© 2006 ORGANIC, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Who Brought the Brand to the Party?

Your brand’s role in Social Networks

Shane GinsbergExecutive Director, BD

Organic, Inc.

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Social Networks are an Emerging Platform

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June 2006

More than three out of five Web users between the ages of 13 and 17 have visited social networking sites like MySpace, with the majority of those who visit also joining such sites.- Burst Media Study, 2006

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Now

MySpace is getting a middle-aged spread. More than half the visitors..are now 35 or over..up from less than 40% last year…The proportion of MySpace’s audience between the ages of 12 and 24 has dropped to 30% from 44.3% over the last year

- Online Media Daily & comScore, October 6 2006

Social networks are thenew shopping malls

Social networks are thenew shopping malls

Malls built by users and ruled by their own rulesMalls built by users and ruled by their own rules

Inhabited by people seeking identity &

connections

Inhabited by people seeking identity &

connections

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for a long time, consumers have been coming to advertising spaces.

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but now advertisers are coming to a consumer-created space

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how can advertising remain relevant in this space?

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“The spirit of social computing is the spirit of leaving value in your wake”

> Bradley Horowitz, Technical Director - Yahoo

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It’s the injection of social currency

• It’s unique content or functionality they can’t get elsewhere• It’s tools to make the content portable• Exploits the natural desire to be the first on your block with something cool• Surprise & delight

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What Can Advertisers Gain?

• Advertisers have the opportunity to engage an audience with their brand in the audience’s environment

• They can prove their product’s relevance• They can provide the audience with the tools and badges

to better represent themselves.

"Teens are brand networking on their pages--they are trend-setters and they want to be the first to know or to spread something..that’s the cultural currency of life on MySpace.”- Shawn Gold, MySpace

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All Advertisers Have Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt

• This is about brand-building + loyalty building – NOT direct response.> DM approach is boring for users.

• Rejection is painful.

• Porn!> Its there, but you can’t have successful digital content and technology without the

adult entertainment industry…

• The waters move quickly..one misstep and you are likely to drown

• Horror stories for users of transparency gone wrong / too far - Walmart, Sony

• Will people really buy products they see on social networks? But will they know about them?

• Metrics are pretty soft> Counting friends and organic brand mentions is the current mainstream method> Its your job to count - get creative. Have fun with the initiative

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Social Networking is not dissimilar to a role playing game.

Brands need to decide..Am I a badge, a destination or social currency?

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Let’s look at an example where an advertiser leveraged social media to empower their fans, spread the word and build a community of customers.

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Creative Value by Enabling the Network

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How Did Fox Gain?

• Over 2,956,000 friends

• Opening weekend of $122,861,157

• Total US gross: $234,360,014

• An excited user base

• Control of a “switched on” viral marketing force

• An established marketing base to continue communications and sell the DVD

What’s on the Horizon?

• Growth, Functionality & Better Ad Support> More Partnerships (Google & MySpace)> Facebook?> Continued growth of older audiences> Deeper inclusion and support of video> Measurement & Metrics> Profile aggregators

• Mobile extensions and mobile communities> Group connectivity & community> Mobile content expansion (YouTube & Verizon)> Location based services > Mobile widgets & RSS push> Content downloads and viral pass along tools

• Gaming> Community gaming> Portable network gaming> Casual social & icebreaking games

• More Social Collaboration > Social networking in the enterprise> Group productivity, travel, shopping> Physical meetups> More mashups & RYO (Roll Your Own)

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© 2006 ORGANIC, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

ThanksShane Ginsberg

Executive Director, BDOrganic, Inc.