25 lttrs n th alphbt

Online only Football is NOT the future

So, it seems that they couldn't sell on Setanta's now defunct rights to the England v Ukraine qualifier. Especially now that it is a dead rubber, what with England already having qualified. So some entrepreneurial tyke has bought up the ukrainevengland.com URL, and is flogging a live stream at £4.99 a pop. Rising to £9.99 for those subscribing on Thursday, and a whopping £11.99 on Friday and Saturday.

I should be over-excited - digital trumps telly! Hurrah! But that is just not the case. This is just not an applicable use of digital - yet. Sure, have a complimentary screening service online. Sure, allow people to watch the highlights after the match (BBC.co.uk's Championship highlights coverage is just wonderous). Sure, allow enhanced viewing experience online. But don't *exclusively* show it online.

The best case for telly I've ever heard was from Rupert Howell where he stated that the new role of television is in communal events. X-Factor, Strictly, Eurovision (ahem), Corrie, and... Live sporting events. It's true. Telly is still the best medium for showing fixed time programming.

I'll happily catch up on the latest drama or comedy show after the scheduled airing. I don't really care if I watch Jonathan Ross on a Friday night. But live sport I want to watch LIVE.

Plus, I want to watch this with others. I'm not fussy if they are my mates or just fellow fans in a pub. I just want to share in the excitement with a real human being next to me. Not hunched over my laptop. And especially not hunched over my laptop having paid twelve quid for the privilege.

Until my internet signal and telly signal are one and the same (which they inevitably will be soon), and I can seamlessly switch video from my laptop to my flatscreen, this sort of activity is a bit too ahead of its time. And that is coming from a digital type.

Still, I did enjoy hearing Rio Ferdinand regurgitate the IABs latest press release:

England defender Rio Ferdinand said he thought the broadcasting of the match marked "a good step forward" though."I read that online advertising has taken over from TV, so that tells you something about where it's going in terms of the digital world," he told BBC Sport.

Wish people would understand that you can't just pick up a way of doing things from one media and then lump it into digital and expect people to consume it in the same way. 

Most interesting little twist on all of this though is Bet365's sponsorship. Open an account, stick a tenner in it and you can watch it for free. Now *that* is clever digital thinking - encourage live interaction with a game through betting. In fact, it wouldn't surprise me if this entire little venture is heavily influenced by them. If that's the case - kudos. But I still want to watch it in the pub you fuckers.

What the hell is Google Wave?

 

Everyone is wittering on about it, but do you know what it is? Check out Stephanie and Greg's charming little explanation. I think they should of got the actors from the Windows 7 Party video to do it.

If you are suitably excited and are looking for a Google Wave Beta invite, I hear Iain Tait has 1,000 to give away...

Lovely new Beck's tracks

Haven't had a play on the Beck's Music Mixer for ages. Just popped my head back in and there are four new tracks. Brilliant. La Roux - In for the kill, Just Jack - Doctor Doctor, Tommy Sparks - Miracle, Ladyhawke - Paris is burning. La Roux is my fave. After all she is a Herne Hill girl. Go have a Friday afternoon fiddle.

Self referential virals

 

To add to my flurry of pop videos... This is a sweet little concept and nicely done. Wonder how much merit there is in self-referential virals? "Ooooh, look I'm in a viral." That'll make it go viral because we are talking about virals in a viral. Innit. Can't see it working in the long term. Fun whilst it lasts though eh? Bit like that Mini one:

Sailor Song by the Gadsens

Lovely song, but far more importantly, our very own super talented Gavin Leisfield created the brilliant video. Makes me come over all nostalgic for 80's European cartoons. Yay.

Campaign strategy in the digital world

Ad:Tech Campaign strategy in the digital world

View more presentations from ewarwoowar.

Here's the preso I gave at ad:tech. Won't be a whole wodge of newness to all those seasoned Emmel presentation watchers. But hey, Jeremy Bullmore has been giving the same presentation for 50 years.

There are at least some commentary notes and links to make sense of my pretty pictures this time though.

Nike Supersonic goes Machadaynu

Bizarrely received a Facebook update from the Nike + Supersonic group telling me that the group has been renamed. Ooooh, exciting, I thought. Does this mean that there is a new Nike campaign on its way?

On clicking, the awnser is a resounding, WTF? It is now called "Machadaynu", apparantly in homage to a comedy song created for 2005 BBC show "Look around you". I say again, WTF?

Is this some subversive new campaign for Nike? An AKQA cock-up? A bit of hacking? A Facebook glitch? Seeing as the update was by one "Nicky Griffin", perhaps it's a BNP party political broadcast.

Either way, the group only has a pitiful 172 members, so its not the most public gaff. And besides, it prompted me to look for the original song, and the remix is ace. 

The Crasher Squirrel - Bazil goes nuts

It all started with this amazing appearance of this squirrel in a couple's holiday snap as featured in the Sun. And now it's doing an Aretha's Hat, and appearing in a whole load of other places. Go Bazil Nutts!

After a few cheeky emails to the Sun. The crasher squirrel got itself featured in the paper again. Apparently we are "net geeks". Cool. Our little meme has made it onto Mashable and the Daily Telegraph. Where next for the furry fella?

Three things to be chuffed about

First up, a brilliant spot we've created for the FA to promote grass roots footy. Suck on this Guy Ritchie.

Second, we've made a simple little iPhone game to tie in with the Barclays Waterslide ad.

And it has flown in at number one in the App Store.

And finally, to tie up with all the fun and frolics of beating the Aussies in the Ashes, we've created the Nightwatchman site for Vodafone to help out all cricket novices. Here's a film we did with the highly amusing Graeme Swann.

Woo! We're on fire.

Rule #3b Not all video is viral

Plumbing: How To Unblock A Sink 

There is a bit of an assumption that you can stick any old film online and you've instantly got yourself a viral hit. This is yet another of those grand misunderstandings of what digital is all about. The most obvious example of this are the multitudinous attemps of agencies to bung a telly ad online, cross their fingers and hope that it flys around the web like Cadbury's Gorilla did.

Alternatively, the conventional wisdom states that any old under-produced bit of audio visual cack, once graced by the magic of a YouTube upload, will busy itself flying between every computer in the land. Bollocks. 

In a very simplistic way, there are two end point strategies for film online. There are a spectrum of films that fall in between. But for clarity's sake, let's just consider these two.

• The type of video content that is good. So good, in fact, that people feel compelled to pass it on to others. The views accumulated from this type of content are primarily driven by peer-to-peer sharing. The viewing audience for this is not necessarily your target audience, or even those who could give a toss about your product. Lots of people will see it, though.  
• Video content that people find as a result of a specific search - say, "How to unblock a sink". The views of this type of content are driven by interest or need around the videos topic. The viewing audience of this film type will tend to be much lower. But you can pretty much guarantee that a large proportion of them will be very warm to your product and message.

Both are very valid strategies, but you just have to be clear what type of film strategy you are pursuing from the off. Y'know, like you do with all your marketing strategies.

For example, say you are launching a shiny new handset. You could employ the two strategies in two very different ways, and at two different stages of the campaign launch.

"Peer-to-peer" Video.

Marketing objective: Create wide spread buzz and awareness of the handset to an audience who are not already aware of the hardware. 

Comms timing: Close to launch. We need buzz that will lead to sales.

"Search-destination" Video.

Marketing objective: Create destination content for a handset to capture those that are actively aware of, and are searching for information on that particular handset.

Comms timing: As early as possible. The longer you leave it, the more likely *lots* of other people will create similar content that will trump you in natural search. First always wins.

 

There are of course examples that kind of do both. But they just confuse my neat little plannery argument. Actually, can't resist. What role do you think this one plays?