Just a quick last post in 2007. To wish all readers of DR | ADV a very happy and prosperous 2008. Keep the tips coming in in the new year. They are always inspiring!
It was only a matter of time that someone, somewhere would address this: the difference in brand positioning of Dove and AXE. Both brands owned by Unilever. Dove’s campaign – highly awarded, much appraised – focus on real beauty and take a stand against the cliché image of the beauty industry. While AXE thrives on male hormones and pictures women the way that Dove is protesting against… The mash-up that is on YouTube today was made by Rye Clifton and boosted into the Blogoshere by Paul Isakson (see comments). Campaign (trady) picked it up and the Blogoshere is buzzing.
In fact this is just a modern brand dilemma: how do big corporations manage their different brands? And while communication nowadays is layered with ‘real’ stories: how do these stories relate to each other. It cannot be denied that AXE and Dove communicate on either sides of the same scale. Unilever as brand-owner didn’t make a comment on this issue (yet). AXE is ‘helping young men in the mating game’, while Dove helps ‘women to release their inner beauty’. Quotes are from the Unilever corporate website. While both brands can do their thing in splendid isolation, the corporation can be accused of speaking with a double tongue and for being not genuine or honest. This can boomerang to all other brands. One thing this issue makes clear: splendid isolation doesn’t exist any more. The web/blogoshere is doing it’s transparency-thing again…
Blog Action Day is an initiative in which bloggers all over the world are asked to blog on a specific day (October 15th) on just one issue/subject: the environment. I enlisted with DR | ADV already and now I’m part of a (growing) network of 9.203 blogs (and counting…). In total these blogs reach the stunning amount of 6,796,283 persons.
I really like this initiative. Because it shows the longtail-effect of blogging in such a clear way. Also because I’m very curious HOW all these bloggers are going to write about the subject. Will they integrate it in their blog’s editorial framework? Or will they – just on this day – ignore their format? I choose the first option. There is plenty of time to thing on a subject. But please be my guest and let me know how you would link the environment with Direct Response Advertising. Watch the video on Blog Action Day here.
Update: Oops… October 15th gone by and I didn’t even notice it. So much for this nice initiative. But I think I’ve got an item up my sleeve. And what the heck: this issue is too important to just stick it to one specific day! Don’t you agree?
The last few days I was ill. Nothing serious, but a rather severe case of sinusitis. While laying in bed, I remade my photoblog SilentShutter. Instead of using MovableType as CMS, I switched to PixelPost. The latter is more focussed on publishing photos. Also the amount of comment-spam I received with MT was that bad that I switched off the option of commenting. But I started SilentShutter (also) in order to receive comment, so this was a bad situation… I tweaked an existing template (changed some things in the CSS-files) and loaded some old and newer photos. It is up and running now and I am happy with it. Some more work need to be done, but this will probably need to wait for another illness 
The new Dutch television (and online) broadcaster ‘Het Gesprek‘ (‘The Conversation’) is starting today! Last week we did our first gig that went very well. Tomorrow we are going live at 20.00 hour! Exiting. The format of the sender is to bring out 24×7 talk-television. And because of the length of the programs more in-depth interviews should be possible. The people behind Het Gesprek (HG) all earned their laureates in the genre: Ruud Hendriks, Frits Barend and Derk Sauer.
Ronnie Overgoor transferred his PitchTalk.TV to Het Gesprek. He asked me to join him weekly for the ‘news of the week before’. Then the conversations with two guests start. The first shoot was really fun to do: three slightly nervous presenters (yes! stage freight…) a nice crew, Ruud Hendriks stopping by and encouraging everybody, and two very interesting talks (Boris Veldhuijzen van Zanten and Arjan Snijders). More to come!
photo from left to right: Ronnie Overgoor, me, Boris Veldhuijzen van Zanten, Edwin Valent and Arjan Snijders. Credits: Jochem van Apeldoorn.
It is presented in the Blogosphere as an event of the year: the joint appearance of Steve Jobs (Apple) and Bill Gates (Microsoft). Already in February the blogs started buzzing about this happening. “Somewhere between May 29 and May 31…†This might be the result of Jobs’ carefully planned PR-machine (the man is a natural on this). Either the reason, the effect is that their respective followers act upon this event as it is the final election debate of two presidential candidates… Gates and Jobs will both (at the same time) appear at the All Things Digital Conference that takes place today. During the unrehearsed on-stage conversation Gates and Jobs will briefly discuss the history and future of the digital revolution. The conversation will take place with Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher. Jobs will also be hosting his own individual session to discuss the iPhone and other developments at Apple. Hey, business after pleasure!
Update (May 31st): The event happened at May 30st. The report and some clips can be found here. Starting with the interactive “coffee table” named Surface, Bill Gates presented. We know this thing already for almost two years. Watch Jeff Han’s presentation at TED Talk, February 2006:
With the different weblog-tools available nowadays, anyone can create a website in just a few days. But people already online exaggerate the technological knowledge of people who do not yet publish online. Now Weebly brings the DIY-possibilities to the next level. By simply clicking and dragging you can create your website. Add content and there you go! Although you are limited to a few design templates, this will do for people who are now still intimidated by the technical nitty-and-gritty of WordPress, ExpressionEngine, TextPattern, MovableType and alike.
The article below by Duncan Riley mentions the launch of MediaSense Blog Measurement. While this is close to PR Newswire’s own eWatch, the reason for launching another ‘blogosphere watchdog’ is obvious: companies are chicken when it comes to really participating in the new ballgame. They often prefer to walk the same route as they did for years. In marketing the responsible people do not talk to their target audiences or clients any more. They hire a research agency to tell them what motivates ‘these kind of people’… The questions Riley asks at the end of his article are so true and relevant. Read more
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