I’m happy to announce that our SXTXState project won an award in the AEJMC Best of the Web competition. We took 2nd place in the Journalism category, and I was told that there were > 30 entries in the category. We worked very hard last March, and I’m extremely proud of the efforts of the students who participated on this project. Can’t wait ’til SXSW ‘10!
They haven’t posted the 2009 winners on the site yet (we also won 2 awards in 2008). It is really a great honor to be recognized in this competition. The winners in all the categories are excellent!
John Slabyk, Obama for America’s Art Director and Scott Thomas, the campaign’s New Media Design Director were the panelists for Designing Change in America. Both men were introduced to the campaign in a quick meeting. The campaign said they wanted to take advantage of both print and web platforms. They said they knew they would be working on tighter, faster deadlines than ever before — and have a smaller budget. Slabyk and Thomas said they had to get things out fast. Sometimes they wouldn’t see the final design until it debuted on CNN. It was interesting to hear about the process. They couldn’t do brand standards or test anything out. One of them said it was “like building an airplane while in flight”.
Slabyk and Thomas said they had to deal with a lot of people outside the new media department. They had to convince a lot of people that design was important. They said they used imagery from the past to convey the historical atmosphere of the Obama campaign. They used content to get an emotional response from constituents.
Both men discussed the importance of the campaign. They understood the magnitude of the event — they said designers usually design things that are temporary but this time, they would be designing history. Slabyk and Thomas said they were aware of the fact that their designs would be plastered across American classrooms.
Some of the design issues they ran into were establishing consistency and balance. They wanted to use the same colors throughout the campaign. They used a constant shad of blue and changed the original typeface. The first Obama for America posters didn’t have a balanced type face. They used gotham, requiem and liberation typefaces for the final design. This gave it a more consistent look. Slabyk and Thomas started with Requiem and thickened it out. They used the “m” in Obama as the fulcrum of the design.
Overall, the panel was great. It was interesting to see how the Obama for America logo morphed over time.
One of the most effective ways to create an effective, engaging branding strategy is by crafting a story. This approach has helped many companies like Coca-Cola and AutoTrader.com.
Sapient’s Director of Global Marketing, Charles Sayers spoke about this concept during SXSW. His panel was titled “Brand Noir: Crafting a Who-Why-How Dunnit”. Sayers worked on both the Coca-Cola and AutoTrader campaigns. He said that most companies take months to come up with their campaigns, but he said strategies should only take a couple of weeks. One of the examples he gave us was the Coca-Cola campaign. Sayers and a bunch of interns strategized for weeks. He would not allow anyone to throw away a piece of paper if it had writings or drawings on it.
Sayers said there shouldn’t be a formula for creating a brand. He said that companies don’t want anything that’s stale and structured. He also said to start out by saying “there is no perfect”. I like this idea. It frees up everyone in the group from coming up with “the big idea”. Sayers said that people should feel free to voice their opinions. Too often, people are too scared to say what they want to out of fear of being criticized. Freeing up the group in this way, pushes people in new, creative directions.
Some of the ideas he talked about were using the rule of opposites, use imagery, make people feel uncomfortable, define yourself in a way that no one else can and decide how you want people to perceive your product (for example, is Coke a vessel or a stream?). He also said it’s very important for people to make choices. Most of the time groups don’t want to do this but, they need to so they can move on. Sayers said the faster the story is created, the better. He went on to say that it’s better “to have it a little rough and charged with enthusiasm, than to have it perfect and polished — it loses its bite”. I like this idea because, to me, it makes the process more exciting.
Sayers said a lot can be conveyed through imagery. For AutoTrader, he came up with a list of famous people who exemplified some of the characteristics of the AutoTrader company. He called it “The Personality Spectrum”. Sayers said the AutoTrader group wanted someone like George Clooney. They felt that he was intelligent, self-assured, and he knows what he is talking about. They also like Amanda Peet because she is assured, wholesome, strong and approachable. They then used this information to craft their brand.
Here is Sayers talking a little about the Coke project:
Marin and I attended the Using GPS & Location to Enhance Social Networking panel at SXSW. The panelists included Tom Marchioro — Location-based specialist with Garmin, Daniel Gilmartin — Marketing VP with ULocate Communications, Thor Johnson — SVP Media Markets at GyPSii, Brightkite’s founder Martin May, Bryan Jones — CEO at Mobile Blasts and John Adams with Twitter operations.
Adams said microblogging is making an impact around the world with companies communicating in real time. He said location and keyword searches are important. He also said it’s important that different services work with multiple devices. Adams said Twitter doesn’t reveal location data if users choose to keep it private. He hopes that Twitter can offer more location-based services in the future.
Gilmartin works to implement GPS in mobile devices. He believes location is the ultimate contextual experience. He says you take your devices with you wherever you go. Johnson said location is part of the social graph. He said there is a proxy for time, mood, etc. Jones is looking into real world hyperlocal information. You would be able to find out where your friends are, what venues are located near you, etc. He said this would be more helpful than using IM or Email.
May said Brightkites mission is to bring people together around places. They do this by making location an integral part of what you set your status to. May said hashtags would be used to find information by topic or location. Ad hoc social graphs can be created all over the place.
An interesting stat that came out of the panel is that last year 1.9 trillion texts were sent worldwide.
They talked about how interoperability is an admirable goal. Each company would like to work with other networks. The challenge, they said, is that the social graphs are different. They said that people on Twitter follow different people than those on Facebook or Brightkite. They also said that privacy would have to be guaranteed across the board. The panel also said that a “precedence model” would have be set forward – and they don’t know if one is emerging.
The panelists said that GPS could enhance social networking. There are many things that can be done with location. We can connect to those physically around us. It also changes how data is used.
As the fourth day of SXSWi drew to a closing, an inspiring group of panelists boosted a crowded room of listeners to discuss “How To Become A Part of the New Social Captial.” We were joined by Navarrow Wright (President and CEO, Globalgrind.com), Wayne Sutton (CEO, Wayne-sutton.com), James Andrews (VP, Ketchum Interactive), Theda Sandiford (CEO, Theda Dotcom LLC), and Angela Benton (Publisher and Founder, Black Web 2.0). The panel started of by defining the term digital urbanite: people who use technology to level what the panel called “hustle”. Sutton gave the example of using BrightKite which allows people to connect with people in their area and follow their location. What does social capital mean? Having good content, a solid brand, consistency, and a dedicated community are components that create social capital.
Sandiford jokingly labeled herself as a “wino” and started a wine tasting group awhile back. She spread the word concerning wine events through blog posts, Twitter, radio, and other networks which resulted in a membership of nearly 1200 people. She tickled the audience by saying “Now I can drink for free, my dream came true!”
Andrews discussed his association with Jane Fonda and her appreciation for social media. He told her to add commentary through Twitter and blog posts during the Academy Awards, and people loved it. There are ways to help shape personalities through branding and creating social media capital. Sutton live streamed one of the SXSWi keynote speakers, posted within five minutes, and conducted Twitter conversations during the discussion. As a result there were 4,000 visitors, which led to new relationships and created opportunities to build social capital. He “hustled” and didn’t waste time.
“The key is to build with social capital, not real capital,” said Wright. He said if you take an idea and use the tools that are accessible, the opportunity to create something real is at your fingertips. If a person is transparent and passionate on the Web, money will come to you. Well-known people and celebrities succeed in social media by actually engaging with their fans. Gary Vaynerchuk was used as an example, who started as a wine maker from Jersey who had a lot to say and distributed his content correctly.
The panel also touched on the concept of community. There is a need to bring offline and online communities together, and it is importang meeting people you are connecting with locally and globally, and attending events like “Tweet-ups.” Sandiford highlighted her personal interest in Tweet Deck and how it allows her to make contacts immediately and as a result cuts down on in-box overflow.
“There is a lot of noise involved with social networking, but in between the distractions exists good conversation,” said Andrews. “There is real interaction happening.”
Choo Choo is a “steam powered garage pop” band from Switzerland who performed during SXSW. We have been in contact with them through Twitter thanks to their savvy social media skills, and have held a Twitter-view (Twitter interview) to show as an example during class. Kristin and I were sitting in the convention center and were suddenly struck with excitement as we read @choochootheband’s tweet update “getting wristbands now.” We knew we had to meet the esteemed group that has been a prime example of using Twitter and other networks the correct way, so we tweeted back “meet you downstairs.” The band has been featured in a Wired article, in a compilation album, and as a SXSW showcasing band. Several of us saw their electric performance at B.D. Riley’s and all received thank you tweets in return.
Mairin and Kristin with Choo Choo.
We thought we would ask them a few questions regarding their social media use, see what they had to say.
An interesting discussion was held Monday morning regarding the role women take on the Web. Karen Chu(Graphic Designer, Playfirst Inc.), Laura Roeder(Principal, Roederstudios.com), Carly Kocurek (Doctoral Candidate, University of Texas), Blagica Bottigliero (Social Media Consumer Brands, Edelman) hosted the panel “Are Women Taken More Seriously On The Web,” joined by a room full of women and even a few men.
They started off the discussion by laying the topic out on the table: it is hard for women to be taken seriously online. Developers, gamers, and users in the technology industry have not been very welcoming. When asked how the Web impacts the way women present themselves, Bottigliero said that gender didn’t matter in her case. It counted on her skills. When Chu got started as an intern at a media corporation, she was placed
as the company representative. Having a woman spokesperson may help their image.
“Does it depend on gender or knowledge? There are issues everyday that are addressed on the Web and some areas women are respected and some areas are not. “Our society is being reflected on the Web,” said Kocurek. “As long as we have issues in general, it will creep up on the Web.”
Bottligiero and Chu discussed how there is a gender writing style that exists, referring to men using “dude” and women using “k.” The panelists observed the disappearing trend of psuedonames, and people are realizing how to brand themselves. People are becoming more aware of their identity as a real person on the Web. ” People are feeling more freedom with screenames because we are genderless most of the time,” said Roeder.
Women are good at being social and now is a great time to thrive. “Voices are finally heard through the social media space. We are natural connectors.
Women link, men build,” said Bottigliero.
The panel explored the difference in learning styles of girls and boys: boys are exploratory and risk taking while girls learn from demonstration and example. Young girls who learn the risks of a situation by observing can be misconstrued as being afraid or hesitant. Royal talked about the undergraduate college level and said the young women in her classes are more likely to indicate fear and ask questions. “Giving women success early in the game allows them to gain confidence with their skills,” said Royal. Since women sometimes lack confidence in technology there are less in the industry.
There are many women who use technology but don’t identify with the “gamer” title. “Casual games are broadening, content offerings are diversifying,and it can be dangerous pitching causal games because they are evolving,” said Gaiser. There needs to be more risks taken in game devlopment so they can be more intriguing to girls at an early age. It takes a lot of time developing an effective, quality game that girls will play.
A resolution the panel arrived at: creating a positive technology environment early on. Technology should be brought into education programs along with basic skills and user experience. “There needs to be a distinction, gaming to be looked at as teaching,” said Sanchez.
Tuesday afternoon Helen Klein Ross of Supporting Characters, Michael Bissell president ofConquent and Carri Bugbee president ofBig Deal PR, had a confession to make- they have not exactly been completely honest with everyone. In particular, Betty Drapper is not Betty Drapper, she is Helen Ross. Roger Sterling is not Roger Sterling, he is Michael Bissell. And Peggy Olson is not Peggy Olson, she is Carri Bugbee. Twitter-ly speaking, that is.
The panelists plus a few others, have been participating in a term Ross coined as, “brand fiction.”
Mad Men on Twitter
How did it begin?
“Man Men on Twitter came about completely by happenstance,” said Bugbee. She said she saw Don Drapper was Tweeting and loved the idea and immediately started Tweeting as @PeggOlson. She called up Bissell and he quickly grabbed @Roger_Sterling.
“Within a couple of hours I had about 160 folowers, and I thought ‘wow people really seem to be into this’ and I thought, ’OK I should take this very seriously, it could be a very interesting case study,’ so I should treat it like a job,” Bugbee said.
“It was really kind of blowing up in the Twittersphere,” Bugbee said, and she decided to keep her project a secret.
About 6 days later, she found her account had been suspended for suspicious activity. There was a digital media copywright infringement. The next day tons of blogs and news stories were published about the characters being taken down, and several of the remaining characters were being contacted by the press. Then the next day they let the characters go back up.
Ross started by being followed by Peggy and Don.
“I was as shocked as anyone else when the blogs went down,” said Ross. She said when they went back up she got on and looked for any remaining characters. She began as Francine and tweeted Betty and when Betty let her know she wasn’t playing, she became @bettydraper, and then picked up a few of the other neighborhood characters in order to organize drama and events within Twitter.
Why did it work?
Ross explained, “We revealed their mundane daily activities” exactly what Twitter is for.
“The takedown was phenomenal press,” said Bissell.
“All of us have strived to remain parallel to Matt Wiener’s universe,” said Ross. ”I have a whole 1960’s library full of cook books and Betty crocker.”
Bissell said he has truly enjoyed playing @Roger_Sterling. “He gets to make all the little quips that fit beautifully in 140 characters,” he said.
Bissell confessed he had to create a split reality to embrace the “maleness” of Roger Sterling and remarked at how lucky it is that Twitter is so transitory and how quickly people forget when you slip up. Bissell learned quickly that Long Island Ice Tea wasn’t created until the 1970s.
A large part of the success is the continuation of the story and characters between episodes and seasons. Ross pointed out that that is only the half of it.
“The other half, and more important half, are tweets from fans,” she said. “It’s really interesting to engage with others following us.”
Ross said, they are not being paid by AMC, but are hoping to use this to pioneer a new type of interactive advertising within Twitter. Bissell and Bugbee were mum on the subject of payment. [See Bugbee's comment- CT]
Why does this matter?
Traditionally, people want to be entertained and it has been a “I create content, you watch them” contract.
Ross claims that things have changed.
“Not only do we watch a show, we expect to have some kind of active participation in it,” she said. “Entertainment is changing, advertising has to acknowledge this.”
Ross said that advertising should be measuring “Not only impressions, but expressions” and defines this as fan interaction with the show.
“Advertisers are being forced to work for an invitation into peoples homes,” she said and this is a way of ”extending the brand across platforms.”
They like to think that Mad Men on Twitter is pushing beyond advertising.
“It’s not just fan fiction, it’s brand fiction,” said Ross.
Bissell focused on the tracking side of the project.
“Traditional advertising is built on trackable statistics,” and its hard to do that with Twitter said Bissell.
When was the last time you were asked to join a Facebook group entitled “One Million Strong For [Insert random cause].” Probably quite recently. At the Sxsw panel “How Social Networks Are Killing the Revolution,” panelists discussed how social networks are actually hindering real world action and change from occurring. Steve Swedler (Gangplank) attempted to answer the question why support for a cause in an online community fails to translate into large scale change.
One reason he presented is that people are under the false notion that noise=action. Swedler went on to say that in many social network communities, “Everyone assumes someone’s doing something. Someone can be the most avid supporter of a cause but be doing absolutely nothing about it.” Todd Huffman (BIL Conference) explained that for this to change people need to ask themselves, “How do I direct this support into a specific action that will make the world a better place?” Swedler summarized the lesson to be taken from this panel best saying, “Social networks are the means to an end, they are only a tool and they are only as powerful as the people using them.”
Posted by Cindy Royal 
Posted by Kristin McCasland 
Posted by Kristin McCasland 
Marin and I attended the Using GPS & Location to Enhance Social Networking panel at SXSW. The panelists included Tom Marchioro — Location-based specialist with 
