Hill+Knowlton Strategies

So… another “unofficial ad” comes out of the woodwork, this time from the bright lights at Microsoft… or is it?

I expect we’ll be seeing many more like this… high-value production too hot for TV but definitely in line with the expectations of the Net generation, in this case, the gaming community or — as in the case of Volkswagon — first-time, twenty-something car buyers. For added value, throw in some ambiguity around ownership, mix in some mentions about the ad being “banned”, and leak a spoonful of clips onto the web…

As to where these ads originated, I leave that up to you faithful reader to decide…

Clients often ask me about running a viral campaign. In each instance, good consultants that we are, we look at the product they’re trying to sell or the message they’re trying to communicate. We look at the target audience, and the channels they use to receive and share information. And then I show them something like the ads above or this (warning: content of an adult nature), to reinforce some of the critical success factors of viral: politically incorrect, boundary pushing, sensory or emotionally extreme content… be it funny, grotesque, absurd, erotic, or intensely moving…

There is no middle ground when it comes to viral. I, for one, look forward to it…

Six months without sunlight can make people write interesting things… catch some of the best of that writing here… and don’t forget to post your vote.

http://cba.myblahg.com/

So… the brainy types at Wharton recently published an article around the role of “Social Information” in charitable giving. Essentially, the article examines how social information influences contribution behaviour. I found it a very interesting article… and have been pondering the implications of this for our own profession.

In the article, information management professor Rachel Croson notes that “social information affects behavior in a variety of economic situations, such as labor markets (when you are trying to decide what a reasonable wage is, you look at what other people earn) and investing (when making decisions about how to allocate your portfolio, you look at what other people with similar assets have done). Her research adds to this area, she says, by “providing evidence that social influence [in this case, data about what another person has donated to the radio station] has an impact on charitable contributions as well.”

An interesting aside was the determination that there were thresholds of influence based on the appropriateness of what others had contributed, or the relationship of one contributor to another. The caveat here, as I see it, is that individuals are seen to be more likely influenced by social information “when the information received is seen as ‘relevant or appropriate’.”

Does this mean that PR practitioners are ahead of the curve in this area — given our use of third-party endorsers, word-of-mouth advertising, polls and other market research — or could this open up new doors of opportunity for influencing perception and purchasing habits?

You tell me…