Okay, so how is Twitter going to make money if it’s free?

Just read a great post by Adrants on Twitter still seeking a business model and still getting slammed two years on. The getting slammed part came particularly from Simon Dumenco who is a definite non-believer in the benefits of Twitter, especially if its a project which fails to make any money.

While Twitter has said and continues to say it has every intention of creating a business model which will support it beyond seed money, reading the revenue-generating notion “one idea is to charge companies th at want to use Twitter as an official channel to talk with their customers and monitor what they are saying,” causes one to ROFLOL to the point of gut-busting pain.

Charge companies? Charges companies? For what? Any company with half a brain already has access to an endless supply of free “listening” tools that offer fairly deep insight into Twitter usage and what’s being said about a particular brand.

Dumenco concludes not so inappropriately, writing, “I don’t think every tweet or blurp or bloop or fart that emanates from a human can or should have ads sold against it or be otherwise monetized.”

Of course Twitter is far more than any “blurp or bloop or fart that emanates from a human” , but still the man has a point. Twitter could charge a yearly fee to use the service, but then what should they charge? I certainly wouldn’t pay to follow a bunch of people talking about what they had for breakfast, or if they just came out for the shower, refreshed. Then again, if you’re paying for the service, maybe people who are really interested in adding value would buy into it and utilise it instead of it being just another social media plaything for the ever-growing population of digerati.

Another benefit of charging for it is that it would save us all from a barrage of useless advertising should Twitter opt for the advertising route.

I don’t know… maybe there is some creative way in which Twitter can make a good business model out of what they provide without totally pissing us all off. I hope they find it!

What do you think they should do?

While I’m here… :)

Zapiro’s Double-whammy on Zuma

Zapiro’s at it again today with this absolute gem, given the current fight launched against him by the protagonists in his first cartoon. Well, here they are again with another satirical Zapiro-style hit.

: Zuma, Zapiro, Cartoon, ANCYL, SACP, COSATU, ANC, Justince System, Rape

Zapiro Gives it to Zuma…

This has got to be one of the baddest cartoons I’ve ever seen and I am sure that Zapiro’s going to get in trouble with the protagonists in the cartoon, if he hasn’t already. The thing is, even though I sort of cringe at the story unfolding in the cartoon, it rings true. The thought ( or the concept) has crossed my mind a few times about Zuma and I know the same thought has crossed the minds of many others. Zapiro, utilising his creative licence just put those thoughts into pictures.

Another reason why I’m one of Zapiro’s biggest fans.

: Zuma, Zapiro, Cartoon, ANCYL, SACP, COSATU, ANC, Justince System, Rape

Marketing in Ramadan

Functionally (mostly from an FMCG perspective), Marketing in Ramadan poses real business restrictions and opportunities. For example, you can’t flight certain TV ads during Ramadan, not because of content but because the space will already be booked out and it will be mostly food brands which market their stuff during this time. You have to also take into account that Muslims in general watch less TV during this time.

In terms of actual launches of innovation in the Middle-Eastern/Muslim markets, launching a product in Ramadan doesn’t ever happen. The local marketing teams in these countries will feed this back to anyone trying to push it. Project plans for any launches in or around Ramadan are generally shifted to be either a month before or a month after Ramadan.

Other things which need to be taken into account is that people generally work shorter days in Ramadan, also when it comes to the end of Ramadan, the festival of Eid, most people in the Middle East will be off for a week or two on holiday, very similar to what happens at Christmas time for the western world.

Interesting stuff, eh?

However there are brands that are increasingly starting to market themselves in Ramadan and specifically to a Muslim Audience…

This year, Ramadan really seems to have gotten marketers in a buzz with new product launches and even, as I had mentioned before, New artwork on current products (Coke). Starbucks has also jumped on the band-wagon by introducing a range of Arabic coffees and pastries for its Middle-Eastern consumers specifically for Ramadan. The new coffee range will feature its ‘Anniversary Blend’ coffee along with the traditional ‘Arabian Mocha Timor’ blend.

Rana Shaheen, CSR & Communications Manager, Starbucks Middle East & Egypt said:

Starbucks is committed to provide its customers with the best it can offer during this special time of year and there is no better way to welcome the holy month but with the Traditional Arabian coffees coupled with delicious pastries – a perfect treat you can enjoy after breaking your fast.

From Dubai City Guide, we get this glorious wonderful marketing verbiage on the range Starbucks is proposing for its Ramadan range…

Ramadan pastries include the ‘Fig and Coconut Bar’, a delicious fruity filling of plump figs blended with a taste of exotic coconut on a shortbread base. This marvellous combination of fig jam, walnut and biscuit base, topped with a layer of coconut, is designed to perfectly complement Starbucks featured coffees and iced espresso beverages.

Another treat includes the ‘Pistachio Delight’, a mouthwatering and delicious cake, flavoured with pistachio, creamy filling and rosewater, the perfect traditional combination for Ramadan sweets. Customers can also enjoy the ‘Date and Apricot loaf’, the home-made fruity flavor of Arabia with a hint of apricot and a twist of nuts.

The featured coffee beverage for this month is the classic Iced Caramel Macchiato, a sweet, indulgent treat, available hot as well. Sweet and rich with caramel and featuring a pronounced espresso flavour, Caramel Macchiato delivers an indulgent sweet coffee experience. The cold versions of the beverage provide a revitalising experience for the warm summer months.

It’s okay dudes… we like Starbucks, you don’t have to sell it to us like that… that’s just cheesy. When will Marketers Learn to talk to people and not AT people! The quote above looks like it comes directly from a product pamphlet or maybe even the PR department.
: Ramadan, Marketing, Middle East, Muslims, Fasting, Coke , Starbucks

Video-Game Developers Become The New Rock Gods

Bands and Artists are falling over each other to get their work showcased on the video games such as “Guitar Hero” and the new MTV game “Rock Band”. This is obviously making the game-makes themselves rockstars in a way due to their demand. The work of these bands either get put into the newest releases of thegames or into special downloadable packs. Aerosmith has just launched their own version of the popular game last week… “Guitar Hero: Aerosmith”.

This new interest shows that even the rock gods of Aerosmith are keen on getting into the video-game crowd. This is not just about interest and “what’s cool”, it’s all about the money as shown by the Ad Age article…

”… Aerosmith sold 2,041 digital copies of its 1974 song “Same Old Song and Dance” — which was on the then-new “Guitar Hero III” game. It doesn’t sound like a lot, but it was a one week total — the last week of the year (which included Christmas) — and more interestingly was a 446% increase over sales the week before, according to SoundScan data provided by Activision.

They were far from alone. Alice Cooper’s 1972 track “School’s Out” sold more than 12,000 copies for an increase of 453%. Kiss’ “Rock and Roll All Nite” from 1975 sold more than 18,500 copies for a 485% increase. Newer music did just as well, such as Senses Fail’s “Can’t Be Saved,” released in 2006, which sold 8,600 tracks, jumping 386%. Sales of all but one of the 63 songs on “Guitar Hero III” jumped by more than 100% that week, with the bulk in the 200-300% range.

While a connection between the increase in digital sales at sites like iTunes and Napster and “Guitar Hero III” isn’t definitive, the evidence strongly suggests that the game played a role in the huge increase in single sales. “

This shows that the music video game category and its creators have hit a very sensitive touch point in the intersection between video-games and music. This new area gets people interacting with the music of bands on a whole new level, and hence the increased sales.

This is a very interesting marketing case study when it comes to marketing music in our New Media world.
: Marketing, Music, Video Games, Aerosmith, Guitar Hero, Rock Band

New Era Citizen Journalism – The Instablog Video Initiative

Instablogs.com has launched a new initiative taking advantage of their wide “citizen journalist” base which blog on its site on a daily/weekly basis. What the new initiative entails is a call to one of these “citizen journalists” who will answer the phone and immediately launch into a news report of whatever news happened to have occurred in their respective countries.

This call is recorded in MP3 and Instablogs.com edits it ad inputs it with relevant video clips they have of the situation in the country or even an image or slideshow. The end result is a video show of sorts aggregating news from all over the world for that day/week and instantly downloadable from their site.

This is an example of some real creativity and utilising all forms of media for the aim of spreading news. I think this formula is similar to that used by major news organisations, however, this is raw and its opinions are not from seasoned journalists who speak in that instantly-recognisable tone in which news reports are characterised. This is from the grass roots, people who have an opinion and all this is aggregated, not in text, but in audio and video. Absolutely amazing, I can never cease to be amazed by human creativity and the application of media in Web 2.0.

: Citizen Journalism, blogging, instablogs.com, Media, Video, Audio, News, reporting, journalism

Let the Government Pay for Your Music Video

What a Brilliant idea… the unsigned UK Band, The Get Out Clause, wanted to make a music video but couldn’t afford the high cost of all the camera crew and equipment. So they spotted suitable sights all over Britain which were covered by the surveillance cameras – Britain has about 13 million of these cameras so suitable locations for the band were not hard to come by.

They set up their sound equipment and began to play at the different locations… then they wrote to all the security companies asking them to hand over the video footage under the Freedom of Information Act! Brilliant!

Source: The Telegraph

Technorati Tags: The Get Out Clause, Cool, Music, Britain, Surveillance, Camera’s , CCTV, Music Video

Marketing Lesson: Xenophobia and the South African Government.

Don’t just TALK! Take ACTION! One thing marketers know through and through is that when you promise and you don’t deliver, your sales go to hell and you lose your job. Before any advertising goes on TV, Radio, Print or spread virally across social Media we have to make sure the product delivers what we claim to promise on every level. If this wasn’t such an important step, the Advertising Standards Authority would be out of a job.

Also, it makes perfect sense on a human level. People want to get what they are promised and what they spend their taxes on. We don’t spend our money so that we can hear nice things that make us feel all warm and gooey for our country. We want to see the leaders we voted for actually doing the work to make our country the best in the world and live up to the claim of “a better life for all”.

The current xenophobia crisis has shown the ugly insides of the government in power. All they are doing is talking, if they were working, really working for change… none of this would have happened.

So… the marketing lesson from all this as I had mentioned in the beginning… Deliver what you promise, or you’ll be in deep kak if you don’t.

Technorati Tags: South Africa, Xenophobia, Marketing

Xenophobia in South Africa, How Could This Happen?

Residents at the Ramaphosa informal settlement try to salvage building material before the blaze overtakes them on May 20.- Paul Botes, M&G

This xenophobia problem is getting way out of hand. What the mainstream media has failed to give significant coverage to though, the climate of fear which is being created across the country. This is not only facilitated by the violence which is spreading from province to province and town to town. Just this weekend, one of my friends whose family is originally from Malawi couldn’t leave his house because his dad was getting death threats over the phone.

This aspect is very scary, so many expats from other countries who I work with and deal with on a daily basis are now forced to keep low profiles so that people won’t hurt them or their families. It’s even gone to the point where these “Xenophobics” are using the Zulu language to distinguish whether a person is a foreigner or not. Many South African citizens are now being attacked because they don’t speak Zulu and hence are regarded as immigrants.

Zapiro’s take on the Xenophobic Attacks and their effect on South Africa’s image.

Various churches, mosques and other religious institutions are getting involved in order to help the immigrants who are fearing for their lives as various attacks occur around the country. For anyone reading this, please go and help out… apart from helping these people in need we need to spread education about this issue and stop all of this nonsense. This is South Africa! Why are we killing and destroying people’s lives? Is this what was fought for, for decades, and now in such a short time we’ve forgotten our own heritage?

Never, never and never again shall it be that this beautiful land will again experience the oppression of one by another. – Nelson Mandela

UPDATE: UnitedforAfrica.co.za has a great webpage set up which uses Google Maps to track the events of the Xenophobia attacks in South Africa so that citizens can mobilise and help those who are affected by the scourge of xenophobia.

Technorati Tags: South Africa, Xenophobia, Violence

Get Yourself Into The Propaganda Business

In an ad bluntly called “McCain, Fire Charlie Black,” MoveOn tries strong-arming John McCain into dismissing his lobbyist, whose firm allegedly made millions by aiding dictators, terrorists and sundry other villains.

$25 helps get it on the air!

Link: Adrants

Technorati Tags: McCain, Propaganda, Charlie Black, Fire

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