral video?