brand you the takeover

franklinozekhome

YOUYOUYOUYOUBrandBrandBrandBrand

YOUYOUYOUYOUthethethethe

TakeoverTakeoverTakeoverTakeover

April 2010

The�internet�is�under�new�management.�

Yours.�

http://franklinozekhome.blogspot.com/2

Yours.�It’s�Y!ou.

The�The�The�The�

Face�of�Face�of�Face�of�Face�of�

New�MediaNew�MediaNew�MediaNew�Media

Yahoo’s marketing campaign, “It’s You”, launched in September

2009, summarizes the subject of this presentation. That, the new

chief executive of the online world is YOUYOUYOUYOU. One of the campaign

print ad states: “You are about to enter a place shaped by you. For

You. Yahoo.com.” You determine what it is you want uploaded on

your web page, and customize it based on your own unique taste

and inclination - video, pictures, colours, layout, blog links, social

forums, search preferences, and mobile conversion formats.


“It’s�You”�print�ads


We are constantly faced with changing formats, from the way we receive and utilize media content,

to our interaction with online media platforms like Yahoo, YouTube and Facebook. We are moving away

from preset programming, fed to us by broadcast networks, to continually evolving audience networks

You I,


and our own social connections. You and I, the media consumers of the 21st Century, will not only determine

what we want to see, when and how we see it, but also, shape future brands and their content by our acceptance

or adaptation of their offerings into our orbit and sphere of influence. We are the face of the new media world.

SyncMaster iPad Droid

Mike�walshMike�walshMike�walshMike�walsh, a leading authority + keynote speaker on the digital

future, states in his groundbreaking

literary masterpiece,

Futuretainment: Yesterday the

world changed, now it’s your turn:

“Audience Networks are human-based; rather than relying

on satellites or transmitter towers, consumers access

content via links with other consumers. Those links might be

direct [a referral from a friend], or indirect [generated from

a list of recommendations]. The crucial difference from how

a traditional media network works, is that the interaction of

people within the new network makes it smarter.”


Mike�walsh


“You can find Audience Networks everywhere: a circle of friends

connected via an instant-messaging program, a group of business

associates joined on a business-networking site such as LinkedIn,

teenagers’ blogging about their favorite online personality, a celebrity

with a million followers on Twitter, a network of electro fans on

Facebook, or a statistically similar set of book-buyers on Amazon.”

During the Second World War, Americans visited the movie theatres to watch news highlights of the war.

Now, we watch live television + breaking news across the globe on CNN. For over half a century, we have

depended on TV guides + journals to check out weekly and monthly updates in entertainment. Now, we can

record our favourite movies and sport programmes directly from our mobile phones, for up to ten days in

advance, and watch them at our leisure. In the near future, this context would likely seem odd and “out-of-

place”. It would be like telling someone, that in order to have a memorable experience, one must watch

Avatar at the movie theater.


That thought belongs to yesterday.

Today�is�about�future�thinking.


The consumer has already moved beyond fixed platforms, and does not want to be restricted to form and context any longer. Tendencies

are that consumers will likely watch and listen more to media content that have been formatted to fit within their lifestyles, are convenient and

have dynamic, adaptable formats for sharing and personalization. Say, for instance, I purchase “The Blind Side” on iTunes, and download to my

iPad. After I finish watching the film, I’ll rename it “Donnie’s Blind Side”, probably give it a grade of 3 or four stars, share my review with friends

on Twitter, and add a link to a reformatted version of the movie that can be downloaded and watched – free of charge. A worthy prize to my

followers who also discuss movie trends and share similar links on the same subject.

The�The�The�The�

power�of�power�of�power�of�power�of�

You!You!You!You!

Media + entertainment companies as we know it

will become dinosaurs of the golden age, unless

they drastically change their content distribution

strategies. We are currently witness to the

demise of print titles and their evolution to

compatible digital platforms.


More and more, we find out that consumers only watch a movie

or show that has been referred through their Facebook pal, or

shared by a favourite blogger on their audience network.

Popularity + future ratings of television series like Spartacus: Blood

and Sand will be dependent on the number of tweets or

comments posted on an article about it; and buzz items and

shared links that are woven around it. No longer would it be about

weekend box office or DVD sales. The success of huge TV shows

like “Oprah” and “America’s Next Top Model” will become wholly

dependent on what + how consumers feel about it.

If an influencer – someone held in high esteem and commands

huge traffic to his blog + rss feed comments negatively huge traffic to his blog + rss feed comments negatively

about America’s Next Top Model, chances are that these comments

would be retweeted, layered with personal thoughts, and forward

to Facebook friends, customized with a picture or two, and video

link from YouTube.

Audience networks will in turn take over the message,

personalizing it with their own distinctive remarks and

observations, and feeding it into their individual networks - that

could average over one million people within 24 hours. If the

reactions + feedback are negative, and generally in line with the

influencer’s observation, chances are that viewership + ratings will

drastically drop for the reality TV show, as it would have lost a

share of its captive audience overnight.

The power of social media influencers cannot be over-

emphasized. With the expansion of Twitter, Facebook

and Google into other sectors beyond their primary

constituencies, consumers are now able to harness


constituencies, consumers are now able to harness

content via various mobile platforms and can instantly

share their thoughts and ideas like never before.

In the February edition of Advertising Age’s Digital Issue, Lady Gaga

was listed as No. 1, and featured on the front cover with the poser:

“This�Is�the�New�Face�of�Social-Media�Marketing.”�

The choice of putting Lady Gaga as social media’s

influencer par excellence was adduced as follows:


Lady Gaga, with her army of nearly 2.8 million Twitter followers and more than 5.2 Facebook fans, can move

product. Since fall 2008, her digital-single sales have exceeded 20 million and her album sales hit 8 million, all

at a time when no one under the age of 60 buys CDs anymore. The November première of her video for “Bad Romance”

…debuted on LadyGaga.com before MTV or any other outlet could play it—resulting in a Universal Music server crash,

a Twitter trending topic that lasted all week and a cumulative 110 million [and counting] views on YouTube to date,

more than any viral music video of yore…could ever claim. [source: Advertising Age]

“

”

In�April�2009,�Ashton�Kutcher�became�

the�first�person�to�boast�of�1�million�

followers�on�Twitter�…�

…narrowly beating CNN’s breaking-news feed, which had 998,239

followers at the time. CNN crossed the million-mark 30 minutes

later. That same day, Kutcher appeared on “Larry King Live”

to talk about the power of Twitter.


“We now live in an age in media that a single

voice can have as much power and relevance

on the Web, that is, as an entire media network.

And I think that to me was shocking.”

Increasingly, mainstream media is now dictated by

social media feeds + audience networks.

Celebrities like Lady Gaga, Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs and

Ashton Kutcher have become media powerhouses in

their own right. They can launch their own camera,

perfume, lipstick or bestseller, and even produce an

independent movie flick, and are assured of a loyal

fan base that will buzz and tweet about everything

they do + carry on the news to potential consumers

and purchasers of their products.


Kutcher has gone on to exploit his social status by

launching Katalyst, a new kind of Media Company

that attempts to “bridge the gap between

Hollywood, technology and Madison Avenue.”

[Source: Mashable.com]

Ellen McGirt in her Fast Company article on Katalyst

proclaimed on the headliner: “Mr. Social: Ashton

Kutcher Plans to Be the Next New Media-Mogul.”

She posits further: “The Katalyst HQ series

illuminates what Kutcher’s production company

wants to become: not just a home for his television


wants to become: not just a home for his television

and movie projects but also a go-to source for brands

looking to deploy what’s called “influencer

marketing,” a squishy hybrid of entertainment

content, advertising, and online conversation that

finds its audience via video, animation, Twitter,

blogs, texts, and mobile.”

True to form, within a few short months, Katalyst

had attracted top multinational clients like Pepsi,

Kellogg and Nestle to its rooster, based on Kutcher’s

social networking power and influence - 4.6 million

Twitter followers and 3.3 million Facebook fans.

Your!�Your!�Your!�Your!�

Media�Media�Media�Media�

companycompanycompanycompany


The more we interact with one

another online, and leave ‘tags’

and signatures that can be

traced back to us, the more we

become searchable on the

internet. People begin to relate

to us by what we share, say and

do online. If you blog about

something that is relevant, and

connects with others who have

the same beliefs and ideals,

there is a high potential for your

blog to attract huge traffic, as

followers of followers of your

original audience will check out

why their influencers find you

cool, and worth chatting about.


Consumers weaving their web of instant checking, tracking and alerting. Source: www.trendwatching.com

Media companies + marketers are now consulting with “social magnates” [revise that definition], and

spending millions of marketing dollars leveraging their brands by supporting “people with connections”, and

not necessarily celebrities that have won a Grammy or Wimbledon championship. The likelihood today, is that

if you are a trending topic for a minute, and I mean that, literary, you could get your own reality TV show and

attract endorsements if you have a smart manager behind you.

We all know the story of Paris Hilton, Kim Kardashian, and most recently, the famous Virginia couple,

the Salahis, that crashed the November 2009 White House state dinner, and shook hands with President

Obama. Michaele and Tareq Salahi have been awarded a gig by Bravo on growing reality television franchise,

“The Real Housewives of D.C.” Talk about exploiting all avenues.


Our blogs, emails, online profiles, Facebook status, Tweets + LinkedIn messages are all interlinked, and will be

structured to form our own personal media companies. The number of contacts and followers we have in our

individual network, the popularity of our profile, opinions and web links on various topics, and the volume of

visits to our websites, blogs + social forums will justify your company’s rating and sphere of influence under the

new media watch list, and the value of your media ratecard.

Food�for�thought.

A visualization of [gigantic] global online traffic from The internet Mapping Project . Source: www.springwise.com + www.mediaspin.com

Thanks goes to the following individuals + companies for citation of their original

materials and use of photos:

Futuretainment.com

Trendwatching.com

Mother New York

Springwise.com

Mediaspin.com

Acknowledgements


Mediaspin.com

Harryjerry.com

Mashable.com

Fast Company

YouTube.com

Reinier Evers

Ellen McGirt

Google.com

Mike Walsh

Yahoo.com

Identiture

insidethe mind

of a m/ad man

franklinozekhome™ is a strategic planner, trendspotter, and a student of

culture and brands. A leading authority + keynote speaker on brand

marketing, future trends, and Nigerian marketnomics, he was recently

nominated by The Future Awards as “2010 Business Professional of thenominated by The Future Awards as “2010 Business Professional of the

Year.” Ozekhome previously held senior roles at InsightGrey and

McCann Erickson, and has spent over a decade advising leading

companies and brands like British Airways, Samsung, Audi, PepsiCo,

British American Tobacco, MTN, Access Bank and Emirates Airline.

He is the Founder + Chief Strategy Officer of Identiture®, a New York

based, strategic planning firm, helping brands like Good Burger, CraVe

Sandwiches and SignaPay embrace new ideas.

Follow his rants, raves and tantrums on Twitter@donniefranklin.


brand you the takeover

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