You Want Me to Recommend THAT to Our Client?!!

(Photo citation: Unknown, “Vines.”)

It happened last week. After checking my USC email, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram feeds, and whipping off a text message to my son, I turned my attention, finally, to my work email. And there it was. A robust, worldwide discussion chain among my agency, Ketchum’s, media relations and digital specialists on the merits of a new technology called Vine. In what could be likened to a Gold Rush atmosphere in the advertising and PR industry, where everyone clamors to be the first to show the next “shiny object” to one’s clients in hopes of winning the grey-area of digital work, are we properly considering when and even if we should be recommending these new tools during their infancy at all?

Honestly, I find it exhausting to keep up on all of these platforms, so I welcomed the news with skepticism, wondering when or if we’ll get equally excited about spending time with people in person.

The past couple of weeks the digital world has been in a frenzy over Vine, the new Twitter-developed app that allows users to create and post looping six-second videos. Vine differs from the unsuccessful 12seconds.com in that it allows the user to make animations. And every agency is in a hurry to be the first to show clients how Vine can be used.

During the discussion – the most prolific and well-attended dialogue I’ve seen at Ketchum in the past six months — a clip of a Vine creation was shared and instantly someone came up with the idea to make Vine-clips of every office in the network to share to help make Vine more comprehensible to employees. Not a bad idea, but it elicited a wonderful response from one of our most beloved senior counselors, Gustavo, the regional director of our Latin American operations. Gustavo is one of our agency’s best storytellers and reminded us about Homer’s Odyssey where Ulysses is crossing a dangerous strait and onshore sirens use whispers and tempting songs to try to lure the ship to crash against the rocks. Ulysses plugs his crews’ ears with wax and they pass safely.

(Photo citation: Waterhouse, John William, “Ulysses…”)

As communications professionals, perhaps we should heed Ulysses’ advice while evaluating digital sirens that cannot be measured and have not yet demonstrated the ability to effectively reach key stakeholder audiences. Or, at least have the restraint and confidence to let some time pass to see what happens. Witness past shiny objects that were likely sold to clients only to waste valuable resources and crash and burn: Google Wave, Google Buzz, and Go Walla are just a few.

(Jim Lin, senior digital strategist, Ketchum)

My favorite Senior Digital Strategist at Ketchum West, Jim Lin, gave me his predictions for why some of even the tried-and-true former digital darlings are destined to fail. I asked for short thoughts, but Jim’s insights are so good, I’m sharing two of his best in full detail:

Foursquare: Yes, they bested GoWalla by focusing on one thing and doing it well. However, the flip side of digital success is the ability to evolve. Foursquare has not evolved. It’s still simply a check-in app. Well, guess what? Facebook, Yelp and pretty much every other site has integrated check-ins into their apps. But beyond that, they also have core features that already appeal to users. So now, Foursquare is standing there with their main feature being the one thing that every other app incorporates as their side feature. Not so impressive anymore. They are destined to be the Mayor of “square one” before long.

G+: Google should just give up on social media and focus on search. G+ boasts the second largest social media network, and they base this on number of registered users. Sarcastic applause. Do you know why they have the second largest user base? Because nowadays if you sign up for any Google service (YouTube, Gmail, etc.), you automatically get a Google Plus account. What Google fails to realize is that in order for a social media platform to work, people must engage with it. A barren plain with empty houses on it does not constitute a vibrant city. I personally have five of these empty houses sitting in G+ land because I have multiple Gmail accounts. Do I ever even touch any of them? Nope. Because no one else is home in their houses. When G+ first came on the scene, I loved it, because honestly it has better features than Facebook. However, the reality is people don’t like change. If your grandmother has FINALLY figured out Facebook, do you really think she is going to pick up shop and use G+ because it does the same thing, but offers a few more features? Hell no. And this is exactly what happened. A few brave souls ventured into G+ land and tried it. They talked about how awesome it was (me included) and tried to get all their friends to join. No one did. So G+ land got really lonely. And we eventually all moved back to Facebook and Twitter, where our friends were waiting for us.

This debate won’t go away anytime soon and I think it’s excellent fodder for an Annenberg discussion on the topic. What are your experiences in this mad rush to be seen as the smartest, most on-top-of technology communicator? What are your predictions of current digital communications technologies that might join Jim’s list?

I’ll close with this final thought. The entire Ketchum worldwide, thought-provoking conversation about Vine took place completely on good old-fashioned email.

Amy Kull
CMGT 541, B

References

Unknown. (n.d.) Vines. Retrieved from Getty Images, February 17, 2013.

Waterhouse, J.W. (Painter). (1891). Ulysses and the sirens [Painting], Retrieved February 17, 2013 from: https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=john+william+waterhouse+ulysses+and+the+sirens&tbm=isch&tbs=simg:CAQSXwkb3APfC-jVORpLCxCwjKcIGjkKNwgBEhFBQNgD1wO3BGe_1BLgEvQS-BBog5MxU1Am0pGXBSmHbobP7qHWK_1ByaWXF26suPqM93zLQMCxCOrv4IGgAMIZWkU-tq2snq&sa=X&ei=r0shUbTMA-7RigKxzoD4DQ&ved=0CCgQwg4&biw=1440&bih=668#imgrc=Zfum-X1OQZ3-0M%3A%3B7TSzTC-nglLyjM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fallart.biz%252Fup%252Fphotos%252Falbum%252FW-X-Y-Z%252FJohn%252520William%252520Waterhouse%252Fjohn_william_waterhouse_68_ulysses_and_the_sirens.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fallart.biz%252Fphotos%252Fimage%252FJohn_William_Waterhouse_68_Ulysses_and_the_Sirens.html%3B1820%3B900