Archive for October, 2008

New figures from a report by Forrester indicate that not only is social media being used by more people, the age profile is increasing too. As expected in the shift to consumption by advocacy, more people are using social media tools to connect with each other and with brands. Interestingly, the big increase in usage is among 34-44 year olds with a significant rise too in 45-54 users. (more…)

You know, we don’t really want to give our readers the impression that Saritha gets picked on. It’s more that she kind of brings it on herself sometimes.

Like the time she had to pay a ransom to get her rubber band ball back. (more…)

Our CEO comes in for a fair amount of stick. He gives as good as he gets but to add to the postman fat posting earlier here is something for the flare wearers among you….. (more…)

Hands up all those people who have a facebook, myspace, linkedin or another social network profile? I suspect that an extremely high proportion of you. How many of you have noticed advertising on the site and then clicked on it? If like me you feel that advertising in my social space is one of the most intrusive form of marketing then this research you may find quite interesting.

The research has been conducted by Ball State University in the US and summizes that advertising in peoples social space can be seen ‘as offensive’. The research also found that in the 18-24 age bracket the respondants remain more responsive to email and direct marketing.

It will be interesting to see how this develops in the future as social networks develop their advertising platforms. Facebook particularly is innovating with their ability to target based on keywords from their members interests. Our experience of using their platform has shown some really interesting results over and above the response from Google adwords.

I think the old right message, at the right time in the right place continues to prevail.

To read the Ball State University white paper click here

It’s no mean achievement to be included in New Media Age’s Top 100 agencies for digital. Better still to be ranked third most efficient agency.

NMA Top 100 agencies

Understandably, many brands are wary of social media, believing there is too much scope for brand damage from negative content. Not giving the audience cause to be negative towards your product or service would be the answer but that’s not really the issue here.

Dell have realised that social media can be used not just to position positive messages about the brand but to plug the public directly into it’s business model. Dell Idea Storm is a site where anyone with a good idea or suggestion can come along and post it for both Dell and other users to chew on. (more…)

No, it’s not Alanis Whatshername. It’s Rossella - a Media Planner/Buyer at Media Souk! We can see why you might have done a double take though.

The lovely Rossella is our resident Italian, as every agency worth it’s sale (that’s salt in Italian) needs to have some exotic staff. (more…)

No it’s not Ronnie Barker. He looks uncannily like our Front End Developer, Andy Cargill though. Another fine example of our addiction to Yearbook Yourself that’s made it onto SOUK’s Flickr gallery. (more…)

Tricky. How do you write a pithy Wall of Weird post about your ultimate boss, the Chairman, without then spending the next 24 hours wondering if you’re going to get your marching orders?

Bill Hart, SOUK’s Chairman, is an excellent, kind hearted, generous chap. The kind of person you feel you can always turn to in moments of crisis knowing that whatever he says will be knowing and wise. I imagine he does wonderful things for charity. (more…)

Here he is, the man-with-the-plan, the one-and-only, super smooth, ‘If I were a lady I would,’ Andrew Durant, a Founding Partner.

It’s not just because he’s a Partner that Andrew gets the treatment here. He is genuinely a very nice and lovely guy and we love him, even though he does look like Cliff Richard. Actually, he doesn’t really but it’s the closest we could get. (more…)

It’s fair to say everyone loves Andy, Media SOUK’s, Media Director. And it’s probably why he likes SOUK so much that we like him: “I love the freedom I have to wade into a room of creatives and account folk, leaving them open-mouthed with a rant about the role a particular media plays in the purchase funnel.” (more…)

Some websites come along and just, y’know, tickle your agency’s fancy.

www.yearbookyourself.com

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The value of deep targetting is soon to be shown in full effect as TV show Scrubs is promoted directly to its fanbase via Facebook:

“Paramount Comedy has become the first UK broadcaster to use Facebook’s Engagement Ads platform, for its first social media campaign.The campaign is in support of cult comedy show Scrubs’ new Moments season and will target the 500,000 Facebook users that have identified themselves as Scrubs fans. (more…)

Unilever’s Global Communication Planning Director, Asad Rehman summarises his view of communications in the digital era:

“Unilever — like many global FMCG brands — are in a rapidly changing world where advertising will never be the same again and where repositioning is a drawn out, considered and cerebral process that is going to involve mixing new media with the old rather than rejecting traditional communication tools. (more…)

In a word, no.

Discussions at the recent AdTech conference suggest that online can actually learn a lot from traditional advertising techniques and that the digital platforms work better when used in tandem with sit back experiences. (more…)

Bearing an uncanny likeness to Sally from Charles Shultz’s Peanuts cartoons, New Business Administrator Catherine is an agency favourite simply because no one else on the Wall has managed to look so like a cartoon character. (more…)

It’s not always advertising that drives traffic to your online presence. While bumbling round Waterstones last week we picked up a wonderful little book called Little People in the City by Slinkachu. It’s a photo essay on the miniature street scenes he creates, photographs then leaves for mankind’s greater benefit. We were happy enough to have discovered the book, but the experience was increased by finding within it a link to the artists blog: Little People - A Tiny Street Art Project.

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Sarah Cox look-a-like Becs is Welsh. We have nothing more to add. (more…)