2010 is well underway and we’ve already  picked up our first trophies for the cabinet in the shape of the Recruitment Advertising Awards, held at the Grosvenor House Hotel and hosted by the ubiquitous Michael McIntyre.

The night started well and just got better, with Start Thinking Soldier picking up Best Campaign – just as Publicis’ Mel Hopkins needed the loo.

This was soon followed by Best Microsite, where Skive’s Louis Clement and Hopkins were joined on the stage by the COI’s Nic Cary.

Best was yet to come, however, as the campaign picked up Best Work of the year, and McIntyre was mobbed on stage by a jubilant Skive team.

It wouldn’t be a Skive Night Out without some glorious mishap, however, and while most turned up to work the next day with a sore head, there was alas no sign of the statues themselves. Turns out we’d left them in a sack at the hotel…

Skive has been appointed by L’Oréal Luxury Products Division as a digital strategic partner after a three way pitch, providing brand strategies and training across Fragrance, Skincare and Make Up, in order to upweight its digital approach and exploit emerging digital opportunities.

Skive will propose an overall digital strategy for L’Oréal LPD, identifying key objectives and success measurement metrics. It will also develop and implement the individual digital marketing plans for the key brands within L’Oréal LPD. Work begins imminently.

As part of Skive’s work, the agency will also provide a detailed series of digital marketing training programmes for the communications teams within the L’Oréal Luxury Products Division. Initially, Skive will work on briefs for Yves Saint Laurent and Lancôme brands but this will widen as the full L’Oréal LPD digital strategy becomes evident.

L’Oréal LPD recognises the importance for the beauty sector to reach target audiences through digital channels and this appointment signifies its intention to be the sector frontrunner in digital use.

Emma Dawson, Communications Director L’Oréal LPD comments: “The beauty sector has been slower than others to embrace digital but this situation is changing rapidly.  L’Oréal LPD recognises the need to use the medium as a way to engage further with our consumers, complimenting other marketing spend and Skive’s appointment is the start of our work to do just that.”

Sean Singleton, Managing Director, Skive comments: “The luxury brands sector is increasingly competitive by nature and has used TV advertising, glossy print ads and rich retail experience to target audiences. As research starts to show an increase in luxury consumers using the web for information about the products they buy, so digital needs to play a larger role in luxury marketing efforts. L’Oréal LPD is perfectly placed to take hold of the emerging opportunities ahead of its competitors.”

People are using ‘Facebook terminology’ more and more in general conversation so it’s not that surprising that a ‘Facebook verb’ was named as The New Oxford American Dictionary’s ‘word of the year’ last year.

Brands are always keen to talk to consumers in ‘their language’ so many of them are starting to harness this trend and make use of ‘Facebook terminology’ in their ads as a result. In fact, Skive were involved in one such campaign last year for Nestlé Skinny Cow.

I’ve noticed that some brands are now taking this a step further by including what appears to be a very clear visual reference to the Facebook ‘like’ or ‘thumbs up’ in their ads. The ad below for First Direct is one such example (pardon the bad photo, but you get the idea) and I saw a supermarket (I think maybe Sainsbury’s) use a similar reference in an ad just before Christmas.

Obviously people have been using the ‘thumbs up’ sign for years as it has very old origins, but it seems that some advertisers now feel it resonates more with audiences given its use as part of the current Facebook experience.

I’m going to be Social Media’s answer to Jeremy Kyle, Kilroy or maybe Trisha. I will be chairing an event at the IAB for the Social Media Council and I will do my best to uphold the humble British tradition of chat-show host.

In July 2008 the IAB launched the Social Media Council – a group comprising all the UK’s major players in this space, established to help advertisers fully understand the formats available, and how to use them.

The IAB holds regular panel discussions to work through in an open forum the pressing issues and how to make most of opportunities and to work out the best way to provide value through social media.

As part of Social Media Week the IAB will be holding a discussion entitled…

The importance of picking your battles online: when, where and why should brands respond to consumers in social media?

“Years ago if consumers were dissatisfied with a product, service or particular brand, they simply told a friend, wrote a letter to Which? magazine or participated in a ‘That’s Life’ phone-in. Now, in a digital era dominated by online reviews, blogs, Facebook groups and Twitter feeds, the consumer voice is louder than ever, and brands are being discussed (behind their backs) at length.

Our panel of experts will provide case studies and practical guidance, encourage debate and answer questions on when we should listen to unhappy customers online, when we should get them involved in our brand campaigns and whether the noise of a few vocal, unhappy customers makes any difference to the bottom line.”

The panel will consist of:

• James Turnbull, senior marketing manager, British Gas
• Ronnie Brown, marketing director, Outside Line
• Robin Grant, managing director, we are social
• Iain MacMillan, CEO, RMM
• James Bromley, Managing Director, Mail Online
• Cheryl Calverley, Senior Global Brand Manager, Axe Skin

I’d like your suggestions on which classic British chat-show host to emulate and I’m also keen to hear your the questions that you’d like to level at the panel.

tom@skive.co.uk

@ale_2point0