And just so you’re not shocked, that trend/search will have a promoted tweet on top, too. For example, this one:

“You’ve waited 11 years to see Woody and Buzz again. Toy Story 3 – Share the experience with friends! www.disneyticketstogeter.com”

After coping with being slightly underwhelmed, here is what we can learn from this:

1. A Promoted Trend/Tweet isn’t quite the regular tweet that Biz Stone talked about.

Contrary to Biz Stone’s initial insistence, that their advertising offers would amplify valuable content by fellow twitterers, the Sponsored Trend has turned out to be a classical corporate marketing tool.

“Since all Promoted Tweets are organic Tweets, there is not a single “ad” in our Promoted Tweets platform that isn’t already an organic part of Twitter.” Twitter Blog

Yeah… that’s, like, totally organic if you are a very big company with a marketing department lots of followers.

2. Twitter is for old people,too.

If have the patience (and a life eventless enough) to wait 11 years for a sequel, you’re obviously well past puberty or youth. But of course, that was not the only promoted Toy Story tweet. Disney/Pixar must have actually promoted many different tweets for different audiences. Which eventually self-filtered and travelled to their relevant target groups.

Here is another Toy Story Promoted Tweet, found on Piers Fawkes’ PSFK.

3. Twitter understands reading behaviour and layout.

A promoted tweet looks indeed like a regular tweet, and is placed at the top. Twitter is obviously aware that our search result reading habits are incredibly impatient. We rarely go beyond the fifth result. The “Promoted Trend” however, goes to the bottom of the listed trends, but with a yellow highlight. It draws your eyes down to the end of the list, while seemingly being decent enough to not insinuate itself at the top.

4. DisneyPixar is serious about social business.

The URL in the Tweet, www.disneyticketstogether.com, does not take you to a microsite. It takes you to a facebook app, which allows you both to buy tickets and to connect with other Disney/Pixar fans. Well done, Mouseketeers, this does seem to make a lot of sense.

At the same time, it feels almost counterintuitive these days. So much news is centered around extending the reach of its Facebook’s social power beyond the facebook site. Levis’ social shopping site being a nice example. However, Disney is moving e-business inside the facebook “walls”.

Either way, it’s an app that helps Facebook reach a new level. The New York Times has a nice article and quote on why Facebook loves this move just as much as Disney/Pixar:

“What Disney is doing moves beyond just creating awareness to using the platform to acquire customers directly,” Mr. Rose said. “This is the first time that a movie studio has tried this, which we think makes a lot of sense because moviegoing is one of those activities that is inherently social.” Dan Rose, Facebook VP Platform Marketing (NYT)

We agree. And thus, weirdly, a boring link at the bottom of the first Twitter-Ad proves to be more “social”, than the new advertising technology introduced by the social-message giant. That said, we still like the Twitter approach to advertising. I am curious how smaller advertisers can use it to their advantage, but it seems less invasive and less insulting than anything Facebook is trying these days.

To understand why the rise and fall of “digital” is a necessity, it helps to understand why “digital” was invented at all. It was – of course – a marketing tool to eke out a relevant place in the client’s mindset. 10 years ago, “campaign making” was solidly owned by traditional agencies, while “relationship management” was firmly in the hands of direct marketing agencies. Thus the most promising way for young agencies to gain relevance was not by claiming one of those functions but by owning the expertise in the new digital forms of execution. Their USP:

“Nobody can do ads in the digital channel like we do. ”

And the digitals were right. To their big frustration, and despite continuous scoffing, the traditional agencies did not “get” digital. Neither how it works, nor how it’s produced. So the digital agencies picked up business. Lots of it. They did so on top of the traditional budgets in the first half of the decade, and of course heavily at the expense of the regular account holders in recent years.

It was all fine and dandy, as long as digital wasn’t on the client’s main agenda. Despite all the revolutionary rhetoric of the digitals’ self-marketing, they were sitting pretty in a safely profitable spot, growing at a fast clip making material for a “channel” without much real responsibility for the brand.

However, the more successful that “channel” became, the more obvious it was, that it wasn’t a channel at all. To be fair, a lot of people noticed; but the clients didn’t care.

Until 2008. When the economic crisis started to build momentum, clients finally took a serious holistic look at their ad budget from a top level. And for the first time, digital agencies were dancing on the main stage. As they moved up the attention ladder, they soon received their first real shots at becoming brand leaders. It was theirs to prove not only that traditional agencies “don’t get digital” but also that digital agencies “got brand”.

However, most digital shops have failed to do so. One only needs to read the laments on the creative social blog to feel the deep disappointment that the world has not changed into a paradise of fantastic one-off online experiences.

We now know this: Digital – conceived as a channel – cannot lead a brand. But by the same token, non-digital can not lead anymore either. And all of a sudden, both traditional agencies and digital agencies find themselves in the same race: To be the “next agency”.

A race neither of them is well prepared for. But forget the scrambling agencies, they’re not even half as freaked-out as their clients, who all of a sudden are longing for the days when they knew that 50% of their budget was a waste, but the other 50% reached millions. It is their desire to find new footing, that is fueling the “big race” for the next agency.

If digital is conceived of as the new ecosystem of brand communication, who will have the ability to lead?

Definitely someone for whom the word “digital” is about as noteworthy when talking about advertising, as the world “color” is for my parents when they talk about television. They just don’t.

Digital advertising is dead. Long live advertising.

eprimo denkt an deinen Geldbeutel.

Genau:

Die Panzerknacker erhalten ihre Masken. (Duckpedia)

United Break Guitars

Falls auf dem Weg ins Kellergeschoß der PR-Hölle Fahrstuhlmusik läuft, dann ist dieser Song mit Sicherheit dabei. Die Fluggesellschaft United schleudert die Instrumente einer drittklassigen Coutry Band amerikanisch lässig auf den Gepäckwagen, zerdeppert dabei Guitarren und denkt sich: Egal! -- Falsch 2.0. (Jul 09 / 6,9 Mio)

Head over Heels Literal Video Version.

In den 80ern hatten Musik-Videos den Arsch in Latex noch nicht als notwendige und hinreichende Musikbegleitung entdeckt, und so waren auf der Suche nach 3-4 Minuten Handlung keine Hemmungen erlaubt. Die “Literal Versions” die Ende 2008 mit einer Version von A-HAs “Take On Me” starteten, singen statt des Originaltextes einfach den Irsinn vor, der im Bild so passiert. “Total Eclipse of the Heart” hatte 2009 die meisten Clicks, aber die Tyler kommt mir nicht auf die Liste.

Roller Babies

Babies rocken YouTube. Von Evian bis weissnichtwas, dieses Jahr haben es wirklich alle begriffen. Neben Musik ist Babyspeck die beste Energiequelle im Netz. Zig Millionen Hits gabs für die gesunden Babies. (Leider inzwischen schlimm entstellt durch eine pädagogisch wertvolle Einblendung mitten im Spot.)

Hibi no neiro

Soviel Personentage wie das Internet Platz hat gibt’s gar nicht. Logisch, das mit dem Mitmachweb oft nicht so richtig klappt. Hier hat’s aber funktionert -- und wie: junger Mann mit Hut singt niedliches Schlaflied und lädt seine Fans zum Mitmachen per Skype ein. (Jul 09 / 1,8 Mio)

Pianotrappan -- rolighetsteorin.se

Die Fröhlichkeitstheorie von Volkswagen ist wahrscheinlich eine der umwegigsten Werbekampagnen des letzten Jahres. Der schönste Film: die Pianotreppe, von der ich immer noch hoffe, dass sie jemand an der U8 Weinmeisterstraße kopiert. (Nov 09, 11,1 Mio)

“JK Wedding Entrance Dance”

J & K haben mit einem Video mehr Arbeit für die Wedding-Planer dieser Welt geschaffen, als 5 Jahre Kai Pflaume. Und Chris Brown kann von dem Geld Rihanna neue Schneidezähne kaufen. Natürlich in D nur mit RTL Tarnkappe auf YouTube zu sehen wg. Musikindustriegemetzel. (Jul 09 / 38,5 Mio)

JK Wedding Entrance Dance -- MyVideo

“Du bist Terrorist”

So sieht es aus, wenn ein Designer den politschen Journalismus links überholt. Ein Aufklärungsvideo zum Überwachungsstaat, das die wohlwollende Zernichtung unserer Privatsphäre in kühler Schärfe spiegelt. (1 Mio)

“David after Dentist”

“Is this gonna be… forever?” Wer hat sich nicht schon mal angstvoll morgens um fünf diese Frage gestellt? Dazu Lachen, Mitgefühl, und eine Auffrischung längst vergessener Zahnarztpanik -- alles in einem Video. (Feb 09 / 46,3 Mio)

Good-bye Twitter

Miley Cyrus folgt dem untrüglichen Instinkt, den man mit 16 noch besitzt. Das ganze Leben öffentlich zu machen ist uncool. Die Zahnspangen-Zielgruppe hört zu. Und schon ist Twitter in Schwierigkeiten. (Nov 09 / 7,5 Mio)

Powers of Three

Cocal Cola bewirbt seinen Energy Drink Relentless mit einer coolen Surfer-Doku. Zahlen findet man irgendwie keine. Doch 5 Monate später kam ein Nachfolger, der sogar Filmfestivalpreise gewinnt. Scheint also funktioniert zu haben. Aber ich geb’s zu. Hier habe ich den Joker gezogen.

Social Media Revolution

Inzwischen habe ich definitv jeden einzelnen Bulletpoint aus dieser Präsentation in anderen Präsentationen gehört, gesagt, gedacht oder gehasst. Und dieser verflixte Fatboy Slim hat sich auch festgefressen. Aber wir sind ja auch am Ende der Liste. Right here. Right now. (Jul 09, 1,2 Mio)

Was fehlt? Die peinlich-naiven tollen unschuldigen Urheberrechtsverletzungen (Numa Numa!). Sie werden zunehmend verdrängt. Mal sehen ob uns YouTube nächstes Jahr noch einen Eintrag wert ist. Oder ob wir die Berichterstattung dann Gottschalk oder Jauch überlassen.

Wahrscheinlich schicke ich mir als nächstes eine E-Mail.