January 30, 2012
TED Ads Worth Spreading
Many of us are familiar with TED, the non-profit organization devoted to “ideas worth spreading.” TED’s mission is to change the world by sharing knowledge, ideas, and inspiration. And each year they give a nod to the world of advertising with their “Ads Worth Spreading” contest.
According to TED, an ad worth spreading is “an ad that people truly want to see and share. It might be hilariously funny or stunningly beautiful or wickedly clever. It might encapsulate a killer idea, promote an inspiring cause, or tell a captivating story.”
An ad worth spreading is not necessarily a PSA. A quick visit to the contest’s YouTube page reveals that finalists range from cats with thumbs (Cravensdale milk) and dancing forest animals (Fed Ex) to PSAs for the Elizabeth Smart Foundation, The National Domestic Violence Hotline, the ONE campaign and many more.
Among my favorites are short films produced on behalf of Chipotle’s Cultivate Foundation. Abandoned and Back to the Start depict the struggles faced by small family farms and drive home the message that sustainable farming practices are more important than ever. The music and imagery make these films/ads quite moving and in my opinion, worth spreading.
We’re thrilled that several Ad Council campaigns have made the cut:
Adoption from Foster Care
Autism Awareness
Unplanned Pregnancy Prevention
Horn of Africa Relief
Buzzed Driving Prevention
While contest winners are ultimately selected by TED, you can show your support for a particular ad by voting on the YouTube channel.
What are you favorite ads worth spreading? What motivates you to share ads with your networks?
January 11, 2012
Ready to go mo?
No, that isn’t an invitation to join the Mo Rocca fan club. It’s a rallying cry from Google to help get brands and organizations to mobilize (as in enable to behave nicely in mobile browsers) their web sites, and to do it now.
Sure, the fine folks at Google have an obvious self-interest in mobile, but that doesn’t change the fact that their site www.HowToGoMo.com is an excellent little starting place for the mo-curious (I’ll refrain from postulating on why the site doesn’t fully work in FireFox, Chrome’s biggest rival, but it’s interesting to note).
First and foremost, is making clear the distinction between simply being able to access a site on a mobile device, and a site that is designed to cater to the mobile experience, which is ruled by screen size and bandwidth.
Next, is appreciating the arguments for why going mobile has shifted from a nice-to-have to a must-have. Case in point: “By 2012, more people will use their mobile phones than PCs to get online.”
HowToGoMo also features a fun and useful tool – its GoMoMeter – to provide a sneak peak of how a given site looks on a smart phone, and to provide any top-line recommendations for how it could be improved for mobile browsing (hooray! The recently launched m.theshelterproject.org scores a perfect 4 out of 4!).
Recommendations are rooted in Google’s 10 Mobile Best Practices – a set of guidelines that is certainly in line with, and as good as any I’ve seen out there. To my eyes, there’s a sense of priority in how their best practices are ordered, so check out the top 5 below, and you’ll be off to a good start in understanding the nuances of what makes for a good mobile site.
Top 5 Mobile Best Practices from Google
- Keep it Quick: fast load time and copy/content that can be scanned quickly
- Simplify Navigation: a clear hierarchy, vertical only, a prominently available search box for complex sites
- Thumb-friendly: users lack the finer control of a mouse or stylus
- Design for visibility: use sufficient color contrast and plenty of negative space
- Make it accessible: site should work across all mobile devices and handset orientations. Avoid Flash – it doesn’t work on all devices.
Google’s full set of best practices is available as a handy-dandy PDF you can save and print as a reference.
November 9, 2011
Forward Thinking with YouTube
YouTube is popular platform for a social marketing campaign strategy, especially when you have great video content to share. For our FWD (Famine, War, Drought) campaign with USAID we are leveraging a fancy customized YouTube channel and a fleet of YouTube stars to help spread the word about the unacceptable crisis in the Horn of Africa.
The new, souped-up brand channel (see www.youtube.com/fwd) allows for easy viewing and sharing of all video content. It also offers a platform for viewers to upload their own FWD videos and join the conversation using YouTube, Facebook or Twitter – all of which are seamlessly integrated thanks to the This Moment platform and technology.
When it comes to YouTube influencers, YouTube stars have impressive and devoted followings. We are thrilled that upwards of 10 YouTube stars agreed to create their own FWD YouTube videos to post to their millions of fans encouraging them to get involved.
Here is one of my favorites from Alex Farnham:
Feeling inspired? I thought so. Today is FWD Day and we are asking everyone to join us in spreading the word about the Famine, War and Drought in the Horn of Africa by forwarding the facts on social media. The goal is 13 million FWDs, one for every person affected by this crisis.
- Upload your own FWD video asking friends and family to FWD the facts
- Spread the word on Facebook & Twitter. FWD the facts from www.usaid.gov/FWD or copy and past the messages below:
- Facebook: Getting the word out is as important as important as giving. Today is FWD Day, so FWD the facts to help the millions suffering from the Famine, War, and Drought in the Horn of Africa usaid.gov/FWD
- Twitter: The crisis in the #HornofAfrica is affecting 13 million people. You can help. Text ‘GIVE’ to 777444 to donate $10, and FWD the word. #fwd
- Text GIVE to 444777 to donate $10 to a consortium of humanitarian organizations working in the Horn of Africa OR donate online.
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