Here’s what’s happening in mobile interaction marketing in Winnipeg right now. I missed a few—there was a pork one on a bus king I didn’t feel 100% comfy taking a photo of while driving, but you get the picture. Or, at least, these pictures.
My friend QR Code King Roger Marquis reminds us that mobile tagging is a link to a brand experience. In order to make it a positive one, I’d suggest using codes when your marketing question is “how do we get this in people’s hands/phones at this moment/place”, not “how can we use QR codes”.
I’m going to call mobile tagging mainstream in the Peg! Thank Ace & Chrissy & the Mayor—QR has tipped and is appearing in places positioned for very broad audiences.
Note: “Coolness” is of interest because you can still rely on novelty and surprising creative in the “attention” phase of advertising. You still gotta deliver the goods once the code is scanned. Doing so will solidify the value of the tool & it’ll join the ranks of normal-use tech (meaning you can use it—probably in even more workhorse ways—after its no longer cool, but the way you implement it visually will be less focal/glamourous).
QR is everywhere in Winnipeg.
Check out the giant code on the APTN building on Portage. (Incidentally: scannable from the street, went to nonmobile but still cute site. Because the code appeared alone & was held for a usable length of time, I didn’t realize it was part of the Aboriginal Day ad that immediately preceded it. Some minor branding on the sides of the ad could have situated it—on its own it was compellingly ominous).
Turn down your speakers or you’ll get an earful of Portage.
This code appeared outside of Danier in Polo Park—not exactly the supertechno early adopter crowd, I’m assuming (but maybe I’m wrong—leather tank top, anyone?), so it’s interesting they felt the target audience would use it. I’d love to know how many entries this has received.
I asked Probe Research Associate Curtis Brown if they were able to determine if all the people who report having Twitter accounts actually use it, but he explained it’s difficult in a short survey to get data that’s kinda subjective.
“Asking someone if they use Twitter or Facebook can be ambiguous, depending on how they “use” it, whereas asking people if they have an account is more clear-cut,” Curtis says.
7.3% is great news, because it shows Twitter is being adopted in Winnipeg, albeit more slowly than the rest of the country. Our Ikea isn’t here yet either, but that doesn’t mean it’s never going to happen, you know?
A recent eMarketer survey says 59% of Canadians are using social sites in 2010. What about here in the Peg? The numbers may surprise you / affect your marketing strategy.
Facebook use in Winnipeg
Here’s the demographic breakdown of Winnipeggers on Facebook, gathered from Facebook’s advertising platform. I’ve highlighted where I think the data is suspect [mainly due to teenage creativity]. Click the image to biggie-size.
What percentage of Winnipeg is that? A hefty 70%. You can make a pretty good case for your local business having a Facebook page at this point, especially with Facebook Places allowing people to broadcast the fact that they’re hanging out with you. Incentivize their endorsement with a nice coupon—Winnipeggers love that.
Twitter use in Winnipeg
And how ’bout microblogging platform Twitter? In Winnipeg, it’s not so much how many people are on Twitter as how many people aren’t.
This data is gathered from people self-identifying their location in their bios, so is subject to bullshit, but still. 6759 Winnipeggers, or 1.1% of our population, claim to be from the Peg. This is actually higher than the overall Canadian average (determined the same way) of 0.88%. [I've heard wildly different numbers for Canadian use, but this is an algorithm talking].
That said, I’ve met—virtually and IRL—lots of very cool Winnipeggers because of Twitter, and Biz Stone promised on Larry King a few weeks ago that he’s adding 300k users/day (American use is higher than Canadian at 8%). Watch for Twitter use to blow up here in the next 1-2 years, and get started buildin’ those relationships now.
Numerical caveats: Stats gathered from self-identified data are subject to inaccuracy, of course. Some people are valiantly fighting the inevitable by not providing their location data. And sadly, I’ve noticed Winnipeggers sidestepping their location in their Twitter bios as if it makes them less cool. On the contrary, we’re so cool we’re -40!
…and it nearly got snowed out! 10 cms prevented the #Winnitron from making it out to play, but lots of Winnipeg’s creativest creatives hit Lo Pub to drink beers & meet each other IRL.
If you’re feeling shy about attending Secret Handshake because “you don’t know anyone”, it’s just the opposite! You’ll recognize people by their Twitter names/avatars and pick up conversations where they left off online. Here’s a video of a completely black room (thanks, iPhone 3GS) to reassure you that nerds do, in fact, talk (secret ingredient: beer!):
I don’t mean to rag on our beloved Peg here, but I couldn’t help but draw a comparison with Toronto’s shiny, happy posters and Winnipeg’s bleak public advertising space as I walked a scaffolded block in the Exchange yesterday.
Besides the cultural commentary implicit here, I have something darker to discuss.
There’s a sociological theory called “Broken Windows” that basically explains visual disrepair is an invitation to crime. If you let a street have broken windows, it signals there’s no one there and that no one cares. If not for the fact that this scaffolding actually encases the Public Safety Building, I’d be kinda antsy to walk through it.
The new University of Winnipeg Buhler Centre / Plugin Institute of Contemporary Art handled this issue beautifully by painting their scaffolding in funky, stripey colours. They created a stimulating, visually engaging, vibrant public space that said “Winnipeg is growing”.
So what’s the state of mobile education in Winnipeg? I chat with: Advertising & PR instructor Kenton Larsen about the new mobile gear requirements for RRC creative kids; iPad-using RRC ad major Jeremy Jack; and Kevin Glasier, interactive producer at Tactica Interactive (& Cre Comm grad) about the unique characteristics of mobile design.
Kenton Larson: Giving our grads a competitive advantage
Erica Glasier: So, all Cre Comm students need an iPad this year?
Kenton Larson: First-year students all require a mobile device, the least expensive of which is an iPod touch (but a smart phone is what most of them have). Advertising majors in Cre Comm are sharing iPads, which was the result of me applying for a Program Innovation fund.
EG: Good call. What made you decide that this was a vital piece of technology for students to learn with?
KL: The reason behind this move is we want our grads to have a competitive advantage when they apply for jobs, and – when they get hired – be tech-savvy when they come up with solutions to all kinds of communication and marketing problems. Our new grads’ best competitive advantage over “old veterans:” understanding how to use and harness new media and technology to benefit their client or employer.
EG: How is consuming media on an iPad a fundamentally different experience than just using the web (ie, why did you think they needed to see the digital world from this perspective)?
KL: As WIRED magazine points out, people don’t “live” on the traditional Web anymore, more and more they’re living in apps as powered by the Internet. My own use tells me that this is indeed true! I haven’t bought a hard copy book or magazine since I bought the iPad, but I’ve downloaded tons of them.
EG: What have the students done differently so far this year, in your opinion, that was facilitated by using the iPad?
KL: From my own perspective, it was important that they not treat the iPad as a museum piece, but actually use it every day in their classes and to communicate. So far, it looks like it’s working. Every week we share useful apps and discover new ways to use the iPads – this week we used it to storyboard ad ideas. Next week? Who knows!
Jeremy Jack: Loves his iPad
Erica Glasier: What do you think of your iPad?
Jeremy Jack: Our fancy new toys, I mean, learning apparatuses! I feel like the iPad has opened my eyes to the future of media. The networking, newspapers, magazines, movies, comics, television, games and the advertising that go with them. I am grateful that I am adopting this trend before it takes off. What I am learning from it will be extremely valuable to my future in communications.
The mobile site must be a more streamlined user experience than the desktop version. You just don’t have the same screen real-estate and bandwidth luxuries. If you’re starting a new online presence I’d go so far as to say design the mobile site first and then move to the desktop version – this will ensure you’re focusing the high priority information first and creating concise user paths.
1. Know what your user wants from the site. This is obvious and goes for any website, app or just a general design task. Mobile UI’s clutter fast so you have to focus on the essential elements of the site and ensure you’re delivering there first. Try to keep the site under 5 levels deep.
2. Know the devices you want to support. Are you targeting smart phone (iPhones, Android, Blackberry), feature phones (Nokia Slide, Motorola RAZR), and/or other devices? Understand the capabilities of each category before you start.
3. Avoid Flash The iPhone and Android do not natively support Flash at this time.
4. Don’t rely on imagery Reducing the amount of imagery you use will reduce page size and download times which is important when the user wants information fast and they don’t want to burn through their data plans.
5. Use an elastic/fluid page layout These layouts expand and contract with the width of the screen. It’s important on mobile sites because there no standard screen size across all devices. You can also give the site a specific look for each device by creating custom style sheets but that can turn into a lot of work fast.
I’ve been hard on MTS‘s advertising a couple times recently, but they won me over today at the mall.
This Ferenegi-like guy was hanging around St. Vital as proof that the new PVRs are out of this world.
Not only was he happy to have his photo taken, his assistant, on hand with that realtime-est of cameras, a Polaroid, shot the two of us, and put it in a tidy take-home envelope for me.
I was so stoked chatting about the makeup and whether or not he made children cry that I forgot to ask why the PVRs are so futuristic, but whatever, the brand interaction was fun.
Also, the illustration of the alien ship beaming down the PVR works way better up close. I still think the billboard doesn’t have enough contrast to catch the eye of a driver, but I take back what I said about style. It’s quite cute and well rendered up close.
I’ve designed billboards. Billboards have a few tricks to them that inexperienced designers and marketers don’t know, until they (cringe) see their work live and in person.
The creative paradigm shift for good billboards involves making something that will be legible, visible, interesting, understandable, memorable, and actionable during a 3 second look while the audience is super busy and probably very far away.
Chances are your up-close creative for any given campaign doesn’t hit all these notes, so some rethinking is order to execute an idea for this medium.
You’ll need:
Big stuff. The key elements, of which there better be few, need to be huge. I have to pick your message out of a lot of visual clutter at high speed. Make it easy to read.
Contrast. The visuals have to pop. They have to grab the eye (attention) and make sense immediately at a distance. Complex images or ideas that rely on figuring out a visual gag that’s anything more than totally obvious will fail. Note to designers: that subtle grey grunge texture you’re laying over black looks hot on your monitor, but will be completely invisible in print.
Simple message. While driving my screaming toddler somewhere I’m already late to and trying to eat a breakfast burrito while shifting gears, I only have room in my brain for maybe 1 more message. Don’t try to give me 2.
Short copy. Deliver that message in as few words as possible. I’m doing at least 60.
Big URL (or other call to action). What do you want me to do? Is there a website involved in all this? Tell it to me fast. Fast, in billboard language, equals big. I like to see the URL occupying the prime real estate at the top, which it rarely does. Initially URLs were tacked on, but more & more they’re the audience’s next step.
Big logo. Who ARE you? If I don’t know that right away from logo or brand colours, that won’t make it into my memory of the experience. I’ll be like, there’s a great sale…somewhere. And while it’s natural in print to put the logo at the bottom of the page, the bottom of a billboard is often obscured, so points if you can get it up high.
Let’s take a look at a few Winnipeg examples and see these principles at work. Or not. Heck, let’s score ‘em & declare a winner.
Lotto 649 / LOTTO MAX
Big stuff: Windows, numbers. Check. 5. Contrast: 0, but they were going for blending in, so 5. Simple message: “Lottery ticket gets you the hell out of here”. 5. Short copy: 5. Big URL: n/a, the logo tells you what to do, so 5. Big Logo: low, not huge, but uncluttered. 3.5. Bonus 5 for creative use of the medium. Score: 33.5/35.
Shaw Together is Amazing
I’m going to review this campaign in a bit of depth (yes, I have something mobile to say), but had to include the bb here because the trendy typography & palette made me feel good about Winnipeg. Big stuff: Headline city. 5. Contrast: Lotsa bright colour 5. Simple message: “Something good. Thank you. Shaw”. 4, point lost because it’s a teaser (so, not informative). Short copy: 5. Big URL: Small URL, BUT the copy is the address, so 4. Big Logo: 3. Low again. Bonus 5 for standing out by looking non-Peg. Score: 31/35.
BOB FM Win $10 Grand
Big stuff: Um, huge. 5. Contrast: Black on yellow is as high contrast as it gets. 5. Simple message: “Win 10 grand Thursdays at 8:15 on Bob”. Gotcha. 5. Short copy: 5. Big URL: Call to action is a radio station in this case. “BOB FM” is about 1/8th of the bb, but this branding has been used in the Peg for about 100 years so I totally know it’s Bob. 4.5. Big Logo: 4. Bonus 5 for straightforwardness. I almost wanna minus a point for obnoxious style, but bb design is no foe of loud and in yo face.Score: 33.5/35.
MTS Futuristic PVR
I don’t mean to rag on MTS, but ad-wise they’re no Shaw. Big stuff: Medium sized, but distinct due to simplicity. 4. Contrast: Blue-cast stuff on blue background. White type on white highlight. 0. Simple message: “A sentence so convoluted, you won’t finish rea…”. However, it is amusing. 4. Short copy: 3. Big URL: Figure it out for yourself. 1 . Big Logo: Small, and with Shaw dominating the PVR mindshare, I’d make this one EXTRA BIG. 1. Minus 1 point for having all the visual flair of an Auto Trader ad. Score: 12/35.
CyberTip: I Reported It
I’m judging these on overall effectiveness, but I have to say I’m very down with this campaign. This is social marketing—not social media marketing, but the traditional marketing of social ideas. The idea here is that it’s not only ok, it’s necessary to report child pornography you come across online. I didn’t know that we should do that, but now I will if I ever see any. Big stuff: Setup copy is kinda little. Don’t get me started on the URL or the logo indicating government support. 3.5. Contrast: Bold white text on black. 5. Simple message: I think this one has too much going on. It looks like a print ad embiggened. You don’t need to convince me with this lady’s opinion or reasoning for reporting…I just need to know I should report and how. 3. Short copy: 3. Big URL: This should be the main thing on the bb. Who the heck do I report it to? It’s there, but not big enough to catch in traffic—see distance test at left. 1 . Big Logo: 0. Bonus 5 for being a really important & thought-provoking message. Score: 20.5/35.
Rogers Unlimited Student Plan
Big stuff: This whole bb is big—3 times as big as some on this list. Unlimited, the message, is ginormous. 5. Contrast: Highly legible type. 5. Simple message “We’ve got the best unlimited student plan” 5. Short copy: They could have added ‘student’ to the main headline, knocked off ‘unlimited student plan’ below that, and made the phones, logo & URL bigger. That said, I can see this bb from so far away that I have time to absorb both (basically the same) messages. 4. Big URL: 0 . Big Logo: 1. Bonus 5 for a crinkly texture that comes off really 3D in person. Score: 25/35.
Booth University College
These were done by Winnipeg tweep Carson Samson, at Samson Design Studio & it was his big fat idea for me to review billboards! Big stuff: Logo takes up a good 2/5 of the design and isn’t at the bottom of the design. Big URL (low, unfortunately). Simple image. 4.5. Contrast: Despite being black on white, the lightenss of the logo’s text lowers contrast from a distance (see distance test at left). I’ve seen this one on Main in a traffic-level spot, though, & you can read it fine. 3. Simple message: “Salvation Army’s college has changed names to Booth”. I could almost infer that from the SA logo, if it were a little larger. Taking out the ‘We are now’ would let you make the logo & URL even bigger. 4. Short copy: The logo itself has 8 words, counting the tagline: quite a bit for a billboard. 3. Big URL: Biggest URL we’ve seen so far! 5 . Big Logo: 5. Bonus 3 attention points for featuring pretty girls. Score: 27.5/35.
Bodies, The Exhibition
Big stuff: Huge headline, big picture. 5 Contrast: Highly legible type. 5. Simple message “Come see the Bodies exhibit.” 5. Short copy: Name of event, key highlights. I’d argue ‘innovative’ and groundbreaking’ aren’t as big a draw a ‘real’, but this one’s politically sensitive (sadly), so maybe they can’t play up the cool awesome scientificness of it. 5. Big URL: There’s a trade-off here: big, memorable picture (generating enough interest that someone would google), or big URL? Gotta go for interest. 3 . Big Logo: Going by fast, I’d be excited this show was in town, but would probably have to google to find out it was at the exceptionally-staffed MTS Centre Exhibition Hall. 1. Bonus 5 for putting a corpse on a billboard. Score: 29.5/35.
HOT103 Ace Burpee “Twilight”
Big stuff: Big station logo, big show name, big pic. 5 Contrast: See distance test for Booth above—you can read that “HOT” from a mile away. Name of the show is slightly less legible due to font and background greyout on the right side, but I’m nitpicking. 4.5. Simple message “Ace is funny.” 5. Short copy: 5. Big URL: Call to action is the station logo. 5 . Big Logo: 5. Bonus 4 for how great Chrissy’s hair looks. Score: 33.5/35.
Big stuff: Big pic, big headline. 5 Contrast: White text on black, my favourite. 5. Simple message “You can stop hunger.” 5. Short copy: 5. Big URL: Small & low. 3 . Big Logo: I think they’re going for ‘teaser’ here, not wanting to identify the campaign with WorldVision right up front. So we’ll count the URL as the logo. 3. Bonus 2 for taking the emotional route. Minus 1 for the design not being quite as impactful as it could be—the copy could have a little more presence, the URL a little more prominence, the eyes fill more of the space. Score: 27/35.
So we have a tie! Lotteries, BOBFM and HOT103 all come out on top with 33.5/35. All three leverage a really simple message, the Holy Grail of billboard design.
Let me know what you think. What are your favourite Winnipeg billboards? Which ones really bug you?
I came upon this folk art Twitter bird nailed to the front of a house in my neighbourhood (I live in that kind of neighbourhood). Of course, the woman who owned the house busted me standing on her steps to take the shot. We both agreed it was kind of odd, but she generously let me continue. Happy Sunday!
Connecting meaningfully with people is a top priority for nonprofits: our business goals—donations, advocates and volunteers—can only be achieved when people really care about what we do.
More and more nonprofits are realizing the power of social media to forge those relationships, and are allocating precious marketing communications budgets to creating social media roles. The real-time and very public nature of the medium makes it essential to have dedicated, knowledgeable people crafting a digital strategy, monitoring and responding, and developing great, shareable content.
And it’s just a great place for people to get to know you!
The Winnipeg Foundation is one of the city’s largest nonprofits, making grants of almost $21 million to over 670 local charities (including my organization, United Way of Winnipeg). Just a few months ago, the Foundation created a social role to better engage the public and spread understanding of their work.
So what are this nonprofit’s plans for their first ‘official’ year in social media? I chat with Jenette Martens, the Foundation’s new Social Media Convenor.
Erica Glasier: Your position at Winnipeg Foundation is very new, just 2 months old. Had the Foundation started dabbling in social media and found that they needed someone to take it over full time, or are you the first person to foray into it? How did your position come to be? How are you the right person for your job (education, tech interest, social butterfly)?
Jenette Martens: I was introduced to The Winnipeg Foundation as an intern on a three-week work placement earlier this year through the Creative Communications program at Red River College. The internship introduced me to a variety of tasks at the Foundation, and because of personal interest, I gravitated toward social media.
The Foundation was already using some social media tools when I started. For example, our CEO, Rick Frost, had a monthly blog and the Foundation already had a Twitter account. During my internship, I organized Twitter lists, set us up with HootSuite, and introduced tweet scheduling.
The Foundation recognized the increased demands created by social media and the timing of my internship put me in the right place at the right time! There is an endless supply of great grant stories and good causes for the Foundation to talk about online.
My training in public relations also helps me in my new role. I understand from my studies the importance of being strategic and creating objectives. When I was hired, one of my first goals was drafting a social media strategy. We do evaluations to make sure we’re on the right track to achieving our goals.
EG:Is your job part of a larger interactive communications strategy?
JM: My job is very closely linked with the Foundation’s overall strategic communications. Our online voice needs to match our other communications.
The Foundation interacts with the community in a lot of ways: we speak at and attend community events, have TV, print and radio ads, and much more.
My job doing social media is just another way we talk with people, get feedback, and help the public understand who we are and what we do.
EG:How have you been using social media so far? (platforms, presences, contests, data gathering?) Who’s your audience?
JM: I’ve only been here for a few months, and we’ve just started creating our social media identity. We use Twitter regularly to positive effect. Our followers grow a little every day and we’re starting to see a regular response to our tweets which is very exciting. We’ve started a Foundation Facebook page and I’m working on collecting pictures and videos to post on it. I don’t think people realize how many projects The Winnipeg Foundation has supported so we’re using Twitter and Facebook to tell these stories. For example, I’m making a video right now about the new Plug In ICA building which we recently supported with a grant.
We haven’t created any contests. Though we’re working on a new Facebook promotion right now and we’re looking into a geocaching activity that may have a competitive aspect to it.
As to how I gather information; I’m working on setting up the Foundation’s Google Analytics for our Twitter and Facebook page. I use Tweetalarm on top of Twitter searches to watch what people are saying about the Foundation on Twitter. I use Google Reader to watch close to 50 blogs (include yours Erica!). HootSuite and Facebook have some built in stats, so I check those often. I also have Google Alerts set up for our organization.
The Foundation has more than one audience. Through social media tools, we’re trying to build awareness with young professionals about The Winnipeg Foundation, what we do and what sort of things are going on in philanthropy in Winnipeg. We also want our social media platforms to be interesting and useful to Winnipeg charities and other community foundations.
EG:What have you learned about social media and the non-profit world so far? How responsive and active online do you feel Winnipeggers are?
JM: I have learned a lot about social media since I’ve joined The Winnipeg Foundation and even more about the non-profit world.
In my position, I don’t just need to know what The Winnipeg Foundation is up to and how we operate, but what all the charities in the city are up to. There is a lot to learn!
I don’t have anything to compare it to, but I’d say Winnipeggers are reasonably active online and this will only increase as time goes on.
Social media is quite new to many so I hear a variety of responses when I tell people what I do. Some people don’t know what social media is, some think it’s a fad, some use it solely for connecting with family and friends, and some start talking about social media tools that I’ve never heard of before!
EG:What strategic goals are you concerned with achieving in your first year? Why is the Foundation using social media? (promotion, awareness, publicity, customer service, donor relations, donor acquisition?)
JM: In our first year we are most concerned with building awareness with the Foundation’s new audiences. We want people to know who we are, and what we do. We want them to consider our social media platforms as a go-to source for information about philanthropy and of course, we want to build relationships with individuals, non-profits, and community foundations.
EG:What do you plan to do tactically to achieve your strategic goals? I’ll make that sound less boring—how will you interact with Winnipeggers?
There’s not just one way, it’s going to be a thousand little things. We’ll try to provide content that is interesting, invite feedback, comment on what other people are doing and try to participate more fully in the Winnipeg online community. We’ll make sure we’re not just talking, but also listening. We’re going to start another blog related to philanthropy and have a variety of people contribute to it.
Once we’ve established a solid presence on the main social media sites, we’ll be able to expand and join more niche sites. We watch our sector colleagues closely and are always getting ideas from what other people are doing. Our strategy will change based on what’s happening around us.
Feeling philanthropic? You can connect with the Winnipeg Foundation on Facebook and Twitter. Their CEO has a blog and he alsotweets—an impressive commitment to new media!
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Can you brand something with a blue bird in 2010 and not be referencing Twitter?
It’s a lovely brand, I just think someone’s using it right now.
I’m struggling with whether the designers:
believe Twitter, with about 6800 local participants, according to a quick Tweepz search, just isn’t prevalent enough in Winnipeg for the brand similarities to matter
are planning a brilliant Twitter campaign to support & extend the print blitz, or
have never heard of Twitter
Does Twitter own birds? Do they want to?
Modern birds have had their own look for roughly 65 million years. Can Twitter own the notion of a bird, or subset of birds (the blue ones)? If a brand spawns thousands of mashup logos, does it really make a sound?
That Twitter didn’t feel the need to purchase the icon outright like they did with Yiying Lu’s Fail Whale suggests they don’t want to ‘own’ the bird as logo. It’s a “decorative element”, branding wall art.
Logo liberty and the essence of crowdsourcing
The thing with Twitter is that the community really took the wall art and ran with it. You can find literally infinite permutations, literally, of Twitter’s blue bird and they all mean ‘tweet’.
Logo liberty is one of the sticky factors of the Twitter brand. In true crowdsourced, Web-2.0-at-it’s-best fashion we are all permitted to customize the brand to suit us while still projecting the brand essence. That’s because the brand essence is crowdsourcing and participation. It’s a unique medium-is-the-message branding model born of a cultural shift to group brand ownership.
Let’s examine the extent of this Bird of the Crowd metamorphosis, shall we?
Blue birds = Twitter
A marriage of Twitter’s corporate blue and Oxley’s iconic (not blue) bird, blue birds from a variety of artistic traditions were the first mascots to say “Twitter”. Beyond style preference, designers inserted their attitude visually as a means to convey their communication style (“I’m cute! I’m fun!”) or expertise (“I’m a freakin’ NINJA with WOLVERINE CLAWS!).
ANY bird = Twitter
We don’t all have blue websites, so soon all manner and species of bird came to symbolize a link to the Twitterverse. Twitter’s bird mindshare grew to encompass every bird.
Dissolving birds that are hardly even birds = Twitter
The whole ‘bird’ idea began to abstract, to simplify, to fly like a small blue bird to the wide open sky of possibilities, of barely-birds.
Anything blue = Twitter
With the bird concept now optional, the final ties to the corporate brand lay in colour. Twitter icons expanded to include anything in a fresh Web 2.0-y shade of blue.
Things that are neither blue nor birds = Twitter
Blue is so limiting. So are birds. There’s no reason a piece of toast can’t symbolize Twitter.
I’m sure you can appreciate the scope of the designer’s problem. If Twitter’s brand encompasses blue birds, all other birds, everything blue, and anything that isn’t blue or a bird, we’re going to need to open up more of the visual spectrum or something if we want to keep creating distinctive work.
This does make it tough to brand new products and services. Perhaps we’ve reached the end of branding, and it’s safe to start over again with small blue birds.
I’d feel really good about myself if you’d subscribe to my blog. Interactive & social media marketing insights served piping hot!
Siloam Mission, a Winnipeg non-profit offering services to people experiencing homelessness, has done an amazing job reaching out to the community through social media.
Blair Barkeley, Siloam’s Website and Social Media Coordinator, has been a “connecting point between the compassionate and Winnipeg’s less fortunate”, and I chatted with him about his experience.
Unfortunately Blair, along with 17 other staff at Siloam, was laid off “due to a 15 to 25 percent decrease in donations and public support”. Today is his last day, and I’m sorry to see this channel of public outreach temporarily lost.
Q. Siloam Mission is using many social media channels (Larry Updike’s blog, Facebook, Twitter, Twestival, YouTube). Where did that social media savvy come from? Was a it a directive from management that resulted in a social engagement hire, or did a young person with a digital skill set come on board and bring the idea to the CEO? Was there an identified need to engage with Winnipeggers (either in the online space, or just in general)?
Blair Barkeley: Siloam’s social media savvy actually came from both. A web & social media position was created by management for the very purpose to get into the whole social media world and start connecting with new people and new possible supporters. And then I was hired to fill the position.
My job and goal was to engage with people online and starting entering the new social media phenomenon so that Siloam Mission could capture a whole new rage of supporters. Read the rest of this entry »
Something unique is happening to stories in the age of participation.
Have you heard the term “convergent media”? How about “transmedia“? Transmedia is “storytelling across multiple forms of media in order to have different “entry points” in the story”. It’s a richer experience, an interactive narrative backchannel, that lets you learn and participate in what were once one-way broadcast media: film and tv.
Expect these kinds of experiences to become more common, as tv and film producers explore transmedia in extending and enhancing the worlds they create. The conversation, participation, and deeper understanding fostered by new media in co-production with classic media brings everybody a bigger, better experience of the story.
The Nature of Things One Ocean airs Thursday nights in March on CBC.
Tactica’s looking for an interactive developer who hearts Flash or Unity, and a senior web developer willing to bust some funky Droople moves. If you’d like to get busy building creative online stuff, check out these career opportunities and blast your resume over here.
Nice to meet you
Thanks for the comments & the kind words. Best place to get my immediate attention is Twitter, but you could also email me.
