Here is the modern version of advertising’s dirty little secret: Social media marketing is not for you. OK, that is not entirely accurate – let me temper the statement a bit: Most likely, social media marketing is not for you. It is time to put the brakes on the rush to go social – at least it should be, but with the projections of companies increasing their their investment in social media marketing by 34% over the next five years, such a pause for a reality break is not likely.

When you combine business leaders’ fear of falling behind their competitors along with a void of knowledge about the cultural revolution known as the social web, you find a goldmine for shady communication firms. It’s a simple equation: Smoke + Mirrors + Desperation = Big $$$ every time. “Anyone can do this. Social is cheap. Social is easy. You must go social!”, they say, but those are all lies told by lying liars who lie. There is significant cost and labor involved in effectively engaging the social web. My message to clients is that they need to know the truth about what will be required of them if they want to market via social media. These are the questions that I ask clients when they decide that it’s time to get engaged:

• “Can You Be Honest?” – Learn everything that you can about the reputation of your business and brand. Your brand is not defined by what you say; it is defined by your actions, and what your customers say about you. Customers are not a target audience – they are now participants in your marketing. Speak with a voice that is consistent with your brand, and let your personality flow through.
• “Can You Be Relevant?” – Treat people with respect. The social web is not for public relations, it is for personal relations. Consumers now choose the marketing to which they want to be exposed. Do not try to force your message into a conversation where it does not fit. Look for opportunities and join the conversation when opportunities naturally arise.
• “Can You Be Amazing?” – Create amazing goods and services. If your are not special, you will be invisible on the social web. Have a voice people value, and give people a reason to want to know what you have to say.
• “Can You Be Generous?” – Focus on the needs of your customers and the community that surrounds your brand. Share insight, information and benefits.

If they are dealt with seriously, these questions do not produce answers that fall into the categories of easy, cheap or made for everyone. If they are skipped over, organizations can cause major damage to their reputations. If a client can answer the questions well, that tells me that they are one of the few that do not fall into the most likely category, and that this really is for them.

Then I show them our pretty presentation:

[View presentation on SlideShare]

I fall for it every time. There is no denying the fact that it is cheating, but I still fall for it: A commercial rolls onto the screen and it carries a friend of mine along with it, and I’m hooked. I connect. Advertising that works is all about connecting. People don’t really want to be sold anything, but they do want to feel like they are a part of something larger than themselves. A vibe. A coolness. So, being a people, I fall into this trap when a clever advertiser borrows an artist’s hard-earned cool for a commercial.

This is how my thinking goes:

“(gasp) How did they know about that song? It’s such a cool/indie/obscure/totally-not-radio-friendly-omagodiloveit song! And someone at Clorox likes it, too! Clorox gets me! They understand me! I love Clorox!”

Rational? There is not an ounce of lucidity in that stream of consciousness. It wears off, eventually, but now I have a new affinity for the product when I’m shopping. Employing cool songs for instant connection is one of my favorite advertising shortcuts. Here is a collection of a few well-flaired cheating song commercials that are currently airing in living rooms across America: …

“New Lobby” Courtyard by Marriott : Featuring : Throw Me The Statue – Lolita

GE Today: Healthymagination : Featuring : Joshua Radin – Brand New Day

Summer Costs Less at Walmart : Featuring : Zee Avi – Bitter Heart

Parking Garage Honda Insight : Featuring : Rabbit! – Together

Miller Chill’s Summer Serenade : Featuring : The Dodos – Fools

And the spot that sparked my desire to become a professional persuader:

Nike “Revolution” : Featuring : Beatles – Revolution

I love It!

I love when clients understand that the heart is what matters in advertising. People do not connect over reason, they connect over feeling. Sure, stating a compelling argument (price, quality, service) has proven to be an effective tactic in mass communication, but in our era of consumer control, businesses need to focus on relating, not educating.

I first saw this ad a week ago, and I wanted to stand up and cheer. Rather than using overwhelming statistics or shameful intimations, Heineken allowed Wieden + Kennedy, Portland to go for a real connection to deliver the message that it is better to let someone else drive if you’ve had too much to drink. People know that it is wrong to drink and drive, but reminders are still necessary. This reminder connects on a personal emotional level, and as a result it will save a few lives from tragic destruction. I love it.

(alternate via YouTube)

A big budget + a trusting client willing to take creative risks = the dream project. We live for it in advertising. They are rare, and they are precious.

Last week, I met a couple of guys who are living half of that dream, working on micro-budget projects that are seriously funky. Rhett&Link are the ones behind The Red House Furniture spot that is not quite as contagious as Swine Flu hysteria, but close. It is sensational, and it is real. Watch this “making-of” video to see what I mean:

Is it a publicity stunt, yes, but it is real and true to the client. It is entertaining as hell, and it sticks with you like Mr. Whipple squeezing the Charmin. This little furniture store in North Carolina is having their commercial played across the globe. I know that someone in Tokyo is not going to buy a sofa from The Red House (Can you say it without singing it?), so that obviously is not the target audience, but the local publicity that this store has received totally exceeds their wildest imaginations.

Well flaired. I’m seriously jealous.

As a bonus, you need to meet Rudy of TDM Auto Sales:

Update 05/08/2009 – My boss told me that none of the above videos come anywhere close to the one below.

I’ve been following this idea around my head for the last week: “All media is social.” It did not start out as a mantra, it started as more of a “i think i think this” kind of idea. Clear, huh?

A year ago, I began speaking on the topics of social networks/social media/social influencers and from that point I’ve been a sort of social enthusiast, evangelizing the lost to enter into this new world of connectedness. In the advertising world, where I spend most of my life, this is THE sexy genre of the moment, so it pays for me to lead the cheering as much as I can. But every once in a while, I have to stop, and let everyone know that THIS IS NOT NEW.

Media, defined as “a set of tools for communication” has always been social. There cannot be communication without a sender and a receiver. Simple enough. Newspaper – social. Movies – social. TV commercials – social. Radio spots – social. The weekly Target circular – social. Message sent/message received/message shared, the criteria for social has been met.

And none of these communication channels are new. The new channels are the ones that know-it-alls like me champion as the new era of social media. Do I need to mention them by name? Just watch the 10 o’clock news and you will hear at least one mention of Twitter or Facebook…that’s one mention per segment. I don’t care how much I love Twitter, if I hear about it on again on TV, a warranty is going to get cashed in.

In our fascination with the new, and the race to be a part of social media, we sadly neglect the most valuable asset of communication – Engagement. “Who cares?” and “Why?” need to take precedence over “Where?” and “How fast can we get there?” Engagement is addressed by asking the right questions. Can a newspaper be a platform for effective engagement? Dear God yes, just look at the letters to the editor following the printing of a well-crafted insightful article. Can Twitter be a platform for effective engagement? Post something about Dell, and you’ll quickly find the answer to that question. How about a flash mob in a train station?

The point of engagement is this, are people being treated as people? Are they being drawn in to be a part of an exchange of ideas or an experience? Are they benefiting in such a way that they feel like their life is better as a result of associating with a product/service/brand? Adopting the new tools is easy. Using them to make a difference is the challenge.

Faris Yakob brilliantly sums it up this way:

“The key is to produce something that both pulls people together and gives them something to do.”

And on that note, I’m off to Tweet something to my wife who is sitting across the room.

Find more videos like this on AdGabber

No comparison with other devices. No unrealistic claims of spectacular service. A simple statement about why we love the Google: clean and simple access to info.

Waggener Edstrom flack Frank Shaw confirms that Microsoft is not going on with Seinfeld, and echoes his underlings’ spin that the move was planned. There is the “potential to do other things” with Seinfeld, which Shaw says is still “possible.” He adds: “People would have been happier if everyone loved the ads, but this was not unexpected.” unexpected.” (via Valleywag)

And with that, the Microsoft/Seinfeld/CP+B party has been canceled. During the campaign’s brief life there was quite a bit of angst over the disconnect between the company’s identity and the image presented in the episodic commercials. Now, though accidentally, Microsoft has reconnected the presentation with their true persona: Big Budget/Big Hype/Big Fail.

Just as Vista slipped off the stage to a cavalcade of cat calls, Jerry and Bill have left the building.

And I’ve been won over. I could lie and say that I wasn’t, but I watched all 4:30 of the (not a commercial) episode and thought,

A million people are going to watch this today.

Here’s the pitch: You could have a beer and a brat’ with Bill.

Bill Gates – Everyman. A billionaire everyman.

There are still miles to go with the campaign, but we are all on board anxious to see where we stop next.

The King, he’s theirs. Truth, theirs too. CP+B created the AND1 Mixtape Tour, a streetball league, as a vehicle to sell the upstart AND1 basketball shoes.

That’s the reason that I’m so bugged by the CP+B produced Seinfeld spots for Microsoft that began cycling through our screens last week.

Something had to be said, and it has been. Over and over again. Check out the the chatter tracked via Addictomatic.

The ad’s a serious head-scratcher. I’ve come to this conclusion; Either 1.) This is just the beginning of a compelling narrative, and there is much more to come, 2.) Microsoft aligator-armed it, reigning in the creative horsepower of CP+B, or 3.) My heroes have finally nuked the fridge.

My vote is for conclusion one, so I’ll wait to see what’s to come.