Photo by @KimberleyL

Even the chilly Melbourne weather couldn’t keep us away from Melbourne’s modern day speakeasy, 24 Moons in ACDC Lane, for Social Media Club’s stellar panel:

• Simon Goodrich – MD of Portable and National President of AIMIA
• Nick Bolton – GM of Viocorp
• Suzie O’Carroll – Industry Manager of YouTube

Everyone was dying to know (ok maybe not dying but you get my drift) about the current state of social video in Australia? Are we fast forwarding, rewinding, playing, pausing or stopping?

According to the panelists, we still have a long way to go with social video use in Australia. While there is plenty of interest with campaigns such as Old Spice, there are also plenty of questions still to be answered.

Why do we still have a long way to go you ask? Well unlike blogging, video production takes more time and money. Poor infrastructure, bad viewing quality and a lack of understanding were also reasons for the slow uptake of social video.

Portable’s Goodrich said many people still underestimate the need for quality content in order for a campaign to go viral. And the panelists agreed content is still king!

Speaking of content, YouTube is not only the home of online video, with approximately 24-hours of content being upload each minute, it is also the second largest search engine in the world.

YouTube’s Suzie O’Carrol spoke about the Toyota Sienna’s YouTube campaign as an example of companies who “get” social video. She also highlighted the fact YouTube is being used by a wide variety of Australians, not just young kids.

The panelists also chatted about the 1500 Australians who participated in Ridley Scott’s ‘Life in a Day’ film experiment, which will be shown at Sundance next year.

And no conversation about video and social media would be complete without talking about #QandA. The integration of Twitter on shows like QandA and MasterChef creates trending topics, which in turn builds viewers. While it may be exciting, moderation becomes difficult with the increase of numbers.

We were also interested to hear about the movement in retail and online video, where stores such as JayJays are linking products in videos straight to the shopping basket . Which as one tweep put is is “killer interaction for retailers!”

Here are some tips from the panelists:

- integrating your online and offline strategies is essential

- content needs to be engaging and offer a unique experience

- a good length for a video depends on the audience but 2-4 minutes is a safe bet

- You can’t force engagement when people want to be passive

Have a great weekend and don’t forget to vote.

Cheerio, the c word

PS – thanks to all who happily tweeted away on the night. My phone battery didn’t make it to the end of the day so no notes or tweeting. Great to have such rich content available on #smcmelb to refer back to

Wheel of Fortune was regular viewing back-in-the-day with “Baby” John Burgess and the ever glamorous Adriana. She is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the longest running game show host, having appeared as assistant host on Wheel of Fortune for 18 years. Nowadays game shows don’t form part of my regular viewing but I’ve always held a soft spot for Adriana.

In the hey days of the 1980s, Adriana Xenides was the epitome of fashion, style and grace. I know this is a game show we’re talking about!! However she could’ve easily wandered into a scene from Dynasty and looked at home, apart from the hair-pulling cat fights between Crystal Carrington and Alexis. Adriana was too classy for that.

So was this her appeal? Why was she universally loved? In an era renowned for its excesses, crassness and “greed-is-good” attitude, did the beautiful and nice girl from Buenos Aires win us all over with her warm and generous smile?

Australian television lacks the glamour and grace that Adriana brought to our screens daily. Does anyone even come close? I can’t think of anyone.

R.I.P Adriana.

Last night, like a million other Australians, I tucked into Masterchef (1.611 million viewers) and washed it down with the finale of So You Think You Can Dance (1.041 million).

These TV shows would have traditionally flown under my radar had it not been for the crazy amount of live tweeting surrounding them.

Live tweeting provides an instant community for you to engage with during your favourite TV show. And it certainly provides a reprieve from the repetitive advertisements for Coles during Masterchef. While advertisers may not be over the moon about this latest distraction, it’s important they pay attention. And it’s not all bad news, while I may not be watching the advertisements, I’m certainly hearing about them … the compliments and the complaints!

I am a huge fan of live tweeting about TV shows and events. Take the Oscars for example. How does one make it through a long awards show without nodding off?? The answer is simple – watch what the Twitterverse has to say about who should win, what they’re wearing, the quality of the speeches and who was ‘robbed’! Now I wonder if we’ll see the same live tweeting from Australians during this year’s TV Week Logie Awards? But without Susan Boyle what will we tweet about?

Back to live tweeting, I love seeing the comments of my fellow tweeting TV watchers. The proclamations of love, the rants, the jokes, the predictions, the sarcasm, and the highs and lows when a favourite contestant gets booted off. All of this compliments the TV viewing experience so well, especially as the single person household becomes more common.

Live tweeting is also becoming a larger part of social networking strategies. It’s the perfect way to build awareness of major events and also raise the profile of major sponsors. If you’re a tweeter, who hasn’t followed the tweets from a major event such as a launch or conference?

But sticking with television, how do television shows, advertisers and networks capitalise on this activity?

Firstly, I’d love to see live tweets incorporated into my TV screen, than I wouldn’t have to constantly look away. Perhaps one day soon we’ll be able to opt-in to see tweets for live sports, reality shows and even panel shows like ABC’s Q & A.

Not only do they extend engagement with the show, the Twitter updates provide instant access to a pool of research. Networks get an instant reaction to what works, what doesn’t, and who viewers love or hate.

It’s like having a hundred thousand people in a test screening. Gone are the one-way mirrors and facilitators, replaced with 140 characters and a smart phone.

What do you think? What else can television networks do to capitalise on this popular trend of live tweeting?

Have a lovely long weekend,

the c word

With forty years under their belt, we thought we’d look at what we’ve learned from the colourful characters who’ve been entertaining and educating children (and their parents) since 10 November 1969.

Earlier this year, Nancy Gibbs ‘Tickle Me Obama: Lessons from Sesame Street’ article in Time Magazine made some interesting points about Obama being the first President to grow up with Sesame Street and how the show has influenced the way we talk about issues.

As Gibbs says “Sesame Street’s genius lies in finding gentle ways to talk about hard things — death, divorce, danger — in terms that children understand and accept.” She asks the question though whether we’re ready to move beyond this and hear the truth!

As a communicator you often need to translate complex ideas into simple concepts or sound bites. This is something the people on Sesame Street have mastered, through their strong characters they are able to discuss complex issues broken down into simple terms.

I think you can also learn a bit from their ability to tailor communication for varying audiences – they have content for their primary views (children) and content for the secondary audience (the parents) plus resources and information for professionals as well. Check out their blog for parents which is clever and engaging!

Another thing we can learn from Sesame Street is the way it captures the reality of the situation and deals with real issues in real places. Yes the characters are muppets but they don’t sugar coat the truth and they surround themselves with places that are relevant for their audience.

The other thing that’s great about Sesame Street is they keep it simple. Each day they deal with one letter and one number and the show doesn’t try to deal with too many issues at the one time. Think about this the next time you’re wanting to raise awareness of a particular issue or want to educate your stakeholders about a change – don’t overload them with information.

Also check out the c word’s 7 tips for creativity and passion inspired by Sesame Street character featured on PRIA website this week. We’re certain you’ll find some pointers there that will inspire your work life.

Finally, I can’t help but continue to love Google’s themed homepages – this week they celebrate Sesame Street’s 40th with a Cookie Monster for Australians.

So tell us who’s your favourite Sesame Street character – add a comment below, tweet us @thecwordagency or send us an email to info@thecword.com.au. Our favourite one is the Cookie Monster especially when he sings about his favourite c word… Cookie!!

Have a colourful week,

the c word

We discovered the show online…not sure where as it was a while ago but probably popped up in our Google Reader. The show developed a cult following even before going to air through its use of MySpace, YouTube, Twitter and Facebook. The first episode was the number one downloaded television show on iTunes with Fox offering the show for free.

We regularly check the YouTube for snippets of performances and behind-the-scenes footage and chats with Glee cast. From a social media perspective they’ve gone all out.

Not only that, across all platforms that have targeted the campaigns. They’ve developed links with American Idol and Australian Idol to piggyback off their audiences. Both Channel Ten and Fox have been inundated with Glee ads during Idol and other high rating television shows with a strong 16-35 audience base (my favourite is the Gleek one… yes I’m a Gleek too).

Old and new marketing angles have been utilised. Social media… check. Promotions… check. Advertising… check. Publicity… check. The cast are even doing shopping mall visits… How old school? We are half tempted to head down to Highpoint Shopping Centre this Saturday to meet the cast. Wonder if Kurt will be there?? *squuueeeeaaaals*

No stone has been left unturned. With 24,000+ Twitter followers, 250,000+ Facebook fans, let’s hope this buzz translates to TV ratings. In Australia, the pilot attracted 1.2million viewers following the insanely popular Masterchef. However, last night the director’s cut of the pilot kicked off the season’s regular airing, but only rated 871,000. Let’s see how it goes next week when episode two airs?

We’ve got our finger crossed this show does well. Snarky high school shows with spirit fingers, late 80s/early 90s music are just what the doctor ordered in the c word office.

Anyway, off to do a phoner (that’s an interview with a major network), probably on my iPhone.

Have a fab weekend.

the c word

But one of our favourite things about the show is seeing the goings-on of an advertising agency in the 1960s. It’s awesome watching the Sterling Cooper team introduce, what was then a foreign concept, a jingle to a coffee company trying to target the youth market or watching the creative team discuss the merits of a company brand like ‘London Fog’. Or Peggy nonchalantly coming up with the ‘basket of kisses’ concept. And of course the office politics.

Oh sassy Joan, cool Don, whiny Pete, in-the-closet Sal and modern working girl Peggy!! When are you back on our screens in Australia?? Soon, I hope. We miss you. BTW, does anyone else think Bertram Cooper looks like the Colonel? I always feel like KFC whenever he appears … mmm donuts, i mean KFC …

Another meeting at Sterling Cooper

There have been some amazing television shows about advertising, public relations and communications over the years. Here are our top 5 comms related TV shows:

1. West Wing: Who didn’t want to work with CJ, Toby and Josh? Set in the White House following key players in the Bartlett administration… hold on a sec. If you don’t know this TV show, don’t even bother reading our blog. We don’t want to know you. This was truly an amazing piece of television.

2. Absolutely Fabulous: “La Croix sweetie, La Croix” Drinking champagne, snorting coke and wearing designer labels never looked so much fun. Nothing beats the ridiculousness of this UK comedy. Edie & Patsy … we’re forever indebted to you for being great role models for PR Darhling PR!

3. Mad Men: enough said really.

4. Absolute Power: Not to be confused with the Clint Eastwood film, this is another UK gem by the brilliant Stephen Fry. Unfortunately this series only went for 2 seasons but it was jammed packed with some of the most Laugh-Out-Loud lines ever. So funny that it warrants writing LOL out in full. So what is it about? According to their tagline… “The inner workings of a successful PR firm – lying for a living”

5. Melrose Place: OK this wasn’t exactly a favourite of ours. We were more Beverly Hills 90210 fans. But it deserves a special mention for renewing Heather Lockear’s career and giving birth to many Amanda Woodwood wanna-bes heading up there very own advertising agency with the likes of Billy & Allison working for them. OK we watched it more than once … don’t hate us.

So what are your favourite movies or TV shows set in the communications field?

And your favourite characters?? These are the c word team’s faves:

Jack: My god so many, I’d like to thank … oh wait this isn’t an oscar speech … CJ – the powerful communicator who steps in & takes over *chuckle* & of course Edwina Monsoon – champagne sweetie!

Maryann: Josh Lyman from the West Wing. I know he’s fictional but I do want to marry him one day *sigh*

Marta: Well I have a penchant for crazy ladies. So either Patsy from AdFab or for the really out-there crazy prize… it’s gotta be Dr Kimberly Shaw (Marcia Cross) on Melrose Place

Time to get back to work and stop watching TV. If you really need a Mad Men fix (and you’re only human), you can follow some of the characters on Twitter. It is quite strange to have a Twitter conversation with a fictional character… but quite a buzz too.

We decided some other suave & cool peeps from years ago should be our musical inspiration. Take it away Nancy Sinatra & Dean Martin…

Enjoy your weekend folks.

the c word