What a phrase:
We’re now at the busy crossroads where globalization meets Web 2.0
But it’s true in a way, and it is what this article from business week titled „Children of the Web“ is all about. Plus a good case study of how Axe managed to fascinate the global youth with the tag line „boom chicka wah wah“, which was specifically aimed at being interculturally applicable for marketing.
Steve Rubel writes about communities – online or offline, virtual or real, and there is one key point that I really agree with:
This is just the beginning, however. The most exciting moments will come when online communities are increasingly used to foster offline connections. That’s the big idea behind Meetup.com, for example, and why it’s thriving. It’s also why eBay Live and Gnomedex (and soon Techcrunch 20) are very successful events.
Ok, this one will only be fun for those of you speaking German, but indeed it could actually be a clever viral stunt:
In total, it is a range of 10 videos (sofar) also found on the website Werben&Würgen, which seems to be made specifically for the videos making fun of the work environment of Becker, Brown & Hardy, an agency from New York, also located in Berlin. The website of Becker, Brown & Hardy already has a big notice up, denying any involvement in this, stating that they will take legal action against the creators of Werben&Würgen.
But who really is the creator? Is it Nolte & Lauth? They have PR statements on their website (opens PDF) claiming to support the website of Werben&Würgen. But it doesn’t really say how they support it…
The Website Werben&Würgen.de however is registered for Olaf Bauch, Ibob TGA, Usingen. That doesn’t help much, because whatever Ibob TGA is, their website does not yet show anything. And Olaf Bauch in Usingen seems to be an engineering bureau.
So, who is behind this? It does look like a cleverly made viral recruitment campaign for either (or both) of these agencies. Since the 10 clips have already taken us this far, I suppose (and hope) we’ll soon find out the rest about this…
In the meantime, enjoy the videos, they’re a lot of fun to watch!
And if anyone finds out what the real story of these videos is, let me know!
[Update: here and here are other sites actually stating that it is indeed a stunt by Becker, Brown and Hardy. I just wonder, how they got Nolte&Lauth in to participate? The two sources mentioned above wrote their posts well before N&L were brought into this. Or is N&L a fake agency? Or is it part of the BB&H Network? Anyway, the two sources say that even the main German Ad Newspapers fell for this, so I don’t feel so bad afterall…]
Behavioural targetting really is one of the biggest (if not THE) buzword in online advertising. Being able to offer the right product at the right time to the right audience, based on past behaviour clicking on ad banners, on pages on a corporate website, within email newsletters or a mixture of all of the above. Scary, if the consumer becomes that predictable. There is a good article at the globeandmail.com:
For example, a person comparing automobile brands online is likely interested in buying a car. Behavioural targeting narrows those categories further: Is the car a model that would seat a family? Did the individual inquire about hybrid vehicles, suggesting interest in protecting the environment? Did they also look for an infant’s safety seat? From that data, enough information could be gleaned about a person to know that they might be interested in not just the latest Volvo or Honda model, but perhaps biodegradable diapers as well.
That could be interesting, a nice way of „manufactured serendipity“.
But what about data privacy? May be I don’t want companies to know exactly what I am clicking on?
Companies purveying these services purport to protect individual privacy by opting not to link behavioral data with the names and addresses of Web surfers.
That’s real nice of these companies. I am just glad I live in Germany, where data privacy is much more strict and this kind of privacy protection is not optional but mandatory!
Doritos has already made some experiences with user generated content – asking users to submit their homemade ads with the chance of having it aired during the superbowl. We all know how the story ended: a $13 video was put infront of an audience of 90 million people.
Pringles now sponsors Spiderman III and aks people from across Europe
to shoot short films with Pringles as the star of the film.
In true 2.0 fashion, people can then rate the videos. And of course the videos are hosted on Google Video (why not YouTube?), so they can be spread. Like I am spreading this one here which really looks user generated, yet it is one of the highest ranking videos on the site (no video got more than three stars sofar):
Wo ich sonst so bin...