What’s So Great about Nike’s “Write the Future” Viral Video

This is a three-minute video produced by ad agency Wieden & Kennedy and directed by Alejandro G. Iñarritu – best known for 21 Grams and Babel. The Nike video received a viral-record number of views in its first week of being online – 7.8 million.

What made this video so popular?

• The use of football, a major passion worshiped my many people across the globe.
• The video features some of the leading names in football and sports such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Didier Drogba, Wayne Rooney, Fabio Cannavaro and others. Tennis provided legend Roger Federer and basketball – superstar Kobe Bryant. Homer Simpson also makes an appearance.
• The video was made in the most superb technological tools – sound, animation, vision, editing and directing.
• All this wouldn’t have created such an impact, had the video not had a story behind it. The story is how small moments in sports can have a lasting effect on history and create ripples around the world. This goes beyond politics, economies and beliefs.

This is an example of a viral campaign that got attention generated not only from the social media mechanisms, but also had funds poured into it on legacy media outlets such as TV and was launched simultaneously in different countries around the globe.

The time has come for players to carve their name in history. One touch, tackle or free kick could crush a nation’s hopes or cause them to build a statue in your honour. Drogba, Rooney and Ronaldo are ready to Write The Future.

Digital Media Revolution?..

On May 2, 2010 Alla Green from NaoriComm attended TheMarker’s Annual internet conference: COM.VENTION 2010, which featured over 50 speakers from Israel and abroad.

By Alla Green

Let’s not talk about the logistic bugs (such as poor mobile phone reception in auditoriums and cappuccino with soya milk – not my cup of tea). Despite this, the atmosphere and the people were definitely worth coming for.

What’s new in Digital Marketing? Not much

Was there anything new said at the Com.vention 2010? I doubt it. The digital media world is swarming with buzz, but what’s the entire buzz about?

Everyone understands that the old marketing methods don’t work anymore and people finally agree that the social media is not a hype that will go away soon. But now that the digital marketing is here, what do we actually do with it?

Talk, talk, talk

The conference speakers discussed the social media revolution, the mobility of the Internet, the supremacy of technology, the significance of unique content and the new ways of interaction with customers. In-depth discussions revolved around practice modus operandi, including cooperation, collaboration, co-creation of the brand with the audience and, of course, transparency.

Behind every computer sits a person

The overall recommendation is not to impose, but co-operate with your audience, not to force your advertising, but to listen and convey your message through channels that help to engage in conversation while building a real, trustworthy, long term relationship with people.

This change is especially tremendous for brands themselves (especially for big global companies used to the traditional forms of marketing) and for advertising agencies who carried out old fashion marketing campaigns. Their state of mind and point-of-view should undergo a real revolution dictated by digital media.

So, what now? It’s up to you

The presentations were great, but are there any concrete recommendations for marketing professionals working in the course of this digital media revolution? Not really. It’s up to you, dear social media “gurus” – experts of a brand in a new field, with virtually (watch out! double meaning word) no expertise.

We (meaning digital media people) are amongst those who now define new methods for a new digital reality and create new ways of thinking and consuming.

In order for the digital media to complete its revolution, there is much that has yet to be done. It is not just about spreading-the-word in 140 characters, or less. It is all about the quality, not quantity of content.

And to tell you the truth – that is a really big deal!

For more information about Com.vention 2010, please refer to the following resources:

Alon Molian from Twisted introduced a concept of “Transmarketing” (marketing in digital changes revolution). See the presentation >>

Sagi Hemetz from Blink was talking about the transfer from paid media to earned media. See the presentation >>

Eran Gefen from MyBrandz gave a great presentation where he counted 7 sins he did as a digital marketing person. Read the article >>

P. S. For those of you who wanted but didn’t make it to the Com.vention 2010 (or didn’t make it into the overloaded auditorium), here are most of the conference’s presentations in VOD format. There are all the tracks (technology, content and video, digital marketing etc.), follow the white arrow on top.

Hope next time TheMarker will provide us with better usability, both for the website and for the conference itself! 🙂

Photo: Israel Hadari

Corporate Blogs: Who is Afraid of Intimate Communication?

New media, with its endless sources of information, has created a new readership; a new investor, a new client, a new employee. Rami Naori, founder and CEO of NaoriComm, a leading PR firm based in Israel: “The members of this new audience are no longer contempt with receiving their knowledge from traditional sources. They seek information, they cross reference, they ask questions and they value original thought. Keeping up with the flow of information is a must”

Pioneering companies have come up with a novel way to interact with the public – corporate blogging (CB). This relatively new medium is a powerful tool that allows a more intimate connection with the reader, while still conveying key corporate messages.

Over the years, blogs have gained a reputation for being a very intimate medium at times more so than a personal diary. This reputation had produced apprehension of this medium in executive boardroom meetings, most of which still shun this tool in spite of its obvious potential. What executives should understand is that blog readers are not in search of personal information about them, but rather personal insight they may have on their industry, sort of market research, if you will. These readers have grown tired and bored of press releases duplicated throughout the web. They are looking for new and innovative ways to conduct an open discussion and have their opinion heard. Not just interact with a cold computer screen.

Rami Naori, founder and CEO of NaoriComm International :” The members of this new audience are no longer contempt with receiving their knowledge from traditional sources. They seek information, they cross reference, they ask questions and they value original thought. Keeping up with the fast-flow of information is a must; being personal is vital.” For the common executive, this poses some risks. However, if they can swing the public opinion in their direction, they can pose themselves as opinion leaders and experts in their field. That said, being persuasive and charismatic in writing, while still conveying your point of view, does not come naturally to everybody. Some may need assistance. This is where professional writers come in. They are people of eloquence, encapsulating the right measure of intimacy and marketing skills to capture an audience and position the author as an opinion leader.

Whether an executive writes his own blog or has some one assist him with wording, doesn’t matter. What does matter is that he/she is earnest and insightful. Take the lead in engaging your audience. This will create trust.

Quality Media – Past, Present and Future Trends

Past – The Tabloid Revolution:

In England in the early 1700’s, newspapers began to be taxed by their number of pages. To cut taxes, publishers printed big pages and few of them, helping to create the broadsheet that is now considered standard. However, in the recent years the broadsheet format is becoming more scarce and the tabloid format is taking over.

The word “Tabloid” was first coined by a pharmaceutical company selling a drug in a compressed tablet. The connotation of tabloid was soon applied to other small items and to the “compressed” journalism that condensed stories into a simplified, easily absorbed format. In the 20th century, people became more pressed for time and they demanded “tabloid journalism” because of the simplicity of its design and content. With the emergence of subways and commuters, tabloids became a staple of the culture. In the aftermath of the industrial revolution words were evermore cheaper to print. Articles decreased in size. Graphics were also much less expensive and graphic design became an integral part of an editor’s job. The big titles and graphics allowed for a more intuitive form of reading, perhaps more informative on an emotional level instead of a cognitive level.

Present – The Online Revolution:

The online revolution brought about new capabilities such as global distribution and real-time interaction. However these capabilities also paved the way for new market demands. The public demanded its information in real-time. It was now rather easy to find information with the help of search engines.

News organizations, struggling to keep up with demand, all but abandoned any form of graphic design/editing and were sufficed to supply an increasing abundance of articles and information. The “printed word” was now virtual and was therefore cheaper than ever to create. However, they had also lost the intuitive and emotional dimension that tabloids conveyed with eye-catching graphics and big titles.

Future – Quantity rather than quality?

It is our contention that quality media design (QMD) should integrate the very best of all worlds: A text that is fully thought through and reflects a deep understanding; Graphic design that elicits an intuitive and emotional response and deepens the understanding beyond the written text, and online real-time global exposure that allows the reader a new form of interaction with the media.

Fortunately new technologies are becoming available. Blogs allow for intimate communication based on reader interactions, social networking allows us to maintain and expand a subscriber base; newsletters and E-zines allow for a more graphically enhanced approach and dynamic websites allow us to be up-to-date.

But all these are just tools to create, with a target audience, a profound interaction that is both beneficial and informative to both sides.

Welcome to NaoriComm’s Blog!

Hello and welcome to NaoriCom’s blog!

In this blog you’ll find interesting content about our recent activities and future events.

Keep posted for more to come!

Enjoy,

The NaoriComm Team