How are you bringing B2C approaches to your B2B marketing?

Are you doing it at all?

For far too many B2B marketers, there's a view that never the two should meet. But as I write in my book THE ON-DEMAND BRAND, it's critical that B2B marketers realize business people are just that - people. And their exposure to B2C marketing approaches in their personal lives sets expectations for B2B marketing, whether B2B marketers like it or not.

But some savvy B2B marketers have caught on - big time.

Case in point: Our client LoopNet, the #1 online marketplace for commercial real estate.

Over the last few months, LoopNet has launched an integrated campaign that's predicated on a simple, yet powerful message: If your commercial listings aren't advertised on LoopNet, they may as well be invisible. That's because only LoopNet drives traffic to commercial real estate listings like literally no other option can.

Print, direct mail and online advertising developed by has articulated this theme in compelling, brand consistent fashion.

So when LoopNet decided to fete the luminaries of Los Angeles commercial real estate, we got to thinking: What if we took our message and super-sized it? What if we used a full-motion, building-size canvass to drive home the LoopNet value proposition in an amazing new way?

In short: I wanted to bring 3D projection to our campaign.

So I reached out to Josh Cohen, the CEO of Pearl Media (and its partner Go2 Productions), which has worked on a number of 3D projection mapping experiences for B2C brands like Lexus, Perrier and Chevy Sonic.

I asked him straight up: "Do you think you can make a building in downtown LA go invisible?" He thought about it, and then said: "Yes, I think we can do that."

The concept began gaining traction, and eventually became LA Traffic Jam, Presented by LoopNet - a spectacular, VIP event featuring a private concert by TRAIN ("Drive-by") and our 3D projection experience.

Multidimensional direct mail invites featured cool, die-cut guitar bodies, iPods featuring TRAIN music and a call to action to join LoopNet "at the Corner of Epic & Mind-Blowing."

Fans, attendees and participants could join the conversation via mobile & online at the hashtag #looptrafficjam.

And video of the projection was placed on a special landing page and on YouTube. The client even decided to give viewers the ability to share the video via social media for the chance to win a $1250 Fender guitar signed by the band.

The event was last Thursday night - and it was a blast. Testament to a client who thrives on innovation and embraces a decidedly B2C approach to blockbuster B2B campaigns.

There's a making-of video in the works that I'll share when it's ready, along with more details of what worked, and what didn't, as client and team analysis comes in.

In the meantime, give it a view - and enter for your own chance to win that signed guitar.

Click here to view the embedded video.

During this concert, the band was playing on a stage that was 50 meters above the crowd.

As Adverblog reports, in order to bring the band down lower, the audience had to "download" them by using their mobile devices to log onto Coke FM and download songs from the band. As they did, the performers would be lowered closer to the public.

This effort, from Ogilvy Columbia, seems to have been a lively way for activate this live event through mobile. And as you can plainly see, it worked.

A QR code or something to instantly log on and download songs could have made this even more immediate.

Either way, Coca-Cola has done it again.

Coca-Cola Mobile Marketing Webinar Thursday, August 16 at 11 AM PDT

For those interested in finding out more about how Coca-Cola leverages the power of mobile - especially during live events - Coke's Center for Mobile Excellence is hosting a Webinar August 16 with the Mobile Marketing Association and Mozes, a client of mine that specializes in brand activation using mobile at live events.

At 'Become Best-in-Class in Mobile Marketing, attendees will learn:

- How to approach cultivating an in-house mobile expert or team.

- How mobile is transforming the event experience.

- How to convert participation into long-term relationships.

- Best practices for building a successful mobile engagement strategy incorporating audience engagement.

Moderator: Michael Becker, Managing Director, North America

MMA Speakers:

- Tara Scarlett, Senior Manager, CRM and Mobile Marketing, The Coca-Cola Company

- Chris Bigda, Connections Planning & Investment, Media & Interactive, The Coca-Cola Company

- Dorrian Porter, CEO, Mozes Inc.

To find out more and to register to attend, click here.

And to find out more about the Coke 'Download The Concert Initiative' click here.

Will consumers and brands really tune into social TV over the long term?

The whole field is getting a lot of buzz these days, from startups like Miso and GetGlue, to high-profile initiatives at this year's Super Bowl that included a branded app from Chevy and Coca-Cola's interactive Polar Bear experience on Facebook.

I have not seen solid figures on viewer engagement with the Chevy app, but the fact that GM announced this week it will sit out Super Bowl 2013, it stands to reason the initiative wasn't a touchdown.

Coca-Cola's experience, however, was another thing entirely. At last week's Social TV conference, Coca-Cola revealed some astonishing engagement figures for its Polar Bowl. Turns out that while Coke thought they'd engage a couple million people for an average of 2.5 minutes, the Bears - which reacted in real time to the game and even Super Bowl spots from other advertisers - attracted 9 million viewers who spent an average of 28 minutes with the brand.

In the conclusion of our May 2012 Mobile Roundtable, Dorrian Porter, CEO of longtime sponsor Mozes; Julie Fajgenbaum, vice president of brand and social media for American Express; and Rachel Pasqua, executive director of mobile marketing for Organic weigh in on the efficacy of various forms of branded social TV experiences, and prospects for the future.

MOBILE ROUNDTABLE (CONCL): BRAND MARKETING & THE FUTURE OF SOCIAL TV

Cick here to listen to: MOBILE ROUNDTABLE CONCL: Social TV

(7:56)

ALSO LISTEN TO:

MOBILE ROUNDTABLE (PT 1): JULIE FAJGENBAUM - HOW AMEX BANKS ON MOBILE MARKETING

MOBILE MARKETING ROUNDTABLE (PT 2): ORGANIC'S RACHEL PASQUA - KIMBERLY CLICK, SPECIALIZED BICYCLES RAMP UP MOBILE MARKETING

MOBILE MARKETING ROUNDTABLE (PT 3): MOZES ROCKS THE MOBILE REVOLUTION

(11:07)

MOBILE ROUNDTABLE (PT 4): FACEBOOK'S MOBILE CHALLENGE POST IPO

(3:28)

Can Facebook monetize the mobile channel as well as it has its desktop experience?

In the run-up to last Friday's big Facebook IPO, there was considerable industry commentary on that outstanding question.

Here, our mobile marketing panel - Julie Fajgenbaum, vice president of brand and social media for American Express, Dorrian Porter, CEO of longtime sponsor Mozes, and Rachel Pasqua, executive director of mobile marketing for Organic (shown above from left) - put their views on opportunities for both Facebook and brand clients in the mobile space.

MOBILE ROUNDTABLE (PT 4): FACEBOOK'S MOBILE CHALLENGE POST IPO

Click here to listen to: Mobile Roundtable (Pt 4): Facebook's Mobile Challenges Post IPO

(3:28)

ALSO LISTEN TO:

MOBILE ROUNDTABLE (PT 1): JULIE FAJGENBAUM - HOW AMEX BANKS ON MOBILE MARKETING

MOBILE MARKETING ROUNDTABLE (PT 2): ORGANIC'S RACHEL PASQUA - KIMBERLY CLICK, SPECIALIZED BICYCLES RAMP UP MOBILE MARKETING

MOBILE MARKETING ROUNDTABLE (PT 3): MOZES ROCKS THE MOBILE REVOLUTION

(11:07)

You might say Mozes is on a rock-n-roll these days.

Within just the last few weeks, Wired ran a feature on how the Palo Alto, Calif-based Mozes powers Umphrey’s McGee’s interactive UMBowl, a concert series that enables fans to shape the concert – in real time – using their mobiles phones.

And just this last week, The Silicon Valley Business Journal ran a profile on the company, which focuses on mobile engagement at live events for brand clients such as Coca-Cola, Ford Motor Company and Rock The Vote, among many others.

In part three of tour May Mobile Marketing Roundtable, we get the inside scoop from founder Dorrian Porter (full disclosure: A longtime friend, client, and sponsor of this blog), on how brands are leveraging the power of mobile at the all-important "point of inspiration."

MOBILE ROUNDTABLE (PT 3): MOZES ROCKS THE MOBILE REVOLUTION

Click here to listen to: Mobile Roundtable (Pt 3): Dorrian Porter - Mozes Rocks The Mobile Revolution

(11:07)

ALSO LISTEN TO:

MOBILE ROUNDTABLE (PT 1): Julie Fajgenbaum - How AMEX Banks on Mobile Marketing

MOBILE MARKETING ROUNDTABLE (PT 2): Organic's Rachel Pasqua - Kimberly Clark, Specialized Bicycles Ramp Up Mobile Marketing

In part two of the May 2012 GEN WOW Mobile Marketing Roundtable, I ask Rachel Pasqua, executive director of mobile marketing at New York City-based Organic about her upcoming book Mobile Marketing in An Hour A Day, and her insights into Kimberly Clark's plans to merge its social media and mobile marketing initiatives. 

Along the way, we'll hear about the future of mobile apps and wearable computing at brands like Specialized Bicycles, and much, much more.

MOBILE MARKETING ROUNDTABLE (PT 2): ORGANIC'S RACHEL PASQUA - KIMBERLY CLARK, SPECIALIZED BICYCLES RAMP UP MOBILE MARKETING

Click Here to Listen to: Mobile Roundtable Pt 2: Rachel Pasqua

(9:55)

ALSO LISTEN TO:

MOBILE ROUNDTABLE (PT 1): Julie Fajgenbaum - How AMEX Banks on Mobile Marketing

I'll just come out and say it: Last week's Mobile Marketing Roundtable was nothing short of awesome.

Three of my favorite people in mobile marketing teamed up to answer questions on the quickly evolving world of mobile + social + local + retailing + pop culture and more.

On hand: Julie Fajgenbaum, vice president of brand and social media for American Express; Rachel Pasqua, director of mobile for New York  City-based digital marketing powerhouse Organic; and Dorrian Porter, CEO of mobile marketing phenom Mozes, a longtime sponsor of this blog.

All this week, I'll post excerpts from this wide-ranging new roundtable, which spans mobile apps vs. mobile web; Facebook's prospects for monetizing the mobile channel post IPO; the future of social television and much, much more. 

Up first: Fajgenbaum, who gives us the scoop on AMEX Sync, which offers card members discounts for tweeting advertised hashtags; strategies for fighting "showrooming" - the dynamic where consumers go to stores to see products but then order via mobile phone - and how mobile + Jay-Z = astonishing success.

MOBILE MARKETING ROUNDTABLE (PT 1): JULIE FAJGENBAUM: HOW AMEX BANKS OF MOBILE MARKETING

Click here to listen to MOBILE ROUNDTABLE PT 1: JULIE FAJGENBAUM - HOW AMEX BANKS ON MOBILE MARKETING

(11:09)

This report analyzes the Facebook engagement trends for the following bands:

• Black Eyed Peas
• Green Day
• Lady Gaga
• Linkin Park
• Metallica
• Bob Marley

Yes, we realize Bob Marley's dead. But he lives on, partly through his Facebook page.

Three of the big takeaways for the music industry are:

• Bands should be posting more content
  • Strong correlation between posting volume and engagement level
• Weekends are a big opportunity for bands
  • It's a time when bands can engage with their fans when they're most free to check out new music or buy concert tickets. Bands in this report aren't posting much on Facebook.
• Offline events can be used to drive considerable fan growth
  • When Facebook is THE place to go for information from the band, it encourages fans to Like the page.

You can review or download the entire report here:: http://bit.ly/bands0831

And if you register for Zuum, you'll have free access to the data we've used to crunch this chart. Access will remain open for the next week. You can register for Zuum here:

http://www.zuumsocial.com/register

“Angry Birds” To Star in Super Bowl Ad

Not sure which is more remarkable. That a 99 cent social game for mobile phones is running a Super Bowl spot, or that said game is being turned into a movie. Seeing them embedding game play components into the commercial is cool — brings alternative tactics like that to the forefront given the global impact of the spot — even though that trick has been done before.

Facebook Introduces a Credibility Score With New Social Commenting Plugin

This is great news for brands hoping to attract quality engagement on their site and Facebook Pages. Anyone involved in monitoring Facebook Pages comments for brands has dealt with trolls. This tool is helping identify them, exposing their behavior to members of the community. This should also be functional on a brand’s site pages, and overall should lift the caliber of discussions on their Facebook-networked properties.

The Rise And Fall Of Content Farms

This article is a great read on why brands looking to create distinction should avoid the mass-generated content-farm approach. The bottom line is, Google has an entire building packed with PhDs presently trying to prevent this model from succeeding, because it’s not adding value to the search results driving their business . That may change, but it will likely mean changes to the current content farming business. The article’s comments are full of contrarian views, and I’m curious if it’s from some of those 380,000 writers at content farm Associated Content?

Apple, Campbell’s Say iAds Twice as Effective as TV – Advertising Age – Digital

Is anyone even remotely surprised by this? A new ad unit with unprecedented intrusiveness on a media device users are enamored with. Sounds a lot like the Internet and banner ads in, say, 1995. What this really supports is that companies should approach new media more aggressively overall.

Sequoia-Backed Hearsay Launches Social Media Platform For Corporations With Local Branches

A way for brands to manage social media across franchises makes a lot of sense. I’d guess this service takes off big.

Artist Heat Map Makes Music Discovery Visual

I’m a fan of Rhapsody, and one of my favorite features of the site is the module on an artists page where they show related artists who came before, during or after the artist your viewing. It gives a nice sense of relationship and lineage to the world of music. Hitlantic has essentially taken that and made it visual. It’s a little rough right now, but they’re still pre-VC funding (another example of how small creative groups are developing big ideas).

Coca-Cola Reveals 15 Finalists in Branded Mobile App Contest

This is an interesting idea, and I applaud Coca-Cola for taking the forward steps they have in the area of UGC. Now that UGC is moving past ads and into apps, though, I feel it’s taking on much bigger territory, and in addition to hiring an agency to develop your creative or running a contest, there’s a third option. Monitor what’s going on, and buy or coop it. Commercials are very limited in scope, and there certainly aren’t nearly as many people creating them as apps. Much of that is because there’s limited monetary up side to creating a commercial, unless you’re pursuing a career directing or producing them. But apps live in a much larger arena. Instead of throwing a UGC contest, which most people will tell you takes a lot of admin, why not monitor what’s going on and then work a deal with the developer, possibly even taking over the app for a reasonable buyout? With over 300,000 apps in the Apple store, there’s no shortage of talent to pull from.

Here are some highlights of Bing's new entertainment features (you can find full details in the official Bing Blog post):

Music

Bing now provides instant lyric answers for top songs and points searchers toward upcoming local concerts and venue information. Searchers will also find photos, videos, and even tour dates for their favorite acts at Bing.com. In addition, Bing has partnered with Zune to offer full-length, single-play streams of more than 5 million songs  (30-second previews are offered after the first play), and also offers a direct connection to purchase and download songs from Zune, iTunes, and Amazon.com MP3.

Movies

Any search engine can help movie fans find local listings, but the new Bing integrates Bing Maps to help searchers plan their shopping and dining options -- including parking options and social web reviews -- around movie show times.

Gaming

Gamers can now click, search, and play their favorite casual games directly from Bing. Because Bing now hosts these games inline, players won't need to register at untrusted sites to play, and can be confident that the links they click on won't lead them to sneaky malware. The Microsoft Games team also included social features that allow users to invite their social network friends to play with them right from the game.

TV

Bing now grants viewers access to one of the largest catalogs of videos on the web, from partners like Hulu, Viacom, and CBS. More than 1,500 shows and 20,000 full episodes have been compiled, and fans can find their favorite shows (in HD, too), check out user reviews, and social sharing tools all in one place.

iPhone to Become #1 Camera on Flickr

I don't take this as so much a testament to the greatness of the iPhone camera as much as the power of convenience. In the same way the 'always on' aspect of broadband was probably even more powerful than the bandwidth speed, the 'always with you' aspect of mobile phone cameras means exponentially more photo opps. Or at least perceived photo opps.

Upload Your Songs and See If You've Got a Hit!

This sounds space age, but I'm pretty doubtful that we've gotten this far with AI yet that a computer can tell you how big of a hit your home-brewed mp3 is going to be. Or more likely, not. I'm going to get a musician friend of mine to try this (i.e., someone who could upload something that won't crash the computer).

8 Facebook Applications Now Accepting Facebook Credits

They're mostly games right at the moment. However, the story isn't about who's doing this now, but rather where this will go now that 3rd parties can use the Facebook 'credits' platform. I think there's going to be a lot of interesting opportunities for brands in this area. It might not be a new line of business, but if they can inject their dwindling marketing budgets with bits of revenue, I think they'll jump at it.

Top 10 Crasher Squirrels

You've probably heard the story about the Crasher Squirel at Banff National Park. These are some of the funnier pics on this photo meme.

Google Forced to Reveal Identity of Offensive Blogger

Last week's "On The Media" podcast covered this exact issue, and the consensus was that brands, including Google, are backed by the courts in not pulling offensive comments about another person. And the courts were backing them. This changes that considerably, but also opens up what would seem to be a titanic can of worms. If saying something offensive and incorrect online means legal action, the lawyers must be parading in the streets.

Translation Party

Aptly titled. Enter your phrase and this will translate it into Japanese, back to English, then to Japanese again, and finally English. It's a good example of the difference between translating and interpreting. Also, a cautionary tale against using any of the auto-translator tools.

Graphic Data with Design

Regular readers will know I have a thing about data visualization. It dates back to my earliest days of subscribing to Wired, I'm sure. These are excellent examples of how data can be made to look anything but drab.

Click and Draw to Navigate

Then there's my interest in navigation. In particular I like the cummulative visited link approach. It really makes sense, and seems so obvious I'm surprised it hasn't been used before (that I know of).

The track, which lasts three minutes and 10 seconds, is off the band's latest full-length release "Loyalty to Loyalty."

The interactive experience admittedly takes some time to load, but once you start tinkering around it becomes obvious why. You'll forget all about the time you spent waiting to get started.

This is by far the coolest online interaction with a band I've seen yet. Hovering over each of the four band members are colored bars that when clicked will change that member's version of the recording. That means fans can create at least 16 different versions of the song with a few simple clicks.

It's even better than it sounds. Fans can also mute band members by clicking on an image of them. And when you change the recording selection for each band member, a new video of them appears within the viewing pane that shows them performing that specific take.

The interactive experience is record mixing, live performance and deep fan engagement all in one. And it's sure got this fan excited about their next live performance near their home base of Long Beach, Calif.

MTV spoke to everything that was against the grain at the time. And what better an outlet to convey that than music -- arguably the furthest reaching and most global form of artistic expression. Try singing a Bob Marley classic on a sand dune in the Sahara with a group of people who don't share your language and you'll see what I mean.

Music brings people together in ways that nothing else can. MTV's founders were keenly aware of that and boy did they hit the jackpot. But somewhere along the way, they lost their way … or made way for something completely different, depending on how you look at things. 

I haven't enjoyed watching the decline of music on television. If anything, we could all use more music on our idiot boxes. But that's more in line with thinking backward, not forward.

Enter Fred Seibert, one of the innovators who helped create MTV back in 1981. He's got a new idea, and yes, it's all about music.

Backed by his web-production studio Next New Networks, Seibert is launching a modern-day "network," called $99 Music Video, Ad Age reports.

Next New Networks will create a music video for signed and unsigned bands for $99. The catch is the company will get exclusive distribution rights for the video for three months where it will run on 99dollarmusicvideos.com.

After the exclusivity period ends, Next New Networks will share distribution rights with the band and/or band's label, which ultimately owns the video. It almost doesn't get more DIY than that. No big loans upfront at some insane interest rate and no need for some overpaid music video producer or director.

The company plans to produce one of these videos every week along with a "making of" video ala MTV style.

There are at least two reasons why I wouldn't discount this company's opportunity to significantly change the music video landscape online. For starters, it's coming from the minds that jumpstarted MTV and it helps bands separate their content from the never-ending clutter of YouTube and MySpace, as Ad Age aptly points out. Second, the company has raised more than $23 million in venture capital -- that should go a long way in developing reach and it just might buy the outlet a better domain name.