What happened

To mark the launch of Carmelo Anthony’s new “Jordan Melo M8 trainer” Nike showcased some ”mad skillz” of their own at a surprise night-time show at Pier 54 in New York City.

Forget the standard 3D projection, this was an ‘Explosive Water Projection’ and a crowd of more than 2,500 people gathered around the Hudson River to watch a three-storey-tall Melo dribbling, dunking and walking on water. Of course, they were also treated to DJs, a light show and plenty of interactive experiences. Anyone who couldn’t attend in person could watch the explosive show live at a special Nike site.

Why we love it

It is wonderfully inventive and creates the ‘wow factor’ for the audience. The water gives another dimension to the graphics as they appear and disappear into the surface.

The originality of the artistic show celebrates Anthony’s vibrant, fresh skills and signals the emergence of a new era in New York for both its hallowed basketball team and the regenerated city as a whole. With Anthony as a figurehead for Nike, it shows that they are still at the forefront of player endorsement and remain as fresh as ever.

The projection itself was the first to use water as a canvas. As usual, Nike have raised the bar and moved away from the typical projections onto buildings such as AC/DC vs Iron Man on Rochester Castle or the 4D experience that Ralph Lauren produced in New York. The live stream and Nike’s always-clever use of social media harnessed the power of digital content to ensure that the campaign touched a global audience.

Anthony, Nike and New York are a brilliant combination. He represents the next generation for Basketball, with New York as his new playground.  You can bet that Nike will be right in the middle of it.

By Adam Shapland on December 6th, 2011

Tags: Advertising, Fashion, Synergy Loves, Synopsis, YouTube

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Content forms an integral part of our work; understanding the factors regarding emotional and intellectual engagement with an audience are important in order to create meaningful experiences. The aim of this article is to trace the evolution of content creation and delivery in light of advances in technology and changes in social activities; hopefully giving some useful insight into options we have for our clients when planning campaigns.

“My biggest competitor today is someone with an idea”

Nabil Sakkab – Head of Research & Development, Procter & Gamble.

TV Content

In the days when the only mass media was broadcast and print, content producers had a one-way channel to engage their audience.

Typically, audiences respond best to content that carries authority (from factually trusted sources such as the Government) or authenticity (content that connects through personal or social relevance).

Successful TV has both authority and authenticity and the really successful ones are memorable – generally through well-executed, great ideas that appeal to the emotions (through shock or comedy).

A good example is Keira Knightley’s Women’s Aid commercial:

The production values are high, the storyline is strong and the effect of the film is to shock; but if we do not remember the website listed at the end, once the ad finishes we are left shocked but no longer engaged.

Internet content

With the arrival of YouTube came Manic Dog, Mystic Cat and endless wedding carnage videos. However, once TV producers started to talk with web developers (with the aid of a translation service) the result was a subtle shift in the style and format of programmes.

Interactive software has enabled content producers to give audiences a different experience; multi-layered options in story, format and delivery that no longer depend on high production values but instead rely on engagement through information and choices.

The Government anti-knife crime video campaign, ‘Choose a Different Ending’, is a good example of informed choice given to an audience:

Due to the interactive nature of the viral video, the user/target audience is forced to think about knife crime and the choices they are being asked to make. Each decision is then brought to life in the video, offering an insight into the consequences of carrying a knife. This is a good example of a campaign initiative that can only work online, as it relies on audience interaction.

The video engages the target audience in several ways:

- It is shot from an individual perspective i.e. the player sees the world through the eyes of one person

- It is shot on a council estate and then in the surrounding areas (park, nearby roads), so that the location is a familiar one to the target audience

- The cast is formed of the target audience, ensuring that the language and dress code would also be recognised by this audience

- The video was created with the aid of the target audience which helps with authenticity

Paid, owned and earned

For a while we settled into the comfort of three areas where content would be delivered and debated:

• Paid: TV commercials
• Earned: Comments on a YouTube video
• Owned: A company’s website

 

Of these three areas, earned has proven to be the most valuable as it carries authenticity through endorsement from peers.

Once hit counts and comments turned into real currency, producers soon realised that success with the audience required more than simply being in the same space, even if the content was clever or well-produced. It became clear that the appropriate tone, language and social context were essential for success.

Take the Government swine-flu film, 2009:

This was a TV ad that was also delivered and promoted online, receiving a whopping 380 hits on YouTube. The ‘Catch it Bin it Kill it’ message was generally dismissed as something for other people (perhaps the penalty for wearing bad jumpers in lifts).

The Government then commissioned a viral video to deliberately spoof the official one, involving actors from the target demographic and contemporary music. The result is much more fun.

Same message; different style (smaller budget); 1 million hits on YouTube. Enough said.

How we consume media

Almost more important to ‘where’ people are watching their videos is ‘how’ people are watching them.  This has an effect on the creative and production process.

Viewing habits can be grouped into three main types of activity:

- Snippets (spontaneous media activity)

- Boutique (speciality media searches)

- Catch-up (fitting TV schedules around our own lives)

A recent survey of 1,300 mobile Internet users below the age of 25, showed that most use a mobile device to talk to friends about the show they are watching, a trend known as ‘Social TV’.

Social media

Social media has altered the definitions of paid, earned and owned media or at least has blurred the lines between them. Now, the challenge that agencies face is figuring out how to integrate all three forms of media for maximum effect.

After all, social content, by definition, can lack authority but it has authenticity because it establishes relevance and context with our friends and our surroundings.

Let’s have a diagram.

Sponsorship events

We know there are Fans (consumers) who have Passions (Sport, Music, Art). Sponsored activities provide the magical third piece of the puzzle – the Location. This is not just the location of the event, but, thanks to mobile phones, the location of fans too. And this is powerful intelligence regarding media capture and distribution options.

Radiohead’s concert video shot in Prague in 2009 by 50 fans on Flip cameras makes you feel like you are standing amongst the crowd:

It appeals to fans because it was made by fans, contains fans and gives the fans that couldn’t go the feeling that they were there.

And the effects go beyond the concert. The video was endorsed and published by the band; further projects have been planned by the fans that in turn become a part of the history of the band, strengthening the relationship between all concerned.

The Social challenge – the media ecosystem

The goal is to connect the dots and integrate all media for maximum results.

It is not just about producing content for an event or campaign but to inspire the target audience to contribute, to collaborate and comment beyond the life of the event.

The media can take on a life of its own, especially if there are core community and social values – a mini ecosystem that can run beyond the campaign.

Mobile

Mobile is ever-increasingly becoming the medium of choice, particularly for image capture and Geo-positioning. According to Comscore, in the next 12 months:

‘We predict more than half of all mobile consumers will have access to mobile media, largely driven by growing adoption of smartphones. Identifying the synergies that exist between all consumer touch points – traditional PC internet, mobile media (via app and browser), tablets, etc. – and understanding how consumers use these devices to fulfil different needs and convenience levels will be of critical importance to marketers.’

How does all this affect production for Synergy Clients?

Social / mobile media is very powerful but it often requires a paid spark.

Synergy already produces world-class output and my goal is to bring broadcast, online and social production and planning experience into close proximity with the Synergy team and clients hopefully resulting in:

- Real-time intelligence on media options available

- Advice on production and delivery techniques, and suppliers to maximize creative impact

- Guidance on delivery options, channels, asset management (now and future) and measurability. If they are managed, assets can be re-purposed, like this COI text driving radio ad that was repurposed (very cost-effectively) as a viral video simply by adding graphics

Here is fifteen years of TV and web production distilled into my simple media AIM chart:

In Summary

- Content has developed from a one-way communication to an interactive conversation endorsed and measured through social reference

- The balance  of emotional, intellectual and social engagement should be carefully planned depending on the target audience and mediums available

- Technology and innovation drive the reach of our work but synergy between content producers and audiences fuels its impact

By Colin Burgess on October 13th, 2011

Tags: Advertising, Alcohol, Branded content, Celebrity, community, Content, Default, Digital marketing, Facebook, Media, Sponsorship, Synergy, Synopsis, Television, Viral Marketing, YouTube

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Think of any brand associated with an athlete, and in most cases the brand will have approached the athlete as a result of the athlete’s brand/consumer fit and will be paying them a hefty sponsorship fee in return for a number of rights.

In “What We Love” this month though, we explore a brand who took a much more innovative and engaging approach to sponsorship by inviting a number of athletes to compete for a sponsorship contract, with their consumers ultimately choosing the winning athlete.

So who is the brand and what did they do?

In March this year, Sony Ericsson – a long time supporter of women’s tennis – launched a new format entertainment show, “Xperia Hotshots,” which followed the lives of six globetrotting, aspiring stars of the WTA, all of whom were competing for a sponsorship contract from Sony Ericsson.

The competition centred around the online buzz each tennis star could generate for themselves, with the player receiving the most number of votes on the official Sony Ericsson Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/xperiahotshots) receiving €100,000 of support from the brand.

In order to help with the challenge, Sony Ericsson gave the players exclusive access to major music, film and fashion events as they toured the globe playing tennis. The players were also able to use their own stardom and contacts to aid them in generating the most interesting content, as long as it was shared via social network sites using the Xperia handsets that were given to the stars.

As an extra incentive for fans to get involved and follow the series, all of those who “Liked” the ‘Hotshots’ Facebook page were also entered into a prize draw to win tickets to the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami

Over the course of the campaign, which ended on 5 September and was won by Wimbledon Semi-Finalist Sabine Lisicki, the competition generated huge awareness for Sony Ericsson including 820,000 friends on Facebook; 3 Million video views on YouTube; 100,000 mobile app downloads; 1,200 pieces of media coverage; 70 videos produced; and 530 hours of footage shot.

Why we love it

We love this campaign here at Synergy for several reasons. Firstly, by prescribing that the players must use their Sony Ericsson Xperia Android touch smartphones to communicate with their fans through Social media, Sony Ericsson were able to showcase the product’s unique features in real life situations, thereby providing consumers with a much better understanding of its unique selling points, benefits and potential usage occasions.

Secondly, by focusing on the use of the phone for entertainment purposes and social media (as opposed to purely a communication device) the perception of Sony Ericsson as THE communication entertainment brand was greatly enhance.

Thirdly, by engaging fans in the athlete selection process, Sony Ericsson were able to generate a much deeper bond between their potential consumers and the ultimate Ambassador than if the athlete were contracted behind closed doors, and fans who engaged in the voting process are now more likely to follow that athlete going forwards than if the athlete had been selected on the basis of whom the marketers thought would offer the best brand/consumer fit.

Finally, by profiling six players, Sony Ericsson very cleverly linked themselves to all of these world-class athletes when they only contracted one; six great brand endorsements for the price one . . . not bad going!

By Liz Brown on October 13th, 2011

Tags: Blogging, Brand marketing, Celebrity, Communications, Default, Facebook, Media, Mobile, Online communities, Sponsorship, Sport, Synergy Loves, Synopsis, Tennis, Viral Marketing, YouTube

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Synergy, working as part of a cross agency team, has developed a rugby campaign this autumn to activate the GUINNESS brand’s rugby partnerships with the RFU, WRU, Scottish Rugby and the IRFU. Synergy contracted GUINNESS rugby ambassadors Lewis Moody, Lee Byrne and Sean Lamont (alongside Irish winger Tommy Bowe) to create an integrated campaign across TV, print, digital and PR targeting international rugby fans.

The ambassadors featured in print ads showing them flying the GUINNESS flag and giving their all for their country, in doing so proving that they themselves are made of more. Point-of-sale creative was rolled out in pubs and supermarkets across the country offering fans the chance to win tickets to the RBS 6 Nations (of which GUINNESS are Official Beer Partner).

Synergy secured national and regional press, broadcast and online coverage across England, Scotland and Wales through interviews with the players. Dynamic action shots of the players accompanied the interviews linking their national flag with the flag featuring in the TV ad campaign and reinforcing the brand’s support of the home nations.

To get fans closer to the action, we sponsored the Lewis Moody app to deliver an exclusive blog. GUINNESS fans who left messages of support for both Lewis and Lee on the brands Facebook page had the chance to receive personalised messages back from the players.

For those fans that haven’t been able to follow their team out to New Zealand, our man “Hutch” has been supplying a weekly video diary of his travels and meeting the home nations’ supporters.

To engage fans offline we took England pace man Ugo Monye to Asda in Gloucester to meet fans and staff at the supermarket, allowing them to have their photo taken with the rugby star and take part in the GUINNESS Rugby Reflex game.

Finally, the campaign’s TV ad, directed by Oscar winner Tom Hooper and produced by ad agency AMV, sees our intrepid hero overcome an army to prove that he and his team are made of more. Check it out below.

By Caroline Ayling on October 13th, 2011

Tags: Advertising, Alcohol, Facebook, Food & Drink, Guinness, PR, Public relations, RBS 6 Nations, Rugby, Synergy, YouTube

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What happened?

It would be remiss of us to ignore the social disturbance, unrest and rioting that wreaked havoc on the streets of London and around Britain in early August. What really struck a chord with us here at Synergy was the response of local communities to counter the destruction and rally together,  specifically the role social media played in doing so.

Everyone will be au fait with images of Clapham’s broom wielding army lead by Commander-in-Chief, one B. Johnson, who set about cleaning up their local neighbourhood the day after the carnage. Organised by the very same social media sites that were at the heart of spreading the riots, communities gathered first virtually and then physically to start the clean up. Check out Jam’s infographic on the buzz created around the riots and the call for social change.

One of Engine’s other companies, Partners Andrews Aldridge, started a campaign called De-Loot London. Their mission was to make sure that not a single shop that was looted during the riots was forced to close as a result. By setting up a website with an interactive map, people can highlight local shops that most need their community’s support. Embracing the power of social media they established the #delootlondon hash tag for people to share amongst their friends.

Why we liked it?

Firstly they acted fast, the campaign was up and moving within days of the looters running riot. This allowed people to act quickly and really feel as though they could make a difference to their local community.

Secondly, social media was at the heart of the campaign and provided the online community with a mechanism to make a difference to their own physical communities.   Brands often talk about building a community of advocates, fans or followers and this campaign tapped into a passion point. It turns out that people are passionate about keeping local businesses afloat in the face of adversity.

Thirdly, it was philanthropic, and after fear and uncertainty spread across London it reassured the population that good people are out there…and there are lots of us!

Finally, the riots may not be headline news any more, but local communities will need long term support. De-Loot London already has 1,900 Facebook fans, so keep the campaign going by sharing your support here.

By Caroline Ayling on September 1st, 2011

Tags: Blogging, Default, Social Media, Synergy, Synergy Loves, Synopsis, Twitter, Viral Marketing, YouTube

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Like the vast majority of sports fans watching the events unfold at Royal St George’s, I found myself willing a Darren Clarke victory – this despite a fairly uneducated £5 pre-tournament punt on Phil Mickelson. The emotional pull of seeing a people’s champion claim the Claret Jug was stronger than the rational tug of reversing my losing streak on Betfair. Sport has a particular ability to evoke strong emotions through its personal stories of courage, inspiration and determination, through its inherent unpredictability, excitement and drama.

Those emotions are an essential component of successful sponsorship – and are as relevant across other sponsorship platforms (music, film, fashion, art) as they are in sport. How often do we hear rights holders, brands and sponsorship agencies (guilty as charged) talk of ‘engaging consumers through their passion points’ to justify sponsorship investments? It has become the de facto rationale. But what substantiates that principle, and are sponsors embracing it to make a genuine connection with consumers?

Shared Passions

The stated ambition of many sponsors is to create that emotional connection with their target audience through a shared passion. The theory goes that an emotionally engaged audience – whether they are football fanatics, art lovers, bog snorkelling aficionados, or Gaga’s ‘little monsters’ – is an audience that will be more receptive to brand messages, and more likely to think positively about a brand associated with their passion.

Sound thinking or codswallop? Well, there is plenty of research supporting the notion that the higher a consumer’s emotional engagement with an event, the more effective their recall of sponsors. If you want proof, just read Bal, Pascale and Plewa’s research study in the Sept 2009 Journal of Sponsorship (Volume 2, Number 4). Or take my word for it. Their analysis of the emotional response elicited by a sponsorship event confirmed what we would probably all take as read – that ‘positive sport-related emotions contribute to sponsorship efficiency, favouring the recognition of sponsors’. Which makes sense – an emotional experience is more likely to crystallise into memory than an experience without emotion. I remember where I was when Wilkinson dropped THAT goal in 2003 with patriotic emotions riding high, but have no recollection where I watched the 2010 World Cup Final as an impartial observer.

Sponsor Engagement

But how do sponsors get in on the act, and stake a claim to those memories? Being visible within a passion point might increase the chances of being in a consumer’s mind, but it doesn’t win a place in their hearts. There has to be active emotional involvement, not just proximity or visibility. Engagement not impressions. Too many sponsors assume that an increased awareness of their sponsorship, and that magical associative power alone, will alter consumer perceptions. Perimeter boards, media backdrops, shirt sponsorships and the like certainly have a reinforcing role to play, but I’m yet to hear a sponsor say “that perimeter board really helped me emotionally connect with my target audience”.  The abundance of advertising we are seeing in the run up to 2012 that says ‘I’m an Olympic sponsor’ is failing to tap into the rich emotional tapestry of the Olympics.

So what should sponsors do to capitalise on their consumers’ emotions beyond just ‘being at the party’? To start with there needs to be some sense of brand relevance to the passion point. How else can a brand claim to ‘share’ that passion? Authenticity could be driven by brand characteristics, product relevance, company heritage, or geography. Lack relevance, and brands risk looking as incongruous as Budweiser’s relationship with that king of soccer competitions, the FA Cup. The central thought in Neill Duffy’s book Passion Branding is another worthwhile principle: leverage the relationship between a brand and its consumers around a consumer passion to create value for all involved in the relationship. Sponsors need to think beyond their brand to deliver a benefit for consumers – be that entertaining content, a unique experience or simply a memorable emotional pay-off.

Many brands are successfully engaging consumers on an emotional level, in a relevant passion point, and contributing to their enjoyment of that passion. Some capitalise on a moment of high emotion, some tap into the core emotional sensibility of the passion point. Whether anchored in anticipation, pride, patriotism or celebration, they all exhibit genuine empathy and understanding. A few examples below…

In the build up to the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Carlsberg’s Old Lions campaign tapped into England fans’ anticipation of the tournament through a nostalgic lens and a pitch perfect creation of pub football camaraderie.

Fast forward four years to the 2010 FIFA World Cup, and Coca-Cola’s activation single-mindedly focused on football’s moment of greatest emotion – celebrating a goal. From reliving the greatest celebrations in World Cup history, recording a World Cup celebration song, to touring the FIFA World Cup around the globe, they fuelled fan emotion with the ‘What’s your Celebration’ campaign.

Talking of celebration, O2’s Rugby World Cup victory parade in 2003 gave rugby fans the opportunity to express their support, their joy and their pride to the returning heroes.  Not only that, O2 armed all England players with mobile cameras to record the experience and share it with consumers, and gave some lucky fans the chance to win a place on the parade bus.

But not all emotional engagement is grounded in joy and positivity. Bupa’s activation of their Great North Run focuses on the participants’ moments of greatest physical and emotional need. The Bupa Boost Zone at the typical ‘low’ point for runners 80% through the race, and at the finish, provides massages, sustenance and music to inspire and re-energise runners.

What next?

Social media is making the emotional engagement opportunities around sponsorship that much more immediate, and much more of a dialogue opportunity. The response to celebratory moments in particular is now fairly instantaneous, and can propel brands to the heart of the emotional moment. Harness the emotions correctly, and your consumers will add the catalyst of conversation. After all, people are more likely to talk about things that illicit an emotional response. As a final plea to sponsors, I defer to Mark Harrison, Chair of the Canadian Sponsorship Forum:

‘You can’t manufacture emotion. It’s already there. When you find it – just find a way to trigger it; tap into it; fuel it; and watch it grow into something remarkable.’

By Tom Gladstone on July 26th, 2011

Tags: Betfair, Brand marketing, Branded content, Communications, Content, Default, FA Cup, Football, Media, Olympic sponsorship, Rugby, Social Media, Sponsorship, Sport, Synergy, Synopsis, World Cup, YouTube

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Oakley‘s immersion into athletic eye wear began in 1980, when the company released its first model of motorcycle goggles. Dubbed the “O-Frame,” the goggle consisted of an arced cylindrical lens that would eventually become the brand’s hallmark. Over the last 30 years, Oakley has been awarded more than 600 patents and developed, through strategic sponsorship, enviable relationships with sport’s elite.

The first professional athlete to be sponsored by Oakley was the three-time winner of the Tour de France, Greg LeMond, in 1984. Since then, Oakley has sponsored a diverse range of leading sportspeople. The most notable of which, Lance Armstrong, has been with the brand since 1988. Here he is in the current Oakley Rebellion campaign.

In the Rebellion campaign, Oakley positions itself as a brand that is built on being against the status quo, against conventional thinking and against underachieving. It is this attitude that Oakley looks to share with its athletes so as to emphasise the credibility of this positioning.

To dovetail this Rebellion campaign, Oakley Europe has kept innovation at the forefront of their mind by launching its ‘You Vs’ digital campaign. The goal of this innovative social media campaign is to build Oakley’s European Facebook community while creating awareness about the Oakley athletes. We think it’s been done brilliantly!

What happened?

‘You Vs’ takes viewers inside the world of professional sport by putting ‘you’ against the Oakley pro athlete. The videos, which viewers are directed to after ‘liking’ Oakley on Facebook, have been filmed in a point-of-view style and allows viewers to compete against the athlete. The fact that the film plays through Facebook, ensures each viewer enjoys a personalized experience with their name and profile pictures appearing at key narrative points. This personal touch creates a sense of individuality and elitism that resonates strongly with Oakley.

The first experience has been created with world champion cyclist Mark Cavendish. In this challenge the user gets to race against Mark through Italy’s beautiful Tuscan hills. The interactive film allows the viewer to make ‘live’ decisions that affect the outcome of the race, from how to take corners to when to start the final sprint.

Oakley eyewear is also integrated into the decision-making, allowing fans to select different lenses at the start of the challenge and custom-build a pair of frames at the end of the experience, bringing them closer to the world of professional sportsmen.

Other experiences will be released over the next six months with Oakley athletes including Kevin Pieterson, Ian Poulter, Janko Tipsarevic and Sebastien Loeb. These videos will be timed to coincide with major sporting events, having started with Mark Cavendish and the Tour de France.

Why we like it

We like the ‘You Vs’ digital campaign because it gives us the chance to challenge some of the world best sportsmen. More importantly, it offers us insight into the key decisions that athletes are continuously making when competing. It is these decisions that end up separating first and second place, but it is very seldom that fans are exposed to the stragic side of sport. This campaign by Oakley now enables the everyday athlete, who is usually constricted to shouting ‘advice’ at their TV, the opportunity to experience competing against the world’s elite and making those all important decisions.

Oakley has planned the release of the films to coincide with high profile sporting events throughout the year. This has been done to encourage long term engagement and to allow fans from a particular sport to discover and develop an interest in other Oakley athletes.

This, together with the great cinematography, has produced an exciting campaign that has the potential to be shared by many on Facebook. As the campaign gathers momentum, so too will Oakley’s digital presence in Europe.

What the brand says

Tom Cartmale, marketing director for Oakley UK, commented: ‘As a technology driven brand Oakley has always invested in digital media and looked at new ways of engaging social media communities’. He continued to say, ‘Our aim is to create immersive brand experiences that engage a wide audience of sports fans, showcase our hero athletes and bring our products to life. We hope to build a significant Facebook community as a result and boost awareness of key product stories, in particular lens adaptability and customized frames’.

We feel that the innovative ‘You Vs’ campaign achieves exactly those goals and, after 61,000 Facebook likes, is already having the desired effect for Oakley.

Now I suggest you click here and give it a try for yourself. Let us know how you get on.

By Mike Russell on July 26th, 2011

Tags: Blogging, Default, Digital marketing, Facebook, Media, Online communities, Social Media, Sponsorship, Sport, Synergy, Synergy Loves, Synopsis, Viral Marketing, YouTube

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Our relationships are all built on dialogue.  Talking to each other, sharing ideas, working together, creating things, discovering  new stuff,  having fun, laughing, crying, flirting, arguing – everything that makes life worth living is built on our ability to actively engage with each other.   Why should that be different from the relationships we build with the brands in our lives?

For most of its history, Marketing has been pretty much a one-way conversation – a kind of Orwellian 1984 scenario where brands tell you what they want you to know and the customer has no way of talking back (something Apple seemed to pick up on in their famous ad).  Of course, that was primarily driven by the available marketing channels which didn’t give customers a voice.

But like the hammer in the Apple ad, the digital age, and particularly the social media age (rather than the Apple Macintosh), has smashed through the barrier separating brands from their consumers.  And this starts to give us some fantastic examples of how brands are using these two-way channels to form deeper and more natural relationships with their customers.

Of course, there are lots of different roles for brands to play when fuelling this dialogue.  They can engage directly with their clients, but they can also fuel the dialogue in more subtle ways by becoming an integral part of their customers’ own conversations.  Either way, the principle is the same: give your customers a voice and enable them to have conversations with you and with each other.

Dialogue between your brand and the customer

There are many examples of brands engaging directly with their consumers.  One common form is around customer service.  Facebook and Twitter provide incredibly useful information about what customers really think about your brand.  Look for it, listen to it and do something about it.  When @interactiveamy’s pizza took over an hour to arrive, she vented her frustration on Twitter.  When the General Manager Raymon DeLeon saw her tweet, this was his response.  It’s a longish video – no need to watch the whole thing:

The famous Old Spice Man and Blendtec’s “Will It Blend” campaign are further examples of brands that respond to input from their customers with great results.  And, of course, Tippex gives you the chance to have loads of fun with their Bear in the Woods.

‘Crowdsourcing’ – actively soliciting ideas from you customers and doing something with them – is another form of dialogue which works for more than just funny marketing campaigns.

General Electric Ecomagination is an open call to businesses, entrepreneurs, innovators and students to submit breakthrough ideas for energy creation, management and use.  In addition to providing the ideas, the public also vote for their favourites.  With a pledge to invest $200m along with GE’s technical expertise to bring the best ideas to market, this is one form of dialogue that could literally change the world.

Pepsi are doing something very similar with their Pepsi Refresh project.  They are looking for ideas that will ‘Refresh the World’ with a similar commitment to funding the ideas that get the most votes from their consumers.

What is particularly strong about the Pepsi Refresh programme is how deep the conversations they facilitate flow. Not only have they created a powerful platform from which consumers can interact with the brand, the strength of the programme itself encourages consumers to build meaningful conversations with each other online, which grow into ‘real-world’ conversations (as individuals look to build momentum behind their own proposed initiatives), which culminates in a tangible legacy in an American community that consumers will talk about for years to come.

In a final example of engaging directly with your customers, Puma have just launched this Facebook App, which allows Spurs fans to play around with the design of their team’s 2011/2012 kit.  Of course, it would be even better if the fans had some input into the final design of the kit rather than simply “guessing the design” – but surely that won’t be too far away.  In fact, given the passion that football fans have for their team’s kit, and the ease with which they can speak to their fans, it is amazing that all kit manufacturers don’t get some form of fan input.  Here’s what happens if you don’t: http://bit.ly/mzWVT3.

Inserting your brand into your customers conversations

In addition to speaking directly to customers, brands can get their customers to talk about them by giving them the content or platform to fuel the conversation.

How did a Turkish Mobile Network get mentioned in 56,750 tweets (topping the Turkish trending tables for 8 days), which reached approximately 3.6 million people (in an initiative that probably cost them less than £20,000)?  Find out here.

Staying with mobile networks, Orange has also done a great job of creating a reason for fans to mention them.  In this example, which works particularly well on the back of their film sponsorships, Orange will make sure that your tweets are read out in the style of a film voiceover.  Go on, tweet your plans for this summer here.  And then of course, share it with all your friends and followers, who will receive the Orange branding.

Guinness FanFinder used a similar technique during their sponsorship of the RBS 6 Nations.  They published a massive picture of the crowd at various matches and encouraged people to find and tag themselves and their friends. With over 5,000 snap shots posted to walls via the Facebook App and an average of 130 Facebook friends per person that’s some more pretty good exposure for Guinness.

In an attempt to encourage dialogue around their new album, the Kaiser Chiefs kicked off a “create your own Kaiser Chiefs album” campaign for their latest album, The Future Is Medieval. Music fans get to pick out 10 songs from 20 of Kaiser Chiefs songs listed online, create their own album cover, buy it and then sell it online. To make it even better, for every sale of their album they will receive £1. Whilst socially engaging this campaign also pushes power onto the consumer removing them from their traditional role of purchasing products into the role of producer, giving them the chance to create their own product and sell it on to others. Thus creating a tangible benefit for the consumer for positive dialogue about the Kaiser Chiefs brand.

Finally, in a brilliant piece of work by our sister agency Jam, Samsung added considerable spice to the dialogue between tech bloggers and their audience via their “Extreme Unboxing” series of videos.

In all of these examples, the brands found an authentic role for themselves and encouraged conversations between communities with a common interest.

Where does sponsorship fit in to all this

So what does this all mean for sponsorship?  The answer is simple: passion.  People want to talk about the things that they really care about.  With all due respect to most brands, your customers are unlikely to care as much about you as they are do about sports, music, film, art, technology, the environment or activity in their community (to name but a few).  So, if you want to start a conversation with your customers, talking about something that they are really interested in is a good place to start.  And finding a shared passion with your customers is, of course, at the very heart of what sponsorship is all about.

In many ways, this blog goes hand in hand with the brilliant piece on Content written by Ben in last month’s Synopsis (definitely read it if you haven’t already) because the key to stimulating this dialogue is great content.  But, what I hope this blog makes clear is that creating great content and putting it in the right places is not enough.  It is then all about opening up the channels and fuelling the conversations that make life so interesting.

Principles of Dialogue

1. Listen to your customers, learn what they care about and value their contribution.  Actively open up two way communication channels
2. Find an authentic role for your brand (a reason for you to be there) and don’t overstep your bounds
3. Think about whether it makes more sense to talk with your audience directly or to get them to talk about you
4. Remember, this is about your shared passion – not about you
5. Have fun and be creative – remember engaging with other people is what makes life fun

By Carsten Thode on June 17th, 2011

Tags: Branded content, Communications, community, Content, Facebook, Media, Mobile, Music, Public relations, Social Media, Sponsorship, Synergy, Synopsis, Television audiences, Twitter, Viral Marketing, YouTube

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So you think golf is a dull sport with a lack of characters? Think again – this ‘Synergy Loves’ needs little explanation beyond a watch. PGA Tour players Ben Crane, Rickie Fowler, Bubba Watson, and Hunter Mahan have produced their own song with accompanying video.

The Fab Four, performing under the name ‘The Golf Boys’, have done this in support of Farmers’ sponsorship of the Farmers Insurance Open, where for every 100,000 views Farmers will donate $1,000 to charitable proceeds that will support both Farmers and Ben Crane charitable initiatives (currently just short of 1.5m views on youtube).

What we really like about it is that it delivers against our last two Synopsis articles. Obviously it’s entertaining content, while the charitable angle provides benefits that go beyond their brand.

Brilliant – especially Crane’s wetsuit look.

By Dominic Curran on June 17th, 2011

Tags: Content, Default, Golf, Public relations, Ryder Cup, Social Media, Sponsorship, Sport, Synergy, Synergy Loves, Synopsis, Viral Marketing, YouTube

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Wonderbra has, since the Nineties, been delivering us iconic marketing campaigns. When Eva Herzigova stopped traffic in 1994, the lingerie brand’s appeal to both guys and girls was obvious – the boys wanted Eva, the girls wanted underwear that made them look like Eva. Put simply, sex sells.

Well, fast-forward to Noughties and that much hasn’t changed. Wonderbra hasn’t developed any more subtlety in its appeal, but it has started creating more engaging campaigns that say something tangible about the product benefits (beyond the broad ‘wear this, look hot’).

First there was Sabraine Banando going 3D on a roadside billboard in 2008, cueing talk of more traffic accidents.

And then, this year, we were given the Wonderbra trampoline.

What happened:

Well, it’s pretty simple really. Wanting to extol the virtues of their brand new strapless bra, Wonderbra needed to put it to the test. And they started with an important insight: as the female readers amongst you will know, excessive movement in a strapless bra (gigs, festivals, dancefloors being prime locations) is largely inadvisable, unless you are very confident in the professed ability of your product.

So, to prove themselves to be the ultimate support, Wonderbra put trampolines in fitting rooms in Belgium – building on a PR stunt they had held in Spain the previous year. Customers could check out exactly how the bra fared under the most bouncy conditions. Then they filmed it, and made a cute viral to spread the word.

Why we like it:

Wonderbra looked at their product values, which to date had been largely focused on enhancing assets, and had conveyed little about support. So, having identified a gap in their product line, they took an important insight from their target audience to communicate brand and product value.

Sure it was a gimmick and comments on the video were not all complimentary of the methodology, but it was a fun one. And importantly (prior the video viral being removed from YouTube for “violation of YouTube’s policy on nudity or sexual content”), the product was shown to work, convincing a whole host of women that Wonderbra isn’t just a one-trick push-up pony.

They kept the provocative nature of the brand alive by creating a video they knew would go viral and would probably only survive a matter of weeks on YouTube – which it did. But losing the video didn’t matter. Word would still spread that Wonderbra creates such an effective strapless bra, that they’re willing to test it to the limit and put the evidence online. The fact that the screen below is all you can now see of the video only serves to bolster their cheeky, risqué position.

What the brand says:

Head of Marketing, Julia Nolan, has commented on the new range: “We conducted a comprehensive series of tests with real girls, which included dancing, bending, stretching and jumping, all designed to put the bra through its paces.

‘This unique technology lifts the weight of the bust, supports and gives a trusted Wonderbra cleavage. We have created a groundbreaking garment giving women the perfect solution to the age old strapless bra problem.”

By Lucie Bartlett on June 17th, 2011

Tags: Advertising, Experiential marketing, Fashion, Synergy Loves, Synopsis, YouTube

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