MLB hit it out the park with this iPhone app. Babyshaker on the other hand, did not. On a third hand, interesting implications with respect to Apple's one-sided and subjective selection and curation policy.
Spread the word:
There's no question that Fantasy Sports has become a huge interactive draw card and conversation starter. So much so that ESPN has regular programming dedicated to who's hot, who's not and trade rumors/recommendations etc.
In fact, when I was asked in an interview at ExactTarget's user conference what was the one e-mail I always look forward to/open up every day...I said my Fantasy Baseball update.
...but this post is not about how brands can tap into fantasy sports or what the conversational marketing implications are with respect to Fantasy Sports, it's more to reflect on this South African-born player's victory in a league of his geeky peers!
That's right, "Bobo the Clown" (my team) has just wrapped up a momentous and awesome victory in the coveted, "Social Media Geeks Unite" fantasy league, besting the following power players in the process:
Fantasy Twits gave me a run right at the end, but ultimately the clowns proved too much for the competition!
I guess there are some "community" proof points in this story. I did use twitter to round up a league of social media folk and within 30 minutes or so we had our 10 players. We even created a Twitter ID, but truth be told it wasn't used much. In fact, the smack talk was rather minimal throughout the season. Perhaps next year...
Lessons learned from this rookie? Simple. Never follow your heart. If I had, I would have had a Yankees-filled lineup that would surely have underdelivered.
Value bets: Xavier Nady (who was a Pirate when I acquired him), Jamie Moyer and Cory Hart
MVP's: C.C. Sabathia, Johan Santana and Grady Sizemore
And that's a best case scenario.
Such is the case where EA took about 11 months to respond to Levinator25, who introduced the "Jesus shot" in EA's Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08.
In the official response, EA directly addresses Levinator25 in promoting Tiger Woods 09. Here's the video
All in all, it's awesome. My first reaction was to check if Levinator25 was real. He appears to be 100% gamer.
Bravo! I love it.
I only have one question for EA and/or Levinator25: did EA in any way, shape or form compensate, recognize (other than in the video) and/or reward him for his nugget of content?
And if the answer is no, is EA in essence, taking advantage of one of their most passionate customers?
I'm absolutely giving EA the benefit of the doubt on this one, until proven otherwise.
This whole episode raises really interesting questions about a phenomenon which will only be on the rise:
Oh and one more thing, this does remind me of my little Tiger Woods "viral" video and Nike's lack of response.
I wonder if they'd have done differently if this had happened today...
Big hat tip to Sebastian
Here's part 2 of the DMA Workshop on Virtual Worlds and most notably, Second Life.
Verdino points me to an absurd article (I'm not linking to it for obvious reasons...it's reprinted below) in PC Magazine by Lance Ulanoff about MySpace, Twitter and Second Life (etc.) being doomed i.e. social media being bubble 2.0 (in a nutshell)
Now I could call Lance (who? my point exactly) a tosser; a wanker; an idiot etc....but I won't. I could get all upset about this clearly desperate and misguided attempt at trying to understand how the world has changed by being a serial naysayer...but again, I won't.
I realize now that this is the kind of schlocky sensationalist "journalism" solely designed to prolong the destruction of the rainforests in favor of short-lived (toilet) paper called magazines.
Oops, did I just fly off as a misunderstood blogger? Perhaps I tied the belt of my gown too tight or perhaps the damp in my basement is finally causing my brain to turn to mush. Perhaps I should just go on a drunken tirade in Second Life or send some random messages about what I'm doing right now in the form of a Tweet. Perhaps that will help me calm down.
Because here's the thing. Lance Ulanoff has most likely never set foot in Second Life. Lance Ulanoff has most likely never set up a Twitter profile or sent a tweet about a story idea or a search for an expert opinion on obscure topics such as...oh....well.....'er how about Second Life, MySpace or Twitter. Lance Ulanoff has most likely never even visited MySpace.
This kind of crap has really got to stop. You see, Lance is a smart "journalist". He knows that people like me will play right into his hands and rant, rave and rage against his stupidity. He knows that people will soon forget about him because dumb pieces like this one in Forbes will be around to replace his drivel. And he knows that should any of these new marketing approaches take a step backwards (for whatever reason), he'll be dancing on the graves singing Halleluyah (apologies to Monty Python)
For what it's worth, let's isolate a few of Lance's pearls:
Second Life could just as easily be the first to go. go where? are you referring to being acquired in which case, nothing says failure quite like a hundreds of millions of dollars No one believes its reported participation numbers anymore you mean more people than are on Amazon.com at any given point in time?, even though big companies, such as Circuit City and IBM, have built virtual stores (and Playboy is jumping in with both, er, feet this month). Some individuals are even claiming to make real-world money in there, but are they really? Frankly, I think Second Life is the equivalent of a virtual con. much like convincing people to buy cigarettes through sexy slim models or any other game or any other anything that people spend voluntary time and even money in exchange for value and/or a consumption experience There's no doubt that it's enjoyed startling growth in the last year and a half much like your magazine, right?, but that was driven, for the most part, by the laudatory press and media coverage it received from magazines like yours until such time the wind changed direction and with it your spineless coverage. Companies herded like sheep to the platform much like any other medium before it, because they believed the hype. So did users. But reality is finally starting to trump perception. Companies' virtual stores sit empty this has been addressed if you were paying any attention, and there's no way they can measure if they're building any additional brand recognition simply by being there. aaah measurement - let's compare Second Life to TV shall we. Let's hold SL to a higher standard than TV while we're at it.
Of course, they're not.
Twitter's demise will certainly come before we hit 2011. That's in 4 years time. So you're basically saying that Twitter will be around for another 4 years, which will surely be yet another sign of utter failure. It's the perfect example of Internet flash paper, and I suspect it will shine as brightly and briefly as this favorite magician's gimmick. I'm singling out the site, which revolves entirely around people's random notes about what they're doing and thinking at any given moment, that's the origin of Twitter, but it has quickly being used for a variety of experimental applications such as I did with live call-ins on Across the Sound because of a recent John C. Dvorak column
.
He somewhat insanely says that these random postings should be saved
for posterity. Dvorak is too smart to believe this, so I'll assume his
entire column was tongue-in-cheek. No one is going to save these random
posts about nothing. Twitter is popular now because the Web cognoscenti
some call these people influencers are using it. This bunch of eggheads prides itself on irony and
witticism. They treat the site like some sort of ongoing haiku contest.
Well, folks, I have a haiku for you:
Goodbye, bubble, and Dude - at this point, I'm thinking you're a genius as there's no way [much like your hat-tip to Dvorak] you actually believe this is a bubble per se. For what it's worth, I believe the next big thing is NOW. Also check out this post of mine which talks about Bubble 1.0 versus your 2.0 notion.
So long, overhyped nonsense
Till the next "Big Thing."
Peace my brother.
Virtual Thirst is featured in this week's edition of Ad Age in an article which covers off pretty nicely on the learnings and insights to date, together with advice for the future.
This is definitely one of the more prominent pieces of press the effort has received and shows that even in the new P.R., the "short head" methodology equally applies.
I'm also encouraged by the coverage which hopefully begins a new wave of insight and perspective into how to approach - not just - Second Life, but virtual worlds in general.
As I explained to my wife yesterday...take the prediction that in 3-5 years time, the majority of all "browsing' will be done in virtual environments. Internet browsers like Internet Explorer or even Firefox will be passe. Site maps will quite literally be maps and each "page" will be an attraction. Think of a funfair or carnival, filled with rides, stalls and kiosks. Sites like Amazon.com will be 3-D representations of stores like Barnes & Nobles, teaming with activity, life and social interaction.
Now if only 1% of that prediction comes true...can you imagine the implications for marketing, branding, advertising, socializing, connecting etc. etc. etc.
Now if you are Coca-Cola or any other blue-chip company, how can you not be seriously thinking about these implications and making planning/provisions/"bets" on these possible scenarios/outcomes.
I think when you put it that way, the obvious validation/justification naturally rises to the top...arguably even more important than short-term sales/ROI (ala Michael Donnelly's point in this article
DON'T EXPECT A DIRECT LINK TO SALES IN THE REAL WORLD. "So much of our metrics aren't about sale, but they're about brand love. Brand value and brand love are our key metrics." -- Michael Donnelly, director-global interactive marketing, Coca-Cola Co.
I received this set of very intelligent comments and I wanted to respond (but not now). I think I'll devote some time to this on next week's Across the Sound podcast and possibly post the clip here afterwards, but in the interim here are the 2 comments:
From Kelly:
I'm sure you've read all the coverage recently about the Gartner research that states "80% of active internet users will have a 'second life' before 2011 but not necesarily in Second Life" so where you do see the virtual world market going if not towards a 3D imersive world like SL? I'm an experienced gamer and began my career in PR for PC game companies and I have a tough time in SL...the lag is crazy and the only acitivy I ever come across is swinger clubs or drug binges...I now work for a company that operates a virtual world as well, but we are 2D based and offer a lower barrier of entry but yet every day new companies like Coca Cola are launching initiatives inside SL worth millions of dollars...but where is the ROI? I've also read SL's acutal population of active players is lower than 200,000 so if that is the case how can you justify the millions of dollars spent on these initiatives to only reach such a small audience?
From Rob:
Kelly makes a good point. As enticing as Second Life seems, it's practically impossible to know the type of results in can produce. This lends even more credence to the original post. The fact that many advertisers are advocating SL without experiencing it themselves is a dangerous game. I'm not suggesting that every busy ad exec spend hours a day crafting their virtual avatars, but I wonder how much would it cost to hire some independent testers to explore the site on their behalf? The idea is sort of like beta testers for video games.
Libby Copeland just published this article for the Washington Post. She quotes me and also cites Virtual Thirst.
Libby originally interviewed me for this piece a few days before Coca-Cola's Second Life initiative launched. I invited her to the press launch in Second Life and what impressed me so much about her was that she actually took the time to download and install the software, register, create an avatar and attend the launch - all within a couple of days.
Most journalists that have written about Second Life have never so much as been in Second Life. The same applies with many agency execs that advise their clients on investing in non-traditional or emerging media like Virtual Worlds.
Makes you think, doesn't it...
BTW...I'm going to be on All Things Considered on NPR tomorrow on a feature piece about BBDO and also the changing role of advertising and agencies.
On Monday, crayon helped launch our first official effort on behalf of our client, Coca-Cola. I attended the two press launches from a lounge at Heathrow Airport and my hotel room in Cannes! The project, named Virtual Thirst: Coke + Alt + Refresh, involved Second Life, but not in the way you might have thought.
For starters, it was a very atypical entry into the Virtual World of Second Life (Coca-Cola has been very active in Virtual Worlds, but until now had not done anything official in SL). Instead of purchasing an Island and creating a grandeous ediface of brash self-congratulation, this was a lot more understated and ground up. I use the analogy of planting a seed and with the right amount of nurturing, maintenance, light, water etc (you get it), something special sprouts up...
Another nuance was that this was not about SL for SL's sake. Virtual Thirst is about interpreting anything along the continuum of "the metaphorical quenching of thirst" to expressing the essence of the Coke brand and what it means to you. In this particular case, Second Life became the perfect way to bring unfettered creativity and limitless imagination to life.
Finally, the third element to the program was that we worked - and continue to work - extremely closely - with the Second Life community. The initial protoypes (see below) were all created by the SL community; we tapped into an advisory board of SL influencers and finally we have a judging committee of SL stalwarts.
So what is the program? In a nutshell, design (any way you choose to) a "machine" that "vends" an experience. Think the exact opposite of a rectangular box that dispenses cans. Find out more at www.virtualthirst.com or just visit the pavillion on crayonville Island and experience these machines yourself. In the interim, here are some video showcases of the initial prototpes to wet your appettite...'er quench your thirst...you know what I mean :)
The Dance Bottle - created by Audio Zenith
The Experience Machine - created by Zee Kaos
The Vintage Truck - created by Latok Neumann (music by Now is Now)
Jukebox - created Latok Neumann (music by Matthew Ebel)
I'm sitting on a panel tomorrow morining at Podcamp NYC (I'm BLOWN AWAY by the number of registrants already onboard. There are so many bullshit conferences that keep on recycling the same "names and titles", but this is very different...as it is an UNconference). My session is on Social Media Convergence and Virtual Worlds (here are the details)
2. Social Media Convergence and Virtual Worlds. Different forms of social media (blogs, podcasts,videocasts,wikis etc.) are beginning to converge. While this convergence has already begun, the emergence of virtual worlds in the mainstream will expedite this process. Worlds such as Second Life, Kaneva, There and Cyworld (and dare we say Google) are all, at their core, social networks. How will this play out in 2007? Join Joseph Jaffe, Greg Verdino, Mark Wallace, John Swords (SL: Johnny Ming) and Adam Broitman for a special, informal roundtable covering converging social media and virtual worlds.
Anyway, my reading/prep for this panel comes from the following sources:
Guess it's time to close shop and move on to the next "Big Thing", right? How about RFID chips implanted in our brains? That sounds like a plan? Of for the less inclined, we could always buy 30-second spot pre-rolls on Yahoo! Sound like a plan?
What's interesting about these (and no doubt, many more articles) is that they all trace back to the same source:
Step 1: A Brandweek (MSM) article...
Step 2: ...which quotes a "Hamburg-based research firm Komjuniti (who) published the first extensive survey of Resident attitudes toward real world marketing in Second Life."
Lies, damned lies and statistics aside....have you actually read the study? It states that 72% of residents are disappointed with the activities of companies in Second Life. Do you think that's because SL fails as a marketing platform or because some of the efforts to date have...how do I put it eloquently....SUCKED? Or resembled very traditional/old school approaches?
The study specifically calls out the lack of customer care (that's a Linden Labs issue) and opportunities for interaction between SL residents and companies (which is all about the intent, committment, perseverence and committment to conversation)
Bottom line...residents expect more creativity and imagination. They also expect follow-through and staying power (42% of respondents doubted companies would put efforts into follow-up). That's a constructive criticism...a challenge...a call to action...a guiding light spoonfeeding us to get back on the path of authenticity, engagement and whatever the hell you want to call it. It's not a damning indictment and red flag to get the hell away.
People are so lazy. They criticize without foundation. Many (I'm not saying the fine folk above, but in general...) have never even been in Second Life. In addition, it is critical NOT to confuse Second Life with Virtual Worlds or even MMORPG. I'll bet most of the bandwagon people citing either the Brandweek article or the Komjuniti piece didn't even read it.
So if you're all about impulse sales, PR hits and replicating your tired and ineffective traditional efforts and are disenchanted with Second Life and the like, bugger off and good riddance. However if you're prepared to give this a shot and have the vision and staying power to experiment and make a few mistakes (but learn from them) along the way, stick around...I know I'll be in the vicinity.
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