Big Idea : CauseCast

Yesterday received this RSS feed from TrendCentral.com It's about social media meeting cause. A site named Causecast.org!!

Trendcentral says 85% of youth today think it's important to make the world a better place (The Cassandra Report, May 2008), and Causecast is looking to reach these socially conscious consumers by acting as a powerful online social medium that connects nonprofits, leaders, brands, and individuals to those who want to make a positive impact on the world.

Boasting a roster of well-recognized celebrity activists and leaders, and 30 nonprofit organizations, Causecast is a one-stop-shop for philanthropy, including a social network, news outlet, and entertainment source.

In an effort to increase popular interest in social causes, the site makes it easy for users to give back and do good on their own. Users can highlight their favorite causes by adding a widget to their own personal sites and profiles. Additionally, cause-related news from around the world is available at Causecast, as well as a weekly news show, with shorter segments available on the site's YouTube channel...

Need to create something like this closer home!!

K.I.L.B : Mixed Feelings

Am glad they revealed it. These K.I.L.B bus-shelters/hoardings were now irritating the hell out of me(and my guess is I wasn't the only one...)

At first I thought it might be Vodaphone, then I guessed it could be a new TV soap. Fellow blogger Praneeth had a nice post on how the client/ agency frittered the online search opportunity. And you are directed to Big Adda here!!! Cute...

Hold your breath, The BIG Brand Reveal is actually AEGON Religare Insurance!! You can get an update here.Insurance was the last category that would have come to my mind. But then again, if the work managed to get so much attention, guess it worked:-)

But guys upload your TVC onto YouTube(it's free)...Tag it well(that's free as well)When you generate interest, please know how to channelise and engage that interest!

Else it is K.I.L.B - Kill Interest, Lose Buyers...or Kill Interest Lose eye-Balls(sounds better:-)

Youtube Insights : Applying Science to the Art of Viral Marketing

First read this article in HT Cafe Mumbai. Traced it to the original at Michelle Quinn's blog on LA Times. You can read it here.

After Google Analytics comes YouTube Insights - A feature introduced in March, gives YouTube account holders who have uploaded videos to the site a range of statistics, charts and maps about their audiences.

The data bring a little science to what has been the art of viral marketing, and the potential for big changes in how bands, television shows, movies and consumer products are promoted on the Internet.

Welcome to DIY marketing on the web. Insight is part of a trend on the Web. The social networking giant Facebook offers account holders a weekly report that, like Insight, is free -- and has a similar name, Insights. The information it provides is used by individuals and companies that have Facebook pages and want to hone their marketing.

-YouTube is becoming the world's biggest focus group.

-What's distinct about YouTube Insight is the immediacy of the information and the discovery element -how viewers found the content

-Ideally, the data provided by YouTube Insight will help identify better who true tastemakers are. What really sparks a viral campaign? What is the match to the flame?

P.S. The picture above is from Neemrana Fort, built almost 600 years before the youtube:-) About 100 odd km from Delhi where I was last week digging some insights on OOH communication.

Video Police

Read in the TOI today that the Canadian police posted a nightclub surveillance video on YouTube, hoping to generate leads in the murder of a 22 year old concert-goer. 13 days and 17000 hits later, the police nabbed the suspect.

Both the Canadian and the US police have actually been using the YouTube for this purpose consistently. And in more than one case the suspects have turned in!

With upto 35mn visitors a month, the YouTube video travels far and wide. An ad on TV will have a frequency of 3-4, but on YouTube, the video stays as long as as one wants it to!!

So, while many youth brand marketers in India are still nervously waiting on the edge of new technology/ new culture, examples such as these from the other side of the planet teach us how to tap into popular youth culture to serve our needs!