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“You have to be as interesting as Beyonce and your friend’s avocado toast”
That’s the challenge for marketers today, according to Nike’s social media team.
This week was Advertising Week in New York City - A place where advertisers, brands, marketers and tech gurus gather in the cataclysmic technicolor hustle we call Manhattan to learn and share with one another.
The storytelling lessons were coming through the Twitter machine thick and fast, like pieces of marketing gold dust flowing through the crowded newsfeed. So, in the spirit of sharing and learning, for everyone not able to make it to the event, here’s the best Tweets - and top trends - that we teased out of the Twittersphere from #AdWeekNY.
1. Entertainment trumps interruption.
The landscape is crowded, there’s no question about that. Stories alone have grown 842% in the past two years alone, swallowing any other form of social media.
So, as marketers and storytellers, our jobs haven’t got any easier. But they have got more fun.
Because now our jobs are to entertain, and create moments that matter to people. Which is a pretty great playground to be operating in.
Here’s what people said on the ground.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">“You have to be as interesting as Beyoncé and your friend’s avocado toast.” <a href="https://twitter.com/Nike?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@nike</a> on their <a href="https://twitter.com/instagram?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@instagram</a> social strategy <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AdWeekNY?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AdWeekNY</a> <a href="https://t.co/yNEEI1C3DJ">pic.twitter.com/yNEEI1C3DJ</a></p>— ♏️egan Toth (@TothsTweets) <a href="https://twitter.com/TothsTweets/status/1047561194175979520?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 3, 2018</a></blockquote>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">“It’s a great time to be in advertising.We are doing things that’s not advertising. It used to be called entertainment.”<br><br>Ari Weiss, Chief Creative Officer <a href="https://twitter.com/DDB_Worldwide?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DDB_Worldwide</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AdweekNY?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AdweekNY</a> <a href="https://t.co/WxRFpYVOeW">pic.twitter.com/WxRFpYVOeW</a></p>— jeffcheong (@jeffcheong) <a href="https://twitter.com/jeffcheong/status/1046777870956318720?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 1, 2018</a></blockquote>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">At <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AWNewYork?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AWNewYork</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/JayShettyIW?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JayShettyIW</a> said this of marketing: “always choose storytelling over story selling.” <a href="https://t.co/g0T9cMh9T9">pic.twitter.com/g0T9cMh9T9</a></p>— Nicole Randall (@NicoleARandall) <a href="https://twitter.com/NicoleARandall/status/1047480967965892608?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 3, 2018</a></blockquote>
2. Be Human
People don’t relate to brands - they relate to people. Ergo, as brands we need to engage and operate like human beings, with empathy and quirkiness, emotion and an irreverent sense of humor (if that’s your vibe).
We also need to consider messages for the user, not just for the channel they’re using. 10/10 great refresh for us as Gurus focusing on particular channel formats (i.e Stories); hopefully it’s a fun refresh for you, too.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Love this from <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AdWeekNY?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AdWeekNY</a> be good and do good. Treat people with respect and most of all BE HUMAN <a href="https://t.co/fOWgYO7Ex8">pic.twitter.com/fOWgYO7Ex8</a></p>— Chris Gorell Barnes (@cgorellbarnes) <a href="https://twitter.com/cgorellbarnes/status/1047397094489829377?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 3, 2018</a></blockquote>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">It’s no longer good enough to be thinking about the right message for the right device. We need to start thinking about the right message for the user, regardless of screen. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AdWeekNY?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AdWeekNY</a> on OTT</p>— Kerry Roman Columbro (@KerryRoman) <a href="https://twitter.com/KerryRoman/status/1047554427106861058?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 3, 2018</a></blockquote>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">"Numbers aren't numbers. Numbers are people." <a href="https://twitter.com/julierieger?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@julierieger</a> at <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AWNewYork?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AWNewYork</a> with <a href="https://twitter.com/tarawlevy?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@tarawlevy</a> on why <a href="https://twitter.com/YTAdvertisers?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@YTAdvertisers</a> helped them land both behavioral and statistical insights.</p>— Celie O'Neil-Hart (@celiehart) <a href="https://twitter.com/celiehart/status/1047849885515624450?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 4, 2018</a></blockquote>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">In my best Charlton Heston voice "Advertising is people" <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/adweekNY?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#adweekNY</a></p>— Chris D'Alessandro (@dalessandro) <a href="https://twitter.com/dalessandro/status/1047868058432425984?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 4, 2018</a></blockquote>
3. Keep it Real
The Tweets cycling through from #AdWeekNY were all about walking the walk, so you have permission from your audience to be part of cultural moments.
Read: Don’t just say it, do it. Live the values and practices that you’ve got on your company wall and let your audience know that you’re committed to delivering on them. Then when cultural moments happen, you’ve earned the trust to be a part of them in you’re own unique way that you’re audience will actually believe in.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Danielle Lee from <a href="https://twitter.com/Spotify?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Spotify</a> - “Figure out how to connect to culture in a real way.” <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AdWeekNY?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AdWeekNY</a> <a href="https://t.co/Qno0fPjCHG">pic.twitter.com/Qno0fPjCHG</a></p>— Stephanie Frank 💭 (@Frozen2late) <a href="https://twitter.com/Frozen2late/status/1047481705504956422?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 3, 2018</a></blockquote>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Brands need to present images of aging that are both authentic and aspirational. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/DisruptAging?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#DisruptAging</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AdWeekNY?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AdWeekNY</a></p>— Jennifer Vento (@JenVento) <a href="https://twitter.com/JenVento/status/1047862145541660677?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 4, 2018</a></blockquote>
4. Vertical Video Rules the Roost
The resounding message here was that the tidal wave of Stories’ popularity means that vertical video is no longer a nice to have - when 72% of millennials don’t turn their phones horizontally to watch content, you want to start embracing that vertical life. That means planning for vertical storytelling from the start of a campaign.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Insta Stories best practice:<br>1. Go vertical<br>2. Embrace versatility<br>3. Use for brand and response<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AdWeekNY?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AdWeekNY</a> <a href="https://t.co/igekRZqH2S">pic.twitter.com/igekRZqH2S</a></p>— ♏️egan Toth (@TothsTweets) <a href="https://twitter.com/TothsTweets/status/1047558469384130560?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 3, 2018</a></blockquote>
5. A New Way of Looking at Influencer Marketing.
This one was pretty cool - marketers at #AdWeekNY were looking at important role of influencer marketing in a slightly different way. They’re beginning to embrace that the way we’ve been defining the term ‘influencer’ as an industry has probably been a little too narrow - recognizing that influencers can be anyone that has influence over your audience group, community size and first class trips to Cabo or not.
They also began to unpack the how + why of influencers’ success, and the methods behind the madness of why they’re so damn popular.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Brilliant to hear that <a href="https://twitter.com/soulcycle?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@soulcycle</a> will be starting an influencer network for their instructors: "Our instructors are influencers in their own right" & also creating live experiences w/ <a href="https://twitter.com/AppleMusic?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AppleMusic</a> for large-scale rides w/ major artists! <a href="https://twitter.com/MelanieWhelan1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MelanieWhelan1</a> (CEO, SoulCycle) <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AdWeekNY?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AdWeekNY</a> <a href="https://t.co/ZRzeFkFLSR">pic.twitter.com/ZRzeFkFLSR</a></p>— LeapCast (@LeapCast) <a href="https://twitter.com/LeapCast/status/1047164079071277058?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 2, 2018</a></blockquote>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">If you’re Beyonce, you can walk through <a href="https://twitter.com/VidCon?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@VidCon</a> & no one will turn their head but if you’re <a href="https://twitter.com/LoganPaul?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@LoganPaul</a>, you need a 20 person army to protect you. Why? If I post something, the influencer responds- <a href="https://twitter.com/Beyonce?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Beyonce</a> doesn’t do that <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/influencermarketing?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#influencermarketing</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/Hasbro?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Hasbro</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/vlee?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@vlee</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AdWeekNY?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AdWeekNY</a><a href="https://twitter.com/ANAmarketers?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ANAmarketers</a> <a href="https://t.co/qcyagSaDdj">pic.twitter.com/qcyagSaDdj</a></p>— LeapCast (@LeapCast) <a href="https://twitter.com/LeapCast/status/1047503506645692421?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 3, 2018</a></blockquote>
Also, this happened.
Will Smith, the Legend.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">‘My pants almost fell down coming up those stairs. You all nearly got a big treat.’ Will Smith <a href="https://twitter.com/advertisingweek?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@advertisingweek</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AdWeekNY?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AdWeekNY</a> <a href="https://t.co/LGdZwn1mZJ">pic.twitter.com/LGdZwn1mZJ</a></p>— Oliver McAteer (@OllieMcAteer) <a href="https://twitter.com/OllieMcAteer/status/1047500572428054529?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 3, 2018</a></blockquote>
