Oprah YouTube

This week Oprah ran a show completely devoted to YouTube – she recounted how Esmée, a teen in the Netherlands went from singing in her bedroom to opening tours for Justin Timberlake (she was also signed to his record label.) The show included a couple who had performed the famous ending number from Dirty Dancin’ at their wedding reception; their encore performance on Oprah included the addition of Patrick Swayze.

With more than 200 million videos watched on YouTube every single day, this could be a perfect medium for your marketing efforts. In addition to the popularity, there are no software requirements to view or post videos so you don’t need to download or update plug-ins or worry about server space to house huge video files.

If you’re stuck on what to film, maybe you should accept videos… P. Ditty took video applications for his new assistant job through YouTube. He received thousands of applications in 24 hours, but nothing as entertaining as the Evolution of Dance (the currently the most viewed video on YouTube) or Tyson the skateboarding dog.

To help make your video capturing and uploads easier, visit Creative Labs website. We met them at the Internet Retailer tradeshow this month and learned about their Vado Pocket Video Camera, its compact, has great picture quality and includes a USB port for instant uploading to YouTube or your PC – it’s easy enough for the Yogi to use… so watch for videos on the blog soon.

M2.0: YouTube

Our friends at Teradata gave me the incredible opportunity to present as part of their User Group sessions. In nine cities, across the US and Canada, I spoke about email marketing best practices and the ways businesses were applying M2.0 to their marketing mix. Many of the email-specific points shared are included in this blog, so I wanted to highlight the M2.0 techniques in a series of posts, hope you enjoy.

YouTube
One of the examples in my presentation is from Blendtec, you’ve probably seen their products in your neighborhood Starbucks or Jamba Juice – they make the blenders in the little plastic houses. A couple years ago, they launched a B2C expansion, partially through YouTube.

Their channel has garnered over 68K subscribers to date, includes 70 videos and links to 17 other friends who have submitted their own renditions of blend-able items. He even takes requests, like blending a Chuck Norris action figure following Chuck’s endorsement of one-time presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee. All in all, the iPod video is the most successful, with over 5.2 million views, but my favorite is still the glow sticks video.

Another YouTube example shared is from Dunkin Donuts – many know of my love of the pink and orange, even before I could use them for PowerPoints. They used their YouTube channel to accept customer videos in their How do you keep America Running? contest. Entrants submitted their videos for the chance to win a year’s supply of coffee. In total they list 42 winners and a special Top Ten list – all still getting air time.

Be sure to check back tomorrow for more in the series.

Pink & Orange

Those of you who have attended one of our workshops, you know my undying devotion to the pink and orange beacon that is Dunkin Donuts… this devotion stems back many years, to the Dunkin cart on campus and today to the store just over a mile from my house – where they recognize my car and have my coffee ready when I pull through.

But today’s post isn’t about knowing your customer’s vehicles, but instead focuses on this brand’s eMarketing creativity and timeliness. First things first, for those of you who haven’t enjoyed your free donut, run out now! Dunkin Donuts is giving away a free donut with every coffee purchase. As a devoted fan, I got the forewarning email and enjoyed my strawberry frosted (AKA Homer Simpson) donut this morning. This timely email has mass appeal – it’s hard to refuse free pastry – and offered a nice twist to the typical promotion/ event-based marketing (not everyone’s brand ties in with tax-time.)

They’re giving a way more than donuts, Dunkin is also running a total of five contests; my favorite is the YouTube based contest that asks loyal fans to submit videos on How Do You Keep America Running? To date they have received 42 video submissions that have been narrowed down to the Top 10; the prize is a year’s supply of coffee (heaven!). Dunkin Donuts is promoting this contest from their site, as a splash in their emails and through their own channel on YouTube – a medium that has garnered over 222K channel views and over a thousand subscribers.

Not a bad strategy for a brick-and-mortar food services company, huh? Their creativity has spanned so much further than the typical in-store and/ or mass advertising approach to include user-generated content and timely emails to bring you back to the store – kudos Dunkin!

Snap, Tackle & Pop

A few of my friends work in marketing for NFL teams and they are often asked what they do in the off season. Their response, preparation – it’s their busiest time of the year; today's post is dedicated to these guys as they prepare for the year ahead.

The upcoming draft is probably the next big opportunity to engage fans; while new players are being fitted for uniforms, eMarketing is trying to up the number of email IDs, learn more about recipients and plan the email calendar while not neglecting the merchandise, advertisers etc. So here are some thoughts:

1) Solicit advice on the draft picks… but do it with a twist, have three target segments. The first segment should be asked to enter their picks in an open-ended/ text box format. The second through multiple choice, allowing them to choose a certain number of players from your list. The final segment could vote on your mascot’s pick – ask them to agree or disagree. Bring all three segments back to your blog or a special portion of your site, challenge them to show who else agrees with them (your viral twist to the campaign.) Make sure to encourage recipients to invite their friends, via the campaign’s F2F or directly from the site.

2) Make an announcement email with the feedback you get; put out an email that says this is how you voted. People like to send their responses and read what the popular choices; both strategies engage the reader by soliciting personal feedback.

3) Play of the day – Launch a video contest where YouTube videos are submitted of a play recap, the person entering should do their own personal sports cast. Other viewers will choose one winner to be what ever… your personal online commentator… the idea isn’t the contest; it’s to engage while producing user generated content at its finest.

For those of us not in the NFL, substitute players for products maybe even issue a video contest to show durability of your wares… remember BlendTec? Just remember, email is a contact sport, you must talk and listen to keep your readers engaged.

I LOVE THIS TOWN!

Grab your camcorders Bon Jovi fans – today’s post is about how to leverage video to engage the recipient, create a sense of community and sustain the interaction even after the event.

The email shown is an invitation to Bon Jovi fans to participate in an interactive contest; recipients were asked to gather friends and video the virtues of their town – the I LOVE THIS TOWN! promotion. Winning entries could have their video played; win free tickets or one of ten autographed CDs.

With the growing popularity of YouTube and other Web 2.0 channels, it is a great opportunity to get user generated content. The Bon Jovi offer is quite compelling; it engages the user and asks them to get involved. This involvement is going to help them pay attention to the campaign, provide feedback, look for subsequent campaigns and (most importantly) provide valuable feedback on other interests.

This campaign is absolutely brilliant. You are appealing to the user’s interests – all through your email program. So eMarketers keep talking to your readers, keep them involved in your program and when a tangible offer isn’t available ask them to participate. Participation and acknowledgement are great ways to sustain a relationship, email makes it efficient.

A special thank you to our friends Eyal and Shaun – who allowed us to host the LA Panel of Peers Workshop in their facility. Good luck with your campaigns and don’t worry there won’t be any eCommerce Team videos submitted.

A Smarter YouTube?

ComputerWorld’s Heather Havenstein, published an article yesterday about Big Think; a new video repository site aimed to spark exchange between academics, politicians and other thought leaders.

Big Think has supplied a network of experts in various disciplines (medicine, science and business) with webcams asking them to report the latest developments in their areas of expertise. Users would be able to ask questions and post their own content on the topics. Big Think’s goal is to create a global community of exchange among experts and those interested in their work; as a by-product creating a searchable repository of their findings.

Think of it as a credible post by an expert in the field… a smarter YouTube if you will. According to their site they have over 2,600 idea threads not bad for a start-up.

Read more of Heather’s article and let’s watch the success of this new Web 2.0 debut.

See it, hear it, talk about it…

You have to engage your subscribers in a dialogue. This is the best way to communicate with them. We had the opportunity to meet up with artist/ entertainer, MC Hammer – and in my brief talk with him, I realized he was also a philanthropist, truly giving back to the community. His blog – www.mchammer.blogspot.com – is a must read for style.

Very delicately, MC blogs about his various projects. The neat thing about his site is that it weaves together articles, pictures and YouTube videos. Can it be any better? His writing style is short and engaging, and the man is making friends one at a time.

Reagan recently conducted a workshop on creating interactive conversations – the idea was to engage readers and leverage the many channels that the web provides us. Seven absolutes that should be leveraged include:

1. Blogs
2. MySpace/ Facebook
3. YouTube
4. Flickr
5. Twitter
6. Email
7. Surveys

You have to know what is in the mind of your customer. So keep these main points in mind – 1) Ask across all channels; 2) Respond with timely and targeted messages; and 3) Engage through creative marketing strategies.

Read MC’s blog and if you like donate to his cause.

What the heck is M 2.0?

If you were to open a business, you need to let people know that you are in business. In the “good ole days” all you did was call the phone company and you were in the book. Some people went the extra mile and registered with the Better Business Bureau, hosted a grand opening or did a little advertising. These still apply but given the challenges and opportunities today, it’s fascinating what David can accomplish with all the Goliaths out there.

Here are a few (Web 2.0) things to consider to enhance your presence:
1. Your website – This is your imprint for the online world and an absolute to let people find you. Keep it simple and current, and try to engage people – but don't stop there.

2. Your email list – Ask people to sign up, ask them for preferences, communicate with them on a regular basis. Overstock.com, Paul Fredrick Menstyle and King Arthur Flour are three companies that do an outstanding job in getting people to sign up.

3. Your blog – Keep this current; incorporate customer feedback, product information, testimonials, email campaign information and editorials – all written with a passion to keep users engaged. The Craving Anthropologie blog is a masterpiece; Stave Puzzles and Duncraft also have great special interest blogs. An up-and-comer in this space is the blog of 1154 LILL Studio’s.

4. Your MySpace & Facebook Page – Set up an online profile about your company, feature key people within your company. If you are a financial institution – feature your reps, if you are a consumer products company – feature some of the personas that you market to, if you are a B2B company – feature the difference you are making in society, if you are selling a city – market it and so on. This is how the new generation will find you, and we better learn to be connected.

5. Twitter – Remember the Dell Dude? People enjoyed looking for him – now people track their favorites on Twitter – just remember to keep it brief.

6. Flickr a little – Why not put images up so people can find them, if people can see a delicious desert on Facebook with a note that it was put together with the finest ingredients from King Arthur Flour – odds are they will visit the site to learn a little more.

7. YouTube is cool – This weekend, we enjoyed watching two hours worth of clips with the kids – all different kinds of videos. A couple of months ago Britton’s of Columbia posted a video on how to tie a bow tie; the Masai shoe is so aptly displayed in a video from Herrington Catalog (part of their site). Of course you may have already heard the story of BlendTec. The point is that we should look for ways to engage the user through infomercials, as well as testimonial videos – linking all of it back.

8. Surveys are vital – we always want to know what our customers are thinking and how we can help them even more. Design Toscano does a great job in engaging their users for feedback. The key point is that you should always look for reasons to ask questions and try to leverage this information for future communiqués.

9. Podcasts are effective too – Why not record customer testimonials and play them on your site. Same thing for a bank – have someone provide a daily update on the rates and the market performance, trends, etc. Set these up on your site so people can come and be entertained as well as engaged.

10. Mashups are good way to integrate – think of it as a site cocktail, for instance you can combine mapping sites (Google or Yahoo!) and overlay apartment listings or traffic information. There are a couple sites that make it possible – visit Popfly or Yahoo! Pipes

So how do you use these Web 2.0 techniques? Yogis define M2.0 as new era marketing, in a recent seminar on M2.0 in Woodstock, VT, Reagan Taylor defined M2.0 as a strategy and tactics that leverage Web 2.0 technologies. The beauty of M2.0 according to Taylor is that all of this can be done on a minimum budget. Look for future seminars on M2.0 – we’re planning on in Atlanta soon.

En Compétition (In Competition)

Looks like the popularity of YouTube has sparked foreign competitors; PCWorld published an article today about Dailymotion, the French YouTube rival that has landed $34 million in funding since its launch this past June.

This announcement is on the heels of a recent study (also published in PCWorld) warning that network capacity may not be able to keep in sync with increasing demands for bandwidth – citing the demands on YouTube, wireless devices and email volume. Maybe some of those Francs will be devoted to strengthening the internet pipeline…

Just a few things to ponder over your three-day weekend, check back with us on Tuesday – even Yogis need a break sometimes.

Should’ve been ME!

Ever seen The Italian Job – the new one, where Seth Green’s character is convinced that the idea for Napster was stolen from him, while napping… it was on this weekend and it reminded me of a conversation I had with a colleague of mine (you’ll see his name on this blog). He was commenting about how he wished he had come up with YouTube. He’s not alone – PC World recently published an article about the Top 25 Sites to Watch, the list includes Mashups, social networking sites and even Blog-protection. Here are some of the entries that I found most interesting:

Mashup Sites
For the unfamiliar, Mashups allow you to create your own site cocktail, for instance you can take a mapping site (like Google or Yahoo!) and overlay apartment listings or traffic information. Imagine apartment hunting from your living room or finding a great beach house months before going on vacation; sites like Popfly and Yahoo Pipes make this possible.

Social Networking
A new social networking site seems to crop-up everyday; the list includes a few of the front-runners in the category, including trivia sites, like BuzzDash that facilitate opinion polls; CircleUp and MyPunchbowl that allow you to coordinate events including carpools and parties. There’s even a service that protects your blog – BlogBackupOnline, a little safety-net that captures everything to restore if there’s a mishap or allow you to transport your blog to another service.

Check out Preston Gralla’s full listing of the 25 Sites to Watch.

How YouTube can "Blend" with your marketing efforts

A small Utah based company called BlendTec created a series of videos and posted them on YouTube, asking the question "Will it Blend?" In the series, they demonstrate that power of their blenders by turning such items as magnets, glow sticks, and marbles in to a chopped and dice mess. One of the most popular is the video of blending the iPod - which to date has generated over 3.7 million views. Think of that - a video that cost less than $100 to make and post reached 3.7 million people.

As a result of this effort, BlendTec has seen their sales increase over 500%. You can watch the famous iPod video below.



This story helps you see that YouTube and other viral and social marketing efforts can and should blend in with your other marketing efforts.

SCIMA, SCIMA, SCIMA…

I’ve been involved in a number of professional organizations throughout my career – maybe I’m biased, but last evening’s inaugural SCIMA meeting was by far the least pressure, most open and collaborative organizational meeting I’ve ever attended.

The relaxed approach attracted a number of industry peers – ad/ marketing firms, retailers and government agencies. Based on those I spoke with after the presentation, it seemed that everyone walked away with a greater appreciation of the alternative channels available to us as marketers.

Laura did an amazing job sharing her knowledge of Creating Interactive Conversations, sharing examples from YouTube and setting the stage for the Web 2.0 vehicles that are already part of the customer experience.

Want to be a part of this free organization? Visit the SCIMA website for information on our next meeting.

Leveraging Video for Email

With the rise in popularity of YouTube and other online video sites, marketers are trying to figure out how to leverage this new channel. One of the challenges is how do you get people to see your video? Since YouTube allows you to embed video into a page, many might think you could embed the video into an email. However, if you do that, the email would most likely get blocked by ISPs, as they flag email content with things like video embedded in them as a virus.

One of the best solutions I've seen is to put that familiar YouTube video box in your email, and when the user clicks on it, it takes them to a landing page where they can view it. Here are a couple of sample emails from The Oakland Raiders and Beyonce of this method.