I’m a PC and I admire CPB

I’ve never seen so much talking about Microsoft. Actually, after almost 3 years at Microsoft I never talked so much about Microsoft myself… This is maybe the reason why I don’t receive comments on my blog anymore . CPB managed amazingly to put Microsoft at the center of the conversations. First with the Seinfeld/Bill Gates series and now with the “PC pride” (aka Life without walls).

Of course, Microsoft won’t become the coolest brand in the world overnight (see this post).

Yesterday evening I tried to explain to my son the concepts of reason and passion and the strange relations between those two concepts. And the PC/Mac dichotomy is much more about passion than about reason. I really like this quote on youtube by a user called prmd142 who wrote: ”Get over it people…. buy only Apple products… Apple will eradicate poverty from the world… it’ll bring peace & prosperity to everyone… Steve Jobs is God’s messanger…. He alone can lead you to salvation… amen! “. Prmd meant this as a joke of course but I’m pretty sure it’s the state of mind of a lot a Mac users who really believe that, for some reasons, Apple is not truly a capitalist company.

I’m not a Mac. I’m a PC and I practice brazilian Jiu Jitsu, I’m a PC and I don’t shave every day, I’m a PC and I thank you for reading this post.

A campaign about nothing

Chapter 2 is online. Jerry and Bill are already back for the second episode of the Seinfeld-Microsoft saga. This time it’s a 4.30 minutes episode and it’s even more seinfeldish than the previous one.

Episode 2 will be even more praised and hated than Episode 1 and that’s OK.

I had a good laugh, I hope you will

Edit: I like what Dion Hughes wrote about the campaign after the first episode:

 Everyone is piling on. When was the last time this many people had anything to say, positive or negative, about a Microsoft communication?

read Dion’s full post

Back to the very basic: the banner

I received from IIR Middle east 2 banners (1 gif and 1 jpeg) to promote the New Media Event. I don’t think I have ever written something about banners. Few bloggers do. Writing something constructive on the classical banner format might seem almost indecent nowadays. Performance deals represent more than 50% of the american internet revenues and conversational marketing is the only way to go according to the blogosphere.

But according to PriceWaterhouseCoopers: 45% of the total internet revenues are still CPM revenues (US data 2007). A large part of those revenues still come from “classical” banners (read non-rich media)

Of course, the Click-Through Rates are not what they used to be but that’s rather a good news than a bad news for display advertising. So… even if the banner is not hyped up, it’s still out there.

Early august, the dutch website marketingonline.nl published a list of best practice advices released by Microsoft Advertising Netherlands and Metrixlab. The best practice has been determined by impact studies among surfers. The criteria’s to determine the impact were memorization, attention, appreciation and the classical campaign metrics (delta on brand awareness and purchase intent).

Based on that research, here are some best practices I found interesting:

• bigger formats have more impact
• Logo and brand receive more attention if they are not permenantly present
• Avoid multiple loops in your animated banners
• Banners with people on it score better
• Interaction possibility influences purchase intent and likeability
• the “click here”-mention has a negative effect

Is the New Media Event a best practice case? Hmm, not sure but the event will rock!

Small screen, big opportunity

Dynamic Logic and Millward brown already published very interesting studies on the impact of online video advertising… by far the most impactfull online format on the traditional campaign metrics (brand awareness, ad awareness, purchase intent,…). We also know that the pre-roll advertising if they are not too long (less than 20 seconds) are very much accepted by the users.

On august 21st, Dynamic Logic presented the first Mobile advertising impact averages. Surprisingly, the deltas are even better than the video deltas.

 

The sample is still limited (aggregation of 21 impact studies) and mobile advertising benefits from the youth, the innovativity and the scarcity of the format.

Nonetheless, seen this result, you might expect high CPMs and probably high returns on mobile formats.

Facebook facts

Kudos to Matt Dickman who released a free ebook with essential data about Facebook.

The first part of the 24 pages ebook covers the stats (reach and socio-demo) of Facebook and the second part explains the marketing possibilities. What I really like about Matt’s work is that he’s only presenting facts.

Here is the link where you’ll find 2 versions (high and low def) of Matt’s ebook. Enjoy!

Online to boost offline response?

I joined through linkedin a Cross Media Experts group. The conversations going on in the forum are pretty interesting. One of the discussions is about the efficiency of online advertising. Basically, we all agree to say that online advertising is highly measurable, targeted, potentially entertaining, that it allows constant optimization of the campaigns based on response rates and that it can have a synergetic impact on cross media campaigns.

Among the reactions in this online advertising thread, one approach was somehow disruptive

“Online comes in handy when vetting different creative executions for inclusion in press and other offline media. Step 1: Run a series of creative across a network. Step 2: Monitor response differentials across these creative. Step 3: Run with the most responsive in a press or outdoor medium. Response and interactivity information gleemed from online will go a long way to boost offline media effectiveness”

Is it a good idea to use online to test what will become your future offline campaign? What’s your opinion about that?

Misfit marketing (Aultre ne veulx estre)

Who’s that girl? The new Betty Page? A recent recruit for the pussycat dolls? Catwoman in the next Batman sequel?

Actually, she’s one of the most famous and innovative Belgian entrepreneurs. Her name is Murielle Scherre and she’s a myspace and facebook star under the nickname of “La fille d’O”. She’s sure isn’t the typical executive woman. I doubt she produces elaborate business cases. She has no background in corporations but she’s successful and already appeared on a bunch of business magazines covers. Besides her entrepreneurship, Murielle also wrote a book, is a stage artist and used to have her own TV show.

Her brand “La fille d’O” is initially a lingerie brand but Murielle is so interleaved with her brand that it’s difficult to distinguish her person from her brand. She recently launched an acclaimed shoe collection.

Murielle is also a very gentle person who kindly accepted to answer my questions. No marketing buzzwords included…

“ I am no marketer. I am a human being and a customer all the same and I try to create a brand like I would want to buy/discover in stores myself. I don’t think about money. I think about satisfaction: For me as a creator and as a person and a customer. The other people wearing my stuff feel the same. They are fed up with the mainstream. More and more people tend to think before they invest their money in a brand. You need to deserve it. That is why I took the risk of linking my person to my brand like this. I knew it would put some people off because of who I am but it would charm the others even more.”

About social media:

I got picked up by the media from the very first day so I can easily say it was verrrry important. Word of mouth is another part that can take some credits. I have very happy customers because I see them coming back and all of them bring friends and family.

Instruments such as myspace and my website only make all this ‘teambuilding’ stronger because I show my true face on it and I guess it gives people confidence. I have seen a lot of big companies trying to start up a blog or a myspace but “virtuassionals” know to distinguish the sincere from the marketer.

About advertising:

I have never spent any money on advertisement. I think the people I design for have grown immune to it so I don’t see why I would spend money on useless efforts. I prefer to get exposure where it ‘hurts’. When going out, on stage, playing music, making a decent TV show…

I don’t want to make commercially interesting decisions by being less radical. I want to make stuff I shall fully take responsibility for.  

About the link between being a beautiful woman and breakthrough in social media:

Auch! That is both a difficult question and a compliment! Great! I have the slight suspicion things would have been different when trying to make a living selling orthopedic shoes. They say beauty is on the inside but I have never met anyone who could lay eyes upon someone’s inside at first glance so I guess that is just a lame excuse. But I do think my standards of beauty aren’t what the current beauty trends are. I am totally turned off by uniformity, perfection, purity, glamour, all those things have become so commercially vampirized it scares me!

About sharing:

I think everyone who’s eager to learn is stimulated to share experiences since it shortens your own learning process. Collaboration is the new black

www.lafilledo.com

Love anyone?

I have the honour to have admin rights on getinspiredhere, the collective blog related to the “inspiration anyone”-viral video (the sequel of Bring the love back)

I must say I’m pretty disappointed by the stats of the viral video (less than 5000 views so far on youtube versus 150.000 for bring the love back – and 3000 versus 180.000 on dailymotion). I don’t think it’s a question of seeding strategy. The seeding strategy of “Bring the love back” was minimal and the video became a success mainly thanks to the enthusiasm of David Armano.

Quality could be an issue. I still think that Inspiration anyone is a great vid but I agree on the fact that there are some minor flaws (mainly in editing).

Basically, I agree with Peter Kim  when he states that “(perhaps) it hits too close to home for agencies”. Besides, the video carries a message telling us that it’s not that simple. It confronted me with my own ignorance. Of course, we have to listen to the customer and I think we all know that; of course, balanced conversation is key; of course we have to rethink the way we make marketing; of course…. but how do we aknowledge the changes while maintaining the system? (major online players selling added value to the advertisers).That’s the whole point of getinspiredhere and that’s why we need you there

The permanent revolution

I just created my account on slideshare. In around 30 minutes, I will present the slideshow below at the second Microsoft Belgium circle of media where we gathered journalists and key Belgian bloggers. Most of the slides aren’t self-explanatory but I trust your interpreation and imagination power

As told previously, it’s my first presentation to an audience made of experts. I’ll tell you in my next post how it went.

Achilles’ heel

What’s the Achilles’ heel of web advertising?

Measurement? Certainly not! Our medium is much more measurable than any other.

Reach? Not any more

Creative possibilities? Ha! I don’t feel I have to argue on this one

Standardization? No big deal. There are a few standards even if sky is the limit for the creative people

Price? Impact? According to many case studies, the web offers the best return on investment (of course, this will depend on the sanity of the media mix)

So, what else?

Well, one annoying detail actually: when you book an online campaign you’re not totally sure that you and especially your distribution network people will actually see it. We usually sell with a “share of voice” principle (most campaigns on msn Belgium have 15 to 30% SOV) and that really bothers the advertisers. They want to be able to show their ad not only on a screenshot or by using the page refresh function untill they see their product. It’s not rational but that’s the reason why a lot of media buyers buy space in the advertisers’ favorite magazine (even if it’s not selective on the target group) or an outdoor advertising near the advertisers’ home, on top of the normal plan.

Of course, discounts and commissioning is another problem that will only be solved with the growth of investments.

My Cannes grand prix

Wednesday evening was the momentum of the festival with the cyberlions awards. The creative works of the winners is totally amazing and they show the power of rich media and interactive formats. My favorites weren’t always the grand prix winners. Here’s my selection:

First: 3 online ads

• VW “Blank like a rabbit”: A very interactive and engaging advertising in a simple showcase format.
• Adidas “Impossible is nothing“: One of the most creative and even poetic banners I’ve seen
• Mantecorp “Tissue”: The product isn’t sexy. The campaign is.

A viral/participative action: Pulse

A website: Diesel Heidies. It’s unconventional, interactive, user-friendly funny and full of personality. They received a well deserved Grand Prix

The full list of the cyberlions awards is here.

I feel very fortunate to work in a media where creativity has almost no limits… If you can think it, you can do it.

Le Freaque, c’est chic

 Last Post before Cannes. As from monday, it will be an overdose of advertising. I’m looking at the program (workshops and conferences, meetings with fine colleagues, wild parties, an award ceremony, a Microsoft party, 2 boat trips and many discussions with our customers) and wonder when I’ll find time to blog. But when there is a will, there is a way. Hopefully, Cannes will be, as it was last year, a big source of inspiration, a close encounter of the advertisers and will provide interesting blog material.

Kris sent me a link to Lefreaque, a nice initiative of Adweek where members of the jury and guest bloggers are posting about the 2007 Cannes Ad Festival. So far, it’s an hors d’oeuvre since the festival hasn’t started yet but I hope to read some great lines in the days to come.

Listen and listen good

Next week, I’ll be flying to Cannes for the Cannes Lions week, one of the worldwide biggest advertising awards. I can’t wait to be there.

What’s an advertising award? Basically, it’s an award for the best talker. Correct me if I’m wrong but I don’t think there’s somewhere an award for the best listener and that’s a shame. So… Let’s launch this initiative from the blogosphere!

Here’s, in a nutshell, what I have in mind:

- Collect all your stories about brands that demonstrated an ability to listen and be responsive

- Create a separated blog to present the cases

- Make a little noise around the award (the concept is only viable if we receive a lot of cases)

- Make a monthly survey to present the listener of the month. In 12 months as from now, present the cases to a large audience (bloggers but also some non-bloggers) and elect the listener of the year.

Dear bloggers and friends, I would really like to read your feedback on this. What do you think about the idea? If you like it, what would be the best way to promote it? Do you already have cases in mind?

This idea was inspired by Bring the love back and by Mack Collier’s blog checkup series. Thanks!

Last transmission

 

All good things come to an end. Here comes the very last interview of the Blogger interview series and it’s Mark Goren, author of Transmission Marketing. I wish I wrote that

1/ What was your first blog post ever?

7 November 2006: “Brand Health Care”. The idea behind the post was say that are many ways to treat a marketing problem and that if you’re agency doesn’t accept it when you challenge them, maybe it’s time to seek a second opinion. I still think it was a good inaugural post, but I’ll be the first to admit that it took some time for me to find my blogging legs after that one.

2/ What will happen with brands that are not entering the conversation?

They’ll lose out in end and, the thing is, they won’t know it. They won’t know it because if you don’t know what’s being said, you’re powerless to take advantage of the good and/or turn a negative into a positive. It’s our job to show them what they’re missing, teach them why it can help their company/brand and ultimately find a way to measure the effects of joining in.

3/ What is the next big challenge for online media owners?

I think that their biggest challenge lies in figuring out how to make their online ad revenues higher than their print edition ad revenues so they become less dependent on the broken model of traditional advertising. Once their online revenues outweigh their offline take, they can then become more creative in finding ways to help advertisers reach consumers in more targeted ways.

4/ What is the next big challenge for advertisers?

Getting out of the mindset that a bigger ad spend is better. I’d love to see more advertisers just put their toe in the waters and allocate a little bit of budget towards trying to target a more qualified audience online. I just can’t get past what I truly believe: that you can never get close enough to your customers to help them, engage them and build a relationship with them through traditional advertising. Advertisers have to learn that it’s about Give + Take, not Tell + Take.

5/What is the most relevant book/article/post ever written on new marketing?

Wow, this is a tough one. I’ve basically given myself on MBA on new marketing over the last little while. Anything written by Seth Godin is a good place to start. Cow, Moo, Permission, Ideavirus, Small, etc.. But then there are the other must-reads: Cluetrain, The Tipping Point, Naked Conversations, Creating Customer Evangelists + Citizen Marketers, these are all obvious. However, if you want new marketing ideas, case studies that move away from traditional solutions, I’d have to go with Jaffe’s Life After the 30-Second Spot. It’s the new marketer’s bible.

6/ What makes your blog different?

The best compliment I’ve received about the blog came from a reader in Ottawa. He told me that he enjoys how, from time to time, I use my other interests – sports, movies, TV – to bring home some points and keep things light. Of course, I don’t do that with every post, but I do find inspiration from a broad range of sources.

So, Philippe, how’d I do?

You did great, Mark, Thanks a lot!

The concept and the questions of those interviews are copyright-free. So, if you like taking this over, I’d be glad to see upcoming interviews on another blog.

Viva la Diva

 

From Sidney to Atlanta… After Gavin Heaton, here comes a divine diva intervention. Toby Bloomberg kindly accepted to answer the questions of the blogger-interview series. As usual, I won’t comment the answers but feel free to do it. Toby we’re all eyes.

1/ What was your first blog post ever?

Thanks for the walk down memory lane Phillippe. The first blog post on Diva Marketing was titled, “Pop A Cork For The New Diva Marketing Blog.” It combined a brief intro about the focus of Diva, a thank you to Dana VanDen Heuvel who encouraged me to blog, a link to an article about branding and a quote of the month.

The quotes were so popular that when I redesign the skin I added the quotes as a feature on the sidebar. Every time you click into the site you see a new quote.

2/ What will happen with brands that are not entering the conversation?

What happens to people who are not part of conversations where others are discussing issues that affect them? They miss opportunities to influence their future, they miss opportunities to correct misunderstandings, they miss opportunities to develop relationships with people who are interested in similar concerns. Same thing will happen to organizations. Will they die on the vine? Probably not. Will they appear to be self absorbed and will their customers wonder where they are in the conversation? Eventually.

Way back in the ‘90’s when websites were the hot new tactic companies that launched websites were perceived as innovators. When the internet became ubiquitous websites became an expected cost of doing business and a well to establish credibility. I think that will eventually happen with social media/blog initiatives.

3/ What is the next big challenge for online media owners?

In one word – Choices.

If you define online media owners as organizations (for profits, non profits and government agencies) that use content as a strategy to provide value to stakeholders (readers) in order to achieve business outcomes .. then it is what it always was .. assuring there is fresh relevant, credible content (within an easy to navigate environment). However, add to the mix the expectations of including social media tactics, as well as, nifty Web 2.0 technology and you have a smorgasbord to choose from.

The challenge then becomes: what does your target audience really want, what is right for the brand and what is doable with your resources (time, money and people). Once you answer those questions (which marketers have always asked) the next challenge is how to form a cohesive, integrated strategy. Our job as marketers has certainly grown complex.

4/ What is the next big challenge for advertisers?

Making sense of the same smorgasbord of choices and in doing so determining where your target audience actually hangs out. Then of course developing the right message and creative for that media. Successful ads on blogs are very different from ads in a print publication. A video on YouTube is a far cry from a spot commercial. Consumer generated branding promotions have their own unique set of challenges. It sounds like a fun idea to ask your customers to film a little video about your product or service but it’s not as easy as it appears to put the pieces together for a successful campaign. Of course there are the risks involved of less than flattering messages, as well as, determining the right incentives to encourage participation.

5/What is the most relevant book/article/post ever written on new marketing?

Great question. Wish I had a great answer. Let’s just say I’m still waiting for it to be written.

6/ What makes your blog different?

When I launched Diva Marketing I was actually looking for a new “home.” I had developed the “diva girlfriend voice” for an online publication that closed its doors and I wanted to continue the funky, fun writing style. That voice became a signature which turned Diva Marketing into a “blog brand.” The skin of the blog was eventually designed to support the voice. With so many smart people blogging in the marketing, PR, business space I think of Diva as more of a “feature” than a “hard news” blog.

In terms of content, my focus is shifting from writing about general brand marketing to how social media/blogs can be leveraged to support marketing strategies. I also frequently include interviews with business leaders and authors. Friday Fun has become a popular post giving me the opportunity to go off topic. Oh and of course there is Max, my Westie pup who I’ve been told has a fan club in the blogosphere!

Thank you Toby!

Dial S for Servant of Chaos

I’m pleased to announce you the second (and last) blogger-interviews trilogy. Unlike Star Wars, I can assure you that the second trilogy is as good as the first. The interviewee of the day is Gavin Heaton, the Servant of chaos (If I could, I would give him the award of the coolest blog name). Gavin, the floor is yours.

1/ What was your first blog post ever?

I started blogging as a way of enforcing a kind of discipline upon myself. I once wrote a lot — I have notebooks full of ideas, scribbles, poems and stories — but had stopped. And yet, the desire to write, to communicate had not wholly left me … so I began with what I was most comfortable with … a poem. My original plan was write 999 Theses … or one short idea every day for three years.

2/ What will happen with brands that are not entering the conversation?

Not all brands want or need conversation. Interestingly enough, neither do some bloggers. I am sure that there is some kind of graph available that would map the elasticity of conversation as it applies to either brand or market value on one axis and research and innovation on the other. For a brand that has a high elasticity of conversation, failure to engage your consumers in conversation can have an impact on your reputation … and eventually your sales. Technology brands fall into this category precisely because consumers expect technology companies to USE technologies to communicate. Look at your own posts on HP over the last couple of weeks … it is not like the conversation is not happening — it is simply that HP is not engaging.

I think it comes down to ethics … we hear a lot now about authenticity, but I think this is clearly a consumer-led demand for ethical behaviour. Consumers don’t mind marketing where it is handled transparently … and an ethical approach drives a deeper engagement with the brand. It builds trust. This is where conversation comes in. It opens the way for a deeper and ethical brand connection.

3/ What is the next big challenge for online media owners?

It is measurement and money. We keep trying to cobble old metrics onto new marketing channels and they simply don’t apply. The organisation that figures out how to measure the impact of online media on key business metrics will reap massive rewards.

4/ What is the next big challenge for advertisers?

Creating new models for communications. Many of us are still in love with the “big idea”. We want marketing to be easy and we want to use advertising as the primary tool to drive both sales and brand. But online channels (and yes, there are more than one) require an integrated approach and a comprehensive, network oriented strategy that builds momentum. We need to break out of the silos.

5/What is the most relevant book/article/post ever written on new marketing?

I don’t actually read many business books these days … with blogging there is a real currency of ideas available, and being rather impatient, I prefer the immediacy of blogs. I also love the way that conversations build upon ideas. One of the best examples of this in action is David Armano’s series of posts on creativity and blogging influence — especially this one

6/ What makes your blog different?

Wow, that is hard question to answer! In many ways my blog is not about me … when I first started I hid behind the name of the blog. I also used to sign off each post with the letter “S” for “servant of chaos”. I also commented on other blogs as “Servant of Chaos”. Eventually I had to emerge from the shadows … when I began contributing to Marketing Profs I had to provide Ann Handley with a photograph of myself and a brief bio. Little by little I became less self conscious about “my” blog. Does this make it different? I don’t know …

Thanks Gavin!

(illustration: the Hyperbolic blogosphere, quiet a chaos)

The green match

There is a very interesting debate/discussion going on between David and Jeroen. There is a worldwide action on the msn platforms called live earth about the global warming. The climax of this action will happen on the 7th of July with a gigantic concert in 7 different cities all over the world. Belgium, like every ‘msn countries’ developed a number of pages for this occasion. Like on almost every msn page there is a showcase advertising space. David noticed an inappropriate ad (an anticontextual ad, I should say) and writes:

Is this really a green match….?
I fully follow MSN’s commitment to “green” (and the Live Earth initiative) but like the environmental crisis needs all of us to change small behaviors, I think that small contradictions like this should also be under the eco-friendly ads radar

Jeroen, manager of msn.be, reacted in the comments of David’s blog (I just present some samples of his reaction but you should read the full story)

We are not experts on the businesses of our advertisers, so it would be really hard for us to judge which companies and products should be banned or penalised. For example, did you know that the paper industry is one of the most polluting industries in the world? I happen to know this because I have been in print publishing, but lots of people wouldn’t have guessed. (…) The point is, we cannot be the judge of who is ‘fit’ to be on a green special or even MSN, because we’re not experts. (….) Apart from that I feel that the negative approach doesn’t work. NOT having an ad by someone on a page will never raise any awareness

Besides, Jeroen posted (in dutch) about this debate on his own blog and on the website molblog and asks several questions:

Can you show your citizenship by refusing some advertisers? Would it be efficient? How can you determine which advertiser is acceptable and which isn’t? Will the people notice your engagement by NOT seing the advertiser on your website? How would the advertiser react if he’s not allow to spend money on your network?

It’s a very interesting debate and I don’t have a definitive answer the the questions above. I don’t think this debate would happen around TV despite the fact that ad placement on TV can sometimes be quiet anticontextual…. and quiet non-ethical.

About advertising and ethics, also read: (Ethic)ette by Gavin Heaton.

What do you expect from a great lover?

I just stumbled upon this wonderful way to compare marketing, advertising, PR and branding. Still, it should be completed.

I add:

- Sales: If you become my lover, you receive a second lover for free (money back guarantee!). Call now!

- Conversational marketing:  What do you expect from a great lover?

- Viral marketing: Send this video showing the great lover I am to all your friends

Found via D-ring

The f*** you-attitude in advertising

After Jeep Compass, here’s a new communication action for a SUV that is really shocking me. This time it’s Belgian ad for Fiat Sedici. They issued a brochure taglined “Every day is 4×4″. On page 9, they seem to promote the airco (among other options) with the following message: “In a near future, the increase in our planet’s temperature will be about 1,4 to 5,8 degrees…”

This car has a CO2 emission of 174 g/km… Compared to other SUVs, it’s not that much but it’s still a lot (the Toyota Prius, a clean(er) car, has an emission of 104 g/km)

Using the global warming argument to sell SUVs… what is that supposed to mean? Is it meant to be provocative? Or would it mean that SUV drivers don’t give a damn about climate crisis? Unless they just didn’t realized what they were writing…

As written on Asia Market Research: “Based on the premise that brands can have personalities in much the same way as humans, Brand Personality describes brands in terms of human characteristics. Brand personality is seen as a valuable factor in increasing brand engagement and brand attachment, in much the same way as people relate and bind to other people. Much of the work in the area of brand personality is based on translated theories of human personality and using similar measures of personality attributes and factors.”

At first sight, Fiat Sedici isn’t a personality I want to know better.

Bring the love back: What’s next?

It’s maybe too soon to do the aftermath of the Bring the love back action but I thought that 10.000 views on dailymotion was a good opportunity to talk about this case.

I won’t make a recap of the full genesis of the project (everything is on bringtheloveback.com). Geert, who carried the project from start to end also initiated the viral aspect of the campaign. Geert received the video wednesday at 7.30 PM CET and posted it immediatly on dailymotion and the movie was embedded on the bringtheloveback blog.

The first thing we did after the posting of the video was to send a mail to a limited number of contacts (about 15) of the blogosphere. Not only class-A bloggers but only good bloggers (some of them, despite an excellent blog have an authority 1 on technorati). The rule wasn’t their power of influence but the fact we had a real relation with them (I already have had online discussion or a mail discussions with all bloggers in my list).

For that kind of action, I guess you need a little piece of luck. In my blog post, I wrote that I was hoping that David Armano (who wasn’t in our short mailing list) would like the video. David is obviously a king of monitoring and reacted immediatly in my comments, posted the video on L+E and twittered about it. This was the real start of the virality. Thanks to David, the video was taken over by major blogs like Jaffejuice, Beyond Madison Avenue, futurelab, marketingfacts, successcreeations, whatsnext, servant of chaos and many others. Other major bloggers like CK, Craphammer or Technomarketer helped us big time.

But is it really a success? For the figures, I have not enough benchmarks in B2B viral actions and, honestly, I don’t really care and I don’t believe it’s a metric of success.

I care about the many conversations that are happening on all the blogs, the friendly confrontations between the enthusiasts, the surprised ones, the sceptics and the Microsoft-haters.

I care about what will happen next: How will we (Microsoft international) build on this, change our image, fullfil the promises, continue the conversation, draw and share conclusions.

Bringthelove back is allmost a one-man project. Geert worked on this with vision, method, creativity, guts and belief and managed to transform our Microsoft Belgium positioning in a worldwide conversation on advertising and the place of Microsoft in the online advertising landscape. Thumbs up, my friend!