Monday 16 February 2009

Cx3: Smartphone Market Trends

Saturday 14 February 2009

Cx3: Virgin Atlantic Still Red Hot video



There is a comforting nostalgia projected by the Virgin Atlantic Still Red Hot video. The TV advert created by RKCR celebrates the airline's 25th birthday with classic 1980's references including the yuppie, the mobile brick, the big hair and the Rubik's cube. I'm loving the advert and the return of many fond memories.

RELATED LINKS:
Cx3 blog entry: T-mobile Liverpool Street advert

Tuesday 10 February 2009

Cx3: Why follow a Twitter celebrity?

Why not!

Twitter is reaching its populist celebrity-craved audiences now and not just the techy purists. Twitter has different priorities for different people whether business oriented, marketing focused, or pure entertainment, however, there is room for all - an intelligent quip from Stephen Fry or the latest gossip from Phillip Schofield helps the day go by.

Gordon Macmillan seems to be getting a little worked up on the subject with his blog post Why would you follow a Celebrity on Twitter. I say relax and accept Twitter, 'il est arrivé' - as I've said previously, celebrity Twittering is the new Heat magazine.

RELATED LINKS:
Cx3 blog entry: Twitter, Stephen Fry and halibut

Saturday 7 February 2009

Cx3: How social is your conversation?

Conversational marketing through social media is coming into its own in 2009. But are companies treating social media as a serious channel that can be integrated into their marketing mix?

The current economic climate affords accountability of marketing spend and, as a result, communication effectiveness measurement is high on the agenda. The timely rise of conversational social media marketing offers an attractive option that can be measured and evaluated quickly whilst achieving ultimate communication and business goals.

Harnessing 'the conversation' through social media for marketing purposes is understanding its fluidity, its reach and its speed. Conversational marketing initiatives must consider the wider channel mix (broadcast, mobile, online, mail etc.), what interaction social media has with these channels and the micro-social media interactions that occur over a period of time. Any conversation then needs to be monitored, assessed and responded to where necessary.

Vitrue, who analyse the online conversations of a variety of social networking, blogging, micro-blogging, photo and video sharing sites, has released a list of brands in the Vitrue 100 - Top Social Brands of 2008. Their analysis tracks the movement of a single brand over time based on online conversations and can be used to compare a brand with its competitors, either at an individual point in time, or over a period of weeks or months.

Looking at the Vitrue 100, an audience profile can be built-up based on the brands mentioned. This profile would be: youthful; media immersed; technology savvy; a communication maven – Generation Y ring any bells? There is a clear directional bent for the type of audience participating in ‘the conversation’ – marketers can learn from this. So how social is your conversation going to be in 2009?

RELATED LINKS:
Cx3 blog entry: Social Networking World Forum
Cx3 blog entry: Generation Y communicate, unite and shout

Thursday 5 February 2009

Cx3: QR codes vs Microsoft Tag


Microsoft Tag is Microsoft's version of QR codes and works in an identical way to the QR code system (download an app, take a photo, decode the photo through a gateway and deliver you the content). Read the full article on Techno Marketer: Microsoft Tag takes on QR codes.

RELATED LINKS:
Cx3 blog entry: QR codes - the future of mobile channel communication?