‘Tis the season for predictions, and there are many. But one of the most succint and reflective that I’ve come across is one by San Antonio based new media PR practitioner and blogger Kami Huyse. Read her post here.
On the first trend of the rise of viral videos, I’d have to say that Singapore has had its share. Most of them, however, have been by “citizen journalists” making social commentary. On the side of the corporates, the most notorious was the MDA “senior management rap” (an oxymoron, if you ask me). By and large, companies here have not caught on to this trend. In fact, when famed British 3D street artist Julian Beever was in Singapore last year at the expense of Nokia, the Singapore office failed to leverage on a new media video campaign to boost the reach of its PR program, unlike Aveeno, whose YouTube campaign garnered significant attention (read my earlier observations here).
Social media will play an increasingly important role in upcoming American presidential election. It is being fuelled by a generation of 20’s and 30-somethings who use social media as a way to inform themselves on the platforms and character of the presidential candidates.
On the side of the democrats, Obama is benefitting from the large amount of attention he is getting from videos posted online. One such video (which can also be found on BET) mixes a keynote Obama speech with celebrities and music playing in the background.
http://www.dipdive.com/
I think you’ll see future presidential campaign funds devote more resources to this sort of publicity than to traditional campaign advertisements.
Hi Thomas, the role of the Internet in a political election is increasingly interesting. There are some parallels to be drawn in elections in Asia as well. However, if I may play a contrarian here…will all this “noise” online (YouTube videos, Facebook accounts, pro- and anti-candidate blogs, etc) translate into actual voter action?
that’s an interesting point about “awareness” doesn’t always translate to changing of attitudes.. if 2 way communications is anything to go by.
is the thought process a tangible thing?
Hi Brian, I guess in the U.S.–where voting is not mandatory–getting voters aware and engaged is the first step to voter action. And with traditional TV advertising decreasing in impact, social media campaigns will become increasingly important.
Hi Brian, Researching content for my upcoming new media workshops in Singapore, which I’m teaching on behalf of your Ministry, I found your blog. Thanks for pointing out the MDA Sr. Mngmnt Rap, which I plan to use as a local case study. Any details on the outcome of the initiative? If you have time, perhaps we can meet when I’m in town, which is from Oct. 5-16. I tried to send you a linkedin friend request but it didn’t seem to work. Best, Eric