Brands and Blogs

Brands and Blogs: The Movie

2007-07-06T14:34:22Z

Before it all kicked off today we took the chance to chat to some forward-thinking folks to find out their thoughts on blogging and new media. Here's the result.

Ashley Norris of Shiny Media + final Q&A

2007-07-06T12:48:53Z

Ashley Norris is finishing off today's Brands & Blogs event, explaining what Shiny Media does, and why advertisers should be engaging with "influential, intelligent, informed and interested" bloggers. Latest entry is below, with chronological updates after the jump.

13.10: Another question: do brands play nasty and attack each other in these kind of campaigns? Richard says it's happening on messageboards and forums, where brands pay people to write negative reviews of their competitors, but not so much on blogs. Jeremy says B5 Media has caught some companies out - "we thought, who feels that strongly about socks?!".

13.11: Questions are hotting up now: should brands respond to negative comments on blogs? Jeremy says yes, but only if you can respond honestly, and you can't do it for all comments obviously. But it's worth doing selectively.

13.14: And that's it. Lunch, wine, and a chance to go up to the 18th floor of Centrepoint and spot rainclouds.]]>
12.46: So why does Shiny need the cash? The whole concept of Blog 2.0, he says. But what will Blog 2.0 look like? Ashley's talking about three big companies' opinions: Weblogs, Inc, Gawker Media and B5 Media.

12.48: Weblogs is now part of AOL, and is a bunch of successful channels within that portal. Gawker, it's a hybrid format with tabloid newspaper style comment. So it's a replacement for newspapers. And now B5 Media, see blogs as huge international networks that straddle the world, covering all manner of niches.

12.49: Ashley says Shiny Media's view is that blogs are the new specialist magazines - a view shared by the likes of Blogo, WeblogSL (Italy and Spain respectively) - like a Haymarket or Future Publishing of the online world, building up blogs around cars, gadgets etc. Sugar Publishing in the US has blogs aimed at young women - the online equivalent of mags like J-17 and More. And Magicalia and Demand Media - both looking to develop specialist communities online.

12.52: Just as Ashley talks about how we’re liveblogging this event, the Wi-Fi goes pear-shaped. Typical. But yes, the future is rich content. Video reviews, how to guides, news reports and so on. Over 500,000 people a month are watching Shiny’s videos on YouTube. It’s a huge boon - you can show why a phone’s keyboard is rubbish, or leg it back to the office from Top Shop with a new Kate Moss dress to show how it looks on a real person.

12.54: The next big thing for blogs’ development is social networking. Let people create profiles, and upload their own images and videos. Apparently Shiny is going to have loads of secret stuff for loyal users. Plus forums, Q&As, polls etc.

12.55: Ashley says social networking works best in vertical channels (e.g. tech, fashion), you need someone driving the debate, with news, opinion and engagement, and then have users come back and contribute their views.

12.57: Phew, Wi-Fi working again (see over the jump for the updates written while I was swearing at it). Ashley's talking about niche blogs, and Shiny's Nollie, which is an extreme sports blog for women. And how people might laugh at the idea now, but they did at ShinyShiny (gadgets for women) a few years ago, and it's now getting 350,000 unique users a month, and attracting big advertisers.

12.58: From next week, some Shiny blogs will have a video player at the top of the page, taking users off to a specific video page, where they can watch content (including pre-roll ads etc).

13.00: Shiny is also looking to work more closely with brands - for example running surveys, and even getting its community to beta test new services / products.

13.01: Ashley is finishing off with some love for blog readers, who are influential, intelligent, informed and interested. And they're apparently going to be pivotal in shaping the future of brands. That's it for the formal presentations, now it's a last chance for Q&As before lunch.

13.02: First question: what about moderation, and ad campaigns getting negative feedback? Richard says Glam just had a client (exfoliating foot cream) call up in a strop, because a user had said their product was watery. And Glam replied that "This is trusted content. If you don't like it, don't make it watery!". And because a bunch of users had been trying the product, and many liked it, the company eventually came back and said it'd been a hugely successful campaign. Watery or otherwise.

13.04: Ashley says Shiny has a similar policy to the Guardian, keeping an eye out for offensive content on its blogs and removing it where necessary. But that's a different thing from people giving their honest opinions on a brand. "If you are getting constantly slagged off, improve your products. The days of being able to protect products in that way are gone."

13.06: Richard is talking about a big campaign for MTV where users on B5 Media's blogs were invited to give their opinion on whether a certain series should be recommissioned. And there were thousands and thousands of comment, many of them flames and abuse. But among them, there were 300-400 genuinely useful comments, which provided valuable feedback for MTV.

13.07: Last question: what are people doing to harness the power of micro-blogging? Ashley says it's very early days, although several Shiny blogs are publishing feeds on Twitter. But he'd like to integrate micro-blogging with the blogs - for example, blog editors twittering about what subjects they'll be covering that day, so users can chip in.

13.09: Also, Shiny Media is working on ideas to turn its blogs into Facebook applications. Not just about poking either.

Brands & Blogs debate

2007-07-06T12:31:07Z

Now we've got a discussion with Jeremy Wright of B5 Media, and Richard Rocca of Glam. They're both involved with big blog networks in North America, and are here to tell us how things are working over there.

12.42: Richard is talking about all the blue-chip advertisers on Glam - they're all keen on working with professional blog networks, as long as they really are creating quality, trusted content.

12.43: Ooh, a question asking for hard data - what return can brands expect on spending money in this area? SHOW ME THE MONEY. Jeremy says it's important for blog networks to establish what brands are looking for - survey responses or time in front of a viewer or something else. And then create a campaign to deliver that.]]>
12.31: Richard says blogging is intimate - people go to sites like Shoewawa (cheers!) because they love that subject – and conversational marketing within that context is very powerful, because people trust these sources.

12.33: So why go to an independent blog network, rather than the Guardian or other media firm's online stuff? Jeremy says it's breadth and depth of content. And a significant amount of reach too - if an advertiser wants to buy 25-35 year-old women in a certain zip-code of Staten Island who enjoy Ping Pong... Which reminds me, Shiny Media is announcing its new PingPongLadies.tv blog toda... Okay, we're not. But think of the Google traffic.

12.35: Richard's pointing out that measurement isn't quite there yet to say how influential blogs are, at least by traditional measures in the ad industry. So it's about blog networks educating advertisers and media buyers.

12.36: So why wouldn't marketeers set up their own blogs? Jeremy says if they can, they should. But most can't, and why bother when there are great blogs out there already reaching strong niche audiences? Although B5 is apparently happy to provide brands with the back-end infrastructure they need to set it all up, so it's a separate line of business for blog networks. Did I mention Shiny Red already...

12.38: Questions from the audience. What's the best campaign anyone's run with B5 Media and Glam? Jeremy says one from HP and Disney for Over The Hedge, which took over a bunch of its blogs. Meanwhile, for Glam, Reebok spent all its online budget in one big campaign on Glam's network, with quizzes, micro-sites, and high-impact advertising (all ad spaces on certain sites for three days).

12.41: What if comments in a blog trash the brand that's advertising? Jeremy says it's about educating them – if their product sucks, people know it, so they can get valuable information back even if consumers are being rude. It's about two-way conversation again, not just about everyone thinking Brand X's products are lovely and fluffy.

Neil DuLake of The Guardian

2007-07-06T12:14:39Z

Now it's the turn of Neil DuLake, digital consultant for The Guardian. He'll be explaining how even a Big Media firm like Guardian News & Media is preparing to lose control over some of its content. Latest entry is below, with chronological updates after the jump.

12.26: Also, The Guardian must be part of the web, not just on the web. The most successful brands in this space will be that – encourage debate, be provocative and edgy, and move to a multi-way conversation. And the best brand campaigns in the future will probably be created by the consumers themselves. Does this mean Saatchi & Saatchi will pay me a huge fee for YouTube videos of my cat? No. Ah well.]]>
12.14: Hurrah, it's a slide of jargon that Neil WON'T be using. Phew. Now he's showing the Technorati stats showing the explosion in how many blogs are being created every day. So where does the Guardian fit in?

12.15: The Guardian website is apparently the most blogged non-US commercial news source. So blogs are amplifying the Guardian's message.

12.16: Now Neil's showing the Guardian's homepage from 1996. Actually, I think that retro button look is due a revival soon. Now he's showing a more recent homepage, which looks more polished but is still text and pics.

12.17: Another homepage shot – I can't squint and see the date, but it's when they first introduced the 'Talk' link to get people to post their opinions. Now he's showing an image of the actual Guardian newspaper when it relaunched in Berliner format (something to do with donuts, if my JFK knowledge is correct). Anyway, it shows how the Guardian has been using web content in the print product.

12.19: Now Neil is showing the current Guardian Unlimited homepage, with its blogs and Comment Is Free section. Oh dear, he's trying to go online. It'll never work. Oh, it is! He's showing the Comment Is Free section of the site now - I'm loving the prominent 'Next the anti-smoking Guardianistas will be coming for dogs and cats' rant.

12.20: Now Neil's talking about an HSBC campaign called 'Your point of view'., where visitors were invited to give their opinions on a range of subjects WITHIN the ad formats on the Guardian site. It lent itself well to the blogging environment – most of the ads went out on Comment Is Free. HSBC has spent about £60k since in the Guardian's blogging environment, because the campaign went so well.

12.23: Now he's showing a commercial blog that the Guardian has done for the Martell brand, with a strapline 'Let the conversation flow'. "We get asked to do these a lot actually, but we don't do a lot of them any more. We'd rather our clients invested more in creative and post-campaign analysis..."

12.24: The Guardian's BeenThere section is doing well, with readers contributing travel tips and reviews. It's an example of this conversation, and brands are getting involved.

12.25: In summary, users aren't just consuming, they're creating. And they talk about UCC being the new UGC (ouch!) - user 'curated' content – breaking down the walls and fences around content and letting users remix it, share it, reuse it, tag it, and so on.

Helen Nowicka of Shiny Red

2007-07-06T12:03:59Z

Next up is Helen Nowicka from Shiny Red, who's going to be talking about how consumers feel about brands connecting with them through new media tools like blogs and social networks. Latest entry is below, with chronological updates after the jump.

12.11: What's a good online PR campaign? Think on and offline for starters, it's not one or the other. Remember you're a guest in this space – don't behave in a disrespectful way. It's about a dialogue, not a monologue - or even a three-way conversation - brands talk to people, people talk back to brands, and then people talk to people about how rubbish / good the brands are.

Fourth, embrace the new rules. Don't pay a blogger to pretend to be your CEO (they'll probably be too scruffy in any case), and don't fake it - go into this space with an open attitude.]]> Shinyred.tv blog later today.

12.06: The survey is about UK consumers' attitudes towards brands engaging with them online. Users are grouped into four categories - beginners, observers, involved and the fourth one, which flashed off screen too fast for my typing. Sorry about that.

12.07: The key thing is that online users welcome brands engaging with them online, and are more likely to engage back (for example by visiting their websites) if they do. They'll also share information with their friends.

12.08: Around 80% of respondants say they'll be spending more time involved with online communities in the future. And a fifth said they'll spend less time reading newspapers and magazines and watching TV. But old media isn't dead – people like BBC News, Guardian Blogs and Times Online are still well read online. It's just a change of context.

12.09: Brands have to behave themselves online – consumers can pick out examples of brands who get it wrong - floggers, people paid to blog on behalf of companies. Also blogs that are started by corporations, but aren't maintained regularly.

12.10: As people spend more time online, their behaviour will become more sophisticated, and they'll do more.

12.11: What's a good online PR campaign? Think on and offline for starters, it's not one or the other. Remember you're a guest in this space – don't behave in a disrespectful way. It's about a dialogue, not a monologue - or even a three-way conversation - brands talk to people, people talk back to brands, and then people talk to people about how rubbish / good the brands are.

Fourth, embrace the new rules. Don't pay a blogger to pretend to be your CEO (they'll probably be too scruffy in any case), and don't fake it - go into this space with an open attitude.

Jeff Meers of Shiny Media

2007-07-06T11:52:57Z

Today's first presentation comes from Shiny Media's own Jeff Meers, who's going to be outlining some of the research on New Influentials, and how marketers can converse with them. Latest entry is below, with chronological updates after the jump.

12.02: We're not yet in the mainstream though - marketers don't see blogs as must-haves on their schedules. At the mo, we're jumping across the chasm to mainstream adoption from brands – the sheep and dinosaurs. Although we probably won't call them sheep when trying to sell them ads.

12.03: Savvy marketers can beat up the dinosaurs – get to the online influentials first. And that's a wrap.]]>
11.47: What do consumers want? Not push marketing, according to Jeff. And he reckons the marketeers who use that approach are going to die out. It's all about interaction and engagement now. Conversational marketing.

11.50: Mavens. I met a group of them in World of Warcraft once. Messy business. Oh, hang on, that's not what mavens are. It's a Hebrew word that means 'One who understands, a connoisseur'. It's being used in the States to describe online influentials.

11.51: First use of the phrase 'paradigm shift' of the day. Who had '5 minutes' in the sweepstake? But yes, the world has changed – all the old values that fitted push marketing have to be rethought for the new conversational marketing.

11.53: Jeff's talk is based around some analysis from Jupiter Research, which groups online people into two types of influentials. Classic Influentials - more about the final product recommendation at the point of purchase. And New Influentials - flitting about the web looking at lots of different things.

11.55: New influentials are impossible to reach using old media without spending a shedload on big TV ads. But online, they're easy to reach, as concentrated around blogs and next-generation content. They read blogs, listen to audio online, watch video, and download podcasts.

11.57: Now Jeff's talking about the Purchase Funnel, and how New Influentials are the 'buzz catalysts' at the early stages, while the Classic Influentials are closer to the purchase decision, reading product reviews and recommending stuff to friends.

12.00: In short, New Influentials are instrumental in spreading marketing messages, by telling friends, blogging, and communicating with professionals.

12.01: Brand owners are starting to get the idea of 'professional' blogs (i.e. not teenagers complaining that their parents are so horrible they won't let them go out with their friends and drink cider it's SO UNFAIR).

All set for kick-off at Brands & Blogs

2007-07-06T10:33:13Z

It's a bit empty in here. What's that? Ah, nobody's arrived yet because the event hasn't started. That'll explain it.

Anyway, we're going to be liveblogging all the speakers at today's Brands & Blogs event, as they explain who the New Influentials are, and how brands can engage with them. Attendees are munching breakfast outside, with the event set to get underway at 11.30, so stand by for live updates during the key presentations.

Brands and Blogs - The Speakers

2007-07-05T17:19:58Z

JEFF MEERS, SHINY MEDIA Jeff has been an agency Account Planner (BMPDDB), Media Agency director, International Account director (Bozell), Client, Global Publisher of Old & New Media, Founder of MAID/Dialog and E-commerce CEO. Graduating as an Industrial Psychologist, Jeff built a career in advertising, winning numerous media and creative awards and an IPA Advertising Effectiveness Award. Jeff has started many companies including MAID, Ad Agencies, IDG companies, and several internet businesses - most recently Koodos.com and Samstax.co.uk Marketing and advertising is in Jeff's blood but since he started online information (MAID) 26 years ago the endless possibilities of the internet has taken over! HELEN NOWICKA, SHINY RED Helen is a board director at The Red Consultancy, a leading UK PR agency, where she has won multiple awards for her work on consumer technology clients like Expedia and Microsoft. In 2006, she formed Red’s new media division, Shiny Red, with Shiny Media founders Chris Price and Ashley Norris. Prior to going into PR Helen worked as a news journalist on national papers including the Guardian, Times and Observer. SHINY RED In 2006 The Red Consultancy and the founders of the UK’s leading blogging company Shiny Media joined forces to create Shiny Red, an innovative new media PR practice, to help brands take advantage of the communications opportunities now available online. Recognising that businesses are at different stages of adopting new media, Shiny Red's offer spans initial education and training; innovative online PR campaigns; blog building; bespoke databases of online influentials; and web communications consultancy. NEIL DULAKE, THE GUARDIAN Neil DuLake is the Guardian's Digital Consultant. His role includes educating clients and agencies about the digital landscape and in particular Guardian Unlimited's commitment to online excellence. Neil has spent the previous 2 years with the Guardian Unlimited agency team, playing a major role in creating a double award winning sales team. He has over 5 years online advertising experience and specialises in behavioural targeting, creative executions and the b2b sector. THE GUARDIAN Long-established as the most credible newspaper brand in the UK, Guardian News & Media has also proved to be an industry leader with Guardian Unlimited, its online platform. Since launching in 1994, Guardian Unlimited has been at the forefront of digital innovation, both editorially and commercially. GNM have long embraced Web 2.0 with a range of blogs sites over the past 5 years, culminating in the launch of Comment is Free, their highly acclaimed collective blog site in 2006. JEREMY WRIGHT, B5 MEDIA A serial entrepreneur, Jeremy is one of b5media’s co-founders and a well-known blogger, consultant and speaker. He began contributing to his first blog in 2003, and has helped hundreds of people and many high profile companies develop strategies to incorporate blogs into their business plans. B5 MEDIA b5media is a global new media network featuring more than 200 blogs on a wide variety of subjects ranging from entertainment and news to technology and sports. With content written by passionate people and dedicated Channel Editors from all over the world, the Toronto-based company’s blogs attract more than three million unique visitors a month. RICHARD ROCCA, GLAM Before joining Glam, Rocca served as vice president, business development for Gorilla Nation, and led the team that recruited more than 130 publishers and developed 6 new content verticals. Prior to Gorilla Nation, Rocca was a director at I/Pro Corporation, a site-centric audience research organization in San Francisco. At I/Pro Rocca drove a passion to educate both the agency and media buying community and over 750 mid-tail publishers on how brand advertisers should buy on niche audiences using site-centric traffic reports and demographic profiles. Prior to this Rocca was an account executive at the legacy network, Premium Network. GLAM With reach of over 30M unique visitors worldwide, Glam Media brings brand advertisers a new integrated way to communicate and engage with their target consumers via their content specific and high quality editorial Publisher Network of more than 350 popular lifestyle and fashion websites, blogs, and magazines. ASHLEY NORRIS, SHINY MEDIA Ashley Norris is a Founder and director of Shiny Media, the UK’s leading commercial blogging company. Ashley is one of the most respected UK commentators on new media and blogging in particular. He has delivered presentations on new media to Sky, BBC Radio Five Live and countless PR companies and marketing agencies. Ashley is also a freelance journalist with nearly a decade of experience of writing on technology for newspapers such as The Guardian. SHINY MEDIA Europe’s most successful commercial blog network, Shiny Media now has over 30 websites in key verticals like gadgets, fashion and sport. It attracts over 2.5 million unique readers to its blogs and has worked with an impressive range of bluechip brands including Sony, Samsung, Dyson, Marks & Spencer and Nokia.

Brands and Blogs - Shiny Media leads the debate (again)

2007-07-04T13:15:07Z

Just two days to go and we're all getting very excited about our Brands and Blogs: Talking With The New Influentials conference on Friday. Ash is just putting the finishing touches to his rabble-rousing speech about how important people who read the Shiny Media blogs really are. And Jeff has got his nose down in the latest stats from Jupiter Research - it's a dirty job but someone's got to do it. We've also added two speakers from the other side of the pond who will talk about the US experience. That's Richard Rocca, Senior Director from online fashion network Glam.com and Jeremy Wright, CEO of B5 Media. We're really excited they've decided to come on board. Of course it's not all about Shiny Media. From The Guardian there's Neil Du Lake who will talk about how 'old media' titles are adapting to the new media environment and chairing the event will be new media guru and general all round good guy Mike Butcher So all in all it should be a great morning. Followed of course by a lovely lunch and splendid views over London from Centre Point. If you can't make it - or you just haven't been invited - then check out the live blog here on Friday morning.