Arise the SMJ

The days of VJs

First there was the DJ. Sometime in my teens came the VJ, and then the IJ. All pretty, perfectly coiffed faces with sparkling personalities, primed for working the crowd.

Today SMJ-ing (social media jockey or uh, Facebook jockey) – has emerged as a genuine career option, for as long as the bubble holds out. Candidates should be savvy with the nuances of each platform and blessed with the ability to infect with enthusiasm in 140 characters or less.

Pretty face optional, because they hide behind a brand’s ID most times anyway.

Known occupation-linked ailments include carpal tunnel syndrome, Blackberry thumb and iPhone phobia from being piped in 24/7.

The not-so-hidden pair

Air New Zealand’s Nothing to hide campaign is one catchy headturner.

And it’s got this cute Kiwi accent.

But is it all that original?

Have a look at Elave’s skincare campaign from some years back and decide.

B2C2C

The paradox of peer-to-peer marketing is that by adding on to an idea, you often subtract from its pass-along value. The difference between viral and not-so-viral is a matter of split-second simplicity.

This video was part of a fairly successful launch campaign in 2007. And it was achieved at a fraction of what the official TVC probably cost.

Seize the day, but watch what you grab

In a rare deviation from the yarn marketers are paid to spin, this is a true story.

As a conscripted recruit over a decade ago, my daily objective was unwavering: get away with doing as little as possible. The point came when I was given a choice as to which of two guts-and-glory paths I would prefer to pursue for the remainder of my military stint. It is hardly surprising that I declined both and requested the path of least resistance – or so it was perceived.

The interviewer, roughly twice my age, took it in his stride. With a knowing nod, he said:

Be careful what you wish for, because what you think you want may not be what you think it is.

Help Prudential help Ed

Help Ed, by Prudential, is an example of a decent campaign idea derailed by abject execution. The lines between media, creative, digital and so forth are rapidly being fudged, but if ever there was a case for why they should stay, this would be it.

More on that later.

Tabs on The Great Singapore Treasure Hunt

On the basis of response alone, The Great Singapore Treasure Hunt is one of those campaigns you just have to (grudgingly or otherwise) doff your hat to.

Incidentally, I was first alerted to it by an external observer.

But it’s really caught on and grown, and regardless of how it continues to perform, the act of (what I can only hope are random) Facebook page members asking flamers and trolls to self-regulate has to be some kind of landmark in social media marketing.

Advertising value equivalent

Advertising value equivalent (AVE), particularly in the online context, has been derided as an outmoded measure of return on investment. And for good reason: no two people use the same formula, and the concept is inherently laden with too many assumptions.

In my book, attempting to derive online AVE is simply too much effort for too meaningless a number.

The effort depends on the formula you subscribe to, but good luck identifying and trawling sites regardless.

The result, however angled, is nothing more than a measure of efficiency that harks back to when (if ever) reach and frequency were the holy grail of ROI measurements, and might have some semblance of relevance only if your sole objective is to scrimp on paid media placement.

When guidelines are breached

Most companies worth their salt now have some form of corporate blogging guidelines that stipulate what employees can and shouldn’t do. Some have plans for responding to external criticism.

How many have guidelines (beyond gag and get rid) for dealing with internal breaches?

Social media and cyberloafing

As a student in the ICQ/Friendster days, I remember coming across a thesis titled Job stress as a precursor to cyberloafing.

Cyberloafing: Slang term used to describe employees who surf the net, write e-mail or other internet-related activities at work that are not related to their job. These activities are performed during periods of time when they are being paid by their employer. The individual is called a cyberloaf(er), while the act is cyberloafing.

And then the term ‘social media‘ was coined and formalised as a career option.

The fallacy of the dream job

Are the stars aligned?

If you weren’t doing what you’re presently doing, what would you be doing for a living?

I (still) see the romance in advertising, but suspect I might be happier penning columns by the beach. A travel writer of sorts, perhaps?

Would people follow, trust and pass on my work enough for me to pay the bills (and a bit more)?