Not only have we found another Sean celebrity look-a-like in the form of the great David Baddiel but, we found out today (Just in time for England v Germany on Sunday), that Sean stars as German captain in the 1998 version of Three Lions by The Lightning Seeds. Enjoy his German mullet and trendy 90’s backward cap in all its glory from 2:30. Amazing.

The Lightning Seeds feat. David Baddiel & Frank Skinner – Three lions (1998 version) from Electro Meriadoc on Vimeo.

Find Sean@
http://twitter.com/PAULPINGLES

http://foursquare.com/user/paulpingles

We have a guy who works at our sister agency, Soup, who is the Moses of eCRM. Well actually his name is Giles (Captain Grimes).  So really, he is the Giles of eCRM.  Recently he gave a really good presentation at an Figaro Digital event on the 10 Commandments of eCRM.   In this week’s NMA, Justin Pearse used his opinion piece to promote the power of email (Email as good as any marketing channel when done right: i/d 13th May).
Giles and Justin are right, some clients jump on the latest “shiny and new” digital thing like iphone apps and AR, but have not yet cracked “traditional” online marketing like email.   So below are Giles’s 10 pearls of eCRM wisdom:

1. Plan, Communicate and Agree
We always asked the following questions of each new client:
o What are your aims?
Many clients don’t really have a clear idea of why they are using email marketing. It is worth spending time focusing on what you would like to achieve. Is it increased sales, reduction in service costs or loyalty?
o Are your aims realistic?
Once you start an email relationship with your consumers you need to maintain it, therefore make sure you consider your budget and the eCRM timeline.
o Do you have the resources to make eCRM work?
A half hearted attempt is worse than none
o Have you gained company-wide buy-in?
Internal sell in of ROI – get them to use it – biggest reason for failure
o Have you agreed targets for your eCRM?
Never underestimate the significance of asking this question
2. Registration
Quite simply, if you make promises, make sure you keep them. If you say you are going to send regular email updates, then ensure you deliver against that promise. Let the registrant know what they can expect from you and how often you will make contact. Don’t be afraid to ask them what they would like to receive. Also don’t be dull. Please don’t be dull! And finally make sure you get a formal opt in. Did I mention not to be dull?

3. Be creative but get your message across
The challenge here is to make sure the email design is exciting and creative, but does also is built in a way that gets through the spam filters. Make sure you give equal weight to form and function and also remember:
• Always adhere to email best practice
• Don’t be afraid of text only messaging
• Test to mobile devices as well as ESPs
• Don’t be too cryptic or too clever
4. Get the conversation going
Remember people will change their likes and dislikes over time. Make sure that you invite comment, opinion, suggestions and even complaint. Consumer feedback is how companies learn to improve what they do. It is important to talk to your database, not at them. The normal rules of conversation apply – just like social media.
5. Target, Segment and Personalise
I don’t know about you but I prefer to be called by name rather than Dear Amazon.co.uk Customer! It is not difficult to personalise emails these days. Or to segment your audience and send content which is relevant to their preferences.

6. eCRM: It’s part of the mix!
The rules and benefits of eCRM are similar to social media, hence why they work very well together. eCRM is fantastic at recruitment, building loyalty and generating customer information, but it should be used as part of the marketing “toolkit” and use in conjunction with other marketing disciplines. Did I just use the term marketing toolkit? Please shoot me!
7. Remember People Change
Deutsche Bank holds up to 10,000 pieces of information on all their customers. That is a company that really understands their customers. Ask questions, keep the communication going and act on what’s said. Do that and you’ll be friends for life!

8. Analyse this, analyse that and report the other
The investment can be high and the ROI is far from instant, therefore it is vital that you report successes and link them to tangible return from investment. Like social media, good eCRM programmes, take time and effort to develop but are well worth the effort.
The key metrics are:
• Attributable sales / traffic volumes
• Customer retention levels and recruitment savings.
• Recruitment levels through MGM
• Incremental sales
• Savings on customer service calls
• eCRM prompted Social Media activity
9. When it’s over, it’s over, accept it!
Even the best executed eCRM plans lose people. Don’t try to make it deliberately difficult for people to unsubscribe but do ask why they are leaving. Ultimately respect their decision and be polite.

10. Remember eCRM ‘s a Marathon not a Sprint
eCRM is all about relationship and relationships take time. Stick with the relationship and the rewards will be yours!
I will leave the final words to Moses:
May the LORD, the God (of eCRM), increase you a thousand times and bless you as he has promised!

The speed of user response in the digital space to ‘real world’ events can be incredible and I was amazed last week by a great example.

While watching the Champions League semi-final between Barcelona and Inter Milan last Wednesday I got a text from a mate of a great UGC image which merged an incident from the game with a famous scene from The Shining. What shocked me was that I got the text before the game had even finished.

I worked out a timeline of events as below:

7.45pm – Match kicks off

8.01pm – Barca’s Sergio Busquets takes a cowardly dive and gets Thiago Motta sent off (see 21 seconds for the ’sneaky peek’ he gives to check the ref is going to send Motta off)

9.34pm – UGC image of ’sneeky peek’ posted on a football forum

9.36pm – Image texted to me by a mate

9.43pm – Game finishes

I’ve seen plenty of examples of football related banter following games in the past (like this following an Argentina World Cup game and this following John Terry’s penalty slip in the 2008 Champions League final), but they’ve always been the day after a match, I’ve never seen one done so quickly. Admittedly, it took an hour and a half from the incident taking place to the image being posted, but that’s still not bad going.

This example just re-enforces the assumption that more and more users are either watching matches online or watching matches on TV while surfing online simultaneously. It also shows that with access to the right tools, users can produce some seriously funny content very quickly – something that many brands would do well to harness and that some have been trying to.

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

Last night, Ben, Resh and I went to the launch party for The Cube Store, Nissan’s multimedia design exhibition celebrating their new model, The Cube.

The event was held at Boiler House in Brick Lane and featured live street-art battles, beat boxing and some very funky cube-inspired designs.  We may have also had a glass of champagne or two…!

The design of the space itself is cube-tastic.  Inside a dome is a wall-to-wall multimedia video experience that features fast-paced city and product shots.  Very cool.  The street art took place on either side of giant stacks of red cubes, which comprises the central design.  Despite being a launch for a car, the Cube was presented as design, alongside design.   This sets it apart from most other automobile launches, where the car is the star and everything revolves around it.

Cubelist club cards were distributed to attendees, each with their own individual shapes and colours, driving to cubelist.com.  There you’re asked to match the colours to your card to unlock your membership – a creative way to encourage sign ups.  The members section includes a design-inspired webzine, discounts at The Cube Store and access to exclusive Cube events.

My favourite section on the page, surprisingly, is the Build Your Cube section, which is an interactive experience that has you customize your Cube in separate sections, which you “drive” around the environment.

Once you’re happy with your design (complete with funky dashboard mats), you can “take your Cube for a spin,” where your car follows your mouse through a series of paint splotches in an interactive visualisation.

When you navigate to the Cube section on the Nissan page you’re presented with the tagline, “It’s an unusual club that isn’t for everyone, but if you’re not everyone…” Clearly Nissan is targeting people who like to be different and try to build a community around the car’s unusual design, much like VW’s famous Lemon angle, or Mini’s cult following.

If you don’t have a Cubelist card, you’ve got to apply for one by completing a 24-question profile test.  This illustrates the mystery and intrigue they’re trying to build around the car.  Only once Nissan “gets to know you better” and you pass the test will you be invited to join this community… And not everybody will be.

The Cube Store opens to the public today, November 26^th and will run until January 3^rd.  The pop-up shop was created in collaboration with Parisian design emporium, Colette, and will feature a range of Japanese inspired lifestyle products from renowned international designers.  The Nissan Cube will be displayed alongside a series of music, fashion and creative experiences throughout the seven week stint.

Check it out if you’re in the area!

Skive's Louis Clement and Publicis Modem's David Prideaux grapple over a BIMA while posing for the cameras

Team Skive enjoyed a big night out in Camden last Thursday at the BIMAs, held this year at Koko.

Together with Publicis Modem, we picked up 2 awards from a possible 7 for Start Thinking Soldier, including Best Interactive Advertising and Best Advergame – and later found out we were within a whisker of the coveted Grand Prix, which ended up going to Philips Cinema 21:9.

Matt Stafford keeps the paparazzi at bay with his crutches while Jon Groom, Asan Aslam and Jim Hall reap the applause

The agency took a whopping 16 Skivers to the event, showing the scale of the project and the sheer number of people involved, and a good night was had by all – not least when beatbox wizard Beardyman took to the stage and jolted the audience awake with his ‘verbal hellfire’.