The Making of a Meme

In October of 2011, White House photographer Diana Walker went on assignment to capture photographs of Hillary Clinton. One of these photos was of Clinton in sunglasses, gazing down at her Blackberry. The photograph ended up in a spread in Time Magazine, but didn’t generate much immediate response.

….Until April 2012. After a few drinks at a local gay bar, DC-dwellers and good friends, Adam Smith and Stacy Lambe came across the now-infamous photo of Clinton and decided to start a Tumblr, Texts from Hillary (http://textsfromhillaryclinton.tumblr.com/). Within a few days, the Tumblr became a world-wide sensation. Smith and Lambe shared their surprising - but somewhat deliberate - journey through creating a popular meme.

Keep it simple. Smith and Lambe wanted to make the meme easy for them to create and for viewers to consume, so they kept each post to two simple images and concise copy.

Have a distribution strategy and create channels for discovery. Both Smith and Lambe have their own personal Tumblr followers, so they distributed Texts with Hillary to those people first. Then, they used their background in marketing to reach out to people in the media to cover their new tumblr.

Publicly acknowledge your fans. Rachel Maddow proclaimed that Texts with Hillary was the best thing she’d seen all week, so they created this:

To get Jon Stewart’s attention, they also created this:

Make a graceful exit. After only 30 posts and being invited to create their own Text from Hillary photo by Clinton herself, they realized they had reached the end of their meme journey and said goodbye to their readers. In doing so, Smith and Lambe allowed readers to think fondly of their Tumblr, rather than grow weary through over-saturation.

Original photo by Diana Walker for Time and Kevin Lamarque for Reuters.

Teen Bullying in the Digital Age

From Tyler Clementi to Erin Gallagher, it’s difficult to ignore recent media coverage of cyber-bullying and its perceived link to teen suicide. After learning about the challenges parents face when raising toddlers in the digital age, I had to attend “Growing Up in the Age of Facebook” to understand how social media has affected teens, and gain insights on how marketers can use this information to empathetically reach teens. Speakers for this panel included Emily Bazelon (Senior Editor at Slate and author of Sticks and Stones), Danah Boyd (Microsoft Research and NYU), Ben Keller (op-ed columnist for the New York Times) and Jason Rzepka (SVP of Public Affairs at MTV).

How has the internet changed this generation of teens’ lives, in relation to online bullying and drama?

• Boyd didn’t believe that the internet was to blame for the so-called bullying epidemic, and that the media plays an important role in creating alarmist stories. According to Boyd, research has shown that bullying rates have not increased with the inception of social media. She emphasized that it’s important to define bullying, which she classifies as ongoing, systematic psychological warfare and physical aggression towards another person. Bullying is often referenced in media as isolated incidents of meanness and cruelty, but it’s important to make the distinction between what is actual bullying, and what is not.
• According to Boyd, when both adults and teens agree on the definition of bullying, research shows that there hasn’t been a rise of bullying because of the internet, though its coverage in media exacerbates this so-called epidemic of bullying. Regardless, bullying still exists, although its severity is questioned by Boyd
• Keller disagreed. While he admitted to having less of a scholarly approach than Boyd, he believes that there is a general increase in meanness, aggression and polarization  - though doesn’t believe the internet is the sole villain in this. He believes that the crowded nature of this space gives people the incentive to shout controversial things to get attention, and that social media rewards partisanship

How has MTV used their authority among teens to address bullying?

• Since 2009, Rzepka’s team has been doing research and launching campaigns targeting teens, focusing on sexting and cyber bullying specifically. They saw an opportunity to launch a different type of campaign, as they felt that the existing messages were shallow, panic-driven, and probably wouldn’t resonate with teens today. The came up with A Thin Line, an organization that showcases scenarios of cyber and offline bullying, with opportunities for teens to step in to help their peers

Does the media amplify assumptions of increased cyber-bullying?

• Boyd agrees that yes, the media puts the ownership of bullying on the internet, and that they’ve propelled a narrative of victims and villains. This has caused new legislation that has pushed educators to prosecute and punish perceived villains of bullying, as opposed to trying to understand and fix the problem, which Boyd believes is an ethical responsibility for people in power
• Keller believes that in some aspect, there is a tendency in media to oversimplify stories. Journalists search for narratives and trends to leverage in stories, and right now, that trend is bullying. There are formulas for earning more traffic online, which further incentives media to dramatize stories

How can the media and marketers who reach teens address these problems?

• Boyd believes that there are nuances and complexities to these bullying stories that need to be addressed. She believes that current efforts for and coverage of these stories over-value the victims and demonize the perceived villains. She wants readers to challenge “lazy journalists” and ask for more complicated, nuanced stories that properly define bullying and are more careful in linking instances of meanness to teen suicide
• Rzepka believes that we should empower young people to support one another, and create programs where bullied teens can reach out to peers. MTV has dedicated years to creating campaigns that positions peer-to-peer bullying aid as the cool and right thing to do. He doesn’t believe that we’ll ever eradicate cyber bullying, but wants to make access to help easier

Can We Please Stop Judging Girly Media?

Around the time that Hello Giggles and XOJane launched, journalists wrote that women’s media “need to grow up,” referring to the “girly” tone that these sites take. To start the panel, speakers Anna Holmes (Founder of Jezebel), Deborah Schoeneman (writer for Girls and the new 90210), Margaret Johnson (Women’s editor for Huffington Post) and Rebecca Fernandez (Senior Editor at Hello Giggles) defined girlishness as any behavior that is reminiscent of young girls: wearing sparkles and ribbons, enjoying vampire movies….you get the point.

The speakers tackled many topics, including whether girlishness demeans or undermines women (Holmes felt that it doesn’t, so long as girlishness isn’t projected to appear less threatening to men), whether women need to be serious to be taken seriously (the speakers and audience felt that it shouldn’t be the case, but in certain environments, it is), if the idea of the beta-female exists in media (not frequently, as we are constantly portraying caricatures of real women on TV) and more - lots of challenging questions that can’t be answered or even discussed critically in one hour.

While I applaud the panelists for attempting to tackle this controversial subject, at times, I felt that rather than being curious about the implications of girlishness in women’s media, there was an undertone of judgment, which I think misses the point. I see girlishness as another form of femininity, one that perhaps not all women identify with, but shouldn’t criticize. I don’t think there’s a right or wrong way to be a woman or to write about topics appealing to women.

And in defense of girlishness, the benefit is that it’s not something women are embodying to attract men - I doubt men even notice when women have glitter on their nails - they’re displaying these behaviors to appeal to one another and to instill a sense of community. Girlishness is something I believe that we truly “own” - a foreign language that some women speak to each other. As Fernandez pointed out, women are not one-dimensional. They read many different sites. I’m thankful for all the women’s sites available to and targeted towards me, and appreciate that each of my favorite sites - both girly and serious - appeal to several pockets of varying interests that I have. Schoeneman mentioned that true empowerment is behaving however you want to, whether it’s being girly, serious or in between, and I think that this should be extended to women’s media.

Toddlers & Technology

We’re often told that playtime is integral to the development of a child. In today’s “Toddlers & Technology” panel Lori Leibovich (Exec Lifestyle Editor of Huffington Post Parents), Maryam Scoble (wife of techology blogger, Robert Scoble), Sarah Evans (owner of Sevans Strategy) and Tony Favorito (Director of Product Design at Fischer Price) discussed the balance that should be taken and challenges in raising a generation of digital natives, focusing specifically on children under the age of 3. Some questions and answers below:

As it relates to technology, what kind of play benefits children?

The panelists agreed on using the analogy of a well-rounded toy box. Taking school, sleeping and meals into account, children only have 4-5 hours of free time per day. Favorito believed that playtime should be a combination of physical activity outdoors and intellectual stimulation by way of technology indoors.

Scoble revealed that her 5 year old is autistic, and the iPad has been beneficial to the development of her son. Often times, autistic children are challenged in interacting with their peers, stunting their ability to learn social cues. Her son loves trains, and began watching YouTube videos of other children playing with trains. From watching these online videos, her son began mimicking behaviors he observed on-screen, enabling him to play trains with his siblings.

Scoble also praised the app ecosystem for making thousands of educational applications for developmentally challenged children available for $0.99 - $199. Prior to the development of these apps, parents of Autistic children had to purchase devices that cost ten’s of thousands of dollars - a price beyond many people’s means.

How much supervision do children need with technology?

Evan’s work is in the digital space, so she and her husband struggle with how much screen time her child should be exposed to. Experts recommend that children under 2 should have minimal exposure to screens, but Evan permits some screen time to her 18 month old as an activity they do together, rather than a supplement to active parenting.

How can parents find the best educational apps for their toddlers?

Most of the panelists are employed in the tech sector, placing them in environments where discovery of these apps are easier than for most. Common Sense Media was recommended by many in the audience as a great resource for finding the best apps for toddlers.

On correcting our own tech habits to teach children mobile manners…

The panelists admitted that they are constantly in an internal conflict between wanting their kids to be digitally savvy, but feeling guilty about the grey area of using technology as a babysitter. Although no one is perfect, they believe in changing their own behaviors and putting away their devices to show their children the value of being present. Evans has strict rules in her household: no devices in the evening, no phones at the dinner table and no unsupervised tablet time. Leibovich recently neglected her phone for an entire vacation, reminiscing that while it was challenging at first, it was the absolute best family vacation she had ever taken.

My thoughts?

Personally, I am interested in seeing how parenting will evolve as we raise this generation of digital natives.  I consider myself a digital native, but the internet didn’t become a prominent activity in my life until the 5th grade. This new generation is now being exposed to screens even before they can recite the alphabet. Although moderation of time spent with technology and supervision of media consumption seem like common sense, it’s clear to me that it’s much easier said than done.

Tips for Tech Companies Pitching Hollywood

TV network execs, Hiram Norman and Bob Mohler spend their days researching and implementing new technology platforms to enhance the viewer experience for shows like Ellen, Gossip Girl and more. In their respective roles, they receive numerous pitches every day from tech startups looking to get their product in front of large TV audiences. After sitting through numerous propositions, they shared some of their do’s and don’ts for tech companies pitching Hollywood:

1. Get to know them. How does your technology fit in to their shows? How will your product enhance their programming? And is your product specifically relevant to the exec you’re pitching? 
2. Know your competition. Find out if the network is using a competitive product, and come prepared with information on how you compare - or even complement - their current solution. Understand that in Hollywood (and most organizations), bringing in new services or vendors is NEVER an easy process. There are layer of approvals, legal restrictions and more to consider
3. Pitch to their needs. Clearly define your product’s ability to grow marketing and or revenue goals. Saying that Ellen should use your tool to make her look cool isn’t enough of a solution. After all, being featured on her show helps your product, but how does it benefit the show or talent?
4. Timing is everything. You need to know when you’re ready to pitch your product. Are you too new? Ask yourself if it makes sense to meet with a studio or network at the stage you’re currently in, in your business. Often times, if you receive a “yes”, they’ll expect for you to be able to execute your pitch immediately
5. Don’t let location matter. Most studios and networks operate on pacific standard time, so make sure you’re available during those hours. You might be a technology company, but take on a client services approach
6. Don’t always swing for the fences. Everyone wants to pitch the million dollar deal, but be prepared to do a trial or partnership program. Some of the smaller ideas that showcase results is what develops into a larger, longer term project
7. Prove that you are prepared for success. Norman and Mohler admitted that people in Hollywood are easily excited, so be prepared if someone says “yes”. If you’re not scaled to deliver, scale up immediately. Make sure you’ve figured out solutions to all potential problems before you make that pitch
8. Keep it simple. It’s never “just a line of code”, but don’t dump a 500-page document on someone’s desk on how to implement an idea. Ideas should be very simple and clear for lawyers to understand
9. A quick “no” is sometimes a good thing, but always build relationships. If someone rejects your pitch, keep them informed. Roadblocks get moved, so there may be a need for your services or product in the future - you just need to stay top of mind for Hollywood execs

Although this session was intended to reach tech entrepreneurs, so many of their tips apply to marketers as well, as we often serve as salespeople to clients, media and more. 

Harnessing Twitter for TV

In one of the most popular (by proof of attendance) sessions I’ve attended at SxSW was lead by Jenn Deering Davis of Union Metrics, “How Twitter Has Changed How We Watch TV”. While the session was packed with insights and recommendations, I felt that the title was misleading. If anything, it gave marketers a toolkit on how to best leverage Twitter for the show development and marketing of television shows. Hey, I’m not complaining at all.

Here were Jenn’s strategies for how to best engage TV viewers on Twitter:
-Build interest. Prior to the launch or season premiere of a show, think about how you can get viewers to talk about and anticipate the show. Although it’s not the absolute metric, a key indicator in predicting a show’s success is by measuring the volume of Twitter conversation that a show garners within its first week. FOX’s Terra Nova earned only 90K tweets in its first week, but Pretty Little Liars (one of the tweeted-about shows on television) earned 90K tweets within 2 hours. Soon after its debut, Terra Nova was considered a flop and was unfortunately canceled. Before the third season of Raising Hope was aired, the producers of the show debuted its season premiere on Twitter an entire week prior to the TV broadcast, earning plenty of Twitter conversations and shares, which helped to increase buzz about the show. For weeks prior to the Grammy’s, the awards show’s official handle released tweets of images and videos showcasing what the stars would be eating, drinking and more, building interest and anticipation for the upcoming broadcast
-Increase discovery. 3 out of 10 people watch TV shows because of recommendations from their friends on Twitter. Amplify these conversations by activating Twitter advertising. Leverage the fan base of another show with a similar audience. For example, to promote Castle, the team conducted outreach to Firefly fans, and even incorporated clever cameos of the Firefly cast to increase viewership
-Engage fans. The folks behind Archer created Twitter accounts for each character to extend story lines beyond each week’s episode, giving fans a chance to stay entertained by the show for the entire week, as opposed to half an hour every week
-Participate in real-time. Last week on American Idol, the AT&T Idol Fan Meter asked fans to tweet to the show about whether they agreed or disagreed with feedback from the judges (disclosure: AT&T is a BBDO client that I work on). The Pretty Little Liars Twitter account tweets with fans during the show, retweeting and reacting to their commentary
-Incorporate viewer feedback. Although Twitter is not a completely accurate representation of all TV audiences, it’s still important to monitor and analyze what’s being said about your show

The phrase “second screen experience” has been exhausted in marketing over the last few years, but it’s clear that Twitter remains one of the key ways to build a fan base and extend engagement among TV viewers.

Watch What Happens Live, Live.

I’ve long been a fan of Andy Cohen, Bravo’s EVP of Development and Talent. After all, I’m down with anyone who casts Danielle Staub in, well, anything.

What’s most compelling about Andy’s role at Bravo is that he was very much behind the scenes in production, then started appearing as a moderator (or more of a ringmaster) on Bravo programming reunion shows, and then began starring in “Watch What Happens Live” on BravoTV.com. What started as a weekly online series turned into a once-a-week live TV broadcast, to now a 5-night-a-week show.

When I saw that Andy was going to speak at SxSW, I had to be among the first to line up to see him.

Some highlights from the session:
-They use fan feedback online to help develop show story lines, and even new programming, including Andy’s late night show. Enthusiasm on Twitter for Bethanny Frankel during her time on Real Housewives of New York helped propel her to her own show as well
-Bravo Executive Producer, Michael Davies, and Andy expressed how they’ve found magic in television programming by finding the right personalities first, then developing show concepts around them. This also applies to casting their reality shows and for developing WWHL around Andy, who Michael found was “the right talent”
-They believe that the ad hoc, lean production style of WWHL contributed to the runaway success of the show. It was revealed that the show cost $50K to produce per episode - peanuts in television. Because Andy serves as both executive producer and talent for the show, the process for show programming approvals is much more efficient, ensuring that good ideas (primarily ones leveraging pop culture news, in which time is of the essence) can be quickly implemented

I wish they gave more insight into how social listening has further impacted the development and marketing of their shows, but I knew I was there for the Andy show. Lucky for me, I’ll be attending a session on how Twitter impacts consumption of television tomorrow morning. Check back here for my highlights from that session.

Send me your thoughts!

See that brisket? You like that? Mm. Lunch. Oh yeah, baby….

Okay, now that I’ve gotten your attention, I need your help.

In addition to covering all things culture and entertainment at SxSW, I’m interested in seeing and hearing about what and how brands are having a presence here. Tell me: what have you seen that’s compelling? What have you seen that’s ineffective and gimmicky?

Tweet at me, bro: @ChristineNgo. I’ll be doing a roundup of what you loved, hated and were confused about.