d.tail Noisemakers blog

How Ben & Jerry’s Uses Social Media to Launch a New Flavor

2011-05-15T19:13:00.000-07:00

Keith Toh put it really well when he described a recent social media push from Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream...

Imagine Ben & Jerry’s famed cow mascot Woody, storming into your office moo-ing and dancing with you while dishing out scoops of their new ice-cream flavor, Clusterfluff (yes, I know the name is quite interesting). The next thing you know, the entire office is Clusterfluffed.

As part of Clusterfluff’s launch in Singapore, the folks from RIOT brought the Cowmobile to Singapore for the first time ever. The Cowmobile will then go to specific locations based on “mooo” requests from fans on Facebook.

Over a period of 5 days (4 – 8 April), all fans needed to do was to Like Ben & Jerry’s Facebook page and “mooo” their request via a specially created application for the Cowmobile to request for a stopover at their office, school or home.

More “moos”, more chance.

In just 5 days, 784 requests were made and the amount of Facebook Likes increased by more than 28% (1,412). Twitter followers increased by over 15% (155) with 186 mentions and re-tweets. The Cowmobile went to 31 different locations and gave out a total of 5,960 free scoops of Clusterfluff.

Riding on that momentum, Ben & Jerry’s 12 of April Free Cone Day resulted in an additional 592 Likes on Facebook and 270 mentions and re-tweets on Twitter. The massive amount of re-tweets propelled the Free Cone Day message to appear as a Top Tweet on Twitter’s homepage.

The Free Cone Day came with a good cause as members of the public were encouraged to donate their dime for the Dyslexia Association of Singapore (DAS). A total of over $14,000 was collected that day.

Based on RIOT’s statistics, for the campaign month of April vs March, Ben & Jerry experienced an

Increase of 912% in new Facebook likes

Over 446,000 impressions (+552%)

+1490% in post feedback

+486 Twitter followers

3 Top Tips for Twitter

2011-05-12T18:38:00.000-07:00

Are you using Twitter well? Here are a few simple rules that one should follow in order to have more success on Twitter.

Be present.

Make sure you are present with your Twitter presence.
There's nothing worse than seeing half a message in a Tweet that's been automatically generated via a Facebook status update. Twitter and Facebook have different languages, allow different length messages, have different tagging options, one has hashtags and the other doesn't. Linking your Twitter account with your Facebook Page can look lazy. Be present in the platform when you're using it, that way you can better use the features for each. At most, you might like to add an automated direct message that goes to new followers, but that should be the end of the automation.

Be consistent.

Spread your tweets over the week instead of posting all on one day.
If you only have a certain amount of time you can dedicate to checking Twitter, spread it out over the week instead of using the equivalent time in one day - for instance, do half an hour each day instead of three hours one day of the week. It will make you look more active, allow you to reply to people in a timely fashion, and give you more opportunity to engage users at different times of the week. You should be able to fit all of this into half-hour sessions over the course of a week.

Be accountable.

Twitter is a public space.
Anything you say is this space reflects on you, your brand, your grandma and your dog. And this can be held against you. Be careful what you say before you press "Tweet".

Pepsi's new Social Vending Machine

2011-05-04T18:36:00.000-07:00

First they brought us the Pepsi Refresh Project, where the public could receive a share of $20 million to promote a new idea that would have a positive impact on the community, state or nation. These were funds that would usually have been spent on advertising during one Superbowl. That's a big statement from a big company to become more socially responsible.

Now the beverage giant has brought us another new social frontier, social vending - a real vending machine that is social media-enabled.

PepsiCo's Social Vending Machine, announced last week, lets users send free soft drink to their friends.

“Our vision is to use innovative technology to empower consumers and create new ways for them to engage with our brands, their social networks and each other at the point of purchase,” said Mikel Durham, Chief Innovation Officer at PepsiCo Foodservice. “Social Vending extends our consumers’ social networks beyond the confines of their own devices and transforms a static, transaction-oriented experience into something fun and exciting they’ll want to return to, again and again.”

This could potentially see the remodeling of vending machines globally.

This video (although a little lengthy) shows just how it would work.

Would you use a social vending machine?

EB

d.tail becomes part of recreating history

2011-04-19T18:30:00.000-07:00

Today we celebrate the recreation of one of the greatest feats in aviation history.

Jeremy Rowsell and Jim Hazelton have landed in Sydney's Bankstown airport today in their single-engine Beechcraft 36 aircraft, having flown tens of thousands of kilometres across the mighty Pacific Ocean in the footsteps (exhaust fumes!) of the legendary Charles Kingsford Smith. "Smithy" became famous in 1928 as the first man to fly from America to Australia in a three-engined monoplane called the Southern Cross. Some of you may recognise his name, now synonymous with the Sydney International Airport.

The journey, coined 'Flying 4 The Doctors', came about after Jeremy, needing to get his aircraft from California back to Australia, decided that he should raise funds for the Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia, a cause he holds close to his heart.

“I’ve flown across the Pacific for the RFDS because I know that if I were in trouble they would fly anywhere in Australia to help me.”

Flying 4 The Doctors Beechcraft 36 aircraft

We at d.tail have been incredibly fortunate to be part of the support team for the 'Flying 4 The Doctors' team, helping to communicate the journey through social media. It is very exciting to get the first video footage from a small plane in the middle of the Pacific!

The Flying Doctor recognises the importance of social media within their communications strategy.

"The RFDS began operating in the same year as Smithy undertook that historic flight, 1928, and the Flying Doctor has always been at the cutting edge of both aviation and communications technology." explains Communications Manager Ruth Redfern.

"In fact, it was the RFDS who were responsible for opening up the lines of communication across the outback using the pedal radio! Today, we're just as passionate about technology - the Flying 4 the Doctors fundraiser is helping us raise funds for data flight recorders for our aircraft, while the social media strategy is helping us keep our supporters up to date with the adventure as it happens. D.tail Noisemakers are the leaders in this field, and we have been delighted to be working with them on this campaign."

Jeremy Rowsell (L) and Jim Hazelton address the media upon arriving in Sydney today

Jeremy plans to take the adventure global, with an attempt to fly the rest of the way around the world soon. Stay tuned.

Please support the RFDS by donating now.

For more information: Royal Flying Doctor Service / Flying 4 The Doctors

Happy Birthday Twitter!

2011-03-21T18:28:00.000-07:00

At the ripe old age of just 5, Twitter has had a remarkable impact on not only the social media landscape, but the way we communicate, share information and structure our sentences as we attempt to express ourselves in 140 characters or less.

Here are some facts about the evolution of Twitter…

Created in March 2006.

Launched in July 2006.

It took 3 years, 2 months and 1 day for Twitter to hit 1 billion tweets, the number now posted in the course of a week.

In just the first half of 2009, 72.5% of all Twitter user accounts were created.

Today, there are 200 million registered user accounts, approx. 10 per cent of Internet users

85.3% of users post less than 1 update a day. 21% of accounts have no updates or profile information on them. In other words, they’re completely blank.

Twitter profiles with less than 100 follows are 93.6% of all users.

Only 5% of accounts have created 75% of all Twitter tweets.

Order of most Twitter accounts in cities - 1. New York 2. Los Angeles 3. Toronto 4. San Francisco 5. Boston

Female users just top male users at 53%.

15% of Twitter accounts are made for marketing and usually follow 2000 or more profiles, when .29% of users follow 2000 or more profiles.

The company’s valuation is approximately $3.7 billion as of February 2011.

So what’s in store for Twitter over the next five years – will it still be around at the age of 10, will Jack Dorsey still own it and will you still be tweeting?

JM

Upgrades to Facebook

2011-03-09T15:45:00.000-08:00

There are some very important changes that have been trialled by Pages on Facebook over the past month and will take full effect today.

The following slideshow by Christopher Stemborowski (Communications and Social Media Strategist at Oxford Communications) provides a great overview of the changes taking place.

Oxford Communications Facebook Upgrades

View more presentations from ChristopherStemborowski.

You may have also noticed more and more "Like" buttons on the web and less and less "Share" buttons for Facebook. That's because it's taking over! The "Like" button is basically taking up the functionality of the Share button, by posting a headline, blurb and thumbnail picture of the article on your Facebook user profile, as the Share button does.

Two other changes that are significant for for Facebook Page owners are the changes to the Tabs and FMBL, the most customisable areas of Facebook Pages.

Firstly, the Tabs will now move to a navigation bar on the left side of the Page, underneath the Page's picture, instead of across the top. Instead of being limited by width to six Tabs, the side navigation bar will now allow for longer Tab names. Icons will also appear next to each Tab identifying what type of application is supporting the Tab, perhaps creating undesirable results for those using Static FBML-based Tabs.

Secondly, Facebook will be moving away from Facebook Markup Language (FBML, a version of HTML) to iframes for Page custimisation. Facebook Page owners will no longer be able to create custom Tabs using a popular application called Static FBML. Page owners must now learn how to create Tabs using iframes. For more info on the changes with FBML, read here.

EB

What do you think of the recent Facebook changes? How is it going to affect you and your business?

Social Media Tactics for Non-Profits

2010-11-25T19:03:00.000-08:00

If you're a non-profit organisation, we hope you have got your social media cap on. Just like companies, brands, musicians and small businesses, non-profit organisations should too be executing tactics and strategies to expand their brand awareness across many platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Foursquare and more.

Some non-profits who are doing great things on social media are The Royal Flying Doctor Service, One, American Red Cross, and the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation.

Here are some great social media tactics for Non-Profits, courtesy of Blackbaud.

50 Social Media Tactics for Nonprofits

View more presentations from Chad Norman.

50 (More) Social Media Tactics for NonprofitsView more presentations from Chad Norman.

This Non-profits on Facebook Page is a resource for non-profits and other organizations for social good, built it to help you harness the power of Facebook and bring positive change to the world.

What's happening to my skinny Facebook Page?

2010-08-15T20:36:00.000-07:00

Are you a bit confused about the custom tabs on your Page being skinny all of a sudden? Get ready for what Facebook calls "Your Streamlined" Page.

From August 23, Facebook will be "simplifying your Page to make it easier to browse." All custom tabs will change from the current 760 pixel width to 520 pixels to fit in the centre console of your Page, in the same way that the Wall and Info sections currently do. Boxes will also be disappearing on Pages and profiles, as well as the Boxes tab.

You will currently see these changes on Pages that you are an admin of. Your fans do not, just yet. We advise you modify the layouts of your custom tabs if needed so that your Page looks fabulous for when the rest of Facebook changes over on August 23.

"The updates are designed to simplify navigation for users, reduce complexity for developers, and enable us to build the next generation of tools for growing your business with Facebook." ~ Fran, a Facebook platform product marketing manager.

Sounds good to us! Although we're sad to see the box customization go from our left sidebar, we're sure Facebook has the best of intentions with it's new Page width.

EB

dtailnoisemakers.com.au

Michael Paynter’s YouTube views leads to radio success

2010-07-30T02:08:00.000-07:00

It’s been a while between blogs. It’s well into winter and the open fire in our South Melbourne studio doesn’t work nearly as well as we’d like!

The past few months have been busy, namely for our very first client Michael Paynter, whom we’ve been working with from before d.tail’s inception 11 months ago.

Michael has kicked some crucial goals in the past few months with the rapid uptake of his latest single ‘Love The Fall’, being the most added song to Australian radio in July above all domestic and international releases. It remains at the top of the Australian radio airplay charts and is currently climbing the ARIA charts.

The Love the Fall music video was shot in a mystical Northern Californian forest and features Michael’s mates, the lovely Origliasso sisters (The Veronicas) who also did the backing vocals on the track. The video had 12,000 views in the first 24 hours of its release to YouTube, and is now steadily climbing beyond 100,000 views.

Anticipation surrounding the video release can be attributed to Michael continually engaging with his fans on social media along with the whispers of two famous sisters featuring in the video. There was much buzz in the first days of the video being available and the coinciding single release. The video entered YouTube’s Top 100 in 15 countries, becoming the 46th most viewed music video worldwide. This led to Fox FM (Melbourne’s 2Day Network), arguably the hardest network to penetrate, adding Love The Fall across the board two days before the official radio service date.

An overwhelming response from radio stations nationwide followed, leading to Love The Fall being the most added song to Australian radio in July and the fastest moving track at radio shortly after.

Undoubtedly the reach of the video has been helped a little by the interest in The Veronicas, but much credit should go to Michael and his team for the way he’s created an online television channel that is full of live recordings, video blogs, behind the scenes footage, outtakes, tour performances and more. Loyal fans have been following and subscribing to Michael’s social media for years, being fed loads of great content, banter, and insight into the making of the artist. This base has put him in great stead for the increased traffic that has flocked online to find out more about Michael and his music as he’s exposed to a larger audience across Australia and globally.

“Through a period of my career when I was away resetting my plan of attack, playing shows and touring, social media was the only way for fans to keep updated with me. And thanks to d.tail, who have kept my social media outlets synchronized, efficient and effective, I had played sold out shows, ran great competitions and sustained high levels of ever-increasing traffic online. When it finally did come time to go to radio with the new single, I had thousands of people who were right there with me, ready to call, vote, post and spread the word. Without d.tail and their incredible efficiency and forward thinking, I would not be in the position I am today.” ~ Michael Paynter

As YouTube becomes more conducive to music discovery and recommendation, it’s increasingly important as a musical artist or band to have an engaging YouTube channel full of new and archived content.

Michael is a big fan of social media and believes in it’s ability to deeply connect with fans and stay connected with them.

“Social media allows fans not only to keep track of what is happening in your world while you're away from the screen and the airwaves, but it also allows them insights into who you are. People are no longer just satisfied with a song, a bio and some pretty pictures - They want to know how you think and what you feel.” ~ Michael Paynter

Love The Fall is the lead track from Michael’s much anticipated Love The Fall EP, out now on iTunes and in stores.

EB

dtailnoisemakers.com.au

Jessica Watson Returns Home

2010-05-16T17:18:00.000-07:00

It’s been a 9 busy months since we began d.tail. We’ve been extraordinarily fortunate and privileged to have Jessica Watson as one of our first clients.

Her amazing achievement has been and will continue to be well documented around the world. Interesting that TV coverage on One TV focused heavily on Jessica’s Blogs, unfortunately the amount of supporters around Sydney Harbour made it difficult to get out Tweets.

Congratulations go to Jess and her management team, this has been a great ride and we look forward to watching word of her achievement spread via her social network.

So…what is a Facebook Fan Page called nowadays? A “Like” Page?

2010-05-13T17:08:00.000-07:00

Reading a recent blog post by Christopher from Ariel Publicity... I couldn't have put it better myself!

***

The ever-elusive Facebook Fan Page.

Regardless of what you think about yours, you can’t deny its power: the ‘Suggest to Friends’ link provides an unbelievable opportunity to spread your brand (especially if you persuade your contacts to do the same), the wall allows for a rich content experience unmatched by the likes of MySpace or Twitter, the lack of “friend cap” (see: Facebook personal profiles), etc.

Recently, as if musicians needed more technological changes to deal with, the marriage between Facebook Brand Pages and Fans has extinguished. Users now only have the opportunity to “Like” a page. Please don’t confuse this with the Facebook’s traditional “like” function for pictures, comments, etc. I would have “liked” to see Facebook think about what they were doing semantically before giving two separate experiences on their website the same name, but nevertheless.

Many people are complaining about the new Facebook Page changes, mainly because they don’t understand them. Musicians, I believe that it is better for people to “Like” your page rather than “Become a Fan.”

To be a ‘fan’ of something is a big commitment; to just ‘like’ something is much more casual. In the real world, I personally like a multitude of things, but rarely consider myself a fanatic of a particular sports team or band. Over time, people will be much more likely to engage in this “Like” behavior, strictly based on language alone.

Many artists have been complaining recently about the number of contacts on their pages dwindling. I’ve been getting emails from artists asking me, “Is there some type of Facebook virus? All of the fans on my page are disappearing.”

Here is what is going on:

1) It is important to remember that this initial decline in fans/likes will stop (it probably has already).

2) If you go onto one of your fan’s personal profiles, your name now appears under their “Favorite Music” section, as opposed to a “Pages” section that is buried on the bottom of their profile. Your name will now appear alongside the biggest names in your genre (assuming that your fans “Like” their pages as well). Never before has a band’s music page on Facebook had so much visibility and viral potential.

3) The people who “Unliked” your page because of its new found visibility are not your real fans anyway, so good riddance. You now have a better barometer of who your true fans are.

People have also complained to me lately that they can no longer send updates to their fan base. I am actually glad that Facebook decided to pull this feature, because bands were beginning to abuse it in a spammy MySpace fashion. I hope this change continues to show musicians that they cannot rely on impersonal blasts to engage their fans. One on one interactions are the key to building a cult following, one personalized keystroke at a time.

Zuckerburg and his cronies are always trying to improve their service, so whenever they tweak something, it is probably beneficial for you, whether you initially perceive it or not.

Whenever your social networking world is altered, attempt to take a few minutes to figure out why. Then, read my next blog post for clarification.

Christopher Gesualdi is currently the Marketing Director @ Ariel Publicity (http://twitter.com/cyberprmktg)

http://www.dtailnoisemakers.com.au

How’s your songwriting going?

2010-04-22T21:00:00.000-07:00

- with thanks to Seth Godin http://sethgodin.typepad.com/

There's not a lot of room for slightly-out-of-the-ordinary.

The only real help is self-help. Anything else is just designed to get you to the point where you can help yourself.
Irrational passion is the key change agent of our economy. Faith and beauty and a desire to change things can't be easily quantified, and we can't live without them.

If you spend your days avoiding failure by doing not much worth criticizing, you'll never have a shot at success. Avoiding the thing that's easy to survive keeps you from encountering the very thing you're after. And yet we market and work and connect and create as if just one failure might be the end of us.

If your happiness depends on your draft pick or a single audition, that's giving way too much power to someone else.
If it's popular with everyone right away, it might not be art, it might just be good marketing. But if it earns attention and respect over time, if it wins over the skeptical, then you've really created something.

When you can't figure out the best way to treat all your customers, the best way to price things, the best thing to offer, realize that the problem is almost always this: you're trying to treat everyone the same. Don't. Break them into groups with similar attributes, and suddenly the path becomes a lot more clear.

The only vibrant tribes in our communities are the ones closer the edges, or those trying to make change. The center is large, but it's not connected. If you're trying to build a tribe, a community or a movement, and you want it to be safe and beyond reproach at the same time, you will fail.

And finally the launch of the iPad and Apples approach to marketing.
http://bit.ly/aU9x7b

The Law goes social…

2010-04-13T21:52:00.000-07:00

We’ve been impressed by the way Darren Sanicki Lawyers are utilising social media to get their name out into the Australian music business.

Already a successful practice with a number of established as well as new emerging talent the company referring to itself as ‘a boutique law firm dedicated to the world of music, commerce and the arts’ utilize a great series of blogs to keep their clients informed with articles ranging from dividing song credits to changes in relevant Government legislation.

d.tail believes that any opportunity you have to inform and embellish the knowledge stream in your area of expertise with relevant and useful information is a great chance to ingratiate yourself in the community you are peddling your wares to.
DS do it using a great looking Myspace – an opportunity to keep a profile in the social medium where many of their clients have a presence but also to be seen providing information in an area that completely befuddles the average musician.

We think it’s a great approach, hope they and others can expand the service to maybe include a brief Q & A on Twitter for example.
PG

iPad for the youngest of generations

2010-04-07T23:08:00.000-07:00

The iPad was released to the masses in the US over the weekend, we saw on the news crowds scurrying to get their hands on the first ones from the Apple store in NYC.

Late April can't come quick enough for some eager Aussies who also want to get their hands on this latest Apple gadget.

At d.tail we've talked in some of our presentations about the younger generation growing up with new technologies such as the iPhone and the iPad and the explosion of the apps market. I came across a video that shows just how easily this generation will pick up this technology. You'll see a 2-year-old's first encounter with an iPad.

There are sure to be more apps created targeting the youngest of the new generation if this video is anything to go by!

EB

'Social media 40% of Jetstar's marketing budget'

2010-03-28T19:06:00.000-07:00

Jetstar has announced it will direct 40% of its marketing budget to social media.
“We’ve conducted some very successful marketing and PR campaigns via social media in the past 18 months, including YouTube and Twitter, and the response has been phenomenal,” said David May, Jetstar’s head of marketing.
May explained the increased costs of traditional media when compared with audience reach were key to the decision.
“Social media offers more value for money and is a smarter way to reach our customers – which is what Jetstar is all about.”
Jetstar uses social media for new route launches, special offers and announcements, responding to customer queries and posting sale and news updates.
In May last year, Jetstar conducted a sale exclusively on Twitter as part of its 5th Birthday celebrations. The campaign offered 1,000 seats for two cents – selling them all in a matter of hours. Jetstar has more than 6,000 followers on Twitter in Australia.
“In line with the increasing need to talk to smaller, interconnected communities; communities that when aggregated deliver large numbers of engaged and involved brand advocates, we are likely to shift a large percentage of Jetstar’s above the line media spend into digital areas, with an increased focus on social media,” said Richard Smith, managing director of Jetstar’s media buying agency Maxus.
Thanks to the Newspup at www.marketingmag.com.au

How Social media is changing advertising.

2010-03-16T16:44:00.001-07:00

Companies, marketers and advertising agencies are facing a dramatic shift in marketing reality - and are increasingly failing to connect with consumers. The big challenge in times of exchangeable products, the rise of social media and mature and rather brand skeptic consumers: To find new ways how to get people engaged again in products, advertising and in brands.http://bit.ly/cI2PMB

SXSW 2010 Takes the Lead in Social Media

2010-03-16T01:10:00.000-07:00

So South By Southwest (SXSW) kicked off last Friday in Austin, Texas. For those who aren’t aware, SXSW is a conference and festival showcasing original music, independent films, and emerging technologies and is one of the largest in the world.

“Year after year, the event is a launching pad for new creative content. New media presentations, music showcases and film screenings provide buzz-generating exposure for creators and compelling entertainment for audiences. Conference panel discussions present a forum for learning, business activity thrives at the Trade Shows and global networking opportunities abound.” – sxsw.com

There are more than 350 bands and music biz delegates from Australia and NZ networking and showcasing what they have to offer, only behind Britain and Canada as the most represented region out of the 54 countries represented at SXSW. This is great for our local music scene!

The most exciting thing for us at d.tail to see is the social media plan SXSW has implemented this year.

The SXSW website has a multitude of information including a guide for first timers, a full schedule of events, and all the latest news. SXSW has gone above and beyond for the SXSW attendee this year.

The official social network of the festival is my.SXSW, which you were automatically invited to join upon registering. This closed network, only available for SXSW attendees enables users to connect with others at the festival, customize their own schedule and join exclusive groups within the festival. This network also has it’s own iPhone app. Within this network, SXSW are using QR Codes (Quick Response Codes), a special kind of bar code that can be read by mobile phones, creating a real-life “follow me” button.

“When you meet someone at an event, let them scan your badge with their smart phone, and they will automatically be following you on my.SXSW, where they can message you or access your contact information. Hopefully, this will cut down on the paper footprint of SXSW by reducing the need for business cards.” – sxsw.com

Another app they’ve created is the SXSW® Play - Music, Film, Interactive, a new media discovery app chock full of rich media from musicians, films and interactive panels featuring at the festival.

There’s also an event calendar on sched.org, integrated with social media, that gives you detailed coverage of each day’s action.

If SXSW attendees want to link up with their twitter friends they can use the SitBy.Us tool that lets you see what panels your twitter friends will be attending and where in the room they will be sitting!

There’s also SXSW badges for Foursquare up for grabs and also real-time maps to see who’s doing what at SXSW and where they are doing it.

The social media experts at Mashable have also put together their own network, “Mashable’s Austin Real Time” to connect people with the social media community in attendance.

And that’s just for those attending…

‘What if I’m not going?’ I hear you ask. Well there’s the Official SXSW Facebook and Twitter accounts, the SXSW video site, the SXSW blogs, or follow along with Mashable’s SXSWi channel.

Seems they have thought of it all! It’s all pretty cool I say and I hope to see more people following their lead!

To see what SXSW has to offer this year, check out their website.

EB

SHOULD WE HIDE OUR LOSSES?

2010-03-08T21:39:00.000-08:00

Toyota’s recent trials with car and truck recalls numbering almost 8 million worldwide poses the big question that some companies must face. Do we open up the lines of communication for all or close up shop and deal with the problem behind closed doors?

Social media espouses the latter – it’s happened, lets deal with it and use the opportunity provided by complaints to show how we will fix the issue in the worlds most interactive and public domain – social networks.

To this end Toyota has employed Twitter in a new forum called ‘Toyota Conversations’ where Tweets keep the customers up to date. According to Sydney ad agency bcm in their weekly insights, the aggregation site pulls in tweets from affiliated accounts such as Toyota’s own Twitter.com feed as well as established media sites.

The only downside is this doesn’t include public views and appears to be monitored. An opportunity missed and as BCM Insights says ‘ in an age of endless information, there’s no point trying to hide in difficult times’

In a recent presentation d.tail made to a Melbourne agency the question was posed as to engaging the public in solving peoples problems and answering their complaints online and in full view – perhaps this is an opportunity to be seen doing all you can to help.

2010-03-04T19:47:00.000-08:00

Seth Godin…….
….could be a genius or just an individual who has opened up all the internal gates allowing a stream of clear consciousness.

Either way here are 7 of his gems on the benefits of using social media.

1. If I can sell you something without a sales call or expensive ad campaign, I can sell it cheaper. In every market, there's an opportunity to create a more open sales channel and lower your price as a way of making sales.

2. If the only reason you don't do something is because you never did, that's not a good reason. If the environment has changed dramatically and you are feeling pain because of it, this is a great reason to question yourself, to ask why.

3. Here's one way businesses can profit from a social media presence: make it easy to get hurt.

If you're in a low trust industry (like car sales), a social media presence dramatically increases the opportunity people have to call you out, beat you up, tattle on you and flame you in public. If you have a Facebook page and people can YELL at you there, for all to see, it makes you vulnerable. Do you really think that a Chris or a Guy or Gary is going to risk ripping you off for consulting or wine? No way. Too easy for someone to post a comeback for all to see.

When your staff sees how much power you've given random consumers, they'll freak. And then, magically, they'll start treating customers differently, because maybe, just maybe, this customer is the one who's going to use the power. Suddenly, the answer to, "do you know who I am!!" is, "yes sire, forgive me."

It might not be comfortable, but you can bet it will build trust.

4. Free is something you get, no matter what. A bonus is something you get as an add-on when you purchase something, or trade your attention. The purpose of free is to spread the word, alert the universe and generate interest. The purpose of a bonus is to reward immediate action and to sway the undecided.

5. You're an expert. If nothing else, you're an expert on life, on your opinion, on being a consumer. When I ask you for your opinion I'm not asking you for the right answer. I'm asking you for your opinion.

6. Here are things that you can now avoid: The annual review The annual sales conference The big product launch The grand opening of a new branch Drop dead one-shot negotiation event.

The reasons? Well, they don't work. They don't work because big events leave little room for iteration, for trial and error, for earning rapport. And the biggest reason: frequent cheap communication is easier than ever, and if you use it, you'll discover that the process creates far more gains than events ever can.

7. Your most vivid fears are almost certainly not the most important ones. We pay attention to the loud and the urgent. This can lead us to ignore the important and achievable paths open to us--because we're so busy defending against the overwhelmingly dangerous (but unlikely) outcomes instead.

Thanks Seth…

PG

Moving Images for Digital Platforms

2010-03-03T20:38:00.000-08:00

I love this elevator pitch and was buoyed to meet up with Charlie and Tim from Burning House – a production team who, are creating visual content aimed at the social media domain, just as succinct as their EP.

Their approach is both evocative and informative – branding through entertainment but I think their strategic point of difference from most other film production companies is that they understand the new medium that is social media and have developed a production ethic and cost structure that supports this.

It’s not to say there aren’t other interpretative film and TVC production houses about who aren’t making great short films, clever TVC’s and supportive viral campaigns it’s just that these two seem to have chosen to make that a focus of their BH’s approach – and they are doing it very well!
Check ‘em out on our social media sites.
facebook | myspace | twitter | youtube

Chill Island, Myspace & Sia

2010-01-19T18:53:00.000-08:00

We just spent our first weekend as social media directors at a festival – Chill Island. Although the numbers following Mr Chill on Twitter are still only relatively small we really believe this is a great way forward for all festivals, both music and others in reaching punters with vendor offers, backstage chat from bands and artists and messages from the organisers.

Letting punters know when bands are about to start on various stages, where to find great food and merch offers, free stuff, meet and greets and even traffic conditions and weather reports in relation to the event can all be part of the Tweets hitting punters phones during the day. Also great for updating those who didn’t make the festival but might want to follow from home. Maybe next year they’ll be lining up for tickets?

This service also has a much more pivotal role to play in letting people know about stuff that wasn’t in the festival organisers plans. The recent reports in the Age about the ‘fury’ of punters at Pyramid Rock due to cancellations of the last four acts on NYE because of a massive storm are certainly out of anyone’s control. However perhaps if a percentage of people were following on a social site some of this frustration could have been alleviated or at least a controllable dialogue entered into.

From an article by THOMAS HUNTER in The Age, January 4, 2010

"The greatest outrage to the Pyramid rockers was from the disgusting lack of communication regarding the organisers," one music fan said. "Not only did they have no back-up plan in case of the forecasted storms, but they sadly failed to provide a simple announcement, apology or even a traditional countdown into the New Year. "Thousands of punters were left without a clue, stranded in the rain for hours with nothing to celebrate. A great way to start the new year, especially after paying over $300 for a ticket."

Can’t help the weather but with onsite social media director you can reach people directly with the issues at hand. This could have even greater implications in the event of a worse natural disaster or crowd control issue.

On a lighter note great news about Myspace in a recent Music Network where it was revealed that it is now the nation’s leading music site with  2.38 million unique browsers visiting MySpace Music during the month of December (Nielsen)

Much has been made of the rise and rise of Facebook over the last 18 months (the leading social media site in the world) and the potential implications for Myspace. However TMN reports that ‘on a daily basis, MySpace Music had approximately 8.5 times the average daily unique browsers compared to the nearest competitor within the music and radio category. (Nielsen Market Intelligence January 5th 2010)  The social media and music discovery portal is home to over 5 million artists worldwide, offering the largest catalogue of music online’

It seems that even non-musical brands such as Toyota and KFC are seizing opportunities to reach this audience through their sponsorship of varying musical enterprises.

Also a favourite here at d.tail is Sia and it was no surprise to us that she has led the way with her use of social media in furthering her presence, as reported on the AIR Charts recently (click here to see the report).

About 2 months ago, just before an extended tour back to her home country (Australia), Sia tweeted the following:

 "Here is my verson of "you've changed" from the forthcoming album WE ARE BORN.leaking!"   And then "feel free to share with abandon"  Cyberspace went nuts, 20,000 Twitter followers disseminated the track though blogs and retweets. The song featured in Sia's live Australian concerts and then hit the radio. 'You've Changed' has been hovering near the top of our radio charts ever since that tweet and now it's for sale.

So whilst we feel that some people are still wrestling with the concept of social media and what it’s capable of producing for others it’s become a crucial and relatively inexpensive way of pushing your creativity and establishing your brand.

dtailnoisemakers.com.au

Let’s go on the road…

2009-11-27T16:27:00.000-08:00

It’s a great idea – all sorts of artists and bands have been doing it since classical musicians moved their minstrels from court to court. Since the Methodists took music to the pacific islands and the Salvation Army wandered down my street in Coburg way too early on a Sunday morning.

Let’s go on the road, play loud, play often, get drunk, meet girls/boys (your call) eat bad food and most importantly stay up very late.

I lived it, loved it and ultimately got sick from it but even today still enjoy wearing those scars of a truly surreal experience few humans get to have.

So how do you do it, when do you start planning, who is the first person you call, the car rental company, the accommodation, the PA people, the merchandise company or your girlfriend to see if it’s ok to go (?) Relax, it’s never going to be cool to go, not really, not when you forget to call, not when you are having a f@#$%g great time!

But lets go anyway… here are some simple tour administration things to think about.

1. We can’t afford it

You’ll rarely be able to afford it. The question should be; can we afford not too? You need to be stretching your canvas, playing to new rooms in far off places, making new fans, increasing the bands’ experience for the sake of both attracting new audiences and also to give you all something more to think about. Songs of the road, gigs of our lives, the solidarity that only comes with night after night of playing gigs together. So go…

2. We’re not good enough yet

No you’re probably not. So rehearse like hell, put together the best set you can and go and improve it on the road. No one ever won a tennis match practising! You need the experience of continuous gigging, set autopsy during the car ride the following day, recognition of your band mates strengths and weaknesses both on and off the stage and facing your own personal playing demons – e.g. I keep losing my voice, my hands are blistered from hitting too hard, my amp sounds crap out of the rehearsal room. So go…

3. Our single is only getting played in Melbourne

Well what a great reason to go to Sydney, Adelaide, Brisbane. Service it to the local public radio stations, street press, bloggers and reviewers, record stores and anyone else who’ll take a copy. Tell them you’ll be coming through touring, it gives them more reason to take a listen and stamps a great big ‘we’re serious’ stamp on your collective foreheads. Offer to come in and play on their radio shows, in their stores, at their house parties, run comps to get them down early to meet you at sound check, give tix and CDs/downloads away in street press. Even iTunes gives us all a free download every week! So go…

4. Where do I start planning

With your agent or by approaching the booking managers of the gigs you want to play at. Look at what rooms bands like yours played at during a similar stage of their careers. Speak to your mates bands, check out the venues websites, local street press online in other cities and the travel blogs of other Australian acts. Look at your own social network management – where do your Myspace / Facebook / Twitter fans live? Ask them about touring in their town. Heaps of people have heaps of local knowledge and if they are fans they’ll want to share. Use them…

5. Got my gigs what next

Let’s get on Google maps and work out the first logistic. Is it too far too drive in the time I’ve got to get between gigs or going to cost too much too fly? Adelaide to Brisbane overnight wont work but cheap flights might however it’s going to cost a fortune to fly all our amps and drums. In fact in many cases they need to be cargo listed and go on a completely different flight.

There are 4 basic contingencies you need to think about here:

a) Who’s coming – crew would be great but they add beds, flights, Tarago seats and wages to the equation.

b) Are we taking our gear or hiring backline

c) Are we driving everywhere and what vehicle will we need to do this.

d) What is the cheapest accom’ in each city – can I park the car, minivan, truck there safely full of gear?

6. OK we’re doing it, what can possibly go wrong

Nothing, it’s easy, thousands of brave troops have been there before you. But a few things to think about because every decision here has an implication. Make sure you’ve got at least enough money for petrol and make sure you fill the hire car before dropping it back. Car hire companies charge twice as much per litre.

Be sure that your vehicle will fit into the hotels car park – we don’t want to take off the roof of the Tarago on a water main in the basement or have to unload it every night because we’re leaving it on the street.

If you are flying with excess baggage and you know it’s going to be a drama, call them – they’re less pissed off when they know what to expect. Also sometimes it makes more sense to book a more expensive flight on Qantas than Tiger because baggage is less restrictive. The bonus here is you don’t need to hire that piece of backline when you get there, however you do need to make sure that it will fit in the vehicle you’re picking up at the other end.

Think of posters for the venue, merch that might just make up the difference in your tour bottom line, allowing an ample amount of time for getting from A-B. Don’t be late for cheap flights – they’ll make you pay for another. Maybe appoint a Tour Manager – the loudest, the bossiest, the most organised – girls in the band are ‘generally’ better at this than boys. Think through the process in a linear fashion – I leave here, I’m going there and this is what I need to have when I arrive, After that I’ll need somewhere to sleep. It’s easy, so go….

Now write it all down including the booking numbers and details for flights, cars, hotels, backline, production crew and of course the venue. Add any radio, TV, magazine contacts and interviews you have been lucky enough to get and put it in a book with a nice picture of the band on the front and a cool title – Australian Autumn Tour 2010, Summer Eastern States Run, All My Ex-Wives Hate Me Tour – even the name of your single, EP, album perhaps.

‘Cleveland!’... PG

Yaz birth control & The Veronicas band-brand partnership

2009-11-27T15:58:00.000-08:00

Long before we launched d.tail we were social media geeks – ardently devoted to following social media commentators such as Paul Verna, Seth Godin and media futurist Gerd Leonhard and the man who is leading the pack when it comes to connecting with your fan base, Trent Reznor.

Coming from an artist management perspective (Paul Gildea Artist Management) and assessing the current situation in the music industry we began to find fantastic stories about unique ways artists had connected with their fans using social media and break through stories a little different to the norm.

One of the stand out stories we came across and is a great example of tactical marketing, was that of the Veronica’s band-brand partnership with Bayer birth control pill brand Yaz.

In a nutshell, Bayer were “looking for a way to connect with young women a little bit better” and wanted to establish a partnership with an artist that would bring the right personality to the table with the aim of building brand equity.

The Veronicas fitted the profile and the advertising and sponsorship deal included 2 TVCs for Yaz using The Veronicas versions of Twisted Sister’s “We’re Not Gonna Take It” and Scandal’s “Goodbye To You,” as well as a series of Yaz-sponsored online webisodes about the sisters for Yahoo Music. The third phase of the campaign includes the use of one of the Veronicas own songs “Change.”

Back in 2005 before the campaign was launched, the band were multi-platinum artists in Australia but relatively unknown in the US. Since the campaign, the first single “Untouched,” off their latest album “Hook Me Up” sold more than 1.3 million units and reached No. 17 on the Hot 100. The Veronicas were invited to tour with the Jonas Brothers and toured the US for 2 months.

The partnership has been in place for 3+ years and is considered one of the key factors that broke the Australian electro-pop band in the U.S. market.

One of the strongest insights we took away from this story was a comment by the Veronicas manager William Derella of DAS, “remember, brands will spend hundreds of millions of dollars to launch a product; a label will spend maybe a million to promote an album. If you partner with a brand, maybe they won’t use the song on your album, but you’ll get those millions of impressions for your band.”

Have a look at the full article Keynote Dissects Bayer-Veronicas Partnership, by Evie Nagy, N.Y.

Diafrix win at The Age EG Awards

2009-11-19T21:28:00.000-08:00

Over the past month we have been busy tweeting, facebooking and creating lots of noise across Diafrix’s social media network encouraging fans to vote online for the band in The Age EG Awards 2009.

Diafrix were nominees in the Best Homegrown New Artist category, up against other great local acts Lisa Mitchell (nominated for 1 ARIA this year), Tame Impala and more. It was neck and neck for most of the voting period between The Temper Trap (nominated for 4 ARIAs this year) and Diafrix, but towards the end Diafrix held on to solidify first place. This week it was official – Diafrix won the Best Homegrown New Artist award.

Thanks to an ever growing, loyal and active fan base we were able to engage fans directly via facebook, twitter and myspace and spread the word about the award. We circulated the link to the voting page and the fans just kept passing it on and voting!

Kelly Brigham from Diafrix’s record label Illusive (Melb) had these kind words to say about our social network management…

d.tail have not only helped reinforce the importance of online marketing, but they have proven that with a little noise made via the world-wide-web, awards can be won! – Kelly

Thanks again to all the Diafrix fans for jumping on board and voting!

2009-10-15T21:47:00.000-07:00

The War is Over, the troops are on the ground.

I had a call from Phil Tripp last week asking me what the URL for our new business is – I was happy to provide him with d.tail Noisemakers and report that the initial response to this venture has been strong – particularly from independent bands and record labels but we are finding interest from industries on the periphery of the creative arts. It seems that many have an interest in seeking out ‘their’ community via social network management.

I told Phil what a pleasure it was during the recent AMBC, hearing from Gerd Leonhard, Jeff Price and a number of others who have embraced or espouse a newer practice of doing things in the music business. I have been following Gerd’s predictions with a mixture of interest, amusement, cynicism and respect in revolving patterns over the last 5 years – ultimately much of what he had to present at the AMBC is indicative of the new reality for many of us.

That is, there is no longer a battle against the forces of illegal downloading; the new reality is that it’s here.

The war is over, it’s how we divide the conquered territories that will indicate where we draw our supplies from moving forward.

I also reflected my great surprise not as to who was at the conference but who wasn’t. Because I did expect a greater contingent of industry folk – particularly from the major record and publishing companies. Especially considering that this was an opportunity to gather ‘intelligence’ from the other side.

I do understand that many of Gerds predictions and assumptions are divisive, that much of the process people are employing to design and develop their new operations are exploitative of the ‘free music’ model and that many in the music business must feel threatened. For the change is so significant that major job losses are already common, it is what the new jobs will look like that we are grappling with.

I also spoke at length to Jeremy Macvean from Austereo. I met Jeremy a few years back when my post production studio – Monkeesee worked on many of their TVC’s. Radio like TV and many in the media and entertainment industry is threatened by the eventual roll out of Kevin’s big broadband. Jeremy explained that their method of fighting back has been to build as strong an online community as possible. I think he mentioned that they now have a staff in excess of 30 just concentrating in this area.

Don’t quote me on that number but what is obvious is that ‘free to the airwaves’ forms only one part of their strike pattern.

Let me say this is not a rant about social media being the new black or the death of the old school. Just because it works for Trent, the Beastie Boys and Radiohead doesn’t spell success for all – indeed who helped them up the ladder of notoriety in the first place?

Also, I’ve been in or associated with too many successful acts signed to major record deals to be happy about that scenario.

However, now more than ever how you deploy your forces and the theatres you choose to fight in are pivotal to your ability to make an impact and break through the lines.

Whilst the majors can still fire the heaviest weapons they take longer to get their flotilla in place. Often by the time their carriers have moved into position much of their firepower goes over the market place, well heard but less infiltrating. Also large movements of troops are too easily spotted and therefore avoided.

However both of these are still vital elements in the campaign. In fact they’re essential when the numbers are running your way.

It’s just that you need to have the ground troops in place first, handing out chocolates and cigarettes. This is where the base for incoming is established. This is where the message can have pinpoint accuracy.

There is no such thing as viral marketing any more. The word is dead, one of the positive casualties of the battle. Social networking is what the V word has become. Identifying your first 1000 troops, organising, equipping and empowering them and ultimately making them part of your crusade.

So the war is over, the troops are on the ground. It’s up to us as to how we choose to mobilise them but ignoring that they’re out there – that just seems foolhardy to me.

dtailnoisemakers.com.au

d.tail welcomes Diafrix

2009-10-05T17:01:00.000-07:00

The team at d.tail are excited to welcome Melbourne hip-hop outfit Diafrix to the family. We’re looking forward to working with the boys on social network management and giving Diafrix fans the coolest experience on Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and beyond!

One of the country’s most explosive and eclectic live acts, Diafrix recently released their highly anticipated debut album, Concrete Jungle, after many years of relentless touring. The album has taken Diafrix’s iconic concoction of African roots, hip-hop and story-telling and developed it into a truly world class product.

We’re glad to be on board to help Diafrix connect with their fans on another level.

Diafrix at Myspace | Youtube | Facebook | Twitter

______________________________

www.dtailnoisemakers.com.au

Welcome to the first days of d.tail

2009-08-17T23:08:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the first days of d.tail.

This is an exciting time in the music business – a massive change for some of us who have spent much of their lives dreaming, scheming and lucky enough to be a part of, and a new frontier of opportunity for a great many more.

But great is the key word here!

This new approach has to be seen as a stimulus for musicians – an opportunity to express in new ways – blog, pictures, video, art AND music – has there ever been a better time to take control of expressing your creativity – this has the potential to separate the real talent from the also ran’s.

Every artist, band, producer needs this now, very basic omni–presence in social media or you may as well forget it. This is your music, image, art, opinion, tenacity, language and style – if it’s not on display in this forum you aren’t in the business.

At the same time we’d like to help you put the logistics of your tour together – small, medium, large we don’t care. Whether it’s backline in Mudgee or a guitar tech in Nhulunbuy we’re here to help.

We’d also like to take a view of your music from a tactical perspective. What’s working for you, who comes to see you play and where suits you best from here? Who are the potential stakeholders who you should be telling about your plans?

But most importantly this is not just for the DIY band or artist.

Record labels, management companies, independents, publicists and a whole range of new related players and products can benefit from our services.

So welcome, thanks for clicking on – click once more and ask for our help www.dtailnoisemakers.com.au