Digital Minds Forum

Ever wondered what your friends like and has actually even purchased from your favorite store? Yes – this is now made possible – one of the best clothing brand I could take which has successfully integrated and interacted with this feature is Levis. We all know, in the early days, you like what your friend like – for example, during schooling times, teachers and parents complaint that you need to get into their profession or a one that they like – but you  choose to be with your friend or friends – you study what they study – you get into the profession what they get into. This is now back – especially when it comes to clothing – we all know that people conscious about fashion and lifestyle really wants to know what friends are upto – and where they shop, what they shop, how was it, so many blah blah – especially when it comes to women – but not to mention, male shoppers are on the increase too now!

We all know that Levis definitely stands for Jeans – have you visited Levis.com? On the site, just get into Friends Store – it’s all about Facebook – For this, you need to firstly be a Facebooker. E-commerce is now on a decline stage in most countries with some countries not even a clue as to what it is – whether it’s rising or already dead – or whether it has not even started! Levis, despite the purchasing decline levels on the site, have successfully now brought inside an integration of creating a store just for Facebookers to like, share, review, comment and actually leading to a purchasing intention. (Read more…)

Journalism is changing grounds – more than ever, journalists globally are turning out to making the maximum use of the massive opportunities Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, blogs and various other social media holds. People are increasingly on these social platforms when it comes to up-to-second news, happenings, incidents, debates, raising voices, and much more. Think about the celebrities for example, I mean they are the biggest and their page tops awesome rankings in the Top Page lists in Facebook; they have a massive number of viewership on videos uploaded on YouTube; they are tweeting like crazy on Twitter (mostly from their handheld devices); they have their own interactive blogs and online forums – I mean just like celebrities, journalists too have a whole community around them – So why not get into all these tools and make your voice?

The dramatic change due to increasing rate of technology has opened up opportunities for journalists to connect with the public on an unprecedented level. The rise of a range of social media resources has changed how a story is told and consumed. I really would be thanking for these tools available in today’s world as journalists can get instant feedback on their work, gather meaningful tips, track trends and happenings – and beyond everything, to build valuable relationships with the public which is the foremost importance.

Journalists’ way of leveraging social media to gather stories

1. Get yourself subscribed to RSS feeds

I hope you are aware what RSS feeds are. Get into RSS feeds as it allows reporters and journalists to monitor plenty of sources, in case about thousands of sources – and the best part is – in very little time. By subscribing to the content of industry websites which I am sure you must be aware of, online versions of magazines and other print materials, and even blogs and online forums of industry watchers, journalists won’t even have to leave their laptop. For instance if you find something on an industry blog or something, follow up, verify and quote, and you might probably be the first true media source to report it, you’ll beat most people to the story! You may see now how critical it is to have RSS feeds – you will surely be ahead.

(Read more…)

Advertising agencies, which we call now as marketing communications or brand building agencies, are changing grounds globally with digital and social media playing a major role whilst some traditional still remaining. Mark and Comm Limited (MNC), an integrated strategic marketing, reputation communications consultancy and a boutique think tank recently carried out a survey during the month of February 2011 titling ‘Digital and Social Media Study [Agency side] in Sri Lanka’ on how digital and social media is trending in Sri Lankan agencies, and how the landscape of the traditional tools, taking into account the present and future demand of their clients. There were very useful and valuable insights, and MNC is more than happy to share this latest report with you.

The study revealed from 22 respondents consisted senior key executives throughout agencies in Sri Lanka such as Chairman, CEO’s, COO’s, and directors and managers involved in branding and client services. The study was highly focused and narrowed, with a clear audience. The below were the results and insights.

Thanzyl Thajudeen, Chief Executive of MNC, said ‘it’s my pleasure in bringing and sharing this insight. The study has revealed that agencies in Sri Lanka are moving towards the whole new digital and social media with Facebook suggested mostly taking social networks into account, and that there is an increasing consideration towards integrating these two mediums to bring out a wonderful mix in place. However there needs to be healthy, ethical competition and an essence to work together with the whole ecosystem in Sri Lanka – not fight and pitching in for projects’

(Photo caption above: Thanzyl Thajudeen, CE of MNC)

Critical mediums for Sri Lankan agencies at present

When asking as to whether has digital media particularly pointing out social media hit the Sri Lankan advertising industry as a whole, 55 percent confirmed yes followed by 36 percent stating ‘maybe’ and ‘it will’, along with a 9 percent being pessimistic saying ‘no, it hasn’t’. Interestingly, when asking whether digital and social media has hit their agency in particular, 55 percent confirmed ‘yes, it surely has’ followed by 36 percent stating ‘somewhat yes’ and a 9 percent stating ‘no’.

Illustration One: Current priority from clients for agencies in Sri Lanka (2011)

When surveying what their clients overall are giving priority to in the current context (Illustration One), there were some very interesting insights. Yes, as we all know – the traditional is the priority for now, along with the new media being somewhat a priority. Print, Television and Radio ranked the highest priority with a 100 percent score, followed by Outdoor with 81 percent confirming a priority whilst 21 percent stating somewhat or not at all a priority, and Sponsorships and Endorsements with 82 percent confirming a priority whilst 18 percent stated it’s somewhat or not at all a priority.

(Read more…)