Freshly Baked @Foursquare Ideas - Check into transporation, not just locations

Currently, Foursquare allows users to check into one location at a time. A local cafe. A new kitsch bar. A grubby metro station.

But what if Foursquare supported check ins to more than just locations? What if Foursquare supported check ins to major modes of transportation. A flight. A cruise liner. An interstate train.

What I find interesting about this idea is that it opens up a new dimension to Foursquare. No longer are you bound to just one location at any one point in time. By checking into a major mode of transportation, you're now interacting with an object that ties multiple locations together  - your origin and your destination. I think this could have major business implications as it could enable Foursquare to widen its service offerings in the future to both the consumer and business markets.

Let's look at checking into major modes of transportation as an example. Users are already doing this - they're just treating it as another legitimate location. How many times have you seen some flight/cruise/train code, an AA33, a QF108 or an OA815 (only if you're in LAX), already entered in Foursquare? Whilst confusing at times (surely checking into the airport tarmac isn't legitimate) it does confirm one thing: people are already familiar with checking into modes of transportation. From a UX perspective, it's somewhat reassuring to know that this behaviour is already part of a user's mental model of Foursquare.

My own personal user journey for this use case would look like:

1. I'm at JFK and I check into flight AA33.
2. Foursquare confirms this is the JFK -> LAX bound flight.
3. I am able to read up on LAX and am presented with useful data about my flight (e.g. whether it is on time or delayed, departure gate, etc.) and my destination location: LAX. In this case, I would expect to be presented with data such as the location of airline lounges, transfer gates, customs offices, rest rooms. I may even be presented with the different forms of local transport (train/bus/cab) and estimated rates (e.g. the cab fare from LAX to Downtown LA). And all this occurs in addition to the tips functionality that exists on the current Foursquare platform. Imagine how powerful and relevant this would be for travellers!
4. LAX is 'cached' on a quick-access list, so when I land and get mobile coverage, it immediately pops up for a rapid fire check in.

In this simple example, it is clear that the user group that is benefitting is the consumer group. They're benefitting from the useful and relevant data...and this occurs because we've shifted focus from a single location to an object (a mode of transportation) that ties multiple locations together simultaneously.

But what about the business group? I can feel people itching to know how this service could be monetised. I think this service is perfectly aligned with the travel guide industry - and if the recent Guardian article on Foursquare is anything to go by, it appears that Foursquare is perfectly lined up to enter this particular industry. But rather than competing against the travel guide giants, I'd recommend partnering with them (at least for the short term). Lonely Planet (@lonelyplanet) is infamous for it's PDF guides of cities, and it's pre-planned sight-seeing routes. Foursquare could be leveraged as a distribution network for Lonely Planet.

Just imagine this: Foursquare confirms that flight AA33 is bound for Los Angeles. You've never been to LA before, so Foursquare offers a $10 mobile guide to Los Angeles with all of the travel hot spots laid out on the map within the native Foursquare mobile app. Pretty neat huh? Foursquare could charge a retainer fee for being the distribution network and a percentage cut of every transaction made. Obviously, issues will have to be ironed out with pushing travel guides only when its relevant (i.e. only when users are travelling for holidays). This is just one minor example of a new revenue stream for Foursquare just by focusing not on a single location, but an object (a mode of transportation) that links multiple locations together simultaneously.

I've calculated that since the start of 2010, I've averaged at least one flight a week with business. I also know I've  personally added my weekly flights as locations on Foursquare (for both points and mayorship purposes). Crowley (@dens), please don't hate. I've seen other commuters check into my faux-locations too! But if randoms and I are checking into these faux locations...doesn't this mean something?

So readers, I'd be keen on hearing your thoughts. Do you think this functionality would be useful? What other travel-related functionality would you like to see on Foursquare? Drop me a comment below with your opinions!

IKEA: E-Commerce will be game changing

There are three words I often associate with the IKEA brand: cheap, innovative & stylish. Every customer knows that these characteristics are deeply etched into IKEA’s product design and development philosophy. Only some customers know that these characteristics are communicated through IKEA’s digital offering – for example, last year, they launched the Facebook Showroom Campaign. In my opinion, advertising agency, Forsman & Bodenfors, have devised a world-class creative strategy for IKEA by leveraging the cost-free Facebook platform, specifically, the photo tagging and comments functionality, to create mass brand buzz. As a corollary, IKEA is now positioned as being more mature in social media as well as a conversational, engaging brand.

However, social media is only one piece of the digital channel puzzle. Another piece is online retail, or e-commerce, and to date it’s still missing. There are reasons why an online retail channel hasn’t been pursued just yet– all unknown to me. Perhaps it’s that their current distribution model can’t handle a multi-channel offering without significant process re-engineering. Perhaps it’s that they don’t have any serious competitors in the online market. Or perhaps their research shows that customers don’t need it (which I highly doubt). Either way, I believe e-commerce should be part of IKEA’s digital strategy and should be the next big offering from IKEA.

Here are some reasons why:

1. The current in-store customer experience is painful

I’ve commonly heard that the in-store experience quickly degrades from being fun and exciting to long and boring. Why? Because of the physical store layout, which is uni-directional. All customers are funnelled down one path and have to pass through all showrooms before they can exit. The path to cross-sell/ up-sell couldn't be any more obvious, let alone anymore painful. An e-commerce solution would assist in diluting this negative customer experience by offering customers with a new channel (that’s flexible and multi-directional) that they can peruse around. Cross-selling/up-selling would also be present, but subtly displayed to the user as recommendations.

2. The digital channel empowers the customer

One characteristic the digital space has over the in-store experience is the ability to tangibly model, in real time, your dream home or office. In the digital world, the customer is empowered. Everything is available at the tips of your fingertips...literally. IKEA provides a downloadable CAD 3D-modelling application (PC’s only – sorry Mac fans) which gives customers full expression to DIY. Install a cabinet...move a heavy shelf...that's just two clicks. Don't like it? Click. And it's all blown away. This highly immersive, visual, tangible and somewhat realistic experience cannot be provided to customers in the real world currently. Imagine being able to buy all of your furniture in a hassle-free, express checkout once you’ve modelled your dream home or office.

The only change I'd make to the downloadable 3D-modelling application is to remove it and replace it with a web application. This way, IKEA wouldn't be isolating the Apple-using market (which by consumer behaviour shares similar characteristics to IKEA customers - innovative & stylish). I would also consider other technologies, other than Flash, to develop this new web application (once again, so as not to isolate the Apple market). However, having said this, I do realise that the user experience should not be dictated by the technology stack.

3. IKEA shoppers are cult-like

IKEA shoppers love IKEA products. They love to talk about what they’ve purchased and recommend their favourite items to their friends. All you have to do is look at IKEAFANS.com [http://www.ikeafans.com/] There's a real cult following for IKEA products (not as disturbing as Apple, but still somewhat formidable). With an e-commerce capability, I would tap straight into this cult energy. Imagine being recommended a product by a friend on the IKEAFANs.com forum and being able to directly purchase that product within the forum itself. You’re improving customer experience by eliminating the hassle of having to travel to your closest store and then search in-store for that particular product.

4. The current digital customer touch points need to be interlinked

A quick scan of IKEA’s customer touch points in their digital channel indicates social media presence (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube), an online and downloadable product brochure, online accounts, personalised shopping lists as well as the downloadable CAD 3D-modelling application. Only some of these digital assets are interlinked. E-commerce can act as the common glue between these touch points, resembling a hub-and-spoke framework. For example, customer should be able to purchase a product they’ve found from the online product brochure. Likewise, traffic can be driven from a tweet to a particular product page.

With the Australian Online Retail market ramping up, let’s hope IKEA can get on board and offer customers with an e-commerce channel.

What do you think?

Want more IKEA?

• Mark Pollard’s - How IKEA games you: The Real Gruen Transfer
• Julian Cole’s - Do you know the name of this Facebook viral marketing method

Vampires, Blood Banks & Advertising

What on earth do vampires, blood banks and advertising have in common? At first glance, they seem completely unrelated and nonsensical. But when you consider them within the context of the Australian TV calendar, you soon realise that these 3 elements have much more in common. In fact, they are so tightly intertwined, that the Winter of 2010 presents the Australian advertising industry with an extremely unique opportunity.

Let me explain...my rather distorted/alternate market observations:

Firstly, True Blood Season 3 will debut in Australia in Winter, on August 19.

Secondly, Winter seasonally marks the lowest levels of blood donations to the Australian Red Cross Blood Service (people fall sick during Winter and donation rates drop dramatically). It also marks the period when donor campaigns are ramped up to obtain more blood.

The extremely unique opportunity here, is to capitalise on the business needs of both organisations and go to the Australian market with a co-branded campaign.  Both organisations will benefit from significant national exposure in the lead up to True Blood's third season debut. This will also continue to persist during the season's broadcast. Additionally, the Australian Red Cross Blood Service will potentially benefit from increased quantities of new donors or existing donors donating blood during the Winter season.

Why does this idea work?

It's vastly different.

Globally, I think this may be a first, where an international premium cable-television network teams up with a local humanitarian, non-government organisation to support a blood drive campaign. The closest the Australian Red Cross Blood Service has come to partnering with a media-related organisation is the 2010 Open Air Cinemas in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. According to @redcrossbloodau, their "presence at the event was focused on raising awareness of the need for blood, rather than donations".

This campaign will be like a breath of fresh air, for the general public, and it will instantly grab their attention.

It's bold & edgy.

The Australian Red Cross Blood Service will be taking a huge leap away from it's current marketing strategy and will be definitely pushing the packet. What is exciting about this is that it's bold and edgy: it shows the versatility of the Australian Red Cross Blood Service to adopt an alternate market position, one within international, mainstream television media.

And it's not THAT risky.

Vampirism is nothing new for the Australian Red Cross Blood Service. For example, it currently works in conjunction with the Australian Medical Students’ Association (AMSA) on an annual blood drive competition known as the Vampire Cup. It also coordinates the Vampire Shield program at Queanbeyan High School during June and July. As such, affiliating the Australian Red Cross Blood Service brand with the True Blood vampire theme won't be an issue.

What will be issues though, are the other connotations associated with the True Blood series - the vulgarity, graphic violence, racism and nudity. I however, think this can be overcome - it depends on the angle of the True Blood series, which is marketed to the public. Furthermore, most of the public will understand that the motive for the co-branding is for a good cause. In this case, I believe the greater good will significantly outweigh any negative connotations.

What do you think? Putting aside the short time frame to execute an advertising campaign like this, do you think a co-branded approach would even work?

Drop a comment below & hit me back with some ideas :)

User Experience (UX). Steve Jobs'ing the Newspaper Industry.

Over the next 5-10 years, one question will cause many restless nights for the CEO's of newspaper companies. This question, one of multi-billion dollar proportions, is:

"How can we successfully convince and convert readers to pay for online news?"

Many people think this is an impossible task, and there's evidence to prove it. The New York Times launched a subscription program called TimesSelect in 2005, charging readers US $49.95 per annum. (Non-loyal) readers proved reluctant to pay for online content and the program was abandoned in 2007.

With British newspapers, The Times and The Sunday Times, recently announcing that they will charge for online content from June 2010, I thought I'd pitch in my two cent's worth.

In this blog post,  I propose 3 ideas:

1. The problem- Newspapers are not innovating enough.
2. The strategy- Newspapers need to focus on their readers...not their revenues
3. The solution- Really Rich User Experience

The problem: Newspapers are not innovating enough.

Most people think the problem is that news is free and so readily available on the web. This is what makes content so impossible to charge for online - if you can't get news from one news provider, there are many more just one click away. Additionally, there's blogs, Twitter and other social media technologies which can be leveraged for free, to obtain news and information. But these alternative are not the problem; they merely form the digital landscape which we're growing up in and currently inhabiting. More importantly, they form the baseline for all of our (user/customer) demands and expectations.

The problem is that newspapers are not innovating enough. An examination of existing and future chargeable online content offerings shows that they are nothing to be desired. In these initiatives, newspapers are re-packaging existing news services into 'sparklier' offerings and then they differentiate by the bells and whistles they hang off (more up-to-date news coverage, more images and/or more information).  In the case of The Times and The Times Select, its "video, interactive graphics, personalised news feeds and the chance to engage directly with our journalists" (James Harding, the editor of The Times). Most of these offerings we can already get on the web today. This is why newspapers have all failed in the past with charging for online content, and this is why they will fail in the future. Reinventing the wheel got nobody anywhere. The same rule applies for newspapers. If newspapers really believed in the value of their journalism, they'd provide a much superior product and service to their readers than what they area already providing.

The strategy: Newspapers need to focus on their readers...not their revenues

If newspapers really focused on their readers, they'd know that charging for online content (in the present climate) is a futile move. More importantly, they would have a better understanding of the information needs of readers today.

In no specific, order, the information needs of readers today can be distilled down to 3 key pillars:

1. Succinctness

The supply of information well exceeds our demand and consequently, we have to consciously manage the equilibrium. This balancing act is a challenge as most of us are time-poor, i.e. we don't have enough time to identify, process and consolidate information (this is one reason why RSS became popular).

We don't need more information. We don't want more information. But what we do want is information presented in a succinct-manner and then have the ability to access that information. It is maximum factual impact within minimal time (this is one reason why Twitter became even more popular).

2. User Experience (UX)

Apple is a leader in the UX market. From the time each Apple product is unpacked to the time it is retired, customers revel endlessly about their amazing experience with the product. What Apple has done is not just revolutionise the technology market, but the consumer expectation market. Consumers now demand from every new generational technology release, much more sophisticated environments and capabilities that are just as, if not even more, easy-to-use.

In addition to this, consumers want the ability to control their information. They want an information pipeline that can be tailored to their information needs and interests. It's all about personalising the user experience.

The implications of increasing consumer expectations on the newspaper industry are huge, as it creates a massive opportunity for newspaper to innovate and offer game changing products and services that will revolutionise the way we browse and consume news content.

A perfect example is the collaboration that's between occurring between Wired Magazine and Adobe to develop their magazine content on the iPad. I believe Wired Magazine will be:

1. A market disruptor within the magazine industry and 2. A market leader in shaping the way we consume print content in the future.

3. Accessibility

There are three dimensions to information accessibility:

1. Physical - Information has to be physically accessible everywhere, from the mobile to the desktop, both online and offline.

2. Time - It also has to be accessible in real-time. The quicker you have access to information, the sooner you can position yourself in front of your competitors.

3. Societal - Information also has to be presented in a manner that it does not discriminate against those mentally and/or physically disadvantaged.

The solution: Really Rich User Experience

The only way newspaper companies will be able to convince and convert online readers to pay for online news is if they completely change the way we consume news. I believe that one way to achieve this is to provide consumers with a really rich user experience.

This isn't rocket science and you'll see why in the next two scenarios.

Scenario 1: The Portable Music Industry

Just less than a decade ago, MP3 players dominated the portable audio market. They synced seamlessly with the desktop, were highly portable and allowed music to be played on the go. In October 23, 2001, Apple released the first generation iPod. It synced seamlessly with the desktop, was highly portable and allowed music to be played on the go; it provided the same services as the MP3. The technology and the functionality was not revolutionary.

What was revolutionary, however, was the way users interacted with their music content. Apple provided a completely new and refreshing user experience for managing audio content. No longer would tracks have to be viewed individually (as in the Mp3); they could be viewed collectively grouped per album or per artist. No longer would volume be increased/decreased at the press of a button; it could be increased/decreased through sliding your finger across a track pad. Apple completely disrupted the existing model of interacting with a portable music device and offered a really rich user experience. Now the Apple iPod holds over 90% of the market for hard-drive based music players.

Scenario 2: The Mobile Communications Industry

Touch-screen smartphones have been around for decades, harking back to the days when names like Palm Treo, Personal Digital Assistance (PDA) and Siemens were considered 'radical'. They were compact computers with nifty features like GPS, WiFi, calendars, calculators, notes, email and an address book. However, none of these technologies took off.

Jump forward in time by a decade - in 2007, Apple officially announced it's smart phone, the iPhone. It was a compact computer with nifty features like GPS, WiFi, calendars, calculators, notes, email and an address book amongst other things. The feature set wasn't revolutionary. What was revolutionary, however, was the way users interacted their mobile device. The iPhone user interface (UI) was sexy, intuitive and consumers became completely immersed within it (and they still are now). At the time, the phone didn't even support basic functionality such as copy and paste, or even allow for multitask processing. But users loved the really rich user experience. Now the iPhone constitutes over 60% of the Australian mobile market.

It appears that revolutionising the way we consume content and providing even richer user experiences with each new technology release is key towards shifting an entire market towards a new convention.

One idea I have of a really rich user experience that I'd like to experience in the near future is reader immersion. Essentially this is my term for virtually embedding the reader within the real-life context of the content they are consuming.

The best example I can think of is the recent events in Haiti. Our perception of the situation was only conveyed through news articles, video snippets and online photo galleries. However, each of these mediums are mutually exclusive, and as such, are unable to collectively provide a complete experience of the situation in Haiti.

Through reader immersion, I foresee technologies such as Microsoft's Photosynth and Augmented Reality being combined to provide a richer user experience. Through Photosynth, readers will be able to see a three-dimensional rendering of the environment, and they will be able to view and move around in it. Overlaying textual information, via augmented reality, within this three-dimension virtual environment enables readers to drill down to more specific news content regarding the situation. The combination of these technologies would completely immerse readers within the world of Haiti, right from their home, and would enable them to have a fuller comprehension of the situation.

Conclusion

It's not about providing more news, more video or interactive graphics. We simply don't have the time to consume more content. The existing newspaper model is bunk.

It's about disrupting the market and way we consume news content now. It's about delivering a game-changing news service with an even richer user experience than the one we have now.

If any newspaper company is able to do this, they're just Steve Jobs'ed the newspaper industry, and they've lined themselves up for the billion dollar bang.

Case Study: Jesus All About Life, Part II

This blog post contains recommendations for the Jesus All About Life campaign. Majority of these may appear as trivial and extremely obvious, but I believe they are the fundamental basics that individuals/groups/corporations have to get right if they wish to utilise the web technologies of today and more importantly, maintain an image of control and competence.

These recommendations, whilst focused on this specific campaign, are still highly relevant for everyone. They are also easily implementable :)

GENERAL RECOMMENDATIONS

1. Think online. Not only is the Internet a cheaper medium to advertise on compared to traditional mediums (television, broadcast, print, radio), it also has far greater reach than any of them. It is a well-known fact that the Internet transcends local and even national communities, countries, cultures, time zones. One goal of Jesus All About Life Campaign is to increase the public’s awareness of Jesus. The internet is the perfect medium to assist in achieving this goal.

   Another reason for focusing on web technologies (as opposed to traditional medium)  is that there has been a mass movement from the traditional "old" media to the "new" media by the younger demographic of global society. A proportion of Gen X and the majority of Gen Y are less inclined to read physical print. Interesting fact: according to a study conducted by the Pew Research Centre, a tipping point occurred in early 2009 in America, where more individuals sourced their news online for free, than paid for it by buying newspapers and magazines. Putting one obvious reason aside (online news is free, for now at least), I think it is fairly obvious where the storage, retrieval and publishing of information is headed: online.

   I recommend the campaign continue using the web technologies used in the past campaign and  offer Foursquare, the geo-location service (not the ball game), as another platform to be utilised in future campaigns. I do not see much relevance in exploiting the mayor and badge models for a campaign of this nature. While these bread-and-butter features of Foursquare are proving invaluable for many businesses today, I offer that which is on the horizon - the Foursquare   Promotions Functionality. This new feature identifies nearby specials based on your location.

   What attracts me to this feature is that you are easily able to instantly increase your potential audience. No longer are you bound to static individuals who view the event information behind a computer screen. You are now interacting with the mobile users. Through a simple mobile data connection and being in the neighbourhood, individuals who may not have known about the event or campaign, can be accessed.

   This functionality is suitable for Jesus All About Life events, such as the free barbecues.

2. Reconsider television as a campaign medium. From my research of the Jesus All About Life television advertisement, there has been mixed feedback regarding its reach and exposure. Some individuals had seen the advertisement on Channel 7, whilst others (including myself) had not. Considering this mixed response, I question the effectiveness of television as a medium for this campaign. Furthermore, considering the high costs associated with brainstorming, producing and broadcasting the advertisement, I question whether television should be part of the strategy in the next campaign.

   What I would like to see is the data of viewer behaviour when the advertisements were aired. Did viewers instantly flick away (a potential sign of television not being so effective) or did they watch the whole advertisement. Another trend I would look for in this data would be viewer behaviour towards subsequent showings of the advertisement after they viewed the first screening. Yes, this data can be mined for many other trends. I am only highlighting two , which I find particularly interesting.

3. Reassess the print strategy. At the start of, and even during, the campaign, I observed several news articles informing about the theft or vandalising of banners and posters associated with this campaign. The printing costs of this media is extremely high, and instantly lost when this occurs. I recommend that the funds towards banners, posters and similar articles be minimised and/or channelled elsewhere within print media (such as providing more teaching resources to the involved churches) or elsewhere in other communication channels.

The following section details recommendations per channel/touch-point utilised in this campaign.

WEBSITE

1. Become W3C Compliant. The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) has a free, online mark-up validation service. Becoming W3C compliant is important as invalid mark-up can affect the accessibility of the site from users using older browsers, or mobile devices. Invalid mark-up has an even greater impact on disabled users who completely rely on screen readers. Whilst some screen readers and other assistive technologies have been developed to be more 'tolerant' towards invalid markup, its recommended to follow best practice and develop with standards and accessibility in mind. The W3c has published a Web Content Accessibility Guideline (WCAG) which explains how to make online content more accessible.
2. Practice Progressive Enhancement. Progressive enhancement is a web design and development strategy that adopts a layered approach towards content and functionality. It assumes a fundamental belief that content will always be accessible to the user. The progressive enhancement comes in the user experience, which can be enriched through other means such as JavaScript.

   I believe progressive enhancement can be implemented on the Google Map widget, which is found on the homepage. When JavaScript is disabled, users are unable to access the functionality or data associated with this widget. I recommend that the data accessed by the widget be output to another page, to improve accessibility.

YOUTUBE CHANNEL

1. One brand. Multiple Platforms. Campaign branding should be consistent and seamless irrespective of the platforms used in the campaign (website, Facebook, Twitter or YouTube). This not only reinforces the  image associated with the campaign, it improves user experience when bouncing between platforms.I recommend that the YouTube Channel be customised, to be more in-line with the website. I have listed the steps to achieve this below:

   i. Login > Click 'Account' Click 'Edit Channel' (see screenshot) ii. Click 'Channel Design' (see screenshot) iii. Customise your Channel (see screenshot) (An an example, I lifted the website background and temporarily used it as the background to my YouTube channel).

FACEBOOK FAN PAGE

I am unable to make any recommendations regarding this touch-point. The overall utilisation of the Facebook Fan Page is excellent. This channel is well maintained and the content published (photos, notes, events, etc.) keeps the audience constantly engaged.

The number of fans (approx. 22,100) is impressive, and I believe is a good sign of the campaign achieving one of its goals, i.e. "Get the churches in the advertising target area, active." Yes, it's highly likely that most of the fans are Christians, but here is one channel that unites individuals from across New South Wales and Western Australia, in one campaign for a common objective. Now that’s exciting!

I'm confident in saying that there is traction around this page - there is a healthy stream of wall posts and comments even to today (some 4 months after the campaign has finished). This may be one good indicator of the campaign's persistence and 'stickiness' within the general public.

TWITTER ACCOUNT

1. Contextualise every link tweeted. It is important to provide followers with a summary of what the link is about. Rather than tweeting "http://bit.ly/1tXEnj", tweet: "Thanks for Summer & Friends [img]: http://bit.ly/1tXEnj" or something similar. This is more user friendly for your followers.
2. Stick with one URL shortening service. This will make it easier to manage the analytics surrounding your campaign. Although, tracking statistics across multiple URL services is not that hard, it is less efficient. I have noticed that bit.ly and tinyurl have been used throughout the campaign, with a move towards bit.ly more recently. I recommend finding the URL shortening service that is easiest for your staff to use and stick with it. I am a huge fan of bit.ly as it smoothly integrates with the various Twitter clients I use (e.g. TweetDeck, Chromed Bird).
3. Link back to your content. Rather than posting two links (one to the original source, and one to the JAAL Facebook page) for the same content, just link to your content, i.e. your JAAL Facebook Fan Page. This eliminates redundancy, and improves the readability of your tweets. More importantly, you're channelling your audience towards your content.

   Worried that this practice will artificially inflating statistics for your Facebook Fan Page? Despite the fact that there are not many tools in the market to measure traffic to Facebook Fan Pages (most are aimed towards traffic surrounding Facebook Applications), I have found an excellent resource that enables Google Analytics for Facebook Fan Pages.

4. Screen/QA tweets. The following tweet is not user friendly: <object width="560" height="340"><param... http://bit.ly/poNy5

   If communication is occurring between two social platforms (such as Twitter and Facebook), check that the tweet has been published as intended. One can never go wrong with a bit of quality assurance (QA).

5. Utilise screen real estate. There is ample amount of space on the Twitter page that can be better utilised. Currently, only the Jesus All About Life Logo has been posted on the background, but other details can also be published, such as: - A summary of the campaign - Website URL - Contact details (phone, email, mail address) - Facebook Fan Page name and URL - YouTube Channel name and URL

   The moral of the story: make it simple for new (and returning) users to access general information about the campaign.

6. Be more conversational. Rather than constantly pushing content to the Twitter followers, engage with them more. Start conversations. Create connections. Maintain relationships.

That's all the recommendations I can provide for the Jesus All About Life Campaign. I may not have covered all of them, but I believe it is a fairly exhaustive list.

Let me know what you think.

Case Study: Jesus All About Life, Part I

Over the past weeks, I've been brainstorming topics to kick-start 2010 with. I won't list them but I'll say (to the relief of some) that I intend on harping less about social media and more about other 'things'. I'm not going to dump social media (a bad move, considering it's increasing dominance in the current online world), but I'll be mixing things up.

Having said that, I've selected this article from Mumbrella to christen my blog for 2010 (all puns intended). Why?

1. The differentiation factor- Not many bloggers in the online strategy/advertising arena blog about religion. Why? Because it isn't sexy (or the trending topic)...or maybe there just isn't enough traffic (or dollars) in religion to attract enough attention. I mean what'd you prefer to blog (and read) about? God or Gowalla, and it's geolocation deliciousness?
2. The takeaway - After digging into this campaign, I've hit on some insights, which I've personally benefited from, and which I believe are applicable for all organisations, great and small.

I intend on breaking up my analysis of this campaign into two blog posts. The first post will provide an overview of the campaign, and what I've learnt from the campaign. The second post will be a list of recommendations to the master puppeteers behind the Jesus All About Life Campaign, which can be implemented for JAAL 2.0 (if there will be such a thing).

The following sections provide a summary of the Jesus All About Life campaign. If you want to skip it, jump to the section titled "What have I learnt from this Case Study" and read on. The juicy stuff will be there :)

So what is Jesus All About Life (JAAL)?

The Mumbrella article has summed it up pretty well and a more detailed explanation can be found at the JAAL website, but here's JAAL in a nutshell:

• It's a mass media movement (television, print, broadcast, internet) developed by Australian independent creative agency, 303.
• The campaign ran from Sept 15, 2009 for 6 weeks, across NSW & WA.
• The campaign is non-denomational - Anglicans/Baptists/Catholics/etc alike cooperate and work towards common goals.
• Total media buy in : ~ $1.5 million

What were the campaign goals?

1. Increase the public's awareness of Jesus (and what he said about life). (Note the goal was not to convert the public).
2. Get the churches in the advertising target area, active.

What advertising channels were involved in this campaign?

I've identified 5 main channels:

1. INTERNET
   • Dedicated Website
   • Twitter - @JesusAAL
   • Facebook Page
   • YouTube Channel
2. TELEVISION
   • Campaign Commerical
3. PRINT MEDIA
4. BROADCAST (RADIO)
5. OTHER
   • Gen Y says Thankyou BBQ
   • Skywriting
   • Jesus Racing Team
   • City2Surf Jesus All About Life Team
   • Campaign Prize Giveaways (2 exclusive tickets to the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000)
   • Public Talks
     • Andrew Fisher, from Jesus Racing, talked to the detainees at the Reiby Juvenile Justice Centre.
     • Mark Scott's, Managing Director ABC, presentation to Christian business people.

This list has been generated from my own tracking of the campaign. A more detailed list of media mentions can be found in the JAAL Media Room, under the 'JAAL Media Monitor' section.

WHAT HAVE I LEARNT FROM THIS CASE STUDY?

1. The traditional media marketing platform is evolving The August 09 Media Report (slide 2), details that Internet claimed the largest media coverage (33%), compared to other media channels: Newspaper (27%), Magazine (20%), Broadcast (18%) and Television (2%). I believe this is just one sign that the traditional media marketing platform is evolving , and there are two main reasons for it:

   i. The people (users) of today demand constant, poly-directional real-time engagement. Users require many channels of interaction with the content or platform they are dealing with. This type of interaction isn't as readily provided by traditional marketing means which tend to be more uni-directional. However, the Internet is able to support this communication model and this is what makes social media web technologies such as Twitter, YouTube and Facebook so popular. Don't believe me? According to Pete Cashmore, CEO of Mashable, real-time communication will only increase even more next year.This following statistic, which surprised me greatly, also supports my idea that the traditional media marketing platform is evolving: "60% of tv watchers in the USA have a laptop with them at the time." (via @markc at the Future of Technology in Entertainment Event, Sydney). Perhaps this is the start for a different approach to advertising, blending the real-time online environment with the time old television box. Perhaps this form of 'fusion advertising' will be even more effective than the advertisements that are purely designed for television or solely crafted for the Internet.

   ii. The internet can be leveraged at low cost.Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, etc.  involve no major initial/operational costs...unlike television and radio. Advertising space on the traditional channels are extremely expensive. Unless you have deep pockets to burn holes through, I'd consider advertising online.

2. The public perpetuates publicity. Once the campaign is launched, the public will talk about it, no matter what. Whether it’s positive or negative, in the blogosphere or in the twitosphere, it will be talked about. This is important to remember because what it means is that all you need to do is to nudge your campaign into the public arena. The public will sweep it away. This means that the amount of time, effort and money thrown into manufacturing the marketing campaign really only needs to be condensed at the start. Once it’s out there, the campaign only needs to be monitored and measured.
3. Most humans have memories like goldfish. I may be wrong in saying this, but I still believe, most humans (including myself) have memories like goldfish. Why do I believe this? We are bombarded with so many advertisements, to the point where only a low percentage of advertisements are actually remembered. These advertisements are what we call  'sticky' advertisements, i.e. campaigns that have impacted the audience so much so that they are still remembered even after the campaign's termination.I think it'll be interesting to listen and measure the traffic surrounding the 'Jesus All About Life' campaign, across different online channels (Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, blogs, discussion boards, etc) over the following months to see if the campaign has persisted after its operational period. The Mumbrella article referred to earlier was published approximately 4 months after the campaign terminated. Is this enough  show the campaign has persisted? No, most likely not. But it's pretty cool that Mumbrella picked it up. So...was the 'Jesus All About Life' campaign a 'sticky' campaign?
4. Budget is a limiting factor, only if you let it so. This point may be slightly contentious, but I'm going to throw it out there. If there's one thing we can takeaway from this case study, it's that budget isn't always proportional to campaign success. 303 has done a remarkable job in delivering a campaign that is on par with some of the industry's best. This statement bares even more weight when you consider that the subject matter, Jesus, is a topic that isn't easy to sell. I personally believe that using a low/tight budget as a reason for a failed/unsuccessful campaign is one excuse for poor creativity. This statement, I believe, is extremely relevant to the online industry, where web technology can be utilised at minimal cost. As such, the real limiting factor is what you can do with the technology, i.e. your creativity. As I said...a point that's slightly contentious :P

Well this basically wraps up Part 1 of my case study on the Jesus All About Life Campaign. I'm keen to hear what others have to say on the matter, and even on some of the ideas I've raised.

Stay tuned for Case Study: Jesus All About Life, Part II, where I'll be making some recommendations that are economic, realistic and easy to implement.