Firefox New York Times ad – a first in community marketing?

In what can only be categorized as a milestone in “community marketing” or “citizen marketing”, Spread Firefox, the volunteer organization promoting the adoption of Firefox web browser, today placed a two page ad in the New York Times with the names of the people who helped finance the launch of Firefox.

From the press release:

The Mozilla Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving choice and promoting innovation on the Internet, today announced that it has placed a two-page ad in the December 16th edition of the New York Times. The ad, coordinated by Spread Firefox, features the names of the thousands of people worldwide who contributed to the Mozilla Foundation’s fundraising campaign to support last month’s highly successful launch of the open source Mozilla Firefox 1.0 web browser.

Consumers are now not only creating their own media via blogs. Now they help create advertising too. The homemade iPod ad is another current example. MoveOn ads yet another from earlier this year.

Wired writes: School teacher George Masters has the marketing world abuzz with a homemade ad for Apple Computer’s iPod that is rapidly “going viral.” To some experts, Masters’ ad heralds the future of advertising. Homemade ads will play a big part in marketing, just like blogging is shaking up the news.

In Sweden we sadly do the opposite and fake it. Food chain Coop is currently running a campaign with TV commercials that are produced by Coop’s own members. Or so it looks. In reality they are not. The members in the ads are actors, although not professional ones, but they have been casted and are not the ones who came up with the idea for the commercials.

Link via Micro Persuasion.

Media Matters puts pressure on advertisers

Media Watchdogs: A group of heavy liberal groups are putting pressure on Sinclair Broadcast Group, the largest owner and operator of television stations in the US. Media Matters for America with support by MoveOn, MediaChannel.org, Free Press, Working Assets, Robert Greenwald (Director, Outfoxed), AlterNet, and The Institute for America’s Future, are protesting on what they call “Sinclair Broadcast Group’s continued misuse of public airwaves” or in other words, conservative bias. Via the web site Sinclair Action, they are also encouraging citizens to put pressure on advertisers.

Link via DailyKos.

Advertising trends in 2005

Yesterday I wrote about predictions for web design in 2005. Now Pete Blackshaw at ClickZ has some predictions for buzz-driven marketing and advertising in 2005:

> Blogs absorb flak, yet stay on track.

> “I’ll watch the ads… for a price!”

> All media become product-placement vehicles.

> Wireless goes free (brought to you by Unilever).

> There’ll be more integrated-branding misfires.

> We’ll see a backlash to “sight, sound, and motion.”

On the last point above, Blackshaw concludes: Don’t be surprised if you start to see advertising that says something like, “This moment of silence is brought to you by (your brand here).”

The Moderate Party recycles blog entries

Tobias Billström and Sven Otto Littorin of the Moderate Party think alike. So alike that they are posting close to identical entries on their blogs. Billström at Politiskt.nu and Littorin at his own blog.

UPDATE: A few minutes after my posting, Billström changed his post and added a link to Littorin’s post, both in the text (“vi var några som reagerade på det”) and at the bottom of the post (See also Sven Otto Littorin’s original post). In the new version it looks like it is intentional that the posts have the same phrases. It didn’t before.

Billström:

MUF hade rätt!

Av: Tobias Billström (m) den 14 december 2004

För ett tiotal dagar sedan skickade Moderata Ungdomsförbundet ett avslitet hästhuvud i tyg till Byggnads “som symbol för sitt framtida fackliga arbete”. Vi var några som reagerade på det och tyckte att det var lite osmakligt. Allt facket gjorde var ju att driva sin linje om kollektivavtalen.

Men se så enkelt var det inte. Idag trappades konflikten upp – under ropen “go home, go home” blockerade byggfacket de lettiska byggjobbarna att komma in på sin arbetsplats. “De ska få veta att de är ett gäng svartfötter” säger Byggettans ordförande Torgny Jonsson i SvD.

Därmed har Byggnads kastat masken och visat vad frågan egentligen handlar om. Fackfolket har helt enkelt gett sig rollen som självpåtagna gränsstängare och passkontrollanter. Det handlar inte alls om att skydda letterna mot at bli “utnyttjade” av svenska företag. Det handlar om fackets privilegier och om “svenska jobb”, som man så tydligt formulerar det. Som om inte en lett eller polack har samma rättigheter att ta ett jobb i Sverige. Det Byggnads ägnar sig åt är destillerad främlingsfientlighet.

Hur länge skall regeringen ska ge sitt “oreserverade stöd” till dem som använder sådana metoder? På fredag är det en särskild debatt i riksdagens kammare om just den “svenska” kollektivavtalsrsätten. Skall bli mycket intressant att se hur arbetsmarknadsminister Hans Karlsson skall försvara Byggnads agerande.

Det går för övrigt en röd linje mellan ord om “social turism”, “lönedumping” och “svartfötter”, och det är ingen trevlig linje. Noterar förresten att Attac stödjer Byggettan.

Med såna vänner behöver man inga fiender…

Littorin:

MUF hade rätt!

För ett tiotal dagar sedan skickade MUF ett avslitet hästhuvud i tyg till Byggnads “som symbol för sitt framtida fackliga arbete”. Vi var några som reagerade på det och tyckte att det var lite osmakligt. Allt facket gjorde var ju att driva sin linje om kollektivavtalen.

Men se så enkelt var det inte. Idag trappades konflikten upp – under ropen “go home, go home” blockerade byggfacket de lettiska byggjobbarna att komma in på sin arbetsplats. “De ska få veta att de är ett gäng svartfötter” säger Byggettans ordförande Torgny Jonsson i SvD.

Fy fan, säger jag. Och undrar hur länge regeringen ska ge sitt “oreserverade stöd” till dem som använder sådana metoder. Det går en röd linje mellan ord om “social turism”, “lönedumping” och “svartfötter”, och det är ingen trevlig linje.

Noterar förresten att Attac stödjer Byggettan. Jojo, med såna vänner behöver man inga fiender…

Internetworld about blogs

I have been interviewed by Swedish Internetworld in the issue that comes out next week. Apparently I am on the cover as well (second from left). Haven’t read it yet so I hope I say something intelligent…

UPDATE: So I have read the article now, and it looked ok. I just have to correct one fact, namely that I am not a PR consultant. I am working as Marketing Communications Manager at the Swedish office of one of the leading global law firms.

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2004 Weblog Awards – final results

As expected, I had absolutely no chance in the final of the 2004 Weblog Awards, category Best European (Non-UK) Blog. Media Culpa was placed as #8, with a certain frogman grabbing half of all votes. Congrats to the Dissident Frogman and thanks to everyone that voted for me.

1. The Dissident Frogman 50.8%

2. BarcePundit 17.0%

3. A Fistful of Euros 10.8%

4. Hispalibertas 5.3%

5. La Petite Claudine 3.1%

6. The Joy of Knitting 2.4%

7. Elastico 2.3%

8. Media Culpa 1.9%

9. NouS 1.6%

10. Hot Loving gone cold 1.3%

11. Le Blaugue à Beleg 1.3%

12. Burp 1.0%

13. Turkish Torque 0.7%

14. NevOn 0.5%