@thebrandbuilder Archives - Rettew Creative

Stories are King…Not Content or Traffic…Olympic Digital Strategy Revisited

So ole Olivier has pulled his punches and has shown us how headlines work…force individuals like me to pull over from a five hour road trip to write a post…somewhat related.

In his witty post about blog content, generating revenue from the blog, converting content into traffic, thus traffic into revenue…has led me to a discussion, especially as it relates to his headline:

“10 Digital Content Strategy Lessons from the Olympic Games.”

He goes on to pull this premise:

“”Content is king?” Bullshit. Traffic is king. “Content,” or rather the promise of content is just the pull, the pitch, the promise. The real carrot is the revenue from that traffic.”

I agree and I want to add to the debate.

Ok…I am going to use these two premises from his argument to make a point…

First…my thought is this…Stories Are King…Stories Sell…Stories Generate Revenue. Social Media is just the marketing tool to generate the traffic and buzz that feeds to the stories! Guess what, NBC is capitalizing on this free market of real time information exchange.

All week, people have been bitching and complaining about the Olympic spoilers. Think back to Tuesday when the Women’s Gymnasitics won Gold, first time since 1996. Huffington Post and many other outlets posted pictures and information immediately to the front pages of their websites, then tweeted and shared with the world.

People were fussing and complaining about this information coming across their social timelines and newsfeeds. They may been spoiled, but it was one hell of a marketing channel that NBC leveraged later that evening.

LaTimes reported: “NBC made the team’s story the anchor of its taped Tuesday prime-time coverage, which drew an average of 38.7 million total viewers, according to Nielsen.”

They go on to tell us, “It was the most-watched first Tuesday of any non-U.S. Summer Games since 1960, when American Olympic telecasts started.”

This storyline was one that captivated online, US audiences. We looked at the headlines, we complained we found out early. But…OOH BUT…do you think that Tuesday nights viewership would have broken Olympic viewership numbers without the social share of real time information?

Now let’s get to the story. We as American’s know the competitiveness of Women’s Gymnastics in the Olympics. I remember watching Mary Lou Retton capture our hearts with her amazing story and her amazing Gold Medal performance. Yep…it was 1984 and it was a perfect 10. You can watch it by CLICKING HERE. Thus the storyline gains American context.

As U.S. gymnast McKayla Maroney was congratulated by her teammates after competing in the vault in the women’s team competition Tuesday at the 2012 London Olympic Games…the storyline was in place. The Gold was secured…and the social space blew up Tuesday.

From BlueFinLabs.com: As the US Women’s Gymnastics team wins Gold (just after 10am ET), roughly 23K comments/minute made on social outlets. And that was not the peak for the day. As the men’s swim team won the 200m Freestyle Relay, the social conversation peaked around 34.8K comments/minute.

The Women’s Gymnastic Gold story created buzz…this story generated social eruption…this story created a social awareness better than any digital tv guide. People knew they had to go home and watch the story unfold. And NBC capitalized by making this story the anchor of the taped delay broadcast.

They watched the social eruption and capitalized on the story. What does 38.7 million total viewers mean…ad revenue.

Well before the Olympics…NBC CEO was in a break-even mentality:

“Combined with higher production costs in London, NBC had expected at one point to take a $200 million loss for the games. NBC paid $1.2 billion for the rights to show the games on TV and online in the U.S. Before the games opened, it said it sold more than $1 billion in ads, breaking the record of $850 million set during the Beijing Olympics in 2008.

Ahead of the London Games, NBC got 10 percent more for every minute of prime-time advertising compared with the Beijing Games. It also tripled its pre-sales of online ads to $60 million, as it’s streaming all events live for the first time.

Better ratings could mean higher rates for ads sold at the last minute. They could also help the network, which is fourth overall in U.S. ratings, promote new shows in its fall lineup and boost viewership of non-sports programs such as “Today” and “NBC Nightly News” during the Olympics.”

So…23K social comments/minute during women’s gold and 38.4K social comments/minute during men’s swimming gold led to 38.7 million total viewers. Do you think this will help ad revenue? I bet NBC is going to capitalize on the moment when America was spoiled with this trending story.

Story’s Sell…Stories are King…and the real time social share was the channel that tied the story to the viewers online, converting them to watch later. They wanted to watch for their own eyes. Traffic (or the measurement of the traffic) just gives something for the bean counters to sell the story. If you don’t have a story (a compelling story with layers)…you don’t have traffic.

And for Olivier…headlines sell as well!

***Image credit to Olivier’s blog and Mastroianni.Photoshelter.com

Foursquare, Gowalla, Geo-Location…the new ROI?

It was just two years ago and everyone was going nuts about Twitter and creating lots of comparisons between Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn…and so on. Books were being written about the business applications of these Social Media outlets and conferences around the industry being put on, talking best practices. But the one thing that kept on arising…what is the purpose behind all the mess. Both sides were asking these questions…the groups that created these platforms and those engaging. ROI was a huge discussion. Both the investors of the platforms and the business using these outlets…why and how?

Then…this crazy thing called “geo-location” was emerging publically. Basically not only telling the world what you are thinking, but where you are located when you are saying your thoughts. These crazy technologies popped up with lots of traction, ie. Foursquare and Gowalla. People tagging their location by “Checking In.” A new craze of people jumping on board. The early adopters trying them out and others sitting back to watch the recourse.

A few months ago, I shared a few beers with Olivier Blanchard at a great pub in Greenville and we talked about what all this mess means. Well, a few beers brings out lots on creative thoughts but we both agreed on a few things. But here are two points that came up in the discussion (fyi…I am not speaking for Olivier):

1) These geo-location technologies are the true ROI for Social Media. Why, because now retailers and organizations can now place a name, information, and demographics to a decision making process.

2) These geo-location technologies are creating a true paradigm shift how retailers and organizations reach audiences. This is the point I am excited to write about.

Imagine this…you are planning a trip. You are getting on a plane and you live in a metropolitan area like New York City. You get up in the morning, grab your bags, and head out the door. On the way to the subway, you drop into a coffee shop for a java and “Check-In.” This coffee shop knows you well because you have been “Checking In” for a while and they already have your carmel latte ready right when you “Check-In.” You grab that java and out the door you go to catch the subway. You have made this trip before because you travel for business. As walk down sidewalk, you stop for a paper and “Check-In” at the local paper stand. After picking up the paper, you make you way down the stairs into the subway…there are television and LED screens along the walls. This geo-location has tracked your tendencies, knows what food you like, what shoes you like…because you “Check-In” to the spots all the time. So now, based on your preferences, there are ads showing on these television screens targeted specifically for you. There is even one that tells you that your plane is on time and references you by name. Geo-location is creating a direct, one-to-one conversation between your location, your tendencies, your buying power….AND their message. This is just one scenerio in this Time Square Effect!

These “Check-In’s” are the public domain of your credit card transactions. But now they are combining your purchasing power with your location from a public position. This is like the “global” version of your CVS or Walgreens Card…telling everyone where you are going and what you are doing. The marketers are eating this up as fast as they can, leveraging the information we knowingly post publicly; why…to help you make purchasing decisions.

Our Social Media transactions (both on a conversational side and a location side) are becoming the collective database we knowingly support each time we go the local super market for eggs and milk and “Check-In.” We are creating the ROI for marketers. This comes to no surprise because we are a debit card/credit card carrying society. Now…it is more public.

This post is not meant to poke holes in our Social Media tendencies but bring an awareness to the massive database we are creating. There is so much value in the “Checking In” model. We are helping the local retailers compete with the big box providers. If there is one group that should try to leverage this technology…well it is the small retailers or companies trying to compete in a global economy.

Trust…Building True Social Media Relationships! The Real SM ROI!

Over two years ago, I ventured into this world of Social Media by opening my first Twitter account. I remember being on Facebook and watching my friends simply updating their status with “I am Twittering”. I was wondering, what the hell are they talking about. I had just opened my Facebook account a few months prior. So…off I went and I was trying to figure out this crazy world of Social Media and the technologies that support this crazy interaction.

I think I remember engaging in the Social Media Club here in Greenville, SC and attending one of the early Monday morning events. It was a new crowd that I have ever been exposed and thought, I need to figure this out quickly! As I navigated this new paradigm, I realized that the only way I was going to figure this mess out is find thought leaders in my community…to not only engage online but meet in person. I quickly starting using this new found 140 character communication pathway to follow people. Those who had lots of followers and were relatively close to me in my area.

I met so many interesting and diverse people. We had a common theme…figure this crazy thing out! Along the way I met this one person via Twitter. This person walked to a similar beat as myself. I started following this person’s Tweets and began to realize he not only had something to say but also had a good sense of business…and this crazy new paradigm shift. As I followed him, I started going through who was following him and who he was following. Honestly, I followed as many of people he was following as I could. I spent the first three months just watching the conversations. Learning the lingo, understanding the relationships in this place, figuring out who was doing business and who was just shooting from the hip without a leg to stand on!

This was right before the market “crash” and the marketing world was turned upside down. As I began to watch the conversations and see who was chatting, I quickly learned who the “thought leaders” were and who were those that were capitalizing on others ideas. I also learned how to leverage online relationships. Engage in thoughtful conversations and at the same time ask questions to help me figure out this new exploratory art, but not ask for too much info. You know, that free consulting thing that no one wants to give out.

I began to notice that this one individual had some street cred and he also shared some similar passions, using digital media and visuals to engage audiences. He was a photojournalist at heart! So I dropped him a DM and said, hey…can I buy you a cup of coffee. He agreed and one morning over two years ago in the Coffee Underground, I sat at a table and wondered if online business relationships could translate to in-person conversation. My new friend (and now colleague) and I shared a cup of coffee and a bunch of war stories about storytelling, photography, and this thing called Social Media.

Over two years later, we catch up, talk some business, have a few beers, and chat about dreams and possibilities! From branding, photography, documentaries, and even some local gossip…that beer every so often has turned into mutual trust. We have traded business, referred each other to potential clients, shared billable knowledge, and just shot the shit. Trust.

So, how can you measure your Social Media experience? He is actually one of the thought leaders when it comes to Social Media ROI. I think he is getting tired of talking about this broken record debate, but he has a consistent valid point, it is more than numbers. So what is my Social Media ROI after two years of engaging with this new fangled technology? Well…here it is: I have made a few friends, learned some cool knowledge, gained some followers, and even increased measurable web traffic to my site/blog. But here is the true Social Media ROI…I have made a good friend! I am blessed to have friends like Olivier Blanchard not only in my contact list, but in my quick dial to have a beer! I am fortunate to be able to say hey, this is more than all of this marketing bullshit! I have gained a colleague, one I can look up to and even call on for a favor! Ok mister @thebrandbuilder … I have an iPad waiting! Enjoy your trip to France!

So here is my question…who have you met via a Social Media and truly created a real relationship? This is not a corny question! Who? Who can you say you met online using one of the technologies and now have taken the relationship beyond the digital interface? What is your Social Media ROI?