advergirl

Will texting be the Hotels.com of nonprofits?

This Hotels.com campaign is one of my favorite running right now. It elevates the power of peers. As its quirky characters take on the armchair reviewer role they were born for, we see a brand built not by experts, but by us. Weird, wonderful us.

I got a great text message this weekend that made me wonder if the same sort of “power of peers” change is afoot for non profits. A shift that will leverage the financial power of hundreds of thousands of small donors rather than relying on corporations and wealthy donors to foot the bill.

Here’s the text message:

[Presidential candidate] asks that you give to the Red Cross: give 5 dollars by texting GIVE to 24357 or give more by calling 1-800-435-7669 or at redcross.org/donate. Please fwd.

Pretty powerful stuff.

• A simple message.
• Sent at a time (just prior to the Gustav hit) when we were primed to care about the cause
• And closed with an almost ridiculously easy way to donate.

It’s difficult to get an individual to write a check for $100,000. Especially a fatigued donor who is asked again and again. But, with the right distribution list, how difficult is it to get 20,000 people to text $5? No billing information to fill out, no credit card number to type in. Just text.

Causes that inspire passion – whether it’s empathy or insurgency – are uniquely suited to the energy of the social Web – which, largely, extends to the community of texters. Campaigns like this are not only primed for action, they’re ready for pass-along.

When the Democrats were still fighting out the primary, I remember hearing news that more than $10 million (1/3) of Obama's second-quarter contributions were made online, and 90% of them were in increments of $100 or less.

What will a donor shift like that mean to decision making in a campaign or at a nonprofit? How will it change priorities and challenge assumptions?

I should know more on this topic soon. Later this month, Ologie (my home agency) is hosting Richard McPherson, the author of Digital Giving - a book about how technology is changing charity. I’ll tell you more about that soon, but for now – it’s interesting to think about the groundswell using technology to democratize giving. And fascinating to see just how easy we can make it to break down the barriers to giving.

Obama to nom VP by text; Advergirl news at 5

Earlier on NBC4:

After the investigative report on Olympics-watching inside Applebees and before the third mention of the weather, political reporter Patrick Preston packaged up a smart little marketing story featuring the unstoppable duo: Advergirl and Obama.

Ok, so the Obama part was a totally canned national bit. And, I had on the biggest earrings ever. Still.

Anyway, since I don't know anyone who's actually home at 6, let alone 5, here's the perspective:

The Obama campaign announced plans today to reveal their VP choice to supporters by text message. Just sign up at the site and you'll know before the big news breaks.

Smart approach for one big reason: The national media will cover his pick no matter what. The question is: what else can the campaign get out of the announcement?

Answering that question with this texting tactic is smart strategy for a couple of reasons:

1- It differentiates Obama. He's running against an older candidate supported by a political machine. This reminds people that he's a younger candidate riding a groundswell of support from $100-and-under donors.

2- It engages supporters. The campaign has made personalization its hallmark. It started with dynamically assembling each communication based on individual supporter data. And, now it comes to life by talking the way we talk, in the mediums we talk. The result is a sense of approachability - a sense that he thinks like us (only, of course, way smarter... we hope).

3- It activates those supporters. Text messaging is the ultimate "in the tent" communication. Recipients feel like they are the first to know and that creates another conversation about the candidate - one where you share the scoop (with anyone who will listen).

Some major record labels make 40% of their revenue from ringtones

Wow, right?

I was listening to a story about hip-hop artist T-Pain last night and was reminded of just how important it is to think about 'marketing' - not just advertising - at this planning time of year. The trends that we use to shape brand experiences have powerful impacts on all sorts of larger marketing questions - from product development to operational planning.

Consider this incredible example about how shifts in audience behavior wildly changed the business sources for the Zomba record label:

• Artist T-Pain has a signature vocal style that has played a defining role in hip-hop and R&B music this year
• Four of his singles are in the Billboard's Top 10
• He owns up to 1/3 of the popular playlists on some R&B stations

But here's where it gets interesting for marketers:

• His top single has had 1.5 million digital downloads at $.99/each
• BUT - that same single has had 3 MILLION ringtone downloads at $2.50 - $3/each

Record execs call ringtones a personalization product. And, it's interesting, in an era when boom boxes and big stereos have been replaced with earbuds, maybe your ringing pocket is the last bastion of showing off your style through your favorite band...

Not to show my radical uncoolness at the end of a hip-hop post, but, as the aging rocker said, Times, they are a changin' (,marketers).

easyTXTR.com: Converse in the streets

Remember last year's 'Share your Secret' promotion in Times Square? P&G's Deodorant PR mavens took to the sidewalks, encouraging passersby to share their secrets on the giant NASDAQ and Reuters billboards nearby. A few thousand brave souls told their previously-closely-guarded tales via text messages, kiosks and the ShareYourSecret.com Web site (now defunct). The secrets ranged from "I’m afraid he’s falling out of love with me” to “I ate the last pudding!”  and effectively opened the brand to consumers & created a solid bit of buzz.

Fast forward to last weekend.

easyTXTR brought the same level of pop-up interactivity to Columbus' Short North with a projected display that enabled gallery hoppers to tell all - or nothing at all - on a real time outdoor conversation wall. On its first unveil, ~800 people sent funny moments, sports updates, and even a proposal.

I see this technology as a great opportunity to create real dialog around a brand without the usual fears associated with a long-term conversation online - complete with righteous admin tool and devastating stomach ulcers. This pop up tech lives in a real community (there's much less anonymity than online) and is point-in-time specific (meaning less opportunity to plot against the tech).

I'm seeing this on malls the day after Thanksgiving, at Festivals (captured on cell phones), at grand openings, etc ... anywhere a conversation builds the community & customer experience.

Experience it virtually here.

See video, pics, etc. here.