Keynote presentation given at C21 Social Media Forum at BAFTA, June 22, 2009.

1. Social media:
Making it work for brands
Ann Longley, Digital Strategy Director, 22 June 2009

2. Dynamics Topics for today
Case studies
MEC’s approach

3. Dynamics
Case studies
Digital age dynamics
MEC’s approach

4. Dynamics
Social media is making a big impact
“Twitter will change the way we Live”, Time Magazine, 2009

5. Dynamics
but what do we mean by social media?
Social media is a very broad term.
It refers to all those online activities,
tools, platforms and practices that allow
users to collaborate, create and share
thoughts, knowledge, opinions and
content.
It is both what people do online, and the
environments in which they do it.
As in the „real‟ world, the social web has
its own culture and norms although
these may vary from place to place.It is
an evolving landscape in a continuous
state of flux.
MEC Guide to Social Media

6. Dynamics
and what does it mean for our customers?
Better
Informed
Better
connected
Change image More in
control
More
fragmented
More
expressive

7. Dynamics
Social media is dominated by UGC
Share
Create Remix
which brands a can‟t control…

8. Dynamics
Creating new challenges for brands
Threats Opportunities

9. Dynamics
Problems…? Everyone knows about it

10. Dynamics
No such thing as local news

11. Others can undermine your messages

12. Dynamics
Organising protests has never been easier

13. Dynamics
News not all bad

14. Dynamics
Many brands have fans online

15. Smart brands cultivate their fanbase

16. Dynamics
Smart fans influence brands

17. Brands can avert problems by listening

18. Dynamics
And invite their customers to help them

19. What makes a good social media strategy?
MEC’s approach
Dynamics
Case studies

20. Case
studies
Obama Everywhere: election-winning
MySpace page with application Facebook page with application
1.267M friends 5.5M fans
32k active app users
YouTube
Twitter 100m+ video views
291k followers 164k subscribers

21. Case
studies
T-mobile: creating a groundswell

22. Case
studies
Skins: energising its fanbase

23. Case
studies
Sony Ericsson: portable and shareable

24. Case
studies
DELL: listening and rewarding

25. Keys to success
Empowered consumers want to interact with brands
Empowered consumers want to interact with brands
1. Better informed
2. Better networked
1. Content }
markets as conversations
3. Better connected
2. Communities }
= conversion
3. Conversations
Clients uncertain about the best way to spend their digital budgets as well as
how to operate in this new marketing environment.

26. Case
Social entertainment: A vision studies

27. Dynamics Topics for today
Case studies
MEC’s approach

28. MEC
Approach
The numbers can’t be ignored
79, 294M 12, 055M
31, 175M 132, 607M
Source: Comscore Europe, Jan 2009

29. MEC
Approach
YouTube is scaling to the size of a TV
Channel
Monthly
Unique 44.3
Users Adults (16+) monthly unique users 41.9
35.6
Online
TV
26.5
20.5 20.9
12.9
11.2
7.7 Rest of
6.4 6.8 Adults
4.1
2.9 3.9
1.7 16 -34
0.3 0.4 0. Men
2.9
8 0.5
Source: Nielsen October 2008, BARB
29

30. MEC
Approach
Advertising facing a backlash

31. MEC
Approach
Advertising is fighting back
New social ad formats are Social media integration on
emerging and off domain

32. MEC
Approach
Marketing has changed
Complexity lies at the centre of the marketing funnel
Peer Competitive
reviews alternatives
The traditional marketing funnel
Buyers
Eyeballs
Eyeballs Buyers
Contributors
User-generated
Recommendations
content
from friends
Old New

33. MEC
Approach
Earned media is now the most influential
Paid Owned Earned
Source: COMPOSE 2008

34. MEC
Approach
What matters now is Whuffie
In a post scarcity economy, social capital rules.

35. MEC
Approach
Reputation 2.0
Strength of
network/
fanbase
Responsive-
Leadership REPUTATION
ness
Product and
service
innovation

36. MEC
Approach
Social media is here to stay
Brands hiring in-house community managers:
Source: http://www.web-strategist.com/blog/2008/06/20/list-of-social-computing-strategists-and-community-managers-for-large-corporations-2008/

37. MEC
Approach
New world calls for a new approach
Plan
Listen Strategy Act
Evaluate
We use social media as a starting point for active engagement

38. MEC
Approach
helping brands become more
customer centric
Promote and
Respond
Engage with
content and
experiences
Gain audience
insight

39. MEC
Approach
The benefits of paying attention
Here are just a few:
Manage risks Improve service
Evaluate campaigns Identify new ambassadors

40. MEC
Approach
New metrics for the
conversational marketplace
Influence Engagement
Share of influence Views/downloads
Share of buzz Fans or friends
SEO ranking Participation
Referral Intimacy
Send to friends
Loyalty
Posts/ embedding
Repeat visits
on own pages
Length of time spent
Social bookmarking
Comments
Problems solved

41. MEC
Approach
MEC case studies
Benchmark study
• Worked with baby food FMCG to understand brand perceptions and parent requirements to
develop more responsive communications
• Defined scenarios for providing live chat and other services in the environments where mums
are connecting
• Regular dips to assess impact and gain further insight
Daily, monthly and weekly reporting
• Provide daily reports to a service industry client to help them solve client problems when and
where they happen
• Weekly reports track campaign buzz alongside other brand tracking metrics
• Monthly report enables more in depth analysis and issue focus as well as competitor
benchmarking
Tactical projects
• Work with a luxury brand who does not use social media to engage but wants to understand
stakeholder perceptions on a number of ad hoc studies
• Buzz research used to understand feedback on a TV programme critical of the client’s
products , to assess the impact of product withdrawal from a key retailer and to see if people
loved their new celebrity ambassador

42. Summing it all up
Benefits Don’t let it pass Become talked Think beyond
outweigh risks you by about advertising

43. Thank you!
Find me:
ann.longley@mecglobal.com
http://www.annlongley.net
www.twitter.com/AnnMargaret