If you haven’t heard, Twitter announced on Monday 4/12 that they will be rolling out their first paid advertising platform to begin monetizing their mammoth micromedia platform. The service is being called “Promoted Tweets”, and will initially be launched as promotional tweets that show up on Twitter.com search results. It’s the first step in a multi-stage roll-out, so there is definitely more to come, including the possibility of “Promoted Tweets” becoming a free tweet, as described by the NYTimes.com.

This is an exciting development to say the least. But don’t think that “Promoted Tweets” or whatever it evolves into will be the next Google AdWords. In fact, according to Augie Ray of Forrester, there are many risks associated with inapproriate use of paid Twitter ads, including public backlash against perceived “bully pulpit” tactics by brands.

Augie summarizes what this all means for the commercial use of Twitter by astutely noting that “this may be paid media, but it is a few drops of paid media in a sea of earned media.”

On the other hand, I think about the incredible complexity of the digital strategy world and the trend towards specialization and wonder if merging the Planner and Digital Strategist is feasible? For instance, with the rise of unique digital areas of specialty / expertise such as information architecture, user experience planning, analytics and social media, the role of digital strategist appears to to be too much of a simplification and generalist position out of sync with the rapid changes in digital communications?

What do you think?

Check it out here: http://www.thinkmulticultural.com/2009/11/05/twitter-land-grab/

David interviewed agency principal Jim Copacino, and one of his quotes was brilliant:

“The Burger King ‘Subservient Chicken’ phenomenon opened my eyes to the possibility and power of interactive digital communications. For me, it snapped everything into focus—technology, community, experience, engagement. The fact that it was a brilliant digital interpretation of the 30-year-old ‘Have It Your Way’ positioning vividly illustrated the difference between 20^th and 21^st century communications.”

As an agency that is always working with offline, traditional “lead” agencies that usually drive the positioning for our clients’ brands, we have consistently struggled to get those partners to understand how to interpret the brand positioning digitally – how to interpret and express the brand positioning leveraging technology, community, and experience with the goal of achieving that elusive goal of engagement.

Jim Copacino has simply and elegantly articulated the challenge and opportunity of digital communications, something that is organic to digital agencies, but unfortunately still very foreign to most traditional agencies.

The “difference between 20^th and 21^st century communications” – sage!

Jose Villa

The campaign, sponsored by L.A. County Department of Public Health, was almost a year in the making, and forced our agency to rethink everything we thought we knew about advertising and cause marketing.

I just published an article for MediaPost’s EngageTeens column on the approach that led to the creation of We’re Fed Up… you can read it here.

Jose Villa

I figured this would happen. Our industry, although no one would ever admit it, is all about following the leader and the latest cool new trend. In the case of agency Web sites, that cool new trend was started by Modernista’s uber-social Web site concept, and then solidified by Crispin Porter + Bogusky’s beta site. Now everyone is ditching Flash for a crazy WordPress template or a pimped out Twitter feed.

As my mom always used to say “todos los extremos son malos” / “all things in excess are bad.” I hope decision-makers and creatives at agencies around the world think about this before greenlighting their new Facebook Fan Page only Web site or Wikipedia sandbox site.

Remember to balance and prioritize all the things your Web site needs to do. Although showing off your social media chops might seem like the end-all-be-all right now, don’t forget that your Web site needs to give prospective clients, employees, etc. basic information about what you do, who you do it for, and where to send RFPs! Sometimes, a Ning social network is not the best vehicle to accomlish some of those very basic requirements.

Jose Villa

An interesting thing happened on February 20, 2009 – KLSX’s owner, CBS radio, shifted the station to the less expensive Top 40 format and in effect cancelled the popular Adam Carolla show. Just another victim of the recession and the downturn in the media and advertising industry, right?

Instead of just riding off into the radio sunset, Adam Carolla decided to continue his popular show and just move it to a different format – a Podcast. On February 23, 2009, Adam began a daily podcast at www.carollaradio.com. In the initial 24 hours, the first Adam Carolla podcast was downloaded over 250,000 times and, as of the third podcast, it was the number one podcast on iTunes in both the U.S. and Canada. During the debut week, the Adam Carolla podcast recorded 1.6 million downloads. In the second week it recorded 2.4 million downloads. 

I just started listening to the Podcast yesterday, one of about 15 Podcasts I listen to when I’m on the Metro train heading home. However, after listening to Adam Carolla’s Podcast on the train, I decided to continue listening to it on the short 10 min drive from the train station to my house.  Interestingly enough, I was listening to Adam’s interview the Sports Guy Bill Simmons, and Adam asked him what he thought the future of radio and Podcasts was. Simmons’ answer was that Podcasts and Internet radio , would kill satellite radio. He spared terrestial radio in his futurecast.

I tend to agree with Bill Simmons. Internet-enabled cars are only a few years away. In fact, the technology is already here.  Moreover, formats like Podcasts provide consumers with same on-demand abilities they have come to know and love from their TIVOs. There is no doubt that the rapid success of Adam Carolla’s Podcast is a sign of the future of the media business. Radio beware.

Jose Villa