1) Something about Twitter.

2) Something about “Social Media Gurus”

3) Something about something we all think might be better than Twitter but fades really fast.

4) Something Google, Apple, or Microsoft.

5) Something bitching about social media.

6) Something really cool we don’t even know about yet!

7) Something that includes a list with a bunch of stuff we all already know but it makes for great link-bait.

(Hat tip to Karl Long for his great post where I found this.)

Saw this at the Minneapolis Airport on my way home from Montana the other day.

Does it make me want Travelers Insurance? Not really.

Does it promote the position they’re going for? I’d say yes.

Did it get my attention? Absolutely.

What matters?

Inspired by this tweet from Paul Isakson, which was inspired by this piece from Ad Age, I got to thinking about the general concept of ideas and executions. Paul says “ideas are ideas” and I’m inclined to agree.

So many times, ideas get pegged as Online or Offline and then executed independently. The problem with this is that it’s not how people operate. My online life might be more tied to my offline life than the average person, but just look at how many people are active on Facebook (250 million!), not to mention Twitter, Blogs, and e-mail. People don’t consciously think “this is an online action” and “this is an offline action”. A social action is social, it doesn’t matter if its a tweet, text message, or lunch plans.

The fact that many companies have different agencies for online and offline efforts certainly doesn’t help, but that’s a poor excuse. If the best ideas and efforts really tap into the markets behavior, then why do we still insist on segregating ideas. If the left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing, it makes it really easy to get punched in the face.

We might forget about this sometimes in our on-demand, widgetized, app-crazed lives, but it’s true. While micro-interactions are certainly key, it’s important to not lose sight of the big picture. The best micro-interactions not only work well with the user, they work well with the other micro-interactions.

Seems like a golden opportunity to me.

1) Free gamerpics and themes.
Nothing new here, but it still can be smart and easy. That being said, I don’t think it will be truly effective/adopted unless your brand is what Alan Wolk calls “A Prom King Brand“. For example, McDonalds just did this with their McCafe lattes. I don’t get that at all. What self-respecting gamer is going to have their picture set as a McDonalds latte? Past examples such as the TV show Entourage or the Addidas Anniversary Editions make a much more compelling case.

2) Sponsored avatar clothing.
No one has done this yet, and I’m not sure Microsoft is even open to it, but I think it’s a slam dunk. I want to see Ralph Lauren step up and offer Polo branded shirts. Where are the Converse All-Stars, the Nike warm-ups, the Levi’s 501s? And all that doesn’t even touch sports teams. It seems like this is a segment with some potential, and if I was an apparel manufacture, you can be I’d be on the phone with Microsoft.

3) Free sponsored version of arcade downloads.
This is my favorite idea here, and the one with an absolute ton of potential. What I’m suggesting here is that a company take an already popular (or semi-popular) version of an arcade title and offer it free for a few days. This free version would have all the functionality and features of the regular title, but be branded. It could even have a small interstitial in the beginning to play the latest 30-second spot from the brand (which could be updated continually over the internet connection). This way, every time you fire up your favorite, free, new arcade title, you’re reminded who to thank. Could be great.

4) Advergames.
This is a sketchy option. Not because gamers don’t like free stuff, but because these games usually really suck. Look at that game that Doritos just gave away, or the Yaris game. Ouch. Now there’s two routes these kind of games can take. One is they can be something remotely related to your actual product (like the Yaris game). While this seems like it makes the most sense, you have to remember that most products don’t lend themselves to a fun game experience. The second option is to just make a fun little game, and brand the hell out of it. Think Peggle but with “YOUR BRAND HERE”.

5) Giveaways.
Netflix is already rocking out pretty hard with the giveaway option. They’re offering a chance for a home entertainment system with your Netflix activation (which is awesome, trust me). I feel like a lot of companies could go this way, gives you a lot of publicity with little cost.

So what do you think? What did I miss?

He talks about how if you dig strawberries and Cherrios, then you’ll probably like Strawberry Cherrios regardless of the advertising. He also mentions the reverse is true. And I think that’s where the big point is.

For example: I really don’t like Budweiser. I just don’t. And honestly, no matter how awesome, witty, or iconic their advertising is, I’m not going to run out and buy Budweiser. Ever. So for me, as soon as the Budweiser ads come on, I’m tuning out the “ad” part and just looking at it for entertainments sake.

And Budweiser makes some really entertaining ads. The problem, however, is that they’re completely useless when it comes to making me actually by the product.

Which leads us to this little paradox: Entertainment (product placement, etc.) has become effective advertising and advertising has become effective entertainment. Weird!

With the economy in it’s current state, many game developers/publishers are either downsizing or closing their doors all together. However, indie game studios have seen some solid growth. Games like Braid, Castle Crashers, Geometry Wars RE 2, World of Goo, and A Kingdom For Keiflings have been met with both critical and commercial success. This is a trend that I don’t see changing any time soon.

The opportunity is this: Many of these small (many/most under 10 people) game studios don’t have dedicated marketing resources. Think of them as new authors promoting a book. The do all the work creating the game and then they have to go out there and sell it. I know they don’t have big budgets, but where’s the savvy marketers willing to work for a commission or percentages?

Big opportunity and still growing. I’d like to give it a try. Anyone else?