CRM - March 2009 - (Page 28)

INNOVATION NATION through the interaction component is lost online,” he says. “AT&T is suddenly irrelevant and an interloper if I’m logging onto Facebook from my Apple laptop, using my Comcast Internet connection.” Whether users are submitting a word in Times Square, at a favorite restaurant, or at home on a laptop, the game operates as a single entity: A word submitted by any user appears on every other screen in real time, adding the appeal of friendly competition. “Whether you’re in Indiana or New Jersey, you’re connecting with every user, no matter where they are. In the gaming community, you can’t put up walls,” Newport says. “It was an obvious fit,” Newport says. “It’s a product that really spotlights the power of the network. This is a case of true branded utility, not just slapping on a brand.” In just under a month of the initial launch, Newport says there have been over 300,000 unique plays. Generally, users average 50 words per session, and he estimates that there’s a 70/30 split between Web and mobile players. (Bonus-point offers directed to mobile users, he says, such as double word scores, aim to even the playing field.) “There’s a whole reverse side of mobile that hasn’t been explored,” Newport says. “It’s not just about pushing consumers content. There’s got to be some learning and engagement on the back end.” “Once people get engaged with this, they quickly, for better or worse, become obsessed with it,” says Jayne Karolow, LocaModa’s director of community. Even she sounds surprised as she pulls up reports from the previous day. Counting mobile and Facebook, the average users weren’t doing 50 words per session anymore—but nearing 200. Referring to them as “absurdly obsessed,” Karolow says that, when it comes to brand identification, this fervency suggests serious staying power. creative agency Ralph created “The Dexter Treatment” in 2007 and saw impressive results from the United Kingdom audience. It wasn’t hard, then, for Showtime’s New York–based digital, marketing, and media agency Initiative to convince the network of the impact the campaign could have on American viewers. “This is a case of true branded utility, not just slapping on a brand.” VICIOUSLY VIRAL Scanning over your emails, one in particular catches your eye. A friend has sent you a message with the subject title,“Check out this news alert.” You open it. Inside, the message is short and—well, not so sweet. “You have to see this—is this YOU?” followed by a URL. Clicking the link, a breaking news report begins to play. A serial killer recently killed a fifth victim, and is still on the loose. Yellow tape surrounds the crime scene and investigators in white jumpsuits are searching for evidence. A press report indicates that there’s a thread connecting the victims—a thread which, you realize, applies to you.You freeze as the camera centers on a horrifying image. Giant letters written in blood spell out your name on the wall of the crime scene. You’re horrified: Under your name the killer has written, “You Are Next.” You can exhale: It’s all a campaign for Showtime’s Dexter. London-based digital The AT&T Text Jumbli campaign allowed users—from anywhere—to text in a word made out of an assortment of letters. High scorers won a prize—but AT&T won something far more valuable: engagement. The series premiered in the United States in December 2006, somewhat out of the limelight; for Season 2, though, the network wanted to launch in the heart of premiere week, up against powerhouse competitors such as HBO’s Entourage. “We really needed something out there that could distinguish the show from everything else that was being promoted by the traditional networks,” explains Rob Ross, Initiative’s vice president and account director of entertainment. So, two weeks prior to the premiere, America, for better or for worse, was exposed to “The Dexter Treatment” on SliceofLifeTV.com. “[The video] was so seamless…so right for the show,” Ross says, adding that “the PR and buzzworthiness [was] just as valuable as any paid media we do for Showtime.” And buzz it got. In London, Scotland Yard Police reportedly received calls from recipients. In the U.S., the blogosphere was swarming with opinions from senders and recipients debating whether the campaign was brilliant or brutal. “They were looking for impact and, yes, they achieved their goal,” says Elisabeth Bertrand, online media consultant at advertising and media consultancy TWESTC. Sure enough, Season 2’s first episode captured a million viewers, a Showtime record at the time, according to Nielsen Media Research. Impact and innovation don’t necessarily go hand-in-hand, though. The viral video, Bertrand says, was a “predictable and unoriginal use of the medium.” Campaigns of this kind, she says, “get old quickly and we have to think more creatively [and] more interactively.” Personalization www.destinationCRM.com 28 CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT | MARCH 2009 http://www.SliceofLifeTV.com http://www.destinationCRM.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of CRM - March 2009

CRM - March 2009 Contents Front Office Reality Check Customer Centricity The Tipping Point Stay Tuned Stimulating Citizen Experience CRM on Twitter Retailers Face Reality Making Relationships Matter Required Reading We the People Innovation Nation CRM and the iPhone Looking to Score The Virtual Welcome Mat A Tough Transition Made Easier A Training Regimen Gets Rigorous A Battle Fought from Afar Secret of My Success Re:Tooling Connect Pint of View

CRM - March 2009

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