Bright Kite: Here users can upload pics from their phone, write a caption, and put the link up on their Twitter or Facebook accounts. When they do this, their location is tracked on the GPS and uploaded with the picture, bringing the viewers right to where the user is and helping users connect with each other online and in real life.
Urban Spoon application: Pretty simple. It finds you on GPS. It gives you the restaurants in the neighborhood you're in, instead of making you leave where you're at. Helps you support the community you love. (Of course you can still just change the neighborhood, but you get where I'm coming from.)
My Urban Rabbit Hole: These t-shirts are printed with city maps. The purchasers marks five locations that have special meaning with red permanent paint, "telling their stories through urban geography."
Social Souvenir: This is a project through the Museum of Contemporary Art in Denmark, where 300 shirts were created with text fragments inspired by 15 of the artists featured in the museum. When purchased, the new owner has to offer up their name and address, and the "work" is then mapped on google maps. This is supposed to both share the art with the community, but also strike up community between the museum-goers. (Thanks PSFK for the tip!)
Buying Local: Huge trend, for a number of different reasons. But there is a huge sense of pride amongst folks buying local and support local businesses. Many of these businesses have started producing community-based badges to let these consumers reflect their passion, such as pins and bumper stickers.
There are many other examples of this, but these were the first to come to mind.
So what does this mean for advertisers? I think it means that more than ever, we need to be looking at subculture, at the little stuff instead of the big picture. We need to stop making easy assumptions based on age and race. We need to see what really matters to our consumers, and I think what matters to our consumers is very close to home.
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6 comments:
I don't think location is a growing trend. It is inherent to who we are and is now just being amplified by social media and new technology.
People always refer to their hometowns/states in the first five minutes of introducing themselves, letter jackets are sported long past high school, and rivalries between neighboring cities is always fierce. Accents determine someone's location without them even saying so. Dontcha know?
Yes, I agree that local is important for advertisers, but I don't think that it's a new trend. Local has been a core strategy for as long as I can remember. So many things that people buy depend on their immediate location. Groceries, booze, gas, sports apparel. It's a common bond between a group of people. A core element of demography. Some advertisers may begin to leverage the new social media platforms, but they're still likely to be reaching visitors, not the core local audience.
I always think, why are people checking in and posting photos from a location? It's social currency. Bragging rights. I was here and I did this. Those are often the situations where people have the most activity, not from their home base.
I absolutely agree with you on this-- as social media and technology grow, "local" is being amplified on those same wavelengths. It's not necessarily new in and of itself.
Location has always been a point of pride, absolutely. There have ALWAYS been stories linked to neighborhoods (think Northeast, the Mission, or Brooklyn), but the trend is that people are looking for new ways to broadcast those stories, and their role within them.
And while I see what you're saying about proximity being a large part of why people buy where they buy for purchases like groceries and gas, I'm not talking literally about media placements and availability of the products. You and I can both agree that no one is taking pride in their "BP that's only two miles away," but they are increasingly drawn to and BROADCASTING their affinity for mom and pop shops, local artists, etc. Don't get me wrong--I'm not saying that affinity is new (hell, I live in San Francisco, this city is BUILT on the anti-big-box-store mentality) but the degree to which people take it on as their own belief and share that belief in various different ways, is growing. We're not talking about marketing strategy and coupon circulars. This desire to broadcast those stories are a new piece of the puzzle, a new growing psychographic to consider.
As to your last point about the bright kite picture posts, I'm not saying they're doing it literally from their home. Part of this whole trend has been this idea of "urban geography," making an entire city or neighborhood "home." That means your post at a Twins game is your home, and so is out at downtown bars on your birthday, and the night you went to Northeast for a local bluegrass show.
By the way, it's been way too long since I heard a "dontcha know?" :)
I think you might be touching on a piece of a larger trend.
Advertising has largely been about the lowest common denominator. What message can we push out to a target demographic that appeals to most of them?
Location is part of people communicating about themselves - acting human.
The way companies have traditionally communicated is a series of jingles, taglines and slogans that should appeal to masses. It's flat. It's pushed. It's one-way communication.
Consumers are less impacted by these bland messages and will expect to connect with companies and brands in a more "human" and natural way - with real conversation. Which is to say that they don't want to connect with the company or brand - but rather with a real person on the other side.
Absolutely, Cam. I think this is why companies that align themselves with social causes that are relevant to their consumers are also finding great success. The more folks can communicate with your brand as they would another person, the more comfortable and familiar the relationship feels.
Heard an interesting metaphor from a Deepspace panelist in Minneapolis; your brand is like a person at a party. You have to hob nob, build individual relationships, offer value, etc. to build a collective feeling of goodwill from all the party guests. You can't just crash the party with an entourage and play crazy loud entrance music and assume everyone is your best friend. It's about two-way communication.
(For the record, I typically despise all the metaphors advertisers use, but I had to admit this one was pretty good. Courtesy of Dion Hughes)
I'm a fan of the "thomas campbell" and "ando & friends" brands found at a little surf shop called mollusk here in socal. there's one up in ocean beach in SF too. anyways i've tweeted my love for them. will prolly take a few britekite pics of the designs that i like. i've got PacSun following me. they don't carry any of these brands, not mainstream enough...yet. what i'm getting at is this: advertisers should pay attention to the "me-casting" shares/conversations taking place in social media. yeah, some of us like to talk about ourselves, share w/others our experiences, etc. in hopes of connecting and starting a convo w/other likeminded folks. and for those who do, i guess you'd call 'em the influencers? and maybe brands take notice of 'em and learn. it's no longer about "mass marketing" (although to the CFOs it's most cost efficient), but instead it's about the "niche marketing"? my 2-cents. just found your blog via your comment on paul isakson's recent post. enjoyed it very much. cheers!
I definitely think you're right. You've also brought up something I've been meaning to post about since September, so check back later today and I'll be sure to have that up!
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