A couple weeks ago, AiMA hosted Creating a Digital Brand. The panelists included Bryce Emo and David Borstein from MySpace.com and Jason Hirschhorn from MTV.com. It was moderated by AiMA's very own Mel Clements, Interactive Brand Manager from The Coca-Cola Company.
All I can say is if content is king, choice is most certainly its queen and MySpace and MTV have certainly harnessed the power of both. Take Kristin for example. She is a teenager who watched Laguna Beach on TV the other night. She was so excited about the episode, she went to the website. She found some great spoiler information and posted it on her MySpace account (by the way, MTV just announced it is also getting into the social networking business). Kristin also downloaded some music and the "ultimate hotty" and posted both on MySpace. Her friend Jill heard the song, saw the picture, and read about the spoilers and then went to the Laguna Beach website herself. Kristin also sent a text message to her friend Jenn about Laguna beach ring tones and short takes for her mobile phone. Not really interested in Laguna beach before, both friends are now big fans and TIVO it each week.
Traditionally, we learned about a TV show, a new car, or a new line of shampoo through TV or magazine ads. Integrated marketing was limited to ensuring your message and creative were consistent. Today, that same TV show, car company, or shampoo producer must create digital brands to complement their offline efforts. Integrated marketing means your TV or magazine ad need to have a digital component... Oh and forget to create that digital component someone can easily find and you can guarantee your competitors will be ready to grab those who come on line looking for you.
