Author Miranda July has created a website for her new book, No One Belongs Here More Than You, using nothing more than a dry erase marker, her refrigerator, gas stove, and a digital camera. It’s simple yet effective and a lot of fun. Kottke says:
The No One Belongs Here More Than You site is a lesson for web designers: the point is not to make sites that follow all the rules but to make sites that will best accomplish the primary objectives of the site.
Sounds good to me.
Last fall, I spoke to analysts about the impact of user generated content (UGC) and the effect it will have on brands and marketers as organizations look to non-traditional media to reach their audiences. The theme: companies are actively striving for new ways to extend their brand.
Back in July of 2005, News Corporation paid USD$580MM (in cash) for MySpace. Given the headline above as reported by Ad Age, this looks to be a bargain and the industry is taking notice. In addition to the ad revenue, News Corp has specific insight and trends into their vast online audiences; information that isn’t available to anyone outside of New Corp. The real value is the aggregated, authentic information that is collected by UGC sites. In essence, content is currency. Or more specifically, content around focused audiences is currency. Afterall, isn’t YouTube just “America’s Funniest Home Videos” on the web?
Being an advocate for driving online communities to promote brands (specifically through wikis) for years, I can attest that there are potential risks in regards to brand dilution. However, done correctly with the right strategy and focus, the rewards can be extremely high as MySpace is proving out on a daily basis.It is also interesting to note some that measurable CPM for UGC sites is on the rise:
“Speaking at the 17th annual Citigroup Entertainment, Media and Telecommunications Conference in Las Vegas, Chernin said online ad rates have started to become significant at CPMs of $25-$30.”
It’s all about focused content to reach specific audiences.
As a side note, it’s good to be here at ideapark!
AdAge has posted an examination of what makes Nintendo a leader in the video game space. Namely, they make different products, not better ones.
Too many companies focus on trying to make better products when the real advantage is making different products. The video-game dogfight between Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo illustrates this point.
It’s easy to draw parallels between Apple and Nintendo that aren’t there, and I don’t agree with everything the author says (Pepsi better than Coke? Whatever.), but it’s a lesson more marketers need to remember. Grab the imagination of your consumers and you’ll win. Try to out-do the competition with a soulless battle of features and you’ll lose. This is why the iPod outsells all other MP3 players combined even though its feature set is not as robust as theirs. And it’s why Nintendo is eating Sony and Microsoft’s lunch.
One of the things I’ve always loved about the internet is that a company can use it to react to a business need in real time. The Spinach Needs a Blog post by Steve Rubel is an excellent example of how Dole leveraged the internet to educate consumers about the spinach recall while at the same time cultivating Dole brand awareness.