QR Codes hit the mainstream - led by NYC Garbage Trucks. Platform wars escalate

In Japan QR codes - two dimensional images containing encoded data - are found on everything from business cards to lettuce. They are soon to be ubiquitous in the West in advertising and marketing, and in New York City, garbage trucks are leading the way.

In mid-July, Quick Response (QR) Codes began appearing on the sides of 2,200 New York City Department of Sanitation trucks.

Having QR codes all over town will hopefully remove much of the nerd-factor from the QR code scan, and demonstrate to tens of thousands of New Yorkers, ranging from the tech-savvy to luddite, the potential rewards of engaging with the codes.

Scanning the codes with a mobile phone will take users to a video from NYC Media's show The Green Apple: Recycling. The videos, produced by Howcast will also be broadcast on the City's flagship television station, NYC life (channel 25).

QR Code Platform Wars
Just like the VHS v BetaMax wars in the early days of DVDs, several platforms are vying for QR code dominance. Each has its own unique twist and challenges.

The QR codes on the garbage trucks require people to download a program which will scan a photo of the code and use the data it contains to lead users to the campaign's videos.

However, QR codes that require nothing more than sending a text message are also vying for adoption.

I'm betting that text-message-based 2d codes, which require no download, will win and become the standard way to deliver mobile QR data.

US Mobile Content Market = 68.7 million text users * 86% of the US owns a mobile phone * 265mm mobile phones users * 240+mm text enabled handsets * 65mm text & web enabled phones Source: CTIA

How App-based QR Codes work
Application-based QR codes require the user to download an app to their phone, take a picture of the code on an ad, product, website or label.

To read the QR code, a user simply launches a reader application on their mobile device and takes a picture of the image.

The reader software will then trigger the appropriate response, which can include anything from launching a URL in the phone's browser to streaming a video or MP3.

The app scans the photo and directs the user to a server, which can deliver content download, a message or link, a video, a coupon, a registration form, a mobile payment, or a multi-media combination of information.

Leaders include Microsoft TAG, ScanLife, Nokia Reader and StickyBits, among others.

How SMS-based QR codes work
Text-based (SMS) 2d codes perform all the same functions, but do not require the consumer to download an application prior to use.

Using SMS, 2d codes deliver video, audio, images and text to both smartphones (25% of mobile users) and standard phones (75% of mobile users). Leaders include JagTag, whose recent promotion for Sports Illustrated generated 120,000 responses -- with 24% of requests coming from smart phones, a response share much higher than the 17% of mobile phones in the U.S. in that category.

Integration is key
Like any tool in the social media toolbox, QR Codes are most effective when placed throughout an integrated campaign which includes print ads, in-store displays, direct mail, websites, and even iPad ads.

Among those experimenting with QR codes in their marketing are JC Penney, Allure Magazine, Kidrobot, Northwest Airlines, Calvin Klein Jeans, The Pet Shop Boys, movie producers, and many more.

Old Spice: a brilliant tactic whose strategy (and scent) reeks

By B.L. Ochman

As everyone and her dog has already noted, Weiden+Kennedy pulled off a remarkable social media feat for Old Spice body wash this week. Videos of the wry and incredibly sexy Old Spice guy - first introduced in a Super Bowl commercial in February - went viral in under 24 hours.

Original, hilarious, entertaining, and remarkably well-crafted - the Old Spice videos took both new and traditional media by storm. The campaign raises the bar on production values, scripting, acting, lighting, and engagement. Unfortunately, people aren't rushing out and buying Old Spice. (Update: A couple of commenters noted that those stats are not fair to use in relation to the week-old social media play, and they are right, so I am removing them. )

Alas, there are two problems with the campaign.
- Old Spice reeks.
- So does the strategy

The bottom line: there is no such thing as a social media strategy. There is business strategy incorporating social media. But if that strategy doesn't include sales, it's nothing more than a tactic. Tactics don't move markets. (Bonus problem: if your target audience thinks your product sucks, nothing else matters.)

"Old Spice Responses" -- a.k.a the string of custom-made videos -- is one of the most popular online marketing campaigns of all time.

Responding to posts on Twitter, Reddit and other social sites, Mustafa and crew created real-time hilarious videos personally addressed to bloggers, celebrities and plain folk male and female fans.
* Total videos uploaded: 183
* Combined viewing figures: 10,954,096
* Average video view (mean value): 59,858 views
* Median value: 40,536 views ( Idgit | Old Spice)
* Most watched video: 511,694 views ( Perez Hilton | Old Spice)
(Source: We are Social)

Yeah, sure. Show me the money.

Yes, the campaign has/will create name recognition and brand awarenes. But it has no follow-up. There's no QR code, no mobile app, no couponing, sampling, events, email list building through registration.

Sure the campaign primes the pump for the next Old Spice campaign. Sure it'll be talked about for years to come, and it'll win every award in Cannes and at the Webbies.

Five years ago, those things along would have been enough to make the campaign a success.

Sadly, however, you can't eat, or pay bills with awareness. You gotta sell product.

In case you somehow missed the campaign (hard as that is to imagine): in 12 hours, former NFL wide receiver and incredibly sexy Isaiah Mustafa made a series of nearly 200 funny TV commercials pointing out that men who start using Old Spice deodorant and body wash could be as awesomely sexy as he. (See them on the Old Spice YouTube channel.)

Other views:
- John Bell
- Lisa Barone
- Mashable
- David Polinchock
- Gerard Mclean

Burger King Miracle Bun lands on eBay. Crispin+Porter, I Love You

This is surely the work of Crispin+Porter, and their best since the Subservient Chicken.

Not surprisingly, it's for sale on eBay.

New Media Marketing: Why Small Boutique Agencies Still Trump Big Ad Agencies

By B.L. Ochman

This post first ran in March 2006. Given that not much seems to have changed in the big agency world in the past four years, it seemed worth re-visiting. Your thoughts are welcome.

Dictionary.com defines clueless:adj: totally uninformed about what is going on; not having even a clue from which to infer what is occurring

Interpublic Group, for example, announced that it has formed a new division to deal with new media. (At least I think that's what they were trying to say):

"In the age of the empowered new consumer, the establishment of this unit at Interpublic Media is a logical next step in broadening our offering and further maximizing the opportunities for our client partners in the emerging media space," Rosenthal said in a statement.

Can ad agencies catch up? Not bloody likely
Look guys, social media is here to stay. It's happening. It already affects your clients. And little boutique companies like this one, and this one and this one are using blogs [micro-blogs, place-based marketing, social shopping, multi-media QR codes, interactive video] and social media for campaigns that are leaving you behind in the dust.

Here's some free advice: Do what you do well. You know traditional media. You understand the metrics, you know how to get your clients to spend big bucks. Now you need to hire us to bring your clients into the world of social media. That way you can stop wasting everyone's time and money on your on-the-job education. Otherwise, by time you get with the current program, the next big thing will already be passing you by.

Cartoon: Hugh Macleod, gapingvoid.com

Gone Fishing: See You July 19th

Benny Bix Ochman Labradoodle Puppy and are on vacation until July19th.

I'm checking email only once every couple of days, hardly even Tweeting.

Blogging is fun for me, so I'm bringing my laptop. If the spirit moves me, I'll certainly post here and on Pawfun Blog too.

Have a great week.
xo
BL

Top 7 Reasons Why Blendtec's "Will It Blend?" is one of the all-time great viral campaigns. And yes, iPhone 4 blends.

Now in its fourth year, Blendtec's brilliant "WIll it blend?" campaign reaches new heights - of both hilarity and production value - when CEO Tom Dickson blends a "lost" iPhone 4 and launches the new "Blend my phone" contest. Don't miss part one.

Top Seven Reasons Why Will It Blend works
Now in its fourth year, Will it Blend is one of the all-time great viral marketing campaigns. Here are the top 7 reasons why it is such a great campaign.

1- Will it Blend humanizes the company. Dickson is engaging and funny and gives the corporation a human voice.
2- It's fun - appealing to the kid with a science kit in all of us.
3- It's real - those are real iPhones, golf balls, laser pointers, apple pies, and dozens more things your mother wouldn't let you put in the blender.
4- It's interactive. You can suggest things for Dickson to blend. He listens. They engage with followers on Twitter, Facebook and their blog. They sound like people, not freaking marketers.
5- It's integrated into all of Blendtec's marketing. Will it Blend is on Twitter, Facebook, a microsite, the company's homepage, and the company blog.
6- That's obviously one hell of a blender. It costs $400, and it looks like it's worth it. Because the bottom line is, and always will be: if your product sucks, nothing else matters.
7- It sells blenders. Sales are up more than 700% since the campaign began. Because if marketing doesn't sell, it won't blend.

CEO Tom Dickson donned the lab coat and blended up these items in the company break room, which was transformed into a cross between an infomercial set and a goofy game show.

The videos were viewed more than six million times within five days of after they were posted on YouTube and on Blendtec's website - have been viewed more than 100 million times since. As a result of the campaign, now in its fourth year, Blendtec retail sales have increased by over 700%.

There's a dedicated Will it Blend website, a YouTube channel, and integration with Facebook, Twitter, and the company website.

There's also a current contest with a chance to get a new iPhone 4 with Dickson paying your contract for two years. Plus, he'll blend the winner's iPhone 3.

Opera Company of Philadelphia "Flash Brindisi" Demonstrates Rule One of Viral Video - Be Delightful

Recently, the Opera Company of Philadelphia teamed up with the Reading Terminal Market Italian Festival for a large-scale "Flash Opera" event. In the rich tradition of flash opera performances in Sao Paulo, Bangalore, Detroit, Melbourne, and my all-time fave, Valencia, more than 30 members of the Opera Company of Philadelphia Chorus and principal cast members of LA TRAVIATA performed the famed "Brindisi" in the aisles of Reading Terminal Market, entertaining hundreds of Philadelphians, and proving that the perfect accompaniment for all things Italian is a little Verdi!

Dispelling Four Top Corporate Myths About Social Media

By B.L. Ochman

As it becomes clear (at last!) that message control is dead, corporations in every industry are scrambling to learn about social media so they can incorporate it into their marketing mix. Fear and misconception abound. Here are the top four issues companies cite, debunked.

1. Employees will waste time with social media.
Many large corporations block their employees from accessing the Internet altogether. Others try to block employees from accessing personal email or social networks like Facebook during work hours.

By Christmas 2011, according to Nielsen, one in every two Americans will have a smart phone

That's a lot of Internet access available to workers everywhere - and employers can't stop them from accessing the Internet - on breaks, at lunch, in the bathroom, you name it.

The value of workers of having Internet access - in terms of research, communication, and speed - is far greater than the threat of lost productivity. Companies like Best Buy, Comcast, Dell and many others have increased not only customer satisfaction, but also sales, by having hundreds, and even thousands, of employees monitoring and resolving complaints and issues in social media.

Companies have a right to make policies and rules about personal use of the Internet, but blocking it during work just doesn't make sense.

2. Haters will damage our brand.
"What about the haters?" is the first question that comes up at corporate meetings. "What if people say bad, mean, nasty things about our brand?"

My more than 14 years of experience helping companies navigate emerging media indicates that the community takes note of who the obvious crazies and haters are, points them out, and then proceeds to negate and ignore them.

And besides, complaints may very well mean that there may be things you need to change about your brand. In that case, you should thank them for letting you know what they are. Then you should make changes.

If you have built an online community that includes people who don't hate you, that community will rise to your defense and they will handle the problem for you.

Bonus Link: Starbucks Social Media Monitoring & Community Help It Survive Brand Attack

3. We'll lose control of the brand.
Listen up: every person with a computer and even a tiny skill level has the tools to make their opinion about your brand heard by other people. They're already talking about you.

You cannot control the message in the Internet Age. You can affect it, but you cannot control it. Your workers are talking about you in closed Facebook groups designed to keep you out so they can talk about you in peace. Your customers are emailing, Tweeting, Facebooking, and that old standby - calling - their friends about their experience with your brand. You don't have control. You might as well join the conversation. At least that way you can influence what is being said.

4. Employees will give away corporate secrets on social networks and that will help our competitors and affect the stock price.
If you don't already have a social media policy, you need to create one.

If you don't trust your employees to talk to customers, or to represent the brand, you need to look at 1) your hiring practices, 2) your training practices.

The truth is that there are more emerging media success stories than there are failures. So c'mon in. The water's fine and your competitors are already here.

Cartoon by Hugh Macleod, gapingvoid

B.L. Ochman's Internet Writing Manifesto

These days, just about everyone with a computer spends several hours a day reading email, memos, news, research and social networks from a computer screen.

Hence, my Internet Writing Manifesto:

• Keep sentences and paragraphs short. Big blobs of copy suck. If removing any word in your sentence doesn't change the meaning, you're not done writing.

• Eliminate hype words - nobody believes them anyway (most, only, first, best, greatest....) Usability expert Jakob Nielsen found that readability improved by 27% when hype words were removed.

• White space is your friend. Use it to make reading from the screen easier. Nothing is harder to read than a solid block of copy.

• Use the simplest possible word and sentence structure.

• Read your copy out loud and make sure you don't get stuck on complex construction. If you trip on a word in the midst of reading a sentence aloud, re-write the sentence.

• Make the lead paragraph tell who and what the story is about and why the reader should care.

• Forget what you learned about business writing in school if you graduated before 1990. Stiff, formal writing is only for lawyers. And you know what Shakespeare said about them.

• Use bulleted points whenever you can.

• If you write about a product or service, include the price and a link.

• Always use subheads every few paragraphs, even in a one-page piece.

Best writing advice I ever got
• Edit, edit, edit

The best advice I ever got about writing was from my first boss, the late Leo Miller, who taught me a game to play with sentences.

He'd keep taking out words until removing one more word destroyed the meaning of the sentence. For example: Take out words until removing another destroys the sentence meaning.

The Gulf of Mexico is over capacity: too many careless corporations. Please wait a millenium and try again

The Red Coyote Monkey Blog is fielding requests for a t-shirt of this poignant send-up of Twitter's Fail Whale. I want one, don't you. Follow the artist, enderFP on Twitter.