Betty White: Is There Anything She Can't Do?

Life settlement leader, The Lifeline Program, has teamed up with America's most trusted celebrity, a rapping Betty White, to promote life insurance settlement funds for seniors.

“We originally started with the idea of a video to reach seniors through social media, but when we heard the song (I'm Still Hot), the project snowballed and we decided to do the remix and have the proceeds benefit one of Betty White’s favorite charities, The Los Angeles Zoo,” - Stephen Terrell, co-founder of The Lifeline Program.

Watch Betty prove she's still hot...

"Stay HOT in your retirement.  Consider selling your life insurance policy."

The Lifetime Program has re-branded itself to target a younger social media savvy baby boomer consumer, rather than strictly seniors.  With 75 million Americans born between 1946 and 1964 who are soon approaching retirement age with historically lower retirement savings, The Lifetime Program aims to attract this sizable demographic with life insurance settlement offers.  This often provides much needed financial security to seniors nationwide.

Meanwhile, "I'm Still Hot" has already gone to #1 on the dance chart in the US.

Personally, I think this is a great idea and a celebrity such as Betty White is perfect in raising awareness across multiple and large demographics.  While the dance-oriented song is unlikely to appeal to baby boomers, it has proven to appeal to younger generations who will then show the video to their parents - due to Betty White's broad appeal.

Do you think it's an effective campaign too? Leave comments below!

Figuring Out Free

2011 looks like the year when social media and the music industry finally merge effectively, creating more value than ever to move the industry forward.  While reading about social music listening, it has become clear that the music industry has finally "figured out free", a result of a dramatic shift from focus on "ownership of music" towards the "sharing of music". 

Many argue that music streaming sites like Spotify, Pandora and the coming soon Myspace Music 2.0 have stimulated a new form of sharing and experiencing music, however I argue that this progression is simply a return back to former behaviour.  When consumers suddenly had access to millions of songs, for free, in the late 90s, consumers stopped experiencing music together and the excitement of owning music died.  However consumers have an innate need to share and experience music - in concerts, with friends listening to the radio, and so on.  We want others opinions on music we like, music we don't like.. it binds us together.  These new services simply support this need in an online context.

I strongly suspect that illegal downloading will soon be perceived as too static, one directional and not engaging as service providers continue to improve nurturing this need of collective experience and sharing.  Studies already indicate that countries with easy access to music streaming services witness sharp declines in illegal downloading. Wake up Australia!

Do you agree?  Is the industry finally getting it right and accepted that people simply demand more value for money when it comes to consuming music? If not, what more need to be done?

#GASPFAIL

This is so fantastically bad, it's brilliant. Just today a story of EXTREMELY poor customer service was posted on a blog and has begun spreading very rapidly, with links all over Facebook, Twitter, other blogs and mainstream media.  Basically, a customer received very poor instore service and after sending management an email of complaint, received a reply insulting the woman and telling her to go elsewhere.  The woman then sent the email thread to friends and colleagues, which resulted in it going viral.

If that's not bad enough, I went to Gasp's Facebook Page to see if there were any response and well...take a look at this screen dump...

Amazing.  As the second comment says, censoring Facebook BIG MISTAKE.

Some say this is a hoax, but I disagree.  The damage done to the brand's image in a few hours is incredible, so unless it was done by a competitor, this is legitimate.

Deleting comments and not addressing the issue is a HUGE mistake, and I find it amazing that companies still underestimate the power of consumers today.  Gasp are in serious trouble now.

**UPDATE** in the space of me creating this blog GASP HAVE NOW REMOVED THEIR FACEBOOK PAGE.  The ultimate admission of defeat.  Thank god for screen dumps.

Do I even need to ask how you feel about this matter? Comment below!

It's War...!

...I'm not quite sure what Google wants me to do...

It appears Google+ and Facebook are gearing up for all out war.  Both on Tuesday unveiled major updates on their respective social media sites, with Google+ opening up access to the entire Internet public by use of a giant blue and blatantly direct arrow and Facebook updating the home page (yet again) with a live update stream and Close Friends lists among others...

I'm failing to see the real benefit in this stream as it mostly repeats content in the main feed while you're already on the home page.  Perhaps if it was a permanent fixture on every page so you never lost track of any updates, it would serve a greater purpose.

But what do you think? And as social media marketers, what do we think of the different tactics Google+ and Facebook have used to introduce their new launch/updates?

Comment below!

My Love Don't Cost A Thing (But This Fiat Sure Will)

I've begun reading about Fiat's new social media campaign after a SM music-based site presented the music video "teaser" for the new Jennifer Lopez single "Papi"...

That's not a music video. That's a commercial. 

Posted on the Fiat YouTube channel, this video is part of a broader campaign involving a partnership with TMZ, an online celebrity news site, which involves arranging for paparazzi to take photos/videos of celebrites driving the new Fiat 500.  The celebrities are set up to drive around in the car while paparazzi provide the footage to upload onto the TMZ website and other social media platforms.

The Jlo video forms the first phase of the campaign and we see that theme present, however in a more stylized/music video manner.  The idea is to increase awareness of the new model and ultimately sell cars, through the appeal of celebrities.

Through this tie-in with the upcoming new Lopez video, Fiat is attempting to target a specifc younger market, but is it working..?

...perhaps not.  I struggled to find one mention of the brand in comments.

It's an interesting campaign and it will be interesting to see how it pans out.  I suspect that once viewers detect the marketing behind the strategically placed cars and logos in the photos and videos, any effectiveness will drop off quickly. 

But what do you think?  Is blatant brand endorsement of music videos as well as this form of celebrity stealth marketing the future of SM marketing?

Comment below!

Who's Spying On You?

The Rumor That Never Dies, Indeed 

Recently I have witnessed a growing number of sites I visit displaying ads that are all too familiar and personal.   The picture above is the screen shot of a site I visit frequently with both the side and top banners advertising W PROMOTE #1 Integrated Search Marketing Firm... 

Of course that's no coincidence.  An online market research company such as ComScore has collected my personal data and sold it to companies who perceive me as their target market.

And while as a marketer I am fully aware of the use of this tactic and how effective it can be, it still irritates me.  My attitude is torn between the positive marketing implications and my personal objections.

However I'm more interested in gauging your thoughts on this matter.  Have you witnessed similar ads on Facebook or general sites that seem a little too direct? If so, does it bother you personally, or do you accept it as the future of advertising?

Share your thoughts below!

*UPDATE*

 

It appears this Integrated Search Marketing Firm take their integration very seriously....  I've now spotted the same ad on other social media sites such as YouTube, as above.

Facebook Wants To Get Sticky

Recently I posted a blog on how social networks were perhaps stretching themselves too thin by attempting to become a one-stop-shop for online content.  Signs were pointing to users preferring a fragmented, multi-platform experience.  Well, Facebook is not taking no for an answer!

Facebook is looking to improve stickiness by introducing a new integrated music service later this month through partnerships with Spotify, Rhapsody, Slacker and other music providers.  Unlike Google and Amazon who use a cloud music service, songs will simply be streamed from an integrated Facebook service which will allow users to share songs and playlists seamlessly.

Rumoured to be called Vibes, the News Feed homepage will also be reconfigured (yet again) with mostly likely a pop-out playlist window which can be viewed and commented on by friends.

While I am intrigued by the idea, the runaway success of Google+ has me suspecting there's slight panic in Facebook HQ with this bold new service.  But what do you think?

Are you at all interested in Facebook's new music service?  Comment below!