Top 10 Best Presentations Ever

http://www.knowhr.com/blog/2006/08/21/top-10-best-presentations-ever/

What MySpace Means for Marketers

http://www.clickz.com/showPage.html?page=3565776

Rupert Murdoch was quoted last week in "The Hollywood Reporter" as saying "In a sense, we say we've got 30 million portals." If you've spent any time playing around with News Corp.'s MySpace social networking site, you know the remark is accurate.

A shoddy palace of amateur content, the site is built entirely on personality and personalization. Buttons, MP3s and viral videos are easily cut and pasted from profile to profile and wrapped around a CGM core of photos, blogs and music.

It's vast and growing fast, boasting 37 million registered users and ranking third in pageviews among all domains, according to comScore. It now pulls in four million new members a month.

As you can imagine, many marketers have stepped up to try and harness this tangle of human relationships for the purposes of brand building and lead generation. They're mostly in the entertainment vertical, but other sectors abound: book publishers, automakers, cause marketers, even CPGs.

A roundup of their tactics follows.

Traditional media more trustworthy than online

LONDON - Newspapers, rather than websites and blogs, are seen as the most trustworthy source of information, according to a survey by interactive marketing firm Telecom Express.

http://www.brandrepublic.com/bulletins/digital/article/588709/traditional-media-trustworthy-online-says-survey/

Online now the 'lead medium' for UK youth

10 August 2006
TV losing out particularly badly as a result

Online is rapidly becoming the lead medium for young people in the UK, with their consumption of 'old' media continuing to fall.

According to a new report from communications regulator Ofcom, 16 to 24 year-olds watch TV for one hour less per day than the average television viewer. Public service programmes shown by the likes of BBC1 and ITV1 are suffering particularly badly. In multichannel homes, the share to terrestrial channels among 16 to 24 year-olds is down from 74.3% of their viewing time in 2001 to 58% in 2005, as they turn to more niche digital channels that better reflect their interests.

http://www.intellagencia.com/news.asp?siteid=4&id=71948

Web 2.0 Strategies and Lessons

Good paper on web 2.0
by Troy Angrignon with Nick Kellet,
Gary Ralston, Ean Jackson, & Matthew Fessenden

http://www.changethis.com/pdf/25.05.Web2.0.pdf

Hype Cycle – Media Industry Advertising

Gartner Hype Cycle

Better branding

Marketers rely too much on intuition. The key to building brands more scientifically is to combine a forward-looking market segmentation with a better understanding of customers and a brand’s identity.

McKinsey 2003

http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/article_page.aspx?ar=1349&L2=16&L3=14

Capitalizing on customer insights

Capitalizing on customer insights

To stimulate growth in today's marketing environment, companies must identify and prioritize opportunities at the points where proliferating segments, channels, and product categories intersect.
But because most companies still regard customer insights as an isolated research capability, they can't obtain or integrate the information they need.
A customer insights network helps marketers look at the world through a number of lenses and to develop proprietary information about customers.
It's also vital to embed customer insights in the organization’s key decisions by restructuring brand and sales planning, new product development, marketing investments, and other business planning processes.

http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/article_abstract.aspx?ar=1823&L2=16&L3=18&srid=17&gp=0

Thoughts on integrated marketing

We are seeing that the solutions for our clients business require a mix of channels with digital an increasingly important part and consequently not only the mix within the agency is changing but also fundamentally how we work.

It is all about connecting it together: A TV campaign drives response with a sms call to action which is fulfilled by a dm pack which in turn drives to web for purchase. The ongoing relationship is managed via email triggered by site behaviour and product usage.

Our work for IBM wimbledon is fundamentally enabled by digital technology constantly streaming results to online ad units, web sites and mobile phones, traditional media, PR and events play an important but supporting role.

At Ogilvy our philosophy has always been 360(tm) marketing and as we build bespoke multi channel client teams with every marketing discipline represented we are uniquely positioned to help our clients connect with their audince through the right channels.

Websites that changed the world

Some of these you use - some you might have heard of - all have changed the world.

Read a description of each and what makes them special here

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/print/0,,329551850-102280,00.html

1. eBay.com
2. wikipedia.com
3. napster.com
4. youtube.com
5. blogger.com
6. friendsreunited.com
7. drudgereport.com
8. myspace.com
9. amazon.com
10. slashdot.org
11. salon.com
12. craigslist.org
13. google.com
14. yahoo.com
15. easyjet.com

Winning the war for digital talent

According to a year-long study conducted by McKinsey & Co., the most important corporate resource over the next 20 years will be talent. It's also the resource in shortest supply. Are you ready to fight for your fair share?

In 1997, McKinsey & Co. coined the phrase "The War for Talent." It expressed the need for organizations to review their employee value proposition (EVP) and ask themselves, "What is going to make a talented person want to work here?" This question still holds true today, almost a decade later. The difference is, today talent has gone digital.

We have managed talent from the Baby Boomer generation, and even survived the Generation Xers. How different will it be to manage the new breed of talent, the Generation Yers or Millennials?

For this generation, digital is a way of life. So what does this mean for talent management? At Ogilvy, we have found our talent management principles shouldn't change just because the media does. We may just have to execute the principles differently, and give some consideration to this generation's way of thinking, living and working.

The digital generation entering our workforce has different skills, motivations, expectations and ways of working than previous generations. Unless current leaders recognize and embrace these differences, they will be faced with a cultural divide in the organization – different generations, working side by side with little understanding of how the other is thinking or operating.
The war for talent can be won only by bridging the generation gap through a better understanding and appreciation of Gen Y employees.

As a business leader, what do you need to know about this generation, and the next one following behind it? And do you need to revisit your employee value proposition to ensure that the talented Gen Yers want to work for you?

UNDERSTANDING THE DIFFERENCES
Generation Y has often been referred to in the press as the "Gamer Generation" because most Gen Yers grew up with interactive gaming. Instead of being wary of this generation, we should embrace it, as it brings a new and exciting approach to the workplace. Gen Y employees and managers will be more diverse than those today, as they approach their work in a way very different from that of other generations.

This generation has a much higher interest in achieving a healthy work/life balance. Gen Yers are used to working in an environment that puts no restrictions on them. They can be physically dispersed but connected to colleagues, clients or a network by technology, making the need to be restrained by the office environment almost obsolete. They need to have flexibility in how and where they work.

We are also finding new entrants into the workforce looking for the opportunity to work globally, either by relocating within the network or by being given the chance to work on a global client. This generation has a better understanding of different cultures and market pressures, as internet chat rooms and the ability to search the web break down the barriers that used to stand in the way of globalization. Gen Yers see a world full of possibilities. They no longer have to wonder what a career in another market would be like – they can gather that information more readily, opening up their minds to the many opportunities and possible applications.
When your new-generation employees look for constant feedback and seek praise, it is not because they are needy or attention-seeking, it is because this is what they have become accustomed to. They received a lot more attention from parents and teachers than their counterparts did in the 1970s, and they were told they could achieve anything they put their minds to. This is their belief, and they will expect to get there a lot more quickly than you or I may have done.

They also have a need for instant feedback. In my years as a human resources professional, I have always encouraged managers to give timely feedback; don't wait until the next appraisal to give someone developmental advice, give it in the moment so that it is relevant. This holds true more today than ever. In a world where texting and instant messaging are the norm, why should this generation wait to hear how they are doing? It's simply not what they are used to or expect. They also find out pretty quickly if they pass or fail while they are gaming, so they can accept developmental feedback and are ready to look for a different approach to the task if at first they have been unsuccessful.

Coaching should play a large part in the growth of any generation. This one especially needs empowerment; Gen Yers need to learn fast, and they need to feel that they are a part of the organization's growth. They have the digital talent, but maybe not the leadership skills, and, to move quickly through the organization, they need guidance, advice and mentorship. This guidance needs to focus on each one as an individual, and not with the more traditional "sheep dip" approach to training and development. Gen Yers need to feel like individuals, and to know they are being treated and valued as such. If treated like individuals with the opportunity to grow and manage their careers, it is unlikely they will leave the organization to seek promotion, because they will want to grow within one company.

Gamers have the ability to multitask. They can be focusing on shooting the enemy, while collecting bonus lives from a cave in the corner. Therefore, expecting your employees to focus on and be motivated by one task is unrealistic. To keep this group motivated, you need to set them a real challenge; they need to know what is expected of them and how they will be measured, in order to gain personal satisfaction and fulfillment. They will also want many tasks so as to ensure they do not become bored.

Problems do not faze this group. When faced with a challenge or problem, they are more likely to think outside the box, show tremendous resilience and believe that nothing is impossible. These are great skills and ones that we actively apply to our clients' businesses. Not only are clients presented with innovative solutions, they can rely on a group of individuals working tenaciously to find those solutions.

One stereotypical view of this generation is that its members are loners. This view comes from looking through a lens that sees them on their own a lot, in their own world with nothing but a cell phone or laptop. Nothing could be further from the truth. This generation is fabulous at working in a team – after all, gaming is very social, both with friends and now over the internet. So while this generation needs to be measured and rewarded on its own merits, Gen Yers still value the opportunity to work in a team environment.

In summary, here are our tips to help you be an employer of choice for this digital generation, and to help them manage a long and successful career with you:
As leaders, embrace a different way of working, in the approach to clients, employees and business process.

Manage the expectations of your employees. They will expect to grow very quickly; help them to balance their goals with the needs, and sometimes restraints, of the business.
They will be looking for a work/life balance. Think about what allowances you can make to help them achieve this.

If you are a global organization or have global clients, this generation will have a desire to work across those cultural boundaries.

You must help Gen Yers to manage their careers as individuals. Ensure you are giving constant feedback and recognition based on their own merits.
Keep them interested and motivated by allowing them to work on a number of projects at the same time.

This group has an ability to look at innovative ways around problems. Use this to the best advantage for your organization.

You may see Gen Yers as unfocused and a little too sure of themselves, and they may see you as inflexible and stuck in your ways. But there is room for both generations and approaches, as long as there is understanding and a desire to work together for mutual success.

Marie-Claire Barker ( OgilvyOne worldwide - New York )

Attitude to Mobile & Finance

“Research by the Henley Centre in association with BT found that 39% of people in the ABC1 customer categories would like to be able to deal with their finances on the way to and from work... And 41% of 18 to 24 year olds said they would be interested in an instant messenger service which allowed them to have live conversations with advisers about financial services”. The Daily Telegraph

2005 Web stats

72% of British households own a PC, 64% have the internet of which 44% have a broadband connection and 80% have a mobile phone (70% of individuals).

Henley Centre Headlight Vision’s annual UK survey Planning for Consumer Change

Cross-platform marketing is the new mainstream

Marketers are unlikely to give up on TV as long as there are audiences tuning in to mass broadcasts, but there are few mainstream companies that are not supplementing their traditional media buys with various online campaigns. As Coca-Cola's Susan McDermott told Adweek, at Coke, executives are asking, "'How can we marry online with TV, print, outdoor and make them all work together?'"

http://www.adweek.com/aw/national/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002951081

the effect of online advertising on search and sales

the effect of tv and press on search

Big business tries to make friends online

THE internet sensation that is MySpace continues to grow at an astonishing rate. The social-networking site had 17m unique monthly visitors last July, when Rupert Murdoch recast himself as an internet visionary by buying it for $580m; now it has 54m, and is the most visited website in America. Even if, judging by recent headlines, many visitors are prowling paedophiles or panicking parents spying on their sex-crazed children, at least some of them are the valuable youngsters to which many big firms yearn to sell things.

MySpace seems to offer a chance for companies to take their marketing into new, potentially more lucrative territory, by becoming, in effect, members of their customers' network of "friends". A growing number of firms have established their own pages on MySpace, to which users can link. In the process, some are getting into bed with some unlikely partners. Earlier this year, for example, Unilever, a consumer-goods giant, hooked up with Christine Dolce to promote Axe, a deodorant. Ms Dolce, who goes by the alias ForBiddeN, boasts around 900,000 "friends" who link to her MySpace page. Bleached, buxom and with impressive marketing savvy, she is arguably the most successful brand to emerge from MySpace, and has already launched a line of clothing.

That made her perfect, Unilever concluded, to draw in the 18- to 24-year-old lustful lads to whom Axe is shamelessly marketed. So Ms Dolce hosted an interactive game, called "Gamekillers", based around dating tips and designed subtly to promote Axe. Some 75,000 MySpacers signed up for it.

The biggest challenge—for MySpace itself, and for the firms that want to use it to promote their wares—is not to alienate potential customers by being overtly commercial. "We need to be engaging with them, not banging them over the head with brandalism that pollutes their space," says Kevin George of Unilever. But, he says, "when you deliver 18- to 24-year-old guys content they want to engage with, they don't mind if it comes from a brand." This theory will now be put to the test, as MySpacers' attention is fought over by brands including Procter & Gamble's Old Spice, State Farm insurance, Elexa by Trojan female condoms, and the US Marine Corps.

http://www.economist.com/research/articlesBySubject/PrinterFriendly.cfm?Story_ID=7233972&subjectID=526352

What the hell is a mash up?

A mashup is a website or web application that uses content from more than one source to create a completely new service.

Content used in mashups is typically sourced from a third party via a public interface or APIs. Other methods of sourcing content for mashups include Web feeds (e.g. RSS or Atom) and JavaScript.

Much the way blogs revolutionised online publishing, mashups are revolutionizing web development by allowing anyone to combine existing data from sources like Amazon.com, eBay, Google, Strikeiron, Windows Live and Yahoo! in innovative ways. The greater availability of simple and lightweight APIs have made mashups relatively easy to design. They require minimal technical knowledge and thus custom mashups are sometimes created by unlikely innovators, combining available public data in new and creative ways. While there are many useful mashups, others are simple novelties or gimmicks, with minimal practical utility.

More information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mashup_%28web_application_hybrid%29

Here are two great examples:
http://www.dynamite.co.uk/local/ - overlays a BBC Travel News/weather/travel news/speed
cameras onto Google Maps

http://ononemap.com - overlays all the properties for sale in the UK on a map