Here is the link to our video press release for Student Computing Services. This video contains all of the information for the annual end of semester open to close. Enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=by8DO2j-E3A
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Thursday, April 5, 2007
Second Life
When I was taking a tour around second life, I came across a company called Cheil Communications in the middle of Times Square in New York City. It is an advertising agency in Second Life. The building has an interesting feeling, with big open spaces and few signs detailing what the comopany is about. I liked that the company was in Times Square, but I found it hard to navigate once I was there becuase of the lack of information posted. Maybe it is under construction, but either way it was hard to glean much information about the company with the lack of postings on the walls. There was a front desk (though no one was behind it) and some posters on the walls with different sayings. Also, there was a machine in there called the brand wizzard and it kept saying things that popped up on your screen, like "keep them coming back for more" "being in second life is not the sme as being part of second life," and "There's a fine line between creating a buzz and being told to buzz off." I thought these sayings were great because they made the person behind the screen think about advertising and how different campaigns will affect people differently.
There was not much data that could be extracted from this campaign. Except for the few sayings from the brand wizzard, there was not much information that I could gather from this company's site.
I think right now Second life is mostly hype for PR campaigns. I think this because people who are playing around on second life will not be interested in visiting pr firms. I can see them maybe going shopping or going to a club and dancing, but going into a conference room and watching a pr campaign is probubally not very fun for most people exploring second life. I think when second life gets bigger there will be ways to more cleverly disguise pr campaigns within the islands.
If I were conducting this campaign in second life, I would have more information posted, and I would have a person present at the front desk. That way if you were interested in the company, you could have a conversation with the person behind the desk. Also, there would be examples of their work and a way to get in contact with the company in real life. I think that way if people were interested in the work Cheil communications does they can contact them and contract work from them.
I also visited Text 100 in second life. I thouoght their building was interesting but hard to navigate also (or it might just be me). I could see there were several layers of the building, becuase there was a glass floor, but I could not figure out how to get to the different levels. There were also things you could click on to see tips for writing good press releases. I thought that was a very good way to bring the second life world into the real world. Also, I was greeted personally when I teleported to Text 100. I thought that was a nice touch.
There was not much data that could be extracted from this campaign. Except for the few sayings from the brand wizzard, there was not much information that I could gather from this company's site.
I think right now Second life is mostly hype for PR campaigns. I think this because people who are playing around on second life will not be interested in visiting pr firms. I can see them maybe going shopping or going to a club and dancing, but going into a conference room and watching a pr campaign is probubally not very fun for most people exploring second life. I think when second life gets bigger there will be ways to more cleverly disguise pr campaigns within the islands.
If I were conducting this campaign in second life, I would have more information posted, and I would have a person present at the front desk. That way if you were interested in the company, you could have a conversation with the person behind the desk. Also, there would be examples of their work and a way to get in contact with the company in real life. I think that way if people were interested in the work Cheil communications does they can contact them and contract work from them.
I also visited Text 100 in second life. I thouoght their building was interesting but hard to navigate also (or it might just be me). I could see there were several layers of the building, becuase there was a glass floor, but I could not figure out how to get to the different levels. There were also things you could click on to see tips for writing good press releases. I thought that was a very good way to bring the second life world into the real world. Also, I was greeted personally when I teleported to Text 100. I thought that was a nice touch.
Monday, March 26, 2007
Viral Video In-Class Assignment
The two videos I chose to analyze were the Barak Obama campaign video and the eight bucks video starring Bill Cosby.
1. I think successful viral campaign videos are hard to make. Successful viral campaigns are a combinataion of interesting topics and humor. I think most people can relate to or get sucked into something humerous. If a company decides they would rather take a more serious approach they should try and work from an issue lots of people know about. The Barkak Obama campaign used this strategy with their video, apparently using an old commercial but putting new video into it to make their point. I think this was a wise way to integrate a new issue with an old issue. However, the campaign was lost on me because I did not see the old commercial so I had no idea what the video was about or why. This is something a viral video maker needs to watch out for. The Eight Bucks video was successful in my opinion because it was funny and interesting and caught the attention of the audience. It was easy to understand and had a clear call to action. It was fun to watch because it was random, and it was brilliant because of the opportunity for audience participation. I think it was a really great idea for them to post a video with a greenscreen so people could just go nuts with thier own version. Sometimes it is hard to tell if a viral campaign is successful. If there is no call to action, then there is not a real way to measure it. The eight bucks campaign's success can be measured because they did have a call to action and they can just tally how many people sent in eight bucks. The Barak Obama campaign did not have a call to action and I think measurement is harder in this campaign. It posts on youtube how many times a video has been watched, so someone can keep track that way, but it doesn't post the reactions. I watched the video, but the point was completely lost on me. A call to action would be good because it would measure not how many people were exposed to the message, but how many understood and were impacted by it.
2. As far as the two viral videos I chose to analyze, the Barak Obama one works because it takes something that is old and familiar (the commercial) and pairs it with something new (Hillary Clinton) to make its point. It draws attention to the new because the old is being used in a new way. What doesn't work about this campaign is that it doesn't make sense to people who have never seen the commercial. It was wierd and I didn't understand the point because I didn't see the original commercial. I wasn't sure if it was a pro Hillary or pro someone else until I saw the ending credits. The Eight Bucks campaign was a lot different. It worked because it was interesting, the scenery was changing a lot and it was repetitive, with Bill Cosby repeating the message several times over. It engaged the audience because you are allowed to create your own video using their template and greenscreened footage, and it had measureable outcomes with the call to action during the video. I can see a few things not working in this video too, though. If someone has an aversion to Bill Cosby they might not like it very much. Also, if they are not interested in funding the museum for slavery they might not like the ad.
3. I would not pass any of these videos on to my friends because most of my friends are not the kind of people who watch viral marketing for fun. It is okay to watch it in class when it pertains to an assignment, but you would not find me on my computer in my free time, watching viral marketing, and my friends aren't that type either. If I had to pass one on to a friend, I would pass on the Eight Bucks one because out of the five we watched, it was the most interesting to me.
4. There is not much prominent brand placement in the videos I chose. In the Barak Obama one, it showed his logo at the end, but until then you couldn't tell what the video was for. The eight bucks video wasn't really about a brand, but it did repeat several times that they wanted eight bucks. I think the strategies were good for the each of the videos I chose. If the branding were any less in each of them a person wouldn't be able to tell what they were for. If the branding were any more I think it would diminish the credibility of the viral video.
5. I found a viral video campaign online for Sony Playstation handheld game machines. Here is the link: http://youtube.com/watch?v=0G0LlXv-nyI This was (in my opinion) a miserable attempt at viral marketing by the Sony company, placed on youtube. It was a man in his 20's in workout pants and a tee shirt with a Santa hat on dancing and singing. He was trying to rap and all he said was " All I want for Christmas is a PSP" over and over while doing rediculous dance moves and something on a ladder. This campaign was not funny and not well done. I thought it was a very unsuccessful attepmt at viral marketing.
1. I think successful viral campaign videos are hard to make. Successful viral campaigns are a combinataion of interesting topics and humor. I think most people can relate to or get sucked into something humerous. If a company decides they would rather take a more serious approach they should try and work from an issue lots of people know about. The Barkak Obama campaign used this strategy with their video, apparently using an old commercial but putting new video into it to make their point. I think this was a wise way to integrate a new issue with an old issue. However, the campaign was lost on me because I did not see the old commercial so I had no idea what the video was about or why. This is something a viral video maker needs to watch out for. The Eight Bucks video was successful in my opinion because it was funny and interesting and caught the attention of the audience. It was easy to understand and had a clear call to action. It was fun to watch because it was random, and it was brilliant because of the opportunity for audience participation. I think it was a really great idea for them to post a video with a greenscreen so people could just go nuts with thier own version. Sometimes it is hard to tell if a viral campaign is successful. If there is no call to action, then there is not a real way to measure it. The eight bucks campaign's success can be measured because they did have a call to action and they can just tally how many people sent in eight bucks. The Barak Obama campaign did not have a call to action and I think measurement is harder in this campaign. It posts on youtube how many times a video has been watched, so someone can keep track that way, but it doesn't post the reactions. I watched the video, but the point was completely lost on me. A call to action would be good because it would measure not how many people were exposed to the message, but how many understood and were impacted by it.
2. As far as the two viral videos I chose to analyze, the Barak Obama one works because it takes something that is old and familiar (the commercial) and pairs it with something new (Hillary Clinton) to make its point. It draws attention to the new because the old is being used in a new way. What doesn't work about this campaign is that it doesn't make sense to people who have never seen the commercial. It was wierd and I didn't understand the point because I didn't see the original commercial. I wasn't sure if it was a pro Hillary or pro someone else until I saw the ending credits. The Eight Bucks campaign was a lot different. It worked because it was interesting, the scenery was changing a lot and it was repetitive, with Bill Cosby repeating the message several times over. It engaged the audience because you are allowed to create your own video using their template and greenscreened footage, and it had measureable outcomes with the call to action during the video. I can see a few things not working in this video too, though. If someone has an aversion to Bill Cosby they might not like it very much. Also, if they are not interested in funding the museum for slavery they might not like the ad.
3. I would not pass any of these videos on to my friends because most of my friends are not the kind of people who watch viral marketing for fun. It is okay to watch it in class when it pertains to an assignment, but you would not find me on my computer in my free time, watching viral marketing, and my friends aren't that type either. If I had to pass one on to a friend, I would pass on the Eight Bucks one because out of the five we watched, it was the most interesting to me.
4. There is not much prominent brand placement in the videos I chose. In the Barak Obama one, it showed his logo at the end, but until then you couldn't tell what the video was for. The eight bucks video wasn't really about a brand, but it did repeat several times that they wanted eight bucks. I think the strategies were good for the each of the videos I chose. If the branding were any less in each of them a person wouldn't be able to tell what they were for. If the branding were any more I think it would diminish the credibility of the viral video.
5. I found a viral video campaign online for Sony Playstation handheld game machines. Here is the link: http://youtube.com/watch?v=0G0LlXv-nyI This was (in my opinion) a miserable attempt at viral marketing by the Sony company, placed on youtube. It was a man in his 20's in workout pants and a tee shirt with a Santa hat on dancing and singing. He was trying to rap and all he said was " All I want for Christmas is a PSP" over and over while doing rediculous dance moves and something on a ladder. This campaign was not funny and not well done. I thought it was a very unsuccessful attepmt at viral marketing.
Wednesday, March 7, 2007
Astroturfing project
Ever heard of Astroturfing? Learn more about this fake grassroots publicity campaign by clicking on the link below.
Monday, February 12, 2007
Adobe Audition Assignment
Click here to listen to an Audio Press Release regarding Student Computing Services hiring for Fall 2007
https://mysite.wsu.edu/personal/kchoward/Shared%20Documents/Kelsey%27s%20Mixdown%20Final.mp3
https://mysite.wsu.edu/personal/kchoward/Shared%20Documents/Kelsey%27s%20Mixdown%20Final.mp3
Friday, February 9, 2007
Wednesday, February 7, 2007
Feb. 7 In class assignment
After reviewing several of the alternative social networking sites posted on the class blog, I am not sure it would be a good tool to use to contact the targeted groups of people. From what I could see from a guest pass, the pages are set up with limited white space and there is a lot of information on each page. There is information from member of the day to changing ads, personals and thumbnail photos of some members. I think the page is too busy and when a member signs in they are going to look at the information they regularly check and not pay attention to the rest because it is hard to glean good information from. Most of it is just clutter and an experienced user would most likely just pass the first page and get on with their networking.
I have seen that some people on Facebook use their accounts to further their causes. I think having people join these networking sites and develop friendships and networks would be a good way to infiltrate the society. This way they would be getting the information from a trusted friend rather than a cold advertisement available to everyone.
My client is Student Computing Services at Washington State University and I think we could use these social networks to contact people in the same way we use Facebook. SCS has formed several fan groups and whenever they have an event they contact all of the members of the related group and give them all of the information.
I don't think these sites differ much from myspace or facebook besides the fact that they are more exclusive. Myspace and Facebook are for everyone, while these networks appeal to people who fit into the categories. As a heterosexual Caucasian I would not have any reason to join any of the social networks posted on the blog because I don't fit into the profile. At the same time, I don't know that I would join a social network that was exclusively for heterosexual Caucasians either, because I don't want to place limits on my social interactions.
I think a pr agency would find both all inclusive social networks in addition to exclusive social networks helpful, depending on what they are trying to promote and to whom.
I have seen that some people on Facebook use their accounts to further their causes. I think having people join these networking sites and develop friendships and networks would be a good way to infiltrate the society. This way they would be getting the information from a trusted friend rather than a cold advertisement available to everyone.
My client is Student Computing Services at Washington State University and I think we could use these social networks to contact people in the same way we use Facebook. SCS has formed several fan groups and whenever they have an event they contact all of the members of the related group and give them all of the information.
I don't think these sites differ much from myspace or facebook besides the fact that they are more exclusive. Myspace and Facebook are for everyone, while these networks appeal to people who fit into the categories. As a heterosexual Caucasian I would not have any reason to join any of the social networks posted on the blog because I don't fit into the profile. At the same time, I don't know that I would join a social network that was exclusively for heterosexual Caucasians either, because I don't want to place limits on my social interactions.
I think a pr agency would find both all inclusive social networks in addition to exclusive social networks helpful, depending on what they are trying to promote and to whom.
Friday, January 26, 2007
January 24 Assignment
Dear H. Lee Scott (Wal-Mart CEO)
As I am sure you already know, there is a lot of bad press on the internet about Wal-Mart and its practices. I am writing this to alert you to some things that are circulating on the internet.
I began my search for bad press by searching for "Wal-Mart" on Google. I came across a blog called wake up Wal-Mart and it featured less than flattering news on what was going on with Wal-Mart. It also had an area where people could sign up to become members so they could get the latest dirt on our company. There was also a section where interested parties could learn how to start a Wake Up Wal-Mart club in their area and it gave instructions on what to do at meetings and how they could take action to change Wal-Mart.
I also came across a website for the movie "Wal-Mart The High Cost of Low Price." This website focused on the movie and had many sections where people could check out reviews or even buy the movies in bulk so they could give them away to friends and family or sell them to other people they know would be interested. This site also included links to many other anti Wal-Mart resources, including Wake Up Wal-Mart (mentioned above), Wal-Mart Watch and many other groups interested parties could join.
Another site, Sprawl-Busters.com, was against all big box retailers but it was featured as a member of the anti Wal-Mart alliance on the movie website. Sprawl-Busters is a group focused on stopping these big retailers from coming to their towns. They help citizen groups strategize and carry out plans to stop the superstores from moving in. Their page features a news flash page with information on the battles against big box retailers across the country. They also promote the book "Slam Dunking Wal-Mart" as a good resource to use for "hands-on" combat with things they call Sprawl-Marts. And instead of a revision of the Wal-Mart symbol for the focus of their web page, they have a picture of an upset looking man wearing a white t-shirt with Wal-Mart in black letters enclosed in red circle with a large line through it. The man looks menacing and it gets their anti Wal-Mart viewpoint across very clearly.
The last webpage I looked at was called the Wal-Mart Alliance for Reform Now, referred to as WARN by the page itself. WARN describes itself as a coalition of individuals and groups working together to provide the voice for citizens to force Wal-Mart to become accountable to the community and its standards and values. This site invites visitors to join a fight against Wal-Mart from a list of possible locations. It also has a link divulging information on all of their victories against Wal-Mart. The latest victory was in Orlando, where they convinced the government to put a halt on all mega store construction over 75,000 square feet. I only searched once and came up with a long list of anti Wal-Mart sites. It is important to check these periodically so we know what the opposition thinks of us and so we can combat that with the help of our public relations officials.
The last webpage I looked at was called the Wal-Mart Alliance for Reform Now, referred to as WARN by the page itself. WARN describes itself as a coalition of individuals and groups working together to provide the voice for citizens to force Wal-Mart to become accountable to the community and its standards and values. This site invites visitors to join a fight against Wal-Mart from a list of possible locations. It also has a link divulging information on all of their victories against Wal-Mart. The latest victory was in Orlando, where they convinced the government to put a halt on all mega store construction over 75,000 square feet.
I only searched once and came up with a long list of anti Wal-Mart sites. It is important to check these periodically so we know what the opposition thinks of us and so we can combat that with the help of our public relations officials.
As I am sure you already know, there is a lot of bad press on the internet about Wal-Mart and its practices. I am writing this to alert you to some things that are circulating on the internet.
I began my search for bad press by searching for "Wal-Mart" on Google. I came across a blog called wake up Wal-Mart and it featured less than flattering news on what was going on with Wal-Mart. It also had an area where people could sign up to become members so they could get the latest dirt on our company. There was also a section where interested parties could learn how to start a Wake Up Wal-Mart club in their area and it gave instructions on what to do at meetings and how they could take action to change Wal-Mart.
I also came across a website for the movie "Wal-Mart The High Cost of Low Price." This website focused on the movie and had many sections where people could check out reviews or even buy the movies in bulk so they could give them away to friends and family or sell them to other people they know would be interested. This site also included links to many other anti Wal-Mart resources, including Wake Up Wal-Mart (mentioned above), Wal-Mart Watch and many other groups interested parties could join.
Another site, Sprawl-Busters.com, was against all big box retailers but it was featured as a member of the anti Wal-Mart alliance on the movie website. Sprawl-Busters is a group focused on stopping these big retailers from coming to their towns. They help citizen groups strategize and carry out plans to stop the superstores from moving in. Their page features a news flash page with information on the battles against big box retailers across the country. They also promote the book "Slam Dunking Wal-Mart" as a good resource to use for "hands-on" combat with things they call Sprawl-Marts. And instead of a revision of the Wal-Mart symbol for the focus of their web page, they have a picture of an upset looking man wearing a white t-shirt with Wal-Mart in black letters enclosed in red circle with a large line through it. The man looks menacing and it gets their anti Wal-Mart viewpoint across very clearly.
The last webpage I looked at was called the Wal-Mart Alliance for Reform Now, referred to as WARN by the page itself. WARN describes itself as a coalition of individuals and groups working together to provide the voice for citizens to force Wal-Mart to become accountable to the community and its standards and values. This site invites visitors to join a fight against Wal-Mart from a list of possible locations. It also has a link divulging information on all of their victories against Wal-Mart. The latest victory was in Orlando, where they convinced the government to put a halt on all mega store construction over 75,000 square feet. I only searched once and came up with a long list of anti Wal-Mart sites. It is important to check these periodically so we know what the opposition thinks of us and so we can combat that with the help of our public relations officials.
The last webpage I looked at was called the Wal-Mart Alliance for Reform Now, referred to as WARN by the page itself. WARN describes itself as a coalition of individuals and groups working together to provide the voice for citizens to force Wal-Mart to become accountable to the community and its standards and values. This site invites visitors to join a fight against Wal-Mart from a list of possible locations. It also has a link divulging information on all of their victories against Wal-Mart. The latest victory was in Orlando, where they convinced the government to put a halt on all mega store construction over 75,000 square feet.
I only searched once and came up with a long list of anti Wal-Mart sites. It is important to check these periodically so we know what the opposition thinks of us and so we can combat that with the help of our public relations officials.
Monday, January 22, 2007
Jan 22 In-class assignment
http://www.bobparsons.com/2ndRejectSeeItHere.html
This is a link to Bob Parson's blog. He is the CEO of Godaddy.com. His blog was really busy and hard to focus on. There were a lot of stories easially accessable, but once I started reading them I realized the majority of them were pushing his agenda. After reading one story I felt like I had just read a big advertisement. I did not like this blog because it was hard to read and focus on.
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=959059
This is a link to the filter magazine myspace profile for my example of a social networking corporate blog. I think using myspace is a great idea for this magazine because it is a smaller mag and it will gain popularity by having a presence on this high profile social network.
http://direct2dell.com/one2one/default.aspx
This link is an example of a corporate blog, it is Dell's blog, written by their digital media manager. I really liked this blog because it was clean and easy to navigate. There weren't too many things demanding your attention so it was easy to scan the page and see what you were interested in and what you could look at later.
http://www.tobacco-on-trial.com/
This link is to an example of a consumer created corporate blog. The blog is about phillip morris and it has negative viewpoints about phillip morris and it has a lot of information on the blog about the negative effects of cigarettes and smoking around children.
This is a link to Bob Parson's blog. He is the CEO of Godaddy.com. His blog was really busy and hard to focus on. There were a lot of stories easially accessable, but once I started reading them I realized the majority of them were pushing his agenda. After reading one story I felt like I had just read a big advertisement. I did not like this blog because it was hard to read and focus on.
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=959059
This is a link to the filter magazine myspace profile for my example of a social networking corporate blog. I think using myspace is a great idea for this magazine because it is a smaller mag and it will gain popularity by having a presence on this high profile social network.
http://direct2dell.com/one2one/default.aspx
This link is an example of a corporate blog, it is Dell's blog, written by their digital media manager. I really liked this blog because it was clean and easy to navigate. There weren't too many things demanding your attention so it was easy to scan the page and see what you were interested in and what you could look at later.
http://www.tobacco-on-trial.com/
This link is to an example of a consumer created corporate blog. The blog is about phillip morris and it has negative viewpoints about phillip morris and it has a lot of information on the blog about the negative effects of cigarettes and smoking around children.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)