#digitalcomms

[the-new-digital-era]

Digital Activism, a political tool for mass distribution? Or a feeding ground for government intervention?

Since the emergence of ‘digital comms’ in political engagement and activism, the widespread distribution of campaigning and issues for change has grown exponentially. No longer do those who feel submissive about the governments actions, have not a say but are now at the front line of making a stand. The use of mobile devices and social media has lead to the rapid distribution of awareness and an increased number of participation in the act towards change.

Assistant professor Brooke Foucault Welles argues the introduction of ‘counter publics’ within ‘digital activism’, which resemble groups of people from subordinate social groups that don’t fit within the ‘public sphere’. Importantly, these digital citizens “advance alternate narratives” (Foucault Welles, 2019) that contribute to a larger discussion around the stories that matter. We see this sense of community online through the use of ‘hashtag publics’ which correlate information and make it easily accessible for action to be taken.

There’s no doubt you would have come across these familiar hashtags during your research online, #BlackLivesMatter and the #Metoo movement. It’s important to understand that a large proportion of these digital campaigns have been as a result of the network behind these ‘counter publics’. These online platforms have provided an environment where stories can be told with shared values of trust and a sense of normality. It helps promote empathy with the discussions that are being held and acts as a pivot for action.

A more recent example of this rise in ‘counter publics’ is the unfortunate event of death of George Floyd, who was murdered at the hands of an inconsiderate and sinister force, the police. Too often then not we hear about the tragic deaths caused by police brutality, and their over use of power. The #icantbreathe hashtag has been circulating the internet in the last 24 hours as people from all walks of life attempt to raise awareness and demand action. In times of crisis like this, digital comms also becomes a playground for influencers and public figures to reach a wider spread audience about the issue.

LeBron James is just one of the large names that has taken part in challenging the conventions of the government and asking for people to participate in ‘digital activism’. 

LeBron James Instagram:

As you can see in the image above, James presents a split photo with the police officer that murdered George Floyd on the left and NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick who famously kneeled during the American anthem to protest against racial indifference on the right. This particular act of digital campaigning resonates with those who are suffering injustice and helps build a shared voice.

Furthermore, James follows up with an included caption that says “Do you understand NOW!!??!!??” and the hashtag #StayWoke. Both of these statements reinforce the message of continuing to stay aware and act in times of issues around discrimination.

This brings me to the question of whether this form of ‘digital activism’ can be used as government intervention o or even manipulation. Expanding on Kaepernick’s influence in the black lives matter campaign, the large sporting company Nike was at front end of controversy surrounding this matter. 

After releasing the “Dream Crazy” advertisement which featured Kaepernick and the slogan “Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything. Just do it.” the protests began to follow. It even got the attention of the U.S. president Donald Trump who responded to the social activism as “I think it’s a terrible message and a message that shouldn’t be sent. There’s no reason for it.”. This highlights the government’s ignorance and authoritarian approach to dismissing real claims about societal injustice. However, as we have seen with other online movements, ‘digital activism’ is able to go “beyond the event horizon of immediate political inter-ventions” (Alvarez, Lauzon, Zaiontz, 2019) and help take effect the issue to a larger scale. 

References:

Alvarez N., Lauzon C., Zaiontz K. (2019) 'On Sustainable Tools for Precarious Times: An Introduction'. In: Alvarez N., Lauzon C., Zaiontz K. (eds) Sustainable Tools for Precarious Times. Contemporary Performance InterActions. 

Foucault Welles PhD, B. (Academic). (2019).  Researching online activism using social network analysis [Streaming video]. Retrieved from SAGE Research Methods.

LeBron James, LeBron James Instagram Profile, accessed 28 May 2020, https://www.instagram.com/p/CAq3fpCgyve/. 

The Guardian, Nike releases full ad featuring Colin Kaepernick, accessed 28 May 2020, https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=38&v=-grjIUWKoBA&feature=emb_logo.

[moduleonedigitalcomms-blog]

So, You Think You Can Dance?

This week, I decided to look at TiKTok. Now, I have not, and will not ever use TikTok, but I wanted to take a look at what this app is and who all is using it. 

TikTok has been linked to the Communist Party of China (CCP) which is the main reason that I refuse to use the platform. The second reason, but potentially just as compelling reason, that I do not use TikTok is because I cannot dance. I simply have no rhythm and am not about to make and produce videos of me making a fool out of myself. As I have said in previous posts, I primarily use Instagram and Twitter when I go on social media websites. 

Enough about me though and a little more about the company... TikTok is labeled as a “lip-syncing” app but it reminds me way more of Vine (RIP). People who use the app will upload short 15 second videos of themselves dancing or lip-syncing to different songs or clips from TV shows. Some of the most popular songs overlaid on videos include “Old Town Road,” “bad guy,” and “Say So.” Audio clips from Riverdale and Peppa the Pig are also frequently used in videos. The Peppa the Pig compilation is below. If I am being frank I don’t quite understand the pull of the Pig, but hey, for each their own. Maybe I will change my mind when I have kids?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCnKLDb2FM4

TikTok was founded in 2016 in China and is now worth upwards of $75 billion. Chinese users account for 80% of the total time spent using TikTok in 2019. In less than 18 months, the number of US adult TikTok users grew 5.5 times and there are now more than 37.2 million total users in the United States. 

41 percent of TikTok users are aged between 16 and 24. By my own personal estimate TikTok seems to be filling the gap that was left open by Snapchat with the younger generation. It also appears that companies are beginning to see this potential and are using the platform to reach out to younger audiences. Chipotle, the NBA, and the San Diego Zoo are three of the top ten companies that are utilizing TikTok right now. I find the San Diego Zoo’s content particularly compelling. They just post videos of animals doing funny things and put funny songs in the clip. I particularly like this one of a meerkat. 

I think that this platform could be useful for companies that have the ability to post lighter content aimed at reaching a younger audience. I do not think this would be a practical outlet for any company looking to produce a serious message. TikTok is supposed to be light, fun, and humorous. 

[mpprmk]

Switch Up - Tumblr

This week was the first time I have ever used Tumblr so I thought it might be interesting to start my posts by sharing what I have discovered on (and about) this platform first. Before using the site I had assumed Tumblr would be more like Instagram than a blogging platform. Facebook and Instagram are my usual go-to apps to communicate, keep up with different things going on and to keep updated on trends and new releases in general. 

So far I have found Tumblr to be just as great at quickly disseminating information but the way you find what you are looking for and in general the way you are exposed to different topics (rather than people) is certainly different. I was surpried to see how the platform utilizes links, gifs, images and videos along with text to drive in a point or tell a narrative. When the Tumblr community posts they are clearly doing so with more of a defined purpose than what I am used to. The community is generally younger and much more open about sharing their opinions and other thoughts and musings, political correctness, and what I would call modesty, don’t seem to be as utilized on the platform.  

One article I found about the platform from 2013 discussed how Tumblr was quickly becoming more popular than Facebook for those under 25 and considered the anti-blog, a place to semi-privately post and talk about all the inappropriate things you wouldn’t necessarily want to share on a more public Facebook profile.

While I did see a lot of that, and can wholeheartedly agree that under 25 does seem to dominate the platform I knew there was more going on than I could plainly see. After some research I found that there are other defining factors like seen below:

In my opinion these demographics strongly affect which brands decide to utilize Tumblr. Brands seeking younger consumers in more urban areas are more likely to try to pitch a new product or do any sort of branding or advertising on the platform. Many fashion brands appear to use Tumblr to give outfit ideas that highlight their products and similar tactics. Movies and TV also seemed to be popular topics to focus on and brands seem to be using the grassroots approach to reach their audience. Brands who posted appeared to have much more focused content that could easily work on multiple platforms with little to no adjustments needed, content was also more politically correct and “appropriate” compared to individuals posts.

This post about a future movie release, intended to generate or possibly evaluate the community’s interest, comes to mind. It was discussing the production plans for a new Spiderman movie and it generated a lot of comments and attention.

Overall I find Tumblr to be a useful platform with a lot of potential uses and I look forward to learning more about it, and getting better at using it.

[chicagostumbler]

2305 Jefferson St Joliet IL- This side walk is located outside of a Popeyes and is across the street from O’reilly auto parts and Walmart. The nearest intersection is Jefferson and Springfield. This sidewalk is very thin and worn down from years of neglect. Be cautious of traffic when walking down this road.

Call 311 if you see any hazardous sidewalks. Snap and tweet the picture to @redlineproject on twitter and we will share and credit you.

Phone/ Ladi Shobowale

#Chicago #call311 #Joliet #redlineproject #repair #Digitalcomm

[jdufour]

Début de semaine professionnel avec la 3ème session de ma formation du Marketing Digital appliqué à la stratégie marketing de l’entreprise. #formation #strategies #conseils #digitalcommunication #digitalcomm @digital_comm (à Hotel Continental Lausanne)

[piecesofmrsc-blog]

Media Switch Up #1

For the media switch up this week I selected the media platform Reddit to review. To be completely transparent, this is probably only the second or third time that I have visited this site. I consider myself to be up to date on new technologies, social media platforms etc. but I often stick to the traditional media sources to consume news. I currently subscribe to a digital newsletter from the Washington Post and the Washington Business Journal, both of which deliver content to my inbox on a daily basis. This works very well for me as it provides me with a one stop shop to view the top news headlines each day. In addition to these e-newsletters, I also view news via social media channels Facebook and Twitter.

After reviewing Reddit this week its not completely clear who the composition of the individuals are using this platform. It seems to vary completely and includes input from all age ranges and demographics. Based on what I’ve reviewed and have heard from my peers, it appears that this platform is extremely popular with millennial demographic as it allows for free expression and input from all. Reddit provides its readers with a plethora of information on topics ranging from parenting to gaming. Although I can see how having so many subcategories is appealing to most, for me it was completely overwhelming to digest. I found the platform to be extremely cluttered with information which made it very difficult for me to focus in on the topics and stories of interest. When I was finally able to just zero in on the news category, I did appreciate the ability to view articles from multiple sources all in one centralized location. Even though I have my news outlets of choice, I feel it’s healthy to also consider other perspectives and interpretations on issues. Reddit makes it easy to do this.

Another feature of the site that I actually enjoyed is the comment feature and the ability to raise up or down an article/post.  I like that the top articles are voted on by the users and are not controlled by Reddit specifically. Following what some may describe as the most volatile presidential campaign on record and the constant cries of “fake news”, its refreshing to see information that readers feel are important and in need of some media attention.

If I could offer a suggestion to the creators of Reddit it would be to organize the site better and to make it a little more aesthetically pleasing for their audience and users. Now that I have a taste of what the site has to offer, I think I will continue to check in more frequently.

[thinking-cup]

Converse’s New Digital Campaign ‘Made By You’ Kicks Off Strong

Let’s be honest, at one point or another we all have either worn Converse shoes or at least really wanted to. If not, well…this campaign will make you wish you did!

In order to celebrate the 100th birthday of the iconic Chuck Taylor All Star shoes, Converse decided to step up their game with a new digital campaign. To do so, the “Made By You” campaign aims to portray these unique sneakers through the consumers use of them.

Where did they get this idea? Well, the brand began to realize that people wearing Chucks always liked to customize and post photos of their ‘revamped’ shoes. So they thought, why not use their work of art to tell a story? Indeed, this was a clever way to grab people’s attention but more importantly, it truly encompassed the consumer to take an active part in the campaign by showcasing their creativity.

Even if the campaign was only launched yesterday, it has already gathered more than 200 portraits of worn and personalized Chucks from all around the world. The hashtag #ChuckTaylor was already trending and mentioned in 1,000 posts. Moreover, celebrities such as Patti Smith or the artist Andy Warhol (shown in picture above) have joined the crusade and engendered an even greater effervescence.

What is even more impressive is that the Nike-owned Converse brand has managed to create a real global experience by first encouraging consumers to share their custom-made shoes on social media. Then, they decided to “set up art installations and murals in cities across the globe, including New York, London and Shanghai”.

Finally, to wrap up the campaign, consumers in New York's Flatiron district will have the opportunity to experience a virtual reality by stepping into the shoes of famous artists through the Google Cardboard glasses. According to Ian Stewart, the global marketing VP at Converse, this side of the campaign “is designed to encourage people to tell the backstory of their Chucks”. He goes on by saying that ‘Made By You’ “isn't a media campaign where we're shouting to get people's attention" but rather “a bridge to get people to show what they've done."

In the end, the success of the “Made By You” campaign can be attributed to the combination and implementation of two social strategies: customization and visual storytelling. 

If you’re still not convinced of the power of these iconic shoes, then you got it all wrong. 

Sources:

http://digiday.com/brands/converse-celebrates-100-years-chucks-made/

http://adage.com/article/cmo-strategy/converse-breaks-made-campaign-chuck-taylors/297320/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2CCz4x2xGE

[mpprmk]

What’s the Issue with Issuu? Switch Up 5

Working on my college newspaper was great but I also spent a lot of time working on my school’s literary magazine. The development process was based around the magazine being a print publication but we realized that meant our content had an extremely short life-span and reach. We decided to find a digital platform that we could easily upload our content to without having to change file formats. During that search we found Issuu. The company defines themselves as a digital publishing platform meant for distributing, measuring and monetizing content. Most people assume Issuu is just for posting digital magazines but there is actually a variety of content and uses for the platform. For a quick overview of all the capabilities you can take a look at the short video below.

While using the app this week I had a chance to see how it worked from the consumers point of view for the first time. I used to read print magazines but lately the only time I read a digital magazine is if I see an article posted to my news-feed. If I want to read about a specific topic I would most likely just use Google. Issuu doesn’t have any social functions or any sophisticated search functions.To be honest, it doesn’t have nearly as many features and benefits that I am used to on my various media platforms. It also doesn’t have any content creation abilities and the best tracking and analysis features are only available at a premium price.

 A lot of people have begun to say that the issues with Issuu make it a bad a choice and suggest several free and interactive alternatives for digital publishing. However, with 20,000 new content uploads a day you can’t deny they must be doing something right...but who (other than my college literary magazine) actually utilizes the platform to produce that much content? 

Unfortunately, that question doesn’t have any super specific answers. Issuu is actually known for being kind of guarded with their data and the statistics available don’t offer any specific demographics for Issuu users. They did provide some information about users’ occupations and some great metrics worth any personal or corporate brand checking out.

The Issuu community can definitely be described as creative. The users overwhelmingly showed a high level of appreciation, knowledge and use of every element of design. I knew this was a platform for digital magazines but I was overwhelmed with the amount and variety of content published through them. From catalogs, brand guides and press releases to personal manifestos and comic books, Issuu had every type of content I could think of except video. While most platforms are bending over backward to add this ability I feel like Issuu’s decision to abstain from that format strengthens them and the content they do publish is easier to view, download, save and otherwise consume.  

Another unique aspect of the community was that even individuals on the site represented their work as if they were a brand (with the exception of a few school reports and slides). Individuals made their own magazines, newsletters, brand guidelines for their social media, comic books and so much more. You saw earlier that Issuu boasts 2.5 MILLION brands distributing content through their platform.Brands like GQ, Vogue, Ace Hardware and even Walmart had content, like catalogs, press releases, advertisements, employee profiles and more, published. The site had some extremely inspiring success stories about brands that went from side hustle to entrepreneur success status through the platform You had to look closely to tell if the content was from a brand of an individual unless you were specifically searching by publisher. 

So I did have a few Issues with Issuu...but I still really like it and the opportunities it could provide. Utilizing this platform could really simplify the distribution and tracking process for any size brand. The data provided about your audience, and how they are interacting with your content, could prove to be invaluable. I can see myself paying for the premium version and starting my own niche digital magazine one day. Even if that doesn’t happen, I would recommend and use the platform throughout my career to save and share any professional content I create. 

The Issues weren’t a deal breaker for me but you might have to go find out yourselves while you wait for my next Switch Up.

[thinking-cup]

3 ways to engage with your digital audience: #Schredyourex, Samsung & Porsche

3 ways to engage with your digital audience: #Schredyourex, Samsung & Porsche  

Digital Communication offers endless possibilities for companies to promote their products, services or values. Building a successful digital campaign, goes beyond just planning a creative story for an ad, and publishing it on every digital platforms the brand owns. That is, because digital is not about  mere awareness, it should be about engaging with an audience that will advocate for the brand, and thus echo in earned media.

How to engage an audience with your message, is no rocket science. One way of earning the attention, is by taking advantage of an occasion everyone will have an opinion about: The Superbowl, a power out (like Oreo did), or Valentines day. With Valentines day you can be sure of one thing: everyone is going to be quite vocal about it, lover's gonna love it, and haters are gonna hate hate hate.  That's what the agency McKinney did with the release of Shred your ex. For those of you who still feel hurt because of a past lover, shred your ex, enables you to hurt your ex, without actually risking going to jail. The concept is easy, all you have to do is to post a photo of your ex with the hasthtag #ShredYourEx, either on Instagram or Twitter, and go on the website http://shredyourex.tv/ to watch your ex cut into a million pieces by a digital paper shredder. Quite cathartic, right ?

Another way of doing so, is by touching the audience. Samsung recently launched an app to help autistic kids make eye contact. The app, cleverly named Look at me, was scientifically developed in partnership with researchers, doctors and engineers. Sure, not everyone is concerned, but the campaign the potential to move the purest of Apple shaped hearts. Also, a scientific breakthrough like this one, helps to reinforce samsung's slogan “designed for humans”, that was lacking in the storytelling department.

Sometimes, the best way to earn attention from your audience is to actually surprise them. For a Chinese campaign for Porsche,  Fred&Farid Group came up with a relatively strange idea that did wonders in terms of KPI. They were asked by Porsche to market a new 911 model as 'Benchmarking numbers', so they proceeded by releasing on the brand's Weibo account a series of encoded tweets, that instead of words, were composed of just numbers. To that, followed reactions from the brand's followers and opinion leaders, all wondering about the meaning behind those numbers. After that, Porsche invited their followers to decode those tweet using a special Weibo app, that could turn them into actual sentences, all related to the performance of the 911 model. Also, they invited their Chinese audience to use the app to encode their tweets. What they didn't expect is that that invitation to interact with the brand, would actually become a big Weibo trend, since users from all over China (where censorship is still a major issue), started to use the Porsche code to encrypt their tweets. During the campaign these tweets were viewed about 2,4 million times, and retweeted more that 9000 times, resulting of an increase of followers of 11%.  In total the overall media impression was a score of  85.726. 397.

Sources:

http://leblog.wcie.fr/2015/02/11/un-site-web-vous-aide-a-detruire-votre-ex-pour-la-saint-valentin/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+wcie+%28Le+blog+de+W%26CIE%29

http://creativity-online.com/work/mckinney-shred-your-ex/38852

http://www.fastcocreate.com/3040494/a-new-samsung-app-helps-autistic-kids-make-eye-contact

http://www.frandroid.com/applications/259574_look-at-lapplication-samsung-aider-les-autistes

http://www.fredfarid.com/categories/automotive/porsche_911_decoder/0/big

[thinking-cup]

Magic in the Air

Samsung’s last online campaign, imagined by Leo Burnett Istanbul was described as epic. Indeed, the campaign had a viral impact and is a poetic and inspiring shot. By making the choice of concrete action, the brand has successfully engaged its community though an emotional and engaged video reminding us that a world without barriers is everyone’s dream.

This is the story they imagined: We are in Istanbul and Muaharrem steps out of his house with his sister. This young hearing-impaired man is expecting to live a day like any other, struggling to get across in society despite his handicap. Nevertheless, that day everybody in Muaharrem’s neighbourhood was to speak to him in sign language.

In order to promote their new call-centre for hearing impaired, Samsung and Leo Burnet conducted month long training sessions to set up this experience. Muaharrem has for sure lived an unforgettable moment and this moment has been shared with the online community.

This example shows once more how a concrete demonstration of action can be efficient for a brand to go viral. Emotions, compassion and empathy are always good ingredients to add in order to engage the audience. The #hearinghands has been used extensively on social media and the brands positive perception has been increased.

Still we should not forget how consistency is necessary in that case. The message was clear and coherent with the product. That is most certainly the key to its success.

[thinking-cup]

“Spring is weird” : Gap’s innovative campaign

You might have noticed Instagrams’videos are now looping, without having to press play over and over again, like on Vine. And that is good news for brands : it provides them with new possibilities to be creative ; and users will be more likely to watch videos several times. Gap is one of the first brands to take advantage of the opportunity, and has launched a new microseries on the 300 million users platform. For those who do not use it, the campaign will also be broadcasted on Facebook and YouTube.

  “The weirdest love story ever Instagrammed”

 The concept of this new campaign relies on Gap’s marketing tagline, “Dress Normal”. The brand explained the series will tell the story of “the burgeoning romance between Slate and Dano as they navigate chance encounters, first dates, and moody spring weather in the hope of finding their perfect fit.” The series will star actors like Paul Dano (12 Years a Slave, Little Miss Sunshine), and Jenny State (Obvious Child), both adorned in clothes and accessories from the brand’s upcoming spring collection.

 This new campaign is in accordance with Gap’s new brand image. Indeed the brand has been suffuring in the last few years, as its clothes were seen as practical basics, but dismissed as boring. Gap is now celebrating the “Lived-In” concept, which aims to promote the laidback style coming from our favorite lived-in pieces of clothing, and has also opened a new concept store in Manhattan which features its classics in a much cooler space. The brand is thus trying to elevate its image back to its past glory.

 Looping videos, opening up new horizons for advertising

 Gap has paid to sponsor the 12-part series, named “Spring is weird”, on Instagram. The platform started serving its first video ads late 2014, and all the brands will certainly be pleased to see that sponsored videos now continue to play. Indeed Michael Kelly, social media manager for Red Vines said that “with the success that Tumblr has had with GIFs and Twitter with Vine, it's been proven that there's something mesmerizing about the loop feature”.

 Gap’s global leader of consumer engagement, media strategy and brand partnerships, Tricia Nichols, said that "the nature of the videos is that you get something different every time you play them". "The story twists and turns, and there are little Easter eggs. So it's the perfect opportunity for video loops”.

  But innovative campaigns don’t always come without trouble

 Along with the microseries, Gap was planning on launching a new marketing campaign on Tinder, the most famous dating app. However Tinder nixed it, claiming it was violating its terms of service. Even if the app is considering putting ads on its free service, its soon to be realesed premium service will contain no paid marketing.

 If the campaign had been authorized, daters would have been able to come accross Gap's profile, with images of short messages like "You're invited to the pants party".

 This is a new example of how complex digital communication is. Brands have to keep up with the latest digital innovations, they have to use all these new possibilities to keep being relevant and innovative. Very often, these efforts are successful. However doing something that has never been done before also implies more risks, and sometimes, failure.

 In spite of this missed opportunity on Tinder, let’s hope this fresh and innovative campaign will help Gap better its image.

 Sources

http://www.adweek.com/news/technology/heres-why-brands-love-video-loops-instagram-just-launched-162776

http://www.adweek.com/news/technology/gap-looking-lovers-new-ad-tinder-162779

http://techcrunch.com/2015/02/02/tinder-plus-the-paid-version-featuring-an-undo-button-and-more-arrives-in-u-s-next-month/#u5AR7d:UyS

http://theonecentre.com/bar/snacks/gap-launches-concept-store