Samsung and Olympics with sports 2.0

As i continue to explore the various brands which are involve in the Olympics and are the TOP partners, and how they leverage their brands to maximize their sponsorship with the Olympics.

Today, I’ll be looking at how Samsung has been maximizing their sponsorship with the Olympics.

They extended their sponsorship last year all the way through to 2016 and have been TOP since 1997. Thats one longggg sponsorship if u ask me, but worth every damn cent.

So what’re the efforts they’re doing this year? How are they gonna leverage their brand with the Olympics, not only as an event but by aligning their brand values with the largest sporting event in the world?

Seems like Samsung has been doing some regional work. Which i think is better than just leveraging a mass brand appeal with the Olympics. Different regions require a localized marketing effort to fully promote the Olympics with your brand!

So, let’s start with Asia.

In India, they’ve organized the ‘Samsung Olympics Game Quest 2008″ for school children. The regions involved in this competition include Mumbai, Kolkata, Banglaore and Dehli. In addition to this effort to promote the Olympics, they’re also offering sponsorships to student athletes. Talk about being a global brand with a strong recognition and association to sports!

In Singapore, Samsung has tied up with Discovery Channel to showcase a 2 hour special of the Ultimate Olympics Special and other programs which are related to China. It’s almost as if it’s following Visa’s example of promoting the country as well! Promoting the country as a brand is significant for the country hosting the Olympics. It serves to benefit every1 if such partnerships were fully utilized to increase the exposure of the event to the masses.

I’m sure other regions have their own individual efforts but I wouldn’t dwell into them. So let’s move on to product launches and Brand ambassadors.

Of course, the whole point of a sponsorship is to not only increase brand awareness but to utilize the event as a platform to promote your new products. So Samsung has launched 3 phones to tie in with launch of the event. And they actually did it a year b4? This is where I wonder if the launch was too soon and should have been delayed by 2 quarters to have a nice build up to the height of the games… But i’m guessing they must have their reasons…

Lastly, whats an event sponsorship without having some super athlete to hold your product and look good. Endorsements are vital and although using celebrity endorsements are very well argued here and here, I’m trying to think of Samsung’s rationale for choosing Liu Xuan as its 2008 Beijing Olympic ambassador?

So it isn’t just simply putting your brand as a TOP to get brand awareness, a lot more work has to be done after securing the partnership… Which makes one wonder if Lenovo’s idea to sponsor the Olympics to this year was really a good idea despite its claims to focus on different regions… I’m guessing costing.

Sadly, I haven’t been able to find any form of web 2.0 efforts by Samsung… Facebook groups with 50 ppl or less don’t count… I mean, for a mobile company, with the rise of smart phones, there should have been some kind of marketing effort to use social media as another medium…

SAMSUNG HAS NO SPORTS 2.0?? I mean c’mon… considering the number of Facebook groups asking brands to boycott the Olympics this year, surely some kind of reputation management must be done online? Is Samsung really avoiding the truth?

I think Samsung has done a great job in the traditional channels, but failed to utalize the growing mediums of web2.0 and digital media to enhance and really max out their sponsorship….  What do you think? Or have you come across any online or web2.0 efforts by them?

JUST FOR FUN TUESDAY!!

Last week i gave u nothing, this week you will help me decide something…

I’m having a dilemma of choosing btw an Xbox 360 and a PS3. See, i had PS 1&2 and they rock!!!! But now, I’ve been lagging a little in the gaming curve…

I’ve read dozens of reviews on Yahoo! Answers on which console i should get. Like here, check out the 2nd answer, it’s a bloody essay!

So here’re the reasons, in a nutshell why i should get Xbox (as summarized by others)

1) Cheaper Games

2) The variety of Games

3)Number of online users

And here’s why I should get a PS3

1) Free online access

2) Blu-ray Baby!!

3) Just being loyal (Dog trait)

So yeah, I’m weighing these options and I’m wondering in Singapore which is a better option. I’m kindda leaning towards PS3 now, ya, just cause of FF13….

The blu ray is pretty cool too…

But i found an interesting article today on Microsoft’s xbox… (Funny this took so long to figure out) But they’re attempting a model of social media for user-generated games to be sold online… Pretty cool if u ask me, kindda like an Amazon but with more benefits to developers and gamers… I wonder if its gonna be the Hollywood effect being dominant or the long tail coming into play for the gaming industry…

Anyhows, I need your help ppl!!! 360 or PS3??

And since i trust my readers more than Yahoo! answers, any1 hv any idea where i can get these kick ass Puma Bonnie and Clyde shoes?

Olympics and Lenovo with Sports 2.0

The Olympics is gonna be starting next week! We’re talking about the largest sporting spectacle the world has to witness and how it has come to China this year.

China has had its fair share of controversies with regards to the Tibet issue and Carrfour and France…. It’s also shown how internet as a medium has been restricted by the government and how users have found ways to go around these restrictions. There was the earthquake which showed the China government could be transparent and wasn’t totally inflexible.  I talked more about it here in my post on Citizen Journalism and its works in China. In fact, Rebecca MacKinnon, former Beijing Bureau Chief of CNN who now teaches digital journalism at Hong Kong University. shares some journalism tips when using the internet as a medium.

Now with the background all laid out for China 2008, the Olympics will prove to be the next story board in China as a brand. Hopefully no political issues will be dragged into this sporting event to mar it as another event filled with political debates.

What i want to emphasize is the brands who are participating in the Olympics. I wouldn’t be covering China as a brand itself, I’ll have to wait for the end of the year to have a good overview of how China has fared.

What is great about this Olympics is the use of social media. Let me bring your attention to Lenovo. A China brand which owns IBM’s laptops has propelled themselves into the sports marketing scene. With sponsorships in the NBA, F1 BMW and now the Olympics, Lenovo has positioned itself to be the technology to use to capture the best in the sporting industry. Pretty slick move considering the various stigmas haunting ‘made in china’ brands. Read more about the Olympic athletes blogging here.

But what’s great about Lenovo has been its use of social media in the sporting industry. Just recently, the Olympic council has allowed the athletes to blog about their experiences. This was banned in previous Olympics, also showing how the Olympics are embracing social media and its increasing importance in today’s world. Lenovo understands this and supports the use of blogging for athletes by providing them with a laptop each to blog about their daily experiences.

What’s so great about blogging by athletes is that it allows your favorite athletes to share what goes through their minds during those critical moments. I mean, take a step back and think, sports allure is how the athletes attract people to watch them play, i mean throw in the fact that you get a personal diary note on his/her blog rather than a set up interview, doesn’t that just kick ass? Great product placment for your brand too! IIn the words of Shamus McGillicuddy,

In the world of sports, there are two things that fans obsess over: the games and the statistics that surround those games.

And what better blend than special media and sports to get this across. Kindda like eggs and bacon, salt and pepper, Mark and Remzy, ya get the idea…

I’m gonna be taking a look at other brands over the next few weeks to see what efforts are they doing as we approach closer to the Games.

Press Releases and Journalism (The World and Asia)

You know when you’re getting older… You’ve had a few drinks the night before and slept at 4 plus in the morning, yet you’re able to wake up at 10….

Anyhows, i wanna talk about press releases and Journalism today. I came across this Edelman blog post here on killing press releases. I really like the idea of the ‘what if’ situation whereby no press releases are sent out and traditional media picks the story up themselves. Which means no more writing out a press release, just do an online blog post and the media will come flocking to u….

Yet while I was thinking of all that, Priscilla sent me this neat study done on Newspaper companies. Bad economic times, fewer journalists and editors and the new medium of web enhancing their competitiveness make an interesting study on how newsrooms are surviving today.

This was a really nice fit to my train of thoughts, as I was wondering, if the trend of the edelman post does continue, it would mean no more last minute deadlines to prepare the press releases before the launch of the product or an event. It would mean power to the brand, getting the message across on your own platform…

Plus to tie up with that study, and to take it a long shot forward, would it mean that no more mass spamming of all the papers reporting the same thing? Would we see newer niches carving a space for themselves as each paper might have to source for their own stories?

While thats a nice thought which might change the whole ‘media impression’ term, i doubt it will happen in Asia for the next few years. I don’t think i wanna continue there, not to offend the journalists but i think we’re just at a different stage of progression here. Not much experience in the PR industry so i’m not too sure if what i said is true about Asia and press releases and journalism.

So with the study on newsrooms and the possible tot of ‘axeing press releases’, a trend likely to happen? A trend to cross over to Asia? Or just an over reaction from web enthusiast?

3 tech happenings and 3 insightful communications tips

This week brings about another influx of tech happenings which might excite people. While its great that the tech is constantly improving to serve our needs, i think its good to take a step back to look at what really matters, the people and not the technology.

Anyhows, before diving into that, here’s a quick update on the tech happenings….

1) WordPress iPhone app, beautiful addition if u ask me.

2) Facebook’s redesign, not much of a diff, i dun care too much for the privacy issue…

3) Google buying Digg, that would change a lot of things… I wonder if they would leave the service be or maximize ad revenue from it by manipulating the digg results…

Great, moving on, there’re some awesome postings i came across today which i would like to share

1) Walter shares telling the bad news and how companies should deal with their reputation management in times of a crisis. I blogged about something similar but with regards to social media bring an option to consider when a company faces a crisis in Crisis management: Social media the way to go?.

2) Seth Godin once again provides valuable insights on the Long Tail theory in The long tail and the dip and warns that it is not a consolation prize but rather another market to master which requires a different set of marketing skills and more time and money to move to the lower end of the tail. I agree and it provides me a fresher perspective from my previous blog on the theory Mass heads or long tail.

3) Lastly, if you’re driven to find an ROI on social media and how we NEED to find a way to justify the use of this medium, this post on measuring social media effectiveness is wonderfully insightful.

I particularly like this part on what the “I” in ROI should really stand for when measuring the effectiveness of social media.

Is Return on Investment really the right term, then? Perhaps we need to consider a new “I” when it comes to social media. How about these:

• Return on Initiative. What are we reaping from the effort when we look at it holistically?
• Return on Interaction. Are you having better conversations with your customers and do they feel more connected to you?
• Return on Involvement. Does this change how involved your customers want to be with your business?

So there you have it, 3 great tech happenings and 3 things we should look out for in traditional communications which is still effective. I hope you found this insightful and would love to hear what u might have to share which might be interesting in a marketing or PR perspective.

JUST FOR FUN TUESDAY!!!!

Why you should watch Supernatural

Why Resident Evil Rocks and Why i can’t wait for part 5

Why Remzy and i are like Sammy and Dean Martin

The story of Vivian and Mark (Needed to seek permission from the lady first)

PS3 v.s Xbox

Fine, i ran outta ideas on what to share whats fun because i haven’t been reading up much fun stuff… U caught me, but dun worry, I’ll have something next week… I wanted to do a superhero one to tie in with Batman but Remzy gave the “Let’s go for a walk, u promised!” look, so this is short and impromptu…

Are the mobile handset brands ready for social media?

3 mobile companies have just released their earnings for Q2 2008 over the past weekend. Having done one of my branding projects on Motorola, the recent releases did not surprise me.

Firstly, Motorola has been predicted to fall to 5th place behind LG and Ericson here. Ericson too has seen a fall in sales by a whooping 97% and has resorted to laying of 2000 of its staff to cut costs, read more about it here.

Mobile giants Nokia on the other hand has seen increasing sales despite the industry’s tough competition within the industry. Apple’s iPhone is still soaring in demand, even in places it has yet to be launched. (I know, I’m waiting for 1 too…)

Motorola’s sad story goes all the way back to its lost of appeal over its single dependency on its Razor, causing it to split its mobile division from the parent company. Ericson might be suffering cause of the iPhone and the fact that Samsung and Nokia have snatched a large market share from them.

But one thing can be learned from the mobile industry, is that a brand has to be unique, it has to own something. K, take a look at Motorola, the Razor used to be such a wicked phone, the phone to bring Motorola to new heights (They were the first company to develop the mobile phone), but when that factor was lost, Motorola slipped, and they fell hard. They kept depending on a product that just wasn’t cool anymore. The brand image changed from cool to just plain boring….

LG snatched some of that away with its nice cool factor, HTC did pretty well with its diamond, Ericson focused on music but lost that unique selling factor too… None of them were really able to adapt to the demands of their new branding proposition while trying to retain their core brand message. Lack of innovation, bad engineers or designers, poor marketers, i don’t know… Whatever messed up must’ve been the lack of ability to keep up to listen to the consumers.

Nokia has got some pretty cool campaigns which involved the people (Connecting people…) for some game shows using their GPS systems, they seem to lack a grasp of using digital media and making a campaign go from viral to plain confusing.

While I’m wondering if a brand ,in such a fast changing industry, is so crucial, why hasn’t there been more campaigns or designing process involving the consumers? Why keep banging on the same damn one way traditional channels?

Is it safe to say that the Long Tail theory is flawed here and that mass appeal still has its effect on consumers?

I would like to think so. People liked Nokia in the late 90’s, Motorola’s Razor was cool 3 years back, youth went nuts over the music phone from Ericson just 1-2 years ago, now we’re all rushing for the iPhone. (Heck, Apple’s isn’t even known to produce phones like Nokia and we don’t even know what the data plans are like, yet we’re all nuts about it, why?) Mass appeal, or the Hollywood effect, still has its appeal to us.

So back to the big title question, are the mobile handsets ready for social media? or should they carry on launching it like a blockbuster movie?

Would be glad to hear your thoughts!

Branding Campaigns Longevity

I apologize for the lack of postings Actually, i don’t, it’s cause of my final term paper that I haven’t been posting, so I couldn’t help it. (Although the paper went horribly wrong.. sigh.. another reason why I can’t do science)

Anyhows, I was taking a look at Kasier Kuo’s “Where are the Jonses? A cautionary tale” post, I’ve heard about this campaign before but as i was reading through it, i started trying to recall other campaigns which used social media tools, then i started thinking about general branding campaigns. I thought of some of the more famous campaign and their extensions and how long these have been around.

Those that come to mind immediately are Adidas “Nothing is impossible campaign” and the ” Dream Big” extension. The “Got Milk” campaign and “Get the glass” extension. Intel’s brilliant “Intel Inside” campaign was a classic which has been around for really long. The Marlboro man, etc….

So here comes the thinking pot where i throw and mix my questions and answers around. How long should a brand keep a campaign? Doesn’t it get stale after a while? Do we really want to see an extension of the current campaign? Wouldn’t something fresh rejuvenate the brand?

But then, on the other side, wouldn’t it hurt ur brand image if you make a radical re-branding effort? Where’s the consistency if Nike suddenly turns around and goes, “We’re a classic brand for the distinguished sportsmen/women” (OK, a little extreme and unlikely).  Don’t fix what isn’t broken.

Really basic 101 branding stuff, but where do you draw the line when u feel your brand needs a face lift? Can’t wait until sales are down cause that would mean going against an uphill task….

So thank god for social media! Hearing what blogs have to say about your current brand. Are you top of mind recall? Do you still reflect the same brand values you wanted to or do people view it as boring in the community…

Yet I am hesitant on using social media to test out a new campaign before a brand rolls out a multi-channel campaign. Should we test it out on communities that adore the brand? What would their reaction be if we pull out knowing they dislike it?

Sure we could do focus groups on a few groups of ppl ( Brand evengislist, day to day users, brand haters, etc..) But let us assume that the budget is really tight.Which route to take?

I’m now hoping the I’m talkathon campaign by Microsoft for social causes goes well because it’s such a unique extension (Although some ppl beg to differ on the comments on my posting I’m Talkathon, Thumbs up or down?)

Oh yeah, according to this, brands thinking of setting up their own social networking site? Bad idea… Join the rest of the community at their homes, don’t throw a one million dollar party that nobody goes to… (I love that quote).

Increasing Search Engine Ranking??

Today, my JUST FOR FUN will be postponed because a problem has been bugging my mind and i cant seem to shake it off even after walking Remzy.

I need to know how to push up a page ranking in search engines such as Google and Yahoo ( who cares about msn really…)

Anyhows,I just figured out how Google works their search Engine results. Being lazy and pressed for time because of the finals on Friday, i just cut out a caption of an article on Google algorithm.

Google algorithm. It is this algorithm in which Google uses to index every webpage on the Internet. This indexing then ranks the pages based on importance on a scale of 0 to 10, with one being the lowest and ten of course being the highest.

This importance is tracked by the number of of other web pages that link back to it. The algorithm goes into more depth than that, but basically that is how it works. Your goal to build up your website or blog should be to increase its rank. Increasing its rank will invariably display your information higher on the list during a Google search for keywords that your site includes.

So this same article includes 4 points to increase your rankings. While i probably knew that already, I’ve started a thread in friendfeed to harnese the power of social media.

So do let me know any way i can increase a webage’s ranking on Google or Yahoo! Much Appreciated!!

Post Plurk, Present Scour and Livley

In my endless pursuit to see which technology can make social media even more social, I’ve discovered 2 tools which might interest u. But before i begin, let’s start with Plurk, the “almost” kid….

Plurk

Let me say how detached i am from Plurk…  Not that I blame them, i mean it was a novel idea with the timeline and refreshing from Twitter’s breakdown, but i guess this write up which shows 3 important statistics on Plurk (Yeah, I’m a sucker for numbers…) is pretty interesting. If u ever need to know anything after the Plurk hype its these 3 points:

1) Plurk definitely benefited from the blogosphere bump

2) Plurk is very definitely trending downwards.

3) Those that are staying with Plurk are paying a lot more attention

What i like is that it supports wordpress. However, it boils back down to the same question of where the community are. Right now I’m with Friendfeed but I’m curious as to what communities Plurk is building? It might not be heavily focused on social media, but it might include other communities with more personal conversations…(Like the knitting community). Now a microblogging service which caters to niche communities, a product of the long tail. Or will these communities move?

Scour

Ever been frustrated when using a search engine and cant find what u need? Doesn’t matter if its Google, Yahoo! or MSN, sometimes u need to go through 1-2 search engines to get what you need.

What if u had a search engines that combined all the best of the search results? Throw in a little social and these results allow you to add comments and rank them through votes.  What’s neat is that you can filter them by which search engines you want!

If that sounds like the ideal search engine, then Scour is for u. You learn more from the demo here, but what is really awesome is that it rewards its users through the accumulation of points. Similar to all your karma points at Plurk but you get rewarded with Scour points which you can trade for Visa Gift Cards.

Personally I think its really cool (But I’m an optimists with beta products and considering the competition they have to fend off and who the main base of users are going to be) but this idea is great, no more flipping between Google and Yahoo! for me. Just mashing them up together, I’m not too sure on the business side how this is being handled. Who gets the adverting fees for the search and display ads? Care to share any1 who knows?

Lively:

I hated Sims, I dislike Secondlife and I sure as hell am too lazy to explore Lively… After flipping through the site, i just didn’t like the vibe of it… So you can read about this negative review here (Because i want to skew your views to mine, lol…) Jokes aside, can someone plz tell me then what is Google’s purpose of doing this? Another value added service or another dumb mistake in trying to squeeze out more money out of virtual worlds? Or if you’re a huge fan raving about it, tell me whats so different about it?

So i’m off to explore how Plurk is doing after not logging in for a month and which communities are still active there (Crosses finger and hopes for the animal welfare community and not knitting grannies only). Try out Scour and let me know your feedback on it!