John S. Wolfe

This is another in a series of reports about the Social Media Marketing 2010 conference, held June 17 in London.

Social media – particularly applications like Twitter and Foursquare – are so new that there are not a lot of examples of campaigns and effectiveness.

So individuals and agencies are blazing trails, trying new things and seeing what works and what doesn’t.

Andrew Walker of Thin Martian (@killdozer on Twitter) and Steve Parker of Cohnwolfe had such an experience.

Steve Parker discusses marketing “The Anvil” DVD on Twitter.

In January 2009 the pair was challenged with marketing DVD sales of the 2008 movie Anvil, an English spin on the “Spinal Tap”-style rockumentary.

Often such campaigns are like the movie release: a buildup of several weeks to a launch date. Then market attention switches to the next DVD release.

“We wanted a campaign with a longer shelf life,” Walker told the attendees at the June 17 Social Media Marketing conference in London.

The idea: Create a petition to get the unknown band to play at Glastonbury, the annual summer concert in Glastonbury, England.

Next, the pair developed a triangle around that central idea. The three sides would incorporate social media, the mainstream media and real-world experiences.

The objectives:

1. Compare the value of broadcast marketing and “conversations.”
2. Establish relevant metrics.
3. Define best practices for Twitter marketing

They chose Twitter (and the handle @anvilmovie) because:

1. It allowed them to brand it with a message attached
2. It could create traction because of the two-way nature of communication
3. The more interaction, the more traction
4. Interaction would drive more unique people to see their message
5. The “self-selecting” social media model (only viable customers are engaged and participate) suggested that Twitter’s reach could be equivalent to premium ad slots in other media.

They created a “TOTS” standard: Twitter Opportunity To See. They would take the number of followers, multiply it by potential re-tweets, and then multiple it by the total individuals who might see the re-tweets.

It allowed for an estimate of “potential reach,” Walker said.

With the objectives set, the PR team was ready to promote the band, with the dreamed –of concert appearance six months away.

They tweeted announcements, trivia and “spottings.” They also followed their followers. They identified hashtags being used that referred to the movie. They direct-messaged the users of the hashtags.

“You want to identify and follow the key influencers in your sector,” Parker said. “If they re-tweet you, you’re golden!”

As the campaign to get the band to Glastonbury heated up on Twitter, the agency reached out to the mainstream media, pitching story ideas related to the group’s “tragic story” and the fan support online.

The campaign culminated with the agency delivering a real experience to the fans, in the form of concerts leading up to Glastonbury.

“In the end, DVD sales exceeded expectations,” Parker said. The band also signed major recording contracts.

Their Twitter dos and don’ts:

Do:

• Be honest. They would tell followers “I’m with the PR team” and not try to pass themselves as the band.
• Actively use hashtags, follow others and engage in conversations.
• Don’t overinvest in strategy. “Twitter is tactical, organic and short-term,” Parker said.
• Remember, you are creating a media “channel,” which is a long-term vehicle whose objective will evolve over time.
• If you get it right , expect 50% participation.

Don’ts:

• Twitter campaigns don’t always extend to Facebook and YouTube.
• Promotions involving prizes are less effective.
• You still may not get the mainstream media’s attention.
• You may not get the re-tweeting you expect.

The effort was an ultimate success, Parker said.

“We believe this got more traction than traditional advertising in terms of scale, reach and awareness,” he said.