There are a couple of interesting examples of the emergence of Twitter as a tool for creative collaboration.
Mike Skinner- a UK musician and the man behind The Streets, is actively using Twitter as a tool for song ideas and inspiration as The Guardian reports.
"The new Streets website - which is more of a blog, really - principally contains odd videos of swans dying and badly edited pieces about why Skinner doesn't like owning a phone. But it's also become a dumping ground for ideas - many of which have started out in the minds of Streets fans, not Skinner's.
Skinner, you see, has taken to replying to his followers' tweets in the form of a video blog. Some of these tweets have become songs, the most recent being Cinema Barz, which was posted last Tuesday, the result of Skinner answering followers @shetlandshaun, @bec_brough and @glory55, and incorporating their call and responses into the song.
It's likely just a way to pass the time, but it shows Skinner isn't using Twitter as an extension of ye olde subscription list, a platform from which to shout information. Skinner isn't just telling fans what he's up to; he's effectively writing music with them, including them in the creative process and creating an ephemeral rehearsal room of sorts. Admittedly, he's the keyholder - but it's an open-door policy. It's obvious the internet is what really excites him these days - on Sunday, when @clairethornhill asked if he thought he should be included in the "walk of stars" in Birmingham, he replied, "yes, but I want one in cyberspace first"."
Then there's Tim Burton, who's encouraging Twitter followers to contribute and add story ideas that build on each other. It's a technique favored by artists and called-"Exquisite Corpse". This is an idea that's designed to support his art show, rather than lead to the creation of an entirely new Burton product.
Twitter clearly has a "plasticine" like property which is it's appeal- it allows users to configure and construct ideas around the parameters of the technology.
This is the stuff that makes great brands, but one critical component here is that the brand gets out there and showcases this stuff and in so doing, encourages others to participate.
The opportunity for Twitter to become a very interesting creative platform, but it's going to require awareness and understanding.
Cool communities no longer exist just in physical spaces, they can be found clustered together virtually.
Geography is the way we tend to orient ourselves around most things- we've always thought of traditional media in geographic terms (local cable, local newspapers, radio, OOH, etc) and some people even want to convert digital media to geographic entities.
Peter Warden, the creator of Open Heat Map did a great job in a recent blog post of explaining the rise of Twitter, this phemom that defied the laws of geography and sold itself on the broad appeal of the "Silicon Valley dream", as Peter explains..
I'd also never thought of Twitter as an aspirational service, but Neha nailed the atmosphere of the early days. There was an air of exclusivity, of access to an interesting group of Valley rockstars, that gave people a reason to check it out. This feels a lot like the way that Facebook started at Ivy League colleges and then opened up progressively to lower-status groups with the promise of mixing with a 'better class' of people. That might explain why companies like Google have such a hard time launching similar services, catering to the masses they can't pretend they're exclusive, but it bodes well for Quora's approach.
The reality of its rapid adoption all over the country is hard to square with its image as an exclusive Valley club, but maybe that contradiction is the sign of exquisite marketing. Apple gives their users that same sensation of belonging to an elite, even as they sell products in malls across the country. Twitter tapped into people whose dreams were in Silicon Valley, wherever they were in the world."
The future of media planning depends on a deep and rich understanding of target audiences and communities that exist post-geographically and the secret is finding surprising and interesting ways to bring these communities together to participate as richly as they do in the geographic world.
Posted by Ed Cotton
It's probably the first piece of communication the brand has done and it gives a real flavor of the place, it's people and its culture. It's also pretty cool, ripping off a scene from the movie Rushmore and the music.
While most brands think primarily about their customers, most forget there's a talent war going on and do little to present themselves in an interesting way, beyond the usual job fair recruitment round.
Twitter shows it gets the people it wants to recruit, by showing the spirit of the internal community it clearly communicates that it has got something over on the likes of Facebook and Google. This is talent who values community, almost as much as opportunity.
Posted by Ed Cotton
(2) The same thing is happening in the world of non-traditional media channels, the stuff that folks used to consider the peasantry to the royalty that was television, has grown to become big media in it's own right.
What I find especially interesting is that given how fast these channels have grown, they are still regarded by many in the marketing world as niche. The longer they think that way, the more opportunity there will be for the smart ones to leap ahead.
Just consider some of these numbers for a second...
Facebook now has 500 million members..
There are over 3 billion mobile phones in the world- and anyone who doesn't believe Google won't play a part in this new world had better think again, Android shipments for Q1 2010 grew by a staggering 851% in the US.
Twitter has just recorded its 20 billionth Tweet, that's 2 months after it reached 15 billion and five months after it reached 10 billion.
These numbers are huge and should send shivers down the spines of anyone who is trying to capture the attention of consumers by conventional means and it's now starting to show.
Data from the latest Nielsen survey shows that time spent on social media increased by over 40% in the past year.
It's time to stop considering social and mobile as niche additions to media plans if budgets allow and to move them up to the front and center of your thinking.
Posted by Ed Cotton
(1) It's impossible to know how they can keep it up, unless the agency has a secret is a copywriter cloning program and has these outsourced clones placed in satellite offices around the world, to maintain round-the-clock coverage .
The idea has been to make bring the lead character to life in real-time and get him to respond using Twitter and YouTube. The big point of all this is how quick the content is being created and put out there, but also how relevant the conversation is; the character is responding directly to people and questions.
It's a great example of how a campaign property can be made real-time and conversational. It also forces us to ask some challenging questions:
Should you build a story arc for a campaign that includes conversations?
Is it something you can plan for?
How do you "game" the system without getting caught?
Do we need the talents of reality show writers and producers who can spot developing stories and create for them?
We wait to see what Old Spice has in store for us, will we just get bored of it and the campaign runs out of steam because we are over-exposed to the character or does it take on a new lease of life because of the conversation?
Posted by Ed Cotton
" our friends at Monique’s Chocolates in Palo Alto have acquired over 50 new customers and saw well over 100 redemptions as a result of running a Special Offer over the past seven weeks:
The owner of Monique’s, Mark, also told us that he is running the same Special in his local newspaper (cost of ad = $300!) and has acquired only one customer with one redemption from that print ad. He adds that for those who redeem the Special via foursquare “more than 25% return regularly to get something, to Check in, to see who the mayor is…the gaming part of foursquare really does resonate with people and we’re excited about it!”
OK, it's a tiny chocolate store, but there are also stories of Starbucks having similar levels of success on a much bigger scale.
While "new" these new platforms are achieving high levels of success because of the novelty factor, they have a huge advantage over their traditional ad competitors in that they can keep innovating, it's in their blood.
We are seeing new developments from foursquare that seek to evolve their existing program model. Then you've got Twitter, long seen as shy in its desire for revenue, coming up with a real interesting idea around promotions, Earlybird.
What these guys can't afford to do is stop, there will be no time to rest on their laurels of success because the novelty value will soon fade. They have to harness their core culture of innovation to perpetually ensure their experiences and their advertising/promotional experiences are constantly refreshed and kept interesting.
Posted by Ed Cotton