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Successful digital strategy in two words July 4, 2008

Posted by James Warren in marketing, pr, social media.
16 comments

I’ve been thinking a lot recently about digital strategy and I keep coming back to one very simple universal truth: the key to success in digital communications, whether you’re an individual or a business, can be distilled down to two words: BE NICE.  If you don’t have it within your DNA to be nice then don’t even think about trying to do anything digital, because you will fail.  If you’re generous with your time, are courteous, listen, don’t interrupt, help people do what they want to do and make people smile – in short, if you’re nice – then people will want to hang out with you and introduce you to their mates. Simple.

It’s not not called antisocial media for nothing.

You could call this an advert April 5, 2008

Posted by James Warren in cool, marketing, music.
5 comments

…but i’d rather call it a film. Stunning *film* from Schweppes.


Hat tip to Mr Clayton. Music by the way by The Cinematic Orchestra - the real star.

The best thing I’ve seen today April 2, 2008

Posted by James Warren in marketing.
1 comment so far

…is this.  Brilliant.

Hat tip to Simon Waldman (welcome back, sir).

Video skilled the Radiohead March 18, 2008

Posted by James Warren in marketing, music, social media, web 2.0.
1 comment so far

A while back I wrote about the Radiohead and NIN music distribution developments.  I still maintain that it’s only already established big bands that can do this and still make megabucks, but anyway…  Came across this just now.  User generated video production, courtesy of Radiohead.  You can make a video for Radiohead.  And you can win some cash.  Don’t know about you but this doesn’t sit terribly comfortably with me.  Can’t quite put my finger on it.  Are marketers beginning to try the patience of the ‘produsers’?  What’s the difference between harnessing creativity and exploitation?  I have been pondering on such matters for a while and my discombobulated thoughts may well manifest themselves in a post in the next day or so.  In the meantime, I refer you to this quote from Bash.org:

Q: Please describe web 2.0 to me in 2 sentences or less. 

A: You make all the content.  They keep all the revenue.

Radiodead? October 8, 2007

Posted by James Warren in apropos of nothing, marketing, music.
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I can’t work out whether this is the future of the music industry or just the deliberately disruptive strategy of a band that already has more money than it knows what to do with.  The proof of the pudding, as they say, will be in the eating.  I’d love them to show live downloads vs revenue - ie show the average price paid.  In that way the audience really would set the price as a community, rather than individually (as they (by which I mean we) would all follow the consensus, like sheep).

PR Manifesto May 1, 2007

Posted by James Warren in marketing, pr, work.
1 comment so far

Have just read the latest Holmes Report and was sufficiently moved to post a recommendation to read the article entitled A Manifesto for the 21st Century Public Relations Firm.  I confess it feels very weird…  it’s as if I wrote the article myself, so closely does it mirror my own thinking.  And this just weeks after Mr Holmes replayed, almost word for word, my thinking on word of mouth marketing (without going into it in too much detail, WOM isn’t an activity, it’s an outcome, the result of a successful, carefully targeted and 360 degree PR campaign).  Better check the office for bugs.  Actually, better blog a bit more so I can beat him to it next time…  Hmmmm.

On that note, I’ll be moving my ‘professional’ blogging to a new platform shortly - Jonny and I putting the final touches to a Weber Shandwick Digital blog dedicated to digital PR (in its many forms).  So this blog will most likely become more, well, unprofessional.  Amen to that.

Flaming brilliant March 16, 2007

Posted by James Warren in marketing, pr, work.
1 comment so far

Great piece from Jonah Bloom on the ‘Cutural Gulf’ separating marketing and PR.  In other news, the boss has started blogging, at the excellently-named Byrne Baby Byrne.  There’ll be more WS blogs coming online shortly - and not before time…

iAdvocacy January 16, 2007

Posted by James Warren in geeky stuff, marketing, pr, work.
3 comments

This perfectly encapsulates what Microsoft permanently finds itself up against…  Wonderful piece on the power of the Apple brand.  You can’t buy advocacy like this - although we in PR would like to think we can construct it.  I’m not sure it’s achievable through PR alone, but more on that later.   Merry New Year.  Hope to be blogging a little more regularly now my wingman has arrived (recruited via this blog, fact fans).

Same-sized print: Microsoft is a current client, Apple an old one. 

Wired link from Euan Semple.

Massive face (blatant plug) November 15, 2006

Posted by James Warren in cool, marketing, work.
7 comments

My colleagues here in the Weber Shandwick London office have just pulled off a gloriously old-fashioned PR stunt.  They’ve created what they believe to be the world’s biggest logo on behalf of KFC and used satellites to capture it from space.  Images here (the satellite images look touched up, but aren’t) and there’s video too.  Hang on til the end when the helicopter taking the B-roll gets a bit too close to the ‘real’ Col Sanders, walking across the site…  Who needs Second Life?

Convergence Culture by Henry Jenkins November 10, 2006

Posted by James Warren in books, marketing, media, pr, social media.
1 comment so far

Although I’m only a short way into it, I am already fairly certain this is the finest (work-related) book I have ever read.   I can’t stop feverishly scribbling notes in the margins and highlighting sections and sentences (something I *never* normally do to books).  I bought it following a recommendation on the ball-bouncingly excellent Apophenia.  And now I recommend it to you (look, genuine word of mouse in action).  Henry Jenkins’s blog is also required reading for anyone with even half an interest in media, culture and marketing.