Pigs Don't Fly

+ Ambient Mobs

2009-11-05T21:22:00.004+11:00

The way I see it, flash mob stunts are like ambient marketing. High impact with low reach. Except of course, with the internets, the reach is heavily extended.

Take a look at this recent one by Flip...

Fail. But it's not because it appears nearly everyone on the beach is a paid actor. This episode of the Mumbrella podcast suggests there's no one being engaged with. But as stated above, the people physically there mean almost nothing, it's the people who are sitting in office chairs watching it as we speak that matter.

And the fact that the initial video received 150,000+ hits in less than a week is a testimony to that.

Actually, even the idea behind this video I quite like. Flips are pretty much the most portable video camera on the market, perfect for capture the spontaneous events that happen in your life... like a flash mob.

But the execution let it down. The flash mob thing has been done, and without pushing the idea further it gets lost in existing freeze stunts and something about a mobile starting with the letter T. The initial release of the unedited amateur video also wasn't the smartest move. Here's a tip, when you're trying to promote video cameras make sure the footage is of a high quality. It almost seems they wanted to rush it out to be the first to put it up, unable to give up control of their message.

Perhaps cameras could have been handed out before, something along the lines of you'll never know when you need a Flip. Encouraging people afterwards to submit it online, then using all the angles and some of their own footage making their own version.

Of course the biggest reason it fails is because none of it is branded, not well anyway. David sums it up nicely. The idea was lost in its execution. What do you think?

+ Blogs Together

2009-11-03T10:18:00.004+11:00

I'll start by saying this post is not intended to be arrogant or self indulgent in any way, but I know my only writing style can't avoid sounding that way, so just a heads up. And for this to make any sense, you'll need to read Stan Lee's article, Blogs Apart from this month's Marketing Magazine.

It's certainly an interesting read, one that I'd suggest is unnecessarily cynical and perhaps just another dig I've come to expect from older generations. And I can't help but think that with less than a handful of Australian marketing student bloggers out there, it might not even be all that relevant. Yet I feel one of us should probably respond. So here's my thoughts as to how I perceive the article personally.

To me, this blog is just a conversation starter. In many ways it's my resume. And just like you'd be stupid to employ someone based on their resume alone, the same goes for bloggers. But it's a foot in the door somewhere, where I'm then given the chance to prove myself. I've actually recently come to the decision I don't necessarily want to work just in the social media area, but definitely in an agency. This blog, I hope, will help me indirectly achieve that goal. Even if it's just because someone's happy to grab a coffee or beer with me.

Even the most talented graduate in the country is useless if no one's heard of them, right? Especially when you consider how many positions are never advertised but rather are filled through a network's word of mouth. I'm thinking writing a blog like this one is a great way for someone to begin to "know the right people".

Now I realise I criticise the industry. A lot. Probably too much. But if there's anything I've learnt about this industry is how cut throat, back stabbing and competitive it is. I'm certainly not the only one criticising, I'm just not doing it behind everyone's backs. Perhaps the only reason I publish it with my name attached is because I've got nothing to lose but I think every point I raise is a worthy one, and hopefully something other people agree with or are willing to discuss, even if not publicly.

As for the expert claim, I don't think there's a single student blogger who claims this. I think some might suggest they could provide insights, even without practical experience, but none of them are claiming a guru status. And you know what, I think insights without experience can still be valuable if taken for what they are.

The one thing I'd probably agree with Stan on is the issue about telling employers how things should be done. This is something I'm quite passionate about, and again, I'm only going to offer my insight, but Gen Y are not going to "bow down to employers". That's not how you're going to attract and retain talent. I see it more as something people can take on board or not... more or less like Stan's article.

As for the suggestion that blogs are only important if people Stan considers important read them... well I don't even know where to start there.

This blog has been responsible for (and here comes the arrogant part) landing myself an internship, started a business, doing some incredible networking most graduates would kill for, writing for Marketing Magazine and The Punch and a whole lot more. Perhaps one of the most important, is that it's helped me realise a passion, one I could spend every day for the rest of my life doing. Criticise that.

And please, if you ever see a spelling mistake on this blog it will be corrected immediately. Likewise for a sentence that doesn't make sense.

So to any students or graduates out there thinking about starting a blog, my advice is ignore Stan's article. Do it. And if you do, remember that starting conversations, no matter if you do it through controversy, criticising the industry or bad grammar, is better than writing a blog about ads and quotes you find interesting. ;]

+ Chill Bro

2009-11-01T21:03:00.003+11:00

I've been thinking about "cool" lately. Ignoring the fact it's probably not cool to use the word "cool", start by taking a look at Adam Ferrier's thoughts on the five indicators of someone's coolness.

I suppose thinking about the cool people I know, my definition would be that the coolest person in the room has the personal brand worth the most social currency. Here their personal brand encompasses everything from their personality to what they're wearing to what they do for a living. Included in this is the ability to share said social currency through remarkable story telling.

Just had this stuff on my mind a bit lately. What do you think? What makes someone cool?

+ The U2bes

2009-10-28T21:26:00.003+11:00

As I'm sure you've no doubt heard, U2 did something or other a few days back in front of 90,000 fans that was broadcast live across the world on YouTube. Here's the performance...

Unfortunately I can't find any statistics on how many people tuned in to watch it. I can't be certain but I'm going to put it in the ball park of 50 million or more.

That's 50 million people who were not interrupted or advertised to, but rather sought out and watched this remarkable content. And I would hazard a guess that a fair portion of them hung around for the full two and a half hours. This is incredible.

I know we're not meant to use the word revolution (isn't that right Jules?) but does this completely change the game for entertainment? Would love to see what this did for charity donations and album sales. Did they pull off a Radiohead?

More importantly, could another band pull it off? It is a first mover advantage, or just the fact U2 is one of the biggest bands on the planet. Take it a step further, could a brand pull it off? Even on a much smaller scale where only say 10,000 people tuned in to watch, I'd love to see it tried. What do you think?

+ Encouragement Award

2009-10-26T16:00:00.004+11:00

Another quick ramble, this time about viral marketing. Specifically, the usual definition I read which is about "encouraging consumers to spread content among their social networks".

Please tell me how one would "encourage consumers" to do so? Having a button that says "Send to a friend" is not encouragement (does anyone even click those things anyway?). I suppose disabling embedding might be an example of discouragement but I'm failing to see how marketers can actually encourage consumers to spread content. Incentives might be one way but can't think of a decent example that actually worked without the person looking like a complete sell out.

The only thing that encourages consumers to spread content is social currency, and that comes from remarkable content. I think I'll categorise this post with the rest of my rants about wanky marketing terms.

+ A Tweet Is Not A Comment

2009-10-24T17:07:00.002+11:00

Just a quick ramble about something that has been annoying me lately.

A track back, especially a tweet, is not a comment. It's beyond frustrating when you click on a blogpost that has 20+ comments, yet really it only has two, the rest are retweets of the author on Twitter.

Don't do it, it's annoying and deceptive. If you're a blogger with that setting currently turned on, please turn it off. Thank you.

+ Helping Tweeple

2009-10-19T09:35:00.004+11:00

Perhaps my single most favourite use of Twitter is asking for help, as selfish as that sounds. Last night, just hours before an assignment was due I needed a quote from an old edition of AdNews. I put out a call to my tweeps and Trevor Young saved my ass.

The fact that I can ask for a information, feedback or even an idea and receive multiple replies within minutes still amazes me. And this goes both ways, breaking down nearly all barriers between people. To me, this defines a community.

Imagine if a brand helped you, and likewise could ask for help and receive it.

+ Happy Second Birthday

2009-10-17T11:55:00.002+11:00

Today my blog celebrates its second birthday. Over the past 365 days I have...

+ Posted 147 times.
+ Had 22,182 visits.
+ Had 41,556 pageviews.
+ Received 638 comments.
+ Peaked at 474 RSS Subscriptions.
+ And 27 email ones.
+ Been mentioned in Marketing Magazine.
+ And in B&T.
+ Wrote an article for Marketing Magazine and sporadically for the website.
+ Started writing sporadically for The Punch.
+ Completed an internship at Naked Communications.
+ Started my own consulting and speaking business. Proudly, my first client was Nova.
+ Appeared as a guest on Marketing Today and Gen Y Marketing Podcast.
+ Hit a rank of 21st for the Top Australian Marketing Bloggers.
+ Won a national advertising competition I can't say much about just yet.
+ Placed third in the national finals of L'Oreal Brandstorm.
+ Completed my second year at university.
+ Celebrated my twentieth birthday.

And just in case you're interested, here are my statistics from last year's birthday.

Thanks for reading. Even to the guys who think I do nothing but spout rubbish.

+ Push This Hard

2009-10-15T15:08:00.005+11:00

"Semi permanent" Julian Cole's blog is about to turn three. And to celebrate, he's just posted about how his blog has changed over time to become more relevant to real world.

Unfortunately, not all of us have real world experience. In fact, this blog is based entirely off my own observations and insights. And with my own blog about to turn two on Saturday, I've been thinking a bit about my approach to blogging; that is to start fires and play the joker.

I came to a conclusion that is perhaps better explained with a diagram...

Let's suggest the little man represents the current frame of mind for a reader. In order to get them thinking differently, sometimes you have to push harder than your actual point. Sometimes, you have to exaggerate.

To get someone to B, you may have to argue C just to get them to think differently. The somewhat extremist view or point I usually argue is perhaps not always the ideal, but to get a reader to shift to B it's sometimes necessary.

It's not always to best way to go about it, and yes it probably tarnishes my credibility (what credibility?) for some. But it's the only way I know how and it works. Arguing logic doesn't always work with the stubborn.

Sometimes, I see just getting someone to A is a positive step forward.

So Jules, this might be another rubbish revolutionary wanky post about social media, but congrats on three years anyway. No mean feat.

+ Roflcopter Over Lol Juice

2009-10-13T13:12:00.006+11:00

First we had iSnack 2.0. And thanks to a tip off from Marek, now we have LOL Juice.

Please, marketers with grey hair and sagging man boobs, stop trying to talk to younger generations using their language. Tools like this one should be used to translate one way, not communicate. There's only a few brands in product categories that could actually pull it off. Spreads and fruit juices are not one of them.

The marketers using 1337 speak today are probably the same ones who used words like "rad", "sick" and "hip" nine years ago. It didn't work then and I won't work now. Please stop trying. That is all.

Editor's Note: I use the word rad and I'm bringing it back.

+ Woah, A Blogger Mentioned You

2009-10-11T21:17:00.004+11:00

I'm often told I push the whole new media thing too hard and too much. In a realistic world blah blah blah. So instead today I'd like to offer something you might expect to hear from someone older.

Just because you were mentioned on a blog doesn't mean anything. Even if it's in a positive light. I bring this up because I've read many articles and case studies lately that include lines like "the blogosphere went crazy" or "tonnes of bloggers picked up on the campaign".

Realistically, unless you get picked up by one of only a few key players, it doesn't mean shit. And just because your Google Alerts lead you to a blog with five readers doesn't mean you can claim it as a big PR win.

Even if someone like myself mentions you, it's probably not a big deal. With around 500 subscribers, maybe 200 will read this post. Include a few hundred randoms and you're still not having a massive impact.

I'm sure there's a whole 'nother post here as to whether or not someone like myself is worth responding to (hint: the answer is it depends). But what ever you do, don't go making bullshit claims about causing a stir in the blogosphere because some 20 year old mentioned you on his crappy blog. ;]

+ Bad Apples Aren't Fresh

2009-10-06T01:50:00.004+11:00

Even good friend of the show Natalie Tran thinks it's a complete fucking joke.

So Apple are going to bring legal action against Woolworths over the similarities in their logos.

I know this blog has turned into a bit of a personal rant lately about the complete damn stupidity in the marketing world but I just couldn't pass on this. It's almost as bad as the case study I read today about an ad where a woman cuffed a guy on the back of the head for staring at another girl. It received complaints about violence against men.

I don't even know what the main point of this post is. Perhaps it's that both marketers and consumers can be complete tossers (and please don't let me turn into one of them). Or maybe it's that I expected better from a brand like Apple. Most likely it's just that I wanted to share the picture above.

+ I Know, Enough About Vegemite

2009-10-05T19:07:00.005+11:00

I'm sure you're all over Vegemite talk by now. Buzz has spread itself across all media (see what I did there?) and you've probably never had more conversations about the black paste in your life.

But I suppose that's the thing. Whether you think it was a good idea or a bad one, or a deliberate one or accidental, never in my life have I spoken about Vegemite so often. And never in my life have I been as passionate about original Vegemite.

I have no plans try the new one, I won't even consider buying it and I'm totes over the whole "name our product" marketing campaign everyone seems jumping on the bandwagon with.

But fuck it made me realise how much I love original Vegemite.

+ It's Been A While

2009-10-02T17:31:00.002+10:00

I almost feel as though I have neglected this bad boy a bit over the past few weeks.

The good news is it's because I've been working flat out with an agency on a pitch. My very first pitch, which I gave to the client this morning. An important part of any young marketer's career I'm told.

Anyway, unfortunately I can't give any deets for a while. However I can say my week involved circus training, free breakfasts, lunches and dinners, a hotel spa, a photo shoot and a rocking crew of people to work with. Probably a lifestyle I could get used to...

+ Vegemite iSnack 2.0

2009-09-26T15:11:00.009+10:00

It was just announced during the AFL broadcast that Kraft's New Vegemite has officially been named iSnack 2.0.

I hope this is a fucking joke.

But the real purpose of this post is an experiment. Can SEO get this blog to the top of a Google search for "iSnack 2.0"?

+ Prezi Is Where It's At

2009-09-23T18:39:00.003+10:00

This is Prezi. It, or something like it, will hopefully make PowerPoint presentations obsolete.

After playing around with it a little, I'd say it takes a bit to get proficient with the way it works and for your basic presentations I'd probably stick with what you know. But for those of you who love telling stories and laying out your presentations visually, this tool is totally rad to the power of sick.

+ Bugged By Banner Ads?

2009-09-21T23:39:00.003+10:00

Here's an animated banner ad I've been seeing a lot on Facebook lately...

Marketing how to avoid one interruptive medium by advertising on another? Perhaps we could establish a Do Not Subject To Banner Ads register and advertise it with cold calls from telemarketers?

+ WWDDD

2009-09-17T19:24:00.001+10:00

+ 10 Things I Hate About Marketing

2009-09-13T00:03:00.001+10:00

There's a lot I hate about the marketing industry. I hate...

+ How cut throat the industry is.
+ The negative stigma attached to marketers in general.
+ That we can "add value" with "creativity" and make a product more expensive.
+ That we interrupt everyone, all the time.
+ That everyone thinks they're a marketer.
+ That every marketer thinks they're a social media expert.
+ That there are so many wankers in the industry.
+ That there's such a rivalry between the traditional media people and new media people.
+ That marketers think they can segment consumers based on the year of their birth.
+ That we sell products that kill people.
+ How everything seems to be about winning awards. Or how many awards you've won. Or how agencies make ads specifically for awards.

But fuck I can't wait to be a part of it.

+ Ignore The Basics

2009-09-11T00:06:00.005+10:00

Zac and Russel, I'll probably photoshop Todd in later.

I was at an event on Wednesday night where Russel Howcroft from GPYR, although perhaps more commonly known from The Gruen Transfer, spoke.

Talking to a bunch of students about to graduate and looking for jobs, he made one particular point that I thought was quite interesting. Now I'm paraphrasing here but a small part of his speech went something like this...

"Sometimes you need to forget the basics. Ignore what ever it was you were taught in first year marketing at university, specifically the definition about what marketing actually is. This definition completely ignores the concept of "Build it and they will come" and overlooks the idea of making art for the sake of it".

I'm still thinking about this one. I realise it isn't always applicable and I wonder how ROI fits in with all of this but worth thinking about, no?

+ A Teen No More

2009-09-09T00:00:00.001+10:00

Today I celebrate my twentieth birthday.

What a personal branding crisis! This means I can no longer play up the whole "young naive teenage blogger who doesn't know what he's talking about" card. I suppose "young naive twenty something blogger who doesn't know what he's talking about" works too. Although it just doesn't have the same ring to it.

+ New Media Beers Melbourne

2009-09-04T13:48:00.004+10:00

Last night myself, Lucio and Simon were sharing a beer or two (actually Simon was drinking wine but let's not complicate things). We decided that it wouldn't be a bad idea to do it maybe a couple times a year, and with more people. So here are the deets...

New Media Beers Melbourne
Friday 25th September / 7.00pm
The Cabinet (we've reserved the balcony facing Swanson Street)
11 Rainbow Alley (left off Little Collins Street heading to Russel Street)

Should be a good night. And if it was anything like last night it may end with a late night Maccas run and Lucio ordering "anything with bacon please". If you think you might make it drop me a comment.

+ A New Religion

2009-08-30T18:25:00.004+10:00

Here's two things I've recently heard myself saying in regards to Twitter...

+ After a few months you have a light bulb moment and Twitter just makes sense.
+ The correct terminology is "you tweeted" not "you twittered".

And after saying these things on the Gen Y Marketing Podcast last week, the boys characterised them into two categories...

+ A moment where outsiders are "spoken to", from a "higher being", where they then become insiders.
+ Language loading, where commonplace words such as "tweet" are given new meanings unique to that culture.

They followed this by saying these two features are some of the common characteristics of a cult.

+ G&T And BadNews

2009-08-27T12:47:00.001+10:00

My last post about the marketing trade press caused quite the stir. I suppose you could call this the sequal.

Dear Tim Addington and Matt Porter,

I am subscribed to both your magazines, B&T and AdNews respectively. And I have a problem, I sincerely hope you can help.

But before we get started; Timbo, I must admit I was disappointed you failed to reply to my last letter. Matt, I hope you see this as an opportunity to one up yourself on your rival by dropping a comment below. And just so you don't feel left out Kylie Flavell, I have no complains about Marketing Magazine today.

Anyway bros, included in my subscription to your magazines, I receive a daily email updating me on what's what in the industry. This is how the daily routine usually goes...
4.41pm B&T Daily Update arrives in my Inbox.
4.42pm AdNews Daily Update arrives in my Inbox.
4.43pm I delete both without reading either of them.
If I'm really interested in something from that day I will normally choose AdNews over B&T for reasons already discussed on this blog but the problem is you both practically send out the exact same thing. Let's take a look at the two editions side by side from yesterday...

Not only is nearly every article on the same topic but some of them have almost the exact same headlines. There are more similarities in the "bonus material" too. How exactly is it that you guys differentiate from one another?

Because if you don't find a way before my subscription runs out, I'm probably going to ditch one or both of you. Just giving you the heads up.

Zac Martin

+ Poke Zach Martin

2009-08-25T12:20:00.004+10:00

A month ago I changed my name officially on Facebook from Zac Martin to Zach Martin. I tried to change it to Sir Zac Martin but they wouldn't let me. Interestingly, just one day after I changed it I found this article about a girl who had changed it and Facebook wouldn't let her revert it. So yeah... should have some fun changing it back.

Anyway, the response was mixed. People who I would consider better friends in real life were, for the most part, the ones who picked up on it most. Others, who I'd only met after joining Facebook and those who I didn't know extremely well, didn't recognise the change. On more than a few occasions, these people even commented using my name as Zach.

And perhaps the best story, someone attempted to email me at zachmartin@pigsdontfly.com. Classic.

Just another example of how heavily we rely on Facebook.