Once we achieve the mid-reason for 2011, the time is right once more to place the social networking world underneath the microscope. Initially glance, certain trends are extremely obvious. The apparently wholesale adoption of Facebook by brands like a communication tool with new and growing audiences is too apparent. During every major cultural event, in the World Cup in Nigeria last June, towards the Ashes in December, it believed every premium advertising place, through the very familiar drinks/sports/men’s grooming brands was mainly an automobile to fan acquisition for their Facebook page.
This really is no damaging factor whatsoever. Despite continual question marks concerning the actual worth of a Facebook fan, the liberty that Facebook offers brands to have interaction, within the most creative and interesting of the way using their fans is telling. Consequently, 2010 observed a massive land grab through the leading brands with fan acquisition on their own Facebook pages being measured within the millions. Like a key driver with this acquisition, brands as well as their creative / social networking agencies invested considerable resource (both eco-friendly backs and gray matter) in concocting first-of-its-kind/never-been-done-before/pushing-the-envelope mix media campaigns that engaged and entertained fans through traditional channels (for example print and broadcast) in addition to social networking.
One apparent example was this years Old Spice campaign featuring “The Person Your Guy Could Smell Of”. This campaign featured Isaiah Mustafa, who made an appearance on traditional media with a few highly creative broadcast advertisements directing the crowd (with men and women appeal) for the brand’s social channels (mainly Facebook & YouTube), where they could be a part of a very original and interactive Q&A using the former pro-American footballer switched model. It had been a heady scent indeed, as fans flocked within their millions to pose cool, funny as well as desperate questions which Isaiah – That Old Spice Guy,would answer live and straight to that user via video around the YouTube and Facebook channels.
However, the issue of worth, posing uncannily because the enormous elephant within the room, can surely ‘t be overlooked considerably longer, and there will be a period when such wonderfully creative, first-of-its-kind social campaigns fall foul of some very direct questions regarding their actual worth. That isn’t to appear at first sight worth-less – not even close to it – just, there may be much more effective, lower resource-heavy, practical ways to offer the same goals. That Old Spice campaign was clearly very effective, but exactly how much made it happen cost and just what possess the brand got from it? Without hard data concerning the campaign it is not easy to state, but frequently there are many more practical (and for that reason, economically sensitive) ways to offer the same goals.