Creative Entry #6

Creative Entry #4

Creative Entry #2

(Alternate poster concept on local game center)

(Visual details of game center)

Creative Entry #1

(Concept for local game center)

2008: The iTunes University Race!!

Check it out. The year is 2001. Apple launches a little application known as iTunes. Cool. Competition for Windows Media Player. iTunes offers a simple way to catalog all of your media into an easily browse-able library. More than that, iTunes doubles as a media player itself offering versatility and playback for a plethora of media formats.

Fast-forward 2 years later: 2003 sees version 4 of iTunes which adds the iTunes store. iTunes now provides an opportunity for users to purchase music and other media directly off the internet using an account through iTunes. At this point, iTunes becomes a perpetual money-making machine, allowing users to purchase whatever media they like directly from home. No CDs. No DVDs. No hassle. Plus, it’s all legit. Awesome.

Fast-forward two more years: 2005 sees version 6 of iTunes which adds podcasting. For those unfamiliar with podcasting see my last post (11/17/08). Cool? Cool.

Okay – great – so iTunes can categorize, player-ize, purchase-ize, and pod-ize your media. Can it do anything else?

You bet.

Enter 2008. The year iTunes U becomes popular. iTunes U is the expansion of iTunes to encompass the growing world of universities, colleges and higher-education institutions. iTunes U provides an opportunity for universities to share everything that’s great about them with the world. Lectures, special events, homecoming or athletic highlights – it’s whatever you can think of. If it can be filmed, recorded, produced or imagined. Anything goes. iTunes is the ultimate experience for universities to open the door to let the world outside know exactly what it’s like to be a Tiger, Bear, Saluki, Sooner, Husky, Gator- whatever.

Let’s take a quick look at the University of Washington’s podcast site:

(University of Washington iTunes U homepage - all rights reserved.)

As you can see, the University of Washington has broken their media into various categories including Husky Life, What’s Hot, It Happened at the UW and Endless Campus. Each of these categories hosts various videos about the university.

So, video on the internet- that’s nothing new, right? Well, yeah, video has been on the internet since the 1990’s. But, here’s the thing – never has it been so well organized and efficient. When you get on iTunes you can synch directly up with the University of Washington home page to find all of their media. Or if you prefer to switch it up – go check out the University of Oklahoma site.

Think about it this way – let’s assume you’re a senior in high school. For kicks, let’s say you’re attending Firestone High School in Akron, Ohio. Cool, right? Alright, let’s say you’re interested in attending the University of Denver, University of Southern California or Fort Hays State University. Okay, so plug university in each into iTunes U and you’re instantly greeted by a variety of videos highlighting student life. Awesome! But you can usually find a lot of this on the actual website. Okay. Let’s say you’re really interested in sociology. Furthermore, let’s assume each site has hosted a few videos of recent lectures by sociology professors. You can literally watch the classroom sessions and see which school best suites your interests. Classroom lectures of your major from your top choices. That’s iTunes U.

So who’s on board? A quick Google search shows that UC Berkeley, Stanford, MIT, Penn State, Texas A&M and the University of Washington, for starters. Who’s going to lead the race? Whomever updates with the most interesting and relevant information. Who’s watching? Oh, only about 50 million current iTunes users =) (http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2008/04/03itunes.html).

So let’s follow the universities trekking into new territory. Support ‘em. Show ‘em some love. Go Eagles, go Wildcats, go Cyclones, or Go Huskies- whatever- Just go iTunes U!

(Harry the Husky/Spirit is property of the University of Washington - all rights reserved)

The Wii(!) of Social Media Releases

Press releases are the car manuals of the information world: while boring to read, may contain important information (Note: This is merely the opinion of the author who does, in fact, enjoy reading car manuals).

Consider the quickly expanding use of media within the realm of the internet. That statement alone already sounds dates even though I wrote it but a few seconds ago – perhaps a testament to the dynamic social construct of the world wide web. But I digress, the use of media on the internet has elevated from a nice surprise to an outright expectation. News sites, company profiles, seminar recaps – regardless of the subject, we expect media. Media in the form of photo, video, audio, and controllable elements such as live-feed. Considering the expectation of media on the internet – shouldn’t our lowly press release also be held to the same standard?

Indeed. Enter RealWire from WebitPR an organization which specializes in just that: Press releases which truly acknowledge the expectations from the current web users. WebitPR (webitpr.com) creates press releases designed to be noticed. Coming pre-packaged with the typical media components, the press releases are short, interesting, and actually kind of fun to read (which is saying a lot compared to my car manual which hasn’t changed in the last 13 years). Designed with these elements at the forefront, these press releases are the perfect package to send out to the media, news, investors, and possibly the most important audience: bloggers. That’s right. I said it. Bloggers (at least the popular ones) are quickly becoming the opinion leaders of the 21st century. We subscribe and while we may not fall on their every word – it’s safe to say we definitely stumble on a few. By packaging these press releases with all of the exclusive media components, it (nearly) ensures that bloggers will not only acknowledge the release, but use it to its’ fullest capacity. Still too theoretical for you? Let’s take a look at one packaged by WebitPR regarding the Nintendo Wii...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBbN5Cm_t2g

Notice the use of the Reevoo advertisement highlighting an important consideration for holiday shopping. Quick, interesting, and again – fun. That’s not just how it should. That’s what we expect.

American Apparel and Facebook - What Could Happen?

Let’s talk social networking-

Online social networking is the idea that an online medium allows for connections to be made that would otherwise not be possible. What makes the internet so special that it allows these connections to be made? It’s easy and rooted in the infrastructure of the mediums themselves. For example, let’s look at Facebook. By this point, most people have heard of the social networking site, but what does it really do that makes it so popular and unique? Well, it’s like this – let’s say that you’re really good friends with Person McPerson. You’ve known Person for a long time now and you know some of his friends. But – do you know all of his friends? Doubtful. So, let’s say you friend Person on Facebook and discover he has an entire network of friends you had no clue about. Bingo. At this point, you can find an entire network of friends that would otherwise be unknown. Some of these friends may provide huge benefits to you that would otherwise be unobtainable (say, for example Person is friends with the hiring director for Pixar…) – at any rate, online social networking allows for these connections through established friends to be made.

Okay, so we’ve got social networking down. Great. Now, let’s take a look at the world of advertising and see if it applies (Can you figure it out yet?)

Advertising has long been defined as the mass communication of an idea, organization, product, or service. Through various attempts, advertising attempts to connect with a specific audience to achieve desired results (no duh, right?) Sounds easy. But here has been the long uphill climb for the world of advertising – establishing credibility. It’s kind of like this, imagine walking across campus and having each person you walk past try to sell you the shirt your back. You would be so bombarded by offers you wouldn’t even have a clue where to start. And if that’s a little bit too theoretical – just think back to how many ads you see each day. Each one begging for your time, attention, and most importantly, your money. So who gets it? Who gets your dollar? Probably the one you can closest associate with or have the most trust in. (Have you figured out where this is going?)

So, we’ve got social networking and the basic premise for advertising – what next? Okay, let’s go back to the popular social networking site, Facebook. Let’s say that you’re on Facebook and you’re looking over your buddy Person McPerson’s profile. Now, keep in mind, you’ve got a relatively high respect for Mr. McPerson and suddenly, you realize, Person is a member of the “I Love American Apparel” group. You may say, ‘Oh wait, what?’ As you look closer, you realize a lot of people you know are in the group. In fact, most of the people in the group are people you know or would like to know. Okay, so great. Here’s the hook – you realize what they all have in common is that they all enjoy American Apparel clothing. You visit the site, browse around, and before you know it, have spent $20.00 on a brand new AA Helvetica Alphabet T-Shirt. Game- set- and match.

YouTube as Promotional Vehicle

(Top YouTube hit: The Evolution of Dance)

I believe that YouTube can be used to supplement an existing promotion for a campaign / idea / or organization. While YouTube can be a powerful element – it seems that it may be difficult to promote an idea using YouTube as the single vehicle. In other words, YouTube would make an excellent secondary promotional device. Despite its possible limitations, I do believe that YouTube is an excellent vehicle to reaching to specific audiences.

One of the main strengths of YouTube is the fact that it is easily transferrable to virtually anyone on the internet. In other words, by there not being a requirement to download anything – YouTube is a simple tool to connect to various publics. Furthermore, YouTube is one of the top media outlets for many individuals within Generation X and Y. What this means is that people within these generations frequent YouTube looking for various content which reflects their hobbies and interests.

Even though YouTube is popular among certain generations, I believe it could be perceived as intrusive or unprofessional by others. Some individuals may perceive YouTube as an unprofessional platform based on news stories, statistics, specific videos (which may or may not be representative of the entirety of YouTube), or unfamiliarity. Individuals who perceive YouTube as unprofessional may also connect that perception to their perception of the organization hosting a video on YouTube.

For example, let’s assume that Proctor and Gamble will run a grassroots viral-marketing campaign on YouTube. Within this hypothetical campaign, let’s assume that Proctor and Gamble prompts their viewers to make their own videos on how they use certain products (I.e. Tide detergent). At this point, any viewer on YouTube could upload their own video to YouTube as a response to this prompt. Sounds good. But, at this point any viewer could post virtually whatever they want- including things which may damage the reputation or image of our friends at P&G. For a real-time example of this situation see the latest post by Discovery Channel which highlights a prompt from the show, Mythbusters http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESnxQ1J2Jvc

Along with video responses – a company may also be weary of the posts and comments which are available on the YouTube. While the random vulgar or ridiculous comments may surface – the main concern with the comments section is to remain true to your audience. In other words – keep a consistent message to your public. Don’t contradict yourself. Don’t send mixed signals. Don’t lie. And don’t cover things up. Reason being (besides the ethical aspect) is that if the truth surfaces (which it most likely will) it will be communicated across the board in a matter of moments. So to a company I say this: there is no reason for concern unless you create one.

The primary audience on YouTube is aged 18-34 – with this in mind, it’s important to consider the proper way to construct a video message. The most popular vides on YouTube are those which implement a specific (yet dynamic over time) style of video editing and topic. Videos which include humor or an otherwise unique message usually surface at the top. In other words – those which inspire, entertain, or include an undeniable element of novelty will receive the multi-million clicks. Videos such as “The Evolution of Dance” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMH0bHeiRNg (which, by the time of posting this, will most likely reach 100 million hits) include music and otherwise ridiculous elements favorable by an audience looking for an escape from the ordinary. YouTubers will reward the novel videos through permalinks and online discussion. Those which don’t appeal will simply fade out of the spotlight to become part of Youtube’s growing video archive. Simply put – in order to reach this audience, your video needs to be new. It needs to be fresh and exciting. Elements of music, funky editing, or groundbreaking ideas will separate it from the pack. But be prepared, as videos in the past have shown, hits may escalate from 1 to 1 million in a matter of hours. Make sure your message is ready for the masses. Even with how much we know today, it’s impossible to tell what “Evolution of Dance” will be tomorrow.