Question is: when will I be able to travel with less cables...?
Update: photos live from conference on my Flickr Album
]]>To make the bridge between both, I am digging in my native french language, and perhaps will I jump once into the Italian one ?
I keep a lot of great souvenirs and friends from the PR blogosphere, many good things happened, so I am hopping to bring the moovement with me on my new blog, www.guillaumedugardier.fr .
All the best to all of you !
Cheers.
Update: Since 2011 you can reach me on my LifeStream www.guillaumedugardier.com.
]]>Here are some of the insights I got from speakers and attendees, I'll quote the brands rather then mentioning the exact names of the people.
Session I : Speaking to your audience, at it's location (where it is located):
Cortal Consor said they are allocating 80% of their communication budget to the online world, within 2 main activities: display, search and affiliation.
Virgin Mobile explained the acquisition cost is less expensive online than offline. 90% of their investment online is dedicated to recrutement. They've made 2 campaign within Dailymotion and FaceBook at this stage. The idea was to give a participatory dimension to the brand, to go where the consumers are. One of the challenges : impossible to really estimate at this stage what the brand gets back.
Voyages-SNCF.com was very interesting: 25% of their revenu is generated online, which means 1.6 billion EUR, they've increased of 21% in 2007. Goal: doing 50% of their revenu online in the next 5 years. They want to reach the audience of young people, but this population request real content and "experience plus being in placed in a situation of meeting other people. Which life experience does SNCF bring to them ? The expectation is no more a speed one rather meeting people, life experience. Having wifi on the TGV-East led to new expectation from travelers who are demanding new services: this is leading to a new life experience. TGV brand is planning to launch a social network which will be called TGV Move, on the topic of mobility, meeting within sustainability values. Something else than traditional marketing has to be activated to ensure they can stay connected to the young audience which will be more and more key for them knowing that the french rail market will be open to competition in the next 5 years. To reach the young audience, SNCF has been staffing its team with young people who are talking the same language.
AOL: Internet has forced brands to accept dialogue with consumers and put their brands in the hands of consumers.
Session II: From media planning to cross-media
We got here the case of Mir (a wash brand belonging to Henkel) which was very interesting: they've been launching a buzz campaign via a website inviting people to vote at the time of the french presidential election for their favorite wash brand, creating candidates profiles and blgos for each of them. A special ad has been shooted for TV with a signature to get people back to the website, plus a set of very funny films featuring clothes describing the benefits of the wash brand behaving in a human way... Difficult to describe in text but very well done. Of course, all the communication sets in shops were also promoting the global campaign to reach the shopper. Mir's speaker described how difficult it was internally to get approval for this new kind of campaign but they succeed in getting the "go". They've also partnered with Yahoo! to sponsor a web tv shw and customize the home page to their campaign code.
Disneyland Paris Resort: the speaker was the VP Com Europe and he was really great. He shared his vision and understanding of the changes that had to be brought to Disneyland when he came and his story was definitely worth listening, He is starting with identfying precisely the brand DNA then he is following the process below:
1. Know your target, very well
2. Know what their media consumption is exactly
3. Know the steps of the buying process
From his words, coming to Disneyland Paris is all about living an experience, not about discovering a new attraction. It's about turning ordinary things into magic ones and to lead to dreams.
Regarding investments, 3 years ago, DPR was spending 1% of its advertising budget on Internet. Today it's 17%. The new websites has 25 millions unique visitors per year.
They've been producing a serie of shows with key stars for the the french TV around the idea of "tell us what your dreams are all about" in 2 minutes length interviews, of course the french TV have been more then keen to host these programs which were in fact presented as "sponsored by" rather then making pure ad placement as we are all doing in the vast majority. They've been creating a real content there.
The consumer has been placed back in the center of Disneyland. As a golden rule, he described the fact that we, as brand have the responsibility or our brand DNA, it's not the agencies which are working for us that have to do so. It's our mission.
He is by the way a strong believer in the fact that the agencies fee model has to be rethink from scratch and replaced by an incentive based one. Why should media agencies get 10% fee on their buying whatever successful the campaign they are orchestrating are ? The actual model is suffering from an internal competition within agencies services, each one fighting against the other to get the biggest part of the budget.
Internet is the only medium to be at the same time "medium and transactional".
L'Oréal Paris has been launching a website fully dedicated to people using iPhones to browse through it.
That's it for the first part, enough for today, back soon for the second part.
..........................
Globally, everyone was agreeing to admit that web 2.0 campaigns were experimentations at this stage and that no one was able to show any transformation ratio to the buying act. You can not measure precisely how many people bought your product because of a campaign hosted on the web (except of course of you're a pure web player). Those who have been experimenting Second Life campaigns have all been disappointed, what I can easily understand. I don't believe in SL neither, knowing that the reach is so low and the technical barriers so numerous.
Disclosure: that's not at any point a personal reflexion, it's just a summary of key points I've collected today, more in disorder than in any order... It's about keeping track of these discussions and talks before moving along to thinking.
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A great scene orchestred by Improv Everywhere in New York.
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The page with the videos shooted by the DLD team is here, the pictures of the conference on Flickr are available here.
As usual with this kind of conference, it's a very good networking place, one out of these annual opportunities to meet online and offline friends between to sessions (already met Andrew P, Andrew C, Rodrigo, Loic, José, Nicole, Gabe, Heiko...). There is a free open wifi which is working with some interruptions, so you'd better blog quick...
I've spent some time scanning the speakers bios and the list of the company they are going to represent during these days, some of them are below, with very interesting models and projects:
I've had to setup a new Flickr account to host the pictures I'll take during these 3 days as Yahoo!/Flickr have not been able to help me recover my old account except via an automatic answer and recovery system which is of course never working when you've lost both password and ID... So my new one is here.
Very short and non prepared discussion with José on social media in Spain below, not to be taken too seriously, the main idea was to get some details about his next project but he didn't say any word, damn...
(sorry for the background noise...)
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Question is: when will I be able to travel with less cables...?
Update: photos live from conference on my Flickr Album
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If this really happens, and we'll see that in the next weeks, this will bring a big change in the TV advertising space and in the way brands communicate. From a PR perspective, this is a good news as this will certainly lead to a focus on content driven communication rather than on a messaging driven one. But without preaching for one or another church, in the life of every brand, there is time for both advertising and for PR depending of the moment in the life time cycle, so I am not going to focus on this side of the question.
Rather, I'd like to make the point on the change this wil bring to advertising and the new challenge for brands. I am not addressing neither the issue of "how will broadcast be able to produce valuable content now, who is going to pay for the production etc...".
First point and the easiest of course, there will be less space for message, so the space is going to be more difficult to get, more expensive, the fight is going to be hard to get the slot you want. This will give more power to TF1 and M6, the 2 biggest channel/broadcast in the French private sector, that's evidence. Without consideration for the cost of the time on air, the selection of the appropriate message to be distributed via the appropriate channel will be also increased as there will be less space to say as much things as before.
The good news is for alternative channels/broadcast (the digital TV channels ...) and for the digital world, say the Web. This will certainly kick off the interest for alternative media and probably also accelerate the evolution of brands to become their own media. If you don't have enough space to reach your audience via the old mass media, let's focus on the long tail and address people depending of the place they are used to go to get their news. Podcast, web TV, social networks, gaming, customized desktop, widgets, RSS readers, the social media world is wide open for brands to start experiencing new communications, more often based on content then basic messaging I have to say, but there is a huge potential.
This means also entering a world led by active consumers rather than one led by passive consumers. I also see there a big potential for an acceleration of "contentainement" based campaign. Although I can easily understand that not everyone is going to be happy by this change in the advertising landscape, once again, a lot of habits and old rules are going to be broken, it remains a very interesting change, as sooon as it really comes to reality, and that is what we'll see probably soon.
So some more deep thoughts on the topic certainly soon here.
Some of the main ones I am used to from traditional media on the topic "digital, web etc..." are below (in French):
BFM: Atelier numérique
BFM: Interviews de Good Morning Business, I am selecting each time the shows depending of the guest speaker
LCI: Le journal du Web (videopodcast)
Europe 1: Nouvelles Technologies
RTL: Le Mag Numérique
Wishing you a Happy New Year !
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Some additional quotes:
For the first time ever, 16-24 year olds are now accessing the internet more frequently than they are watching TV – 82% of this younger demographic use the internet between 5 and 7 days each week while only 77% watch TV as regularly (a decrease of 5% since last year). 16-24 year olds also spend 10% more time surfing the internet than sat in front of the television and almost half (48%) claim their TV consumption has dropped off as a direct result of the internet.
Internet Taking On TV
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Moleskine is the legendary notebook used by European artists and thinkers for the two past centuries, from Van Gogh to Picasso, from Ernest Hemingway to Bruce Chatwin. I knew nothing about it before receiving this business present today from an "Italian man".
It took me 3 minutes to start getting fascinated by these several notebooks I had in hands for the first time. Yes, I know, I am leaving in a digital world for several years now, and I am writing here about a 2 centuries old paper notebook. But what a notebook... One full of history, one that you can immediately feel as he will never leave you anymore but will capture all your thoughts and ideas. A connection has been naturally build between us. It is something very special.
To link it back to this blog, there is a great PR story to tell (quote from moleskine.com):
Originally produced by small French bookbinders who
supplied the Parisian stationery shops frequented by the
international avant-garde, by the end of the twentieth
century the Moleskine notebook was no longer available.
In 1986, the last manufacturer of Moleskine, a family
operation in Tours, closed its shutters forever.
“Le vrai Moleskine n’est plus” were the lapidary words
of the owner of the stationery shop in Rue de l’Ancienne
Comédie where Chatwin stocked up on the notebooks.
The English writer had ordered a hundred of them before
leaving for Australia: he bought up all the Moleskine
that he could find, but they were not enough.
In 1998, a small Milanese publisher brought Moleskine
back again. As the self-effacing keeper of an extraordinary
tradition, Moleskine once again began to travel the globe.
To capture reality on the move, pin down details, impress
upon paper unique aspects of experience: Moleskine
is a reservoir of ideas and feelings, a battery that stores
discoveries and perceptions, and whose energy can be
tapped over time.
...
When you read this, you only want one thing: go to the shop and get one for you. Well at least, this is what I feel I would have done if I would not have had some already in front of me...
But the story goes one step further: this Milanese publisher has had another great idea: Moleskinecity.com: a portal of cityblogs, written by fans of famous cities around the world, sharing their views, addresses, stories and news about these cities they like. Milan, Rome, Paris, Berlin and many others are on air now which leads to this amazing situation: you can have both the paper travel notebook and the blog on your favorite city. The digital and the paper world are connected. You can read stories of the various blogs authors and at the same time, write your own via your notebook, or even participate on the blog to add your views to the discussion happening online. Crazy.
I have to say that I would have loved to be the one behind this concept of integrating in such a perfect harmony the digital and the offline world, this is a fascinating exemple of linking both worlds. And there is still another step further: Moleskine Stories...! Limited print runs and customized editions of Moleskine products produced in collaboration with companies, institutions, and various cultural, entrepreneurial, and social initiatives. Crazy...
I don't think the one who gave me this present knew about the online components of this brand, but I'll double check to ensure I am right. The amazing part of this story is that it is starting from a paper notebook, it's now published on my "online diary", it's a great PR story, and it's going to bring me back to some paper, something that probably no one could have suspected it would happen to me so early... If you add to this the fact that I've been hired here for my"online knowledge", then you have another amazing story for this "business" present...;o)
Thank you for this astonishing present.
]]>Definitely worth reading. Nothing to add as it's so cristal clear.
Some of the findings are:
The top three criteria for evaluating influence do reflect the importance of online engagement:
While measuring the effects of social media initiatives, the metrics participants of the survey value most are:
Close to the bottom of the list was traditional media coverage.
Detailed results of the survey should be published early 2008 via the SNCR
]]>There are tons of things to learn, I've been visiting a factory for the first time in my life, I saw the production process of the famous Nutella, learned a lot about the industrial challenges to produce it, the quality control metrics, etc, it's really impressive. Today has been the internal launch of a new product which will be available on the market begining of 2008, we've tasted it, we've learned the story behind it etc...
For a former PR, it's amazing to dive in the "back office" of the product and to learn all about how a product comes from creation to distribution.
Exciting time...]]>So of course, my first idea was to look for an Italian learning podcast, and as you can imagine, there is one indeed (at least): LearnItalianPod. It's an amazing method based on a mix of podcasting, blogging and Web 2.0 features to bring language learning to an astonishing smart moment.
I have subscribed to the podcast that I am going to listen and practice every day in my car while on my way to the office, and I'll probably pay the monthly retainer (about 9$) to get access to the full service that you can review here.
The amazing thing is that this podcast is produce by an Italian native, but from English. So as French native, I am going to "learn Italian in English" ...
Love the idea...;o)
Anyway, this day was a very exciting one, once again I am going to bring some "confusion" to the IT guys as I am going to be the first out of few hundred employees working on a Mac !! ;o) I saw my MacBook Pro at the IT desk, Bootcamp instal in progress, one short moment of emotion for a geek...Hoping it wil work well...
I am off Friday to take care of my kids, then Monday will be the official starting day for the new job, I am really thrilled to begin !
I am going to have to quickly make some decision regarding what I am going to be sharing here regarding my new activity, how will this affect my blogging ...? There is a huge temptation to share all the developments and the first project I am going to handle, but this will certainly not be possible for confidentiality reasons. Perhaps an official blog will popup soon ? Probably the best way, but means a real involvement and time. No idea at this stage...
So more to come on this soon.
]]>I am leaving after 2 great years. 2 years full of rich experience, terrific meetings and sometimes relatively exhausting work I have to say. What will definitely remain in my mind are the people I've met there.
I've had the chance to be directly working with Richard few times, either to answer some of his requests or to pitch for a business with him (yes, this was my first pitch at Edelman). I will always remember his briefings : 3 lines of 4 words, that's all what you'll get and consider yourself lucky...;o) But the man is terrific. I've been proud to work for him and to hold his name on my business card every day, to speak under Edelman's flag across Europe at many conferences I've been invited to as speaker. I can tell that now that I am leaving as no one can suspect me to do some fake compliments as I don't have any thing to win or to loose by saying that. This is just what I feel. I remember the time when Richard opened his own blog in 2004, I've left a comment on his first blog post and a "relationship" began. We get connected, linked. Edelman published it's first study on the blogosphere with Intelliseek at that time, I've made a comment also on Richard's blog to suggest one point to consider regarding the situation in Europe, and he answered my point by email. I was owner of my own little PR boutique in Paris and the CEO of Edelman was speaking with me via... The strength of the blogosphere was astonishing at that time... And this will stay in my mind for long time.
Now, my boss: David Brain. Thank you ! For the trust you gave me when I arrived and during these 2 years. You were everything but convinced by blogging. You gave me a chance to show you that there was indeed something to do with it. One day you told me about your wish to open your videoblog, you've asked my point of view on how to do it, you made your decision and you've brought it to such an amazing and successful one, you rock ! Each time I've had the opportunity to spend some time with you I was boosted for months. You showed me that a President and CEO Europe is someone trustworthy that one can believe in, while at the same time someone able to send you a SMS for a non-business related topic while on it's holidays (well, yes, I remember the last time, you were in France and it was running since days, but...). I will miss these moments, definitely...
But there are soooo many great people within the network, I'd like to mention some others (in no specific order): Cornelia, Mitch M., Fiorella, Blanca, Robert P., Pontus (my god why did we met so late...), Rick M., Phil (my first regular contact with the US when I joined, we use to do weekly skype conf call at that time...), Steve (I hope you're not still drinking these horrible big cold mug of iced coffee....) Wolfgang, Octavio, Becky (good luck for your return in the UK), Clina (thanks mate for all what you gave me), Alpana, and my famous friend Fabrice, ranked 3rd French blogger on sport, and still so many other I've had the chance to meet and to work with (sorry for those I've been forgetting, feel free to complain via the comments...;o)).
In one week, I'll be in my new position, Head of New Media at Ferrero. And this is going to be tremendous for me. A huge challenge, a real request for change in communication coming from the head of the company, all that with a bunch of very smart people. Great mix. I am thrilled to start.
I will miss many edelmaners I can tell you, but I know also that I'll keep connected with you guys. I won't forget these 2 years of my business life.
Thank you all !
]]>Pointblog was the property of a french PR boutique's CEO, many ongoing and pending "problems" led to this situation which has as only issue the closing of the blog.
The good news is that Gilles Klein has enough motivation to move on and to keep providing us with his high quality blogging and this is what has to remain.
So if you're able to read french and if you want to get the latest news of the french blogosphere & social networks, get the feed to your reader.
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If you want to watch the full serie, it's available here.
Update: I just build a site dedicated to my favorite show of the serie, I will add the next one to come there too. It's one of the good point of webjam, you can launch a new site in just 10 minutes as soon as you get an idea...;o)